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{$!•$)  >?$ -»/</■<;■  4 


A WEEKLY  RECORD 


OP  THE 


PROGRESS  OF  PHOTOGRAPHY. 


VOLUME  XXXIV. 


/ 


Nulla  recordanti  lux  est  ingrata. — Martial. 


LONDON: 

PRINTED  AND  PUBLISHED  BY  PIPER  AND  CARTER, 
5,  FURNIVAL  STREET,  IIOLBORN,  LONDON,  E.C. 

% 


1890. 


INDEX  TO  VOL.  XXXIV. 


w. 


A 


Abbe,  E.,  and  Rudolph,  P.,  New  photographic 
objectives,  475 

Abney,  Cape.  W.  de  W.,  A photographic  un- 
truth, 293 

, Colour  sensation,  299 

, How  to  carry  the  camera,  683 

Abolition  of  London  smoke,  656,  695.  754 
Abuse  of  hand-cameras,  Use  and,  686 
Acid  sulphite  of  soda  iu  photography,  784 
Acres,  Birt,  Exposure  and  development,  583 

, The  Photographic  Manufacturers’  and 

Dealers’  Association,  852 
Adams,  A.  L.,  The  Camera  Club  and  trading  in 
photography,  679 
Advice  to  amateurs,  778 
Aid  to  daylight,  An,  778 
Aids  to  science,  Photographic,  877 
Albumen,  A new  test  for,  190 

paper,  Blistering  of,  752 

paper  doomed  ? Is,  797 

paper,  Ready-sensitised,  980 

Albumenised  paper,  Sensitising  and  conserva- 
tion of,  274 

Album,  The  costume,  48 1 
Alcohol,  Impurities  in,  881 
AMehvd-n  iri  photography,  457 
Alkaline  developing  baths.  Action  of  borax  in, 
961 

Alp  a paper.  852 

Aluminium,  380,  445,  550,  573,  755 

in  photograph  c anparatus,  213,  273,  620 

, The  cheapening  of.  824 

Amateur  at  the  last  Washington  Convention, 
An,  791 

photographer,  Vocation  of  an,  181 

photography,  A wife’s  view  of,  130 

Amateurs  an  i professionals,  173 
American  Amateur  Photographers,  National 
Associa'iou  of,  982 

amateurs’ expenses  in  photography,  928 

— — photographers,  Weights  and  Measures  used 
by,  585 

Photographic  Conventiou,  573,  634,  689, 

732  ’ 

photographic  journal,  A new,  217 

America,  Photographic  exhibitions  in,  281 
Ammonia  formed  by  burning  magnesium,  697 
Amsterdam,  The  photographic  international 
exhibition  at,  267 

Andresen’s  eikonogen  patent.  Dr.,  150 
Animal  photography,  505 

studies  at  exhibitions,  658 

Annan,  J.  c.,  The  sizes  of  photographic  plates, 

Annuals,  The  photographic,  607 

Antwerp,  Photo-micrographic  exhibition  in. 

Qia 


Apparatus,  Aluminium  in 
273,  620 


photographic,  213, 


at  the  Photogiaphic  Exhibition,  792,  802, 

824.  844,  869 

, Photographic,  265,  301 

Arc  light  for  projection  The,  909 
Aristotype  paper,  497,  699 
Artificial  illumination,  428 

light,  Copying  by,  958 

Artistic  blue  prints,  848 

education  for  children,  648 

pbotogiaphy,  497,  609 

— photography,  Poetry  and,  767 


Artist  photographer — a claim  for  liberty,  942, 
968 

Art  of  drawing  and  photogra  hy,  The,  277 

photography  recognized  at  last,  33 

, Some  o!  the  tendencies  in  photographic, 

• 983, 1002 

Arts,  Tne  Society  of,  345 

Aslanoglou,  P.  L , Ammonia  formed  by  burning 
magnesium.  697 

Astronomical  photography,  390,  815 

tel  scopes,  6,  923,  992.  1013 

Aurora,  The  light  of  the,  984 
Austria,  Photography  in,  911,  979 


Baby,  Photographing  the,  45 
Bick,  M.,  Grouo  d awbacks,  610 
Baggage,  Custom  II  iuse  examination  of,  723 
Balagny,  M.,  Treating  flexible  plates,  597 
Barnes,  C.  B.,  Cold  weather  notes,  25 

, Detective  cameras,  165 

, Employers  and  employed,  317 

, Groups  and  grouping,  396 

, Package  of  photographs  for  post,  47 

, Photographic  Printing,  Out-door  and  in, 

255 

, Some  experiments  with  eikonogen,  1 .7 

. 0.  W , American  amateurs’  expenses  in 

photography,  928 

, An  amateur  at  the  Washington  Conven- 
tion, 791 

, Illustrating  poems  by  photography,  556 

Basset  work  in  photography,  37,  74 
Bath  Literary  and  Philosophical  Association, 
944 

, The  Photographic  Convention  at,  531 

Beach,  V.  C.,  Lantern  slide  making,  770 

. The  eikonogen  developer,  697 

Beadle,  C„  Lantern  slide  making,  769 
“ Beauty,"  Mr  Ruskin  on,  190 
Bede  and  his  book,  “ Photographic  Pleasures,” 
The  late  Cuthbert,  71,  85 
Bedford,  V..  Photographers’  Benevolent  Asso- 
ciat  on,  446 

Belcher,  J.  C.,  Sulphites:  their  stability  and 
preservation,  780 

Belgian  International  Photographic  Exhibition, 
178 

Belgium,  Photography  id,  178 

Bell,  W.,  Emulsions,  259 

Benham,  W.,  International  copyright,  105 

Be3t  photographer,  The,  64 

uses  of  photography,  638,  658 

Beyer5dorff,  F.  A.,  281 
Bibliography,  24 

Bingley,  U„  Lantern  slide  work,  333 
Blackie,  W.  G.,  Gelati no-chloride  paper,  852 
Blistering  of  albumen  paper,  752 
Biurringdesirable  in  a photograph?  Is,  881 
Bolton.  G.,  Animal  photography,  505 

, Animal  sudies  at  exhibitions,  658 

Book  illustration,  981 

illustration.  An  experiment  in,  785 

Borax  in  alkaline  developing  batbs,  Action  of 
961  ’ 

Botanical  photography,  322 
Bothamley,  C.  U.,  A standard  method  of  de- 
velopment, 356,  374,  393 

, Chemical  Section,  British  Association,  708 

, The  latent  photographic  image,  283,  303. 

320,  339 

, Weights,  measures,  and  formula',  562 


Brebner,  Hugh,  Repairing  broken  negatives, 

20 

Brightman,  B.,  Carbon  printing,  380 
Brilliant  negative,  2 

British  Association  at  Leeds,  621,  698,  703 

photographers  and  foreigu  fortifications, 

17 

Broken  neg  Hives,  Repairing  20 

Bromide  enlarging  end  printing,  41 

• — — paper,  Developing  enlargements  on,  782 

pictures,  Clouds  in,  825 

Bro  ks,  E.  E.,  The  phosphoresc-nce  of  lithium 
compounds  invacuo,  901 
Brooks.  W.,  Photographs  of  the  Tower  of  Lon- 
don, 466 

Brown,  G.,  Photography  and  illustrated  papers, 
111 

•,  Best  uses  of  photography,  658 

— , Gen.  J.  B.,  A writing  ink  printing 
process,  263 

, J.,  A photographic  exhibition  at  Uexbam, 

442 

— , W.  A , Special  railway  fares  for  photo- 
graphers, 892,  952 

Bollock,  J.  G.,  and  Mitchell,  C.  L , Dangers  of 
flash-light  compounds,  109 
Burton,  W.  K.,  Depth  of  focus  and  diffusion  of 
focus,  472,  5n4,  514 
, Eikonogen,  79 

, The  camera  and  its  various  motions,  831, 

840.  919,  974,  1000 

, Treatment  of  subjects  by  focus,  587 

Business,  flow  to  build  up  a,  1011 

, I’hoto-eugraviug  as  a,  600 

, Photography  and,  788 

By-ways  of  photography,  The,  859 

C 

Calcium  bisulphite,  Quinol  developer  with,  246 
Calcutta  photographic  exhibition,  89,  994 
Camberwell,  A photographic  societ.-  in,  487 
Camera  an  1 its  various  motions,  831,  840,  949, 
974,  1000 

Club  and  trading  in  photography,  The, 

643,  661,  679 

— Club  c inference.  The  1890,  93, 193, 216, 232 
Club  exhibitions,  74,  719 

i lub  for  South  London,  Proposed,  874 

Club,  Mr.  Lyddell  Sawyer’s  picturos  at 

the,  783,  812 

Ciub  new  session,  The,  780 

Club,  The  new  premises  of  the,  617,  944 

, I Low  to  carry  the,  683 

, Lantern  slide  making  with  the,  943 

stind  adjunct,  A,  570 

the  historian  of  the  future,  The,  653 

Cameron’s  photographs,  An  exhibition  of  Mrs., 
354 

Carbon  printing,  380 

process,  5b4,  733 

Card  frames.  Novel.  688 
Carry  the  camera.  How  to,  683 
Carte-de-visite,  The,  685,  736 
Cataldi,  C.,  Sensitising  and  conservation  of 
albumenised  paper,  274 
Cellomtc,  Celluloid  or,  224 
Celluloid  as  a drawing  and  printing  material, 
379 

film,  The  new  Tollable,  103 

or  cellonite,  224 

, Photographs  on,  1008 

vanish,  A,  602 


THE  GET7V  CENTER 
LIBRARY 


January  2,  1891.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS, 


[Supplement— iii. 


Cement,  A,  190 

Censures  on  photographic  dealers,  196 
Challenge  cup  competition  at  the  Crystal 
Palace,  25o,  281,  303,  325,  310 
Changing  bag,  The,  721 

Channel  passages,  Tourist  photographers  and 
the,  003,  020,  003,  082 
Cheinic  >1  phenomena  of  light.  The,  250 

section,  Biitish  Association,  708 

Chemistry  in  the  dark  room,  970 

of  photography.  The,  713 

Chesterman,  O.  T , Photography  in  Russia,  905 
Chester,  The  Photographic  Convention  at,  33, 
171,  310, 115,  100,  109,  139.  191,  510.  531,  559 
Chicago  International  Exhibition  of  1892,  The, 
960 

Children,  243 

, Artistic  education  for,  018 

Chlorophyll  aod  leaf  green,  901 

, Colouring  matter  from,  388 

Christmas  photographs,  S99 
Chromo-collographic  priming,  529 
Chromo-photography  by  block  printing,  219 

in  the  printing-press,  202 

Church  architecture,  Photographing,  150 

services,  Dissolving  views  in,  893 

City  photographic  exhibition,  289,  381,  132, 
590, 009  * 

Clark.  Lyonel,  Eikonogen,  83 

, W.  11.  II  , Progress  of  photography  during 

year  closing  August,  1890,  811, 830,  815 
Clayden,  A.  W.,  Photographs  of  meteorological 
phenomena,  913 
Cleaning  soiled  engravings,  010 
Clearing  collodion,  321.  587 
Clifton,  E.,  Photographers'  Benevolent  Asso- 
ciation, 11 
Cloud-,  011 

in  bromide  pictures,  825 

, Self-luminous,  43 

Coating  celluloid  films,  591 
Cold  weather  notes,  25 

Colebrook,  II.,  tirade  in  professional  photo- 
graphy, 223 

, Truth  in  photography,  012 

Cole,  J.  J , Passing  plates  through  foreign 
Custom  Houses,  187 
Collier,  A.,  Pictorial  definition,  870 
Collision  between  a photographer  and  a cougar, 
A,  909 

Collodion  emulsion,  A modified,  221 

versus  gelatine,  731 

Collographic  process,  538 
Collotype  plate  making,  737 
Colonials,  Unhappy,  420 
Colour,  353 

sensation,  299 

Colour-blindness  and  its  causes,  280 
- Colour-sensitiveness  at  ditferent  times,  Differ- 
ences of,  239 

Coloured  glasses,  Effect  upon  t ning  of  printing 
through, 453 

phonographs  by  toning.  Production  of,  980 

screens  in  photo-micrography,  204 

Colours,  Photography  in,  397,  981 
Combined  hyaroquinone  and  eikonogen  deve- 
loper, 578,  753 

pyro  and  quinol  developer,  901 

Commerce,  Photography  in  iis  relation  to,  978 
Common,  A.  A.,  Astronomical  telescopes,  923, 
992, 1013 

Comparative  intensities  of  illuminants,  579 
Comparison  of  developers,  321,  735 
Composite  photography  in  France,  222 
Composition,  Photographic,  290 
Compressed  gases,  838 

Conference  at  Leeds,  The  Pharmaceutical,  709 

, The  1890  Camera  Club,  93,  193,  216,  232 

Conjugal  likeness,  519 

Conservation  of  albumenised  paper,  Sensitising 
and,  271 

Contretypes  in  china  ink,  206 
, Theory  of,  120 

Control  in  tin-  density  of  negatives,  100 
Controversy,  The  spherical  aberration,  896 
Convention,  American  photographic,  573,  631, 
689,  732 

at  Bath,  The  photographic,  531 

at  Chester,  The  Photographic,  33,  174,  316, 

415,  166,  469,  489,  491,  510,  531,  559 

, Novelties  at  the  Photographic,  509 

of  Herman  amateur  photographers  at 

Berlin,  781 

Conventions,  Photographic,  613 
Conversazione  of  the  Photographic  Society, 
The,  762 

— of  the  Royal  Society,  371 
Copenhagen,  Photography  in,  592 
Copying  and  projection  appliances,  Photo- 
graphic, 7 16 

by  artificial  light,  958 

drawings,  108 

tracings,  707 

Copyright,  17,  26,  105,  603 
Reproductions  and,  11,  33,  51 


Costume  album,  The,  481 
Cougar,  A collision  between  a photographer 
and  a,  909 

Cravat,  Photographic.  963 
Cresswell,  Dr.  F.,  The  chemistry  of  photo- 
graphy. 745 

Criminal  jurisprudence,  Photography  in,  572 
“ Orotonwanze  ” once  more,  The,  571 
Crowd-1,  P hotographers  and,  350 
Crystal  Palace,  1 hallerge  Cup  Competition  at 
the.  250,  281.  305,  325,  346 

Palace  exhibition,  25,  205,  214,  267 

Curious  photographs,  996 
Custom  House  examination,  487,  723 
Cyanotype  reproduction  of  sea-weeds,  The, 
948 

Cylindrograph,  Moessard’s,  370 


D 

Daguerre  and  Talbot,  64 

monument  at  Washington,  The,  72,  604 

, The  statue  of,  647 

D illas,  D.  C.,  Best  uses  of  photography,  639 
Dallmeyr,  T R , Mr.  Debenham  and  spherical 
aberration,  873 

, Photographic  len-es,  314,  361,  372,  400 

, Reflected  images  in  optical  combinations, 

466 

, Spherical  aberration  and  focussing,  543, 

679,  834 

, Treatment  of  subjects  by  focus,  304,  311, 

623,  629,  660,  711 

Damoizeau’s  panoramic  apparatus,  962 
Damp  process,  A,  389 
Dangers  of  flash-light  compounds,  109 
Dark  room.  Chemistry  in  the,  976 

room  comforts,  586 

room  light,  753 

Davis,  H.  E.,  Artist  photographer — a claim  for 
liberty,  942,  968 

Davison,  Q.,  A photographic  scholarship,  230 

, Camera  Club  exhibitions,  74 

, Impressionism  in  photography,  990,  1009 

, Photographic  exhioitions,  440,  452,  474, 

503,  520,  532 

, The  1890  Camera  Club  conference,  93 

. The  focus  question,  883 

Daylight,  An  aid  to,  718 

Dealers’  Association,  Photographic  Manufac- 
turers’ and,  717,  765,  852 

, Censures  on  photographic,  496 

Debenham,  W.  E.,and  spherical  aberration,  873 

, W.  E.,  An  isoradtal  focussing  eye-piece, 

143 

, Is  blurring  desirable  in  a photograph  ? 

881 

, Optical  aspect  of  “ naturalistic  ” defini- 
tion. 800 

, Ortnochromatic  photography,  74 

, Present  stale  of  the  carbon  process,  733 

, Selecting  local  distance  with  detective 

cameras,  87 

, Spherical  aberration,  646,  724,852 

— -,  Unnaturnluess  u(  naturalistic  focussing, 
862,  934 

Decimal  system  in  London  schools,  The,  879 
Decomposition  o’  eikoDogen,  649 
Decoudin’s  photometer,  811,  822 
Defective  ( holographs.  Optical  causes  of,  369 
Definition,  Naturalistic,  885 
, Pictorial,  870 

Density  of  negatives,  Control  in  the,  100 
Depth  of  focus  and  diffusion  of  focus,  472,  501, 
514 

of  focus,  Spherical  aberration  and,  724, 834, 

852 

Detective  cameras,  165 

cameras,  Selecting  focal  distance  with,  87 

photographj,  313 

Detonations,  Lights  from  explosions  or,  97 
Developer  for  dry  plates,  Guaiacol  as  a,  431 
Developers,  About  some,  450 

•,  Comparison  of,  321,  735 

, Reactions  of  various,  184 

, The  application  of  naphthalin  derivatives 

as  photographic,  915 

, The  new  photographic,  131 

, The  poisonous  influence  of  certain, 

897 

used  by  German  professionals,  414,  456, 

510,  551 

Developing  dishes,  833 

flash  light  negatives,  437 

room.  Light  for  the,  620 

, Soakiog  before,  61 

transparencies,  686 

Development,  A standard  method  of,  356,  371, 
393 

in  two  solutions,  325,  385 

, Temperature  in,  70 

Devices,  A few  hints  and,  832 
Devon  and  Cornwall  Camera  Club,  938 
Diaphragms,  Stops  or,  577 


Diazotype  or  primuline  process.  The,  701,  707, 
777,  857,  959  ’ ’ 

. printing  processes,  931,  952 

processes,  The,  937 

Differences  ot  colour-sensitiveness  at  different 
times,  239 

Diffusion  of  focus,  801,  829 

of  focus,  Depth  of  focus  and,  472,  504,  514 

Direct  platinum  printing,  370 

reading  photometer,  A new,  713 

Dissolving  views  in  church  services,  893 
Distance  beyond  which  objects  will  be  iu  focus, 
91 

Dobson,  F.  8.,  Unhappy  colonials,  426 
Double  faces,  People  with,  220 
Doubly  albumenised  papers,  432 
Drage,  R.  P„  Use  and  abuse  of  hand-cameras, 
686 

Drapers’  nail,  Photographs  at  the,  433 
Drawbacks,  Group,  610 
Drawing  and  photography,  The  art  of,  277 
Drawings  for  process  blocks,  919 
Dredge,  J.,  The  Chicago  International  Exhibi- 
tion of  1892,960 

Dry  plate  process,  A neglected,  533 

I lates  by  insects,  Destruction  of,  148 

plates,  Crossing  national  frontiers  with, 

336  ’ 

Duchochois,  P.  C.,  More  experiments  with 
eikonogen,  189 

Duner,  N E , Diffusion  of  focus,  801,  829 
Duration  of  flash-lights,  Timing,  644 
Dye-stuffs,  Fast  and  fugitive,  712,  725,  751 

E 

Eclipse  of  December  22nd,  45 
Eder,  Dr.  .1.  M.,  A new  lithographic  transfer 
ink,  169 

, Intensifying  collodion  negatives  with 

hydroquinone,  3 

, Photographs  in  natural  colours  by  Herr 

Veress,  360 

, Photography  of  the  insane  for  purposes  of 

psychiatria,  29 

Edinburgh  Photographic  Exhibition,  Optics  at 
the,  945 

Photographic  Exhibition,  The  pictures  at 

the,  970,  989, 1005 

, The  International  Photographic  Exhibi- 
tion in,  899,  920,  939 

Edwards  & Co.,  B.  J.,  Edwards’s  isochromatic 
plates,  52,  93 

Edwards,  B.  J.,  Development  in  two  solutions, 
385 

Eiffel  a photographer,  Mr.,  330 
Eikonogen,  69,  79,  83,  689,  697,  782,  934 

compound,  A permanent,  852 

, Decomposition  of,  649 

, Experiments  with,  107,  189 

formulae,  849 

patent,  Dr.  Andresen’s,  150 

, Peculiarities  of,  572 

Electioneering  photographs,  652 
Electricity  on  iodine,  The  action  of,  43 
Electric  light  and  photography,  116 

spark,  Photography  by  the  light  of  the,  297 

Employers  and  employed,  317 
EmulsioD,  A modified  collodion,  221 
Emulsions,  259 

, Washing  apparatus  for,  291 

Euamelling,  616 

English  Photography,  Professor  Luckhardt  on, 

864 

Engraviog  process,  New,  120 
Engravings,  Cleaning  soiled,  646 

on  bromide  paper,  Developing,  782 

Enlargements,  Salted  paper  for,  285 
Enlarging  and  priming,  Bromide,  40 
Establishments,  Photographic,  562 
Etcbing  metals.  456 

process.  Electro-chemical,  203 

Ethics  of  photography,  412, 136 
Eton,  Photography  at,  376 
Exeter  Hall  Camera  Club,  217 
Exhibition,  Apparatus  at  the  Photographic  792, 
802,  824,  811,  869  * 

at  Leipzig,  961 

at  Louth,  Photographic,  984 

at  Vienna,  The  jury  of  tbe  next  inter- 
national, 933 

, City  Photographic,  289,  381,  432,  690,  609 

, Crystal  Palace,  £5,  205,  211,  267 

, Geneva  Photographic,  733 

in  Edinburgh,  The  International  Photo- 
graphic, 899,  920,  939 

, Newcastle  International  Photographic,  309 

of  photo-mechanical  work.  An,  812 

— — of  the  Medical  Congress  in  Berlin,  664,  722 

of  1892,  The  Chicago  International,  960 

, Royal  Cornwall  Polytechnic,  716 

, The  Calcutta,  994 

, The  Photographic  Society’s,  560,  759,  763, 

779,  798,  819,  831,  839,  861 


Supplement — iv.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  2,  1891. 


exhibition.  The  South  London  Photographic 
Society’*,  923 

, Tunbridge  Wells  Photographic,  841,  922, 

973 

Exhibitions,  Photographic,  385,  440,  452,  474, 
503,  520,  532 

, Rules  for  photographic,  201 

Expenses  in  photography,  American  amateurs’, 

928 

Experiment  in  book  illustration,  An,  785 
Experiments,  Ueliochromic.  357 
Explosions,  Flash  powder,  191,  225 

or  detonations.  Lights  frcm,  97 

Exposed  plates.  Restoring,  810 
Exposure  and  development,  583 
shutters,  200,  352 

Exposures,  The  mathematical  calculation  of, 
319 

Expression,  549 
Extraordinary  a'sertions,  260 
Eye  and  the  camera,  The,  4 
, A new, 129 

Eye-piece,  An  isoradial  focussing,  143 

for  the  Lick  telescope,  428 

for  focussing.  873 

to  photography,  Application  of  the,  125 


F 

Faded  Photographs,  Four,  464 
Failures,  Percentage  of,  490 
Fairfax,  J.  S.,  Flexible  supports  for  films, 
569 

Fast  and  fugitive  dye-stuffs,  712,  725,  751 
Feat  in  photography.  A,  5 
Ferrero,  K.,  The  new  premises  of  the  Camera 
Club,  617 

Fickcn,  11.  E.,  Rules  of  lighting.  677 
Fiction,  Photography  in,  312,  337.  403,  420 
Fiend,  A photographic,  108 
Figures  in  landscape,  965 

in  photographs,  188,  950 

Films,  Flexible  supports  for,  569 

in  a tropical  atmosphere,  811 

on  glass  surfaces,  138 

Film,  The  new  Tollable  celluloid,  103 
Fine  art  and  photography,  Some  relations  be- 
tween, 179 

Fishing  match  at  Amberley,  774 
Fixing  photographs,  654 

with  magnesium  chloride,  203 

Flange  screws  of  lenses,  487 
Flash-light,  A new,  67 

compounds,  Dangeis  of,  109 

gallery,  Schirm’s,  123 

Flash  lights,  Magnesium,  823 

, Timing  duration  of,  644 

Flash  powder  explosi  ms,  191,  225 

torch  for  producing  magnesium  flash, 

24 

Flexible  plates,  Treating,  597 

■ supports  for  films,  589 

Florence,  Photography  in,  263,  441,  609,  612 
Flowers,  Photographing,  511 
Fluor  spar  in  optic il  instruments,  745 
Foaming  of  liquids,  268 

Focal  distance  with  detective  cameras,  Select- 
ing, 87 

Focus,  Depth  of  focus  and  diffusion  of,  472, 
604,514 

Diffusion  of,  801,  829 

question,  The,  883 

, Treatment  of  subjects  by,  304,  314,  587, 

623,  629,  646,  666,  714 

upon  finely-ground  glass  screens,  Obtain- 
ing, 78 

Focussing  appliances,  117,  173 

, Eye-pieces  for,  873 

, Spherical  aberration  and,  543,  679,  834 

, Wnnaturalness  of  naturalistic,  862,  931 

Fol,  II.,  The  permanence  of  photographic 
prints,  343 

Foreign  fortifications,  British  photographers 

and.  17 

Formic  aldehyde  and  its  compounds,  67 
Formula!  used  in  photography,  Weights, 
measures,  and,  523,  543,  562 
Forth  Bridge,  Photographing  the,  182 
Four  faded  photographs,  464 
France,  Photography  in,  23,  120,  206,  302,  352, 
538,  590,  628, 902,  962 
French  econ  inv,  39 

metric  system,  The,  78L 

Photographic  Union,  87 

— — seaports.  Photographing  at,  719 
Frewing,  E , Photogravure,  183 
Fugitive  dye-stufis,  Fast  and,  712,  725,  751 
Fulgur  universal  lamp,  The,  601 
Future,  Retouching  in  the  near,  416 

, The  camera  the  historian  of  the,  653 

, The  light  of  the,  662 

, The  photographer  cf  the,  268 


G 

Gaeiiicke,  I.,  Photography  in  natural  colours, 
618 

Gale,  J.,  Figures  in  landscape,  965 
Gas  cylinders,  132 

cylinders,  Severe  tests  of  compressed,  239 

Gases,  t'ornpressed,  838 

Gearv,  II.,  Dissolving  views  in  church  services, 

893 

Gelatine,  Collodion  versus,  731 
films,  New,  543 

in  place  of  glass  for  stereoscopic  slides,  931 

negatives.  Stripping  the  films  of,  497,  903 

plates, The  keeping  qualities  of,  852 

Gelatino  and  collodio-chioride  prints  to  glass, 
Transferring,  921 
Gelatino-chloride  paper,  818,  852 

paper,  Toning  bath  for,  589 

Geological  photographs  committee.  The,  892 
photographs,  Tne  British  Association  Com- 
mittee on,  705,  729,  747,  768 
Geneva  Photographic  Exhibition,  733 
German  language,  Photographic  terms  and  the, 
636 

Photographic  Union,  The,  330 

professionals,  Developers  used  by,  414,456, 

540,  551 

Germany,  Photography  in,  27.  67,  99,  187,  203, 
215,  291,  321,  357,  454.  197,  578,  610,  644,  734, 
752.  781,  810,  822,  903,  98) 

Gestures  and  speech  mechanically  reproduced, 
104,  240 

Giles,  F.  M.,  A few  hints  and  devices,  832 
“ Giphantia  ’’  investigated,  253 
Glasgow  Photographic  Exhibition.  The,  377 
Glass  bottles,  The  solubility  of,  121 

screens  for  developing  room  lamps,  410 

, The  production  of  stereograms  on,  879 

, Transferring  gelatino  and  collodio-  chloride 

prints  to,  921 

Glow  of  phosphorus,  The,  576 
Gold  bath,  196 

leaf,  Size  for,  1016 

, Japaoese  photographs  in,  890 

Golledge,  E.  A , Effect  upon  toning  of  printing 
through  coloured  glasses,  453 
Goold,  J.  E„  Printing  processes  for  copying 
tracings,  151 

Gore,  St.  George,  Short-focus  and  wide-angle 
lenses,  692 

Gotz,  J.  R„  New  gelatine  films,  543 

, New  Obernetter  paper,  446 

Goupil  Gallery,  Paintings  at  the,  495 
Grade  in  professional  photography,  223 
Grainmophone,  The,  187 
Gravestones,  Photographs  on,  660 
Green,  A.  G.,  A new  photographic  printing 
process,  707 

, Cross,  A Bevan,  Diazotype  printing  pro- 

cesses,  934 

Greene,  F.,  A new  rapid  printing  mi  chine,  888' 

, Photography  in  an  age  of  movement,  183 

Greenwich  Ob>erva'.ory,  Photography  at,  477 
Grey  bromide  prints,  603 
Grosvenor  Gallery,  The,  480 
Group  drawbacks,  610 

-,  llow  to  make  a,  619 

Groups,  Photographic,  278,  396 
Grumblers,  Photographic,  566 
Guatacol  as  a developer  for  dry  plates,  431 
Gum  arabic,  825 

picking  in  Trieste,  753 

Gun,  Photographic,  24  * 

Gunther,  II  E.,  Photography  in  Germiny,  27, 
67.  99,  187,  204,  245,  291,  321,  357,  454,  497, 
578,644,  752,  781,  903,  980 

, Photogravure,  153 

, Photo-lithography,  117 

, The  production  of  stereograms  on  glass, 

879 

. The  progress  of  the  photo-mechanical 

printing  processes,  396,  47 1,  548,  608,  684 

, Transferring  gelatino  and  collodio-chioride 

prints  to  glass,  921 

H 

Ilabatia,  Photography  in,  256 
Haddon,  A.,  Notes  on  the  report  of  the  Lens 
.Standard  Committee,  501 
Half-penny  Inland  postage,  143 
Halation,  302,  352,  451,  978 
Halo,  Prevention  of,  206 

, Theoretical  explanation  of,  206 

Hand  apparatus,  24,  686,  702  , 

Hands,  Photogruphing  the,  43 
Hannyngton,  J.  C.,  Detective  photography,  313 
Hardening  gelatine  prints,  08 
Harrison,  W.  J„  Photographic  survey  of 
Warwickshire,  12,  30,  43,  173 
Hartley,  W.  N.,  Chlorophyll  and  leaf  green, 
9d4 

Harvard  College  telescope,  6 


Havre  Photographic  Club,  The,  259 
Heat  on  sodium  carbonate.  Action  of,  140 
negarty,  J.  C.,  My  experience  with  hydro- 
quinone,  808 

Ueliochromic  experiments.  357 
Hester,  T.  N.,  Gas  cylinders,  132 
Hexham,  A photographic  exhibition  at,  442 
Hiding  photographic  defects,  699,  739 
High  art.  413 

Himes,  Prof.  C.  F.,  The  new  photographic  «j 

developers,  131 

Hinges  of  dark-slide  shutters,  The,  164 
Hints  about  negatives,  Some,  985 
— - and  devices,  A few,  832 
Historian  of  the  future,  The  camera  the,  653 
Historical  photographs,  Permanent,  565 
Holding,  T H.,  The  Lantern  Soc  ety,  52,  209 
Holiday,  The  photographers,  630 
Holland,  Photographv  in,  139 
Home  portraiture,  553 

Hopkiuson,  J.,  Meteorological  photography, 

Horuig,  The  late  Dr.  E.,  127 
Horse,  Drawing  of  the,  47 
Hospitals,  The  Magic  Lantern  in,  961 
Howson,  J.,  A photographic  scholarship,  230, 

250,  325 

Hubert,  J.,  A warning.  795 
Human  expression,  Code  of,  86 
Hummel,  Prof.  J.  J.,  Fast  and  fugitive  dye- 
stuffs, 71  1,  725,  751 

numphery,  E.  J , The  reproduction  of  positives 
and  negatives,  908 

Hurter  and  Driffield,  Photo-chemical  in- 
vestigations, 593,  674,  693,  718,  738,  750,  772, 

789,  809,  828,  842,  929 

Hydroquinone  development,  Utilisations  of, 

635 

, Intensifying  collodion  negatives  with,  3 

, My  experience  with,  808 

Hydroxy lamme  developers,  432 
Hygrometer,  A new,  547 
Hypo,  Elimination  of,  10 

I 

Idealistic  photography,  976,  994 
Illuminaois,  Comparative  intensities  of,  579 
Illumination,  Artificial,  428 
Illustrated  papers,  Photography  and,  111 
Illustrating  pot  ms  by  photography,  556 
Image,  The  latent  photographic,  283,  303,  320, 

339,  557,  580,  599 

Imaging.  Imagining  and,  495,  515  538 
Impressionism  in  photography,  990,  1009 
Impurities  in  alcohol,  881 
Incandescent  lamp,  103 
Indexing  photographic  literature,  913 
Indian  notes,  517,  567,  803 
India,  Photographic  exhibitions  in,  335 
Ingall,  W.  T.  F.  M.,  Focussing  appliances,  173 
Ink  for  wriciog  on  photographs,  7 
Insane  for  purposes  of  psychiatria.  Photography 
of  the,  29 

Insects,  Destruction  of  dry  plates  by,  148 
Instantaneous  photography,  719,  941,  959 
Institute  of  photography,  Ad,  162,  888,  957, 

1003 

Instructions  for  the  use  of  optical  lanterns, 

913 

Instruments,  Remarkable  novelties  in  photo- 
graphic, 421 
Intensifies  Quinol,  68 
Intensifying  negatives.  3,  578,  718 

process,  A new,  1001 

Intensities  of  illuminants,  Comparative,  579 
Intensity  of  light.  Time  and,  1012 
Interiors,  Photographing,  5,898 
International  copyright,  105 

Photographic  Congress,  Report  of  the, 

137 

In  vacuo,  The  phosphorescence  of  lithium  com- 
pounds, 904 

Invention,  A wonderful,  818 
Invisible  in  solar  spectroscopy,  Photographs  of 
the,  705 

photographic  image,  The,  233,  402 

Iodide  of  nitrogen,  799 

Iodine,  The  action  of  electricity  on,  43 

Is  ^chromatic  or  orthochromatic,  152 

plates,  Edwards’s,  23,  52,  93 

Isoradial  focussing  eye-piece,  An,  143 
Ives,  F.  K , Photography  in  natural  colours  on 
silver  plates,  153 
Ivory,  A new  species  of,  684 

J 

Japanese  mulberry-bark  paper,  457 

photographs  in  gold,  895 

Jeffs,  0.  W.,  The  geological  photographs  com- 
mittee, 892 

Johnson,  G.  L.,  An  institute  of  photography, 


January  2,  1891.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Supplement — v. 


Jones,  Chapman,  The  Platinotype  Co.  and 
reduction  of  platinotype  prints,  994 

, Control  in  the  density  of  negatives,  100 

, The  hinges  of  dark-slide  shutters,  164 

Jones,  The  late  Mr.  Baynham,  526 
Judges  of  photographs,  Painters  as,  409,  406 
Jurisprudence,  Photography  in  ciiminal,  572 
Jury  of  the  next  international  exhibition  at 
Vienna,  933 
Just,  Dr.  Otto,  121 


K 

Keene,  R.,  Convention  visit  to  Old  Moreton 
Hall,  487 

Keeping  qualities  of  gelatine  plates,  The,  652 
King,  E.  P.,  Lighting,  805 
Kingsley's  home  at  Eversley,  626 
Kircher,  the  inventor  of  the  magic  lantern, 
Athanasius,  118, 141,  198 
Kiss.Capt,,  Gelatine  in  place  of  glass  for  stereo- 
scopic slides,  931 


L 

Lambert,  F.  C.,  Paintings  at  the  Gonpil  Gallery, 
495 

, Photographs  at  the  Drapers’  Hall,  433 

■ ■ ■,  Retouching  in  the  near  future,  416 

, Royal  Academy  of  Arts,  350,  374,  399,  417, 

431 

, The  Grosvenor  Gallery,  480 

, Wantid,  a word,  870 

Lamps,  Glass  screens  for  developing  room,  110 
, Magnesium,  77 

, Translucent  screens  for  developing  room, 

429 

Landscape,  Figures  in,  950,  965 

Lang,  \V„  A neglected  dry  plate  process,  533 

, A i experiment  in  book  illustration,  785 

, Presidential  address  to  the  Glasgow 

Photographic  Association,  972,  9s8 

. The  cyanotype  reproduction  of  sea-weeds, 

918 

, The  Edinburgh  Photographic  Exhibition, 

920 

, The  late  Cuthbert  Bede  and  his  book, 

“ Photographic  Pleasures,”  71,  85 
Lantern  club,  Formation  of  a,  52 

slide  making,  769,  770,  805,  878,  913,  943 

■ slides.  Developer  for,  860 

slides.  Mounting,  241 

slide  work,  333,  696 

Society,  The,  209,  287,  332,  628 

carrier,  691 

plates,  991 

Latent  photographic  image,  The,  283,  303,  320, 
339,  657,  580,  599 

Litouche,  T.  I).,  With  the  Lushai  field  force, 
111,  261 

Laudy,  L.  II  , The  arc  light  for  projection,  909 
Laughlin,  Ada  M.,  Artistic  education  for  chil- 
dren, 648 

Leaf  green,  Chlorophyll  and,  964 

Leipzig,  Exhibition  at,  961 

Lenses,  Improvements  in  the  mounts  of,  329 

, New  photographic,  476,  524,  535 

, Photographic,  344,  361 , 372,  400 

, Short-focus  and  wide-angle,  692 

Lens  mounts.  Uniformity  in,  561 

, Selecring  a,  295 

Lens  standards,  341,  381,  390,  501 

, The  large,  868 

Lettering  prints,  60 2 

Liberty,  A.  L.,  Japanese  mulberry-bark  paper, 

Light  and  shade,  640 

, Curlou3  experiments  with,  411 

, Dark-room,  753 

for  the  developing  room,  620 

of  the  future,  The,  662 

, Physiological  effect  of  a bright,  994 

— , The  chemical  phenomena  of,  256 

, Thomas  Wedgwood’s  experiments  on,  167 

Ligntiog,  805 

, Rules  of,  677 

Lightning,  Photographing,  7,  22 
L ghts  from  explosions  or  detonations,  97 
Literary  Notices,  162,  597,  606,  673,  688,  723, 
784,  933,  940,  969,  981,  1004 
Lithium  compounds  in  vacuo , The  phosphores- 
cence of,  904 

Lithographic  transfer  ink,  A new,  169 

Litho-photogravure,  99 

Lithography  in  the  United  States,  896 

Litmus,  Purification  of,  4 

Livetpool  Photographic  Exhibition,  The,  415 

Lodge,  R.  B , Fishing  match  at  Amberley,  774 

London  Chamber  of  Commerce,  The,  985 

, Photographs  of,  430 

— schools,  The  decimal  system  in,  879 

smoke,  Abolition  of,  656,  695,  754 

Long-focus  lenses  for  portraiture,  891,  934 


Louth,  Photographic  Exhibition  at,  984 
Luckhardt  on  English  photography,  Professor, 
864 

Luders,  T.  H.,  Vapour  development,  48 
Lunar  photography,  802 
Lushai  field  force,  With  the,  111,  261 
Lustrous  surfaces  on  glass,  145 

M 

Machine  camera,  A,  157 

Magic  lantern,  Athanasius  Kircher,  the  inven- 
tor of  the,  118,  141,198 

lantern  in  hospitals,  The,  961 

Magnesium,  Ammonia  formed  by  burning,  697 

chloride.  Fixing  with,  203 

— — Hash-lights,  823 

tlash-light  studio,  27 

lamps,  77,  302,  570 

Maitland,  G.,  Art  photography  recognized  at 
laf  t,  33 

Manufacturers’  and  Dealers’  Association, Photo- 
graphic, 717,  765,  852 

Marion  and  Co.,  A permanent  eikonogen  com- 
pound, 852 

Marriott,  W.,  Royal  Meteorological  Society, 
209 

Marshall,  C.  P.,  How  to  make  a group,  619 
Maskell,  A.,  The  progress  of  quinol  develop- 
ment, 11,  21 

Mathematical  calculation  of  exposures.  The, 
319 

Matting  lantern  slides,  566 
.M  Hyland,  W.t  Censures  on  photographic  dealers, 
496 

Meagher,  P.,  “ The  Camera  and  its  various 
motions,”  974 

Measures  in  photography,  Weights  and,  523, 
543.562,  738 

Medical  Congress,  Photography  at  the  exhibi- 
tion of  the,  664,  722 

Meldola,  Prof.  R , Col.  Russell’s  contributions 
to  photography,  18 
— — , Eikonogen,  69 

, The  photographic  image,  557,  580,  699 

Meteorological  phenomena.  Photographs  of, 
913 

photography,  714 

Metric  system  in  photography,  The,  545,  613, 
761 

Mew,  J.,  A biography  of  J.  H.  Schulze,  39 

, Athanasius  Kircher,  the  inventor  of  the 

magic  lantern,  118.  141,  198 

, Expression,  549 

, Instantaneous  photography,  941 

, The  carte-de-visite,  685,  730 

, The  photographer's  holiday,  63(1 

, The  photographic  tout,  821 

, The  statue  of  Daguerre,  647 

Mexicm  fire-flies,  178 

Mica  as  a support  for  films,  904 

Micklewood,  E.  II  , Lantern  slide  making,  913 

Micro-photographs  of  wood  sections,  24 

Milan,  Photography  in,  376 

Military  photography,  600 

Mirages,  68 

Mirror,  An  electroscopic,  563 
Mitchell,  C.  L.,  Flash  powder  explosions,  191, 
225 

Modern  developments  of  photography,  667 
Moessard’s  cylindrograph,  370 
Morton,  T.  H.,  Negatives,  461 
Motions,  The  camera  and  its  various,  831,  840, 
949,  974,  1000 
Mountant,  A good,  472 
Mounting  lantern  slides,  241 
Mounts  of  leases.  Improvements  in,  329 

, Photographic,  404 

Movement,  Photography  in  an  age  of,  183 


N 

Nantes,  Photographic  Society  of,  37 
Naphthalin  derivatives  as  photographic  deve- 
lopers, Tne  application  of,  945 
National  Association  of  American  Amateur 
Photographers,  982 

— Association  of  Professional  Photographers, 
The,  971,  971 

frontiers  with  dry  plates.  Crossing,  336 

photographic  exhibition,  84 

Natural  colours,  Photography  in,  153,  217,  276, 
449,  610,  618 

Naturalistic  definition,  800.  885 

focussing,  Unnaturalness  of,  862,  934 

— — photography,  989 
Negatives,  461 

for  photo-mechanical  work,  470 

, Same  hints  about,  985 

, The  reproduction  of  positives  and,  908 

Newcastle  international  photographic  exhibi- 
tion, 309 

New  engraving  process,  120 


New  gas,  A,  925 

Newman,  P.  H.,  Imagining  and  imaging,  495, 
515,  538 

, Naturalistic  definition,  885 

, Some  of  the  tendencies  in  photographic 

art,  983,  1002 

, Some  relations  between  fine  art  and 

photography,  179 
Newspaper  pictures,  1008 
Newspapers  by  photography,  Printing,  857 
Niekel-in-the-slot  camera,  Pictures  by  the, 
1012  J ’ 
Nitrogen,  Iodide  of,  799 
Noble,  W.,  Painters  as  judges  of  photographs, 
466 

Nomenclature,  Photographic,  590 
Non-actinic  white  light,  561 
North  of  France,  Photographic  Society  of,  642 
Notes  on.  the  report  of  the  Lens  Standard 
Committee,  501 

Notices  of  Books  10,  70,  192,  247,  422,  442, 463, 
481,  570  ’ ’ 

Novelties  at  the  Photographic  Convention,  509 
Novelty,  A useful,  747 


O 

Obemetter  paper.  New,  446 
Obituary,  165,  352,  515,  526.  707,  903,  988 
Objectives,  New  photographic,  4,5, 500 
Observatory  on  Mount  Etna,  A photo-astrono- 
mictl,  1000 

Old  Moreton  Hall,  Convention  visit  to,  487 

photograph  book,  An,  160 

Operating  notes,  793 

Optical  aspect  of  " naturalistic  ” definition,  800 

causes  of  defective  photographs,  369 

combinations,  Reflected  images  in,  460 

instruments,  Fluor  spar  in,  745 

lantern  as  it  was,  The,  197,  226,  758 

lanterns,  Instructions  for  use  of,  913 

pyrometer,  635 

Optics  at  the  Edinburgh  Photographic  Exhibi- 
tion, 915 

Ornamental  printing  in  photography,  3 
Orthochromatic,  Isochromatic  or,  152 
photography,  74 

photography,  Sensitoe-lorimetry  for,  591 

plates,  Developers  f >r,  852 

Orthochromatism  applied  to  the  reproduction 
of  pictures,  120 

, Practical,  207 

Osmium  toning  baths,  803 
Oxygen  in  water,  149 


P 

Package  of  photographs  for  post,  47 
Painters  as  judges  of  photographs,  409,  466 
Painting,  Photography  and.  905 
Paintings  at  the  Goupil  Gallery,  495 
Palmer,  H.  G.,  The  French  metric  system,  761 
Panoramic  apparatus,  Damoizeau’s,  962 
Paper,  A new  material  for,  885 

works,  Ready-sensitised,  547 

Paris,  Amateur  photography  in,  84 

Exhibition,  32 

Paste,  Adhesive,  765,  872 
Pastels  and  photography,  858.  892 
Patents  and  photographic  progress,  173 
Patent  Intelligence  : Specifications  Published  — 
Alkaline  cyanides,  Preparatiun  of,  Gruneberg 
and  others,  657 

Alloys  of  aluminium,  Clark,  526 
— — of  aluminium,  Green,  405 
Aluminium,  Bamber,  381 

, Daniel,  227 

, White,  993 

Apparatus,  Schneider,  93 i 

, Damoizeau,  425 

, Kipper  and  Perry,  382 

, Winter,  50 

Ascertaining  distances,  Watkin,  73 
Automatically  operating  valves.  Murray,  193 
Azo  eo'ouring  ma  tert,  Friswell  & Green, 
951 

colouring  matter,  Green  and  Lawson,  1014 

Bone  or  celluloid.  Substitute  for,  Callender, 
833 

Box  cameras,  Inkpen,  424 
Burnishing  machine,  Bayly,  1014 
Calculating  exposures,  W atkins,  1014 
Cameras,  Baker,  13 

, Beauchamp,  911 

, Boult,  851 

, Carter,  1014 

, Dallmeyer,  51 

, Freeworth,  229 

, Gray,  171 

, Haddon,  850 

, Heyburn,  850 

, Johnson,  208 

, LawraDce,  871 


Supplement — vi.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  2,  1891 


Patent  Intelligence,  continued — 

Cameras,  Lorain,  794 

, Luc<“,  445 

, McKellen,  911 

, Merrit  & Spencer,  583 

, Miall,  170,  891 

, Mills,  622 

, Ransom,  912 

, Raymond  193 

, Rogers,  638 

, Scorer,  13 

, Skinnei  4 Lyth,  305 

, Smith  & Willis,  285 

, Thomas,  425 

— — , Turner,  93 

, Watson,  31 

, Whitney,  773 

and  dark  slides.  Colter,  171 

and  lenses,  Dallmeyer,  248 

and  shutters,  Edwards,  621 

Cardboard  impervious  to  action  of  photo- 
chemicals, Rendering,  Greene.  542 
Carriers  for  magnesium  lamps,  Slingsby,  1011 
, M all,  172 

Centrifugal  machines,  Hellstrom,622 
Changing  boxes,  Bramley  & Butterworth,  912 
■ plates,  Ee-rero,  170 

slides,  Herbert,  13! 

Cleaning  glass  plates,  Wilson,  871 
Coating  of  mucilaginous  substance,  Applying, 
Hudson,  346 

p'ates,  Bishop  4 Cowan,  445 

plates,  Smith,  541 

Copying  apparatus,  Barr  & Stroud,  406 
Cramp  for  gluing  frames,  Ott,  328 
Crude  glass.  Preparation  or,  Quaglio,  305 
Cutting  screw  threads,  Hulse,  268 

shape,  Jumeaux.  773 

Developer,  Jumeaux,  812 
Developers,  Jones,  286 
Diaphragms,  Stuart,  134 
Discolouring  tannic  acid  solutions,  Iladdon, 
51 

Dissolving-view  lanterns.  Bond,  773 
Dusting  on  process,  Wood,  872 
Enlargements,  Guttenberg,  952 
Etching  on  glass,  Meth  & Kreitner,  774 
Exhibiting  ph  tographs,  Kitto,  249 

photographs,  Taunt,  170 

Exposure  in  platinotype  printing,  Deciding, 
Crawford,  406 

Films,  Eastman,  382,  425,  443 

, Schwiriz&  Mercklin,  31 

Flashing  lights.  Hart,  227 
Flash-lamp,  Leisk,  112 
Flash-light,  Redwood,  952 

exposures,  Controlling,  Hart,  112 

Focussing  arrangement,  Shenstone,  912 

magnifiers,  Bis'iop,  602 

Gelatine,  New  use  for,  Brunton,  248 
Glass  sheets  in  roofs,  Drummond,  268 
Glazing  buildings,  Heywood.  1014 
Hand-cameras,  McNama  a,  229 
Iland-drawn  negatives,  Mullock,  637 
Head  for  stands.  Shew.  287 
Heads  for  stands,  Taylor,  32 
Heating  glass  rooms,  Poat,  871 
Holder,  Staniforth,  1014 
Illusions  by  persistence  of  vision,  Bruce,  363 
Improvements  in  photography,  Fartn-r.  911 
Instantaneous  photographs,  Donisthorp  i & 
Crofts,  993 
Lamp,  Lancaster,  73 
Lamps  for  enlarging,  Shenstone,  622 
Lantern,  Burns,  227 

slides  for  copying,  Griffiths,  407 

Lanterns,  Wrench,  93 
Lenses,  Blackwood,  133 
Lime-light  jets,  Suiter,  891 
Luminous  preparation  to  paper,  Applying, 
Causton,  582 

Magic  lanterns.  Gray  A Kemp,  249 

lanterns,  Hughes,  249 

lanterns,  Steward,  637 

Magnesium  flash-lamps,  Sinse’,872 
Matt  surface  to  albumenised  prints,  Payne, 
851 

Measuring  distances,  Martin,  249 
Microscopically  examining  photographs, 
Duncan,  582 

Negatives  for  photo  - mechanical  printing, 
286 

Objectives,  Gund  ach,  851 

, Krugener,  542 

Opera-glesses,  Levi,  229 
, Pocock,  228 

Optical  illusions.  Keller  & Castan,  14 

illusions,  Reynaud,  170 

- lanterns,  Hugh'S.  993 

Paper  for  photographic  purposes,  Treatment 
of,  Williams,  582 
Photographic  piinting,  Nicol,  207 
Photographs  in  rapid  series,  Taking,  Greene 
& Evans,  465 


Patent  Intelligence,  continued— 

Photometric  apparatus.  Methven,  227 
Phototypes,  Fischer,  i26 
Plate-changing  apparatus,  Fichtner,  249 
Po  ket  lamp,  Abel,  249 
Polishing  engraved  glass,  Facer,  5 26 

glass,  Malevez,  1014 

Posing  chair,  Dow,  912 
Preventing  second  exposures,  Renwick,  678 
Purifying  comoounds  of  aluminium,  Castner, 
795 

Reducing  camera,  Pearson,  912 
Reproducing  pictures,  Le  Boulch,  227 
Shutters,  Bishop,  326 

, Browne,  113 

, Oooybeire,  850 

, Dallmeyer,  171 

, Daniels,  286 

, Eastman,  465 

, Greeoall,  172 

, Hoddle,  637 

, Kershaw,  405 

, Lancaster,  92,  850 

, Perken  & Rayment,  32 

, Trunberry,  602 

Spreading  gum,  Ac.,  Buhler,  325 
Stand  for  enlarging,  Shenstone,  678 
Stands,  Boyd  and  others,  678 
Stereoscopes  and  cameras,  Ransom,  248 
Supports,  Manse  I A Frith,  425 
Tissue  transfer  paper,  Pkeenix,  171 
Tourists’  apparatus,  Darier-Gide,  229 
Transparencies,  Apparatus  for,  Morris,  50 
Transp  nent  printed  paper,  Wise,  363 
Umbrella  walking  stick,  Peyman,  326 
Washing  trough,  Ellis,  833 
Wooden  vessels,  Turner,  193 

Patterson,  C.  8.,  Photography  in  the  United 
States,  982 

Percentage  of  f lilures,  490 
Perfumed  photographs,  623 
Perken,  Son,  and  Rayment,  Instructions  for  use 
of  optical  lanterns,  9 3 

Perkins,  F.  P.,  Platinum  and  palladium  toning, 
164 

, Rev.  T.,  Photographing  church  architec- 
ture, 150 

Permanence  of  negatives,  10 

of  photographic  prints,  The,  313,  817 

Permanent  eikonogen  compound,  A,  852 

historical  photographs,  565 

Perry,  Father,  34 
Perspective  in  photography,  626 
Pharmaceutical  conference  at  Leeds,  The,  709 
Phillips,  G.  B.,  The  value  of  silver  waste,  634 
Phonograph,  Liesegang's,  645 
Phosphorescence  of  lithium  compounds  in 
vacuo , Tne,  904 
Phosphorus,  The  glow  of,  576 
Photo-chemical  investigations,  598,  674,  693, 
718,  738,  150,772,  789,  809,  828,  812,  929 
Photo-chronographio  researches,  902 
Photo-engraving  as  a business,  600 
Photographed,  How  they  were,  672 
Photographer  and  a cougar,  A collision  between 
a,  909 

Photographers’  Benevolent  Association,  14,  89, 
446 

Photographer’s  holiday.  The,  630 
Photographic  Club,  The,  339 

Exhibition,  Apparatus  at  the,  792,  802,824, 

844,  869 

exhibitions,  385,  440,  452,  474,  503,  520, 

532 

image,  The,  557,  580,  599 

Institute,  The  proposed,  162,  888,  957,  1003 

lenses,  344,  361,  372,  400 

“ Pleasures,”  The  l,te  Cuthbert  Bede  and 

his  book,  71,  85 

Society’s  Exhibition,  560,  759,  763,  779, 

798,  819,  834,  839,  851 

Society,  The,  977 

Society.  The  dinner  of  the,  132 

Society,  The  new  premises  ot  the,  951 

tout.  The,  821,  841 

Photographing  at  French  seaports,  719 
Photography  and  business,  788 

and  hand  drawings,  8 

and  painting,  905 

in  its  relation  to  commerce,  978 

: the  science  and  the  art,  669 

Photograving  on  sensitive  paper,  500 
Photogravure,  133,  153,  625 
Photo-lithographic  transfer  paper,  A new,  185 
Photo-lithograpliy,  147 

Photo-mechanical  printing  processes,  324,  396, 
471,  648,  608,  684 

work,  An  exhibition  of,  812 

work,  Negatives  for,  470 

Photometer,  A new,  512,  713 

, Decoudin’s,  811,  822 

Fhoto-micrographic  exhibition  in  Antwerp, 349 
Photo-micrographs,  938 


Photo-micrography,  The  record  of,  521 
rhoto-nephoeraph.  The,  232 
Photonom,  The,  67 

Pictorial  arts,  Photographic  competition  with 
other,  111 

Pictorial  definition,  870 
Pictorial  Supplements— 

“Penzance  Harbour,”  February  11th 
The  first  magic  lanterns,  March  14th 
Thomas  Wedgwood.  April  11  th 
Specimen  from  “ Remtrkable  Bindings  in  the 
British  Museum,”  July  11th 
Charles  Kingsley’s  house  aud  church,  Evers- 
liy,  August  15th 

“ Richmond  Bridge,”  September  26th 
Picture  framing,  637 

Pictures  at  the  Edinburgh  Photographic  Ex- 
hibition, The,  970,  989,  1005 
, Orthochromatism  applied  to  the  reproduc- 
tion of,  120 

Pike,  G.  C , A photographic  society  in  Camber- 
well, 487 

, The  platinotype  process,  932 

Pinhole  negatives,  126 
Plate  changing,  998 
Plate-making.  Collotype,  737 
Plates,  Steeling  photogravure,  587 

, The  sizes  of  photographic,  220,  241 

Platinotype  Company  and  the  reduction  of 
platinotype  prints,  974,  994 

process.  The,  932 

Platinum  and  palladium  toning,  164 

, A sulpho-carbi'ie  of,  833 

— - group.  Toning  with  metals  of  the,  185 

printing.  Direct,  370 

— — ■,  The  price  of,  977 
Pleasant  expression,  Securing  a,  998 
Plummer,  W.  E.,  Astronomical  photography, 
390 

Pocklington,  H.,  Vocation  of  an  amateur  photo- 
grapher, 181 

Poems  by  photography,  Illustrating,  556 
Poetry  and  artistic  photography,  757 
Poisonous  influences  of  certain  developers,  897 
Poor  Negatives,  Improving,  965 
Pope,  T.  A,.  Utilisations  of  hydroquinone deve- 
lopment, 635 

Portrait  gallery,  Photographic,  717 
Portraiture,  Home,  553 

, Long-focus  lenses  for,  891,  934 

, Success  in,  649 

Positive  development,  Preparation  of  thio- 
sinamine  for,  868 

Positives  and  negatives,  The  reproduction  of, 
908 

Powell,  G.  F.,  Stereoscopic  photography,  355 
Premises  of  the  Photographic  Society,  The  new, 
762 

Preservation,  Sulphites:  their  stability  and,  780 
Presidential  address  to  the  Glasgow  Photo- 
graphic Association,  972,989 
I’rimuline  piocesses,  701,  777,889 
Pringle,  A.,  Stereoscopic  vision,  172 

, The  record  of  photo-micrography,  521 

Printing  and  writing  papers,  Table  of  sizes  of, 
65 

, Bromide  enlarging  and,  40 

, Chromo-collographic,  529 

frame,  A simple,  630 

frames,  994 

machine,  A new  rapid,  868 

machin  of  the  future,  A.  164 

material,  C-lluloid  as  a drawing  and,  379 

newspapers  by  photography,  857 

operations,  593 

, outdoor  and  in,  Photograph  c.  255 

paper,  The  “ Thula  ” direct,  782 

, Photo-mechanical,  324 

press,  Chromo-photography  in  the,  202 

process,  A new  photographic,  707 

procesi,  A writing  ink,  263 

processes  for  copying  tracings,  151 

processes,  Progress  of  the  photo-mechani- 
cal, 396,  471,  548.  608,  684 
Prints  and  drawings,  82 

, The  permanency  of  photographic,  343, 

817 

, Washing,  616 

Pritchard.  C.  F.,  Copyright  law,  603 

. Reproduction  and  copyright,  33 

Problem  in  the  history  of  photography.  An  un- 
solved, 177 

Process  blocks,  Drawings  for,  919 
Professional  photographers.  The  National 
Association  of,  971,  974 
Professionals,  Amateurs  and,  173 
Professional  use  of  photography,  A,  1005 
Profession  for  women,  A new,  848 
Progress  of  photography  during  year  closing 
August,  1890.  811,  830,  845 

of  photography.  The,  925 

Projection  appliances,  photographic  copying 
and, 746 

, The  arc  light  for,  909 


January  2,  1891.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Supplement — vii. 


Property  in  photographic  work,  629,  903 
Prospective  and  retrospective,  1 
Psychiatria,  Photography  of  the  insane  for 
purposes  of,  29 

Publishers,  The  rights  of  photographic,  771 
Purification  of  litmus,  1 
Purpose  in  photographic  work,  57 
Pyrogallol  stains,  Clearing,  709 
Pyrometer,  An  optical,  635 

<2 

Quick  work,  73 

Quinol  developer  with  calcium  bisulphite,  246 

development,  The  progress  of,  11, 21 

hydroquinone  developer,  984 

intcnsifier,  68 

R 

Railway  fares  for  photographers,  Special,  892, 
953 

Ramsden  eye-piece  to  photography,  Application 
of  the,  125 

Rapid  printing  machine,  A new,  868 
Rayleigh,  Lord,  Instantaneous  photographs  of 
water  jets,  719 

, Photography  by  the  light  of  the  electric 

spark,  297 

Reactions  of  various  developers,  184 
Red  glass,  474,  611,  735 
Reducer,  Uelilzki’s  durable,  989 
Reducing  halation,  451 

Reduction  of  p'atinotype  prints,  Platinotype 
Company  and,  974,  994 

Reiiccted  images  in  optical  combinations,  460 
Refrangible  rays,  Photography  of  the  more, 
361,  381,  392 

Rejlander,  Oscar  Gustav,  9,  27 
Repairing  broken  negatives,  20 
Reproduction  and  copyright,  14,  33,  51 

of  positives  and  negative*,  Che.  908 

of  sea-weeds,  The  cyanotype,  948 

Restoring  exposed  plates,  810 
Retouch' r’s  point,  The,  100 
Retouching  in  the  near  future,  416 
negatives,  203 

Reversal  of  the  negative  image  by  thio-carba- 
midcs  727,  741,  765 

Richaids,  C.  P , The  National  Association  of 
Professional  Photographers,  974 
Robinson,  II.  P.,  Oscar  Gust  iv  Rejlander,  927 

, R-  W.,  Pnotographie  exhibitions,  385 

. Reproduction  and  copi  right,  14,  51 

“ Roll  Call,”  the,  74 
Home,  Photography  in,  218,  431 
Rossi.  A.  M.,  The  art  of  drawing  anl  photo- 
graphy, 277 

Royal  Academy  of  Arts,  350,  374,  399,  417,  414 

Cornwall  Polytechnic  Exhibition,  457,  716 

Institution,  The,  58,  98,  122,  159,  353  402, 

994 

.Meteorological  Society,  209 

Meteorological  Society,  Photography  at 

the, 215 

Society,  Conversazione  of  the,  371,  482 

Rudolph,  P.,  New  photographic  lenses,  476, 
524,  535 

Rules  fer  photographic  exhibitions,  201 
Ruskin  on  “ Beauty,”  190 
Russell’s  contributions  to  photography,  Co!.,  18 
Russia,  Photography  in,  905 
Rutherfurd,  Lewis  Morris,  4 

S 

Sachse,  J.  F.,  Botanical  photography,  322 

, Some  hints  about  negatives,  985 

, Developers  used  by  German  professionals, 

414,  456,  540,  551 

, Photography  in  criminal  jurisprudence, 

672 

, The  application  of  naphthalin  derivatives 

as  photographic  developers,  945 

, The  camera  the  historian  of  the  future. 

653 

Salomons,  Sir  D.,  Distance  beyond  which  ob- 
jects will  be  in  focus,  91 
Salted  paper  for  enlargements.  285 
Sawyer,  Ly.ldeil,  Mr.  Lyddell  Sawyer’s  pictures 
at  the  Camera  Club,  812 

Sawyer’s  pictures  at  the  Camera  Club,  Mr. 
Lyddell,  783,  812,  834 

Scaling,  W.,  Basket  work  in  photography,  74 

, Tourists’  baggage,  34 

Sobering,  Ernst  , 104 
Schirm’s  Hash-light  gallery,  123 
Scholarship,  A photographic,  230,  250,  325 
Schulze,  J.  H.,  A biography  of,  39 
Schumann,  V.,  Photography  of  the  more  re- 
frangible rays,  361,  381,  392 
Science,  1’hotographic  aids  to,  877 
Screens,  Obtaining  locus  upon  finely-ground 
glass,  78 


Seaman,  W.  H.,  The  metric  system  in  photo- 
graphy, 613 

Sea-weeds,  The  cyanotype  reproduction  of,  948 
Self-luminous  transparencies,  105 
Senier,  H.,  Proposed  Camera  Club  for  South 
London, 874 

Sensitised  photographic  silk,  878 
Sensitising  and  conservation  of  albutnenised 
paper,  274 

Sensitiveness,  To  increase,  979 
Sensito-colorimetry  for  orlhochromatic  photo- 
graphy, 591 

Sensitometer,  A new,  454 
Sermons  in  stones,  741 

Seyd,  E.,  Aluminium  in  photographic  apparatus, 
620 

Shade,  Light  and,  640 
Short  focus  and  wide-angle  lenses,  692 
Shutters,  The  hinges  of  dark  slide,  164 
Silhouettes,  Photographic,  641 
Silk,  Sensitised  photographic,  878 
Silver  malonates,  652 

elates,  Photography  in  natural  colours  on, 

153 

, Sub-fluorid  • of,  662 

Sitter  couldn’t  look  pleasant,  Why  a,  680 
Size  for  gold  leaf,  1016 
Sizes  of  photographic  plates,  The,  220,  241 
Smith,  A.  P.,  A modified  collodion  emulsion, 
221 

, Preparation  of  thiosin&tnine  for  positive 

development,  868 
Smithsonian  Institute,  The,  713 
Smyih  on  figures  in  photographs,  I'rof.  i’iazzi, 

188 

Photographs  of  the  invisible  in  solar 

spectrosc  ipy,  705 
Snap  snot  photography,  655 
Soaking  before  developing,  64 
Social  fancy,  A new,  672 
Societies,  Proceedings  of — 

Abuey  Camera  Clu  ',  35,  75,  176 
Amateur  Photographic  Assoc  ation,  541 
Bath  Photogtap  ic  Society,  55.  116.  195,  271, 

366,  447,  527,  604,  680,  775,  875,  1015 
Birmingham  Photographic  So  nety,  55,  96, 

156,  386,  5.8,  603,  680,  699,  776,  855,  915, 
954 

Bolton  Photographic  Society,  288 
Brechin  Photographic  Association,  996 
Brighton  Pnot  graphic  Society.  155 
Bris'Ol  and  Wes'  »t  England  Amateur  Photo- 
graph c Association,  195,  407,  584 
Bnxton  and  Uiaphnu  Camera  Club.  936 
Camera  Club,  34.  52,  75,  94,  113,  135,  153, 
175,  194,  210.  233,  269,  307,  327,  347,  361, 

386,  427,  813,  835,  853,  874,  893,  914,  935, 
975,  395 

Cardiff  Amateur  Photogr.phic  Society,  775 
Croydon  Camera  Club,  307,  503.  815 
D-  rby  I hntograpbic  Society,  76,  115,  230, 
327,836,  1015 

Devon  and  Cornwall  Camera  Club,  35 
Dundee  and  East  of  Scotland  Photographic 
Association,  56,  113,  156,  212,  307,  366, 
816,  976 

Dunedin  Photographic  Society,  659 
Edinburgh  Photographic  Society,  34 
Enfield  Camera  Club,  798,  895,  955 
Glasgow  Amateur  Photographic  Association, 
856,  936,  1016 

Glasgow  Photographic  Association,  76,  135, 
231,  915,  996, 1016 

Glenalmond  1’hotographic  Club,  915 
Gloucestershire  Photographic  Society,  367 
Great  Yarmouth  and  Eastern  Oouotier  Pho- 
tographic Society,  <76,  815,  875,  956 
Hackney  Photographic  Society,  55,  96,  155, 
194,  307,  366,  386,  427,  487,  527,  564,  659, 
699,  776,  814,  855,  915,  954 
Holborn  Camera  Club,  544 
India,  Club  of  Amateur  Photographers  of, 
856 

Ireland,  Photographic  Society  of,  16,  196, 
231,  252,  272,  308,  348,  387,  428,  816,  »55, 
916,  953,  995 

Japan,  Photographic  Society  of,  175,  328, 

367,  976 

Kimberley  Camera  Club,  446 
Lantern  Society,  252,  855,  874,  931,  995 
Leeds  Photographic  Society,  895 
Leicester  and  Leicestershire  Photographic 
Society,  56,  155,  232,  307,  408,  776,  916,  954 
Lewes  Photographic  Society,  56,  212,  288, 

387,  488,  720 

Liverpool  Amateur  Photographic  Association, 
114,  195,  251,  271,  446,  507,  624,  700,  881, 
875,  955 

London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Associa- 
tion, weekly 

London  University  College  Photographic 
Club,  230 

Manchester  Amateur  Photographic  Society, 
75,116 


Societies,  continued — 

Nelson  (New  Zealand)  Camera  Club,  856 
Newcastle-on-Tyne  and  Northern  Counties 
Photograph  c Association,  155,  307,  365, 
528,  583,  756,  836,  935,  996 
New  York,  Society  of  Amateur  Photographers 
of,  36,  15G 

Northern  Tasmanian  Camera  Club,  659 
North  Middlesex  Photognphic  Club,  16,  95, 
155,  195,  232,  328,  488,  659,  740,  775,  836 
Notts  Amateur  Vhotogtaphic  Association, 
838,  896,  956,  995 

Oblfum  Photograp  ic  Society,  875 
Oxford  I’hotograpbic  Society,  895,  1015 
Philadelphia,  Photographic  Society  of,  35,  115, 

270,  366,  447,  8i6 

Photographers'  Benevolent  Association,  75, 

271,  366,  563.  659,  756,  854,  895 
Photographic  Club,  weekly 
1‘hotograpVc  Society  ol  Great  Britain,  15,  52, 

94.  131,  174,  209.  250,  306,  347,  385,  426,467, 
507,  583,  679,  774,  e53,  893,935,  974 
Sheffield  Camera  Club,  136,  19a,  719,  875 
Sheffield  Photographic  Society,  35,  113,  209, 
211,  287,  387,  468,  488,  544,  640,  815,  895 
South  London  Photographic  Society  (late  East 
Dulwich  and  Peckhnm),  34,  75,  212,  659, 
719,  756,  796,  835,895,  1015 
Soulhsea  Amateur  Photographic  Society,  270 
Torquay  Photographic  Association,  995 
Tooting  Camera  Club,  776 
Vienna  Pi  Olographic  Society,  916 
W'  st  Londm  Photographic  Society,  15,95, 
154.  194,  231,  303,  624,  775,  815,  835,  854, 
915,  953,  1015 

West  Surrey  Aaut  iir  Photographic  Society, 
387 

Soda  in  photography.  Acid  sulphite  of,  784 
Sodium  c irbonaie,  Action  of  heat  on,  140 
Solar  activity,  649 

Club,  The,  963 

Sold  r,  A tenacious,  49 
Solubi'ity  of  glass  bo  ties,  The,  121 
South  London  Photographic  Society’s  Exhibi- 
tion, Tne,  923 

Spec’aele  gla-ses,  M k ng,  816 
Spectroscopy,  Photographs  of  the  invisible  in 
solar,  705 

Speucer,  J.  n,,  The  “ Roll  Call,”  74 
spherical  Aberration,  643,  7 4,  834  852,  873 

b rration  an  I focussing,  543,  679,  834 

Spiller,  J.,  Amateurs  and  professionals,  173 

Sundry  notes  and  corrections,  33 

, The  chemical  phei'mena  of  light,  256 

Standard  light  in  photography,  A,  917 

Stars  in  the  d.yt,mo,  Photographing,  803 

ftatue  of  Daguerre,  647 

SteeliLg  photogravure  plates,  587 

Stellar  photography,  99 

Stereograms  on  glass,  The  proilucticn  of,  879 

Stereoscopic  photography,  152,  355 

slid  s,  Gel  atine  m [dace  of  glass  for,  931 

vision,  172 

Stones,  Sermons  in,  741 
Stops  or  diaphragms,  577 
Stripping  the  films  of  gelatine  negatives,  497, 
903 

Studio  in  summertime.  The,  596 
Subterranean  photography,  672 
Success  in  portraiture,  649 
Suggestions  of  sitters,  532 
Sulphite  of  soda,  302 

Sulphites  : their  stability  and  preservation,  780 

Summer  photographic  exhibition,  London,  209 

Summertime,  The  studio  in,  596 

Sundry  notes  and  corrections,  33 

Sun’s  eye,  In  the,  681 

Supplee,  II.  H.,  Home  portraiture,  553 

Supplements,  Pictorial — 

‘‘Penzance  Harbour,”  February  14th 
The  first  magic  lanterns,  March  14th 
Thomas  Wedgwood,  April  11th 
Specimen  from  “ Remarkable  Bindings  in  the 
British  Museum,”  July  11th 
Charles  Kingsley’s  house  and  church,  Evers- 
ley,  August  15th 

“ Richmond  Bridge,”  September  26th 
Survey,  Another  photographic,  219 
Survey  of  Warwickshire,  Photographic,  12,  30, 
43, 173,  422 

Sweden,  Photography  in,  90,  254 

Swing-back,  The,  39 

Switzerland,  Photography  in,  145,  742 

, Tourist  photographers  in , 594 

Syllabus,  Brighton  Photographic  Society’s,  221 

T 

Tarniquet,  F.,  Enamelling,  616 

Taylor,  J.  T.,  Ethics  of  photography,  412,  436 

Telegraph,  Photography  by,  38,  53o 

Telescopes,  Astronomical,  6,  923,  992,  1013 

Temperature  ia  development,  70 

of  photographic  manipulations,  The,  144 


Supplement— viii.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  2,  1891. 


Tendencies  in  photographic  art,  Some  of  the, 
983,  1002 

Tennant,  J.  A.,  The  studio  in  summertime, 
598 

Terms  and  the  German  language,  Photographic, 
836 

Tests  of  compressed  gas  cylinders.  Severe,  239 
Thio-carbamides,  Reversal  of  the  negative 
image  by,  727,  743,  7G5 

Thiosinamlne  for  positive  development,  Pre- 
paration of,  808 

Thorpe,  T.  E„  The  glow  of  phosphorus,  76 
“Thula”  direct  printing  paper,  The.  782 
Time  and  intensity  of  light,  1812 
Tombstone  photography,  1010 
Toning  albumen  prints,  27 
bath,  A,  454 

bath  for  gelatino-chloride  paper.  589 

bath  for  yellow-sta'Ded  pistes,  980 

gelatino-chloride  paper,  587 

,•  Production  of  coloured  photographs  by, 

980 

with  metals  of  the  platinum  group,  185 

Toole  among  photographers,  Mr.,  485 
Tourist  photographers  and  the  Charnel 
passages,  605,  626,  663,  682 
Tourists'  baggage,  2,  34 
Tout,  The  photographic,  821,  841 
Tower  of  London,  Photographs  of  the,  466 
Tracings,  Copying,  151,  707 
Trade  union  of  photographic  workmen,  7 
Trading  in  photography, The  Camera  Club  and, 
643,  661, 679 

Transferring  gelatino  and  collodio-chloride 
prints  to  glass,  921 

Translucent  screens  for  developing  room  amns 
429  y 

Transparencies,  838 

, Developing,  686 

, Self-luminous,  105 

Transparent,  Making  paper,  977 
Treatment  of  subjects  by  focus,  304,  314,  587 
623,  6.9,  646,666,  714 
Truth  in  photography,  612 
Tulloch,  J.  K , Selecting  a lens,  295 
Tunbridge  Wells  Photographic  Exhibition,  841 
922, 973  ’ 

Two  solutions,  Development  in,  325,  385 
Typographic  engraving,  120 


U 

Ullman,  L.  J..  Operating  notes,  793 
United  States,  Photography  in  the,  982 
Unnaturalness  of  naturalistic  focussing  862, 
934  953 

Untruth,  A photographic,  293 
Uranium  intensifler,  980 

residues,  Treatment  of,  277 

Use  and  abuse  of  hand-cameras,  686 
Utilisations  of  bydroquinone  development,  635 


V 

Value  of  silver  waste,  The,  634 
Vanderweyde,  H.,  Exhibition  of  the  Photo- 
graphic "Society,  834 

Van  Neck,  L.,  Reactions  of  various  developers, 
184 

Vapour  development,  48 

Varley,  F.  II.,  A new  photometer,  512 

, A new  direct  reading  photometer,  713 

, Application  of  the  Ramsden  eye-piecc  to 

photography,  125 

, Iodide  of  nitrogen,  799 

, Obtaining  focus  on  finely-ground  glass 

screens,  78 

, Sending  pictures  and  writing  by  the 

electric  telegraph,  38 
Varnishing,  627 

Varnish  vehicle  in  painting,  402 

Verfss,  Photographs  in  natural  colour;  by, 

360 

Vidal,  Lion,  Orthochromatic photography,  74 

, Photography  in  France,  23,  120,  206,  302, 

52,  538,  590,  628,  902,  962 
Vienna,  Imperial  Institute  at,  665 

, International  photograph  c exhibition  in, 

390 

International  Photographic  Salon,  661 

, Photography  in,  821 

Vocation  of  an  amateur  photographer,  181 
Vogel,  Dr.  II.  W.,  Differences  of  colour-sensi. 
tiveness  at  different  times,  239 

, Photography  in  Germany,  187,  61  J,  734, 

810,  822 

, Schirm’s  flash-light  gallery,  123 


W 

Walker,  W.  II.,  The  new  Tollable  celluloid  film, 
103 

Wallace,  E.,  Fixing  photographs,  654 
, Lantern  slide  making  with  the  camera, 

943 

, Photography  and  business,  788 

, Printing  operations,  593 

, Stops  or  diaphragms,  577 

Want-d,  a word,  870 
Waste,  The  value  of  silver,  634 
Warm  glass  studios  for  the  winter,  837 
Warming  solutions,  165 

Warnerke,  L.,  Weights  and  measures  at  the  j 
Photographic  Convention,  543 
Warning,  A,  795 

Warwickshire,  Photographic  survey  of,  12,  30 
43,  173,  422 

Washing  apparatus  for  emulsions,  291 

prints,  616 

the  faces  of  sitters,  695 

Washington  Convention,  An  amateur  at  the 
last,  791 

Waste  products,  Photographic,  128 


Water  for  photographic  purposes,  128 
Waterhouse,  Col.  J.,  Celluloid  as  a drawing  and 
printing  material,  379 

, Guaiacol  as  a developer  for  dry  plates, 

431 

, Indian  notes,  517,  567,  803 

, Reversal  of  the  negative  image  by  thio- 

carbamides,  727,  743,  765 
Water  jets,  Iustantaneous  photographs  of,  719 

lichtdruck  process,  187 

Watkins,  A.,  Exposure  meter,  874 

, The  mathematical  calculation  of  exposures 

319 

Wax  finish,  A,  991 

Weather  forecasts,  About,  546 

Webster,  Sir  R.,  The  progress  of  photography, 

925 

Wedgwood’s  experiments  on  light,  Thomas, 
167 

Weights  and  measures  in  photography,  738 
and  formula)  used  in  photography,  523, 

543,  562,  585 

Werge,  J.,  The  late  Mr.  Baynham  Jones,  526 
West  London  Photographic  Society,  Exhibition 
of  the,  49 

Wet  orthochromatic  process,  The,  752 
What  photography  will  not  do,  246 
Wheeler,  W.  H„  Eve-pieces  for  focussing, 

873 

, Long-focus  lenses  for  portraiture,  892 

, Perspective  in  photography,  526 

, Unnaturalness  of  naturalistic  focussing, 

953 

White  light,  Non-actinic,  561 
Wide-angle  lenses,  Short-focus  and,  692 
Wiedersen,  J.,  Photographing  the  baby,  45 
Wife’s  view  of  amateur  photography.  A,  130 
Wilcock,  J.,  Another  photographic  survey, 
219 

Wild  bear,  Photographing  a,  981 

beast  photography,  359,  849,  865 

Williams,  D„  An  exhibition  of  photo-mechani- 
cal work,  812 

Wilson,  F.  II.,  Photographic  groups,  278 

, The  best  photographer,  64 

Winter  pictures  from  the  Ilartz  Mountains, 

27 

scenes,  Photographing,  6 

, Warm  glass  studios  for  the,  837 

Wire  screen  background,  A,  898 
Women,  A new  profession  for,  848 
Wood  engraving,  Photography  and.  287,  601 
Writing  ink  printing  process,  A,  263 


Y 

Year-Book,  The  Photographic  News,  844 
Year,  The  photographic,  14 

1890,  The,  997 

Yellow  fog,  188 
stains,  590 


Piper  & Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  Holboni,  Loudou,  E.C. 


I 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 

Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1635>r— January  3,  1890. 

...  V 

\ ^ 

CONTENTS. 


not 

Prospective  and  Retrospective 1 

Photographic  Tourists’  Baggage  2 

Intensifying  Collodion  Negatives  with  llydrokinone.  By  Dr. 


J.M.Eder  3 

Ornamental  Printing  in  Photography 3 

Lewis  Morris  Rutherfurd 4 

A Feat  in  Photography 3 

Photographing  Winter  Scenes  G 

The  Harvard  College  Telescope G 

Pictures  sent  by  Lightning 7 

Notes  3 


PAGE 


Oscar  Gustav  Rejlandcr.  By  H.  P.  Robinson 9 

Notices  of  Books 10 

The  Progress  of  Quinol  Development.  By  Alfred 

Maskell  11 

Photographic  Survey  of  Warwickshire.  By  W.  Jerome 

Harrison,  F.G.S 12 

Patent  Intelligence 13 

Correspondence.— Photographers’  Benevolent  Association — 

Reproduction  and  Copyright  14 

Proceedings  of  Societies  IS 

Answers  to  Correspondents 16 


PROSPECTIVE  AND  RETROSPECTIVE. 

Thf.  Jubilee  Year  of  Photography  just  closed  has  fur- 
nished occasion  for  taking  note  of  the  progress  of  our 
Art-Science  in  its  many  phases  and  applications ; the 
Congresses  of  London,  Paris,  and  Berlin  have  each 
dealt  with  it  in  turn,  and  yet  the  subject  is  far  from 
being  exhausted.  The  reports  show  steady  advances 
all  round,  with  vastly  increased  number  of  votaries 
and  new  resources  in  the  way  of  materials  and  appa- 
ratus. The  practice  of  photography  has  now  become 
so  much  simplified,  that  hosts  of  recruits  have  been 
attracted  to  us,  many  of  whom  may  eventually  be 
induced  to  pursue  their  studies  in  a more  scientific  or 
artistic  spirit  than  that  which  served  as  the  first  motive 
in  taking  up  the  camera.  Scarcely  any  public  event 
now  escapes  being  recorded,  and  where  no  camera  is 
seen,  it  is  not  safe  to  assume  that  the  photographer  is 
not  secretly  working  amongst  us.  Cumbrous  appa- 
ratus is  all  but  banished  in  favour  of  smaller  appli- 
ances for  producing  negatives  of  the  required  delicacy, 
which  can  a'terwards  be  enlarged.  Weighty  glass  is 
giving  way  to  light  celluloid  films,  and  bulky  carriers 
to  roller-slides,  so  that  pedestrians  and  cyclists  no 
longer  hesitate  to  carry  the  needful  outfit  amongst 
their  impedimenta,  and  they  find  dark-room  accommo- 
dation provided  for  them  at  many  points  along  their 
route. 

To  keep  pace  with  the  growing  demands — commer- 
cial and  otherwise — the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce 
has  added  a photographic  section,  which  may  be  ex- 
pected to  deal  with  questions  of  piracy  and  commercial 
immorality,  standards  of  weights  and  measures,  and, 
what  is  equally  important,  provide  the  machinery  for 
referring  to  arbitration  all  sorts  of  matters  in  dispute. 
It  may  eventually  undertake  the  testing  of  lenses  and 
chemical  products,  stamping  them  as  with  a hall  mark 
when  approved. 

The  notable  increase  in  the  number  of  amateur 
clubs  and  local  societies,  with  discussions  and  proceed- 
ings calling  for  review  or  report,  made  it  imperative  to 
increase  the  size  of  the  News,  and  in  the  month  of 
October  it  was  expanded  from  sixteen  to  twenty  pages. 
Advantage  was  taken  of  this  change  to  introduce  new 
paper  and  type,  more  attention  being  paid  also  to  the 


quality  of  the  pictorial  illustrations.  In  this  manner 
it  is  hoped  to  combine  the  very  desirable  features  of 
prompt  report  and  technical  excellence.  Attention  has 
likewise  been  given  to  the  column  headed  “ Answers 
to  Correspondents,”  which,  for  the  first  time,  has  been 
placed  under  separate  management.  The  new  arrange- 
ment has  been  of  great  service  to  subscribers  in  the 
country  and  abroad,  who  have  freely  availed  themselves 
of  the  facilities  offered  for  pushing  their  enquiries  at 
head-quarters.  An  outcome  of  such  intercommunica- 
tion is  the  discovery  that  a wide-spread  desire  exists 
for  practical  instruction  in  the  photo-mechanical  pro- 
cesses, and  suggests  that  the  time  has  arrived  when 
classes  for  the  practice  of  Collotype,  Woodburytvpe,  &c., 
might  very  well  be  formed  in  one  or  more  of  our 
technical  institutes. 

As  with  the  camera  at  public  festivals,  so  the  lantern 
display  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  indispensable  for 
lecture  illustration.  The  tourist,  naturalist,  and  his- 
torian alike  resort  to  it  as  a ready  means  of  enlivening 
a narrative  or  illustrating  a point  in  science.  The 
painted  slides  have  given  way  to  photo-transparencies, 
for  which  an  endless  numberof  requisites  have  been  put 
upon  the  market.  Scenes  on  land  and  sea,  the  starry 
heavens  and  nebultc,  gigantic  explosions,  street  scenes, 
objects  in  motion,  and  the  movements  of  animals,  are 
all  made  to  tell  their  tale  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  rapid  plates  now  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  photographer,  and  if  he  is  not  satisfied 
with  the  old  developers,  there  are  two  new  ones  at 
least — pyrocatechin  and  eikonogen — with  which  he 
may  feel  inclined  to  experiment.  Orthochromatic 
photography  has  been  made  the  subject  of  further 
study  by  Mr.  Andrew  Pringle  and  Mr.  C.  H. 
Bothamley  ; new  methods  of  platinum  toning 
by  Mr.  Valentine  Blanchard  and  Mr.  Lyonel 
Clark  ; the  acid  fixing  bath  has  been  again  revised, 
and  flash  lighting  for  home  portraits  has  scored 
a success  during  the  past  year;  whilst  theoretical 
photography  and  measurement  of  density  in 
negatives  have  received  a fair  share  of  attention  from 
Professors  Carey  Lea,  R.  Meldola,  W.  R.  Hodgkinson, 
and  Capt.  Abney  ; but  whether  the  photo-chloride  or 
oxy-chloride  theory,  or  neither,  is  to  be  adopted,  stands 
over  for  decision  to  another  year. 


2 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  3,  1890 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  TOURISTS’  BAGGAGE. 

In  the  Photographic  News  Year-Book  for  1890  is  nn 
article  by  Mr.  Fleetwood  Pritchard,  which  gives  u-iful 
practical  information  to  the  photographic  tourist  proper; 
that  is  to  say,  to  the  traveller  who  does  not  confine  his 
expeditions  to  well-trodden  routes,  but  who,  indepen- 
dently of  railways  and  other  conveyances,  carries  all 
his  luggage  knapsack-fashion  on  his  back.  Such  is  the 
best  method  of  travelling  both  for  health  and  for  in- 
formation ; the  photographer  is  then  free  to  <juit  the 
main  routes  frequented  by  the  English  ; he  can  traverse 
footpaths  and  put  up  at  wayside  inns  wherein  a 
foreigner  is  rarely  seen ; he  can  talk  with  the  villagers 
in  their  mountain  homes,  can  enter  into  their  joys  and 
their  sorrows,  and  sec  the  people  as  they  actually  are. 
The  photographer  who  is  “put  through  ” by  tourists’ 
agencies,  or  who  independently  traverses  the  ordinary 
routes,  finds  English  spoken  at  all  the  large  hotels,  and 
everything  about  him  made  as  English  as  possible,  sc 
that  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  some  kinds  of  informa- 
tion he  might  as  well  have  remained  at  home. 

Supplementary  to  the  suggestions  of  Mr.  Pritchard, 
it  is  our  object  to  point  out  additional  precautions 
which  should  be  taken  in  advance  by  the  photographic 
tourist  proper.  One  of  these  is  that  he  should  have  a 
written  list  of  all  the  articles  he  may  require  in  his 
travels,  keep  this  list  permanently  attached  to  the 
inside  of  his  knapsack,  and  make  additions  to  the 
written  items  as  experience  may  dictate.  In  places 
where  there  are  no  shops  within  several  miles,  and 
where  the  few  shops  then  to  be  found  contain  only 
articles  of  immediate  necessity,  such  as  those  of  food 
and  clothing,  the  omission  of  trifling  things  obtainable 
at  once  in  towns  will  sometimes  be  the  cause  of  con- 
siderable annoyance.  For  instance,  if  he  should  desire 
to  develop  a few  plates  when  away  from  home,  to  make 
sure  on  the  spot,  ere  it  is  too  late,  that  he  has  obtained 
some  of  the  more  important  photographic  records  of  his 
travels,  he  requires  a few  two  or  three-ounce  bottles 
for  his  solutions,  especially  those  solutions  which  are 
most  liable  to  oxidation  in  the  air.  In  the  wayside 
inn  or  the  mountain  cottage  he  may  find  nothing  but 
wine-bottles,  which  are  scarcely  good  for  the  purpose, 
and  the  kindly  hostess  may  empty  her  little  bottle  of 
eau  de  Cologne  o one  of  those  vast  receptacles  to 
oblige  the  stranger.  A cork  or  two  may  be  wanted ; 
a wine-cork  has  to  be  cut  down,  and  in  a small  bottle 
may  more  or  less  freely  permit  the  passage  of  both  air 
and  liquids.  The  said  photographic  tourist  never  fora 
moment  thought  of  putting  a few  gummed  labels  in  his 
baggage,  and  having  mixed  his  solutions,  finds  gum  to 
be  practically  an  article  never  seen  in  his  temporary 
domicile ; but  after  an  hour’s  delay,  when  he  cannot 
conveniently  spare  any  time,  some  freshly-manufactured 
flour  paste  is  obtainable.  More  serious  is  the  omission 
of  filtering  paper  of  any  description.  He  should  never 
take  out  new  apparatus  if  he  can  help  it,  however 
expensively  it  may  have  been  made ; the  apparatus 
should  always  be  well  tested  by  experimental  work  for 
a week  or  two  before  he  starts.  The  means  for  making 


small  improvements  or  corrections  are  frequently  not 
present  in  districts  remote  from  towns.  In  fact,  pre- 
paration for  travel  with  light  photographic  baggage  in 
regions  far  from  the  larger  centres  of  human  industry 
requires  a considerable  amount  of  care  and  forethought, 
which  can  be  appreciated  only  by  those  who  have  had 
the  experience. 

One  of  the  best  things  ever  suggested  in  relation  to 
tourists’  baggage  originated  with  Mr.  William  England, 
who,  in  the  days  of  old,  advocated  the  use  of  basket 
portmanteaus  in  place  of  ordinary  portmanteaus  ; the 
former  are  very  light,  and  give  great  protec- 
tion to  any  glass  articles  they  may  contain.  Captain 
Abney  tried  and  publicly  endorsed  the  merits 
of  this  plan,  so  also  did  Mr.  Fleetwood  Pritchard. 
Such  portmanteaus  should  be  lined  with  thin  india- 
rubber  doth  ; they  may  be  either  specially  made  to 
hold  apparatus  in  compartments,  or  the  elegant  French 
palm-baskets,  resembling  portmanteaus  in  form,  may 
be  bought  ready-made  at  moderate  prices  in  certain 
shops  near  Covent  Garden.  Our  own  workmen  arc  not 
competent  to  manufacture  them,  so  they  have  to  be 
imported.  With  properly-constructed  focussing  glasses, 
focussing  cloths  will  iu  time  become  unnecessary  for 
small  cameras,  and  die  best  cloth  for  the  purpose,  as 
originally  published  by  Captain  Abney,  is  common 
mackintosh;  it  is  absolutely  opaque  and  very  light; 
moreover,  it  will  always  be  useful  as  a protection  for 
the  table  in  the  hotel  bedroom  when  photographic 
operations  are  carried  on  thireupon.  A wipe  after- 
wards with  a sponge  or  duster  cleans  the  cloth.  In 
studios,  Italian  cloth  is  excellent  for  focussing  purposes, 
but  it  is  altogether  too  heavy  and  bulky  for  tourists’ 
baggage.  In  hot  sandy  places,  where  dust  penetrates 
everywhere,  Captain  Abney’s  plan  of  rubbing  a part 
of  the  interior  framework  of  each  slide  with  glycerine 
is  good.  One  writer  complained  that  it  was  bad  because 
the  glycerine  found  its  way  on  to  his  plates;  probably 
he  applied  too  much  glycerine,  and  had  common  slides  ; 
the  place  for  the  glycerine  is  iu  the  grooved  portion, 
where  there  is  countci  sinking. 

The  perfecting  of  tourists’  baggage  is  a subject  which 
will  demand  closerpublic  attention  than  it  has  hitherto 
received,  for  the  requirements  of  not  a few  photo- 
graphers bear  relation  thereto. 

A “ Brilliant  Negative.” — Many  will  perhaps  say  that  it  is 
better  known  than  described  ; but,  if  a description  had  to  be 
given,  it  would  mean  a plate  in  which  the  silver  deposit 
ranged  from  opacity  to  clear  glass,  with  a wide  range  of  tone 
between.  In  many  cases  the  description  would  be  correct, 
and,  if  the  colour  of  the  negative  were  of  the  blackish  or 
bluish  grey  obtained  by  the  use  of  sulphite  of  soda  or  fer- 
rous-oxalate, the  resulting  print  would,  no  doubt,  be  a bril- 
liant picture.  But  tinge  the  film  yellow  or  orange,  and  the 
“brilliant  negative”  will  give  only  hard,  “soot  and  white- 
wash ” prints.  This  was  the  rock  on  which  the  old  collodion 
workers  split ; they  found  that  with  gelatine  plates  and  pyro- 
ammonia  development,  what  they  had  learned  to  regard  as 
brilliant  only  produced  irredeemable  hardness.  I should, 
therefore,  be  inclined  to  define  a “ brilliant  negative  ” as  one 
that  gives  a brilliant  print,  that  is,  a picture  with  a minute 
quantity  of  pure  black  and  white,  and  a wide  gradation  of  tone 
between. — Journal  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  India, 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


S 


January  .‘5,  1890.] 


INTENSIFYING  COLLODION  NEGATIVES 
WITH  HYDRO K I N ON E . 


BY  1)B.  J.  M.  EDER. 

For  the  purposes  of  photographic  reproduction  the 
collodion  process  is  still  of  the  greatest  value.  For 
photo-lithography,  zincotype,  lichtdruck,  &c.,  collodion 
plates  are  better  adapted  than  gelatine  emulsion, 
because  they  more  readily  reproduce  faint  lines  with 
clearness. 

In  the  reproduction  of  line  subjects,  intensifying  is 
generally  effected  by  means  of  iodide  of  mercury, 
followed  by  blackening  with  sulphide  of  ammonium. 
We  thereby  obtain  a very  dense  opaque  deposit.  For 
more  delicate  negatives,  of  half-tone  subjects  particu- 
larly, the  well-known  mixture  of  pyrogallic  acid, 
nitrate  of  silver,  and  citric  acid,  has  been  hitherto 
employed.  Captain  Hiibl,  of  the  Imperial  Military- 
Geographical  Institute  in  Vienna,  has  introduced  with 
success  a process  of  intensifying  with  hydrokinone, 
nitrate  of  silver,  and  acid,  resembling  in  action  the  old 
pyrogallic  method,  but  safer  to  work. 

With  an  unfixed  wet  collodion  plate,  this  intensifier 
not  only  effects  a harmonious  strengthening  of  the 
picture,  but  it  acts  also  by  continuing  the  action  of  the 
developer  which  has  preceded  it,  in  bringing  out 
details.  Applied  after  fixation,  it  intensifies  without 
injury  to  the  clear  shadows. 

The  action  of  this  intensifier  is,  however,  not  like 
that  of  mercury  solution,  which  acts  only  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  of  reduced  silver  present,  but  a larger 
proportion  is  deposited  upon  the  high  lights,  thus 
assisting  in  the  production  of  brilliancy. 

Captain  Hiibl  mixes  his  re-developer  according  to 
the  following  formula  : — 10  grammes  of  hydrokinone  are 
dissolved  in  1,000  grammes  of  water,  and  so  much  acid 
is  added  that  when  the  solution  is  mixed  with  one- 
third  of  its  volume  of  a three  per  cent,  nitrate  of  silver 
solution,  it  remains  clear  for  the  space  of  five  minutes. 
The  addition  of  a few  drops  of  sulphuric  acid  or  of  five 
grammes  of  citric  acid  fulfils  this  condition.  Tnis 
intensifier  is  more  dedicate  in  its  action  than  that  Com- 
posed of  iron  and  silver,  and  has  the  great  advantage 
over  pyrogallic  acid,  that  fixed  negatives  may  be 
treated  in  full  daylight,  and  the  action  renewed  without 
danger  as  many  times  as  may  be  desired. 

At  the  Imperial  School  and  Institute  for  research  in 
photography  and  reproduction  processes  in  Vienna 
also,  Hiibl’s  hydrokinone  developer  intensifier  for  wet 
collodioa  plates  is  worked  with  the  best  results,  and  is 
highly  recommended  by  the  staff. 

In  accordance  with  the  foregoing  formula,  solutions 
were  made  of 


A.  — Hydrokinone 

Water 
Citric  acid 

B. — Nitrate  of  silvei 

Water 


10  parts 
1,000  „ 

6 „ 

1 part 
30  parts  ■ 


Before  use,  3 volumes  of  A (hydrokinone  solution) 
are  mixed  with  1 volume  of  B (silver  solution). 

For  a somewhat  under-exposed  negative,  the  plate 


is  intensified  with  the  accustomed  sulphate  of  iron 
solution  before  fixing;  by  this  means  detail  is  got  out. 
A properly  exposed  and  fully  developed  negative,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  intensified  after  fixing. 

Negatives  intensified  with  hydrokinone  become  so 
dense,  that  they  suffice  perfectly  for  all  kinds  of  repro- 
duction processes,  photo-lithography,  &c.  If,  how- 
ever, complete  opacity  is  desired,  the  plate  intensified 
with  hydrokinone  is  afterwards  treated  with  iodide  of 
mercury  and  sulphide  of  ammonium.  We  recommend 
all  photographers  who  still  work  the  wet  collodion 
process  to  give  the  hydrokinone  intensifier  a trial. 

ORNAMENTAL  PRINTING  IN  PHOTOGRAPHY. 
Mich  use  can  often  be  made  of  fine  ornamental  engravings 
found  on  ball  orders  and  menu  covers,  also  of  scenery  engra- 
vings, paintings,  embossed,  painted,  or  otherwise  decorated 
plaques,  in  ornamental  printing. 

First,  select  your  engraving,  an  assortment  of  which  can 
generally  be  found  in  art  stores  or  stationery  supply  houses. 
An  engraving  with  a bust  or  view  in  a circle,  or  some  other 
shape,  gives  most  satisfactory  results.  If  you  wish  to  mount 
the  print  on  regular  size  mounts,  you  will  have  to  take  the  pro- 
portions into  consideration,  but  as  that  would  make  selection 
difficult,  the  best  plan  would  be  to  cut  the  mount  to  suit  the 
print  ; the  edges  could  be  bevelled,  and  the  whole  mounted  on 
a larger  size  gilt  edge  mount. 

When  the  engraving  is  selected,  place  it  in  a good  light, 
square  to  the  camera,  make  a negative,  and  take  a proof.  With 
a thin-bladed  and  very  sharp  knife,  cut  out  the  circle  or  opening 
in  the  proof,  being  careful  to  make  a single  clean  edge  cut. 
Stick  the  centre  cut-out  exact)}'  in  the  opening  on  the  negative, 
and  adjust  the  outside  on  the  portrait  negative  you  wish  to 
print  from.  Take  off  a good  print  from  the  ornamental  nega- 
tive, which  will  now  be  blank  inside  the  circle,  in  which  space 
the  portrait  or  view  is  to  be  printed.  By  holding  the  negative 
to  the  light,  the  print  can  be  adjusted  by  looking  through  ; the 
printed  border  will  lie  protected  by  the  cut-out  around  the 
portrait. 

It  is  desirable  to  find  a larger  engraving  than  the  finished 
work  is  to  be,  as  reducing  adds  to  its  fineness. 

If  an  engraving  with  a circle  cannot  be  readily  obtained,  a 
landscape  can  be  used,  and  a white  card  cut  to  any  desired 
shape,  with  edges  bevelled  or  otherwise  ornamented,  and  artfully 
placed  on.  It  adds  to  the  effect  if  the  corner  be  curled  upward 
a trifle.  This  gives  the  form  to  cut  out  by. 

Portraits  can  be  v ig  netted  in,  in  place  of  using  forms,  by  aid 
of  “dodgers.”  A good  dodger  can  be  made  by  cutting  a card 
to  the  desired  shape,  and  pasting  on  layers  of  white  tissue 
paper,  each  layer  a trifle  larger  than  thci-one  before.  This 
grades  off  the  light,  and  very  little  move#  - ' will  be  necessary. 
Tie  a thread  to  it,  and  let  it  hang  in  contact  with  the  negative 
over  the  spot  you  wish  to  keep  blank,  moving  it  slightly  while 
printing.  Then,  to  protect  the  border  while  the  portrait  is 
printing,  make  a dodger  by  cutting  a hole  through  a card,  and 
trimming  the  opening  with  tissue,  to  be  used  in  the  same  way. 

If  a circle,  oval,  or  arcli-top  form  be  used,  the  form  c.in  be 
embossed  after  the  print  is  mounted  and  burnished.  Many 
photographers  already  have  one  of  the  old  embossing  presses, 
and  a new  iron  pattern  to  fit  the  form  could  easily  be  obtained. 

An  ingenious  printer  will  see  many  ways  in  which  to  use  the 
above  for  decorating  showcases,  reception  rooms,  for  holiday 
trade,  for  use  on  silk  handkerchiefs,  hat  crowns,  &e.  If  you 
are  looking  for  something  new,  perhaps  this  will  assist  you,  as 
it  has  never  been  used  by  the  profession  at  large. — Boston 
Photographic  Review. 

Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  discussion  on 
Wednesday,  January  8th,  will  be  “The  Best  Way  of  Storing 
Negatives”;  and  on  January  15th,  “Intensifying  and  Re- 
ducing Negatives,” 


\ 


THE  PHOTOGRAPH TC  NEWS. 


|_ January  3,  181*0. 


LEWIS  MORRIS  RUTHERFURD. 

The  Scientific  American  of  December  14  gives  a portrait  of  this 
scientist,  together  with  an  interesting  account  of  his  career. 
Mr.  Rutherfurd,  it  appeal's,  was  born  in  New  lork  in  1816, 
and  comes  of  distinguished  lineage,  his  grandfather  being  John 
Rutherfurd,  twice  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate.  Senator 
Rutherfuid’s  father  entered  the  British  Army  at  the  age  of 
seventeen,  and  after  taking  part  in  the  Canadian  campaign, 
resigned  his  commission,  married  a daughter  of  James  Alex- 
ander—thus  making  him  a brother-in-law  of  Lord  Stirling — 
and  became  a citizen  of  New  York. 

His  grandson  (Lewis  Morris  Rutherfurd)  selected  law  as  the 
profession  which  lie  proposed  to  follow,  and  studied  under 
Governor  William  H.  Seward  (afterwards  Secretary  of  State  in 
President  Lincoln’s  cabinet)  in  Auburn  for  two  years,  and  then 
in  New  York  City  with  George  Wood,  who  was  at  that  time 
one  of  the  foremost  lawyers  in  the  country. 

In  1837  Mr.  Rutherfurd  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  New 
York  State  Courts,  and  entered  into  partnership  with  Peter 
Augustus  Jay,  the  son  of  the  Chief  Justice  who  administered 
the  oath  to  President  Washington  in  1789,  with  whom  he  con- 
tinued until  Mr.  Jay’s  death,  in  1842,  and  then  he  became 
associated  with  Hamilton  Fish,  who  was  afterwards  Secretary 
of  State  in  President  Grant’s  cabinet.  Mr.  Rutherfurd  con- 
tinued in  active  practice  until  1849,  when  lie  went  to  Europe. 
On  his  return  he  did  not  resume  his  profession,  but  thereafter 
devoted  his  leisure  to  studies  in  astronomy  and  optics.  He 
erected  an  observatory  in  the  garden  of  his  residence,  and 
there  did  his  principal  scientific  work. 

One  of  his  earliest  contributions  was  concerning  the  “ Com- 
panion of  Sirius,”  whose  discovery  had  just  been  announced  by 
Alvan  G.  Clark,  the  well-known  maker  of  telescope  lenses. 

In  1861  he  began  a series  of  experiments  with  the  view  of 
determining  the  best  form  of  instrument  for  the  purpose  of 
continuing  Fraunhofer’s  observations  upon  the  spectra  of  the 
heavenly  bodies.  He  adapted  Bunsen’s  and  Kirchhoff’s  simple 
form  of  spectroscope,  consisting  of  a condensing  telescope  with 
adjustable  slit,  a scale  telescope  with  photographed  scale  of 
equal  parts  showing  bright  lines  upon  a dark  ground,  a flint 
glass  prism  of  60°,  and  an  observing  telescope  with  Huygenian 
eyepiece,  magnifying  about  five  times,  the  whole  firmly  but 
lightly  mounted  on  seasoned  wood,  and  provided  with  an  adapt- 
ing tube  in  front  of  the  slit,  by  means  of  which  the  spectro- 
scope is  attached  to  the  eve-tube  of  the  equilateral.  A year 
later  he  published  his  results  in  a paper,  giving  the  fixed  lines 
exhibited  by  the  moon  ; also  the  lines  and  bands  of  Jupiter 
and  Mars,  with  maps  of  the  spectra  of  seventeen  of  the  fixed 
stars,  and  including  a full  description  of  the  instruments  that 
he  used. 

This  was  the  first  work  to  be  published  after  the  great  reve- 
lations of  Bunsen  and  Kirclilioff,  and  was  the  first  attempt  to 
classify  the  stars  according  to  their  spectra.  While  Mr.  Ruther- 
furd was  engaged  in  making  these  researches  on  the  spectra  of 
the  stars,  he  discovered  the  use  of  the  star  spectroscope,  by 
means  of  which  it  is  possible  to  show  the  exact  state  of  achro- 
matic correction  in  an  object  glass,  and  is  particularly  adapted 
for  the  rays  that  are  used  in  photography. 

In  1864,  after  many  experiments  in  various  directions,  but 
all  undertaken  for  the  same  purpose,  he  succeeded  in  devising 
and  constructing  an  objective  of  11  j inches  aperture  and  about 
15  feet  focal  length,  corrected  for  photography  alone.  It  was 
constantly  used  by  him  in  making  negatives  of  the  sun,  moon, 
and  star  groups. 

At  the  January  meeting  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  in  1864,  he  presented  a paper  “ On  Photographs  of 
the  Solar  Spectrum,”  accompanied  by  a picture  that  he  had 
taken  by  means  of  bisulphide  of  carbon  prisms.  It  contained 
more  than  three  times  the  number  of  lines  that  had  been  laid 
down  within  similar  limits  on  the  charts  by  Bunsen  and 
Kirchhoff. 

He  also  was  the  first  to  show  the  double  character  of  the  D 
sodium  lines  in  the  spectrum,  finding  that  it  “ is  resolved  into 
fourteen  fine  and  close  lines,  with  a beautiful  and  symmetrical 
band  of  finely  doubled  lines  stretching  towards  A.” 

About  the  same  time  he  published  criticisms  on  different 


j forms  of  spectroscopes  that  had  been  used  by  Secclii,  Airy,  and 
! Donati,  and  in  1865  produced  an  automatic  form  of  a six-prism 
spectroscope,  which  still  continues  the  best  in  use. 

In  1868  he  built  a new  objective,  with  13  inches  aperture 
and  about  15  feet  focal  length.  This  glass  was  an  ordinary 
achromatic,  such  as  is  used  for  vision,  and  was  converted  into  a 
photographic  objective  by  the  addition  of  a third  lens  of  flint 
glass,  which  made  the  proper  correction,  and  could  be  affixed 
in  a few  minutes.  With  this  instrument  Mr.  Rutherfurd  made 
several  photographs  of  the  moon  that  are  of  remarkable  beauty, 
and  have  never  been  surpassed  in  delicacy  or  exactness.  One 
taken  on  February  27th,  1871,  is  stated  by  M arren  de  la  Rue 
to  be  the  finest  in  existence. 

He  constructed  a micrometer  for  the  measurement  of  astro- 
nomical photographs  for  use  uixm  pictures  of  solar  eclipses 
or  transits  and  upon  groups  of  stars,  of  which  he  has  mea- 
sured several  hundred,  showing,  as  it  is  claimed  by  him,  that 
the  photographic  method  is  at  least  equal  in  accuracy  to  that 
of  the  heliometer  or  filar-micrometer,  and  far  more  conve- 
nient. 

In  1870  he  constructed  a small  ruling  engine,  which  pro- 
duced inference  gratings  on  glass  and  speculum  metal  that 
were  superior  to  all  others  until  the  recent  productions  of 
Professor  Henry  A.  Rowland,  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity. With  one  of  these  gratings  he  obtained  a photograph  of 
the  solar  spectrum  that  for  a long  time  was  unsurpassed. 

In  1883  failing  health  led  to  the  discontinuance  of  his 
scientific  work,  and  in  December  of  this  year  he  presented  his 
astronomical  instruments  to  the  observatory  of  Columbia  Col- 
lege, where  they  are  mounted. 

Besides  membership  in  various  other  scientific  bodies,  Mr. 
Rutherfurd  is  an  associate  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society 
of  Great  Britain,  and  his  work  has  been  recognized  by  the  gift 
of  various  diplomas,  orders,  and  medals,  both  at  home  and 
abroad. 

The  Eye  and  the  Camera. — The  eye  requires  at  least  a 
tenth  of  a second  to  close,  so  that  all  separate  motions  which 
are  quicker  than  that  appear  blurred  to  one  looking  at  them. 
It  can  easily  be  understood,  therefore,  how  a photograph  ob- 
tained of  a moving  object  by  an  exposure  of  one-hundredth,  or 
even,  as  sometimes  is  done,  by  one-thousandth  part  of  a second, 
while  accurately  reproducing  the  exact  position  of  the  object 
at  the  time  of  photographing,  is  not  a representation  of  the 
subject  as  it  appears  to  the  human  eye.  It  does  not  convey 
the  idea  of  motion  even,  but  rather  of  “petrified  motion,”  as 
some  one  has  said,  and  seems  grotesque  and  unnatural.  Such 
photographs,  however,  give  investigators  an  opportunity,  which 
they  otherwise  could  not  have,  of  studying  separate  motions, 
and  are  often  of  the  greatest  value. — IF.  I.  Lincoln  Adams. 

Purification  of  Litmus. — Dr.  Otto  Foerster,  says  the 
American  Druggist,  prepares  the  pure  colouring  matter  of 
litmus  in  the  following  manner  : — Commercial  litmus  of  best 
quality  is  first  extracted  by  ordinary  alcohol  in  the  cold,  then 
digested  with  water,  the  solution  filtered  and  evaporated. 
This  is  a combination  of  the  processes  proposed  by  Wartha 
and  Mohr.  The  residue  is  again  dissolved  in  water,  the  solu- 
tion filtered,  ami  the  filtrate  precipitated  with  absolute 
alcohol  mixed  with  a little  glacial  acetic  acid.  The  precipitate 
is  collected  upon  a filter  and  washed  with  alcohol.  This 
causes  a violet,  fluorescent  colouring  matter  to  remain  in  solu- 
tion. The  remaining  residue  is  once  more  dissolved  in  water, 
and  the  precipitation,  filtration,  and  washing  repeated.  At  this 
stage  a red  colouring  matter,  which  has  a violet  tint  in  an 
alkaline  liquid,  remains  in  solution.  After  once  again  repeat- 
ing this  process,  only  a small  amount  of  the  last-named 
colouring  matter  remains  in  solution  The  precipitate  upon 
the  filter  is  then  dried,  being  repeatedly  moistened  during  the 
drying  with  alcohol,  for  the  purpose  of  expelling  the  acetic 
acid.  The  precipitate  is  then  again  dissolved  in  water,  and  the 
solution  filtered.  Finally,  the  colouring  matter  is  precipitated 
with  alcohol  rendered  faintly  alkaline  with  ammonia,  then 
collected  upon  a filter,  washed  with  pure  alcohol,  and  dried. — 
After  Zeitsch.  f.  anal.  Chem.,  1889,  428. 


January  o,  lBOO.-] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


o 


A FEAT  IN  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

Trotting  horses,  leaping  acrobats,  running  hounds,  even 
a locomotive  at  full  speed,  have  proved  comparatively 
easy  subjects  for  instantaneous  photography,  but  certain 
other  moving  objects  have  severely  tested  the  skill  of  the 
photographer  as  well  as  the  capacity  of  the  apparatus  em- 
ployed. 

Perhaps  the  most  difficult  feat  yet  attempted  in  the  line 
of  photograpy  is  that  of  catching  an  impression  of  a bullet 
or  a cannon  ball  as  it  flies  across  the  field  of  the  camera. 
This  has  been  accomplished  with  varying  degrees  of  suc- 
cess, but  most  of  the  specimens  of  this  class  of  work 
hitherto  produced  have  been  at  the  best  mere  streaks,  not 
in  any  way  resembling  the  projectile.  This  failure  to  pro- 
cure a sharp  impression  is  shown  by  the  photograph  itself 
to  be  due  to  lack  of  shutter  speed. 

A recent  invention,  to  which  we  alluded  a short  time 
since  in  an  article  on  “The  Tachyscope,”  has  apparently 
obviated  this  difficulty,  so  that  it  can  no  longer  be  said  to 
be  impossible  to  secure  a recognisable  picture  of  a flying 
projectile. 

Hist  year  Mr.  Ottomar  Anschutz,  of  I.issa,  Prussia, 
tried  some  very  interesting  experiments  at  Gruson,  near 
Magdeburg  in  Germany,  which  demonstrate  the  practica- 
bility of  photographing  a flying  bullet  by  daylight.  Mr. 
Anschutz  constructed  a small  camera  of  great  strength, 
in  which  he  arranged  a shutter  of  his  own  invention, 
which  in  this  case  was  operated  by  an  eight  hundred  pound 
weight.  The  shutter  is  arranged  immediately  in  front  of 
the  sensitive  plate,  and  consists  simply  of  a curtain  having 
a narrow  slit  as  long  as  the  plate,  the  width  of  the 
slit  being  variable.  This  slitted  curtain  passes  over 
the  entire  face  of  the  sensitive  plat^i  exposing  suc- 
cessive portions  thereof  to  the  action  of  the  light.  This 
arrangement  insures  a brief  exposure  of  all  portions  of  the 
image  of  the  moving  figure,  thereby  producing  an  ex- 
tremely sharp  negative.  The  slit  in  the  shutter  during 
this  experiment  was  adjusted  to  a width  of  0 ‘002  of  an 
inch. 

[Figs.  1 and  2 represent  the  relative  sizes  of  the  photo- 
graph and  its  enlargement.] 

± 


• * 

* . . . . * -i.  * * . i*  • 

' .a—  -----  ' - - ~ ' ■_  fe..  ..tv  ---*2.1, 


In  the  field  of  the  camera,  which  covered  a space  of  40 
feet,  Mr.  Anschutz  drew  a canvas  curtain,  and  atevery  13£ 
feet  suspended  a projectile  12  inches  long,  for  comparison 
with  a projectile  of  the  same  kind  to  be  fired  from  a can- 
non. At  a distance  of  200  feet  a wire  netting  was  placed, 
which  was  connected  electrically  with  Anschutz’s  drop 
shutter.  The  projectile  passed  through  the  wire  netting 
at  a velocity  of  1,312  feet  per  second,  and  its  image  was 
caught  on  the  sensitive  plate  after  having  sped  along  the 
canvas  curtain  a distance  of  42  feet.  The  shutter  passed 
over  the  plate  in  the  short  space  of  75-1,000,000  of  a 


second.  The  numbers  marked  on  the  canvas  indicate 
the  distance  in  meters.  The  projectile  shown  below  the 
space  between  the  10th  and  12th  meters  is  one  of  those 
suspended  for  comparison ; the  other  shown  above  the 
13th  meter  is  the  one  photographed  in  its  flight. 

The  photograph  we  reproduce  was  furnished  us  by  the 
United  States  Photograph  Supply  Company,  of  No.  3,  East 
14th  Street,  New  York  City,  who  represent  Mr.  Anschutz 
in  this  country. — Scientific  American. 


Photographing  Interiors. — Mr.  G.  Alpers  says  that  gelatine 
plates  should  be  exposed  proport ionat el y much  longer  than  wet 
collodion  ones.  He  had  made  the  photograph  of  an  interior 
with  the  aid  of  this  last  process,  exposing  for  three  hours,  and 
he  desired  to  reproduce  this  same  interior  on  a gelatine  plate 
which  was  from  ten  to  fifteen  times  more  sensitive.  He  sup- 
posed that  an  exposure  of  thirty  minutes  would  be  sufficient, 
but  in  developing  he  obtained  almost  nothing,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  give  an  exposure  of  five  hours.  The  author  explains 
this  singular  fact  as  follows  : — Bromide  of  silver  is  much  more 
sensitive  than  the  iodide  of  the  same  metal  to  the  intense  rays, 
whilst  it  is  not  more  sensitive  than  iodine  to  the  very  weak 
rajrs.  This  explains  why  the  negatives  of  portraits  on  gelatine 
are  generally  harder  than  those  on  collodion.  To  reproduce  in- 
teriors having  windows  placed  opposite  the  objective,  the  author 
covers  them  with  red  tissue  paper,  which  he  removes  for  a few 
seconds  at  the  end  of  the  exposure. — Invention. 

A Substitute  for  Christmas  Cards. — The  Birmingham 
Weekly  Mercury  recently  offered  a prize  in  a “ Suggestion  Com- 
petition ” for  the  best  idea  for  something  that  would  make  a 
good  substitute  for  Christmas  cards.  In  their  Christmas 
number  of  December  21st,  they  state  that  the  two  best  sug- 
gestions are  ctjual,  and  they  have  therefore  divided  the  prize. 
One  of  the  winners  of  the  divided  prize  suggests  that  Christ- 
mas cards  should  be  coupons  to  entitle  the  recipient  to  a 
chance  in  a prize  etching  or  engraving  lottery.  The  other 
winner  is  Mr.  E.  Smith.  His  suggestion  is  as  follows  : — “ The 
popular  form  of  Christinas  greeting  1 would  suggest  as  an 
equivalent  for  Christmas  cards  would  take  the  form  of  photo- 
graphy. I would  suggest  that  the  large  photographer  of  the 
city,  the  local  photographer  of  the  small  town,  and  the 
amateurs  who  are  now  numbered  by  thousands,  should  carry 
out  next  year  the  following  scheme.  The  pictures  to  be  sent 
to  our  friends  maybe:  (1)  Family  groups  in  interiors  pro- 

duced in  the  evenings  by  the  aid  of  magnesium  light,  and 
printed  by  the  artistic  and  permanent  bromide  process.  The 
family  may  be  engaged  at  dinner,  playing  some  game,  reading, 
writing,  romping,  &c.  (2)  The  provision  of  multiplied  copies 

of  some  object  or  objects  of  interest  in  a town  or  village, 
either  printed  faintly,  or  a part  blocked  out  for  the  printing 
from  another  negative  or  single  figures  or  groups  in  the  fore- 
ground. (3)  The  pourtrayal  by  the  same  means  as  No.  2 of 
a scene  in  which  the  recipients  are  persons  having  some  interest 
in  the  past,  and  in  which  the  recipient  may  be  represented,  if 
necessary,  by  a friend  who  makes  up  for  the  absent  man. 
Unless  the  friend  was  something  of  an  actor  in  the  posing,  he 
had  better  be  kept  well  in  the  background,  or  be  nearly  hidden 
by  the  other  dramatis  personal.  These  would  be  tableaux 
vivantt.  For  them  the  larger  and  wholesale  photographers 
would  have  to  keep  background  negatives,  foreign,  as  well  as 
home  views.  The  merits  of  the  scheme  are  that  a more  per- 
sonal and  interesting  character  can  be  given  to  the  photographs 
than  is  possible  with  the  vague  and  multiplied  Christmas  cards  ; 
that  it  would  foster  an  artistic  and  dramatic  taste,  and  afford 
scope  for  amusement,  ingenuity,  and  humour  in  the  carrying 
out ; that  the  cheaper  ones  would  entail  less  trouble,  as  well 
as  cost,  to  those  not  having  sufficient  leisure  ; that  the  cards, 
conveying  the  next  best  representation  of  their  friends,  and 
their  present  or  past  surroundings,  to  the  presence  of  the 
friends  themselves,  would  be  valued  and  treasured  ; that  they 
would  afford  winter  work  as  well  as  summer  to  the  photo- 
grapher, amateur  as  well  as  professional ; and  that  the  scheme 
would  undoubtedly  further  develop  photography  as  a line  art, 


G 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


PHOTOGRAPHING  WINTER  SCENES. 
Ron.in.v  speaking,  there  are  two  classes  of  winter  pic- 
tures which  the  photographer  meets  with  on  an  outing.  A 
typical  landscape  of  one  class  is  a snow-covered  landscape 
in  which  trees,  shrubs,  buildings — everything — are  com- 
pletely enveloped  in  white.  The  trees  and  bushes  glitter 
with  ice  ; the  fields  sparkle  beneath  the  sun.  There  are 
no  contrasts,  but  only  a mass  of  brightness,  glitter,  and 
glare.  In  order  to  photograph  it  satisfactorily,  we  must 
select  a time  of  day  when  the  sun  is  at  one  side  of  our 
camera  and  a little  behind  it.  This  is  in  the  early  morn- 
ing or  in  the  afternoon,  according  to  the  point  of  view 
which  we  have  chosen  for  our  camera.  When  the  sun  is 
obscured,  the  shadows  are  soft  and  the  snow  is  devoid  of 
reflections.  On  such  days  the  winter  picture  we  have 
selected  can  be  photographed  with  advantage.  The  ex- 
posure should  be  rather  short  on  such  a day,  for  the 
light  is  rather  weak,  and  the  brisk  development  which  is 
required  will  give  a proper  contrast  and  brilliancy  to  the 
negative.  Isolated  bits  of  frost  work,  a glittering  bush 
sparkling  with  ice  jewels,  or  a fence-corner  covered  with 
dazzling  whiteness,  shoul  I be  photographed  in  a similar 
manner.  Such  subjects  arc  very  satisfactory  when  repro- 
duced by  the  camera. 

The  other,  and  perhaps  the  largest  class  of  snow  scenes, 
is  quite  different  from  the  one  we  have  been  considering; 
it  is  therefore  photographed  quite  differently.  In  this 
class  we  have  winter  pictures  of  the  greatest  contrasts: 
dazzling  whites  and  profoundest  blacks  ; a field  covered 
with  glittering  snow,  edged  with  the  darkest  trees.  The 
photographer  must  now  overcome  contrast,  and  give  soft- 
ness to  the  picture.  As  before,  overcast  days  are  chosen, 
and  the  exposures  are  made  in  the  morning  or  afternoon  ; 
but  the  exposure  must  be  ample,  and  the  development 
very  slow.  This  will  aid  in  overcoming  the  brilliant  con- 
trasts in  the  natural  view.  Orthochromatic  or  colour- 
sensitive  plates  may  be  used  with  advantage  in  photo- 
graphing such  scenes.  The  developer  should  be  rather 
weak,  especially  in  beginning  the  process.  It  may  be 
strengthened  as  development  goes  on,  until  the  proper 
density  is  secured  in  the  negative. 

For  developing  negatives  of  the  first  class  spoken  of, 
the  developer  can  be  of  full  strength  in  order  to  bring  out 
all  the  contrasts  there  may  be  in  the  picture,  but  it 
should  be  used  cautiously,  especially  when  first  applied  to 
the  plate.  In  the  development  of  snow  pictures  there  is 
opportunity  for  the  greatest  skill.  A well-selected  and  ex- 
posed plate  may  be  lost  by  careless  or  ignorant  develop- 
ment; while,  on  the  other  hand,  errors  in  exposure  may 
be  to  a great  extent  corrected  by  judicious  developing. 
The  new  developing  agent,  eikonogen,  has  been  used  with 
good  effect  in  this  kind  of  work,  as  it  renders  the  most 
delicate  details  in  the  half-tones  and  shadows. 

fixing,  washing,  and  the  subsequent  processes  are,  of 
course,  the  same  in  this  as  in  other  classes  of  photo- 
graphic work  ; but  in  toning  and  mounting  winter  pic- 
tures there  is  room  for  the  exercise  of  good  taste.  Do 
not  tone  a winter  picture  to  a warm  brown,  ahd  mount 
on  a chocolate  card.  Let  the  toning  be  carried  to  the 
cohl  blacks  and  whites,  and  mount  on  white  or  pearl 
cardboards,  llromide  paper  is  peculiarly  appropriate  for 
winter  negatives,  and  the  platinotype  may  also  be  used 
with  good  effect.  Ferro-prussiate  or  “blue”  paper  is 
especially  suitable  for  printing  many  snow  negatives,  and 
when  slightly  worked  over  with  colours  harmonising  with 


[January  3,  1890. 

the  appropriate  blues  and  whites  of  the  cyanotype,  a de- 
lightful art  feeling  can  often  be  given  a blue  print  of  a 
winter  landscape.  These  additional  touches,  however, 
must  not  be  overdone,  the  merest  retouching  here  and 
there  being  all  that  is  necessary  to  bring  out  a most 
pleasing  result.  They  may  be  mounted  with  good  effect 
on  larger  sheets  of  heavy  paper,  and  f ramed  in  plain  wood, 
narrow  and  light.  Bromides  and  platinotypes  should  be 
similarly  mounted. — Abstracted  from  the  Photographic  Times. 

THE  HARVARD  COLLEGE  TELESCOPE. 

'Fin:  photographic  telescope  presented  to  the  Observatory 
of  Harvard  College  promises  to  be  the  most  perfect  instru- 
ment of  its  kind.  It  will  have  a lens  of  about  twenty-four 
inches  aperture,  and  a focal  length  of  about  eleven  feet. 
It  will  differ  from  other  large  telescopesin  the  construction 
of  its  object-glass,  which  will  be  a compound  lens  of  the 
form  used  by  photographers,  and  known  as  the  portrait 
lens.  The  focal  length  of  such  a lens  is  very  small  com- 
pared with  its  diameter,  and  much  fainter  stars  can  be 
photographed  in  consequence.  The  advantage  is  even 
I greater  in  photographing  nebula1  or  other  faint  surfaces. 
Moreover,  this  fori®  of  lens  will  enable  each  photographic 
plate  to  cover  an  area  several  times  as  great  as  that  which 
is  covered  by  an  instrument  of  the  usual  form.  The  time 
required  to  photograph  the  entire  sky  is  reduced  in  the 
same  proportion.  A telescope  of  the  proposed  form,  hav- 
ing an  aperture  of  eight  inches,  has  been  inconstant  use  in 
Cambridge  for  the  last  four  years,  and  is  now  in  Peru, 
photographing  the  southern  stars.  It  has  proved  useful 
.for  a great  variety  of  researches.  Stars  have  been  photo- 
graphed with  it  too  faint  to  be  visible  in  the  fifteen-inch 
refractor  of  the  observatory.  Its  short  focal  length  ena- 
bles it  to  photograph  as  faint  stars  as  any  which  can  be 
taken  with  an  excellent  photographic  telescope  having  an 
aperture  of  thirteen  inches.  The  eight-inch  telescope  will 
photograph  stars  about  two  magnitudes  fainter  than  can 
be  taken  with  a similar  instrument  having  an  aperture  of 
four  inches.  A corresponding  advantage  is  expected  from 
the  increase  of  the  aperture  to  twenty-four  inches. 

Other  advantages  to  be  anticipated  from  the  use  of  such 
an  instrument  will  arise  from  the  opportunities  which  the 
photographs  will  give  for  continuous  and  detailed  study. 
With  them  work  can  be  done  at  any  place  and  any  time, 
and,  by  multiplying  copies,  by  any  number  of  observers. 
And  with  them  more  could  be  added  by  a single  lens  to 
our  knowledge  of  the  stars  than  could  be  obtained  by  any 
number  of  telescopes  of  the  usual  kind.  Professor  Pick- 
ering is  seeking  the  best  possible  location  at  which  to  mount 
the  instrument.  Owing  to  the  difficulty  in  maintaining 
regular  observations  in  the  Eastern  States  that  arises  from 
the  prevalence  of  cloudiness,  lie  suggests  one  of  the 
mountains  of  southern  California  as  likely  to  offer  the  most 
favourable  climatic  conditions  attainable. 

The  Christmas  number  of  the  Photojraphic  Times  is  both 
poetic  and  artistic.  It  contains  no  less  than  five  poems,  and 
four  illustrations  exolusive  of  the  ordinary  illustrative  cuts. 
The  illustrations  include  “ Chris  turns  tide  in  Shakespeare’s 
Country,”  from  a negative  by  Dr.  J.  L.  Williams,  the  reproduc- 
tion being  by  the  Photogravure  Company,  of  New  York  ; a 
dog  portrait,  from  a photographic  portrait  of  a painting 
reproduced  by  the  Electro-Tint  Engraving  Company,  who  also 
reproduce  a film  negative,  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Stillman,  of  “The 
Facade  of  the  Duoino  of  Florence;”  there  is  also  a pretty 
child  picture  by  Husuik,  with  a descriptive  article  of  his  method 
known  as  “ Leimtypie.” 


January  3,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


7 


PICTURES  SENT  BY  LIGHTNING. 

Foil  some  time  the  transmission  of  pictures  by  electricity  has 
been  discussed  as  within  the  range  of  possibility,  and  we  now 
find  in  The  Bouton  Herald  an  account  of  an  interview  with  an 
inventor  residing  in  New  York,  according  to  which  the  problem 
has  actually  been  solved  ; provided,  of  course,  that  the  whole 
matter  is  based  on  fact,  and  not  fiction.  This  is  how  our  con- 
temporary publishes  the  event,  in  the  form  of  that  favourite 
American  mode  of  an  interview. 

“ What  would  people  say  of  a newspaper  that  published,  say, 
a dozen  pictures  of  the  recent  Sullivan-Kilrain  prizefight,  taken 
from  instantaneous  photographs,  transmitted  by  telegraph,  and 
reproduced  in  its  columns  within  six  or  eight  hours  after  the 
battle ?”  This  was  the  extraordinary  question  put  by  L.  Gino- 
cliio,  a chemist,  electrical  expert  and  successful  inventor,  and  it 
naturally  caused  the  gentlemen  who  heard  him  to  open  their 
oyes  wide  in  astonishment.  M.  Ginochio  smiled.  “ I have 
not  suggested  an  impossibility,”  he  said;  “indeed,  I have 
already  completed  a machine  which  will  do  just  the  very  thing 
I have  mentioned.  I have  applied  for  a patent,  and  while  its 
construction  is  to  some  extent  a secret,  I am  willing  to  show 
you  the  machine  in  operation.” 

In  his  laboratory  and  e.\i>erimenting  rooms  on  West  Thirty- 
fourth  Street  were  a number  of  electrical  machines  of  various 
descriptions.  Great  coils  of  wire  lay  around  on  the  floor,  and 
on  tables  were  rolls  of  “ No.  32  ” wire,  as  fine  as  the  hair  of  a 
woman’s  head.  Telephones,  battery  cups,  galvanometers, 
electric  switches,  and  other  apparatus  lay  about  in  seemingly 
hopeless  confusion.  On  a table  was  a box  of  about  20-in.  square, 
attached  to  wires  on  an  electric  battery.  A “ feedboard  ” or 
shelf  projected  on  one  side  of  the  box.  “This  is  the  machine 
that  is  to  revolutionise  newspaper  pictorial  art,”  explained 
Mr.  Ginochio.  ‘ ‘ It  is  filled  with  clockwork,  and  operated  by  a 
strong  electric  battery.  Its  mate  is  at  the  other  end  of  the 
line.  Now  you  can  write  a signature  or  a letter,  and  it  will 
transmit  either,  with  the  identical  characters  formed  by  your 
pen.  Bnt  that  would  be.  nothing.  Auto-telegraphy  has  been 
known  for  fully  ten  years.  But  this  will  carry  out  the  auto- 
telegraphic idea  to  the  fullest  extent.  You  can  write  as  much 
as  you  please,  thousands  of  words  if  you  like,  as  newspaper 
men  and  others  frequently  have  to  do,  and  this  machine  will 
chew  it  up — that  is,  transmit  it  as  fast  as  you  write.  Indeed, 
the  writing  can  be  done  on  a continuous  roll,  and  when  a score 
of  lines  are  written,  the  top  of  the  roll  can  be  fed  to  the 
machine  while  the  writer  continues  filling  up  the  rest,  and  with- 
out tearing  the  roll.  It  can  be  regulated  so  as  to  keep  pace 
exactly  with  the  pace  of  the  writer,  and  by  the  time  he  has 
finished  the  machine  will  be  on  its  last  lap,  and  will  end  its 
task  almost  immediately.  The  newspaper  or  other  office  receiv- 
ing the  matter  will  thus  have  it  in  the  writer’s  own  hand- 
writing, and  within  a few  moments  after  it  has  passed  out  of 
his  hands.” 

“ But  how  is  it  proposed  to  transmit  pictures  ?”  “ By  the 

same  method.  The  paper  to  be  used  will  be  washed  with  a 
weak  solutien  of  chloride  of  calcium,  which  will  make  it  a con- 
ductor. The  ink  will  be  the  non-conductor  or  insulator.  The 
pictures  will  have  to  be  reproduced  with  pen  and  ink  at  the 
point  of  sending,  and  with,  this  as  the  only  delay  they  can  be 
transmitted  without  difficulty,  every  line  and  shadow  being 
reproduced  with  extreme  fidelity.”  “ Have  you  tested  the 
machine?”  “ I have,  and  found  it  worked  like  a charm.  So 
long  as  the  clockwork  keeps  running  it  cannot  get  out  of  order. 
This  machine  is  designed  especially  for  the  use  of  the  daily 
press,  and  will  enable  our  newspai>er&  to  produce  accurate  and 
excellent  pictures  of  events  in  the  issue  immediately  following, 
instead  of,  as  now,  waiting  a day  or  two  for  the  artist.  You 
can  readily  understand  how  such  an  instrument  could  be  applied 
on  a leased  wire,  where  voluminous  press  reports  have  to  be  sent 
daily  or  nightly.  Every  reporter  could  then  be  his  own  operator. 
The  delay  in  filling  despatches  would  be  obviated,  and  the  slow- 
going  Morse  transmission  superseded.  Besides,  another  point 
in  its  favour,  which  all  electricians  will  appreciate,  is  that  the 
broader  surface  presented  magnifies  the  electric  ratio  so  greatly 
that,  even  at  a time  when  ordinary  telegraphic  instruments  are 
unavailable,  on  account  of  storm  or  for  other  causes,  this 


machine  w ill  unfailingly  give  a connection  strong  enough  to  do 
the  work  required.” 

“ What  will  the  instruments  cost  when  completed  ?”  “ I 

cannot  tell  yet,  but  they  will  be  within  the  reach  of  every 
enterprising  newspaper,  you  may  be  sure.”  The  pictures  trans- 
mitted by  Mr.  Ginochio’s  machine,  though  faint,  are  described 
as  sufficiently  distinct  for  all  purposes.  The  minutest  detail  is 
reproduced  with  the  fidelity  of  a photograph.  Of  course  only 
pictures  that  have  been  first  drawn  upon  the  prepared  paper 
can  be  transmitted.  The  time  consumed  does  not  exceed  many 
seconds.  A grinding  noise,  like  the  slow  running  down  of  a 
clock,  is  heard  in  the  machine  while  in  operation.  With  a few 
touches  at  the  hands  of  a competent  draftsman  the  pictures  are 
sent  to  the  engraver  or  electrotyper.  If  properly  prepared  in 
the  first  instance  before  transmission,  Mr.  Ginoehio  says  they 
will  not  re <pi ire  retouching  at  all,  as  the  machine  will  report 
electrically  every  mark  upon  the  paper.  Mr.  Ginochio,  the 
inventor,  is  an  Italian  by  birth.  His  father  was  a man  of  con- 
siderable rank  in  the  household  of  the  first  Napoleon,  and  was 
with  the  “Little  Corporal”  through  many  of  his  troubles. 
The  son,  who  came  to  this  country  when  a child,  is  a veteran  of 
the  civil  war.  He  is  stated  to  have  many  electrical  and  other 
patents  now  in  operation  in  different  parts  of  the  States,  but 
if  his  transmission  of  pictures  by  telegraph  should  prove  a 
success,  it  would  no  doubt  do  more  for  him  than  all  his  other 
inventions. — Invention. 


Process  work,  it  is  said,  has  so  diminished  the  demand  tor 
good  box-wood  for  wood-engraving,  that  it  is  becoming  difficult 
to  procure,  the  best  having  nearly  trebled  in  price  in  recent 
years. 


Ink  for  Writing  on  Photographs. — The  following  formula 
is  said  to  produce  an  ink  serviceable  for  marking  proofs  ; the 
writing  being  executed  on  a dark  portion,  the  lines  soon  bleach 
by  the  conversion  of  the  silver  into  an  iodide  i — 

Iodide  of  potassium  ...  ...  ...  10  parts 

AVater  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  30  ,, 

Iodine  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  1 part 

Gum  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  1 ,, 


London  “in  Camera.” — In  an  article  in  the  City  Life  of 
January  1st,  illustrated  by  five  reproductions  of  instantaneous 
photographs  by  Mr.  T.  C.  Hepworth,  the  writer  says  i — “The 
time  is  coining  when  we  shall  see  London  as  it  really  is.  A 
good  many  artists  have  tried  to  depict  it,  with  more  or  less 
success.  Hogarth  drew  its  seamy  side,  Cruikshank  its  extrava- 
gant aspect,  John  Leech  the  picture  of  the  middle  class.  All 
these  attempts  had  their  excellences,  but  to  look  at  them  now' 
they  seem  to  be  more  or  less  caricatures.  In  a hundred  years 
hence,  when  future  generations  gaze  at  the  instantaneous  pho- 
tographs taken  in  the  London  streets  to-day,  they  will  see  the 
good-and-bad  citizens  of  the  nineteenth  century  exactly  as  they 
are.” 

Trade  Union  of  Photographic  Workmen. — Mr.  Arthur 
G.  Field,  Maidstone,  sends  us  a letter  advocating  the  formation 
of  a photographic  trade  union.  His  proposal,  he  says,  has  no 
connection  with  an  attempt  to  found  a so-called  “ National 
Photographic  Union  ” formed  merely  of  representative  photo- 
graphers to  guard  the  interests  of  the  trade,  but  is  in  favour 
of  the  foundation  of  a trade  union,  to  which  every  photographic 
worker  (male  or  female)  may  belong  on  proving  his  or  her 
capability.  The  object,  he  explains,  will  be  as  follows  : — By 
paying  a sum  w'eekly  (say  6d.)  a fund  will  be  created  which  will 
be  applied  to  the  payment  of  “ donation  benefit  ” or  “un- 
employed benefit”  to  those  out  of  work  (say  10s.  weekly).  In 
case  of  disputes  with  employers  the  payment  will  also  be  made. 
By  a system  of  qualification,  either  by  apprenticeship,  by 
receipt  of  wage  for  a number  of  months,  or  by  examination,  the 
ability  of  members  will  be  assured.  Each  branch  will  send  its 
monies  to  London,  and  London  will  make  all  payments  of  bene- 
fits to  the  branches — “centralisation,  but  federation,”  with 
direct  responsibility  of  the  executive  to  the  smallest  bodies 
capable  of  exercising  electoral  power.  Those  interested  in  the 
project  arc  invited  to  communicate  with  our  correspondent  as 
above. 


8 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  3,  1890. 


iflotcs. 

Our  suggestion  last  week  apropos  of  the  possibility 
of  utilising  Hansom  cabs  when  on  the  rank  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  instantaneous  photographs  of 
scenes  in  the  streets  of  London  appears  to  have  “ caught 
hold.”  The  Daily  News  comments  upon  it,  and 
prophesies  that  some  one  before  long  will  be  tempted 
to  put  the  suggestion  into  practice.  The  Daily  News 
does  not  name  the  source  of  its  inspiration,  but  we  do 
not  grumble,  as  our  contemporary  has  on  nearly  every 
other  occasion  when  it  has  quoted  from  our  pages — not 
seldom  by  the  way — given  us  due  credit.  The  Glibe 
looks  upon  the  photographic  cab-driver  as  a person  not 
to  be  encouraged.  It  is  bad  enough  to  know,  it  remarks, 
that  one’s  private  conversations  may  be  handed  down 
to  posterity  by  the  cabman  who  writes  shorthand,  but 
it  is  worse  if  the  said  conversations  will  be  illustrated 
with  “ instantographs  ” of  the  tops  of  our  hats  and  the 
ends  of  our  noses.  Frightful  as  this  possibility  may 
appear,  it  is  within  measurable  distance,  though  the 
operators  may  not  be  cabmen  with  a fancy  for  photo- 
graphy. 


The  Daily  Graphic  is  still  an  object  of  curiosity  with 
those  who  know  the  stupendous  difficulties  to  be  over- 
come. We  stated  a week  or  two  ago,  upon  reliable 
information,  that  wood  blocks  would  be  mostly  used, 
as  being  more  quickly  produced  than  “ process,”  though 
much  more  costly.  The  editor  of  Science  and  Art , who 
was  present  at  the  reception  given  at  the  Graphic 
office,  states  that  but  for  photography  and  photo- 
mechanical printing,  the  scheme  of  a daily  illustrated 
paper  could  not  bo  carried  out.  The  editor  of  Science  and 
Art  does  not  give  any  official  information,  and  in  the 
absence  of  this,  we  are  inclined  to  adhere  to  our  state- 
ment, and  for  more  reasons  than  one.  Whatever  the 
Graphic  will  do,  will  be  done  artistically.  Mr. 
Thomas’  policy  has  always  been  to  produce  the  best 
thing  possible,  and  this  policy  will  be  carried  out  in 
the  daily  paper. 


Mr.  1 homas’  notion  is  that  a rara  avis  in  the  shape 
of  a reporter  who  can  sketch  may  be  caught,  and  this 
is  the  kind  of  thing  he  wants  to  cultivate.  We  are 
afraid,  however,  that  it  will  he  a long  time  before  he 
will  get  a man  equally  good  with  the  pen  and  pencil. 
There  are  a few  reporters  with  a taste  for  sketching, 
but  to  sketch  with  a pencil  is  one  thing,  to  prepare  a 
sketch  ready  for  photographing,  or  to  draw  on  the 
ordinary  transfer  paper  suitable  at  once  for  zincography, 
is  another.  What  the  Graphic  will  probably  do,  will 
be  to  expect  sketches  as  well  as  they  can  do  them  from 
its  reporters,  and  have  them  “ touched  up  ” or  redrawn 
by  its  own  artists.  This  system  has  been  going  on  for 
years  both  at  the  Graphic  and  Illustrated  London  News, 
and  enables  them  to  produce  a number  of  highly 
finished  drawings  of  scenes  in  all  parts  of  the  world, 
the  foundation  of  which  were  the  merest  skeletons 
furnished  by  travellers.  In  this  way  a good  deal  may 


be  done,  but  as  for  photography,  it  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. Even  with  the  assistance  of  the  electric  light, 
the  time  required  is  longer  than  that  in  which  a wood- 
cut  can  be  produced. 

The  respective  merits  of  photography  and  hand- 
drawings  have  been  pretty  warmly  discussed  by 
astronomers  in  regard  to  their  own  particular  study, 
and  the  general  opinion  appears  now  to  be  that  photo- 
graphy has  advantages  which  drawings  lack.  It  would 
seem  as  if  very  much  the  same  battle  was  about  to  he 
fought  by  microscopists.  When  photography  was 
applied  to  the  microscope,  everybody  was  in  its  favour ; 
tl  ere  are,  however,  signs  of  a reaction.  Anyway, 
advocates  of  the  older  method  of  representation  are 
not  wanting.  Mr.  W.  J.  Simmons,  in  the  American 
Monthly  Microscopical  Journal , urges  that  photography 
is  too  indiscriminately  faithful ; it  perpetuates  details, 
such  as  dirt  and  extraneous  matters,  which  may  well 
be  left  out  of  a drawing  accurate  enough  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes.  Photography  does  not  compel  the 
thorough  study  of  the  object  necessary  when  you  sit 
to  draw  it,  besides  which  it  involves  the  expenditure 
of  more  time  and  money  than  many  can  spare.  Mr. 
Simmons  admits  that  photography  is  useful  to  correct 
the  inaccuracies  in  a drawing,  but,  as  a discipline  for 
accurate  observation,  photo-micrography  is  inferior  to 
drawing,  and  cannot  be  regarded  as  a substitute. 


The  automatic  machine  may  perhaps  revive  the  taste 
for  the  stereoscope — in  a way.  In  Paris  the  two 
things  have  been  combined.  You  drop  in  the  usual 
penny,  and  apply  your  eyes  to  a pair  of  lenses  arranged 
after  the  fashion  of  an  opera-glass.  Pictures  are  then 
displayed  in  rapid  succession,  one  picture  lasting  seven 
seconds,  until  the  contents  of  the  box  are  all  exhibited. 
The  pictures  are  illuminated  by  the  electric  light, 
which  is  started  by  the  mechanism  which  receives  the 
penny.  The  automatic  machine  which  delivers  photo- 
graphs of  popular  actresses  is,  we  believe,  not  a very 
brilliant  success.  The  automatic  stereoscope  might 
answer  for  a time. 


The  question  of  the  site  of  the  National  Portrait 
Gallery  has  been  settled.  The  new  building  is  to  be 
situated  at  the  back  of  the  National  Gallery,  on  a piece 
of  ground  which,  owing  to  the  alterations  effected  by 
the  construction  of  the  Charing  Cross  Road,  looks  at 
the  present  moment  a very  dismal  blank.  The  Office 
of  Works,  it  is  satisfactory  to  see,  has  an  eye  to  the 
future,  for  it  has  got  permission  from  the  Treasury  to 
purchase  from  the  County  Council  the  rights  in  a small 
triangular  piece  of  ground  which,  if  it  were  built  upon, 
would  effectually  obscure  the  view  of  the  new  gallery. 
It  is  perhaps  vain  to  expect  that  the  glance  of  the  Office 
of  Works  will  be  carried  still  farther  into  the  future, 
and  to  hope  that  the  new  building  will  he  constructed 
with  an  eye  to  the  possible  erectioa  of  a new  National 
Gallery  worthy  of  the  art  treasures  possessed  by  the 
nation. 


January  3,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


9 


OSCAR  GUSTAV  IlEJ LANDER. 

BY  II.  1>.  ROBINSON. 

The  idea  of  an  exhibition  of  all  that  could  be  gathered 
together  of  the  works  of  O.  G.  Rejlander  at  the  Camera 
Club  was  a happy  one,  and  will  serve  to  recall  to  the 
memory  of  many  photographers  the  great  artist  and  genial 
friend  who  honoured  our  art  with  his  genius  ; and  he  was 
the  greatest  genius  who  ever  gave  up  to  photography 
talents  which  would  have  enabled  their  possessor  to  shine 
in  any  form  of  art, 

Rejlander  was  one  of  the  earliest  friends  1 made  through 
photography,  and  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  respond  to 
the  request  of  the  Editor  of  the  Photographic  News  to 
say  a few  words  on  the  man  and  his  works.  I first  met 
him  at  a meeting  of  the  Birmingham  Photographic  Society 
in  1858.  lie  was  then  living  in  Wolverhampton,  and 
shortly  after  our  meeting  he  came  to  visit  me  at  Leaming- 
ton ; from  which  time  until  his  death  in  January,  1875,* 
we  continued  in  the  closest  friendship,  and  for  many  years, 
in  photographic  criticism,  our  names — perhaps  because  we 
had  the  same  aims,  and  partly  also,  probably,  for  the  sake 
of  alliteration — were  coupled  together,  a conjunction  of 
which  I have  always  been  proud ; and  it  is  a curious 
coincidence  that  our  works  have  again  come  together,  or, 
rather,  followed  each  other,  in  the  “ One  Man  ” exhibitions 
of  the  Camera  Club. 

At  the  time  I have  mentioned,  Rejlander  had  made  him- 
self famous  by  many  pictures  which  were  far  and  away,  in 
all  essential  art  qualities,  beyond  anything  that  had  ever 
been  before  shown,  and  especially  by  his  wonderful  com- 
position which  represented  allegorically  “The  Two  Ways 
of  Life.”  This  was  first  shown  at  the  Art  Treasures  Exhi- 
bition at  Manchester,  in  1857,  to  which  exhibition,  by  the 
way,  I had  sent  my  first  poor  efforts  at  pictorial  photo- 
graphy. This  famous  picture,  as  was  also  much  of  his  best 
work,  was  executed  at  Wolverhampton,  in  a small  studio 
in  which  many  a photographer  would  scarcely  have  found 
room  to  photograph  a single  head.  Here  this  astonishing 
group,  consisting  of  about  thirty  figures,  and  attempting 
the  highest  poetry  in  art  with  so  much  success  as  to  gain 
respect,  if  not  approval,  from  all,  was  put  together.  Any- 
one but  an  enthusiast  would  have  seen  the  impossibility  of 
success  with  such  a subject  in  such  materials,  but  amid 
difficulties  that  would  have  scared  most  men,  Rejlander 
saw  only  the  end,  and  if  he  did  not  succeed  in  reaching  it, 
his  failure  was  almost  as  honourable  as  complete  success. 

Apart  from  the  subject,  which  is  allegorical,  and  partly 
carried  out  by  the  use  of  the  nude — now  ruled,  and  rightly, 
to  be  outside  the  natural  limitations  of  the  art — the  picture 
is  a marvel  of  skill  and  excellence.  In  composition  and 
in  clearness  of  story  telling  it  has  never  been  surpassed  in 
any  art,  and  the  apparent  impossibilities  he  overcame  have 
always  been  a wonder  to  those  who  know  most  of  the  means 
by  which  it  was  produced.  No  photograph  has  ever  met 
with  so  much  criticism,  for  and  against.  It  was  rejected 
at  an  Edinburgh  exhibition,  not,  however,  on  its  artistic 
merits ; a picture  intended  to  convey  the  highest  moral 
was  rejected  because  of  its  supposed  immorality.  It  would 
take  too  much  space  here  to  trace  the  courses  of  the  two 
youths,  who  are  represented  as  going  the  two  ways  of  life, 
the  one  to  the  good  and  the  other  to  the  bad.  In  1858 
Rejlander  was  persuaded  to  read  a paper  before  the  Pho- 
tographic Society  of  London— the  only  one  he  ever  read — 

Buth  Almanacs  record  Lis  death  as  takingplace  in  January  and  June, 
fhis  was  obviously  impossible.  The  real  date  was  January  18th,  1S75. 


in  which  he  explained  the  meaning  of  every  figure.  At 
the  same  time,  with  the  generous  intention  of  being  of  use 
to  photographers,  and  to  further  the  cause  of  art,  he,  un- 
fortunately, described  the  method  by  which  the  picture 
J had  been  done  ; the  little  tricks  and  dodges  to  which  he 
had  to  resort ; how,  for  want  of  classic  architecture  fol- 
ios background,  he  had  to  be  content  with  a small  portico 
in  a friend’s  garden  ; how  bits  of  drapery  had  to  do  duty 
for  voluminous  curtains;  a simplicity  into  which  others 
also  have  fallen,  and  thereby  gave  the  clever  critics  the  clue 
they  wanted,  and  enabled  the  little  souls  to  declare  that 
the  picture  was  only  a thing  of  shreds  and  patches.  It  is 
so  much  easier  to  call  a picture  a patchwork  combination 
than  to  understand  the  inner  meaning  of  so  superb  a work 
as  this  masterpiece  of  Rejlander’s  ! He  had  a sense  of  the 
injustice  of  judging  a work  by  the  method  of  its  produc- 
tion. He  says  in  his  paper,  “ I have  a lively  presentiment 
that  the  time  will  come  when  a work  will  be  judged  by  its 
merits,  and  not  by  the  method  of  its  production ; and  then, 
with  some  fostering  care,  things  can  and  will  be  done  that 
scarcely  believers,  and  never  unbelievers,  yet  dream  of  in 
their  philosophy.  ” 

This  picture  was  Rejlander’s  greatest  effort,  and  I much 
regret  that  the  committee  of  the  Club  was  not  able  to 
secure  a full-sized  copy  for  exhibition ; the  small  reduc- 
tion gives  a very  inadequate  idea  of  the  large  picture.  In 
his  paper  the  artist  promised  other  and  greater  efforts  in 
succeeding  years;  this  2>romise  was  never  destined  to  be 
fulfilled,  lie  often  regretted  that  he  never  afterwards 
found  time,  and,  indeed,  the  means — for  such  pictures  are 
expensive  to  produce — to  carry  out  his  intention.  He 
felt  that  such  ambitious  work  was  not  properly  appreci- 
ated, but  he  never  lost  faith  in  the  method  of  combination 
printing,  of  which  he  was  the  originator,  and  occasionally 
employed  it  for  smaller  pictures  up  to  the  last.  One  of 
these,  now  in  the  Camera  Club  Exhibition,  I greatly  value. 
He  was  always  brimming  over  with  happy  ideas,  and  would 
at  any  time  prefer  to  express  himself  in  a picture  than 
writing.  I was  once  in  the  middle  of  a now  long-forgotten 
controversy,  endeavouring  to  defend  our  art  from  those 
who  could  only  see  in  it  a mechanical  trade,  when  I re- 
ceived the  little  picture  I have  mentioned  from  him.  He 
was  a volunteer  as  well  as  an  artist.  The  photograph 
represents  Rejlander  the  artist  jumping  up  from  before 
his  easel  to  introduce  Rejlander  the  volunteer.  The  con- 
trast between  the  artist  in  velvet  coat  and  broad-brimmed 
felt  hat,  and  the  same  man  in  the  same  picture  in  his  regi- 
mentals, was  startling.  Under  it  was  written  “ ().  G.  R. 
introduces  himself  as  a volunteer  to  II.  1’.  R. ,”  thus  deli- 
cately and  pleasantly  conveying  that  his  help  was  at  my 
service. 

In  ordinary  manipulation  Rejlander  could  not  be  called 
a perfect  photographer ; so  that  he  conveyed  his  thoughts 
clearly,  he  did  not  care  for  delicacies  of  development  or 
clean  plates.  To  him  art  was  a vehicle  for  conveying  a 
thought.  It  was  the  thing  to  be  said,  not  the  manner  of 
saying  it,  that  demanded  all  his  powers.  He  could  never 
see  the  beauty  of  the  indefinite.  Being  without  affecta- 
tion, a sound  artist  and  real  poet,  nothing  short  of  real 
art  and  true  poetry  would  satisfy  him.  Though  most 
original,  he  abhorred  the  eccentric. 

Perhaps,  after  all,  it  was  in  fertility  of  ideas  and  imagi- 
nation, and  the  readiness  with  which  he  used  them,  that 
he  was  at  his  greatest.  As  an  example  of  his  readiness, 
here  is  an  illustration.  He  once  sent  home  a portrait  of  a 
bright  little  boy  dressed  in  velvet  coat  and  knickerbockers. 


10 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  3,  1890. 


The  boy  had  one  hand  in  his  pocket,  and  the  action  bent 
the  figure  a little  aside.  The  picture  was  rejected  because 
the  figure  was  not  upright.  Rejlander  immediately  wrote 
underneath  it,  “ I’ve  got  a pocket  too!”  and  the  picture 
was  at  once  a tremendous  success.  Yet  I remember  an 
occasion  when  it  happened  that  a title  he  strongly  objected 
to  turned  one  of  his  pictures  into  the  most  popular  photo- 
graph of  the  day.  It  happened  this  way.  He  sent  to  an 
exhibition  a picture  of  a very  little  boy  yelling  furiously. 
He  was  then  making  experiments  in  expressions  to  illus- 
trate Darwin's  “ Expression  of  the  Emotions  in  Man  and 
Animals  !”  and  entitled  this  photograph  “ Mental  Distress.” 
In  his  notice  of  the  exhibition,  a former  Editor  of  the 
Photographic  News,  the  late  ever-regretted  II.  Baden 
Pritchard,  called  the  howling  youngster  “(link's  Baby.” 
This  hit  the  humour  of  the  hour,  which  was  then  much 
interested  in  a book  of  that  name,  and  it  became  the 
photograph  of  the  day  and  sold  by  thousands ; but  Rej- 
lander  was  never  reconciled  to  the  loss  of  his  scientific 
title.  Many  examples  may  be  quoted  of  his  happy  thoughts, 
both  pathetic  and  humorous,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to 
describe  them  so  as  to  do  them  justice,  unaccompanied  by 
the  pictures.  “ Grief,”  “ Night  in  London  ” — a most  mov- 
ing picture  of  a ragged  and  desolate  boy  seated  on  a door- 
step— and  “Tis  Light  within — Dark  without!”  a blind 
woman  singing,  are  examples  of  the  pathetic  that  occur  at 
the  moment ; while  the  humorous  are  represented  by 
“ Did  She?”  one  man  (Rejlander  himself)  tellingan  amus- 
ing secret  to  another,  whose  face  expresses  a full  apprecia- 
tion of  what  he  hears,  and  “She  is  looking  at  me,  the 
dear  creature !”  an  ngly  and  vain  old  man  smirking  and 
looking  out  of  the  corners  of  his  eyes. 

In  the  very  interesting  book  of  Darwin’s  I have  men- 
tioned, are  several  figures  in  which  Rejlander  has  tried 
to  express  in  his  own  person  the  expressions  intended 
to  .be  -onveyed.  The  contrasted  figures  of  Anger  and 
Humility  on  Plate  VI.,  figures  2 and  3,  are  perfect,  and 
show  what  possibilities  as  an  actor  were  in  him  had  he 
followed  that  branch  of  art. 

Personally,  Rejlander  was  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him. 
His  winning  ways,  his  kindly  genial  charm,  his  ever  fresh 
and  humorous  anecdotes,  his  quaint  thoughts  and  original 
expre^sio  is,  his  enthusiasm  for  all  art,  and  especially  for 
the  art  of  his  adoption,  his  simplicity  and  sincerity, 
endeared  him  to  his  many  friends.  He  was  never  known 
to  use  a word  that  would  hurt  the  feelings  of  others ; he 
preferred  to  be  silent  rather  than  condemn  the  work  of 
another,  and  always  took  great  delight  in  praising  the 
attempts  of  a brother  photographer  when  he  honestly 
could,  llis  was  not  one  of  those  envious  natures  that 
cannot  brook  any  success  not  his  own  ; he  rejoiced  in  the 
progress  of  the  art,  even  when  it  was  accomplished  by 
other  hands.  He  was  absolutely  free  from  petty  jealousy. 
It  was  not  necessary,  nor  his  way,  as  it  unfortunately  is 
the  way  with  some  photographic  aspirants,  to  denounce 
all  art  a nl  artists  so  that  he  may  stand  in  the  foreground 
on  his  own  little  molehill.  He  was  a rare  man,  a great 
artist,  and  a loving  friend. 

Elimination  ok  Hypo. — Writing  on  the  claim  so  often  and 
so  generally  made,  “ that  salt  in  the  water  in  which  prints  are 
washed  is  a ]>owerful  aid  in  ridding  them  of  hypo,”  Mr  W.  H. 
Sherman  contends  that  “ the  function  of  saltwater  containing 
prints  impregnated  with  hypo  is  to  seriously  hinder  its  elimina- 
tion ; and  that  “ it  is,  therefore,  a serious  mistake  and  loss 
of  time  to  use  it  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  accomplish- 
ment of  thaL  object.” 


XotircS  of  Uoofts. 


Thk  Ocean  of  Air  : Meteorology  for  Beginners.  By 

Agnes  Giberne,  with  Preface  by  Rev.  C.  Pritchard, 

F.  R.S.  (Scilf’it  and  Co.,  Limited,  Essex  Street,  Strand.) 
The  student  of  photography  in  its  scientific  aspects  should 
include  in  his  course  of  study  the  principles  not  only  of 
chemistry  and  optics,  but  also  of  meteorology,  between 
which  and  photography  there  is  a close  relationship,  for 
while  in  this  day  the  changes  of  weather  are  recorded  pho- 
tographically (as  shown  in  the  book  under  notice),  those 
changes  themselves  affect  photography  to  a degree  that  is 
more  commonly  experienced  than  understood.  Tempera- 
ture affects  not  only  the  developing,  fixing,  and  toning 
baths,  but  also  lenses,  which  not  unfrequcntly  suffer,  for 
instance,  from  the  effects  of  frost,  owing  to  the  contraction 
of  the  brass  rims,  while  condensed  moisture  (“water- 
dust,”  as  it  has  been  termed)  on  the  glasses  in  cold  weather 
is  a common  form  of  inconvenience.  If  it  were  necessary 
still  further  to  urge  the  importance  of  meteorological  study, 
argument  might  be  found  in  the  necessity  of  taking  account, 
for  the  production  of  successful  results  in  photography, 
of  the  optical  conditions  of  the  atmosphere,  the  require- 
ment of  attention  to  the  correct  representation  of  clouds 
in  landscape,  the  hygroscopic  properties  of  many  substances 
used  in  photography,  and  the  usefulness  of  some  ability  to 
calculate  the  probability  of  weather  changes. 

Though  the  volume  before  us  is  professedly  written  for 
beginners,  and  may  not  contain  such  specific  information 
for  photographers  as  is  given,  say,  in  Mr.  Vincent 
Elsden’s  admirable  papers  in  our  pages  some  years  since 
on  “Meteorology  for  Photographers,”  still  it  embraces 
much  that  is  well  worthy  the  study  of  all  who  wish  to 
obtain,  in  simple  and  graphic  language,  a general  and 
intelligent  conception  of  the  nature  of  the  phenomena  in 
the  midst  of  which  we  live.  The  interest  of  photographers 
in  Miss  Giberne’s  book  will  certainly  not  be  decreased  by 
the  fact  that  it  is  illustrated  by  sixteen  admirable  illustra- 
tions engraved  from  instantaneous  photographs. 

Measuring  the  Spherical  and  Chroma tc  Aberration  of 
Object-Glasses  for  the  Microscope.  C.  J.  A.  Leroy. — 
In  the  present  state  of  construction  the  problem  of  achromatism 
may  be  considered  as  solved,  whilst  this  is  far  from  being  the 
case  with  aplanetism.  The  correction  of  spherical  aberration 
requires,  therefore,  to  be  studied  for  the  improvement  of 
objectives. — Chemical  News. 

Kidderminster  Photographic  Exhibition,  March,  1890. — 
Several  intending  exhibitors  having  misunderstood  rule  1 of 
the  prospectus  of  the  above,  the  Secretary  desires  to  state  that 
the  entrance  fee  in  each  class  is  2s.,  covering  any  number  of 
frames.  Also,  in  answer  to  the  questions  of  numerous 
enquirers,  he  announces  that  the  date  for  sending  in  appli- 
cation for  space  will  be  extended  to  February  1st,  1890. 

Permanence  of  Negatives.- — Negatives  developed  with  pyro. 
are  quite  as  permanent  as  those  treated  with  the  ferrous- 
oxalate  developer,  if  care  be  taken  to  ensure  perfect  fixation. 
Leave  the  negative  in  the  fixing  bath  fully  three  or  four 
minutes  after  it  has  been  apparently  fixed,  and  years  will  find 
its  colour  and  printing  qualities  unchanged.  With  the  ferrous- 
oxalate  developer  errors  in  exposure  may  be  corrected  to  a cer- 
tain extent,  but  not  so  much  as  with  pyro.  When  develop- 
ment Hags,  a drop  or  two  of  the  fixing  solution  will  accelerate 
the  action  of  the  ferrous-oxalate  developer  considerably,  but 
nothing  will  save  a much  under-exposed  plate.  As  with  pyro, 
the  bromide  of  potassium  or  ammonium  acts  as  a retarder  of 
development. — Editor,  Journal  of  the  Photographic  Sociity  of 
India. 


January  3,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.. 


11 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  QUINOL  DEVELOPMENT* 

BY  AI.!'KED  HASKELL. 

The  difference  of  working  with  quinol  is  chiefly  this: 
that  whereas  with  pyro  you  commence  with  the  bath 
uncompleted  in  composition  and  by  tentative  action,  now 
that  this  is  added  according  to  the  behaviour  of  the 
negative,  with  quinol  you  select  the  bath  of  suitable 
energy  and  modified  composition,  and  allow  the  action  to 
go  on  until  its  duty  has  been  fulfilled  in  all  particulars  of 
which  it  is  capable.  Supposing  the  right  one  is  not  at  first 
selected,  still  you  cannot  go  wrong  provided  the  suc- 


cession of  baths  is  in  an  increasing  ratio  of  energy.  The 
method  of  pyro  development  is  not  so  applicable  in  this 
case.  There  appears  to  come  a point  when  increasing 
quantities  of  alkali  do  not  produce  the  same  progressive 
effect,  at  the  same  time  that  in  the  composed  bath  there  is 
great  latitude  in  their  proportional  quantities  without  pro- 
ducing fog.  With  a properly  composed  developer  we 
commence  development  with  a strength  of  alkali  which 
we  do  not  intend  to  augment,  and  the  action  is  allowed  to 
proceed  in  assisting  to  bring  out  all  possible  details  of 
which  it  is  capable,  the  quinol  concurrently  acting  its  part 
in  building  up  the  requisite  amount  of  density.  A greater 
proportion  of  quinol  will  produce  greater  density,  but  the 
normal  proportion  can  in  every  case  be  made  to  produce 
the  same  intensity  uf  density,  whether  the  bath  be  new 
and  powerful,  or  old  and  worn  out.  In  the  latter  case  the 
action  must  always  be  slow,  its  application  being  to  cases 
of  extreme  exposure.  A point  to  be  remembered  is  that 
in  the  repeated  use  of  the  same  developer,  the  bath 
becomes  more  and  more  charged  with  a powerful  restrainer, 
produced  by  the  bromide  of  soda  resulting  from  the  com- 
bination of  the  bromide  given  up  by  the  plates  previously 
developed  with  the  soda  of  the  developer.  I will  now 
proceed  with  a description  of  what  I consider  the  best 
method  of  using  the  quinol  developer.  This  consists 
simply  in  a selection,  from  what  may  be  called  a battery  of 
baths  of  different  degrees  of  energy,  of  that  one  most 
suited  to  the  exposure  which  the  plate  has  received.  For 
short  exposures  a new  and  powerful  bath  ; for  long,  an  old 
and  previously  used  one.  If  you  use  a new  bath  for  a 
prolonged  exposure,  you  will  infallibly  fog.  With  an  old 
bath  for  long  exposures,  interiors,  dark  woods,  and  so  on, 
you  will  get  fine  contrasts;  if  the  old  bath  refuses  to 
develop,  add  quite  new  solution,  as  may  be  necessary. 
For  instantaneous  work  a new  bath  has  been  recommended, 
but  I think  the  addition  of  a third  of  an  old  bath  is  better. 
Warming  the  solution  will  produce  greater  energy.  It 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  a new  bath  may  be  too  strong 
or  too  weak,  according  to  its  composition  ; it  may  be  too 
strong,  .also,  for  instantaneous  work  taken  in  June, 
although  correct  for  that  done  in  January  ; therefore  you 
must  know  the  primary  standard  of  the  bath  you  use,  and 
regulate  accordingly.  For  contrasts,  use  an  old  bath  ; 
for  softness,  a more  powerful  and  less  exhausted  one. 
Development  should  be  carried  on  until  the  negative 
appears  to  veil  over,  the  details  almost  entirely  disappearing. 

My  practice  is  to  keep  the  most  energetic  or  least 
used  baths  in  five  or  six  four-ounce  bottles,  keeping  them 
full  to  the  glass  stopper.  As  a plate  is  developed  by  one 
I mark  the  label  accordingly,  whole-plate,  half-plate, 
lantern-plate,  &c. , as  the  case  may  be.  You  soon,  in  this 
way,  acquire  a sufficiently  accurate  idea  of  the  state  of 
energy  of  the  contents.  1 have  never  thrown  away  any 


* Continued  from  page  873,  vol.  xxxui. 


solution  since  I first  used  quinol,  as  it  is  always  useful, 
however  much  exhausted. 

For  lantern  plates  or  bromide  paper  you  must  use  new, 
or,  at  any  rate,  clear  solutions ; but  quite  a couple  of 
dozen  lantern-plates  may  be  developed  in  the  same  four 
ounces  of  developer.  The  question  of  warm  tones  for 
these  depends  on  the  protraction  of  the  exposure  and  the 
development  in  a weak  or  used  bath.  The  alkalies 
ordinarily  used,  as  I before  stated,  are  the  carbonates  or 
hydrates  of  soda  or  potash.  The  caustic  alkalies  are 
undoubtedly  the  most  energetic,  but  I myself  prefer  the 
fixed  ones.  The  hydrates  tend  to  frilling  ; besides,  within 
reasonable  limits,  I am  contented  with  the  slower  deve- 
lopment, For  those  who  prefer  to  buy  their  developers 
ready  made,  there  are  a large  number  in  the  market.  The 
llintokinone  of  Messrs.  Hinton  and  Co.  is  very  good, 
both  for  lantern  slides  and  bromide  paper.  The  ready- 
made preparation  which  I have  found  the  best  is  that 
made  by  Messrs.  Mercier,  of  the  Faubourg  Montmartre, 
the  salts  being  sold  in  crystals,  with  instructions  for 
making  up.  So  far  as  1 know  by  weighing  these,  it 
consists  of  (11  grains  quinol,  492  grains  sulphite  of  soda, 
and  the  same  weight  of  carbonate  of  soda  to  18  ounces  of 
water,  the  sulphite  being  tinged  with  cosine,  perhaps  to 
give  the  bath  a non-actinic  colour.  Mr.  Mercier  says,  in 
his  description,  that  an  organic  corrective  is  added,  capable 
of  neutralising  the  most  feeble  traces  which  may  remain  of 
free — that  is,  of  uncombined — soda.  I do  not  know  what 
this  corrective  may  be  ; perhaps  he  adds  something  in  the 
nat  ure  of  acetic  or  gallic  acid. 

The  formula  which  I prefer  is  that  of  the  Photo.  ( 'lub 
of  Paris.  It  consists,  roughly  speaking,  of  ^ of  an  ounce 
quinol,  2.V  ounces  sulphite  of  soda,  and  5 ounces  car- 
bonate of  soda,  all  avoirdupois  weight,  with  the  addition 
of  8 to  10  drops  acetic  acid.  The  exact  composition, 
together  with  a few  other  formula?  and  additional  remarks, 
will  be  found  in  the  paper  which  I lay  on  the  table,  and 
with  which  I need  not  weary  you  by  reading  at  length. 
With  the  exception  that  the  quinol  is  not  dissolved  in 
alcohol,  it  appears  to  me  to  be  identical  with  M.  Balagny’s 
first  published  formula. 

An  excellent  metlod  of  intensification  is  to  bleach  with 
mercury,  and  redevelop  with  a used  quinol  bath.  Some 
months  ago  I soaked  a dry  plate  in  quinol  developer  and 
exposed  it ; on  immediately  returning  to  the  dark  room,  I 
found  the  development  completed.  There  is  no  practical 
utility  in  this,  but  it  has  struck  me  that  the  idea  might  be 
applied  to  enlargement  with  a view  of  controlling  the 
simultaneous  exposure  and  development.  If  time  permits, 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  discussion,  I propose  to  try  this 
experiment  here  with  the  aid  of  the  optical  lantern  and 
limelight.  If  at  all  successful,  several  modifications  will 
suggest  themselves. 

I will  now  bring  under  your  notice  the  examples  which 
have  been  so  kindly  placed  at  my  disposal  by  Messrs. 
Mawson  and  Swan,  together  with  a few  others— not  so 
many,  I regret  to  say,  as  I had  hoped  to  be  able  to  present 
to  you.  In  producing  these  specimens,  1 acknowledge 
the  difficulty  of  coming  to  a reliable  conclusion  from  a 
cursory  examination  of  them.  ( onclusions,  to  be  of 
value,  require  very  careful  and  minute  study,  and  it  would 
not  be  possible  to  give  this  to  them  in  this  room,  and  at 
the  present  time ; still,  it  is  the  best  that  can  be  done 
under  the  circumstances,  and  they  are  worth  something  to 
you,  at  all  events,  even  now. 

The  experiments  made  by  Mr.  Clark  were  upon  a 


12 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  3,  1890. 


graduated  sensitometer  screen.  I will  not  be  hardy  enough 
to  deny  the  value  of  these ; at  the  same  time,  it  must  be 
remarked  that  the  light  used  was  artificial,  and  the  varying 
colours  of  natural  objects  which  we  have  to  translate  into 
black  and  white  were  wanting.  I cannot  do  better  than 
hand  round  Mr.  Swan's  examples,  with  a resume  of  the 
remarks  made  by  himself  on  the  reading  of  his  paper. 
The  next  is  the  result  on  a somewhat  difficult  subject  of 
an  exposure  of  two  minutes,  the  correct  exposure  being 
about  two  seconds.  I may  mention  that  1 placed  the 
negative  in  a very  old  bath,  and  simply  left  it  to  itself  for 
four  hours.  A better  mode  of  development  might  have 
been  employed,  but  this  was  purposely  done.  There  is 
also  a print  from  it.  The  others  are  comparisons  of  pyro 
and  quiuol,  part  of  some  experiments  with  this  object 
which  I was  unable  to  complete.  1 show  also  on  the 
screen  some  slides  to  illustrate  different  tones  or  colours. 
Many  of  them  are  by  Mr.  Victor  Corbould,  who  will,  I 
dare  say,  explain  to  you  his  method.  1 have  also  a selection 
of  negatives  on  Eastman  films,  kindly  lent  to  me  by 
Mi-.  Ashburner.  I selected  them  out  of  several  hundred 
for  the  specialities  which  they  illustrate,  and  the  excellence 
of  many  of  them  will,  I think,  be  generally  admitted, 
notably  the  one  on  the  very  thin  skin,  which  has  a fine 
amount  of  gradation.  This  5 by  4 negative  I show  to 
illustrate  the  yellow  stain  of  under-exposure  on  some 
plates ; it  is  a Thomas’s  thick-coated  extra  rapid.  These 
two  on  Thomas’s  thick-coated  ordinary  show  a curious 
eating  away  or  disintegration  of  the  film,  which  1 have 
remarked  now  and  again.  This  is  an  instantaneous  ex- 
posure  with  a hand-camera  on  a Lumiere  plate,  the  day  in 
September  rather  dull. 

(To  be  continued.) 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  SURVEY  OF  WARWICK- 
SHIRE.* 

BY  W.  JEROME  HARRISON,  F.G.S. 

The  Warwickshire  of  To-day. — And,  lastly,  we  come  to 
our  own  times.  It  is  clearly  our  duty  to  secure,  so  far  as 
in  us  lies,  a faithful  representation  of  the  state  of  things  as 
it  is  to-day.  For  every  year  we  are  “making  history,”  and 
such  a record  will  be  just  as  much  prized  by  posterity  as 
we  should  ourselves  prize  it  did  it  exist  for  the  past.  Just 
think  what  would  be  the  value  of  good  photographs  of 
Racon  and  of  Shakespeare ; or  of  Queen  Elizabeth  and 
her  minister  Cecil.  Looking  forward  into  the  centuries, 
we  can  discern  a time  when  no  less  value  will  be  assigned 
to  Mrs.  Cameron’s  grand  photographs  of  such  men  as 
Herschel  and  Tennyson ; with  those  by  other  workers  of 
our  good  Queen  Victoria,  and  her  “men  of  mind,” 
Salisbury  and  Gladstone. 

We  must  accumulate  portraits,  then,  of  all  our  local 
worthies.  And  to  them  we  must  add  street  scenes — 
secured  with  the  hand-camera — from  all  our  towns ; 
delineations  of  the  avocations  of  the  people  must  also  be 
obtained,  from  the  country  labourer  in  his  smock-frock 
—a  garment  now  rapidly  disappearing — to  the  skilled  artisan 
of  the  city,  seated  before  his  lathe.  Nothing  that  illus- 
trates contemporary  life  must  be  omitted  ; the  policeman, 
the  soldier,  and  the  volunteer  must  adorn  our  albums; 
and  we  must  go  “slumming”  to  depict  the  shady  side  of 
life. 

Most  congenial  will  be  the  task  of  recording  the  cottage 
* Continued  from  page  SJ2,  vol.  xxsiii. 


and  village  scenery  of  Warwickshire.  I have  travelled 
round  the  world,  I have  spent  many  holidays  in  various 
parts  of  the  British  Isles ; and  I can  assert,  without  fear  of 
contradiction,  that  for  characteristic  pictures  of  rural  and 
home  life  our  county  is  unequalled.  Take  the  string  of 
Shakespearean  villages  along  the  Avon,  for  example  : — 

“Piping  Pebwoith,  dancing  Marrt  n, 

Haunted  Hillborougb.  hungry  Grafton, 

Dadgeing  Exball,  Papist  Wixford, 

Beggarly  Broom,  atd  drunken  Bidford.’’ 

Let  anyone  who  loves  English  scenery  drive  (with  his 
camera  under  the  box-seat)  from  Warwick,  through 
Charlecote  (the  home  of  the  Lucys),  to  Stratford ; and 
thence  on  to  Evesham  and  Tewkesbury,  calling  at  the 
villages  named  in  the  above  quatrain  (said  to  have  been 
penned  by  Shakespeare)  en  route.  Let  him  not  hurry — ■ 
take  a fine  week  in  (say)  June — and  I will  answer  for  it 
that  he  will  ever  afterwards  mark  that  excursion  with  the 
whitest  of  white  stones. 

In  writing  this  brief  account  of  our  county,  I must 
acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Sam.  Timmins’s 
recently  published  “ History  of  Warwickshire  ; ” but  I 
have  also  studied  most  of  the  original  authorities  from 
Dugdale  to  I Ialli well.  Our  noble  Free  Reference  Library 
contains  practically  everything  that  lias  been  published  on 
Warwickshire  ; and  some  useful  county  books  are  also  to 
be  found  in  the  Old  Library. 

If  we  are  to  “survey”  Warwickshire  in  earnest,  we 
must  become  students  as  well  as  photographers  (and  to 
my  mind  this  will  be  one  great  good  resulting  from  the 
task)  ; we  shall  have  to  think  of  something  else  besides  the 
beautiful  and  the  picturesque ; and  we  must  remember 
that  its  associations  may  dignify  the  meanest  dwelling,  and 
render  of  world-wide  interest  the  most  prosaic  surround- 
ings. 

Scientific  Studies  for  Warwickshire  Photoyrujdiers.  — 
Archaiology — the  study  of  the  past — and  Ethnology — the 
study  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  at  the  present  day — 
we  have  already  touched  upon.  But  there  is  much  work 
also  to  be  done  in  Geology,  Botany,  and  Zoology. 

The  t ieoloyy  of  Warwickshire. — The  coloured  maps  issued 
by  the  Geological  Survey  show  the  different  strata  of 
which  the  surface  of  the  county  is  composed ; and  in  a 
book  which  1 wrote  in  1881*  a general  description  of  the 
rocks  of  the  county  will  be  found. 

Every  landscape  depends  for  its  main  outlines  upon  the 
rocks  which  lie  beneath  the  soil ; and  for  those  who  can 
“ read  the  rocks”  the  study  of  the  scenery  of  any  district 
has  a double  pleasure.  The  oldest  rocks  of  Warwickshire 
are  the  Cambrian  quartzites  and  shales  which  lie  between 
Atherstone  and  Nuneaton.  These  had  been  wrongly 
assigned  to  the  Carboniferous  period  by  the  Geological 
Survey,  and  the  discovery  of  their  true  age  was  made  by 
Professor  Lapworth  and  myself  in  1882.  The  quartzites 
(altered  sandstones)  are  magnificently  exposed  in  a series 
of  immense  quarries,  and  they  are  traversed  by  great 
masses  of  dark,  igneous  rocks.  The  shales  are  well  seen 
in  the  Stockingford  railway  cutting. 

In  the  Warwickshire  coal-field,  photographs  of  the 
surface  works,  collieries,  and  colliers  might  be  secured; 
while,  descending  beneath  the  surface,  the  flash-light 
would  enable  us  to  secure  interesting  records  of  the  mines 
and  miners. 

Of  the  Triassic  strata  which  succeed,  there  is  a fine 

* “ Geology  of  the  Counties  of  England,  and  of  North  aud  South  Wales.’* 
Kelly  and  Co.  Ss.  (Now  out  cf  print.) 


January  3.  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


13 


section  of  the  red  sandstone,  sixty  feet  in  vertical  height,  i 
at  Hockley  Cemetery,  in  Birmingham.  Elsewhere  the 
Triassic  rocks  are  hut  seldom  exposed,  and  we  must  be 
content  with  noting  the  level  plains  and  rolling  hills  pro- 
duced by  their  marls  and  sandstone. 

The  I.iassic  strata — limestones  and  clays — which  rest 
upon  the  Trias,  are  quarried  at  Wilmcote,  Binton,  &c. , in 
South  Warwickshire.  The  fossils  contained  in  these  and 
in  other  local  rocks,  of  which  there  is  a grand  series  in  the 
Warwick  Museum  and  in  the  Museum  of  the  Mason 
College,  Birmingham,  will  form  interesting  subjects  for 
our  cameras. 

Lastly,  we  have  the  Drift,  including  those  confused 
beds  of  clay  and  sand,  often  containing  great  blocks  of 
rock  (erratics),  which  have  been  conveyed  from  Wales  or 
from  Scotland  by  the  agency  of  ice  during  the  glacial 
epoch.  The  immense  boulder  which  lies  in  Cannon  Hill 
Park  (Birmingham)  is  a fine  example  of  such  a travelled 
block  ; but  there  are  hundreds  of  others,  and  they  are 
continually  being  destroyed — the  farmers  blow  them  up 
with  dynamite.  So,  too,  with  the  sections— the  quarries, 
railway  cuttings,  &c. — where  the  solid  rocks  are  finely 
exposed.  They  change  from  day  to  day,  until  at  last  they 
are  grassed  over  and  lost.  Let  it  be  our  task,  by  the 
aid  of  photography,  to  record  their  features  for  ever  for 
the  students  of  geology.* 

The  Hot  aw/  of  Wanrickshirc. — The  flora  of  our  county 
has  been  carefully  studied  and  described  by  Messrs. 
William  Matthews,  M.A.,  .1.  E.  Bagnall,  A.L.S.,  W.  B. 
Grove,  B.  A.,  and  other  specialists.  Artists  have  long 
visited  our  parks — l’ackington  Park  especially — to  portray 
the  grand  old  trees  which  adorn  them,  remnants  of  the  old 
forest  of  Arden.  Photography  can  admirably  record 
every  twig  and  leaf.  It  is  certain  that  good  photographs 
of  plants,  especially  if  taken  while  growing  in  their  native 
haunts,  would  help  to  vivify  the  dry  leaves  of  herbaria, 
and  they  would  be  much  valued  by  those  who  study  and 
teach  botany.  I have  seen  some  exquisite  work  in  this 
direction  done  by  one  of  our  members,  Mr.  Charles 
Humphrey.  Let  me  advise  those  who  make  this  branch  a 
speciality  to  photograph  trees  cither  early  or  late  in  the 
day,  when  the  nearly  horizontal  rays  illuminate  their 
trunks.  Let  photographs  of  the  same  tree  be  taken  at 
different  seasons  of  the  year ; then  shall  you  be  able  to 
prepare  a series  of  “dissolving  views,”  in  which  the  tree 
shall  be  shown  to  bud  and  blossom,  be  covered  with  leaves, 
and  anon  be  bare,  yet  beautiful  with  frost-rime. 

(To  he  continued). 


Camera  Cr.un  Notices. — Thursday,  January  2nd,  8 p.m., 
Lantern  Evening  ; Monday,  6th,  8.30  p.m.,  Smoking  Concert ; 
Thursday,  9th,  8 p.m.,  Mr  W.  H.  Walker,  “The  New  Rel- 
iable Celluloid  Film;”  Thursday,  16th,  8 p.m.,  Mr  R.  Tin- 
dall, “Plane  Polarisation  of  Light;”  Monday,  20th,  8 to 
9.30  p.m.,  Mr.  Roberts  will  be  prepared  with  the  lantern  if 
any  member  or  members  send  him  advice  to  the  Club  that 
they  would  like  to  try  slides  ; Thursday,  23rd,  8 p.m..  Rev. 
T.  Perkins,  “ English  Church  Architecture  as  a Subject  for 
Photography”;  Thursday,  30th,  8 p.m.,  Mr.  T.  It.  Pallmeyer, 
“ On  some  Practical  Deductions  from  the  Law  of  Conjugate 
Foci  ” ; Monday,  February  3rd,  8.30  p.m.,  Smoking  Concert ; 
Thursday,  6th,  8 p.m.,  Lantern  Evening  ; Thursday,  13th, 
8 p.m.,  Mr.  Graham- Balfour,  “ Landscape.” 


* See  paper  on  “ Aid  Rendered  by  Photography  to  Geology,  ’ by 
W.  J.  Harrison,  Photoo  bai’uic  News  for  2nd  October,  1885. 


patent  £nttUtgnut. 


Specifications  Published. 

16,894. — November  20 th,  1888.  “Photographic  Cameras.” 

William  Ritchie  Baker,  94,  Seaside,  Eastbourne,  Sussex, 

Chemist. 

According  to  this  invention  the  camera  is  made  to  contain  a 
number  of  sensitized  plates  which  can  be  used  in  succession. 
The  plates  are  arranged  one  in  front  of  another  in  a receptacle 
at  the  back,  or  it  may  be  at  the  sides  of  the  camera,  and  an 
opening  furnished  with  a close  fitting  cuff  or  sleeve  is  provided, 
so  that  the  hand  can  be  introduced  to  arrange  the  plates  with- 
out the  admission  of  light.  When  the  pile  of  plates  is  at  the 
back  of  the  camera  they  are  separated  from  one  another  by 
opaque  paper  or  the  like,  so  that  the  front  plate  can  be  exposed  to 
the  light  without  the  others  being  acted  upon.  When  a picture 
has  been  taken  the  front  (date  is  removed  and  placed  at  the 
back  of  the  pile,  leaving  the  next  plate  in  position  for  the  next 
picture. 

In  place  of  employing  a transparent  screen  of  ground  glass 
for  receiving  the  image  whilst  the  lens  is  being  focussed,  as  is 
now  usual,  I employ  an  opaque  screen,  and  view  the  image  upon 
it  by  a hinged  mirror  or  other  convenient  means.  I prefer  to 
hinge  the  screen  so  that,  when  in  position  for  receiving  the 
image,  it  lies  in  front  of  the  pile  of  plates  at  the  back  of  the 
camera,  but  can  be  drawn  up  and  made  to  lie  against  the  inner 
side  of  the  top  of  the  camera  when  it  is  desired  to  take  a pic- 
ture. 

In  order  that  the  screen  may  occupy  exactly  the  same  posi- 
tion as  the  plate  to  be  acted  upon,  I place  springs  at  the  back  of 
the  pile  of  plates,  so  that  the  screen,  when  lowered,  forces  the 
pile  slightly  backwards,  taking  the  place  of  the  front  plate. 
When,  however,  the  screen  is  drawn  up  out  of  the  way,  the 
springs  force  the  pile  of  plates  forward  again  into  position. 

The  camera  is  provided  with  two  doors,  one  at  the  top  and 
the  other  at  the  bottom.  That  at  the  top  serves  as  an  open- 
ing through  which  the  opaque  screen  can  be  viewed,  whilst 
that  at  the  bottom  is  for  the  manipulation  of  the  plates,  as 
above  described. 

In  order  to  render  the  camera  as  compact  as  possible,  I 
carry  the  lens  upon  the  end  of  a drawer  which,  when  pulled 
out,  gives  the  requisite  focus  length,  the  focussing  being  per- 
formed by  adjusting  the  distance  to  which  the  drawer  is  pulled 
out. 

1 do  not  fix  the  lens  rigidly  to  the  end  of  this  drawer,  but  I 
connect  it  to  it  by  mechanism  in  such  a way  that  when  the 
drawer  is  closed  the  front  of  the  lens  lies  flush  with  the  end, 
but  when  the  drawer  is  pulled  out  the  lens  is  protruded. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1st.  A photographic  camera  having  a receptacle  or  changing 
box  carrying  the  sensitive  plates  or  other  media,  this  said 
receptacle  or  changing  box  being  arranged  to  move  within  the 
body  of  the  camera  in  a backward  or  forward  direction,  an 
opaque  focussing  screen  arranged  on  the  front  face  of  the  said 
receptacle  or  changing  box,  a hinged  mirror,  and  a suitable  close 
fitting  or  sleeve. 

2nd.  In  a photographic  camera  the  combination  of  an  opaque 
focussing  screen  with  a movable  receptacle  or  changing  box 
holding  the  sensitive  plates  or  other  media. 

3rd.  In  a photographic  camera  the  combination  of  an  opaque 
focussing  screen  with  a mirror,  and  a suitable  aperture  and 
door  in  the  door  of  the  camera,  for  viewing  the  said  mirror. 

14,537. — 16</i  September,  1889.  “Photographic  Cameras.” 

William  Scorer,  Watchmaker,  Jeweller,  and  Photographer, 

North  Street,  Havant. 

The  inventor  says  that  his  invention  consists  of  a front  to  be 
used  as  part  of  a photographic  camera,  to  hold  the  lens  in  any 
convenient  position  opposite  the  slide  containing  the  sensitive 
plate,  and  which  has  the  means  of  moving  the  opening  contain- 
ing the  lens  to  any  convenient  position,  the  device  being  a great 
improvement  upon  the  usual  vertical  and  horizontal  slides  to 
which  the  lens  is  usually  fixed.  This  form  of  front,  he  says, 
is  particularly  adapted  to  the  form  of  camera  having  a parallel 


14 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


[January 


1850. 


bellows,  but  may  also  be  used  to  advantage  with  a camera 
having  a taper  or  conical  bellows,  having  also  a rising  front. 
He  describes  several  other  devices  in  the  construction  of  photo- 
graphic cameras. 

16,593. — October  21  st,  1889.  “Optical  Illusions.”  Jacob 

Keller,  Merchant,  of  10,  Pcrleupfuhl,  Cologne,  and  Gustav 

Castan,  Sculptor,  of  13,  Stiihlerstrasse,  Berlin. 

The  invention  chiefly  relates  to  new  combinations  and  ar- 
rangements of  mirrors,  which  give  the  visitor  the  impression 
that  he  is  placed  in  a labyrinth  formed  by  c do nnades  or  arcades, 
mirrors  and  painted  views. 

Although  the  apparatus  occupies  a very  small  space,  the 
inventors  say  that  the  visitor  believes  himself  to  stand  before 
endless  colonnades,  and,  if  tempted  to  enter  the  same,  he  finds 
himself  suddenly  stopped  by  a mirror,  from  which  the  deep 
colonnades  seem  to  extend  to  the  right  and  to  the  left. 

They  say  that  one  illusion  represents  a tropical  garden,  and 
the  background  forms  the  entrance  to  a Moorish  Temple,  while 
palms  and  exotic  plants  are  placed  between  the  mirrors. 
Owing  to  the  multiple  reflection,  the  single  entrance  appears 
like  an  entire  mosque,  surrounded  by  a tropical  garden.  The 
space  in  which  the  visitor  stands  occupies  scarcely  two  square 
meters,  but  the  whole  looks  like  a great  palm  garden  in  a 
tropical  country. 

The  invention  also  comprises  a specially  constructed  camera 
or  kaleidoscope,  which  has  the  shape  of  a regular  tetrahedron. 
The  upper  three  sides  of  the  tetrahedron  are  formed  by  three 
large  triangular  mirrors,  the  edges  of  which  are  ground  and  fitted 
together,  so  that  the  whole  appears  to  be  made  of  one  piece. 
The  chamber  is  entered  from  below  through  a circular  staircase, 
and  a second  staircase  serves  for  the  exit. 

The  visitor  ascending  the  spiral  staircase  sees  a great  number 
of  repetitions  of  his  own  image  from  the  front,  from  the  back, 
and  from  both  sides.  Four  or  five  persons  standing  together  in 
the  kaleidoscope  appear  as  an  innumerable  crowd. 

The  following  are  considered  the  essential  features  of  the 
invention  : — 

1.  That  the  mirrors  and  passages  are  inclined  to  each  other 
at  an  angle  of  60°  or  at  a multiple  of  60°,  the  horizontal  sec- 
tion of  the  individual  compartments  being  composed  of  equi- 
lateral triangles. 

2.  That  the  mirrors  and  passages  are  all  alike  as  regards 
their  width  and  height,  as  well  as  the  shape,  size,  and  design 
or  decoration  of  the  frames  or  borders. 

3.  The  kaleidoscope,  which  is  accessible  only  from  below, 
while  the  sides  or  walls  are  composed  of  large  triangular 
mirrors,  which  form  three  adjoining  sides  of  a regular  tetra- 
hedron, and  are  therefore  placed  to  each  other  and  to  the  floor 
at  an  angle  of  60°. 

The  specification  is  accompanied  by  drawings. 


The  Photographic  Year. — In  its  record  of  the  leading  facts 
of  progress  made  in  photography  since  January,  1889,  the 
Photographic  Times  calls  attention  to  celluloid  as  a substitute 
for  glass  in  photography,  and  as  a material  well  suited  for  mak- 
ing focussing  screens  and  other  articles  requiring  great  lightness 
and  strength  ; to  magnesium  for  illuminating  subjects  by  arti- 
ficial light.  “In  development,”  it  says,  “ hydrochinon  has 
waxed  and  waned  in  popular  esteem,  and  eikonogen  has  largelv 
taken  its  place,  especially  among  amateurs.  Pyro  continues  to 
be  largely  used,  however,  by  all  classes  of  photographers. 
Lantern  slides  and  photomicrographs  are  being  made  in  greater 
numbers  than  ever  before,  and  the  colour-sensitive  plate  is  being 
more  largely  used.  Dry  plates  have  improved  in  quality  during 
the  past  year.”  Our  contemporary  then  goes  on  to  note  the 
increase  in  the  number  of  photographic  clubs,  of  amateur  pho- 
tographers, and  of  photographic  instruction  books  ; and  con- 
cludes by  expressing  the  opinion  that  “ the  improvements  made 
in  photographic  optics  and  the  manufacture  of  cameras,  tripods, 
and  other  apparatus,  make  it  possible  for  photographic  prac- 
tical workers  to  do  better  work  with  greater  facility  than  ever 
before.  The  outlook  was  never  brighter  for  a new  year.” 


d^omspontinuc. 


PHOTOGRAPHERS’  BENEVOLENT  ASSOCIATION. 

Sir, — The  Photographers’  Benevolent  Association  is  now  so 
well  and  favourably  known  to  most  of  your  readers  that  I 
feel  emboldened  to  ask  space  for  this  short  communication. 

The  Association  has,  after  a long  struggle  with  the  apathy 
of  those  whom  it  wished  to  benefit,  at  last  become  the 
recognised  charitable  centre  of  the  profession.  Its  objects  are 
already  widely  known,  ami  during  the  sixteen  years  of  its 
existence  there  has  not  been  a single  charge  against  the 
committee  of  unfairness  or  injustice  in  their  awards.  This  the 
committee  freely  acknowledge  is  in  a great  measure  due  to 
the  careful  investigation  which  each  case  has  received  at  the 
hands  of  the  secretary,  Mr  H.  Harland.  Owing  to  the  pres- 
sure of  other  business  this  gentleman  is  compelled  to  resign 
his  position  in  February  next,  and  the  committee  have,  in 
consequence,  to  seek  for  a successor  to  him.  This  affords  a 
I favourable  opportunity  to  replace  a paid  secretary  by  an 
honorary  one,  provided  that  a gentleman,  either  amateur 
or  professional,  can  be  found  able  and  willing  to  devote  a 
small  portion  of  his  time  to  the  duties.  It  has  been  several 
times  pointed  out  that  the  secretary’s  salary,  small  though  it  is, 
forms  a serious  item  in  the  yearly  balance  sheet,  and  it  is 
with  the  hope  of  being  able  to  still  further  benefit  their 
poorer  brethren  that  the  committee  now  appeal  to  the  pho- 
tographic community  for  a volunteer  in  this  capacity.  It  may 
be  mentioned  that  the  duties  are  simple,  and  can  easily  be 
performed  by  anyone  who  has  had  any  business  experience. 

The  chairman  of  committee,  Mr.  W.  Bedfoid,  326,  Camden 
Road,  N.,  will  be  pleased  to  furnish  further  particulars,  list  of 
committee,  &o.  Pro  Committee  P.B.A.,  E.  Clifton. 


REPRODUCTION  AND  COPYRIGHT. 

Sir, — I read  the  first  of  the  notes  in  your  issue  of  December 
13th  with  some  astonishment.  From  it  I conclude  that  in 
your  opinion  when  a photographer  has  given  permission  to  a 
certain  newspaper  to  reproduce  a photograph,  he  should  hence- 
forth consider  the  copyright,  as  far  as  this  kind  of  reproduction 
is  concerned,  at  the  disposal  of  the  newspaper  to  whom  per- 
mission to  copj'  has  first  been  granted.  Permission  to  repro- 
duce photographs  in  newspapers  and  magazines  is  being  made 
too  cheap,  and  I think  most  photographers  of  experience  will 
agree  with  me  that  the  advertisement  obtained  from  the  average 
illustrated  paper  reproduction  is  not  likely  to  give  the  photo- 
grapher adequate  repayment,  save  in  exceptional  cases,  for  the 
use  of  his  copyright. 

A late  experience  of  mine  of  the  wiles  of  illustration  hunters 
may  be  of  interest,  and  perhaps  instructive  to  some  of  your 
readers. 

A publishing  firm  wrote  me  requesting  permission  to  pro- 
duce a wood-cut  from  a photograph  of  mine  for  a magazine 
(specified,  andsample  copy  sent)  circulating,  as  was  evident  from 
its  general  character,  among  a class  of  people  by  whom  it  could 
not  possibly  be  of  any  account  to  me  whether  my  picture 
were  seen  or  not,  even  if  it  had  been  well  reproduced,  which  I 
knew  from  previous  experience  it  would  not  be.  My  answer 
was  that  the  photograph  in  question  could  be  used  as  re- 
quested on  payment  of  one  guinea.  This  was  agreed  upon,  a 
print  of  the  photograph  sent  and  the  invoice  ; but  being  some- 
what more  wary  than  the  firm  had  evidently  anticipated,  I 
wrote  on  the  invoice  that  permission  to  copy  was  granted  only 
for  the  particular  paper  specified.  This  did  not  suit  the  pub- 
lishers at  all,  and  they  wrote  me  to  the  effect  that  permission 
to  reproduce  could  not  be  accepted  under  conditions.  Thus, 
although  the  request  had  only  been  made  for  a specified  paper 
of  limited  circulation,  the  intention  was  evidently  to  make  in- 
discriminate use  of  my  copyright  for  small  consideration. 

There  is  very  exceptionally  any  encouragement  to  profes- 
sional photographers  to  produce  pictures  except  the  love  of  it, 
and  the  expense  is  to  many  a verj-  serious  consideration  ; and 
surely  anything  which  makes  the  practice  of  art  less  burden- 
some to  the  pocket  of  the  photographer  should  receive  the  sup- 
port of  the  photographic  press. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


lf> 


January  3,  1890.] 


The  experiences  and  opinions  of  others  of  your  readers  in  this 
connection  would  be  interesting. 

There  is  also  another  matter  which  I should  like  to  mention, 
and  on  which  I believe  there  is  considerable  misconception.  1 
have  heard  it  stated  by  men  one  would  expect  to  know,  that  a 
photograph  must  be  registered  before  publication  in  order  to 
make  copyright  sccurable  ; also  that  to  mark  a photograph 
copyright  which  has  not  been  registered  is  a fraud.  Now,  as  I 
understand  the  Act,  copyright  in  a photograph  belongs  to  the 
producer  of  such  photograph,  or  to  the  person  paying  a valuable 
consideration  for  its  production  ; and  such  owner  of  copyright 
can  secure  legal  protection  against  infringement  whenever  lie 
likes  to  register  his  copyright,  but  cannot  obtain  any  compen- 
sation for  infringement  previous  to  registration.  This  is  quite 
a different  thing  to  total  loss  of  copyright  through  neglect  of 
registration  previous  to  publication.  I believe  a clear  and 
correct  statement  of  the  law  in  connection  with  such  cases 
would  be  of  immense  value  to  photographers. 

R"dhiU,  December  30 th.  Ralph  AY.  Robinson. 

li)roceet»mgg  of  Soriettcg. 


Photographic  Society  ok  Great  Britain. 

At  the  technical  meeting  of  this  Society  held  on  the  31st  ult., 
the  chair  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Atkinson. 

Some  photographs  of  groups  of  theatrical  subjects,  taken 
upon  the  stage  with  magnesium  flash  lamps,  were  exhibited  by 
Mr.  1‘.  Downer,  of  Watford.  In  <>no  of  these  groups  there  were 
whitish  streaks,  extending  about  a quarter  of  the  distance 
from  the  sides  towards  the  centre  of  the  plate.  He  enquired 
the  opinion  of  the  members  as  to  this  appearance. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  suggested  that  they  were  probably  due 
to  the  flashes  shining  upon  the  lens,  and  giving  rise  to  what 
were  called  “ ghost  ” images.  When  very  bright  artificial  light 
"as  used,  the  camera  ought  to  be  shaded  from  such  light  by  a 
hood. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  thought  tint  that  was  the  probable 
explanation  of  the  markings. 

The  Chairman  showed  a photograph  of  a family  group 
taken  with  flash  lamp.  The  picture  was  somewhat  weak  and 

flat. 

Mr.  L.  \\  arxerke  thought  that  too  much  magnesium  had 
been  used.  A very  small  quantity  sufficed  if  it  was  thoroughly 
burned.  When  it  was  attempted  to  burn  a large  quantity, 
not  only  did  some  escape  burning,  but  the  duration  of  the 
flash  was  so  long  that  movement  on  the  part  of  the  sitters 
became  probable. 

Mr.  Friese  Green  had  tried  the  magnesium  flash  lamp  com- 
mercially for  about  three  months,  but  had  had  to  give  it  up. 
The  pictures  taken  with  it  generally  failed  to  give  satisfaction 
to  the  sitters. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  asked  if  there  was  any  magnesium 
flash  lamp  that  burned  the  metal  quickly  enough. 

Mr.  Warnerke  replied  that  there  was,  provided  that  only  a 
small  quantity  was  used. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  enquired  whether  Mr.  Warnerke  had 
found  it  advantageous  to  dry  the  magnesium  powder  before 

using  it. 

Mr.  Warnerke  replied  that  he  dried  it  after  purchase,  and 
then  preserved  it  in  a bottle  for  use. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  had  found  that  a mixture  of  freshly- 
dried  magnesium  and  chlorate  of  potash  exploded  with  such 
rapidity  that  fourteen  grains  of  it  would  shake  the  windows  of 
the  room  in  which  it  was  used,  but  that  after  an  hour  or  so 
it  lost  this  power  of  extremely  rapid  combustion. 

Mr.  Warnerke  showed  a lamp  for  burning  magnesium 
ribbon,  of  which  he  had  spoken  at  previous  meetings.  It  was 
made  in  Berlin,  by  Ney,  and  had  several  points  of  novelty 
about  it,  the  chief  of  which  was  the  contrivance  for  automa- 
tically striking  down  the  burned  ribbon  at  short  intervals.  This 
action  made  a clicking  sound,  and  as  it  was  repeated  at  the 
rate  of  once  for  a little  more  than  an  inch  of  ribbon  burned, 
it  was  practicable,  by  counting  the  clicks,  to  know  and  regulate 
the  amount  of  magnesium  used  for  the  exposure.  For  copy- 


ing purposes  he  held  the  lamp  during  about  seven  clicks,  on 
each  side  of  the  picture.  This  equalised  the  lighting,  and 
pievented  irregularities  in  the  surface  of  the  picture  from  show- 
ing in  the  negative.  The  exposure  he  had  mentioned,  repre- 
senting about  fifteen  inches  of  ribbon,  was  what  he  found  to 
be  right  for  copying  an  engraving  half  its  real  size  when  using 
a plate  giving  fifteen  on  the  sensitometer,  and  a lens  of  the 
portable  symmetrical  character.  There  was  a hood  in  front  of 
the  lamp  furnished  with  a groove  into  which  a ground  glass 
could  be  fitted  for  ordinary  work,  and  coloured  glasses 
for  orthochromatic  work.  He  had  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  for  copying  it  was  folly  to  use  daylight.  The 
certainty  of  exposure,  as  well  as  the  convenience  of  lighting 
so  as  to  obviate  the  irregularities  of  surface  from  showing,  were 
advantages  on  the  side  of  the  magnesium  lamp  far  outweighing 
the  trifling  expense  attached  to  it.  As  to  the  smoke,  the 
chimney  belonging  to  the  lamp  could  be  contrived  by  a paper 
tube  to  any  opening  connected  with  the  outer  air.  He  had 
tried  condensing  chambers  in  which  the  fumes  passed  over  a 
surface  moist  with  acid,  but  they  proved  a failure. 

Mr.  Debenham  asked  whether  Mr.  Wai  nerke  had  tried 
Meydenbauer’s  condensing  chimney,  in  which  the  result  was 
brought  about  by  keeping  the  magnesia  diluted  with  as  little 
air  as  possible. 

Mr.  Warnerke  had  not  tried  it.  He  then  referred  to 
eikonogen,  which  was  in  his  opinion  much  better  than  any  other 
developer  that  he  had  tried.  He  had  worked  one  mixture  for 
a whole  week,  developing  a plate  in  it  occasionally,  and  found 
it  good  to  the  last.  He  found  caustic  potash  better  than  the 
carbonate.  The  formula  used  was  a concentrated  one  as 
follows : — 

Sulphite  of  soda  ...  ...  ...  ...  40  parts 

Boiling  distilled  water  ...  ...  ...  100  ,, 

Eikonogen...  ...  ...  ...  ...  10  ,, 

Caustic  potash  ...  ...  ...  ...  10  , , 

The  sulphite  was  first  dissolved,  then  the  eikonogen,  and 
lastly  the  potash.  It  was  filtered  and  bottled  away  whilst  hot. 
For  use  he  diluted  with  two  or  three  parts  of  water  if  he 
wanted  strong  contrasts,  and  with  from  nine  to  ten  for  softer 
pictures.  During  his  visit  to  the  Paris  Exhibition  he  had 
met  with  M.  Maret,  who  was  working  on  physiological  subjects, 
where  he  only  exposed  for  about  the  j^o  part  of  a second,  using 
hydrokinone.  On  comparing  with  eikonogen,  however,  they 
found  the  power  of  the  latter  in  bringing  up  detail  to  be  very 
much  greater. 

Some  photographs  of  large  size  (about  21  by  17)  of  American 
scenery  by  Jackson,  taken  direct,  were  shown  by  Mr.  Friese 
Greene. 


West  London  Photographic  Society. 

On  the  27th  December,  a technical  meeting  of  the  above 
Society  was  held  at  the  Addison  Hall,  Mr.  C.  Garner 
Richardson,  M.A.,  occupying  the  chair.  Mr.  St.  Clair 
Buxton,  F.R.C.S.,  Mr.  W.  H.  Whitear,  and  Mr.  Miller  were 
elected  members. 

The  discussion  upon  Mr.  Stein’s  paper  on  Hand  Cameras  was 
adjourned  until  the  second  meeting  in  January. 

The  Secretary  (Mr.  Hodges)  informed  the  meeting  that  the 
annual  exhibition  would  be  held  on  the  10th  January,  at 
half-past  seven,  and  would  remain  open  on  Saturday,  11th, 
from  three  to  half-past  nine.  Mr.  Mial,  the  inventor  of  the 
Facile  Detective  Camera,  attended  and  explained  its  construc- 
tion to  the  members. 

In  reply  to  the  question,  “ Would  the  addition  of  sulphurous 
acid  to  the  fixing  bath  have  an  injurious  effect  on  the  negative?” 

Mr.  Stein  said  the  effect  would  be  to  liberate  sulphur,  which 
would  be  prejudicial  to  the  negatives. 

Mr.  Hodges  thought  it  not  advisable  to  add  any  acid  to  the 
fixing  bath,  and  least  of  all  sulphurous  acid. 

Mr.  Rickford  desired  to  know  the  proper  quantity  of 
magnesium  ribbon  to  burn  when  reducing  half-plate  negatives 
to  lantern  size  by  reduction  in  the  camera. 

Mr.  Bennett  had  produced  many  slides  in  that  way,  and  had 
found  three  to  five  feet  necessary,  and  burnt  about  three  inches 
behind  the  negative. 


16 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  XE\\>. 


[Jam  ary  3,  1800 


Mr.  Winter  thought  the  amount  excessive. 

Mr.  Cobb  showed  some  bromide  prints  which  had  been 
bleached  by  immersing  in  a solution  of  bichromate  of  potassium 
acidified  with  hydrochloric  acid,  and,  after  exposure  to  light, 
redeveloped  with  ferrous  oxalate.  The  tones  produced  were 
warm  brown. 

Mr.  Hodges  said  the  degree  of  warmth  would  depend  upon 
the  amount  of  re-exposure  given.  Bromide  prints  would  tone 
to  a good  brown  with  the  ordinary  uranium  intensifier. 

Mr.  Leslie  Selby  recommended  bleaching  with  mercury,  and 
subsequent  treatment  with  sulphite  of  soda,  as  advocated  by 

Mr.  A.  K.  Dresser.  

North  Middlesex  Photographic  Club. 

The  above  Club  held  an  exhibition  on  Monday,  December  16th, 
consisting  of  members’ work.  There  were  six  classes  for  competi- 
tion, to  which  were  contributed  about  200  pictures,  and  150 
lantern  slides.  The  judges  were  Messrs.  S.  Herbert  Fry  and 
Charles  W.  Hastings. 

The  following  are  the  classes  and  prizes  taken  in  each  : — 
Class  I. — (Landscapes  in  Silver,  any  size),  first-class  certificate, 
C.  Beadle  ; second  ditto,  J.  W.  Marchant  ; lion,  mention, 
W.  T.  Goodhew.  Class  II. — (Landscape  in  Platinum  or 
Bromide,  any  size),  first-class  certificate,  W.  T.  Goodhew : 
second  ditto,  C.  Beadle  ; hon.  mention,  Geo.  R.  Martin. 
Class  III. — (Portrait,  not  less  than  four  admitted  to  competi- 
tion), first-class  certificate,  H.  Beckett  ; special  class,  formed 
by  request  of  the  judges  (Figure  Studies),  first-class  certificate, 
R.  B.  Lodge.  Class  V. — (Lantern  Transparencies,  not  less 
than  six  admitted  to  competition),  first-class  certificate,  C. 
Beadle  ; second  ditto,  H.  Walker.  Class  VI. — (Enlargements), 
first-class  certificate  to  A.  Le  Vierge  ; second,  W.  Sweeting. 
The  “ Amateur  Photographer  Bronze  Medal  ” was  awarded  to 
Mi-.  W.  T.  Goodhew,  for  his  picture  of  the  waterfall  in 
Battersea  Park.  In  the  evening  there  were  two  lantern  displays, 
followed  by  vocal  and  instrumental  music. 

In  the  mounting  of  some  of  the  exhibits,  the  prints  were 
squeegeed  into  optical  contact  with  the  glass,  leaving  a consider- 
able margin  of  clear  glass  round  the  edge,  and  then  placed  in  the 
frames  with  a piece  of  plain  oak  a short  distance  from  the  glass. 

The  exhibition  was  to  some  extent  marred  by  pictures  being 
hung  too  high  through  insufficient  room,  as  although  the  hall 
was  capableof  holding  six  hundred  people,  the  available  space  was 
largely  occupied  by  recesses  and  windows. 


Photographic  Society  of  Ireland. 

A TECHNICAL  meeting  was  held  at  the  Society’s  rooms,  ] 5,  Daw- 
son Street,  Dublin,  on  Friday,  December  20th,  Mr.  Louis 
M ELDON  in  the  chair. 

Dr.  Cosgrave  read  some  notes  on  Ilford  lantern  plates, 
relative  to  his  experiments  with  those  plates  under  varying 
periods  of  exposure  to  the  light  of  an  ordinary  gas  jet,  the 
results  obtained  being  exhibited  at  the  same  time  through  the 
lantern. 

Dr.  Scott  showed  in  the  same  manner  a set  of  these  plates, 
some  exposed  to  the  light  of  a paraffin  lamp,  and  some  to  that 
of  magnesium  wire,  the  developer  being  eikonogen  with  all. 
Very  rapid  results  were  obtained  with  the  magnesium  wire. 

Mr.  Conan  brought  forward  the  subject  of  the  construction 
of  the  dark  room  proposed  to  be  fitted  up  on  the  Society’s 
premises.  An  interesting  discussion  followed,  in  which  many 
of  the  members  took  part. 

The  negatives  taken  during  the  excursion  of  the  Society 
in  September  were  handed  round  for  inspection  and  criticism. 

Eleven  new  members  were  elected,  and  seven  proposed. 

Received. — “ Wintering  on  Lakes  Le  Arau  and  Marapouri  ” ; 
a Photographic  Diary  by  Alfred  H.  Burton.  Some  of  Mr. 
Burton’s  diaries  have  in  past  years  been  reproduced  in  the 
Photographic  News,  and  this,  the  latest  account  of  his  photo- 
graphic experiences  in  opening  up  new  country,  reprinted  from 
the  Otago  Daily  Timex,  is  of  a very  interesting  character.  At 
the  end  of  the  Diary  is  a catalogue  of  the  views  taken  during 
Mr.  Burton  s trip. — Messrs.  T.  Fletcher  & Co’s.,  New  Patent 
Calendar  for  1890  is  a combination  of  illustrated  catalogue  and 
calendar. 


aitstocvg  to  (?ToiTC$ijponticnt:5. 


All  Alvertisemcnts  and  communications  rel  Ring  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  ot  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  N’kws,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5, Purnival  Street,  London. 

All  Communications,  exiept  advertisements,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  adtreisel  to  the  E lit  or  of  the  Photographic  NV.\vs,  6,  Furnival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

All  questi'ns  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  aldressed  to 
Mr  John  Spille-,  P C S.,  2,  S’.  Mary’s  Roal,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

The  Rev.  F.  C.  Lamiibrt  writes  to  make  a correction  in  his  note 
on  the  “ Champion  Class,”  at  page  U3of  the  Year-Book.  The 
reader  is  requested  to  run  his  pen  through  the  word  not  at  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  line,  in  the  sentence,  “ Why  should  he  (not) 
run  again  in  another  race.” 

S.  T. — Your  reference  is  at  fault;  the  specification  refers  to  a 
totally  different  matter.  We  have  made  another  search  without 
finding  any  record  of  a patent  having  been  applied  for  in  Great 
Britain. 

W.  L.  (Java). — We  have  been  to  inspect  the  enlarging  lantern  at 
£6  fi->.  It  is  a thoroughly  efficient  instrument,  with  5-inch  com- 
pound condenser,  and  front  combination  lens  fitted  with  rack  and 
pinion,  triple  wick  lamp  (not  quadruple),  in  Russian  iron  case, 
oak  mounted,  and  all  suitable  for  quarter-plats  negative;  but  if 
you  wish  to  use  it  with  your  larger  size,  7J  by  4J,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  begin  by  reducing  them  to  appropriate  dimensions, 
an ! then  afterwards  to  amplify  in  this  particular  form  of  apparatus 
Boston,  U.S.A. — Calcium  chloride  in  collodion.  Since  answer- 
ing you  oa  th:s  point  a fortnight  ago,  we  have  found  a reference 
to  the  use  of  cbdoride  of  calcium  for  making  a special  chloro- 
bromide  collodion  emulsion  said  to  be  used,  when  tinted  with 
ch’orophyll,  for  taking  photographs  of  the  >un.  The  statement 
occurs  in  Mr.  Hermann  Gunther's  letter  lo  the  News  of  Aug.  9th, 
1889  (see  page  525  of  last  volume),  and  is  an  ingredient  of  the 
collodion  formula  therein  given  as  that  of  Dr.  Zenger.  Half  a 
gramme  of  calcium  chloride,  and  three  and  a quarter  grammes  of 
cadmium  bromide,  are  used  for  sailing  the  collodion. 

A.  M.  M. — Great  cred  t is  due  lo  you  for  the  admirable  summary 
of  photographic  literature  which  appears  in  the  “Abstracts” 
given  in  the  December  number  of  the  Photographic  Journal, 
There  will  be,  at  times,  some  overlapping,  tor  tne  paper  on 
eikonogen  by  Prof.  G.  D.  Ijiveing  did  not  fir^t  appear  in  the 
journal  to  which  reference  was  made. 

Id.  B.— You  can  g t the  illuslrated  ca’alogue  of  the  Paris  Salon  at 
the  Slade  S:h  ol  Art  Depot,  137,  Go.ver  Street,  W.C. 

E.  I,.,  and  Grained. — Read  first  Mr.  W.  K.  Burtm’s  “Manual 
of  Collotype,  Zincography,  and  Photo- mechanical  Printing” 
(M  irion  and  Co.,  Soho  Square) ; you  will  then  sec  what  apparatus 
you  require.  The  lithographic  press  and  othir  items,  such  as 
r filers  and  ink.  ran  be  piocured  of  Messrs.  Hughes  and  Kirnber, 
ant  Mr.  Wins'on-,  of  Shoe  Line.  You  should  not  begin  with 
12  by  10  pla’es,  but  get  experience  with  half-plateor  cabinet  size, 
and  gradua'ly  work  upwards  when  the  technical  difficulties 
are  fairly  mastered.  We  cannot  refer  you  to  any  school  of 
instruction. 

J.  M.  G. — The  round  white  spo's  on  your  silver  print  are  evidently 
the  result  of  smie  accidental  splashes  of  acid,  or  of  a corrosive 
metallic  salt;  but,  when  moistened  with  water  and  tested  with 
blue  litmus  paper,  we  failed  to  get  any  indication  of  free  acid, 
which  may,  however,  have  evaporated  off  meanwhile. 

Printer. — A plough  cutter,  such  as  used  by  bookbinders  and 
stationers,  would  answer  your  purpose.  Enquire  of  Messrs. 
Wuterlow  and  S >ns,  Limited,  Finsbury  Works,  E.C.  It  is 
figured  in  their  catalogue. 

J.  E.  (Oxon). — The  ether  saturator  can  be  procured  of  Mr.  W.  C. 

Hughts,  82,  Mortimer  Road,  Kingsland,  N . 

W.  George. — Every  carbon  print  shows  a slight  relief  when  deve- 
loped and  diied.  The  degree  of  prominence  will  depend  somewhat 
upon  the  character  of  the  original  negative,  but  upon  applying  to 
the  Autotype  Co.npiny,  74,  New  Oxford  Street,  your  special 
requirements  may  be  met  by  varying  the  amount  of  pigment  or 
chemical  quality  of  the  tissue. 

Bavox. — This  question  has  often  been  asked  of  late.  Only  those 
who  have  been  appointed  photographers  to  the  Queen,  or  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  have  the  right  to  use  the  Royal  Arms.  Such 
persons  hold  an  official  document,  signed  by  the  Comptroller  of 
the  Household,  notifying  their  appointment. 

Several  other  correspondents  in  our  next. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 

I n-  ' * * 

I ) 

Vol.  XXXIY.  No.  1636. — January  10,  1890. 

CONTENTS. 


PAO  X 


British  Photographers  and  Foreign  Fortifications  17 

The  Law  of  Copyright  17 

The  Late  Col.  Russell’s  Contributions^  Photography.  By 

Prof.  Raphael  Meldola,  F.R.8.,  F.C.S 18 

Repairing  Broken  Negatives.  By  Hugh  Brebner  20 

The  Progress  of  Quinol  Development.  By  Alfred  Maskell 21 

Photographing  Lightning 22 

Photography  in  France.  By  Leon  Vidal  23 

Cold  Weather  Notes.  By  C.  Brangwin  Barnes  25 

Notes  20 


P AO  R 


Photography  in  Germany.  By  Hermann  E.  Gunther 27 

Photography  of  the  Insane  for  Purposes  of  Psychiatria.  By 

Dr.  Eder 29 

Photographic  Survey  of  Warwickshire.  By  W.  J.  Harrison  ...  SO 

Patent  Intelligence 31 

Correspondence.— Reproduction  and  Copyright — Art  Photo- 
graphy Recognized  at  Last — Sundry  Notes  and  Corrections 

—Photographic  Tourists’  Baggage  33 

Proceedings  of  Societies  34 

Answers  to  Correspondents 36 


BRITISH  PHOTOGRAPHERS  ANT)  FOREIGN 
FORTIFICATIONS. 

Examination  of  the  periodical  photographic  literature 
of  this  country  for  many  years  past,  proves  that  when 
London  and  some  other  British  photographers  have  but 
a few  days  to  spare,  and  wish  to  spend  those  three  or 
four  days  on  the  Continent,  Antwerp  is  selected  as  the 
place  to  visit  in  the  great  majority  of  cases.  The 
reasons  for  this  may  readily  be  seen.  A boat  train 
leaves  at  night  when  the  engagements  of  the  day  may 
be  supposed  to  be  over,  and  on  board  the  boat  a complete 
night’s  rest  may  be  obtained  ; especially  has  it  been  so 
of  late  years,  since  the  accommodation  for  passengers  by 
this  route  has  been  so  liberally  improved.  The  day- 
time is  thus  left  unbrokenly  and  on  land  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  traveller.  In  addition  to  these  advan- 
tages of  that  particular  trip,  Antxvcrp  is  a great  city 
abounding  in  picturesque  architectural  food  for  the 
camera. 

Short  photographic  excursions  of  the  same  kind  to 
France  are  scarcely  ever  described  in  the  photographic 
journals;  yet  Havre,  like  Autwerp,  is  a place  which 
can  be  visited  with  a complete  night’s  rest  on  board 
the  boat,  both  in  going  and  returning  by  the 
London  and  South  Western  route.  A great  impedi- 
ment to  shortphotographicexcursions  to  any  French  port 
is,  the  uncertainty  whether  the  holiday-seeker  may 
not  get  into  trouble  by  innocently  taking  pictures  too 
near  fortifications,  for  several  cases  have  been  published 
of  late  years  of  unpleasant  treatment  by  French  officials 
of  perfectly  harmless  landscape  photographers.  Of 
course,  on  this  side  of  the  xvater  we  are  liable  to  see 
but  ex  parte  statements  of  each  case,  the  aspects 
whereof  might  appear  in  a different  light  were  the 
other  side  of  the  case  put  forth  from  a French  source. 
Broadly  speaking,  it  is  a recognized  fact  that  the 
average  English  are  not  popular  on  the  Continent,  and 
this  arises  chiefly  from  the  offensive  manners  of  a por- 
tion of  our  countrymen ; perhaps  some  English 
photographers  who  have  found  themselves  in  trouble 
on  the  other  side  of  the  water,  would  have  been  better 
treated  had  they  been  decently  affable. 

Last  Monday,  when  returning  from  more  southern 
parts,  we  called  upon  some  of  the  officials  of  the  Photo- 


graphic Club  at  Havre,  and  inquired  whether  the 
presence  of  the  surrounding  fortifications  would  causa 
the  prohibition  of  out-door  photographic  work  by  any 
English  photographers  who  might  visit  the  city  for  a 
few  days’  holiday.  They  replied  that  nobody  would 
interfere  with  their  photographing  inside  Havre  itself, 
and  that  they  did  not  think  that  there  would  be  any 
objection  to  their  photographing  along  the  beach,  but 
would  make  inquiries  on  the  subject.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  mouth  of  the  Seine  are  the  two  pretty  little 
seaside  places  of  Trouville  and  Honfleur,  and  the  time 
of  reaching  them  from  Havre  by  small  passenger  boats 
is  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  They  are  good  places  for 
camera  work,  and  especially  is  this  the  case  with  Trou- 
ville and  its  neighbourhood.  Unfortunately,  however, 
there  is  at  present  but  one  boat  a day,  with  a few  ex- 
ceptions in  the  course  of  each  month,  to  either  place, 
and  that  boat  does  not  start  daily  at  the  same  hour ; 
the  service  is  a tidal  one.  A new  pier  is  nearly  com- 
pleted at  Trouville.  It  is  said  that  when  it  is  finished 
communication  with  Havre  by  small  passenger  boat 
will  be  kept  up  at  regular  hours,  and  several  times  a 
day.  A good  service  of  boats  and  trains  between 
Havre,  Trouville,  Lc  Mans,  and  forking  off  at  the  latter 
place  to  Tours  and  Angers,  would  be  a great  boon  to 
English  tourists  visiting  the  Loire  district. 


THE  LAW  OF  COPYRIGHT. 

Some  useful  information  about  the  law  of  copyright  in 
relation  to  photographs,  given  this  week  in  our  corres- 
pondence columns,  is  of  value  because  it  comes  from  a 
legal  source,  Mr.  Fleetwood  Pritchard.  The  selling 
of  a photographic  print  by  its  owner  does  not,  it  seems, 
prevent  his  copyrighting  the  picture  at  a sub- 
sequent date.  We  believe  it  to  be  the  same  with 
books.  The  whole  subject  of  the  law  of  copyright 
as  applied  to  photographs  is  about  to  be  taken 


I Chamber  of  Commerce,  when  these  and  other  technical 
j points  of  interest  to  photographers  will  no  doubt  be 
well  threshed  out  by  experienced  persons  commercially 
interested  in  the  subject,  and  whose  deliberations  will 
be  fortified  by  authoritative  legal  advice  from  one  or 
two  members  of  the  Section. 


13 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


[January  10,  1890. 


T1IE  LATE  COE.  RUSSELL'S  CONTRIBUTIONS 
TO  PIIOTOGRABIIY.* 

BY  PROFESSOR  RAPHAEL  MELDOLA,  F.R.S.,  F.C.S. 

In  the  coure  of  preparing  a series  of  lectures  on  Photo- 
graphy, which  1 delivered  at  the  Finsbury  Technical 
College  during  the  early  part  of  the  year  1888,  I had 
occasion  to  search  the  literature  of  this  subject,  and  was 
much  interested  to  find  how  largely  we  are  indebted  for 
the  advancement  of  modern  photography  to  the  work  of 
our  late  member,  Colonel  Russell,  of  Stubbers,  of  whom 
ail  obituary  notice  has  already  been  published  in  the 
Essex  Naturalist  (voL  i.,  p.  Id!)).  As  an  Essex  worthy, 
whose  merits  as  an  investigator  are  so  widely  known,  both 
in  this  country  and  on  the  Continent,  it  seems  only  a just 
tribute  to  his  memory  that  his  labours  in  the  cause  of 
science  should  find  record  in  our  pages.  It  is  with  this 
object  that  I have  undertaken  to  give  a brief  sketch  of 
his  photographic  contributions. 

Before  the  introduction  of  the  gelatine  dry  plates,  which 
are  now  so  generally  used,  the  process  invariably  adopted 
by  photographers  was  that  in  which  the  plate  was  first 
coated  with  a film  of  collodion  containing  a soluble  iodide 
— or  bromide  and  iodide — and  then  sensitised  by  immer- 
sion in  a silver  nitrate  bath. 

The  collodion  process  was  first  suggested  by  a French- 
man (Legray)  in  1850,  but  its  practical  working  out  is  due 
to  our  own  countrymen — Scott-Archer,  Fry.  and  the  late 
Dr.  Hugh  Diamond,  in  1851. 

'There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  use  of  collodion  marks 
one  of  the  greatest  epochs  in  the  history  of  photography, 
and  the  method  thus  introduced  for  convenience  of 
manipulation  and  certainty  of  results  far  transcended 
any  of  the  older  processes.  But  in  these  times  of  restless 
activity  in  every  department  of  science,  it  is  not  likely 
that  a process  which  possessed  so  many  disadvantages 
should  be  allowed  to  rest  without  attempts  being  made  to 
improve  upon  it  or  to  supersede  it. 

The  drawbacks  to  the  old  wet  collodion  process  are 
familiar  to  all  who  have  worked  at  it.  The  plate  had  to 
be  coated,  sensitized,  exposed,  and  then  developed  as 
soon  as  possible  after  removal  from  the  camera.  In  field 
work  the  dark  tent  had  to  be  dragged  about  as  a part  of 
the  necessary  paraphernalia,  and  in  addition  to  this  and 
the  camera  the  photographer  was  obliged  to  carry  with 
him  a stock  of  chemicals,  such  as  bath  solution,  developer, 
fixing  solution,  Arc.,  to  say  nothing  of  sometimes  finding 
himself  driven  to  extremities  for  want  of  a supply  of  clean 
water.  The  amateur  of  the  present  time  lives  in  a golden 
age  of  photographic  facilities ; he  knows  nothing  of  the 
agony  of  learning  to  coat  a glass  plate  with  collodion  with 
perfect  uniformity  and  smoothness,  using  only  a minimum 
of  the  viscid  solution,  performing  the  operation  with  the 
greatest  possible  speed,  and  returning  the  excess  to  the 
bottle  without  pouring  it  up  his  sleeve  or  over  his  boots. 
A\  ho  that  has  had  to  manipulate  the  collodion  process 
under  a tropical  sun  will  forget  the  anxiety  consequent 
upon  the  transport  of  bottles  of  ether  into  temperatures 
of  something  over  100’  F.  in  the  shade  ? I have  vivid 
recollections  of  the  Eclipse  Expedition  of  1875  to  the 
island  of  ( amorta,  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  somewhere  about 
8 from  the  equator.  Our  observations  were  to  have  been 
chiefly  photographic,  and  we  were  well  equipped  with 
photographic  materials.  But  the  experience  gained  at  home 

* A lecture  delivered  before  the  members  of  the  Essex  Field  Club,  and 
reported  in  the  Ease?  Naturalist, 


went  only  a little  way  towards  helping  us  to  manipulate 
collodion  in  a temperature  at  which  the  ether  evaporated 
almost  as  soon  as  the  film  was  spread  over  the  plate.  The 
tents  had  to  be  kept  wetted  with  water,  and  the  dark  slide 
was  brought  out  of  the  tent  and  fixed  in  its  telescope 
camera  swaddled  in  wet  cloths  to  prevent  the  too  rapid 
drying  of  the  sensitive  film. 

These  and  other  difficulties  are  now  experiences  of  the 
past.  At  the  present  time  a complete  photographic  equip- 
ment, weighing  only  a few  pounds,  can  be  taken  into  the 
field,  and  the  plates  or  films  developed  at  leisure  any  time 
after  exposure.  The  sensitiveness  of  modern  dry  plates 
so  far  transcends  that  of  the  old  collodion  process  that 
instantaneous  effects  can  be  secured  by  any  amateur  pos- 
sessed of  ordinary  skill.  It  is  desirable  that  Essex  people 
should  know  what  a Large  share  the  late  Colonel  Russell 
had  in  bringing  about  this  state  of  affairs. 

'The  most  obvious  way  of  getting  rid  of  the  difficulties 
of  working  the  wet  collodion  process  out  of  doors  is.  of 
course,  to  coat  the  plate  with  a dry  sensitive  film,  which 
can  be  prepared  some  time  before  being  actually  required 
for  use.  Attempts  were  accordingly  made  to  prepare 
sensitive  dry  plates  soon  after  the  introduction  of  the  col- 
lodion process,  the  first  important  step  in  this  direction 
having  been  made  by  Professor  Taupenot,  in  1855.  This 
investigator  coated  his  plates  with  ordinary  iodized  collo- 
dion, sensitized  in  a silver  bath,  washed  out  the  excess 
of  silver  nitrate,  and  then  coated  with  iodized  albumen 
and  dried.  Before  use  the  plates  were  sensitized  by  im- 
mersion in  a silver  acetate  bath,  and  then  washed  and 
again  allowed  to  dry.  Taupenot' s dry  plates  were  the  first 
| successfully  used  by  photographers,  but  they  were  very 
insensitive  and  uncertain  in  their  action. 

An  improvement  was  introduced  in  1858  by  Fothcrgill, 
who  used  ordinary  albumen  instead  of  iodized  albumen 
for  coating  the  sensitized  collodion  film,  thus  doing  away 
with  the  second  sensitizing  operation.  Passing  over  cer- 
tain minor  modifications  in  the  dry  plate  processes  intro- 
duced by  subsequent  workers,  we  come  to  the  year  18(11, 
when  Russell  put  the  finishing  touch  to  the  method  of 
collodion  dry  plate  photography.  The  plate  was  first  of 
all  coated  with  gelatine  as  a substratum,  and  then  received 
the  film  of  bromo-iodized  collodion,  which  was  sensitized 
in  a silver  bath  in  the  usual  way.  After  washing  out  the 
silver  nitrate  the  plate  was  coated  with  a solution  of  tannin 
and  then  dried.  'The  tannin,  known  technically  as  a 
“preservative,”  restored  the  sensitiveness  lost  by  the 
removal  of  the  silver  nitrate,  and  thus  placed  in  the  hands 
of  photographers  a really  dependable  dry  plate  possessed 
of  greater  sensitiveness  and  durability  than  any  other  dry 
plate  known  up  to  that  time.  Russell's  tannin  dry  plates 
soon  came  into  general  use ; his  work  on  the  process  was 
published  in  1861,  and  reached  a second  edition  in  1866, 
both  editions  having  been  translated  into  German. 

In  these  days  of  rapid  photography,  we  should  consider 
a tannin  dry  plate  a very  insensitive  thing  to  work  with, 
being  at  the  best  less  sensitive  than  a good  wet  plate. 
But  the  other  advantages  of  the  dry  plate  outweighed  this 
one  disadvantage,  and  the  favour  with  which  the  tannin 
process  was  received  showed  how  eager  photographers 
were  to  dispense  with  the  cumbrous  appliances  of  the  wet 
plate  method.  From  this  discovery  of  Russell’s  to  modern 
dry  plate  photography  it  is  but  a step,  that  step  being  the 
precipitation  of  the  silver  iodide  or  bromide  in  the  collo- 
dion itself  in  the  form  of  an  emulsion,  instead  of  coating 
the  plate  first  with  the  salted  collodion,  and  then  forming 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


January  10,  1890.] 


19 


the  sensitive  silver  salt  by  immersion  in  a silver  nitrate 
bath.  Emulsion  photography  is  par  excellence  the  photo- 
graphy of  the  present  time,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  success  of  Russell’s  dry  plates  largely  contributed 
to  its  introduction. 

Important  as  was  the  advancement  rendered  possible  by 
the  use  of  tannin  as  a preservative,  this  is  by  no  means 
the  only  noteworthy  photographic  achievement  with  which 
our  late  member  must  be  credited.  Only  a year  after  the 
introduction  of  his  dry  plate  method,  Col.  (then  Major) 
Russell  made  known  the  use  of  ammoniacal  solution  of 
pyrogallol  (pyrogallie  acid)  as  a developing  agent,  a dis- 
covery which  marks  a distinct  epoch  in  the  history  of  the 
art,  and  of  which  the  practical  utility  makes  itself  felt  at 
the  present  time.  Prior  to  the  year  1862,  the  developers 
in  use  by  photographers  were  of  an  acid  character,  Gallic 
acid  mixed  with  silver  nitrate  had  been  used  by  Fox  Tal- 
bot for  developing  his  paper  prints  as  far  back  as  1810. 
Pyrogallol  was  known  to  be  a more  powerful  developer 
than  gallic  acid  both  by  I.iebig  and  Rcgnault  in  1851. 
The  use  of  ferrous  sulphate,  the  active  substance  in  the 
“ iron  developer  ” of  the  old  collodion  process,  was  known 
to  the  late  Robert  Hunt  in  1844.  When  dry  plates  first 
came  into  vogue,  acid  development  had  to  be  resorted  to 
as  the  only  known  method  of  bringing  into  visible  exist- 
ence the  invisible  image  formed  by  the  action  of  light  on 
the  photographic  plate. 

For  certain  chemical  reasons,  which  need  not  be  entered 
upon  in  detail  here,  an  acid  developer  is  eminently  unsuited 
for  dry-plate  work.  The  early  experimenters  in  this  field 
were  not  only  at  a disadvantage  as  regards  the  comparative 
insensitiveness  of  their  plates,  but  this  slowness  of  action 
could  not  be  compensated  for  by  using  a stronger  deve- 
loper, because  the  free  silver  nitrate,  which  is  an  essential 
constituent  of  an  acid  developer,  would  be  reduced,  and 
metallic  silver  deposited  all  over  the  film  ; that  is  to  say, 
the  plate  would  become  fogged.  It  is,  of  course,  impos- 
sible to  trace  the  precise  origin  of  the  idea  which  led  to 
the  use  of  alkaline  pyrogallatc.  It  appears  that  experi- 
ments had  been  made  bv  Anthony,  of  New  York,  in  1862, 
having  for  their  object  the  increased  sensitiveness  of  dry 
plates  by  exposing  them  to  ammonia  vapour  before  use, 
and  about  the  same  time  Glover  attempted  to  increase  the 
sensitiveness  by  the  action  of  ammonia  vapour  after  ex- 
posure and  prior  to  development.  Whether  Colonel 
Russell  was  aware  of  these  experiments  there  are  at  pre- 
sent no  means  of  ascertaining,  but  it  is  not  improbable 
that  his  attention  may  have  been  directed  thereby  to  the 
use  of  ammonia.  The  fact  that  dry  plates  could  be  deve- 
loped by  means  of  a neutral  solution  of  pyrogallol  with- 
out free  silver  nitrate  was  made  known  by  Mudd,  Wardley, 
and  Wharton  Simpson  in  1861.  All  the  conditions  forthe 
introduction  of  alkaline  development  were  therefore  ripe, 
and  the  important  discovery  was  announced  by  Russell  in 
1862,  and  about  the  same  time,  but  independently,  by 
Leahy.  The  importance  of  alkaline  development  is  too 
well  known  to  photographers  to  require  specially  enlarging 
upon.  It  will  suffice  to  say  that  the  powerful  developer 
given  to  the  world  by  our  late  member  put  dry-plate 
photography  on  an  entirely  new  basis.  Want  of  sensitive- 
ness could  be  overcome  by  increased  developing  power;  in 
fact,  the  reducing  action  of  ammonium  pyrogallate  is  so 
great  that  it  tends  to  fog  the  plate  unless  restrained  by 
suitable  means.  In  connection  with  the  general  theory 
of  the  development  of  the  photographic  image,  this  dis- 
covery was  of  the  highest  order  of  importance,  and  its 


j bearings  were  fully  recognised  by  Col.  Russell.  In  the 
old  process  of  acid  development,  the  image  is  built  up  by 
i the  deposition  of  metallic  silver  from  the  developing  solu- 
! tion,  whereas  in  alkaline  development  the  image  is  formed 
I chiefly  out  of  the  silver  reduced  in  the  film  itself.  For 
the  full  establishment  of  this  most  essential  distinction  be- 
tween the  two  kinds  of  development  we  are  also  indebted 
I to  our  late  member.  In  the  course  of  a controversy 
carried  on  in  1865  with  Carey  Lea,  of  Philadelphia,  Russell 
j proved  his  point  most  convincingly  by  a beautifully  de- 
j vised  experiment.  He  showed  that  if  an  ordinary  collo- 
dion negative  after  development  is  treated  with  nitric  acid, 
the  whole  of  the  picture  is  dissolved  off,  and  the  plain  film 
left  in  its  original  condition  ; the  silver  image  is  here  simply 
raised  in  relief  upon  the  surface  of  the  film,  and  the  acid 
dissolves  it  off.  He  then  showed  that  a negative  dry  plate 
developed  by  the  alkaline  method,  and  treated  with  nitric 
acid  as  before,  gave  a transparent  positive  of  the  picture 
sunk  in  depression ; the  silver  image  is  in  this  case  im- 
bedded in  the  film  instead  of  being  raised  upon  its  surface, 
and  the  acid  accordingly  dissolves  it  out,  leaving  its 
counterpart  in  depression.  This  proof  not  only  convinced 
Russell’s  antagonist  and  the  photographic  world  at  large 
of  (he  truth  of  his  views,  but  the  experiments  led  to  that 
j which  is  dear  to  all  Englishmen,  and  which  is,  in  the  minds 
of  many,  the  only  true  measure  of  success,  viz.,  a practi- 
cal result.  He  published  the  details  of  a method  in  1868, 
based  on  the  foregoing  experiments,  by  means  of  which  a 
reversed  negative,  or  a transparent  positive,  could  be  ob- 
tained from  a dry-plate  negative  by  treatment  with  nitric 
acid  after  alkaline  development  and  before  fixing.  This 
process  is  now  obsolete,  but  it  has  its  historical  interest,  as 
being  the  outcome  of  a theoretical  discussion. 

The  value  of  Col.  Russell’s  introduction  of  alkaline 
development  in  1 862  does  not,  however,  end  with  his  own 
application  of  the  process  to  the  dry  plates  then  in  vogue. 
The  germ  of  the  discovery  which  has  revolutionized 
modern  photography  was  in  existence  in  1864,  when  Bolton 
and  Sayce  made  known  their  collodion  emulsion  process, 
which  was  followed  up  by  many  workers,  and  culminated 
in  the  introduction  of  gelati no-bromide  emulsion  by  Dr. 
Maddox  in  1871.  From  that  time  emulsion  processes  have 
steadily  been  gaining  favour,  and  now  are  almost  exclu- 
sively in  use.  From  the  very  beginning  of  their  history, 
in  1864,  these  processes  had  therefore  the  benefit  of 
Russell's  method  of  alkaline  development,  by  which,  or  by 
some  analogous  plan — such  as  the  ferrous  oxalate  developer 
— are  they  only  workable.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the 
influence  of  our  late  member’s  work  makes  itself  felt,  as 
was  stated  previously,  at  the  present  time.  Whether  CoL 
Russell  continued  his  photographic  work  in  later  times  I 
j have  not  been  able  to  ascertain,  but  his  name  does  not 
occur  among  the  more  recent  investigators  in  this  depart- 
I ment  of  applied  science.  It  is  possible  that  the  few  years 
I during  which  he  occupied  himself  with  photography  re- 
presented but  a passing  phase  of  the  many-sided  pursuits 
to  which  he  was  attached.  That  he  has  left  a permanent 
mark  in  this  field  will  be  gathered  from  the  present  sketch, 
and  the  genial  naturalist  and  ardent  sportsman  must  cer- 
tainly take  rank  among  Essex  worthies  as  an  original  in- 
vestigator in  a department  of  science  widely  remote  from 
those  other  pursuits  by  which  he  is,  perhaps,  more  gener- 
ally known  to  the  members  of  the  Essex  Field  Club. 


The  number  of  the  English  eikonogen  patent  is  stated  to  be 
5207,  March  26th,  1889, 


20 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  10,  1800. 


REPAIRING  BROKEN  NEGATIVES.* 


the  films  in  pure  methylated  spiiit  to  shrink  the  expanded 


BY  HUGH  BKKBNFR. 

The  operation  of  mending  broken  negatives  so  that  the 
lines  of  junction  will  barely  be  visible,  and  will  scarcely 
show  in  the  print,  is  one  requiring  at  once  time,  good  day- 
light, carefully  arranged  paraphernalia,  and  a sure  and 
skilful  hand. 

Before  proceeding  to  work,  I should  like  to  draw  atten- 
tion to,  and  to  emphasise  the  fact  that  when  an  ordinary 
negative  is  broken,  and  the  bits  of  glass  are  pieced  toge- 
ther, the  print  will  show  a harsh  black  and  white  line  at 
every  junction,  or  if  printed  while  revolving,  the  desirable 
loss  in  sharpness  will  be  disagreeably  counterbalanced  by 
a painful  gain  in  the  breadth  of  the  “ fuzzy  ” line. 

Dry  plates  to-day  are  so  much  more  reliable  and  perfect 
than  they  used  to  be,  and  our  familiarity  with  their  treat- 
ment so  great,  that  the  stripping  of  a film,  even  from  a 
surface  prepared  to  hold  the  gelatine  firmly,  presents  no 
difficulties  which  a vex-y  little  care  and  skill  cannot  over- 
come. The  subsequent  replacing  of  the  pieces  of  the 
broken  film  upon  a fresh  piece  of  glass,  and  the  method 
whereby  the  edges  of  the  gelatine  shall  be  brought  toge- 
ther so  that  the  direction  of  the  fracture  can  with  difficulty 
be  detected  in  the  print,  and  can  very  easily  be  touched 
away,  are  the  points  upon  which  T have  more  particularly 
to  dwell. 

The  denser  the  image,  the  less  will  the  line  of  junction 
show  ; and,  when  the  mending  is  at  all  skilfully  effected, 
a soft,  thin  line  on  the  most  transparent  portions  will  be 
the  only  trace.  Landscapes,  also  groups  and  vignettes, 
are  less  liable,  for  the  same  reason,  to  exhibit  traces  of  the 
mended  line,  than  are  plain  or  cameo  heads.  If,  however, 
it  be  important  that  no  line  be  at  all  visible,  all  sign  of  in- 
equality of  tint — beyond  that  characterising  the  picture — 
may  be  got  rid  of  without  much  difficulty,  and  with  con- 
siderable certainty. 

If  the  negative  has  been  modelled  and  varnished  before 
being  broken,  the  varnish  must,  of  course,  be  removed 
with  methylated  spirit  in  the  usual  way,  and  it  is  perhaps 
better  to  treat  even  an  unvarnished  (broken)  negative  to 
a preliminary  bath  of  spirit,  or,  in  its  place,  alum  may  be 
used,  as  this  toughens  the  film  and  prevents  extreme  ex- 
pansion. Having  carefully  preserved  each  chip,  examine 
each  for  tiny  splinters  of  broken  glass,  and  when  found 
remove  them.  Lay  the  chips,  well  separated  from  each 
other,  to  prevent  further  chipping,  in  a large,  flat  bath 
full  of  acidulated  water  (IIC1).  After  some  time,  by 
preference  just  when  frilling  begins  at  the  broken  edges, 
take  out  chip  after  chip,  and  successively  plunge  each 
under  water  in  another  bath,  and  drag  the  fingers  against 
the  broken  edges  upwards  and  backwards  till  the  margin 
of  the  film  is  loosened  on  two  edges  of  the  chips — whe- 
ther triangular  or  lozenge-shaped.  Then,  with  only  a 
slight  modification  of  the  action  of  the  fingers,  fold  back 
the  film  upon  itself,  and  with  repeated  touches  free  it 
entirely  from  the  glass.  It  will  be  found  that  this  can  very 
easily  be  done  where  the  cut  is  clean,  and  where  the  film 
is  of  equal  thickness.  It  is  a very  much  more  difficult 
operation  if  the  attempt  be  made  to  begin  upon  the  ori- 
ginal margin  of  the  plate.  Throw  away  the  bits  of  glass, 
or  piece  them  together  somewhere  else  as  a guide.  Throw 
each  film  as  it  is  detached  into  a vessel  of  gently  moving 
water,  so  that  the  films  may  expand  equally.  Immerse 

Abstract  of  a paper  read  at  a meeting  of  the  Edinburgh  Photographic 


film,  and  thereby  recover  density. 

Have  ready  a clean  piece  of  glass,  and,  having  lifted  out 
the  largest  piece  of  film  as  wet  as  possible,  throw  it  down 
on  the  glass  and  rapidly  spread  it  out,  right  side  up,  in  the 
place  it  should  occupy.  Now,  holding  the  film  in  its  place 
at  the  edge,  incline  the  glass  so  that  the  superfluous  mois- 
ture may  flow  off,  when  the  film  will  adhere  to  the  glass 
of  its  own  accord.  Next,  pick  out  a piece  of  film  which 
fits  the  first,  treat  it  as  the  last,  and  bring  it  roughly  into 
position.  Do  the  same  with  the  remainder  of  the  pieces. 
Place  the  glass  on  a modelling-desk,  and,  with  a large, 
soft  brush,  moisten  piece  afterpiece  ; drag  each  into  closer 
juxtaposition  with  the  piece  above  it ; and  when- the  edges 
just  overlap  and  nothing  more,  partially  dry  the  brush, 
and  drag  the  point  or  heel  along  the  two  edges.  This  will 
cause  them  to  adhere  more  firmly  to  the  glass,  and  prevent 
the  tendency  to  slip  down.  It  is  much  better  to  have  a 
slight  overlap  than  to  have  an  exact  meeting  of  the  edges 
at  first,  or  to  leave  a gap  between,  and  for  the  following 
reason : as  the  films  dry  they  contract,  each  towards  its 
own  centre ; consequently  the  edges  of  neighbouring 
pieces  are  dragged  away  from  each  other,  and  unless  some 
allowance  is  made  for  this,  it  is  difficult  to  bring  them 
exactly  together  ultimately.  When  the  films  are  very 
nearly  dry  take  a smaller  brush,  and  with  its  heel  drag 
gently  along  the  finer  junctions.  In  most  cases  this  will 
be  sufficient  to  bring  the  edges  into  simple  contact  with- 
out any  overlap.  Where  the  overlap  is  more  marked,  wet 
the  brush,  and  with  it  moisten  the  two  films  slightly  near, 
and  at  that  part  of  their  edges.  When  the  gelatine  is 
moist  enough  it  becomes  pliable,  and  contracts  or  expands 
at  the  slightest  touch  of  the  brush.  If  the  film  be  too 
moist  it  will  be  too  elastic,  and  will  regain  its  former  posi- 
tion the  moment  the  controlling  pressure  is  withdrawn. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  be  too  dry,  it  will  not  budge  one 
jot  from  its  place.  Therefore  the  simplest  way  to  bring 
the  edges  loosely  together  without  overlapping  is  to  moisten 
the  film,  pretty  freely  at  first,  from  an  eighth  to  a quarter 
of  an  inch  from  the  edge,  and  with  the  heel  of  the  dry 
brush  to  drag  it  towards  the  centre,  and  at  the  same  time 
by  withdrawing  the  moisture  cause  the  film  to  adhere  to 
the  glass  in  the  desired  position.  The  final  touch  to  each 
junction  should  be  a soft,  dry  scrape  along  the  crack. 

If  the  last  operation  has  been  performed  perfectly  and 
with  sufficient  judgment,  the  negative  when  dry  will  be 
ready  to  print  from,  or  to  intensify.  But  it  is  seldom — 
except  in  the  case  of  very  simple  fractures — that  no  over- 
lap or  gap  is  visible  when  the  film  is  hard-dry.  Conse- 
quently a final  treatment  is  generally  necessitated.  This 
varies  : with  an  overlap,  no  matter  how  thin,  a white  line 
will  result  in  the  print ; therefore  the  edges  must  be  again 
moistened  and  dragged  asunder.  But  with  a gap,  which 
would  print  as  a black  fine,  the  piece  of  the  film  should  be 
moistened  at  first  near  the  centre,  and  then  gradually  to- 
wards the  edge,  and  when  amenable  to  expansion,  dragged 
or  stretched  gently  with  a dry  brush  away  from  the  centre 
towards  the  edge.  Should  the  gap  be  wide,  it  may  be 
necessary  to  work  on  two  pieces  of  film,  but  in  all  cases 
the  drawing  of  the  picture  should  determine  which  piece 
should  be  moved,  and  in  what  direction.  The  best  posi- 
tion of  the  edges  of  the  moist  films  when  the  centres  are 
dry  is  that  of  an  inverted  V,  thus  \ : when  the  edges  take 
this  shape  they  had  better  not  be  pressed  fiat,  unless  they 
are  very  nearly  dry  indeed.  Blisters  caused  by  air-bells 
may  be  led  from  under  the  surface  with  a wet  brush, 


January  10,  1S90.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


i>l 


This  is  a rough  skeleton  outline  of  the  operations  most 
commonly  required,  but  occasionally  the  negative  is  too 
thin ; sometimes  an  edge  gets  broken,  and  now  and  again 
a piece  gets  lost.  As  the  application  of  an  aqueous  solu- 
tion of  mercuric  chloride  would  simply  cause  all  the  pieces 
of  film  to  float  off,  the  mended  negative  should  receive  a 
coating  of  quickly  setting  gelatine  before  being  intensified, 
or  the  broken  negative  itself  might  be  slightly  intensified 
before  stripping.  Where  the  edges  are  broken  or  frayed, 
the  remedy  is  a touch  of  gelatine  and  a few  strokes  of  the 
modelling  pencil.  When  pieces  are  lost  the  same  treat- 
ment may  be  adopted,  but  I have  personally  found  it  pre- 
ferable to  cut  out  a piece  of  another  negative — worthless 
otherwise — of  the  same  shape,  but  somewhat  smaller  than 
the  space  to  be  filled,  and  then  fit  it  in  after  soaking  it. 
Where  a very  faint  bright  line  marks  the  junction  of  the 
films,  the  raised  portion  of  the  negative  may  easily  be 
pared  down  with  a sharp  lancet  or  round-pointed  knife 
blade.  When  this  is  overdone  the  modelling  pencil  again 
comes  into  requisition. 

In  conclusion,  I may  add  that  I have  only  once  failed 
to  make  a very  passable  bit  of  work  of  any  mending  1 have 
undertaken,  and  on  that  occasion  the  fracture  took  the 
form  of  a glittering  star,  and  the  number  of  pieces  was 
exactly  fifty-two. 


forgotten  process  ; remembered  more  with  a kind  of  reve- 
rence than  for  the  results  it  is  capable  of  producing.  It 
is,  then,  almost  against  the  grain  that  I have  to 
advocate  what  is,  to  a certain  extent,  akin  to  the  auto- 
matism which  I am  more  inclined  to  deprecate.  It  is 
necessary,  however,  to  march  with  the  times,  and  while  I 
think  the  evil  of  our  too  rapid  progress  is  manifest  and 
unavoidable,  the  very  evil  itself  is  productive  of  good  by 
the  inducements  it  holds  out  for  thousands  to  the  study  of 
practical  art  which  they  would  otherwise  not  undertake. 
Of  these  the  feeble  and  insincere  will  fall  out  of  the  race, 
or  at  least  will  remain  unnoticed,  heroes  only  to  their 
immediate  circle  ; a few  will  come  to  the  front  to  illustrate 
the  page  of  photographic  history. 

Formula;. 

Paris  Photo.  Club. — Boil  a litre  distilled  water  ; put  equally 
divided  into  two  litre  bottles  ; while  warm,  put  into  one  75 
grammes  sulphite  of  soda,  in  the  other  150  grammes  sodium 
carbonate,  powdered  immediately  before  using.  Shake  till 
dissolved.  To  the  sodium  sulphite  solution  add  10  grammes 
quinol,  and  shake  well  till  dissolved  ; to  this  add  8 to  10  drops 
acetic  acid  crystallised,  heave  all  to  cool.  When  cold,  mix 
by  pouring  rapidly  the  quinol  solution  into  the  carbonate,  and 
filter  the  whole  into  a third  litre  bottle.  The  solution  should 
be  perfectly  clear. 

For  Instantaneous  Work  : 


the  progress  of  quinol  development.* 

1SY  AI.1KED  MASKKLI. 

In  conclusion,  l may  say  that  it  would  appear  that  we 
have  not  yet  come  to  the  end  of  newly-proposed  de- 
velopers. New  re-agents  will,  in  all  probability,  continue 
for  a considerable  time  to  be  brought  forward  ; unless— 
and  this  perhaps  is  not  beyond  the  bounds  of  probability 
— the  time  should  arrive  when  the  sensitive  plate  is  im- 
pressed in  the  camera  and  requires  only  to  be  rendered 
permanent;  going  back,  in  fact,  to  some  extent  to  earlier 
methods.  For  myself  I would  wish  for  a truce.  I should 
consider  it  as  a relief  that  things  for  a time  might  remain 
as  they  are  ; no  new  discoveries  in  the  shape  of  developers, 
printing  methods,  detective  cameras,  and  so  on.  Then 
we  might  apply  ourselves  seriously  and  with  greater  calm- 
ness to  the  means  we  have  at  present  at  our  disposal — 
which  are  great  indeed — and  perfect  some  systems  which 
have  been  neglected.  I dread  the  arrival  of  the  automatic 
penny  photographic  machine,  which  it  is  promised  we  are 
soon  to  see  at  all  the  railway  stations.  I am  not  pleased 
as  a rule  with  the  discovery  of  any  new  device  for  saving 
time  and  trouble,  and  I do  not  look  forward  to  the  time 
when  photography  will  become  such  an  easy  process  that 
any  child  may  work  it.  I believe  that  in  our  art,  as  in  all 
other  arts  of  the  best  periods,  the  finest  results  are  to  be 
produced  when  time  is  considered  as  no  object.  In  it,  as 
in  all  arts,  machinery  and  automatic  appliances  encourage 
the  production  of  shoddy  and  clap-trap  imitation.  I will 
scarcely  hesitate  to  say,  in  fact,  that  I would  gladly  almost 
j. o back  to  the  days  of  Daguerreotype:  had  not  one  dis- 
covery followed  so  fast  on  the  heels  of  another,  it  is  pos- 
sible, indeed,  that  that  process,  beautiful  as  it  was,  admir- 
able for  the  very  defect  in  some  eyes  of  producing  only 
one  copy  of  a picture,  and  for  certain  subjects  never  since 
surpassed,  it  is  possible,  I think,  that  the  Daguerreotype 
might  have  been  so  modified  and  improved  in  the  method 
of  working  as  to  have  held  still  at  the  present  day  a higher 
place  in  the  public  favour  than  it  holds  now  as  an  almost 


Concentrated  solution  of  sod.  carb.  (pure)... 

. 000  c.c. 

Concentrated  solution  of  sod.  sulph.  (pure).., 

. 150  „ 

10  per  cent,  alcoholic  solution  of  quinol  ... 

50  „ 

Rain  or  distilled  water 

500  „ 

r.  Sira  it’s  : — 

A. — Quinol  ... 

80  grains 

Citric  acid 

10  „ 

Bod.  sulph. 

80  „ 

Distilled  water 

20  ounces 

B.— Caustic  potash... 

1 00  grains 

Sod.  sulph. 

160  „ 

Distilled  water 

20  ounces 

C.- — Bromide  pot.  ...  ...  ... 

24  grains 

Distilled  water 

1 ounce 

D. — Caustic  potash 

160  grains 

Distilled  water 

20  ounces 

For  normal  exposures  use  equal  parts  of  A and  B,  adding 
5 minims  of  C for  every  ounce  of  solution.  For  over-exposed 
plates  use  D instead  of  B,  with  an  extra  quantity  of  C.  For 
under-exposed  plates  omit  C,  and,  in  extreme  cases,  add  6 or 
8 grains  more  of  sulphite  to  every  ounce  of  developer. 


r.  Vogel : — 

Quinol ... 

...  ...  5 grammes 

Sodium  carb.  ... 

75  ,, 

Sodium  sulph.... 

10  „ 

Water  ... 

...  ...  900  c.c. 

or  carbonate  of  potash  75  grammes  instead  of  carb.  soda. 
Addition  of  about  5 per  cent,  of  a 40  per  cent,  solution  of 
caustic  potash  shortly  before  developing  accelerates  better 
than  applying  pure  caustic  potash 


With  Metabisulphite  of  Potassium  as  Preservative  : — 

A. — Quinol 

..  ...  10  parts 

Metabisulphite 

4 „ 

Water 

^50  „ 

C. — Caustic  soda  ... 

..  ...  50  ,, 

Water 

..  ...  500  ,, 

'or  every  100  parts  of  water  take  10  parts  A and  10  parts 
Concentrated  Solution  : — 

Quinol 

...  1 gramme 

Citric  acid  ...  ...  ... 

...  5 decigrammes 

Sodium  sulph. 

...  4 grammes 

Water  to  make  ...  ... 

...  100  c.c. 

Five  c.c.  of  this  contain  1 deeij 

jraumie  of  quinol, 

• Concluded  from  page  12. 


'22 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  10,  1890. 


10  parts 

4 ,, 
250  „ 

50  ,, 

400  „ 

5 parts 

40  „ 

00  grains 
1 ounce 
12  grains 
60  ,, 

1 ounce 


With  Acetatatc  of  Soda  : — 

A. — Quinol  ...  ...  ... 

Metabisulphite 
Water 

15. — Sodium  acetate 
Water 

ds  a Further  Accelerator  : — 

Sod.  acetate 
Water 

For  Bromide  Paper: — ■ 

(Thomas)  A. — Sodium  carb.  ... 

Water 
B. — Quinol 

Sod.  sulph...  ... 

Water  ...  ... 

Mix  equal  parts,  and  add  the  same  quantity  of  water  ; oi 
better,  use  hintokinone  1 to  12  of  water.  Alum  bath  is  good  : 
no  acid  bath. 

Mr.  Victor  Corbould’s  Method  of  Producin' / Warm  Tones  in 
f n liter n Slides. — Make  up  your  normal  quinol  developer,  and 
having  previously  over-exposed  your  plate,  develop  until  the 
image  just  appears  ; then  immerse  in  a solution  of  caustic  pot- 
ash 5 grains,  water  2 ounces,  when  the  image  will  come  up 
quickly,  but  will  not  be  too  dense.  The  colour  obtained  by 
over-exposing  about  six  times  the  normal  exposure  with 
Thomas’s  plates  is  a warm  sepia. 

General  Notes. 

Contrary  to  early  instructions,  it  is  advisable  to  rock  the 
bath  during  development. 

Mr.  De  St.  Priest  says  that  with  a bath  three  times  as 
diluted  as  the  ordinary  formula,  the  time  of  exposure  may  be 
shorter  than  with  a more  concentrated  bath,  the  development 
being,  however,  slower. 

From  time  to  time  take  the  plate  out  of  the  developer  and 
leave  development  to  proceed  for  a minute  or  so  ; the  action  is 
more  rapid. 

For  yellow  stain,  try,  after  fixing,  washing,  and  drying,  a 
bath  of  water  100  c.c.,  hypo  1 0 to  20  grammes,  alum  5 grammes, 
hydrochloric  acid  or  gallic  acid  2 to  5 c.c.  Let  stand  and  filter. 

In  using  quinol  with  carbonate  of  potash  or  soda,  the  colour, 
says  Dr.  Vogel,  is  considerably  influenced.  This  depends  on 
the  quantity  and  kind  of  salt  added.  With  the  formula,  sulph. 
sod.  40  grammes,  quinol  5 grammes,  carbonate  of  soda  50 
to  150^  grammes,  water  900  c.c.,  green  pictures  result 
up  to  75  grammes  carb.  sod.  ; tone  gradually  improves  to 
black  as  more  is  added.  Carbonate  of  potash  does  not  give 
green  tones. 

The  method  of  soaking  plate  in  quinol  solution  for  one 
minute,  taking  out  and  completing  the  development  in  the 
alkali  solution,  is  recommended.  Once  set  going,  plates  can  be 
passed  on  from  dish  to  dish,  saving  time  with  large  batches. 
The  soda  solution  should  always  be  used  with  a portion  of 
already  used  bath. 

1 apier-machc  trays  should  be  kept  clean  and  full  of  water, 
otherwise  the  action  of  the  developing  solution  breaks  up  and 
dissolves  the  surface.  If  left  in  glass  measures,  funnels,  &c., 
to  dry,  it  causes  a hard  deposit  ; leave  them  full  of  water  with 
a drop  or  two  of  hydrochloric  acid.  The  hypo  bath,  if 
exposed  to  air  for  any  length  of  time,  throws  down  a thick, 
muddy  deposit  if  plates  are  not  washed  between  development  and 
fixing. 

M ith  chloride  plates  a small  quantity  of  bromide  of  am- 
monium or  potassium  is  advisable,  the  action  on  these  plates 
being  very  energetic,  and  liable  to  cause  fog. 

For  yellow  fog,  sometimes  produced  by  accidentally  leaving 
negative  in  developer  for  a very  long  time,  put,  after  fixing  an 
washing,  into  a bath  of 

Sol.  of  red  prussiate  of  potash  ...  J,  per  cent.  1 part 
...  Sol.  of  hypo.  ...  ...  ...  ] Oper  cent.  1 ,, 

Mix  at  tune  of  using  only,  and  use  in  subdued  daylight. 


‘ Al,”  for  January  contains  an  article  on  “ Photograph v,” 
by  Walter  K.  Woodbury,  in  which,  among  the  illustrations, 
arc  two  designed  to  show,  respectively,  the  difference  between  a 
photographer’s  impedimenta  now,  and  years  ago. 


PHOTOGRAPHING  LIGHTNING. 

In  our  issue  of  July  26th,  we  printed  a paper  entitled 
“ Instructions  for  Taking  Photographs  of  Lightning,’’ read 
at  a meeting  of  the  Photographic  Club  by  Mr.  William 
Marriott.  We  give  now  some  extracts  from  a communi- 
cation by  the  same  writer,  taken  from  the  Quarterly 
Journal  of  the  Hoi/al  Meteorological  Society  for  October. 
Speaking  of  the  storm  which  passed  over  London  on 
June  6th,  Mr.  Marriott  says  : — 

The  storm  was  remarkable  for  the  brilliant  and  continuous 
display  of  lightning,  and  was  without  doubt  the  grandest  storm 
that  has  been  witnessed  in  the  metropolis  for  many  years. 
Occurring  just  after  sunset,  the  conditions  were  very  favourable 
for  carefully  watching  the  storm  and  for  photographs  to  be 
taken  of  the  lightning. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  the  storm  was  the 
persistent  and  repeating  character  of  the  lightning.  Many  of 
the  flashes  appeared  to  remain  visible  for  a perceptible  length 
of  time,  some  people  being  able  to  count  6,  7,  8,  and  even  1 0 
before  the  flash  disappeared.  There  were  numerous  instances 
in  which  the  lightning  appeared  to  repeat  itself  three,  four,  or 
more  times.  It  isprobable  that  these  were  distinct  flashes  follow- 
ing precisely  the  same  path.  This  supposition  is  confirmed  by 
some  of  the  photographs  of  lightning  which  were  taken  during 
the  storm.  Mr.  Ninnies,  of  Balham,  obtained  two  photo- 
graphs, each  with  four  distinct  flashes  following  precisely  the 
same  path  and  sinuosities,  and  only  separated  from  each  other 
by  a very  small  amount  of  space.  These  appeared  at  the  time  to 
Mr.  Ninnies  as  one  Hash.  Fortunately  the  photographic 
views  include  some  railway  signals,  and  an  examination  of  these 
reveals  the  fact  that  there  are  four  distinct  images  of  the 
signals.  The  space  between  the  images  of  the  signals  agrees 
precisely  with  the  space  between  the  flashes  of  lightning.  As 
the  camera  was  held  in  the  hand  and  not  clamped  to  a tripod, 
it  is  clear  that  the  camera  was  moved  slightly  during  the 
exjwsure,  and  what  appeared  to  the  eye  as  one  flash  was  in 
reality  a succession  of  four  flashes.  A similar  repetition  of 
flashes  is  shown  on  several  other  photographs,  and  in  each  case 
the  camera  was  held  in  the  hand. 

A most  interesting  photograph  was  taken  by  Dr.  Hoifert  at 
Ealing.  This  was  obtained  while  the  camera  was  being 
swayed  to  and  fro.  It  shows  three  similar  parallel  flashes  which 
took  place  during  the  movement  of  the  camera  in  one  direc- 
tion. The  space  between  the  flashes  is  traversed  by  faint  bands 
of  light  parallel  to  the  direction  of  motion,  which  appear  to 
indicate  the  existence  of  a residual  illumination  of  a phos- 
phorescent character  in  the  intervals  between  the  successive 
flashes.  A second  series  of  three  flashes  is  shown  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  photograph,  as  well  as  a dark  flash  ; while  a 
third  series  of  two  flashes,  but  with  a wider  interval  between 
them,  is  also  shown  on  the  plate. 

Some  photographs  showing  flashes  like  a broad  band  or 
curtain  ot  light  were  also  obtained  during  this  storm  ; but  in 
each  case  it  has  been  ascertained  that  the  camera  was  either 
held  in  the  hand  or  not  securely  fixed.  These  seem  all  to  lead 
to  the  conclusion  that  a lightning  flash  is  not  instantaneous,  but 
has  a much  longer  duration  than  has  generally  been  supposed 
to  be  the  case. 

Three  or  four  photographs  showing  dark  flashes  were 
obtained  during  this  storm,  the  most  notable  being  those  taken 
by  the  Rev.  A.  Rose,  at  Emanuel  College,  Cambridge,  and  by 
Mr.  A.  \V,  Clayden,  at  Tulse  Hill,  London.  The  latter  gentle- 
man has  since  made  a number  of  experiments  in  photograph* 
ing  the  sparks  from  an  electric  machine,  which  tend  to  show 
that  the  dark  flashes  were  due  to  photographic  reversal. 

In  the  discussion  which  followed  the  reading  of  the 
paper,  the  following  expressions  of  experience  and  opinion 
were  elicited : — 

The  President  (Dr.  Marcct)  remarked  that  Mr.  Wimshurst 
had  photographed  the  sparks  from  his  electric  machine  wliile 
the  photographic  plate  in  his  camera  was  revolving  between  3,000 
and  4.000  times  per  minute,  and  had  obtained  a sharp  image 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SEWS. 


January  lo,  1890.] 


of  the  spark.  Mr.  Wimshurst  believed  from  these  experiments 
that  no  movement  of  the  camera  during  the  process  of  photo- 
graphing a flash  of  lightning  could  in  any  way  fog  or  blur  the 
image. 

Mr.  Whipple  said  he  had  attributed  the  double  images  shown 
in  the  lightning  photographs  previously  received  by  the  Society 
to  the  fact  that  the  cameras  had  lieen  exposed  behind  a window. 
He  had  made  experiments  which  had  tended  to  confirm  his 
supposition,  having  drawn  chalk  lines  upon  a blackboard  and 
photographed  them  at  various  angles  through  plate-glass.  The 
photographs  obtained  exhibited  very  similar  appearances  to 
those  shown  in  the  lightning  photographs.  The  dark  flashes, 
too,  had  appeared  to  him  to  be  due  to  internal  reflection,  but 
on  this  point  he  had  been  unable  to  make  experiments.  In  the 
present  series  of  photographs  both  the  dark  and  ribbon  flashes 
were  shown  ; and  in  the  case  of  the  ribbon  flashes  he  felt  com- 
pelled to  abandon  his  idea  of  their  being  the  effect  of  refraction 
through  a window,  as  both  l)r.  Hoffert' s and  Mr.  Shepherd’s 
pictures,  in  which  latter  a flash  was  splendidly  doubled,  were 
taken  without  the  intervention  of  a window  between  the 
camera  and  the  flash.  It  was  exceedingly  difficult  to  reconcile 
these  lightning  photographs  with  Mr.  Wimshurst’s  photographs 
of  the  electric  spark,  especially  supposing  the  flash  lasted  so 
short  a time  as  it  was  usually  stated.  It  certainly  seemed  that 
lightning  flashes,  instead  of  being  so  rapid  in  their  movement, 
were  very  persistent.  In  the  storm  on  June  6th  lie  distinctly 
saw  a beaded  flash,  and,  like  Dr.  Tripe,  he  found  himself  much 
better  able  to  follow  the  course  of  the  lightning  than  he  hail 
I>een  hitherto,  ljeoause  his  eyes  had  now  become  educated,  and 
lie  knew  what  to  look  for. 

Dr.  Hoffert  said  that  in  one  case  he  noticed  the  lightning  had 
a distinct  fluttering  appearance,  showing  that  the  lightning  was 
sufficiently  slow  to  make  its  movements  apparent.  He  did  not 
think  that  Mr.  Wimshurst’s  photographs  of  electric  sparks 
could  be  taken  as  an  analogy,  as  the  conditions  in  nature  were 
so  different.  It  was  difficult  to  understand  that  any  oscillation 
of  the  flash  could  have  taken  place,  as  the  forms  of  the  flashes 
in  the  photograph  taken  by  himself  were  similar.  He  was 
unable  to  explain  the  dark  flash,  but  from  experiments  he  had 
made  he  had  been  led  to  believe  that  the  phenomenon  was  not 
due  to  excess  of  exposure. 

Dr.  Green  suggested  that  the  dark  flashes  in  the  photographs 
were  produced  by  yellow  flashes,  as  intense  yellow  gave  a nega- 
tive effect. 

Mr.  Kailyard  said  : If  we  assume  the  ribbon  flashes  to  have 
a real  existence,  the  photographs  seem  to  show  that  the  ribbon 
never  curls  or  turns  to  one  side  ; all  the  turns  are  made  so  that 
the  cross  lines  of  the  ribbon  remain  parallel  to  a fixed  line.  It 
follows  from  this  that  each  edge  of  the  ribbon  is  a plane  curve, 
and  the  ribbon  always  remains  between  two  parallel  planes.  A 
ribbon  flash  seen  from  any  point  between  these  planes  would 
appear  to  project  into  a straight  ribbon.  Mr.  Marriott  and  he 
ha<l  wished  to  determine  whether  there  was  any  connection 
between  the  direction  of  the  wind  and  the  cross  lines  of  the 
ribbon,  or  whether  the  cross  lines  were  parallel  to  some  fixed 
line  in  space,  such  as  the  earth's  magnetic  axis.  He  had 
therefore  tried  to  observe  the  curvature  of  the  lightning 
flashes  seen  in  different  directions  during  the  great  storm,  but 
he  had  not  been  able  to  recognize  any  direction  in  which  t hey 
appeared  to  be  all  straight  flashes,  and  he  had  not  seen  any 
ribbon  flashes  or  dark  flashes.  When  he  came  to  see  the  photo- 
graphs taken  during  the  great  storm,  his  faith  as  to  the  real 
existence  of  ribbon  flashes  was  still  further  shaken.  There 
were  some  photographs  which  showed  three  or  four  parallel 
flashes  of  lightning,  and  three  or  four  separate  images  of  a 
railway  signal  post  lit  up  by  the  lightning,  proving  that  the 
plate  must  have  shifted  between  the  flashes,  which  were 
absolutely  alike,  turn  for  turn.  The  images  of  the  signal  post 
were  separated  by  distances  which  corresponded  with  the  dis- 
tances between  the  lightning  flashes,  and  we  must  consequently 
assume  that  the  three  lightning  flashes  all  followed  the  same 
course  in  the  air.  This  is  what  might  theoretical ly  be  expected, 
for  the  first  flash  would  heat  the  air  and  form  a path  of  least 
resistance  which  subsequent  flashes  would  travel  along,  as  water 
follows  the  turns  of  a pipe.  A somewhat  similar  photograph 


had  been  taken  by  Dr.  Hoffert,  who  had  intentionally  moved 
his  camera  from  side  to  side,  proving  that  recurrent  flashes 
occupied  a considerable  portion  of  a second,  and  that  between 
each  flash  there  was  a phosphorescence  which  left  a trace  on 
the  plate  very  similar  to  the  gauge-like  traces  with  which  we 
were  already  familiar  in  the  ribbon  flash  photographs.  It  was 
a very  significant  fact  that  all  the  photographsof  ribbon  flashes, 
as  far  as  he  was  aware,  had  been  taken  with  cameras  held  in 
the  hands,  or,  at  all  events,  with  cameras  which  were  not 
screwed  to  a fixed  support,  but  were  only  held  against  a 
window-sill  by  the  hand  of  the  operator.  And  he  thought  that 
we  have  in  these  photographs  evidence  of  the  nervous  condition 
of  the  operator,  and  of  the  magnit  ude  of  the  jump  or  start  which 
the  flash  gave  rise  to.  Dr.  Hoffert’s  photograph,  as  well  as  the 
other  photographs  of  multiple  flashes,  showed  that  all  the  flashes 
took  place  in  the  same  direction,  for  all  the  flashes  thinned  out 
in  the  same  direction.  There  was  no  evidence  of  lightning 
striking  first  backwards  and  then  forwards,  as  had  been  suggested. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN'  FRANCE. 

UV  l.LUN  VIDA  L, 

Jl’BII.Ki;  BANqlLT  Mi  tt  At,  AtD  ASSOCIATION — IsoclIRu- 
math;  I’i.atks — Flash  Torch — Micro-Photographs  — 
Monochromatic  r .tght — Photographic  Gun-  -Coloura- 
tion op  Negatives— Bibliography. 

Si  ronil  Haii'/iul  >J  the  Fiftieth  . I iinireivari/  <j  Pholoyi  ttplti/. 
— A fete,  commemorative  of  the  invention  of  photography, 
took  place  outlie  Kith  of  last  month  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Syndical  Chamber  of  Photography.  The  idea  was  to 
give  to  those  persons  prevented  from  attending  the  ban- 
quet on  the  19  th  of  August,  the  opportunity  of  taking  part 
in  a manifestation  organised  with  the  same  view.  The 
fete,  which  was  particularly  attended  by  professional  pho- 
tographers, was  of  the  most  cordial  character.  The 
President  of  the  banquet,  in  drinking  to  the  fraternal  and 
solid  union  of  photographic  corporations,  explained  the 
necessity  for  creating  amongst  the  whole  of  photographers 
an  association  of  mutual  aid,  which  would  come  to  the 
help  of  unfortunate  members  or  of  their  widows  and  chil- 
dren. The  appeal  of  Leon  Vidal  was  taken  up,  and 
generous  offers  were  spontaneously  made.  The  associa- 
tion was  created,  and  on  its  foundation  it  is  necessary  to 
constitute  itself  formally  by  adoption  of  statutes  of  asso- 
ciation. The  invested  funds  are  to  be  permanently  in- 
alienable, pensions  and  other  aid  being  taken  only  from 
the  revenues.  The  annual  subscription  is  fixed  at  six 
francs,  and  perpetual  membership — that  is  to  say,  freedom 
from  any  subsequent  contribution,  at  100  francs.  The 
association  includes  foreign  as  well  as  French  photo- 
graphers. This  useful  work  was  wanting  to  the  photo- 
graphic body,  and  it  is  a good  thing  to  have  filled  up  the 
gap.  The  sitting  of  the  French  Photographic  Society  of 
the  3rd  inst.  presented  nothing  of  great  interest.  Below 
we  sum  up  the  principal  events. 

lid-wards' s Txochromatic  Flutes. — The  photographs  from 
these  plates,  accompanied  by  those  obtained  on  ordinary 
plates,  were  defective  as  examples  from  a cause  which  was 
pointed  out.  The  impression  prevailed  that  the  ordinary 
plate  had  been  taken  in  a bail  light,  whilst  the  iso- 
chromatic  photograph  is  better,  being  more  directly  lighted. 
We  are  not  ignorant  of  the  difference  shown  by  two  re- 
productions, one  of  which  is  taken  upon  an  ordinary,  and 
the  other  on  an  isochromatic  plate  ; but  we  like,  when  the 
two  results  are  produced  together,  that  they  should  possess 
a character  of  ingenuousness  such  that  the  observations 
called  forth  by  Mr.  Edwards’s  proofs  could  not  be  made. 


24 


The  photographic  news. 


M.  Attout  Tailfer,  who,  according  to  his  own  state- 
ment, has  better  formula)  than  others  for  isochromatising 
plates,  endeavoured  to  demonstrate  that  the  proofs  com- 
municated had  been  reproduced  under  identical  conditions; 
but  he  did  not  succeed  in  convincing  anyone.  It  is  time 
to  have  done  with  the  myth  of  pretended  patents  relating 
to  isochromatic  preparations,  and  it  appears  to  us  to  carry 
simplicity  and  complaisance  to  excess  for  persons  to  tell 
us  that  certain  patents  prevent  them  from  practising 
orthochromatic  photography.  The  truth  is  that  this 
method  belongs  to  all  the  infinite  variety  of  colouring  pro- 
ducts, of  coloured  screens,  and  of  processes  and  formula) 
capable  of  leading  to  the  same  result,  and  it  is  no  more  in 
the  power  of  a connnercialist  to  place  himself  as  a barrier 
against  the  application  of  orthochromatism,  than  it  is  in 
the  power  of  a colour-merchant  to  prevent  a painter  from 
using  red  or  any  other  colour.  Such  commercial  preten- 
sions are  of  an  unworthy  stamp,  and  based  upon  the 
ignorance  of  the  greater  number,  and  the  timidity  of  the 
few.  It  is  time,  we  repeat,  to  have  done  with  such  tram- 
mels to  the  progress  of  photography. 

Flash-Torch  for  Producing  the  Magnesium  Flash. — This 
little  apparatus,  conceived  by  MM  Merville  and  Lausiaux, 
looks  exactly  like  one  of  those  fuse  boxes  which  smokers 
use  for  lighting  their  cigars.  Tt  consists  of  a metal  reser- 
voir of  the  size  of  a small  match-box.  On  this  reservoir 
are  two  small  tubes,  one  to  take  a rubber  pipe  connected 
with  an  elastic  ball,  the  other  receives  a blazing  match. 
The  air  and  the  magnesium  powder,  projected  by  the 
rubber  ball,  come  out  enveloping  the  blazing  torch,  and 
the  magnesium  flash  is  thus  produced.  The  little  box  in 
question  will  contain  twelve  charges — that  is  to  say, 
enough  pure  magnesium  for  twelve  flashes.  Simple  and 
exceedingly  portable,  this  little  apparatus  is  destined  to  be 
a success. 

Micro-photographs  of  Wood  Sections. — A very  interesting 
communication  on  this  subject  was  made  by  MM  Thil 
and  Thouronde.  Micro-photographs,  to  the  number  of 
about  400,  were  executed  to  the  order  of  the  Minister  of 
Agriculture.  Mona  Thil,  Inspector  of  Government 
Forests,  has,  in  very  precise  language,  pointed  out  the 
reach  of  this  application  of  photography,  which  permits 
of  the  classification  of  woods  in  families  and  species, 
thanks  to  the  comparison  alone  of  the  intimate  structure 
of  the  fibres  and  cellular  network.  By  this  means  we 
are  enabled,  with  the  help  of  simply  thin  cuttings,  to  give, 
so  to  say,  a complete  anatomy  of  each  species,  and  to 
notice  easily  the  essential  differences  which  exist  between 
wood  of  different  species,  although  belonging  to  the  same 
family ; all  the  more,  therefore,  can  we  recognise  classifi- 
cation in  families.  Micro-photographic  pictures,  pro- 
jected by  the  lantern,  served  to  demonstrate  clearly  the 
truth  of  the  propositions  affirmed.  This  is  a new  example, 
and  one  of  the  most  conclusive  kind,  of  the  numerous 
services  that  photography  may  render  to  the  sciences. 

I his  considerable  work  does  the  more  honour  to  Mous. 
rhouronde  that  his  preliminary  studies  of  micro-photo- 
graphy naturally  indicated  him  to  the  choice  of  the 
Minister  in  view  of  the  present  important  application. 

Paths  for  Holding  Liquids  for  Mono-Cliroinatising  Light. — 
It  is  to  Mens,  rhouronde  th.at  is  due  a presentation  of 
these  baths  formed  of  two  sheets  of  glass  and  a third  with 
a round  aperture ; against  this  the  outer  plates  are  cemented, 
a small  hole  being  left  for  the  introduction  of  coloured 
liquid,  sulphate  of  copper,  or  whatever  it  may  be.  The 


[January  i0,  1890. 

advantage  presented  by  this  arrangement  is  that  of  giving 
dishes  with  vertical  sides,  very  sound,  and  convenient  to 
use.  There  is  no  danger  of  any  injury  to  the  instruments 
from  flic  escape  of  a liquid  which  is  often  injurious  to 
them. 

Hand  Apparatus. — Photographic  (inn. — Mons.  Carette 
described  the  action  of  this  little  apparatus,  which  we  had 
already  seen  at  the  Universal  Exhibition.  It  is  essentially 
a small  camera  mounted  on  a handle  like  the  stock  of  a 
pistol,  the  exposure  being  made  by  pulling  the  trigger.  It 
is  also  fitted  with  two  short  telescopic  legs  in  front,  by 
means  of  which  it  may  be  used  standing  on  a table  or 
other  support,  and  levelled  if  need  be.  This  well-schemed 
instrument  must  be  added  to  the  collection,  already  so 
numerous,  of  photographic  vade-mecum. 

Yellow  Colouration  of  Negatives. — Mons.  llervc,  who  had 
not  clearly  understood  what  M.  Balagny  had  desired  to 
express  at  the  previous  sitting  of  the  Society,  delivered  a 
long  dissertation  upon  the  yellowing  of  gelatine  plates  in 
pyrogallic  acid.  The  misfortune  was  that  he  had  missed 
the  point  of  the  question,  and  that  an  hour  was  lost  from 
his  not  having  listened.  Mons.  Balagny  replied  that  he 
only  spoke  of  the  canary  yellow  veil  which  is  produced  on 
plates  after  their  immersion  in  hyposulphite  of  soda.  He 
stated  afresh  that  the  preliminary  washing  of  the  negative 
in  water  acidulated  with  citric  acid  constitutes  a preven- 
tive means,  permitting  us  to  avoid  with  certainly  all  yellow 
veil.  We  think  for  our  own  part  th.at  all  that  is  necessary 
is  washing  with  plain  water ; a negative  sufficiently  washed 
is  freed  from  all  trace  of  alkaline  salts,  carbonate  of  soda 
or  of  potash,  and  remains  clear  and  without  the  slightest 
colouration.  When  the  development  has  been  long  wc 
must  insist  more  strongly  still  upon  thorough  washing,  in 
order  to  better  penetrate  the  film  of  gelatine  which  has 
been  more  deeply  impregnated  with  alkaline  salts. 

Bibliography. — MM.  Gauthier- Villars  and  Son  have  just 
brought  out  a treatise  on  photography  with  pellicular 
processes  by  Mons.  G.  Balagny.  This  work  includes  two 
vols.  The  first  is  dedicated  to  generalities — flexible  films, 
theory  and  practice  of  the  three  developments,  iron,  pyro- 
gallic acid,  and  hydroquinone.  The  second  includes 
pellicular  papers,  the  general  application  of  pellicular  pro- 
cesses, phototype,  contretype,  and  transparencies.  There 
are  in  this  work  many  things  pointed  out  which  it  is  useful 
to  consult. 


Hastings  and  .St.  Leonard’s  Photographic  Society. — The 
annual  general  meeting  will  be  held  January  13,  in  the  large 
room  of  the  Brassey  Institute,  when  Mr.  A.  R.  Dresser  will 
give  a paper,  with  illustrations  by  lime  light.  An  exhibition  of 
photographs,  lantern  slides,  transparencies,  photographic 
appliances,  and  apparatus,  will  be  held  in  the  Public  Hall, 
Hastings,  on  February  25  th,  26  th,  and  27  th.  The 
following  will  be  the  classes  and  awards  : — Class  I.  (Photo- 
graphs), gold  medal  for  the  best  photograph  in  the  exhibition  ; 
silver  medal  for  the  best  landscape  or  seascape,  interior  or 
genre  subject,  not  enlarged  ; silver  medal  for  the  best  portrait, 
not  enlarged  ; silver  medal  for  the  best  enlargement  ; six  bronze 
medals  to  be  distributed  at  the  discretion  of  the  judges. 
Class  11.  (Lantern  Slides),  silver  medal  for  best  set  of  six 
lantern  slides  ; two  bronze  medals  for  the  next  best  sets. 
Class  HI.  (Scientific — Photo-micrography  and  Stellar  Photo- 
graphy), bronze  medal.  Messrs.  H.  P.  Robinson,  J.  Gale,  and 
J.  B.  B.  Wellington  will  be  the  judges.  The  proceeds  of  the 
exhibition,  after  paying  expenses,  will  be  given  to  the  Hastings, 
St.  Leonard’s,  and  East  Sussex  Hospital.  Further  particulars 
may  be  obtained  from  the  Hon.  Secretary,  Mr.  A.  Brooker, 
Memorial  Buildings,  Manchester. 


January  10,  1890.}- 


e>t 


'THE  PHOfOGRAEllIC  NEWS. 


25 


COLD  WEATHER  NOTES. 

BY  C.  BRANGWIN  BARNES. 


Notwithstanding  the  oft-repeated  announcement  to  the 
public  of  “ weather  no  object,”  it  is  still  a fact  acknow- 
ledged by  photographers,  amongst  themselves,  that  photo- 
graphs produced  in  the  winter  are  not  so  good  as  those 
produced  during  what  is  generally  termed  “the  season.” 
There  are  many  reasons  why  such  should  be  the  case,  but 
it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  are  ways  and  means 
of  getting  over — or,  at  any  rate,  minimising— the  troubles 
to  which  operators  and  printers  are  heirs  in  the  winter  of 
their  discontent.  T do  not  suppose,  for  a single  instant, 
that  the  few  hints  I am  about  to  make  will  convert  that 
“winter”  into  “glorious  summer,”  but  they  may  per- 
chance be  of  some  slight  assistance  to  some  fellow  worker, 
and  it  is  with  this  hope  that  1 am  sending  them  forth.  Of 
course,  the  old  hand  will  say  that  I am  giving  him  nothing 
new  ; that  my  notes  are  merely  old  wheezes  that  he  was 
aware  of  long  ago  ; but  there  are  still  many  new  workers 
in  the  profession  who  may  not  have  been  so  blessed,  and 
it  is  for  their  benefit  that  I am  now  writing. 

To  commence  with  the  studio,  it  will  be  found  that  if 
the  lens  be  left  therein  over  night,  the  glasses  will  be 
covered  with  moisture  in  the  morning,  which  moisture 
should  always  be  carefully  removed  before  using  the  lens. 
The  same  will  be  found  on  both  focussing  screen  and 
eye-piece.  1 have  found  that  a short  focus  lens,  as  a rule, 
is  better  to  use  in  winter  than  a long  focus,  as  there  is 
usually  a certain  amount  of  mist  in  the  atmosphere,  which, 
interposing  between  the  sitter  and  the  camera,  is  often  the 
cause  of  a foggy  image.  Although  it  is  the  rule  to  keep 
the  studio  at  a fair  temperature  during  the  day,  the  fire  is 
usually  let  out  when  the  hours  of  operating  are  over. 
This  should  not  be  the  case,  as,  if  the  stove  is  kept  burning 
until  retiring  time,  and  then  filled  up  with  small  coke,  so 
as  to  keep  just  alight  till  morning,  there  will  be  no  trouble 
with  the  snow,  which  would  otherwise  settle  on  the  roof, 
anil  cause  some  trouble  to  clear  off,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
risk  of  a pane  or  two  being  broken,  or  of  an  early  sitter 
having  to  be  taken  with  side-light  only.  The  small  fire 
burning  all  night  will  also  render  it  a possibility  to  keep 
plants  alive  in  the  studio  all  through  the  winter,  which  is 
a decided  advantage. 

It  is  not  only  the  studio  that  requires  to  be  kept  warm, 
but  the  dark  room  also,  as  many  a weak  and  misty  image 
owes  its  defects  to  the  coldness  of  the  room  and  the  deve- 
loper. If  the  dark  room  be  kept  warm,  the  various 
solutions  will  be  in  better  working  order,  and,  what  is 
more,  so  will  the  operator.  It  is  far  from  pleasant  to  have 
to  thaw  the  tap  to  get  at  the  water  with  which  to  mix  the 
developer,  nor  is  the  pleasure  at  all  enhanced  by  the  use 
of  that  same  developer  for  some  twenty  minutes  or  half 
an  hour,  especially  if  the  fixing  solution  has  just  been 
mixed  with  some  more  of  the  same  ice-cold  water.  If 
there  be  no  means  of  warming  the  dark  room,  the  solution 
should  be  kept  elsewhere,  as  a developer  only  a few  degrees 
removed  from  freezing-point  will  never  yield  so  good 
a result  as  one  at  a normal  temperature,  and  the  temptation 
to  increase  its  rapidity  by  strengthening  it  is  not  only 
more  costly,  but  of  very  little  use.  When  the  water  is 
supplied  direct  from  the  main,  without  the  intervention 
of  a cistern,  no  amount  of  warmth  in  the  dark  room  will 
be  of  any  use,  unless  a quantity  is  drawn  off  from  the  tap 
and  allowed  to  stand  for  an  hour  or  so. 

The  following  developer  is,  l find,  a very  useful  one  for 


winter  purposes,  as  the  main  body  of  the  solution,  being 
ready  mixed,  can  be  kept  in  a warm  place  until  wanted 
for  use,  added  to  which,  it  gives  negatives  of  a colour  very 
close  to  that  of  the  wet  collodion  process  : — A.  To.  | lb. 
of  sulphite  of  soda  (pure)  add  50  ounces  of  boiling  water, 
and  .J  lb.  of  common  washing  soda ; when  cool,  make  up 
to  100  ounces  with  water.  Ik  1 ounce  of  pyrogallic  acid; 
make  up  to  7 ounces  with  rain  or  distilled  water,  and  add 
4 drops  of  nitric  acid.  To  develop,  take  30  parts  of  A to 
1 of  lk  Some  operators  object  to  the  use  of  soda.  When 
such  is  the  case,  the  sulphite  should  be  mixed  with  the 
boiling  water,  and  2j-  ounces  of  liquid  ammonia  added 
thereto  when  cool.  This  developer  is  merely  an  adaptation 
of  that  issued  by  Messrs.  Pollard  and  Graham  with  their 
plates,  such  adaptation  acting  well  with  me,  but  may 
require  some  further  modifications  in  other  hands.  I 
would  in  no  case  advise  the  addition  of  bromide,  although 
a bottle  containing  the  following  solution  should  always 
be  at  hand  ready  for  an  emergency,  such  as  an  over- 
exposed plate : — 

Bromide  of  potassium  ...  ...  ...  1 ounce 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  10  ounces 

One  or  two  drops  of  this  added  to  the  developer  will  be 
found  to  have  a marvellous  effect.  When  ammonia  is 
used  in  place  of  soda  bromide  of  ammonium  will  be  found 
preferable  to  bromide  of  potassium. 

All  negatives  should  be  varnished  before  a single  print  is 
taken  from  them,  but  if  it  is  necessary  to  take  a print  in 
order  to  test  the  density  of  a doubtful  plate,  a thin  sheet 
of  mica  should  be  inserted  between  the  film  aud  the  albu- 
men paper,  as  at  the  present  season  of  the  year  the  gelatine 
film  is  very  apt  to  take  up  some  silver  from  the  paper,  and 
so  ruin  the  negative,  or  at  any  rate  cause  considerable 
waste  of  time  and  trouble.  In  a former  article  I recom- 
mended the  use  of  an  old,  untoned  print  to  back  up  the 
fresh  paper  during  printing,  and  would  now  again  draw 
attention  to  the  same,  as  it  will  be  found  to  have  a really 
marvellous  effect  in  preserving  the  colour  of  the  print,  and 
every  tyro  knows  that  a yellowed  print  never  tones  up  like 
a good  one.  The  practice  of  warming  the  toning  bath  is 
one  I am  unable  to  commend,  as  it  has  a tendency  to  cause 
mealiness  in  the  prints.  If  the  bottle  containing  the  solu- 
tion is  kept  in  a warm  room,  the  toning  will  be  found  to 
proceed  as  regularly  and  as  rapidly  as  in  summer.  The 
hypo  bath  should  bo  mixed  with  warm  water  aud  used 
when  cold,  and  chilled  water  used  for  the  first  washing  or 
two  after  fixation.  By  this  means  blisters  will  be  avoided. 
Saturday’s  prints  should  be  left  over  until  the  Monday  to 
tone,  as  the  prolonged  washing  they  would  otherwise  get 
tends  not  only  to  rot  the  paper,  but  to  eat  away  the  albu- 
men, and  so  cause  premature  fading  of  the  prints. 


Crystal  Palace  Photographic  Exhibition. — A special 
class  will  be  formed  in  addition  to  the  published  schedule,  and 
a silver  medal  will  be  awarded  for  the  best  picture,  irrespective 
of  subject,  to  be  selected  by  the  judges  from  amongst  those 
pictures  which  have  never  been  previously  shown  at  a public 
exhibition.  Pictures  entered  for  this  prize  will  be  equally 
eligible  for  award  in  their  several  classes.  Two  additional 
silver  medals  will  be  given  : one  for  the  best  picture,  irrespec- 
tive of  class,  in  the  amateur  section  ; and  one  for  the  best 
picture,  irrespective  of  class,  in  the  professional  section,  neither 
picture  having  taken  any  other  award  in  this  exhibition.  The 
whole  of  the  exhibitors  in  the  apparatus  division  will  be  asked 
to  adjudicate  upon  these  supplementary  awards.  The  applica- 
tions for  space  this  year,  we  are  informed,  are  already  far  ahead 
of  previous  shows, 


2G 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


j£0tCS. 

Mr.  Ralph  Robinson,  in  his  letter  last  week  entitled 
“ Reproduction  and  Copyright,”  has  contrived  to  miss 
the  point  of  our  contention.  Our  proposition  was  not 
that  the  principal  of  a newspaper  snould  consider  he 
had  the  right  to  dispose  of  the  block  made  from  a 
photograph,  but  whether  a certain  firm  of  photo- 
graphers should  place  a prohibitive  fee  upon  the 
right  to  produce  electros  from  that  block  for  sale  to 
other  papers.  The  whole  qestion  is  one  of  market 
value,  and  while,  as  we  said,  the  firm  in  question  knows 
its  own  business,  we  still  maintain  that  it  loses 
rather  than  gains  by  its  high  charges. 

Mr.  Robinson  appears  to  have  in  his  mind  photo- 
graphs which  involve  a good  deal  of  time  and  expense, 
and  which  aro  intended  to  be  pictures  in  the  highest 
sense  of  the  term.  If  not,  it  is  hard  to  understand 
the  relevancy  of  his  remark  that  “There  is  very 
exceptionally  any  encouragement  to  professional 
photographers  to  produce  pictures  except  the  love  of  it, 
and  the  expense  is  to  many  a very  serious  considera- 
tion ; and  surely  anything  which  makes  the  practice 
of  art  less  burdersome  to  the  pocket  of  the  photo- 
grapher should  receive  the  support  of  the  photographic 
press.”  But  all  this  is  wholly  outside  the  point  at 
issue.  It  is  very  desirable  that  portrait  photographers 
should  make  their  pictures  as  artistic  as  they  can,  but 
we  presume  no  professional  photographer  can  afford  to 
ignore  the  fact  that  he  is  engaged  in  a business  which 
must  be  made  to  pay  if  he  values  his  peace  of  mind. 
The  manufacture  of  as  many  negatives  as  possible  in 
one  day  is  the  aim  of  the  average  portrait  photo- 
grapher, and  if  he  wishes  to  increase  his  business, 
advertisements  are  not  to  be  despised.  We  therefore 
contend  that  the  advertising  of  a photographer’s  name 
in  a newspaper  is  a quid  pro  quo  in  the  cases  we  have 
in  our  mind,  namely,  where  the  portraits  of  nonentities 
are  taken  in  the  ordinary  way  of  business,  and  the  photo- 
grapher has  been  already  paid  for  making  the  negative. 


To  descend  from  theory  to  practice.  It  has  become 
the  custom  of  late  years  for  both  the  Illustrated  London 
News  and  the  Graphic  to  go  in  extensively  for  portraits, 
not  merely  of  celebrities,  but  of  the  rank  and  file  who 
have  obtained  mention,  perhaps  for  the  first  and  last 
time  in  their  lives,  in  the  newspapers.  Among  these 
may  be  classed  a large  proportion  of  the  members  of  a 
new  House  of  Commons,  and,  descending  in  the  scale, 
we  come  to  the  members  of  the  London  County  Council, 
the  London  School  Board,  and  other  organizations. 
Most  of  these  portraits  have  absolutely  no  market  value  ; 
but  if,  through  any  accidental  circumstance,  one  of  the 
common-places  takes  the  chair,  say,  at  a local  meeting, 
the  editor  of  the  local  paper  may  contemplate  the 
advisability  of  giving  his  portrait.  For  cheapness  and 
convenience,  he  goes  to  the  agency  which  acts  for  the 
illustrated  papers,  and  selects  the  portrait.  In  every 
case  but  that  of  the  firm  he  mentions,  he  finds  that  au 


[January  10,  i890. 

acknowledgment  of  the  photographer  beyond  the  price 
paid  for  the  electro  is  all  that  is  demanded.  But  if 
the  portrait  happens  to  have  been  taken  by  the  Stereo- 
scopic Company  a fee  of  10s.  is  demanded.  Thus 
he  may  find  that,  while  the  electro  itself  is  but  5s.,  the 
right  to  use  it  costs  double  as  much.  We  do  not 
question  the  right  of  the  Company  to  charge  what 
they  like ; we  only  question  the  policy. 

The  matter  per  sc  is  one  wholly  of  pounds,  shillings, 
and  pence  ; but  we  have  dealt  with  it  at  some  length, 
because  of  its  importance,  and  also  because  out  of  it 
arises  a new  aspect  of  the  ancient  question,  which  has 
always  troubled  the  minds  of  photographers — thcowner- 
ship  of  the  negative.  The  law  on  the  point  is  not  so 
settled  as  some  suppose.  The  custom  of  the  trade  is 
that  the  ownership  and  copyright  are  vested  in  the 
producer,  but  that,  to  quote  the  words  of  Mr.  W.  E. 
Debenham  in  an  article  on  the  subj  ect  which  appeared 
in  the  Photo&eaphic  News  of  December  7th,  1888, 
“ the  right  to  the  possession  of  the  negative  ought  not 
to  imply  any  right  to  the  use  of  the  negative,  otherwise 
than  by  permission  or  desire  of  the  sitter.”  Of  course 
the  permission  to  reproduce  by  an  illustrated  paper  is 
given  in  every  instance  by  the  sitter  to  the  Stereoscopic 
Company,  but  if  the  Company  makes  money  out  of 
copyright  charges,  ought  not  the  sitter  in  equity  to 
claim  a portion  ? Whether  anybody  under  the  circum- 
stances would  so  claim  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
matter ; the  point  is,  that  the  fee,  whenever  it  is  ob- 
tained, is  a comfortable  addition  to  the  price  paid  for 
making  the  negative.  The  growing  tendency  to  illus- 
trate newspapers  and  journals  of  every  class,  especially 
in  regard  to  portraiture,  has  made  the  photographer  an 
important  factor,  and  his  policy  surely  should  be  rather 
to  give  facilities  than  check  them. 

The  miuing  prospector  is  just  now  a very  important 
personage.  His  mission  is  to  go  roaming  about  all 
over  the  world  in  search  of  auriferous  properties. 
He  is  obliged  to  be  very  astute,  and  not  disclose  his 
real  object,  so  as  to  get  the  property  for  “a  mere  song,” 
after  which  he  proceeds  to  plant  it  on  the  London  in- 
vestment market  at  an  enormous  profit.  In  order  to  do 
this,  he  makes  an  extensive  use  of  photography.  Why 
photographs  of  the  surface  of  the  ground  should  be 
a proof  of  gold  contained  beneath  is  not  for  us  to 
say,  but  purchasers  of  gold  mining  shares  find  a com- 
fort in  gazing  at  such  pictures,  and  therefore  the  pros- 
pector takes  care  to  indulge  them.  Thus  we  read  in  a 
financial  paper  that  “Mr.  — is,  according  to  American 
advices,  roaming  around  the  Candelaria  mine,  and 
taking  photographic  views,  in  order  to  once  again 
appear  before  English  investors  with  pretty  views  of  a 
‘ splendid  property.’  ” This  is  an  advance  ; hitherto 
the  prospector  has  been  content  to  employ  a photo- 
grapher ; he  now  takes  the  photographs  himself.  It  is 
the  safer  plan. 

The  camera  is  an  object  of  dread  to  the  untutored 
savage.  It  is  not  so  much  the  uncanny  look  of  the 


January  10,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


2 1 


thing  when  it  is  planted  on  its  three  legs,  with  the 
operator’s  head  beneath  the  focussing  cloth,  which 
frightens  him,  as  the  picture  itself.  One  can  quite 
understand  the  innocence  which  prompts  the  child  of 
nature  to  imagine,  when  he  sees  the  counterfeit  pre- 
sentment of  himself  and  his  companions,  that  a portion 
of  his  actual  being  has  actually  been  transferred  to  the 
glass.  In  the  days  of  witchcraft  a photographer  most 
assuredly  would  have  been  hanged  as  a wizard.  After  a 
while  the  savage  gets  reconciled  to  the  phenomenon, 
especially  when  he  finds  he  has  not  come  to  much 
harm,  but  further  acquaintance  with  photography  it- 
self does  not  always  remove  his  suspicions.  A curious 
instance  of  this  comes  from  Afghanistan. 

Some  traveller  in  the  country  of  the  l’athans  beyond 
Quetta,  who  had  a camera  with  him,  gave  the  natives 
their  first  knowledge  of  photography,  aud  this  appears 
to  have  been  received  with  much  disfavour,  for,  on  the 
surveyor  of  the  Madras  Government  Department  pro- 
ceeding thither  on  a professional  mission,  he  met  w.th 
a hostile  reception.  It  is  true  he  had  not  got  a camera, 
but  he  was  in  possession  of  a theodolite,  and  this,  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Pathans,  was  much  the  same  thing. 
The  dislike  to  the  camera,  it  appears,  spriugs  from  the 
fact  that  it  takes  pictures  upside  down.  But,  in  addi- 
tion, the  Pathans  imagine,  when  the  surveyor  is  using 
his  theodolite,  that  he  cau  see  through  the  walls  of 
houses,  with  the  appalling  result  that  the  ladies  of  the 
household  arc  photographed  standing  on  their  heads  by 
the  infidel ! It  was  a mistake  for  the  first  photo- 
grapher in  the  Pathan  country  to  allow  the  natives  to 
look  at  the  ground  glass  screen  of  the  camera.  He 
forgot  that  a little  learning  is  a dangerous  thing. 

Rejlander,  as  Mr.  H.  P.  Robinson  pointed  out  last 
week,  read  but  one  paper  before  a photographic  society. 
He  was  not  given  to  rushing  into  print,  and,  as  Mr. 
Robinson  has  said,  preferred  to  convey  his  thoughts  by 
means  of  his  art.  It  was  in  conversation  with  him 
that  one  was  able  to  obtain  his  ideas  on  the  possibilities 
of  photography,  and  fresh,  original,  and  valuable  they 
were.  At  a dinner  of  the  South  London  Photographic 
Society  he  made  a speech  full  of  home  truths,  expressed 
in  a quaint  racy  fashion.  It  was  so  difficult  to  get  any 
of  Rejlander’s  opinions  on  paper,  that  a member  who 
was  present  who  wrote  shorthand,  hailed  the  oppor- 
tunity and  took  down  his  speech,  which  made  its  appear- 
ance iu  the  Year-Book  for  that  year.  It  is  rather  curious 
to  see  in  some  memoranda  found  after  his  death  how  he 
foreshadowed  the  detective  camera.  “ Except  truth  of 
drawing,”  he  wrote,  “ expression  is,  I think,  the  most 
important  thing  in  a portrait,  and  the  expression  which 
is  unpremeditated  and  unconscious  the  best.  I should 
be  very  glad  to  possess  a lens  that  did  not  need 
focussing.  I should  carry  it  in  my  pocket,  and  with  a 
dry  collodion  process  I would  catch  positions  and 
expressions  in  a crowd  far  better  than  with  my  own 
eyes,  for  those  poor  orbs  have  to  obey  fixed  laws  ; they 
cannot  even  see  a man  clearly  in  the  street  while 
looking  at  a spot  iu  the  window  frame.” 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  GERMANY. 

BY  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

Toning  Albumen  Prints — Magnesium  Flash-Light 

Studio — Winter  Pictures — Developers  for  Prints 
on  Gelatino-Ciiloride  Paper. 

Toning  Albumen  Prints. — An  entirely  reliable  formula, 
which  has  been  in  use  for  many  years  with  satisfactory  re- 
sults in  one  of  the  most  eminent  photographic  establish- 
ments of  this  country,  is  the  following.  Two  solutions  are 


made  up  : — 

Solution  No.  1. 

Water 

...  , 

. 1,000  c.c. 

Acetate  of  soda 

Solution  No.  2. 

. 50  grammes 

Water 

...  ...  ...  • 

. 1,000  c.c. 

Gold  chloride 



. 1 gramme 

For  use  take  : — 

Solution  No.  1 

...  •••  ... 

. 100  c.c. 

Solution  No.  2 

...  ...  •••  • 

. 50  c-c. 

Water 

...  ...  • 

100  c.c. 

Carbonate  of  soda,  sufficient  to  neutralise  the  bath. 

After  the  bath  has  been  used  for  toning,  one-half  of  it  is 
poured  into  the  residues,  and  every  day  half  a bath  of 
the  above-given  proportions  is  added  to  the  rest  remain- 
ing in  each  case.  If  it  is  intended  to  tone  in  the  evening, 
then  the  addition  to  the  toning  bath  should  always  be 
made  in  the  morning  of  the  same  day.  This  toning  bath 
can  be  recommended  to  the  profession  in  every  respect. 

A Magnesium  Flash  Light  Studio. — Professor  Schirm,  of 
Breslau,  some  weeks  ago  opened  a new  photographic 
studio  at  Berlin,  in  which  instantaneous  pictures  are 
taken  only  by  magnesium  flash  light.  The  well-known 
flash  lamp,  constructed  by  Professor  Schirm  himself,  is 
used.  A system  of  seven  to  nine  lamps  for  a single  por- 
trait, and  double  the  number  and  even  more  for  groups,  is 
employed.  The  lamps  are  suspended  from  the  ceiling,  and 
can  be  pushed  to  and  fro  on  iron  rails,  which  run  parallel 
to  the  walls.  Four  lamps  are  kept  burning  nearly  along- 
side of  the  sitter,  three  in  front,  one  behind  sideways  to 
illuminate  the  background.  With  the  whole  set  of  lamps 
a pair  of  bellows  is  combined,  by  the  aid  of  which  all  the 
lamps  are  lighted  at  once.  Besides,  the  pair  of  bellows 
are  by  electrical  contact  combined  with  the  shutters  of 
the  objective  lens;  as  soon  as  the  cap  is  removed  from  the 
lens,  the  pair  of  bellows  .are  released  by  means  of  elec- 
tricity, and  the  magnesium  lights  produced.  When, 
however,  the  bellows  are  compressed  for  about  one  and  a 
half  inch,  the  circuit  is  at  once  closed,  the  cap  of  the  lens 
being  closed  at  the  same  time.  In  this  way  the  expo- 
sure amounts  only  to  one-tenth  of  a second,  though  the 
magnesium  lights  are  burning  for  a somewhat  longer  time. 
The  same  arrangement  is  used  for  the  production  of  prints 
and  of  enlargements.  If  a print  is  to  be  produced  of  a 
portrait  negative  a very  short  time  after  the  exposure, 
a piece  of  wet  gelatino-bromide  paper  is  squeegeed  on  to 
the  fixed  and  washed  negative  whilst  still  wet,  then  ex- 
posed at  a distance  of  three  to  four  feet  from  the  flash 
light,  and  developed  with  eikonogen.  The  new  studio  is 
declared  a decided  progress  by  such  authorities,  for  in- 
stance, as  l’rofessor  II.  W.  Vogel,  who  devoted  to  it  a 
leader  in  his  journal. 

Winter  Pictures  from  the  Hartz  Mountains. — A well-known 
meteorologist  has  on  a cold,  but  splendid  winter  day,  de- 


28 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


[January  10,  1890, 


scended  the  Brocken,  the  celebrated  scene  of  the  St.  YW1- 
purgis  Night  in  Goethe’s  “ l'aust,"  and,  by  the  aid  of  an 
academy  camera,  taken  several  highly  interestmg  photo- 
graphs of  the  snow-covered  scenery.  A few  of  them  we 
reproduce  here  in  block  form.  Figs.  1,  2,  and  :>  show  a 
group  of  scanty  pines,  standing  on  the  brows  of  the 
mountain,  being  so  completely  covered  with  rune  m all 
their  branches,  that  they  have  entirely  lost  their  original 


rime  has  been  transformed  to  a figure  something  like  a 
Inure  fungus.  The  wire  of  the  telegraph  is  now  always 
removed  at  the  beginning  of  the  winter,  because  it  has 


Fig.  1. 

form,  and  look  like  the  strangest  forms  of  animals  or 
masses  of  rocks  bristling  with  ice.  In  bright  sunshine 


Fig.  3. 

formerly  been  torn  by  the  weight  of  the  adhering  ice ; 
three  years  ago,  at  an  occasional  research,  the  wire  bc- 


cliarge  of  ice 


Fig.  2. 

they  present  a magnificent  appearance.  The  wanderer, 
wading  with  difficulty  in  the  deep  snow  covering  all  the 
rugged  rocks  and  glens,  perceives  these  ice. blocks  only 
when  he  is  quite  near,  and  then  finds  himself  surrounded 
by  white  figures,  not  unlike  white  bears  or  praying 
nuns.  Fig.  1 shows  a telegraph  pole,  which  by  the 


Fig.  4. 

tween  two  poles  was  found  to  bear  a 
amounting  to  1,100  pounds. 

Dccelojiers  fur  Prints  on  ( iehtltito-Chlorhle  Paper.  Dr.  E. 
A.  Just,  of  Vienna,  the  well-known  manufacturer  of  pho- 
tographic papers,  publishes  the  following  developing  for- 
mula?, which  are  also  recommended  by  Dr.  Stolze  as  ex- 
cellent. 

I . - — 11  yd vox  ylu  in i nc  Developer, 
it.  Caustic  soda  10  parts,  water  1,000  parts. 
b.  Hydroxy latnine  liydrochlor.  5 parts,  alcohol  100  parts, 
water  200  parts. 

e.  Potassium  bromide  1 part,  water  50  parts. 

For  brownish-black  tones,  are  mixed  : — 

Solution  a ...  ...  ...  •••  1®®  parts 

„ 6 17  » 

e ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  1*5  ,i 


V 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


20 


January  10,  1800.] 


For  sepia  tones,  are  taken  (the  time  of  exposure  being 
at  the  same  time  doubled) : — 

Solution  a ...  ...  ...  100  parts 

„ b 125  „ 

» c •••  •••  •••  fd>  ,, 

For  reddish-brown  to  red  tones,  are  taken  (the  time  of 
exposure  being  four  to  eight  times  as  long  as  in  the  first 
formula) : — 

Solution  a ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  100  parts 


» b ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  8 5 „ 

»«  e •••  •••  •••  f'5  „ 

11. — Eikonotjcn  Developer.  Eolation  A. 


Water 

...  300  parts 

Sodium  sulphite  

...  4 „ 

Potassium  meta-bisulphitc 

...  1 part 

Eikonogen  

1 „ 

Eolation  B. 

Water...  ...  

...  300  parts 

Soda  (crystaU.)  ...  

...  4 „ 

Glacial  acetic  acid  ... 

...  1 part 

With  sufficient  exposure,  equal  parts  of  solution  A and 
1>  give  beautiful  red  to  reddish-brown  tones.  Subse- 
quently the  prints  are  treated  with  an  acid  bath  of  water 
500,  glacial  acetic  acid  1. 

III. — Neutral  Citrate  Developer. 

The  neutral  citrate  of  ammonium  has  the  advantage  over 
the  acid  one,  that  it  does  not  mould  as  quickly  as  the 
latter,  COO  parts  of  citric  acid  are  dissolved  in  2,000  to 
3,000  parts  of  distilled  water,  which  solution  is  neutralised 
with  ammonia  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  case  of 
ammonio-acetate.  The  following  are  mixed : — ■ 

AmmoDio  citrate  solution  ...  ...  ...  150  parts 

Sulphate  of  iron  solution  1:3  ...  ...  50  „ 

The  clear  greenish  solution  does  not  become  muddy,  even 
with  sulphate  of  iron  in  excess.  With  short  exposures, 
beautiful  blackish-grey  tones  are  obtained  ; with  prolonged 
exposures,  sepia  tones,  and,  if  the  solution  is  diluted,  red 
tones.  To  prepare  a stronger  developer,  108  parts  of 
citric  acid  are  dissolved  in  500  parts  of  water,  which  solu- 
tion is  neutralised  with  ammonia  (0'91  spec,  weight),  and 
diluted  with  water  up  to  800  parts.  Then  are  mixed  : — 


Ammonio-citrate  solution  ...  ...  ...  100  parts 

Sulphate  of  iron  in  crystals...  ..  ...  15  „ 


After  this  has  completely  dissolved,  well  set,  and  to  some 
degree  oxidised  in  the  air,  the  developer  is  ready  for  use. 
The  developer  becomes  blackish-green  by  oxydation,  but 
it  may  be  recovered  if,  after  some  iron-wire  has  been  put 
into  it,  it  is  made  slightly  acid  by  means  of  citric  acid,  and 
exposed  to  the  light. 

IV.  — Hydroquinone  Developer. 

This  developer  is  one  of  the  best,  especially  if  it  is  not 
used  freshly  prepared,  the  tones  resulting  being  vigorous 
and  of  beautiful  gradation.  For  black  tones,  are  mixed  : — 


Water...  

Hydroquinone  

Sodium  sulphite 

Potassium  metabisulphite  ... 

l’otash 

For  red  tones : — 

Water ...  

Hydroquinone 

Sodium  sulphite  

Potassium  metabisulphite  ... 
Caustic  potassium  ...  ... 

Potash 


...  300  parts 

...  1 part 

..  6 parts 


...  0-33 
...  11 


n 


600  parts 
1 part 
12  parts 
0'33  part 
1‘5  parts 


A very  good  formula  is  also  the  following  by  Detaille 
Frcres : — 


Water...  

30  parts 

Hydrokiuone ... 

1 part 

Sodium  sulphite  

7'5  parts 

mixed  with 

Water 

...  ...  CO  parts 

Potash  ..  

15  „ 

Acetic  acid 

1-5  „ 

This  developer  gives  black  tones. 
iug  is  recommended  : — 

For  red  tones  the  follt 

Water 

50  parts 

Hydroquinone 

...  ...  1 part 

Sodium  sulphite  

7 "5  parts 

mixed  with 

Water... 

...  ...  100  parts 

Potash 

„ 

Acetic  acid 

•••  •••  b » 

PHOTOGRAPHY  OF  THE  INSANE  FOR 
POSES  OF  PSYC1IIATRIA.* 


l'Ull- 


15V  DR.  EDEIi. 

Instantaneous  photography  has  been  employed  for  some 
time  in  psychiatria,  and  for  the  illustration  of  works  on 
diseases  of  the  mind  ail'd  nervous  system. 

The  true-to-life  pictures  of  the  sick  in  their  various 
phases,  convulsive  attacks  of  all  kinds,  such  as  Charcot, 
for  example,  takes  for  his  object-teaching,  or  such  as  are 
to  be  found  in  the  annual  reports  of  the  Insane  Asylum 
at  St.  Servolo,  point  out  to  us  the  manner  in  which  the 
instantaneous  photography  of  the  insane  in  the  various 
asylums  should  be  practised. 

The  professional  man  is  very  often  able  to  hit  upon  the 
correct  diagnosis  from  the  appearance  of  an  insane  person, 
from  his  carriage,  his  face,  the  play  of  his  mind.  Un- 
doubtedly, by  photographing  a number  of  carefully 
chosen  so-called  “classical”  cases,  pictures  would  be 
obtained  which  would  be  valuable,  either  for  object 
teaching  or  for  the  study  of  the  individual  cases  ; besides, 
much  would  be  suggested  by  the  study  of  the  facial 
mechanism  in  the  various  mind  diseases ; for  example,  in 
melancholia,  and  mania.  These  instantaneous  photo- 
graphs furnish  such  true  representations  of  the  circum- 
stances that  every  professional  man  can  recognize  from 
them  the  characteristic  symptoms  of  the  disease,  which 
cannot  be  said  in  regard  to  pictures  of  the  insane  drawn 
by  hand. 

Especial  attention  was  turned  to  this  work  on  the  part 
of  the  Imperial- Royal  Institute  and  Experimental  School 
for  Photography,  and  on  the  invitation  of  Ur.  Krajatsch, 
head  physician  in  the  Lower  Austrian  National  Insane 
Asylum  nt  Kierling-( lugging,  photographsof  various  insane 
patients  were  made  by  Dr.  Eder  and  Professor  Lenhard. 
A Voigtliinder  Euryscopc  of  66  mm.  opening  and  a 
shutter  by  Thury  and  Amcy  were  used.  The  photographs 
were  perfectly  successful,  and  the  collection  was  a gather- 
ing point  for  doctors  and  other  visitors  at  the  last  exhibi- 
tion of  the  Imperial  Royal  Institute,  and  a specimen  pic- 
ture— reproduced  in  collotype  by  the  students  at  the 
Institute — was  inserted  in  the  illustrated  catalogue  of  the 
exhibition. 

♦ 

Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  discussion  on  Jan.  15 
will  be  “The  Intensification  and  Reduction  of  Negatives.” 


* Translated  for  Wilson's  Photographic  Magazine  from  the  Photo  Archie, 


30 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[J.YNUAUY  10,  1890. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  SURVEY  OF  WARWICK- 
SHIRE.* 

BY  V.  JEROME  HARRISON,  K.G.S. 

Zootuyy  of  Warwickshire. — In  the  minute  life  which 
occupies  our  ponds  and  ditches  there  is  a never-ending 
field  of  work  for  the  photographer  who  combines  the 
camera  with  the  microscope.  Some  of  us  know,  too,  that 
it  is  better  fun  to  hunt  with  the  camera  than  with  the  gun  ; 
and  we  hope  to  be  able  to  photograph  the  local  birds,  &c., 
in  their  native  haunts,  and  so  to  secure  pictures  which 
shail  surpass  the  best  efforts  of  the  taxidermist. 

Method*  of  Conductiny  the  Photographic  Survey  of  a District. 
— There  are  several  ways  in  which  the  photographic  survey 
of  any  district  may  be  carried  out. 

1.  First  we  have  what  may  be  called  the  “no  method.”  | 
Each  member  of  the  society  or  body  by  which  the  survey 
is  to  be  carried  out  wanders  at  will  over  the  district,  photo- 
graphing whatever  pleases  his  eye,  and  sending  in  his  J 
negatives  or  prints  to  the  managing  committee.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  point  out  the  demerits  of  such  a scheme. 

-.  If  there  is  any  good,  modern,  and  tolerably  cheap  I 
county  history  in  existence,  it  might  well  furnish  the 
ground-work  for  a general  photo-survey.  Lists  of  all  the 
places  and  objects  named  in  its  pages  should  be  drawn  up, 
and  grouped  according  to  locality;  each  division  being 
then  allotted  to  those  workers  who  have  volunteered  their 
services.  For  1\  arwickshire  the  recent  publication  of  an 
admirable  county  history,!  by  Mr.  Sam.  Timmins,  offers 
a capital  opportunity,  the  more  especially  as  the  book  it- 
self contains  no  illustrations.  Any  member  who  wishes  to 
form  a very  valuable  and  interesting  volume  can  do  so  by 
pulling  Mr.  'limminss  book  to  pieces — which  is  just  what 
its  reviewers  have  not  done — interleaving  it  with  a series 
of  illustrations  such  as  I have  suggested,  and  then  having 
it  rebound. 

Rut  for  an  exhaustive  photo-survey  of  Warwickshire, 
or  of  any  other  district,  I believe  the  plan  must  be  based 
upon  a large  scale  and  accurate  map  ; and  we  must  go  to 
nature  herself  for  our  illustrations.  Fortunately  we  are 
now  provided  with  a map  or  maps — the  work  of  the  Gov- 
ernment Ordnance  Survey — which  is  in  every  respect 
admirable. 

{<i.)  The  old  Ons-mch  Ordnance  Map. — Warwickshire 
uas  mapped  on  the  scale  of  one  inch  to  one  mile  as  long 
iigo  as  1330.  This  map  is  sold  in  “quarter  sheets ” at  one 
shilling  each,  each  quarter  sheet  including  about  1G0  square 
miles.  The  entire  county  on  this  scale  makes  a map  59in. 
by  42in..  which  is  sold  in  sheets  for  17s.  (id. 

(h.)  7 he  Xrw  Onc-incli  Ordnance  Map. — The  map  des- 
cribed in  the  last  paragraph  is  now,  in  some  respects,  out 
ot  date.  Rut  a new  one-inch  map  is  being  prepared — by 
reduction  from  the  six-inch  map — which  will  be  a great 
improvement.  It  will  be  similar  in  size  and  price  to  the 
old  one-inch  map.  A\e  can  hardly  expect  to  have  this 
map  for  Warwickshire  for  a period  of  several  years. 

(''■)  Tlw  Ms-inch  Ornunce  My.— This  is  the  ideal  map 
oi  the  work  of  a photo-survey.  Its  large  scale — six  inches 
to  every  mile— allows  every  field,  and  even  every  tree,  to 
lie  depicted.  The  orientation  of  buildings  is  clearly  shown, 
so  that  the  photographer  can  see  beforehand  when  the  light 
will  fall  suitably  upon  any  building,  ruin,  &c.,  that  he  may 
lave  to  travel  a long  distance  to  photograph.  The  issue 
o t ie  \\  arwickshire  map  on  this  scale  is  very  nearly  com- 

Continucd  from  page  13. 
t Published  by  Elliot  Stoek,  prioc  7s.  <jd. 


plete.  The  county  is  contained  in  two  hundred  quarter 
sheets,  each  measuring  18in.  by  12in. , and  including  six 
square  miles.  They  are  sold  at  one  shilling  each,  and  195 
have  been  published. 

(d.)  The  Parish  Maps  are  on  the  still  larger  scale  of 
twenty-five  inches  to  a mile.  Four  of  these  parish  maps 
contain  an  area  equal  to  one  quarter  sheet  of  the  six-inch 
map,  Each  parish  map  measures  38in.  by  25|in.,  and 
contains  an  area  of  a little  more  than  11  square  miles. 
These  also  are  all  but  complete  for  Warwickshire  ; and  in 
some  cases,  as  in  Stratford,  the  ruins  of  Kenilworth,  &c., 
they  will  be  very  useful  to  the  photo-surveyor. 

((.)  Lastly,  there  are  the  town  plans,  on  the  scale  of  125 
inches  to  a mile. 

Plan  non-  proposal  for  the  Photo-Survey  of  Warwickshire: — ■ 

1.  A committee  must  be  appointed,  by  whom  the  de- 
tails of  the  plan  can  be  formulated. 

2.  The  ma] >s  of  the  county  on  the  six-inch  scale  must  be 
purchased.  For  each  sheet  of  the  map  there  must  also  be 
a light  cardboard  box*  bearing  the  same  number  as  the 
map.  In  this  box,  mounted  prints  of  all  the  photographs 
taken  from  objects  contained  in  that  sheet  of  the  map 
should  be  kept. 

A similarly  numbered  set  of  negative  boxes!  would  be 
needed  to  contain  the  negatives  belonging  to  each  sheet  of 
the  map. 

All  photographers  who  would  be  willing  to  place 
their  services  at  the  disposal  of  the  Society  should  send 
their  names — in  pairs  if  preferred — to  the  committee. 

1.  1 lie  committee  would  decide  on  a certain  patch  of 
country  to  be  surveyed — say  that  included  on  twelve  sheets 
of  the  six-inch  map,  if  twenty-four  names  were  received. 

1 hey  would  then  allot  the  maps  by  ballot  or  otherwise 
among  the  workers,  giving  one  map  to  each  pair. 

5.  Let  us  suppose  that  two  friends,  A and  R,  are  allotted 
a certain  area,  say  that  contained  in  one  quarter  sheet  of 
the  six-inch  map,  including  an  area  of  six  square  miles. 

I hey  carefully  study  the  map  and  draw  up  lists  of  the 
promising  points.  They  read  up  the  history  of  any 
churches,  ruins,  or  other  monuments  of  the  past  included 
within  it.  Then  they  visit  it  for  the  first  time,  without  their 
cameras.  I hey  walk  across  and  across  the  district,  calling 
perhaps  at  the  inns,  the  farm  house,  or  the  rectory,  gain- 
ing information  and  jotting  down  places  and  times  when 
the  light  will  be  favourable.  On  their  next  visit  they  are 
accompanied  by  their  cameras,  and  the  negatives  neces- 
sary to  illustrate  the  area — perhaps  only  two  or  three,  per- 
haps ten  or  twenty — are  soon  secured  ; or  a second  and 
third  visit  are  paid  if  necessary.  Prints  are  then  taken 
and  lantern  slides  made,  and  the  results  are  handed  over  to 
the  committee. 

(i.  If  a sufficient  number  of  subscribers  could  be  ob- 
tained, it  would  be  very  desirable  to  publish,  perhaps 
monthly  or  quarterly,  a selection  of  the  most  interesting 
photographs  obtained,  accompanied  by  descriptive  letter- 
press.  1 here  must  be  many  people  in  the  county  who 
would  prize  such  a local  record. 

7.  lhe  principal  books  and  works  of  reference  upon 
the  county  should  be  added  to  the  library  of  the  Society, 
and  lists  of  the  large  collections  of  books,  &c. , on  the  same 
subjects  contained  in  the  local  libraries  should  be  posted 
on  the  walls  of  the  club  rooms. 

lhose  sold  for  holding  pamphlets,  papers,  &c.,  by  Stone,  of  Banbury, 
would  answer  Well  for  this  purpose. 

i those  made  by  Arundel  and  Marshall,  Ihnn  Street  Works,  lloxlou, 
Lou  Jon,  are  recommend od. 


ll 

Hi 


wdl 

luu 


»J:il  q 


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January  10,  1890.]  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


31 


8.  One  night  in  each  week  might  be  considered  a “ ren- 
dezvous night,”  on  which  all  who  were  interested  in  the 
work  of  the  survey  should  meet  at  the  club  rooms ; and 
on  (say)  one  evening  in  each  session  of  the  Society  there 
might  be  a more  public  display  of  the  results  which  were 
being  obtained.  The  year's  work  in  this  direction  would 
naturally  form  an  important  feature  of  the  Society's  annual 
exhibition. 

(To  be  continued.) 


patent  Intelligence. 

Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

20,590.  G.  Walker,  0,  Livery  Street,  Birmingham,  “ l’ictorial 
Photographic  Earthenware  Tiles.”  December  23rd. 

20,013.  L.  Davis,  08,  Fleet  Street,  London,  “ Photographic 
Albums.'  December  23rd. 

20,002.  W.  H.  Caldwell,  17,  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  London, 
“ Sensitizing  and  Developing  Chloride  of  Silver  for  Photo- 
graphic Purposes.” — December  23rd. 

20.099.  W.  H.  Bath,  128,  Colmore  Bow,  Birmingham, 
“ Miniature  Photographs.” — December  23rd. 

20,700.  E.  J.  Ball,  39,  Aynlioe  Road,  West  Kensington  Park, 
London,  “ Photographic  Coin-Freed  Apparatus. 

20,810.  B.  WillcoX,  47,  Lincoln’s  Inn  Fields,  London,  “ Im- 
provements in  Mirrors.” — December  27th. 

20.  R.  W.  Thomas  and  L.  Inger,  38,  Holborn  Viaduct, 
London,  “ Focussing  Appliance.” — January  1st. 

52.  L.  (».  Strangman,  3,  Ardenza  Terrace,  Dublin,  ‘ ‘ Camera 
Stand.” — January  2nd. 

82.  R.  Slingsby,  115,  Cannon  Street,  London,  “Carriers  for 
Magnesium  Flash  Lamps.” — January  2nd. 

151.  J.  B.  Brooks,  0,  Livery  Street,  Birmingham,  “ Photo- 
graphic Developing  Appliance.” — January  4th. 

100.  A.  J.  Joxes,  17,  Lawn  Road,  Haverstock  Hill,  Loudon, 
“ Holding  a Bellows  Body  Camera  Rigidly  Extended  without 
a Baseboard.”— January  4th. 

173.  F.  Kitto,  18,  Fulham  Place,  London,  “Apparatus  for 
Holding  Photographs.” — January  4th. 

Specifications  Published. 

18.099.  — 30t/i  November,  1889.  “ Improvements  in  Photo- 

graphic Cameras.”  Thomas  Parsons  Watson,  313,  High 
Holborn,  London,  W.C.,  Optical  Instrument  Maker. 

The  invention  relates  to  improvements  in  photographic 
cameras  of  the  Kinnear  or  other  collapsible  type,  particularly 
those  which  are  collapsed  and  folded  by  laying  the  camera  front 
face  downwards  upon  the  baseboard.  The  improvements  have 
for  their  object  generally  to  render  the  camera  lighter,  more 
compact  when  folded  for  carrying,  and  more  easily  erected  and 
closed  than  existing  cameras  of  similar  types.  In  order  that 
the  improvements  may  be  more  readily  understood,  they  are 
illustrated  in  drawings  accompanying  the  specification,  and 
with  reference  thereto  arc  described. 

The  first  improvement  relates  to  the  pivoting  of  the  frame — 
in  which  the  rising  front  is  fitted  to  slide— to  the  travelling 
frame  of  the  baseboard  by  means  of  lateral  gudgeons,  and  it 
consists  in  providing  means  whereby  the  said  gudgeons  will  be 
securely  retained  in  their  bearings  when  the  camera  is  in  use, 
but  may  be  readily  removed  therefrom  when  required  by  a 
simple  backward  swinging  movement  of  the  camera  front, 
which  may  be  effected  by  one  hand. 

The  improvements  have  secondly  for  their  object  to  provide 
means  whereby  the  rising  front  will  be  retained  at  any  height 
at  which  it  may  be  set,  whilst  free  motion  of  the  front  in  its 
guides  will  be  permitted  after  the  front  has  been  laid  face 
downwards  upon  the  baseboard.  The  purpose  of  permitting 
this  free  sliding  motion  of  the  front  is,  that  when  the  bellowa- 
body  is  being  collapsed  by  the  back  frame  of  the  camera  being 
folded  forwards,  the  front  may  be  free  to  adjust  itself,  so  as 
to  avoid  undue  strains  on  the  bellows-body. 

The  invention  relates,  lastly,  to  an  improved  self-engaging 


I catch  for  locking  the  baseboard  and  back  together  when  the 
{ camera  is  folded  up. 

The  following  are  the  claims  : — 

1.  The  combination  with  the  lateral  gudgeons  of  the  front 
supporting  frame,  and  with  |_-sliaped  bearing  notches  therefor  ; 
of  spring  latches  adapted  to  lock  the  gudgeons  in  their  notches 
as  described  ; and  of  abutments  on  the  front  frame  adapted  to 
act  on  the  spring  latches  by  a backward  tilting  motion  of  the 
front  frame,  substantially  as  and  for  the  purpose  specified. 

2.  The  combination  with  a notched  edge  of  the  rising  front, 
of  a spring  bolt  mounted  on  the  front  supporting  frame,  and 
adapted  to  engage  with  the  front  for  the  purpose  of  supporting 
it  at  the  desired  height,  and  of  means,  substantially  as  described, 

1 whereby,  when  the  front  is  laid  down  on  the  baseboard,  the  bolt 
will  be  disengaged,  and  the  front  free  to  slide  and  adjust  itself 
in  the  supporting  frame,  as  specified. 

3.  Fitting  the  front  to  slide  in  its  supporting  frame  by  the 
convex  edges  of  the  former  being  received  in  corresponding 
concave  grooves  in  the  1 .tter,  and  notching  the  convex  edge  of 
the  front  for  engagement  with  a spring  bolt,  substantially  as 
specified. 

4.  The  self-engaging  spring  catch  for  locking  the  baseboard 
and  back  together,  the  catch  being  constructed  and  operating 
in  the  manner  specified. 

741. — 30<A  November,  1889.  “Improvements  in  the  Pro- 
duction of  Films  Sensitive  to  Light,  and  of  Materials  for 
Assisting  or  Continuing  the  Effect  of  Light  on  Photographic 
Films.”  Alexander  Ferdinand  York  Schwartz,  Chemist, 
and  Dr.  Friedrich  Hermann  Mercklin,  Chemist,  both  of 
Hanover,  in  the  German  Empire. 

In  the  course  of  their  complete  specification,  the  patentees 
say  : — 

1.  If,  in  the  preparation  of  a photographic  film  by  the 
emulsion  method,  silver  oxymethyl-sulphonate — which  is  also 
soluble  in  alcohol — or  a compound  of  the  silver  oxymethyl- 
sulphonate  with  the  oxymethyl-sulphonate  of  an  alkali  or  of 
ammonia,  or  a mixture  of  the  said  bodies,  is  added  to  the 
finished  emulsion,  in  the  proportion  of  1 to  2 parts  of  the  said 
oxymethyl-sulphonate  or  mixture  to  100  parts  of  the  halogen 
silver  contained  in  the  emulsion  ; or  if  the  said  addition  is 
made  before  the  ripening  of  the  emulsion  ; or  if,  in  the  pre- 
paration of  photographic  films  by  the  processes  in  which  the 
film,  impregnated  with  metallic  chloride,  bromide,  or  iodide,  is 
dipped  into  a silver  bath,  we  add  silver  oxymethyl-sulphonate, 
or  a double  compound  of  the  silver  oxymethyl-sulphonate  with 

j the  oxymethyl-sulphonate  of  an  alkali  or  of  ammonia,  we 
obtain  photographic  films  which  are  more  sensitive  to  light — - 
even  to  weak  light — than  the  films  prepared  by  the  ordinary 
, methods. 

2.  If  an  ordinary  dry  plate  is  bathed  before  exposure  in  a 
neutral  aqueous  solution  containing  from  0'1  to  0 '2  per  cent, 
of  the  silver  compounds  mentioned  under  1 for  a period  of 
half  to  three  minutes,  according  to  its  sensitiveness,  or  in  an 
equally'  diluted  aqueous  and  slightly  alkaline  solution  of  the 
form-aldehyde,  or  of  the  para-form-aldehyde,  or  of  the  oxy- 
methyl-sulphonate of  an  alkali  or  of  ammonia,  or  of  a mixture 
of  these  salts,  and  if  the  plate  is  then  slightly  rinsed  and  again 
dried,  the  photographic  results  arc  similar  to  those  obtained  if 
the  films  have  been  treated  by  method  1. 

Instead  of  bathing  the  dry  plate  before  exposure,  it  may  be 
bathed  after  exposure  ; or,  instead  of  applying  the  said  com- 
pounds in  the  shape  of  a special  bath,  a few  drops  of  a neutral 
1 per  cent,  solution  of  the  alkali,  or  of  the  ammonia-oxymethyl- 
sulphonate,  or  of  their  mixtures,  may'  be  added  to  one  of  the 
usual  developing  mixtures. 

3.  If  the  ferrous  oxylate  developer  is  prepared  by  means  of 
the  ferrous  oxymethyl-sulphonate,  or,  better  still,  by  means  of 
the  combination  of  the  same  with  the  oxymethyl-sulphonate  of 
an  alkali  or  of  ammonia,  only  about  a quarter  of  the  usual 
quantity  of  iron  is  necessary  in  order  to  obtain  equally  good 
results  as  with  the  ordinary  iron  developer,  whereby  the  dura- 
bility or  stability  of  the  developer  is  increased. 

4.  The  oxymethyl-sulphonate  of  hydroxylamiue  in  alkaline 
solution  gives  excellent  results  when  used  as  a developer. 


32 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


The  claim  is  : — 

The  use  of  form-aldehyde,  or  of  para-form-aldehyde,  or  of 
the  compounds  of  form-aldehyde — which  must  be  considered  as 
salts  of  the  oxymethyl-sulphouic  acid — with  an  alkali,  ammonia, 
iron,  silver,  or  of  a mixture  or  combination  of  the  said  salts, 
either  alone  or  in  combination  with  other  suitable  substances, 
for  the  preparation  of  highly-sensitive  photographic  films,  and 
for  the  production  of  chemicals  or  solutions  which  assist  or 
continue  the  effect  of  light  on  photographic  films. 

17,198. — 2 6th.  November,  1888.  “Improvements  in  Photo- 
graphic Shutters.”  Edmond  Perken,  Frederic  Louis 
Perken,  and  Arthur  Payment,  trading  as  Perken,  Son, 
and  Payment,  of  99,  Hatton  Garden,  in  the  city  of  London, 
Wholesale  Opticians,  and  Walter  Pead,  of  99,  High  Street, 
Pamsgate,  in  the  county  of  Kent,  Artisan. 

The  shutter  slide  is  made  very  thin,  of  any  suitable  materials 
— advantageously  thin  sheet  metal — which  travels  loosely  in 
guides  advantageously  formed  in  and  by  the  frame  of  the 
shutter.  On  the  upper  end  of  this  slide  is  a projecting  pin  or 
stud,  under  which  a spring-actuated  lever  secured  to  the  said 
frame  is  placed,  and  the  end  of  the  said  lever  is  held  by  a 
catch,  which  may  be  actuated  by  a pneumatic  releasing  appa- 
ratus, as  is  well  understood,  or  otherwise,  as  desired.  The 
said  lever,  on  being  released  by  said  catch,  throws  up  the 
shutter  slide,  and  so  gives  the  exposure,  the  slide  falling  again 
by  its  own  weight,  or,  for  a very  short  exposure,  assisted  by 
a spring.  A lever,  actuated  by  the  pneumatic  release,  makes 
contact  with  the  slide  when  open,  and  regulates  the  length  of 
exposure,  or  by  any  other  convenient  arrangement. 

A break  arrangement  may  also  be  provided,  so  as  to  hold 
the  shutter  open  for  the  purpose  of  focussing. 

The  description  is  accompanied  by  a sheet  of  drawings. 

The  claims  are  ; — 

1.  A shutter  slide  sliding  freely  in  the  shutter  frame,  and 
unattached  to  any  other  parts  of  the  apparatus,  in  combination 
and  acting  in  conjunction  with  a spring  lever,  which  throws  up 
the  said  shutter  slide,  and  leaves  the  latter  free  to  fall  again 
by  its  own  gravity. 

2.  The  combination  of  the  shutter  slide  and  spring  lever 
with  the  releasing  catch  or  trigger,  one  part  of  which  engages 
with  saiil  lever,  and  the  other  part  having  a pin  thereon  to 
engage  with  a notch  on  the  slide,  arranged  and  acting  substan- 
tially in  the  manner  and  for  the  purposes  hereinbefore  described. 

18,798. — December  '22nd,  1888.  “ Heads  for  Camera  Stands.” 
James  Heber  Taylor,  Little  Trinity,  Cambridge,  M.A., 
Queen's  College,  Oxford,  M.A.,  Trinity  College,  Cambridge, 
B.Sc.,  London. 

The  objects  of  this  invention  are  primarily  to  provide  a ready 
means  by  movements  of  rotation  only,  of  changing  the  position 
of  a photographic  camera,  constructed  to  take  pictures  on 
oblong  plates  from  the  position  in  which  the  long  side  is  hori- 
zontal to  that  in  which  the  long  side  is  vertical,  so  that  the 
camera  in  each  position  shall  be  in  a position  of  stable  equili- 
brium over,  or  nearly  over,  the  centre  of  the  tripod  stand. 
Secondarily,  to  enable  the  camera  to  be  directed  upwards  or 
downwards  at  any  required  angle. 

The  camera  is  attached  to  a block  which  is  pivoted  hori- 
zontally between  the  ends  of  two  parallel  .bars,  so  as  to  turn 
freely  round  from  one  side  of  the  bars  to  the  other.  The  bars 
ure  pivoted  towards  their  other  extremities  about  a horizontal 
axis  parallel  to  the  axis  of  the  block,  these  pivots  being  carried 
on  a stage  which  is  attached  to  or  may  form  part  of  the  tripod 
head.  Short  extensions  of  the  bars  beyond  these  last-named 
pivots  are  used  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  bars  when  at 
right  angles  to  the  stage,  i.e.,  the  stage  being  horizontal  when 
the  bars  are  vertical. 

1 he  bars  may  also  be  secured  at  any  required  angle  or  incli- 
nation by  a strut  jointed  to  the  bars,  and  made  to  engage  with 
the  side  of  the  stage  opposite  to  the  pivots  which  connect  the 
stage  with  the  bars. 

1 he  stage  forms  a Hat  surface  on  which  the  camera  may  rest 
when  the  bars  are  either  horizontal  or  vertical. 

1 he  camera,  when  vertical  or  inclined,  can  be  held  in  a posi- 
tion overhanging  the  stage  and  admitting  of  back  focussing* 


[January  10,  1890. 

The  camera  may  be  attached  to  the  block  by  a base-screw  of 
the  ordinary  type.  By  movement  around  the  base-screw  the 
camera  may  be  inclined  upwards  or  downwards  when  the  bars 
are  vertical.  A slot  in  the  block,  at  right  angles  to  its  axis, 
makes  the  same  apparatus  available  for  different  cameras  not 
differing  greatly  in  dimensions.  Or  with  the  same  object  the 
block  may  be  pivoted  not  directly  to  the  parallel  bars,  but  to  an 
inner  frame  which  slides  between  the  bars,  and  is  capable  of 
being  clamped  at  any  desired  point.  Or  sometimes  I provide  a 
dove  tail  projection  upon  the  base  of  the  camera,  and  parallel 
7 -guides  are  attached  to  the  block  at  right  angles  to  its  axis  of 
rotation,  and  suitable  means  of  clamping  the  camera  when  in 
position  are  provided.  The  lengthening  of  these  guides  beyond 
the  length  of  the  side  of  the  projection  from  the  base  of  the 
camera  makes  the  same  piece  of  apparatus  available  for  cameras 
differing  somewhat  in  dimensions. 

The  block  may  have  within  it  a turn-table  to  which  V- guides 
are  fixed. 

The  stage  may  be  rigidly  attached  to  a triangle-head  for  the 
tripod  stand,  but  by  preference  I attach  it  by  a central  pin 
which  forms  a vertical  axis,  about  which  the  whole  stage  rotates 
as  a turn-table  on  the  tripod-head. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1.  Constructing  a reversing  head  for  camera  stands  of  block 
parallel  bars  and  stage  substantially  as  described,  so  that  all 
oblong  plate  may  be  quickly  changed  from  the  horizontal  to  the 
vertical  position  of  the  long  side,  the  camera  in  each  position 
being  above  or  nearly  above  the  centre  of  the  tripod  head. 

2.  The  combination  of  the  parts  mentioned  in  claim  1 with 
provision  for  depressing  or  elevating  the  axis  of  the  lens  through 
any  desired  angle  with  the  horizontal,  and  fixing  it  there  by 
suitable  clamps  or  other  device. 

3.  The  combination  of  either  of  the  forms  described  in 
claims  1 and  2 with  a turn-table  for  attachment  to  the  triangle 
of  a tripod  stand. 

4.  The  combination  of  either  of  the  forms  described  iu 
claims  1 and  2 with  a triangle  head  for  a tripod  stand. 

5.  The  combination  of  either  of  the  forms  described  in 
claims  1 and  2 with  turn-table  and  triangle  head  for  a tripod 
stand. 

Albo-Carbox  gas-burners  increase  the  light  about  30  per 
cent.,  and  they  can  easily  be  adapted  to  most  enlarging  lanterns. 
— l’hoto graphic  Scraps. 

Edinburgh  Photographic  Society. — The  first  popular 

meeting  of  the  session  will  be  held  in  Queen  Street  Hall,  on 
Wednesday,  the  29  th  January.  A varied  series  of 
transparencies,  the  work  of  members,  will  be  shown  on  the 
screen,  accompanied  with  descriptive  remarks. 

Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. — On  Tuesday, 
January  14th,  at  8 p m.,  at  the  Gallery,  5a,  Pall  Mall 
East,  the  following  papers  will  be  read  : — -“  Control  in  the 
Density  of  Negatives,”  by  Mr.  Chapman  Jones,  F.C.S.,  F.I.C., 
“ Distance  beyond  which  all  Objects  are  in  Focus  with  any 
given  Lens,”  by  Sir  David  Salomons;  “ Eikonogen  as  a 
Developer,”  from  Professor  W.  K.  Burton. 

Paris  Exhibition. — The  French  Ambassador,  it  is  stated, 
will  present,  in  the  name  of  the  President  of  the  French 
Republic,  the  decorations  conferred  upon  British  subjects  iu 
connection  with  the  Paris  Exhibition,  on  Saturday,  January 
25tli,  when  Sir  l’olydore  de  Keyscr,  the  president  of  the 
British  Section,  will  entertain  his  Excellency  and  the  council 
of  the  section,  with  other  guests,  at  dinner  at  the  Mansion 
House,  which  has  been  placed  at  his  disposal  by  the  Lord 
Mayor. 

Very  Like. — “ It’s  a good  picture,  but  its  no  likeness,”  was 
the  criticism  of  his  own  portrait  made  by  a well-known  violinist. 
His  family  had  agreed  upon  this  harsh  verdict  without  a 
dissenting  voice,  until  the  artist  appealed  to  the  youngest  o 
the  household,  a bright  little  boy.  “ Who  is  that,  Dick  ! " he 
asked,  pointing  to  the  picture.  “ Papa,”  was  the  immediate 
answer.  “ Bo  it  is  my  dear.  You  see,  sir,  your  son  is  a better 
judge  of  the  likeness  than  you.  So  you  think  that  you’d  know 
it  was  papa,  my  boy  !”  “Oh  yes,  sir,”  was  the  innocent 
reply.  “ It’s  very  much  like  him  about  the  fiddle  ! ” — Cassell’s 
I Saturday  Journal , 


rHE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


January  10,  1381*.] 


oo 


<£orre$ponticnrc. 

REPRODUCTION  I’tND'TSbPYRIGHT. 


Silt, — From  a letter  of  Mr.  Ralph  Robinson’s  in  the  Photo- 
oraphic  News  of  last  week,  it  appears  that  there  is  an  impres- 
sion in  the  minds  of  some  photographers  that  it  is  useless  to 
register  the  copyright  of  a photograph  afterit  has  been  published. 
This  is  a misconception.  As  Mr.  Robinson  points  out,  the 
copyright  is  the  property  of  the  photographer,  whether  it  has 
l>een  registered  or  not,  but  lie  has  no  power  to  prevent  others 
from  infringing  it  until  it  has  been  registered,  which,  however, 
he  can  do  at  any  time.  The  law  relating  to  copyright  in  photo- 
graphs depends  almost  entirely  upon  the  Copyright  Act  of  1862. 
By  the  first  section  of  that  Act,  the  author  of  every  photograph, 
provided  he  retain  the  negative,  is  entitled  to  the  copyright  in 
that  photograph,  unless  it  has  been  executed  on  commission, 
in  which  case  it  belongs  to  the  person  for  whom  the  photograph 
has  been  taken.  Of  course  nearly  all  portraits  taken  by  the 
professional  photographer  are  taken  upon  commission,  and 
therefore  the  copyright  in  the  negative  does  not  belong  to  him, 
and  he  cannot  register  it.  By  later  sections  of  the  same  Act, 
anyone  infringing  a copyright  is  liable  to  certain  penalties,  and 
if  lie  continues  to  do  so,  he  may  be  restrained  by  the  Court. 
And  by  another  section  every  copyright  is  to  be  registered  at 
Stationers’  Hall,  and  no  action  shall  be  sustainable,  nor  any 
penalty  be  recoverable  in  respect  of  anything  done  before  regis- 
tration. But  there  is  nothing  in  the  Act  limiting  the  time 
within  which  the  copyright  must  be  registered.  Hence,  if  the 
photographer  retains  the  negative,  he  is  entitled  to  the  copy- 
right , and  can  register  it  whenever  he  likes,  but  until  he  has 
done  so  it  is  practically  of  no  use  to  him,  as  he  has  no  power 
to  prevent  infringement. 

There  is  no  provision  in  the  Act  or  elsewhere  requiring  photo 
graphs,  the  copyright  of  which  has  been  registered,  to  l>e 
marked  with  the  word  “ copyright,”  and  legally  it  has  no  effect 
whatever,  the  only  object  being,  I suppose,  that  it  may  warn 
others,  and  thereby  prevent  them  from  copying  it.  At  any 
rate  there  appears  with  me  to  be  no  probability  of  any  person 
being  held  guilty  of  fraud  who  so  marks  a photograph  when 
it  has  not  been  registered. 

As  to  the  first  part  of  Mr.  Robinson’s  letter,  here  again  he 
has  the  law  with  him.  If  hegrants  a license  to  a publisher  to 
reproduce  one  of  his  pictures  in  a certain  newspaper,  and  it  is 
afterwards  reproducedin  a second  newspaper  without  his  further 
persmission,  he  will  have  a right  to  recover  damages  from  the 
publisher  of  the  second  newspaper  for  infringement  of  his 
copyright.  It  is,  however,  advisable  that  photographers 
should  ^not  make  use  of  the  word  “copyright,”  when  giving 
permission  to  publishers  to  reproduce  their  pictures,  unless 
they  really  intend  to  assign  the  copyright  altogether.  As  a rule 
they  should  merely  say  that  they  grant  the  publisher  a license 
to  reproduce  the  photograph  in  a certain  specified  newspaper. 
Such  a license  to  be  of  any  value  must  be  in  writing. 

C.  Fleetwood  Pritchard, 

3,  Paper  Buildings,  Temple,  January  7th,  1890. 


ART  PHOTOGRAPHY  RECOGNIZED  AT  LAST. 

Sir, — For  fifty  years  photography  has  been  struggling  against 
prejudice,  jealousy,  and  almost  overpowering  influence,  to  estab- 
lish itself,  not  only  as  an  art,  but  as  a fine  art,  and  at  the  end  of 
that  time  it  may  be  said  to  have  succeeded,  although  there  per- 
haps still  linger  in  some  minds  those  fragments  of  doubt  which 
are  so  difficult  to  eradicate. 

It  begins  its  second  century  not  only  hopefully  but  jubilantly 
for  its  art  prospects.  To  those  who  are  abb  to  discern  the  signs 
of  the  times,  the  indications  are  most  auspicious.  Two  examples 
that  appear  this  month  are  worth  quoting. 

The  Art  Journal  has  never  cared  to  recognise  its  claims 
heartily  from  the  time  it  said  of  one  of  our  exhibitions,  “ With 
the  photographic  exhibition  it  is  not  necessary  to  speak  of  indi- 
vidual works  as  we  would  of  the  production  of  the  painter  : the 
cases  are  not  parallel.  The  painter  employs,  or  should  employ, 
eye  and  hand,  governed  by  a presiding  mind  ; the  photographer 


uses  a machine,  and  requires  a ‘ little  ’ judgment.  The  artist 
works  from  within  to  that  which  is  without  ; the  photographer 
employs  external  agents  to  do  his  bidding.” 

What  a change  do  we  now  see  ! The  volume  of  the  Art 
Journal  for  this  year  opens  with  a splendidly  illustrated  article 
on  “Winter  Photography  for  the  Artist,”  by  Mr.  H.  P.  Robin- 
son, a photographer  and  writer  to  whose  example  and  writings 
in  articles  which  have  appeared  principally  in  the  Photographic 
News,  I think  I may  say,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  we  are 
mainly  indebted  for  the  great  advance  that  has  taken  place  in 
the  art  quality  of  photography  of  late  years.  There  may  be 
further  improvements  and  developments,  but  we  shall  always 
owe  to  him  the  solid  foundation  on  which  they  may  rest. 

The  other  auspicious  sign  appears  in  the  January  number  of 
the  Nineteenth  Century,  in  an  exhaustive  article  on  the  progress 
of  art  during  the  last  decade. 

Mr.  Marcus  B.  Huish,  the  editor  of  the  Art  Journal,  recognizes 
photography  as  an  art,  a graceful  concession  to  photography  by 
the  chief  representative  of  the  other  arts  worthy  of  being  put 
on  record.  He  says  : “ As  for  photography,  no  one  who  has 
visited  the  successive  exhibitions  held  by  the  various  societies 
connected  with  it  can  have  failed  to  recognize  the  advance 
which  has  taken  pi  ice — -an  advance  which,  if  continued,  must 
soon  give  its  professors  a claim  to  admission  within  the  ranks  of 
artists.”  Surely  there  could  be  no  more  satisfactory  recognition 
of  photography  as  a fine  art  than  that  of  the  editor  of  the  Art 
Journal!  George  Maitland. 


SUNDRY  NOTES  AND  CORRECTIONS. 

Sir, — I have  read  with  very  great  interest  Mr.  H.  P. 
Robinson's  admirable  sketch  of  the  life  and  work  of  O.  G. 
Re j lander,  whom  I had  the  honour  of  knowing  for  many  years 
as  one  of  the  most  genial  members  of  the  Solar  Club.  He  was 
of  Swedish  origin,  and  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-one,  the  date 
given  by  Mr.  Robinson  in  a foot-note  (page  9)  being  quite 
correct — January  18th,  1875.  I was  present  at  his  burial  on 
the  following  Saturday,  23rcl,  at  Kensal  Green  Cemetery,  when 
Mr.  J.  I).  England  attended  as  one  of  the  military  epeort  or 
guard  of  honour,  Artists'  Corps,  to  fire  three  volleys  over  his 
grave.  This  leads  me  on  to  say  that  I have  a copy  of  Rejlander  s 
double — the  artist  0.  G.  R.  introducing  the  volunteer  O.  G.  It. 
--and  that  I remember  another  use  being  made  of  this  photo- 
graph by  way  of  compliment  to  Mr.  J.  E.  Mayall,  apologising 
for  coming  uninvited  to  his  house  at  Hove  Place,  Brighton,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  volunteer  review  of  Easter,  1871,  when  the 
late  H.  Baden  Pritchard  and  myself  were  also  there  as 
invited  guests.  The  print  was  then  marked  “ Rejlander  s 
Apology.” 

A Correction. — In  my  article  on  the  new  naphthol  deve- 
lopers in  the  Year-Book  (page  125,  end  of  thirteenth  line), 
for  “Mr.  Stenning  ” read  Mr.  J.  H.  Stebbins,  Jnr.,  of  New 
York,  as  being  the  claimant  who  first  suggested  the  use  of 
these  naphthol  compounds  for  photographic  development  (see 
the  News,  last  vol.,  page  733).  Further  on,  I find  that  my 
statement  of  proportions  for  mixing  the  developer  ( \ kar-Book, 
page  126)  has  infringed  the  regulation  that  the  quantities 
should  be  expressed  m percentage  amounts.  The  70  grains  of 
Meldola’s  naphthol  acid,  being  equivalent  to  87 i grains  of 
eikonogen,  make,  with  water  one  pint,  a one  per  cent,  solution 
of  the  latter,  and  this  agrees  in  strength  with  that  used  by 
Messrs.  Fradelle  and  Young,  E.  Yogel,  Jnr.,  and  G.  Mansfield, 
in  their  experiments,  as  the  following  re-calculated  table  will 
show  : — 


Eikonogen 
Sulphite  Soda 
Water 

Yogel. 

1 

8 

100 

Spiller. 

1 

5 

100 

Fradelle. 

1 

4 

100 

Mansfield. 

1 

2 

100 

Carb.  Potash 

12 

10 

— 

— 

Carb.  Soda 

— 

— 

1 

— 

Caustic  Soda 

— 

— 

— 

1 

Water 

100 

100 

100 

100 

I am  glad  to  learn  that  Mr,  Warnerke  gives  so  good  an 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jancarv  10,  lSSI* 


34 


aecuuut  of  the  new  naphthol  developer,  out  fear  lie  will  find  the 
use  of  so  much  caustic  potash  rather  corrosive  for  a gelatine 
film. 

Like  Mr.  Elder,*  I have  made  a good  search  at  the  Patent 
Office  for  any  specification  bearing  the  name  of  Dr.  M.  Andrcsen, 
and  claiming  the  use  of  eikonogen,  but  failed  to  find  any  such 
entry  or  record.  The  statement  to  this  effect  in  the  printed 
paper  of  instructions,  and  the  pretended  claim  to  be  actual 
discoverer,  are  both  alike  quite  unwarranted. 

John  Spii.i.er. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  TOURISTS’  BAGGAGE. 

Sin, — In  the  course  of  an  interesting  article  on  the  above 
subject  in  your  issue  of  January  3rd,  the  writer,  in  recom- 
mending the  use  of  portmanteaux  made  of  basket  work,  makes 
a statement  which  may  possibly  be  injurious  to  an  enterprising 
and  increasing  trade.  This  is,  that  English  workmen  are  not 
competent  to  make  the  palm-baskets  at  present  imported  from 
France,  so  that  they  have  to  be  made  abroad. 

The  real  reason  why  these  articles  are  not  manufactured  in 
England  is  that  the  demand  for  them  is  decreasing,  and  their 
sale  comparatively  small,  baskets  made  of  willow  being  usually 
preferred  as  being  at  once  lighter,  cheaper,  and  more  serviceable. 
It  is  therefore  not  worth  while  for  English  makers  to  take  up 
the  manufacture  of  them. 

It  may  not  be  known  to  the  writer  of  the  article  that  almost 
all  the  trunks  used  by  travelling  theatrical  companies  arc  now 
made  of  a foundation  of  wicker-work  covered  with  leather, 
Ac. , and  that  trunks  made  in  this  way  last  three  or  four  times 
as  long  as  those  made  of  wood,  iron,  or  leather.  Several 
hundred  workmen  are  employed  in  England  in  this  industry, 
which  cannot  be  approached  by  foreign  competition. 

Since  1 have  been  an  amateur  photographer,  I have  often 
marvelled  at  the  weighty  leather  cases  photographers  carry, 
i made  a wicker-framed  case  for  my  own  use  to  hold  a half-plate 
set — camera,  four  slides,  lenses,  and  accessories — which,  to- 
gether with  green-baize  lining,  only  weighed  twelve  ounces  ; 
and  I am  confident  that  by  paying  special  heed  to  weight- 
saving, a strong  and  waterproof  case  of  this  size  might  be  made 
weighing  eight  ounces  complete.  The  cost  would  lie  perhaps 
half  that  of  the  usual  waterproof  cloth  or  leather  case  now  in 
use. 

Should  you  be  at  all  interested  in  this  matter,  I will  send 
for  your  inspection  the  case  1 now  use.  1 have  no  trade 
interest  to  serve  in  this  matter,  my  own  business  being  entirely 
wholesale,  and  lying  in  quite  a different  direction  ; but  I am 
moved  to  pity  by  the  appearance  of  perspiring  photographers, 
weary  and  heavy  laden  with  their  leather  eases  under  the 
August  sun.  W.  Scaling. 

Nottingham,  January  4 t/i. 

Brixton  and  Ci.apham  Camera  Club. — On  Friday,  3rd 
inst.,  the  President,  Mr.  A.  R.  Dresser,  gave  a new  year’s 
address,  and  showed  a number  of  enlargements  from  hand- 
camera  negatives  taken  during  a recent  tour  in  Brittany,  and 
also  about  a hundred  slides  which  were  exhibited  by  means  of 
the  oxy-liydrogen  lantern.  A show  of  photographs,  the  work 
of  members,  will  be  held  on  Monday  evening,  20th  mat.,  from 
7.30,  and  also  all  day  on  Tuesday,  21st,  at  the  Club  Rooms, 
35,  Bedford  Road,  Clapham.  SAW  Visitors  are  invited. 

Father  Perry. — A private  telegram  has  V>een  received  at 
Liverpool  from  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  Demerara  announcing 
the  death  on  Friday  last  in  British  Guiana,  of  dysentery,  of  the 
celebrated  Jesuit  astronomer,  Father  Perry.  Father  Perry, 
who  was  born  in  London,  was  in  his  fifty-eighth  year.  In 
1882  Father  Sidgraves,  another  Jesuit,  was  delegated  by  the 
Government  to  report  on  the  transit  of  Venus,  and  last  year 
the  services  of  Father  Perry  were  again  requisitioned  by  the 
Government  to  report  on  the  solar  eclipse.  It  was  on  this 
expedition  on  the  coast  of  Guiana  that  Father  Perry  fell  ill 

and  has  now  fallen  in  the  midst  of  his  scientific  labours. Dai  I// 

AVim. 

* PaoToesAPmc  News,  p.  835^  of  last  volume! 


ihoccc&mgs  of  :ronctug. 


Camera  Ci.itb. 

Thursday,  January  2nd,  was  a lantern  evening  at  the 
Camera  Club,  and  there  was  a large  attendance  of  members. 
The  chief  part  of  the  exhibition  consisted  of  a selection  from  a 
number  of  slides  lent  by  the  Birmingham  Photographic  Society. 
After  these,  other  slides  were  shown  by  Mr.  T.  Charters  White 
(general  landscape  and  microscopic),  Mr.  Frank  Howard  (land- 
scape and  landscape  with  figure),  Mr.  Rooper  Leventhorpe 
(pictures  taken  in  North  Italy),  Rev.  C.  F.  Fison  (English 
country  scenes),  Mr.  F.  Howlett  (a  series  of  views  on  the 
Thames),  and  in  conclusion  a set  by  Mr.  J.  B.  B.  Wellington, 
of  landscape  and  landscape  with  figure.  Some  of  Mr.  Wel- 
lington's slides  were  especially  effective,  and  attracted  much 
attention. 

The  subject  for  Thursday,  January  16th,  is  “Plane  Polari- 
zation of  Light,”  when  an  address  will  be  given  by  Mr.  R.  Tin- 
dall. The  lecture  will  be  illustrated  ; meeting  at  8 p.m. 


East  Dulwich  and  Peckham  Photographic  Society. 

The  above  Society  held  its  first  annual  exhibition  on  Friday, 
3rd  inst,,  in  Shawbury  Hall,  Lordship  Lane,  when  a large 
number  of  visitors  testified  their  appreciation  of  the  first  fruits 
of  the  Society.  Running  briefly  through  the  exhibits,  the 
work  of  Mr.  Edwards,  the  President,  of  course  attracted  notice. 
His  set  included  the  celebrated  gold  medal  picture,  “ Wool- 
pits,”  the  residence  of  Sir  Henry  Doulton,  and  a very  fine 
picture  of  Lambeth  Palace  from  the  river.  As,  however,  Mr. 
Edwards  refrained  from  competition,  other  exhibitors 
were  able  to  view  the  appreciation  of  his  work  with  becoming 
equanimity.  The  Vice-President,  Mr.  Howell,  showed  a series 
of  forty-year  old  Talbotypes.  Mr.  Gardner  exhibited  a frame 
of  lantern  slides  of  “bits”  at  Hastings,  which  were  favourably 
received  when  passed  through  the  lantern  later  in  the  evening. 
Mr.  Rice  was  represented  by  a fine  collection  of  platinum 
prints — views  of  the  Temple  Gardens,  Kew  Gardens,  and 
places  of  local  interest — which  were  admired  for  their  sharp- 
ness. Mr.  Kelly’s  contribution  consisted  of  a series  of  fine 
views  of  Scottish  scenery,  most  of  them  in  Oban.  The  cloud 
effects  in  these  pictures  were  admirable.  Mr.  Kirby  showed 
very  satisfactory  results  of  the  summer  outings  in  the  shape  of 
pictures  of  Surrey  scenery.  Other  members  also  exhibited 
good  work. 

After  time  had  been  allowed  for  the  inspection  of  the  photo- 
graphs, the  Society's  lantern  a fine  specimen  of  Pexton’s 
Grand  Triple  was  requisitioned,  and  some  effective  lantern 
slides  were  shown  by  Messrs.  Gardner,  Farmer,  Ezner,  Dow  - 
ling, and  Bovdell,  after  which  the  president  announced  the 
results  of  the  competition.  Mr.  Kelly  secured  the  silver  medal, 
and,  as  Messrs.  Rice  and  Dowling  dead-heated  for  second  place, 
the  former  took  the  bronze  trophy,  and  an  extra  medal  was 
awarded  to  Mr.  Dowling.  First  and  second  certificates  were 
awarded  to  Messrs.  Kirby  and  Bovdell  respectively.  It  was  in- 
tended to  give  a certificate  for  the  best  set  of  lantern  slides, 
but,  in  the  opinion  of  the  judges,  the  work  of  the  five  competitors 
mentioned  above  was  so  equal  in  merit  that  it  was  decided  to 
withhold  the  certificate.  The  prizes  were  presented  by  Mrs. 
Banks,  wife  of  the  treasurer. 

The  proceedings  were  diversified  by  vocal  and  instrumental 
music. 


Edinburgh  Photographic  Society. 

The  second  ordinary  meeting  was  held  in  the  Professional  Hall, 
20,  George  Street,  on  Wednesday,  December  4th,  1889  ; the 
chair  was  occupied  by  Dr.  Drinkwateii. 

The  following  candidates  were  admitted  as  members  of  the 
Society  : — Messrs.  Win.  M.  Ramsay,  Philip  R.  D.  Maelagan, 
A illiain  Burn,  James  Hay,  Robert  Irvine,  J.  Rymer  Paterson, 
and  William  G.  Tait.  Five  gentlemen  were  nominated  for 
election  at  the  January  meeting. 

Mr.  Hugh  Brf.bner  then  read  a paper  on  “Repairing  Broken 
Negatives  ” (see  page  20)  and  accompanied  it  with  a demon- 
stration. 


TIIE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


January  10,  1889.] 

Mr.  M’Kean  said  tlmt  if  the  broken  negative  were  covered 
with  tissue  paper,  and  the  light  allowed  to  fall  in  the  direction 
of  the  fracture,  the  print  would  be  only  slightly  marked. 
While  recognising  the  value  of  Mr.  Brebner’s  remarks,  he  thought 
that  anegative  must  be  a very  valuable  one  before  a photographer 
could  aft erd  to  take  up  so  much  time  in  repairing  it  if  it  got 
broken. 

Mr.  Mitchell  said,  with  reference  to  joining  the  detached  pieces 
of  the  film,  he  found  he  could  scrape  a film  down  more  uniformly 
at  the  juncture  when  he  rubbed  it  over  with  the  retouching 
medium  before  commencing  that  operation  upon  it.  His  diffi- 
culty was  to  intensify  a negative  which  had  been  treated  in  the 
manner  described. 

Mr.  Ayton  said  he  would  be  inclined  to  differ  slightly  from 
Mr.  Brebner’s  procedure.  The  most  of  his  (Mr.  Brebner’s) 
difficulties  were  caused  by  the  expansion  of  the  gelatine  film, 
and  could  be  obviated  by  using  methylated  spirit,  and  specially 
hardening  the  film.  His  own  method  stated  briefly  was — if 
the  broken  negative  were  varnished,  remove  the  varnish  with 
methylated  spirit  and  ammonia,  wash  out  the  spirit,  soak  in 
chrome  alum,  dry,  immerse  in  a weak  solution  of  fluoric  acid  to 
loosen  the  film  off  the  broken  glass,  wash  out  the  acid,  put  the 
loosened  film  into  methylated  spirit,  and  finally  place  the  pieces 
in  position  on  a new  glass.  It  would  be  found  that  the  nega- 
tive did  not  require  intensification. 

The  Chairman  called  for  a vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  llrebner,  a 
motion  which  was  cordially  responded  to  by  the  members 
present. 

The  specimens  of  members’  work,  which  had  been  hung  on 
the  walls  by  Mr.  Stewart-Smith,  were  then  inspected  by  the 
members  present. 


Sheffield  Photographic  Society. 

The  ordinary  meeting  was  held  at  the  Masonic  Hall,  Surrey 
Street,  on  Tuesday  evening,  January  7th,  Mr.  B.  J.  Taylor  in 
the  chair.  It  was  agreed,  on  proposal  by  Mr.  Councillor  Thos. 
Firth,  seconded  by  Mr.  If.  Nowill,  that  a lantern  exhibition  be 
held  early  in  February  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  hospital 
and  dispensary. 

Mr.  H.  Staniforth  presented  the  Society  with  one  of  his 
patent  limelight  regulators. 

Mr.  Prkstox  gave  a practical  demonstration,  showing  the 
different  lights  for  the  optical  lantern  viz.,  the  three-wick 
lamp,  with  luxor  oil,  the  oxy-hydrogen,  and  the  et hero-oxygen. 
The  two  latter  were  thought  to  be  about  equal  in  brilliancy, 
the  oxy-hydrogen  the  best  for  safety,  and  the  ethero-oxygen 
the  most  convenient  for  giving  exhibitions  in  country  villages 
where  the  ordinary  gas  is  not  to  be  had. 


Devon  and  Cornwall  Camera  Club. 

The  Devon  and  Cornwall  Camera  Club  held  their  first  lantern- 
slide  competition  on  Monday  evening,  at  the  Club  Rooms, 
Athemcum,  Plymouth.  Mr.  R.  Murray  took  the  chair,  and 
the  hon.  treasurer  took  charge  of  the  club  lantern,  pro 
jecting  a fourteen-foot  disc  upon  the  screen  at  the  end  of  the 
hall,  brilliantly  illuminated  by  limelight.  A numerous  and 
varied  assortment  of  lantern  slides  was  then  shown  in  rapid 
succession  ; and  on  examination  of  the  voting  papers  at  the 
close,  it  was  found  that  Mrs.  Carnell  had  been  awarded  first 
prize  with  til  votes;  Mr.  R.  Murray  taking  the  second  prize 
with  forty  votes.  A number  of  slides  made  by  Mrs.  Carnell, 
Messrs.  Micklewood,  Murray,  and  others,  were  afterwards 
shown,  some  being  copies  of  “Leech’s  Sketches  in  Punch,” 
creating  great  amusement. 

After  the  close  of  the  competition,  the  hon.  treasurer,  Mr. 
A.  A.  Carnell,  was  heartily  congratulated  on  being  the  winner 
of  the  gold  medal  given  by  the  Britannia  Works  Company  at 
the  “ photography  ” competition,  for  the  best  six  lantern-slides 
on  Alpha  plates,  in  Class  X.,  scientific  micro-photography,  and 
for  also  winning  a silver  medal  (equal  first  with  Mr.  F.  H. 
Exans)  at  the  same  competition.  This  competition,  held  a few 
weeks  back,  was  open  to  the  world,  and  nearly  18,000  slides 
were  sent  in  for  competition. 


Abney  Camera  Club. 

On  3rd  iust.,  the  Vice-President  in  the  chair,  Mr.  Flack 
gave  a demonstration  on  bromide  paper  printing. 

In  referring  to  developers,  he  said  that  he  preferred  hydro- 
quinone,  it  being  less  trouble  to  manipulate.  For  light,  he 
usually  employed  magnesium  ribbon,  burning  one  inch  at  about 
eighteen  inches  distance,  with  a plate  of  opal  glass  in  front  of 
the  negative. 

At  the  close,  he  developed  several  prints,  some  with 
ferrous  oxalate,  and  some  with  hydroquinone,  the  opinion 
of  the  members  present  being  that  the  tone  given  by  the  for- 
mer on  Ilford  paper  was  preferable. 

After  the  usual  vote  of  thanks,  the  Hon.  Sf.c.  announced 
that  on  Jan.  17th  he  had  promised  to  read  a paper  on  the 
“ Chemistry  of  Photography.” 

Photographic  Society  of  Philadelphia. 

A meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  on  December  4th,  188ft, 
with  Mr.  Frederick  (i raff  in  the  chair. 

After  the  transaction  of  routine  business  a paper  was  read  by 
Mr.  Theodore  H.  Luders,  “On  Development  with  l’yrogallic 
Acid  in  connection  with  Ammonia  in  Vapour,”  and  Mr.  Morris 
Marie  showed  some  novelties  in  photographic  appartus,  which 
he  had  collected  during  a trip  to  England  and  the  Paris  Exhibi- 
tion. Among  these,  he  described  a panoramic  view  camera 
which  he  had  seen  in  Paris.  A film  or  paper  negative  was  used, 
and  bent  into  a semicircle  with  the  lens  in  the  centre.  By  a 
lever  on  top  of  the  camera  the  lens  could  be  revolved  so  as  to 
cover  different  portions  of  the  plate  successfully.  The  light  was 
admitted  to  the  lens  (which  was  of  fixed  focus)  through  a 
diaphragm  in  front  in  the  form  of  a perpendicular  slit,  the 
opening  revolving  with  the  lens  as  it  was  turned.  A unique 
feature  possessed  by  the  camera  was  the  fact  that  if  in  one 
portion  of  the  view  dark  objects  predominated,  requiring  long 
exposure,  the  lens  could  be  allowed  to  cover  that  portion  of 
the  view  for  a greater  time,  and  less  exposure  be  given  to  the 
brighter  parts  of  the  view,  simply  bv  properly  manipulating 
the  lever  attached  to  the  lens. 

Mr.  John  G.  Bullock  called  attention  to  the  late  explosion 
of  flash  powder  in  this  city,  with  its  terrible  result  in  the 
death  of  three  persons.  He  thought  it  right  that  the  published 
minutes  of  the  Society  should  oiution  all  to  look  with  distrust 
upon  flash-powders  of  a yellow  colour,  and  if  they  prove  upon 
examination  to  contain  picric  acid  along  with  powdered  mag- 
nesium to  consider  them  highly  dangerous.  Picric  acid  upon 
standing  in  mixture  with  powdered  magnesium  for  a length  of 
time  is  supposed  to  form  picrate  of  magnesium,  a highly 
unstable  combination  more  dangerous  than  dynamite.  A 
person  finding  a vial  of  such  flash-powder  in  his  possession  had 
best  dispose  of  it  at  once,  but  with  great  care.  He  is  advised 
against  pouring  water  upon  it  or  burning  it,  but  rather  to  throw 
the  whole  vial  into  a river  or  down  some  gorge  where  it  would 
be  scattered  without  doing  harm.  The  very  act  of  removing 
the  cork  from  the  bottle  might  be  attended  with  serious  results. 
The  danger  of  picric  acid  flash-powders  increases  with  age. 

Dr.  Mitchell  full}'  agreed  with  Mr.  Bullock,  and  considered 
all  flash -powders,  except  those  composed  of  pure  magnesium, 
more  or  less  dangerous,  differing  only  in  degree.  Magnesium 
has  a tendency  to  absorb  moisture,  in  which  state  it  readily 
combines  with  picric  acid,  forming  the  dangerous  picrate  of 
magnesium.  Even  a single  ounce  of  such  powder  would  be 
exceedingly  dangerous. 

Mr.  Rosengarten  called  attention  to  a method  of  preparing 
ground  glass  for  focusing  screens  by  the  use  of  hydro-fluoric 
acid  in  combination  with  carbonate  of  soda. 

Dr.  Wallace  spoke  of  the  use  of  a solution  of  plain  boiled 
starch  spread  upon  a plate  of  glass,  and  allowed  to  dry,  thus 
forming  a very  fine  surface  for  a focussing  screen. 

Mr.  Wood  described  a method  of  focusing  without  the  use 
of  any  screen.  If  the  position  to  be  occupied  by  the  plate  is 
determined  by  a metal  strip  located  in  the  usual  position  of  the 
ground  glass,  by  placing  a focusing  glass  against  this  strip  it 
will  show  (over  a limited  area,  of  course)  the  image  usually 
projected  on  the  screen,  and  a proper  focus  can  thus  be  readily 


36 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  10,  1889. 


obtained.  A piece  of  plain  glass  cau  also  be  used  in  this 
manner  as  a support  against  which  to  place  the  focussing  glass. 

Dr.  Mitchell  asked  the  experience  of  members  in  regard  to 
films,  stating  that  lie  had  found  some  rolls  to  be  very  good, 
and  others  not.  He  had  noticed  markings  like  long  trans- 
parent lines,  as  though  scratched  with  a needle. 

Mr.  Lodkrs  suggested  that  they  may  have  been  damaged  in 
unpacking. 

Mr.  Wood  stated  that  he  had  lately  returned  from  a trip  of 
over  a thousand  miles  on  which  he  had  used  films,  and  his 
feeling  was  that  hereafter  he  preferred  the  weight  of  glass  to 
the  uncertainty  of  films.  He  thought  nothing  had  yet  been 
discovered  to  equal  the  perfect  surface  of  glass,  and  the  cer- 
tainty of  its  results. 


Society  of  Amatkou  Photographers  of  New  York. 

The  regular  monthly  meeting  was  held  on  December  10th  at 
122,  West  36th  Street,  Vice-President  David  Williams  in  the 
chair. 

Mr.  A.  Pebri.es  Smith  read  a short  paper  on  “ The  History 
of  Flash-Light  Photography,”  illustrating  his  remarks  with 
lantern  slides,  all  of  outdoor  flash-light  pictures  and  interiors 
of  theatres.  He  said  that  he  had  invented  a safe  powder, 
especially  in  bringing  out  the  greens  and  reds. 

Mr.  G.  D.  Milburn  took  a flash-light  picture  of  the  audience, 
using  the  new  No.  2 Kodak  camera,  making  a circular  picture 
of  3 A inches.  He  also  explained  the  instrument,  which  has  a 
very  simple  shutter,  and  a fixed  focus  lens.  Before  the  evening 
was  over  he  made  a lantern  slide  from  the  negative,  which  was 
thrown  on  the  screen. 

Miss  Catherine  Weed  Barnes  read  a paper  on  “ Photography 
from  a Woman’s  Standpoint.”  She  is  the  first  woman  who  has 
ever  read  a paper  before  a photographic  society  in  the  United 
States. 

Mr.  James  H.  Stebbins,  Jnr.  showed  photographs  of  a pin- 
hole sensitometer  device  he  had  used  in  testing  sensitive  plates. 
His  results  were  very  instructive.  He  also  gave  the  result  of 
his  experiments  on  the  solubility  of  “ eiko.”  in  distilled  water 
at  diffeient  temperatures. 

Mr.  F.  C.  Beach  exhibited  Eastman’s  transparent  film  nega- 
tives (instantaneous  exposures)  developed  with  the  “Ultimate 
Single  Solution  Eiko.”  developer  sent  by  Messrs.  Queen  and  Co., 
of  Philadelphia,  and  of  the  ordinary  eikonogen  two-solution  deve- 
loper. The  latter  gave  more  density,  and  worked  more 
quickly. 

Mr.  Henry  J.  Newton  made  a few  remarks  on  a mixed  liydro- 
quinone  and  eikonogen  developer.  The  eikonogen,  lie  contended, 
was  slower  than  hydroquinone  when  a caustic  alkali  was  used 
with  the  latter. 

A lantern  slide  exhibition,  illustrating  New  York  and  Paris 
Exposition,  is  to  be  given  by  the  Society  at  Chickering  Hall, 
New  York,  February  5th. 


The  Solar  Eclipse  Expedition  to  South  America  from  the 
Lick  Observatory  has  telegraphed,  we  read,  that  their  obser- 
vations of  the  solar  eclipse  on  December  22nd  were  entirely 
successful. 

Received. — Sample  bottle  of  Ty tar’s  plate  backing,  which  is 
to  lie  applied  either  with  a dabber  enclosed,  or  preferably  with 
a roller  squeegee.  When  dry — which  is  the  ease  in  a few 
minutes — the  plates  can  be  placed  in  the  dark  slides.  Before 
developing  the  plate,  the  backing  is  removed  by  using  a sponge 

and  warm  water. “The  Magic  Lantern — its  Construction 

and  Use,"  published  by  Perken,  Son,  and  Rayment,  is  a welcome 
addition  to  the  instructions  on  a subject  of  more  especial 
inteiest  at  tliis  season  of  the  year.  The  book  is  divided  into 
fourteen  short  chapters  of  useful  information  comprised  in  small 

compass. ‘ Photographic  Scraps,”  issued  monthly,  gratis, 

by  the  Britannia  Works  Company,  and  from  which  we  have  on 
several  occasions  quoted  valuable  “ bits,”  appears  as  a double 
number  this  month. 

London  and  Provincial. — Report  received  too  late  for  in- 
sertion. 


to  ©orrcgpontfents* 


All  Advertisements  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  Sc  Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London. 

All  Cimmunications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Elitir  of  the  Pcotooraphic  News,  6,  Furnival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

C.  G. — Old  ferrous  oxalate  developer.  The  thick  deposit  formed 
in  your  stick-bottle  is  probably  due  t>  the  separation  of  the 
ferrous  oxalate  itself.  If  so,  you  have  only  to  pour  off  the  clear 
tip  liquid,  add  just  enough  of  a saturated  solution  of  neutral 
potassium  oxalate  to  rodissolve  the  precipitate,  and  pour  back 
again  the  main  bulk  of  developer  into  the  stock-bottle.  Thus 
fortified,  it  only  requires  to  be  filtered,  and  is  ready  for  use. 

Alpha. — Zincographic  reliefs,  See.  See  answer  to  E.  L.  last  week ; 
there  is  also  Dr.  Schnauss’  work  recently  published  (see  advertise- 
ment  on  page  xii.  last  week).  Two  special  articles,  by  Mr.  W.  T. 
Wilkinson,  in  the  Yf.ar-Books,  will  be  of  interest  to  you:  these 
are  “ Photo-Engraving  on  Zinc,’’  1887,  p.  53,  and  “ Printing  on 
Zinc  in  Bitumen,”  1888,  p.  75. 

Val.  Jackson. — The  new  general  catalogue  of  Brin’s  oxygen  and 
compressed  gas  appliances  duly  to  hand.  Templeton’s  and 
Lennox  Browne’s  oxy-hydrogeu  lamps,  aud  the  lime-light  pro- 
jector, cannot  fail  to  bo  useful  to  photographers. 

W.  C.  IIcghes. — We  thank  you  for  sending  the  particulars 
of  ether  saturator  to  our  correspondent  at  Charlbury. 

W.  B.  (Reigate). — Meldola’s  naphthol  acid  is  only  very  slightly 
soluble  in  alcohol,  but  dissolves  freely  in  an  aqueous  solution  of 
sulphite  of  soda.  It  might  be  worth  while  trying  to  dissolve  it  in 
alcoholic  ammonia,  but  such  a solution  would  not  keep  very  long. 

D.  O. — We  are  glad  to  learn  that  our  efforts  were  successful. 

T.  F. — You  are  probably  aware  that  the  ordinary  terms  for  taking 
a portrait  do  not  usually  cover  for  possession  of  the  negative. 

All  will  turn  upon  your  having  a written  or  special  agreement 
about  the  delivery  of  negatives.  This  point  sottled,  your  course 
of  action  is  quit  3 clear,  but  not  otherwise. 

Collotype. — 1.  llusnik's  substratum.  A mixture  of  albumen 
and  silicate  of  soda  cannot  be  expected  to  keep  good  for  any 
length  of  time ; it  had  better  be  made  fresh  as  wanted,  unless  you 
coat  at  once  a number  of  plates.  2.  This  is  rather  a matter  for 
experiment.  If  you  must  push  on  the  successive  stages  of  the 
process  as  quickly  as  possible,  yju  might  find  it  advantageous  to 
add  a small  quantity  of  chrome  alum  and  acetic  acid  to  the  other 
ingredients  when  preparing  and  sensitising  the  gelatine. 

C.  S.  T. — Letters  received  and  answered  by  p>st. 

E.  A.  C. — The  advertisement,  column  should  be  r-sorted  to  for 
announcing  your  press  for  sale,  and  the  fact  that  you  give  lessors 
on  the  work  ng  of  the  photo-mechanical  processes. 

A.  J.  S. — The  first  spools  of  Eastman  tissue  on  flexible  celluloid 
were  sent  out  on  New  Year’s  Day.  Yours  ought  to  be  on  the 
road,  if  not  actually  received  by  this  ti  me. 

C.  M. — An  amyl-acetate  s'andard  lamp,  with  pure  silver  wick- 
holder  (Mr.  C.  II.  Botbamley’s  modification),  was  described  in 
the  News  of  9th' August  last. 

S.  W. — It  is  already  to  bo  h id.  See  advertisement  at  head  of 
page  xi.  last  week. 

L.  F. — Mr.  II.  P.  Robinson  .begins  the  January  number  of  the 
Art  Journal  with  a chapter  on  the  value  of  photography 
^ fur  the  purposes  of  Art  illustration,  and  Captain  Abnsy  is  to  9 
follow.  Now  that  all  the  English  and  American  illustrated 
magazines  and  journals  are  depending  so  much  upon  the  photo- 
graphic processes,  the  subject  assumes  great  importance.  Even 
the  Vienna  Weekly  News  comes  to  us  beautifully  printed  in  i 
English,  and  with  a fine  photo-reproduct  ion  of  a Tyrolese  scene — 
a view  of  Gries,  near  Bozen. 

A.  M.  M. — Received  ; an  answer  shall  bo  sent  by  post. 

J.  A.  C.,  J.  C.  S.,  and  other  correspondents  received. 


f jje  Ipbotograpbic  Jfatos. 

dncluding  Postage  to  any  part  of  the  United  Kingdom:  — 
Yearly  ...  15s.  Od  | Half-Yearly...  7s.  8d.  | Quarterly  ...  3s.  lCd 
To  the  United  States,  the  Continent,  and  the  Colonies: — 
Yearly  ...  I7s.  4d.  | Half-Yoarly ...  8s.  8d.  | Quarterly...  4s.  4d 
To  India  (Yearly) 19s.  6(1. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 

r\. ■ C^-'s'P  vW 

4-4^.^^;.^^.-  — 

Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1637. — January  17,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PAO* 


Basket-Work  in  Photography 37 

The  Photographic  Society  of  Nantes 37 

Sending  Pictures  and  WritiDg  by  the  Electric  Telegraph.  By 

F.  H.  Varley,  M.I.E.E.,  F.K.A.S 38 

A Biography  of  J.  H.  Schulze.  By  James  Mew 39 

Bromide  Enlarging  and  Printing  40 

Photographic  Survey  of  Warwickshire.  By  W.  J.  Harrison  ...  43 

Photographing  the  Baby.  By  John  Wiodersen  45 

Notes  40 


BASKET-WORK  IN  PHOTOGRAPHY. 
Before  this  subject  is  allowed  to  drop  for  a time,  it 
maybe  well  to  point  out  to  those  photographic  tourists 
who  have  not  given  attention  thereto,  some  practi- 
cal  points  worthy  their  attention . A basket-case  should 
be  so  made  that  it  can  be  used  like  a portmanteau  in 
towns,  and  like  a knapsack  in  the  country,  and  should 
be  furnished  with  locks  and  keys,  so  that  it  can  be  left 
in  cloak-rooms  at  railway  stations.  Straps  with  fasten- 
ings and  small  padlocks  are  convenient  for  locking. 
The  ordinary  handles  of  a basket  do  not  look  well  when 
the  latter  is  carried  knapsack  fashion  ; there  is  some- 
thing incongruous ; like  the  red  tails  of  the  soldier’s 
coat  which  organ-grinders  give  their  monkeys,  the 
coat-tail  and  the  natui’al  tail  of  the  monkey  do  not  har- 
monise. An  actual  maker  of  knapsacks  for  some  members 
of  the  Alpine  Club  and  others — Mr.  Price,  of  Great 
Marylebone  Street,  London — has  devised  an  excellent 
handle,  consisting  of  a piece  of  bamboo  covei’cd  with 
leather,  and  with  a leather  loop  at  each  end  ; the  straps 
supporting  the  knapsack  passthrough  the  loops.  This 
round  rigid  handle  gives  great  ease  in  carrying  the  case 
as  a portmanteau,  and  can  be  slipped  off  and  put  inside 
when  the  case  is  used  as  a knapsack. 

The  basket  case  should  be  narrow,  flat,  and  long,  for 
the  same  reason  that  leather  cases  for  photographic 
apparatus  are  now  made  narrow  and  flat.  It  is  con- 
venient to  have  the  case  long  enough  to  take  the  folded 
legs  inside,  along  the  top.  The  straps  should  be  so 
made  that  the  case  comes  high  up  on  the  shoulders, 
otherwise  a tiring,  “dragging”  feeling  results;  and 
in  front  of  the  shoulders  the  strap  should  be  very 
broad ; in  fact,  one  inventor  has  patented  a kind  of  web 
to  come  instead  of  the  strap  at  this  particular  place. 
In  knapsacks  the  straps  should  never  cross  or  pass  in 
front  of  the  breast. 

One  basket-maker  told  us  that  the  English  cannot 
make  the  elegant  palm  baskets  turned  out  by  the 
French ; another  wrote  in  these  pages  last  week  that 
they  can  do  so,  but  do  not.  In  any  event,  that  is  the 
class  of  basket,  but  of  different  shape  and  lighter  make, 
* which  hereafter  will  come  into  use  with  photographic 
j apparatus,  and  who  the  makers  may  be  concerns  the 
basket-manufacturing  trade  more  than  it  does  photo- 
graphers. 


FAQB 


The  Package  ot  Photographs  for  Post.  By  C.  Brangwin  Barnes  47 

Vapour  Development.  By  T.  H.  Luders  48 

The  Exhibition  of  the  West  London  Photographic  Society 49 

Patent  Intelligence 50 

Correspondence.— Reproduction  and  Copyright — Formation  of  a 
Lantern  Club — l60chromatie  Photography  at  the  Photo- 
graphic Society  of  France 61 

Proceedings  of  Societies  52 

Answers  to  Correspondents 50 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY  OF  NANTES. 
List  week  some  particulars  were  published  in  this 
journal  in  relation  to  Havre  as  a place  easily  reached 
from  London,  and  admirably  adapted  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  landscape  and  architectural  photo- 
graphers, so  soon  as  a boat  service  at  regular  hours,  and 
several  times  a day,  shall  have  been  established  across 
the  mouth  of  the  Seine  to  Trouville.  From  the  latter 
place  the  banks  of  the  Loire  and  the  central  French 
wine  districts  are  in  communication  by  rail,  but  chiefly 
by  local  lines,  which  cross  several  of  the  great  trunk 
railways  of  France.  The  only  trains  at  present  running 
somewhat  long  distances  almost  directly  south  from 
Trouville  are  those  between  Caen  and  Le  Mans,  and 
can  only  be  reached  from  Trouville  by  waiting  about 
at  junction  stations.  Were  this  not  the  case,  and 
were  Le  Mans  in  direct  communication,  by  boat  and 
train,  with  Havre  via  Trouville,  insteadof  with  Caen,  the 
route  would  be  an  excellent  one  for  those  English  who 
have  but  a few  days  to  spare,  to  reach  the  region  of  the 
lower  reaches  of  the  Loire,  and  to  change  the  fogs  and 
xains  of  London  at  the  present  season  for  the  bright, 
cold,  sunshiny  weather  of  the  Loire  valley.  The 
stretch  of  country  between  Tours  and  Nantes  is  so 
little  visited  by  English  tourists  that  through  tickets 
thereto  are  not  issued  by  British  railway  companies  or 
tourists’  agencies. 

In  the  west  of  France  photographic  societies  are 
rare.  A photographic  club  was  established  at  Havre 
last  year,  and  Nantes  has  its  photographic  society.  We 
are  not  aware  of  the  existence  of  any  other  photo- 
graphic organisation  in  the  extensive  region  between 
these  two  places. 

The  Societe  Nantaise  de  Photograpliie  has  its  studio 
and  laboratory  at  Passage  Raymond  9,  Nantes,  and  was 
founded  in  April,  1881.  At  its  start  it  had  twenty 
members,  but  the  number  steadily  increased.  In  the 
second  year  of  its  existence  it  began  to  organise  a 
“regional”  photographic  exhibition,  and  in  1886  it 
invited  all  the  photographers  of  France  to  the  Photo- 
graphic Exhibition  at  Nantes,  au  exhibition  which 
more  than  fulfilled  the  expectations  of  its  promoters. 
At  the  present  time  the  Society  has  142  members. 
Its  laboratory  for  the  free  use  of  its  members  has  been 
| established  three  years,  and  there  is  a studi  o adjacent 


38 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  17,  1890. 


thereto.  The  Nantes  Society  does  not  publish  what 
may  be  strictly  termed  a bulletin,  but  every  month  it 
sends  to  its  memhevs  a printed  report  of  its  meetings, 
followed  by  divers  formula;,  and  a variety  of  extracts 
from  photographic  journals,  all  contained  in  four  large 
pages.  It  has  an  English  correspondent,  Mr.  A.  Scou- 
man.  The  president  of  the  Society  is  M.  Baschcr ; 
vice-president,  M.  du  Hanlay;  treasurer,  M.  Tassain ; 
secretary,  M.  Tremant;  co-secretary,  M.  Jollan  de 
Clerville ; librarian,  M.  du  Minehy.  Sometimes  the 
Society  issues  a photo-meclianical  or  other  print  with 
its  monthly  report.  We  noticed,  while  looking  through 
the  collection  in  the  bureau  a few  days  ago,  that  occa- 
sionally in  past  years  some  aristotype  prints  have  been 
so  sent  out ; how  these  latter  will  look  nine  or  ten 
years  hence  is  a question  the  future  will  solve.  The 
Nantes  Photographic  Society  works  in  correspondence 
with  the  Photo-Club  of  Paris,  the  Versailles  Photo- 
graphic Society,  the  Photographic  Society  of  the  North 
of  France,  and  the  Artistic  and  Photographic  Society 
of  Limoges. 

In  its  monthly  reports  we  read  that  a photographic 
society  has  just  been  formed  in  Auvergue,  with  its 
establishment  at  Clermont-Ferrand,  cours  Sablon  55. 
In  describing  its  constitution,  M.  Felix  Gaude,  the 
president,  drew  attention  to  one  of  the  rules  which 
promised  to  welcome  all  photographic  tourists  at  Cler- 
mont. Unhappily,  says  the  report  of  the  Nantes 
Society,  another  article  informs  the  said  tourists  that 
they  must  pay  ten  shillings  towards  the  expenses  of 
the  Auvergne  Society  if  they  desire  to  make  use  of  the 
laboratory.  The  Nantes  journal  adds  : — “ Hospitality  I 
is  not  Scotch  at  Clermont-Ferrand,”  which  French  ex- 
piession  of  opinion  about  the  Scotch  may  be  interpreted 
in  two  different  ways,  when  compared  with  the  state-  j 
ments  which  caused  it  to  be  brought  forth. 

The  Nantes  Society  has  just  resolved  to  buy  an 
optical  lantern  for  a double  purpose ; that  is  to  say,  it 
will  be  used  at  the  meetings  of  the  Society  for  the 
projection  of  lantern  pictures,  and  at  other  times  it 
will  be  placed,  under  certain  conditions,  at  the  dis- 
position of  any  individual  member  who  desires  to  I 
exhibit  his  slides  for  the  amusement  of  his  friends. 

A committee  of  the  Nantes  Photo gi’aphic  Society 
has  just  sent  in  its  report  on  the  Paris  Exhibition  of 
1889.  It  says  that  broadly  speaking,  there  were  no 
great  novelties  at  the  Exhibition,  no  indisputable 
advance  marking  a point  of  new  departure.  Improve- 
ments, however,  were  numerous,  and  the  merit  of  the 
pictures  exhibited  by  the  great  masters  in  photography 
was  beyond  all  praise.  Several  amateurs  also  exhibited, 
and  their  work  was  good  enough  to  satisfy  the  most 
fastidious.  The  most  striking  displays  made  at  the 
Exhibition  by  photographers  were  those  of  Messrs. 
Chalot,  Lumiere,  Van  Boch-Boyer,  Perou,  Walery 
and  Nadar.  Some  platino types  upon  Japanese  paper, 
put  on  view  by  Chalot,  are  described  by  the  committee 
as  “one  of  the  most  ravishing  exhibitions.”  Nadar's 
show  was  the  most  expensive  and  elaborate  con- 
nected with  the  Paris  Exhibition  ; it  cost  the  firm 
30,000  francs. 


SENDING  PICTURES  AND  WRITING  BY  TIIE 
ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH. 

I!Y  K.  II.  VARLEY,  M.I.K.E.,  F.R.A.R. 

The  transmission  of  autographs  anil  written  messages,  I 
or  portraits,  through  telegraph  circuits,  is  of  itself  no  1 
new  feat.  In  the  early  dawn  of  practical  telegraphy  we  I 
have  the  invention  of  Bakewell.  Those  who  are  more  j 
particularly  interested  in  this  invention  will  find  it  described 
in  the  writings  of  Dr.  Gardner,  and  in  Golding  Bird’s 
“ Natural  Philosophy.” 

Bakewell’s  apparatus  consisted  of  two  synchronous  ; 
clocks,  which  caused  a style  made  of  fine  iron  wire  to 
rotate  over  a plane  made  of  prepared  paper  supported  on 
a metal  base  ; during  each  revolution  a continuous  im- 
pelling movement  was  given  to  the  arm  carrying  the  style,  ' 
so  that  instead  of  moving  in  a circle,  it  traced  a series  of 
gradually  expanding  volutes  whenever  a current  of  elec- 
tricity was  made  to  pass.  The  paper  received  a mark  or 
line  in  Prussian  blue,  produced  by  the  electro-chemical 
action  set  up  between  the  iron  of  the  style  and  the  paper 
chemically  treated  with  a solution  of  ferrocyanide.  To 
transmit  a message  or  design,  all  that  had  to  be  done  was 
to  write  or  scratch  with  a pointed  style  upon  a varnished 
metallic  surface  in  order  to  remove  those  portions  in  a 
similar  way  to  preparing  a plate  for  etching.  When  this 
was  done,  the  transmitting  plate  was  fixed  down  upon  the 
bed-plate  of  the  transmitting  instrument.  The  clockwork 
of  both  the  sending  instrument  and  that  of  the  receiving 
instrument  at  the  distant  station  were  started  simultan- 
eously. As  the  contact  style  of  the  sending  instrument 
passed  on  to  the  bare  metal,  a current  was  established : 
thiscurrent  being  conveyed  to  the  iron  style  of  the  receiving 
instrument  passed  to  earth  by  conduction  through  the 
chemically-prepared  paper,  and  produced  a Prussian  blue 
mark  corresponding  to  that  of  the  scratched  or  removed 
portion  of  the  varnished  surface  of  the  transmitting  plate. 
As  the  arms  of  both  the  sending  and  receiving  instruments 
swung  round  at  equal  rates,  tracing  a series  of  volutes, 
beginning  near  the  axis,  and  finally  ending  at  the  full  dia- 
meter of  the  plate,  it  is  readily  seen  that,  as  the  blue  mark 
depends  upon  the  electric  circuit  being  closed,  such  blue 
marks  will  correspond  to  the  removed  portions  of  insulating 
varnish  of  the  transmitting  plate. 

Since  the  time  of  Bakewell  not  much  had  been  done 
until  1863,  when  Casselli  made  a series  of  highly  interest- 
ing experiments  with  a much  improved  apparatus.  The 
chief  feature  of  Casselli’s  apparatus  consisted  mainly  in 
regulating  and  controlling  the  speed  of  his  apparatus,  so 
that  both  sending  and  receiving  instruments  were  made  to 
beat  in  unison,  also  that  the  ruling  was  in  straight  or 
parallel  lines.  This  apparatus  was  established  on  one  of 
the  London  to  Liverpool  circuits  of  the  Electric  and  Inter- 
national Telegraph  Company,  and  continued  to  work  for 
some  time  very  satisfactorily.  Music  scores,  autographs, 
portraits,  sketches,  and  bills  of  lading,  were  sent  with 
unerring  fidelity.  The  transmitting  plates  being  mostly 
responsible  for  any  of  the  vagaries,  I enclose  some  of  these 
pictures,  which,  as  they  are  the  only  specimens  I possess, 

I will  ask  you  to  kindly  return  them  after  inspection  : — 
First,  a sketch  portrait  of  the  late  Trince  Consort ; second, 
a sketch  portrait  of  a Turk  ; third,  agricultural  scene  ; 
fourth,  a note  of  introduction,  with  portraits,  front  view, 
and  profile  of  the  person  to  be  introduced. 

I think  it  is  very  desirable  to  keep  these  results  on  re- 
cord, as  they  undoubtedly  form  very  important  stepping 


January  17,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


SO 


A BIOGRAPHY  OF  J.  II.  SCHULZE. 

BY  JAMES  MEW. 


stones  to  the  advancement  of  this  subject,  and  from  what 
I gather  from  the  description  of  M.  Giuochio’s  auto-tele- 
graph, in  your  issue  of  the  3rd  inst.,  I should  imagine  it  to 
be  actuated  by  an  equivalent  mechanism,  though  whether 
it  is  an  improvement  upon  the  work  of  Casselli,  it  is  im- 
possible and  premature  to  judge.  But,  remembering  that 
in  1863  photogravure  was  non-existent,  and  the  artist  em- 
ployed to  make  the  transmitting  plates  was  only  just  learn- 
ing his  work,  I think  we  may  say  that  Casselli  made  not 
only  a very  practical  demonstration,  but  also  an  important 
step  in  the  advancement  of  auto-telegraphy. 

With  improved  mechanism  and  plates  prepared  by  one 
of  the  photogravure  processes,  I see  no  difficulty  in  pro- 
ducing and  telegraphing  highly  finished  works  of  art. 
Then  the  next  question  comes : — What  about  the  com- 
mercial aspect?  Why  did  the  press  not  support  Casselli  in 
18C3  ? 'Fhe  answer  may  be  that  illustrated  literature  was 
not  so  general  as  now,  and  the  time  not  ripe  for  its  full  ap- 
preciation ; but  with  the  new  journalistic  ventures,  such  as 
the  Daily  Graphic , which  doubtless  will  meet  with  many 
competitors,  it  may  become — and  doubtless  has  become — 
an  absolute  necessity  of  the  age,  rendering  it  expedient  to 
take  this  work  up  again  from  a fresh  standpoint,  beginning 
where  Casselli  had  to  leave  off  from  want  of  proper  en- 
couragement, appreciation,  and  support,  and  to  so  develop 
the  process  as  to  make  it  perfectly  reliable  and  correct  in 
the  minutest  details.  The  undertaking  is  one  involving  a 
considerable  expenditure  of  time  and  money,  but  that 
should  not  be  an  obstacle  to  so  important  an  achievement 
in  these  days  of  advancing  enterprise. 

Birmingham  Photograchic  Society. — The  Annual  Exhibi- 
tion will  be  open  for  two  days  only,  but  it  will  be  very  repre- 
sentative, as  nearly  400  exhibits  have  been  forwarded,  ranging 
from  about  20  by  16  to  quarter-plates. 

Hastings  and  St.  Leonard’s  Photographic  Society. — In 
a notice  last  week  of  the  Exhibition  to  be  held  in  February, 
the  address  of  the  lion,  secretary  was  incorrectly  stated.  It 
Bhould  have  been  Mr.  A.  Brooker,  Memorial  Buildings, 
Hastings. 

French  Economy.— The  medal  question  at  the  late  Paris 
exposition  seems  to  be  giving  no  little  dissatisfaction.  It  seems 
that  the  awards  were  numerous  enough  to  satisfy  everyone, 
but  to  get  an  award  was  one  thing,  and  to  get  the  medal 
awarded  another.  The  managers  of  the  exposition  issue  ccrti- 
cates  of  the  awards,  but  the  lucky  (!)  exhibitors  can  only  get 
the  certificate  honoured  by  paying  for  the  article  thereby 
represented.  Every  successful  exhibitor  must  pay  the  full 
value  of  the  gold  or  silver  medal  which  he  in  his  ignorance  of 
French  usage  supposed  he  had  honorably  gained. — T,te 
Beacon,  Chicago. 

The  Swing  Back. — Of  all  the  contrivances  about  a camera, 
none  perhaps  is  so  often  misused  as  the  swing  back.  Many  a 
time  its  employment  would  have  been  more  honoured  in  the 
breach  than  in  the  observance.  To  have  a swing  back  means 
that  it  must  be  used  on  all  occasions,  whether  the  taking  of 
the  building  demands  its  employment  or  not.  What  is  of 
more  importance  than  tilting  the  camera  and  applying  the 
swing  back,  is  keeping  the  camera  level  wherever  possible. 
Do  not  tilt  and  use  the  swing  back  every  time.  Very  often  a 
better  view  of  a high  building  can  be  had  by  levelling  the 
camera  at  the  building  from  a window  at  a suitable  height 
opposite.  Determination  of  the  proper  lens  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  in  architectural  views — what  focal  length  will  best 
secure  the  object  in  proper  proportion.  It  is  well  to  use  a 
wide-angle  lens  which  covers  a plate  the  next  size  above  ; for 
instance,  if  the  view  is  to  be  on  a 67  by  8i  plate,  use  a lens 
for  8 by  10.  With  such  a lens  we  can  raise  the  front  without 
straining.  A swing  back,  however,  is  like  a Texas  revolver — 
rarely  needed  ; but  when  that  rare  time  comes,  it  is  needed 
badly. — American  Journal  of  Photography. 


The  already  announced  inventor  of  photography,  John 
Henry  Schulze — or  Johann  Heinrich  Schulze,  to  give  his 
exact  German  name — was  one  of  the  most  able  physicians 
and  distinguished  pliilosophers  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
He  was  born — or,  as  liis  German  biographer  expresses  it, 
“ first  saw  the  light  of  this  world  ” — on  the  12th  May,  1687, 
at  Colbitz,  in  the  Duchy  of  Magdeboui’g  in  Prussia,  in 
the  house  of  a poor  tailor.  His  father  (Matthaus)  supple- 
mented a precarious  income  derived  from  the  reseating  of 
breeches,  with  the  nurture  of  bees.  It  is  possible  that  his 
son’s  name  would  never  have  been  enrolled  in  the  blazoned 
annals  of  medical  and  philosophic  fame — for  the  father’s 
purse  held  no  quantity  with  the  son’s  abilities — had  it  not 
been  for  the  exertions  of  a certain  Andr.  Albr.  Corvinus, 
the  pastor  of  his  native  hamlet,  who  first  made  John 
Henry’s  acquaintance  at  the  immature  age  of  six,  learning 
his  accidence  in  the  village  school. 

Corvinus  took  young  Schulze  to  himself,  and  the  boy, 
besides  sitting  down  at  the  intellectual  feast  of  the  village 
pastor,  was  careful  to  pick  up  such  stray  crumbs  of  learn- 
ing as  fell  from  the  table  of  his  children’s  education.  In 
this  desultory  manner  he  seems  to  have  taught  himself  the 
rudiments  of  Greek  and  Latin.  On  a day  came  Corvinus 
into  his  garden,  and  lo ! his  protege,  forgetful  of  fruit  and 
flower,  lost  to  the  outer  world  of  sunshine,  was  buried 
deep  in  the  pages  of  a Greek  Testament  behind  the  paternal 
bee-hive  ! The  good  priest,  delighted  with  the  sight,  made 
him  a present  of  the  book  out  of  hand  ; and  who  then  was 
happier  among  articulately  speaking  men  than  John 
Henry?  All  the  time  he  could  spare  from  his  regular 
course  of  study  he  devoted  to  the  Evangelists,  collating, 
comparing,  and  criticising  with  his  ’prentice-brain  their 
textual  anomalies  and  variations ; and,  after  the  fashion  of 
Browning’s  Grammarian,  weighing  with  minutest  care  the 
relative  forces  of  men  and  de  and  oun. 

At  the  recommendation  of  Corvinus,  Schulze  was  re- 
ceived as  a pupil  at  the  Royal  Pmdagogium,  in  the  University 
of  Halle  (Friedrich’s-Universitiit)  in  1697.  As  he  was  one 
of  the  earliest,  so  he  became  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
scholars  of  that  seat  of  learning.  Afterwards  he  was 
admitted,  without  pay,  a pensioner  of  the  Orphans’  Home 
in  the  same  town.  The  head  master  of  the  Psedagogium — 
the  famous  theologian  Franke — following  the  good  ex- 
ample set  by  Corvinus  in  the  matter  of  young  Schulze, 
loaded  him  with  benefits— moral,  intellectual,  and  physi- 
cal— for  the  full  space  of  twenty  years.  It  is  rare,  indeed, 
to  find  a Mecamas  in  this  work-a-day  world  ; the  fortu- 
nate Schulze  found  Corvinus  and  Franke.  Without  such 
happy  chance,  where  would  have  been  our  young  philo- 
sopher and  adolescent  physician  ? Blushing  unseen,  most 
probably,  and  wasting  his  sweetness  on  the  desert  air,  as 
so  many  embryo  poets,  painters,  philosophers,  and  physi- 
cians have  done  before  Agamemnon  and  after. 

In  1701,  Schulze  seized  the  forelock  of  opportunity,  and 
made  acquaintance  with  a language  of  the  East.  One 
Solomon  Negri,  a learned  Arab  from  Damascus,  at  the 
importunate  request  of  Franke,  consented  to  stay  a year's 
space  at  Halle  to  give  any  pupil  who  wished  it.  the  profit 
of  his  instruction.  Schulze  was  one  of  the  first  volunteers, 
and  for  that  whole  year  learnt  nothing  but  Arabic.  After 
Negri  had  returned  to  his  own  place,  Schulze  studied  for 
some  time  medicine  at  the  University  under  the  direction 


40 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  17,  1890. 


of  the  then  celebrated  Professors  Stahl,  Richter,  and 
Eckebrecht. 

llis  thirst  for  varied  knowledge  was  not  yet  assuaged, 
lie  proceeded  to  dive  into  antiquities  and  philology  under 
the  experienced  guidance  of  Christopher  Cellarius.  From 
time  to  time,  however,  he  returned  to  his  old  Eastern  loves, 
encouraging  these  pursuits  with  an  occasional  attendance  at 
the  Oriental  lectures  of  Michaelis,  and  studied  Syriac, 
Chaldee,  Samaritan,  iEthiopic,  and  Rabbinic.  He  learnt 
Romaic  at  the  feet  of  Anhard  Adlung,  from  Constantinople, 
who  lent  him  several  rare  books  in  that  language  published 
at  Venice  and  Bucharest.  He  also  learnt  Turkish  from 
the  same  master. 

In  due  course,  Schulze  became,  in  the  year  1708,  a 
Master  of  the  Psedagogium,  and  in  1715  was  employed  as  a 
secretary  by  the  well-known  physician  Fred.  Hoffmann, 
the  Boerliaave  of  Germany.  This  accident  seems  to  have 
determined  his  errant  inclinations  ultimately  in  favour  of 
medicine — though  we  still  find  him  reading  in  his  intervals 
of  leisure  such  erudite  fathers  of  the  Church  as  Gregory 
and  Nazianzen,  whose  works,  it  is  said,  he  studied  com- 
pletely, adding  thereto  the  greater  portion  of  (hose  of 
Basil. 

Under  the  guidance  of  Hoffmann — the  Hippocrates  of 
his  period — who  treated  him  with  no  less  liberality  than 
Corvinus  and  Franke  had  done,  in  the  free  and  cheerful 
giving  of  such  intellectual  stores  as  he  possessed,  and  ini- 
tiated him,  moreover,  into  all  tile  valuable  secrets  of  his 
art,  Schulze  felt  himself,  after  two  years’  labour,  strong 
enough  to  sustain  the  theses  required  for  his  degree  of 
Doctor.  His  dissertation  on  “Athletes,  their  Habits  and 
Diet,”  obtained  for  him  permission  to  practise  in  medicine. 
He  continued  his  practice  at  the  University  till  the  year 
1720,  when  he  accepted  the  position  of  Professor  of  Ana- 
tomy at  the  University  of  Altdorf.  His  old  and  early 
patron,  Corvinus,  had  set  the  crown  on  the  previous 
benefits  bestowed  on  his  favourite  pupil  by  giving  him  his 
daughter  Johanna  Sophia  to  wife,  in  the  year  before  his 
election  to  the  anatomical  chair. 

Schulze  sat  in  this  chair  some  dozen  years,  and 
published  therefrom  his  “ History  of  Medicine,”  which  at 
once  placed  him  in  the  first  rank  among  his  medical  com- 
peers. This  work  was,  however,  never  finished.  In  1729 
he  became  Professor  of  Greek,  and  later  on  Professor  of 
Arabic.  These  professorships  interfered  much  with  his 
medical  duties,  and  the  interference  was  strengthened  by 
his  appointment  in  1732  by  the  Prussian  Government 
to  the  place  of  Professor  of  Eloquence  and  Antiquities  in 
his  old  University  of  Halle.  His  first  exercise  in  this  new 
department  of  literary  activity  was  a treatise  on  the 
much-debated  line  in  Virgil  (iEn.  xii,  397)  : — 

‘ ‘ Mutas  agitare  inglorius  artes,  ” 

which  has  caused  so  great  disagreement  among  the  learned. 

But  still  Schulze’s  circle  of  study  was  not  sufficiently 
wide  for  his  own  convenience.  Numismatics  now  engaged 
his  attention.  He  collected  a large  number — some 
3,000 — of  ancient  coins  and  medals,  of  which  Gottlieb 
Agnether  published  in  1746  a catalogue  raisonne  with  the 
title  of  Numophylacium  Schulzianum. 

Schulze’s  abnormal  intellectual  energy  can  best  be  com- 
prehended by  an  allusion  to  some  of  his  multifarious 
labours.  Taking  them  at  haphazard,  we  meet  first  with 
some  philological  observations  on  a Greek  verb  signifying 
to  worship.  Next  we  have  a treatise  on  the  condition 
of  the  medical  slaves  (strange  expression  in  the  light  of 


our  nineteenth  century  civilization)  belonging  to  the 
Greeks  and  Romans.  Then  a little  talk  about  the  Goddess 
Victory  and  a particular  altar  belonging  to  her ; then  a 
medical  lexicon ; then  a translation  of  Plutarch  ; then  an 
essay  on  the  Ancient’s  Hellebore  ; and  then  a literary  geo- 
graphy, and  so  on  to  the  number  of  166  separate  works. 

Schulze  joined  to  extraordinary  diligence  extraordinary 
ability.  He  was  continually,  as  the  reader  who  has  gone 
through  this  biographical  sketch  may  readily  believe,  en- 
gaged in  reading,  writing,  and  studying,  llis  excessive 
application  to  his  books  injured  his  health,  lie  contracted 
various  diseases,  of  which  has  been  published  a minute 
and  unpleasing  description.  In  the  Eastertide  of  1744  lie 
died,  oi',  as  his  German  biographer  prefers  to  put  it, 
“ changed  the  temporal  for  the  eternal ; a truly  unspeak- 
able loss  for  all  who  knew  him.” 


BROMIDE  ENLARGING  AND  PRINTING. 
Making  bromide  enlargements  is  a work  so  popular 
among  photographers  at  this  season  of  the  year, 
owing  to  the  facility  of  carrying  it  on  by 
artificial  light,  that  the  record  of  experiences 
from  various  sources  is  sure  to  be  interesting  to  our 
readers.  We  therefore  subjoin  extracts  from  articles 
on  the  topic,  the  first  being  by  Mr.  D.  G.  Milburn,  in 
JVilson's  Photographic  Magazine. 

A very  practical”business  method,  as  practised  by  a 
New  York  photographer  for  introducing  large  pictures 
to  the  general  customer,  can  here  be  mentioned,  as  it 
usually  leads  to  a sale  of  a life-size  portrait  at  a handsome 
figure.  Every  negative  of  a fairly  good  quality,  after 
leaving  the  retoucher’s  hands,  is  brought  to  the  bromide 
operator,  and  an  enlargement  is  made  from  it.  This  plain 
print  is  then  inserted  in  a ready  passepartout,  and  when 
the  customer  calls  for  his  small  picture  his  attention  is 
called  to  his  enlarged  bromide  picture.  lie  is  iuformed 
by  the  salesman  that  said  picture  can  be  sold  plain  as  it  is, 
or  can  be  finished  in  crayon,  oil,  or  pastel,  and  specimens 
of  the  ditlerent  styles  are  shown  him,  and,  as  before 
stated,  a sale  is  usually  acc  nnplished.  In  case  of  no  sale, 
the  print  is  removed  from  the  passepartout,  and  all  the 
firm  is  out  is  the  cost  of  the  joint,  which  is  not  over  69 
cents  for  an  18in.  by  22  n.  The  sam  i passepartout  will 
auswer  f<  r showing  any  number  of  ei.lu.gements  in. 

A mi  take  that  often  occurs  with  the  bromide  worker  is 
over  timing,  and  then  to  overcome  this  mistake  the  addi- 
tion of  an  old  developer,  or  bromide  of  jiota-sium,  is 
resortel  to.  This  is  something  all  operators  ought  to  be  very 
careful  to  avoid,  for  an  overtime  print  will  never  compare 
favourably  with  a print  that  has  been  timed  correct’y. 

A very  ji.'actical  way  of  deciding  on  the  right  and 
proper  time  of  exposure  for  any  sized  bromide  enlargement 
is  to  adjust  a small  jnece  of  bronrde  pajier  on  the  easel, 
after  having  focussed  the  enlarged  image  shaiply,  expose 
and  develop,  then  use  this  as  a guide  for  the  final  expo- 
sure. If  daylight  is  the  medium  used  to  enlarge  with, 
permit  as  little  time  as  possible  to  el  ipse  between  the  test 
and  final  exposure,  as  the  light  may  change. 

In  case  the  enlargement  is  to  be  made  from  an  over- 
intense negative,  use  less  bromide  of  potassium  than  the 
formula  calls  for.  Ou  the  contrary,  if  the  negative  is  ton 
soft  and  tlat,  an  iucrease  of  bromide  of  potassium  in  the 
developer  will  m ike  the  proper  contrast.  Old  developer 
should  not  be  used  for  that  purpose,  as  it  has  a tendency 


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January  17,  1890. ) 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


41 


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to  leave  the  print  slightly  yellow.  The  oxalate  and  iron 
developer  his  been  proven  to  be  the  correct  developer  for 
bromide  paper  work,  and  the  writer  recommends  it  above 
all  others.  If  bromide  enlargements  are  to  be  made  in 
large  quantities,  electric  light  will  be  preferable,  as  there 
is  less  variation  in  that  light ; with  it  Eastman’s  extra 
quick  bromide  paper  will  work  the  best. 

Enlargements  of  sizes  over  30  by  40  are  best  produced 
with  daylight,  and  Eistman’s  standard  paper  is  then 
recommended. 

Auy  amount  of  crayon,  oil,  or  pastel  can  be  done  on  a 
bromide  enlargement,  and  any  one  used  to  crayon  work 
will  require  but  very  little  practice  to  become  proficient. 
But  very  little  work  is  required  on  a good  bromide  print  to 
make  a highly  finished  picture. 

The  following  is  selected  from  a paper  by  Mr.  J. 
Howson,  read  before  the  East  Dulwich  Photographic 
Society,  and  published  in  the  Photographic  Societies' 
Reporter : — 

For  enlargements  each  man  is  bounded  by  his  facilities, 
and  I will  only  sketch,  therefore,  the  two  methods  available, 
leaving  each  to  be  guided  by  circumstances  and  surround- 
ings which  plan  he  will  adopt. 

First,  daylight  work.  Here  we  need  a dark  room,  with 
a window  blocked  up  by  a shutter  ; this  shutter  must 
have  in  its  lowest  part  an  opening  the  size  of  the  largest 
negative  to  be  enlarged  from.  At  the  bottom  of  the 
opening  must  be  a shelf,  on  which  to  stand  our  ordinary 
camera  at  full  stretch,  if  the  size  of  our  enlargement  so 
needs  it.  Outside  the  window,  at  an  angle  of  forty-five 
degrees,  must  be  a mirror,  or  a board  covered  with  white 
paper,  to  reflect  the  daylight  iuwards.  A north  aspect  for 
this  wiudow  is  preferable,  and  direct  sunlight  very  unde- 
sirable. Inside  the  room  we  want  an  easel  ; one  of  the 
most  primitive  kind  will  do,  cabable  of  being  readily 
moved  and  adjusted  so  as  to  be  strictly  parallel  with  the 
negative.  Our  lens,  with  which  the  original  negative  was 
taken,  is  in  position  in  the  camera,  and  that  is  all.  Pin  a 
piece  of  plain  paper  on  easel,  mat  k on  it  the  size  of  enlarge- 
ment wanted,  put  the  negative  in  place  of  focussing  screen, 
film  towards  lens  ; change  relative  positiou  of  negative, 
lens,  and  easel,  untii  the  image  covers  the  size  marked  ; 
replace  the  plain  paper  by  bromide,  taking  care  that  the 
latter  is  well  stretched  and  evenly  level,  and  expose.  There 
are  exact  rules  as  to  the  finding  of  these  relative  distances 
for  each  size  of  enlargement,  but  as  they  are  found  in  all 
year-books,  we  need  not  discuss  them,  ouly  mentioning 
that  the  farther  from  the  lens  the  sensitive  surface  is,  the 
larger  the  image,  and  vice  versa.  In  practice,  a rectilinear 
lens  gives  better  enlargements  than  a single  one,  and  as 
large  a stop  as  possible  is  prtferable,  as  it  facilitates 
focussing  and  shortens  exposure ; but,  of  course,  the 
larger  the  plate  proportionately  to  the  lens,  the  greater 
the  necessity  for  stopping  down.  Further,  most  negatives 
are  wanting  in  definition  at  the  edges,  and  also  in  most 
cases  in  interest  ; it  is  therefore  advisable,  in  making 
an  enlargement  of,  say,  12  by  10,  to  Irt  the  image  on  the 
screen  be  an  inch  or  so  larger  ; the  resulting  picture,  on 
12  by  10  paper,  will  be  more  pleasing  aud  sharper,  though 
not  embracing  the  whole  subject  on  the  negative.  Then, 
as  to  size  of  enlargements,  as  compared  with  size  of  nega- 
tive, I think  it  is  admitted  that,  to  obtain  most  perfect 
results,  we  should  not  exceed  three  times — that  is,  a plate 
should  be  enlarged  to  12  by  10,  and  no  further.  There 
are  other  opinions  expressed  on  this  point,  but  I am 
going  with  the  majority.  1 ought  perhaps  fo  have  men- 


tioned before  the  class  of  negative  to  be  used — a negative 
that  will  give  good  results  on  ordinary  albumenised  paper 
will  give  good  results  on  bromide  naturally  ; but  1 go 
further  than  this,  and  endorse  the  frequently  expressed 
opinion  that  bromide  is  the  “ salvation  of  a poor  nega- 
tive,” and  say  that  a negative  that  is  too  thin  to  give  a 
decent  print  on  ordinary  paper,  will  give  a capital  picture 
on  bromide,  with  ordinary  care  ; aud  even  if  you  have  a 
hard  negative,  presuming  all  detail  is  present,  a very  passa- 
ble bromide  print  can  be  got.  A negative  tending  to  thin- 
nessand  full  of  detail, however, gives  thebest  results.  These 
remarks  apply,  of  course,  equally  to  enlargements  and  con- 
tact prints,  and,  m the  proper  place,  I shall  say  a few 
words  as  to  the  methods  of  correcting  in  exposure  and 
development  the  excess  or  lack  of  vigour  in  the  negatives 
from  which  we  may  be  working.  Now,  as  to  exposure. 
Here  we  have  four  points  to  be  considered — the  variation 
of  light  ; the  density,  or,  speaking  more  correctly,  the 
printing  value  of  the  negative  ; the  focal  value  of  the  stop  ; 
and  the  size  of  the  enlargement.  The  two  first  points  are 
matters  of  pure  experience,  the  third  and  fourth  are  sub- 
ject to  well- asceitained  laws.  As  regards  the  size  of  pic- 
ture, if  the  distauce  between  negative  and  sensitive  paper 
is  two  feet,  and  two  seconds  is  found  to  be  a correct  expo- 
sure, then,  when  the  distance  is  four  feet,  the  exposure 
will  be  not  double,  but  four  times  as  long  ; the  rule  is, 
not  proportionately  as  the  distance,  but  as  the  square  of 
the  distance.  As  regards  the  focal  value  of  the  lens,  this 
is  dependent  on  the  ratio  the  diaphragm  bears  to  the  focal 
length  ; a lens  of  Sin.  focus,  with  a diaphragm  of  Jin. 
diameter,  would  give  a fecal  value //  1G,  because  the  aper- 
ture is  one-sixteenth  the  focal  length,  and  the  relative 
value  of  light  passing  through  the  several  apertures  is  all 
laid  down  in  the  year-books. 

Whilst  it  seems  almost  useless  to  attempt  to  give  any 
standard  of  exposure,  it  may  help  workers  to  say  that  one  of 
the  15  by  12  enlargements  on  slow  paper  was  made  at 
mid-day  with  a lens  stopped  to  // 10,  from  a 5 by  4 negative, 
aud  nine  minutes’  exposure  given.  These  times  may  be 
remembered  as  a guide  for  working.  I have  spoken  first 
of  daylight  work  because  it  entails  the  use  of  fewer  appli- 
ances and  less  expense,  whilst,  at  the  same  time,  most  of  the 
remarkslhave  made  apply  equally  to  work  done  by  artificial 
light.  For  this  latter  kind  of  enlarging  it  is  impos-ibleto 
work  without  some  sort  of  lantern,  or  at  least  a condenser, 
for  securing  an  equal  diffusion  of  the  light  over  the  whole 
negative  to  be  enlarged. 

One  prime  reason  why  the  best  results  cannot  be  always 
obtained  by  this  method  is,  that  most  artificial  lights  are 
of  a comparatively  low  intensity,  and  do  not  possess  suffi- 
cient penetrative  power  to  enable  them  to  give  the  full 
gradation  of  tone  in  a vigorous  negative.  Therefore,  a 
negative  with  strong  contrasts  should  be  specially  avoided 
when  working  by  artificial  light,  except  unusual  care  is 
taken  to  modify  results.  In  using  lanterns  for  enlarging, 
it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  light  must  be  as 
intense  as  possible,  and  the  dime  not  large — in  fact,  a 
perfect  light  for  this  purpose  would  emanate  from  a single 
point.  Then  as  to  coa leasers,  these  should  be  at  least 
half  an  inch  larger  ia  diameter  than  the  longest  side  of  the 
plate  to  be  enlarge  I ; that  is,  a quarter-plate  negative 
would  need  a six,  or  at  least  a five-inch  condenser,  aud  as 
these  are  expensive  articles  in  the  larger  sizes,  a suggestion 
made  by  a well-known  worker  is  worth  bearing  in  mind. 
He  has  only  a four-inch  condenser  to  work  wiih,  and 
therefore  reduces  his  half  and  whole  plates  in  the  camera 
to  lantern  size,  prints  by  contact  a negative,  from  which 


12 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  17,  1890. 


lie  enlarges.  This  is  a roundabout  way  of  working,  but 
the  plan  is  one  to  be  remembered  in  case  of  need. 

The  remarks  as  to  exposure  which  I made  in  reference 
to  daylight  apply  here  also,  and  I will,  with  the  same  re- 
serve, say  that  a negative  to  be  enlarged  three  times  will 
need  an  exposure  of  two  to  five  seconds,  using  Ilford  rapid 
bromide,  which  is  twenty  times  as  fast  as  the  slow  kind. 
In  any  ca3e,  it  is  unwise  to  rely  on  these  time  standards 
without  experience,  and  the  plan  usually  adopted  is  to 
make  tests  by  means  of  slips  of  the  sensitive  paper.  Such 
a plan  will  save  much  paper  and  much  disappointment. 
I will  add  only  that  the  process  is  a comparatively  simple 
one,  and  any  worker  who  can  be  fairly  certain  of  produc- 
ing a decent  negative  will  not  find  any  difficulty  in  doing 
good  work  after  a very  slight  practical  experience  ; and 
the  advantages  of  being  able  to  reproduce  larger  pictures 
from  good  though  small  negatives  are  obvious  to  all,  and 
need  no  comment  from  me. 

On  the  subject  of  bromide  printing,  for  directions 
in  which  inquiries  are  frequently  made,  the  editor 
of  the  Photographic  Record — the  organ  of  the  Ama- 
teur Photographic  Society — writes  the  first  portion 
of  an  instructive  article,  from  which  we  make  the 
following  extract : — 

For  the  amateur,  bromide  printing  possesses  many  ad- 
vantages over  silver,  and  although  we  admit  there  are 
disadvantages  also,  such  as  the  difficulty  of  combination 
printing,  yet  the  comparison  is  greatly  in  favour  of  the 
bromide.  One  of  the  mo3t  important  of  these  advantages 
is  that  it  can  bo  worked  in  the  evening  by  gaslight,  and, 
iu  cousequence,  is  quite  independent  of  the  weather. 
Winter,  with  its  gloomy  days,  mikes  no  difference,  except 
that  the  long  evenings  are  a decided  gaiu,  and  can  be  made 
to  yield  an  additional  pleasure.  There  is  no  necessity 
even  to  use  the  dark  room,  which  is  often  a makeshift 
arrangement,  and  is  cold  and  cheerless  in  the  winter 
months,  for,  with  the  exception  of  the  final  washing,  all 
the  operations  may  be  undertaken  by  the  fireside  in  a 
sitting-room,  or  any  other  convenient  apartment.  Let  us 
suppose  that  an  ordinary  sitting-room  is  used,  which  is 
illuminated  by  ga3  in  the  usual  way.  All  that  is  required 
is  to  allow  the  fire  to  buru  down  to  a red  glow,  to  spread  a 
newspaper  or  sheet  of  brown  paper  over  the  table,  and 
place  upon  it  the  few  bottles  of  chemicals,  three  dishes, 
aud  a measure  from  the  dark  room.  A re  1 lamp  will  be 
required  on  the  table.  Oue  of  the  be3t  is  obtained  by  pur- 
chasing a small  paraffin  oil  lamp,  usually  costing  sixpence, 
and  painting  the  glass  chimney  with  two  coats  of  light  red 
oil  paiut.  The  light  of  this  cau  be  turned  up  or  down  at 
will.  Two  jugs,  one  containing  clean  water,  will  also  be 
wanted  ; the  empty  jug  is  to  receive  the  spent  developing 
solutions.  It  will  be  an  improvement  if  the  gaslight 
cau  be  placed  low  down  on  the  table,  by  meaus  of  an  india- 
rubber  tube  attached  between  the  chandelier  or  bracket 
and  a stmiard,  such  as  is  often  used  for  reading  purposes, 
but  this  is  not  a necessity.  When  all  is  ready,  pour  out 
some  of  the  clean  water  into  one  of  the  dishes,  mix  the 
developing  solutions  iu  the  measure,  light  the  dark  room 
lamp,  and  then  turn  down  the  gas  very  low.  Place  a 
watch  near  the  lamp  to  check  the  exposures  by.  A sheet 
of  the  bromide  paper  should  now  be  placed  in  contact 
with  a negative  in  the  printing-frame.  The  face  of  the 
paper  is  known  by  its  tendency  to  curl  upwards  slightly, 
the  emulsion  with  which  it  is  coated  causing  a contraction 
of  the  surface.  After  seeing  that  the  stock  of  bromide 
paper  is  carefully  covered,  the  gas  may  now  be  turned  up 


and  the  exposure  made.  For  an  ordinary  negative,  with 
Eastman  or  Ilford  slow  paper,  an  exposure  of  1 to  1 1 
minutes  at  one  foot  from  the  gas  is  about  correct;  but  if 
the  negative  is  very  dense  it  should  be  held  closer,  say  six  or 
eight  inches  away.  The  colour  and  quality  of  the  negative 
must  be  judged  prior  to  the  exposure,  or  a test  made  by  a 
slip  of  the  paper.  A stained  negative  being  somewhat 
non-actiuic,  the  light  has  difficulty  in  penetrating  it,  and  a 
prolonged  exposure  is  necessary.  If  the  negative  is  thin 
aud  weak  all  over,  as  an  ovei’-exposed  plate  usually  is,  it 
will  require  to  be  placed  further  from  the  gas.  Three 
minutes’  exposure,  at  three  feet  from  the  light,  will  often 
give  good  results  from  this  class  of  negative,  but  at  times 
it  is  even  necessary  to  considerably  exceed  this  distance 
and  time.  A negative  which  has  been  under-exposed,  aud 
has  portions  very  dense  and  other  parts  very  thin,  will 
require  special  treatment.  The  weak  portion  must  be 
shaded  while  the  dense  parts  are  being  held  near  the  gas  ; 
afterwards  it  should  be  removed  further  from  the  gas,  the 
shading  material  taken  away,  and  the  exposure  continued 
for  the  thin  portion.  A piece  of  paper  or  cardboard,  with 
a torn,  irregular  edge,  and  kept  moving  during  the  ex- 
posure, is  suitable  for  shading  purposes.  Vignetting  is 
nicely  accomplished  by  cutting  the  required  shape,  slightly 
reduced,  in  a piece  of  cardboard,  and,  after  fixing  the  nega- 
tive at  the  proper  distance,  moving  the  vignetter  backwards 
and  forwards  between  the  negative  and  the  light.  This 
will  produce  a soft  edge.  Daylight  is  very  uncertain,  the 
light  being  too  intense  ; but  with  gas  almost  any  variation 
in  colour  or  density  of  negative  may  be  successfully  dealt 
with,  by  reducing  or  increasing  the  flime,  the  distances,  or 
the  length  of  exposure.  Even  the  faint  details  in  a thin 
negative,  which  cannot  be  retained  iu  a silver  print,  can 
be  shown  very  presentably  by  the  treatment  suggested. 

After  the  exposure,  the  gas  should  be  turned  down  till 
nothing  but  a small  blue  flame  is  seen  on  the  burner  ; the 
printing  frame  is  opened,  and  the  paper  immersed  face 
downwards  in  the  bath  of  clean  water  for  about  a minute. 
So  that  the  water  shall  act  evenly  and  air-bubbles  be 
avoided,  the  paper  should  be  drawn  into  the  water  by 
the  edge,  only  the  extreme  edges  of  the  paper  being 
held  by  the  finger  ends.  It  should  then  be  taken 
out  and  placed  face  up  in  an  empty  bath.  The 
developing  soiution  is  now  poured  upon  the  paper,  and  the 
bath  rocked  freely  to  produce  equal  action  of  the  deve- 
loper. The  time  should  be  observed,  so  that  an  idea  may 
be  gained  of  the  correctness  of  the  exposure.  Some  deve- 
lopers are  very  slow.  This  is  because  the  accelerator  is 
weak  and  restrained,  and,  in  consequence,  it  cannot  be 
considered  an  ordinary  developer,  though  it  makes  a pleas- 
ing tone.  Something  quicker  is  wanted  for  general  prac- 
tice if  the  work  is  not  to  become  monotonous,  and  from  a 
half  to  oue  minute  should  be  sufficient  to  start  the  image. 
About  three  minutes  should  complete  the  development. 
The  following  is  a good  iron  developer  giving  a purple- 
black  colour  free  from  strong  contrasts,  and  is  well  under 
control : — 

No.  1. — A saturated  solution  of  potassium  oxalate 
Ammonium  bromide,  3 drops  to  each  5 ozs. 
of  the  above. 

No.  2. — A saturated  solution  of  ferrous  sulphate 

Citric  acid,  20  grains  to  each  3 ozs.  of  the  above. 

To  make  2|  ounces  of  the  above,  take — 

No.  1 1 ounce 

No.  2 £ „ 

Water  ounces 


January  17,  1890.]  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  X 43 

\^~ Ckf.V? ~r 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  SURVEY  QE  WARWICK- 
SHIRE.^ 


Nos  1 and  2 should  always  have  a few  undissolved  crystals 
at  the  bottom  of  the  bottles.  Whenever  any  portion  of 
No.  2 is  used,  the  bottle  should  be  filed  up  with  water  so 
as  to  exclude  the  air,  and  from  time  to  time  a few  grains 
of  citric  acid  added  to  prevent  the  iron  from  oxidizing. 

If  the  picture  shows  signs  of  developing  unequally,  the 
dish  should  be  tilted  so  that  the  solution  may  run  off  the 
fully-printed  portion,  and  remain  on  the  part  which 
requires  the  extra  development.  Another  plan  is  to  pour 
all  the  solution  from  the  dish  before  any  part  of  the  image 
is  fully  developed,  and  then  work  out  the  completion  with 
a camel  hair  mop  dipped  in  the  solution.  The  dish  should 
be  elevated  at  one  end  while  this  is  being  done.  When 
any  part  is  finished,  squeeze  the  moisture  from  the  brush 
with  the  fingers,  and  pass  it  over  the  completed  portion  so 
as  to  absorb  the  solution  on  it  and  stay  further  action.  The 
remaining  parts  should  have  additional  solution  supplied 
by  the  brush  until  a satisfactory  result  is  obtained.  Do  not 
attempt  to  stop  the  development  with  water,  ora  degraded 
colour  will  be  produced  wherever  it  is  applied. 

When  the  development  is  complete,  the  print  should  be 
transferred  to  another  dish  to  be  acidified.  The  removal 
of  a print  from  one  vessel  to  another  is  greatly  assisted  by 
using  the  handle  of  a teaspoon  to  lift  the  edge  of  the  paper. 
Especially  if  hydroquinone  is  used  will  this  little  help  be 
appreciated,  because  this  developer  imparts  a slippery  feel 
to  the  print,  and  softens  the  texture  of  the  paper.  Care 
should  always  be  used  in  haudling,  so  as  to  avoid  any 
abrasion  of  the  surface. 

L' Amateur  Photoy  raphe  is  in  the  habit  of  saying  that  an  illus- 
tration accompanies  the  number  in  which  the  said  remain  is 
made  ; the  publishers,  with  equal  regularity,  invariably  omit 
the  illustration  from  the  copy  posted  to  us,  and  perhaps  to 
others.  This  is  as  economical  as  the  medal  system  at  the  Paris 
Exhibition. 

The  Action  of  Electricity  on  Iodine. — lu  the  course  of  a 
memoir  on  “ The  Long-continued  Action  of  the  Electric  Dis- 
charge on  Iodine,”  Dr.  C.  Luedeking,  of  Leipzig,  says  : — “ In  my 
experiment  the  disappearance  of  the  element  iodine  was  not 
due  to  any  other  cause  than  its  uniting  with  the  constituents  of 
of  the  glass.  Under  the  influence  of  the  electric  discharge, 
iodine  certainly  acquires  superior  chemical  affinities,  attacking 
the  substance  of  the  glass,  and  forming  iodides,  and,  from  the 
disappearance  of  one-fifth  of  the  volume  of  gas,  I should  say  also 
some  iodates.  To  meet  this  eventuality,  I reduced  by  sulphur- 
etted hydrogen  previous  to  precipitation.” 

Self-Luminous  Clouds. — I am  very  sorry  that  I took  no 
notes,  some  six  or  seven  years  ago,  on  the  first  and  only  occasion 
of  my  seeing  self-luminous  clouds,  but  though  1 can  give 
neither  date  nor  positions,  the  following  facts  are  still  fresh  in 
my  memory.  Passing  through  Bushey  Park  after  dark,  I 
noticed  an  aurora  borealis,  and,  as  I had  only  recently  seen  the 
rather  rare  phenomena  of  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun  converg- 
ing towards  a point  in  the  east,  I followed  the  direction  of  one 
of  the  principal  beams  of  light  towards  the  south,  when,  at  a 
point  somewhat  south  of  my  zenith,  I noticed  an  equatorial 
belt  of  luminous  clouds.  I found  that  each  cloud  belonged  to 
a ray,  and  faded  and  brightened  with  it,  but  was  separated  by 
about  (50°  of  clear  sky-.  This  belt  of  clouds  extended  down  to 
the  western  horizon,  the  eastern  one  was  obstructed  by  trees, 
while  shortly  afterwards  small  dark  clouds  appeared  on  that 
side,  and  the  sky  soon  became  overcast.  The  luminous  clouds 
were  quite  transparent,  so  that  even  faint  stars  could  be  seen 
through  them  when  at  their  brightest.  I have  heard  from 
Scandinavian  captains  that  these  luminous  belts  are  sometimes 
seen  in  northern  latitudes,  and  are  sure  signs  of  bad  weather. 
I have  written  these  few  remarks  in  the  hope  that  those  of  your 
readers  who  may  have  the  chance  of  seeing  an  aurora  borealis, 
will  also  look  out  for  these  clouds,  and  if  possible  determine 
their  position. — C.  E.  Stkombyek,  Strawberry  Hill,  Jan.  -lilt , 


BY  \V.  JEROME  HARRISON,  F.G.S. 

Society  Excursions  Utilised. — Everybody  knows  the 
routine  of  an  ordinary  excursion  of  a photographic 
society.  Some  well-known  spot  is  selected,  the  further 
away  the  better,  as  North  Wales,  Dovedalc,  and  Haddon 
Hall.  If  the  day  is  fine,  twenty  or  thirty  members  attend, 
and  they  go  round  the  place  in  a crowd,  occupying  them- 
selves to  a large  extent  in  getting  in,  and  out  of,  one  an- 
other’s way. 

I would  suggest  that  the  excursions  be  made  local,  and 
that  a routine  of  work  be  drawn  up  beforehand,  in  which 
each  detachment  of  three  or  four  members  should  be 
assigned  some  particular  task  to  accomplish.  Thus,  in  a 
half-day  excursion  to  Warwick,  suppose  twenty  camera- 
carriers  present  themselves ; let  this  number  be  divided 
into  five  sets  of  four  members  each,  the  tasks  being  as 
follows: — (1)  The  Castle  and  Grounds;  (2)  St.  Mary’s 
Church,  including  the  Beauchamp  Chapel ; (3)  the 
Leycestcr  Hospital ; (4)  the  Town  of  Warwick  generally, 
its  two  gates  and  old  buildings;  (5)  Guy’s  Cliff.  Given 
a fine  June  afternoon,  and  the  work  of  the  survey  for  that 
town  might  be  accomplished  very  rapidly  on  this  plan. 
But  it  supposes  that  a full  programme,  showing  the  work 
of  each  section  of  the  party,  be  drawn  up  beforehand  and 
distributed. 

Utilisation  of  Work  already  done. — There  are  probably 
in  existence  already  some  hundreds,  or  even  thousands, 
of  photographic  negatives  which  would  be  of  service  in 
the  history  of  Warwickshire.  It  must  be  part  of  our  task 
to  draw  up  a list  of  such  negatives,  showing  their  sub- 
jects and  their  owners.  Some  of  them  may,  perhaps,  be 
acquired  by  gift,  loan,  or  purchase.  A separate  reeord 
book  should  be  kept  for  those  negatives  which  are  already 
in  existence  ; and  a circular  asking  for  information  on  this 
subject  might  be  addressed  to  the  professional  photo- 
graphers of  the  county. 

Documents,  frc.,  Copied  by  Photography, — We  must  photo- 
graph not  only  places,  but  things — old  documents,  seals, 
plans,  maps,  various  objects  of  antiquity,  rare  fossils,  &c. 
All  these  will  provide  food  for  the  camera,  and  will  add 
interesting  pictures  to  our  stock.  One  advantage  of  photo- 
graphy in  this  direction  is  that  it  enables  us  to  bring  together, 
for  purposes  of  comparison,  a scries  of  objects  which  may 
be  scattered  in  many  collections.  The  facsimiles  of 
documents  obtained  by  photographic  processes,  are 
far  more  valuable  than  copies  by  hand  can  be,  since  they 
must  be  literal  and  unbiassed ; errors  in  copying  are 
avoided,  and  the  evidence  of  the  photograph  is  practically 
as  good — sometimes,  indeed,  it  is  better,  because  clearer — 
than  that  of  the  original. 

Size  of  Photographs  to  be  taken. — I fear  it  will  be  impossible 
to  bind  ourselves  down  to  any  definite  size  of  negative. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  best  to  make  the  whole-plate  size  (Min. 
by  GAin.)  our  standard.  By  the  recent  substitution  of 
celluloid  films  for  glass  plates,  the  weight  of  the  photo- 
grapher’s equipment  has  been  greatly  diminished  ; so  that 
a whole-plate  camera  with  films  weighs  no  more  than  a 
half -plate  camera  with  glass  plates. 

By  the  use  of  cases  or  boxes  to  hold  separately  mounted 
prints,  the  difficulty  of  variety  of  sizes  is  largely  avoided. 
If  albums  are  made  up,  they  eoidd  be  of  such  a .^ze  ifs  to 
hold  one  whole-plate  print,  or  two  half -plates,  on  each  page. 

• Concluded  from  page  31. 


44 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  17,  1890. 


For  hand-camera  work  the  usual  size  is  the  quarter- 
plate  (4{in.  by  3jin.);  and  for  pictures  of  this  size  sepa- 
rate albums  might  be  provided,  or  they  might  be  mounted 
four  on  a page  of  the  larger  albums.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  it  is  easy  to  enlarge  or  reduce 
negatives,  so  that  they  could  all  be  brought  to  one  uni- 
form size  if  that  were  thought  desirable.  Or  it  is  even 
easier  to  enlarge  or  reduce  the  prints  as  they  are  made 
from  the  negatives,  if  we  use  bromide  paper  for 
printing  upon. 

How  other  Societies  (Literary,  Artistic,  and  Scientific)  can 
Aid  in  the  Work  of  the  County  Photographic  Survey. — I trust 
that  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  three  photographic 
societies  already  in  existence  in  Warwickshire,  viz.,  the 
Birmingham  Photographic  Society — lion.  Secs.,  Mr.  J.  H. 
Pickard,  361,  Moseley  Road,  Birmingham,  and  Mr.  A.  ,T. 
Leeson,  20,  Cannon  Street,  Birmingham ; Leamington 
Amateur  Photographic  Society — lion.  Sec.,  .Mr.  F.  M. 
Gowan,  20,  Beauchamp  Square,  Leamington;  Coventry 
and  Midland  Photographic  Society — Hon.  Sec.,  Mr.  F.  W. 
Dew,  The  City  Studio,  Coventry,  will  do  all  they  can  for 
the  work  of  a photo,  survey.  But  very  valuable  assistance 
can  be  rendered  by  several  other  societies  within  the 
county,  whose  aim  is  the  furtherance  of  literature,  science, 
and  art.  Among  these  I may  name  the  Yesey  Club, 
Sutton  Coldfield — Hon.  Sec.,  Mr.  C.  II.  Marston ; the 
Archaeological  Section  of  the  Birmingham  and  Midland 
Institute — Secretary  of  the  Section,  Mr.  Alfred  Hayes ; 
the  Birmingham  Natural  History  and  Microscopical  Society 
— Hon.  Secs.,  Mr.  W.  II.  Wilkinson  and  Mr.  W.  P. 
Marshall,  M.LC.E.,  The  Mason  College  ; the  Birmingham 
Philosophical  Society  (1876) — Hon.  Secs.,  Prof.  J.  II. 
Poynting,  F.R.S.,  11,  St.  Augustine’s  Road,  Edgbaston, 
and  Prof.  Windle,  Queen’s  College  ; the  Birmingham  and 
Midland  Institute  Scientific  Society — Hon.  Sec.,  Mr.  W. 
E.  Weaver,  221,  Broad  Street  (this  Society  has  a Photo- 
graphic Section)  ; Birmingham  Microscopists’  and  Natura- 
lists’ Union  (1880) — Hon.  Secs.,  Messrs.  Collins  and 
White,  Broad  Street  Corner ; Birmingham  Architectural 
Association  (1873) — Hon.  Sec.,  Mr.  H.  R.  Lloyd, 

A. R.I.B.A.,  26,  Corporation  Street;  Birmingham  School 
Natural  History  Society,  King  Edward’s  Grammar  School ; 
Birmingham  Botanical  and  Horticultural  Society,  Botani- 
cal Gardens,  Edgbaston — Curator,  Mr.  W.  B.  Latham ; 
Warwickshire  Field  Club  (1858) — President,  the  Rev.  P. 

B.  Brodie,  M.A,  F.G.S.,  Rowington  Vicarage — Head- 
quarters, The  Museum,  Warwick ; Tamworth  Natural 
History,  Geological,  and  Antiquarian  Society — Hon.  Sec., 

; Royal  (Birmingham)  Society  of  Artists,  New  Street 

— Secretary,  Mr.  Jonathan  Pratt;  Kyrle  Society — Hon. 
Sec.,  Miss  Gittins,  87,  Ilagley  Road ; Association  for  the 
Preservation  of  Ope*  Spaces  and  Public  Footpaths — Hon. 
Sec.,  Mr.  Grosvenor  Lee,  18,  Newhall  Street ; Art  Circle 
— Hon.  Sec.,  Mr.  E.  Chamberlain,  Burlington  Chambers, 
New  Street;  the  Midland  Arts  Club — lion.  Sec.,  Mr.  W. 
II.  Vernon  (meetings  at  Grand  Hotel,  Colmore  Row) ; 
Municipal  School  of  Art,  Edmund  Street — Head  Master, 
Mr.  E.  R.  Taylor — Secretary,  Mr.  E.  Preston  Hytch. 

IIow  Antiquarians,  Scientists,  and  others,  can  Aid  in  the  Work 
of  a County  Photographic  Survey. — Now,  although  we  photo- 
graphers may  know  how  to  photograph,  we  do  not  always 
know  what  to  photograph.  We  want  the  historian  and 
the  antiquary,  the  literary  man,  the  artist,  and  the  scientist, 
to  aid  us  in  this.  We  want  these  students  of  the  past  and 
the  present  to  draw  up  lists  of  places  and  objects  in  each 
square  of  our  map  which  they  consider  ought  to  be  re- 


corded ; and  we  want  them  to  tell  us  all  about  them,  so 
that  the  pictures  we  secure  may  be  of  interest  to  usaswell 
as  to  them. 


Assistance  from  Landowners,  Residents,  and  others. — The 
nature  of  our  work  ought  to  secure  assistance  from  occupi- 
ers in  all  parts  of  the  county.  Armed  with  an  introduction, 
stating  the  object  and  plan  of  this  survey,  the  photographer 
may  hope  to  be  afforded  facilities  for  his  work  which  he 
would  otherwise  scarcely  venture  to  ask  for.  Those  who 
occupy  historically  interesting  or  beautifully  situated 
places,  will  certainly  be  willing  to  aid  in  such  a task,  which 
may  really  be  called  national ; while  to  the  guardians  of 
our  churches — the  clergy — our  scheme  should  appeal  with 
special  interest. 


Required  Funds  to  he  Obtained  by  Subscriptions  and  Grants. 
— In  the  work  here  proposed,  it  is  thought  that  all  the 
workers  will  be  willing  to  help,  not  only  by  paying  their 
own  travelling  expenses,  purchase  of  dry  plates  on  which 
to  make  negatives,  use  of  apparatus,  and  so  on,  but  also  by 
subscribing  to  raise  the  funds  which  will  be  necessary 
for  the  purchase  of  maps,  albums,  cases,  and  the 
defraying  of  the  cost  of  printing  in  platinotype,  and 
making  lantern  slides. 

It  does  not  seem  unreasonable,  however,  to  ask  for 
subscriptions  from  all  who  are  interested  in  such  a survey. 
Our  own  Society  will,  it  may  be  hoped,  make  a grant  in 
aid  ; and,  doubtless,  if  a portion  of  the  work  is  done  as  a 
sample,  and  well  done,  assistance  will  not  be  wanting. 

The  End  of  a Photographic  Survey. — In  the  way  of  work 
to  be  done,  there  could  be  no  end.  Every  day  sees  some 
change,  something  of  the  old  order  is  blotted  out,  some- 
thing new  is  introduced.  A railway  is  made  across  our 
pet  landscape,  and  we  must  photograph  the  trail  of  black 
smoke  from  the  engine,  if  it  be  only  to  send  the  picture  to 
Air.  Ruskin.  How  rapidly  the  features  of  our  towns  are 
changing  must  be  obvious  to  the  most  careless  observer, 
and  anyone  who  has  been  absent  from  the  new  city  for 
but  a few  years  has  good  cause  to  sing  the  old  song,  “ I 
can’t  find  Birmingham  ! ” 

But  the  term  “ end”  may  also  be  considered  in  the  sense 
of  “ object.”  What  shall  be  done  with  our  photographs 
when  we  get  them  7 Well,  this  Society  should  retain  at 
least  two  complete  sets — a working  set,  and  one  for  refer- 
ence. Complete  sets  ought  also  to  be  prepared  for  our 
Municipal  Reference  Library,  for  the  British  Museum,  and 
for  any  other  public  institutions  who  desire  a set  and  are 
willing  to  pay  for  it. 

Our  schools  would  value  highly  a selection  of  large 
photographs,  and  enlargements  might  be  made  for  this  and 
other  special  objects — as  for  exhibition  on  the  walls  of  our 
free  libraries,  for  teaching  and  for  lecturing  and  other 
purposes. 

Further,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  pursuance  of  a task 
such  as  1 have  attempted  to  sketch  out  would  unite  the 
members  of  this  society  as  only  men  arc  united  who  have 
a definite  object  in  view,  and  who  work  fora  common  end. 
It  would  attract,  it  may  be  hoped,  new  workers  to  join 
our  ranks,  and  would  add  to  the  status  of  the  Society  in 
the  eyes  of  the  public.  Much  energy  which  is  now  frit- 
tered away  would  be  diverted  into  a useful  channel,  and, 
although  it  may  be  said  that  the  main  benefits  of  our  work 
will  be  reaped  by  a posterity  “ which  has  never  done  any- 
thing for  us,”  yet  I feel  confident  that  we  shall  derive  as 
much  pleasure  from  doing  the  work,  as  our  descendants 
will  from  its  study  and  examination. 


45 


January  17,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


PHOTOGRAPHING  THE  BABY. 

BY  JOHN  W1EDEKSEN. 


scepticism. 


You  want  something  practical  for  your  magazine.  That’s 
just  what  all  you  editors  write  ; you  can  supply  the  theo- 
retical, and  the  amateurs,  1 suppose,  the  artistic.  They 
have  elevated  photography,  don’t  you  know,  to  a very 
high  standard  of  art,  for  which  we  professionals  ought  to 
be  so  thankful.  Wish  they  had  elevated  the  prices  while 
they  were  about  it.  “ More  price,  less  art,”  is  my  busi- 
ness motto  ; I do  good  work,  but  don't  call  myself  “artist;” 
no,  I assure  you.  Well,  you  want  something  practical, 
you  say,  and  nothing  about  art.  I see  you  don't  take 
down  all  the  aesthetic  fellows  say  about  posing  and  com- 
position, or  perhaps  your  subscribers  arc  crying  out, 
“ Hold,  enough !”  Well,  I shall  not  give  you  anything 
artistic  ; I buy  my  back-grounds  from  the  dealers,  and 
don't  build  up  any  of  the  poetic  groupings — genre  pic- 
tures, as  you  call  them.  I am  always  consistent — that  is, 
make  my  figures  and  my  grounds  congruous;  that's  a 
degree  in  art,  I suppose.  As  I shall  not  or  cannot  give 
you  anything  artistic,  will  you  have  something  artless  ? 

I have  considerable  reputation  as  a photographer  of 
babies  from  knee-high  to  a bumble-bee  up ; though  it  is 
giving  away  my  trade  I shall  not  be  stingy,  as  I have  learned 
many  a good  practical  hint  from  your  magazine  which 
some  other  generous  fellow  has  given  to  the  public  free, 
gratis,  for  nothing. 

My  method  with  the  little  ones  (recollect  1 am  not  a 
father,  and  therefore  have  no  fatherly  feeling  towards 
them)  is  as  follows  : — 

The  secret  of  success  is  in  gaining  their  attention — to  get 
their  little  minds  .away  from  self-consciousness.  1 remem- 
ber that  one  of  the  writers  in  your  journal  gives  this  as 
the  key  for  successful  portraiture.  Ilis  language  is  flowery, 
and  I suppose  he  is  an  amateur,  but  for  all  that  there  is  a 
good  deal  of  common  sense  running  all  through  his  paper, 
but  I did  not  get  my  idea  from  him  ; 1 have  photographed 
babies,  some  of  whom  are  now  grandmothers.  To  divorce 
the  mind  from  self-consciousness  is  the  way  to  succeed 
with  babies  of  all  ages.  Your  writer  tells  how  to  secure 
this  desideratum  in  the  grown  folks;  I shall  tell  you  how 
to  secure  it  with  babies. 

Suppose  we  have  one  of  those  crying,  wriggling  young- 
sters, about  two  or  three  years  old.  You  know  how  the 
minute  they  get  in  the  chair  the  commotion  begins  ; from 
sunshine  to  storm  instantaneously.  Have  about  you  a 
number  of  noisical  toys — not  necessarily  musical. 

Begin  at  once  to  blow  one  of  your  penny  trumpets. 
The  result  is  a stare,  an  inquisition  from  the  little  soul 
whence  came  that  sound,  a desire  to  investigate ; for  all 
children  not  idiots  are  “newsy.”  I)o  not  blow  again  on 
the  trumpet,  but  ring  immediately  a bell.  A new  arrange- 
ment of  the  features  takes  place.  Follow  them  up  with  a 
chuckle,  then  a run  down  of  the  scale  on  a mouth  organ. 
It  is  the  quick  succession  of  events  which  engages  the 
mind  of  the  child,  and  by  the  time  you  expend  your  ener- 
gies on  four  or  five  differently  sounding  instruments,  you 
will  be  rewarded  with  a smile ; then  press  the  bulb  and 
secure  the  impression.  With  larger  children  who  are  in- 
tractable I always  have  a lively  conversation,  sometimes  a 
gentle  dispute  with  them ; telling  them  I don’t  believe 
they  know  what  they  are  talking  about.  Doubt  the  story 
of  Jack  the  Giant-Killer.  Now  anyone  bold  enough  to 
say  that  the  story  of  the  redoubtable  Jack  is  a fabrication 
will  receive  the  gentle  anathemas  of  the  little  ones  for  his 


The  result  is  a most  animated  expression. 
Sometimes  the  telling  of  a fairy  tale  in  a way  that  conjures 
up  expectation  is  just  the  best  way. 

It  requires  tact  to  get  along  with  children.  I sometimes 
try  similar  dodges  on  grown-up  babies  who  are  so  dread- 
fully self-conscious  that  they  mar  everything  in  the  way  of 
good  expression. 

You  don’t  tell  them  fairy  tales,  I hope  ! I think  I hear 
you  say.  Oh,  no  ; not  exactly,  but  then  I have  a way  of 
getting  them  out  of  themselves. 

1 first  of  all  place  on  the  upright,  towards  which  I direct 
them  to  look,  not  a black  mark  that  can  be  shoved  up  and 
down,  but  an  interesting  2>icture,  full  of  incident,  about 
which  they  arc  sure  to  ask  you  something  concerning  the 
topic.  I begin  work,  the  story  progresses,  and  when  I am 
ready  I direct  attention  to  a certain  figure  or  object  in  the 
picture  which  has  direct  reference  to  what  I am  talking 
about.  Of  course  interest  is  excited;  the  picture  is  at 
the  right  height  on  the  pole  for  the  eyes,  and,  moreover, 
the  eyes,  instead  of  being  fixed  staringly  at  one  blank  spot 
till  they  wink  and  water,  can  wanderoveralimited  field  with- 
out actually  moving.  This  kink  gives  the  means  for  securing 
the  best  expression  possible.  Some  people  tell  me,  of 
course,  that  I have  taken  them  unfairly,  and  that  the  ex- 
pression must  be  perfectly  horrible.  The  proof  is  sent, 
and  a good  order  follows  ; not  only  from  themselves,  but 
from  their  uncles,  sisters,  and  aunts. 

The  use  of  the  spot  on  which  to  fix  the  eyes  is  an 
invention  of  the  Inquisition.  It  is  a painful  operation  for 
a strong  eye,  and  excruciating  for  tender  eyes.  In  fact,  I 
have  known  people  to  be  almost  put  in  a hypnotic  state  by 
gazing  too  long  on  a spot. 

Now,  as  I wind  up— or,  as  a photographer  should  say, 
cap  my  balk  and  put  in  the  slide — I would  like  to  know  if 
you  think  this  paper  practical.  If  not,  I shall  add  a string 
of  formulae,  which  neither  I nor  anybody  else  ever  thought 
of  trying,  and  I don’t  believe  the  men  who  send  them  to 
the  magazine  ever  tried. — ■American  Journal  of  Photography. 


The  subject  at  the  Camera  Club  for  Thursday,  Jan.  23rd, 
is  “ English  Church  Architecture  as  a subject  for  Photography,” 
when  a paper  will  be  read  by  the  Rev.  T.  Perkins,  M.A. 

Proposed  Lantern  Club. — As  will  be  seen  from  our  Corre- 
spondence column,  a project  is  on  foot  to  establish  an  association 
of  those  interested  in  the  work  of  photographic  optical  lanterns. 
We  refer  readers  interested  to  the  letter  in  question. 

The  Total  Eclipse  op  December  22nd. — Misfortune  has 
attended  the  double  expedition  sent  by  the  Royal  Astronomical 
Society  to  observe  the  total  eclipse  of  December  22nd.  In 
Africa  observations  were  made  impossible  by  bad  weather. 
Observations  were  secured  off  the  coast  of  French  Guiana,  but 
at  a cost  which  is  deeply  to  be  deplored — the  death  of  Father 
Perry.  The  telegram  received  from  Demcrara  is  as  follows  : — 
“101  corona  American  Perry  dead  dysentery.”  With  regard 
to  the  part  of  this  telegram  which  needs  explanation,  the 
Times  of  January  6th  says : — “ 104  is  resolvable  into  the 
factors  2,  4,  and  13,  of  which  the  first  number  means  that  the 
weather  was  only  moderately  good  ; the  second  that  successful 
exposures  were  made  with  the  Abney  4-inch  lens,  but  that  the 
development  was  not  carried  out,  owing  either  to  unfavourable 
climatic  conditions,  or,  possibly,  to  the  illness  of  Father  Perry; 
and  the  third,  that  successful  photographs  were  obtained  with 
the  20-inch  mirror,  but  again  the  development  was  not  com- 
pleted. The  words  corona  American  signify  most  probably 
that  the  corona  was  of  the  same  form  as  that  seen  on  January 
1st,  1889,  when  a total  eclipse  was  successfully  observed  in 
California,  and  the  form  was  then  that  now  generally  ascribed 
to  a period  of  minimum  sun-spots,  elongated  at  the  sun’s 
equator,  and  radial  but  short  at  the  poles,” — Nature, 


46 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jakoary  17,  1890. 


incites. 

Photographers  who  read  the  Globe  of  Saturday  last 
must  have  rubbed  their  eyes  when  they  saw  a state- 
ment therein  gravely  intimating  that  photography 
must  have  been  known  in  the  thirteenth  century. 
Mr.  John  Smyth,  who  is  now  ship’s  corporal  on  board 
H.M.S.  Impregnable,  was  serving,  to  quote  the  Globe, 
exactly  “J5  years”  ago  in  the  Royal  Adelaide,  and 
posted  a letter  containing  a photograph  to  his  mother. 
That  letter  reached  its  destination  only  a few  days 
back.  It  appears  it  got  into  a crevice  of  the  ship’s  letter 
box,  where  it  has  lain  undiscovered  “since  1274”  (!) 
But  this  is  not  the  only  wonderful  part  of  the  story, 
for  our  contemporary  adds:  “On  being  opened  the 
photograph  was  found  to  be  in  a good  state  of  preserva- 
tion.” Clearly  the  discovery  of  this  photograph,  which 
must  have  been  produced  in  the  reign  of  Edward  I., 
had  a paralyzing  effect  on  both  the  compositor  and  the 
writer.  The  “ £5  years  ” of  the  first  may  thus  be 
accounted  for,  and  so  also  the  astonishiug  information 
of  the  second,  that  the  photograph  was  “opened,”  just 
as  though  it  had  been  a mummy  ! 

To  enquire  too  curiously  into  this  astonishing  para- 
graph might  be  hazardous  for  our  own  brains  and  those 
of  our  readers,  and  to  prevent  any  further  catastrophe 
let  us  at  once  suggest  that  the  figures  may  be  misprints, 
the  “ £5  ” being  probably  intended  for  15,  and  the 
“ 1274  ” for  1874.  But  taking  this  hypothesis  as  cor- 
rect, the  statement  is  yet  sufficiently  curious.  Fifteen 
years’  exposure  of  a photograph  to  the  influence  of  sea 
air  at  times  charged  to  excess  with  moisture,  and 
the  photograph  still  to  be  in  “ a good  state  of  preserva- 
tion,” is  a marvel  indeed.  We  have  always  been  under 
the  impression  that  if  anything  was  calculated  to  try 
the  temper  of  a photograph,  it  was  a sea  voyage.  This 
wonderfully  tough  specimen  ought  really  to  be  tried  by 
a jury  of  experts,  and  if  found  to  justify  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  Globe,  to  be  hung  up  in  some  public  place 
as  a refutation  of  the  popular  impression  that  photo- 
graphs are  not  enduring. 

Photography  has  been  the  subject  of  a good  many 
puns,  but  it  is  now  squeezed  perfectly  dry.  This  is 
evident  when  so  expert  a master  of  word  play  as 
Mr.  Burnand  fails  to  extract  a joke  from  it  having 
the  least  scintillation  of  freshness.  A photographer’s 
studio  and  a photographer  play  an  important  part  in 
the  new  burlesque  “ Tra  la  la  Tosca,”  but,  except  to 
lead  up  to  the  droll  mock  execution  when  half  a dozen 
photographers  take  aim  with  their  cameras  at  the 
prisoner,  it  is  not  easy  to  find  out  the  reason  why 
photography  is  lampooned.  Perhaps  Mr.  Burnand’s 
faculty  for  parodying  names  may  have  had  something 
to  do  with  it.  “ Count  Cameradossi  ” is  a happy  hit. 

Who  is  the  inventor  of  the  latest  instantaneous 
photographic  apparatus,  and  of  what  does  the  latest 
apparatus  consist  ? The  question  is  rather  an  impor- 
tant one,  becauso  new  instantaneous  photographic 


cameras  arc  being  invented  at  the  rate  of  at  least  one 
per  week.  Whoever  the  inventor  in  question  may  be, 
we  are  interested  in  reading  that  last  week  he  had  the 
honour  of  displaying  his  invention  to  the  German 
Emperor  and  Empress  at  the  New  Palace,  Potsdam. 
The  society  journal  which  chronicles  this  information 
says,  “ The  inventor  claims  to  be  able  to  take  photo- 
graphs from  life  in  a manner  bordering  on  the  in- 
credible, and  surpassing  all  expectations.  As  a proof 
of  the  power  of  the  machine,  the  inventor  took  two 
portraitsof  their  majesties,  with  which  they  were  greatly 
pleased.”  Is  it  such  a proof  of  “ power  ” of  an  instan- 
taneous camera  that  it  is  able  to  photograph  Royalty  ? 

A correspondent  raises  a nice  point.  Ho  wishes  to 
make  some  lantern  slides  from  the  pictures  in  Punch, 
but  is  troubled  over  the  copyright  question.  Is  lie  in- 
fringing the  Act  by  copying  them  and  exhibiting  the 
slides  on  the  screen,  he  would  like  to  know  ? In  the 
absence  of  any  precedent,  we  should  fancy  there  is 
nothing  to  prevent  him  copying  the  pictures,  but  ho 
must  not  attempt  to  sell  the  slides.  It  is  also  a moot 
point  whether  the  exhibition  before  an  audience  who 
have  paid  money  to  see  the  lantern  entertainment 
might  not  constitute  publication.  Permission  probably 
would  be  accorded  by  the  proprietors  of  Punch.  We 
know  a case  where  an  application  was  made  by  a pro- 
fessional maker  of  slides  to  the  proprietor  of  another 
comic  journal,  and  consent  was  obtained  on  condition 
that  the  words  “ by  permission  of  the  proprietor,”  and 
the  name  of  the  paper,  were  on  each  slide  so  as  to  ho 
seen  by  the  audience. 

Dr.  Vogel,  in  an  article  in  the  Bulletin  de  l' Asso- 
ciation Beige  de  Photographic  on  the  jubilee  of  photo- 
graphy, points  out  the  influence  which  photography 
has  had  upon  the  art  critic.  lie  contends,  and  with 
perfect  justice,  that  photography  ha3  given  to  the 
public  a more  profound  knowledge  of  nature,  which 
enables  it  not  only  to  appreciate,  but  to  judge  of  the 
works  of  painters  mu.!i  more  accurately  than  was 
possible  years  ago.  Painters,  on  the  other  hand,  have 
been  compelled  to  work  according  to  the  light  which 
photography  has  thrown  upon  the  convcntionalties 
of  art  now  shown  to  be  errors.  As  for  the  power 
of  reproduction,  photography  has  worked  quite  a 
revolution,  and  added  materially  to  the  earnings  of 
the  aitist.  Dr.  Vogel  gives  an  example  of  a painter 
who  sold  his  picture  for  1,500  marks,  the  reproduc- 
tion of  which  brought  in  at  least  ten  times  as  much. 

But  in  Germany  the  reproduction  of  pictures  has 
grown  into  an  industry  of  vast  dimensions.  In 
England. not  only  artists,  but  buyers,  have  occasionally 
a curious  prejudice  against  their  pictures  being  repro- 
duced by  photography.  How  rarely  does  one  see  any 
of  the  hosts  of  pictures  hung  every  year  in  the 
Academy,  the  Institute,  and  the  other  galleries  repro- 
duced by  photography ! Yet  one  would  think  it 
would  be  easy  to  create  a market  for  photographic 
scraps  of  current  art.  If  it  were  the  custom  for 


January  17,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


47 


painters  to  have  their  pictures  photographed,  the 
public  would  eagerly  buy  copies.  But  the  latter 
must  be  sold  cheaply  to  make  the  demand.  It  has 
been  urged  that  if  photographs  of  a picture  were  sold 
at  a low  rate  the  sale  of  engravings  would  be  injured, 
but  we  fail  to  sec  any  force  in  the  argument,  as  the 
classes  of  buyers  are  totally  different. 

We  are  not  quite  sure  whether  it  needs  an  Arch- 
bishop Whately  to  prove  that  half  a dozen  photographs 
identical  in  every  respect  are  exactly  the  same,  but  we 
fancy  it  would  puzzle  even  a logician  of  Whately’ s 
keenness  to  convince  ordinary  persons  that  any  number  of 
similar  photographs  are  collectively  one,  and  vice  versa. 
This  sounds  like  one  of  Mr.  W.  S.  Gilbert’s  topsy- 
turvyisms,  and  we  had  better  hasten  to  explain  what 
we  mean,  which,  fortunately,  we  are  able  to  do  from 
a case  which  recently  came  before  the  Surrey  magis- 
trates. A lady  residing  at  Richmond  had  occasion  to 
dismiss  her  servant  summarily.  After  the  goods  and 
chattels  had  been  packed  up  and  sent  away,  it  was 
discovered  that  a photograph  belonging  to  the  maid 
was  missing.  The  bereft  owner  thereupon  took  the 
summary  course  of  walking  into  her  former  mistress’s 
house,  and  coolly  removing  a photograph  similar  to  the 
one  she  had  lost  from  a frame  in  the  drawing-room,  and 
carrying  it  away.  For  this  she  was  charged  with 
larceny,  and  the  case  was  taken  to  the  Quarter  Ses- 
sions. There  was  no  question  as  to  the  facts,  nor  was 
it  disputed  that  the  girl  knew  the  photograph  she  took 
was  not  hers,  yet  the  grand  jury,  directly  they  heard 
that  the  photographs  were  similar,  threw  out  the  bill 

There  is  something  very  droll  in  this,  and  either  both 
the  girl  and  the  grand  jury  considered  there  was  no 
difference  between  one  and  a dozen  or  more  photographs 
from  the  same  negative,  or  that  anybody  has  a right  to 
look  upon  a photograph  as  umbrellas  arc  regarded — 
common  property.  Certainly,  in  the  first  case,  a wide 
field  for  speculation  is  opened  up  as  to  any  one  photo- 
graph possessing  any  identity  over  another  photograph 
from  the  same  negative,  and  a very  pretty  casuistical 
discussion  might  be  raised  on  the  point  by  any  photo- 
graphic society  hard  up  for  a subject. 

Mr.  Muybridge  gives  the  palm  to  Meissonnier  for 
correct  drawing  of  the  horse.  This  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  for  a more  conscientious  worker  docs  not 
exist  than  the  great  French  artist.  He  pays  large 
sums  every  year  to  his  models,  but  he  is  most  exacting. 
It  is  said  that  desiring  to  paint  a horse  in  a rearing 
position,  he  had  one  forced  to  assume  the  attitude  every 
morning  until  he  was  satisfied  ho  had  got  the  drawing 
correctly.  The  picture  was  a triumph,  but  the  un- 
fortunate horse  was  ruined  through  its  enforced 
exertions.  Rosa  Bonheur,  Mr.  Muybridge  considers  to 
be  the  worst  painter  of  animals,  and  ridicules  the 
drawing  in  the  “ Horse  Fair.”  It  would  be  interesting 
to  have  his  opinion  of  Mrs.  Butler’s  “Roll  Call,” 
which  at  the  time  of  its  exhibition  excited  so  much 
discussion  in  regard  to  the  position  of  the  horse’s  legs. 


THE  PACKAGE  OF  PHOTOGRAPHS  FOR  POST. 

BY  C.  ISRANGWIN  BARNF.S. 

When  a client  lives  at  a distance  beyond  which  it  is  possible 
to  forward  his  or  her  portraits  by  messenger,  it  is  usual  to 
make  use  of  cither  the  book  or  parcels  post  as  a means  of 
transmission.  Photographs  so  sent  are,  as  a rule,  received 
with  dispatch  and  in  good  condition,  although,  unfortu- 
nately, there  are  exceptions  to  this  rule,  and,  strange  to 
say,  these  exceptions  always  take  place  with  regard  to  the 
most  important  parcels.  Having  recently  had  occasion  to 
complain  to  the  postal  authorities  of  damage  to  several  pack- 
agesof  photographsduring  transit,  I wasinformed  that  every 
possible  care  was  taken  of  such  parcels,  but  unless  they 
were  marked  “fragile,”  no  exceptional  measures  could  be 
taken.  Two  or  three  of  the  packages-  in  question  con- 
sisted of,  in  some  cases,  six,  and  in  others  twelve  cartes- 
de-visite,  enclosed  in  cardboard  postal  wrapper,  and 
marked  on  the  outside  “photographs  only,”  yet  these 
packages  were  not  damaged  in  a slight  degree,  but  broken 
right  across  the  centre,  every  carte  being  completely 
spoiled.  In  other  instances  the  prints  have  been  so  rubbed 
as  to  be  worthless,  and  I am  sorry  to  add  that  in  a few 
cases,  where  twelve  portraits  have  been  forwarded,  only 
eleven  have  been  delivered.  All  parcels  sent  by  book  post 
are  liable  to  be  opened  by  the  authorities  in  order  to  see 
that  they  contain  no  written  matter  of  the  nature  of  a 
letter,  and  although  the  package  may  have  been  securely 
and  properly  arranged  before  such  opening,  it  is  very 
rarely  fastened  up  again  in  the  same  style  ; it  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that  the  examiner  understands  the  necessity  of 
preventing  photographs  from  rubbing  against  each  other, 
and  even  if  he  does,  lie  very  rarely  seems  to  take  any 
steps  with  that  end  in  view.  It  is  usual  for  photographers 
to  pack  their  clients’  portraits  face  to  face,  which  helps  to 
prevent  rubbing  of  the  albumen  surface  ; but  after  the 
examiner  has  done  his  work,  he  usually  re-arranges  all  this. 
The  only  way  out  of  the  difficulty  that  presents  itself  to 
my  mind  is  to  send  all  carte  and  cabinet  pictures  by  letter 
post,  and  all  larger  sizes  by  parcels.  It  may  be  urged 
that  the  difference  in  the  rates  of  postage,  between  book 
and  letter,  would  materially  affect  the  petty  cash  account 
in  the  course  of  a year  ; but  I should  say  any  difference 
would  be  more  than  rectified  by  the  additional  satisfaction 
given  to  our  clients,  and  by  the  fact  that  we  should  have 
less  damaged  prints  to  produce  over  again.  If  the  margin 
of  profit  is  too  small  to  allow  of  the  additional  expendi- 
ture, then  why  not  charge  the  postage  to  the  sitter,  as 
many  firms  do  already?  The  portraits  should  then  be 
packed  in  a perfectly  fitting  envelope,  so  as  to  allow  no 
room  for  their  rubbing  together,  face  to  face,  with  a slip 
of  tissue  paper  between  each  pair,  and  a plain  card  at  eacli 
side  of  the  whole,  as  otherwise  the  outside  pictures  will 
bear  a vivid  impress  of  the  sorter’s  zeal  in  the  shape  of  a 
deeply  indented  postmark.  A dozen  cartes  packed  in  this 
manner  would  cost  three-halfpence  or  twopence  for 
postage,  as  against  one  penny  by  book  post. 

The  larger  sizes  should  be  first  packed  face  to  face  and 
wrapped  in  thin  paper,  technically  known  as  small  hand, 
then  placed  between  two  pieces  of  thin  wood  (back  board- 
ing), one  of  which  should  be  cut  the  reverse  way  of  the 
grain  to  the  other,  and  the  whole  packed  in  thick  brown 
paper  and  securely  tied.  I recommend  wood  in  preference 
to  strawboardfortwo  reasons:  firstly,  because  it  is  cheaper; 
and  secondly,  because  the  contents  are  far  less  liable  to 
damage.  The  reason  for  the  wood  being  the  two  different 


48 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  17,  1890. 


ways  of  the  grain  is  not  far  to  seek,  as  it  increases  the 
strength  of  the  package  at  least  four-fold.  The  address 
may  be  attached  on  a luggage  label,  which  should  also 
carry  the  stamps  to  defray  postage. 

Unmounted  prints  should  be  rolled,  albumenized  sur- 
face outwards,  on  a thin  wooden  roller,  and  enclosed  in  a 
strawboard  music  roll ; so  packed,  they  cannot  be  damaged, 
unless  maliciously,  and  to  prevent  any  intermeddling  with 
the  contents,  letter  post,  or  if  the  package  is  heavy,  par- 
cel post  rates  should  be  paid. 

Negatives,  opals,  or  opalines  should  be  packed  in  a 
wooden  box  containing  hay  or  bran — I personally  prefer 
hay,  as  it  keeps  the  contents  more  steadily  in  one  position 
— and  under  no  circumstances  should  the  address  be 
written  or  stamps  stuck  upon  the  box  or  its  covering,  the 
sudden  jar  of  the  stamping  machine  being  often  sufficient 
to  break  the  negative  inside,  without  damaging  the  box. 

In  conclusion,  there  is  no  necessity  for  marking  the  par- 
cels as  containing  photographs,  as  the  word  seems  to  con- 
vey little  or  no  meaning  to  the  postal  employes;  in  its 
place  the  word  “fragile”  should  be  substituted,  it  being 
of  far  greater  necessity  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of 
those  whom  it  may  concern  that  the  contents  of  the  parcel 
are  capable  of  receiving  injury,  than  to  inform  them  of  the 
exact  nature  of  those  contents.  While  on  the  subject  of 
packing,  it  may  not  perhaps  be  altogether  out  of  place  to 
mention  the  package  of  framed  photographs,  more  especi- 
ally as  so  many  come  to  grief  during  transit.  All  photo- 
graphs in  frames  should  be  first  encased  in  a good  covering 
of  soft  paper,  and  then  again  in  thicker,  and  tied  firmly 
between  two  boards;  or,  if  the  frame  be  a large  one,  it  is 
sometimes  advisable  to  pack  it  in  a box.  When  such  is 
the  case,  care  should  be  taken  to  thoroughly  fill  up  the 
interstices  between  the  frame  and  the  sides  of  the  box 
with  plenty  of  old  waste  paper,  the  softer  the  better,  and, 
in  the  case  of  a very  heavy  frame,  it  will  be  found  of 
advantage  to  put  a couple  of  stout  screws  through  the 
bottom  of  the  box  into  the  back  of  the  frame  itself, 
which  will  prevent  it  from  moving  and  chipping. 

— — 

Photographing  the  Hands. — We  owe  a new  and  interest- 
ing application  of  photography  to  M.  ISertillon,  the  well-known 
director  of  the  Identification  Department  at  the  Paris  Prefec- 
ture of  Police.  M.  Bertillon  has  been  devoting  himself  for 
some  months  to  the  study  of  the  physical  peculiarities 
engendered  by  the  pursuit  of  different  occupations.  The 
police  have  frequently  to  deal  with  portions  of  bodies,  and  it 
would  greatly  aid  their  investigations  to  be  able  to  determine 
the  calling  of  the  murdered  person  in  each  particular  case. 
The  hand  is  as  a rule  the  part  naturally  most  affected  by  the 
occupation,  and  M.  llertillon  has  taken  a very  large  series  of 
photographs,  each  one  showing  on  a large  scale  the  hands,  on 
a smaller  scale  the  whole  figure  of  the  workman  at  his  work, 
so  that  one  may  see  at  a glance  the  position  of  the  body,  and 
which  are  the  parts  that  undergo  friction  from  the  tools  in  use. 
From  the  hands  of  the  navvy  all  the  secondary  lines  disappear, 
and  a peculiar  callosity  is  developed  where  the  spade  handle 
rubs  against  the  hand  ; the  hands  of  tin-plate  workers  arc 
covered  with  little  crevasses  produced  by  the  acids  employed  ; 
the  hands  of  lace-makers  arc  smooth,  but  they  have  blisters 
full  of  serum  on  the  back  and  callosities  on  the  front  part 
of  the  shoulder,  due  to  the  friction  of  the  straps  of  the  loom  ; 
the  thumb  and  the  first  joints  of  the  index  of  metal-workers 
show  very  large  blisters,  whilst  the  left  hand  has  scars  made  by 
thc  sharp  fragments  of  metal.  Experts  in  forensic  medicine 
(Vernois  among  others)  have  before  drawn  attention  to  the 
subject,  but  this  is  the  first  time  that  an  investigation  has  been 
carried  out  oil  a large  scale,  and  in  M.  Bertillon ’s  hands  it 
should  lead  to  the  best  results. — Nature. 


VAPOUR  DEVELOPM ENT. 

BY  T.  It.  LUDERS. 

Tin:  use  of  vapours  in  picture  making  was  one  of  the  first 
methods.  The  polished  silver  plate  being  exposed  to 
iodine  vapour  to  make  it  sensitive,  and  after-exposure  to 
that  of  mercury  to  develop  the  image,  was  the  process  of 
early  days.  Since  then  there  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
any  use  of  vapour,  except  for  fuming  silvered  albumen 
paper. 

In  the  use  of  ammonia  vapour,  I have  found  by  a few 
crude  experiments  that  the  modern  dry  plate  maybe  deve- 
loped by  soaking  for  a minute  or  so  in  a plain  solution  of 
pyro  in  water,  and  then  exposing  to  the  fumes  of  ammonia, 
again  returning  it  to  the  pyro  bath,  followed  by  the 
ammonia  vapour,  thus  alternating  until  sufficient  density 
is  obtained.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  much  difference 
when  the  vapour  is  used  before  the  bath — of  course  first 
wetting  the  plate — though  more  careful  experiments  may 
show  an  advantage.  I find  that  a plain,  strong  pyro  solu- 
tion acts  most  rapidly,  but  too  powerful  a vapour  acts  too 
strongly,  and  is  liable  to  produce  red  and  green  fog. 

I think  that  a solution  of  pyro  with  any  preservative  that 
could  be  used  with  ammonia  as  the  alkali,  might  also  be 
used  with  ammonia  vapour,  and  the  alkali  having  kept 
separate  from  the  pyro,  it  might  be  used  repeatedly,  as  the 
action  goes  on  mostly  while  under  the  influence  of  the 
vapour,  and  it  seems  to  be  necessary  only  to  swab  the  plate 
with  the  pyro  solution. 

Perhaps  the  most  valuable  quality  of  this  process  is  the 
ability  it  gives  to  localize  and  control  development,  as  any 
part  of  a plate  may  be  built  up  while  other  parts  are  left 
nearly  or  entirely  undeveloped.  By  holding  the  plate  film 
side  down  over  an  open  bottle  of  ammonia,  which  may  be 
warmed  a little  to  increase  the  vapour,  the  image  is  slowly 
or  rapidly  developed,  according  to  the  distance  above  the 
mouth  of  the  bottle.  Four  or  five  inches  high  diffuses  the 
vapour  sufficiently  for  uniform  action  over  a five  by  seven 
plate,  and  for  local  action  down  to  half-inch,  according  to 
the  strength  of  the  vapour.  An  open  dish  can  be  used, 
and  probably  a small  hose  from  the  mouth  of  the  bottle 
would  work  for  local  development  with  film  upwards. 
The  above  process  is  equally  applicable  to  intensification 
with  bichloride  of  mercury  solution,  and  the  action  can  be 
carefully  watched,  so  that  only  those  parts  needing  extra 
density  need  have  full  exposure  to  the  fumes.  It  seems 
necessary  that  the  plate  should  be  evenly  wet  or  damp  all 
over  to  get  uniform  action,  but  1 found  no  difficulty  about 
that. 

The  advantages  seem  to  be  especially  the  local  action 
without  hard  lines,  and  the  pyro  does  not  darken  even  in 
plain  solution  nearly  so  quickly  as  when  the  alkali  is  mixed 
with  it,  and  probably  by  the  use  of  a swab  or  brush,  with- 
out immersing  the  plate  in  the  solution,  it  could  be  pre- 
served and  used  over  and  over  again.  — . 1 merican  Journal  of 
Photography. 


Nkw( astle-on-Tynk  and  Northern  Counties’  Photo* 
on  a i'ii  ir  Association.— An  International  Photographic  Exibi- 
tion  will  be  held  in  the  Central  Exchange  Art  Galley,  New- 
castle-on-Tyne,  from  April  18th  until  May  3rd.  A supple- 
mentary exhibition  of  photographic  apparatus  and  appliances, 
and  photo-mechanical  printing  processes,  will  be  held  at  the 
same  time  and  place,  under  the  auspices  of  Messrs.  Barkas 
and  Son,  Art  Gallery,  Newcastle-on -Tyne,  to  whom  applica- 
tion for  space  in  this  section  must  be  made.  Further  infor- 
mation may  be  had  from  the  lion.  Secs.  Photographic 
Exhibition,  Art  Gallery,  Grainger  Street,  Newcastle- on- Tyne. 


January  17,  1890.]  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 

THE  EXHIBITION  OF  THE  WEST  LONDON 
PI  I OT<  )G R API  IlC  SOf’IET  V . 


Last  Friday  and  Saturday  the  Exhibition  of  the  West 
London  Photographic  Society  was  open  at  the  Addison 
Hall,  Addison  Hoad,  near  Uxbridge  Road  railway  station, 
and  was  of  an  interesting  description.  This  Society  of 
professionals  and  amateurs  was  founded  in  December,  1 888, 
and  principally  by  Messrs.  G.  F.  Blackmore,  T.  B.  March, 
I*  Bennett,  and  J.  A.  Hodges.  A preliminary  meeting 
was  held  at  Chiswick,  and  the  subsequent  meetings  at 
Addison  Hall.  A new  president  is  appointed  for  each 
year,  and  the  retiring  president  isnot  eligible  for  re-election. 
The  first  president  was  Mr.  William  England,  and  the  pre- 
sent president  is  Mr.  Charles  Bilton,  B.  A.  The  Society 
has  about  seventy  members. 

East  Saturday  evening,  Mr.  Chang,  of  the  Chinese  Em- 
bassy, took  four  flash-light  pictures  of  the  assembled  com- 
pany. < )n  the  platform  he  had  two  small  came  ras,  one  on 
a stand,  the  other  attached  to  the  back  of  a chair  by  a 
camera  clip.  The  top  of  a step  ladder  on  the  platform  he 
covered  with  tufts  of  gun-cotton,  and  on  this  explosive 
area  of  nearly  a foot  square  he  distributed  a considerable 
quantity  of  magnesium  powder  out  of  a bottle  ; the  flash 
was  necessarily  of  a magnificent  description,  and  left  be- 
hind some  little  residual  bonfires  of  blazing  magnesium. 

The  Judues’  Report. 

We,  the  undersigned,  beg  to  state  that  our  awards  in  the 
1890  Photographic  Competition  between  members  of  the  West 
London  Photographic  Society  are  as  follows  : — 

Division  I. — Class  1.  Frame  of  six  Dutch  landscapes  (first 
medal),  W.  L.  Coolls  ; set  of  three,  “Eventide,”  “Romney 
Lock,”  “Silver  Lining”  (second  medal),  G.  F.  Blackmore; 
set  of  three,  “Conway  Quay,”  “A  Quiet  Pool,”  “On  the 
River  Ogwen  ” (third  medal),  J.  A.  Hodges.  This  is  a very 
well  contested  class,  and  we  have  had  pleasure  in  awarding 
some  of  the  medals  withheld  in  the  other  classes.  Amongst 
other  pictures  in  this  class,  we  would  draw  attention  to  “A 
Grey  Morning,  Dovedale,”  H.  Selby  ; “ Blowing  up  for  Rain,” 
J.  Wilson;  “A  Coming  Storm,”  C.  Garner  Richardson. 
Class  2.  One  photo  of  set  of  three,  “ Bridge  and  Stream,” 
Walter  L.  Cooils,  medal.  Some  discussion  took  place  as  to  any 
award  at  all  being  given  in  this  class.  Class  3.  Set  of  three, 
‘Conway  Castle,”  “Reception  Room  and  Refectory,” 
l’las  Mawr  (medal),  J.  A.  Hodges.  A very  admirable  series. 
Class  I.  Exeter  Cath.  Choir  (medal),  Chas.  Whiting.  Class  5. 
Whilst  withholding  any  award  in  this  class,  we  would  indicate 
that  the  “Sister  and  Brother,”  S.  S.  Chang,  is  considerably 
the  best  exhibit  in  the  class.  Class  0.  No  award.  Class  7,  8, 
9,  10.  No  award.  Note. — In  Class  8,  “ Grey  well  Tunnell  ” 
and  “ In  Cassiobury  Park,”  Dr.  F.  H.  Low,  show  good  techni- 
cal work;  “ Kew  Bridge,”  Dr.  F.  H.  Low,  being  the  best 
pictorially,  though  not  held  of  sufficient  merit.  In  Class  9,  the 
only  distinctive  genre  picture  is  “ Spinning  the  Top,”  by  J.  A. 
Hodges  ; but  it  is  rather  a painting  than  a photograph.  Of 
the  rest,  we  would  refer  to  “ Watching  the  Amateur,”  by 
L.  C.  Bennett.  Lantern  Slides. — Class  12  (landscape),  no 
award  ; the  set  marked  “Bennett”  is  noted  as  the  best. 
Class  13  (marine).  Chas.  Whiting,  medal.  Class  14  (archi- 
tecture), Chas.  Whiting,  medal.  Class  1 5 (instantaneous), , 
withheld.  Class  1*1.  The  judges  prefer  to  leave  this  exhibit 
to  a judge  with  the  requisite  technical  attainments. 

Signed,  G.  Davison',  F.  P.  Cf.mbrano,  F.  M.  Skipworth. 

The  annual  conversazione  of  the  Society  was  held  at  the 
Exhibition  last  Friday. 

Mi-.  Chas.  Bilton  congratulated  the  Society  upon  the  Ex- 
hibition ; he  also  congratulated  those  members  who  had  been 
fortunate  enough  to  gain  medals,  at  the  same  time  reminding 
those  who  had  not  been  so  successful  that  their  failure  on 
that  occasion  should  stimulate  them  to  greater  efforts  in  the 
future.  He  then  read  the  report  of  the  judges,  and  informed 


49 


the  members  that  the  names  of  the  competitors  were  not  dis- 
closed to  the  judges  until  after  the  awards  had  been  made. 

The  medals  were  then  presented  to  the  successful  competitors 
by  the  president. 

Dr.  F.  Harrison  Low,  in  proposing  a vote  of  thanks  to  the 
judges,  remarked  that  curiously  enough  the  awards  upon  the 
present  occasion  seemed  to  have  met  with  universal  approbation. 

The  motion  having  been  seconded  by  Mr.  Bennett,  and 
adopted, 

Mr.  Davison,  responding  on  behalf  of  the  judges,  said  that 
although  it  was  generally  held  that  the  task  a judge  had  to 
perform  was  a thankless  one,  yet  he  was  glad  to  find,  from  the 
manner  in  which  the  awards  had  been  received,  that  such  was 
not  the  case  invariably.  There  was,  however,  a thought  far 
back  in  the  inner  recesses  of  his  own  mind  that  there  might 
be  some  dissatisfaction  at  the  number  of  medals  withheld. 
Although  he  did  not  then  propose  to  justify  the  circumstance, 
he  had  not  the  slightest  doubt  but  that  the  exhibitors  would, 
on  calm  reflection,  feel  convinced  that  the  action  of  the  judges 
was  justifiable.  They  went  through  their  task  with  great 
care,  going  over  some  pictures  again  and  again,  and  when  a 
discussion  arose  as  to  whether  a medal  should  be  awarded  or 
not,  a decision  was  arrived  at  by  a fair  system  of  give  and  take. 
The  Society  was  to  be  congratulated  on  the  appearance  of 
Class  1 , landscape,  half- plate,  and  under.  Considering  the  size 
of  the  collection  as  a whole  he  did  not  think  he  had  ever  seen 
a better  class-  Although  they  had  given  two  extra  awards  in 
that  class,  there  were  still  three  other  exhibits  well  worthy  of 
mention  ; they  were  photographs  which  would  bear  examina- 
tion, and  although,  perhaps,  defective  in  some  respects  com- 
pared with  the  winning  pictures,  yet  still  possessed  consider- 
able merit ; not  merely  technical  merit,  but  something  approach- 
ing “the  pictorial  and  complete.”  The  architectural  class, 
half-plate  and  under,  was  also  an  exceptionally  good  one  on 
account  of  the  excellence  of  some  of  the  exhibits,  among  which 
he  would  refer  specially  to  Conway  Castle,  Refectory  and 
Reception  Room,  and  Idas  Mawr,  a set  of  three  platinotypes 
by  Mr.  Hodges  charming  in  colour,  well  chosen  and  beautiful 
in  subject,  and  technically  of  great  perfection.  Also  in  Class  1 , 
he  would  specially  refer  to  the  three  medalled  pictures  by 
Mr.  Blackmore,  which  were  of  high  artistic  merit,  and  speaking 
for  himself  he  would  say  he  hoped  to  see  much  more  work  from 
Mr.  Blackmore  at  future  exhibitions. 

The  members  and  their  friends  then  inspected  the  pictures 
and  lantern  slides  exhibited.  Light  refreshments  were  provided 
by  the  president,  and  the  tables  were  presided  over  by  Mrs. 
Low  and  Mrs.  Hodges.  A musical  programme,  in  which  Messrs. 
M.  Morgan,  H.  Selby,  Syckelnlore,  and  Pilgrim  took  part,  contri- 
buted to  the  pleasure  of  the  eveniug. 

The  next  meeting  takes  place  on  Friday,  24th  June,  when  an 
adjourned  discussion  on  “ Hand-Cameras”  will  be  concluded. 
The  competition  slides  will  also  be  shown  by  means  of  the 
lantern. 

A Tenacious  Solder. — An  account  is  given  in  the  Berliner 
of  a soft  alloy  which  adheres  so  firmly  to  metallic,  glass,  and 
porcelain  surfaces  that  it  can  be  used  as  a solder,  and  which, 
in  fact,  is  valuable  when  the  articles  to  be  soldered  are  of  such 
nature  that  they  cannot  bear  a very  high  degree  of  tempera- 
ture, the  composition  consisting  of  finely  pulverized  copper 
dust,  which  is  obtained  by  shaking  a solution  of  sulphate  of 
copper  with  granulated  zinc.  The  temperature  of  the  solution 
rises  considerably,  and  the  metallic  copper  is  precipitated  in 
the  form  of  a brownish  powder — twenty,  thirty,  or  thirty-six 
parts  of  this  copper  dust,  according  to  the  hardness  desired, 
being  placed  in  a cast  iron  or  porcelain-lined  mortar,  and  well 
mixed  with  some  sulphuric  acid  having  a specific  gravity  of  1 '85. 
To  the  paste  thus  formed  are  added  seventy  parts  by  weight  of 
mercury,  with  constant  stirring,  and  when  thus  thoroughly 
mixed,  the  amalgam  is  rinsed  in  warm  water  to  remove  the 
acid,  and  then  set  aside  to  cool ; jin  ten  or  twelve  hours  it  is 
hard  enough  to  scratch  tin.  On  being  used,  it  is  heated  to  a 
temperature  of  375  degrees  centigrade,  and  when  kneaded  in 
an  iron  mortar  becomes  as  soft  as  wax.  In  this  ductile  state  it 
can  be  spread  upon  any  surface,  to  which,  as  it  cools  and 
hardens,  it  adheres  with  great  tenacity. 


50 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  17,  1890. 


Patent  Intelligence. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

239.  \V.  S.  Rogers,  7,  Addison  Road,  Bedford  Park,  London, 
“ Cameras.” — January  7th. 

278.  W.  H.  Walker,  323,  High  Holborn,  London,  “ Photo- 
graphic Developing  Trays.” — January  7th. 

292.  C.  K.  Kino,  57,  The  Grove,  Hammersmith,  “Illuminating 
Pictures.” — January  7th. 

304.  Frank  Bishop  and  A.  Cowan,  “Apparatus  for  Coating 
Photographic  Plates.” — January  7th. 

317.  T.  N.  Armstrong,  154,  St.  Vincent  Street,  Glasgow, 
“ Arrangements  for  Photographing  by  Artificial  Light. — 
January  8th. 

359.  A.  J.  Boui.t,  323,  High  Holborn,  London,  “ Cameras. 
January  8th. 

381.  A.  Fuhrmann,  New  Bridge  Street,  Manchester,  “ Re- 
volving Stereoscopic  Panoramas.  January  9th. 

401.  T.  H.  Redwood,  57,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “ Producing 
a Flash  Light.” — January  9th. 

511.  J.  K.  Thornton  and  E.  Pickard,  St.  Mary’s  Street, 
Deausgate,  Manchester,  “ Adapting  Photographic  Shutters 
to  Lenses.” — January  11th. 

547.  J.  E.  Mayai.l,  1,  Quality  Court,  Chancery  Lane,  London, 
“ Colouring  Photographic  Impressions  with  Oil  Colours.” — 
January  11th. 

Specifications  Published. 

494. — January  10 tli,  1889.  “ Photographic  Apparatus.” 

Charles  Winter,  London,  Manager  to  Messrs.  Mawson  and 
Swan,  33,  Soho  Square,  London. 

The  principal  object  of  this  invention  is  to  provide  a photo- 
graphic apparatus  in  which  a number  of  plates  or  sensitized 
surfaces  are  placed  in  succession  in  position  for  receiving  the 
photographic  image,  and  are  afterwards  returned  to  a receptacle, 
in  which  they  are  retained  without  opening  the  camera  or  ex- 
posing the  plates  or  surfaces  to  light  otherwise  than  in  taking 
the  picture. 

According  to  my  invention,  as  applied  to  photographic  pur- 
poses,  I provide  a suitable  closed  box  or  camera  in  which  there 
is  a lens  provided  with  a shutter.  Inside  this  camera,  opposite 
the  lens,  is  a rotary  device,  into  which  the  sensitized  plates  or 
surfaces  are  introduced  one  after  the  other  from  a box,  and  from 
which  rotary  device  they  are  liberated  and  received  into  another 
box  aftei  the  picture  has  been  taken  thereon.  This  rotary 
device  constitutes  the  “ slide  ” of  the  camera,  and  is  hereinafter 
referred  to  as  the  rotary  slide. 

The  said  rotary  slide  has  one  end  of  its  axis  projecting  from 
the  camera,  and  is  provided  with  a milled  head  or  other  means 
for  giving  rotary  movement  to  it.  The  box  which  contains  the 
unexposed  sensitized  plates  or  surfaces,  and  the  box  into  which 
the  plates  or  surfaces  are  received  after  exposure,  are  situated 
inside  the  camera,  preferably  occupying  the  space  above  and 
below’  the  lens. 

The  box  from  which  the  plates  are  supplied  to  the  rotary 
slide  is  provided  with  means  by  which,  when  the  rotary  slide  is 
operated,  the  undermost  of  the  plates  is  moved  from  off  a 
support  and  falls  into  a position  before  a slot  in  the  box,  through 
which  the  plate  can  fall  or  be  moved  into  grooves  or  guides  for 
receiving  it  in  the  rotary  slide.  These  means  may  consist  of  a 
piece  which  is  operated  by  a projection  or  recess  on  the  rotary 
slide,  which  projection  or  recess,  when  movement  is  given  to  the 
slide,  causes  the  said  piece  to  move  inwards  a pusher  bar  or  the 
like,  which  dislodge*  the  undermost  plate,  and  causes  it  to  take 
up  a position  in  which  it  can  leave  the  box,  and  be  received  in 
the  grooves  or  guides  for  it  in  the  rotary  slide.  A rotary  move- 
ment is  then  given  to  the  slide,  and  thereby  the  sensitized  side 
of  the  plate  is  presented  in  position  to  receive  the  photographic 
image,  and  when  the  shutter  is  opened  the  plate  or  sensitized 
surface  receives  the  said  image  ; and  when,  thereafter,  the 
shutter  is  closed,  the  rotary  slide  has  a further  movement  of 
rotation  given  to  it,  which  brings  the  guides  or  grooves  con- 
taining the  plate  iuto  line  with  the  box  which  is  to  receive  the 


exposed  plates.  This  preferably  consists  of  a box  with  an 
opening  in  it  to  admit  the  plate,  and  provided  with  pushers, 
which  are  operated  by  the  rotary  slide,  to  press  the  plate  into 
the  box  until  it  is  received  and  retained  under  retainers,  when 
the  pushers  return  to  thir  normal  position.  It  is  preferred  to 
make  the  rotary  slide  with  two  sets  of  grooves  or  guides,  so 
that  when  one  is  in  line  with  the  box  from  which  the  unexposed 
] dates  are  to  be  discharged,  the  other  is  in  line  with  the  box 
into  which  the  exposed  plates  are  to  be  received.  The  plates 
may  be  moved  from  and  iuto  the  boxes  respectively  by  being 
caused  to  fall  by  gravity,  or  there  may  be  an  endless  band  or 
carrier,  or  other  device  for  the  purpose,  operated  by  the  rotary 
slide.  The  shutter  may  be  arranged  to  be  set  either  by  hand 
or  by  a movement  derived  from  the  rotary  slide,  the  move- 
ment liberating  the  shutter  for  the  exposure  or  uncovering  of 
the  lens  being  actuated  by  hand.  Thus,  in  the  arrangement 
wherein  there  are  two  receptacles  for  jdates  in  the  rotary  slide, 
the  said  slide  is  brought  into  a position  to  receive  a plate  from 
the  box  containing  the  unexposed  plates,  and  in  this  movement 
a plate  is  brought  into  position  for  passing  from  the  box  into 
the  rotary  slide  as  aforesaid.  When  the  plate  is  received  into 
the  rotary  slide,  a quarter  turn  is  given  to  the  said  slide,  and 
the  plate  is  then  in  position  for  exposure.  After  exposure  a 
further  quarter  turn  is  given  to  the  rotary  slide,  when  the 
plate  which  has  been  exposed  is  brought  into  line  with  the  box 
for  receiving  the  exposed  plates,  the  other  guides  in  the  slide 
then  being  in  position  for  receiving  a fresh  uuexposed  plate, 
and  so  on.  The  axis  of  the  rotary  slide,  or  the  head  or  handle 
by  which  it  is  operated,  may  be  provided  with  a catch  or  spring 
bolt  engaging  with  retainers,  so  that  the  slide  is  kept  in  proper 
position,  the  positions  being  suitably  marked  outside  the 
camera,  so  that  the  position  of  the  rotary  slide  can  be  readily 
ascertained.  The  portion  of  the  said  slide  upon  which  the 
plates  rest  when  in  position  for  exposure  are  made  movable, 
and  are  operated  by  a cam  or  other  suitable  device,  so  as  to 
move  free  of  the  plate  when  it  is  to  leave  the  rotary  slide. 

Although  I have  mentioned  plates,  the  invention  is  of  course 
not  limited  to  the  glass  plates  known  as  “plates”  in  photo- 
graphy, as  other  sensitized  surfaces  may  be  used. 

504. — January  10 tit,  1889.  “Apparatus  for  theDisplayof  Illu- 
minated Transparencies.”  Charles  Norman  Morris,  of 

36,  Red  Lion  Street,  Holborn,  London,  W.C.,  Designer  and 

Draughtsman. 

This  invention  has  reference  to  an  improved  means  for  the 
display  of  illuminated  transparencies,  such,  for  instance,  as 
theatrical  notices,  scenes  from  plays  which  are,  at  the  time, 
being  performed,  trade  notices,  and  the  like,  as  also  for  re- 
creational and  other  purposes. 

The  device  or  appliance,  according  to  the  invention,  com- 
prises an  enclosing  case  of  any  suitable  size  and  material  to 
serve  as  a lantern,  within  which  is  arranged  a gas  burner,  oil 
lamp,  or  other  means  of  illumination,  a suitable  reflector  being 
provided  for  the  purpose  of  concentrating  the  light.  In  the 
roof  of  the  lantern,  immediately  above  the  illuminating  medium, 
is  suspended  a wheel  formed  of  a number  of  vanes  or  wings 
disposed  within  a ring  or  hoop,  which  wheel  is  caused  to  rotate 
by  an  upward  current  of  air  set  up  by  the  heat  of  the  illumi- 
nant.  Upon  two  sides  of  the  hoop  above  referred  to  are 
arranged  segmental  racks  which  engage  with  pinions  formed 
upon  two  spindles  carrying  rollers  for  the  purpose  hereinafter 
to  be  described.  During  the  rotation  of  the  wheel  above 
referred  to,  the  spindles  rotate  therewith  until  the  last  tooth 
of  the  first  segmental  rack  has  passed  beyond  the  pinion, 
when  both  pinions  stop ; the  wheel,  however,  continues  to 
rotate  until  the  second  segment  becomes  engaged  with  the 
pinion.  During  the  interval  when  the  first  segment  leaves 
the  pinion,  and  the  engagement  therewith  of  the  second  pinion, 
the  tendency  of  tiie  revolving  wheel  would  be  to  rotate  with 
greater  speed  ; this,  however,  is  checked  by  a spring  which 
comes  into  action  at  the  proper  moment,  and,  pressing  upon 
the  rotating  wheel,  regulates  the  speed  thereof. 

Upon  the  rollers,  above  referred  to  secured  to  the  spindles, 
is  mounted  a web  or  band  of  paper  or  cloth,  rendered  trans- 
parent by  any  of  the  well-known  methods,  upon  which  w 


January  17,  1890."] 


rHE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


51 


printed,  painted,  or  otherwise  delineated,  facsimiles  of  theatri- 
cal notices,  scenes  from  plays  or  operas,  trade  announcements, 
posters,  and  the  like  ; or,  if  the  improved  apparatus  is  to  be 
employed  for  recreational  purposes,  I may  cause  to  be  painted, 
lithographed,  or  otherwise  produced  upon  said  web  or  band, 
landscapes,  seascapes,  or  other  scenes  of  interest,  such  as  illus- 
trations of  domestic,  political,  historic,  and  other  episodes.  In 
the  representation  of  theatrical  notices,  I prefer  to  surround 
such  notice  with  a border,  illustrating  some  of  the  characters 
of  the  cast,  as  also  scenes  emblematic  of  the  play  ; or,  if  tie- 
sired,  said  border  may  be  simply  ornamental,  either  mediicval, 
antique,  modern,  or  in  any  other  attractive  style. 

The  web  or  band  above  mentioned  being  fixed  to  the  rollers 
is,  when  the  revolving  wheel  is  in  motion,  rolled  upon  one  roller 
and  unrolled  from  the  other,  each  scene  dwelling  a limited 
time  determined  by  the  distance  between  the  two  segmental 
racks  upon  the  wheel  aforesaid,  and  the  speed  at  which  the 
wheel  revolves.  Suitable  guide-pulleys  are  employed  to  keep 
the  web  or  band  from  sagging  whilst  the  latter  is  moving. 

When  the  winding  of  the  web  or  band  upon  either  of  the 
rollers  has  been  completed,  the  mechanism  will  cease  to  operate, 
but  the  current  of  air  impinging  against  the  wheel  will  cause 
the  latter  to  move  to  the  opposite  side,  where  the  segmental 
racks  would  engage  with  the  pinion  of  the  roller  from  which 
the  web  or  band  had  been  previously  unrolled,  setting  it  in 
motion  and  thus  causing  the  web  or  band  to  be  rewound  upon 
the  last-referred  to  roller.  In  the  employment  of  lanterns  for 
the  display  of  large  transparencies,  wherein  greater  power  would 
be  required  than  in  the  case  of  small  lanterns,  is  employed  a hot 
air  chamber,  by  means  of  which  may  be  obtained  any 
degree  of  pressure  upon  the  wheel  suited  to  the  size  and  the 
special  requirements  of  the  lantern  ; but  the  inventor  does  not 
confine  himself  to  the  automatic  working  of  the  mechanism  by 
the  pressure  of  a current  of  hot  air,  as  under  some  circum- 
stances, the  same  purpose  can  be  effected  by  mechanical  means 
or  other  source  of  power. 

With  a view  to  the  protection  of  the  transparency  from 
injury  from  the  heat  of  the  illuminant,  there  may  be  interposed 
between  a sheet  of  thick,  clear  glass,  ami  in  order  to  guard  the 
web  or  band  from  becoming  wet  from  rain  when  the  appliance  is 
employed  in  the  open  air,  the  whole  is  covered  with  a sheet  of 
glass  fitted  into  a suitable  frame,  ornamental  or  otherwise,  as 
may  be  desired,  the  two  sheets  of  glass  forming  a chamber 
between  which  the  transparency  is  caused  to  move. 

17,436. — November  2nd,  1889.  “Discolouring  Tannic  Acid 
Solutions.”  Herbert  John  Haddan,  of  the  firm  of  Herbert 
I and  Co.,  Patent  Agents,  of  18,  Buckingham  Street,  Strand, 
London,  Civil  Engineer.  A communication  from  Jui.es 
Landini,  of  Grimm  No.  6,  Hamburg,  in  the  empire  of  Ger- 
many, Manufacturer. 

i The  object  of  this  invention  is  to  discolour  solutions  derived 
from  wood,  plants,  and  leaves  used  in  tanneries,  in  order  to  be 
able  to  obtain  transparent  and  clear  liquids.  The  principal 
i , part  of  the  invention  consists  in  treating  such  solutions  with 
f nitrate  of  lead,  and  subsequently  with  the  addition  of  alum  and 
borax.  The  solutions,  according  to  their  respective  strength, 
are  mixed  with  suitable  quantities  of  nitrate  of  lead,  then  heated 
or  boiled  until  a complete  discolouring  has  taken  place.  During 
this  process  samples  are  withdrawn  from  time  to  time,  and  the 
addition  of  nitrate  of  lead  is  increased  until  the  discolouring 
is  completed. 

f As  an  example  of  the  practice  of  this  process  it  may  be  men- 
tioned that  new  decoctions  of  tannic  acids  are  treated  with 
about  2 kilogrammes  of  nitrate  of  lead  for  each  thousand  litres 

1.  of  liquid. 

It  is  convenient  to  use  a diffusion  battery  during  treatment 
of  the  tannic  acids  into  which  the  solution  is  introduced  ; then 
make  the  above-named  addition  of  nitrate  of  lead,  and  boil  the 
I mixture  for  some  25  minutes ; then  decant  the  solution  into  a vessel 

or  drum  provided  with  some  stirring  device  into  which  steam  is 
admitted  of  about  * atmospheric  pressure.  After  stirring  for 
about  20  minutes  a sample  is  withdrawn  and  a further  supply 
, of  nitrate  of  lead  is  added  should  this  be  found  necessary,  and 
the  stirring  continued  until  the  desired  degree  is  attained.  The 


solution  is  now  withdrawn,  cooled  down,  neutralized,  and 
filtered. 

17,708.  November  6th,  1889.  “Photographic  Cameras.” 
Thomas  Rudolph  Dallmeyer,  of  25,  Newman  Street, 
Oxford  Street,  London,  Optician,  and  Francis  Beauchamp, 
of  Hope  Cottage,  Whalebone  Lane,  Chadwell,  Romford, 
Essex,  Engineer. 

The  inventors  claim  : — 

1.  A photographic  camera,  the  extensible  portion  of  which  is 
built  up  upon  a wire  support. 

2.  The  extensible  portion  of  a camera  built  up  upon  a con- 
tinuous wire  support. 

3.  The  support  formed  of  a series  of  sections  or  frames. 

4.  The  improvements  relating  to  the  manufacture  of  the 
extensible  portions  of  cameras  described  and  illustrated. 


(tfomsponlitnce. 


REPRODUCTION  AND  COPYRIGHT. 

Sir, — Mr.  Ralph  W.  Robinson’s  letter  has  elicited  replies 
which  seem  to  establish  two  new  facts  hitherto,  1 fancy, 
unsuspected  by  the  majority  of  photographers,  yet  of  great 
value  to  them. 

In  the  first  place,  your  “Notes”  show,  what  few  seem  to 
have  known,  that  the  right  to  reproduce  a photograph  by  way 
of  engraving  for  the  use  of  illustrated  pa]>ers  is  worth  a certain 
sum  of  money,  and  that  one  firm,  at  least,  demands  and  obtains 
ten  shillings  for  the  right  to  reproduce  a portrait  in  one  paper, 
and  that  they  demand  a further  fee  if  other  use  is  to  be  made 
of  the  block.  Hitherto,  the  newspapers  have  patronisingly  and 
doubtfully  repaid  the  photographer  by  mentioning  his  name. 
This  concession  had  to  be  forced  from  the  papers. 

The  other  fact  is  of  still  greater  importance.  It  has  been 
the  opinion  of  the  photographic  authorities  from  the  beginning, 
and  stated  nearly  every  week  in  answers  to  correspondents  in 
one  or  other  of  the  photographic  journals,  that  if  a print  of  a 
photograph  was  sold  before  it  was  registered,  the  copyright 
was  lost.  Nobody  seems  to  have  doubted  the  verdict  until 
Mr.  Robinson  asked  the  question,  which  has  drawn  an  authori- 
tative legal  reply  from  Mr.  C.  Fleetwood  Pritchard,  who,  I 
believe,  is  not  only  a barrister,  but  also  an  excellent  amateur 
photographer.  He  shows  us  that  our  trusted  leaders  have  mis- 
led us  for  once,  and  that  a photograph  can  be  effectually 
registered  at  any  time,  with  the  drawback,  however,  that  the 
registration  is  not  retrospective,  and  cannot  protect  from 
piracies  that  have  preceded  the  act  of  registration. 

The  photographic  world  is  a gainer  for  this  addition  to  our 
stock  of  knowledge,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  now'  photo- 
graphers know  there  is  a money  value  in  the  right  to  reproduce, 
they  will  insist  upon  getting  it,  always  remembering  that  they 
can  protect  their  property  for  the  future  by  registering  at  any 
time.  A.  D.  L. 


Sir, — In  my  letter  under  the  above  heading  1 perhaps  dwelt 
too  exclusively  on  the  case  of  photographs  “ which  are  intended 
to  be  pictures,”  as  it  is  from  that  point  of  view  the  subject  of 
right  to  reproduce  has  chiefly  affected  me.  However,  in  the 
case  of  a great  many,  probably  the  majority  of  portraits  used 
for  reproduction  in  newspapers,  the  principle  is  the  same. 

You  say  that  the  cases  you  have  in  your  mind  are  those  in  which 
the  photographer  has  already  been  paid  for  making  the  negative. 
In  that  case  the  photographer  has  no  copyright,  and  therefore 
no  right  himself  to  reproduce,  or  to  give  permission  to  others 
to  do  so.  The  necessary'  permission  in  this  case,  as  I understand 
it,  can  only  be  obtained  from  the  sitter.  In  the  majority  of 
cases  the  sitter  has  been  invited  to  sit,  and  the  portrait  has 
been  produced  simply  for  publication  purposes,  and  in  this 
case  it  is  only  reasonable  that  the  photographer  should 
exact  a fee  from  anyone  who  wishes  to  use  the  portrait  for 
reproduction. 

The  principle  is  the  same  as  charging  two  shillings  or  so  for 


32 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


a published  cabinet  portrait.  It  surely  would  not  be  contended 
that  it  would  be  for  the  good  of  the  profession  in  the  long  run 
to  publish  cabinets  at  threepence  each  ; yet  a photographer  can- 
not have  any  better  advertisement  than  the  spreading  abroad 
of  good  work  bearing  his  name.  It  appears  to  me  that  any  of 
those  means  of  advertising  which  tend  to  cheapen  photography 
in  the  eves  of  the  public  are  detrimental  to  the  best  interests 
of  the  profession.  Ralph  W.  Robinson. 


FORMATION  OF  A LANTERN  CLUB. 

Sir, — Will  you  permit  me  to  call  the  attention  of  your 
readers  to  a step  which  1 trust  now  to  see  taken,  viz.,  to  bring 
together,  either  by  means  of  a club  or  association,  in  a practical 
form,  those  who  are  interested  in  the  work  of  photographic 
optical  lanterns. 

I will  not  here  detail  the  advantages  that  may  possibly  accrue 
from  such  an  association,  except  to  suggest,  («)  the  develop- 
ment and  improvement  of  the  lantern  itself,  (6)  to  help  in 
popularizing  it  generally,  (c)  to  enable  those  who  are  fond  of  so 
delightful  and  scientific  an  amusemeut  to  become  known  to  each 
other,  and  thus  develop  their  common  pursuit,  (rf)  to  hold  in 
London  and  the  country  periodical  exhibitions,  (c)  to  facilitate 
the  interchange  of  photographic  slides,  and  (/)  generally  to  pro- 
mote lantern  work. 

The  basis  of  such  an  association  and  its  rules  remain  to  be 
formulated.  Meanwhile,  1 wish  to  put  plainly  through  your 
columns  a very  pointed  but  respectful  request,  viz.,  will  all 
those  who  are  favourable  to  the  idea  forward  to  me  at  46, 
Chesiltou  Road,  Munster  l’ark,  S.  W. , or  to  the  Hon.  Slingsby 
Bethel,  at  Che'sea  Lodge,  Chelsea  Embankment,  their  names 
and  addresses,  in  order  that  they  may  be  invited  to  a meeting, 
or  informed  of  any  proceedings  that  may  be  taken. 

46,  Chesiltou  Road,  Fulham,  S.  W.  T.  H.  Holding. 


ISOCHROMATIC  PHOTOGRAPHY  AT  THE  PHOTO- 
GRAPHIC SOCIETY  OF  FRANCE. 

Sir, — -Will  you  kindly  allow  us  space  for  a few  words  in  pro- 
test against  M.  Leon  Vidal’s  unjust  criticism  of  the  prints 
from  negatives  on  isochromatic  and  ordinary  plates,  which,  by 
invitation  of  the  president,  M.  Davanne,  we  recently  presented 
to  the  French  Photographic  Society'. 

M.  Vidal  says  in  his  report,  which  appears  in  the  last  number 
of  the  News,  that  the  photographs  were  “defective  as  examples,” 
those  on  the  ordinary  plates  being  “ taken  in  a bail  light,” 
while  those  on  the  isochromatic  plates  “ were  more  directly 
lighted.”  As  a matter  of  fact,  both  negatives  in  every  case  were 
taken  under  precisely  the  same  conditions,  as  could  easily'  be 
seen  by  the  most  cursory  examination  of  those  parts  where  the 
object  was  of  a neutral  tint,  and  which,  not  being  affected  by 
colour-sensitiveness,  were  rendered  of  equal  value  in  both  nega- 
tivas. 

We  can  quite  understand  that  anyone  not  conversant  with 
the  subject  would,  at  first  sight,  imagine  that  the  great  differ- 
ence shown  in  some  of  the  proofs  could  not  be  produced  by 
colour-sensitiveness  alone  ; but  surely  M.  Vidal  should  know 
better.  His  insinuation  that  the  negatives  were  dodged  in  the 
lighting  does  not  do  him  credit,  and  would  seem  to  show  that 
he  is  ignorant  of  the  progress  which  has  been  made  in  isochro- 
matic photography. 

We  shall  niily  be  too  pleased  to  afford  M Vidal  the  means 
of  testing  the  matter  to  his  own  satisfaction,  should  he  desire 
further  investigation.  MTe  are  sending  to  the  President  of  the 
French  Society  conclusive  evidence  that  the  specimens  shown  by 
us  were  not  unfairly  manipulated  in  any  way,  and  we  trust 
that  M.  A idal  will  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity'  of  making 
us  the  amende  honorable. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  as  soon  as  any  real  improvement  in 
photography  is  introduced,  there  are  always  to  be  found  indi- 
viduals who,  tailing  to  understand  the  matter  by  their  own  light 
and  knowledge,  are  ready  at  once  to  say,  “It  is  not  true.” 
These  same  persons  a little  later,  or,  as  in  this  instance,  almost 
in  the  same  breath,  rarely  fail  to  raise  theory,  “ It  is  not  new, 
we  knew  it  all  along.” 

W e opine  that  M.  V idal  will  find  few  to  agree  with  him  that 


[January  17,  1890. 


a process  which  has  been  worked  out  with  infinite  pains  and  at 
great  cost  by  an  individual  should  belong  to  the  community  as 
soon  as  it  is  found  to  be  useful.  If  this  principle  were  carried 
out,  it  would  constitute  the  greatest  barrier  to  progress  which 
it  is  possible  to  conceive.  It  is  precisely  to  prevent  such  a 
result,  and  to  encourage  research,  that  the  patent  laws  have 
been  adopted  in  all  civilised  countries.  In  the  present  instance 
it  is  extremely  probable,  except  for  the  wisdom  of  the  legisla- 
ture in  recognizing  and  protecting  the  commercial  rights  of 
inventors,  which  M.  Vidal  so  coolly  ignores,  that  isochromatic  or 
colour-sensitive  photography  would  now  be  numbered  among  the 
lost  or  forgotten  processes  of  the  art. 

At  the  expiration  of  the  existing  patent,  the  process  will  be 
free  to  all  the  world  ; until  that  time  arrives  we  arc  prepared  to 
defend  our  rights  in  this  country  by  all  legal  means,  and  at  any 
cogt,  B.  j’.  Edwards  & Co. 

The  Grove,  Hackney,  London,  January  1 -ith. 

♦ 

Jihoccctiings  of  Societies, 


Photographic  Society  ok  Great  Britain. 

At  the  meeting  of  this  Society,  held  on  the  14th  inst.,  the 
President,  Mr.  James  Glaisher,  F.R.S.,  occupied  the  chair. 

A paper  was  read  by  Mr.  Chapman  Jones,  F. I.C.,  F’.C.S., 
“On  Control  in  the  Density  of  Negatives,”  in  the  course  of 
which  the  author  stated  that  in  consideration  of  the  difficulty 
of  exactly  deciding  upon  the  density  of  a negative  whilst 
developing,  he  considered  it  best  to  keep  the  intensity  rather 
below  than  above  what  was  finally  required,  and  complete  that 
part  of  the  work  in  a good  light  after  fixation.  Then,  as  to 
the  process  to  be  used  for  giving  intensity,  it  was  better  to 
take  for  the  normal  process  one  that  increased  the  deposit  in 
proportion  to  the  silver  already  forming  the  image.  There 
were  processes  that  did  not  do  this,  and  for  special  cases  they 
might  be  preferable  ; but,  starting  with  the  normal  require- 
ments, he  had  found  it  most  satisfactorily  fulfilled  by  the 
method  of  using  solution  of  bichloride  of  mercury,  followed  by 
one  of  ferrous  oxalate.  The  solutions  lie  used  were  : — First, 
a saturated  solution  of  bichloride  of  mercury  to  which  hydro- 
chloric acid  was  added  in  the  proportion  of  three  minims  to 
every  two  ounces  of  solution.  After  bleaching  with  this  solu- 
tion, the  negative  must  be  thoroughly  washed — an  opera- 
tion for  which  an  hour  to  an  hour  and  a half  with 
frequent  changes  of  water  was  not  too  long.  It  was 
then  treated  with  a ferrous  oxalate  developer  composed  of 
one  part  of  saturated  solution  of  sulphate  of  iron  mixed  with 
six  parts  of  saturated  solution  of  oxalate  of  potash.  This 
developer  was  made  slightly  acid  with  oxalic  acid — if  consider- 
ably acid  it  was  much  slower  in  its  action.  A process  that 
had  b„en  much  recommended — that  with  mercury,  followed  by 
solution  of  sulphite  of  soda — he  could  not  advise,  except 
when  only  a very  limited  amount  of  intensity  was  required.  It 
might,  however,  be  used  as  a starting  point,  and  the  negative 
would  be  found  to  be  in  as  good  a condition  for  taking  other 
methods  afterwards  as  if  it  had  not  been  used.  The  actual 
constitution  of  the  image  after  the  use  of  sulphite  had,  he 
believed,  not  hitherto  been  shown.  He  had  found  that  the 
silver  and  mercury  were  both  of  them  dissolved  to  the  extent 
of  one-half  by  the  sulphite,  but  yet  the  resulting  image  was 
one  which  generally  gave  more  density  than  at  first.  A claim 
that  had  been  made  for  this  method,  that  a plate  might  be 
treated  repeatedly  with  the  solutions,  gaining  intensity  each 
time,  was  one  that  his  experiments  did  not  support. 
The  process  with  mercury  and  oxalate  he  could  recommend  as 
being  clean,  having  no  tendency  to  frill,  even  with  repeated 
operations  ; having  freedom  from  choking  up  of  the  shadows, 
and  preserving  the  gradation  of  the  lights. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debknham  considered  it  very  useful  to  have  the 
rationale  of  a process  worked  out,  as  had  been  done  by  Mr. 
Chapman  Jones,  with  the  mercury  and  sulphite  process.  Ho 
had  never  used  that  process,  except  experi  men  tall  v,  as  the  in- 
tensifying power  was  so  limited,  and  there  were  others  that  ho 
considered  better,  it  had  been  stated  that  the  sulphite  pro* 


January  17,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


53 


cess  might  be  used  to  start  with,  and,  if  found  insufficient, 
other  processes  might  be  employed  without  the  previous  use 
of  the  sulphite  being  in  any  way  injurious.  As,  however,  it 
had  been  shown  that  half  the  original  silver  had  been  dissolved 
away  in  the  sulphite,  he  put  it  as  a question  whether  that  did 
not  leave  the  plate  in  a mere  unfavourable  condition  as  a 
basis  for  intensifying  on,  than  if  the  whole  of  the  silver  were 
present. 

Capt.  Abney  confirmed  what  Mr.  Debenham  had  said  as  to 
the  inutility  of  the  sulphite  method  of  intensifying.  Very 
foolish  things  had  been  written  about  intensifying  processes, 
this  with  sulphite  amongst  others ; and  he  thanked  Mr.  Chapman 
Jones  for  working  out  the  rationale  of  it.  His  own  predilec- 
tion was  for  the  cyanide  of  silver  intensifying  process,  next  to 
which  he  liked  the  one  with  mercury,  followed  by  ferrous 
oxalate,  as  recommended  in  the  paper. 

Mr.  Atkinson  asked  Captain  Abney  whether  he  thought  as 
perfect  gradation  was  obtainable  with  the  cyanide  of  silver  pro- 
cess as  with  the  ferrous  oxalate  following  the  mercury. 

Capt.  Abney  replied  that  it  was,  and  continued,  that  there 
was  a great  convenience  in  the  process,  in  the  facility  with 
which  too  great  intensity  could  be  let  down  just  to  the  desired 
point. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  replied  that  what  he  meant  by  saying 
that  there  was  no  harm  in  beginning  with  the  sulphite  process, 
was  that  the  image  left  was  just  as  amenable  to  intensifying 
by  other  processes  as  the  original  plate  had  been.  Half  the 
silver  was  gone,  certainly,  but  the  mercury  which  had  replaced 
it  was  in  the  condition  to  form  a basis  for  intensifying  by  any 
known  method. 

Sir  David  Salomons  then  read  a paper  on  “The  distance 
beyond  which  all  objects  will  be  in  focus  with  any  given  lens.” 
He  had  constructed  a table,  taking  as  a basis  that  any  object  was 
in  focus  when  the  circle  >f  confusion  did  not  exceed  the  T^0  of  an 
inch.  French  photographers  had  adopted  a different  standard, 
and  took  about  the  5 of  an  inch  as  the  standard  of  defini- 
tion ; but,  he  said,  we  cannot  have  detective  cameras  if  the 
French  measure  is  adopted. 

Mr.  Debenham  was  afraid  that  the  paper  might  tend  to 
perpetuate  a fallacy  about  lenses  which  some  photographers 
appeared  to  entertain.  He  had  even  read  in  the  photographic 
papers  about  the  advantage  of  a lens  with  a fixed  focus — an 
absurdity,  as  no  lens  could  possibly  have  a fixed  focus.  The 
assumption  on  which  the  paper  was  based,  that  a lens  was  in 
focus  when  there  was  a circle  of  confusion  of  f—  of  an  inch, 
was  an  assumption  and  not  a fact.  Taking  the  example  worked 
out  in  the  paper  of  a lens  of  10-inch  focus,  it  came  out  that  an 
object  which,  to  be  in  true  focus,  required  racking  in  the 
instrument  the  1 of  an  inch,  was  still  in  focus  without  that 
adjustment— a proposition  which  he  thought  most  practical 
photographers  would  recognize  as  not  being  true,  even  with 
the  diaphragm  of  //12  mentioned.  As  to  the  statement  that 
if  the  French  measure  of  permissible  confusion  was  adopted, 
detective  cameras  could  not  be  used,  that  would  depend  upon 
the  question  of  the  length  of  focus  of  the  lens.  A lens,  say,  of 
3 or  4 inches  focus  might,  while  keeping  to  the  French  standard, 
work  as  rapidly  and  with  as  little  proportionate  confusion  for 
equi-distant  objects  as  the  one  of  10-inch  focus  supposed  by 
the  paper  when  giving  confusion  to  the  of  an  inch.  Curva- 
ture of  field  such  as  generally,  if  not  always,  existed  in  detective 
lenses,  was  another  element  in  connection  with  the  amount  of 
loss  of  definition  in  objects  at  varying  and  at  equal  distances — 
a loss  of  definition  which  might  considerably  exceed  that  due 
to  the  difference  of  distance  referred  to  in  the  paper. 

Mr.  T.  R.  Dallmeyer  said  that  the  calculation  made  by  Sir 
David  Salomons  formed  a continuation  of  those  made  by  his 
late  father,  and  upon  the  same  basis.  If  the  T^0th  of  an  inch 
was  considered  too  much  confusion  to  be  tolerated,  calculations 
might  be  made  adapted  to  the  French  or  any  other  standard. 

A paper  from  Mr.  W.  K.  Burton  upon  “ Eikonogen  as  a 
Developer  in  Practice  ” was  read  in  summary  by  Mr.  Chapman 
Jones.  The  writer  said  that  he  had  found  the  keeping  quality 
of  a plain  eikonogen  solution  to  be  less  than  that  of  a plain  pyro 
solution,  but  when  mixed  with  sulphite  of  soda  and  an  alkali 
the  case  was  reversed,  He  found  that  an  image  developed  with 


eikonogen  came  up  more  slowly  than  when  pyro  was  used,  but 
that  eventually  more  detail  was  obtainable,  probably  25  to  30 
per  cent.,  and  that  might  be  considered  as  so  much  gain  in  the 
exposure. 

Mr.  Warnerke  thought  to  get  the  best  results,  eikonogen 
and  pyro  must  be  treated  differently.  He  found  that  he  got 
the  best  effect  with  caustic  alkali  when  using  eikonogen,  and 
that  then  it  was  better  than  pyro.  He  used  : — 


Water 

Sulphite  of  soda... 
Eikonogen 
Caustic  potash 


100  parts 
40  „ 

20  „ 
20  „ 


He  made  up  the  solution  with  boiling  water,  not  merely  for 
ease  in  dissolving,  but  because  the  air  was  thereby  removed. 
This  strong  solution  he  diluted  with  from  three  to  ten  parts  of 
water,  the  former  proportion  when  gre  at  vigour  was  required, 
and  the  latter  for  softer  pictures. 

Mr.  Wollaston  had  not  succeeded  in  getting  such  intensity 
with  eikonogen  as  was  wanted  when  copying  line  work,  and 
enquired  whether  Mr.  Warnerke  had  not  found  this  to  be  the 
case. 


Mr.  Warnerke  had  found  the  contrary. 

Mr.  Lawrence  remarked  upon  the  great  strength  of  Mr. 
Warnerke’s  solution,  and  said  that  when  he  had  made  a solu- 
tion of  only  sixteen  grains  to  the  ounce,  some  of  the  eikonogen 
had  afterwards  crystallised  out. 

Mr.  Debenham  said  that  it  was  understood  that  eikonogen 
dissolved  much  more  freely  in  alkaline  solution,  and  that  Mr. 
Warnerke’s  formula  fulfilled  this  condition. 

It  was  mentioned  that  nominations  for  the  approaching  elec- 
tion of  members  of  council  must  be  sent  in  by  the  21st  inst. 
The  auditors  for  the  year  were  appointed  — Messrs.  Scamell 
and  Samuel  ; and  scrutineers  of  voting  papers,  Messrs.  Scamell, 
Freshwater,  Chas.  Sawyer,  and  Atkinson. 

Messrs.  H.  G.  Sheppard,  E.  E.  Corke,  and  Rajmongee  C'huer 
were  elected  members  of  the  Society. 


Camera  Club. 

January  9th. — Bedford  Street,  Strand,  London  ; Sir 
George  Prescott,  Bart.,  in  the  chair. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Walker,  who  attended  to  read  a paper  about  the 
new  reliable  celluloid  film,  said  that  his  memoir  was  something 
like  Artemus  Ward’s  lecture  on  “Nineveh,”  which  con- 
tained nothing  about  Nineveh  in  it.  He  then  went  into  the 
history  of  film  photography  and  roller  slides,  and  when  speaking 
of  stripping  films,  said  that  25,000  negatives  per  week  were 
developed  anti  stripped  for  those  who  had  exposed  them,  by 
the  Eastman  Company,  and  that  ninety  j>er  cent,  of  these  w ere 
fairly  good,  if  not  superior,  printing  negatives.  Those  who 
failed  with  the  stripping- films  were  persons  who  did  not  adhere 
closely  to  the  instructions  issued  by  the  Company,  or  who,  in 
some  cases,  used  inferior  materials,  such  as  bad  india-rubber 
solution.  Sheets  cut  from  the  new  reliable  film  are  not 
recommended,  since  no  known  device  will  hold  them  perfectly 
flat  in  the  focal  plane  ; they  should  be  used  in  a proper  roller 
slide.  The  film  will  not  endure  great  tension  in  the  direction  of 
its  length,  and  when  old  Eastman  roller  slides  give  too  great 
tension  for  use  with  them,  that  tension  can  readily  be  reduced 
by  the  possessor  of  the  slide  by  simple  means  which  the  speaker 
described.  The  film  should  not  curl  in  the  developing  solution, 
but  to  keep  it  quite  flat,  the  Eastman  Company  had  devised  a 
new  developing  dish.  The  quantity  of  liquid  required  to 
develop  a negative  was  then  surprisingly  small  ; still,  he 
doubted  whether  those  dishes  would  be  necessary.  To  dry  the 
negative,  it  should  be  pinned  to  a board  by  one  or  more  comers  ; 
should  it  curl,  it  should,  when  dry,  be  wound  in  the  opposite 
direction  round  a cylinder.  He  did  not  recommend  the  use 
of  glycerine  in  this  country  to  reduce  curling,  but  in  the  dry 
atmosphere  of  some  parts  of  the  United  States,  where  the  fur- 
niture can  be  heard  snapping  and  cracking  like  pistol  shots,  the 
conditions  are  different.  The  films  are  not  yet  upon  the 
market  in  this  country,  but  the  Company  is  pushing  forward 
its  English  factories  with  all  speed.  The  speaker  then  exhibited 
specimens  of  the  new  film,  coated  and  uncoated,  also  some  film 


r>4 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  17,  1890. 


negatives  ; he  likewise  exhibited  various  forms  of  old  and  new 
roller  slides.  He  then  stated  that  the  new  film  had  some  pecu- 
liarities which,  so  far  as  he  knew,  were  not  understood.  It 
sometimes  presented  markings  like  branches  springing  from  a 
central  point,  and  they  seemed  to  be  due  to  some  electrical 
condition  ; such  markings  were  rare.  Also,  users  would  occa- 
sionally find  what  appeared  to  be  a lap  or  joint  of  two  lengths 
of  the  film  ; it  was  not  really  a lap,  but  was  due  to  the  method 
of  manufacture,  and  Mr.  Eastman  believed  that  this  drawback 
would  be  corrected  in  the  near  future. 

Mr.  Francis  Cobb  wished  that  Mr.  Walker  had  exhibited  in 
its  roller  slide  a film  upon  which  1 0 by  8 inch  negatives  could  be 
taken  ; he  had  never  seen  a film  of  that  size  which,  between 
the  rollers,  would  keep  perfectly  flat  in  the  focal  plane. 

Hr.  Lindsay  Johnson  had  experienced  the  want  of  some  very 
perfect  transparent  celluloid  to  mitigate  the  affliction  known  as 
conical  cornea,  a defect  which  prevents  the  sufferer  from  seeing 
anything  clearly.  A properly  shaped  piece  of  transparent 
celluloid  laid  upon  the  eye  with  a drop  of  oil  between  was  of 
considerable  advantage  in  such  cases,  and  helped  to  throw  a 
sharper  image  on  the  retina.  With  an  English  and  French 
chemist  he  had  been  working  at  the  improvement  of  celluloid, 
and  had  succeeded  in  pioducing  specimens  more  perfect  than 
that  composing  the  films  before  them. 

Mr.  D.  P.  Rodgers  had  been  taking  photographs  upon  the 
new  film,  and  found  it  fairly  strong.  Out  of  eleven  negatives, 
he  had  found  the  branch-like  markings  in  three.  He  was  not 
a shareholder  in  the  Company,  but  he  thought  that  they  all 
ought  to  be  very  grateful  for  what  the  Eastman  Co.  had  done, 
and  he  would  prefer  to  have  three  faulty  negatives  out  of 
twelve,  rather  than  to  undertake  the  manipulation  of  stripping- 
films. 

Mr.  E.  R.  Shipton  had  found  that  the  film,  when  of  whole- 
plate  size,  did  not  lie  quite  flat  in  the  slide  ; but  the  general 
results  were  very  favourable  as  compared  with  the  use  of  glass 
plates.  Could  not  the  Company  mark  where  the  laps  would 
come  ? He  also  was  not  a shareholder  in  the  Eastman  Company, 
but  was  very  grateful  for  what  it  had  done. 

Mr.  H.  Sturmey  had  been  experimenting  with  a 10  by  8 
roll,  and  had  found  no  unevenness  ; his  difficulty  was  to  wind 
the  film  straightly  off. 

A member  remarked  that  if  the  films  were  left  to  dry 
for  twelve  hours — that  is  to  say,  until  they  were  far  beyond  the 
stage  of  being  apparently  dry — they  did  not  curl.  He  thought 
that  the  branch-like  markings  did  not  seem  to  appear  when  the 
films  were  exposed  upon  wet  days. 

Hr.  C.  S.  Patterson  wished  to  know  whether  the  films 
would  preserve  their  flexibility  when  kept  for  a long  time  upon 
the  rolls. 

Mr.  Lyonei.  Clark  said  that  the  branch-like  markings  differ 
in  appearance  from  what  might  be  expected  in  stress-marks, 
and  that  they  are  distinctly  in  the  film  itself,  and  not  in  the 
celluloid.  He  thought  that  they  were  produced  absolutely  by 
an  electrical  discharge.  When  a celluloid  comb  is  drawn  I 
rapidly  through  the  hair,  in  dry  weather,  electrical  sparks  arc  ^ 
sometimes  produced.  The  electricity  is  not  present  at  the  out-  | 
set  either  in  the  hair  or  in  the  comb,  but  is  the  result  of  friction  ; 
in  fact,  the  mechanical  energy  put  forth  by  the  muscles  is 
transformed  into  electrical  energy.  To  avoid  the  production 
of  electricity  it  is  well,  therefore,  to  exercise  as  little  mechani- 
cal energy  as  possible,  so  before  exposing  the  last  half  of  the 
length  of  celluloid  in  his  roller  slide,  betook  care  to  unwind 
that  portion  with  the  greatest  slowness;  the  result  was,  that 
the  last  negatives  taken  on  his  length  of  celluloid  were  almost 
entirely  free  from  the  branch-like  markings.  He  thought  that 
many  photographers  would  like  to  expose  the  new  film  in  double 
dark  slides  as  usual,  rather  than  to  use  a roller  slide. 

Mr.  A.  Pringle  condemned  the  use  of  glycerine  when  deve- 
h.ping  negatives  in  this  climate.  Mr.  Clark  had  the  advantage 
ot  him  in  being  able  to  perform  the  comb  experiment.  He 
thought  that  photographers  did  not  want  miniature  thunder- 
storms inside  their  roll-liolders. 

Mr.  8.  Bourne  thought  that  the  markings  might  be  due  to 
a kind  of  fungus  in  the  film. 

Mr.  M ai.ker,  in  the  course  of  his  reply,  said  that  Mr.  East- 


man did  not  at  present  intend  to  put  larger  films  than  12  by  10 
inches  upon  the  rollers ; lie  (Mr.  Walker)  did  not  know  wherefore. 
Mr.  Eastman  and  those  working  with  him  believed  that  they  had 
so  far  surmounted  all  difficulties  as  to  have  reached  a point  where 
they  see  that  they  will  be  able  to  turn  out  a perfect  film. 
Personally,  he  (Mr.  Walker)  had  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
invention  of  the  film  ; it  was  the  outcome  of  the  investigations 
of  Mr.  Eastman  and  Mr.  Reisenbach.  He  believed  that  the 
films  were  permanently  flexible,  for  otherwise  Mr.  Eastman — ) 
who  had  been  working  at  them  for  a year — would  not  have  put 
them  on  the  market.  He  thought  the  branch-like  markings  to 
be  electrical,  and  that  they  could  be  avoided  by  some  changes 
in  the  mode  of  manufacture.  He  believed  these  films  to  mark 
the  dawn  of  a new  era  in  photography,  the  end  whereof  no  man 
could  see. 

The  Chairman  thought  that  the  invention  would  be  of  the 
greatest  possible  use  to  photographers  in  the  future. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  2nd  instant  Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  occu- 
pied the  chair. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  showed  a mixture  of  powdered  eikonogen  and 
sulphite  of  soda  that  had  turned  quite  black  in  colour.  The 
powder  contained  the  following  proportions  : eikonogen  10 
grains,  sulphite  of  soda  40  grains.  After  mixing,  the  powder 
was  put  dry  into  a stoppered  bottle.  The  next  day  it  had 
turned  quite  black.  Mr.  Cowan  said  this  tended  to  confirm  the 
opinion  of  many  photographers  who  questioned  the  preservative 
nature  of  the  sulphite.  On  another  occasion  a mixture  of  eikon- 
ogen, sulphite,  and  an  alkali  and  sugar  in  powder  the  next  day 
turned  to  a pasty  mass. 

Mr.  A.  Haddon  criticised  the  opinions  expressed  at 
the  last  meeting  as  to  the  cause  of  the  cloudiness  on  the  inside 
of  the  cover  glass  of  a transparency,  more  especially  the 
statement  that  it  was  due  to  the  mercury  left  in  film  from  ton- 
ing attacking  the  lead  in  the  glass.  He  said  if  such  were  the 
case  it  was  a fact  unknown  to  chemists  and  physicists.  In  his 
own  experience  he  had  never  seen  any  erosion  produced  from 
mercury  when  in  contact  with  glass.  Mercury  was  in  constant 
contact  with  the  glass  tubes  of  thermometers  and  barometers, 
and  as  far  as  he  knew  no  case  was  known  of  its  having  caused 
any  erosion  of  the  glass.  In  his  opinion  the  injury  to  the  slide 
was  caused  by  heat  acting  upon  aqueous  vapour  imprisoned 
between  the  two  glasses.  He  was  cognisant  of  three  instances 
where  heat  had  caused  a frostiness  similar  to  that  produced  on 
the  slide  in  question.  In  one  case  it  appeared  in  a retort  after 
heating  over  a spirit  lamp  (retort  shown)  ; in  another  a similar 
effect  was  produced  iu  placing  a chimney  glass  over  a burner  ; 
and  in  the  third  instance  a bottle,  after  washing,  was  placed  in 
an  even  to  dry.  The  inner  surface  of  the  bottle  became  curled 
and  wrinkled.  He  believed  the  cover  glass  referred  to  cm- 
tained  no  lead  at  all.  Glass  makers  would  not  employ  expensive 
ingredients  in  cheap  sheet  or  bottle  glass.  Mr.  Hadd  in 
then  read  an  extract  from  Watts  Dictionary  iu  support 
of  his  statements,  and,  as  a farther  proof,  he  held  the 
neck  of  the  retort  already  referred  to  over  a spirit  lamp,  which 
at  once  caused  a frosted  appearance. 

Mr.  P.  Everett  asked  how  Mr.  Haddon  accounted  for  the 
cleanness  of  the  cover-glass  of  the  transparency  in  contact  with 
the  mask.  Why  was  not  the  inside  attacked  equally  all  over  ? 

Mr.  Haddon  said  in  all  probability  the  paper  mask  had,  by 
absorbing  the  aqueous  vapour,  prevented  the  heat  to  which  the 
slide  had  beeu  subjected  in  India  having  the  same  effect  upon 
the  glass. 

A Member  asked  why  the  outside  of  the  cover-glass  had  not 
equally  been  affected  by  heat  and  moisture. 

Mr.  Haddon  said  these  conditions  did  not  apply  equally  to  the 
inside  and  outside  of  the  slide.  Heat  and  moisture  were  never 
going  on  simultaneously  on  the  outside  of  the  glass. 

The  Hon.  Sec.  believed  the  binding  of  a great  many  slides 
was  done  before  they  ware  thoroughly  dry.  In  his  own  prac- 
tice, he  almost  baked  his  slides  before  binding. 


January  17,  1890."] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


55 


Mr.  T.  E.  FresTwater  hal  seen  many  Add -glasses  returned 
from  India  with  the  large  lens  attic'r  inside,  b. it  not  on  the 
outside. 

Mr.  J.  B.  B Wellington  shewed  twe  sets  of  transparencies, 
the  exposure  of  the  plates  in  each  set  being  20,  40,  60,  and  80 
seconds  respectively.  I i o is  case  the  pi  ite3  were  taken  out  of 
the  dish  imtnedia'ely  the  development  was  complete,  showing  a 
range  of  tone  from  a warm  colour  to  a H ick.  The  other  set 
W13  left  in  ths  developer  until  the  last  one  was  developed; 
these  developed  all  one  colour. 

The  Chairman  said  this  guide  proved  h:s  contention,  that 
a warm  colour  wis  due  to  an  early  stage  of  development. 

Mr.  Wellington  also  exhibited  a cover-glass  of  a slide  that 
had  been  iu  contact  for  some  time.  It  sh  owed,  when  breathed 
upon,  the  opening  of  the  mask  very  cleaily.  No  amouut  of 
rubbing  or  polishing  s.emel  to  alter  this  condition  of  the  glass 


At  the  meeting  on  the  9th  inst.  Mr.  L.  Mbdl.ynd  occupied  the 

chair. 

Mr.  Conrad  Beck  showed  two  lenses — one  having  brass 
mounts,  the  other  aluminium  ; the  latter  being  about  half  the 
weight  of  the  brass-mounted  lens.  Mr.  Beck  said  originally 
aluminium  was  expensive,  but  was  now  much  reduced  in  price. 
Mr.  Beck  also  exhibited  a camera  for  general  out-door  work. 
Two  advantages  were  claimed  forthis  camera — -very  great  rigidity, 
and  simplicity  in  setting  up,  two  motions  only  being  necessary 
for  this  purpose.  The  front  of  the  camera  is  fixed,  the  focussing 
being  accomplished  by  a rack-and-pinion  adjustment  to  the 
back. 

The  Chairman  showed  a negative  having  a curious  geometric 
marking  over  the  whole  of  the  surface  of  the  film.  The  plate 
after  development  was  bleached  with  bichloride  of  mercury  and 
intensified  with  ammonia,  when  the  markings  appeared.  The 
piste  had  been  thoroughly  washed  several  times  without  pro- 
ducing any  effect  upon  the  markings. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater,  referring  to  the  discussions  at  the 
two  previous  meetings  on  the  erosion  of  the  inner  surface  of 
cover  glasses  of  transparencies,  had  separated  the  glasses  of 
some  slides  of  the  Paris  Exhibition,  1878.  They  had  only 
been  through  the  lantern  once,  and  had  been  shut  up  in  a box 
for  ten  years.  A clouding  of  the  inside  of  the  cover  glass  had 
taken  place.  This,  however,  unlike  those  exhibited  at  a pre- 
vious meeting,  yielded  readily  to  rubbing  with  the  finger.  A 
ciloured  French  slide,  twenty-five  years  old,  when  separated, 
showed  a distinct  outline  of  the  picture  on  the  inner  surface  of 
the  cover  glass.  Mr.  Freshwater  said  in  his  experience  French 
gtass  was  much  more  susceptible  of  discolouration  than 
English.  He  also  passed  round  three  prints  taken  by  Mr. 
England’s  flash-light  lamp. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  showed  a series  of  transparencies  developed 
with  a formula  given  in  the  current  issue  of  the  Photographic 
Jlerinc , copied  from  the  American  Journal  of  Photography : - 
Water  distilled  ...  ...  ...  1 fluid  ounce 

Tartrate  of  sodium  and  potassium  ...  25  grains 
Sulphite  of  sodium  ...  ...  ...  25  ,, 

Carbonate  of  lithium  ...  ...  1 grain 

Pyrogallol  ...  ...  ...  ...  2 grains 

He  had  found  it  the  most  powerful  developer  in  his 
experience.  The  solution  remained  perfectly  colourless  after 
several  plates  had  been  developed. 

This  being  a lantern  night,  the  remainder  of  the  evening  was 
derated  to  the  exhibition  of  members’  slides  ; Messrs.  H.  I>. 
Atkinson,  F.  C.  Kellon,  L.  Medland,  and  T.  E.  Freshwater, 
each  contributed  a series  of  transparencies. 


Hackney  Photographic  Society. 

A meeting  was  held  on  Thursday  last,  with  Dr.  Gerard  Smith 

in  the  chair. 

Mr.  F red.  II.  Evans  read  his  promised  paper  on  “ Photo- 
Micrography  ” before  the  members  on  Thursday  last  ; after 
which,  over  one  hundred  slides  illustrative  of  the  paper  were 
shown  through  the  lantern,  the  most  interesting  being  a series 
of  subjects  taken  with  dark  ground  illumination,  foraminifera, 
polycistina,  wood  sections,  whole  insects,  corallines,  and 


ectinus  spine  sections.  The  physiological  slides  were  also 
regarded  by  medical  members  present  as  of  special  value.  The 
usual  specimens  of  insects  and  parts  of  insects  were  clear  and 
sharp.  A formula  for  development  of  which  the  lecturer 
spoke  highly  was  a modification  of  one  given  by  Mr.  J.  B.  B. 
Wellington,  and  consisted  of  : — 


■Quinol  ... 

462 

grains 

Meth.  spirit 

H 

ounces 

Sulphurous  acid 

3j 

9 f 

Brom.  potass.  ... 

84" 

grains 

Water  to  make  ... 

1 o.V 

ounces 

■Sodium  hydrate  fused  ... 

261 

grains 

Potash  ,,  ,, 

261 

99 

Sodium  sulphite  pure  ... 

462 

99 

Water  to  make  ... 

10.V 

ounces 

30  minims  of  each  to  8 J,  drachms  of  water. 

Messrs.  S.  H.  Barton  and  J.  Reed  were  nominated  members. 
The  Secretary  announced  that  the  album,  first  year’s 
working,  was  ready  for  inspection,  and  that  on  the  23rd,  Mr. 
F.  W.  Hart  had  promised  to  give  a flash-light  demonstration. 


Birmingham  Photographic  Society. 

A meeting  was  held  on  the  9th  inst.,  at  the  Club  Rooms, 
Grand  Hotel,  Birmingham,  Mr.  E.  H.  Jaques  in  the  chair. 

It  was  announced  that  the  council  had  given  an  order  for 
the  Society  lantern,  which  is  not  to  exceed  thirty  guineas  ; also 
that  the  annual  exhibition  would  be  open  to  the  public  on  the 
21st  and  22nd  inst.,  at  the  Temperance  Hall,  Temple  Street, 
Birmingham. 

Mr.  C.  J.  Fowler  than  gave  his  paper  on  “ Notes  on  the 
Summer  Excursions,”  illustrated  by  a large  number  of  lantern 
slides  made  from  the  negatives  taken  by  the  lecturer  and 
members. 

Mr.  W.  J.  Harrison  exhibited  some  slides  made  on  the  new 
celluloid  film. 


Bath  Photographic  Society. 

January  8<A. — Mr.  W.  Pumphrey,  president,  in  the  chair. 

Mr.  Archibald.  C.  Coke  was  elected  a member  of  the  Society. 

The  Hon.  Secretary  drew  attention  to  a parcel  of  photo- 
graphic journals  and  books  presented  to  the  Society.  Circulars 
relating  to  the  forthcoming  Exhibition  at  the  Crystal  Palace 
were  also  laid  on  the  table. 

The  Chairman  welcomed  Mr.  Sumner  Gates,  of  the  Cam- 
bridge (lT.S.)  Camera  Club. 

Mr.  Gates,  after  thanking  the  Society  for  the  kind  way  in 
which  they  had  received  him,  spoke  on  t lie  subject  of  flash-light 
photography.  He  had  had  some  experience  with  magnesium 
flash-light  exposures  in  America.  As  a rule,  they  worked  with  a 
larger  flame  than  appeared  customary  here,  and  more  magnesium 
was  used  ; but  the  light  so  obtained  was  diffused  through  a 
screen.  By  this  means  the  shadows  were  less  heavy.  The 
Scovill  Co.  also  issue  the  powder  in  the  form  of  a cartridge, 
which  is  very  effective.  Some  pictures  done  in  this  way  he  had 
already  sent  to  the  States  for,  and  the  Society  might  see  them 
at  a future  meeting.  He  hoped  to  return  the  hospitality  to 
some  members  of  the  Bath  Photographic  Society. 

The  Chairman  thought  it  desirable  to  say  a few  words  in 
connection  with  flash  light  work  before  experiments  were  made. 
In  the  first  place,  the  process  is  the  complement,  though  some- 
what reversed,  to  what  is  usually  regarded  as  instantaneous 
photography.  Instead  of  the  work  being  controlled  by  the 
rapidity  of  closing  the  camera,  it  is  the  rapidity  of  the  light 
one  has  to  deal  with,  as  it  commences  and  ceases  with  an 
instantaneous  flash.  Such  a light  we  find  in  the  combustion 
of  the  metal  magnesium.  The  ordinary  form  used  to  be 
exhibited  as  a thin  ribbon  of  the  metal,  but  there  was  this 
disadvantage — that  the  light  came  almost  from  a point  ; thus 
some  portions  must  be  liadlv  lighted  or  be  in  deep  shadow. 
The  present  plan  is  to  spread  the  metal  in  the  form  of  powder 
over  a larger  surface,  and  for  a shorter  time.  The  powder, 
which  should  be  fine,  is  burnt  in  a spirit  flame,  and,  instead  of 
proceeding  from  a point,  it  has  a broad  and  a powerful  light. 

About  a dozen  cameras  were  then  brought  into  requisition, 
and  successful  negatives  were  made  of  the  Chairman  and  others, 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [January  17,  1890. 

StnsUms  to  (jfoiTCSpon&ents. 


Mr.  A.  Spurge  manipulated  the  flashing  apparatus  during  the 
evening,  and  a convenient  dark  room  was  fitted  up  for  those 
who  desired  to  use  it. 

The  Secretary  exhibited  several  large  photographs  lent  by 
Mr.  Rosen,  of  the  Autotype  Co.  These  illustrated  the  various 
coloured  tissues  in  use  for  carbon  printing,  and  comprised  sepia, 
ruby  brown,  terra  cotta,  blue,  and  engraving  black.  Examples 
of  collotype,  auto-earbon,  and  auto-crayon  were  also  handed 
round  for  inspection. 


Lewes  Photograph:  Society. 

An  ordinary  meeting  was  held  on  January  7th,  with  Mr.  J. 
Tones  in  the  chair. 

The  balance  sheet  of  the  Lewes  and  Sussex  Photogiaphic 
Exhibition  was  read,  showing  a balance  in  hand  of  £9  lbs.  Id., 
and  was  adopted. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  usual  business,  the  remainder  of  the 
evening  was  devoted  to  the  making  of  lantern  slides  by  con- 
tact ; slides  were  exposed  and  developed  bv  Mr.  A.  H. 
Webling,  and  the  Hon.  Secretary. 

It  has  been  arranged  to  offer  certificate  for  competition 
amongst  the  members,  once  a quarter,  for  various  subjects  ; the 
first  competition  will  be  for  lantern  transparencies. 


Dundee  and  East  ok  Scotland  Photographic  Association. 

January  9th. — Mr.  J.  Mathewson  in  the  chair. 

The  slides  of  last  month’s  lantern  slide  competition  were 
exhibited  by  the  lantern.  The  variety  of  tone  and  range  of 
density  of  the  sets  of  slides  was  interesting,  each  set  having 
been  made  from  the  same  negatives. 

Various  detective  camera  pictures  were  exhibited.  Fallow- 
field’s  “ Facile  ” and  Talbot  and  Earner's  “ Diamond  ” detec- 
tive cameras  were  on  exhibition,  and  their  working  was 
explained. 


Leicester  and  Leicestershire  Photographic  Society. 

A meeting  was  held  in  the  Mayor’s  Parlour,  Old  Town  Hall, 
on  January  8th,  Mr.  S.  S.  Partridge  in  the  chair. 

One  member  was  elected,  and  one  proposed  for  ballot  at  next 
meeting.  Letters  of  resignation  were  read  from  Messrs.  Toller 
and  Eller}’,  which  were  accepted  with  regret. 

The  election  of  officers  was  next  proceeded  with,  the  follow- 
ing being  the  result : — President — Mr.  S.  S.  Partridge  ; Vice- 
Pesidcnt — Mr.  J.  T.  Cook  ; Treasurer — Mr.  W.  Sculthorp  ; 
Secretary — Mr.  H.  Pickering,  High  Cross  Street  ; Committee — 
Messrs.  Sculthorp,  Wilson,  Pierpoint,  Porrett,  Leeder,  F. 
Brown,  Blackwell,  and  Bankart. 

It  was  decided  to  offer  the  following  medals  for  competition 
among  the  members  for  the  ensuing  session  : — Silver  and  bronze 
medals,  by  the  Society,  for  the  two  best  sets  of  six  lantern 
slides  ; silver  and  bronze  medals,  by  the  Society,  for  the  best 
and  second  best  six  prints  whole  plate  ; silver  and  bronze 
medals,  by  the  past  President,  for  prints  under  whole  plate  ; 
and  silver  and  bronze  medals,  by  the  President,  for  quarter- 
plate  prints.  It  was  arranged  that  the  competitions  take  place 
as  follows  : — Lantern-slide  competition,  at  the  February  meet- 
ing ; enlargement  competition,  at  the  March  meeting ; print 
competition,  at  the  April  meeting. 

Received. — “ Tylar’s  Practical  Hints  and  Photographic 
Calendar  for  1890  ’’  is  a skilful  combination  of  useful  informa- 
tion, handy  for  reference,  and  a comprehensive  trade  catalogue  ; 
it  contains  as  frontispiece  a specimen  of  Bemrose’s  photo-tint, 
reproduced  from  a negative  by  the  Rev.  F.  C.  Lambert,  of 

the  Chapel  of  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge. “The  I’hoto- 

giapher’s  Diary  and  Desk  Book  for  1890  ” is  issued  by  the 
proprietors  of  the  Camera,  and,  like  its  predecessor,  is  a handy 
quarto  diary,  interleaved  with  blotting-paper,  and  intended 
specially  for  the  use  of  photographers.  The  formulae  are 
printed  in  a size  of  type  that  can  be  read  without  much 

difficulty  under  red  light. Another  diary  is  the  little  pocket 

monthly  forwarded  by  Messrs.  Mawson  and  Swan.  Spaces  for 
daily  notes  and  memoranda  are  interspersed  with  pages  of  price 
lists  ; this  diary  is  to  be  obtained  gratuitously  on  appli 
cation  to  the  firm. 


All  Advertisements  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  £ Carter,  5, Furnival  Street,  London. 

All  C immunications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  E iitor  of  the  Photographic  News,  6,  Furnival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

T.  C.  Selwyn. — To  sensitize  your  rough  paper  for  gas-light 
enlargements,  coat  it  with  gelatino-bromide  emulsion,  or  try  one 
of  the  japers  already  in  the  market,  such  as  Eastman’s  or  the 
Ilford  bromide  paper.  See  advertisements  at  page  Ixvi,  and  at 
the  end  of  the  Year-Book. 

J.  A.  C. — The  sulphuric  acid  test  for  bromine.  Your  failure  is 
altributable  to  the  fact  that  you  operated  directly  upon  the 
bromide  paper,  instead  of  charring  this  first  to  destroy  the  organic 
matter  and  concentrate  the  material.  It  would  be  well  also  to 
add  a grain  or  two  of  black  oiide  of  mauganese  to  the  vitriol,  and 
instead  of  starch  paper  use  starch  paste  at  the  end  of  a glass  rod. 
The  paragraph  from  Nature,  on  page  487,  describes  the  fluorescein 
test,  which  is  not  so  easily  put  in  practice.  Flue  rescein  is  a 
phthalic  acid  and  resorcein  compound  (containing  no  fluorine), 
and  this  body  gives  a pink  eosine  when  submitted  to  the  vapours 
either  of  bromine  or  iodine;  it  will  not  therefore  distinguish 
between  them,  but  only  enable  you  to  prove  that  one  or  the  other 
is  present.  Pure  nitrite  of  potash  and  fluorescein  are  procurable 
from  Messrs.  Ilopkin  and  Williams.  We  accept  your  thanks ; 
no  expenses  were  incurred. 

E.  L. — Mr.  W.  T.  Wilkinson’s  little  manual  of  “ Photo-engraving 
and  Photo-lithography,”  which  treats  also  of  the  collotype  and 
heliotype,  is  published  by  Messrs.  England  Bros.,  25,  Charles 
Street,  Netting  Hill,  W.  A now  edition  or  a reprint  is  just  now 
in  course  of  preparation. 

V.  W. — The  instruments  named  (the  tachyscope  and  leucoscope) 
are  not  used  in  photography,  but  we  will  endeavour  to  get  you 
the  information  asked  for, 

A.  Read. — 1.  The  camera  mentioned  (No.  2 Kodak)  is  just  the 
size  for  lantern  negatives,  and  contains  the  adjustments  you 
require.  2.  There  is  no  doubt  about  the  new  celluloid  films 
bearing  enlargement  quite  as  well  as  glass. 

J.  C. — We  fail  to  seo  what  advantage,  even  in  weight,  the  new 
mode  of  extension  would  possess  over  the  ordinary  leather  bellows 
action  in  cameras.  As  a temporary  adjunct  fur  enlarging,  your 
idea  would,  perhaps,  be  of  most  service.  The  sketches  are  returned 
by  post. 

A.  M.  M. — For  removing  silver  stains  from  the  hanls,  there  is 
nothing  better  than  painting  with  a solution  of  ioline  in  iodide  of 
potassium,  and  followiog  up  with  a fairly  strong  hypo  solution. 
A second  application  may  be  necessary  in  some  cases. 

W.  R. — 1.  It  is  unfortunate  that  their  interests  are  opposed,  but  wn 
do  not  think  that  you  should  supply  B without  consent  of  A. 
Fuller  particulars  by  letttr.  2.  Husnik’s  new  enamel  transfer 
paper  is  not  yet  offered  for  sale  here. 

Grain. — Set  up  a square  of  wire-gauze,  and  photograph  that  to  get 
the  reticulated  screen  required. 

Blue  Print. — For  working  formula  and  full  particulars,  see  the 
News  of  20th  September  last,  and  if  you  want  further  informa- 
tion, get  a copy  of  “ Modern  Heliographic  Processes,”  a manual 
of  instruction  for  engineers,  architects,  and  draughtsmen,  by 
Ernst  Lietze  (New  York:  Van  Nostrand  Company). 

J.  M. — Varnish  for  gelatine  negatives.  Dissolve  in  the  cold  an 
ounce  of  orange  shellac  in  a pint  of  methylated  spirit,  and  after 
a day  or  two  shake  up  with  a small  quantity  of  kaolin  or  prepared 
chalk  (crusbel  whiting)  to  help  to  clarify  the  varnish.  Allow  to 
settle,  and  filter.  Some  operators  use  .more  shellac,  but  a thin 
varnish  is  all  that  is  required  ti  protect  the  negative,  if  care  be 
taken  to  dry  the  paper  well  before  printing. 

A.  W. — If  you  wish  to  exercise  your  privilege  of  nominating  offi- 
cers and  members  of  council  to  serve  for  the  ensuing  year,  remem- 
ber that  Tuesday  next,  21st  inst.,  is  the  last  day  for  accepting 
letters  addressed  to  the  secretary,  at  5a,  Pall  Mall  East,  S.W. 
The  notice  appeared  in  the  December  issue  of  the  Society’s 
Journal,  at  the  foot  of  page  38. 

C.S.— There  is  much  truth  in  the  remarks  about  British  Art  and 
the  Processes  of  Reproduction,  in  the  current  number  of  the  7Vi««- 
teenih  Century,  hut  some  error  when  the  author  asser's  that  all 
the  photo-mechanical  work  is  being  done  abroad, 


4 - 


I 


I • 


L 


THE  PTIOTOGRAI  >HIO 




Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1638. — January  24,  1890. 


\ - 


CONTENTS. 


PAOR 


Purpose  in  Photographic  Work 57 

The  Royal  Institution  58 

The  Best  Photographer.  By  Fred.  Hart  Wilson 61 

Table  of  Sizes  of  Printing  and  Writing  Papers 65 

Notes  66 

Photography  in  Germany.  By  Hermann  E.  Gunther  67 

Eikonogen.  By  Raphael  Meldola,  F.R.8 69 

Notices  of  Books 70 

The  Late  Cuthfcert  Bede  and  his  Book  “ Photographic 

Pleasures."  By  W.  Lang,  junr.,  F.C.S 71 

The  Daguerre  Monument  at  Washington  72 


PAOK 

Patent  Intelligence 73 

Correspondence.— The  “ Roll  Call  ” — Basket-Work  in  Photo- 
graphy — Camera  Club  Exhibitions  — Reproduction  and 

Copyright — Hackney  Photographic  Society 73 

Proceedings  of  Societies. — Camera  Club — London  and  Provin- 
cial Photographic  Association — Ea:  t Dulwich  and  Peekham 
Photographic  Association  — Photographers’  Benevolent 
Association — Abney  Camera  Club— Manchester  Amateur 
Photographic  Association— Glasgow  Photographic  Associa- 


tion-Derby Photographic  Society  T5 

Answers  to  Correspondents 76 


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II 


PURPOSE  IN  PHOTOGRAPHIC  WORK. 
Many  photographers  have  purpose  enough  in  their  work, 
namely,  those  who  are  engaged  in  the  art-science  pro- 
fessionally, so  have  their  well-defined  daily  duties  to  the 
public  before  them,  and  are  sometimes  limited  in  those 
duties  more  than  is  pleasant  to  themselves  by  the  un- 
educated taste  of  a considerable  portion  of  the  populace. 

The  photographer  without  a purpose  is  usually  the 
professional  or  the  amateur  who  takes  out-door  views 
occasionally,  say  of  an  attractive  building  or  picturesque 
landscape,  with  no  more  deeply  rooted  object  in  view 
than  that  of  obtaining  a pretty  picture.  An  accumula- 
tion of  his  photographs  soon  grows  large  enough  to  tire 
both  himself  and  his  friends,  however  well  they  may 
be  executed. 

This  class  of  worker  will  discover  that  he  has  a 
higher  mission  in  life  when  he  has  a definite  object  in 
view  in  his  photographic  work.  An  example  has  been 
set  by  Warwickshire  of  a method  of  utilising  these 
photographic  loafers — a word  here  used  in  its  respect- 
ful sense — by  setting  them  to  work  to  make  systematic 
historical  pictorial  records  of  the  county  in  which 
they  live.  There  is  no  reason  why  every  photographer 
should  not  carve  out  such  a line  of  action  for  himself. 
Those  who  live  in  London  and  its  suburbs  would  in 
most  instances  be  surprised  to  discover  the  wealth  of 
historical  subjects  ready  for  photographic  delineation  to 
be  found  at  their  very  doors.  In  the  British  Museum 
Library  the  historical  information  in  relation  to  all 
parts  of  London  and  its  outlying  districts  is  abun- 
dant, and  extends  over  many  centuries,  so  that 
the  photographer  who  goes  there  to  read  up 
the  history  of  the  district  within  a radius  of 
one  mile  of  his  own  homestead — or  rather  the  home- 
stead in  w hich  he  is  a temporary  lodger  under  a lease 
— will  discover  that  his  immediate  surroundings  possess 
an  interest  unknown  to  him  before,  and  as  he  perse- 
veres in  his  reading  and  in  his  photographic  work  relat- 
ing thereto,  he  will  find  himself  gradually  becoming 
the  oracle  of  the  neighbourhood  in  all  matters  of  local 
history.  Such  relics  of  the  past  as  modern  improve- 
ments have  not  yet  removed,  he  will  photograph  ere  it 
is  too  late,  and  feeling  the  -absurdity  of  trying  to  render 
his  pictorial  records  more  permanent  by  means  of  al- 
bpmenised  paper  prints  than  the  original  objects  them- 


selves, he  will  plunge  into  higher  branches  of  photo- 
graphy, such  as  relate  to  ceramic,  platinotype,  and  car- 
bon pictures,  thereby  doing  service  to  the  public,  and 
building  for  himself  a lasting  reputation. 

The  tourist  photographer  can  also  go  to  work  with  a 
purpose.  Instead  of  traversing  a country  and  merely 
taking  prominent  architectural  and  other  views  which 
others  have  taken  before  him,  he  may  devote  a portion 
of  his  time  to  historical  reading,  and  afterwards  set  to 
work  to  illustrate  a particular  subject,  about  which  he 
will  be  able  to  tell  a tale  whenever  he  exhibits  the 
pictures.  For  example,  instead  of  bringing  home  a 
miscellaneous  collection  of  scenes  bearing  no  relation  to 
each  other,  and  the  history  which  he  does  or  does  not  pick 
up  from  guide-books,  and  soon  forgets,  he  might  resolve 
to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  Joan  of  Arc,  and  photograph 
the  scenes  devoted  to  her  history.  First  would  come 
her  birthplace,  the  little  village  in  the  Yosges,  of  Dom- 
remy  sur  Meuse,  with  its  quiet  woods  and  the  ugly 
little  church  so  different  to  the  church  imagined  by  the 
artists  who  paint  theatrical  scenes  relating  to  her 
adventures ; but  many  a tale  could  be  told  about  the 
interesting  interior  of  the  ugly  building  and  its  time- 
honoured  contents.  He  could  visit  Chinon  and  its 
magnificent  ruined  castle,  in  which  she  first  met  the 
king,  and  could  photograph  the  portion  of  the  ancient 
town  which  is  rotting  with  age  below  the  cliff  on 
which  the  castle  stands,  the  ancient  buildings  being 
preserved  as  much  as  possible  by  the  French  Govern- 
ment as  national  monuments.  Then  there  is  Orleans, 
baking  under  a summer’s  sun,  with  the  broad  and  shal- 
low Loire  babbling  over  its  stony  bed.  The  city  con- 
tains a museum  all  relating  to  Joan  of  Arc,  but  the 
objects  in  it,  though  ancient,  are  all  ideal  and  of  later 
date  than  her  time.  Then  there  is  the  Cathedral  of 
Ilheims,  the  most  magnificent  specimen  of  Gothic 
architecture  north  of  the  Alps,  in  which  she  crowned 
the  king;  and  lastly,  there  is  the  picturesque  city  of 
Rouen,  in  which  she  was  burnt,  as  popularly  believed, 
though  historical  criticism  has  thrown  some  doubt  upon 
this  point.  A series  of  photographs  like  these  would 
be  of  abiding  interest  to  the  photographer  and  his 
friends,  for  children  of  older  and  younger  growth  always 
prick  up  their  ears  and  brighten  in  the  eyes,  when  he 
who  shows  them  beautiful  pictures  has  also  a tale  to  tell. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  24,  18S0. 


58 


THE  ROYAL  INSTITUTION. 

IV. 

Before  quitting  the  subject  of  the  photographs  brought 
under  the  notice  of  the  Royal  Institution  by  Thomas 
Wedgwood  in  1802,  it  may  be  well  to  give  some 
biographical  particulars  about  that  photographer  him- 
self. 

He  was  the  third  son  of  Josiah  Wedgwood,  the 
world-renowned  improver  of  English  pottery  manu- 
facture. Josiah  was  born  in  July,  1730,  and  after  he 
commenced  business  as  a potter,  by  experimental 
research  was  enabled  to  produce  new  descriptions  of 
ear  thernwares  and  porcelains,  of  studied  forms  and 
chaste  style  of  decoration,  so  that  after  a time,  England, 
instead  of  importing  the  finest  goods  of  this  class, 
began  to  export  them  largely.  In  1786  he  was  the 
founder  of  an  early  Chamber  of  Commerce,  which  bore 
the  name  of  “The  General  Chamber  of  the  Manufac- 
turers of  Great  Britain.”  His  useful  life  closed 
January  3rd,  1795,  in  his  sixty-fourth  year.  He  had 
been  for  many  years  a Fellow  of  the  Royal  and 
Antiquarian  Societies. 

Nearly  all  that  has  hitherto  been  published  about 
the  life  of  Thomas  Wedgwood  will  be  found  in  Miss 
Julia  Wedgwood’s  article  published  in  these  pages  on 
the  20th  of  December  last,  in  the  second  volume  of 
Miss  Eliza  Meteyard’s  “Life  of  Josiah  Wedgwood,” 
London,  1866,  and  in  another  book  mentioned  farther 
on  by  the  same  authoress. 

Miss  Meteyard  says,  in  the  1866  book,  that  Thomas 
Wedgwood  was  born  in  April,  1771,  and  named  after  his 
paternal  grandfather,  uncle,  and  cousins ; he  was  the 
fifth  Thomas  Wedgwood  in  direct  line.  She  had  no  par- 
ticulars of  his  infancy.  From  the  first  he  seems  to  have  1 
been  in  delicate  health,  derived  probably  from  both  his 
parents,  who  prior  to  his  birth  had  been  in  impaired 
health.  These  seeds  of  organic  disease  subsequently 
rendered  the  life  of  Thomas  Wedgwood  an  indescrib- 
ably weary  burden.  At  first  lie  was  a merry  little 
fellow,  full  of  fun,  and  the  life  of  the  household. 
Later  on  he  became  the  hardest  of  students,  and  with 
his  father’s  chemist  (Alexander  Chisholm)  rendered  the 
laboratory  at  Etruria  a place  at  which,  for  scientific 
reasons,  the  savants  of  our  day  cast  back  their  gaze 
to  penetrate,  if  possible,  some  of  the  mysteries  of 
the  photographic  art  carried  on  there.  His  pas- 
sion for  abstract  studies  was  unbounded,  even  at 
the  age  of  sixteen.  He  studied  mathematics  under 
John  Leslie,  afterwards  Professor  in  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  and  he  often  worked  far  into  the  night, 
causing  his  father  on  several  occasions  to  deplore  that 
“ Tom  is  hurting  himself.”  Whilst  health  lasted  he 
joined  in  athletic  pursuits,  and  he  formed  one  of  a 
body  of  young  men  known  as  “ The  Staffordshire  Bow- 
men, who  met  for  regular  drill  and  exerciso  with  the 
bow,  and  woro  a handsome  uniform.  By  instruction 
under  Webber,  ho  became  a skilful  draughtsman. 

Miss . Meteyard  continues  that  from  love  of  art  he 
paid  brief  visits  to  Germany,  Florence,  and  Venice,  and 
at  home  for  a time  he  seems  to  have  been  skilful  as  a 


potter.  He  designed  new  patterns,  and  his  scientific 
researches  led  to  the  invention  of  what  is  known  as 
“ silvered  ware,”  namely,  a pattern  of  dead  or  bur- 
nished silver  upon  a black  earthenware  body.  The 
earliest  record  of  this  ware  is  dated  February,  1791. 
Nitrate  of  silver  was  sent  down  to  him  from  the  Apo- 
thecaries’ Hall  at  the  time  of  these  experiments,  and 
its  properties  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  method  of 
taking  photographs  nearly  forty  years  before  the 
announcement  of  the  discoveries  of  Nicephore  Niepce 
and  Daguerre. 

The  most  detailed  biographical  particulars  extant  of 
Thomas  Wedgwood  arc  in  Miss  Meteyard’s  “ A Group 
of  Englishmen”  (Longmans:  London,  1871).  In  it 
she  sets  forth  that  Thomas  Wedgwood  was  born  in 
May,  1771;  he  was  considered  “the  humourist”  of 
the  three  sons.  In  1779  he  went  as  a boarder  to  the 
school  of  the  Rev.  Phillip  Holland,  Unitarian  minister, 
Bolton.  In  1788  a project  to  send  him  to  Rome  was 
abandoned,  and  throughout  1789  Thomas  Wedgwood 
appears  to  have  pursued  his  studies  at  home  at  Etruria. 
In  1790  Leslie,  the  mathematician,  resided  in  the 
house  for  some  time  as  his  tutor.  In  his  sixteenth 
year  Thomas  Wedgwood  sent  to  London  for  a copy  of 
“ Newton’s  Optics,”  for  he  began  to  be  interested  in 
the  subjects  of  light  and  heat,  and  Priestley  encouraged 
him  in  his  researches  by  letters  written  in  1791-2. 
The  results  were  the  two  papers  about  light  and  heat, 
by  Thomas  Wedgwood,  which  were  read  before  the 
Royal  Society,  and  appeared  in  “The  Philosophical 
Transactions  ” for  1792.  Miss  Meteyard  says:  “It 
is  curious  to  observe  how  much  the  experiments  nar- 
rated in  the  earlier  paper  were  made  with  substances 
used  in  his  father’s  manufactory,  or  arranged  in  his 
collection  of  fossils.”  About  this  time  he  was  in  corre- 
spondence with  Richard  Lovell  Edgeworth  about  the  im- 
provement of  prisons  in  the  matter  of  sanitary  arrange- 
ments. Thomas  Wedgwood  passed  some  portion  of 
1796  or  1797  at  the  Pneumatic  Institute  at  Clifton, 
for  he  was  nearly  always  in  bad  health,  and  in  1797 
he  resided  occasionally  with  his  brother  John,  at  Cote 
House,  Westbury,  Wiltshire;  in  fact,  he  sought  relief 
from  his  ailments  by  change  of  scene  and  of  society, 
and  in  this  year  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Humphry 
Davy  at  Penzance.  In  1798  he  was,  for  a time,  at 
Stowey,  in  companionship  with  Coleridge  and  other 
poets,  and  in  the  same  year  he  and  his  brother  Josiah 
offered  Coleridge  an  annuity  of  £150  a year,  to  relieve 
him  from  the  necessity  of  employing  himself  as  Unitarian 
minister;  this  offer  was  accepted.  In  1799  he  bought 
an  estate  near  Bridgewater,  one  portion  of  which,  upon 
which  he  resided,  was  known  as  Castle  Fleury,  where 
he  gave  a little  attention  to  agriculture ; he  also  this 
year  bought  more  landed  property  at  Gunville,  near 
Biandford,  in  Dorsetshire.  In  1800  he  appears  to  have 
travelled  a little  in  France,  and  the  same  year,  in  search 
of  health,  he  went  to  the  West  Indies  and  back ; it  was 
probably  thought  that  he  would  never  return,  for  before 
leaving  England  he  made  his  will.  He  then  bought 
another  estate,  Eastbury,  near  Gunville,  and  about  the 
same  time  wrote  to  Mr.  Howship,  in  York  (Street, 


I860. 


January  21,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


59 


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London,  to  buy  for  him  a book  translated  from 
the  German,  “ The  art  of  preserving  feeble  life  under 
incurable  diseases.”  In  1801  he  visited  Paris.  In  the 
beginning  of  1802  he  was  at  Gunville,  and  in  March 
the  same  year,  about  the  time  when  his  photographic 
discoveries  were  made  known  at  the  Royal  Institution, 
he  was  in  London  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  Dr. 
Baillie  and  arranging  a fresh  trip  to  the  Continent,  for 
both  the  hypochondriacism  and  tedium  vita:  from  which 
he  suffered  had  increased,  and  alarming  symptoms  had 
begun  to  show  themselves.  Writing  at  the  close  of 
March  to  his  brother,  he  says  : — “ God  knows  what 
will  become  of  me  at  present,  but  I suppose  I shall  be 
driven  to  travel.  I have  had  many  painful  conflicts  of 
mind  from  imagining  that  1 had  only  to  forget  that  I 
was  an  invalid  to  be  like  other  people,  and  get  well.  I 
now  know  that  my  body  is  seriously  damaged  ; my 
feelings  and  views  are  undergoing  a change  in  conse- 
quence.” During  this  visit  to  London  he  spent  his 
time  occasionally  at  his  club,  which  met  at  the  “ Crown 
and  Anchor  ” in  the  Strand.  He  seems  to  have  taken 
little  interest  in  those  photographic  discoveries  which 
will  for  ever  render  his  name  famous ; in  fact,  we  do 
not  know  of  a single  utterance  of  his  own  about  them, 
unless  he  took  part  in  the  writing  of  the  paper  on  the 
subject  which  was  read  at  the  ltoyal  Institution,  but 
the  probability  is  that  all  the  writing  and  speaking  on 
this  subject  were  done  by  Davy.  Wedgwood  left 
London  May  7, 1802,  for  the  Continent,  and  was  four 
hours  in  crossing  to  Calais  ; thence  he  went  via  Bruges 
and  Ghent  to  Brussels.  On  May  17th,  1802,  he  wrote 
a long  letter  about  his  experiences  there,  and  a few 
days  later  he  wrote,  in  much  better  spirits,  from  Mons. 
Afterwards  he  seems  to  have  been  in  Paris  and  Switzer- 
land, and  to  have  returned  to  England  in  the  autumn 
of  the  same  year.  He  travelled  much  on  horseback  ; 
indeed,  constant  motion,  whether  on  the  sea  or  on 
horseback,  seems  to  have  given  him  more  relief  from 
his  ailments  than  anything  else. 

James  Watt  visited  Etruria  in  1790,  and  afterwards, 
in  the  course  of  a letter  to  Mr.  Josiah  Wedgwood, 
said  : — “ Thank  you  for  your  directions  for  the  silver 
pictures.”  This  may  either  be  the  first  written  record 
relating  to  Thomas  Wedgwood’s  early  photographs,  or 
may  bear  inference  to  pictures  upon  pottery,  produced 
by  the  aid  of  silver  salts. 

There  is  no  record  that  Davy  and  Thomas  Wedg- 
wood met  in  1802,  but  as  Wedgwood  was  in  London 
when  Davy  made  known  his  photographic  discoveries 
in  that  year,  the  assumption  is  that  they  saw  each 
other  on  the  subject,  especially  as  Wedgwood  was  then 
well  enough  to  be  frequently  riding  or  driving  about 
town. 

At  the  end  of  1802,  Wedgwood  was  travelling  in 
South  Wales,  and  buying  more  landed  property ; the 
latter  habit  seemed  to  bo  a kind  of  mania  with  him 
when  his  malady  was  at  the  worst.  This  malady  was 
more  of  a mental  than  a bodily  nature,  and  in  1803  he 
wrote  to  Humphry  Davy  to  try  to  obtain  for  him  some 
Indian  hemp,  fortunately  without  success.  Davy,  in 
the  course  of  his  reply,  dated  Royal  Institution, 


February  12th,  1803,  said: — “I  have  always  looked 
forward  with  hope  towards  a time  when  your  health 
would  permit  you  to  act  upon  the  public  by  truths 
which  cannot  fail  to  enlighten  and  to  be  useful  to  all 
classes  of  men.  I trust  that  time  will  yet  arrive. 
Believe  me,  I always  look  back  to  the  few  hours  that 
I have  spent  with  you  with  feelings  of  pleasure,  of 
gratitude,  and  of  regret.  Your  opinions  have  been  to 
me  as  a secret  treasure,  and  they  have  often  enabled  me 
to  think  rightly,  when  perhaps,  otherwise,  I should 
have  thought  wrongly.” 

In  1803  Wedgwood  was  again  on  the  Continent 
for  a short  time,  and  may  have  reached  Italy,  but 
was  soon  back  in  London,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year 
was  exceedingly  ill  at  Cote,  near  Bristol.  In  the 
following  April  he  sought  relief  by  taking  opium. 

He  died  at  Eastbury  July  10th,  1805,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-four.  Miss  Meteyard  says  that  by  his  death  “ all 
the  anxieties  of  many  friends  and  many  men  on  his 
behalf  were  at  an  end  for  ever.  Dr.  Darwin,  of  Shrews- 
bury, had  long  anticipated  that  his  life  would  close  in 
frenzy  or  paralysis.  The  last  was  the  merciful  ordina- 
tion. In  an  instant  the  brain  was  stricken.  He 
ceased  to  all  outer  volition  and  consciousness,  and 
calmly  died  no  long  while  after.” 

He  is  described  as  having  been  tall,  thin,  pale,  and 
sickly,  moving  feebly  by  the  aid  of  a stick  about  the 
grounds  at  Eastbury;  stayiug  occasionally  to  watch 
with  interest  his  brother’s  children  at  play,  and  remark- 
ing as  he  did  so  that  he  would  give  half  his  fortune  if 
he  could  possibly  partake  of  their  health  and  buoyancy 
of  spirits. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  Thomas  Wedgwood  did 
anything  in  photography  before  producing  the  pic- 
tures to  which  he  drew  Davy’s  attention  in  1802,  but 
he  and  his  father  made  use  of  the  camera  obscura,  as 
others  had  done,  before  that  time.  Miss  Meteyard, 
whose  utterances  are  of  no  scientific  value,  says  in  a 
letter  read  at  a meeting  of  the  Photographic  Society, 
November  3rd,  1863,  “ You  may  with  safety  refer  the 
first  experiments  in  photography  to  as  early  a date  as 

1790  or  1791.  In  the  latter  year  I find  Thomas 
Wedgwood  (third  surviving  son  of  Josiah  Wedgwood) 
sending  his  camera  to  Birmingham  to  be  mended.” 
She  does  not  give  her  authority  for  this  statement, 
and  it  would  have  had  no  bearing  on  the  subject  had 
she  done  so. 

At  the  meeting,  the  two  photographs  said  to  be  by 
Wedgwood  were  passed  round,  and  the  official  report 
of  the  Society  says  that  one  was  “ about  8 by  6,  a 
view  of  a breakfast  table,  having  much  the  appearance 
of  a fade!  silver  print;  and  another  similar  in 
appearance,  a small  reproduction  of  a drawing.”  In 
the  discussion,  “ Mr.  Foster  asked  by  whom  the  date 

1791  had  been  written  ou  the  frame  of  the  Wedgwood 
pictures.  It  was  somewhat  singular,  if  these  were 
produced  in  1791,  that  Wedgwood  should  write  in 
1802  that  no  means  of  fixing  sun  pictures  had  then 
been  discovered.”  Mr.  Malone  remarked  at  the 
meeting,  “ These  pictures  certainly,  or  at  least  one 
of  them,  appeared  to  be  a photograph,  and  reminded 


60 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jancary  24,  1890. 


him  of  some  of  Mr.  Talbot’s  early  pictures  ; indeed  he 
had  seen  some  of  them  with  just  the  same  objects. 
So  far  as  he  could  see,  there  was  nothing  to  connect 
the  pictures  with  the  early  date  assigned  to  them.  . . . 
Iodine  was  not  discovered  until  after  tbe  alleged  date 
of  these  pictures.” 

At  another  meeting  of  the  Photographic  Society, 
held  January  5th.  1864,  the  secretary  exhibited  a 
print  which  he  hal  found  at  home,  and  executed  by 
Mr.  Fox  Talbot,  which  was  very  similar  to  that 
exhibited  at  a former  meeting  as  “The  Breakast  Table 
at  Etruria  Hall,”  by  Thomas  Wedgwood,  photographed 
in  1791.  He  had  written  to  Mr.  Fox  Talbot  on  the 
subject,  who,  in  the  course  of  a reply  dated  Milburn 
Town,  Edinburgh,  November  10th,  186-4,  said: — “I 
beg  to  inform  you  that  I did  make  a photograph  of 
china,  knives  and  forks,  &c.,  disposed  upon  a round 
table,  which  is  seen  very  obliquely  in  the  photograph. 
It  was  an  early  attempt,  about  1841  or  1842.  The 
view  was  taken  out  of  doors,  on  the  grass-plot  in  the 
centre  of  the  cloisters  of  Lacock  Abbey.  I have  no 
doubt  I have  copies  of  it  still  left  in  my  collection 
at  Lacock.  Wedgwood,  in  his  memoir  of  1802  (Journal 
of  the  Royal  Institution),  says  that  he  had  thought 
of  the  possibility  of  making  the  photographic  views 
with  a camera,  but  that,  on  trying  the  experiment, 
he  had  found  that  no  length  of  time  sufficed  to  make 
any  visible  impression.  Therefore,  if  any  ancient 
photographs  should  be  discovered,  they  will  not  bo  his 
production.”  In  a later  letter  from  the  same  place, 
he  expressed  the  belief  that  he  had  the  negative  of 
this  picture  at  Lacock  Abbey.  At  the  same  meeting 
of  the  Photographic  Society,  Mr.  Malone  “ produced 
a collection  of  photographs  done  twenty  years  ago  by 
Mr.  Talbot,  amongst  which  was  a print  which  appeared 
to  him  to  be  identical  with  that  picture  shown  before 
as  having  been  produced  by  Thomas  Wedgwood. 
That  was  the  only  one  of  the  paper  pictures  he  before 
believed  to  be  a photograph  ; and  he  was  now  able  to 
settle  the  matter  of  its  production  as  belongin'*  to  Mr 
Talbot.” 

Altogether,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  two  pictures 
described  in  Miss  Meteyard’s  books  as  early  photo- 
graphs by  Wedgwood  were  not  such.  They  con- 
demned themselves,  for  they  were  positives  and  not 
negatives ; moreover,  any  photographs  taken  by  his 
method  and  unfixed,  could  not  last  long.  The  break- 
fast table  picture  was  published  in  her  “ Life  of  Josiah 
Wedgwood,”  and  the  man  with  the  bagpipes  picture  as 
a frontispiece  to  her  “ Group  of  Englishmen.”  The 
latter  was  a positive  copy  of  an  engraving,  and  probably 
not  a photograph  at  all. 

Thomas  Wedgwood  wrote  but  little  for  publication. 
His  first  paper,  read  before  the  Royal  Society,  relates 
to  phenomena  of  light,  phosphorescence,  and  fluores- 
cence, so  is  appended  hereunto  in  full. 


Experiments  and  Observations  on  the  Production  of  Lirjht  from 
Different  Bodies,  by  Heat  and  by  Attrition* 

Before  I begin  to  state  the  experiments  which  are  the  subject 


• By  Mr.  Thomas  Wedgwood.  Communicated 
Bart,,  P.R.8.  Bead  December  22nd,  1791. 


by  Sir  Joseph  Banks, 


of  this  paper,  it  may  not,  perhaps,  be  improper  to  give  a very 
compendious  history  of  the  discoveries  which  have  already  been 
made  relative  to  phosphoric  bodies  ; omitting,  however,  the 
electrical  phosphori,  and  such  as  arc  evidently  consumed  or 
decomposed  in  the  emission  of  their  light,  as  these  are  well 
known,  and  are  too  numerous  and  important  to  be  slightly 
noticed. 

Pliny  was  well  acquainted  with  the  luminous  appearance  of 
rotten  wood  and  of  the  eyes  of  dead  fish.  From  this  time  I 
find  nothing  relative  to  the  phosphorism  of  bodies  till  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  Benvenuto  Cellini, 
in  his  Art  of  Jewellery,  mentions  his  having  seen  a carbuncle 
shine  in  the  dark  like  coals  nearly  burnt  out,  and  relates  a 
story  of  a coloured  carbuncle  having  been  found  in  a vineyard, 
near  Rome,  by  its  shining  in  the  night. 

About  the  year  1639,  Vincenzo  Cascariolo,  of  Bologna,  dis- 
covered, by  accident,  that  when  a certain  stone,  found  in  that 
neighbourhood,  was  calcined  in  a particular  manner,  it  acquired 
the  remarkable  property  of  absorbing  the  light  of  the  sun,  of 
retaining  it  for  some  time,  and  of  emitting  it  in  the  dark  ; 
subsequent  experimenters  found  it  to  do  the  same  with  the 
light  of  a candle. 

In  166-3  Mr.  Boyle  observed  a particular  diamond  to  give  out 
a light  almost  equal  to  that  of  a glow-worm,  when  heated, 
rubbed,  or  pressed,  and  investigated  very  fully  the  nature  of 
the  light  of  dead  fish,  flesh-meat,  and  rotten  wood. 

In  1677  Baldwin,  of  Misnia,  discovered  in  the  residuum  of 
a distillation  of  chalk  and  nitrous  acid,  a phosphorus  similar 
in  its  properties  to  the  Bologuian,  but  not  possessing  the  phos- 
phoric virtue  in  so  eminent  a degree. 

In  1705,  Mr.  Francis  Hawkesbee  found  that  glass  rubbed  on 
glass,  in  common  air,  in  the  vacuum  of  an  air-pum,  or  under 
watei,  “exhibited  a considerable  light.” 

In  1724,  M.  Du  Fay  discovered  that  almost  all  substances 
which  could  be  reduced  to  a calx  by  fire,  or  after  solution  in 
the  nitrous  acid,  absorbed  and  emitted  light  like  the  phos- 
phorus of  Cascariolo  and  of  Baldwin  ; and  that  some  diamonds, 
emeralds,  and  many  other  precious  stones  emitted  light  in  the 
dark  after  being  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun. 

About  the  same  time  Bucaria,  of  Turin,  found  almost  every 
body  in  nature  to  be  luminous  after  a similar  exposure  ; he 
added,  too,  this  very  important  discovery,  that  an  artificial 
phosphorus  exposed  to  the  light  in  a coloured  glass  vial  emits, 
in  the  dark,  rays  of  the  identical  colour  of  the  vial.  Mr.  Mar- 
graaf,  by  an  analysis  of  the  Bolognian  stone,  shows  that  it  con- 
tains vitriolic  acid  united  to  calcarious  earth,  and  that  al 
gypseous  stones  treated  like  the  Bolognian,  provided  they  an 
pure  from  iron,  become  phosphorescent.  About  the  year  1764. 
Mr.  Canton  made  a phosphorus  of  sulphur  and  oyster-shell.- 
calcined  together,  and  distinguished  himself  by  many  curiou 
experiments  made  with  it.  He  found  that  his  phosphoru 
might  be  made  to  shine  by  heating  it  after  it  had  ceased  to  Is 
luminous  of  itself,  but  that  the  same  heat  would  have  thi 
effect  for  a certain  time  only.  Heat  has  been  observed  b; 
several  of  these  philosophers  to  promote  the  emission,  and  t 
shorten  the  duration,  of  the  light  of  phosphori.  Fluor  ha 
been  long  known  to  give  a fine,  bright  light  when  heated.  D 
Hoffman  discovered  that  red  blende  and  feldspat  were  luminou 
when  pieces  of  either  were  rubbed  together.  Pott  extende- 
this  discovery  to  all  pure  flints  and  crystals,  and  to  porcelaii 
Keysler  found  glacier  maria:  to  be  luminous  when  heated.  M 
de  la  Mitherie  has  observed  some  neutral  salts  and  calcareot 
earths  to  be  luminous  in  the  same  way.  The  Count  de  ltazoi 
mowski,  in  a memoir  of  the  Physical  Society  of  Lausanne,  shov 
that  quartz  and  glass  give  out  light  when  struck  by  almost  an 
hard  body,  and  that  some  few  other  bodies  are  luminous  whe 
pieces  of  the  same  kind  are  rubbed  upon  one  another.  He  fin< 
quartz  to  give  out  its  light  under  water. 

This  brief  account  includes,  as  far  as  I am  able  to  collect,  tl 
chief  discoveries  which  have  been  made  concerning  lumino' 
bodies.  I was  led  to  make  the  following  experiments  from  o 
serving  the  light  which  proceeds  from  two  quartz  pebbles  rubb- 
against  each  other.  I searched  for  this  property  in  many  oth 
bodies  with  success,  but  met  with  two  soft  stones,  which  did  n 
afford  any  light  upon  the  most  violent  attrition,  conceiving  th 


January  24,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


61 


heat  might  probably  be  the  cause  of  the  light  emitted  by  quartz 
from  attrition.  I attributed  this  failure  to  a want  of  sufficient 
hardness  in  these  fiiable  stones  for  producing  the  necessary 
heat.  Accordingly,  sprinkling  some  of  their  powder  on  a plate 
of  iron  nearly  red  hot,  1 had  the  satisfaction  to  observe  it 
emitting  a considerable  light.  Extending  this  mode  of  trial,  1 
found  that  the  phosphorism  of  almost  all  bodies  might  be  made 
apparent  either  by  heat  or  attrition.  1 shall  therefore  divide 
the  subject  of  this  paper  into  two  parts  : — 1.  Oil  the  light  pro- 
duced by  heat.  2.  On  the  light  produced  by  attrition. 

I. 

The  best  general  method  of  producing  the  light  by  heat  is, 
to  reduce  the  body  to  a moderately  fine  powder,  and  to 
sprinkle  it,  by  small  portions  at  a time,  on  a thick  plate  of 
iron,  or  mass  of  burnt  luting  made  of  sand  and  clay,  heated 
just  below  visible  redness,  and  removed  into  a perfectly  dark 
place. 

The  following  is  a list  of  such  bodies  as  I have  found  to  be 
luminous  by  this  treatment,  arranged  according  to  the  apparent 
intensity  of  their  light. 

1.  Blue  fluor  from  Derbyshire,  giving  out  a fetid  smell  on 
attrition. 

2.  Black  and  grey  marbles,  and  fetid  white  marbles,  from 
Derbyshire.  Common  blue  fluor,  from  Derbyshire.  Red 
feldspat  from  Saxony. 

3.  Diamond,  oriental  ruby,  aerated  barytes,  from  Chorley, 
in  Lancashire,  common  whiting,  Iceland  spar,  sea  shells, 
moorstone,  from  Cornwall,  white  fluor  from  Derbyshire. 

4.  Pure  calcareous  earth,  precipitated  from  an  acid  solution 
— argillaceous  earth  (of  alum),  siliceous  earth, — new  earth, 
from  Sydney  Cove,  common  magnesia,  vitriolated  barytes, 
from  Scotland.  Steatites,  from  Cornwall,  alabaster,  porce- 
lain of  Cornwall.  Mother  of  pearl,  black  flint,  hard  white 
marble,  rock  crystal  from  the  East  Indies.  White  quartz, 
porcelain,  common  earthenware,  whinstone,  emery,  coal  ashes, 
sea  sand. 

5.  Crold,  platina,  copper,  iron,  lead,  tin,  bismuth,  cobalt, 
zinc.  Precipitates  by  an  alkali  from  acid  solutions  of  gold, 
silver,  copper,  iron,  zinc,  bismuth,  tin,  lead,  cobalt,  mercury, 
antimony,  manganese.  Vitriolated  tartar,  crystals  of  tartar, 
borax,  alum  (previously  exsiccated),  sea-coal.  White  paper, 
white  linen,  white  woollen  (in  small  pieces),  white  hair  powder, 
deal  sawdust,  rotten  wood  (not  otherwise  luminous),  white 
asbestos,  red  irony  mica,  deep  red  porcelain. 

tj.  Antimony,  nickel,  oils,  lamp,  linseed,  and  olive,  white 
wax,  spermaceti,  butter  (luminous  at  and  below  boiling). 

The  duration  of  the  light  thus  produced  from  different 
bodies  is  very  unequal  ; in  some  the  light  is  almost  momentary, 
in  others  it  lasts  for  some  minutes,  and  may  be  prolonged  by 
stirring  the  powder  on  the  heater.  It  soon  attains  its  greatest 
brightness,  and  dies  away  gradually  from  that  point,  never 
appearing  in  a sudden  flash,  like  the  light  of  quartz  pebbles 
rubbed  together.  If  blown  upon,  it  is  suddenly  extinguished, 
but  immediately  re-appears  on  discontinuing  the  blast. 

The  light  of  bodies  is,  in  general,  uncoloured  ; there  are, 
however,  some  exceptions.  Blue  fluor,  of  that  kind  which 
gives  out  a fetid  smell  when  rubbed,  first  emits  a bright  green 
light  resembling  that  of  the  glow-worm  so  exactly  that  when 
placed  by  the  insect,  just  as  it  has  attained  its  greatest  bright- 
ness, there  is  no  sensible  difference  in  the  two  lights,  either  of 
colour  or  intensity.  This  bright  green  changes  into  a beautiful 
lilac,  which  gradually  fades  away.  Fetid  marbles,  and  some 
kinds  of  chalk,  give  a bright  reddish  or  orange  light  ; pure 
calcareous  earth,  a bluish  white  light  ; Cornish  moorstone  emits 
a fine  blue  light  ; powder  of  ruby  gives  a beautiful  red  light  of 
short  continuance. 

The  most  phosphorescent  marble  is  soft  and  friable,  of  a 
coarse  crystallized  grain,  and  a fetid  odour  when  rubbed  ; black 
and  grey  marbles  are  generally  more  luminous  than  the 
white. 

Most  of  the  common  white  marbles  are  hard,  and  of  a fine 
grain,  and  they  are  not  very  luminous,  nor  is  their  light  of  an 
orange  colour-  Different  chalks  vary  as  much  as  different  mar- 
bles in  the  intensity  and  colour  of  their  light  when  no  differ- 
ence of  external  structure  is  perceptible.  The  most  phosphor- 


escent chalk  loses  the  brilliancy  and  redness  of  its  light  by  being 
dissolved  in  an  acid,  and  precipitated  by  caustic  fixed  vegetable 
alkali  —by  being  confined  with  vitriolic  or  fluor  acid — by  cal- 
cination by  heat,  or  being  combined  with  the  aerial  acid  in  the 
pellicle  formed  on  the  surface  of  lime-water.  Marble  would 
probably  be  affected  in  the  same  manner.  The  most  phosphor- 
escent blue  fluor  gives  the  same  light  after  being  united  to  the 
vitriolic  acid,  though  gypsum  is  far  less  luminous  than  fluor, 
and  its  light  is  colourless.  Argil  precipitated  from  alum  by  an 
alkali,  and  magnesia,  when  combined  with  fluor  acid,  give  out 
the  same  light  as  before. 

Bodies  emit  their  light  when  immersed  in  boiling  acid  of 
vitriol,  oi  in  boiling  oils.  Small  lumps  of  fluor  or  of  marble 
make  a singular  appearance  in  the  acid,  as  they  are  moved  up 
and  down  by  its  action,  and  rendered  brightly  luminous  by  the 
heat.  They  seem  equally  luminous  in  pure,  fixed  inflammable 
or  atmospheric  air. 

Feldspat,  the  fetid  fluor,  and  probably  all  phosphorescent 
bodies,  dropt  in  moderately  fine  powder,  into  a flask  containing 
a small  quantity  of  boiling  oil  at  the  bottom,  emit  a copious  flash  of 
light  as  soon  as  the  powder  touches  the  surface  of  the  oil.  When 
the  particles  of  the  body  have  lain  at  the  bottom  of  the  heated 
fluid  for  about  a minute,  they  become  but  faintly  luminous  ; if 
the  flask  be  then  agitated  so  as  to  raise  some  of  these  particles 
out  of  the  oil,  and  lodge  them  on  its  sides,  they  suddenly  re- 
kindle into  the  same  brightness  as  at  first,  and  preserve  this 
reassumed  lustre  for  some  time  ; and  even  after  being  washed 
down  again  into  the  oil,  they  may  be  readily  distinguished  from 
the  particles  which  have  remained  at  the  bottom.  This  experi- 
ment is  extremely  beautiful,  and  is  not  at  all  obstructed  by 
the  faint  light  of  the  oil  ; it  succeeds  best  with  the  stinking 
blue  of  Darbyshire. 

Powdered  marble,  and  probably  every  other  body,  w'hen 
spread  upon  the  heater  in  the  receiver  of  an  air-pump,  is 
equally  luminous  during  the  exhaustion  and  readmission  of  the 
air. 

Bodies  are  by  far  the  most  luminous  the  first  time  they  are 
treated,  but  cannot,  perhaps,  be  entirely  deprived  of  this  pro- 
perty by  any  number  of  heatings,  nor  by  any  degree  of  heat. 
Chalk,  fluor,  and  feldspat,  give  out  a very  faint  light  on  the 
heater,  after  having  been  exposed  to  a smart  red  heat  in  an 
open  crucible,  in  small  quantities,  and  kept  frequently  stirred 
for  several  hours  ; the  feldspat  was  equally  luminous  when 
laid  hot  upon  the  heater,  or  first  cooled,  and  then  laid  on. 
Chalk  and  fluor  were  not  tried  in  this  particular.  A bit  of 
glass,  melted  in  a heat  of  120"  of  my  father’s  thermometer, 
and  as  soon  as  it  is  cold  reduced  to  powder,  gives  out  light 
on  being  thrown  upon  the  heater  below  redness.  Quartz, 
from  the  same  original  piece,  is  equally  luminous  when 
the  powder  is  directly  thrown  upon  the  heater — when  it  is  pre- 
viously made  red  hot,  and  then  cooled  and  thrown  on — or 
when  a fragment  of  some  size  has  been  made  red  hot,  then 
pounded  and  thrown  on. 

For  the  most  part,  the  softest  bodies  require  the  least  heat  to 
become  luminous  ; marble,  chalk,  fluor,  &c.,  give  a faint  light 
when  sprinkled  on  melted  tin  just  becoming  solid.  As  the 
temperature  of  the  heater  is  raised,  they  continue  to  give  out 
more  and  more  light. 

Vitriols  of  iron,  copper,  and  zink  previously  exsiccated, 
w'hen  thrown  on  earthenware  or  metal  made  nearly  red  hot, 
give  minute  flashes  of  light  of  momentary  duration,  such  as 
appear  from  some  of  the  metallic  precipitates,  particularly 
zink,  on  a similar  treatment  ; with  this  difference,  however, 
that  the  light  of  most  of  the  precipitates  is  of  a reddish  hue. 

The  light  of  the  metals  is  white,  and  ex  .ctly  similar  to  that 
of  some  earths. 

White  paper,  when  dipped  in  a solution  of  sal-ammmoniac, 
and  slowly  dried,  becomes  black  upon  the  heater,  and  then  gives 
out  much  less  light  than  common  paper. 

If  a lump,  of  the  size  of  a small  beau,  of  fluor,  marble, 
feldspat,  or  any  other  of  the  most  phosphorescent  bodies,  be 
laid  upon  the  heater,  the  light  proceeds  gradually  upwards 
from  the  part  in  contact  with  the  heater,  till  the  whole  mass  is 
thoroughly  illuminated.  If  the  same  piece  be  heated  a second 
time  it  is  much  less  luminous ; nor  if  it  be  broken  are  the 


62 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  24,  1890. 


fragments  at  all  more  luminous,  either  then,  or  after  having 
been  exposed  for  a month  to  the  light  and  sunshine. 

A little  boiling  oil  at  the  bottom  of  a glass  flask,  when  agi- 
tated in  the  dark,  illuminates  the  whole  of  the  flask.  The 
light  of  boiling  oils  proceeds,  probably,  from  some  kind  of 
inflammation,  as  it  is  scarcely  discernible  unless  the  vessel  be 
agitated  ; and,  if  a little  oil  be  thinly  spread  on  the  heater,  a 
subtle  lambent  flame  of  a bluish  hue  instantly  arises.  The 
same  thing  takes  place  if  horn,  hair,  saliva,  or  any  animal 
matter  be  laid  upon  the  heater. 


II. 


The  experiments  on  the  lights  produced  from  different 
bodies  by  attrition  were  chiefly  made  by  rubbing  in  the  dark 
two  pieces  of  the  same  kind  against  each  other.  All  that  1 
tried,  with  very  few  exceptions,  were  luminous  by  this  treat-  j 
ment.  The  following  is  a list  of  them,  arranged  in  the  order 
of  the  apparent  intensity  of  their  light,  and  as  the  lights  are 
cither  white  or  some  shade  of  red,  I have  affixed  figures  to 
denote  these  differences.  (0)  Denoting  a pure  white  light  ; ! 
(1)  the  faintest  tinge  of  red  or  flame  colour;  (2)  a deeper 
shade  of  red  ; (3)  and  (-1)  still  deeper  shades. 

1.  Colourless,  transparent,  oriental  rock  crystal  ; and  sili-  i 
ccous  crystals  (0). 

2.  Diamond  (0). 

3.  White  quart/,  white  transparent  agate  (1  . 

•i.  White  agate,  more  opake  (2)  ; semi-transparent  feldspat 
from  Scotland  (2). 

Brown  opake  feldspat  from  Saxony  4) 

Chert,  of  a dusky  white,  from  North  Wales  (3). 

5.  Oriental  ruby  (4). 

6.  Topaz,  oriental  sapphire  (0). 

7.  Agate,  deep-coloured,  brown  and  opake  (4). 

8.  Clear,  blackish  gun-flint  (2). 

0.  Tawney,  semi-transparent  flint  (3). 

10.  Unglazed  white  biscuit  earthenware  (4). 

11.  Fine,  white  porcelain  (2). 

12.  Clear,  blackish  gun-flint  made  opake  by  heat  (3). 

13.  Flint  glass  (0). 

1 1.  l’late-glass,  green  bottle  glass  ( 0). 

15.  Fine,  hard  loaf  sugar  (0). 

10.  Moorstone  from  Cornwall  (1);  Coruue,  semi-trans- 
parent, from  the  East  Indies  (1). 

17.  leelaud  spar  (0). 

18.  White  enamel  (2)  ; tobacco  pipe  (3). 

White  mica  (0). 

19.  L nglazed  biscuit  earthenware,  blackened  by  exposing  it, 
buried  in  charcoal,  in  a close  crucible  to  white  heat  (4). 

20.  * Black  vitreous  mass,  made  by  melting  together  5 of 
fluor,  1 of  lime,  and  some  charcoal  powder  (4). 

21.  1'  luor,  aerated  and  vitriolated  barytes,  white  and 
black  Derbyshire  marble,  calcareous  spar,  crystals  of  borax, 
deep  blue  glass,  mother-of-pearl. 

Hock  crystal,  quartz,  flint  glass,  and  many  other  hard  bodies, 
riming  attrition,  emit  now  and  then  reddish  sparks  of  a vivid 
light,  which  retain  their  brightness  in  a passage  of  one,  two,  and 
even  three  inches  through  the  air. 

A piece  of  agate  applied  to  the  circumference  of  a wheel  of 
line  grit  revolving  at  a moderate  rate,  becomes  brightly  red, 
even  m daylight,  at  the  touching  part  ; if  the  wheel  revolve  at 
a quicker  rate,  the  touching  part  emits  a pure  white  light.  In 
both  cases  glowing  sparks  are  continually  emitted,  some  of 
which  are  not  extinguished  before  they  have  passed  twelve  or 
fourteen  inches  through  the  air  ; they  explode  gunpowder  and 
inflammable  air,  and  burn  the  skin  ; their  brightness  is  not  sen- 
sibly increased  by  passing  into  pure  air.  The  corner  of  an 
angular  piece  of  window-glass  being  applied  to  the  wheel  in 
motion,  a full  eighth  of  an  inch  of  the  glass  above  the  point  of 
contact  becomes,  apparently,  red  hot,  and  retains  the  redness 
lor  a second  or  two  of  time  after  its  removal  from  the  wheel, 
urmg  (he  attrition,  large  red  sparks  are  continually  emitted, 


._i;ini0f  thi».ml.Xtare»  of  ‘hi  crucible  before  it  wasperfectlj 

fused,  gave  out  when  rubbed,  a strong  smell  like  phosphorus  of  urine 

hew'1  t.hroW‘D?  sonle  &f  “ Pu'vtrised  on  a plate  of  iron,  heated  jusl 


and  a mixture  of  softened  glass  and  the  sand  of  the  stone  wheel 
is  collected  about  the  touching  point. 

Quartz,  transparent  agate,  rock  crystal,  and  window  glass, 
give  nearly  the  same  flashing  light  when  rubbed  against  the 
stone  wheel,  or  in  the  ordinary  manner.  Excepting  the  tinge 
of  red  in  the  former,  which  it  receives  from  the  light  of  the 
grit,  the  transparent  agate  becomes  red  hot  for  a little  way 
about  the  part  in  contact  with  the  wheel,  and  is  thus  deprived 
of  its  transparency  as  it  would  be  if  made  red  hot  in  a common 
tire  ; porcelain  is  heated  to  redness  by  the  same  treatment.  The 
red  sparks  which  are  emitted  by  all  these  bodies  during  theirattri- 
tiou  are  heated  particles  about  the  magnitude  of  grains  of  fine 
sand,  broken  off  by  the  friction. 

Bodies  give  out  their  light  the  instant  they  are  rubbed  against 
each  other,  and  cease  to  be  luminous  when  the  attrition  is  dis- 
continued. Colourless,  transparent,  and  semi-transparent 
bodies  emit  a flashing  light,  their  whole  masses  being  for  a 
moment  illuminated.  Opake  bodies  give  little  more  than  a 
defined  speck  of  red  light,  and  are  not  luminous  below  the  part 
struck.  The  greatest  apparent  quantity  of  light  is  produced 
by  hard,  uncoloured,  transparent,  and  semi-transparent  bodies, 
whose  surfaces  soon  acquire  an  asperity  by  rubbing  together,  as 
quartz,  agate,  Ac.  From  an  examination  of  the  table  it  appears 
that  white  lights  are  emitted  from  colourless  transparent  bodies  ; 
faint  red  or  flame-coloured  from  white,  semi-transparent  bodies  ; 
deeper  ml  from  more  opaque  and  coloured  bodies  ; and  the 
deepest  red  from  opaque  and  from  deep-coloured  bodies.  Ex- 
tremely faint  lights,  such  as  those  given  by  Huor,  marble,  Ac., 
are  of  a bluish  white  ; quartz,  very  lightly  rubbed,  gives  a very 
faint  light  of  a bluish  hue  ; when  rubbed  a little  harder,  it 
emits  a flame-coloured  light  ; when  rubbed  with  violence,  its 
light  approaches  to  whiteness.  Opaque  red  feldspat  gives  a 
deep  led  light  by'  attrition  ; exposed  to  a strong  heat  in  the  fur- 
nace, it  becomes  white,  and  somewhat  transparent  ; and  when 
cool,  gives  out,  on  attrition,  as  white  a light  as  quartz.  Clear, 
blackish  flint,  made  opaque  by  heat,  gives  a redder  light  than 
before  ; deep-coloured  glass  gives  out  a red  defined  light  with- 
out any  flash,  whilst  clear,  uncoloured  glasses  emit  a white 
flashing  light  of  some  brightness. 

Bodies  are  not  luminous  by  simple  pressure;  the  fragments 
rubbing  on  each  other  produce  some  light.  Mr.  Boyle,  indeed, 
found  a particular  diamond  to  emit  light  when  pressed  by  a 
steel  bodkin,  but  the  diamond  is  phosphorescent,  in  so  many 
ways,  and  is  so  curious  and  singular  a body,  both  in  properties 
and  constitution,  that  it  can  scarcely  be  expected  to  exhibit  the 
same  appearances  as  the  common  class  of  earthly  bodies. 

Alum,  indurated  by  having  been  kept  long  in  a state  of 
fusion,  and  being  then  much  harder  than  loaf  sugar  or  borax, 
both  which  are  luminous  from  moderate  attrition,  gives  no 
light,  though  rubbed  with  much  violence.* 

If  two  pieces  of  glass  or  quartz  be  strongly  rubbed  against 
each  other,  and  then  applied  to  the  fine  down  of  a feather,  the 
down  is  not  sensibly  affected  ; if  the  same  glass  be  rubbed  on 
woollen  cloth,  and  placed  near  the  feather,  the  down  is 
immediately  attracted. 

Rock  crystal,  quartz  feldspat,  white,  unglazed  earthenware, 
Derbyshire  black  marble,  and  probably  all  phosphorescent 
bodies  insoluble  in  water,  give  out  their  light  on  rubbing  them 
under  water,  as  copiously  as  in  air.  Hard,  white  sugar  from 
the  outside  of  the  loaf  gives  out  its  light  when  rubbed  in  oil. 
Bodies  seem  equally  luminous  in  atmospheric,  pure,  fixed,  and  i 
inflammable  air. 

All  hard,  earthy  bodies  emit  a peculiar  smell  on  attrition. 
The  most  remarkable  for  this  property  are  chert,  quartz,  feld- 
spat, biscuit  earthenware,  and  rock  crystal  ; this  smell  does 
not  differ  much  in  kind,  though  it  does  considerably  in  intern 


The  Count  de  Raioumow.-ki  his  investigated  the  luminous  property  of 
bodies  in  a way  which  appears  to  me  very  unfavourable  for  the  discovery 
of  their  true  lights.  He  rubbed,  not  one  piece  agiinst  another  of  the  same 
body,  but  alt  of  them  against  quartz  or  glass.  He  finds  several  metals 
luminous  from  this  treatment,  and  attempts  to  draw  some  curious  conclu- 
sions from  the  colour  of  their  lights  I tried  th-se  metals  in  his  own  way, 
and  found  that  no  light  was  emitted,  except  « hen  the  violence  of  the  blow 
shattered  the  quartz  < r glass.  A piece  of  the  indurated  alum  will  excite 
light  from  rock  crystal,  but  this  is  the  light  of  the  fragments  of  the  crystal 
rubbing  on  each  other,  and  not  ol  the  alum. 


January  24,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


03 


sity.  Many  of  the  softer  bodies  yield  the  same  smell,  but  in  a 
less  degree,  and  probably  none  are  entirely  without  it.  It 
appears  to  be  strongest  where  the  friction  is  greatest;  it  has 
no  dependence  on  the  light  produced  by  attrition,  as  it  is  often 
very  strong  when  no  light  is  emitted. 

Bock  crystal,  quartz,  feldspat,  white  biscuit  earthenware, 
and  probably  all  such  hard  bodies,  produce  this  smell  under 
water. 

Quartz  stones,  violently  rubbed  upon  one  another  for  a few 
minutes  in  a cup  of  water,  communicate  this  smell  and  a 
peculiar  taste  to  the  water.  The  taste  is  probably  derived  from 
an  impalpable  powder,  which  floats  in  the  water  for  many  days. 

Derbyshire  black  marble,  and  the  stinking  blue  fluor,  give 
out,  on  attrition,  a strong  smell  peculiar  to  themselves,  both  in 
air  and  water  ; they  lose  this  property  by  being  once  made 
red  hot. 

Quartz  produces  the  smell  equally  strong  in  fixed,  pure,  and 
common  air. 

Having  now  stated  all  the  facts  relative  to  phosphorescent 
bodies  which  I have  as  yet  been  able  to  discover,  I shall  beg 
leave  to  offer  a few  reflections,  tending  to  show  that  heat  is  the 
probable  cause  of  the  light  produced  from  bodies  by  attrition. 

The  powders  of  all  earthly  bodies  emit  light  when  heated  a 
little  under  redness.  Now,  when  two  bodies  are  rubbed  upon 
each  other  it  is  probable  that  heat  is  always  generated  on  their 
surfaces  ; may  not  then  the  light  which  they  yield  upon  attri- 
tion be  attributed  to  a sudden  heating  of  particles  in  their 
surfaces  1 For  these  particles  will  be  affected  in  the  same 
way  as  if  they  had  been  equally  heated  by  any  other  means  ; 
they  will,  therefore,  give  the  same  light  as  if  they  hail  been 
laid  upon  the  heater  of  an  equal  temperature. 

The  shining  sparks  which  hard  bodies  send  out  during  attri- 
tion prove  that  particles  in  their  surfaces  are  heated  at  least 
to  more  than  600°  of  Fahrenheit,  for  the  powders  of  hard 
bodies  are  not  luminous  on  a heater  much  below  redness. 
The  heat  generated  by  soft,  friable  bodies  is  probably  but  little, 
as  the  minute  particles  in  their  surfaces  are  not  much  crushed 
by  each  other,  but  merely  disjointed  from  the  masses  ; nor  can 
this  little  be  easily  appreciated,  for,  as  the  surfaces  continually 
crumble  away,  the  heated  parts  are  carried  off  before  they  can 
warm  the  masses,  and  are  themselves  very  quickly  cooled  by 
the  surrounding  air.  But  as  many  soft  bodies  emit  a faint 
light  on  the  heater  at  the  low  temperature  of  about  400®  of 
Fahrenheit,  and  as  it  is  not  a stronger  light  which  they  yield 
on  attrition,  little  heat  is  required  to  render  the  particles  in 
their  surfaces  luminous.  It  must  be  observed,  too,  that  though 
the  absolute  quantity  of  heat  generated  by  one  rub  be  but 
inconsiderable,  the  effects  of  it  may  be  very  striking  ; for  just 
on  the  instant  of  attrition  its  action  is  confined  to  the  minute 
colliding  points  of  the  surfaces,  and  will,  consequently,  operate 
upon  them  as  much  as  a greater  quantity  would  on  larger 
points. 

The  light  emitted  by  bodies  in  attrition  is  of  momentary 
duration,  wheras  a powder  on  the  heater  continues  to  emit 
light  for  some  minutes  ; this  difference  is  easily  explained. 
In  the  latter  case  the  particles  are  constantly  heated  ; in  the 
former  they  are  instantly  cooled  by  the  subjacent  mass 
to  a temperature  in  which  bodies  are  not  luminous,  i.c.,  a little 
under  400®  of  Fahrenheit. 

When  the  uneven  surfaces  of  bodies  are  rubbed  upon  each 
other,  a flashing  light  is  produced  at  frequent  intervals  by  the 
collision  of  the  more  prominent  parts  ; this,  in  colourless, 
transparent,  and  semi-transparent  bodies  is  copiously  reflected 
from  the  whole  of  the  masses,  and  forms  an  appearance  very 
different  from  what  is  ever  exhibited  by  bodies  on  the  heater. 
It  may  be  well  illustrated  in  the  upper  part  of  a candle,  by 
repeatedly  nearly  closing  and  quickly  opening  the  snuffers  about 
the  burning  wick,  or  by  sprinkling  some  powder  of  fluor,  or 
marble,  on  a mass  of  glass  heated  just  under  redness. 

Powder  of  crystal,  quartz,  agate,  &c.,  is  but  faintly 
luminous  on  the  heater  under  redness  ; accordingly,  if  the 
stones  themselves  be  gently  rubbed  a faint  light  is  emitted, 
resembling  that  which  their  powders  give  on  the  heater. 
Marble  and  fluor  give  about  the  same  light  on  the  heater  of 
the  temperature  of  400°  as  they  do  when  rubbed  ; and,  pro- 


bably, attrition  heats  some  particles  in  their  surfaces  to  that 
degree. 

It  may,  at  first,  seem  an  objection  to  the  opinion  of  heat 
being  the  cause  of  the  light  produced  from  bodies  by  attrition, 
that  they  yield  their  light  when  rubbed  under  water  ; but  the 
water  acts  differently  to  the  air  only  as  being  a stronger  con- 
ductor of  heat,  and  can  nowise  impede  the  actual  generation 
of  the  heat.  Now,  as  bodies  emit  their  light  on  the  very  instant 
of  their  being  heated,  the  water  cannot  cool  the  hot  particles 
before  they  have  given  their  light. 

It  is  easy  to  see  why  bodies  emit  light  instantly  when  rubbed, 
for  they  often  send  out  sparks  as  soon  as  the  attrition  com- 
mences, which  proves  that  particles  in  their  surfaces  are 
instantly  heated  to  redness  by  attrition. 

Since  hard  bodies  may  be  heated  to  redness  by  attrition,  wo 
have  an  excellent  method  of  discovering  the  lights  they  give 
out  at  that  temperature,  which  could  not  be  effected  by  sprink- 
ling their  powders  on  a red  hot  heater,  as  the  light  of  the 
powder  would  be  mixed  with  that  of  the  heater.  In  some 
cases  of  attrition  bodies  are  raised  to  a temperature  beyond 
visible  heat.  The  corner  of  an  angular  piece  of  window  glass 
being  applied  to  the  circumference  of  a revolving  wheel  of  fine 
grit,  part  of  its  mass  is  worn  away  ; but  a larger  portion, 
lying  just  above  the  abraded  part,  is  heated  to  redness.  Now, 
as  all  the  heat  which  is  there  collected,  and  a great  deal  more 
which  is  carried  away  in  the  abraded  part,  and  conducted  off 
by  the  air  and  by  the  glass  lying  up  to  the  red  hot  portion,  has 
once  occupied  a smaller  space  in  the  part  worn  away,  it  follows 
that  the  abraded  portion,  or  aggregate  of  heated  surfaces,  has 
been  heated  to  a degree  exceeding  redness  by  all  the  heat 
remaining  in  the  red-hot  part,  and  by  the  quantity  of  heat 
conducted  off  by  the  air  and  adjacent  glass  ; and,  consequently, 
that  each  surface  has  been  heated  by  the  attrition  to  a degree 
as  much  exceeding  redness. 

I am  aware  that  this  reasoning  is  founded,  in  part,  on  the 
supposition  that  the  heat  is  generated  on  the  surface  or  outer- 
most coat  of  the  body  ; some  of  it  may  undoubtedly  proceed 
from  an  agitation  of  the  parts  under  the  surface,  but  the  emis- 
sion of  red  hot  sparks  at  the  instant  of  attrition  proves  that 
a great  heat  is  generated  on  the  surface  ; and  as  the  friction, 
or  apparent  heating  cause,  is  so  much  greater  there  that  the 
parts  are  forcibly  broken  and  disjointed,  whilst  just  beneath 
there  is  no  perceptible  alteration  in  the  body,  we  may  venture 
to  conclude  that  the  heat  generated  beneath  the  surface  is  but 
inconsiderable. 

After  all,  it  remains  entirely  problematical,  in  what  manner 
heat  operates  to  produce  light  from  bodies  ; the  air  does  not 
seem  to  have  any  concern  in  its  production,  as  bodies  are 
equally  luminous  in  almost  all  kinds  of  air,  and  when  immersed 
in  liquids.  The  phosphorism  of  sugar  is  probably  of  a different 
kind  from  that  of  the  earthy  class  ; for,  although  so  soft  and 
friable  a substance,  it  produces  its  light  very  copiously  upon 
gentle  attrition. 

In  speaking  of  the  attrition  of  bodies  upon  the  stone  wheel, 

I have  said  that  they  became  red  hot  about  the  touching  part ; 

I should  not  have  made  use  of  this  expression  if  the  luminous 
sparks  which  issued  from  them  hail  not  kindled  gunpowder 
and  inflammable  air,  and  thus  proved  that  the  part  from  which 
they  came  was  raised  to  a temperature  at  least  equal  to  what 
is  usually  termed  a red  heat ; for,  till  the  temperature  of  the 
part  touching  the  wheel  had  been  thus  ascertained,  I attributed 
the  whole  of  the  light  emitted  to  the  common  phosphorism  of 
bodies.  If  the  velocity  of  the  wheel  be  much  increased  the 
touching  part  of  the  body  applied  emits  a bright,  white  light, 
much  more  vivid  than  any  which  powders  ever  give  out  on  the 
heater,  and,  probably,  the  temperature  of  the  luminous  part  is 
equal  to  what  is  usually  called  a \rhite  heat. 

Having  thus  made  incombustible  bodies  red-hot  without  the 
aid  of  fire,  I once  conceived  that  all  the  light  which  they 
emit  when  heated  to  redness  in  the  fire,  proceeded  from  their 
great  phosphorism,  for  I could  not  suppose  that  they  absorbed 
light  from  the  burning  fuel  and  emitted  it  again  at  the  same 
time,  and  during  a continuance  of  the  same  circumstances.  It 
appeared,  however,  equally  inexplicable  why  a stone  put  into 
the  lire  should  continue  to  shine  from  its  own  light  with 


fi  4 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  24,  1890. 


undiminished  lustre  as  long  as  the  tire  is  kept  up  ; for  it  has 
been  shown  that  if  a phosphorescent  body  remain  long  upon 
the  heater,  of  any  temperature  between  400°  of  Fahrenheit 
and  a red  heat,  its  light  diminishes  more  and  more  till  at 
last  it  is  scarcely  perceptible  ; and  then  an  increase  of  heat  is 
necessary  to  render  it  more  luminous. 

Appendix. 

After  a considerable  part  of  the  above  paper  was  printed,  I 
repeated  the  experiment  with  boiling  oil,  as  previously  related, 
with  every  possible  precaution  ; I poured  the  powder  into  the 
flash  through  a funnel  which  reached  to  the  bottom,  so  that 
none  of  it  might  be  lodged  on  the  sides  ; for,  not  having 
attended  to  this  circumstance  before,  I was  apprehensive  that 
the  experiment  was  delusive,  and  that  the  agitation  of  the  hot 
oil  might  have  washed  down  some  fresh  particles  which  had  not 
been  before  heated  ; then  slowly  pouring  in  a little  oil,  I boiled 
it  for  a few  minutes  and  removed  it  into  a dark  place.  When 
the  powder  had  become  but  faintly  luminous  upon  agitation, 
the  experiment  succeeded  exactly.  I then  boiled  anil  agitated 
the  oil  for  six  or  seven  times  successively  with  the  same  result, 
except  that  the  light  of  the  powder  grew  something  fainter 
each  time.  If  anyone  has  the  curiosity  to  repeat  this  singular 
experiment,  he  may  attend  to  the  foUowing  directions  Upon 
each  removal  from  the  fire,  stop  the  neck  of  the  flask  with  a 
cork  having  a small  hole  pierced  through  it  ; wrap  the  neck 
round  with  tow,  agitate  the  liquor  by  quickly  raising  and 
lowering  the  flask. 

The  spark  which  leaves  the  surfaces  of  hard  bodies  during 
attrition  may  be  exactly  imitated  by  burning  a bit  of  dusty 
paper  ; the  particles  of  dust  are  carried  by  the  current  of  air 
through  the  blaze,  and  are  made  red  hot  in  their  passage. 


THE  BEST  PHOTOGRAPH  KB. 

BY  FRED.  HART  WIJ.SON. 

That  to  a great  many  people  the  photograph  gallery  is  a 
place  “ hedged  about  with  terrors”  is  unfortunately  in- 
disputable. Over  its  door  might  be  written,  “ All  hope 
(of  looking  natural)  abandon,  ye  who  enter  here.”  The 
reception  room  may  hold  gorgeous  carpets,  and  red  velvet 
and  black  walnut  galore,  but  is  filled  and  covered  with 
photographs,  photographs,  nothing  but  photographs. 
There  may  be  waiting-rooms,  full  of  frames  and  albums, 
and  neat  little  dressing-rooms,  “replete  with  every  con- 
venience,” as  a new  hotel ; but  the  spirit  sinks  and  sinks 
till,  when  the  gallery,  dreadfully  bare  and  businesslike,  in 
cold  blue  and  white,  is  reached,  it  touches  bottom  with  a 
bump.  I remember  one  reception  room,  very  full  one 
busy  day,  which  was  far  more  abominably  desolate  than 
any  funeral  I ever  saw.  The  victims  sat  solemnly  around 
the  walls,  every  woman,  of  course,  accompanied  by  two 
others  nobly  standing  by  their  suffering  sister  in  this  crisis, 
occasionally  giving  her  a little  pat  or  pull  till  her  turn 
came  to  appear.  It  was  a sad  hour. 

It  is  unreasonable,  and  in  a way  a severe  exposure  of 
poor  humanity  s vanity  and  self-consciousness,  this  photo- 
graphing state  of  mind.  But  it  is  undoubtedly  vastly 
helped  by  the  mechanical  anil  strictly  professional  appoint- 
ments of  many  galleries,  and  the  semi-surgical  manner  of 
the  operators. 

Of  course,  a man,  especially  when  a busy  and  nervous 
photographer,  cannot  always  be  the  pink  of  smiling 
courtesy.  It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind,  nevertheless,  that 
people  expect  to  be  idealized  to  a certain  extent  in  the 
operations  of  photography,  and  a little  of  it  before  the  lens 
does  its  work  may  save  a great  deal  of  it  afterwards.  Easy, 
unhurried  motion,  and  a calm  confidence  that  everything 
is  going  to  come  out  all  right,  will  impart  themselves  to 
the  sitter,  and  a natural  expression  will  replace  the  nervous 


flutter  or  the  defiant  glare,  whichever  his  constitution  may 
have  led  him  to  assume.  If,  in  addition,  there  is  a stock 
of  good  temper  and  untiring  patience,  we  have  the  ideal 
photographer.  Such  a one  studies  the  face  in  its  different 
aspects  in  various  lights,  gets  an  idea  of  the  best  effects, 
and  sure,  then,  of  the  material  part  of  the  picture,  turns 
to  the  spiritual.  Quietly  talking,  or  simply  waiting,  he 
persuades  the  mind  of  the  subject  away  from  himself,  until 
self-consciousness  gradually  disappears,  the  happy  moment 
comes,  a couple  of  seconds’  pause,  and  it  is  done. 

Not  everyone  can  do  this : but  if  one  cannot  change  the 
furniture  of  his  mind,  lie  can  that  of  his  reception  room. 
Galleries  like  those  of  Rose  or  Sarouy  may  not  be  within 
his  reach,  but  lie  can  sink  the  shop  a little,  and  make  his 
rooms  a pleasant  place  to  be  in.  A well-chosen  few  of  the 
innumerable  fine  reproductions,  artistically  framed  and 
hung ; a few  jars,  and  screens,  and  mirrors,  if  he  can  go  so 
far  ; anything  to  make  the  place  less  like  a shop,  and  more 
like  an  abode  of  the  arts.  Let  him  suppress  the  photo- 
graph just  a little,  and  endeavour  to  make  the  place 
artistic. 

For  the  photographer,  especially  in  the  smaller  towns, 
liasa  very  considerable  responsibility  in  that  respect  resting 
on  him.  1 Ie  can  do  a great  deal,  if  lie  will,  in  quietly  educa- 
ting the  people  in  art.  Let  him  get  simply  examples  of 
the  best  photography,  and  of  the  reproductions  that  are 
now  so  inexpensive,  and  hang  them,  changing  them  when 
he  can,  in  his  rooms  and  windows.  Let  him  take  a few- 
art  journals,  and  try  to  read  a few  art  books.  It  will 
advantage  him,  for  he  will  be  at  the  same  time  educating 
himself,  and  the  results  will  be  certain  to  show  in  his  work ; 
and  let  him  coax  his  patrons  on  to  the  appreciation  and 
demand  for  this — a demand  he  will  be  sure  to  find  in  time, 
for  it  is  the  peculiarity  of  the  really  good  thing  in  art,  as 
elsewhere,  to  stand  wear,  to  endure  and  grow  upon  us. 
He  w ill  find  himself  forging  ahead,  and  will  learn  that  to 
be  the  artistic  photographer  of  his  community  means  not 
only  to  be  the  most  skilful  and  intelligent,  but  also  the 
most  appreciated  and  the  best  paid.  — lV/ison'ti  Pholot/rujthic 
Mar/azim . 


Photographic  Cu  n.  Wednesday,  Jan.  29th,  annual  lantern 
and  musical  entertainment.  Subject  for  discussion  Feb.  5th, 
“The  Intensification  anil  Reduction  of  Negatives.” 

Dagikrrk  and  Taluot. — At  the  Boston  convention  it  was 
resolved  to  organise  a one  dollar  subscription  for  the  purpose 
of  erecting  somewhere  in  Washington  a monument  or  memorial 
to  Daguerre.  We  could  have  wished  that  iu  this  matter  the 
name  of  Talbot  could  have  been  associated  with  that  of 
Daguerre  ; as,  although  each  wrought  independently  of  the 
other,  their  discoveries  were  given  to  the  world  almost  simul- 
taneously ; and  although  for-e  time  the  beautiful  Daguerreotype 
carried  all  before  it,  in  something  like  a dozen  of  years  it  be- 
came little  more  than  a memory,  while  the  process  of  Talbot, 
in  many  modifications,  no  doubt,  remains  with  us. — The  Bea- 
con. 

Soaking  before  Developing.  — Photographers  are  some- 
times advised  to  soak  their  plates  in  water  before  developing. 
Speaking  from  experience  we  certainly  counsel  them  to  do  no 
such  thing.  This  preliminary  soaking  has  a tendency  with 
most  plates  to  make  the  high-lights  Hat  and  dull-looking,  whilst 
it  veils  the  shadows  and  half-tones  in  a most  exasperating  way. 
It  is  a great  mistake  also  to  imagine,  as  some  photographers  do, 
that  a large  quantity  of  developing  solution  in  any  way  helps  to 
produce  a good  negative.  The  finest  negatives  we  have  yet 
seen  were  developed  with  the  smallest  amount  of  solution  that 
could  be  used  ; and  we  were  assured  by  the  artist  by  whom  they 
were  made  that  to  this  “kink  ” he  attributed  their  best  quali- 
ties. Try  it. — Wilton’i  Magazine. 


January  24,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


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66 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 

V («*  


[January  24,  1890. 


7 

/ 


iititcs. 

Congresses,  whether  photographic  or  otherwise,  have 
a disagreeable  knack  of  not  letting  well  alone.  Some 
faddist  has  a pet  idea  which  he  trots  out,  and  if  no 
vital  principle  is  involved,  sometimes  carries,  very  often 
to  his  own  intense  surprise.  Something  of  this  kind 
seems  to  have  happened  at  the  International  Photographic 
Congress  at  Paris,  where,  at  the  discussion  on  “termin- 
ology,” resolutions  were  carried  which  strike  at  the  very 
basis  of  photography,  as  the  public  understand  the  term. 
Thus  the  first  impression,  whether  on  glass  or  any 
other  material,  whether  negative  or  positive,  is  to  be 
called  the  “ phototype.”  The  proofs  from  the  “ photo- 
type ” are  to  be  designated  the  “ photo-copies.”  The 
simple  and  familiar  word  “photograph”  appears  to 
have  been  extinguished. 


The  Moniteur  de  la  Photographic,  discussing  the 
question,  expresses  dissent  from  the  conclusions  arrived 
at,  and  points  out  that  in  England  the  word  “ photo- 
type ” is  already  utilized  for  a particular  process  of 
reproduction.  The  word  “photo-copy”  pleases  our 
contemporary  even  less,  and  it  pertinently  inquires  if 
the  want  of  the  word  has  ever  been  felt.  Have  we 
ever  desired  to  say,  “Give  me  a photo-copy  of  your 
portrait?  ” or  to  exclaim,  “ Hero  is  a beautiful  photo- 
copy ! ” In  speaking  of  a “ photograph,”  everybody 
knows  what  is  meant,  and  “ photo-copy  ” is  a confusing 
and  an  unnecessary  innovation.  Besides,  to  be  consistent, 
other  words  would  have  to  be  revised.  Why  not 
“litho-copy  ” instead  of  lithograph,  or  “ tele-copy  ” in 
the  place  of  telegram  ? But  we  in  England  need  not 
disturb  ourselves  over  the  matter.  Congresses  may 
come,  and  Congresses  may  go,  but  the  word  photograph 
is  likely  to  go  on  for  ever. 


One  of  the  oddest  characteristics  of  photography  is 
the  facility  with  which  men  of  equal  ability  and  of 
equal  manipulative  skill,  in  trying  the  same  process, 
arrive  at  totally  opposite  opinions.  For  the  thousandth 
time,  more  or  less,  this  was  exemplified  at  the  last 
meeting  of  the  Photographic  Society,  when  Mr.  L. 
Warnerke  was  loud  in  his  praises  of  the  eikonogen 
developer,  while  Mr.  S.  G.  B.  Wollaston  had  not  been 
able  to  succeed  so  far  as  obtaining  density  was  con- 
cerned. It  is  puzzling  why  there  should  be  these 
differences,  but  they  bring  with  them  their  consolation, 
for  if  every  photographer  had  exactly  the  same  experi- 
ence, where  would  be  the  necessity  for  photographic 
societies,  and  what  would  photographers  find  to  talk 
about  ? Ibis  latter  contingency,  we  are  inclined  to 
think,  would  be  worse  than  the  former. 


The  Russian  authorities  have  placed  a new  tax  upon 
travellers.  New  passport  regulations  came  into  force 
last  week,  and  travellers  will  now  be  bound  to  carry 
their  photographs  annexed  to  their  passes.  It  has  been 
sarcastically  suggested  that  ladies  must  be  careful  not 
. t0  oxhibit  Photographs  taken  ten  years  previously, 


while  gentlemen  must  not  be  eccentric  as  to  sudden 


changes 


in  the  hair  on  their  faces.  To  save  incon- 
venience, the  bureau  where  the  passport  is  granted 
should  be  provided  with  a photographic  studio.  This 
would  prevent  no  end  of  trouble,  as  to  be  obliged  to 
have  your  portrait  taken  (supposing  you  have  not  a 
photograph— no  unlikely  thing)  just  before  starting  on 
a journey  would  add  a new  terror  to  life. 

But  this  is  just  what  the  authorities  have  not  done  ; 
and  the  only  consolation  is,  that  the  photographic 
profession  in  Russia  will  reap  the  benefit.  But  even 
here,  what  the  Government  have  given  with  one  hand 
they  have  taken  away  with  the  other;  for  after  having 
created  a trade  by  forcing  people  to  be  photographed, 
they  proceed  to  lay  a stamp  duty  of  about  2d.  on  every 
carte -de-visite.  Such  at  least  is  the  expressed  intention, 
and  if  so,  photographers  will  not  gain  much,  for  though 
they  may  make  more  negatives,  they  will  probably 
print  less  copies. 

Illustrated  journalism — if  we  may  use  the  phase — 
is  full  of  pitfalls.  The  journalistic  artist  is  but  mor- 
tal, and  liable  to  err ; but  if  he  does  make  a mistake, 
and  draws  the  wrong  man,  the  consequences  are  far 
more  awful  than  when  a reporter  puts  words  into  the 
wrong  man’s  mouth.  The  Daily  Graphic  last  week 
had  to  apologise  for  a blunder  of  this  kiud  at  an  illus- 
trated report  of  a concert ; but  this  was  not  so  bad  as  a 
possible  catastrophe  in  connection  with  another  illus- 
trated, averted  only  because  the  editor  happened  to 
know  the  originals.  It  happened  over  the  blackmailing 
case,  which  has  excited  so  much  interest  in  the  city. 
The  case,  though  a criminal  one,  was  heard  at  the 
Court  of  Queen’s  Bench,  and  the  three  defendants  were 
not  placed  in  a dock,  but  sat  beside  their  solicitors. 
An  artist  who  was  sent  to  sketch  the  scene  could, 
owing  to  the  crush,  only  get  admission  to  the  public 
gallery,  and  therein  made  his  notes.  He  was  correct 
in  spotting  two  of  the  defendants,  but  for  the  third 
drew  the  face  of  a highly  respectable  solicitor  instead  ! 
Fortunately  the  editor,  knowing  the  man,  was  able  to 
put  matters  straight  by  cutting  out  the  wrong  one  ; but 
what  would  have  happened  had  the  block  gone  in? 
Surely  a' gross  libel  would  have  been  committed! 


One  would  almost  think  that  Major  Wissmann,  the 
pioneer  of  German  “colonization”  in  East  Africa, 
had  been  to  see  Mr.  Burnand’s  “ Tra  la  la  Tosca,” 
and  had  taken  a hint  from  the  execution  scene,  which, 
as  wc  described  last  week,  consists  of  the  prisoner 
being  photographed.  Major  Wissmann — who,  by  the 
way,  appears  to  be  a military  martinet  of  the  school 
dear  to  the  heart  of  Frederick  the  Great — subjected 
Bushiri  to  much  the  same  torture  as  that  gone  through 
nightly  at  the  New  Royalty.  After  catching  him,  we 
read,  Wissmann  dressed  him  in  rags  and  chains,  and 
then  in  holiday  clothes,  and  photographed  him  in  each 
costume.  He  was  to  have  been  shot,  but  he  behaved 
so  treacherously  that  shooting  was  considered  too  good 
for  him.  The  inference  is  clearly  that  by  being  photo- 


January  24,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


07 


gtaplied  he  was  subjected  to  a punishment  more  igno- 
minious than  that  which  bullets  would  have  inflicted  ! 
We  hardly  know  whether  photographers  will  feel 
pleased  or  annoyed  at  this. 

Knowledge  last  week  gave  a full-page  reproduction  of 
a print  from  a pinhole  uegative  taken  by  Professor 
Pickering.  It  represents  the  rear  of  the  observatory  of 
Harvard  College,  and  though  the  sun  was  setting  when 
the  photograph  was  taken,  the  exposure  was  only  six 
minutes.  The  photograph  was  taken  from  the  roof  of 
a cottage  to  the  north-west  of  the  observatory,  and  it 
is  noticeable  that  the  slates  of  the  roof,  the  wires,  and 
other  objects  in  the  immediate  foreground,  with  the 
exception  of  the  fir  trees,  which  probably  moved  with 
the  wind  during  the  exposure,  are  equally  as  sharp  as 
objects  at  a distance. 

Mr.  Bignell,  the  artist  who  has  been  selected  to 
make  the  latest  portrait  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  will  not 
have  a very  easy  task.  Mr.  Gladstone  has  sat  so  many 
times  to  painters  and  photographers  that  he  is  heartily 
sick  of  the  operation,  and  has  “struck.”  lie  flatly 
refuses  to  accommodate  himself  to  a formal  sitting,  but 
has  given  Mr.  Bignell  permission  to  make  himself  at 
home  in  his  library  and  catch  the  likeness  the  best  he 
may,  while  Mr.  Gladstone  writes,  or  reads,  or  performs 
Iiis  many  duties,  kfter  all,  this  is  the  best  way  of 
catching  the  true  expression,  but  it  makes  great  de- 
mands on  the  ability  and  quickuess  of  the  artist. 

Gradually  a photographic  outfit  is  being  recognised 
as  a part  of  any  traveller’s  outfit,  whether  he  intends 
to  write  books  or  make  pictures.  Mr.  W.  H.  Mallock, 
who  has  been  rambling  among  Hungarian  castles,  will 
write  an  article  on  the  subject  in  next  month’s 
Scribner , illustrated  by  photographs  taken  by  himself. 
Mr.  Herkomcr  is  off  to  Cairo,  where  he  will  make 
sketches  and  take  photographs  for  future  use  ; while 
Sir  John  Millais  has  recently  been  on  a journey,  when 
his  daughter  acted  as  the  photographer.  The  one  man 
who,  it  would  be  thought,  should  have  been  among 
the  earliest  to  practise  the  art,  has  not  touched  it — we 
mean  the  descriptive  reporter.  If  the  Daily  Graphic 
succeeds — of  which,  by  the  way,  we  have  doubts  so  long 
as  it  is  conducted  on  its  present  lines — lie  may  see  the 
necessity. 

Photography  is  the  barometer  of  popularity.  When 
anybody  attains  the  rank  of  celebrity,  the  photographic 
print  dealers  arc  soon  made  aware  of  the  fact.  Major 
Serpa  Pinto  is  the  latest  lion,  not  in  England,  but  in 
Portugal,  and  the  Lisbon  dealers  are  worried  to  death 
because  negatives  of  the  intrepid  and  patriotic  explorer, 
or  marauding  fillibuster,  according  whether  you  are 
Portugese  or  English,  are  scarce.  Photographs  are, 
indeed,  at  so  high  a price  that  an  old  trick,  which  used 
to  be  practised  at  Berlin  in  regard  to  the  present  Em- 
peror’s grandfather,  has  been  imitated  in  Lisbon,  and 
it  is  said  that  a person  resembling  Major  Pinto  Iras  been 
hired  to  sit,  in  order  to  supply  the  needed  negatives. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  GERMANY. 

BY  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

Formic  Aldehyde  and  its  Compounds — A New  Flash- 

Light — The  Photonom— Quinol  Intensifies  — Com- 
bined Toning  .and  Fixing  Bath— Hardening  Gela- 
tine Prints. 

The  Use  of  the  Formic  Aldehyde  and  its  Compounds  in  Pho- 
tography.— An  invention  Iras  of  late  beerr  patented  by  Mr. 
York  Schwartz  and  Dr.  Mercklin,  of  Hanover,  consisting 
of  the  use  of  formic  aldehyde  and  its  compounds  for  pho- 
tographic purposes.  The  sodium  oxymethyl-sulphonate 
or  formic  aldehyde  sodium  bisulphite  works  well,  especially 
with  carbonated  alkali ; if  added  to  the  gelati  no -bromide 
emulsion  it  accelerates  the  ripening,  and  imparts  vigour 
and  clearness  to  the  negatives ; also  if  added  to  the  ferrous 
oxalate  as  well  as  to  the  pyrogallic  and  hydryquinone  deve- 
lopers, it  has  a preservative  action,  accelerates  develop- 
ment, and  prevents  fog.  The  keeping  qualities  of  these 
developers  are  materially  improved  by  the  addition,  and 
only  about  a quarter  the  usual  quantity  of  iron  is  neces- 
sary to  obtain  equally  good  results.  The  sensitising  action 
of  the  formic  aldehyde  and  its  compounds  depends  without 
doubt  upon  the  energy  with  which  they  absorb  bromine 
or  iodine. 

A New  Flash-Light. — Professor  Max  Midler,  in  his  excel- 
lent manual  on  the  use  of  the  magnesium  light  for  photo- 
graphic purposes,  published  a few  weeks  ago  by  Mr.  I\. 
Schwier,  of  Weimar,  gives  the  formula  of  the  flash-light 
composition  with  which  lie  has  obtained  the  beautiful  cave 
pictures  which  were  so  much  admired  at  the  last  Berlin 
exhibition.  The  original  formula  of  Gaedickeand  Miethe, 
who  at  first  introduced  the  flash-light  in  its  present  form, 
contained,  it  will  be  remembered,  crystallised  trisulphide 
of  antimony : 1 part  of  trisulphide  of  antimony,  8 parts  of 
magnesium  powder,  G parts  of  potassium  chlorate.  The 
trisulphide  of  antimony,  which  has  the  function  of  accel- 
erating the  combustion  of  the  composition,  is  a very  dan- 
gerous mixture.  For  this  reason  Professor  Muller  re- 
places it  by  perchlorate  of  potash,  which  contains  a larger 
quantity  of  oxygen  than  the  potassium  chlorate,  and  causes 
more  rapid  combustion  without,  he  asserts,  the  production 
of  a similarly  dangerous  explosive  composition.  Iiis  for- 
mula is  the  following : potassium  chlorate  8 parts,  per- 
chlorate of  potash  3 parts,  magnesium  powder  4 parts. 

The  Photonom. — This  is  the  name  of  an  ingenious  new 
instrument  constructed  by  one  of  our  most  eminent 
amateur  photographers,  Ritter  von  Staudenteim,  of  Fild- 
Kirchen,  which  was  exhibited  at  the  last  meeting  of  the 
Photographic  Society  of  Vienna.  This  instrument,  form- 
ing part  of  the  objective,  has  the  function  during  the  ex- 
posure of  distributing  automatically  the  light  coming  from 
the  object  into  the  lens,  so  that,  in  the  case  of  landscapes, 
the  sky  receives  a much  shorter  exposure  than  the  fore- 
ground. The  whole  arrangement  is  fixed  upon  the  lens 
tube,  directly  before  the  diaphragm  slit,  and  it  consists 
substantially  of  a shutter,  which  is  moved  by  clockwork, 
and  which  can  be  regulated  in  its  rapidity  by  means  of 
retarding  winged  screws.  The  shutter  moves  downwards 
before  the  aperture  of  the  lens,  covering  at  first  the  sky, 
then  the  middle  of  the  scene,  and  lastly  the  foreground. 
If,  for  instance,  a plate  is  to  be  exposed  in  all  for  five 
seconds,  then,  by  use  of  the  “ photonom,”  the  sky,  the  air, 
and  distant  mountains  maybe  exposed  for  only  one  second, 
the  centre  of  the  landscape  for  two  seconds,  and  the  fore- 
ground, in  addition  to  the  three  seconds  it  has  already  re- 


68 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  24,  1890. 


ceived,  two  seconds  extra.  The  landscape  photographs 
taken  by  means  of  this  instrument  are  of  excellent  clear- 
ness, and  show  plenty  of  detail. 

Quinol  Intensijier  for  Collodion  Negatives. — Prof.  Eder 
publishes  in  the  Correspondent  a formula  for  a hydroquinone 
intensifier  which  has  been  communicated  to  him  by  Cap- 
tain Baron  Hiibl.  This  experimentalist  endeavoured  to 
find  a trustworthy  physical  intensifying  method  for  collo- 
dion negatives  to  replace  the  mercurial  intensifier,  and  he 
succeeded  by  the  use  of  quinol-silver  intensification,  which 
acts  in  the  same  manner  as  the  well-known  pyro-silver  in- 
tensifier, possessing,  however,  the  advantage  that  it  not  only 
intensifies  the  wet  plate  before  being  fixed,  but  that  it  per- 
fects any  imperfect  details  in  the  negative  by  continued 
development.  Captain  Hiibl  dissolves  lOgrammes  of  hydro- 
quinone in  1,000  c.c.  of  water,  and  adds  so  much  of  an 
acid  that  the  solution,  with  one-third  of  silver  nitrate  solu- 
tion, 1 : BO,  remains  clear  for  five  minutes.  The  iutensi- 
fier  has  been  tried  by  Prof.  Eder,  and  the  results  obtained 
were  excellent.  The  formula  used  was  the  following : — 


versa,  otherwise  the  bath  would  be  destroyed  by  the  for- 
mation of  dark  brown  sulphocyanide  of  gold.  After  a 
thorough  shaking  and  settling,  the  bath  is  ready  for  use. 
If  it  is  preferred  to  tone  the  prints,  more  Vandyke  brown  or 
umbra,  also  five  grammes  of  pure  carbonate  of  ammonium, 
should  be  added  to  the  bath.  A bath  made  up  in  the  de- 
scribed manner,  which  has  been  in  use  for  ten  months, 
works  still  as  if  entirely  unaltered.  The  procedure  is  as 
follows: — Of  the  above  1,000  volumes,  100  volumes  are 
poured  off  into  a bottle  for  daily  use.  The  small  quantity 
which  is  eliminated  by  toning  is  always  replaced  from  the 
stock  solution.  Should  the  bath,  by  toning  one  hundred 
cabinets  or  more,  become  dark  brown,  it  does  not  matter; 
the  precipitate  is  removed  from  the  prints  by  means  of  a 
soft  brush  in  the  washing  water,  and  the  bath  is  filtered 
several  times.  Care  should  be  taken  that  the  temperature 
of  the  bath  is  not  below  68  to  71“  F. 

Hardening  Gelatine  Prints. — The  same  experimentalist 
gives  a good  formula  for  hardening  or  tanning  gelatine 
prints.  The  following  solution  is  made  up : — 


Solution  No.  1. 

Hydroquinone...  ...  ...  ...  10  grammes 

Water 1,000  c.c. 

Citric  acid  ...  ...  ...  ...  6 grammes 

Solution  No.  2. 

Silver  nitrate  ...  ...  ...  ...  1 gramme 

Water...  30  c.c. 

Before  use,  • > parts  of  solution  No.  1 are  mixed  with 
1 part  of  solution  No.  2.  The  intensifier  gives  as  excel- 
lent results  in  the  reproduction  of  line  drawings  for  photo- 
lithography as  in  the  case  of  half-tone  pictures  for  collo- 
type. The  wet  collodion  plates,  after  being  developed 
with  sulphate  of  iron,  are  rinsed  and  covered  with  the 
hydroquinone  intensifier.  When  fixed,  the  negatives  are, 
for  the  most  part,  vigorous  enough,  but,  if  necessary,  they 
can  afterwards  be  intensified  also  with  mercury.  If  the 
negative  has  been  nearly  correctly  exposed  and  well  deve- 
loped, the  hydroquinone  intensifier  is  employed  after  fix- 
ing ; the  clear  lines  are  thereby  perfectly  preserved. 

Combined  Tonimj  and  Fixing  Bath. — Many  toning  baths 
have  been  recommended  of  late  for  prints  on  gelatino- 
ehloride  paper,  but  the  following  one,  given  by  Ilerr  Jos. 
Bud.  Shatter  in  the  Phot.  Naclirichten,  seems  to  be  of  spe- 
cial value,  as  it  contains  no  alum,  but  instead  thereof 
acetate  of  soda,  which  compensates  for  the  decompositions 
otherwise  taking  place  in  the  toning  baths.  The  bath 
gives  excellent  tones  of  great  variety.  The  following 
solution  is  made  up  at  first : — 

Solution  No  1. 

...  1,000  c.c. 

...  250  grammes 


5 grammes 
8 „ 

20  c.c. 

After  this  solution  has  stood  for  twenty-four  hours,  milky 
Hakes  of  insoluble  sodium  compounds  arc  produced  in  it, 
which  arc  removed  by  filtering  the  liquid  twice.  Then 
the  following  solution  is  made  up : — 

Solution  No.  2. 

Distilled  water 100  c.c. 

Chloride  of  gold  (yellow  crystals)  ...  1 gramme 

Chloride  of  ammonium  5 grammes 

Solution  No.  2 is  poured  into  solution  No.  1,  not  vice 


Distilled  water... 

Hyposulphite  of  soda  ... 
Sulphocyanide  of  ammonium  ... 
Acetate  of  soda  (crystallised)  ... 

i o this  is  added  a mixture  of : — 
Nitrate  of  silver  ...  ... 

Chloride  of  sodium  ...  ... 

Water 


Distilled  water...  ...  ...  ...  1,000  c.c. 

Tannin...  ...  ...  ...  ...  1 gramme 

Chloride  of  sodium  ...  ...  ...  10  grammes 

Saturated  solution  of  potassium  alumin- 
ium sulphate  ...  ...  ...  100  c.c. 

The  prints,  if  pressed  between  blotting  paper,  never  stick 
together,  and  if  squeegeed  on  to  glass  plates  rubbed  with 
talc,  and  dried  at  a temperature  of  77°  to  86®  F.,  conic  off 
after  half  an  hour  with  an  indestructible  high  gloss.  If 
they  have  been  touched  with  wet  or  greasy  fingers,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  rub  them  with  a dry  rag  to  remove  every 
trace  of  uncleanness.  The  whites  remain  absolutely  pure, 
and  prints  treated  in  this  manner  can  easily  be  retouched 
without  the  retouching  being  perceptible. 


Mu.  W.  Darnell,  writing  to  the  English  Mechanic  about 
aerial  photography,  says  : — “ Being  an  aeronaut  and  photo- 
grapher, I have  had  the  opportunity  of  exposing  a few  plates, 
but  have  not  got  them  as  sharp  as  I should  like.  To  get  good 
results  it  requires  one  to  look  after  the  camera,  and  one  to  bring 
the  balloon  down  to  the  altitude  required.  In  the  Photograi'UIC 
News  there  were  two  plates  published  on  April  2nd,  1880,  views 
of  Paris  taken  from  a balloon,  which  I have  by  me.” 

Mirages. — The  article  in  Nature  of  November  21st,  1889 
(p.  09),  recalls  to  me  mirages  I saw  in  March,  1888,  while 
travelling  in  the  East  on  the  steam  yacht  Ceylon.  On  the  29th 
we  were  crossing  the  Black  Sea  from  Sebastopol.  It  was  a 
fine,  cool  day,  and  quite  calm.  In  the  afternoon  a false  or 
mirage  horizon  about  3°  above  the  true  one  was  visible  for  a 
few  hours.  No  objects  were  within  range  of  vision.  The 
mirage  disappeared  as  the  sun  declined.  The  next  day  was  very 
much  warmer,  and  we  saw'  a more  marked  and  interesting 
mirage  in  the  afternoon  as  wTe  were  steaming  across  the  Sea  of 
Marmora  away  from  Constantinople.  In  this  case  it  apj>eared 
only  in  the  west,  and  objects  were  seen  reflected  in  an  inverted 
position.  A small  conical-shaped  island  was  seen  with  its  in- 
verted image  at  times  distinct  from  and  at  times  blending  with 
the  original.  The  image  was  distinctly  seen  of  some  laud, 
which  was  actually  below  the  horizon.  The  mirage  of  the  re- 
flection of  the  sun  in  the  sea  was,  when  seen  through  a glass, 
especially  beautiful.  It  resembled  a glorious  cataract  of  golden 
water.  This  mirage  lasted  till  quite  the  dusk  of  the  evening, 
and  then  gradually  thinned  down  and  died  away.  I do  not 
know  whether  mirages  at  sea  are  uncommon  ; but  as  the  officers 
on  board  did  not  remember  seeing  one  before,  I thought  these 
instances  might  be  worth  recording. — Arthur  E.  Brown, 
Thought  Cot , Brentwood.  December  31sf,  1889. 


J ANGARY  24,  1800.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


09 


EIKONOGEN.* 

BY  RAPHAEL  MELDOLA,  F.R.S. 

In  1880,  when  studying  the  action  of  nitroso-compoundson 
phenols,  I discovered  a nitroso-sulphonic  acid  of  fl-naph- 
thol,  which  at  that  time  was  the  first  known  representative 
of  the  class  of  aromatic  nitroso-sulphonic  acids  {Jour. 
Chem.  Soc.  Trans.  Jan.  1881,  40).  The  compound  in 
question  was  afterwards  utilized  as  the  source  of  a colour- 
ing matter  introduced  into  commerce  by  the  Frankfurter 
Anilinfarbenfabrik,  Gans  and  Co.,  under  the  name  of 
“ Naphthol  green  B.”  (Ger.  Fat.  28,005,  January  19th, 
1884.)  This  compound,  which  was  briefly  described  by 
Otto  Hoffmann  (Ber.  1885,  40)  is  the  sodium  ferrous  salt 
of  the  0-naphthol-nitroso-sulphonie  acid  referred  to,  and 
may  have  the  formula — 

/ NO  / N.O  fe 

C10Hs^-Ofe  or  Cl0Hs<-0 

\ SOjNa  \ S03Na 

(«■  = ?) 

according  to  the  view  taken  with  respect  to  the  presence 
of  a nitroso-group  or  an  isonitroso-group  in  the  com- 
pound. The  colouring  matter  is  of  considerable  technical 
value  at  the  present  time,  and  is  of  interest  as  being  the 
only  known  artificial  colouring  matter  which  contains  iron 
as  an  essential  constituent,  excepting,  <>f  course,  the  well- 
known  iron-cyanogen  compounds. 

Theory  indicates  the  existence  of  seven  isomeric  mono- 
sulphonic' acids  of  /3-naphthol.  of  which  only  four  are  known 
at  the  present  time.  Only  one  of  these  is  concerned 
in  the  present  communication — viz.,  that  modification  first 
discovered  in  18(59  by  Schaeffer,  and  which  is  best  pre- 
pared by  heating  0-uaphthol  with  twice  its  weight  of  strong 
sulphuric  acid  to  the  temperature  of  boiling  water  till  the 
naphthol  is  completely  sulphonated.  One,  if  not  two 
other,  monosulphonic  acids  are  produced  at  the  same  time, 
together  with  a certain  quantity  of  isomeric  disulphonic 
acids,  but  the  chief  product  under  the  conditions  specified 
is  Schaeffer's  monosulphonic  .acid.  It  is  the  latter  acid, 
which  on  a small  scale  can  best  be  isolated  in  the  form  of 
its  ammonium  salt,  which  gives  the  nitroso-acid  under 
consideration.  In  order  to  prepare  the  latter  it  is  only 
necessary  to  dissolve  a given  weight  of  the  ammonium  or 
other  salt  of  Schaeffer's  acid  in  cold  water  together  with 
the  necessary  quantity  of  sodium  nitrite,  and  then,  keep- 
ing the  solution  well  cooled,  gradually  add  hydrochloric 
acid  to  acid  reaction.  The  litrosulphonic  acid  is  .at  once 
formed  and  remains  in  the  solution,  imparting  to  the 
latter  an  orange  colour.  The  acid  can,  if  necessary,  be 
isolated  in  a state  of  purity  as  a barium  or  calcium  salt 
{Jour.  ('hem.  Soc.  Trans.  1881,  44). 

By  the  reduction  of  the  nitrososulphonic  acid  an  amido- 
sulphonic  acid  was  prepared,  which  was  isolated  and  ana- 
lysed and  described  in  the  paper  referred  to  (foe.  at.,  47). 
This  acid  was  the  first  amidosulphonic  acid  of  naphthol 
ever  obtained,  and  it  is  the  sodium  salt  of  the  said  acid 
which  has  recently  been  introduced  as  a photographic 
developer  under  the  name  of  “ Kikonogen.”  As  the  dis- 
coverer of  the  acid  I have  been  urged  to  give  this  note 
upon  its  chemical  history  for  the  use  of  English  chemists, 
and  in  doing  so,  I think  it  only  fair  to  add  that  although 
the  easily  oxidisable  character  of  the  acid  and  its  salts 

* From  the  Journal  of  the  Soctr'u  "f  (.’hrmiral  Industry,  December 
Jlst.  1889.  No.  12,  vol.  Tin. 


naturally  saggested  trying  it  as  a photographic  developer, 
I was  not  at  the  time  engaged  in  photographic  work,  and 
the  idea  was  never  carried  out  till  the  substance  was  actu- 
ally introduced  into  commerce  for  this  purpose. 

Of  the  advantages  of  eikonogen  as  a developer  I do  not 
propose  to  say  anything  on  the  present  occasion,  since  its 
qualities  have  been  thoroughly  tested  by  photographers, 
and  it  is  becoming  very  popular  for  many  reasons,  which 
will  be  found  in  the  papers  dealing  with  its  application. 
(See,  for  instance,  papers  by  Professor  G.  D.  Eiveing, 
Photographic  News,  September  20th,  1889  ; John  Spiller, 
in  the  recently-published  Year-Book  oe  Photography 
(1890,  124)  ; also  Lyonel  Clark  and  II.  M.  Elder  in  the 
Photograhhic  News  of  December  13th,  1889).  Some 
months  after  the  publication  of  my  paper  Griess  obtained 
an  amido-0-naphtholmonosulphonic  acid,  which  was  no 
doubt  identical  with  the  one  described  by  me  (Ber.  1881, 
2041).  lie  obtained  it  by  reducing  the  azo-compound 
formed  by  the  action  of  metadiazobenzoie  acid  on  Shaeffer’s 
acid.  The  whole  subject  has  since  been  thoroughly  in- 
vestigated by  O.  N.  Witt  (Ber.  1888,  34(58  and  3489),  who 
has  not  only  confirmed  and  extended  my  original  observa- 
tions, but  has  also  obtained  the  three  other  amidosulphonic 
acids  corresponding  to  the  three  jS-naphtholmonosulphonic 
acids  made  known  since  the  time  of  my  investigations. 
Witt's  amido-sulphonic  acids  were  all  prepared  by  the 
reduction  of  azo-derivatives  of  the  respective  /9-naphthol- 
monosulphonic  acids  by  means  of  stannous  chloride. 
There  are  thus  known  at  the  present  time  : — 

1.  Arnido-(8-naphthol-/3-sulphouic  acid,  from  Schaeffer’s  acid. 

2.  A mido-Anaphthol-a  sul phonic  acid,  from  Bayer’s  (Crocic) 
acid. 

3.  Amido  /3-naphthol-!-sulphonic-sulphonic  acid,  from  Ca- 
sella’s  F-sulpho  acid. 

4.  A mido-£  naphth>'l-7-*ul phonic  acid,  from  Dahl’s  acid. 

Of  these  four  acids  the  first  appears  to  be  the  most 
readily  oxidisable,  and  therefore  the  most  suitable  for 
photographic  development.  It  is  possible  that  some  speci- 
ments  of  eikonogen  may  contain  the  acids  (2),  (3)  or  (4), 
but  I have  not  yet  met  with  a preparation  in  which  these 
isomerides  could  be  detected.  With  respect  to  the  consti- 
tution of  eikonogen,  1 am  glad  of  the  present  opportunity 
of  being  able  to  correct  my  earlier  statement,  because 
more  exact  information  has  been  obtained  by  numerous 
workers  during  the  nine  years  which  have  elapsed  since 
my  own  investigation.  The  constitution  of  the  amido- 
sulphonic acid  is,  in  the  first  place,  dependent  upon  the 
constitution  of  Schaeffer's  acid,  which  was  practically 
unknown  in  1881.  It  was  not  even  known  with  certainty 
whether  the  hydroxyl  and  sulpho-groups  were  in  the  same 
or  in  different  rings.  It  has  now  been  shown  that  this 
acid  is  a heteronuclcal  derivative,  and  the  most  probable 
formula  is — 

AA  OH 

I I I 

hso3  vv 

It  is  true  that  by  the  oxidation  of  my  amido-^-naphthol- 
sulphonic  acid  I obtained  phthalic  acid,  and  this  led  me  to 
the  conclusion  that  Schaeffer's  acid  was  a homonucleal 
compound.  There  is  now  no  doubt,  however,  that  the 
product  of  oxidation  is  fl-sulphophthalic  acid  (llemsenand 
Comstock,  Amer.  Chem.  Tonrn.  V.,  p.  106  ; Bee,  Inaug. 
Diss.  Bern,  188(5),  and  that  the  phthalic  acid  obtained  by 
me  from  the  amido-sulphonic  acid  was  the  result  of  the 
hydrolysis  of  this  sulphophthalic  acid. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  compounds  which  furnish  both 


70 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[ January  24,  1890. 


azo-and  nitroso  (isonitroso)  derivatives  the  azo-group  and 
the  nitroso  (isonitroso)  group  occupy  the  same  positiou  in 
the  aromatic  ring.  In  Schaeffer’s  acid  the  most  readily 
replaceable  hydrogen  atom  is  undoubtedly  the  a-(ortho)- 
atom  with  reference  to  the  hydroxyl,  so  that  the  constitu- 
tion of  these  derivatives  and  of  eikonogen  is  as  follows  : — 


NO 

AA  OH 

I I I 

HSOj  VV 

Nitroso-ierivitive. 


N : N— R 

AA  OH 
I I I 
1IS03  VV 

Azo-derivativj. 


NHj 

AA  OH 

I I I 
HSOj  VV 

Eikonogen. 


If  the  first  of  these  compounds  be  regarded  as  an 
isonitroso-compouud  its  formula  will  be  : — 

_N  OH 

aa“6 

I l I 

HSOj  VV 

Eikonogen  may  thus  be  made  either  by  the  reduction  of 
the  uitrososulphouic  acid  or  of  an  azo-derivative  of 
Schaeffer's  acid.  1 >v  the  action  of  diazobenzene  chloride 
upon  this  last  acid  an  orange  colouring  matter  is  obtained, 
which  is  met  with  in  the  market  under  the  names  of 
“ Crocein  Orange,”  “Brilliant  Orange,”  “l’oncean  -1  G.B.” 
<&c.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  known  azo-colours,  having  been 
described  by  Griess  in  1878  (Ber.  1878,  21!)7. ) This 
compound  may  be  used  as  a source  of  eikonogen,  using 
stannous  chloride  as  a reducing  agent: — 

C6Hi.N,.CI0H5.HSO3.OH+2  SnCL+4  HC1=C6H&.NH, 

+ 2SnCh+C10Hi.HSOj.OH.NH2 

It  would  seem  more  economical,  howevei-,  for  manufac- 
turing purposes  to  revert  to  the  original  method  and  reduce 
the  nitroso-0-naphtholsulphonic  acid,  which  need  not  even 
be  isolated  for  this  purpose,  but  can  be  formed  by  the 
action  of  nitrous  acid  in  the  manner  previously  described, 
and  reduced  in  the  same  solution.  The  use  of  aniline  can 
thus  be  dispensed  with,  and  tin  replaced  by  a cheaper  re- 
ducing agent,  such  as  zinc  dust.  The  raw  material  is, 
moreover,  practically  a waste  product,  since  the  azo-colours 
obtained  from  Schaeffer’s  acid  are  of  but  little  value  com- 
pared with  those  obtained  from  the  other  monosulphonic 
acids  of  3-naphthoI,  and  it  is  the  manufacture  of  some  of 
the  latter  that  Schaeffer’s  acid  is  obtained  as  a by-product. 
Owing  to  the  readily  oxidisable  character  of  the  salts  of 
eikonogen,  it  is  necessary,  after  the  free  acid  has  been  ob- 
tained, to  convert  the  latter  into  the  sodium  or  potassium 
salt  in  the  presence  of  excess  of  sulphite. 

To  the  numerous  coal  tar  products  which  have  given  to 
chemical  industry  such  a wealth  of  technically  valuable 
compounds,  we  can  now  add  this  new  photographic  deve- 
loper, which  threatens  to  drive  the  older  and  related  com- 
pounds— pyrogallol  and  hydroquinone — altogether  out  of 
the  field. 


1*  on  restoring  old  papier  mache  trays  a German  photogra- 
pher recommends  a double  coating  of  asphaltum,  followed  by  a 
coat  of  a solution  of  1 part  of  shellac  in  y parts  of  alcohol. 

1 fcMPKRATUUB  ix  Development. — Alfred  Stuglitz  notes  in 
the  Photo.  Rundschau,  the  extreme  influence  of  temperature -on 
developers.  He  states  that  a developer  used  too  cold  is  certain 
to  give  hard  negatives,  while  one  too  warm  will  give  them 
quick  and  weak.  He  recommends  a standard  temperature  at 
which  the  developer  is  to  be  kept  all  the  year  round,  about 
flO  Kj  and  considers  that  10®  either  way  make  considerable 
difference  in  the  action.  More  especially  is  this  so  in  the 
leisuiely  development  which  is  always  advisable  when  finely 
graduated  soft  half-tones  are  desired  in  the  plate  ; with  very 
rapidly- working  development  the  effects  of  temperature  arc  not 
so  noticeable. 


Xottres  of  £>ook$. 


On:  IIomi:  in'  Ayeykox.  By  C.  Christopher  Davies  and 

Mrs.  Broughall.  ( Blackwood  Hons,  Loudon  : 1890.) 

This  book  consists  of  studies  of  peasant  life  and  customs 
in  Aveyron  and  The  Lot,  far  down  in  the  south  of  France, 
and  is  illustrated  with  copies  of  photographs  taken  by  Mr. 
Davies.  lie  says  that  in  giving  lectures  and  exhibiting 
lantern  pictures  to  rural  audiences  in  England,  he  found 
that  much  more  interest  was  exhibited  in  the  simple  de- 
tails of  home  life,  which  might  easily  be  compared  with 
one’s  own  modest  experiences,  than  in  more  ambitious  tales 
of  travel.  This  is  true,  and  were  more  lantern-slide  pic- 
tures devoted  to  illustrating  the  manners  and  customs  of 
other  nations  than  ours,  and  fewer  devoted  to  mountain 
scenery  and  large  public  buildings,  their  interest  to  the 
general  public  would  be  increased.  The  book  before  us 
does  not  exactly  carry  out  its  programme  so  far  as  the 
illustrations  are  concerned  ; they  number  but  a dozen  alto- 
gether, and  several  of  these  arc  not  pictures  representing 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people.  What,  in  this 
respect,  is  lacking  in  the  pictures — which,  however,  are 
interesting  so  far  as  they  go — is  made  up  in  the  letter- 
press,  wherein  will  be  found  minute  details  about  life  and 
manners  in  a French  mining  village,  furnished  by  perman- 
ent English  residents,  who  consequently  were  well 
acquainted  with  the  subject  in  hand.  One  of  the  best 
illustrations  in  the  book  represents  a religious  procession, 
with  the  villagers  ambling  along,  and  throwing  out  their 
legs,  with  their  hands  in  their  pockets,  all  resulting  in  a 
realistic  effect  such  as  photography  alone  would  be  likely 
to  give,  for  few  painters  could  or  would  have  grouped 
their  models  in  such  natural  and  ungainly  attitudes. 

The  out-of-the-way  district  described  by  the  authors  is 
known  as  the  " Lost  Country,”  the  difficulty  of  access  to 
and  egress  from  it  having  given  it,  say  the  authors,  the 
name  of  the  “ Pays  Perdu  ” among  distraction-loving 
Frenchmen.  “ What  will  you  ? ” they  say  ; “ There  is  no- 
thing. literally  nothing,  wherewith  to  amuse  one’s  self.  It 
is  a lost  country.”  On  a remark  being  made  to  a peasant 
woman,  ••  This  is  a beautiful  country  of  yours,”  she  replied, 
“ Oui.  mademoiselle,  mais  il  est  un  peu  perdu.” 

In  the  schoolroom  of  the  village  schoolmaster,  who  was 
the  mayor’s  secretary.  Mr.  Davies  one  nightgave  a lantern 
entertainment  to  a crowded  house.  “Never,”  he  says, 
“ was  such  a thing  heard  of  in  that  out-of-the-way  village 
before.  ( hie  woman  asked  another  if  a lantern  magiqae  was 
like  a Chinese  lantern.  The  younger  people,  like  most 
young  people  at  a half-dark  entertainment,  indulged  in  a 
little  flirtation,  thus  giving  the  pictures  an  added  charm; 
while  as  for  the  children,  they  gazed  with  open-mouthed 
wonder  upon  the  enchanted  sheet  where  the  views  and 
figures  appeared  and  disappeared.  When  the  news  got 
abroad  that  Monsieur  le  I)irecteur(of  the  local  mines)  had 
come,  and  the  entertainment  was  about  to  commence,  in 
came  the  people,  like  the  rats  in  the  castle  on  the  Rhine  ; 
they  came  in  at  the  windows  and  in  at  the  doors,  till  the 
place  was  literally  crammed.  The  front  row  knelt,  the 
second  stood,  the  third  climbed  on  the  desks,  and  the  rest 
stood  on  the  window-sills  or  on  the  should  ere  of  those 
willing  to  bear  the  weight. 

“The  long  man  of  the  village  bore  a friend  on  his 
shoulders,  and  this  friend  bore  another  friend.  Then 
these  three  got  unsteady  and  toppled,  in  their  descent 
upsetting  the  belle  of  the  village,  who  gave  the  long  man  a 


January  24,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


71 


box  on  the  ear  by  way  of  recompense.  The  audience 
were  delighted  with  the  views  shown  them  of  Paris  and 
Switzerland ; but  when  a transparency  of  their  village 
street,  showing  a group  of  familiar  figures,  was  thrown 
upon  the  screen,  they  were  uproarious.  We  finished  up 
with  a photograph  of  the  director,  under  which  was 
written  Bonne  unit,  after  which  the  schoolmaster  thanked 
us  for  the  entertainment,  and  the  people  dispersed, 
thoroughly  pleased  with  their  evening's  amusement.  One 
poor  old  woman  asked  if  there  would  be  a collection,  and 
when  told  No,  expressed  her  astonishment  that  any  one 
should  take  so  much  trouble  simply  to  give  pleasure  to 
others.  Poor  people  ! they  are  so  money-grubbing  them- 
selves, and  so  used  to  see  those  above  them  money- 
grubbing  also,  that  they  cannot  understand  that  we  should 
wish  to  give  them  pleasure  and  charge  nothing  for  it." 

The  farmers  in  France  are  for  the  most  part  proprietors  j 
of  the  land  they  cultivate,  and  they  turn  out  vast  quantities 
of  dairy  produce  for  sale  in  England,  to  the  great 
financial  benefit  of  our  (iallic  neighbours,  Mr.  Davies 
and  some  of  his  English  friends  were  one  day  invited  to 
lunch  by  a wealthy  peasant  proprietor,  M.  Pantillac,  an 
unshaven  little  mm,  in  a blue  blouse  and  a shabby  felt 
hat.  As  in  those  parts  flower-pots  with  a lug  hole  in  are 
fixed  in  front  of  the  houses,  and  the  birds  of  the  air 
confidingly  build  their  nests  therein,  and  the  young  birds 
are  collected  and  cooked  by  villagers,  an  invited  guest 
fresh  from  England  expected  stewed  nestlings  and  dande- 1 
lions  on  the  occasion.  “ On  the  contrary."  said  a friend, 
‘•you  will  get  a meal  of  twenty  courses,  and  most  excel- 
lent wines.  . . . lie  wants  me  to  buy  a bit  of  his 

land,  so  he  will  give  us  a grand  feast.”  “That  isn't  very 
flattering  to  us ; 1 would  rather  think  he  means  to  be 
hospitable.”  " Ah  ! that  is  not  the  virtue  of  a French 
peasant." 

France  is  a great  country,  and  what  is  true  of  one  por- 
tion may  not  be  true  of  another,  just  as  a description  of 
Yorkshire  peasantry  would  not  be  applicable  to  those  of 
Scotland.  The  description  the  authors  give  of  the  main 
streets  of  some  of  the  villages  being  also  the  main  sewers, 
all  open  to  sun  and  air,  is  not  applicable  to  all  parts  of 
France.  In  the  rural  districts  of  that  nation  will  be  found 
many  homely,  hospitable,  genuine  people. 

The  authors  of  the  book  are  Protestants,  as  they  often 
inform  the  readers,  and  they  have  much  to  say  about  Pro- 
testants and  Catholics.  Some  years  ago  a Government 
Inspector  asked  tiie  children  at  the  convent  school  at 
Bouillac,  “ What  are  Protestants?”  and  was  told  that  they 
were  black  people  with  tails,  and,  being  little  better  than 
the  devil,  were  all  damned.  At  his  last  visit  the  children 
were  indignant ; they  said  that  they  had  discovered  that  the 
English  Protestants  then  living  in  the  village  had  no  tails, 
were  not  black,  but  were  very  nice  people  indeed. 

Altogether,  the  book  is  an  interesting  one  to  photo- 
graphers and  to  the  general  reader.  It  gives  information 
about  the  inner  life,  and  customs,  and  thoughts  of  villagers 
in  some  of  the  provinces  of  France,  such  as  could  only  be 
given  fully  by  permanent  residents  in  their  midst,  and  not 
by  casual  visitors.  Hence  the  photographic  tourist,  who 
reads  it  before  starting  on  his  travels  in  France,  can  gain 
a store  of  useful  information,  remembering  always  that 
portions  of  it  are  true  only  in  relation  to  the  particular 
provinces  described  by  the  authors. 

Rust  spots  on  lenses  may  be  readily  removed  by  placing  the 
spots  in  contact  with  chlorhydric  acid  diluted  with  a little 

water. — La  Nature. 


TIIE  LATE  CUTIIBERT  BEDE  AND  IIIS  BOOK 
“ PHOTOGRAPHIC  PLEASURES.”* 

1!Y  W.  LANG,  .1X11.,  F.C.S. 

I think  we  may  safely  take  it  for  granted  that  all  of  us 
have  read  “The  Adventures  of  Verdant  Green,  Freshman 
at  Oxford.”  Published  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  it  still 
enjoys  a world-wide  popularity.  It  is  not,  however,  so 
generally  known  that  the  same  author  has  a work  which 
appeals  more  especially  to  us  who  are  interested  in  photo- 
graphic matters.  The  title  of  this  work  is  “ Photographic 
Pleasures,”  popularly  portrayed  with  pen  and  pencil,  and 
I purpose  showing  you,  through  the  medium  of  the  lan- 
tern, some  of  the  more  interesting  sketches  which  are  to 
be  found  in  the  volume.  Before  proceeding  to  do  so, 
however,  a few  details  regarding  the  author  may  perhaps 
be  appropriately  given.  In  the  first  place,  we  will  have 
thrown  on  the  screen  the  portrait  of  Cuthbert  Bede,  which 
appears  as  frontispiece  to  the  volume  of  “ Verdant  Green  " 
which  1 have  in  my  possession,  and  then  we  will  have  the 
picture  which  appeared  in  the  Illustrated  London  News  of 
December  28th,  1889.  The  original  is  a Meiseubach 
photo-block  from  a photograph  taken  by  Messrs.  Hill  and 
Saunders,  of  Cambridge.  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  state 
the  fact  that  Cuthbert  Bede  is  only  a nom  de  plume,  our 
author's  real  name  being  Edward  Bradley,  or,  rather,  the 
Rev.  Edward  Bradlev.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
took  place  on  the  12th  of  December  last,  he  was  vicar  of 
Lenton,  a village  near  Grantham.  Although  his  famous 
work  depicts  student  life  at  Oxford,  he  was  not  himself  an 
Oxford  graduate.  He  received  his  education  at  Durham 
University,  where  he  took  his  degree.  lie  was  ordained 
in  1850,  and  was  successively  incumbent  of  Bobbiugtou, 
in  Staffordshire  (1857),  rector  of  Denton,  Hunts  (1859), 
rector  of  Stretton,  near  Oakham  (1871),  and  finally  he  was 
presented  in  188:1  to  the  vicarage  of  Lenton.  “ Verdant 
Green  ” was  published  in  1854,  and  “Photographic  Plea- 
sures” in  1855.  The  following  are  his  other  works,  with 
year  of  publication:  — “Nearer  and  Dearer”  (1857); 
“Fairy  Fables  and  Happy  Hours”  (1858);  “Glencreg- 
gan  ” (I860),  this  being  a record  of  a visit  paid  to  Kin- 
tyre  ; “Curate  of  Cranston”  (1862)  ; “ Tour  in  Tartan 
Land  ” (1863)  ; “ The  White  Wife ” (1864) ; “The  Rook's 
Garden  ” (1865)  ; “ Matins  and  Muttons  ” ( 1 HOD) ; “ Kor- 
theringay  and  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  " (1866) : “ Little  Mr. 
Bouncer,”  a sequel  to  “Verdant  Green"  (1878).  He 
contributed,  also,  articles  to  Punch  and  to  the  (trophic. 
The  above  list  will  show  that  he  was  a prolific  author,  and 
he  not  only  could  write  with  his  pen,  but  he  could  draw 
with  his  pencil.  The  illustrations  accompanying  the 
letterpress  were  invariably  his  own.  You  will  be  better 
able  to  judge  of  Ins  success  in  this  direction  when  you  see 
some  of  the  pictures  from  his  “Photographic  Pleasures.” 
Here  is  the  title-page.  He  dedicates  the  book,  “To  all 
the  light-hearted  friends  of  light  painting  these  pages  of 
light  literature  are  with  no  light  regard  dedicated." 

The  book  is  divided  into  twelve  chapters: — 

Chap. 

1.  “ Photography  regarded  as  a Light  .Subject.” 

II.  “ Photography  in  a Legendary  Light.” 

III.  “ Photography  in  a High  Art  Light." 

IV.  “ Photography  in  an  Artistic  Light.” 

V.  “ Photography  in  a Portrait  Painting  Light.” 

VI.  “ Photography  in  a Love  Light.” 

VII.  “ Photography  in  an  Amateur  Light,” 


A Coininnication  to  the  Glasgow  Photographic  Society. 


IX.  “ Photography  in  a Negative  I aght. 

X.  “ Photography  in  a Positive  Light.’’ 

XL  “ Photography  in  a Detective  Light.  ” 

XII.  “ Photography  in  All  Manner  of  Lights. 

The  illustrations  are  twenty-four  in  number,  all  of  them 
full-page.  The  picture  which  forms  the  frontispiece  has 
for  its  title,  “Portrait  of  a distinguished  photographer 
who  has  just  succeeded  in  focussing  a view  to  his  entire 
satisfaction.”  The  first  illustration  in  the  body  of  the 
book  shows  a possible  contingency  which  might  happen  to 
the  unhappy  possessor  of  a photographic  tent  ; the  letter- 
press  underneath  is  as  follows: — “An  enthusiastic  photo- 
grapher tries  a tent  of  his  own  invention.  He  is  dis- 
agreeeably  interrupted  in  the  pursuit  of  science  by  the 
entry  of  a wild  Irishman,  who  forthwith  is  carried  back  in 
imagination  to  the  pleasures  of  Donnybrook  Fair,  and  is 
unable  to  resist  the  temptation  that  the  tented  head 
presents.”  The  next  illustration  represents  “ A mediaeval 
photographer,  from  an  illumination  in  the  (Gun)  Cotton 
MSS.,”  and  “Monsieur  Daguerre  introducing  his  pet  to 
Mr.  Bull,  with  the  remark,  ‘ My  Sun,  sir.’  ” Both  pictures 
are  intensely  funny.  The  toy  camera  on  wheels  which  the 
son  draws  after  him  is  a fine  touch  of  humour. 

I may  just  refer  to  one  or  two  of  the  more  outrageous 
jokes  in  the  chapter,  ‘ ; Photography  in  a Legendary  Light.  ” 
You  have  had  from  myself  lately  a little  of  the  history 
regarded  seriously : we  will  see  what  Cuthbert  Bede  has  to 
say  on  the  matter  from  his  point  of  view,  which  we  may 
safely  call  the  comic  side  of  the  question: — “Porta  was 
the  gate  that  indirectly  led  to  photography.  It  was  in  the 
sunny  land  of  Italy  that  a philosopher,  Baptists  Porta  by 
name — a Porta  who  thought  no  small  beer  of  himself — 
invented  the  camera.  lie  inhabited  an  apartment  to 
which  (owing,  probably,  to  the  oppressive  nature  of  the 
window  tax)  the  light  wasadmitted  through  a small  aperture. 
The  whole  of  the  discovery  was  owing  to  the  hole,  for,  as 
it  was  of  a lenticular  shape,  the  ray  of  light  that  passed 
through  it  painted  upon  the  wall,  in  cheapest  of  frescoes, 
pictures  of  all  that  was  going  on  on  the  outside.  The 
philosopher  saw  the  ray,  cried  ‘ Hurrah  ! ' and  constructed 
the  camera,  that  Pandora's  box  in  which  photography  lay 
concealed.  Speaking  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy’s  attempts, 
he  says,  “ His  plates  were  like  the  hearts  of  flirts,  the 
images  impressed  on  them  were  but  faint,  and  could  not 
be  fixed.  Our  author  is  a little  mixed  when  he  says, 
“Daguerre’s  pictures  were  fixed  on  paper  impregnated 
with  nitrate  of  silver  ; those  of  M.  Niepce  were  upon  glass, 
silver-plated  copper,  and  polished  tin.”  But  let  that  pass. 
He  gives  Daguerre  a side  thrust  when  he  says  the  French- 
man delayed  the  execution  of  the  oflicial  document,  viz., 
the  giving  over  the  process  to  the  French  nation,  until  a 
patent  had  been  secured  for  an  agent  in  England,  “thus 
being  guilty  of  a deception  patent  to  all.”  The  dispute 
between  Lalbotandthe  Rev.  ,1.  B.  Heade,  as  to  the  use 
of  gallic  acid  as  a developer  is  thus  disposed  of  : — “The 
Uev.  .1.  B.  lteade  addressed  to  the  London  Institution  an 
account  of  a method  for  obtaining  light  pictures  by  a 
process  in  which  infusion  of  galls  was  employed.  This  led 
to  the  infusion  of  no  small  amount  of  gall  in  a correspon- 
dence which  took  place  on  the  subject  between  Mr.  Reade 
and  Mr.  1 albot,  the  latter  having,  in  an  affidavit,  denied 
Mr.  Reade’s  title  to  the  invention  he  claimed;  the  moral 
of  all  this  being  that  Mr.  Talbot  had  leant  upon  a reed 
untii  it  pierced  him.  Referring  to  Scott  Archer,  we  are 


told  he  “shot  himself  into  the  temple  of  fame  by  the  use 
of  guncotton.” 

The  next  illustration  in  order,  entitled  “ Photographic 
Tableaux,”  embodies  two  pictures,  “ The  Infant  Photo- 
graphy Strangling  the  Serpents,”  these  being  Daguerre's 
and  Talbot’s  patents,  and  ••  Photography  between  Love  and 
Vanity.”  This  is  followed  bv  a full-page  picture,  a simple 
mode  of  “ levelling  ” a camera.  The  picture  speaks  for 
itself.  'Flic  seventh  illustration  comprises  three  subjects, 
and  are  as  follows : — “The  Fixing  Process,”  where  a bull 
is  seen  chasing  a somewhat  obese  individual  who  has 
arrived  at  the  wicket  gate  of  the  field  only  to  find  that  he 
cannot  get  through  ; “An  Exciting  Process”  is  represented 
by  a man  being  pushed  overboard  from  a ship  only  to  fall 
among  the  sharks  who  are  expectantly  waiting  for  him  ; 
“ The  Sensitive  Process  ” depicts  a pair  of  lovers  in  the 
conventional  attitude,  with  the  motto,  “ He  to  lips  that 
fondly  falter  presses  his  without  reproof.” 

(To  be  continued). 

THE  DAGUERRE  MONUMENT  AT  WASHINGTON. 
Mi:.  II.  McMichael  writes,  on  behalf  of  the  Daguerre 
Memorial  Committee : — The  memorial  will  be  placed  in 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Washington,  at  the  opening 
of  the  next  convention,  which  will  be  held  in  that  city 
some  time  next  summer.  A report  will  be  made  at  the 
next  convention  of  the  amount  raised  by  each  house,  and 
the  name  of  each  person  who  subscribes  one  dollar  will  be 
deposited  within  the  monument. 

The  Committee,  composed  of  the  Executive  Board  of 
the  Photographic  Association  of  America  for  1889,  have 
spent  six  or  eight  weeks  in  correspondence  with  different 
artists,  with  reference  to  style  and  price  of  such  a me- 
morial, and  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  sketches 
submitted  by  the  celebrated  sculptor,  J.  Scott  Hartley,  of 
New  Volk,  are  the  most  satisfactory.  Mr.  Hartley  sends 
four  sketches,  ranging  in  price  from  twenty-five  hundred 
to  six  thousand  dollars. 

Nos.  1 and  2 will  cost  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  each. 
These  designs  contemplate  pedestals  three  feet  six  inches 
high  ; No.  1 to  be  of  richly  carved  oak,  and  No.  2 of 
granite  with  bronze  bas-relief  ; a design  of  oak  or  laurel 
framing  the  relief  on  a wood  pedestal,  shows  Daguerre 
experimenting  with  the  camera.  Both  pedestals  are  to  be 
surmounted  by  a bust  of  Daguerre  in  bronze  or  marble. 

No.  «>  can  be  executed  for  three  thousand  dollars,  and 
consists  of  a globe  and  rough  unhewn  base  in  granite  ; 
globe  polished  and  map  incised  and  encircled  with  laurel 
wreath  in  bronze  and  mounted  with  a cast-bronze  bust  of 
Daguerre,  the  whole  to  stand  five  feet  high. 

No.  4 contemplates  something  more  elaborate,  and  con- 
sists of  a pedestal  or  base  in  unpolished  granite,  the  name 
of  Daguerre  in  polished  letters.  This  base  is  mounted  by 
a globe  of  polished  granite,  map  incised,  with  wreath  of 
laurel,  medallion  portrait  of  Daguerre  and  life-size  figure 
of  Fame  in  standard  bronze. 

The  design  represents  Fame  taking  the  laurel,  which 
encircles  the  earth,  and  placing  it  about  Daguerre  as  a 
framework.  The  whole  is  to  stand  nine  feet  high,  and 
would  certainly  present  many  unusual  art  possibilities. 
There  would  be  little  profit  to  the  artist  at  six  thousand 
dollars,  for  which  he  agrees  to  erect  it. 

Photog r a i*h ic  Society  of  Great  Britain.  - Technical  meet- 
ing, Tuesday,  January  28th,  at  3 p.rn.,  at  the  Gallery,  5a,  Pall 
Mall  East. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [January  24,  1890. 


Chap. 

VIII.  “ Photography  in  an  Aristocratic  Light, 


January 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


patent  EntcUtgciuc. 


Applications  for 


Patent. 


602.  E.  Justice,  157,  High  Ttolborn.  London,  “Stretchers 
and  Frames  for  Pictures.” — January  13th. 

611.  W.  C.  Hughes,  4,  Little  Moorfields,  London,  “Magic 
Lanterns.”— January  13th. 

669.  E.  G.  Ballard,  6,  Lord  Street,  Liverpool,  “ Ascertaining 
the  requisite  Time  of  Exposure  in  Photography."-  Jan.  14th. 
742.  A.  Clark,  5,  Richmond  Road,  Basingstoke.  “ Bindings 
for  Photographs.” — January  15th. 

763.  William  Eribse  Greene,  321,  High  Holborn,  London, 
“Obtaining  Photographic  Representations.” — January  15th. 
782.  C.  Clark,  18,  Buckingham  Street,  Strand,  London, 
“ Lifting  Thimble  for  Photographic  Use.” — January  15th. 

Specifications  Published. 

1365. — January  25th,  1889.  “Lamp  for  Photographic 

Work.”  William  James  Lancaster,  trading  as  J.  Lancaster 
and  Son,  of  Colmore  Row,  Birmingham,  Manufacturing 
Optician. 

This  invention  relates  to  an  improved  construction  and 
arrangement  of  lamps,  principally  for  photographic  work, 
although  the  same  may  be  employed  for  other  purposes. 

The  said  invention  consists  1st,  in  a double  reflector,  viz.,  a 
primary  inside  reflector,  and  a secondary  outside  one.  2nd, 
In  a means  of  retaining  or  holding  the  said  secondary  reflector 
in  an  adjusted  position.  3rd.  In  double  folding  panes  of  ruby 
light,  which  open  outwardly,  and  fold  inwardly  upon  each  other. 

In  making  a lamp  according  to  my  invention,  I mount  a 
pyramidal  shaped  body  part  upon  a base  or  pierced  support, 
and  with  the  said  body  part  surmounted  by  a perforated 
lantern  or  cowl,  through  the  piercings  of  which  the  pro- 
ducts of  combustion  o'"  the  lamp  outwardly  pass. 

The  open  front  of  the  lantern  is  enclosed  by  two  ruby  panes 
or  lights,  respectively  of  about  the  area  of  the  said  open  front, 
and  arc  so  arranged  that  when  in  use  they  fold  and  lie  flat 
light-tight,  one  upon  another. 

Thus,  the  No.  1 ruby  light  is  hinged  close  to  one  side  of  the 
open  front,  and  folds  flat  to  its  boundary  edging,  whilst  the 
other  or  secondary  ruby  light  is  hinged  crank  like  to  the  other 
side  of  the  said  open  front,  and  is  arranged  to  fold  over 
upon,  and  flat  to  the  No.  1 light  aforesaid. 

To  near  the  top  of  the  open  front,  the  combined  reflector 
and  lid  is  jointed,  and  moves  vertically  and  flap  like  over  the 
ruby  lights  as  aforesaid  ; so  that  light  radiating  from  the  lamp 
falls  upon  the  reflector,  which  depends  at  an  angle,  and  is 
from  thence  reflected  downwards  upon  an  object  as  may  be 
required.  This  overhanging  reflector  is  provided  with  a stiff 
joint,  so  that  it  may  rest  when  adjusted  at  ail}7  angle. 

The  affixing  after  adjustment  of  the  secondary  reflector 
may  be  accomplished  by  a forked  or  slotted  arm,  directed  from 
the  top  of  it,  and  embracing  the  stem  of  a headed  screw 
which,  when  turned  home,  clamps  the  arm  in  the  said  reflector’s 
adjusted  position. 

The  secondary  reflector  also  prevents  the  rays  of  light  from 
passing  upwards  into  the  operator’s  eyes  in  developing  or  mani- 
pulating a photographic  negative. 

The  purpose  of  the  double  ruby  panes  is  that  an  operator 
can  decrease  or  intensify  the  ruby  light  at  pleasure. 

The  primary  reflector  is  mounted  upon  and  at  the  back  of 
the  oil  tank  or  reservoir,  which  is  preferably  placed  in  position 
by  a sliding  movement ; that  the  removal  of  the  tank 
and  burner,  carried  by  it,  takes  away  with  them  the  said 
reflector. 

The  wick  winder  axis  is  connected  to  the  outside  by  a 
detachable  clutch  arrangement,  consisting  of  an  outside  milled 
head,  whose  neck  passes  inwardly  to  a clutch  or  fork,  wherein 
a crutch  end  of  the  said  winder  axis  passes  when  the  tank  is 
in  position. 

Thus,  when  the  tank  is  removed,  the  crutch  end  of  the 
winder  axis  is  taken  from  the  fork  or  clutch  of  the  turn,  and 
when  the  tank  is  placed  in  position  the  winder  axis  and  turn 
are  as  one,  and  rotate  together. 

The  back  of  the  lamp  is  preferably  made  to  slope  pyramidally 


more  than  the  sides,  and  upon  which  said  back  a handles  or 
handles  is  or  are  secured. 

It  may  be  further  observed  that  the  lid  encloses  the  front 
when  closed  upon  it,  and  that  the  primary  reflector  may  be  made 
detachable  from  the  lamp  or  from  the  tank,  so  as  to  admit  of 
being  readily  cleaned. 

The  inventor  claims — 

1.  — Providing  or  enclosing  the  open  fronts  of  lamps  for 
photographic  work,  with  two  or  more  ruby  and  orange 
coloured  panes  or  lights,  which  admit  of  being  used  indepen- 
dently or  collectively  for  the  purpose. 

2.  — Making  the  hinged  sides  of  the  carrying  frames 
of  ruby  or  orange  lights,  referred  to  in  the  preceding  claim, 
stand  away  flange  or  crank  like  from  the  sides  of  lamp,  to 
which  they  are  hinged,  so  as  to  admit  o?  the  said  lights  folding 
upon  each  other  when  closed,  and  opening  out,  free  of  the  open 
front  of  the  lamp,  or  of  the  frame  or  frames  of  the  inner 
light  or  lights. 

3.  — Providing  lamps  employed  in  photographic  work, 
as  described,  with  a screen  reflector,  jointed  to  the  top  of  the 
lamp,  and  adapted  to  be  employed  as  a reflector  and  screen 
when  open,  and  as  a lid  for  enclosing  the  front  of  the  lamp 
and  cognate  parts  of  it  when  closed. 

4. -— Affixing  the  combined  screen  reflector  and  lid  in 
a screening  and  reflecting  position,  by  means  of  a jointed  and 
slotted  arm  and  clamping  screw. 

5.  — Providing  the  interior  or  oack  inside  of  the  lamp 
with  an  upright  parabolic  reflector,  or  an  upright  reflector  of 
the  figure  of  a parabola,  in  cross  section. 

6. — Providing  lamps  as  described,  with  open  bottoms,  or 
bottoms  partially  enclosed  by  the  oil  tank,  and  a platform 
partition,  whereby  air  for  promoting  combustion  is  admitted, 
and  light  from  the  lamp  intercepted. 

7.  — Operating  the  wick  winder  spindle  from  without  by  a 
clutch  or  connection. 

8.  The  construction  and  arrangement  of  the  parts  of  lamps 
for  photographic  and  other  work. 

18,414.  — 19</i  November,  1889.  “Appliances  for  Ascertainiug 
Distances."  Henry  Samuel  Spillkr  Watkin,  of  the  Wilder- 
ness. Woolwich,  Kent,  Major  Royal  Artillery. 

The  instrument  and  appliance  consist  of  three  parts  : — 
a.  Au  optical  square  fitted  with  a telescope  and  hinged  flap. 
h.  A telemeter  by  which  the  distances  are  read  off  on  a drum. 
c.  A peculiarly  constructed  cord  which  forms  a base,  at  the  ends 
of  which  the  instruments  are  worked. 

After  describing  the  apparatus,  with  engravings,  the  inventor 
says  : “ To  obtain  ranges  of  moving  objects,  all  that  is  required 
is  for  the  observer  with  the  optical  square  to  constantly  obtain 
coincidence  by  swaying  his  body  and  shifting  his  position.  In 
this  manner  the  ranges  of  artillery,  cavalry,  and  infantry  in 
motion  have  been  taken  ; five  or  six  ranges  per  minute  being 
obtained,  to  an  accuracy  of  one  per  cent.” 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1.  The  peculiir  arrangement  of  screw  and  drum. 

2.  The  arrangement  whereby  the  said  screw  is  applied  to  form 
a telemeter. 

3.  The  construction  of  cord  for  U3e  with  the  telemeter. 


Quick  Work. — An  unprecedented  experiment  in  photography 
was  tried  at  the  entertainment  of  the  Lynn  Camera  Club, 
whereby  the  audience  was  shown  to  itself.  During  the  first 
part  of  the  meeting,  Mr.  G.  D.  Milburn,  of  Rochester,  took  a 
flash-light  picture  of  the  audience  from  the  platform.  During 
the  entertainment  he  developed  the  negative,  made  a lantern 
slide,  and,  while  the  speaker,  Mr.  Walter  G.  Chase,  was  de- 
scribing some  instantaneous  pictures  the  view  of  the  audience 
was  suddenly  thrown  on  the  screen  without  previous  notifica- 
tion. The  effect  upon  the  individual  members  of  the  audience, 
as  each  one  recognized  himself  or  herself — for  every  face  was  dis- 
tinct — was  somewhat  startling.  The  flash-light  exposure, 
development  of  negative,  and  the  exposure  and  development 
of  the  lantern  slide,  including  washing  of  both  negative  and 
slide,  consumed  less  than  one  hour.” — Wilson's  Magazine, 


74 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  24,  1890. 


(£om$pon&ence. 


ORTHOCHROMATIC  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

Sib, — Mr.  B.  J.  Edwards’s  proposition  that  but  for  the  patent 
law,  “colour-sensitive  photography  would  now  be  numbered 
among  the  lost  or  forgotten  processes  of  the  art,”  appears  to  me 
to  be  not  only  so  baseless,  but  in  such  direct  opposition  to  the 
facts,  that  I think  it  should  not  be  allowed  to  pass  unchal- 
lenged. 

Mr.  Edwards  complains  of  M.  Vidal  for  ignoring  Tailfer, 
whilst  his  own  proposition  ignores  the  labours  of  Waterhouse, 
Vogel,  Ives,  Obernetter,  Abney,  and  others ; labours  which 
have  established  colour-sensitive  photography.  Not  only  is 
this  so,  but  it  is  the  work  of  one  of  these  inventors  that  has 
put  it  within  the  possibility  of  a patentee,  M.  Tailfer,  to  en- 
deavour to  monopolise  one  of  the  principal  processes. 

In  another  letter,  Mr.  Edwards  has  spoken  of  the  “ eoeinated 
silver  bromide  process  patented  by  Tailfer,”  an  expression  that 
might  lead  to  the  inference  that  eosinated  silver  bromide  itself 
is  claimed  in  the  patent,  which,  however,  is  strictly  limited  to 
the  use  of  ammonia  with  eosine,  eosine  as  a colour-sensitiser 
having  been  some  time  before  discovered  by  Waterhouse. 

Any  who  may  desire  to  practise  orthoehromatic  photography, 
and  do  not  wish  in  their  own  persons  to  defend  public  rights  at 
the  risk  of  threats,  at  all  events,  of  legal  proceedings,  may 
remember  that,  according  to  several  experimentalists,  eosine 
and  erythrosine  may  be  used  with  effect  without  ammonia, 
whilst  chlorophyll,  cyanine,  chinoline,  and  azaline,  and  other 
sensitisers,  are  substances  that  not  even  the  most  partisan 
scientific  witness  can  be  found  to  class  as  eosines. 

W.  E.  Debf.nham. 


Sib, — Mr.  B.  J.  Edwards  has,  perhaps,  not  exactly  caught 
the  sense  of  my  observations  relative  to  his  presentation  to  the 
French  Photographic  Society.  I by  no  means  iutended  to 
criticise  the  nature  of  the  results  obtained  upon  his  orthochro- 
matic  plates  ; J merely  said  that  amongst  the  proofs  submitted 
there  were  some  which  had  been  reproduced  a jour  frisont  (those 
on  ordinary  plates),  whilst  the  compared  image  on  an  ortho- 
chromatic  plate  had  been  obtained  with  another  lighting.  That 
Is  a simple  statement  of  fact  which  does  not  relate  to  the 
results,  well  recognised  and  appreciated  by  me,  obtained  on 
orthoehromatic  plates. 

If  Mr.  Edwards  maintains  that  he  lias  not  operated  with  dif- 
ferent conditions  of  lighting,  I am  constrained  to  avow  that  I 
do  not  understand  it  at  all  ; but  I do  not  the  less  persist  in 
finding  it  astonishing  that  upon  ordinary  plates  there  should  be 
effects  of  reflections  that  do  not  exist  on  the  orthoehromatic 
plates. 

I recognize  that  my  ignorance  is  great  upon  such  matters, 
for  up  to  the  present  I believed  that  orthochromatism  only 
modified  the  tonalities  obtained,  without  having  anything  to 
do  with  the  reflections.  To  my  judgment,  as  to  that  of  all 
who  saw  the  proofs,  it  appeared  evident  that  they  were  the 
result  of  different  lightings.  I intended  to  say  nothing  more 
than  that,  and  I am  not  of  those  who  would  place  a barrier  in 
the  path  of  progress,  from  wheresoever  it  may  come,  and 
whatever  may  be  the  means  employed  to  realize  it. 

Paris,  18f/t  January,  1890.  Leon  Vidal. 


THE  “ROLL  CALL.” 

Bm,  One  of  your  “ Notes  ” in  yesterday’s  issue  treats  of 
Mr.  Muybridge  s approval  of  the  manner  in  which  Meissonnier 
draws  horses  in  motion,  and  you  remark,  “ it  would  be  interest- 
ing to  have  his  (Mr.  Muybridge's)  opinion  of  Mrs.  Butler’s  ‘ Roll 
Call,  which  at  the  time  of  its  exhibition  excited  so  much  dis- 
cussion in  regard  to  the  position  of  the  home’s  legs." 

It  was  my  pleasure  to  listen  to  Mr.  Muybridge  at  the  Asso- 
ciated Soirt'e  held  in  Liverpool  on  the  8 th  inst.  The  subject 
of  his  lecture  was  “The  Science  of  Animal  Locomotion  in  its 
Relation  to  Design  in  Art.”  During  the  course  of  the  lecture, 


reproductions  of  a picture  by  Meissonier  representing  Napoleon 
and  his  staff  on  horseback,  the  “ Horse  Fair,”  and  “Ploughing,” 
by  Rosa  Bonheur;  and  “ The  Roll  Call,”  by  Lady  Butler,  were 
projected  on  the  screen.  Whilst  severely  criticising  the  manner 
in  which  Rosa  Bonheur  expresses  motion  in  the  animals  she 
paints,  Mr.  Muybridge  had  nothing  but  words  of  commendation 
, for  Lady  Butler  and  Meissonnier,  both  of  whom,  he  said,  had, 
in  the  face  of  adverse  criticism,  portrayed  the  walk  of  a horse 
with  absolute  fidelity  to  nature.  It  must  be  pleasing  to  all 
photographers  to  know  that  their  “art-science”  has  been  the 
means  of  vindicating  the  artistic  perception  of  a great  English 
woman.  J-  H.  Spencer, 

36,  Bridge  Street,  Chester,  January  l&th,  1890. 


BASKET-WORK  IN  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

Sir, — I am  pleased  to  see  that  you  are  taking  up  the  ques- 
tion of  basket  cases  for  photographic  baggage,  and  I feel 
assured  that  it  will  be  to  the  benefit  of  tourists  to  adopt  this 
means  of  packing  their  apparatus  in  place  of  the  usual  leather 
cases. 

I must,  however,  disagree  with  your  opinion  that  palm  leaf 
baskets  will  be  generally  adopted  by  photographers  as  those 
best  suited  to  their  requirements.  Lightness  is  the  chief 
reason  of  the  photographer  for  using  a basket  at  all.  Now, 
strength  for  strength,  the  weight  of  a basket  properly  made  of 
willow  will  be  only  one-half  that  of  a palm  leaf  basket.  As 
to  appearance,  my  ideal  photographic  basket  is  covered  outside 
with  waterproof  cloth,  is  lined  inside  with  baize,  the  wicker- 
work is  not  visible,  and  is  merely  a skeleton  frame-work  giving 
the  needful  strength  and  rigidity.  A handle  of  bamboo  would 
do  excellently,  and  need  not  be  covered  with  leather,  bamboo 
being  smooth,  and  affording  a good  grip.  If  it  be  thought 
desirable  for  the  wicker-work  to  be  visible,  a basket  of  willow 
can  be  made  so  closely  worked  as  to  be  practically  waterproof. 
This  would  add  slightly  to  the  weight  and  cost. 

Palm-leaf  baskets  conld  never  be  made  so  closely  as  to  be 
waterproof  or  weatherproof  of  themselves.  I am  sending  for 
your  inspection  a half-plate  case  made  with  a skeleton  of 
wicker-work,  and  respectfully  invite  your  criticism.  Your  wide 
experience  will  doubtless  suggest  improvements  in  an 
article  as  yet  imperfect. 

Referring  to  the  concluding  paragraph  of  your  article, 
photographers  may  possibly  not  concern  themselves  as  to  who 
makes  their  apparatus  and  accessories,  but  quality  and  price 
being  equal,  1 venture  to  think  English  photographers  will 
employ  English  workmen.  W.  Scaling. 

Bash ford , Nottingham,  January  18</i,  1890. 


CAMERA  CLUB  EXHIBITIONS. 

Silt,— Will  you  kindly  allow  me  to  announce  that  the  exhi- 
bition of  Rej lander’s  photographs  at  the  Camera  Club  will  close 
on  Thursday,  January  30th.  Until  that  date  the  Exhibition 
will  be  open  to  visitors,  on  presentation  of  card,  from  10  a.m. 
t o 5 p.m. 

On  and  from  Tuesday,  February  4th,  there  will  be  an  exhi- 
tion  of  photographs  by  members  of  the  Amateur  Photo- 
graphic  Field  Club. 

This  Society  is  known  as  one  of  the  earliest  devoted  to 
landscape  work.  A part  of  the  exhibition  will  be  given  up  to 
showing  results  of  the  older  processes.  The  collection  will  be 
open  to  inspection  for  about  six  weeks,  under  the  usual  condi- 
tions. G.  Davison,  Hon.  Sec. 


HACKNEY  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY. 

Sir, — Below  is  our  programme  for  February,  1890  : — 
Thursday,  13th — “ Retrospective  Photography.”  Mr.  G.  H. 
Slight. 

Thursday,  27th — “ Exhibition  of  Members’  Work  and 
Apparatus.” 

Each  member  is  expected  to  send  on  apparatus  and  work, 
to  reach  Morley  Hall  by  6 p.m.  on  the  27th. 

W.  Ff.nton  Jones,  Hon.  Sec. 
12,  King  Edward  Hoad,  Hackney,  N. E. 


January  24,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


75 


Proceedings  of  Societies. 


The  Camera  Club. 

Ox  Thursday,  January  16th,  Mr.  R.  Tindall  gave  an  address 
upon  the  “ Plane  Polarization  of  Light.”  Mr.  H.  M.  Elder 
occupied  the  chair. 

Previous  to  the  lecture  the  Secretary  handed  round  some  in- 
teresting silver  prints  sent  to  him  by  Mr.  W.  K.  Burton,  and 
he  announced  that  Mr.  Burton  had  contributed  a paper,  which 
would  lie  read  hereafter  at  the  Club. 

An  apparatus  called  the  “ Hibbard  Flash  Lamp,”  sent  by 
Messrs.  Fry  k Co.,  was  also  exhibited,  and  later  in  the  evening 
experimental  flashes  were  made  by  it.  The  light  afforded  by 
it  appeared  to  be  unusually  brilliant,  and  two  or  three  flashes 
of  about  equal  intensity  were  obtained  with  one  charge. 

Mr.  Tindall’s  lecture  wa3  illustrated  throughout  by  the  aid 
of  a lantern  pulariscope. 

At  the  conclusion  of  his  paper  Mr.  Tindall  handed  round 
two  cloud  negatives — subject,  blue  sky  and  white  clouds — one 
taken  in  the  ordinary  manner,  and  the  other  with  a Nicol 
prism  before  the  lens  ; an  orthochromatic  effect  was  alleged  to  be 

thus  obtained. 

On  Thursday,  January  30th,  Mr.  T.  R.  Dallmeyer  will  read 
a paper  “On  some  Practical  Deductions  from  the  Law  of  Con- 
jugate Foci.” 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  16th  inst.,  Mr.  J.  L.  Briginshaw 
occupied  the  chair. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater  passed  round  two  lenses  that  had  been 
sent  from  India  to  be  renolished,  being  useless  from  atmospheric 
action  on  the  surface  of  the  glass. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  had  continued  hii  experiments  of  the  previous 
week  with  the  devel  )per  published  in  the  American  Journal  of 
Photography,  using  alternately  acetate,  citrate,  oxalate,  borate, 
phosphate,  and  tartrate  of  soda  ; twenty-five  grains  to  the  ounce 
were  used  in  each  case ; pyro,  hydrokinone,  and  eikonogen 
were  severally  used  also  in  conjunction.  With  the  exception  of 
borate,  all  gave  excellent  results  ; with  this  developer  he  was 
unable  to  obtain  the  least  trace  of  an  image.  Ordinary  com- 
mercial pi  rtes  were  used,  registering  about  19  on  the  sensito- 
meter,  with  an  exposure  of  five  second',  three  feet  from  a gas 
burner. 

Mr.  Cowan  said  the  degree  of  deusity  in  each  case  was 
entirely  at  the  will  of  the  operator.  The  lesults  of  the  experi- 
ments—in  all,  tweuty-three  half-plates— were  exhibited  ; among 
them  was  a plate  developed  with  pyro  and  sulphite  of  soda  only. 
TbH,  Mr.  C >wan  said,  tended  to  disprove  the  accepted  theory 
that  sulphite  of  soda  was  a restrainer.  A’l  the  plates  were  fixed 
in  hyposulphite,  to  which  bisulphite  of  soda  had  been  added. 
Of  the  various  developers  used,  the  oxalate  in  connection  with 
pyro  was  found  the  most  energetic.  Mr.  Cjwan  said  it  was  his 
intention  to  repeat  the  set  of  experiments  with  variations  of  the 
several  developers,  promising  to  1 ly  the  results  before  the  mem- 
bers as  soon  as  complete. 

Mr.  A.  Haddon  spoke  about  the  importance  of  the 
various  salts  used  in  the  developer  being  as  nearly  neutral  as 
possible,  and  the  desirability,  in  experimenting,  of  testing  each 
salt  separately.  He  believed  in  the  set  of  experiments  before 
them  free  alkali  in  the  sulphite  of  soda  to  be  the  developing 
agent,  and  he  questioned  whether  the  other  salts  played  any 
part  at  all  in  the  development  of  the  image. 

Mr.  E.  B.  Lawford  showed  two  bromide  prints  of  a sepia 
tone.  After  washing  and  fixing,  he  had  placed  them  in  water 
to  which  a few  drops  of  an  intensifier  sent  out  by  the  Platino- 
type  Company  had  been  added,  which  changed  the  black  into 
a sepia  tint.  (It  was  remarked  that  the  whites  had  also  become 
discoloured.)  Mr.  Lawford  believed  the  paper  used  was  not  a 
pure  white  previous  to  placing  the  prints  in  the  back  referred  to. 
He  intended  to  repeat  the  process  with  pure  white  paper. 


A question  from  the  box  was  read  : — “ Does  reversal  of  image 
take  place  when  cullodio-bromide  is  over-exposed  in  the  same 
manner  as  it  does  in  the  case  of  gelatino-bromide  ? ” 

None  of  the  members  present  had  experienced  any  reversal  of 
image  in  using  collodio-bromide. 


East  Dulwich  and  Beckham  Photographic  Society. 

On  Friday,  Jan.  17th,  the  President,  Mr.  F.  W.  Edwards  was 
in  the  chair,  and  the  following  new  members  were  elected  : — 
Messrs.  B.  Lyon,  E.  Cann,  and  Robert  Burch. 

The  subject  was  “Cameras,  Stands,  and  Shutters”  ; among 
the  shutters  on  view  were  Watson’s  snap,  Kershaw’s,  Guerry’s, 
Mayfield’s,  and  Newman’s.  Mr.  Cadett  sent  three  specimens  of 
his  shutters,  in  one  of  which  all  chance  of  vibration  was  exeluded 
by  the  use  of  a velvet  sleeve  for  attaching  the  lens  to  the  shutter. 
Specimens  of  the  optimus  three-fold  and  four-fold  stand  were 
also  shown  by  the  members  using  them.  One  of  Pumphrey’s 
metal  stands  was  also  on  view. 

The  discussion  on  shutters  and  stands  occupied  the  evening, 
so  the  subject  of  cameras  was  postponed. 

Mr.  W.  Rice  drew  the  members’  attention  to  a specimen  of 
Messrs.  Perken,  Son,  and  Payment's  new  wide  angle  eury scope 
saying  that  it  worked  at  F.  9 50. 


Photographers’  Benevolent  Association. 

The  Committee  of  this  Association  met  on  the  17th  inst. 

Mr.  Lambert  and  Mr.  Bird,  of  Bath,  and  Mr.  R.  Keene,  of 
Derby',  were  elected  members. 

The  Committee  considered  two  applications  for  assistance ; 
in  both  cases  grants  were  made. 

Messrs.  W.  T.  Coventon,  F.  Haes,  H.  Newson,  and  T. 
Samuels  were  appointed  arbitrators. 

Friday',  February  14  th,  was  fixed  for  the  annual  general 
meeting. 

Mr.  H.  J.  Beasley  was  elected  honorary  secretary,  and  will 
take  up  his  duties  on  the  above  date. 

A special  committee  meeting  was  then  held,  and  the  proposed 
new  rules  formally  passed  ; they  will  be  submitted  to  the 
general  meeting  for  confirmation. 


Abney  Camera  Club. 

At  the  weekly  meeting  of  the  above,  held  Jan.  1 7 th,  after  the 
discussion  of  the  questions  in  the  box,  the  Sec.,  M.  F.  H.  Leeds, 
A.I.C.,  read  a paper  entitled  “ The  Chemistry  of  Photography,” 
in  which  he  discussed,  from  the  theoretical  point  of  view,  most 
of  the  ordinary  processes  of  photography.  The  chemical  sym- 
bols and  equations  employed  were  illustrated  by  means  of  a 
blackboard. 

The  discussion  was  postponed  until  Jan.  24th. 


Manchester  Amateur  Photographic  Society. 

The  monthly  meeting  of  the  Manschester  Amateur  Photo- 
graphic Society'  was  held  in  the  Athemeum  on  Tuesday  evening, 
last  week  ; Mr.  Flower  presided.  Six  new  members  were 
elected.  The  President  stated  that  the  annual  exhibition  of 
the  Society  would  be  held  in  the  Manchester  Athena?um  in  the 
middle  of  February' 

Mr.  M’Keixen  exhibited  his  latest  detective  camera  and  a 
plate  magazine.  The  magazine  is  an  ingenious  piece  of 
mechanism,  fitted  inside  the  camera  without  increasing  thesize 
of  it.  A dozen  plates  can  be  stored  in  the  camera,  and  by 
moving  a small  lever  each  plate  is  dropped  into  a receptacle 
after  having  been  exposed,  and  the  next  put  in  position.  The 
movement  of  the  plate  is  caused  by  a small  spring,  which 
makes  it  impossible  for  more  than  one  plate  to  be  displaced  at 
a time.  There  is  no  fear  of  there  being  two  exposures  on  the 
same  plate.  The  whole  twelve  could  be  changed  in  less  than  a 
minute.  Each  plate  is  put  into  a thin  shield  which  is  lined 
with  non-actinic  paper,  thus  saving  the  trouble  of  backing  the 


7C> 


TIIE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  24,  1890. 


plate.  The  camera  when  closed  is  focused  for  anything  beyond 
twenty  feet,  and  can  be  fixed  at  will  to  any  distance  within 
that.  T>  ere  are  three  speeds  to  it,  and  the  shutter,  working 
by  a reversib’e  motion,  obviates  all  danger  of  exposing  the 
plate  while  being  adjusted.  Time  exposures  could  also  be 
made  by  means  of  a small  lever  in  front,  which  draws  another 
shutter  (inside  the  camera)  across  the  lens,  and  thus  does  away 
with  the  cap.  Mr.  M’Kellen  stated  that  now  he  never  thought 
of  using  a tripod  for  outdoor  work.  Several  of  his  friends  had 
sent  him  specimens  of  some  excellent  work  done  with  this 
camera.  By  means  of  a “finder”  he  could  take  a picture  as 
well  carrying  the  camera  under  his  arm,  or  holding  it  in  front  of 
him. 

Three  lime-light  lantern  exhibitions  followed.  Messrs. 
Davenport  and  Seed  showed  a large  number  of  familiar  views 
taken  in  Manxland.  Mr.  .1.  W.  Wade  i'lustrated  his  “ Scamper 
in  Ho'land,”  starting  with  sea  views  and  a picture  of  the  busy 
river  M^as  at  Rotterdam,  following  with  pictures  of  the 
quaint  streets  of  that  town,  scenes  from  the  canals,  the  large 
arcades,  and  quaint  bits  of  Dutch  life  about  the  quays.  He 
took  his  audience  through  the  parks,  along  the  railroad  to  Dort, 
paying  special  attention  to  the  old  city  of  Delft,  with  its 
cathedral,  a heterogeneous  pile  of  conflicting  architecture,  and 
showed  various  phases  of  Dutch  scenery.  Mr.  Wade  strongly 
recommended  photographers  to  pay  a visit  to  Holland.  The 
country  afforded  more  subjects  for  a quarter-plate  than  even 
Switzerland  and  Norway.  It  was  void  of  mountainous  scenery, 
but  it  was  full  of  picturesque  views  enriched  by  river  and  canal 
and  ancient  buildmgs.  Following  the  “Scamper  in  Holland,” 
he  exhibited  his  “ Loiterings  in  Lakeland.” 


Glasgow  Photograi-hic  Association. 

Thf.  third  general  meeting  of  the  session  was  held  on  the  even- 
ing of  Thursday,  16th  January,  in  the  rooms  of  the  Philosophi- 
cal Society,  207,  Bath  Street,  Mr.  Wm.  L\ng,  junr.,  F.C.S., 
President,  in  the  chair. 

Four  new  members — Messrs.  James  Gardner,  Alf.  H.  Cade, 
Andrew  Gibson,  and  Andrew  Boag — were  elected. 

Mi.  John  Annan  then  showed  two  volumes  of  Calotypes 
printed  in  1844-45,  and  several  of  the  original  negatives  from 
which  the  prints  had  been  made. 

Mr.  Fred.  Mackenzie  gave  a demonstration  of  timing  the 
speed  of  a drop  shutter  by  means  of  a tuning  fork. 

Mr.  W.  Lang,  junr.,  read  a communication  about  the  late 
Cuthbert  Bede  and  his  book  on  “Photographic  Pleasures.” 
The  whole  of  the  various  sketches  in  the  volume  by  the  author 
were  shown  by  means  of  the  Society’s  lantern. 

Mr.  T.  N.  Armstrong  afterwards  exhibited  his  new  illumin- 
ating chamber  for  photographs  at  night  by  means  of  coal  gas. 

Copies  of  Mr.  Lang’s  paper,  “ Fifty  Years’  Photography, 
1839-89,”  communicated  last  session,  and  printed  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  Association,  were  afterwards  distributed  to  the 
members  present ; also  tickets  for  forthcoming  popular  evening 
“ Paris  and  its  Exhibition,”  by  ex-Provost  Clark,  of  Paisley. 


Derby  Photographic  Society. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  at  the  Rooms  in  Derwent  Street, 
on  the  14th  inst.  ; Mr.  A.  B.  Hamilton  presided. 

Mr.  T.  SCOTTON  read  a paper  on  the  “ Early  History  of  Pho- 
tography,” concluding  with  a few  practical  hints  to  beginners 
on  the  more  modern  photographic  processes. 

A discussion  followed,  in  which  Messrs.  F.  Cooper,  Cope, 
Hamilton,  B.  Cooper,  and  Hart  took  part. 


The  13th  annual  exhibition  of  bicycles,  tricycles,  and  acces- 
sories, which  this  year  takes  place  at  the  Crystal  Palace, 
opens  to-day.  Not  only  is  the  entire  floor  of  the  Palace  and 
courts  covered  by  exhibits,  but  this  year  the  large  Concert 
Hall  has  had  to  be  thrown  open  to  this  use. 

A Lahore  paper  mentions  as  an  instance  of  the  advance  of 
civilisation  that  Abar  Khan,  chief  of  Lalpoora,  who  recently 
sent  for  a photographer  from  Peshawar,  has  signified  his  inten- 
tion to  learn  pliosography,  and  has  detained  the  photographer 
for  the  purpose. 


^nstoers  to  (£om$ponticnt$. 

All  q ieiti  in < reiuirinz  a rep'v  in  this  column  should  be  aldressed  to 

Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  1,  St.  Mir/’s  Rial,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

J.A.R. — Slow  toning  of  ready  sensitized  paper.  This  is  a 
common  experience  attributable,  as  you  say,  to  the  use  of 
citric  acid  in  the  final  stage  of  preparation.  Add  a trace 
of  ammonia  to  the  last  washing  water  before  removing  the 
prints  into  the  toning  bath.  1.  The  ultimate  effect  of  the 
gold  solution  would  be  the  same,  whether  the  reduced  silver 
was  derived  from  darkened  albuminate  or  chloride,  but  the 
first  usually  takes  longer  to  work  the  change  because  of  the 
surrounding  organic  matter.  2.  The  complete  interchange 
of  gold  for  silver  is  possible,  but  not  desirable,  for  then 
we  get  the  blue-black  or  greenish  tints  of  overtoiled  prints, 
and  the  cost  would  lie  much  greater  without  any  compen- 
sating advantage. 

W.  B.  (Reigate). — We  shall  be  glad  to  hear  the  result  of  your 
comparative  trials,  and  particularly  would  like  to  know  how 
it  suits  your  special  style  of  work. 

G.  Shaw. — Your  welcome  letter  to  hand.  We  thank  you  for 
giving  the  desired  permission  to  publish. 

T.  W.  (Blackburn). — The  card  mounts  are  very  good  and  the 
printed  address  at  foot  quite  unobjectionable.  The  edges 
are  done  with  pure  gold. 

('.  T.  C.  The  altered  time  of  meeting  will  be  less  convenient  to 
us,  but  we  hope  to  be  present. 

Old  Photo.— Zerr’s  Reliefs  in  Gelatine.  Specification  No. 
16,677,  a.d.  1888.  These  are  moulded  in  plaster  of  Paris, 
very  much  in  the  same  way  that  Mr  W.  B.  Woodbury  did 
them  in  1867,  for  his  process  of  micro-photo-sculpture 
described  at  the  Dundee  meeting  of  the  British  Association 
in  that  year,  at  which  specimens  were  shown. 

Ligroine  Lamp. — We  have  not  yet  seen  any  announcement 
offering  for  sale  the  new  incandescent  lamp  described  at 
page  170  of  the  Year-Book,  but  we  are  enquiring  about  it 
of  our  friends  in  Vienna,  asking  whether  there  is  an  agent 
prepared  to  deliver  them  in  this  country,  and  will  let  you 
know  later  or. 

J.  & B.  Dodsworth. — Received  a sample  of  your  new  unbleached 
blotting-paper,  which  certainly  bears  out  all  you  say  regard- 
ing it,  perfectly  free  from  sulphates  and  chlorides,  very 
absorbent,  and  yet  immensely  strong  in  the  fibre,  giving  off 
no  fluff  to  adhere  to  the  prints. 

T.  E. — Old  sulphate  of  iron  crystals.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
they  would  be  worth  the  trouble  of  re-crystallizing,  but  very 
often  the  ochrey  incrustation  is  only  superficial,  in  which 
case  they  could  be  rapidly  washed  with  ice-cold  water  on  a 
sieve  or  cullender,  well  drained,  and  once  more  dried. 

L.  A.  M. — There  is  no  fund  for  the  purchase  of  historical 
specimens  and  apparatus,  but  an  effort  is  being  made  to  form 
such  a collection,  and  provide  for  their  safe  custody.  The 
Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain  put  out  a circular  with 
this  intention  on  the  24th  of  August  last. 

Art-Piioto. — The  exhibition  of  liejlander’s  works  is  still  on 
view  at  the  Camera  Club,  Bedford  Street,  Covent  Garden, 
and  will  well  repay  a visit.  Admission  is  granted  on  presen- 
tation of  your  address  card. 

A.  Lang  worthy. — We  never  heard  of  any  such  process.  Be  so 
good  as  to  repeat  the  leading  details,  some  of  which  are  not 
fully  intelligible. 

Printer. — The  addresses  of  nil  photographers  in  the  United 
Kingdom  are  not  yet  got  together  in  any  single  directory, 
but  you  would  be  able  to  start  with  the  Post  Office  Loudon 
Directory,  and  those  for  the  larger  provincial  towns,  in  order 
to  get  the  names  of  professional  photographers,  and  then 
work  from  the  published  lists  of  members  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Society,  Camera  Club,  &c.,  to  pick  up  some  of  the 
amateurs.  Or,  finally,  make  friendly  arrangements  with  the 
principal  dealers  and  publishers. 

E.  J.  Wall. — Consult  Reimanu’s  “ Hand-book  of  Anilines,” 
Chemical  Macs  Office,  Boy  Court,  Ludgate  Hill  ; Watts’s 
“ Dictionary  of  Chemistry,”  vol  iv.  pp.  465-473,  “Aniline 
Dyes  ; ” also  Slater’s  “ Manual  of  Colours  and  Dye  Wares,” 
Crosby  Lockwood  and  Co, 


PHOTOGRAPHIC 

\ ‘i  VgB SO*/ 

\/<  . y.:-  y/ 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1639. — January  31,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PAO* 


Magnesium  Lamps 77 

Obtaining  the  Critical  Focusupon  Finely-Ground  Glass  Screens. 

By  F.  H.  Varley,  M.I.E.E.,  F.R.A.3 78 

Eikonogen  as  a Developer  in  Practice.  By  W.  K.  Burton  79 

Eikonogen.  By  Lyonel  Clark 83 

Amateur  Photography  in  Paris 84 

The  Late  Cuthbert  Bede  and  his  Book  “ Photographic 

Pleasures.”  By  W.  Lang,  junr.,  F.C.S 83 

Selecting  Focal  Distance  with  Detective  Cameras.  By  W.  E. 
Debenham 87 


PAOE 

Note3  86 

Photographers'  Benevolent  Association  89 

The  Calcutta  Photographic  Exhibition  89 

Photography  in  Sweden  90 

The  Distance  beyond  which  all  Objects  will  be  in  Focus  with 

any  given  Lens.  By  Sir  David  Salomons,  Bart 91 

Patent  Intelligence 92 

Correspondence 91 

Proceedings  of  Societies 94 

Answers  to  Correspondents 96 


MAGNESIUM  LAMPS. 

Messrs.  Samuel  Fry  & Co.  have  sent  us  for  review  a 
little  magnesium  lamp,  which,  with  its  store  of  pow- 
dered metal,  is  not  much  larger  than  half  an  average  cigar 
box,  when  all  the  partsare  packed  in  their  card -hoard  case. 
A peculiarity  of  it  is,  that  it  will  give  from  one  to  three 
or  more  flashes  at  will  of  nearly  equal  intensity  ; this 
is  due  to  the  magnesium  required  for  immediate  use 
being  held  in  a small  test-tube,  out  of  which  it  cannot 
be  blown  all  at  once  by  a single  compression  of  the 
pneumatic  ball.  The  lamp,  which  is  said  to  be  highly 
popular  in  America,  requires  no  stand,  but  is  held  in 
the  hand,  and  fired  off  near  the  ceiling  when  it  is  used 
in  an  ordinary  room.  It  gives  a horizontal  flash  of 
large  area,  because  it  is  so  constructed  as  to  throw  the 
powder  out  in  a fan-shaped  blast,  and  the  metal  is  then 
ignited  by  means  of  a large  flame.  In  some  experi- 
ments tried  with  it,  it  was  found  that  with  suitable 
management  it  is  tolerably  easy  to  obtain  full  length 
portraits  without  hard  shadows. 

Magnesium  lamps  require  more  scientific  study  than 
they  have  yet  received.  Nearly  all  of  them  allow  some 
powder  to  escape  unburnt ; especially,  of  course,  is  this 
the  case  when  the  powder  is  blown  through  the  flame 
at  right  angles  to  the  longitudinal  axis  of  the  latter. 
Even  when  the  powder  is  blown  upwards  through  the 
flame,  complete  combustion  of  the  magnesium  is  not 
necessarily  secured — a faet  which  has  been  experiment- 
ally proved  in  public.  When  the  powder  is  blown  out 
by  a short,  violent  puff  of  air,  there  is  a reduction  of 
the  amount  of  ejected  metal  burnt,  because  it  then 
passes  more  rapidly  through  the  flame,  and  with  most 
of  the  present  lamps  it  may  be  wise  to  incur  this  loss 
sometimes  to  shorten  the  time  of  exposure.  Schirm’s 
lamp  attracted  some  attention  in  Germany,  because  of 
its  alleged  economy  in  the  use  of  magnesium  ; in  this 
lamp,  which  was  pictured  last  year  in  these  pages,  the 
magnesium  was  first  made  intensely  hot,  and  then 
blown  upwards  through  a long  flame.  While  Schirm’s 
lamp  was  in  the  hands  of  our  Photographic  Society, 
it  would  have  been  well  had  its  action  been  submitted 
to  a series  of  thoroughly  scientific  tests.  The  bringing 
together  in  one  instrument  of  the  best  features  of  the 
Sehirm  and  Fry  lamps,  particularly  the  abolishing  of 


the  stand  used  with  the  former,  might  possibly  result 
in  the  advent  of  an  advanced  type  of  useful  magnesium 
light. 

When  magnesium  first  mentally  and  physically 
dazzled  the  world,  by  being  produced  otherwise  than 
as  an  extremely  costly  chemical  curiosity,  gclatino- 
bromide  plates  were  unknown,  and  in  those  revered 
good  old  wet-plate  days  we  tried  some  of  the  earliest 
experiments  in  photographic  portraiture  by  the 
magnesium  light.  The  lamp  invented  by  Mr.  Henry 
Larkin  answered  best,  in  which  sand  was  mixed  with 
magnesium  powder,  to  carry  the  latter  downwards 
rapidly  from  a kind  of  funnel  into  a flame  below ; it 
was  then  found  best  to  do  away  with  the  neck  of  the 
brass  funnel  and  to  enlarge  the  orifice  thereof,  to 
obtain  a flame  of  shorter  duration,  and  to  reduce  it, 
if  necessary,  to  a rapid  flash.  Another  objection  to 
the  neck  of  the  funnel  was,  that  the  vapour  of  water 
produced  by  the  combustion  of  the  flame  employed 
to  set  fire  to  magnesium,  had  a tendency  to  con- 
dense inside  the  metallic  neck,  and  by  wetting  the 
mixed  powder  to  choke  the  tube,  thereby  stopping 
the  action  of  the  lamp.  Mr.  Larkin,  when  obliged 
to  keep  up  a continuous  light,  as  on  the  occasion 
when  he  lit  up  Guildhall  Yard  by  means  of  gigantic 
magnesium  lamps,  overcame  this  defect  by  means  of 
a “pricker”  driven  by  clockwork.  This  pricker  was 
a needle  which  vibrated  longitudinally  in  the  tube  of 
the  funnel.  The  modification  above  described  of  this 
lamp,  to  make  it  give  a light  of  brief  duration,  might 
be  useful  at  the  present  time,  because  the  large  size  of 
the  flame  tends  to  prevent  sharp  shadows  ; indeed,  it  is 
easy  to  produce  a flame  two  feet  long.  The  greater 
the  proportion  of  magnesium  powder  to  the  sand,  the 
larger  is  the  flame.  The  duration  of  the  flame  is 
governed  by  the  size  of  the  orifice  through  which  the 
powder  falls.  The  sand  gets  intensely  hot  during  its 
descent,  and  will  char  or  set  fire  to  wood  if  allowed  to 
fall  thereupon  if  much  magnesium  be  used. 

In  those  early  days  a lamp  was  invented  and  publicly 
described  for  burning  magnesium  ribbon  continuously, 
yet  carrying  the  smoke  away  from  the  face  of  the 
flame  by  an  air-draught  from  the  front.  This  principle, 
with  mechanical  improvements  in  addition,  has  been 


78 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  31,  1890. 


used  iu  a lamp  which  Mr.  "W  arnerkc  purchased  some- 
where on  the  Continent,  and  which  will  go  on  burning 
for  a long  time  nearly  as  steadily  as  a candle.  With 
proper  appliances  for  carrying  off  the  smoke,  this 
instrument  might  prove  a formidable  rival  to  the  elec- 
tric lamp  in  commercial  Avork  in  the  photographic 
studio,  the  electric  light  being  so  costly. 

When  magnesium  riband  was  first  made  it  was 
rotten,  and  broke  easily  when  handled  ; this  defect 
was  overcome  by  alloying  it  with  a trifling  proportion 
of  zinc.  As  zinc  gives  a bluish-white  light  when 
burnt,  it  might  be  worth  while  to  try  experiments  for 
the  production  of  a large  and  brief  flame  of  burning 
zinc  at  will,  to  find  out  Avhat  can  and  Avhat  cannot  be 
done  Avith  it  in  photography.  The  photographic  value 
of  the  combustion  of  excessively  rare  and  costly  metals 
yielding  the  more  refrangible  rays  of  the  spectrum 
might  also  be  tried,  for  it  might  be  possible  to  turn 
out  those  metals  cheaply  now  that  the  electric  furnace 
and  other  modern  inventions  liaA’e  placed  such  great 
powers  in  the  hands  of  metallurgists,  and  now  that 
more  about  the  chemistry  of  high  temperatures  is 
beginning  to  be  understood. 


OBTAINING  THE  CRITICAL  FOCUS  UPON 
FINELY-GROUND  GLASS  SCREENS. 

BY  F.  H.  VAULEY,  M.I.E.K,  F.R.A.S. 

In  my  article  upon  grinding  glassfocusing  screens,  published 
in  your  issue  of  November  8th,  1889,  I pointed  out  the 
desirability  of  a finely-ground  surface  being  obtained.  The 
purpose  of  the  present  communication  is  to  further 
develop  that  idea,  and  to  sIioav  a method  by  which  the  exact 
or  critical  focus  can  be  obtained  Avith  facility  and  precision. 

The  present  method  of  employing  a dark  cloth  to  ex- 
clude extraneous  light  from  the  focussing  screen  is  at  its 
best  but  a fairly  efficient  expedient.  To  me  it  is  one  far 
from  being  satisfactory.  First,  as  my  eyesight  is  getting 
weaker,  I require  a reading  lens  to  see  the  image  distinctly 
or  otherwise : secondly,  to  view  the  image  at  a distance 
of  16  inches  from  the  screen,  Avhen  I find  it  difficult  to 
clearly  discern  special  minutiae  of  detail  Avith  any  degree 
of  confidence  that  it  is  in  correct  focus. 

The  employment  of  a lens  between  the  eye  and  the 
surface  of  the  ground  glass  is  also  fraught  Avith  dangers, 
unless  the  ground  surface  of  the  glass  be  kept  distinctly 
focussed  during  the  Avhole  time  of  racking  in  or  out  the 
camera  lens.  When  the  reading  lens  has  to  be  employed, 
it  is  quite  possible  to  obtain  a sharp  image  which  is  not 
coincident  Avith  the  ground  surface ; it  may  be  formed 
either  behind  or  in  front  of  the  screen,  according  to  the 
relative  distances  betAveen  the  lens  and  the  screen  and  the 
eye  from  the  lens. 

In  a landscape  there  is  always  one  part  of  the  picture 
Avhich  it  is  desirable  should  be  in  critical  or  precise  focus, 
and  from  Avhich  the  foreground  and  distances  may  be 
more  or  less  perfectly  focussed,  but  not  absolutely  sharply 
defined.  1 o obtain  this  critical  focus  I have  dcA'ised  a 
special  form  of  the  Ramsden  or  positive  eye-piece,  Avhich 
insures  perfectly  precise  focussing.  This  is  shown  in  fig.  1. 
A is  the  field  lens,  B eye-lens,  C centre  of  ball  °and 
socket  movement,  1)  face  of  the  socket  to  be  held  close  to 
the  polished  side  of  the  glass  screen,  E clamping  screAV  to 


fix  the  eye-lens  Avhen  it  is  correctly  in  focus  Avith  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground-glass  screen,  F the  eye-cup  for  exclud- 
ing extraneous  light.  The  two  lenses  are  plano-convex, 
Avith  their  convex  sides  turned  towards  each  other. 

The  field  lens  should  be  of  about  2 inches  focal  length, 
and  about  1 inch  to  1 \ inch  in  aperture. 

The  eye-lens  three  times  the  focal  length  of  that  of  the 
fiel(l_viz.,  6 inches.  The  distance  between  these  lenses 
is  somewhat  less  than  two-thirds  of  their  combined  foci, 
say  5£  inches.  The  final  adjustment  of  the  eye-lens 
depends  upon  the  distance  that  the  ground  surface  of  the 
glass  is  from  the  field-lens.  This  arrangement  forms  a 


low-poAver  aplanatic  microscope  on  the  one  hand,  by 
which  the  critical  focus  of  the  ground  glass  is  obtained, 
and  becomes  at  the  same  time  a positive  eye-piece  for 
viewing  the  image  formed  by  the  camera  lens ; by  this  the 
exact  coincidence  of  the  critical  image  with  surface  of  the 
ground  glass  is  readily  determined. 

Fig.  2 illustrates  its  application. 


The  arroAvs  1 to  3 represent  the  landscape,  Avhilst  all 
above  may  be  distant  mountains  or  sky. 

The  arrow  fig.  2 is  intended  to  represent  that  portion 
of  the  landscape  which  it  is  desirable  to  have  in  critical 
focus. 

The  use  of  the  ball-and-socket  movement  is  then  appa- 
rent, as  it  enables  the  eye-piece  to  be  inclined  at  such  an 
angle  to  the  ground  glass  as  to  render  its  optical  axis 
coincident  Avith  the  ray  of  light  reflected  from  the  arrow  2 ; 
this  insures  a greater  brilliancy  of  illumination,  and 
although  by  so  tilting  the  eye-piece  the  distance  of  the 
field-lens  from  the  surface  of  the  ground  glass  is  increased, 
this  is  readily  corrected  by  sliding  in  the  eye-tube  until 
the  ground-glass  surface  is  in  focus  at  the  centre  of  the 
field. 

The  advantage  gained  by  securing  the  critical  focus  at 
any  desired  part  of  the  picture,  I think,  will  be  more  fully 
appreciated  as  small  cameras  and  enlarging  processes  come 
more  extensively  into  favour  ; whilst  the  facility  of  focus- 
ing afforded  by  the  positive  eye-piece,  I think,  is  Avorthy 
of  the  best  attention  of  camera  makers  and  opticians. 


The  Journal  of  the  Photographic  Society. — The  last 
number  of  this  journal  exhibits  a great  improvement,  which 
will  probably  render  it  more  attractive  to  the  public,  iu  the 
shape  of  a great  number  of  small  paragraphs  giving  practically 
useful  novel  information,  culled  from  recent  photographic  and  ] 
other  periodicals  all  the  Avorld  o\-er. 


Javcary  31,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


EIKONOGEN  AS  A DEVELOPER  IX  PRACTICE.* 

IJY  W.  K.  Bl'KTOK. 

It  may  seem  presumptuous  in  me  to  write  from  the  other 
end  of  the  world  on  a subject  that  the  members  of  the 
Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain  haven  much  better 
opportunity  of  forming  an  opinion  on  than  1 have,  and  on 
a subject  that  will  perhaps  have  been  thoroughly  threshed 
out  before  this  paper  can  be  read  ; but  when  I consider 
for  how  long  new  developers  have  often  been  in  use  before 
any  actual  comparative  experiments  with  them  and  old 
developers  have  been  made,  or  at  least  before  the  results 
of  such  experiments  have  been  made  public,  I am  en- 
couraged to  think  that  what  I have  to  tell  may  not  be  so 
very  much  behind  time  after  all.  Moreover,  the  changes 
that  may  be  rung  on  a developer  by  varying  the  propor- 
tions of  the  ingredients  are  so  endless,  that  every  experi- 
menter working  on  lines  laid  down  by  himself  is  likely  to 
cover  some  new  ground,  however  much  may  have  been 
covered  already. 

There  have  been  numerous  expressions  of  opinion  as  to 
the  value  of  the  new  developer.  It  has  been  declared  “as 
good  as”  and  “better  than”pyro,  and  so  on.  Now  I 
quite  appreciate  the  value  of  such  opinions  when  they  come 
from  men  of  experience ; but,  after  all,  they  are  of  less 
value  than  an  actual  detailed  account  of  experiments  under- 
taken for  the  sake  of  making  a comparison. 

There  fell  into  my  hands  what  1 believe  to  have  been 
the  very  first  box  of  eikonogen  that  came  to  Japan,  and  I 
set  about  to  compare  its  working  with  that  of  pyro  at  once, 
and  with  the  most  practical  object  that  I could  have — 
namely,  to  determine  whether  or  not  I should  adopt  it 
instead  of  my  old  friend  in  actual  practice.  It  may  take  a 
little  time  to  detail  the  principle  of  the  experiments  that  I 
have  made,  but  I think  that  if  this  paper  is  to  have  any 
value,  it  will  be  by  detailing  what  I have  done  before  I give 
the  conclusions  that  I have  drawn. 

The  eikonogen  came  into  my  hands  carefully  done  up  in 
one  of  the  original  tin  boxes,  on  the  outside  of  which  were 
instructions  not  to  open  it  in  the  presence  of  ammonia 
fumes,  but  in  a dry,  pure  atmosphere.  These  instructions 
were  duly  attended  to.  There  were  no  instructions  as  to 
the  method  of  using  it,  but  I had  read  enough  in  the 
English  photographic  press  to  know  at  least  pretty  fairly 
what  to  do  with  it.  Briefly,  this  is  what  I understood  to 
be  claimed  for  it.  It  was  intended  to  be  used  as  a substi- 
tute for  pyro,  and  was  said  to  be  quicker  and  more  ener- 
getic in  its  action.  The  alkali  recommended  was  carbonate 
of  soda,  and  some  had  stated  that  either  only  very  little  of 
this  should  be  used,  or  that  some  restraining  bromide 
should  accompany  it,  otherwise  there  was  a danger  of  fog 
on  account  of  the  excessive  energy  of  the  developing 
action.  The  eikonogen  was  found  to  be  a somewhat  heavy, 
coarse  powder,  of  a rather  dirtyish  pinkish  colour,  readily 
soluble  in  about  thirty  times  its  weight  of  cold  water,  and 
giving  a yellow  or  light  brown  solution,  which  rapidly 
darkened  in  the  air  from  the  absorption  of  oxygen.  It  was 
neutral  to  test  papers. 

Here,  at  the  very  beginning,  a series  of  experiments 
was  made  to  test,  as  well  as  it  could  be  done  without 
waiting  a long  time,  the  keeping  qualities  of  the  solution. 
The  following  were  the  results : — In  aqueous  solution  with- 
out any  preservative  eikonogen  darkens  much  more  quickly 
than  pyro.  If  the  eikonogen  be  dissolved  in  a solution  of 
sulphite  of  sodium  instead  of  water,  the  colour  is  light  green 

* Read  before  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 


79 


instead  of  yellow.  If  sulphite  of  soda  beadded  toan  aqueous 
solution  before  it  has  darkened  much,  the  colour  will  bo 
changed  immediately  from  yellow  to  green.  This  ‘ ‘ sulpho- 
eikonogen  ” solution  seems  to  be  very  permanent,  and  does 
not  stain  the  hands.  It  is  not  necessary  to  neutralize  the 
sulphite  of  soda  with  acid  to  get  a permanent  solution. 
The  sulphite  of  soda  that  I used  was  a fairly  good  com- 
mercial sample,  and  was  distinctly  alkaline  to  test  papers. 
The  addition  of  alkali  to  the  aqueous  solution  accelerates 
the  discolouration,  but  not  to  nearly  so  marked  a degree 
as  in  the  case  of  pyro  solution.  Even  when  made  strongly 
alkaline  the  ‘ ‘ sulpho-eikonogen  ” solution  discolours  very 
slowly.  A solution  that  had  been  used  for  development, 
and  that  was  put  on  one  side  in  a measuring  glass,  was  of 
a very  light  brown  colour  only  at  the  end  of  several  days. 
Even  the  alkaline  solution  does  not  stain  the  hands.  If  an 
aqueous  solution  has  turned  deep  brown  by  exposure  to 
the  atmosphere,  it  will  change  to  a comparatively  light  brown 
by  the  addition  of  sulphite  of  soda. 

The  first  set  of  experiments  with  pyro  and  eikonogen 
were  intended  merely  as  “ feelers,”  so  that  I might  get 
some  idea  of  the  action  of  the  substance  1 was  working 
with.  I made  up  a one  per  cent,  aqueous  solution  of 
eikonogen  in  water,  ami  a ten  per  cent,  solution  of  each  of 
sulphite  of  soda  and  common  carbonate  of  soda  in  crystals. 
The  first  developer  that  I tried  was  made  up  as  follows  : — 
Pyro  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  2 grains 

Sulphite  of  soda  .. . ...  ...  ...  10  ,, 

Carbonate  of  soda  ...  ...  ...  10  ,, 

to  each  ounce  of  water.  Another  developer  was  made  up 
with  exactly  the  same  proportions,  but  replacing  the  pyro 
with  eikonogen. 

Exposures  were  made  two  at  a time  in  the  camera,  the 
subject  being  chosen  to  show  great  contrast  and  full  grada- 
tion. A table  covered  with  ornaments  was  selected,  and 
over  two  vases  standing  side  by  side  was  thrown  a black  velvet 
cloth  and  a white  table-napkin.  The  first  two  plates  were 
purposely  much  under-exposed,  the  second  two  received  a 
little  shorter  than  the  first  exposure,  the  third  pair  a full 
exposure.  A pair  of  plates  was  placed  in  dishes  side  by 
side,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  two  developers  were 
poured  over  the  two  plates.  The  results  were  as  follows : — 
In  each  case  the  image  under  pyro  began  to  show  consider- 
ably before  the  other,  and  development  was  complete,  or 
had  gone  as  far  as  it  would  go,  when  the  plate  under  eiko- 
nogen was  not  half  developed.  The  development  under 
eikonogen  went  on  steadily,  however,  and  eventually  there 
came  out,  in  the  first  case,  apparently  the  same  amount  of 
detail  as  with  pyro  ; in  the  second,  little  more  ; in  the 
third  case,  the  eikonogen  plate  had  the  appearance  of  being 
somewhat  over-exposed,  the  other  of  being  just  rightly 
exposed. 

Experiments  were  tried  with  the  carbonate  increased  by 
twice,  and  eventually  by  three  times,  but  the  results  were 
exactly  the  same  as  in  the  first  cases,  except  that,  both 
with  pyro  and  with  eikonogen,  the  development  was  a little 
quicker.  In  every  case  the  eikonogen  proved  much  the 
slower  developer,  but  on  the  whole  there  was  in  the  finished 
eikonogen-developed  plates  a very  little  more  detail  than 
in  the  case  of  the  others.  There  was  no  appearance  of 
fogging  with  eikonogen  (or  with  the  pyro  either),  even 
when  the  largest  amount  of  carbonate  was  used,  and  the 
colour  of  the  image  was  excellent,  whether  the  alum  bath 
was  used  or  not. 

Further  experiments  were  tried  to  see  the  effect  of 
developing  several  plates  in  succession  with  the  eikonogen 


80 


THE  PHOTOGRAFIIIC  NEWS. 


[January  31,  18£0. 


— in  all  the  experiments  already  described  a fresh  solution 
had  been  mixed  up  for  each  plate.  1'he  development 
became  slower  and  slower,  but  on  the  whole  the  eikonogen 
compared  favourably  with  the  pyro,  inasmuch  as  it  appeared 
to  become  exhausted  more  slowly,  and  certainly  became 
discoloured  much  more  slowly.  In  fact,  by  the  time  that 
a pyro  developer  had  become  of  the  colour  of  stout,  the 
eikonogen  developer  showed  little  or  no  discolouration  at 
all. 

The  net  results  of  these  experiments  was  to  show  that 
eikonogen  had  at  least  as  powerful  a developing  action  as 
pyro,  but  that  it  was  a great  deal  slower.  Now  1 am 
myself  in  favour  of  slow  development,  and  would  not  con- 
sider the  tardy  action  of  the  eikonogen  to  be  a drawback, 
but  I know  that  no  developer  that  is  much  slower  than 
pyro  with  carbonate  of  soda  will  find  general  acceptance. 
My  next  series  of  experiments  were  therefore  to  determine 
what  was  the  quickest  modification  of  the  eikonogen  deve- 
loper that  I could  find.  I mixed  a stock  solution  contain- 
ing 2 per  cent,  of  eikonogen  and  10  per  cent,  of  sulphite 
of  soda.  All  the  following  developers  had  the  same 
amount  of  eikonogen  and  of  sulphite — namely,  2 grains  of 
the  former,  and  10  grains  of  the  latter  to  each  ounce,  the 
alkali  and  restrainer  only  being  varied.  The  subject  chosen 


was  a landscape,  including  dark  green  foliage  and  a gate 
painted  a glaring  white,  a great  range  of  contrast  being 
again  got.  A number  of  plates  were  exposed  in  quick  suc- 
cession. an  exposure  a little  less  than  what  I should  consider 
“ normal  ” being  given. 

The  first  plate  was  developed  with  the  following  deve- 
loper : — 

Pyro  2 grains 

Sulphite  of  soda  ...  ...  ...  ...  10  ,, 

Carbonate  of  soda  (crystallized) 20  ,, 

My  idea  in  taking  this  as  a standard  with  which  to  compare 
eikonogen  was  that,  although  it  is  a slower  developer  than 
any  common  ammonia  developer,  it  is  pretty  quick  as  deve- 
lopers with  alkaline  carbonates  go.  I consider  that  a 
developer  is  not  likely  to  become  generally  popular  unless 
it  will  work  as  quickly  as  does  this  one.  The  plate  was 
watched  in  this  developer,  and  it  was  found  that  the  image 
made  its  appearance  in  20  seconds,  and  that  development 
was  finished  in  13  minutes.  I set  myself  then  to  find,  if 
possible,  an  eikonogen  developer  that  would  work  as 
quickly  as  this  one.  1 tabulate  the  results,  it  being  under- 
stood that  the  eikonogen  and  sulphite  of  soda  were,  as 
stated  above,  constant : — 


DEVELOPER. 

Image  Showed. 

Development 

Finished. 

Remarks. 

Eikonogen  and  sulphite  without 
alkali. 

1 min.  30  secs. 

20  mins. 

Full  detail,  but  thin 
image. 

1 . 

. Carbonate  of  soda,  5 grains 

. 30  secs.  ... 

...  6 mins.  ... 

...  Very  good  quality. 

2 . 

• i>  i)  39  >i  ••• 

...  30  „ ... 

...  6 ,, 

3 • 

20 

..  ,,  ,,  ,,  .., 

...  30  „ ... 

...  4 

...  Image  rather  thin  and  foggy. 

4 . 

..  Carbonate  of  soda,  20  grains  ; ... 

...  1 min.  30  secs. 

...lo  „ ... 

..  Very  good  quality. 

bromide  of  potassium,  2 grains. 

5 

..  Carbonate  of  potassium,  5 grains  ... 

...  3)  secs.  ... 

...  6 „ ... 

...  Very  good  quality. 

6 

„ 10 

...  30  „ ... 

...  4 „ 

7 

i s 

••  It  J»  ft  *•* 

...  25  „ ... 

...  3 

...  Image  rather  thin  and  foggy. 

8 

. Carbonate  of  potassium,  20  grains ; 

...  40  „ ... 

...  4 „ ... 

...  Very  good  quality. 

bromide  of  potassium,  1 grain. 

9 .. 

Liquid  ammonii.  2 minims;  bromide 

...  2 mins.  ... 

...10  „ ... 

..  Thin  image,  with  both  chem- 

of  potassium,  1 grain.  ical  and  colour  fog. 

All  quantities  are  in  grains  to  the  < unce. 


The  only  conclusion  deductible  from  these  experiments 
is  that  eikonogen  will  not  work  as  quickly  as  pyro.  It  will 

be  seen  that  in  every  case  but  No.  8,  where  the  rapidity  of 
development  came  up  to,  or  even  nearly  up  to,  that  of  the 
pyro  developer,  the  image  was  thin  and  foggy.  Farther 
than  that,  with  the  above  exceptions,  the  best  negatives 
were  distinctly  those  that  took  a considerable  time  to 
develop.  It  will  be  seen  that  of  the  developers  tried,  the 
quickest  contained  20  grains  of  carbonate  of  potassium  and 
1 grain  of  bromide  of  potassium  to  each  ounce,  and  that 
this  did  not  come  very  much  short  of  the  pyro  developer 
in  the  rapidity  of  its  action.  On  the  whole , as  in  the  first 
set  of  experiments,  the  eikonogen  appeared  to  bring  out  a 
little  more  detail  than  the  pyro. 

The  colour  was  in  all  cases— except  that  of  the  ammonia 
developer— good,  but  I do  not  think  that  it  was  any 
better  than  that  given  either  by  hydroquinone,  or  pyro 
with  sulphite  and  a carbonate,  using  the  alum  bath.  The 
gradation  of  density— or  “tonality,”  to  use  the  slang  of 
artists — was  certainly  somewhat  different  from  that  given 
by  pyro,  but  I do  not  think  I am  able  to  judge  whether 
it  was  better  or  worse.  There  certainly  is  a certain  soft- 
ness about  the  eikonogen  developed  negatives  that  must 
be  an  advantage  in  the  case  of  some  subjects. 


It  will  be  seen  that  one  plate  was  developed  without 
any  alkali,  except  that  due  to  the  slight  alkalinity  of  the 
sulphite  of  soda.  The  fact  that  this  was  possible  induced 
me  to  try  the  following  experiment : — Three  solutions 
were  made;  they  were  as  follows — (1)  Eikonogen  2 grains 
to  the  ounce  of  water;  (2)  Sulphite  of  soda  10  grains 
to  the  ounce  of  water  ; (3)  Eikonogen  2 grains,  sulphite 
of  soda  10  grains  to  the  ounce  of  water.  Three  plates 
were  flooded  with  these  three  solutions  at  the  same 
moment  ; the  results  were  as  follows  : — In  the  case  of  (3) 
the  image  appeared  in  two  minutes,  and  development  was 
finished  in  twenty  minutes.  In  the  case  of  (1)  the  image 
appeared  in  two  minutes,  but  at  the  end  of  two  hours 
little  more  than  the  high  lights  had  appeared,  and  the 
solution  was  much  discoloured.  In  the  case  of  (2)  no 
trace  of  an  image  had  apppeared  at  the  end  of  two  hours. 

A rather  curious  thing  came  out  of  this  last  set  of 
experiments.  I mixed  (1)  and  (2),  and  with  the  result 
that  a great  part  of  the  colour  was  at  once  discharged, 
and  flowed  the  solution  over  the  plate  that  had  been 
under  the  sulphite  of  soda  solution  for  two  hours  with- 
out being  affected.  I intended  to  see  what  would  be 
the  result  in  the  way  of  development,  but  forgot  all  about 
the  plate  for  two  days,  when  I suddenly  remembered  it, 


January  31,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


81 


I expected  to  find  nothing  but  a mass  of  fog.  but,  to  my 
no  small  surprise,  1 found  in  the  dish  a fully  developed 
and  fixed  negative.  1 suppose  the  fixing  was  effected  by 
the  sulphite  o"  soda. 

I ought  to  observe  here  that  all  the  plates  used  so  far 
were  of  about  average  rapidity — as  so-called  rapid  plates 
of  the  present  day  go — giving  something  about  twenty 
on  the  sensitometer,  and  that  they  were  of  a very 
“ robust  ” kind.  That  is  to  say,  they  gave,  with  any 
ordinary  pyro  developer,  very  clear  shadows,  and  would 
stand  “any  amount  of  forcing.”  I wished  to  try  the  new 
developer  on  an  entirely  different  kind  of  plate,  and  I 
had  by  me  a kind  that  is  very  common  amongst  commer- 
cial plates,  and  that  is  excellent  for  many  kinds  of  work  ; 
1 mean  a very  rapid  plate,  giving  density  easily  with 
pyro,  and  giving  a full,  round  image,  with  good  gradation, 
under  a moderately  strong,  or  fairly  restrained,  developer, 
but  fogging  more  or  less  with  a developer  strong  in  alkali 
unless  duly  restrained.  I found  that  with  such  plates, 
using  two  grains  of  eikouogen  and  ten  grains  of  car- 
bonate of  soda  to  the  ounce,  but  no  restrainer,  I could 
get  nothing  but  thin  images,  or.  if  I prolonged  develop- 
ment, foggy  plates.  A corresponding  pyro  developer  gave 
excellent  results.  It  was  evident  that  with  such  plates 
and  eikouogen  a restrainer  must  be  used,  and  I tried 
bromide  accordingly.  I,  however,  thoughtlessly  used 
bromide  of  ammonia,  forgetting  for  the  moment  that  in 
the  presence  of  sulphite  of  soda  free  ammonia  would  be 
produced,  and  that  ammonia  does  not  agree  with  eikouogen 
at  all.  The  images  came  up  finely,  and  in  the  developer 
apparently  boldly  and  strongly,  but  on  fixing  I had  the 
most  beautiful  sample  of  almost  ruby-red  fog  that  I 
have  seen.  1 do  not  think  that  it  would  have  been 
possible  to  get  red  fog  with  these  plates,  using  pyro. 
With  pyro  they  would  have  given  grey  fog  (if  any),  and 
it  is  my  experience  that  grey  fog,  whether  due  to  over- 
exposure or  to  forcing,  and  colour  fog,  do  not  appear  at 
the  same  time  under  pyro.  The  substitution  of  bromide 
of  potassium  for  bromide  of  ammonium  gave  quite 
satisfactory  negatives,  but  the  development  was  very 
tedious.  The  restraining  action  of  bromide  appears  to 
be  greater  with  eikonogen  than  with  pyro,  so  that  only 
a little  need  be  used.  In  this  case  I found  one  grain  to 
the  ounce  sufficient. 

My  next  experiments  were  with  the  sensitometer.  1 do 
not  intend  to  give  these  in  detail,  for  I fear  that  1 have 
been  intolerably  tedious  as  it  is  with  all  the  details  that  I 
have  brought  before  you.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  say  that 
I tried  many  different  kinds  of  plates,  and  tried  over  again 
all  the  developers  that  have  been  described  above,  with  the 
result  that  it  was  certainly  possible  to  get  out  a little  more 
with  eikonogen  than  with  pyro.  1 think  that  perhaps  there 
is  an  advantage  equal  to  about  20  to  30  per  cent,  in  the 
matter  of  exposure  in  the  case  of  eikonogen,  that  is  to  say, 
the  exposures  might  be  shortened  in  the  ratio  of  6 to  5,  or 
possibly  as  I to  3. 

Here,  however,  came  in  quite  a new  element.  I had 
not  before  tried  the  use  of  the  preliminary  bath  of  hypo- 
sulphite of  soda,  recommended  as  an  accelerator.  I tried 
it  now,  using  a solution  of  1 part  of  hypo  in  1,000 
parts  of  water,  and  merely  allowing  the  plate  to  rest  in 
this  whilst  I was  mixing  up  the  developer.  The  result 
when  the  developer  was  poured  on  the  plate  was  startling. 
The  image  flashed  out  with  astonishing  rapidity ; but  1 
found  that  development  soon  came  to  an  end,  and  that  not 
only  did  no  higher  figure  come  out  after  the  preliminary 


bath  of  hyposulphite  of  soda,  but  that  it  was  not  possible 
to  get  out  quite  so  much  as  without  it.  The  difficulty  of 
quick  development,  however,  was  solved,  and  I went  back 
to  the  development  of  plates  exposed  in  the  camera.  1 
now  found  that  with  a preliminary  bath  of  hyposulphite  of 
soda,  and  with  a developer  containing  two  grains  of 
eikonogen  and  ten  grains  of  carbonate  of  soda  to  the 
ounce,  the  image  began  to  show  in  fifteen  seconds,  and 
development  was  complete  in  three  minutes — that  is  to 
say,  the  rapidity  on  development  was  up  to  the  arbitrary 
standard  that  I had  set  up. 

This  finished  the  experimental  work  that  I have  done 
up  till  the  present,  and  it  will  be  expected  that  I give  the 
deductions  that  I have  drawn  from  it.  I am  tempted  to 
do  so  by  taking  an  advertisement  of  eikonogen  that  sets 
forth  its  wonderful  properties  under  ten  headings,  and  to 
set  opposite  each  of  these  the  conclusion  that  I draw  from 
the  experiments  that  I have  just  described.  I put  the 
statements  of  the  advertisements  and  my  own  conclusions 


in  parallel  columns : — 

Superiority 

1.  One  of  the  principal 
features  of  eikonogen  is  the 
fact  that  the  exposure  in  the 
studio  can  be  reduced  to 
Half  the  time  required  for 
hydroquinone  or  pyro. 

2.  Eikouogen  gives  a bluish- 
black  colour  covered  by  a very 
delicate  precipitate,  which  will 
bring  out  the  finest  details  to 
a degree  that  is  not  even  ap- 
proached by  any  other  deve- 
loper. 

3.  It  makes  the  task  of  judg- 
ing a negative  a very  easy  one, 
as  its  black  colour  shows  the 
contrast  and  grades  of  light 
and  shade  much  better  than  a 
negative  of  any  other  colour. 

4.  A solution  of  this  deve- 
loper can  always  be  kept  on 
hand  ready  for  use,  and  will 
keep  over  a month.  The  de- 
veloper can  be  used  several 
times,  as  it  does  not  discolour 
in  the  air. 

5.  Eikonogen  packed  in 
boxes  will  keep  for  years, 
while  hydroquinone  and  pyro 
in  time  deteriorate  greatly  in 
quality. 


6.  Eikonogenis  thecheapest 
developer,  not  only  in  price, 
but  also  because  it  possesses 
more  developing  power. 

7.  By  using  an  old  develop- 
ing solution  till  all  the  details 
have  appeared  and  then  tak- 
ing a fresh  one,  those  much- 
desired  high  lights  will  be 
easily  obtained.  The  old  de- 
veloper may  V>c  used  in  this 
way  three  or  four  times. 


e Eikonogen. 

This  is  not  the  case.  The 
exposure  cannot  be  reduced 
by  more  than  about  25  per 
cent. 


The  colour  is  good,  but  not 
better  than  that  given  by 
some  other  developers. 


1 think  that  it  is  a little 
easier  to  judge  of  density  in 
the  case  of  eikonogen  than  in 
that  of  other  developers,  not 
for  the  reason  given,  but  be- 
cause the  density  seems  to  go 
off  less  in  the  fixing  bath. 

This  is  true. 


Eikonogen  may  keep  for 
years,  although  it  is  rather 
difficult  to  see  how  this  has 
been  established  as  yet.  It  is 
not  my  experience,  however, 
that  pyro,  if  properly  packed, 
deteriorates.  I believe  that 
hydroquinone  does. 

Possibly  it  is. 


This  is  not  very  compre- 
hensible. Is  it  intended  to 
indicate  that  “ those  desirable 
high  lights  ” cannot  be  ob- 
tained working  in  the  ordinary 
way  2 If  so,  it  is  difficult  to 
see  where  the  advantage  conics 
in. 


82 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  31,  1890. 


8.  It  is  unnecessary  with 
this  developer  to  maintain  a 
certain  degree  of  temperature 
in  winter  time. 


Low  temperature  certainly 
does  not  retard  development 
so  much  as  with  pyro. 


A preliminary  bath  of 
hyposulphite  of  soda  hastens 
development,  but  does  not 
bring  out  more  detail  than  can 
be  got  without  it. 


There  is  certainly  great 
power  of  compensating  for 
over-exposure. 


9.  When  plates  are  under- 
exposed, they  should  be  put 
for  half  a minute  in  a pre- 
liminary bath  containing  some 
hyposulphite,  and  details  will 
be  obtained  which  neither 
pyro,  nor  hydroquinone  nor 
iron  can  give. 

10.  The  greatest  over- 
exposure  can  be  compensated 
by  using  old  developer  and 
sodium  bromide,  or  by  dilut- 
ing fresh  developer  with  two 
or  three  times  the  quantity 
of  water  and  a little  sodium 
bromide. 

Just  as  I have  written  the  above  it  seems  very  dogmatic, 
but  I wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  I am  not 
laying  down  what  T write  as  established  facts,  but  merely 
as  the  results  of  my  experience  gained  from  experiments 
that  have  certainly  been  numerous,  and  that,  have  been 
carried  out  with  due  care,  but  that  have  all  been  done  with 
one  sample  only  of  the  substance  in  question.  I think, 
however,  that  it  is  quite  fair  to  take  one  sample  as  typical, 
because  if  it  be  pleaded  that  that  particular  sample  was 
inferior,  the  plea  will  hold  good  on  either  one  or  other  of 
two  assumptions  only,  namely,  that  eikouogen  is  variable 
in  its  efficiency,  or  that  it  is  liable  to  deteriorate. 

After  all,  I have  not  answered,  even  to  myself,  the  ques- 
tion that  I started  with,  namely,  shall  I prefer  eikouogen 
to  pyro  for  general  work '?  It  will  be  seen  that  I consider 
that  the  claims  that  have  been  put  forward  in  its  favour 
are  extravagant.  On  the  other  hand,  it  has  certain  advan- 
ages.  One  of  these  is  its  extreme  cleanliness.  This  will 
probably  have  more  weight  with  most  people  than  with 
myself.  Then,  it  is  hard  to  part  with  old  friends  that  you 
do,  or  at  least  fondly  believe  that  you  do,  quite  thoroughly 
understand.  On  the  whole,  I intend  to  stick  to  pyro  for 
at  least  a little  time  longer,  and  this  especially  considering 
that  I have,  I believe,  used  up  the  whole  of  the  store  of 
eikonogen  that  there  is  in  Japan,  and  that  it  will  be  seve- 
ral months  before  I can  get  a further  supply. 

Postscript. 

Some  remarks  that  I read  in  one  of  the  photographic 
journals  since  the  time  that  my  paper  on  eikonogen  was 
written  remind  me  that  in  the  comparative  experiments 
that  I made  1 omitted  almost  the  most  important  of  all 
comparisons — namely,  that  of  the  difference  in  effect  pro- 
duced by  varying  the  quantity  of  the  eikonogen  itself.  I 
was  led  to  this  omission  by  having  my  mind  too  much  bent 
on  the  action  of  pyro.  It  is  well  known  that  in  the  case 
of  this  substance  the  effect  of  the  increase  of  quantity  is 
not  to  accelerate  development  either  in  the  matter  of  time 
that  it  takes  for  detail  to  appear,  or  in  the  matter  of  the 
eventual  amount  of  detail  that  can  be  got — that  is,  work- 
ing within  pretty  wide  limits.  It  did  not  strike  me  that  it 
might  be  quite  different  in  the  case  of  eikonogen. 

I first  set  myself  to  establish  the  statement  made  above 
with  regard  to  pyro,  which  I had  in  my  mind  only  as  a 
general  impression,  not  as  the  result  of  any  comparative 
experiments.  Several  plates  were  exposed  for  the  same 
length  of  time  in  quick  succession,  and  a set  of  developers 
was  made  up,  each  precisely  the  same  except  in  the  matter 


of  the  quantity  of  pyro  contained.  1 his  was  varied  from 
two  to  ten  grains  to  the  ounce.  1 he  plates  were  placed 
side  by  side,  and  were  developed  by  pouring  the  different 
solutions  simultaneously  over  them  all.  lhose  images 
which  were  under  the  strong  pyro  appeared  to  come  out 
a very  little  before  the  others.  Perhaps  there  was  a dif- 
ference of  five  or  six  seconds  between  the  one  and  the 
other  end  of  the  row  of  five  plates.  After  a little  time, 
however,  all  appeared  to  be  at  about  the  same  stage  ; that 
is  to  say,  so  far  as  the  eye  could  judge,  the  same  bit  of  de- 
tail appeared  on  all  plates  at  just  the  same  time.  The 
plates  were  removed  from  the  solutions  at  the  same  time 
and  fixed  together.  When  they  were  fixed,  those  that  had 
had  the  greatest  amount  of  pyyo  were  the  densest,  but 
! the  difference  was  much  less  than  I expected.  Those  that 
had  had  the  most  pyro  also  had  the  appearance  of  having 
had  less  exposure  than  the  others,  but  this  was  due  rather 
to  a certain  harshness  of  gradation  than  to  the  actual  absence 
of  any  detail  that  was  visible  in  the  others.  The  few  ex- 
periments that  I could  make  with  eikonogen  immediately 
showed  that  with  this  substance  the  effect  of  increasing  the 
strength  of  the  solution  is  quite  different  from  what  it  is  in 
the  case  of  a pyro  solution.  Increase  in  the  quantity  re- 
sults in  very  great  increase  in  the  rapidity  of  development. 
Unfortunately,  by  the  time  that  1 had  reached  this  stage, 

1 had  too  little  eikonogen  left  to  enable  me  to  make  a set 
of  thoroughly  comparative  experiments.  '1  he  results  I did 
arrive  at,  however,  were  that  increasing  the  quantity  of 
eikonogen  to  5 grains  to  the  ounce,  I got  with  the  same 
quantity  of  alkali  the  same  rapidity  of  development  as  with 
a pyro  development.  With  pyro  developer,  however,  - 
grains  to  the  ounce  gives  as  great  a speed  of  development 
as  does  in,  and  gives  more  satisfactory  negatives.  I there- 
fore conclude  that  it  takes  about  5 grains  of  eikonogen  to 
equal  2 of  pyro,  and  this  especially  as  negatives  developed 
with  that  amount  of  eikonogen  showed  no  tendency  to 
hardness.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  knocks  on  the  head 
the  idea  of  the  comparative  cheapness  of  eikonogen,  unless 
the  manufacturers  reduce  the  price  to  less  than  half 
that  it  is  at  present.  I could  not  make  out  that  the 
strong  eikonogen  had  any  advantage  over  the  weak  in  the 
actual  amount  of  detail  brought  out. 


The  next  annual  dinner  of  the  Photographic  Society  of 
Great  Britain  will  take  place  at  the  Cafe  Royal,  Regent  Street, 
on  February  10th,  at  6.30.  ; tickets,  six  shillings  each.  Early 
applications  for  tickets  should  be  made  to  Mr.  W . England, 
7,  St.  James’s  Square,  Xotting  Hill,  W. 

P hints  and  Drawings. — Those  who  are  interested  in  the 
Egyptian  mummy,  or  the  Roman  urn,  or  in  the  mysteries  ot 
ancient  manuscripts  and  rare  prints,  will  be  glad  to  know  that 
some  instructive  lectures  upon  these  subjects  as  exemplified  in 
the  British  Museum,  will  be  delivered  in  the  coming  month  at 
the  Steinway  Hall,  Portmau  Square,  by  Mr.  Louis  lagan,  o 
the  Department  of  Prints  and  Drawings.  The  first  lecture 
will  treat  of  the  origin  of  the  Museum  collection,  through  the 
bequest  of  Sir  Hans  Sloane,  nearly  a century-and-a-half  ago,  of 
its  gradual  progress,  and  of  the  Egyptian,  Assyrian,  and  -ba  )* 
Ionian  antiquities  ; and  the  second  and  third  lectures  will  dea 
with  the  Greek  and  Grteco-Ruman  antiquities,  the  library, 
manuscripts,  and  prints,  and  the  character  and  constitution  o 
the  Museum.  Photographic  reproductions  of  the  objects  de- 
scribed, by  the  oxy-liydrogen  light,  will  be  exhibited,  so  that 
subsequent  reference  to  them  may  be  facilitated.  The  history 
of  our  national  collection  in  Bloomsbury  is  one  of  decided  inte- 
rest to  students  of  art  and  science.  Xo  inconsiderable  part  o 
it  existed  under  the  designation  of  the  British  'Museum  for 
more  than  threc-score  years  before  the  building  which  now  con- 
tains it  was  commenced. — Doily  Acim. 


January  31,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


83 


EIKONOGEN. 

BY  LYONEL  CLARK. 

It  is,  perliaps,  beyond  the  bounds  of  reason  to  expect  that 
every  new  production  should  be  presented  to  us  only  when 
it  has  attained  a condition  as  nearly  approaching  perfection 
as  is  obtainable  by  mortals,  but  still  one  may  be  permitted 
to  express  a very  decided  wish  that  it  might  be  so.  The 
series  of  somewhat  exhaustive  experiments  that  I made  on 
the  behaviour  of  the  newest  claimant  to  popular  favour  as 
a developing  agent  were  hardly  finished,  when  a new  form 
of  this  same  salt  is  introduced  that  is  manifestly  superior 
to  the  old.  Wishing,  however,  was  of  no  good,  and  there 
was  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  start  again,  and  repeat 
in  a form  simplified  by  experience  the  previous  experi- 
ments. 

In  appearance  the  new  sample  of  eikonogen  presents  a 
great  superiority  over  its  more  ancient  rival ; whereas  the 
latter  was  in  the  form  of  a palpably  discoloured,  sand-like 
powder,  the  former  is  in  pure  and  well-formed  crystals  of 
a slightly  yellowish  colour.  Itsbehaviour  when  in  solution 
is  also  distinctly  different.  The  old  sample,  when  dissolved 
in  water  without  the  addition  of  any  sulphite,  instantly 
decomposed,  turning  of  a deep  port  wine  colour,  that 
rapidly  thickened : whereas  the  new  sample  only  slightly 
discolours  the  water — a similar  difference  is  apparent,  even 
when  sulphite  is  used,  the  old  sample  forming  a deep  green- 
coloured  solution,  whilst  the  new  one  gives  a faintly  yellow 
one.  It  is  cpiite  evident  from  these  facts  alone  that  the 
discolouration  of  the  older  sample  was  due  to  an  incipient 
oxidation  of  the  crystals  themselves,  which  became  more 
apparent  when  in  solution,  and  was  no  doubt  the  cause 
of  its  so  soon  becoming  muddy,  and  losing  its  clear- 
ness. 

The  amount  of  solubility  of  the  new  does  not  appear  to 
vary  very  much  from  that  of  the  older  sample  ; as  a matter 
of  fact,  it  is  not  very  easy  to  determine  the  amount  of  solu- 
bility very  accurately,  as  it  varies  according  to  the  tem- 
perature ; in  boiling  water  a large  amount  is  taken  up,  but 
on  cooling  down  to  G0Q  F.  or  so  a large  amount  crystal- 
lises out.  On  the  whole,  I should  consider  about  fifteen 
grains  to  be  the  maximum  amount  that  can  be  dissolved 
in  one  ounce  of  water  to  which  thirty  grains  of  sulphite 
of  soda  have  been  previously  added. 

However,  my  practice  at  present  is  to  make  up  a solu- 
tion of  a less  strength  than  this — that  is,  one  of  ten  grains 
to  the  ounce — to  which  I add  twice  the  weight  of  sulphite 
of  soda  and  an  equal  weight  of  carbonate  of  soda  : I make 
these  up  with  boiling  water,  in  which  I first  dissolve  the 
sulphite  completely,  and  then  add  the  eikonogen.  I use 
boiling  water,  for  by  this  means  all  air  is  expelled,  and  there 
is  less  discolouration  of  the  solution  from  the  absorption 
of  the  oxygen  of  the  imprisoned  air,  for  a developer  so 
made  up  is  complete  in  itself,  and  will  equally  as  well 
oxidize  at  the  expense  of  the  air  as  it  will  at  the  expense  of 
the  partially  reduced  silver  haloid  of  the  negative. 

In  my  first  experiments  1 found  that  the  developing 
action  of  eikonogen  lay  entirely  in  the  salt  itself — that  is 
to  say,  that  it  did  not  require  the  addition  of  any  alkali  to 
cause  a reduction  of  the  silver,  although,  at  the  same  time, 
the  rapidity  of  its  action  was  increased  when  either  the 
fixed  or  the  caustic  alkalis  were  added.  But  the  gain  was 
not  very  great,  and,  beyond  a certain  point,  a further  in- 
crease of  alkali  made  but  little  difference  ; indeed,  if  the 
added  alkali  were  in  a somewhat  dilute  solution,  owing  to 
the  general  weakening  of  the  developer,  a loss  of  density 


followed,  instead  of  an  increase  in  rapidity  of  develop- 
ment. 

It  is  this  behaviour  that  so  markedly  defines  eikonogen 
from  the  alkaline  pyro  developers,  and  makes  it  much  more 
analogous  to  ferrous  oxalate.  The  developing  power  lies 
in  the  eikonogen  almost  entirely.  If  this  be  present  in  large 
quantities,  the  development  is  very  rapid,  and  great  density 
is  obtainable  ; if  the  eikonogen  be  present  in  small  quanti- 
ties, it  develops  slowly,  and  no  density  at  all  is  obtainable 
by  it ; but  in  both  these  oppposite  cases  it  will  be  found 
that  the  same  amount  of  detail  will  be  brought  out,  if  time 
be  unlimited.  With  pyro,  on  the  contrary,  an  extremely 
rapid  developing  action  can  be  set  up,  even  with  a mini- 
mum amount  of  this  salt,  and,  indeed,  a further  addition  of 
it  will  actually  tend  to  slow  the  development.  We  can 
undoubtedly  prepare  eikonogen  developers  that  shall  be 
suitable  for  any  class  of  work,  but  they  must  be  prepared 
beforehand  ; they  cannot,  like  an  alkaline  pyro  developer, 
have  their  character  totally  and  instantaneously  altered  by 
very  small  additions.  This  is  doubtless  due  to  the  insolu- 
bility of  the  salt  itself.  If  we  could  only  add  it  as  we  can 
pyro  in  the  dry  state,  its  power  might  be  vastly  increased  ; 
but,  as  it  is,  we  have  to  make  up  solutions  beforehand,  and 
we  can  only  modify  their  action  in  one  direction,  unless  we 
resort  to  the  somewhat  bulky  expedient  of  having  several 
baths  of  different  tendencies. 

I think,  therefore,  that  for  that  class  of  work  where  the 
exposure,  although  ample,  has  been  more  or  less  of  a hazard, 
or  where  the  general  scale  of  lighting  has  been  unsatisfac- 
tory— that  is  to  say,  for  the  best  class  of  landscape  work — 
eikonogen  will  not  displace  the  alkaline  pyro  ; but  for  that 
class  of  work  which  is  usually  termed  instantaneous — that  is 
to  say,  where  the  exposure  has  been  so  short  that  every 
part  of  the  plate  has  received  the  minimum  of  exposure, 
and  yet  every  detail  must  be  forced  out,  and  at  the  same 
time,  every  effort  be  used  to  obtain  density — for 
this  class,  eikonogen  presents  most  marked  and  useful 
advantages  over  any  other  system  of  development  with 
which  I am  acquainted. 

To  begin  with,  it  is  absolutely  free  from  all  tendency  to 
cause  green  fog,  with  its  unpleasant  iridescent  stains ; even 
when  used  as  strong  as  possible,  no  discolouration  of  the 
gelatine  is  perceived.  Secondly,  a greater  amount  of  inten- 
sity may  be  given  to  the  slightly  exposed  portions  by  eiko- 
nogen than  by  any  method  of  pyro  development.  I 
satisfied  myself  of  this  fact  when  experimenting  with  the 
older  sample,  and  with  the  newer  one  I find  it  still  more 
accentuated.  Lastly,  eikonogen  has  a peculiarly  sedate 
way  of  going  about  development : it  never  seems  to  start 
things  with  a rush,  causing  streaks  and  stains,  but  builds 
up  the  silver  image  as  quietly  and  as  surely  as  the  coral 
insects  build  up  their  atolls.  I have  had  a good  experience 
of  its  behaviour  in  this  respect  lately,  having  had  to  develop 
in  great  haste  a spool  of  the  new  reliable  celluloid  film, 
containing  some  sixty  exposures.  I manipulated  them  as 
if  they  were  prints  being  toned,  putting  half  a dozen  of 
them  into  a dish  at  once,  and  simply  turning  them  over 
from  time  to  time ; half  the  spool  was  developed  in  this 
way  with  pyro  and  ammonia,  and  the  other  half  with 
eikonogen.  No  difference  is  observable  in  the  results  as 
regards  either  the  amount  of  detail  brought  out.  or  its  den- 
sity ; but  whereas  the  pyro-developed  negatives  are  maned 
by  green  fog  and  local  stains,  those  developed  with  eikono- 
gen are  all  equally  clean  and  clear.  When  one  considers 
the  careless  and  hasty  way  in  which  they  had  to  be  treated, 
this  fact  speaks  very  highly  for  this  new  developer. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [January  31,  1890. 


have  now  generally  adopted  for  short  exposures,  was  com- ! 
pounded  as  follows  2 00  grains  of  sulphite  (crystallized) 
were  dissolved  in  ten  ounces  of  boiling  water;  when 
dissolved,  100  grains  eikonogen  (crystallised),  100  grains 
caib.  sod.  (recrystallized),  and  5 grains  of  bromide 
of  potassium  were  added.  On  cooling,  no  precipi- 
tate should  be  formed,  the  solution  being  of  a clear 
yellow  colour.  This  clear  yellow  shade  gradually  gave 
way  to  a reddish  claret  colour  when  a negative  was  j 
developed  in  it,  and  subsequently  darkened  to  a full  port- 
wine  colour,  remaining,  however,  clear  and  free  from 
muddiness.  On  the  following  day  some  more  negatives 
were  developed,  but  the  bath  then  began  to  lose  its 
power;  but  on  the  addition  of  a little  fresh  saturated 
solution  completed  its  task,  and  was  then  thrown  away. 
From  the  results  obtained — for  the  whole  lot  of  negatives 
were  hand  camera  work  taken  at  the  beginning  of  the 
present  month,  when  the  light  was  extremely  feeble — I 
feel  convinced  that  no  better  developer  for  such  work 
is  at  present  known ; and,  considering  the  number  of  nega- 
tives developed,  it  works  out  by  no  means  a costly  one. 
As  I have  before  now  pointed  out,  when  used  for  solitary 
negatives,  eikonogen  is  at  least  three  to  four  times  as 
expensive  as  pyro ; but  when  a batch  of  similarly 
exposed  work  is  to  be  done,  its  cost  is  considerably  and 
proportionally  diminished.  A developer  like  the  above 
can  be  prepared  in  large  quantities,  and  if  stocked  in 
small  bottles  filled  up  to  the  brim,  and  tightly  corked,  it 
should  keep  indefinitely. 

The  quantity  of  sulphite  used  is  small,  being  only  twice 
the  weight  of  eikonogen  present;  but  since,  when  kept 
protected  from  the  air,  it  does  not  appear  to  go  wrong, 
and  remains  sufficiently  clear  during  development,  I failed 
to  see  the  use  of  adding  more.  Of  course  if  it  were 
desired  to  keep  the  once-used  developer  for  subsequent 
use,  a greater  amount  might  perhaps  be  advantageously 
added  ; but  I can  never  advocate  such  a system,  as  it  is 
impossible  to  guage  the  strength  of  a spent  solution,  and 
its  use  degenerates  development  from  a science  to  simple 
chance.  The  only  other  solution  that  I can  tolerate  would 
be  a saturated  one — that  is,  dissolve  about  300  grains  of 
sulphite  in  10  ounces  of  water,  and  add  as  much  eikonogen 
to  the  boiling  solution  as  it  will  take  up,  and  also  about 
150  grains  of  potash,  and  let  the  excess  crystallize  out  on 
cooling.  Such  a developer  may  be  reserved  for  the  most 
under-exposed  cases,  and  if  it  will  not  give  them  printing 
density,  1 really  do  not  know  what  will.  At  the  same  time, 
should— from  the  light  having  been  better  than  estimated  — 
the  negatives  begin  to  show  signs  of  hardness,  this  may  be 
remedied  by  diluting  the  developer  with  a solution  of 
carbonate  of  soda,  say  of  a strength  of  ten  grains  to  the 
ounce,  as  much  as  an  equal  amount  or  less  of  which  may 
be  added  to  the  normal  developer  as  the  appearance  of  the 
image  dictates. 

In  generally  comparing  the  new  and  the  old  samples, 
I may  say  shortly  that  the  new,  being  clean  and  free  from 
oxidation,  an  equal  weight  has  greater  developing  power : 
and  this  freedom  from  oxidation  renders  practical,  what  I 
found  with  the  old  sample  impossible,  namely,  the  prepar- 
ing and  keeping  of  stock  solutions  in  an  unaltered  and 
unweakened  condition.  It  was  this  proneness  to  oxidation, 
coupled  with  its  great  insolubility,  that  compelled  me  to 
relinquish  with  regret  the  use  of  the  old  sample,  for  I had 
already  recognised  the  great  power  that  the  developer  had 
of  giving  full  density  to  very  slightly  exposed  plates;  but 


the  superiority  of  the  new  sample  now  obviates  this,  and  I 
shall  certainly  have  recourse  to  it  for  all  hand-camera  work, 
although  l do  not  feel  disposed  to  replace  pyro  from  its  use 
with  my  larger  and  more  carefully  developed  work. 


AMATEUR  PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  PARIS. 

The  Daily  Telegraph  says  : — “ The  camera,  the  sensitive  plate, 
and  the  developing  chamber  now  reign  supreme  in  Paris.  A cer- 
tain foreign  Count  has  succeeded  in  resuscitating  the long-languish- 
ing  method  of  executing  photographic  portraits  of  the  carte- 
de-visit::  instead  of  the  album  size  ; while  yet  another  Count, 
Primoli  by  name,  said  to  be  a descendant  of  Lucien  Bonaparte, 
has,  after  making  a brilliant  photographic  conquest  of  the 
salons  of  Rome  and  Florence,  descended  on  those  of  Paris, 
armed  with  an  apparatus  for  taking  instantaneous  light-por- 
traits. “ Le  revolver-camera”  has  already  been  heard  of; 
but  Count  Primoli  appears  to  be  the  first  amateur  practitioner 
who  has  made  the  invention  fashionable. 

“Enterprises  of  a more  exalted  artistic  nature,  however,  are 
spoken  of  in  connection  with  the  magic  art  of  Daguerre  and 
Fox  Talbot.  The  Baroness  Adolphe  de  Rothschild  has  in- 
stalled a photographic  studio  on  a superb  scale  at  her  Chateau 
on  the  banks  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  where  she  has  produced 
a series  of  portraits  not  only  as  photographically  life-like,  but 
as  artistically  vigorous  and  refined,  as  those  for  the  painting  of 
which  in  water-colours  the  Princess  Mathilde  Demidoff,  nee 
Bonaparte,  has  acquired  such  bright  celebrity. 

“ Naturally  the  sculptors  and  the  aquarellistes  feel  little 
satisfaction  at  this  new  development  of  practical  art  among 
the  ‘ graudes  dames  de  par  le  monde  ’ in  France.  A very  few 
lessons  will  convert  any  person  of  average  intelligence  into  a 
tolerable  amateur  photographer  ; indeed,  with  the  aid  of  a 
lucidly  written  manual  and  an  efficient  apparatus,  the  craft  is 
one  which  can  be  self-taught.  On  the  other  hand,  the  studio 
of  Madame  de  Rothschild  on  the  Lake  of  Geneva  may  be 
regarded  as  a wholly  exceptional  experiment,  and  one  not  more 
likely  te  injure  either  professional  painters  or  professional 
photographers  than  M.  Mollier’s  amateur  circus  is  to  shut  up 
the  cirque  once  known  as  Franconi’s.” 


Ox  the  first  of  January,  1888,  there  were  110  members  on 
the  rolls  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  India;  now  there  are 
205,  an  average  increase  of  eight  members  per  month  for  the 
whole  year.  Twenty-six  have  been  enrolled  since  November 
last,  so  the  average  monthly  increase  is  now  not  less  than  13. 
Three  new  members  every  week  is  a criterion  of  the  growing 
popularity  of  the  Society. 

Nationai.  Photographic  Exhibition.  — With  the  inten- 
tion of  securing  for  this  Exhibition  a thoroughly  national 
character,  the  directors  of  the  Crystal  Palace  Company 
have  decided  to  offer  a valuable  challenge  cup,  to  lie 
retained  for  the  current  year  by  that  Photographic  Club  or 
Society  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  judges,  sends  the  best 
collective  exhibit  of  not  less  than  fifty  pictures.  The  following 
are  the  conditions  : — (1)  All  pictures  entered  in  this  competi- 
tion will  be  subject  to  the  general  rules  of  the  Exhibition,  as 
published,  where  applicable  ; (2)  There  will  be  no  entry  fee 
charged  for  the  club  challenge  cup  competition  ; (3)  The  pic- 
tures included  in  a joint  club  exhibit  are  equally  eligible  for 
awards  in  their  several  classes,  but  a separate  application  form 
must  be  filled  up  by  the  individual  exhibitor,  and,  in  the  case 
of  professionals,  the  stipulated  fee  enclosed  ; (4)  The  challenge 
cup  will  be  handed  over  to  the  Mayor  or  other  public  function- 
ary of  the  town  or  district  in  which  the  head-quarters  of  the 
successful  Society  are  located,  to  be  held  by  him,  in  trust,  for 
a period  of  one  year,  at  the  expiration  of  which  it  shall  be 
returned  to  the  Crystal  Palace  Company  ; (5)  the  name  of  the 
successful  Society  will  be  engraved  upon  the  cup  or  i>ede.stal, 
with  the  date  of  the  award  ; (6)  The  challenge  cup  shall  be 
confined  to  Societies  within  the  United  Kingdom,  and  provin- 
cial makers  and  dealers,  it  is  said,  will  be  more  fully  repre- 
sented this  year  than  upon  previous  occasions,  and  the  Exhibi- 
tion is  accordingly  expected  to  be  more  generally  interesting. 


January  81,  1890.]  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  85 


THE  LATE  CUTIIBERT  BEDE  AND  1IIS  BOOK 
“ PHOTOGRAPHIC  PLEASURES.”* 

BY  \V.  LANG,  -TN'Ii.,  F.C.S. 

In  the  next  picture  we  find  photographic  processes 
still  further  gone  into.  As  each  drawing  has  its  title 
underneath,  you  will  be  able  to  extract  the  humour  with- 
out the  aid  of  any  explanation  of  mine. 

A “Photographic  Fix”  is  our  next  subject.  “Mr. 
Jones,  being  on  his  way  to  the  lakes,  embraces  the 
favourable  opportunity  of  calotyping  some  fishing  boats 
on  the  Ulverstone  Sands,  Morecambe  Bay.  The  tide 
unexpectedly  comes  up  during  the  time  that  his  head  is 
beneath  the  hood  ; disagreeable  position  of  Mr.  Jones 
on  emerging  from  the  hood.” 

Then  we  come  to  a series  of  photographic  fancies : — 
Applying  the  black  varnish,  best  black  varnish  (a  copy  of 
“ Uncle  Tom’s  Cabin  ”),  applying  an  exciting  fluid,  Ac. 

The  following  illustration  is  entitled  “ To  secure  a pleas- 
ing portrait  is  everything.  Daguerreotypist  to  cheerful 
sitter:  ‘The  processwill  commence  as  soon  as  I lift  up  this 
slide.  You  will  have  the  goodness  to  look  fixedly  at  one 
object,  and  call  up  a pleasant  expression  to  your  counten- 
ance.’ ” 

Another  page  of  photographic  facetiae  is  to  be  found  in 
the  twelfth  illustration,  where  we  find  a photographic  bath, 
photographic  abstraction,  developing  solutions,  all  por- 
trayed from  the  C'uthbcrt  Bede  point  of  view. 

In  the  chapter  entitled  “Photography  in  a Love  Light,” 
we  find  our  author  has  one  or  two  passages  which  are 
extremely  pathetic,  and  I may  be  permitted  to  quote  them. 

The  picture  which  we  find  interpolated  in  the  chapter 
we  have  already  quoted  from,  viz.,  “Photography  in  a 
liove  Light,”  is  representative  of  “one  of  the  pleasures  of 
photography,”  visiting  country  houses  and  calotyping  all 
the  eligible  daughters,  and  the  picture  in  question  you  now 
have  thrown  upon  the  screen. 

Another  illustration  of  photographic  facet  he  comes  after 
the  foregoing,  and  we  will  leave  it  on  the  screen  for  some 
little  time,  so  that  the  details  may  be  studied. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  humorous  sketches  in  the  book 
is  the  one  entitled  “A  Photographic  Positive.”  The 
picture,  which,  if  I mistake  not,  appeared  in  Punch,  is  self- 
explanatory. — Lady  Mother  (loquitur):  “I  shall  feel 
obliged  to  you,  Mr.  Squills,  if  you  would  remove  these 
stains  from  my  daughter’s  face.  I cannot  persuade  her  to 
be  sufficiently  careful  with  her  photographic  chemicals, 
and  she  has  had  a misfortune  with  her  nitrate  of  silver. 
Unless  you  can  do  something  for  her,  she  will  not  be  fit  to 
be  seen  at  Lady  Mayfair’s  to-night.” 

Hie  appearance  of  the  lady  amateur  with  her  mottled 
visage  is  a fine  bit  of  humour,  and  is  portrayed  in  a 
manner  worthy  of  Cruikshank.  I fancy  our  professional 
members  will  rather  enjoy  this  hit  at  the  amateur  dabbler 
in  photography,  and  perhaps  some  of  them  may  be  going 
the  length  of  saying,  “ Serve  her  right!” 

The  next  picture  to  be  thrown  on  the  screen,  as  you 
will  sec  from  reading  underneath,  is  called  a photographic 
picture.  Here  you  see  a man  focussing,  and  an  old  lady, 
who  appears  suddenly  from  round  a corner,  and  who  is  not 
used  to  these  new-fangled  notions,  is  made  to  say,  “Please, 
sir,  don't  for  goodness’  sake  fire,  sir ! ” 

In  his  preface  the  author  refers  to  the  fact  that  four  of 
the  pictures  in  his  book  had  appeared  in  Punch , but  he 
does  not,  I am  sorry  to  say,  indicate  which  particular  ones 
these  are.  I rather  think  1 have  seen  the  one  which  I am 

• Concluded  from  page  72. 


now  going  to  showr  you  in  the  journal  in  question.  It  has 
for  title,  “What  it  has  come  to,  and,  What  it  may  come 
to.”  In  the  former  we  find  a young  hopeful  addressing  his 
father,  an  ardent  amateur,  you  may  take  it  for  granted. 
“ Oh,  pa  ! me  and  baby  have  emptied  out  all  your  bottles, 
and  have  cleaned  them  so  nice  ! ” and  in  the  latter,  What  it 
may  come  to ; or,  the  British  nursery  in  1865,  a nurse  is 
found  asking  the  child  in  its  chair,  “ Did  it  want  its  camera 
then  ? ” and  the  reply,  ‘ ‘ No,  I don’t ; I want  to  go  and 
print  off  my  negatives ! Boo  ! hoo  ! hoo  ! ” 

Passing  on,  we  come  to  the  method  prescribed  by  Bede 
for  procuring  a photographic  negative.  He  says,  “ Take 
any  village,  and  in  its  vicinity  select  a field  through  which 
there  is  a public  way.  Focus  your  view,  and  make  all 
ready  for  the  negative.  While  the  process  is  going  on 
take  your  seat  upon  the  next  stile — the  more  distant  the 
better — and  lose  yourself  in  the  leaders  of  the  Times.  You 
will  thus  be  giving  an  opportunity  to  children  of  a specu- 
lative turn  of  mind  to  solve  their  doubts  as  to  what  your 
camera  really  contains.  At  the  expiration  of  twenty  min- 
utes, shut  up  your  Times,  and  return  to  your  camera. 
When  you  take  out  your  slide  you  will  find  that  you  have 
secured  a most  excellent  negative  ! ” 

Photographic  faces  comprise  the  following  : Brown  sees 
his  face  in  the  glass,  and  thinks  he  is  rather  an  agreeable 
looking  fellow  ; Brown  sees  his  face  in  the  negative,  and 
his  second  thoughts  are  by  no  means  the  best.  Portrait 
of  a very  beautiful  lady,  who  has  had  the  misfortune  to 
sneeze  at  the  moment  of  the  removal  of  the  cap.  Portrait 
of  a very  unsteady  gentleman.  Lady,  with  hood,  time  of 
Elizabeth,  and  camera,  with  hood,  time  of  Victoria.  Phoe- 
bus Apollo,  portrait  painter  to  General  Earth. 

Exciting  for  the  sensitive,  has  the  accompanying  letter- 
press.  Outraged  protectionist  (whose  ideas  have  not 
been  developed  in  proportion  with  those  of  the  photo- 
grapher) : “ IIo,  you  there  ! ’illo  ! I'll  teach  you  what  it  is 
to  bring  your  theodderlite  ’ere,  and  come  a measurin'  for 
railroads  on  my  land.” 

Photographic  people  are  next  hit  off.  Fancy  portrait 
of  Dr.  Diamond.  A sitting  with  Beard.  Portrait  of  Dr. 
Diamond  in  his  calico  bag.  Look  on  this  picture,  The 
lion.  Miss  Ilaggis,  from  the  portrait  by  Chaldon,  II.  A.,  and 
on  this,  the  Hon.  Miss  Ilaggis,  from  a Daguerreotype. 
Gems  from  the  Blackguards’  Photographic  Portrait  Gallery. 
Brown  is,  of  course,  naturally  anxious  to  see  how  Smith 
looks  in  the  camera.  Air.  Wedgwood,  from  a photograph 
by  himself.  Photographer : “ Be  pleased  to  look  straight 
at  me  sir ! ” Sitter : “ Why,  dang  it,  I've  been  a-doing  it 
these  ten  minutes ! ” 

We  come  now  to  a picture  which  Air.  Bell  will  no  doubt 
appreciate,  the  photographic  detective,  and  photographic 
focussing  anti  hocussing.  Air.  Priggins  as  he  appeared 
before  the  “ Beak,”  Air.  Priggins  as  he  appeared  before  the 
camera.  I’m  afraid  the  conditions  are  now  reversed,  and 
Air.  Priggins  will  not  now  look  so  amiable. 

A Photographer  Astonishing  the  Notices. — “Come  along, 
Betsy  Jane,  do,  and  look  at  the  man  with  the  Peep  Show.” 
This  picture,  the  author  tells  us  in  a footnote,  appeared  in 
Punch. 

The  last  sketch  in  the  book  is  entitled  “The  Present 
Attitude  of  Photography,”  and  in  the  concluding  chapter 
we  find  the  question  asked,  “ What  is  there  that  our  friend 
camera  will  not  do  ? ” and  I may  be  permitted  to  quote  the 
last  paragraph  or  two,  and  it  will  be  a matter  of  especial 
interest  for  us  as  an  association  to  find  therein  an  allusion 
to  a former  president.  I refer  to  Air.  Kibble. 


86 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  31,  1890. 


A French  professor  of  physiology  (Dr.  "\  erdin)  has 
compiled  a sort  of  code  of  human  expression,  his 
theory  being  that  for  every  weakness  or  vice  there  is  a 
corresponding  cast  of  feature  which  affords  an  infallible 
index  to  the  character  of  the  man.  Dr.  Verdin  is  try- 
ing to  do  what  Lavater  failed  in.  Physiognomy  is  true 
enough  where  broad  generalities  are  concerned,  but 
when  minute  subdivisions  are  made,  two  professors  of 
the  science  are  as  likely  as  not  to  differ.  Still  experi- 
ments in  connection  with  the  human  face  are  always 
interesting,  and  this  theory  of  Dr.  "N  erdin’s  is  one 
where  composite  photography  is  likely  to  prove  useful. 
If  we  mistake  not,  Mr.  F.  Galton’s  composite  photo- 
graphs of  criminals  were  made  from  the  faces  of 
prisoners  taken  indiscriminately.  If  it  be  really  pos- 
sible to  localise  a vice  or  weakness,  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  classify  somewhat  minutely. 


Thus,  we  might  get  the  typical  expression  of  the. 
pickpocket,  the  burglar,  the  forger,  the  poacher,  the 
“ smasher,”  and  a host  of  others.  Murderers  in  Eng- 
land are  not  numerous  enough  to  afford  material ; they 
therefore  must  be  left  alone.  So  also  must  the  indi- 
viduals which  the  Echo , in  commenting  on  this  subject, 
wishes  to  be  distinguished.  If  Dr.  Verdin  can  help 
us,  says  our  contemporary,  to  distinguish  an  honest 
company-promoter  from  his  dishonest  brother,  or  a 
well-meaning  “outside”  stock-broker  from  his  dis- 
ingenuous fellow-labourer  in  the  vineyard  of  finance, 
humanity  will  bo  grateful.  Doubtless ; but  we  are 
afraid  Dr.  Verdin  protests  too  much.  At  present  it 
would  be  certainly  unsafe  to  rely  upon  subtle  distinc- 
tions of  the  kind  we  have  referred  to. 


At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Royal  Astronomical 
Society,  Mr.  Maunder  incidentally  stated  that  there 
was  a work  about  to  be  begun  at  Stonyhurst  which  was 
certainly  much  wanted,  seeing  that  we  are  entering 
upon  a new  solar  period.  The  work  referred  to  is  the 
regular  photography  of  sun-spot  spectra.  A photo- 
graphic record  of  sun-spot  spectra  will  have  a great 
advantage  over  eye  records,  in  that  it  can  be  referred  to 
alterwards  ; and  if  there  is  any  difficulty  or  doubt,  the 
question  can  be  settled  by  reference  to  the  photo- 
graphs. Mr.  Maunder  mentioned,  as  an  instance,  that 
in  the  earlier  observations  made  at  Greenwich  of  the 
spectra  of  sun-spots,  he  saw  that  lines  were  broadened 
over  the  spots,  which  were  mostly  those  of  well-known 
and  well-marked  F raunhofer  lines.  As  time  went  on, 
he  found  the  broadened  lines  were  lines  which  could 
not  be  ascribed  to  any  element,  nor  could  they  be  even 
seen  on  the  general  disk.  At  first  Mr.  Maunder 
thought  there  must  be  a mistake  on  his  part ; but  lie 
found  that  precisely  the  same  observations  had  been 
made  at  the  same  time  at  South  Kensington,  so  there 
could  be  little  doubt  that  there  was  a genuine  change 
in  the  character  of  the  spot-spectra.  Rut  if  his  obser- 
\ ations  had  stood  alone,  it  would  have  been  very 


possible  to  have  accounted  for  them  by  supposing  that, 
when  fresh  to  the  work,  he  had  naturally  been  attracted 
to  the  more  conspicuous  lines,  but  that  afterwards, 
when  he  had  had  more  experience,  he  had  been  able  to 
observe  less  important  lines.  “ If  we  have  a photo- 
graphic record,”  observed  Mr.  Maunder,  “ wc  can  con- 
sult old  photographs,  and  no  doubt  whatever  could 
arise.” 


Photographs  have  over  and  over  again  formed  an 
important  clement  in  the  evidence  in  divorce  cases, 
but  rarely  in  so  novel  a manner  as  in  a Scotch  divorce 
case  trial  last  week.  The  respondent,  in  accordance 
with  Scotch  law,  had  been  cited  to  appear,  but  she 
took  no  notice  of  the  order,  and  a photograph  was  put 
in  for  purposes  of  identification,  and  to  show  that  the 
order  had  been  duly  served  upon  the  right  person.  To 
this  photograph  the  respondent’s  counsel  took  an  initial 
objection,  and  after  the  evidence  had  been  heard,  con- 
tended that  the  Court  should  find  the  case  “ not 
proven,”  on  the  ground  that  the  photograph  was  not 
sufficient.  Lord  Trayner,  however,  held  that  the 
photograph  was  admissible,  and  not  only  so,  but  that 
the  photograph  of  the  co-respondent,  who  did  not 
appear,  should  be  admitted,  and  pronounced  for  the 
petitioner.  It  is  not  every  judge  who  is  such  a believer 
in  the  faithfulness  of  photography.  Cases  might  be 
cited  where  the  judge  absolutely  refused  to  receive 
photographs  as  evidence  of  identification.  A good 
deal,  perhaps,  depends  upon  the  photograph. 


If  Mr.  Brudenhall-Carter’s  assertions  at  the  Society 
of  Arts,  as  to  the  fallacy  of  the  tests  in  use  to  deter- 
mine whether  a person  is  colour-blind  or  not,  be  cor- 
rect, the  sooner  an  exhaustive  series  of  experiments 
be  made  the  better.  Dr.  Carter  points  out  that  a man 
may  have  learnt  by  experience  that  the  light  which 
appears  to  him  dull  green  is  called  “ red  ” by  the 
majority,  and  -when  that  colour  is  shown  he  promptly 
gives  a correct  description.  But  the  uselessness  of 
this  test  appears  with  calamitous  results  sometimes 
when  the  true  greeu  light  is  blurred  by  atmospheric 
conditions.  The  truth  seems  to  be  that  really  very 
little  is  known  about  colour-blindness.  The  two  colours, 
green  and  red,  arc  selected  as  the  most  important  for 
accurate  observation,  as  green  and  red  are  the  danger 
signals  generally  in  use ; but  may  it  not  be  that  there 
are  just  as  many  people  unable  to  distinguish  between 
blue  and  orange  as  between  green  and  red?  We  have 
also  never  seen  it  recorded  what  was  the  experience  of 
a person,  whose  eyes  were  insensible  to  the  red  rays, 
when  shut  up  in  a photographer’s  dark  room.  Would 
he  see  green  ? 

It  is  rather  amusing,  after  visiting  the  Exhibition 
of  the  Humorous  in  Art,  to  find  “ Atlas,”  in  the  World, 
indignantly  protesting  against  the  length  to  which 
caricature  is  carried  now-a-days.  To  look  at  Gillray, 
Woodward  and  Rowlandson,  and  Cruikshank,  and  com- 
pare their  gross  perversions  with  the  productions  of 


TIIE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


87 


January  31,  1890. ] 

“Ape,”  “Lib,”  and  “Spy,”  the  drawings  of  the 
latter  appear  absolutely  refined.  It  is  by  no  means 
certain  that  photography  has  not  rather  injured  cari- 
cature, though  whether  this  is  to  be  regretted  we  need 
not  enquire.  When  a comic  artist  has  to  caricature  a 
public  man,  he  buys  his  photograph,  and  makes  a sort 
of  fancy  distortion.  This  is  not  caricature,  for  the 
essence  of  caricature  is  truth,  but  truth,  of  course,  ex- 
aggerated. The  older  caricaturists  made  their  drawings 
from  the  life,  and  only  after  much  study — hence  then- 
force.  The  coarseness  was  that  of  the  age,  and  neither 
added  to  nor  detracted  from  the  truth  of  the  exaggera- 
tion. 


Photography  has  made  the  work  of  the  lecturer  far 
more  interesting  to  his  audience  than  used  to  be  the 
case.  In  former  days,  all  that  the  lecturer  could  do 
when  he  had  any  specimens  illustrating  his  lecture,  was 
to  invite  the  audience  to  step  on  the  platform  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  proceedings  and  make  an  inspection. 
As  a rule,  about  half  a dozen  persons  used  to  respond 
to  the  invitation,  and  all  the  rest  hurried  away  in  order 
to  catch  their  tram  or  omnibus.  We  manage  things 
better  now-a-daysby  having  photographs  made  where- 
cver  it  is  possible,  and  throwing  these  on  the  lantern 
screen.  The  advantage  of  this  plan  was  admirably 
shown  this  week  at  a lecture  on  the  history  of  printing 
delivered  at  the  City  of  London  College.  The  accuracy 
and  facility  with  which  manuscript  and  printed  books 
can  now  be  photographed  render  such  objects  peculiarly 
suited  for  lantern  slides,  and  the  whole  audience 
were  enabled  easily  to  see  Avhat,  in  the  old  days,  would 
have  been  visible  only  to  a few.  The  photographic 
lantern  slide  plays  the  same  part  in  a lecture  as  illustra- 
tions do  in  a book  ; it  enables  a larger  number  of  people 
to  take  an  interest  in  subjects  which  otherwise  might 
seem  dry  and  repellant. 


The  “ Photographic  Union  ” of  France,  described  as 
a Mutual  Help  Association,  and  corresponding  very 
much  to  our  Photographers’  Benevolent  Association, 
has  started  very  well.  Before  even  the  objects  were 
formularized,  and  the  basis  of  the  society  established, 
subscriptions  began  to  flow  in,  and  though  the  members 
are  fully  conscious  that  much  cannot  be  done  until  a 
permanent  fund  has  been  created,  a very  respectable 
nucleus  has  been  got  together.  The  Association  is 
founded  on  the  system  originated  by  Baron  Tayler, 
who  created  so  many  associations  of  a kindred  nature, 
nil  of  which  are  now  rich  and  prosperous.  The  main 
principle  of  this  system  is  essentially  sound,  as  it  in- 
volves the  inalienability  of  the  capital,  all  help  being 
derived  from  the  revenue.  At  a meeting  held  recently 
the  scheme  was  explained  by  M.  Vidal,  and  it  was 
stated  that,  after  an  appeal  had  been  made  to  the  photo- 
graphic profession  generally,  steps  would  be  taken  to 
bring  about  a public  recognition  of  the  utility  of  the 
association.  Already  subscriptions  to  the  amount  of 
4,000  francs  have  been  announced,  and  these  will 
doubtless  be  followed  by  others. 


SELECTING  FOCAL  DISTANCE  WITH  DETEC- 
TIVE CAMERAS.* 

BY  W.  E.  DEBENHAM. 

The  expression  forming  the  title  of  this  paper  may  be  used 
with  two  significations  : involving  either  the  choice  of  the 
focal  length  of  lens  that  it  is  desirable  to  use  ; or,  when 
the  lens  is  decided  upon,  the  use  of  it  either  at  the  distance 
from  the  plate  which  corresponds  with  its  focal  length  for 
objects  in  the  extreme  distance,  or  at  some  distance  which 
shall  bring  into  more  exact  focus  some  object  which  is 
nearer. 

There  seems  to  be  a good  deal  of  misapprehension,  not, 
perhaps,  amongst  the  members  of  this  Society,  but  amongst 
those  who  derive  their  principal  impressions  about  photo- 
graphy from  the  statements  of  dealers,  and  from  their 
happening,  in  their  occasional  reading,  to  come  across 
what  may  be  called  pseudo-scientific  papers,  concerning 
the  capabilities  of  a photographic  lens  for  focussing  simul- 
taneously objects  at  different  distances.  Here  it  may  be 
well  to  remark  that,  owing  to  curvature  of  field,  almost 
any  lens  will  focus  simultaneously  objects  at  different  dis- 
tances, if  such  objects  fall  upon  parts  of  the  plate,  some 
nearer  and  others  farther  from  the  centre  of  the  field  of 
the  lens.  What,  however,  is  meant  is  the  capability  of 
focussing  at  the  same  time,  objects  which  are  either  on  the 
same  part  of  the  plate,  or  at  an  equal  distance  from  the 
axial  fine  of  the  lens.  As  an  illustration  of  the  misappre- 
hension referred  to,  may  be  cited  a statement  that  has  been 
the  subject  of  comment  at  this  Society,  as  to  the  advan- 
tage of  some  lens  which  was  supposed  to  have  a fixed 
focus.  Another  absurdity  is  that  of  setting  up  some  stan- 
dard of  a permissible  amount  of  confusion,  such  as  that 
of  To  o'  of  an  inch,  and  then  proceeding  on  the  assumption 
that  all  parts  of  the  picture  in  which  that  amount  of  con- 
fusion is  not  exceeded,  are  in  focus.  The  falling  off  of 
focal  sharpness  is  gradual,  and  there  is  no  definite  line  of 
demarcation  where  sharpness  begins,  whether  at  the  , 0 of 
an  inch,  or  at  any  other  limit.  If,  on  the  one  hand,  there 
were  such  a distinction  line  of  demarcation  ; and  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  we  were  able  in  general  work  to  avoid  photo- 
graphing all  distances  where  confusion  due  to  want  of 
focus  exceeds  such  limits — if  both  these  conditions  were 
fulfilled,  a table  showing  distances  with  particular  lenses 
where  sharpness  could  be  secured  would  be  very  useful. 
As  a matter  of  fact,  neither  of  the  conditions  is  fulfilled. 
Sharpness  does  not  begin  at  any  measurable  limit,  and  we 
are  constantly  meeting  with  subjects  where  any  such 
attempted  limit  must  be  exceeded  in  some  part  of  the  pic- 
ture. We  must  minimise  our  loss  of  sharpness  as  much  as 
the  particular  circumstances  will  permit.  There  is,  of  course, 
a limit  to  the  defining  power  of  lenses,  as  well  as,  perhaps,  to 
the  power  of  the  photographic  film  to  register  minute  de- 
tails, and  of  human  observation  to  appreciate  such  details 
when  registered.  When  these  limits  are  reached,  and  any 
two  objects,  however  much  they  may  differ  in  distance,  arc 
rendered  simultaneously  upon  the  plate  with  such  defini- 
tion that  no  deficiency  is  discoverable  in  the  one  when 
the  other  is  focussed,  they  may  be  said  to  be  both  in 
focus. 

This  apparent  equality  of  focus  of  objects  at  widely 
different  distances  is  always  reached  if  the  nearest  of  such 
objects  is  only  removed  sufficiently  far.  There  is  no 
photographic  lens  in  the  world — I am,  of  course,  not  speak- 
ing of  telescopic  objectives — which  will  show  any  differ- 

' Read  at  the  London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 


88 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  31,  1890. 


ence  of  focus  for  objects,  the  nearest  of  which  is  a mile, 
whilst  the  others  may  include  the  moon  at  a distance  of 
some  hundreds  of  thousandsof  miles,  and  the  planets  at  many 
millions,  or  the  fixed  stars  at  still  greater  distances.  If  a 
lens  of  twelve-inch  focus  could  be  made  of  such  perfect 
defining  power  as  to  show  a difference  of  adjustment  re- 
quired when  focussing  between  these  limits — that  is,  at  a 
mile,  and  at  the  greatest  conceivable  distance  respectively 
— the  adjustment  necessary  would  amount  to  about 
the  Ti  u of  an  inch.  As,  however,  that  amount  of  racking 
in  or  out  makes  no  discoverable  difference  in  the  sharpness 
of  the  image  given  by  such  a lens,  objects  not  requiring 
more  than  that  adjustment  may  be  considered  to  be  in 
focus.  When,  however,  we  come  to  distances  which  have 
been  mentioned  as  those  beyond  which  all  objects  are  in 
focus,  such  as  100  feet,  50,  30,  20  feet,  or  even  less,  the  case 
is  very  different.  With  a lens  of  5-in.  focus,  the  difference 
of  adjustment  for  objects  at  20  feet  and  beyond  will 
amount  to  about  the  -Jyth  of  an  inch — a difference  which,  as 
a very  slight  amount  of  practice  will  suffice  to  show,  pro- 
duces a very  appreciable  difference  of  distinctness  in  the 
focus. 

Since  we  cannot  hope  to  focus  truly  at  the  same  time 
near  and  distant  objects  upon  the  same  part  of  the  field  of 
the  lens,  the  question  becomes,  how  shall  we  proceed  so 
as  to  reduce  the  indistinctness  due  to  imperfect  focus  to 
the  smallest  amount?  What  length  of  focus  shall  we 
choose  for  our  lens,  and  shall  the  instrument  be  set  so  as  to 
truly  focus  the  extreme  distance,  or  some  nearer  point  ? 
In  answer  to  the  first  part  of  the  question,  both  long  and 
short  focus  lenses  have  been  advocated,  and  each  with 
reason,  if  a particular  class  of  subject  is  in  question.  The 
principal  argument  in  favour  of  long-focus  lenses  for  a 
given  size  of  plate,  is  that  as  the  field  of  definition  is  always 
more  or  less  curved,  and  the  longer  the  radius — which  means 
the  less  the  curvature — the  nearer  to  it  will  be  the  flat 
surface  of  the  plate.  Another  argument,  relating  to  a con- 
sideration not  now  under  discussion,  is  that  with  a long 
focus  lens  any  selected  object  will  appear  of  larger  size, 
and  assume  greater  importance  in  the  picture.  For  the 
short-focus  lens,  it  may  be  argued  that  objects  differing  in 
their  distance  from  the  instrument,  will  be  represented  as 
less  removed  from  the  focal  plane  than  with  the  longer 
focussed  instrument. 

This  is  a very  significant  consideration,  and  one  which  is 
of  the  greatest  importance  in  detective  camera  work  for 
the  most  part.  Let  an  object  at,  say,  20  feet  distance,  be 
included  in  a view  taken  with  two  lenses,  one  of  3-inch 
and  one  of  G-iuch  focus,  each  stopped  to  the  same  rapidity, 
and  each  focussed  for  some  object  in  the  extreme  distance. 
The  blurring  of  the  near  object  will  be  double  with  the 
6-inch  lens  than  it  will  be  with  that  of  shorter  focus.  It 
is  not  merely  that  the  blurring  with  the  lens  of  shorter 
focus  will  be  reduced  to  smaller  proportions  because  the 
whole  photograph  is  smaller,  but  that  when  both  are  en- 
larged to  one  size,  the  enlargement  from  the  short-focus 
lens  will  show  only  half  the  blurring  that  the  other  does — 
that  is  to  say,  the  representation  will  be  as  distinct  as  if  the 
longer  focussed  lens  had  been  racked  half  the  distance 
required  to  suit  the  particular  object. 

Here,  then,  is  a great  advantage  for  the  short  focus  lens, 
against  which  must  be  set  the  disadvantage  for  the  par- 
ticular plate,  but  not  for  one  of  proportional  size,  of  want 
of  focus  towards  the  margin,  owing  to  curvature  of  field. 
There  will  also  be  further  want  of  definition  towards  the 
margin  from  other  optical  causes  ; but  taking  the  curvature 


of  field  alone,  that  may  sometimes  be  turned  to  a positive 
advantage. 

The  most  common  case  in  which  this  is  seen  is  in 
photographs  of  interiors,  which  are  not  generally  detec- 
tive work,  and  in  street  scenes,  and  such  similar  cases, 
where  the  side  objects  are  much  nearer  than  those 
occupying  the  centre  of  the  field.  The  curvature  of  field 
of  the  lens  is  a matter  that  I think  photographers,  especially 
those  who  go  in  for  detective  work,  would  do  well  to 
study.  If  we  arc  obliged  to  put  up  with  the  drawbacks 
attendant  upon  curvature  of  field,  let  us  take  advantage 
of  any  possible  help  which  it  may  occasionally  render. 
It  will  be  found  then,  with  any  ordinary  detective 
lens,  that  as  we  approach  the  margin  of  the  field,  an 
object  to  be  in  the  best  obtainable  focus  must  be  much 
nearer  to  the  instrument  than  the  distance  which  has 
been  focussed  at  the  centre  of  the  field.  Suppose  that 
we  have  a lens  of  5-inch  focus  used  with  a quarter- 
plate.  We  may  find  that  when  it  is  focussed  for  the  dis- 
tance at  the  centre,  an  object  occupying  a spot  H-incli 
distance  from  the  centre  of  the  ground  glass  will  be  in 
focus,  when  oidy  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  off.  If  we 
are  capable  of  judging  distances  tolerably,  and  have  either 
previously  noticed  on  the  ground  glass  or  with  the  finder 
what  part  of  the  scene  will  be  occupied  by  an  object  which 
comes  H-inch  from  the  centre  of  the  plate,  we  may 
sccceed  in  catching  a near  object  of  interest  when  in 
focus,  without  disturbing  the  general  focus  for  the  dis- 
tance. This  case  is  put  as  an  illustration  of  what  may 
be  done.  We  may,  for  instance,  note  a place  in  a line  of 
roadway  along  which  vehicles  travel,  and  by  getting  a 
horse,  dog,  or  foot  passenger  there  when  passing  a spot  at  a 
certain  distance  from  the  centre  of  the  plate,  get  it  just 
at  the  focus  for  that  part  of  the  plate,  although  at  the 
centre  it  would  be  decidedly  out  of  focus. 

We  now  come  in  conclusion  to  the  consideration  of 
whether  it  is  desirable  for  general  detective  camera 
work  to  have  the  lens  focussed  for  the  extreme  dis- 
tance, or  some  point  at  the  distance,  as  near  as  may  be, 
at  which  it  is  anticipated  that  objects  of  interest  will 
appear. 

Of  course  the  object  of  special  interest  should  not  be 
decidedly  out  of  focus,  and  therefore  it  would  be  better  to 
focus  for  that,  if  there  is  a ready  means  of  adjustment,  or 
if  that  probable  distance  is  known  beforehand.  If  such 
object  come  in  the  centre  of  the  plate,  the  lens  must  be 
racked  out,  and  the  distant  background  will  be  out  of 
focus.  It  has,  however,  been  shown  that  with  a short 
focus  lens  and  tolerable  wide  angle  of  view,  it  is  possible 
to  get  a rather  near  object  in  focus  without  movement  of 
the  lens,  provided  it  is  not  very  near  the  centre  of  the 
field.  When  it  is  desired  to  obtain  objects  of  a certain 
size  on  the  plate,  and  to  cover  a plate  of  given  size  as 
sharply  as  may  be  towards  the  edges,  then  a lens  of  long 
focus  will  be  selected  ; but,  in  this  case,  if  near  and  dis- 
tant objects  are  both  included,  one  or  other  must  give  way 
in  the  matter  of  focus.  When,  on  the  other  hand,  actual 
size  is  not  important,  and  it  is  desired  to  get  objects  at 
different  distances  all  as  nearly  focussed  .as  possible  with- 
out diminishing  the  speed  of  the  instrument,  this  will  be 
accomplished  by  using  a lens  of  short  focus.  The  power 
of  yielding  a sufficiently  magnified  image  may,  however,  as 
suggested  before,  be  limited  by  the  capability  of  the  film 
of  registering,  without  interference  due  to  structure  or 
coarseness  of  grain,  details  beyond  a certain  degree  of 
fineness. 


January  31,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


89 


PHOTOGRAPHERS’  BENEVOLENT  ASSOCIATION. 
We  have  received  from  the  Committee,  through  Mr. 
II.  Ilarland,  secretary,  a request  for  the  insertion  of  the 
subjoined  report  and  statement  of  the  future  policy  of  the 
above-named  Association:  — 

Your  Committee,  in  . ubmitting  their  Report  for  the  past 
year,  consider  that  it  is  desirable  on  the  present  occasion  to  give 
something  more  than  the  customary  abstract  of  receipts  and 
expenditure.  It  would  be  idle  to  contend  that  the  Association 
has,  at  any  period  of  its  existence,  completely  fulfilled  its  mis- 
sion, and  the  problem  which  has  at  several  previous  epochs  of 
its  history  confronted  its  management  has,  during  the  past 
year,  again  presented  itself  and  appealed  for  solution. 

It  will  be  within  the  knowledge  of  all  but  recent  members 
that  in  1885  the  roll  of  membership  had  become  reduced  to 
such  meagre  dimension*  that  the  Association  became  unwork- 
able under  the  then  existing  system,  and  it  was  thereupon  re- 
solved to  reduce  the  subscription  to  2s.  6d.  per  annum,  with  a 
view  to  encourage  the  poorer  members  of  the  profession  to  join 
the  Association.  At  the  end  of  the  following  year  the  number 
of  members  had  certainly  increased,  but  the  greater  part  of  the 
increase  consisted  of  persons  who  would  never  be  likely  to 
require  assistance  from  the  funds.  At  the  Annual  Meeting  in 
1887  two  notable  alterations  were  made  in  the  Rules: — Ama- 
teurs were  allowed  to  become  members,  and  the  Committee 
was  empowered  to  consider  applications  for  relief  from  non- 
members if  the  case  had  been  recommended  by  a donor  of 
£1  Is.  Under  the  new  conditions  the  number  of  members 
rapidly  increased,  but  a vast  majority  of  the  increase  consisted 
of  amateurs,  who  were  never  likely  to  require  aid,  even  if  they 
were  eligible  to  receive  it ; the  class  which  the  Association  was 
designed  to  benefit  still  held  aloof,  and  practically  ignored  its 
existence.  One  of  the  chief  difficulties  your  Committee  has  to 
contend  with  is  the  fact  that  the  good  effected  through  the 
Association  is  of  necessity  very  little  known,  those  who  receive 
Ijenefit  being,  perhaps,  naturally  the  last  to  talk  about  it. 
Man)’  recently  acquired  members  seemed  to  have  taken  a mere 
passing  interest  in  our  benevolent  aims,  and  have  suffered 
their  subscriptions  to  fall  into  arrear,  or,  perhaps,  have 
never  really'  looked  upon  themselves  as  permanent  sub- 
scribers at  all.  Owing  to  these  circumstances  the  suc- 
cess of  the  Association  has  been  materially'  hindered  ; 
aud,  although  it  will  be  recognised  that  this  is  no  new 
difficulty,  one  of  the  first  points  your  Committee  had  to 
determine  was  whether  it  was  worth  while,  for  the  sake  of  a 
score  of  members  who  practically  constitute  the  Association,  to 
carry'  it  on  almost  solely  for  their  benefit  '?  They  have  coinc  to 
the  conclusion  that  something  more  than  this  Is  expected  from 
them,  and  that  they'  should  rather  seek  for  powers  to  enable 
them  to  extend  its  scope  and  sphere  of  beneficence  still  further 
in  the  direction  of  such  as  have  not  hitherto  been  in  a position 
to  contribute  to  the  funds.  The  old  members,  who  have  all 
been  consulted  on  this  point,  are  quite  willing,  for  the  general 
good,  to  sink  their  individual  claims,  and  your  Committee  have 
now  formulated  a new  set  of  rules  embodying  the  principle  on 
which  they  propose  that  the  Association  should  in  future  be 
conducted.  This,  while  reserving  to  old  members  a preferential 
claim  on  the  funds,  will  afford  a larger  discretion  in  administer- 
ing assistance  to  any  deserving  cases  of  distress,  irrespective  of 
membership,  and  will  consequently'  give  your  Committee  a 
better  standpoint  when  appealing  for  funds  for  the  general  pur- 
poses of  the  Association.  The  serious  attempt  now  for  the 
first  time  made  to  initiate  an  independent  Annuity  Fund  will 
be  kept  prominently  in  view,  ami  it  is  with  some  confidence 
anticipated  that  it  will  before  long  very  largely  exceed  the  sum 
of  £250,  at  which  the  new  scheme  will  start  it. 

It  has,  from  time  to  time,  been  brought  as  a reproach  against 
the  Association  that  the  expenses  of  management  have  been  too 
heavy  in  comparison  with  the  amount  expended  in  relief.  Your 
Committee  fully  recognise  the  justice  of  this  contention,  and  it 
has  several  times  been  considered  w hether  the  work  might  not 
be  efficiently  performed  by  an  Hon.  Secretary  ; but  wliile  they 
could  reckon  upon  retaining  the  services  of  Mr.  Harlaud,  whose 
energy  and  experience  have  been  of  material  service  to  them  in  the 


past,  they'  have  not  thought  it  expedient  to  recommend  so  radi- 
cal a change.  Mr.  Harlaud  has,  however,  now  seen  fit  to  resign 
his  office,  and  in  response  to  an  appeal  which  wras  thereupon 
inserted  in  the  photographic  papers,  a gentleman  has  come  for- 
ward and  proffered  his  services  as  Honorary  Secretary  to  the 
Association,  and  your  Committee  have,  without  hesitation, 
accepted  his  generous  offer.  They  confidently  trust  that  a new 
era  in  the  affairs  of  the  Association,  marked  by  economy  as  well 
as  efficiency  of  administration,  will  thus  be  ushered  in,  and  they 
hope  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  Association  will 
take  its  proper  position  as  the  recognised  channel  for  the  bene- 
volence of  the  profession. 

Referring  to  the  balance  sheet  for  the  past  year,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  funds  show  the  substantial  increase  of  £67  5s.  Id., 
and  now  stand  at  £375  12s.  lid.  Members’ subscriptions  show 
a considerable  falling  off,  being  £20  10s.,  compared  with 
£30  11s.  for  1888;  this  has  been  already  alluded  to.  The 
donations  amounted  to  £71  18s.  5d.,  fully  £10  more  than  in 
1888,  but  of  this  sum  £34  16s.  lid.  was  transferred  from  the 
abandoned  Orphans’  Fund.  The  exhibition  of  the  P.  S.  G.  B. 
produced  £12  5s.  6d.  against  £14  3s.  in  1888.  The  grants  by' 
way  of  relief,  which  in  1888  amounted  to  £38  14s.,  during  the 
yrear  under  review  amounted  only  to  £18  4s.,  and  this  is  the 
fact  which  has  given  your  committee  most  reason  for  proposing 
to  re-consider  the  position  of  the  Association  with  a view  to 
extending  its  sphere  of  usefulness  ; and  the  result  of  the  long 
and  anxious  consideration  they  have  given  to  the  subject  has 
been  embodied  in  the  new  draft  of  rules  which  they  now  intend 
to  submit  for  your  approval. 

A copy  of  the  proposed  new  rules  may  be  seen  at  the 
office  of  Mr.  W.  Benham,  lion.  Solicitor  to  the  Associa- 
tion, at  4,  Great  James  Street,  W.  C. 


THE  CALCUTTA  PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITION. 
The  Journal  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  India  just 
received  is  full  of  interesting  information.  The  best 
Photographic  Exhibition  ever  held  in  Calcutta  is  over, 
and  the  judges  who  awarded  the  prizes  were  Sir  Comer 
Petheram,  Chief  Justice  ; Col.  Waterhouse  ; and  Mr.  W. 
II.  Jobbins,  Superintendent  of  the  School  of  Art.  The 
decision  of  the  judges  was  not  handed  in  before  the  close 
of  the  Exhibition,  but  the  delay  was  unavoidable.  Colonel 
Waterhouse  did  not  return  until  after  the  Exhibition  was 
open,  aud  then,  what  with  arrears  of  work  and  other  calls 
upon  his  time,  he  was  prevented  from  doing  anything 
towards  the  judging  untilafter  Christmas  week.  By  that  time 
Sir  Comer  Petheram  had  gone  to  Darjeeling  for  the  Christ- 
mas holidays,  but  he,  at  great  personal  inconvenience, 
came  down  to  Calcutta  and  met  Colonel  Waterhouse  and 
Mr.  Jobbins  at  the  Exhibition. 

The  following  is  an  abridgment  of  the  report  of  the 
judges,  and  contains  the  names  of  all  the  successful  candi- 
dates : — 

The  special  gold  medal  presented  by  His  Highness  the  Bara 
Thakur  Bahadur  of  Tipperah  for  the  best  platinotype  by  an 
amateur,  irrespective  of  class  or  section,  was  awarded  to  Mr. 
F.  M.  Sutcliffe,  for  No.  164,  and  high  commendation  to  his 
other  pictures. 

Class  I. — Section  1 (Landscapes,  Architecture,  and  Interiors). 
— Gold  medal  presented  by  Sir  C.  Petheram  : Mr.  R.  Keene, 
for  his  series  of  landscapes  and  interiors.  Society’s  silver 
medal : Mr.  F.  P.  Cembrano.  The  award  of  an  extra  medal 
recommended  to  Mr.  J.  P.  Gibson  for  his  landscape  views. 
Honorable  mention  : Messrs.  Bourne  and  Shepherd,  Bremner, 
Austin,  J.  S.  Gladstone,  Lala  Deen  Dyal,  Pancoast,  H.  P. 
Robinson,  Lyddell  Sawyer,  and  Sutcliffe. — Section  2 (Portraits, 
Groups,  and  Studies). — Special  medal,  presented  by  H.  E.  the 
Viceroy  : Messrs.  Johnston  and  Hoffman.  Society’s  gold  medal : 
Mr.  4V.  \V.  Winter,  for  “My  Mammy',”  platinotype  print. 
Society  ’s  silver  medal  recommended  to  Mr.  Lyddell  Sawyer, 


90 


[January  31,  1890. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 

PHOTOGRAPHY  IX  SWEDEN. 


Honorable  mention : Messrs.  J.  E.  Austin,  G.  M.  Elton,  J.  P. 
Gibson,  Robert  Hot*,  Kapp,  Klier,  Lala  Been  Dyal,  P.  Nichol- 
son, Lyddell  Sawyer,  Sutcliffe,  and  Miss  Clarisse  Miles.— Sec- 
tion 3 (Genre  Pictures,  Animals,  and  Still  Life). — Gold  medal, 
presented  by  H.H.  the  Maharajah  of  Kuch  Behar  : Mr.  J.  E. 
Austin,  for  his  pictures  of  animals  and  studies.  The  Society’s 
silver  medal  : Mr.  R.  S.  Redfield.  Extra  medal  recommended 
for  the  series  of  little  wayside  studies  exhibited  by  Mr.  M.  H. 
Harding.  Honorable  mention  : Messrs.  D.  Barnett,  F. 

Bremner,  Rev.  F.  C.  Lambert,  Miss  Miles,  Messrs,  A.  Nichol- 
son, H.  P.  Robinson,  F.  M.  Sutcliffe,  and  J.  Walker.— Sec- 
tion 4 (Instantaneous  Photographs). — Gold  medal,  presented 
by  the  Nawab  of  Dacca:  Messrs.  West  and  Sons,  for  photo- 
graphs of  yachts.  The  Society’s  silver  medal : Mr.  F.  Bremner. 
Extra  medal  recommended  to  Mr.  AY.  Parry  for  instantaneous 
views.  Honorable  mention  : Messrs.  C.  It.  Pancoast,  Lyddell 
Sawyer,  and  Sutcliffe. — Section  5 (Combination  Pictures).— 
Silver  medal,  presented  by  Col.  J.  Waterhouse  : Mr.  F. 
AA'haley. — Section  6 (Stereoscopic  Pictures). — Messrs.  G.  AA\ 
AA'ilson  and  Co. 

Class  III.— Section  12  (Photographs  on  Wood,  Glass,  Lineui 
or  China). — Society’s  silver  medal  : Mr.  Roliert  Hot/.,  for  his 
porcelain  pictures. — Section  13  (Reproductions  and  Enlarge- 
ments).— Society’s  silver  medal  : Messrs.  Kapp  and  Co.,  for 
group  of  the  Naval  Volunteers.  Honorable  mention  : Messrs. 
Johnston  and  Hoffman,  Messrs.  Bourne  and  Shepherd,  and 
Mr.  Robert  Hot/. 

Class  IV. — Section  14  (Miscellaneous  Processes).— Certifi- 
cate : Messrs.  Kapp  and  Co. — Section  15  (Heliotype,  Photo- 
Engraving,  &c.). — Certificate  : Mr.  J.  E.  Dumont.— Section  It) 
(Photographs  taken  by  Artificial  Light). — Certificate  : Mr. 
Robert  Hot/. 

Indian  Amateurs  only. 

Class  I. — Section  1 (Landscapes,  Architecture,  and  Interiors). 
— Society’s  silver  medal : Mr.  E.  AA\  Stoney.  Extra  medal 
recommended  to  Mr.  T.  D.  La  Touche.  Honorable  mention  : 
Mr.  G.  J.  Apcar,  Mrs.  Currie,  Messrs.  G.  Ewing,  S.  J.  Leslie, 
Col.  Rogers,  His  Highness  the  Bara  Thakur  Bahadur  of  Tipperah 
— some  of  whose  views  in  platinotype  were  specially  commended 
— and  Claude  AA’hite,  whose  No.  18  was  also  of  considerable 
excellence.  — Section  2 (Portraits,  Groups  and  Studies). — 
Society’s  silver  medal : Mr.  G.  J.  Apcar.  The  judges  men- 
tioned the  general  excellence  of  Mr.  Apcar’s  pictures  in  this 
and  other  sections.  Mr.  Pope’s  group  of  survey  officers, 
enlarged  and  printed  in  heliogravure,  is  deserving  of  notice, 
and  some  of  the  portraits  exhibited  by  His  Highness  the  Bara 
Thakur  Bahadur  of  Tipperah  are  also  good. — Section  3 (Genre 
Pictures,  Animals,  and  Still  Life). — Society's  silver  medal : 
Mr.  A.  G.  E.  Newland,  whose  pictures  in  this  and  other  classes, 
though  not  so  effective  as  they  might  be  as  photographs,  show 
considerable  originality  and  skilful  grouping.  Honorable 
mention  : Messrs.  Apcar  and  Stoney. — Section  4 (Instantaneous 
Photographs). — Society’s  silver  medal : Mr.  E.  M.  Showers. 
Honourable  mention  : Messrs.  Apcar,  Stoney,  Newland,  and 
Leslie. 

Class  II. — Section  8 (Micro-Photography). — Certificate  : Mr. 
W.  M.  Osmond. 

Class  III. — Section  13  (Reproductions  and  Enlargements). — 
Society’s  silver  medal : Mr.  A.  L.  H.  Palmer. 

The  awards  for  lantern  slides  are  postponed  until  the  pictures 
have  been  tried  in  the  lantern. 


Ihk  Royal  Institution. — Last  Friday  the  first  evening  lec- 
ture of  the  session  at  the  Royal  Institution  was  delivered  by 
Professor  Dewar,  with  Sir  Frederick  Abel  in  the  chair.  The 
lecture  dealt  with  the  life  and  discoveries  of  Joule,  and  in  the 
course  of  it  Professor  Dewar  exhibited  an  experiment  in  which 
pieces  of  ice  were  melted  by  the  heat  produced  by  their  friction 
against  each  other.  They  were  rublted  against  each  other  in  the 
exhausted  receiver  of  an  air  pump,  and  over  strong  sulphuric 
acid,  two  conditions  by  which  water  can  be  frozen,  so  that  the 
melting  was  proved  to  lie  due  to  heat  produced  by  friction,  and 
not  to  the  temperature  of  the  theatre, 


In  the  first  number  of  the  present  year's  issue  of  the 
Swedish  Photographic  Journal  for  Professionals  and  Ama- 
teurs, published  at  Stockholm,  we  meet  with  an  interesting 
description  of  a reunion  of  the  Photographic  Society, 
communicated  by  the  secretary,  Alexis  llasselquist.  The 
reunian  was  held  on  the  4th  of  January,  1879,  and 
forty  members  of  the  Photographic  Society  attended. 
Dr.  Wolff,  the  well-known  astronomer  from  Heidelberg, 
honoured  the  assembly  with  his  presence. 

After  Herr  Palmgren,  who  presided  at  the  meeting,  had 
welcomed  those  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  were  in  the  room, 
with  suitable  forms  of  speech,  he  took  occasion  to  refer  in 
terms  betokening  poignant  regret  to  the  great  and  grievous 
loss  which  the  Society  had  lately  suffered  by  the  death  of  its 
former  much-loved  and  well-estcemecl  president,  Pro- 
fessor Ilerr  Ileymans. 

Herr  Palmgren  then  spoke  in  well-chosen  phraseology, 
and  at  some  length,  of  the  important  advantages  which 
had  been  derived  from  photography  by  science,  art, 
and  industry,  and  added  that  photography's  valued 
aid  was  by  no  means  the  least  among  the  many  aids 
which  had  of  late  years  been  offered  to  education.  He 
was  anxious  those  who  were  there  present  should  know,  and 
that  by  their  means  others  interested  in  this  matter  might 
be  given  to  understand,  that  photography  in  the  hands  of 
the  amateur  was  no  mere  idle  toy,  insignificant  plaything, 
or  harmless  amusement,  but  had  its  essential  use  and  pur- 
pose in  furthering  the  interest  of  the  art  student  and  the 
scientist,  the  physician  and  the  astronomer. 

The  president  concluded  his  speech,  which  was  heard 
with  the  deepest  attention,  by  a few  interesting  remarks 
about  the  rich  and  valuable  collection  of  the  products  of 
photographic  art  which  the  members  of  the  society  saw 
before  them,  and  might  afterwards  examine  at  their  leisure. 

Herr  Roosval,  the  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Swedish 
Photographic  Journal,  in  succession  to  the  president,  ad- 
dressed the  meeting,  and  gave  an  account  of  the  begin- 
ning of  photography,  of  the  early  years,  so  to  speak,  of  the 
art’s  childhood,  when  it  was  as  yet  scarcely  able  to  walk 
alone.  From  this  he  passed  to  its  present  matured 
growth,  speaking  very  highly,  by  the  way,  of  the  great- 
ness of  the  art,  and  the  noble  inventions  of  our  own  time 
which  had  so  much  in  them  due  to  modern  photography. 
I Iis  remarks  were  copiously  illustrated  by  a large  collec- 
tion of  Daguerreotypes,  paper  negatives,  glass,  and  wax 
cloth  pictures,  which  he  said  were  fashionable  in  the 
year  1840  before  paper  pictures  were  invented.  But  the 
most  interesting  object  in  the  whole  collection  for  those 
assembled  at  this  Swedish  reunion  was  a Daguerreotype 
taken  after  nature  at  Copenhagen  in  1840,  for  it  repre- 
sented the  world-renowned  sculptor  Thorvaldsen.  The 
plate,  of  the  size  of  18  by  24cm.,  was  in  excellent  preser- 
vation, and  is  the  property  of  the  photographer,  J.  Jaeger. 

After  the  admission  of  many  new  members,  and  the 
transaction  of  the  usual  business  of  the  Society,  the  visi- 
tors busied  themselves  with  the  inspection  of  the  various 
objects  of  photographic  interest  which  had  been  collected 
for  their  amusement. 

Among  the  most  noteworthy  specimens  of  artistic  work 
exhibited  at  this  Swedish  reunion  may  be  mentioned 
several  interiors  and  landscapes  by  Major  Adelskbld  ; 
transparencies  and  landscapes  by  Doctor  Aspelin  ; pic* 
tures  from  Panama  by  Ilerr  Bowallius  ; heliogravures  by 
Ilerr  Bortzcll ; oil-coloured  photographs  and  magnesium 
Hash-light  pictures  by  Ilerr  Carlaman  ; genre  pictures  by 


f 


January  31,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


91 


Ilerr  Cedergren ; negative  pictures  of  moon-eclipse  and 
stars  by  Doctor  Charlier  ; a rich  collection  of  large  pho- 
tographs of  the  environs  of  Stockholm,  also  of  places  in 
Germany  and  Spain,  by  Professor  Curman  ; instantaneous 
pictures  by  Herr  Feychting ; negative  and  positive  pic- 
tures of  star  groups,  lightning  (lashes,  &c.,  by  Professor 
Ilasselberg  ; pictures  from  Gotland  and  Karlsbarne  : 
interiors  and  enlargements  on  bromide  of  silver  paper  by. 
Lieutenant  Hasselquist : large  panoramas  from  Stockholm 
and  interiors,  mostly  taken  with  wet  plates,  by  Herr  Jaeger, 
photographer ; a few  portraits  taken  thirty  years  .ago  by 
Herr  Palmgren  ; some  platinum  pictures  by  Herr  Koosval: 
landscape  and  pictures  from  Visby  by  Ilerr  Stenquist; 
instantaneous  pictures,  taken  with  Stirn’s  camera,  by  Herr 
Strindberg:  two  photographs  of  pictures  of  Carl  Larsson 
and  Zorn,  by  Herr  Ostlin  ; enlargements  on  bromide  of 
silver  paper,  together  with  large  and  small  landscapes,  and 
instantaneous  pictures  of  running  horses,  vessels  under 
sail,  Ac.,  by  Ilerr  Blom;  landscapes  and  genre  pictures 
by  Ilerr  Carl  Johansson;  landscapes  and  instantaneous 
pictures  of  sea  waves  and  breakers  by  Herr  lvallstenius  : 
photogravures  by  Hen-  Lagrelius  ; instantaneous  pictures, 
landscapes,  interiors,  photographs  of  pictures  and  busts, 
with  enlargements  on  bromide  of  silver  paper,  and  pho- 
tographs copied  on  aristo-paper  by  Ilerr  Siljestrbm  ; and 
genre  and  instantaneous  pictures  of  vessels  under  sail  by 
Herr  Smitt. 


THE  DISTANCE  BEYOND  WHICH  ALL  OBJECTS 
WILL  BE  IN  FOCUS  WITH  ANY  GIVEN  LENS.* 

BY  SIR  DAVID  SALOMONS,  BART. 

The  author  found  a simple  formula  for  ascertaining  the 
distance  beyond  which  all  objects  will  be  in  focus  with  any 
given  lens — it  is  f -f-  100  f ~ It  inches — where  /'and  It  have 
the  same  meanings  as  usual.  This  formula  is  very  useful 
to  ascertain  the  most  suitable  lenses  for  detective  cameras, 
and  for  other  purposes.  It  is  assumed  that  if  points  in  the 
object  are  represented  in  the  image  by  circles  having 
diameters  of  , ,V0  inch  and  less,  the  picture  will  be  sharp. 

A special  instance  will  be  given  to  show  its  use : — 100  /'It 
inches  may  be  written  81,  f-  It  feet,  since  100  inches  = 8A 
feet.  The  addition  of  /'in  the  formula  may  be  neglected, 
being  small  compared  with  10 O/2  It.  Most  of  the  rapid 
landscape  lenses  work  at  /,  so  the  formula  reduces  itself  to 
f - feet  approximately.  This  shows  that,  with  any  lens  /, 
all  will  be  in  focus  after  a distance  expressed  by  the 
square  of  its  focal  length  in  feet.  Putting  the  formula  in 
words,  100  f2  It  inches  reads: — 100  multiplied  by  the 
ratio,  multiplied  bv  the  square  of  the  equivalent  focal 
length  of  the  lens,  expresses  in  inches  the  distance  beyond 
which  <dl  objects  will  appear  in  focus.  To  give  an 
example  : — After  what  distance  will  all  objects  be  in  focus 
with  a lens  stopped  T.  (i. e. , W),  the  equivalent  focus  being 
10  inches? 

. I nsirer — 

100  X iV  X 10  x 10  = 1 ",'V1"  = 833J  inches  = 09  feet 
yi  inches.  To  be  strictly  accurate,  add  /'  (=  10)  to  this, 
and  distance  becomes  70  feet  inches  from  optical  centre 

of  lens. 

It  is  a good  plan  to  mark  the  stops  for  the  distance 
after  which  all  will  be  in  focus,  as  well  as  the  standard 
number.  In  practice  this  is  invaluable,  for  when  a subject 
is  to  be  taken  requiring  a particular  stop  to  get  the  focus 
right,  and  it  is  found  that  this  stop  has  a number  requiring 
too  long  an  exposure,  a plate  is  saved. 


Read  before  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 


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92 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  31,  1890. 


patent  Entdltgcncc. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

964.  W.  C.  Chipper,  39,  Highgate  Hill,  London,  “Camera 
Fittings.” — January  20th. 

1,098.  H.  H.  Lake,  45,  Southampton  Buildings,  London, 
“ Photographic  Apparatus.” — January  21st. 

1,117.  J.  Massioxon  and  E.  Watel,  45,  Southampton  Build- 
ings, London,  “Manufacture  of  Bichromates.” — January 
21st. 

1,115.  W.  K.  Baker,  9,  Belmont  Villas,  Wallingtou,  “Camera 
Stands.”— January  22nd. 

1,203.  D.  Cakteh,  15,  Gerrard  Street,  Warwick,  “Cameras, 
Finder,  and  Shutter.” — January  23rd. 

1,267.  W.  T.  Watson,  20,  Ocean  Place,  Hull,  “ Line  or  Grain- 
Effect  for  Photo-mechanical  Printing.” — January  24th. 

Specifications  Published. 

1,543. — 29<A  January,  1389.  “ Photographic  Camera  Shut- 

ters.” William  James  Lancaster,  trading  as  J.  Lan- 
caster and  Son,  of  Colmore  Row,  Birmingham,  Manufac- 
turing Optician. 

This  invention  relates  to  photographic  camera  shutters,  or 
apparatus  for  obtaining  instantaneous  or  protracted  exposure 
within  certain  limits,  whereby  light  is  allowed  to  pass 
momentarily,  or  otherwise  as  aforesaid,  through  the  lens,  or 
exposure  aperture,  at  the  will  of  the  operator — thus,  the 
shutter  may  be  made  to  act  instantaneously,  or  may  be  made 
to  acquire  varying  speeds,  according  to  the  length  of  exposure 
required. 

The  apparatus  consists,  first,  of  a double  shutter  arrange- 
ment, which,  for  instantaneous  exposure,  acts  in  unison,  but 
for  protracted  or  varying  exposure  they  act  independently 
of  each  other  ; secondly,  in  shutter-holding  means  ; thirdly, 
in  shutter-releasing  means  ; fourthly,  in  suspending  and  oper- 
ating the  shutters  ; fifthly,  in  clock  or  running-down 
mechanism,  which  operates  a short  arm,  and  removes  the 
holding  catch  of  the  secondary  shutter,  after  a period  of  time 
has  elapsed  since  the  raising  of  the  primary  shutter  ; sixthly, 
in  time  stop  mechanism  and  other  accessory  parts  in  connection 
with  the  apparatus. 

In  carrying  out  my  invention,  I take  a rectangular  box-like 
frame,  with  an  exposure  aperture  made  through  it  ; and  sliding 
and  working  within  guides  contained  within  the  said  frame,  I 
arrange  two  shutters,  viz.,  a primary  shutter  and  a secondary 
shutter,  which  alternately  come  in  front  of  the  exposure 
aperture. 

The  primary  shutter  works  in  juxtaposition  to  the  inside 
back  of  the  front  of  the  enclosing  casing,  and  with  its  upper 
end  connected  to  the  outer  end  of  a flexible  cord,  whose  inner 
end  is  connected  to  a hollow  or  box  pulley,  wherein  a coiled 
spring  is  enclosed — this  spring  is  the  motive  power  for  raising 
the  shutter  from  before  the  aperture  on  exposure. 

The  primary  shutter  is  held  in  position  by  a spring  catch, 
working  upon  and  through  one  side  of  the  framing,  in  a 
manner  that  the  bolt  part  of  the  said  catch  takes  within  a like 
notch  or  cut  away  part  in  the  side  of  the  shutter  ; so  that  on 
the  shutter  being  lowered,  or  brought  in  front  of  the  aperture, 
the  catch  is  moved  away  by  an  incline,  and  then  snaps  into 
the  notch. 

The  spring  catch  of  the  primary  shutter  is  cranked  at  its 
lower  end  ; and  between  it  and  the  end  of  a leleaser  con- 
ducting tube,  a small  flexible  bellows  is  enclosed  ; so  that  by 
pressing  a pneumatic  releaser,  in  the  form  of  a flexible  tube 
and  ball,  the  bellows  is  expanded,  and  the  catch  taken  out  of 
action. 

The  secondary  shutter  works  upon  the  back,  or  near  the 
back  of  the  primary  one,  and  is  held  in  position  at  two  points, 
viz.,  on  the  side  and  at  the  top,  whilst  it  is  taken  into  its 
aperture  covering  position  by  a flat  spring  acting  upon  a stud  ; 
and  further,  it  is  taken  into  its  raised  position  by  the  down- 
ward movement  of  the  primary  shutter,  whose  upper  end  is 


connected  to  that  of  the  secondary  one  by  a flexible  cord 
passing  over  a pulley  mounted  at  the  upper  end  of  the  enclosing 
casing. 

The  side  fastening  is  effected  by  a tumbler  catch,  in  the 
form  of  a bell  crank  lex  er,  with  one  arm  directed  vertically, 
and  the  other  horizontally  ; and  upon  the  latter,  the  time  arm 
which  is  on  the  principal  axis  of  the  time  mechanism  comes, 
on  the  said  mechanism  having  run  down. 

The  upright  or  vertical  arm  carries  a knife-edged  catch  or 
pivot,  which  engages  with  a side  notch  in  the  said  shutter. 

The  secondary  holding  point  of  this  said  shutter  consists  of 
a spring  catch,  whose  nose  and  inclined  plane  protrudes  through 
the  outercasing.  This  catch  f irms  both  a supplementary  holder 
for  the  secondary  shutter,  and  a buffer  stop  to  the  primary  I 
shutter. 

The  time  mechanism,  which  consists  of  a barrel  with  a 
volute  spring  enclosed  within  it,  a ratchet  and  pawl  arrange- 
ment, a large  toothed  wheel  gearing  with  a pinion  on  another 
axis,  and  which  pinion  axis  carries  a large  toothed  wheel,  which 
gears  with  a second  pinion  on  an  axis  which  carries  a third 
toothed  wheel,  which  meshes  with  the  teeth  of  a third  pinion, 
and  whose  axis  carries  a fourth  toothed  wheel,  with  the  teeth 
of  which  a knife  edged  stop  engages,  consisting  of  a fork-like 
arm  pressed  home  by  a spring,  is  arranged  as  aforesaid. 

The  axis  which  carries  the  drum,  ratchet  wheel,  and  primary 
tooth  wheel  as  first  named,  is  the  same  axis  as  carries  the  time 
arm.  Thus,  the  moving  of  a turn  carries  on  the  said  time 
arm  axis  through  a portion  of  a circle,  winds  the  spring  up  to  1 
an  extent  equivalent  to  a unit  of  time,  which,  when  released, 
is  allowed  to  run  down  only  at  a certain  rate  by  the  reduction  | 
gear  or  train  of  wheels  as  aforesaid. 

The  turn  for  giving  varying  speeds  to  the  shutters,  or  rather 
to  the  secondary  shutter,  is  provided  with  a pointer,  which 
traverses  in  front  of  a graduated  and  set  out  dial,  indicating 
one,  two,  three  or  more  seconds,  and  portions  of  them. 

The  action  of  the  apparatus  or  shutter  for  instantaneous 
exposure  is  as  follows: — 

The  exposure  aperture  is  covered  by  the  pulling  down  of  the 
primary  si  utter,  which  is  held  by  its  catch,  while  the  secondaiy 
shutter  is  held  by  the  top  catch,  which  is  the  buffer  stop  to  the 
primary  one. 

When  the  parts  are  in  the  positions  as  indicated — that  is,  the 
primary  shutter  down,  and  the  secondary  one  up — the  ball  end 
of  the  pneumatic  releaser  is  pressed,  when  the  bellows  at  its 
other  end  is  distended,  and  the  spring  catch  released  from  the 
primary  shutter,  which  now  being  free,  is  instantly  drawn 
upwards,  by  the  spring  enclosed  within  the  pulley,  to  which  I 
the  flexible  cord  of  the  shutter  is  attached. 

The  rising  and  striking  of  the  said  shutter  against  the  buffer 
stop  catch  liberates  the  said  shutter,  which  is  pressed  down  in 
front  of  the  aperture  by  a spring. 

For  a greater  exposure,  the  time  required  is  fixed  by  placing 
the  pointer  in  front  of  one  of  the  markings  on  the  dial,  which  i 
determines  the  exposure  required ; this  is  done  after  the  primary  I 
shutter  has  been  brought  before  the  aperture.  Thus  the  primary  I 
shutter  has  been  pulled  down,  and  there  held  by  its  catch,  and  , 
the  secondary  shutter  pulled  upwards,  and  held  by  the  buffer 
stop  catch  ; this  done,  the  time  for  exposure  is  determined  by 
moving  the  turn  and  pointer  to  the  required  position,  when  the  1 
secondary  shutter  holding  stop  carried  by  the  bell-cranked  arm 
passes  into  the  notch  on  side  of  the  said  shutter,  anti  holds  it 
there. 

The  affixing  of  the  shutter  by  the  lower  and  side  catch  is 
done  by  a spring  acting  upon  it  when  the  time  arm  on  the  time  I 
axis  mechanism  is  removed  by  the  rotation  of  the  turn  and  | 
finger. 

The  pressing  of  the  pneumatic  releaser  distends  the  bellows, 
removes  the  catch  from  the  primary  shutter,  which  is  raised  by  I 
the  coiled  spring  from  in  front  of  the  exposure  aperture,  and  i 
releases  the  buffer  stop-catch  from  the  secondary  shutter,  and  i 
also  takes  the  knife-edged  stop  from  the  teeth  of  the  top  wheels  ' 
of  the  train  of  wheels,  which  now  being  free,  run  down  at  a 
determinate  rate,  and  bring  the  time-arm  upon  the  top  side  of 
the  horizontal  arm  of  the  bell  crank  catch,  liberating  the 
secondary  shutter,  which  is  now  pressed  down  by  the  spring, 


January  31,  1890.]  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


93 


*8* 


■•'-Vi 


ie 
i i 


■J 


and  conies  in  front  of,  and  closes  up  light-tight,  the  exposure 

aperture. 

It  will  he  thus  observed  that  the  secondary  plate  follows  the 
movement  of  the  first  one,  after  a certain  definite  period  of 
time,  and  that  the  time-stop  is  released  by  the  primary  shutter 
coming  against  it. 

1,439.  January  2<5th,  1889.  “Photographic  Cameras.” 

John  William  Turner,  Heathfield  Street,  Liverpool, 

Photographic  Apparatus  Manufacturer. 

The  invention  relates  to  photographic  detective  or  hand 
cameras,  in  which  a number  of  dry  sensitive  plates  are  stored, 
are  successively  submitted  to  the  action  of  light,  and  are  then 
deposited  in  a suitable  receptacle  until  they  are  required  for 
development. 

The  object  is  to  so  make  such  cameras  that  the  plates  are 
readily  and  easily  placed  therein  and  removed  therefrom,  and 
are  with  certainty  moved  into  the  required  positions  by  simple 
and  efficient  mechanism. 

The  invention  consists  essentially  in  providing  first,  rack  or 
equivalent  mechanism  by  which  the  plates  are  fed  with  cer- 
tainty and  regularity  one  after  the  other  into  position  to 
receive  the  focussed  image  ; and  second,  oscillating  grippers  by 
which  the  plates  are  removed  from  the  focal  centre  and 
deposited  in  a container  or  receptacle. 

A sliding  rack  operated  by  a pinion  answers  well  to  feed  the 
plates  forward  intermittently.  Each  tooth  of  the  rack  acts  on 
a plate,  and  springs  are  used  to  assist  in  moving  the  plates  for- 
ward. 

Grippers  opened  and  closed  by  screw  spring  or  equivalent 
mechanism,  and  moved  in  an  arc  by  means  of  a handle  or 
lever,  are  advantageously  employed  for  removing  the  used 
plates  into  the  container  or  receptacle. 

12,860. — August  14th,  1889.  “Optical  Lanterns.”  Alfred 

Wrench,  50,  Grays  Inn  Hoad,  London,  Manufacturing  Opti- 
cian. 

This  invention  relates  to  improvements  in  or  applicable  to 
optical  or  magic-lanterns,  whereby  both  mounted  and  un- 
mounted slides  can  be  more  conveniently  and  easily  exhibited 
than  hitherto,  the  unmounted  slides  being  automatically 
registered  ; by  these  improvements  also  a curtain  or  screen  is 
oj>erated  between  the  exhibition  of  the  slides  as  hereinafter  more 
particularly  described. 

In  carrying  out  my  invention  I form  the  lantern  with  two 
compartments  in  the  stage  or  receptacle  for  the  slides.  One  of 
these  compartments  is  adapted  for  the  reception  of  mounted 
slides,  and  the  other  compartment  is  provided  with  guides  in 
which  works  a carrier  operated  by  a rack-aml-pinion  or  other 
arrangement,  and  adapted  to  receive  and  exhibit  unmounted 
slides,  and  to  register  such  slides  automatically.  The  guides 
are  furnished  with  spring-lugs,  which  yield  to  the  upward 
pressure  of  the  slide,  and  imur  iiately  it  has  passed  them  they 
spring  outwards  and  hold  the  slide  in  position  for  being  ex- 
hibited. 

The  said  carrier  also  actuates  a screen  or  shutter  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  produce  the  effect  of  a curtain  falling  after  the 
exhibition  of  one  slide,  and  rising  to  exhibit  to  view  a new 
picture. 

In  a modification  of  my  invention,  I employ  a shifting  stage 
operated  by  a rack-aml-pinion  or  other  arrangement,  whereby 
mounted  slides  and  mechanical  slides  can  be  exhibited  and 
registered  automatically,  in  the  same  way  as  unmounted  slides, 
and  which  shifting  stage  also  actuates  a screen  or  shutter  to 
produce  the  curtain  effect  hereinbefore  mentioned. 


Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  discussion  on  Feb.  5th 
will  be  “ The  Intensification  and  Reduction  of;  Negatives  ” ; 
and  on  Feb.  12th,  “ Illuminants  for  the  Optical  Lantern.” 
Messrs.  Shib,  Churn,  Dutt,  & Co.  seem  to  carry  on  a mixed 
kind  of  business.  In  their  advertisement  in  The  Journal  of  the 
Photograph  ic  Society  of  India  the  first  column  gives  the  prices  of 
beers  and  wines  in  bottles,  and  the  second  column  the  prices  of 
photographic  apparatus.  They  also  mention  that  they  sell  oil- 
man’s stores  and  provisions,  hardware,  and  all  sorts  of  tea  and 
indigo  garden  implements. 


(»?onc$pontintrc. 


THE  1890  CAMERA  CLUB  CONFERENCE. 

Sir, — I am  requested  by  my  Committee  to  ask  your  assist- 
ance in  announcing  the  following  outline  of  the  Camera  Club 
Conference  for  1890: — 

The  1890  Conference  will  be  held  in  the  Theatre  of  the 
Society  of  Arts  (by  kind  permission  of  the  Council)  on  Thurs- 
day and  Friday,  March  20th  and  21st,  under  the  Presidency 
of  Capt.  IV.  de  IV.  Abney,  C.B.,  R.E.,  F.R.S. 

On  Wednesday,  March  19th,  at  8.30  p.m.,  there  will  be  a 
special  Smoking  Concert  at  the  Club  Rooms,  and  the  Mem- 
bers’ Annual  Exhibition  of  Pictures  will  be  opened. 

On  Thursday,  March  20th,  at  2 p.m.,  the  President  will 
open  the  Conference  and  Exhibition  of  Apparatus  at  the  Society 
of  Arts,  and  papers  will  be  read  from  2 to  5.30  p.m.  In 
the  evening  a lantern  slide  exhibition  will  be  given  in  the 
Theatre  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  for  which  special  tickets  may 
be  obtained. 

On  Friday,  March  21st,  the  apparatus  will  be  on  show  from 
10  a.m.,  and  at  2 p.m.  the  Conference  will  be  renewed. 

At  7.30  the  annual  dinner  for  members  and  friends  will 
take  place. 

A complete  programme  will  be  issued  later  and  distributed. 
All  photographers  will  be  cordially  invited  to  the  Conference. 

George  Davison,  Hon.  Sec. 

Camera  Club,  21,  Bedford  Street,  1V.C.,  January  27th. 


ISOCHROMATIC  PHOTOGRAPHS  AT  THE  FRENCH 
SOCIETY. 

Sir, — We  are  glad  to  find  that  M.  Vidal’s  error  in  supposing 
that  the  photographs  on  isochromatic  and  ordinary  plates  which 
we  presented  to  the  French  Photographic  Society  were  lighted  in 
different  ways  was.  as  we  surmised,  simply  owing  to  his  want  of 
knowledge  in  such  matters.  Had  he  been  better  acquainted  with 
the  isochromatic  process  as  now  employed  in  copying  oil  paint- 
ings, he  would  have  been  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  reflections 
from  the  rough  surface  of  the  canvas,  which  show  so  conspicu- 
ously in  copies  taken  by  the  ordinary  process,  are  usually  scarcely 
noticeable  in  those  taken  on  colour-sensitive  plates.  This  is  one 
of  the  peculiarities  of  the  process,  and  is  well  recognized  by  those 
who  practise  it. 

No  alteration  in  the  lighting  is  necessary  to  produce  results 
such  as  we  have  shown,  nor,  in  this  instance,  would  such  a thing 
have  been  possible,  all  the  negatives  being  taken  in  the  National 
Gallery  from  the  paintings  in  the  positions  they  occupy,  and 
from  which  they  are  not  allowed  to  be  removed. 

That  our  every-day  results  should  be  received  with  incredu- 
lity by  experienced  photographers  says  much  for  the  capabilities 
of  the  process,  and,  except  for  the  suggestion  of  unfairness 
which  has  been  made,  would  have  been  perhaps  the  highest 
compliment  we  could  receive. 

We  have  forwarded  to  the  President  of  the  French  Society 
conclusive  evidence  in  support  of  our  statements,  and  we  shall 
now  trust  to  M.  Vidal’s  sense  of  honour  and  justice  to  aid  us  in 
removing  the  erroneous  impression  which  seems  to  have  pre- 
vailed with  regard  to  the  photographs  presented  by  us  to  the 
Society.  B.  J.  Edwards  & Co. 

The  Grove,  Hackney,  London. 

Camera  Club  Notices. — Monday,  February  3rd,  8 p.m.  : 
Opening  of  Exhibition  of  photographs  by  members  of  the 
Amateur  Photographic  Field  Club  ; 8.30  p.m.  : smoking  con- 
cert. Thursday,  February  6th,  8 p.m.  : Paper  by  Sir  David 
Salomons,  “ Rule  for  ascertaining  Size  of  Disc  at  a Given 
Distance  for  Lantern  Work  ” ; lantern  exhibition  of  Dutch 
views  by  Messrs.  Elder  and  W.  A.  Greene,  and  of  slides  by 
other  members.  Thursday,  February  13th,  8 p.m.  : Mr. 
Graham  Balfour,  “ Landscape.”  Thursday,  February  20th, 
5 p.m.  : Annual  general  meeting  ;.  8 p.m.  : Paper  communi- 
cated by  Mr.  W.  K.  Burton,  “ On  one  or  two  of  the  Tenets  of 
the  ‘Naturalists,’”  with  notes  in  reply  by  Mr.  G.  Davison. 
Thursday,  February  27th,  8 p.m.  : Dr.  C.  S.  Patterson,  “The 
Camera  as  Applied  to  Medicine.”  Monday,  March  3rd, 
8.30  p.m.  : smoking  concert, 


04 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jan  cary  31,  18fc0. 


Ilrortetting#  of  Societies. 


Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 

At  the  technical  meeting  of  this  Society  held  on  the  28th  inst., 
the  chair  was  occupied  by  Mr.  T.  Sebastian  Davis. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  read  a short  paper  on  “Marks  on  the 
Plate,  due  to  the  Hinges  of  the  Dark  Slides.”  He  said  that 
the  effect  of  the  near  presence  of  the  leather  hinge  was  recog- 
nised as  sometimes  causing  fogging,  and  sometimes  a certain 
amount  of  iusensitiveuess.  In  a case  that  he  had  recently  met 
with  the  effect  seemed  to  be  that  of  increasing  the  sensitive- 
ness. He  had  had  a plate  in  a dark  slide  for  about  four  months, 
and  upon  exposing  it  late  one  dark  afternoon  he  found  the 
image  to  be  very  much  under-exposed  generally,  but  opposite 
the  hinge  of  the  dark  slide  the  image  appeared  to  have  received 
two  or  three  times  as  much  exposure  as  the  rest  of  the  plate. 
The  slide  in  question  was  one  which  had  some  time  since  been 
sent  to  the  manufacturers,  who  had  replaced  the  oiiginal  leather 
hinge  with  one  of  a material  that  they  now  employed  instead, 
and  which  was  jean  of  a particular  kind.  They  had  adopted 
this  material  because  of  the  fogging  which  had  so  often  been 
complained  of  when  leather  was  used.  The  manufacturers 
assured  him  that  they  had  never  found  any  evil  effect  to  result 
from  the  use  of  this  material,  and  this  was  so  far  confirmed  by 
his  own  experience,  that  he  had  kept  plates  for  two  years  in 
slides  thus  fitted  without  their  sustaining  any  injury.  It  might 
be  that  instead  of  the  hinge  material  conferring  additional 
sensitiveness,  the  rest  of  the  plate  had  lost  that  quality. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  believed  that  the  last  suggestion  was  the  real 
explanation  of  the  case.  It  had  been  found  by  the  late  Mr. 
Collins  that  some  kind  of  black — that  mixed  with  oil — caused 
insensitiveness  in  the  plates. 

Mr.  A.  MaCKIE  said  that  turpentine  black  produced  that 
result ; the  wood  of  which  some  slides  were  made  also  had 
the  same  effect.  He  treated  such  slides  with  melted  paraffin. 

Mr.  Cowan  showed  some  plates  that  he  had  exposed  in  illus- 
tration of  the  characteristics  of  a developer  recently  introduced 
in  an  American  annual,  consisting  of  25  grains  each 
of  sodium  sulphite  and  Rochelle  salt,  2 grains  of  pyro,  and 
1 grain  of  lithium  carbonate  to  the  ounce.  He  expressed  his 
opinion  that  this  formula  constituted  an  advance  in  pyrogallic 
development.  He  had  tested  it  against  the  standard  formula 
of  2 grains  each  of  pyro  and  bromide,  and  4 minims  of 
ammonia  to  the  ounce.  The  lithium-developed  plate  did  not 
come  up  so  rapidly  at  first  as  that  developed  with  ammonia, 
but  it  afterwards  overtook  it,  and  would  give  a higher  number 
on  the  sensitomer  than  could  be  got  with  the  ammonia  plate, 
unless  the  latter  was  so  pushed  as  to  lose  the  clearness  of  the 
shadows.  It  seemed  to  him  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  con- 
fine oneself  to  Rochelle  salt,  as  almost  any  organic  salt  of  soda  or 
potash  appeared  to  have  similar  action.  He  had  used  acetate, 
phosphate,  citrate,  and  valerianate  with  much  the  same  result. 
He  also  showed  a plate  developed  with  pyro  and  one  grain  of 
lithium  carbonate  to  the  ounce  without  other  addition,  and 
this  gave  a very  vigorous  image.  The  use  of  ten  times  as 
much  carbonate  of  potash  in  place  of  lithium  gave  a very  weak 
image. 

Mr.  A.  Mackie  said  that  Mr.  Brooks  used  acetate  of  soda 
in  the  developer  for  collodio-bromide.  He  (Mr.  Mackie)  had 
tried  it,  but  could  not  find  that  it  made  any  difference. 

Mr.  tY.  E.  Df,benham  said  that  there  was  another  use  in 
Mr.  Cowan’s  experiments,  that  is,  in  showing  the  great 
variations  of  density  that  could  be  obtained  with  the  same 
plates  and  similar  exposure.  Were  the  plates  used  those  of 
ordinary  rapidity? 

Mr.  Cowan  replied  that  they  were,  and  gave  19  or  20  on 
Warnerke’s  sensitometer. 

Mr.  Mackie,  referring  to  a recent  paper  on  intensifying,  by 
Mr.  Chapman  Jones,  asked  the  author  whether  he  had  tried 
the  method  of  gaining  intensity  which  consisted  of  applying 
a solution  of  sulphate  of  iron,  slightly  acid,  before  immersing 
the  negative  in  the  hypo  bath. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  thought  that  the  method  indicated 
resembled  Mr.  Howard  Farmer’s  intensifying  process.  He  had 
not  tried  it. 


Mr.  Mackie  did  not  think  that  there  was  any  fresh  dei»osit 
of  silver,  as  an  acid  bath  completely  removed  the  density 
that  had  been  gained  by  the  use  of  the  iron  solution.  As  to 
reduction  of  intensity  by  the  use  of  acid  in  cases  where  the 
sulphate  of  iron  bath  was  not  used,  he  thought  that  was  due  to 
the  change  of  colour  of  deposit,  and  might  therefore  be  con- 
siderable in  the  case  of  a negative  developed  with  pyro,  but 
not  with  one  developed  with  ferrous  oxalate. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  said  that  a photographer  of  great 
experience  had  told  him  that  he  always  reduced  intensity  by 
an  acid  bath,  and  that  he  developed  with  ferrous  oxalate. 
He  further  stated  that  a negative  originally  too  dense  would 
become  flat  if  left  too  long  in  the  acid. 

Mr.  Hollyer  had  never  found  that  the  acid  bath  made  any 
difference  in  the  density  of  negatives  that  had  been  developed 
with  ferrous  oxalate. 

Mr.  \Y.  Bedford  had  found  the  same  absence  of  reducing 
power  upon  negatives  that  had  been  developed  with  hydro- 
quinone. 

Mr.  Mackie  had  seen  developed  bromide  prints  reduced  con- 
siderably by  leaving  some  of  the  acid  wash  in  them  when  placed 
in  the  hypo  fixing  solution. 

Mr.  IJebbnham  suggested  that  the  difference  of  experience 
as  to  the  reducing  power  of  an  acid  bath  upon  negatives 
already  of  a grey  or  purplish  colour  might  be  due  to  the  pre- 
sence in  some  cases  of  a little  iron  in  the  acid  used. 

Mr.  J.  Desire  England  wished  to  know  why  the  yellow 
stain  that  occurred  on  pyro  negatives,  particularly  when  soda 
was  used  in  development,  and  that  was  removed  by  acid, 
returned  if  the  acid  was  thoroughly  washed  out. 

Mr.  Mackif.  thought  that  the  compound  which  showed  itself 
as  yellow  stain  was  not  removed  by  acid,  but  changed  in 
colour,  and  that  on  the  removal  of  all  the  acid  the  original 
yellow  colour  showed  itself  again. 

The  use  of  eikonogen  as  a developer  was  referred  to,  and 
some  of  the  members  spoke  well  of  Mr.  Warnerke’s  formula,  in 
which  it  is  used  very  strong  ; but  Mr.  Cowan  thought  that  there 
was  no  advantage  in  using  more  than  five  or  six  grains  of  tliis 
substance  to  the  ounce. 

The  Chairman  had  found  great  difficulty  in  getting 
density  with  eikonogen.  He  thought  it  very  useful  in  practice 
to  begin  development  with  eikonogen,  and  when  the  details 
were  well  out,  to  add  a solution  of  hydroquinone  to  the  de- 
veloper. A very  superior  quality  of  image  was  thus  obtained, 
and  density  came  easily. 

Mr.  Mackie  complained  of  the  tendency  of  hydroquinone 
to  start  development  at  one  place,  and  to  get  density  there 
before  the  rest  of  the  plate  was  developed. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  never  liked  hydroquinone.  He  always 
got  more  stains  with  it  than  with  any  other  developer. 

Mr.  Cowan  said  the  large  quantities  of  Rochelle  salts 
and  sulphite  of  soda  used  with  lithium  in  the  American 
formula  answered  equally  well  w ith  eikonogen  and  hydro- 
quinone, as  it  did  with  pyro. 


The  Camera  Club. 

January  23rd,  Bedford  Street,  Strand,  London  ; the  Rev.  A. 
B.  Whatton,  M.A.,  in  the  chair. 

The  Rev.  T.  Perkins,  M.A.,  read  a paper  on  “English 
Church  Architecture  as  a Subject  for  Photography,”  in  the 
course  of  which  he  said  that  the  man  who  is  born  an  artist  will 
produce  artistic  photographs,  but  no  man  who  is  not  bora  an 
artist  can  be  made  one  by  means  of  rules.  Even  photo- 
graphers who  are  not  artists  may  make  themselves  use- 
ful by  taking  pictures  of  Church  architecture,  which  pictures, 
after  the  lapse  of  time,  may  prove  to  be  very  valuable, 
for  almost  everywhere  the  “restorer”  is  at  work 
destroying  beautiful  old  buildings.  He  wished  that 
they  would  erect  new  buildings  instead,  but  spoiling  old  ones  is 
cheaper,  so  memorials  of  them  should  be  taken  and  preserved, 
ere  it  is  too  late.  Whenever  amateur  photographers  hear  that 
a church  in  their  neighbourhood  is  about  to  be  restored,  they 
should  at  once  set  to  work  to  photograph  the  old  one  inside  and 
out,  and  they  should  combine  with  this  duty  some  study  of 
architecture.  Before  1018  most  of  the  churches  in  this  country 


January  31,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


95 


seem  to  have  been  built  of  wood  ; at  present  only  about  a hun- 
dred of  our  churches  built  before  the  Conquest  are  to  be 
found,  and  they  represent  Saxon  work,  after  which  came 
the  Norman  period.  In  photographing  churches  sur- 
rounded by  other  buildings,  a suitable  point  of  view  is 
frequently  obtainable  from  the  south-east,  and  with 
a lens  of  moderately  long  focus,  so  as  not  to  destroy  the 
perspective,  it  is  then  sometimes  possible  to  get  in  the  tower  ; 
people  generally  do  not  like  to  be  buried  on  the  north  side  of 
a church,  hence  the  graveyard  has  a tendency  to  extend  to  the 
south-east.  He  deprecated  the  use  of  wide-angle  lenses, 
unless  the  photographer  were  absolutely  forced  to  use  them  ; 
even  interiors  were  better  if  taken  with  narrow  angle  lenses 
at  the  cost  of  reducing  the  amount  of  subject  included.  He 
then  projected  upon  the  screen  lantern  pictures  of  a great 
number  of  British  churches,,  including  one  of  a church  erected 
about  the  year  800  at  Bradford-on -A  von,  and  now  preserved  as 
a national  monument  ; he  also  gave  an  interesting  and  architec- 
tural description  of  each  church  represented. 

The  Chairman  thought  that  if  photographers  gave  attention 
to  church  architecture  as  recommended,  they  would  not  alone 
be  doing  good  historical  service,  but  their  work  might  promote 
the  art  or  science  of  architecture  itself.  Their  work  might 
also  result  in  many  churches  being  kept  open  on  week  days, 
instead  of  closed  while  the  photographer  went  in  search  of  a 
lazy  verger.  He  had  been  told  of  one  verger  who  was 
asked,  “ Do  not  people  come  sometimes  out  of  service  hours 
to  this  hallowed  sanctuary,  for  peaceful  meditation  and  silent 
prayer?”  “Yes,”  replied  the  official,  “ I ketches ’em  at  it 
sometimes  behind  a pillar,  and  tells  ’em  service  hours  is  eleven 
in  the  morning,  and  half  past  three  in  the  afternoon.”  Vergers 
like  that  should  be  improved  off  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Mr.  Gale  remarked  that  very  few  churches  were  built  from 
the  time  of  Henry  VIII.  to  about  the  time  of  Wren,  and  he 
si>oke  of  some  points  of  resemblance  between  the  towers  of 
Somerset  churches,  as  shown  by  Mr.  Perkins’s  pictures,  and 
others  he  had  studied  in  Brittany. 

Mr.  J.  S.  \\  hatton  believed  that  there  was  a wooden  church 
somewhere  in  the  eastern  suburban  district  of  London,  the 
name  and  situation  of  which  he  should  much  like  to  discover. 

Mr.  Avent  remarked  that  there  was  one  at  Oreenstead,  near 
Ongar. 

Mr.  Davison  urged  that  all  photographers  of  a practical 
bent  should  devote  themselves  to  some  connected  work  with 
a definite  aim — as  Mr.  Perkins  had  done — but  he  maintained 
that  such  work,  admirable  in  itself,  led  in  quite  a different 
direction  from  that  in  which  the  art  student  would  find  his 
development  and  prosecute  his  study.  In  regard  to  the  City 
churches  which  had  been  mentioned,  he  drew  attention  to  the 
good  work  done  by  Mr  S.  H.  R.  Salmon,  of  East  Putney.  In 
treating  of  the  practical  points  raised,  he  stated  that  a lens  of 
focal  length  equal  to  the  longest  side  of  the  plate  used,  would 
not  give  a natural  angle  ; the  perspective  would  be  unnaturally 
violent. 

On  Thursday,  February  6th,  the  lantern  will  be  employed 
to  exhibit  some  Dutch  views  by  Messrs.  Elder,  \V.  A.  Greene, 
and  others  ; some  general  subjects  will  also  be  shown. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  23rd  inst.,  Mr.  A.  Haddon  occupied  the 
chair. 

Mr  F.  P.  Cembrano  passed  round  a brass  binder  for  lantern 
slides  for  use  in  place  of  paper  strips.  He  also  showed  eight 
negatives,  four  of  which  had  received  a time  camera  exposure  ; 
the  others  had  been  exposed  in  a hand  camera  with  a quick 
shutter.  Pyro  and  eikonogen  with  various  alkalies  were 
severally  used  for  development,  and  similar  set  of  developers  was 
used  for  each  set  of  exposures.  A comparison  of  the  results 
exhibited  showed  that  for  a time-exposure  pyro,  sulphite,  and 
ammonia  proved  the  best  developer,  but  with  the  instantaneous 
exposures  eikonogen,  sulphite,  and  carbonate  of  soda  gave  the 
best  negative. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Prestwich  had  tried  eikonogen  in  comparison 
with  pyro,  using  the  same  alkalies  in  each  case  ; he  found  no 
appreciable  difference  with  either  developer. 


The  Chairman  remarked  that  eikonogen  gave  greater  trans- 
parency in  the  shadows  of  a negative  than  the  pyro  developer. 

Mr.  Cembrano  said  that  plates  developed  with  eikonogen  had 
a greater  tendency  to  frill  than  when  developed  with  pyro. 

Mr  \Y.  E.  Debenham  read  a paper  on  “Selecting  Focal 
Distance  with  Detective  Cameras  ” (see  page  87). 

Mr.  F.  P.  Cembrano  said  that  it  was  not  easy  to  determine 
whether  a long  or  short  focus  lens  was  best  for  a hand 
camera.  If  only  one  class  of  work  were  required,  then  a lens 
could  be  chosen  best  suited  for  that  work.  Both  long  and 
short  focus  lenses  had  their  advantages  and  disadvantages. 
He  had  been  using  a 6j-inch  lens,  but  he  believed  a lens  of 
about  5|-iuch  focus  would  be  more  generally  useful.  He  con- 
sidered that  a short  focus  lens  rendered  distances  more  truly, 
and  for  general  work  was  most  useful  ; on  the  other  hand,  if 
pictures  of  animals  were  wanted,  then  a long  focus  lens  was 
to  be  preferred. 

Mr.  \V.  Cole  thought  that  some  means  might  be  devised 
whereby  the  lenses  of  a hand  camera  could  be  changed  quickly, 
either  by  a rotating  front  or  a microscopic  nose-piece. 

Mr.  P.  Everitt  said  that  he  held  that  the  rule  of  using  a 
lens  the  focus  of  which  was  double  the  length  of  the  plate, 
applied  equally  to  hand  cameras  ; this  would  give  for  a lantern 
picture  about  5-|  inches  focus. 

Mr.  \Y.  E.  Debenham  said  that  when  used  in  connexion  with 
a fine  film,  the  advantage  lay  on  the  side  of  a short  focus  lens  ; 
better  definition  also  was  obtained  with  this  lens.  If  the 
register  were  fixed  for  the  principal  object  in  the  centre  of  the 
field,  the  curvature  of  the  lens  might  prove  an  advantage  from 
the  shorter  distance  of  objects  on  either  side. 

Mr.  J.  J.  Bhiginshaw  remarked  that  it  was  unusual  for  the 
principal  object  of  the  picture  to  be  placed  in  the  centre. 

Mr.  P.  Everett  said  that  with  a very  round  field,  would 
the  lecturer  fix  the  register  for  the  centre,  or  midway  between 
the  centre  and  side  ? 

Mr.  Debenham  would  fix  the  register  to  agree  with  the 
principal  subject  of  interest  in  the  picture. 


North  Middlesex  Photographic  Club. 

The  following  have  been  elected  as  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  : 
— President — Mr.  J.  Humphries,  F.S.A. ; Vice-Presidents — 
Messrs.  H.  Beckett,  W.  T.  Goodhew  ; Curator — Mr.  F.  Da  vail  ; 
Council — Messrs.  C.  Beadle,  F.  Cherry,  T.  C.  Latlibridge,  W.  A. 
Lavanchy,  F.  L.  Pither,  J.  Saville,  J.  Steuart,  H.  Walker, 
E.  T.  Hiscock  ; Treasurer — Mr.  E.  Seymour  Paul  ; Hon.  Sec. — 
Mr.  Geo.  R.  Martin,  Harringay  Park  Granary,  Green  Lanes, 
Finsbury  Park. 

On  Monday,  January  27th,  Mr.  L.  Medlandgavea  lecture  en- 
titled “ In  Northern  Latitudes  with  a Camera,”  illustrated  by 
lantern  slides  shown  through  the  optical  lantern  ; the  slides  were 
made  on  collodio-bromide  by  himself,  from  negatives  taken  dur- 
ing his  tour. 

The  following  have  been  elected  honorary  members  : — Messrs. 
S.  Herbert  Fry,  Chas.  W.  Hastings,  and  E.  F.  C.  Damant. 

On  Monday,  February  10th,  Mr.  Humphries  will  open  a dis- 
cussion on  “ Dark-room  Illumination,”  and  illustrate  by  several 
practical  tests.  Any  photographer  having  lamps  which  they  con- 
sider especially  safe  while  giving  a maximum  of  light,  are  invited 
to  bring  the  same  for  the  purpose  of  experiment. 


West  London  Photographic  Society. 

A meeting  was  held  at  the  Addison  Hall  on  24th  January, 
Mr.  Charles  Bilton  in  the  chair,  when  Messrs.  Frogbrook  and 
Eydman  were  nominated  for  election  ; after  winch  the  adjourned 
discussion  upon  hand  cameras  was  proceeded  with. 

Mr.  Stein,  in  summing  up  his  previous  remarks,  said  a per- 
fect detective  camera  must  be  unobtrusive  in  appearance,  have 
some  mechanical  means  of  changing  plates,  and  at  the  same 
time  be  as  simple  as  possible  ; the  shutter  must  also  be  a good 
one,  and  work  without  jar  or  shake.  In  regard  to  the  lens, 
he  preferred  one  of  short  focus.  With  a 6-inch  lens  everything 
beyond  thirty  feet  was  in  focus,  but  it  was  often  necessary  to 
get  nearer  to  the  object,  and  with  a 3-inch  lens  everything 
beyond  eight  feet  was  practically  sharp.  He  used  in  his  de- 


96 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[January  31,  1890. 


tective  a 3|-inch  wide  angle  lens,  by  Wray,  and  found  it 
worked  well. 

Mr.  Lesley  Selby,  explaining  the  artist’s  hand  camera,  said 
that  it  could  scarcely  be  called  a detective,  because  it  was  not 
what  Mr.  Stein  had  called  unobtrusive.  However,  all  he 
wished  to  do  with  it  was  to  get  views,  and  for  that  work  it 
answered  admirably,  as  it  could  be  very  easily  and  quickly 
manipulated  ; moreover,  it  was  light  though  strong,  and  would 
stand  rough  usage  ; he  had  taken  it  up  Scawfell  Pike  without 
experiencing  any  fatigue. 

The  President  announced  that  Mr.  Wyndham  ltickford  and 
Mr.  Garner  Richardson  had  presented  the  Society  with  a lantern 
and  screen,  with  accessories  for  using  the  limelight. 


Hackney  Photographic  Society. 

A meeting  was  held  on  the  23rd  inst.,  when  the  chair  was 
occupied  by  Mr.  Grant. 

Mr.  Hart  gave  a flash-light  demonstration,  and  prefaced  his 
demonstration  by  an  interesting  lecture  on  “ Magnesium  and 
its  I'se  in  Flash-Light  Photography.”  Two  groups  were 
taken,  with  a dozen  mem  tiers  in  each ; six  lamps  were 
used  connected  pneumatically.  After  the  demonstration  the 
lamp  was  described. 

Mr.  Ha  dole  then  showed  neatly  constructed  detective 
camera  of  his  own  making.  The  weight  was  claimed  to  be 
less,  and  the  camera  more  hidden,  than  the  general  run  of 
“detectives,”  but  the  great  novelty  was  a self-setting  time  and 
instantaneous  shutter,  which  he  had  patented. 

The  Secretary  announced  that  on  the  27th  February  there 
would  be  an  exhibition  of  apparatus. 

Messrs.  Barton  and  Reed  were  elected  members. 


Birmingham  Photographic  Society. 

A meeting  was  held  at  the  club  rooms,  Grand  Hotel,  Jan.  23. 

The  Chairman,  Mr.  E.  H.  Jaques,  announced  that  the  presi- 
dent, Mr.  J.  B.  Stone,  J.P.,  had  offered  a prize  for  the  best 
set  of  six  views  taken  within  a radius  of  ten  miles  round  Bir- 
mingham. 

Mr.  Godfp.ee  exhibited  a very  handy  bichromate  battery  fo 
producing  an  electric  light  suitable  for  the  developing  room. 

Dr.  W.  W.  J.  Nicol  then  gave  his  paper  on  “Iron 
Printing,”  which  was  illustrated  with  chemical  experiments. 
Mention  was  made  of  the  different  forms  of  iron  printing,  the 
“dusting-on”  and  blue  processes,  sepiatype,  platinotype,  and 
particularly  his  new  process,  the  “Kalotype.”  In  this  the 
paper  is  coated  with — 

Ferric  oxalate  ...  ...  ...  ...  5 percent. 

Ferric  tartrate  ...  ...  ...  ...  5 ,, 

and  in  exposure  the  ferric  salt  is  reduced  to  the  ferrous  salt, 
and  is  then  developed  with — 

Potassic  oxalate  ...  ...  ...  10  percent. 

Nitrate  of  silver  ...  ...  1^  to  2 ,, 

Ammonia  ...  ...  ...  ...  sufficient  to  clear. 

The  print  is  developed  by  floating  the  same  as  platinotype.  K 
is  then  washed  in  three  baths  of — 

Ammonia  ...  ...  ...  ...  1 ounce 

Citrate  of  soda  ...  ...  ...  ...  £ ,, 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ] gallon 

The  advantage  claimed  for  this  process  is  fixing  without  hypo, 
thus  securing  greater  permanence. 


The  Birmingham  Geological  Society. -Mr.  W.  J.  Harri- 
son, F.G.S.,  the  Science  Demonstrator  of  the  Birmingham 
School  Board,  has  just  received  intimation  from  the  Secretary 
of  the  Geological  Society  that  the  Council  have  awarded  him 
the  proceeds  of  the  “ Barlow- Jameson  Fund,”  in  recognition  of 
his  “valuable  contributions  to  geological  science,”  and  he  is 
invited  to  attend  the  anniversary  meeting  of  the  Society  on 
21st  1*  ebruary  next  to  receive  the  award.  The  former  recipients 
of  the  “Barlow- Jameson  Fund”  were,  in  1882,  Dr.  James 
Croll  ; 1884,  Baron  von  Ettingshausen  ; 1886,  Professor  Leo 
Lesquereux  ; and  in  1888,  Dr.  Johnston-Lavis.  The  income 
of  the  fund  is  “to  be  applied  every  two  or  three  years,  as  may 
be  approved  by  the  Council,  to  or  for  the  advancement  of  geo- 
logical science.” — Birmingham  Daily  Post. 


to  ^ovrcgpontieMg. 


All  questims  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 

Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C  8,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Roal,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

Photargus. — We  sympathise  with  you  in  your  desire  to  find 
fairly  good  water  in  your  island  home.  For  the  better  pur- 
poses, such  as  the  removal  of  the  silver  nitrate  and  last 
washing  of  your  finished  prints,  it  would  seem  necessary  to  use 
distilled  water,  the  preparation  of  which  is  tedious  rather 
than  difficult,  and  there  are  now  several  kinds  of  tin  stills  to 
choose  from.  Instead  of  using  permanganate  of  potash,  which 
will  only  remove  organic  matter,  and  none  of  the  saline  im- 
purities, we  should  advise  you  to  rely  upon  a prolonged 
washing  in  frequent  changes  of  well  water,  and  then  finally 
remove  these  soluble  salts  from  the  paper  by  distilled  water. 
The  use  of  permanganate  as  a test  for  hypo  yet  remaining  in 
alliumenized  prints  does  not  work  satisfactorily,  because  of  its 
ultimate  reduction  by  the  albumen.  How  do  you  manage  to 
get  drinking  water  on  the  island  ; and  have  you  any  trouble 
in  finishing  off  your  gelatine  negatives  1 

C.  E.  E. — The  Key  camera  was  exhibited  last  summer  at  the 
St.  James’s  Hall  meeting  of  the  Photographic  Convention. 
For  a description  of  it  see  the  News  of  August  30th  last, 
“ Convention  Notes,”  p.  573. 

A.  and  G.  T. — The  cards  are  of  exceptionally  good  quality, 
and  there  is  no  bronze  powder  in  the  printing  ink.  Those 
not  used  (three)  are  returned  to  you  by  post. 

Old  Hand. — Dextro-maltose  is  very  soluble  in  water,  and  may 
answer  your  purpose.  Enquire  of  the  Manbrfc  Saccharine 
Company,  Hammersmith,  W. 

W.  T.  1). — Would  like  to  communicate  with  Mr.  Frederick 
Winterlioff,  who  took  out  a patent  last  year  for  a “ Process 
of  etching  and  engraving  on  glass.”  The  address  given  in  the 
specification  is  reported  to  be  merely  London,  Middlesex. 
Can  any  of  our  correspondents  oblige  us  by  furnishing  the 
desired  information  as  to  present  address  ? 

Photographer. — Slow  toning  of  ready-sensitized  paper.  See 
reply  to  J.  A.  R.  last  week,  and  try  the  effect  of  a last  wash- 
ing with  very  dilute  ammonia  before  toning.  Having  tried 
without  success  the  carbonate  and  borax  toning  baths,  it 
might  be  well  to  experiment  with  the  tungstate  or  with  the 
very  active  chloride  of  lime  toning  bath,  as  prescribed  at  page 
202  of  the  Year-Book.  Two  grains  of  gold  per  sheet  ought 
to  lie  amply  sufficient. 

Flux. — Reduction  of  silver  residues.  The  chloride  and  sul- 
phide precipitates  had  1 letter  be  tieated  separately.  For  the 
first,  dry  well  and  mix  with  an  equal  weight  of  carbonate  of 
soda,  and  project  this  mixture,  by  small  portions  at  a time, 
into  a clay  crucible  containing  fused  carbonates  of  potash  and 
soda.  As  oxygen  and  carbonic  acid  are  given  off,  be  on  your 
guard  against  loss  by  frothing.  When  all  is  introduced, 
allow  time  for  tranquil  fusion,  let  cool,  and  break  the 
crucible  to  extract  the  lump  or  button  of  pure  silver.  Gold 
residues  are  treated  in  the  same  way,  but  the  metal  usually 
contains  a little  silver,  and  sometimes  enough  to  whiten  the 
alloy.  Paper  ashes  are  also  treated  like  the  chloride,  but  in 
a more  capacious  crucible,  to  provide  for  lively  effervescence. 
The  sulphide  of  silver  residues  had  better  be  roasted  to  get 
rid  of  much  sulphur,  then  fused  with  dry  carbonate  of  soda, 
and  occasional  addition  of  nitre  to  burn  off  the  rest  of  the 
sulphur.  Proceed  cautiously  for  fear  of  the  action  becoming 
too  violent.  Some  operators  add,  finally,  a little  dry  borax, 
which  helps  to  refine  the  metal. 

T.  M.  K.  (Jersey).— Studio  construction.  Your  sketch  gives 
only  the  end  view  of  proposed  iron  building,  without  details 
of  sides  and  roof.  The  window  12  by  6 feet  ought  to  be 
placed  horizontally  instead  of  vertically,  for  it  would  be  of  no 
use  carried  down  so  low  to  the  ground.  Why  not  avail 
yourself  of  the  full  width  of  the  gable  wall,  and  so  get  more 
light  ? You  have  not  indicated  the  aspect,  or  given  sufficient 
data  to  enable  us  to  advise  you  on  several  points  ; in  fact,  the 
sketch  is  altogether  too  rough  to  properly  represent  your 
ideas. 

F.  Gow. — Shall  we  return  your  money,  or  send  out  collotype 
prints  to  the  value  ? 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


I a ' 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1610. — February  7,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PAOF 


Lights  from  Explosions  or  Detonations 97 

The  Royal  Institution  98 

Photography  in  Germany.  By  Hermann  E.  Gunther 99 

The  Retoucher’s  Point.  By  Jennie  R.  Skidmore  100 

On  Control  in  the  Density  of  Negatives.  By  Chapman  Jones, 

F.I.C.,  P.C.S 100 

The  New  Rollable  Celluloid  Film.  By  W.  H.  Walker 103 

Ernst  3chering  104 

International  Copyright.  By  William  Benhnm  103 

Self-Luminous  Transparencies 105 


P AO  R 

Notes 190 

Some  Experiments  with  Eikonogen.  By  C.  Brangwin  Barnes  107 

A Photographic  Fiend  108 

Dangers  of  Flash-light  Compounds.  By  John  G.  Bullock,  and 

Charles  L.  Mitchell,  M.D 109 

A Camera  with  the  Lushia  Field  Force.  By  Tom  de  la  Touche  111 

Correspondence  Ill 

Patent  Intelligence  112 

Proceedings  of  Societies  113 

Answers  to  Correspondents  116 


LIGHTS  FROM  EXPLOSIONS  OR 
DETONATIONS. 

A great  point  in  taking  photographs  by  bright  flashes 
of  light  of  short  duration  is,  that  those  flashes  shall  be 
short  enough  to  obtain  the  portrait  before  the  sitter 
has  time  to  move  or  to  blink  his  eyes ; what  he  does 
after  the  illumination  is  over  is  of  no  moment. 
In  a large  proportion  of  the  flash-light  photographs 
from  various  sources  which  have  been  publicly 
exhibited,  the  curious  appearance  of  the  eyes  of 
the  sitters  is  usually  noteworthy,  more  especially 
in  groups.  Excellent  flash-light  photographs  taken 
in  their  own  homes  of  single  sitters  are 
easily  obtainable  by  giving  the  subject  a book  to  read, 
so  that  the  eyelids  are  naturally  somewhat  drawn 
down.  In  a group  of  half-a-dozen  sitters  this  plan 
does  not  answer,  for  rarely  in  real  life  are  so  many 
persons  seen  all  desperately  studious  at  once,  and  the 
smirk  and  other  expressions  on  the  countenances  of 
some  of  them  reveal  obviously  that  they  are  not 
reading,  but  being  photographed,  so  the  whole  picture 
is  grotesque.  Single  sitters  can  be  trained  to  steadiness 
of  the  eyes  under  the  flash  light,  but  the  professional 
photographer  does  not  desire  to  use  up  plates  or  to 
give  the  time  necessary  for  the  educating  process. 

Explosive  mixtures  containing  magnesium  were 
largely  experimented  with  some  two  or  three  years 
ago,  to  overcome  this  difficulty,  and  good  compounds 
effected  their  object  in  this  respect.  They  now  seem 
to  have  been  generally  abandoned,  in  this  country  at 
least,  because  of  their  danger,  and  some  frightful 
accidents  have  occurred  in  consequence  of  their  com- 
mercial introduction  in  other  lands  than  ours.  Chlorate 
of  potash  is  usually  the  oxygen-imparting  substance 
in  such  powders,  and  our  Government,  fortunately,  will 
not  give  permission  for  the  sale  of  any  explosive  con- 
taining chlorate  of  potash.  The  would-be  introducers 
of  such  a new  explosive  once  complained  at  a meeting 
of  the  Society  of  Chemical  Industry  of  this  action  of 
the  Government,  whose  officials  had  said  that  the  mix- 
ture would  explode  under  the  glancing  blow  of  a broom- 
stick on  a floor.  The  complainant  then  industriously 


hammered  away  with  a wooden  mallet  at  some  of  it 
placed  on  a wooden  anvil,  and  no  explosion  resulted. 
Dr.  Debus,  who  was  present,  quietly  remarked  that  the 
operator  had  been  careful  to  strike  along  and  not  across 
the  grain  of  the  wood  of  the  anvil.  He  added  that 
explosives  were  like  horses  ; they  knew  when  they  had 
a good  rider,  and  might  be  safe  enough  in  the  hands  of 
their  scientific  advocates.  The  Government,  however, 
had  the  duty  of  considering  the  safety  of  the  lives  of  the 
poor  and  ignorant  who  might  have  to  use  them. 

Our  idea  is,  that  the  trial  of  such  explosives  in  pho- 
tography has  been  prematurely  abandoned,  because  the 
materials  ordinarily  used  in  them  are  safe  enough  when 
kept  in  powder  in  separate  bottles,  and  when  a few 
grains  of  explosive  mixture  are  wanted,  that  small 
quantity  alone  may  be  prepared  immediately  before 
using,  and  gently  mixed  with  the  feather  end  of  a quill 
pen.  An  objection  to  the  light  produced  by  the  explo- 
sion is  that  it  is  small  and  star-like,  therefore  throws 
harsh  shadows.  Another  objection  is  that  the  smoke 
is  thrown  out  at  the  moment  tolerably  equally  in  all 
directions,  so  obscures  some  of  the  light.  Magnesium, 
however,  is  now  so  cheap,  that  the  latter  objection  is  of 
small  importance,  even  if  it  be  not  overcome. 

To  diffuse  the  light,  suitable  translucent  screens 
and  suitable  reflectors  have  been  used,  but  with  these 
the  percentage  of  light  lost  is  heavy.  The  better  way 
of  overcoming  the  difficulty  seems  to  be  to  fire  off 
several  of  the  little  charges  at  once  by  means  of  elec- 
tricity, so  that  the  light  shall  come  from  several 
different  points.  The  late  Mr.  Donkin  suggested  the 
use  of  a galvanic  battery,  to  send  a current  through 
minute  lengths  of  platinum  wire  wherever  the  powder 
was  placed,  so  that  the  powder  charges  should  be 
ignited  by  the  lengths  becoming  red  hot.  A simpler 
and  much  cheaper  method  seems  to  us  to  be,  igniting 
them  by  means  of  a Wimshursts  electrical  machine, 
arranged  to  give  sparks  at  will  bet  ween  disconnected 
pai-ts  of  an  otherwise  complete  metallic  circuit.  Some 
explosive  powders  such  sparks  will  scatter  and  not 
ignite,  but  placing  a piece  of  wet  string  in  the  circuit 
usually  overcomes  this  difficulty, 


08 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Fkbruarv  7,  1890. 


THE  ROYAL  INSTITUTION. 

Y. 

Da.  Thomas  Young's  Discoveries  and  Photographs. 
The  researches  and  discoveries  of  Dr.  Thomas  Young 
next  claim  attention.  He  was  one  of  the  early  photo- 
graphers, and  held  an  appointment  at  the  Royal  Insti- 
tution when,  in  1802,  Wedgwood  made  known  his 
discoveries  there,  and  Davy  took  the  first  micro-photo- 
graphs. Young  was  born  at  Milverton,  in  Somerset- 
shire, on  the  13th  of  June,  1773,  and  his  parents  were 
members  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  In  March,  1872, 
he  was  sent  to  a private  school  at  Compton,  in  Dorset- 
shire, and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  was  appointed  tutor 
at  Youngsbury,  near  Ware,  to  Hudson  Gurney,  grand- 
son of  Mr.  Barclay.  His  medical  studies  began  in 
1792;  he  made  rapid  progress,  and  after  a time  he 
proved  why  the  eye  can  see  distinctly  at  different 
distances — namely,  “ by  the  alteration  of  the  curvature 
of  the  crystalline  lens,”  and  his  memoir  on  this  subject 
appeared  in  the  “Philosophical  Transactions”  of  the 
Royal  Society,  of  which  Society  he  was  next  year  elected 
a member.  Subsequently  he  continued  his  medical 
studies  at  Edinburgh,  and  afterwards  spent  some  time  in 
the  Highlands,  visiting  members  of  the  Scottish  aristo- 
cracy. In  1879  he  went  to  the  University  of  Gottingen 
to  pursue  his  medical  studies,  and  subsequently  received 
there  his  degree  as  doctor  of  physic,  surgery,  and  mid- 
wifery. At  Brunswick  he  was  presented  at  Court, 
clothed  in  other  than  Quaker  costume,  and  he  travelled 
a little  in  Germany.  On  his  return  to  England  he  became 
a fellow-commoner  of  Emanuel  College,  Cambridge,  and 
when  he  was  about  thirty  years  of  age  began  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine. 

Huyghens  first  broached  the  wave  theory  of  light, 
but  the  great  authority  of  Newton,  who  had  adopted 
the  emission  theory,  and  considered  that  light  consisted 
of  small  particles  thrown  out  with  immense  velocity 
by  the  luminous  body,  bore  down  all  opponents,  so  that 
the  emission  theory  was  then  most  believed  in  by  scien- 
tific men.  Young  favoured  the  undulatory  theory, 
and  on  the  16th  of  January,  1800,  sent  into  the  Royal 
Society  a paper  entitled,  “ Outlines  and  Experiments 
respecting  Sound  and  Light.”  In  it  he  points  out 
some  difficulties  in  the  emission  theory.  The  first  is 
the  uniform  velocity  with  which  light  is  supposed  to 
be  projected  from  all  luminous  bodies.  How  is  it,  he 
asks,  that  whether  the  projecting  force  be  electricity, 
the  friction  of  two  pebbles,  the  lowest  degree  of  visible 
ignition,  the  white  heat  of  a blast  furnace,  or  the  in- 
tense heat  of  the  sun  itself,  these  wonderful  corpuscles 
are  always  projected  through  the  same  medium  with 
uniform  velocity  ? Another  objection  which  he  urged 
was  the  partial  reflection  from  every  refracting  surface. 
One  of  hi  ewton’s  objections  to  the  wave  theory  was,  that 
waves,  say  of  water,  will  go  round  any  opposing 
obstacle,  such  as  a rock,  and  be  found  behind  it  as  well 
as  before.  Young’s  argument  was  that,  “ in  a medium 
so  highly  elastic  as  the  luminous  ether  must  be  sup- 
posed to  be,  the  tendency  to  diverge  may  be  considered 


infinitely  small,”  an  explanation  now  known  to  be  the 
true  one.  Lord  Brougham  also  opposed  Young’s 
arguments,  and  abused  him  unmercifully. 

Wedgwood’s  photographic  discoveries  were  made 
known  at  the  Royal  Institution  in  1802,  so  it  may  be 
well  here  to  restate  a fact  or  two,  and  to  show  what 
men  of  science  were  engaged  on  the  premises  at  the 
time,  and  we  state  the  position  in  the  words  of  Pro- 
fessor Tyndall,  who  says  : “ The  Royal  Institution  was 
founded  by  Count  Rumford,  supported  by  many  of  the 
foremost  men  in  England.  The  King  was  its  patron, 
the  Earl  of  Winchilsea  its  first  president,  while  Lord 
Morton,  Lord  Egremont,  and  Sir  Joseph  Banks  were 
its  vice-presidents.  On  the  13th  of  January,  1800, 
the  Royal  Seal  was  attached  to  the  charter  of  the 
Royal  Institution.  Dr.  Thomas  Garnet  was  appointed 
Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  andChemistry.  During 
his  previous  residence  in  Bavaria,  Rumford  had  ruled 
with  beneficent  but  despotic  sway,  and  the  habit  of 
mind  thus  engendered  may  have  made  itself  felt  in  his 
behaviour  to  Dr.  Garnet.  At  all  events,  they  did  not 
get  on  well  together.  On  the  16th  Febuary,  1801, 
Davy  was  appointed  Assistant  Lecturer  in  Chemistry, 
Director  of  the  Chemical  Laboratory,  and  Assistant 
Editor  of  the  Journals  of  the  Institution.  The  post  of 
Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  was  offered  to  Young, 
and  he  accepted  it.  The  salary  was  to  be  £300  a year. 
On  the  3rd  of  August,  1801,  tliG  following  resolution 
was  passed  : — ‘ Resolved  that  the  Managers  approve  of 
the  measures  taken  by  Count  Rumford,  and  that  the 
appointment  of  Dr.  Young  be  confirmed.’  ” 

One  of  the  best  proofs  ever  given  of  the  wave  theory 
of  light  was  advanced  by  Young.  Suppose  two  stones 
to  be  dropped  at  some  distance  apart  into  a pond, 
each  stone  will  send  out  rings  of  waves,  and  the  two 
series  of  water-waves  will  meet.  If  the  elevations  of 
one  series  of  waves  then  tend  to  coincide  in  position 
with  the  elevations  of  the  other  series  of  waves,  in- 
creased wave  motion  will  be  the  result  of  their  meeting ; 
but  if  the  depressions  of  the  one  series  of  waves  tend 
to  coincide  with  the  elevations  of  the  other  series,  as  in 
the  accompanying  cut,  the  two  actions  will  neutralize 


each  other,  and  still  water  is  the  result.  So,  argued 
Young,  should  it  be  with  light ; it  ought  to  be  pos- 
sible, by  mixing  two  lights  of  the  same  wave-length, 
to  produce  stillness  or  darkness.  This  can  be  done 
experimentally.  If  two  beams  of  monochromatic  light — 
say  the  pure  red  of  the  spectrum — are  made  to  fall 
upon  each  other  at  a narrow  angle,  instead  of  pro- 
ducing an  area  of  unbroken  red  light  upon  the  screen, 
the  arrangement,  when  properly  made,  gives  alternate 
bands  of  red  light  and  darkness  upon  the  screen,  the 
darkness  being  due  to  two  series  of  waves  of  light 
neutralizing  each  other.  Young  called  this  11  the 
general  law  of  the  interference  of  light.” 

(To  be  continued). 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


February  7,  1890.] 


99 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  GERMANY. 

BY  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

Stellar-Photography — Litho  - Photogravure — Gelatine 
Plates  for  Photo-Mechanical  Purposes. 

Stellar -Photography. — One  of  the  most  talented  and  ardent 
amateur  astronomers  in  this  country,  Mr.  Eugen  von 
Gothard,  of  Hereny,  Hungary,  has  of  late  produced  a 
number  of  highly  interesting  photographs  of  nebulae. 
These  beautiful  pictures  show  that  it  is  possible,  with 
comparatively  very  limited  instrumental  resources,  by  the 
aid  of  photography,  to  obtain  results  which  by  far  sur- 
pass what  has  been  gained  even  with  the  largest  instru- 
ments by  means  of  ocular  observations.  E.  von  Gothard 
possesses  a ten-inch  reflecting  telescope  of  a comparatively 
short  focus  (about  six  feet).  Reflecting  telescopes  are, 
however,  in  the  case  of  stellar  photography,  in  many 
instances  superior  to  the  refractors,  since,  with  the 
former,  light-waves  of  every  wave-length  are  united  in 
one  point ; whilst  with  refractors  each  sort  of  ray  pos- 
sesses a different  focus.  With  reflecting  telescopes  it  is, 
therefore,  also  possible  advantageously  to  make  use  of 
orthochromatic  plates.  The  renowned  astronomer,  Pro- 
fessor II.  C.  Vogel,  of  Potsdam,  has  of  late  published 
enlarged  lithographic  reproductions  of  some  of  the  photo- 
graphs of  M.  Gothard,  rendering  most  exactly  the  photo- 
graphic originals,  showing,  however,  at  the  same  time, 
much  more  detail  than  the  drawings  produced  after 
direct  ocular  observations.  Vogel  speaks  very  highly  of 
these  photographs.  Especially  beautiful  is  one  photo- 
graph of  the  well-known  spiral  nebula  in  the  “Hunters,” 
which  has  been  taken  with  an  exposure  of  two  hours  and 
thirty-five  minutes.  It  is  remarkable  that  this  picture 
admits  a strict  discernment  between  light-knots — i.e., 
stellar-like  condensations  in  the  nebulosity — and  stars, 
the  silver  deposit  on  the  negative,  if  examined  at  high 
powers,  being  a materially  different  one  in  the  case  of  a 
star,  than  in  the  case  of  a light-knot.  With  regard  to  the 
very  remarkable  success  with  which  this  photograph  of  the 
nebula  has  been  achieved,  Prof.  Vogel  recommends  a 
very  special  study  of  it  by  means  of  exposures  of  different 
lengths  of  time.  Not  only  that  with  shorter  exposures, 
by  which  only  the  brightest  parts  of  the  nebula  will  be 
apparent,  and  exact  measuring  of  their  position  will  be 
possible,  but  also  a photographic  determination  of  the 
relative  intensities  of  the  different  parts  of  the  nebula  will 
be  given  by  a number  of  differently  long-exposed  plates. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  in  stellar  photography  the 
inferior  rapidity  of  the  instrument  is  compensated  for  by 
a longer  time  of  exposure,  which  enables  the  rendering  of 
objects  which  are  too  feeble  to  affect  the  eye. 

Litho-Photogravure. — Herr  Ottomar  Volckmer,  chairman 
of  the  Photographic  Society  of  Vienna,  gives  in  the  Cor- 
respondenz  an  interesting  description  of  a peculiar,  very 
perfect  photo-mechanical  process,  which  has  been  in- 
vented by  his  friend  Carl  Eckstein,  of  the  staff  at 
the  Hague.  At  first,  a lithographic  stone  of  the  finest 
quality  is  polished  with  oxalic  acid  and  water,  and  then 
covered  by  means  of  a roller  very  eveidy  with  a very 
diluted  asphaltum  solution,  which  is  prepared  by  boding 
five  parts  of  asphaltum,  six  parts  of  white  wax,  six  parts 
of  stearine,  adding  to  it  two  parts  of  soda  solution,  dis- 
solving the  whole,  after  cooling,  in  turpentine  oil,  filter- 
ing, and  keeping  in  well-stoppered  bottles.  Into  the  thin, 
light-brownish  film  are  now,  by  means  of  a diamond  with 
the  ruling  machine,  scratched  very  fine  lines,  from  eight 


to  ten  to  one  millimetre  (l-2Gth  of  an  inch),  until  the  stone 
is  all  over  evenly  covered  with  them.  The  latter  is  then  pro- 
vided with  a wax  border  one-fifth  of  an  inch  high,  and 
well  levelled  within  a trough.  An  etching  liquid  is  now 
poured  over  the  stone,  consisting  of  one-sixth  part  of 
chemically  pure  nitric  acid,  six  parts  of  alcohol  of  363, 
and  350  parts  of  distilled  water.  After  half-a-minute  the 
stone  is  quickly  washed,  dried,  oiled,  the  asphaltum 
washed  off  with  turpentine,  and  then  inked  up  ; it  is  then 
ready  for  being  printed  from,  and  forms  the  so-called 
mother-stone.  Now,  one  or  a number  of  transfers  are 
made  from  it  on  a well-polished,  and  afterwards  with 
oxalic  acid  repolished  stone,  by  slightly  moistening  the 
back  of  the  print  on  the  transfer  paper,  squeegeeing  it  onto 
the  stone,  and,  when  almost  dry,  by  treating  it  with  warm 
water,  until  the  paper  comes  off.  After  well  washing  with 
warm  water,  other  transfers  can  be  applied  to  the  same 
stone,  so  that  the  lines  cross  themselves  with  the  former 
ones  from  one  to  four  times.  The  latter  is  especially  to 
be  recommended  for  litho-photogravure  work.  The 
stone  is  then  dusted  with  finest  resin  powder,  the  sur- 
plus removed  by  means  of  a camel’s  hair  brush,  and  the 
resin  melted  on  to  the  transfer  by  ether  vapours.  A 
carbon  transparency  on  glass  is  now  produced  from  a 
good,  clear  negative,  ordinary  pigment  paper  exposed 
behind  it,  slightly  moistened,  squeegeed  on  to  the  ruled 
stone,  and  developed  with  water  of  104°  to  113°  F.,  until 
the  paper,  and  afterwards  the  excessive  colour,  by  con- 
stantly rocking  the  stone  in  warm  water,  begins  to  loosen. 
The  picture  is  now  a negative  copy.  The  stone  should 
then  be  dried  spontaneously  with  care,  which  requires  from 
five  to  six  hours.  The  etching  is  done  with  ferric 
chloride  of  40-37®  F.,  33°  and  30°  Beaum6,  respec- 
tively, beginning  with  40°  and  finishing-  with  30®.  This 
requires  skill  and  practice.  The  strong  solution  etches  at 
first  through  the  thinnest  parts  of  the  relief,  after  some 
time  also  through  the  thick  ones.  The  etching  fluid  of 
30®  dissolves  at  last  in  its  wfater  the  wdiole  of  the  pigment 
film  still  remaining.  As  soon  as  the  required  depth  of 
etching  is  attained,  the  stone  is  removed  to  a trough  and 
thoroughly  washed  in  running  w-ater,  then  the  asphalt  is 
washed  off  with  turpentine,  washed  again  in  several 
changes  of  wrater,  and  dried.  The  image  is  now  deeply 
etched  in  the  stone.  Finally,  it  is  oiled,  inked  up,  and 
treated  otherwise  as  any  other  engraved  stone.  Should  it 
be  desired  to  print  from  the  stone  in  more  than  one 
colour,  it  is  at  first  inked  with  a local  tone — grey, 
violet,  or  brown — according  to  the  required  character  of 
the  picture,  and  then  by  marking  out  the  other  parts. 
The  single  colours  are  imposed  upon  the  ground  tone.  A 
very  slight  touch  will  deposit  a sufficient  amount  of 
colour.  As  soon  as  the  different  colours  have  been 
applied,  a print  can  be  made  at  once.  The  colour  effect 
is  excellent. 

Gelatine  Plates  for  Photo-Mechanical  Purposes. — It  is 
generally  known  that  negatives  which  are  to  be  used  for 
photographic  transfers  from  line  subjects  should  show  the 
ines  quite  clear,  and  the  rest  of  the  film  very  dense  and 
opaque.  Many  operators  suppose  that  gelatine  dry  plates 
are  not  at  all  applicable  for  this  purpose,  and,  therefore, 
prefer  the  wet  collodion  process,  which  they  find  to  be 
the  best  for  producing  such  negatives.  Gelatine  plates 
are,  however,  by  no  means  quite  useless  for  this  class  of 
work,  for,  w-ithout  mentioning  that  there  are  a few  manu- 
facturers who  produce  a sort  of  slow  gelatine  plate  which 
gives  satisfactory  results,  there  is  no  doubt  that  also 


100 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Fef.ru ary  7,  1890. 


ordinary  gelatine  dry  plates  may  successfully  be  employe' 
for  photo-mechanical  work,  provided  they  are  correctly 
treated.  In  the  case  of  reproductions  from  drawings  an<l 
other  line  subjects,  clearness,  and  especially  vigour,  is 
obtained  more  easily  and  with  more  certainty,  without 
intensifying,  than  with  collodion  plates,  if  the  following 
method,  as  recommended  by  Herr  F.  Wilde,  be  employed : 
— The  plate  is  exposed  twice  as  long  as  would  be 
required  for  ordinary  photographs,  and  to  the  develop- 
ing solution  is  added  from  the  beginning  the  following 
iodo-bromide  restrainer,  in  the  proportion  of  20cc.  to 
25cc.  to  each  200cc.  of  developer. 

Solution  1. 

Iodine,  sublimed  ...  1 gramme 

Alcohol  ...  ...  ...  ...  200  cc. 


Solution  2. 

Potassium  bromide  ...  ...  ...  14  grammes 

Water ...  ...  ...  200  cc. 


Solutions  one  and  two  are  mixed,  and  the  mixture  is 
added  to  the  developer  in  the  above  given  proportion. 
By  prolonged  development  negatives  of  such  a vigour  and 
density  may  be  obtained,  as  are  very  difficult  and 
not  always  with  equal  certainty  obtainable  on  wet  collo- 
dion plates,  even  with  subsequent  intensification.  If  these 
directions  are  carefully  observed,  the  gelatine  dry  plates 
are  decidedly  preferable  to  the  wet  collodion  plates  for 
this  special  purpose. 


THE  RETOUCHER’S  POINT. 

BY  JENNIE  R.  SKIDMORE. 

I watched  her  pencil  glide  about, 

I also  watched  the  hand  that  hid  it, 

I paused  a moment,  half  in  doubt, 

Then  boldly  asked  her  how  she  did  it. 

She  laughed,  and  gave  a gay  retort, 

As  still  her  fingers  kept  their  pace, 

Yet  while  she  crushed  my  heart  in  sport, 

She  deftly  rounded  out  my  face. 

And  cleared  my  brow  of  every  care, 

And  put  such  fire  within  my  eyes  ! 

And  squared  my  chin  and  smoothed  my  hair — 

I gazed  upon  her  in  surprise. 

And  when  ’twas  done,  I said  to  her, 

“An  easy  thing  ’twould  be  to  live 
If  shown  by  some  philosopher 
That  Life  is  like  a Negative.” 

Then,  smiling,  cried  the  pretty  maid  : 

“ I’ll  prove  it  to  you  very  pat ; 

There’s  naught  in  life  but  ‘ light  ’ and  ‘ shade,’ 
Though  sometimes  we  pronounce  it  ‘ flat.’  ” 

“And  then  again  we  find  it  ‘ sharp,’ 

Or  * blank  ’ or  ‘ clouded  ’ — men  have  rhymed 
Of  youths  the  gods  take  to  their  heart, 

And  then  you  see  its  ' under- timed.’  ” 

“ And  then — ” “ I yield  the  palm  to  you  ; 

Your  doctrine’s  sound  at  every  joint.  ” 

She  tossed  her  head— “ That’s  nothing  new  ; 
Retouchers  often  make  a point.” 

American  Times. 


Photographing  a Duel. — A correspondent  of  the  T 
I ork  Herald,  in  an  account  of  the  recent  duel  between 
Marquis  de  Mores  and  M.  Camille  Dreyfus,  says-— “I  stoo< 
few  dozen  yards  away  watching  every  detail,  and  from  tim< 
time  taking  instantaneous  photographs  with  the  aid  of  a detect 
camera  stowed  beneath  my  waistcoat.  These  photographs  i 
be  reproduced  in  the  Herald  within  a few  days.” 


ON  CONTROL  IN  THE  DENSITY  OF  NEGATIVES* 

BY  CHAPMAN  JONES,  F.I.C.,  F.C.S. 

It  is  universally  allowed  that  the  practical  density  of  the  deposit 
obtained  in  a gelatino-bromide  negative  is  difficult  to  estimate 
during  development,  probably  on  account  of  the  variable  print- 
ing value  of  negatives  that  have  the  same  apparent  densities, 
and  certainly  because  of  the  opacity  of  the  film.  This  last 
difficulty  is  increased  when  the  sensitive  salt  is  in  suitable 
quantity  to  prevent  light  passing  through  the  film,  so  as  to 
make  the  best  possible  gradation,  and  avoid  the  evils  of  hala- 
tion. 

The  photographer  who  aims  at  something  higher  than  to 
simply  take  what  comes  on  his  plate  and  make  the  best  of  it  in 
printing,  has  a choice  of  three  principles  of  action  in  controlling 
the  densities  of  his  negatives.  He  may  get  as  close  as  he  can 
to  the  desirable  condition  by  development,  and  trust  to  pro- 
cesses of  reduction  if  his  plate  is  too  dense,  and  to  intensification 
if  it  is  not  dense  enough  ; or  he  may  get  density  at  all  risks, 
and  endeavour  if  necessary  to  reduce  his  negatives  to  what  he 
wants  ; or,  lastly,  he  may  take  care  that  the  density  got  by 
development  shall  never  be  too  great,  so  that  the  error  may  be 
corrected  by  intensification  alone.  Each  method  has  its  advo- 
cates, and  is  doubtless  occasionally  useful  ; but  the  amount  of 
control  obtained  by  the  usual  processes  is  so  small,  and  the  un- 
certainty of  the  various  operations  so  great,  that  many  expert 
workers  prefer  to  either  print  from  or  else  altogether  reject  their 
negatives  as  produced  by  simple  development.  It  is  the  aim  of 
the  author  to  do  away  with  this'uncertainty,  and  to  show  how 
— what  is  for  all  practical  purposes — a perfect  control  may  be 
realised  in  the  densities  of  negatives. 

It  has  been  shown  by  Captain  Abney  that  in  all  probability 
the  amount  of  silver  deposited  in  a film  by  development,  after 
exposures  within  the  ordinary  limits,  is  proportional  to  the 
actinic  power  of  the  light  acting  upon  the  sensitive  salt,  though 
the  opacity  is  not  strictly  proportional.  It  will  lie  convenient 
to  speak  of  the  gradation  in  such  a negative  as  “ normal.”  In 
methods  for  altering  the  densities  of  negatives  it  is  important 
that  the  gradation  shall  remain  normal,  being  either  increased 
or  diminished  throughout  the  scale  in  a proportional  manner. 
An  alteration  of  the  gradation  may  sometimes  be  good,  but  it 
will  lie  allowed  by  all  that  a standard  process  working  with 
exactness  is  desirable,  if  only  as  a point  from  which  departures 
may  be  made. 

In  seeking  for  methods  by  which  the  control  of  density  may 
be  obtained  without  destroying  the  normal  character  of  the 
gradation,  it  is  necessary  to  remember  the  very  appreciable 
thickness  of  the  sensitive  film,  and  that  in  almost  every  case  the 
reagent  employed  begins  to  act  at  its  outer  surface.  Thisdemon-  g 
strates  at  once  that  to  get  with  certainty  a normal  alteration  of 
density,  the  changes  produced  must  be  such  as  may  be  allowed  to 
work  thoroughly  and  through  the  film.  A thorough  reduction 
by  any  of  the  usual  processes  would  lead  to  a complete  removal 
of  the  image,  and  methods  of  reduction  are,  therefore,  useless  for 
the  normal  control  of  density.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  possible, 
by  employing  a very  dilute  reducing  solution,  to  get  the  re- 
agent to  work  so  slowly  that  it  penetrates  the  film  before  it 
appreciably  acts,  and  so  by  beginning  to  produce  its  effect  on 
the  whole  image  at  the  same  time,  to  work  normally  ; but  there 
can  lie  no  guarantee  that  the  action  is  not  irregular.  It  may, 
perhaps,  in  a somewhat  similar  manner,  lie  possible  to  get  a nor- 
mal intensification  by  the  use  of  a reagent  that  first  intensifies 
and  then  reduces,  but  in  practical  work  it  is  not  possible  to  be 
sure  that  the  reducing  effect  has  not  begun  at  the  surface  before 
the  intensification  has  reached  its  maximum  in  the  high  lights 
that  extend  deep  into  the  film.  Such  irregular  processes  may 
have  their  uses,  in  which  their  characteristic  irregularities  are 
taken  advantage  of,  but  as  standard  methods  of  work  in  which 
certainty  is  important,  they  can  only  be  regarded  as  treacherous 
and  unsuitable. 

It  remains,  therefore,  in  getting  control  of  density  with  cer- 
tainty, and  without  producing  abnormal  results,  to  take  care 
that  the  negative  as  developed  is  not  too  dense,  and  to  seek  for 
methods  of  intensification  that  shall  give  increase  of  density  in 

’ Read  before  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain, 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


id 


February  7,  1890.] 

easy  stages,  and  arc  free  from  the  faults  above-named.  Taking 
into  consideration  also  such  matters  as  permanency  of  result, 
it  appears  that,  by  the  use  of  mercuric  chloride,  sodium  sul- 
phite, and  ferrous  oxalate,  in  the  manner  hereafter  described, 
the  control  sought  for  may  be  realized. 

It  will  be  convenient  to  consider  the  subject  under  the  follow- 
ing divisions  : — Historical  references  ; chemistry  of  the  changes  ; 
action  of  mercuric  chloride  ; action  of  sodium  sulphite  ; action 
of  ferrous  oxalate  ; practical  methods. 

Historical  References. — In  a letter  addressed  to  the  editor  of 
the  Photographic  News,  in  1878,  Mr.  J.  W.  Swan  stated  that 
“ ferrous  oxalate  advantageously  replaces  the  nitrate  of  silver, 
Scldippe’s  salts,  or  other  of  the  chemicals  now  commonly  used 
for  blackening  the  image  after  treatment  with  bromide  of 
copper.”  In  1881,  Messrs.  C.  I.  Burton  and  A.  P.  Laurie  des- 
cribed before  the  Edinburgh  Photographic  Society  (Photo- 
graphic News,  XXV.,  269)  some  experiments  with  intensifies. 
After  bleaching  with  mercuric  chloride,  they  sought  to  blacken 
the  negative  by  exposure  to  light,  and  failed.  They  therefore 
used  mercuric  bromide  in  saturated  solution  instead  of  the 
chloride,  washed  the  plate,  exposed  it  to  sunshine  for  about  a 
minute  at  least — the  longer  the  better — and  then  applied  a 
developer.  They  preferred  ferrous  oxalate  as  developer,  but 
stated  that  pyrogallie  acid  w'as  also  serviceable.  They  found 
that  the  process  might  be  repeated  several  times  on  the  same 
negative.  Scolik’s  method  of  intensification  by  treatment  with 
mercuric  chloride  or  bromide  followed  by  sodium  sulphite,  was 
introduced  in  1884  ( Photographische  Correspondent,  XXI.,  265), 
and  Dr.  Eder,  in  the  Year-Book  ok  Photography  for  1885 
(page  100),  states  that  “the  white  and  insoluble  mercurous 
chloride  which  is  deposited  upon  the  plate  is  rapidly  reduced  to 
the  metallic  state  by  the  sulphite.”  He  says,  in  addition,  that 
mercury  forms  a stable  image. 

Chemistry  of  the  Changes  : 7'hc  Action  of  Mercuric  Chloride. 
—As  mercuric  chloride  is  the  first  reagent  employed,  it  ap- 
peared to  be  important  to  discover  the  ehauge  that  it  brings 
about.  It  is  generally  stated  that  when  mercuric  chloride  reacts 
with  the  silver  of  the  image,  silver  chloride  and  mercurous 
chloride  result. 

Ag  + HgCl2  = HgCl  + AgCl. 

As  I have  not  been  able  to  find  any  record  of  a specific  proof 
of  the  truth  of  this  reaction,  I treated  a quantity  of  pure  pre- 
cipitated silver  by  grinding  it  with  mercuric  chloride  and  water, 
and  repeating  the  grinding  at  intervals  during  a few'  days.  The 
product  wras  washed,  and  consisted  chiefly  of  a pure,  white  pow- 
tler,  but  mixed  with  a coarse,  grey  powder  of  probably  unacted- 
on  silver.  As  much  of  the  white  product  as  was  deemed  advis- 
able was  separated  by  elutriation,  dried  at  steam  heat,  and 
found  analytically  to  contain  37 '75  percent,  of  silver  chloride, 
the  amount  needed  by  the  above  equation  being 3 7 ‘86  percent. 
This  result  was  confirmed  by  other  methods,  such  as  the  quan- 
tity of  mercury  salt  taken  up,  and  the  weight  of  product 
obtained  from  a given  weight  of  silver  ; therefore  there  is  no 
room  for  doubt  that  the  commonly  accepted  reaction  is  correct 
so  far  as  the  matter  of  proportion  goes.  The  properties  of  the 
product,  however,  both  chemical  and  physical,  point  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  is  not  a mixture  of  the  two  chlorides,  but  a 
definite  double  chloride.  This  matter  is  still  under  investiga- 
tion, but,  acting  in  the  light  of  evidence  already  to  hand,  I will, 
for  present  purposes,  regard  the  substance  as  a definite  com- 
pound, writing  the  equation  that  represents  its  production — 

Ag + HgCl2 = HgAgClj, 

and  postpone  any  further  consideration  of  the  matter. 

The  Action  of  Sodium  Sulphite. — The  action  of  sodium  sul- 
phite upon  mercurous  silver  chloride  is  commonly  stated  to 
result  in  the  solution  of  the  silver  chloride  and  the  reduction  of 
the  mercurous  chloride  to  the  metallic  state.  This  I believe  to 
be  entirely  incorrect,  though  there  appears  to  be  sufficient 
ground  for  having  provisionally  accepted  the  idea.  In  the 
quotation  given  above  from  Dr.  Eder,  one  would  naturally  infer 
that  this  was  the  change,  and  test-books  of  chemistry  very 
commonly  state  that  sodium  sulphite  reduces  mercurous  chloride 
to  the  metal.  It  is  also  well  known  that  silver  chloride  is  dis- 
solved by  sodium  sulphite.  But  the  reaction  before  us  is  not 


equal  to  the  result  of  the  action  of  sodium  sulphite  upon  mer- 
curous chloride  and  silver  chloride  separately  ; the  silver  is  not 
dissolved,  the  mercury  is  not  reduced,  and  the  sodium  sulphite 
apparently  does  not  play  the  part  of  a reducing  agent. 

Concerning  the  action  of  sodium  sulphite  on  silver  chloride 
alone,  there  is  little  that  calls  for  remark.  The  silver  chloride 
is  dissolved,  and  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  the  commonly 
accepted  statement  that  a double  sulphite  is  produced,  or  per- 
haps more  than  one. 

The  action  of  sodium  sulphite  upon  mercurous  chloride  has 
been  studied  conjointly  by  Dr.  Divers  and  Mr.  Schmidzu 
( Journal  of  the  Chemical  Society,  XLIX,  533).  They  found 
that  there  wras  at  first  a transient  blackening  due  to  the  forma- 
tion of  what  they  call  hypomercurosic  sulphite,  and  formulate 
thus  : — Hg(S03)2Hg3.  This  formula  halved  and  written 
empirically  becomes  identical  with  mercurous  sulphite,  Hg2S03, 
and  there  appears  to  be  no  conclusive  reason  why  the  produc- 
tion of  this  compound  should  not  be  expressed  by  the  simple 
equation  2 HgCl  + Na2So3 = Hg2S03 + 2NaCl . But  excess  of 

sodium  sulphite  so  readily  attacks  the  mercury  salt  that  it  can- 
not be  prepared  by  taking  any  precautions  from  mercurous 
chloride,  the  final  products  of  the  change  being  mercuric  sodium 
sulphite,  which  dissolves,  and  a residue  of  metallic  mercury, 
thus  : — 

Hg2S03 + Na2S03 = Hg + Hg(  NaS03)2. 

For  practical ’purposes,  therefore,  the  action  of  sodium  sulphite 
upon  mercurous  chloride  may  be  stated  to  produce  mercuric 
sodium  sulphite  and  metallic  mercury,  and  the  whole  change 
may  be  expressed  thus  : — 

2 HgCl  + 2 NajSO,  = Hg(NaS03)2  + Hg  + 2 NaCl. 

It  is  important  to  notice  that  the  sodium  sulphite  does  not 
play  the  part  of  a reducing  agent  at  all,  for  it  is  not  oxidized  ; 
and  that  half  the  mercury  is  dissolved,  the  other  half  remain- 
ing as  metal.  I have  confirmed  the  truth  of  this  reaction  so 
far  as  identifying  the  mercuric  sodium  sulphite  in  the  solution 
by  the  properties  it  is  stated  to  possess,  and  I have  proved 
analytically  that  half  the  mercury  is  dissolved,  and  that  the 
other  half  remains  as  metal.  If,  therefore,  it  were  possible  to 
exchange  the  silver  image  of  a negative  for  mercury,  it  would 
not  be  possible  to  increase  the  amount  of  metal  by 
the  action  of  mercuric  chloride  followed  by  sodium  sulphite. 
The  contrary  of  this  has  been  stated  by  some  writers  on  photo- 
graphic subjects. 

The  action  of  sodium  sulphite  upon  mercurous  silver  chloride 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  investigated.  The  current  and 
incorrect  idea  has  been  referred  to  above.  My  investigation  of 
the  reaction  is  not  yet  so  complete  that  I can  give  a proved 
equation  to  represent  it,  but  it  is  not  likely  that  further  work 
will  discover  results  of  practical  interest  to  the  photographer. 
When  sodium  sulphite  reacts  upon  mercurous  silver  chloride, 
the  whole  of  the  chlorine  goes  into  the  solution  ; three-fourths 
of  the  mercury  and  half  the  silver  are  also  dissolved,  and  one- 
fourth  of  the  mercury  and  half  the  silver  remain  in  the 
metallic  condition  to  form  the  image.  The  action  may  be 
represented  thus  : — 

4 HgAgCl.,  = 3 HgCl2  + 2 AgCl  + AgjHg. 

-c ' 

Dissolved  by  the  sodium 
sulphite. 

The  Ag2Hg  remains  to  form  the  image,  and  the  mercuric  chlo- 
ride and  silver  chloride  are  taken  up  and  doubtless  changed  by 
the  sodium  sulphite  in  a way  that  might  easily  be  conjectured  ; 
but,  as  I have  not  yet  proved  by  experiment  the  compounds 
that  are  formed,  it  is  better  to  leave  it  an  open  question  for 
the  present.  I have  also  proved  that  the  silver  and  mercury 
are  actually  present  in  the  above  proportion  in  a negative 
intensified  by  mercuric  chloride  followed  by  sodium  sulphite, 
by  an  estimation  of  the  metals  present  in  the  film.  It  will  be 
observed  that  this  method  of  intensification  results  in  an 
exchange  of  half  the  silver  of  the  image  for  mercury,  four 
atoms  of  silver  (4  Ag)  yielding  after  the  action  two  atoms  of 
silver  and  one  of  mercury  (Ag2Hg).  This  generally  results  in 
a slight  increase  of  density,  but  not  always ; it  appears  to 
depend  upon  the  physical  condition  of  the  film  and  its  image 


102 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  7,  1890. 


whether  or  not  the  exchange  of  half  the  silver  for  less  than 
its  own  weight  of  mercury  (216  : 200)  will  give  increased 
density  ; but  personally,  I have  found  that  there  is  an  intensi- 
fication effect  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases. 

There  are  statements  conerning  this  method  of  intensification 
that  1 have  not  been  able  to  confirm.  First,  that  by  repeating 
the  operation  any  density  can  be  obtained.  This  is  probably 
the  assertion  of  a mere  theoretician  who  argued  from  false 
premises.  I have  repeated  the  process  six  times  on  a plate, 
and  the  density  is  greatest  where  it  has  received  only  one  treat- 
ment. It  has  been  pointed  out  above  that  so  far  as  mercury 
itself  is  concerned,  the  action  of  these  re-agents  does  not 
increase  its  quantity.  Secondly,  that  a negative  intensified  by 
this  process  may  be  reduced  by  immersion  in  a solution  of 
sodium  hyposulphite.  I have  never  found  this  to  be  the  case, 
even  by  prolonged  treatment  (one  hour),  nor  can  I see  any 
reason  to  expect  reduction  under  these  circumstances. 

There  is  what  at  first  appears  to  be  an  anomalous  property  of 
the  image  resulting  after  the  application  of  this  intensifier, 
namely,  that  it  is  invariably  darkened  to  a slight  extent  by  the 
application  of  ferrous  oxalate  to  it.  As  the  solution  of  the 
chloride  of  silver  in  sodium  sulphite,  as  shown  in  the  above 
equation,  is  not  very  stable,  it  may  be  that  a little  silver  chlo- 
ride remains  attached  to  the  image,  and  that  this  is  reduced  to 
the  metallic  state  by  the  ferrous  oxalate,  but  the  fact  remains 
that,  even  by  prolonged  treatment  with  fresh  sodium  sulphite 
solution,  I have  been  unable  to  eliminate  whatever  it  is  that 
leads  to  this  effect. 

It  may  be  worth  while  recording  here  that  if  mercurous  silver 
chloride  and  sodium  sulphite  are  allowed  to  remain  in  contact 
for  some  days,  the  residue  is  chiefly  silver  instead  of  Ag2Hg. 
This  fact  has  probably  no  photographic  significance. 

The  Action  of  Ferrous  Oxalate. — In  order  to  make  quite  sure 
of  the  processes  that  I am  about  to  recommend,  I have  proved 
experimentally  that  a solution  of  ferrous  oxalate  reduces  both 
silver  chloride  and  mercurous  chloride  to  the  metallic  state  ; 
and  that  ferrous  oxalate  solution  removes  all  the  chlorine  from 
mercurous  silver  chloride  and  leaves  the  whole  of  both  the 
metals  as  such. 

Practical  Methods. — The  method  of  getting  control  in  density 
that  I wish  mo3t  urgently  to  recommend  to  those  who  aim  at 
getting  good  negatives  with  certainty  is,  to  take  care  that  in 
development  the  density  of  deposit  never  exceeds  what  is 
required,  and  then  to  work  up  the  negative  to  the  best  condi- 
tion by  the  action  of  mercuric  chloride  followed  by  ferrous 
oxalate,  repeating  this  process  if  necessary  ; or,  if  the  intensi- 
fication that  would  be  given  by  these  re-agents  is  conjectured  to 
be  too  great,  following,  under  certain  conditions,  the  mercury 
solution  with  sodium  sulphite.  The  important  matter  is  that 
every  effect  shall  be  thorough,  that  every  atom  of  silver  in  the 
negative  may  be  acted  upon  in  the  same  way  and  to  the  same 
extent. 

I first  recommended  the  use  of  mercuric  chloride,  followed 
by  ferrous  oxalate,  in  1888,  in  the  Photographic  News  (Vol. 
XXXII.,  p.  18),  and  in  my  “ Introduction  to  the  Science  and 
Practice  of  Photography.”  During  the  last  two  or  three  years 
I have  had  considerable  experience  in  the  application  of  this 
process,  and  could  have  shown  many  negatives  treated  by  it, 
but  so  far  as  appearance  goes  it  is  very  doubtful  whether 
anyone  could  distinguish  a negative  so  intensified  from  one 
not  changed  after  development.  To  illustrate  the  effect,  I 
have  treated  various  parts  of  a thin  landscape  negative,  which 
includes  sky,  sea,  distance,  middle  distance,  and  foreground,  up 
to  four  times.  1 

The  solutions  that  it  is  advisable  to  use  are — 

1.  A saturated  solution  of  mercuric  chloride,  to  which  has 
been  added  two  or  three  cubic  centimetres  of  strong  hydro- 
chloric acid  to  each  litre  (or  half  a dram  to  each  pint).  No 
ammonium  chloride  or  other  salt  should  be  added.  There  is 
no  need  to  use  mercuric  bromide,  as  stated  by  Burton  and 
Laurie,  nor  is  the  subsequent  exposure  to  light  specified  by 
these  gentlemen  at  all  requisite.  The  operations  may  be 
carried  on  by  daylight  or  gaslight,  and,  indeed,  I have  not 
found  it  necessary  to  pay  any  attention  whatever  to  the  light 
that  falls  upon  the  plate.  After  the  mercuric  chloride  the 


washing  must  be  thorough,  generally  about  an  hour  or  an  hour 
and  a half,  with  constant  changes  of  water. 

2.  The  ferrous  oxalate  is  conveniently  prepared  by  adding 
one  part  by  volume  of  a saturated  solution  of  ferrous  sulphate 
to  about  six  parts  by  volume  of  a saturated  solution  of  neutral 
potassium  oxalate.  The  potassium  oxalate  may  be  just  acidi- 
fied with  oxalic  acid,  but  acid  tends  to  retard  the  action  of  the 
oxalate.  The  solution  may  be  used  weaker  than  above,  but 
then  it  acts  more  slowly.  The  action  of  the  ferrous  oxalate  is 
retarded  if  all  the  mercuric  chloride  is  not  washed  away  from 
the  negative,  though  the  addition  of  mercuric  chloride  to  the 
ferrous  oxalate  solution  does  not  appear  to  have  any  appreciable 
effect.  If  the  action  of  the  ferrous  oxalate  is  made  unduly 
slow,  the  reduced  silver  and  mercury  will  tend  to  whiteness,  as 
is  also  the  case  in  a very  slowly  developed  negative.  The  slaty 
colour  of  the  metals  produced  in  extreme  cases,  especially  at 
the  glass  side  of  the  film,  may  load  an  inexperienced  operator  to 
consider  the  action  of  the  ferrous  oxalate  unfinished,  .although 
the  reduction  is  complete. 

3.  The  solution  of  sodium  sulphite  may  vary  as  to  strength 
within  wide  limits  ; a five  to  ten  per  cent,  solution  is  conveni- 
ent. A little  acid  should  be  added  to  it,  preferably  sulphurous, 
until  the  solution  ceases  to  give  a red  colour  to  a dilute  solution 
of  phenol-phthalein.  Litmus  paper  is  useless  in  this  case.  For 
ordinary  work  it  is  sufficient  to  take  advantage  of  the  fact  that 
if  a good  sample  of  crystallized  sodium  sulphite  is  dissolved  with 
one-thousandth  of  its  weight  of  citric  acid,  the  alkali  in  it  will 
probably  be  neutralized.  To  be  on  the  safe  side,  five  times  this 
amount  may  be  taken,  say  half  a gram  of  citric  acid  to  one 
hundred  grams  of  sodium  sulphite,  or  two  and  a half  grains  of 
acid  to  one  ounce  of  sulphite.  It  is  a mistake  to  say  that  a 
negative  should  be  only  just  rinsed  after  treatment  with  mer- 
curic chloride  when  sodium  sulphite  is  to  be  used.  The  wash- 
ing need  not  be  so  thorough  as  in  other  cases,  but  the  more 
complete  it  is  the  more  rapidly  will  the  sulphite  produce  its 
effect. 

We  have  already  seen  that  mercuric  chloride,  followed  by 
sodium  sulphite,  will  not  add  to  a mercury  image,  the  opera- 
tion leaving  exactly  as  much  mercury  as  there  was  originally  ; 
and  as  the  effect  of  mercuric  chloride,  followed  by  ferrous 
oxalate,  is  simply  to  accumulate  mercury  upon  the  original 
silver  of  the  negative,  the  intensifying  action  of  the  sulphite 
method  becomes  inappreciable  after  two  or  three  applications 
of  the  oxalate  method.  This  gives  an  additional  uncertainty 
as  to  the  intensifying  effect  of  mercuric  chloride  followed  by 
sodium  sulphite  ; but  the  small  amount  of  added  density  given 
by  this  method  is  often  valuable,  and  the  process  has  the 
advantage  that  if  it  does  no  good  it  does  no  harm,  for  the 
negative,  after  a thorough  washing,  is  just  as  amenable  to 
the  mercury  and  ferrous  oxalate  as  if  the  sulphite  had  not 
been  used. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  reducing  power  (using  the  ex- 
pression in  a chemical  sense)  of  the  image  is  lessened  by  the 
application  of  mercuric  chloride  and  sodium  sulphite,  the  Ag2Hg 
being  able  to  take  to  itself  only  three  atoms  of  mercury  by 
one  application  of  mercuric  chloride  and  ferrous  oxalate,  while 
the  original  four  atoms  of  silver  could  take  four  atoms  of 
mercury.  But  the  difference  in  density  given  by  mercury  and 
ferrous  oxalate  when  applied  to  a negative  before  and  after  the 
use  of  the  sulphite  method  is  not  practically  appreciable. 

I had  hoped  to  have  been  able  to  give  a more  or  less  exact 
idea  of  the  densities  of  negatives  as  varied  by  such  treatments 
as  have  been  described,  but  the  visual  opacity  sometimes  proves 
different  from  the  retardation  of  printing  processes.  It  appears 
that  this  may  always  be  so  ; but,  whether  or  not,  it  is  wrong  in 
principle  to  attempt  to  estimate  one  effect  by  the  measurement 
of  another,  when  the  two  are  not  of  necessity  proportional.  I 
have  found  also  that  the  increase  of  printing  density  produced 
by  the  same  operation  varies  somewhat  according  to  the  condi- 
tions under  which  the  changes  are  effected.  It  may,  however, 
be  stated  in  practical  language  that  one  treatment  with  mer- 
curic chloride  and  ferrous  oxalate  generally  about  doubles  the 
opacity  ; that  after  a second  treatment  the  result  is  about  equal 
to  that  produced  by  the  application  of  mercuric  chloride  fol- 
lowed by  ammonia  upon  the  original  negative  ; and  that  mer- 


February  7,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


103 


curio  chloride  and  sodium  sulphite  on  the  original  gives  a 
density  about  half  way  between  the  original  and  that  treated 
once  by  the  oxalate  method. 

Doubtless,  if  the  manner  of  controlling  density  here 
advocated  is  adopted,  some  operators  will  find  troubles  ; and 
in  order,  as  far  as  possible,  to  forewarn  those  who  appear  to 
have  a predisposition  to  fail,  I have  endeavoured  to  discover  all 
the  drawbacks  that  beset  the  operations.  If  the  plate  darkens 
very  slowly  under  the  ferrous  oxalate,  and  the  oxalate  is  not 
unduly  diluted  or  acid,  the  washing  after  the  mercury  salt 
has  been  insufficient.  But  at  the  same  time  it  may  be 
remarked  that  ferrous  oxalate  is  much  slower  in  action  than 
ammonia  or  sodium  sulphite.  If  the  finished  negative  has  a 
black  looking  stain  upon  it,  the  ferrous  oxalate  has  not  been 
washed  away,  and  a further  washing  will  rectify  it.  The 
removal  of  the  excess  of  mercuric  chloride  is  greatly  facili- 
tated if  the  mercury  solution  is  poured  off  when  the  glass  side 
of  the  film  is  grey,  then  a sufficient  quantity  of  the  solution 
is  probably  in  the  film  to  complete  the  bleaching.  It  is,  how- 
ever, important  to  make  the  bleaching  thorough  in  the  end,  if 
a truly  proportional  effect  is  sought  after. 

The  minor  advantages  of  the  use  of  the  methods  recom- 
mended might  be  set  out  in  a formidable  list.  There  is  no 
tendency  to  frill,  even  with  repeated  treatments,  the  operations 
are  clean,  the  negative  is  in  no  way  stained,  the  shadows  are 
not  choked  up,  and  the  lights  do  not  lose  their  gradation. 
The  operations  are  reliable,  and  the  results  are  permanent. 
In  order  to  test  this  last  matter,  I heated  an  amalgam  of 
silver,  containing  an  equal  number  of  atoms  of  each  metal,  at 
the  temperature  of  boiling  water  for  about  twelve  hours, 
with  occasional  weighing,  and  found  that  the  volatilization  of 
the  mercury  gave  a loss  equal  to  nearly  one  part  in  two 
hundred  per  hour — indicating  a want  of  permanence.  But  a 
part  of  a developed  plate  that  hail  been  intensified  by  the 
mercuric  chloride  and  ferrous  oxalate  method  until  it  pro- 
bably contained  more  than  ten  times  as  much  mercury  as 
silver,  after  heating  in  a steam  oven  for  six  days  (forty  hours) 
showed  no  sign  of  diminished  density  either  on  a varnished 
or  an  unvarnished  part.  The  density,  indeed,  seems  lather 
increased  by  the  treatment,  and  this  may  be  due  to  a shrink- 
age of  the  film  brought  about  by  the  prolonged  heating.  Thus 
the  gelatine  confers  an  extraordinary  permanence  upon  the 
otherwise  slightly  volatile  mercury.  It  may  be  noted  as  a fact, 
though  hardly  an  advantage,  that  after  intensification  by  the 
methods  advocated,  anegative  is  as  amenable  to  intensification  by 
many  and  probably  by  all  other  processes  as  it  was  originally. 
But  the  greatest  advantage  of  all  is  that  these  processes 
enable  the  photographer  to  work  step  by  step  up  to  the 
(tensity  he  desires,  with  the  full  conviction  that  the. character 
of  the  gradation  of  the  negative  is  not  altered. 


Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  discussion  on 

Wednesday,  February  12,  will  be  “Artificial  Light  for  Portrait- 
ure” ; on  February  17,  “ Lantern  Illuminants.” 

Incandescent  Lamp. — Kuhlow’s  Review  is  responsible  for  the 
following  curious  paragraph  : — “ It  has  hitherto  only  been 
possible  to  produce  incandescent  lamps  of  a comparatively 
inferior  light-strength,  and  hence  it  has  not  been  practicable  to 
use  them  everywhere,  such  as  in  large  rooms  and  open  spaces. 
This  disadvantage  has  now  been  overcome,  as  it  has  been  possi- 
ble to  produce  incandescent  lamps  of  3,000  candle  power. 
These  lamps,  which  have  been  named  high  candle-powder  in- 
candescent lamps,  like  all  incandescent  lamps,  have  a uniform 
clear,  j-ellow  light,  whereas  the  arc  lamps,  which  are  at  present 
alone  employed  in  illuminating  great  spaces,  have  the  well-known 
unpleasant  bluish  light,  and  burn  very  unsteadily.  The  incan- 
descent 'amps  hardly  require  any  maintenance  ; they  burn  for 
1,000  hours  without  supervision,  and  they  are  therefore  much 
cheaper  than  the  arc  lamps,  which  require  constant  attention, 
besides  causing  great  expense  for  charcoal.  The  high  candle- 
power  incandescent  lamps  are  therefore  likely  to  soon  drive  out 
entirely  the  arc  lamps,  and  the  electric  light  will  then  become 
still  cheaper  and  more  popular,  as  the  incandescent  lamps  yield 
a perfectly  natural  light,  and  now  also  a light  in  sufficient 
volume  to  meet  all  requirements. — Invention. 


THE  NEW  ROLL  ABLE  CELLULOID  FILM.* 

BY  W.  H.  WALKER. 

Fortunately  the  new  film  does  not  require  exceptionally 
skilful  manipulation.  Probably  no  radically  new  product 
of  similar  importance  was  ever  more  simple  in  construc- 
tion, or  more  tractable  when  intelligently  manipulated ; 
but  such  peculiarities  as  do  exist  require  reasonable  atten- 
tion and  provision.  Without  these  requirements,  the 
film  may  be  a needless  cause  of  vexation  and  loss,  while 
a little  precaution  will  enable  it  to  be  manipulated  with 
the  utmost  ease  and  certainty. 

As  has  been  repeatedly  stated  with  reference  to  the 
stripping  film,  a cut  sheet  is  never  recommended  excepting 
for  single  exposures  with  small  stops,  as  no  practicable 
device  has  yet  been  produced  which  will  hold  a cut  or  free 
sheet  sufficiently  flat  within  the  focal  plane  ; but  a roller 
slide,  if  properly  made  and  adjusted  in  conjunction  with 
a proper  film,  will  perform  the  feat  sufficiently  well  for  all 
practical  purposes. 

The  roller  slides  sold  by  the  Eastman  Company  during 
the  past  five  years  vary  somewhat  in  detail,  but  all  have 
certain  fundamental  devices,  some  of  which  require  with 
the  new  film  not  alteration,  but  adjustment,  which  any  one 
possessed  of  an  ordinary  pocket-knife  may  accomplish  in 
five  minutes. 

1st,  The  Tollable  transparent  film  does  not  require  and 
will  not  endure  an  excessive  tension  in  the  direction  of 
its  length,  and  in  some  cases,  where  the  resistance-brake 
is  too  powerful,  the  film  willl  be  stretched  out  of  its 
normally  flat  condition. 

Therefore,  to  reduce  this  tension  in  all  the  roller- 
slides — excepting  those  originally  made  with  the  internal 
metallic  frame — spring  open  the  crescent-shaped  wire 
which  causes  the  resistance,  by  inserting  the  edge  o f a 
knife-blade  between  it  and  the  circular  groove  within 
which  it  lies,  and  also  place  within  the  groove  a single 
drop  of  salad  oil. 

2nd.  By  far  the  largest  number  of  the  Company's  slides 
are  of  the  wooden  frame  variety,  and  have  on  the  outside 
of  the  case  a brass  spriug  alarm  actuated  by  a projection 
on  the  periphery  of  the  indicator  dial.  This  alarm  spring 
is  fastened  securely  at  one  end  of  the  wood  by  two  screw's, 
w'hile  near  the  dial  there  is  a third  screw  by  which  the  resist- 
ance off  ered  to  the  revolutions  of  the  dial  may  be  increased  by 
running  the  screw  further  into  the  wood,  and  the  contrary 
effect  obtained  by  partially  withdrawing  it. 

Therefore,  if  by  any  chance  the  resistance-brake  within 
the  instrument  case  should  be  too  weak,  and  thereby  per- 
mit the  film  to  slip  over  the  measuring  roll  (i.e.,  the  roll 
having  the  perforating  pins  at  its  ends),  we  obviously  have 
another  means  of  correcting  an  error. 

Development. — Nothing  could  be  simpler  than  the  de- 
velopment of  the  new  film  ; it  is  so  thin  that  it  should, 
wrhen  properly  soaked,  adhere  to  the  flat  bottom  of  any 
ordinary  developing-dish  ; but  if  for  any  reason  any  diffi- 
culty occurs,  it  is  evident  there  are  many  simple  devices 
which  will  cause  it  to  remain  perfectly  flat.  For  this  pur- 
pose has  been  invented  a cheap  and  simple  developing 
tray,  which  fully  answers  any  conceivable  requirement, 
and  which  will  reduce  the  amount  of  developer  ordinarily 
used  to  such  an  extent  as  to  more  than  pay  for  its  cost 
with  the  first  spool  of  film  used  with  it. 

Development  may  be  conducted  with  any  approved 

•From  The  Journal  of  (he  Camera  Club, 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  7,  1890. 


104 


formula,  but  we  must  recommend  that  contained  in  the 
printed  instructions  which  accompany  each  packet. 

In  drying,  we  have  not  found  it  necessary  to  resort  to 
any  other  expedient  than  simply  suspending  the  negative 
by  one  or  more  of  its  four  corners  from  ordinary  pins.  In 
drying  the  negatives  may  curl  inwards,  but  when  dry 
simply  roll  them,  film  side  out,  over  any  cylindrical  sur- 
face, and  there  allow  them  to  remain  for  about  an  hour, 
after  which  they  will  remain  flat. 

In  damp  climates,  like  that  of  England,  the  use  of  a 
bath  of  glycerine  to  ensure  flexibility  is  not  recommended. 
When  not  in  use,  the  films  should  be  kept  flat  between 
the  leaves  of  books  or  in  the  Company’s  film  negative 
boxes,  which  will  soon  be  ready  for  sale.  These  boxes 
will  enable  many  thousands  of  negatives  to  be  stored  within 
a remarkably  small  compass,  and  by  a simple  classification 
any  one  of  the  series  may  be  obtained  without  displacing 
any  of  the  others. 

The  Company’s  factory  in  America,  specially  designed 
for  the  manufacture  of  this  film,  is  daily  increasing  its 
output,  which  at  present  is  a serious  task,  as  there  are 
fully  25,000  instruments  of  its  production  requiring 
supplies. 

The  English  company,  however,  are  pushing  forward 
with  all  possible  speed  their  proposed  English  factories, 
which  will  be  planned  upon  such  lines  as  will  ensure  a 
continuous  supply,  while  both  companies  will  work  in 
entire  harmony  with  each  other  other  to  prevent  undue 
shortage. 

In  closing,  may  I say  that  it  is  not  for  one  moment 
assumed  that  the  experience  of  the  future  will  not  be 
fully  as  valuable  as  that  of  the  past,  and  that  the  Company 
continue  to  rely  upon  the  kind  forbearance  of  its  friends 
to  aid  it  in  determining  the  true  cause  of  any  alleged 
defects,  for  without  this  information  progress  is  greatly 
retarded. 


Photographic  Library  Catalogue. — We  have  received  the 
proof-sheets  of  the  Catalogue  of  the  Library  of  the  Photographic 
Society  of  Philadelphia.  It  is  high  time  indeed  that  this  valu- 
able collection  of  books  had  been  put  in  order  and  classified. 
The  Society  having  started  to  accumulate  these  books  in  1862, 
will  account  for  the  numerous  antiquated  volumes  pertaining  to 
early  processes  that  are  to  be  found  on  its  shelves.  A large 
portion  of  these  books  may  thus  be  said  to  be  quite  obsolete  in  so 
far  as  modern  practice  is  concerned  ; but  they  are  still  interest- 
ing historically,  and  will  often  be  found  useful  to  those  closer 
students  of  the  art  who  endeavour  to  trace  the  growth  or  deve- 
lopment of  one  process  from  another.  We  understand  that  the 
present  executive  committee  of  the  Society  intend  to  make  the 
Library  a chief  feature  of  usefulness,  and  to  add  numerous 
treatises  and  text-books  to  the  collection,  besides  supplying  all 
the  best  journals  for  daily  reference.  Journals  pertaining  to 
photography  are  now  in  the  table  cases,  and  they  may  lie  con- 
sidered as  the  representative  ones  of  present  times  ; beside  the 
American  and  English,  there  are  also  the  German  and  one 
1*  rencli  j the  latter  being  the  official  organ  of  the  Photographic 
Society  of  Paris.  The  preface  to  the  Catalogue  reads  as  fol- 
lows : “ It  is  hoped  that  the  following  Catalogue  will  be  useful 
in  aiding  those  who  desire  to  refer  to  the  valuable  Library 
liclonging  to  the  Society,  its  contents  being  now  for  the  first 
time  arranged  in  alphabetical  order.  A noteworthy  feature  in 
the  Library  is  the  number  of  complete  sets  of  journals,  dating 
from  the  earliest  days  of  the  art  down  to  the  present  time.  Al- 
though separate  text-books  of  the  various  branches  of  photo- 
graphic science  are  not  wanting  in  the  Society’s  collection,  the 
journals— which  detail  the  progress  of  the  art  from  day  today 

still  remain  the  most  useful  sources  of  information.” 

American  Journal  of  Photography, 


ERNST  SCHERING. 

In  alluding  to  the  death  recently  of  Mr.  Hugo  Sobering,  the 
senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Scheriug  and  Glatz,  of  Maiden 
Lane,  the  Oil,  Point,  and  Bruy  Reporter  gives  some  interest- 
ing particulars  about  his  uncle,  Mr.  Ernst  Scheriug,  the  well- 
known  manufacturing  chemist  of  Berlin,  whose  death  occurred 
about  three  weeks  prior  to  that  of  his  nephew.  From  this 
account  we  append  an  extract. 

Mr.  Ernst  Scheriug,  the  celebrated  founder  of  the  firm 
Chemische  Fabrik  auf  Aetien  (vorm.  E.  Sobering)  was  born  at 
Prenzlau,  May  31st,  1824.  After  attaining  his  school  educa- 
tion he  entered  for  apprenticeship  at  Berlin,  in  1840.  Though 
this  term  was  to  be  for  four  years,  he  had  shown  such  ambition 
in  the  execution  of  practical  chemistry  that  after  eighteen 
months  lie  was  consulted  in  the  production  of  chemicals  when 
such  were  contemplated. 

The  art  of  photography,  originating  from  the  method  of 
Daguerre  for  the  production  of  light  pictures,  induced  Mr. 
Scheriug  to  devote  his  attention  to  the  production  of  the 
chemicals  required  therefor,  such  as  iodine  and  its  salts,  silver 
and  gold  salts,  and  pyrogallic  acid.  He  recognized  that  the  un- 
satisfactory results  in  photographic  duplication  were  in  greater 
part  due  to  the  irregular  purity  of  the  chemicals  used,  and  con- 
sequently devoted  his  energy  to  the  production  of  the  purest 
chemicals  for  photographic  purposes.  In  course  of  time  the 
number  of  chemicals  produced  by  Sobering’ s factory  continually 
increased.  It  was,  however,  the  motto  of  the  owner  to  keep 
the  qualities  of  his  preparations  at  the  highest  possible  stan- 
dard, and  never  to  have  them  impaired  by  the  manufacture  of 
larger  quantities.  Encouraged  by  his  successes,  Sobering  under- 
took, at  the  first  Paris  exhibition,  in  1855,  to  show  his  iodine 
salts  and  resublimed  iodine,  as  also  some  few  other  preparations, 
in  great  purity  and  beautiful  crystallization.  The  manufacturer, 
then  practically  unknown,  was  honourably  rewarded,  and  from 
that  time  on  his  preparations  received  considerable  attention 
from  all  consumers.  With  the  extension  of  business  came 
the  creating  of  agencies  in  the  principal  commercial  cities  of 
Europe  and  also  America.  The  relations  with  the  trade  in  this 
country  became  so  important,  that  Mr.  Sobering  always 
exercised  the  greatest  care  in  the  preparation  of  goods  for  this 
market.  His  restless  and  uninterrupted  activity  at  the  labora- 
tory for  many  years  had  its  evil  effects  on  his  physical  con- 
stitution, and  only  after  the  most  ardent  and  repeated  sug- 
gestions of  his  physicians  could  he  be  induced  to  seek  rest  at 
intervals.  After  visiting  Teplitz,  to  effect  a cure  of  his  ail- 
ments, which,  however,  failed  to  give  the  desired  results,  he 
concluded  to  form  a stock  company  whereby  he  could  increase 
his  facilities.  This  transfer  took  place  October  31st,  1871, 
when  the  firm  of  E.  Sobering  was  converted  into  the  Chemische 
Fabrik  auf  Aetien,  vorm.  E.  Scheriug,  in  which  he  consented 
to  be  one  of  the  leading  directors. 


Gestures  and  Speech  Mechanically  Reproduced. — 
Edison  has  been  developing  his  great  idea  of  making  use  of 
photography  as  an  adjunct  to  the  phonograph  in  order  to 
bring  a speaker’s  personality  before  the  eye.  The  result  of 
Edson’s  experiments  has  been  a wonderful  machine.  In  front 
of  the  speaker  are  placed  two  small  machines,  one  a phono- 
graph, and  the  other  an  ingenious  piece  of  mechanism  by 
which  photographs  of  the  speaker  are  taken  in  succession 
with  enormous  rapidity  at  intervals  of  from  one-eighth  to  one- 
twentieth  of  a second,  and  both  these  machines  are  at  work 
silently  recording  both  the  uttered  speech  and  the  personal 
appearance  of  the  speaker  at  each  fractional  part  of  a second. 
The  results  thus  obtained  may  be  sent  to  any  desired  point, 
and  the  photographs  thrown  on  a screen  by  an  ingeniously- 
contrived  piece  of  mechanism.  Thus  the  exact  appearance  of 
a speaker,  with  all  his  gestures  and  play  of  features,  is  exactly 
reproduced,  while  the  phonograph  simultaneously  delivers  the 
speech.  The  interval  between  the  successive  photographs  is 
so  infinitesimal  that  the  screen  picture  is  apparently  a living 
one,  moving,  gesticulating,  and  apparently  uttering  the  wonls 
which  in  fact  are  spoken  by  the  phonograph. — New  York 
Herald. 


February  7,  1890.]  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


105 


INTERNATIONAL  COPYRIGHT. 


SELF-LUMINOUS  TRANSPARENCIES. 


BY  WILLIAM  HEXHAM. 

Perhaps  no  branch  of  the  law  is  in  a more  confused  state 
than  the  above,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following. 

Probably  most  of  your  readers  are  aware  that  photo- 
graphs were  not  protected  until  1862,  when  the  Act  of 
Parliament  (25  and  26  Viet.  68)  was  passed  which  vested 
in  photographers  the  copyright  of  their  negatives,  prints, 
tfce.,  and  the  right  of  reproducing  the  same  during  their 
own  lives  and  seven  years  afterwards,  or  for  a term  of 
forty-two  years,  whichever  should  be  the  longer.  So  far 
a photographic  copyright  was  placed  on  exactly  the  same 
terms  as  the  literary  copyright,  except  that  literary  copy- 
right was  protected  in  several  foreign  countries  provided 
certain  conditions  were  observed  as  contained  in  two  Acts 
of  Parliament  which  will  afterwards  be  referred  to.  By 
the  Act  of  1862  registration  was  imperative  if  the  owner 
of  the  copyright  wished  to  protect  himself  against  piracies, 
as  he  was  unable  to  properly  found  his  action  or  suit  until 
after  registration,  which  had  to  be  done  within  three 
months  of  the  date  of  first  publication. 

By  Acts  of  Parliament  passed  in  1843  (7  and  8 Viet, 
c.  12)  and  in  1852  (15  Vicv.  c.  12),  it  was  enacted  that 
authors  in  any  foreign  countries  which  had  by  convention 
or  treaty  with  this  country  given  reciprocal  rights  to  a 
British  author  should  have  a copyright  in  his  literary  com- 
position according  to  the  laws  of  this  country.  Bv  the 
before  mentioned  Act  of  1862,  the  above  two  mentioned 
Acts  were  re-enacted,  and  the  same  was  to  have  effect 
with  such  countries  as  should  from  time  to  time  be  named 
in  an  Order  in  Council. 

On  the  10th  day  of  January,  1852,  an  Order  in 
Council  was  published  in  the  London  Gazelle  giving 
British  subjects  international  copyright  in  their  literary 
works  with  France,  Germany,  Belgium,  Austria,  Prussia, 
and  Spain.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  above  Order  in  Coun- 
cil was  issued  twelve  years  before  the  passing  of  the  Pho- 
tographic Copyright  Act,  but  as  this  Act  re-enacted  the 
two  International  Acts,  it  has  been  successfully  argued 
that  the  Order  in  Council  was  also  taken  to  be  republished. 

If  any  readers  contemplate  taking  proceedings  for 
infringement  of  their  photographs,  it  is  first  of  all  neces- 
sary to  make  sure  that  the  same  are  registered  in  the 
country  of  origin,  and  that  they  have  complied  with  the 
conditions  of  the  Treaty  or  Convention  with  the  country 
where  the  same  are  being  infringed.  The  usual  conditions 
in  all  countries  arc  that  they  should  be  registered  there  as 
well  as  here  within  the  period  of  three  months  from  their 
first  production. 

The  certificate  of  registration  in  foreign  countries  re- 
quires to  be  authenticated  by  one  of  its  Ministers  before  it 
can  be  given  in  evidence  in  a court  here.  With  regard  to 
the  remedies  in  this  country,  they  are  threefold:  an  action  for 
damages,  an  injunction  to  restrain  the  wrongdoer,  and 
proceedings  for  penalties  upon  a summons  before  a 
magistrate.  International  copyright  in  music  has  by  an 
Act  passed  in  1888  been  much  simplified,  and  now  the 
author  or  composer  of  a musical  composition  or  song  has 
only  to  register  in  the  country  of  origin  ; proof  of  such 
registration  is  sufficient  to  perfect  the  title  for  all  purposes 
connected  with  proceedings  in  our  courts  so  far  as  the 
copyright  is  concerned. 

-♦ 

Dbveloi’eks  kor  Films. — Major  J.  F.  Nott  says  that  soda 
is  the  only  alkali  which  can  be  used  with  advantage  with 
stripping  films.  Quinol  is  an  excellent  developer,  but  it 
destroys  the  gelatine  film. — Journal  of  the  Camera  Club. 


Photographers  are  always  on  the  look-out  for  something 
new  or  attractive,  and  yet  many  excellent  suggestions  are 
made  and  immediately  forgotten,  simply  because  they  fail 
to  reach  the  eye  or  ear  of  the  man  with  sufficient  fore- 
sight and  enterprise  to  take  advantage  of  them.  What, 
for  instance,  would  be  more  attractive  to,  well,  a large 
portion  of  creation  at  a certain  period  of  life,  and  under 
certain  circumstances,  not  only  to  have  a picture  of  the 
loved  one  that  may  be  gazed  upon  during  the  day,  but 
that  in  the  darkness  and  during  the  silent  watches  of  the 
night  may  be  taken  from  under  the  pillow,  and,  self- 
luminous,  every  feature  of  the  beloved  countenance 
traced  ? This,  and  many  other  equally  useful  applications 
of  what  was  at  one  time  well  known,  Balmain’s  paint,  may 
be  made  by  any  photographer  with  profit  to  himself  and 
pleasure  to  his  customers. 

Balmain’s  paint  is  a sulphide  of  calcium  or  barium,  or 
a mixture  of  both,  and,  as  is  well  known,  possesses  the 
property  of  absorbing  certain  of  the  more  refrangible  rays 
of  the  spectrum,  and  continuing  to  give  them  off  again 
for  a considerable  time  in  the  dark.  When  the  material 
was  first  popularised  by  Balmain  it  was  largely  employed 
in  coating  clock  faces,  candlesticks,  match  boxes,  and 
other  articles  likely  to  be  required  in  the  dark,  and,  as 
evidence  of  the  durability  of  the  material,  we  have  a match 
box  on  the  cover  of  which  is  a tablet  so  coated,  that  has 
been  in  constant  use  for  at  least  eight  years,  and  which, 
if  exposed  to  light  during  the  day,  is  as  luminous  at  night 
as  it  was  when  it  came  into  our  possession. 

From  time  to  time  suggestions  to  employ  the  sulphides 
in  connection  with  photography  have  been  made  without 
attracting  attention,  and  more  recently  the  matter  has 
been  taken  up  by  the  American  Lithographer  and  Printer , 
which  recommends  the  rendering  of  suitable  lithographs 
or  photographs  translucent,  and  laying  them  down  on  a 
card  that  has  been  coated  by  dusting  the  luminous  powder 
over  a varnished  surface. 

No  doubt  fairly  good  effects  may  be  produced  in  this 
way,  but  we  think  we  can  suggest  one  that  for  photo- 
graphs, at  least,  is  very  much  better.  It  is  to  print  on 
glass  a transparency  of  any  desired  size  from  a negative, 
and  when  dry,  coat  it  on  the  film  side  with  an  emulsion  of 
the  sulphide  in  gelatine  or  other  suitable  vehicle.  Bal- 
main’s paint  was  at  one  time,  and  may  be  yet  for  all  we 
know,  sold  in  bottles,  in  a dry  powder  mixed  with  gela- 
tine, so  that  it  was  only  necessary  to  add  water  to  the  con- 
sistence of  cream  to  make  it  ready  for  use.  We  are  under 
the  impression  that  Warnerke,  in  coating  the  tablets  for 
his  well-known  sensitometer,  employs  melted  paraffin,  in 
which  case  the  picture  would  require  to  be  gently  warmed 
to  allow  of  the  mixture  being  evenly  spread. 

We  think  the  size  of  picture  most  likely  to  take,  and 
most  conveniently  made,  would  be  one  made  on  the  or- 
dinary lantern  slide  plate ; and  in  reducing  by  copying  in 
the  camera,  the  negative  should  be  placed  so  that  the  pic- 
ture will  be  correct  when  seen  through  the  glass.  They 
should  be  backed  with  some  impervious  material,  or,  bet- 
ter still,  put  into  the  old-fashioned  leather  cases,  if  they 
are  still  to  be  found ; and  if  any  of  our  readers  are  enter- 
prising enough  to  make  a few  from  some  of  their  best 
negatives  and  show  them  to  their  customers,  we  feel  fully 
warranted  in  promising  them  a ready  side  and  many 
orders. 

Who  will  be  the  first  to  advertise  “The  new  night- 
blooming photograph?  ” — The  Beacon. 


10G 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  7,  1890. 


i&otcs* 

The  general  public,  ignorant  of  photographic  advance, 
cannot  quite  understand  the  reproduction  of  photo- 
graphs in  newspapers.  They  are  about  as  advanced 
as  the  illiterate  family  who,  when  one  of  its  members 
•with  an  artistic  turn  got  a drawing  accepted  by  an 
editor,  refused  to  believe  that  the  drawing  was  his, 
because  it  was  in  print.  These  good  people  had  a 
vague  idea  that  a picture  was  produced  in  piint  very 
much  as  the  reading  matter  is,  and  they  could  not 
realize  that  it  had  to  be  drawn  first.  Reproductions 
of  portrait  photographs  the  public  accept  without 
asking  any  questions  as  to  how  the  photographs  get 
converted  into  blocks  which  can  be  used  in  a printing 
press,  but  a photograph  of  a landscape  fairly  puzzles 
them. 


A case  in  point  occurred  the  other  day.  An 
illustrated  paper  contained  some  reproductions  by  the 
Meisenbach,  ora  kindred  process,  of  some  instantaneous 
photographs.  One,  a bit  of  river  scenery,  was  parti- 
cularly charming,  and  it  had  the  effect  of  causing  the 
editor  to  receive  several  letters  asking  from  what 
painting  the  copy  was  made.  This  was  a great  com- 
pliment to  the  photographer,  and  in  addition  to  illus- 
trating the  point  we  have  advanced,  shows  that  the 
public  have  not  yet  fully  grasped  the  fact  that  a 
photograph  from  nature  can  be  as  artistic  as  a painting. 

An  odd  example  of  combining  two  hobbies  came 
under  our  notice  the  other  day.  One  of  these  hobbies, 
we  need  scarcely  say,  was  photography ; the  other  was 
a mania  for  collecting  old  suits  of  armour  and  old 
weapons.  Where  the  combination  comes  in,  is  seen  in 
the  album,  which  the  owner  exhibits  with  great  pride, 
containing  a number  of  photographs  of  himself  attired 
in  the  various  suits  of  armour  forming  his  collection. 
The  fad  is  a harmless  one,  but  the  duty  of  looking 
through  the  album  is  rather  trying  to  those  with  a 
sense  of  humour,  for  although  the  armour  itself  is  seen 
to  advantage,  the  wearer  possesses  a most  pacific 
countenance,  while  the  pose  is  not  in  every  instance 
that  which  one  imagines  a Crusader  would  assume. 

The  insurance  offices,  so  far  as  we  know,  still  main- 
tain their  stolid  indifference  to  the  altered  conditions 
under  which  photography  is  carried  on.  Some  time 
ago,  we  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that,  despite  the 
absence  of  all  danger  of  fire,  photographic  studios 
were  classed  under  the  head  of  “ extra  risk.”  There 
was  justification  for  this  charge  in  the  old  collodion 
days,  but  surely  dry  plates  have  now  been  sufficiently 
long  in  use  to  warrant  the  premiums  being  fixed  on 
the  ordinary  scale.  If  any  photographer  has  of  late 
made  any  effort  to  get  his  insurance  reduced,  it  would 
be  interesting  to  know  his  experience. 

No  one  would  wish  to  lessen  the  glory  of  Daguerre 
by  a jot,  but  is  there  not  rather  a tendency  to  overdo 
the  homage  which  is  being  paid  to  his  memory  all  over 


the  world?  In  the  universal  pman  of  praise  which  is  being 
sung,  one  is  apt  to  forget  the  name  of  Talbot.  It  is  no 
question  of  rivalry  between  Talbot  and  Daguerre  which 
we  desire  to  raise,  but  rather  a reminder  that,  while 
Daguerre’s  process  is  practically  extinct,  the  germ  of  the 
Talbotype  yet  remains  incorporated  in  our  everyday  work. 
The  proposal  by  the  Boston  Convention  to  raise  a 
memorial  to  Daguerre  in  Washington,  by  means  of  a 
one  dollar  subscription,  has  drawn  forth  a comment 
similar  to  that  which  we  have  raised  above. 


Whether  from  its  costliness,  or  from  some  practical 
difficulty,  luminous  paint  has  not  fulfilled  the  future 
held  out  for  it.  We  now  learn  that  a firm  in  Austria 
has  discovered  a mode  of  preparation  which  will  lessen 
its  cost  of  production  to  about  one-sixth  of  its  present 
price  in  England.  What  reliance  may  be  placed  upon 
this  statement  we  cannot  say,  but  if  true,  a great 
demand  will  spring  up  for  the  paint,  for  which  there 
arc  a hundred  uses. 


A reaction,  it  is  prophesied,  will  before  long  set  in 
against  the  huge,  unwieldy  sizes  which  the  majority  of 
American  newspapers  affect.  People,  we  are  told,  are 
beginning  to  cry  out  for  smaller  papers,  less  padding, 
less  trash.  One  authority  declares  that  a one  cent 
paper  is  wanted,  somewhat  larger  than  a lady’s  hand- 
kerchief, printed  in  leaded  nonpareil,  containing  the 
news  up  to  twelve,  one,  or  two  o’clock  last  night,  in 
two,  three,  or  four  line  items.  He  recommends  type- 
writing in  nonpareil  style  of  type-writing  type,  photo- 
graphing it,  and  dashing  it  off  in  sixty  minutes.  All 
this  sounds  very  go-ahead,  but  the  authority  omits  to 
say  how  long  the  preparation  of  the  photographic  block 
will  take.  We  fancy  that  when  the  details  are  gone 
into,  the  old-fashioned  way  of  setting  up  type  will  be 
found  the  speedier. 


The  French  police  are  nothing  if  not  scientific. 
They  have  now  obtained,  by  means  of  photography, 
large  cartoons  of  the  hands  of  various  artisans,  artists, 
and  professionals,  so  as  to  carry  out  their  speculations 
as  to  the  fact  of  the  hand  proving  the  occupation. 
This  selection  does  not  seem  very  complimentary  to 
the  artisans,  artists,  and  professionals.  The  latter 
term,  by  the  way,  is  rather  a wide  one;  does  it  include 
professional  thieves?  Apropos  of  the  hand,  what  a 
pity  it  is  that  some  student  of  Desbarolles  and  D’Ar- 
pentigny  does  not  issue  a new  edition  of  the  former’s 
great  work  on  Palmistry,  illustrated  by  photographs  ? 
The  hand  is  admittedly  the  most  difficult  member  of 
the  body  to  draw,  and  the  illustrations  in  these  volumes, 
instead  of  elucidating  the  divisions  and  subdivisions  of 
the  subject,  rather  tend  to  confuse  them.  The  pro- 
fessor, no  doubt,  has  definite  ideas  on  the  distinction 
he  draws  between  various  hands,  but  when  these  ideas 
have  to  be  translated  by  an  artist,  we  get  something 
very  often  totally  different.  Now  about  photographs 
there  could  be  no  mistake.  Any  one  who  has  tried  to 
master  D’Arpentigny  will  admit  the  truth  of  this. 


February  7,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


107 


SOME  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  EIKONOGEX. 

BY  C.  BRANGWIX  BARNES. 

As  the  new  developer  seems  to  have  created  some  little 
stir  in  the  profession  and  to  act  in  an  entirely  different 
manner  in  different  hands,  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to 
detail  some  experiments  which  I have  recently  made  with 
a view  of  comparing  the  qualities  of  eikonogen  as  a deve- 
loper with  those  of  pyrogallol  and  ferrous  oxalate.  The 
experiments  in  question  were  made  with  a sample  of  what 
is  termed  “ white  crystalline  eikonogen  ” (probably  fox- 
some  reason  known  to  the  manufacturer),  although  in 
reality  it  is  of  a delicate  yellow  tint.  This  1 received  in  a 
capsuled  bottle  containing  one-tenth  of  a kilo  of  crystals 
about  the  size  of  peas.  In  order  to  give  the  developer  a 
fair  trial,  I decided  to  fii-st  follow  implicitly  the  instructions 
I received  therewith,  and  as  I imagined  that,  even  when 
powdered  in  a mortar,  the  solubility  would  not  be  so  perfect 
in  cold  water  as  in  hot,  I chose  the  latter  and  made  up  my 
developer  with  four  parts  of  sulphite  of  soda,  one  part  of 
eikonogen,  and  ten  parts  of  boiling  water.  I thoroughly 
stirred  this  with  a glass  rod  until  the  whole  of  the  eikono- 
gen was  dissolved,  which  dissolution  occupied  about  ten 
minutes,  and  I now  had  a somewhat  murky  liquid  of  a pale 
primrose  tint,  which  I poured  into  a bottle,  and  proceeded  to 
mix  three  parts  of  pure  crystallized  carbonate  of  soda  with 
twenty  parts  of  hot  water,  which  I poured  into  another 
bottle,  and  allowed  both  to  cool. 

On  proceeding  to  develop  a plate,  I took  three  ounces 
of  the  eikonogen  solution,  and  .added  thereto  one  ounce 
of  the  soda,  and  placed  the  plate  in  the  mixture  without 
the  previous  bath  of  water  usually  adopted  with  the 
pyrogallol  developer.  In  order  to  compare  the  time  of 
development,  I rocked  the  bath  as  with  the  pyro.  The 
negative  commenced  to  develop  almost  immediately,  and 
had  all  the  detail  out  in  three  minutes,  but  was  sadly 
lacking  in  density.  I therefore  continued  the  develop- 
ment for  another  minute  and  a half,  with  the  result 
that  the  plate  obtained  a good  printing  density, 
without  in  any  way  fogging  or  damaging  the  shadows.  I 
then  substituted  a second  plate  without  changing  or 
strengthening  the  developer,  and  again  obtained  an 
equally  good  result ; 1 then  attempted  a third,  and  was 
again  successful,  although  in  this  case  the  development 
was  prolonged  to  five  minutes,  and  the  negative  was 
i-ather  thinner.  I fixed  in  the  combined  hyposulphite 
and  bisulphite  of  soda  bath  without  using  alum,  and 
found  I had  three  good  printing  negatives.  Between  the 
two  first  developed  there  was  no  perceivable  difference, 
but  the  third  was  certaiidy  slightly  inferior.  Pouring 
back  the  used  developer  into  a glass  measure  I examined 
it  in  the  light,  but  failed  to  find  any  pronounced  signs  of 
oxidation,  so  put  it  aside  until  the  following  day,  when  it 
appeared  but  a trifle  darker  in  colour,  and  I again 
attempted  to  use  it;  the  result,  though  not  altogether 
satisfactory,  far  exceeded  my  most  sanguine  anticipations, 
as  it  yielded  me  a negative  full  of  detail,  though 
requii-ing  intensification. 

My  second  experiment  was  with  an  opal  plate,  and  here 
again  the  new  developing  agent  came  out  with  flying 
colours.  I should  have  mentioned  that  the  three  plates 
used  for  the  first  experiment  were  No.  1 Derwent  rapid, 
No.  2 Britannia  ordinary,  and  No.  3 Ilford  white  label. 

My  third  experiment  was  with  an  isochromatic  plate, 
which  required  six  minutes  to  complete  development.  The 
result  was,  however,  good,  with  the  exception  that  there 


was  a slight  veiling  of  the  deepest  shadows ; the  detail 
was  fully  brought  out,  and  the  density  all  that  could  be 
wished  for.  So  far,  my  experiments  had  all  been  con- 
ducted with  what  I have  reason  to  believe  were  properly 
exposed  plates ; the  next,  however,  was  one  which  I knew  to 
be  much  under-exposed,  having  been  taken  with  a Stirn's 
detective  camera  on  a not  over-bright  winter’s  day,  the 
exposure  being  about  one-tenth  of  a second.  To  my  sur- 
prise and  gratification  I was  enabled  to  develop  out  a con- 
siderable amount  of  detail,  far  i n excess  of  that  which  I 
obtained  on  another  plate  exposed  under  identical  circum- 
stances and  developed  with  pyro  and  ammonia.  The 
difference  between  the  two  was  most  marked,  the  eikono- 
gen yielding  a negative  with  a fair  amount  of  detail,  but 
needing  intensification,  while  the  pyro  gave  me  one  with- 
out any  detail  whatever,  only  the  high  lights  developing  at 
all.  An  attempt  to  develop  an  over-exposed  plate  resulted 
in  failure,  although  it  might  undoubtedly  have  been  saved 
by  the  addition  of  a little  bromide  to  the  developer;  but 
this  was  not  tried,  as  my  intention  was,  on  this  occasion, 
to  test  the  merits  of  the  developer  according  to  the  formula 
issued  therewith,  and  having  done  so,  I proceeded  to  con- 
duct further  experiments  with  an  altered  or  modified 
developer.  In  the  first  place,  I substituted  ordinary  wash- 
ing soda  for  the  pure  crystallized  carbonate,  and  must  con- 
fess that  I was  unable  to  distinguish  between  the  resulting 
negatives.  I next  attempted  the  use  of  ammonia  as  an 
accelerator,  but  do  not  consider  it  necessary  to  detail  the 
individual  trials,  as  it  did  ixot  seem  to  yield  such  good  re- 
sults as  the  soda,  although  the  time  occupied  in  develop- 
ment was  materially  shortened.  Such  being  the  case,  I 
again  reverted  to  the  first  or  published  formulae,  with  the 
exception  that  I added  half  a dram  of  bromide  of  potassium 
to  the  eikonogen  in  solution,  which  has  the  effect  of  pro- 
longing the  development  and  lessening  the  detail. 

In  conclusion,  I must  give  my  vote  on  the  side  of  the 
friends  of  eikonogen,  as  I find  it,  in  conjunction  with 
soda,  to  be  a quicker  developer  than  pyro  and  soda, 
though,  perhaps,  a trifle  slower  than  pyro  and  ammonia  ; 
the  addition  of  bromide  is  very  rarely  required ; the 
minute  detail  is  more  marked,  the  half-tones  are  better, 
and,  to  crown  all,  the  colour,  which  closely  resembles  that 
obtained  with  ferrous-oxalate,  is  such  that  at  least  one- 
third  the  time  is  saved  in  printing  as  compared  with  the 
old  and  still  popular  pyro  and  ammonia.  So  far  as  cost  is 
concerned,  I must  confess  I can  see  very  little  difference 
between  the  two  agents,  though  if  one  is  cheaper  in  the 
long  run  I should  opine  it  is  eikonogen,  added  to  which 
there  is  no  doubt  the  present  price  will  decrease  as  the 
demand  inci’eases.  It  is,  perhaps,  an  additional  advantage 
that  the  new  developer  does  not  stain  the  fingers,  and  that 
the  dishes  and  measures  are  far  more  easily  kept  clean. 

The  foi’egoing  notes  merely  i-epresent  my  experiments 
up  to  the  time  of  writing,  but  I am  still  engaged  in  a 
further  comparative  series. 


Mix.  Stanley,  wi-iting  to  a friend  some  particulai-s  of  his 
forthcoming  book,  which  he  hopes  will  be  ready  in  May,  states 
that  he  has  a number  of  most  interesting  photographs  of 
scenei-y,  and  sketches  of  interest,  and  that  maps  will  be  a 
prominent  featui-e. 

Royal  Institution. — The  Rev.  Canon  Ainger  will  begin  a 
course  of  three  lectures  on  “ The  Three  Stages  of  Shakespeare’s 
Art  ” on  Thursday,  the  13th  of  February  ; and  Lord  Rayleigh 
will  begin  a course  of  seven  lectui-es  on  “ Electricity  and  Mag- 
netism ” on  Saturday,  the  15th  of  February. 


108 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  7,  1890. 


A PHOTOGRAPHIC  FIEND. 

While  we  were  sitting  at  our  desk  working  hard  to  get  out  a 
leader  for  the  front  page  of  the  Pirate,  a timid  rap  sounded  on 
the  door,  and  at  our  yelling  “ Come  in  ! " the  most  comical 
specimen  of  humanity  that  ever  drifted  into  our  sanctum 
appeared.  How  he  ever  managed  to  walk  through  the  street 
from  the  Puma  Hotel  to  the  Pirate  office  without  being  riddled 
with  bullets  is  more  than  we  can  understand.  The  boys  must 
have  all  been  sitting  in  a game  over  at  the  Dew  Drop  Inn  at  the 
time.  He  was  tall,  thin,  and  homely,  with  hair  the  colour  of 
a ripe  carrot,  and  on  his  long,  narrow  feet  were  a pair  of  yellow 
shoes  that  might  have  been  called  handsome  in  the  effete  East, 
but  they  looked  very  ratty  in  our  town.  On  his  head  he  wore 
a little  tourist’s  cap  with  a fore-and-aft  visor,  and  on  his  lower 
limbs  he  wore  a pair  of  short  pants,  which  were  held  up  by  a 
yellow  and  black  bandage  which  encircled  his  stomach.  We 
endeavoured  to  be  polite,  but  little  Pete,  our  office  boy,  fell 
into  a fit  at  sight  of  the  freak,  and  we  were  obliged  to  stuff  an 
exchange  into  our  mouth  to  keep  from  laughing  in  his  face. 

“ I beg  pawdon,  deah  fellaw,”  said  the  man,  as  he  entered 
and  looked  us  all  over  through  a little  round  piece  of  glass, 
“but  I am  er-aw-a  tourist,  don’t  ye  know.” 

Of  course  we  were  glad  to  see  him  ; we  had  to  be,  as  it  was 
our  place. 

“A  tourist,  did  you  say  ? ” we  asked,  not  knowing  what  else 
to  say  ; and  Pete  had  another  fit,  during  which  he  pied  a galley 
of  solid  nonpareil. 

“ Er,  yaws,  I’m  travelling  through  the  country,  don’t  ycr 
know,  securing  photographs  of  natives  ; and  having  heard  that 
you  had  some  particularly  romantically  dressed  cliaractaws  of 
the  cow-boy  type  in  this  place,  I thought  1 would  see  what 
success  I would  have  in  securing  a few  negatives.” 

“ Well,”  said  we,  “ the  town  is  full  of  queer  characters,  and 
all  that  is  necessary  to  bring  them  forth  is  to  tire  off  a gun  in 
the  street.” 

“ Why,  how  perfectly  odd!”  exclaimed  the  man  ; and  step- 
ping outside,  he  brought  in  a box  and  a bundle  of  sticks,  which 
he  set  up  inside  of  three  minutes,  and  there  had  as  pretty  a 
camera  as  one  could  wish  for.  When  we  saw  this  our  respect 
for  the  man  rose  several  degrees,  and  we  began  to  get  interested. 
At  first  it  was  our  intention  to  let  the  boys  have  some  fun  with 
him,  but  now  we  changed  our  mind,  and  decided  to  warn  him. 

“ Aren’t  you  afraid  to  aim  that  at  some  of  these  rough 
men  ?”  we  asked.  “ You  see,  they  are  liable  to  take  you  and 
your  machine  for  a target,  and  indulge  in  a little  revolver 
practice.” 

“ Y ell,  er,  aw,  to  tell  the  truth,  ye  kuaw,  I am  rawther 
timid,  but  I always  aw-sk  one’s  permission,  don’t  ye  knaw, 
er,  before  taking  their  photo.” 

“ Well,  take  the  advice  of  a friend  and  be  careful,”  said  we, 
as  we  sized  him  up  again,  and  thought  of  the  risk  he  was 
running. 

“Thanks,  er,  awfully,”  said  he  ; and  carrying  his  camera  to 
the  door,  he  stepped  out  on  the  walk,  and  reaching  into  his  hip 
pocket,  pulled  out  the  ugliest  gun  that  it  was  ever  our  lot  to 
behold.  He  aimed  it  into  the  air,  and  a report  like  a small 
cannon  followed.  Hardly  had  he  replaced  the  revolver  in  his 
pocket  when  the  boys  came  pouring  out  of  the  Dew  Drop  Inn, 
and,  when  their  eyes  rested  on  the  tourist,  they  looked  at  each 
other,  first  in  surprise,  and  then  mischievously.  Locking  arms, 
they  all  faced  the  party  with  the  abbreviated  pants,  and  com- 
menced to  march  on  him.  On  they  came,  keeping  perfect  time, 
walking  straight  at  him,  and  almost  any  other  man  would  have 
turned  pale  and  run,  but  not  so  with  the  dude.  He  pulled  out 
a cigarette,  lit  it,  and,  after  taking  a few  puffs,  commenced  to 
mark  time.  We  could  see  plainly  that  the  crowd  were  a trifle 
staggered  at  the  man’s  nerve,  and  did  not  know  whether  to 
keep  on  and  walk  right  over  him,  or  try  some  other  scheme  to 
frighten  him.  Finally  they  decided  to  stop  and  hear  what  he 
had  to  say  for  himself,  and  they  were  not  kept  long  iu  suspense. 

“ Gentlemen,”  said  the  dude;  “if  you  don’t  mind,  there 
being  so  many  handsome  fellows  among  you,  I should  like  to 
lake  youah  photographs.”  This  knocked  the  boys  all  in  a heap, 
but  Col.  Juo.  Watkins  was  the  first  to  collect  his  seuses,  aud 
said  : 


“All  right,  pardner,  briug  out  year  photygraffin  machine, 
an’  we’ll  try  ter  look  pleasant.”  At  this  the  dude  stepped  in- 
side the  office,  and,  opening  a valise  which  he  had  previously 
brought  in,  he  took  out  another  camera,  laying  it  tenderly  on 
a chair  while  he  removed  the  one  from  the  tripod.  “ I find,” 
said  lie,  as  he  glanced  out  of  the  window,  “ that  in  case  the 
crowd  is  very  rough,  that,  er,  iu  ordah,  aw,  to  successfully  get 
their  pictures,  it  is  first  necessary  to  thoroughly  frighten  them. 
Now,  they  will  undoubtedly  tire  at  the  camera  the  moment  it 
is  aimed  in  their  direction,  anil  1 must,  er,  aw,  fool  them,  don’t 
ye  know.  Observe  me,  and  you  will  see  how  it  is  done.” 

Thereupon,  he  took  up  the  camera  which  he  had  handled  so 
carefully,  and  screwed  it  on  to  the  tripod,  and,  going  out  into 
the  road,  aimed  it  at  the  crowd,  who  were  patiently  waiting  with 
drawn  revolvers. 

“ Aw,  are  you  ready,  gentlemen  ? ” 

“ We  are,”  they  replied  in  chorus. 

“Then  wait  one  moment,  till  I,  aw,  return,  and  I will  take 
your  photos.” 

Hastily  entering  the  office,  the  man  commanded  us  to  lie 
down  flat  upon  the  floor.  We  did  as  we  were  ordered,  gazing 
through  a knot  hole  in  the  wall  the  while,  and  we  must  own 
that  what  followed  startled  us.  Col.  J no.  Watkins  gave  the 
order  to  take  steady  aim  at  the  camera,  and  at  the  word  fire, 
twenty  bullets  entered  the  box,  which  exploded  in  its  turn, 
tearing  up  the  ground  for  twenty  feet,  and  shattering  every 
window  within  the  block. 

“ That,  aw,  was  twenty-five  pounds  of  dynamite,”  coolly  ex- 
plained the  dude,  as  he  lit  a fresh  cigarette.  Taking  another 
tripod  from  his  valise,  he  fastened  it  to  his  camera,  and  going 
out  on  the  side- walk,  addressed  the  frightened  gang. 

“ Gentlemen,  aw,  you  were  very  unwise,  er,  don’t  ye  know, 
to  risk  your  lives  in  that  mannaw,  and  1 would  advise  you  not 
to  fire  at  this  one,  as  it  would  blow  up  the  whole  town.”  Every 
mother's  son  in  that  crowd  turned  pale  at  this,  and  Col.  Jno. 
Watkins  was  upon  the  point  of  running  away.  “One  moment, 
er,  deah  boy,”  said  the  dude,  as  he  observed  the  colonel’s 
action,  “ 1 desire  youah  photograph.”  Then  pulling  out  that 
ugly  gun,  which  had  a bore  nearly  big  enough  for  a jack  rabbit 
to  crawl  into,  he  said  : “ Gentlemen,  1 want  you,  aw,  one  at  a 
time,  don't  ye  know,  and  as  I point  this  aw,  little  revolver  at 
a man,  I,  aw,  want  him  to  come  forward  and  look  pleasant.” 
In  this  manner  every  one  in  the  crowd  was  photographed,  and 
told  to  skip  a soon  as  the  o[>eratinn  was  over.  The  dude  left 
that  night  on  the  stage,  but  we  have  since  learned  that  he  is  a 
member  of  a private  detective  agency,  and  would  warn  our  good 
citizens  to  Ire  in  constant  readiness  to  take  to  the  sage  bush. — 
American  paper. 

— ♦ 

Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. — The  annual 
meeting  will  Ire  held  on  Tuesday  next,  February  lltli,  at 
8 p.m.,  at  the  Gallery,  5a,  Pall  Mall  East. 

Copying  Drawings. — A new  method  for  copying  drawings 
which  may  be  found  of  service  is  described  by  Build  iny.  Any 
kind  of  opaque  drawing  paper  iu  ordinary  use  may  be  employed 
for  this  purpose,  stretched  in  the  usual  way  over  the  drawing 
to  be  copied  or  traced.  Then  the  paper  is  soaked  with  benzine 
by  the  aid  of  a cotton  pad.  The  pad  causes  the  benzine  to 
enter  the  pores  of  the  paper,  rendering  the  latter  more  trans- 
parent than  t lie  finest  tracing  paper.  The  most  delicate  lines 
and  tints  show  through  the  paper  so  treated,  and  may  lie  copied 
with  the  greatest  ease,  for  pencil,  Indian  ink,  or  water-colours, 
take  equally  well  on  the  benzinised  surface.  The  paper  is 
neither  creased  nor  torn,  remaining  whole  and  supple.  Indeed, 
pencil  marks  and  water-colour  tinting  last  better  upon  paper 
treated  in  this  way  than  on  any  kind  of  tracing  pajier,  the  for- 
mer being  rather  difficult  to  remove  by  rubber.  When  large 
drawings  are  to  be  dealt  with,  the  benzine  treatment  is  only- 
applied  to  parts  at  a time,  thus  keeping  pace  with  the  rapidity 
of  advancement  with  the  work.  When  the  copy  is  completed 
the  benzine  rapidly  evaporates,  and  the  paper  resumes  its 
original  opaque  appearance  without  betraying  the  faintest  trace 
of  benzine.  If  it  is  desired  to  fix  lead  pencil  marks  on  ordinary 
drawing  or  tracing  paper,  this  may  be  done  by  wetting  it  with 
milk,  and  drying  iu  the  air. 


February  7,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


109 


DANGERS  OE  FLASH-LIGHT  COMPOUNDS.* 

BY  JOHN  G.  BULLOCK  AND  CHARLES  L.  MITCHELL,  M.D. 
Within  the  last  two  years  the  community  of  Philadelphia 
has  been  startled  by  a series  of  fatal  accidents  occurring 
during  the  manufacture  of  magnesium  flash-powder,  a 
compound  well  known  to  photographers,  whereby  in  all 
five  human  lives  have  been  lost.  On  three  several  occa- 
sions explosions  have  taken  place,  eacli  with  fatal  results, 
the  last  and  most  recent  of  all  resulting  in  the  death  of 
three  persons.  As  a natural  consequence  considerable 
attention  and  inquiry  have  been  attracted  to  the  subject  of 
flash-powders  ami  their  probable  dangers,  and  the  writers 
of  this  paper  were  requested  at  a recent  meeting  of  the 
Photographic  Society  of  Philadelphia  to  prepare  a report 
upon  the  subject. 

The  composition  of  the  particular  powder  which  was  the 
cause  of  this  disastrous  loss  of  life  is  understood  to  have 
been  powdered  magnesium,  chlorate  of  potash,  picric  acid, 
and  bichromate  of  potash.  No  one  of  these  ingredients  is 
in  itself  explosive  except  under  extraordinary  circum- 
stances, and  may  be  considered  as  safe  ; but  the  moment 
that  they  are  mixed  an  element  of  danger  is  introduced. 

Many  finely-powdered  metals  are  prone  to  rapid 
oxidation ; give  them  the  oxygen  and  the  reaction  takes 
place  rapidly,  and  is  frequently  accompanied  by  heat  and 
flame.  Powdered  magnesium  and  powdered  zinc  have 
been  known  to  become  sufficiently  hot  to  ignite  material 
in  contact  with  them,  on  being  wet  with  water. 

The  addition  to  magnesium  of  a chemical  rich  in 
oxygen,  or  holding  oxygen  loosely,  so  to  speak,  increases 
its  susceptibility  to  rapid  change. 

For  instance,  a match  applied  to  some  of  the  powdered 
metal  will  fail  to  ignite  it,  or  occasions  a mere  glow  from 
slow  ignition ; but  let  the  magnesium  be  mixed  with 
chlorate  of  potash  or  nitrate  of  potash  to  furnish  it  with 
oxygen,  and  the  whole  mass  will  flash  witli  almost  explosive 
violence.  Again,  mix  with  the  magnesium  and  chlorate  of 
potash  some  carbon,  and  under  some  conditions  a 
dangerous  explosive  will  be  formed.  For  instance,  oxygen 
gas  is  made  safely  from  the  heating  together  of  chlorate 
of  potash  and  oxide  of  manganese  ; allow  some  carbon  to 
be  accidentally  mixed  with  the  two  ingredients  and  heated, 
and  a violent  explosion  will  probably  ensue.  The  rubbing 
together  of  chlorate  of  potash  and  some  organic  substances 
is  accompanied  with  a crackling  noise  and  frequently 
explosion,  as  instanced  in  the  combination  'with  sugar  or 
tannin. 

Such  compounds  as  we  have  spoken  of  are  known  as 
explosives,  as  typically  illustrated  by  gunpowder — a mix- 
ture of  nitrate  of  potash,  carbon,  and  sulphur.  Another 
and  more  dangerous  class  of  chemical  compounds  which 
may  be  formed  under  some  circumstances  are  known  as 
detonators ; that  is,  compounds  the  component  parts  of 
which  are  held  together  under  so  strained  a condition  of 
high  tension,  that  a very  slight  cause,  such  as  a light,  sharp 
blow,  will  occasion  them  to  fly  apart  violently  with  a sharp, 
loud  report ; in  other  words,  they  detonate.  The  force  of 
an  explosion  is  felt  at  a greater  distance  than  that  of  a detona- 
tion, but  the  disruption  of  surrounding  bodies  is  greater 
and  more  complex  with  the  detonation  than  the  explosion. 
An  explosion  is  generally  accompanied  by  fire  and  smoke ; 
a detonation  is  not. 

Many  detonating  compounds  may  be  heated  and  burned 
until  consumed  without  discharge,  whereas  the  detonation 
* Head  before  the  Photographic  Society  of  Philadelphia. 


or  snapping  of  a common  pistol  cap  in  contact  with  or  near 
them  may  detonate  the  entire  mass ; such  is  the  method 
adopted  in  the  explosion  of  mines,  &c. 

Picric  acid  is,  in  itself,  we  might  say,  perfectly  safe,  as 
it  can  be  burned  without  danger,  and  will  detonate  only 
when  confined.  In  compound,  however,  with  some  other 
bodies,  it  produces  a class  of  very  dangerous  substances, 
notably  picrate  of  potassium,  picrate  of  sodium,  picratc  of 
barium,  picrate  of  strontium,  picrate  of  magnesium,  and 
picrate  of  lead.  These  substances  are  extremely  unstable 
in  character,  and  liable  to  explode  with  slight  percussion 
or  friction  with  the  liberation  of  immense  volume  of  gas. 
Sarran  states  the  relative  force  of  picrate  of  potassium, 
when  exploded,  as  compared  with  gunpowder,  is  as  1 '98 
to  1 -00 — almost  twice  as  great.  A mixture  of  0'5  kilo- 
grams of  potassium  picrate  and  0'5  kilograms  of  potas- 
sium chlorate  evolves  through  its  combustion  352  litres 
of  gases.  One  kilogram  of  gunpowder  evolves  but  200 
litres  under  the  same  circumstances. 

Picrate  of  magnesium  is,  when  dry,  one  of  the  most 
unstable  of  its  compounds,  and  therefore  highly  dangerous 
to  handle.  It  may  be  made  in  a wet  way  by  double  de- 
composition, or  by  the  intimate  mixture  of  the  powdered 
ingredients.  Time  is,  of  course,  an  important  factor  in 
the  latter  process  of  manufacture,  but  a microscopical 
examination  of  the  mixture,  after  long  standing,  will  show 
that  the  metal  has  entirely  disappeared,  and  the  explosive 
compound  been  formed.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  this 
combination  may  be  greatly  assisted  by  the  presence  of 
atmospheric  moisture.  Powdered  magnesium  is  quite 
hygroscopic,  and  has  a tendency  to  cake  together  in  loose 
masses,  or  adhere  to  the  sides  of  a bottle,  if  exposed  to  a 
moist  atmosphere.  Picric  acid,  when  powdered,  is  also 
rather  sticky  in  character,  and  it  can  be  readily  seen  how, 
if  these  two  substances  existed  together  in  a mixture,  they 
would  be  attracted  to  one  another;  then,  given  the 
elements  of  time,  moisture,  and  perhaps  some  slight 
warmth,  and  a chemical  combination  would  inevitably 
occur.  That  this  is  not  simply  theory,  but  fact,  can  be 
substantiated  by  a fact  lately  mentioned  to  one  of  the 
writers  of  this  article  by  Prof.  Henry  Leffmaun,  of  this 
city,  in  a personal  conversation.  He  stated  that  some  time 
previous,  while  microscopically  examining  a sample  of 
flash-powder  which  contained  picric  acid,  he  was  surprised 
to  notice  an  entire  absence  of  metallic  magnesium,  the 
yellow  crystals  of  picric  acid  being  alone  prominent.  On 
dropping  the  powder  into  water,  however,  an  abundant 
sediment  of  metallic  magnesium  was  deposited,  showing  its 
presence,  and  a closer  examination  of  the  powder  showed 
that  the  particles  of  magnesium  were  completely  enveloped 
in  a yellow  coating  of  picric  acid.  Of  course  these  cir- 
cumstances afforded  a most  fruitful  opportunity  for  the 
conversion  of  these  two  substances  into  the  explosive  pic- 
rate of  magnesium. 

Here  is  the  probable  explanation  of  the  late  calamity  at 
the  laboratory  of  Wiley  and  Wallace.  A bottle  containing 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  several  pounds  of  flash  powder, 
made,  after  the  before-mentioned  formula,  some  eighteeu 
months  previous,  was  being  emptied  into  a drain  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  rid  of  it.  No  fire  or  other  chemicals 
were  known  to  have  been  present.  Water  had  been 
thrown  upon  some  of  it  to  aid  in  its  being  carried  down 
the  drain.  Experiments  subsequently  made  proved  that 
the  presence  of  water  would  not  occasion  sufficient  heat 
to  ignite  it.  The  most  reasonable  supposition  is,  there- 
fore, that  a small  portion  of  the  powder  was  detonated  by  an 


110 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  7,  1890. 


accidental  blow,  and  from  thence  the  entire  mass  was  deto- 
nated. No  smoke  or  burns  appeared  upon  the  bodies  of  those 
killed,  or  surrounding  objects,  thus  proving  the  absence 
of  fire.  For  the  preceding  disasters  by  the  same  powder 
another  theory  must  be  advanced,  as  they  occurred 
at  the  time  of  the  mixing  of  the  ingredients,  and 
previous  to  the  probable  formation  of  the  picrate  of 
magnesium.  In  the  first  case  there  was  an  explosion 
during  the  process  of  grinding  the  material ; in  the  second 
case,  while  the  powder  was  being  sifted.  In  the  first 
case  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  an  explosion  would 
be  the  natural  sequence.  In  the  second  case  it  is 
probable  that  some  clogging  of  the  sieve  occurred 
during  the  mixture  of  the  materials.  The  loss  of  these 
five  lives  is  a terrible  caution  against  the  use  of  the  especial 
compound  which  caused  the  explosion,  and  a sufficient 
reason  to  regard  with  suspicion  any  powder  the  formula  of 
which  is  not  made  public  and  known  to  be  safe.  This 
especial  formula  produced  a compound  which  was  alike 
unsafe  to  make,  to  use,  or  to  keep.  To  sell  such  an  article, 
therefore,  for  ignorant  and  unskilled  persons  to  use,  or  to 
induce  anyoue  to  attempt  its  manufacture,  places  a fearful 
responsibility  upon  those  who  knowingly  undertook  such 
a risk. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  formula!  of  most  of 
this  class  of  preparations  are  not  published,  and  it  is  highly 
probable,  in  many  cases,  that  their  ingredients  have  been 
combined  with  but  little  regard  to  their  chemical  properties 
and  the  chemical  reactions  which  might  occur  from  their 
admixture.  The  fact  that  the  compound  may  bear  a label 
proclaiming  it  “ safe”  is  but  a very  slight  guarantee  when 
its  composition  is  altogether  unknown. 

It  seems  hardly  necessary  now,  in  view  of  all  that  has 
been  said,  to  raise  a note  of  warning  in  regard  to  the  use 
of  all  these  flash-powders,  but  the  statement  has  been 
already  made  that  while  this  one  particular  compound  was 
unsafe,  other  compounds  are  harmless.  The  writers  wish 
to  state,  therefore,  that  they  consider  all  forms  of  flash- 
powder  dangerous,  the  difference  between  them  being  only 
in  the  degree  of  danger  involved.  As  has  been  said,  they 
are  all  composed  of  substances  liable  to  rapid  decomposition 
when  in  contact  with  each  other  ; they  are  liable  to  form 
new  compounds  often  possessing  dangerous  and  unknown 
properties,  their  combustion  is  attended  with  an  intense 
degree  of  heat,  involving  risks  from  severe  burns,  and  they 
are  liable  to  spontaneous  explosion  or  ignition.  This 
danger  is  greatly  augmented  when  they  are  made  or  kept 
in  mass,  and  the  probable  reason  why  a greater  number  of 
fatal  accidents  have  not  occurred  is  because  the  powders 
have  mostly  been  made  in  comparatively  small  quantitiesand 
put  up  in  separate  packages,  each  containing  butafew grains 
of  the  mixture.  They  contain,  in  most  cases,  chlorate  of 
potash,  bichromate  of  potash,  permanganate  of  potash,  fcrro- 
cyanide  of  potassium,  nitrate  of  potash,  amorphous  phos- 
phorus,  and  other  highly  organized  compounds,  the  very 
purpose  of  their  admixture  with  the  magnesium  bcingto  in- 
< i ease  its  inflammability  and  the  rapidity  of  its  combustion. 

I his  can  only  be  done  by  making  the  combination  more 
unstable,  and  thus  introducing  at  once  a large  element  of 
danger.  A simple  mixture  of  magnesium  and  chlorate  of 
potash,  which  has  been  claimed  to  be  harmless,  if  placed 
in  a confined  situation,  as  in  a pistol,  and  discharged  by  a 
cap,  will  detonate,  and  there  is  probably  no  compound  of 
this  character  which  does  not  possess  some  elements  of 
danger. 

Since  the  introduction  of  the  different  forms  of  the 


magnesium  lamp,  in  which  pure  metallic  magnesium  can 
be  burned  with  absolute  safety,  there  seems  to  be  but 
little  reason  why  the  use  of  flash-powder  should  be  con- 
tinued, and  as  the  only  possible  advantage  in  their  use 
over  that  of  the  lamp  is  that  a slight  amount  more  of 
speed  may  be  obtained,  the  question  may  well  be  asked 
whether  the  possible  advantages  to  be  gained  are  worth 
the  additional  risk  involved  in  the  use  of  the  flash-powder. 

In  conclusion,  the  following  quotation  from  Eissler's 
work  on  “The  Modern  High  Explosives ” may  well  be 
cited  here,  more  particularly  in  reference  to  combinations 
into  which  chlorate  enters:  — 

“In  mixing  these  compounds  great  danger  is  atten- 
dant, and  too  much  circumspection  cannot  be  used. 
They  explode  instantly  upon  any  violent  stroke,  very  often 
by  friction  alone  ; sometimes  spontaneously,  as  when  in  a 
state  of  rest,  and  no  known  cause  for  their  combustion 
can  be  assigned.  Many  are  deluded  as  to  its  safety  by 
so-called  experiments  with  freshly-made  powder.  Manu- 
facturers of  the  compound  may  attempt  to  show  its  safety 
by  hammering  it  and  cutting  it,  and  similar  tests;  but  let 
the  powder  be  exposed  to  the  natural  atmospheric  action, 
attract  some  moisture,  then  get  dry,  and  the  least  friction 
or  blow  will  cause  an  explosion.” 

The  writers  hope  that  the  knowledge  of  the  dangers 
attending  the  use  of  flash-powders  is  now  so  diffused  that 
no  farther  accidents  will  result  from  their  use,  and  that 
their  manufacture  will  eventually  be  abandoned. 

The  first  number  of  the  Art  World,  a weekly  art  newspaper, 
is  announced  for  February  22nd.  It  is  to  be  devoted  chiefly 
to  the  pictorial  and  plastic  arts,  and  to  the  interests  of  artists  of 
all  denominations.  It  will  not  be  illustrated. 

Next  Monday,  Mr.  Douglas  Freslifield  will  give  a full 
account  before  the  Itoyal  Geographical  Society  of  the  search 
expedition  undertaken  by  Mr.  C.  Dent  and  him.- elf,  which 
solved  the  problem  of  the  fate  of  the  two  English  moun- 
taineers, Mr.  Donkin  and  Mr.  Fox,  who  were  lost  in  the 
Caucasus  in  1888.  Mr.  Freslifield’s  paper  will  be  illus- 
trated by  photographs  taken  by  Signor  V.  Sella,  one  of 
several  travellers  who  succeeded  last  year  in  the  ascent  of 
Mount  El  brass,  and  by  Mr.  H.  Woolley,  who  accompanied  Mr. 
Freslifield  in  his  search  expedition. 

The  following  experiment  showing  how  primary  colours  pro 
duce  white  is  of  interest.  Cut  a circle  of  pasteboard  nine 
inches  across,  pencil  it  into  four  parts,  then  again  each  of 
these  into  seven.  With  bright,  clear  water-colours  paint  these 
narrow,  pie-shaped  slips  with  red,  orange,  yellow,  green,  blue, 
violet,  indigo,  in  this  order  ; then  begin,  and  do  this  in  each 
quarter,  l’ut  a round,  smooth  nail  or  pin  through  the  centre 
of  the  disc  where  the  points  of  the  colours  meet  ; drive  this  into 
a heavy  board  edge,  and  whirl  it  around  as  fast  as  you  can. 
The  colours  disappear,  and  you  see  a round  but  rather  dirty 
white  circle.  If  the  colours  were  pure  it  would  lie  pure  white  ; 
if  they  were  really  prismatic  you  would  have  a little  shining 
white  moon  of  light. — Invention. 

Messrs.  Perken,  Son,  and  Raiment. — Our  attention  is  drawn 
to  the  subjoined  extract  from  the  London  Gazette  of  January 
28th: — “Notice  is  hereby  given  that  the  partnership  here- 
tofore subsisting  between  us  the  undersigned,  Louis  Edmond 
Perken,  Frederic  Louis  Perken,  and  Arthur  Payment,  carrying 
on  business  as  Manufacturers  and  Importers  of  Optical  and 
Scientific  Instruments  at  No.  99,  Hatton  Garden,  and  elsewhere 
in  the  County  of  London,  under  the  style  or  firm  of  Perken, 
Son,  and  Payment,  has  been  dissolved  by  mutual  consent,  as 
from  the  31st  day  of  December,  1889.  All  debts  due  to  and 
owing  by  the  said  late  firm  will  be  received  and  paid  by  the  said 
Frederic  Louis  Perken  and  Arthur  Payment,  who,  with 
Edgar  Theodore  Perken,  the  younger  son  of  the  said  Louis 
Edmond  Perken,  will  continue  to  carry  on  the  same  business  at 
No.  99,  Hatton  Garden  aforesaid,  in  partnersliip,  under  the 
same  style  or  firm.” 


February  7,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


Ill 


A CAMERA  WITH  THE  LUSHIA  FIELD  FORCE  * 

BY  TOM.  DE  LA  TOUCHE. 

We  left  Calcutta  on  the  eve  of  a cyclone,  and  the  weather  was 
so  gloomy  that  no  pictures  of  the  embarkation  of  troops  or 
views  of  the  river  were  possible  ; but  as  these  have  been  often 
photographed,  perhaps  it  was  just  as  well  not  to  be  tempted 
to  waste  plates  ou  them.  Arriving  at  Chittagong,  let  us  draw 
a veil  over  the  events  of  the  intervening  two  days.  I tried  a 
picture  of  the  I.  G.  S.  Da!  ho  us  ic,  which  had  brought  us  across  ; 
but  having  just  before  been  showing  off  the  beauties  of  the 
camera  to  some  friends  on  board,  and  having  left  it  on  a sky- 
light for  a short  time,  one  of  these  friends  had  taken  the 
opportunity  to  set  the  lever  that  keeps  the  shutter  open, 
and  consequently,  on  releasing  it,  the  shutter  stuck  halfway. 
The  result  was  a picture  that  showed  the  Dcdhousie  as  she 
might  have  appeared  in  the  height  of  the  cyclone,  and  which 
even  a hardened  sailor  could  hardly  have  contemplated  with- 
out its  bringing  on  an  attack  of  sea-sickness.  A view  of  the 
shipping  in  the  river  with  boats  in  the  foreground  preparing  to 
embark  troops  turned  out  better  ; but  away  from  the  river 
Chittagong  is  uninteresting,  and  does  not  lend  itself  well  to 
the  camera.  Proceeding  up  the  river,  the  little  station  of 
Rangamati,  built  on  a ridge  high  above  the  river,  makes  a 
fairly  good  picture,  but  below  this  place  and  for  a long  distance 
above  it  the  banks  are  monotonous,  low  hills  covered  with  dense 
jungle  to  the  water’s  edge  extending  for  miles.  At  Burkul, 
however,  two  days  above  Rangamati,  where  the  river  cuts 
through  a lofty  range  of  hills,  and  is  broken  by  a series  of 
rapids,  the  scenery  becomes  finer,  and  several  good  views  may 
be  obtained.  This  is  a grand  place  for  fishing,  and  a rod  should 
be  included  in  one’s  kit,  but  the  strongest  kind  of  tackle, 
especially  hooks,  will  be  required.  All  the  fish  that  I hooked 
broke  away,  sometimes  straightening  out  the  hooks  or  bend- 
ing them  into  a ring.  Above  Burkul  there  is  another  long 
stretch  of  still  water,  and  few  good  subjects  for  pictures  are 
met  with  till  Demagiri  is  reached,  where  one  or  two  fine  views 
may  be  obtained,  especially  of  the  rapids  and  hills  above  the 
station,  and  the  rod  may  again  be  used  with  effect.  There  is 
a Kulsi  village  ou  the  heights  opposite  Demagiri  ; and  if  one 
does  not  object  to  a steep  climb  of  about  1,000  feet,  a group  of 
the  inhabitants  and  their  bamboo  huts  will  repay  the  trouble 
of  getting  to  it. 

As  far  as  Demagiri  the  journey  is  easy  enough ; and,  as  a 
police  post  has  been  established  there  for  several  years,  it  may 
be  v.sited  at  any  time.  A steamer  leaves  Chittagong  for 
Rangamati  once  a week,  and,  beyond  this,  dug  out  boats  are 
easily  procurable,  which  are  fairly  large  and  comfortable,  and 
may  be  slept  in  at  night,  but  a mosquito  net  is  indispensable. 
Beyond  Demagiri  it  would  not  be  safer  to  proceed,  at  any  rate 
for  the  present,  without  an  escort ; but  in  a few  years,  let  us 
hope,  these  hills  will  be  as  free  to  the  seeker  after  the  pic- 
turesque as  any  part  of  the  hills  of  Assam. 

Camp  Demagiri ; 20th  December,  1889. 

♦ 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  COMPETITION  WITH  OTHER 
PICTORIAL  ARTS. 

The  Daily  Telegraph  says  : — There  is  no  great  probability,  for- 
tunately, of  any  development  of  the  art,  or  rather  scientific  craft, 
of  photography  doing  any  harm  to  water-colour  painting.  What 
harm  photography  has  been  capable  of  inflicting  on  art  has 
already  been  perpetrated,  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  the 
mischief  effected  has  beeu  prodigious.  It  has  killed  litho- 
graphy— the  chalk  branch  at  least  ; chromo-lithography  has 
escaped,  and  will  enjoy  immunity  until  the  secret  of  producing 
I photographs  in  colour  is  discovered.  It  is  killing  the  beautiful 
craft  of  drawing  upon  wood,  and,  allied  with  all  kinds  of 
electro  “processes,”  it  is  killing  the  art  of  wood-engraving 
itself.  It  has  nearly  slain  the  art  of  portrait-drawing  in 
crayons  ; although  a good  many  French  and  a few  English 
portraitists  are  fighting  a valiant  fight  in  the  production  of 
drawings  in  charcoal,  and  in  “sanguine”  or  red  chalk  ; while 
the  enterprise  and  taste  of  Sir  Coutts  Lindsay  have  succeeded 

* From  The  Journal  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  India. 


in  giving  fresh  life  to  the  beautiful,  but  almost  moribund,  art 
of  pastel.  Photography,  however,  has  utterly  and,  it  is  to 
be  feared,  irrevocably  slain  the  art  of  miniature-painting.  The 
names  of  Carpenter,  of  Mee,  of  Margaret  Gillies,  of  Thor- 
burn,  of  Ross,  of  Karl  Schiller,  seem  almost  to  belong  to 
ancient  history,  and  at  the  summer  exhibitions  of  the  Royal 
Academy  miniatures  have  become  almost  as  rare  as  enamels. 
Yet  it  is  questionable  whether  the  good  deeds  done  by  photo- 
graphy have  not  very  far  surpassed  the  artistic  evil  which  it 
has  undoubtedly  wrought.  The  services  it  has  rendered  to 
the  cause  of  archeology  and  architecture  have  been  immense. 
Photography  has  lightened  the  labours  of  the  botanist,  the 
ornithologist,  the  comparative  anatomist,  the  decipherer  of 
manuscripts,  the  entomologist,  the  aeronaut,  and  the  meteoro- 
logist. It  has  given  material  assistance  to  those  whose  calling 
is  the  detection  of  crime.  It  has  been  literally  the  travel- 
ler’s joy  and  the  solace  of  those  who  have  never  been  able  to 
wander  to  far-distant  lands,  of  the  scenery  of  which  they  arc 
able,  through  the  medium  of  the  camera,  to  view  exact  and 
picturesque  transcripts.  Photographic  portraiture,  again,  as  a 
means  of  pleasant  intercommunication  between  widely  separated 
kinsfolk  and  friends,  and  as  an  agent  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
domestic  affections,  has  been  productive  in  degree  of  compara- 
tively as  much  social  benefit  to  the  community  at  large  as 
cheap  postage  itself.  Who  are  so  poor  and  lowly,  “ so 
accursed  by  fate,  so  utterly  desolate,”  as  not  to  have  been 
able  to  afford  at  some  time  or  another  a photographic  portrait 
of  themselves  or  of  those  they  have  loved,  even  though  the 
counterfeit  presentment  has  been  taken  for  a few  pence  on  the 
sands  at  a watering-place  ? 


(tfoiTcsjpon&enrc. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  AND  ILLUSTRATED  PAPERS. 

Sir, — My  attention  has  just  been  called  to  a paragraph  in 
your  “Notes”  of  January  24th,  in  which  you  remark,  referring 
to  photography,  that  “The  one  man  who,  it  would  bethought, 
should  have  been  among  the  earliest  to  practise  the  art,  has 
not  touched  it  ; we  mean  the  descriptive  reporter.”  And  then, 
referring  to  the  new  venture  of  the  Daily  Graphic,  you  add, 
“ He  may  see  the  necessity.” 

Now,  sir,  I have  seen  the  same,  or  similar  assertions,  made 
repeatedly  in  the  photographic  press  ; but,  from  personal  ex- 
perience, I feel  bound  to  dissent  from  them.  I happen  to  be 
on  the  staff  of  one  of  the  leading  trade  journals,  and  some 
years  ago,  seeing  the  importance  and  usefulness  of  learning  the 
art  of  photography,  I did  so,  and  although  my  work  with  the 
camera,  and  also  with  the  “detective,”  has  become  my  chief 
hobby,  and  I have  so  improved  myself  that  no  branch  of  the 
art  comes  amiss,  yet  I find  it  of  no  use  whatever  ; certainly, 
for  our  own  journal,  I sometimes  take  a photo  for  reproductive 
purposes,  but  although  I have  offered  my  services  to  most  of 
the  leading  papers,  including  the  Daily  Graphic,  1 am  met 
with  the  stereotyped  reply  that  they  prefer  pencil  artists,  who 
are  capable  of  making  rough  sketches.  As  to  my  descriptive 
powers,  they  are  fully  appreciated  by  some  half-a-dozen  periodi- 
cals that  I contribute  to,  but  whenever  photography  is  men- 
tioned it  is  pooh-poohed.  Practically,  the  only  use  I have  as 
yet  been  able  to  put  it  to  has  beeu  the  illustration  of  some  of  my 
own  stories ; but  for  the  newspaper  proper — daily  or  weekly — it 
has  as  yet  failed  to  grasp  the  use  of  descriptive  writer  and  pho- 
tographer combined. 

I merely  write  this  letter  to  give  you  the  experience  of  one 
who  has  endeavoured  to  push  himself  forward  on  the  lines  you 
recommend  fot  some  years  past,  but  finds  there  is  no  opening. 

George  Brown. 

25,  Sturgeon  lload,  Walworth,  S.  E. , February  1st. 


Manchester  Amateur  Photographic  Society. — A Photo- 
graphic Exhibition  will  be  held  at  the  Manchester  A then  scum 
on  Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday,  February  13th,  14tli,  and 
15th.  Open  Thursday,  6 to  10  p.m.,  Friday  and  Saturday, 
10  a.m.  to  10  p.m.  The  Council  have  arranged  for  a lantern 
exhibition  at  8 o’clock  each  evening. 


J’A 


112 


HE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  7,  1890. 


patent  Intelligence. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

1,388.  A.  Watkins,  Imperial  Flour  Mills,  Hereford,  “ Instru 
’ meut  for  Calculating  Photographic  Exposures.” — Janu- 
ary 27th. 

1,394.  G.  J.  Heaton,  2,  Coburg  Villas,  Windsor,  “Levelling 
Instrument  for  Cameras.” — January  2/tli. 

1,489.  J.  J.  E.  Mayall,  1,  Quality  Court,  London,  “Colour- 
ing Photographic  Impressions,  and  a Varnish  or  Enamel  for 
the  same.  ” — January  28th. 

1,501.  W.  W.  Bagally,  3,  Poet’s  Corner,  Westminster, 
“ Optical  Illusion.” — January  28th. 

1,560.  Jane  Mathers,  41,  Reform  Street,  Dundee,  “Fan  for 
Displaying  Photographs.” — January  29th. 

1,562.  T.  Stanway,  24,  Cauldon  Road,  Hanley,  Stafford- 
shire, “Supports  for  Photographs  while  under  Manipula- 
tion.”— January  29th. 

1,600.  E.  T.  Perken,  F.  L.  Perkbn,  and  A.  Rayment,  34, 
Southampton  Buildings,  London,  “Magic  Lanterns.” 
— January  30  th. 

1,631  J.  J.  Atkinson  and  R.  W.  Barnes,  6,  Lord  Street, 
Liverpool,  “Displaying  Photographic  Backgrounds.” 
— January  30th. 

1,715.  M.  A.  Wish,  3,  Palace  Grove,  Upper  Norwood, 
“Exposing  a Succession  of  Films.” — February  1st. 

1,747.  W.  Herbert,  Waltham  House,  Suffolk  Road,  Chelten- 
ham, “Time-piece  Regulator  to  Turn  on  and  Lower  Gas  at 
any  Time  Required.” — February  1st. 

Specifications  Published. 

2,623. — 14</i  February,  1889.  “Flash Lamp.”  John  Leisk, 
169,  Commercial  Street,  Lerwick,  Shetland,  Merchant. 

My  invention  relates  to  a new  or  improved  form  of  flash  lamp, 
for  the  rapid  or  instantaneous  combustion  of  magnesium 
powder  applicable  to  photographic  or  other  purposes,  whereby 
the  powder  is  propelled  by  centrifugal  force  outwards,  equally 
all  round,  from  the  surface  of  a circular  horizontal  rapidly 
revolving  disc,  into  a suitable  flame  or  flames  completely  sur- 
rounding the  said  revolving  disc,  thus  securing  the  total  com- 
bustion of  the  metallic  powder  under  conditions  favourable  to 
obtaining  the  maximum  of  incandescence,  the  result  being  an 
instantaneous  flash  of  actinic  light  circular  or  globular  in  form 
and  many  inches  in  diameter,  which,  from  its  large  area  and 
diffusive  power,  is  eminently  suitable  for  photographic  purposes. 
All  in  contra-distinction  to  the  methods  heretofore  used  of 
projecting  the  magnesium  powder  by  means  of  an  air  current 
into  a suitable  flame,  either  horizontally,  obliquely,  or  verti- 
cally, by  which  mode,  in  some  instances  part  of  the  metallic 
powder  passes  through  the  flame  unconsumed,  and  in  all  the 
cold  air  introduced  into  the  flame  tends  to  disturb  the  same, 
lowers  the  temperature,  and  prevents  the  maximum  incan- 
descence of  the  magnesium  powder  used. 

By  one  arrangement  my  invention  may  be  constructed  as 
follows  : — 

A bed  plate  of  metal  or  other  suitable  material,  and  which 
may  be  five  inches  square,  is  prepared,  and  on  each  corner  of 
the  same  is  erected  rigidly  a stout  pillar  one  and  a quarter 
inches  high.  A second  plate,  of  same  size  as  the  first,  is  now 
placed  on  the  top  of  these  pillars,  to  which  it  is  attached  by 
screws  or  otherwise. 

Pivoted  to  the  centre  of  the  lower  or  bed  plate,  and  rising 
perpendicularly  through  an  opening  in  the  centre  of  the 
upper  plate,  is  an  arbor  or  spindle,  about  three  inches  long,  on 
the  upper  end  of  which  is  rigidly  fixed,  at  right  angles  by  its 
centre,  a circular  metal  disc  about  one  and  a half  inches  in 
diameter,  the  said  arbor  being  fitted  so  as  to  revolve  easily, 
and  being  provided  with  the  necessary  collars  or  shoulders  to 
prevent  it  leaving  its  bearings. 

To  the  lower  part  of  the  said  arbor  is  attached  a coiled 
spring  for  revolving  the  same,  and  also  a ratchet  wheel  and 
suitable  detent  for  stopping  the  spring  when  wound  up. 

By  another  method  an  india-rubber  band  may  be  substituted 
for  the  coiled  spring. 

There  is  also  attached  to  the  bed  plate  a suitable  trigger 


arrangement,  brought  by  pneumatic  or  other  means  under  the 
control  of  the  person  using  the  lamp,  by  which  the  detent  can 
be  instantly  removed  from  the  teeth  of  the  ratchet  wheel 
when  a flash  is  required  to  be  made. 

Resting  upon  the  upper  plate  is  a circular  spirit  lamp  or 
burner,  made  of  metal  in  the  form  of  a flat,  hollow  ring  two 
and  a half  inches  in  diameter,  one  and  a quarter  inch  broad, 
and  one  eighth  of  an  inch  or  more  in  thickness.  The  wick  of 
this  lamp,  preferably  of  asbestos,  protrudes  from  the  upper 
open  edge  of  the  ring  aforesaid,  the  other  edge  being  closed 
and  resting  upon  the  plate,  while  a small  capped  reservoir  at 
the  side,  connected  to  the  ring  or  burner  by  a short  tube,  sup- 
plies the  wick  with  spirit.  This  circular  lamp  or  burner  is 
attached  to  the  upper  plate  in  such  a manner  that  it  shall 
surround  equidistantly  the  circular  disc  and  arbor  before 
mentioned,  with  the  surface  of  the  wick  at  a level  one  half  of 
an  inch  below  the  upper  surface  of  the  said  circular  disc,  the 
part  of  the  top  plate  thus  enclosed  being  freely  perforated  so 
as  to  admit  a free  current  of  air  from  below  between  the 
circular  disc  and  the  spirit  lamp  wick.  An  annula  cap  for 
extinguishing  the  spirit  lamp  is  also  provided. 

By  another  arrangement  a circular  Bunsen  burner  or  circle 
of  gas  or  other  flames  may  be  substituted  for  the  spirit 
lamp  in  conjunction  with  the  revolving  mechanism  before 
described  for  igniting  magnesium  powder  and  producing  a 
flash. 

To  use  a flash  lamp  as  before  specified  : the  lamp  is  first 
filled  with  methylated  spirit.  The  spring  is  then  wound  up  by 
turning  the  circular  disc  at  the  top  of  the  arbor.  The  charge 
of  magnesium  powder,  which  may  be  three  grains  or  more,  is 
then  spread  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  aforesaid  disc,  and 
the  spirit  lamp  lit ; the  detent  is  now  withdrawn  from  the 
ratchet  wheel,  when  the  coil  spring  thus  suddenly  released, 
causes  the  arbor  and  disc  instantly  to  rapidly  revolve  on  its 
axis,  and  by  the  centrifugal  force  thus  generated  to  scatter  the 
charge  of  magnesium  powder  into  the  adjacent  flame  of  the 
lamp,  thereby  producing  an  instantaneous  flash  of  maximum 
size  and  brilliancy  with  a minimum  of  powder  used. 

Havingthus  described  myinvention,  the  chief  feature  of  novelty 
of  which  consists  in  utilizing  centrifugal  force  to  project  the 
magnesium  powder  into  one  or  more  suitable  flames,  the 
mechanism  here  described  for  carrying  out  that  principle  may 
be  somewhat  varied  in  details  or  size  ; the  measurements  be- 
fore given  being  merely  relative,  must  be  varied  to  suit  other 
sizes  of  flash  lamps. 

When  used  for  taking  photographic  portraits  a suitable 
reflector  and  diffusing  screen  should  be  used  in  conjuction  with 
the  lamp  herein  described. 

2,723. — February  16tA,  1889.  “ Controlling  Exposures  when 

Using- Flash  Lamps.”  Frederic  William  Haiit,  8 and  9, 

Kingsland  Green,  London,  Manufacturer  of  Scientific  In- 
struments. 

The  object  of  this  invention  is  for  controlling  the  exposure 
of  the  sensitive  photographic  plate  or  plates,  in  lighting  single 
or  grouped  objects  to  be  photographed  by  flashing  light  or 
lights  ; it  has  been  found  that  some  persons  and  lower  animals 
involuntarily  move  either  the  body  or  more  frequently  close 
the  eyelids  very  shortly  after  the  flash  commences;  to  render 
this  movemement  of  little  or  no  moment  I employ  a stop- 
cock with  two  separate  ways,  or  two  separate  stop-cocks 
actuated  simultaneously  by  one  lever  or  turnkey  ; each  way 
is  connected  with  a separate  air  chamber  in  which  is  air  or 
gas  under  pressure  ; one  conducting  tube  for  air  goes  to  the 
flash-lamp,  and  the  other  to  the  pneumatic  release  of  an 
exposing  shutter ; their  relative  times  of  discharge  are  so 
adjusted  that  the  shutter  exposures  take  place  at  the  early 
part  of  the  flash  or  combination  of  flashes,  and  according  to 
the  volume  of  light  provided  so  the  actual  exposure  of  the 
plates  may  be  reduced  to  a very  small  fraction.  It  has  been 
found  impracticable  for  many  to  accomplish  the  double  move- 
ment for  flash  and  shutter  by  simple  hand  pressure  on  balls 
at  the  right  instant  of  time.  It  has  also  been  suggested  to 
connect  the  exposing  shutter-release  with  the  same  air-l>all 
or  chamber  that  discharges  the  magnesium,  but  as  the  air 
does  not  escape  at  the  shutter’s  release,  but  exerts  pressure,  and 


February  7,  1890.] 


rHE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


113 


on  the  other  hand  the  tube  to  the  flash-lamp  is  practically 
| open,  it  is  seen  that  such  an  arrangement  could  exert  no  prac- 
tical pressure  at  the  shutter-release. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1st.  The  combination  of  a two-way  stopcock,  pneumatic 
release-shutter,  and  flash-lamp  or  lamps. 

2nd.  The  combination  of  two  air  or  gas  chambers  and  stop 
cocks  in  line,  the  discharge  ports  of  the  plugs  being  adjust- 
able one  to  the  other  by  means  of  a graduated  disk  and 
index. 

3rd.  The  combination  of  a two-way  stopcock  with  separate 
air  chamljers,  valves,  and  air  compressing  balls  or  pumps. 

4th.  The  combination  of  two  separate  air  chambers,  each 
with  stopcock  and  their  plugs  in  line,  their  axes  connected 
through  a prolongation  and  set  screw,  or  the  stopcocks  placed 
parallel,  and  worked  by  an  intermediate  tooth  wheel. 

p 15,289. — 28th  September,  1889.  “Shutters  for  Photographic 
Apparatas.”  Newnham  Browne,  73,  Cheapside,  London, 
Fellow  of  the  Institute  of  Patent  Agents,  communicated  from 
abroad  by  Richard  Kiindler,  Friedrich  Str.  29,  Dresden, 
Mechanician  and  Optician. 

The  invention  relates  to  shutters  for  photographic  apparatus, 
which  contain  two  plates,  one  placed  over  the  other,  and 
It  capable  of  longitudinal  motion  with  reference  to  one  another, 
I each  plate  having  an  aperture,  and  which  two  plates  in  their 
[!  positions  at  the  end  of  their  stroke  close  or  cover  the  lens, 
I!  whilst  when  the  plates  travel  from  one  extreme  end  of  their 
I motion  towards  the  other,  they  uncover  or  expose  the  lens 
i for  an  instant  at  the  time  when  the  .apertures  in  the  two 
I;  plates  are  coincident 

The  improvements  relate  partly  to  the  mechanism  and  ad- 
I justing  devices  causing  and  controlling  the  motion  of  the 
shutter-plates,  and  partly  to  the  arrangement  of  the  plates 
themselves,  whereby  the  manner  in  which  the  exposure  is 
I effected  is  controlled. 


Mr.  E.  Muybridge  will,  we  understand,  shortly  give  a second 
ij  lecture  in  Manchester  on  “ Animal  Locomotion. ” 

Specimen's  of  the  late  Mr.  ltejlander’s  photographs  can  be 
l obtained  made  up  in  albums  from  Mrs.  Rejlander,  2,  Waverley 
Villas,  Bruce  Grove,  Tottenham. 

A contemporary  says  that  a mother  whose  sons  were  tending 
. cattle  on  her  estate,  named  the  estate  “ Focus,”  because,  she 
said,  it  is  where  the  sons  raise  meat. 

A light  basket-case  for  a lialf-plate  camera  has  been 
I received  for  inspection.  Shortly  we  shall  return  to  the  sub- 
i ject  of  basket-work  for  photographic  purposes,  to  bring  for- 
ward some  fresh  points. 

The  annual  dinner  of  the  Photographic  Society  will  be  held 
I on  February  10th,  at  6.30  p.m.,  at  the  Cafe  Itoyal,  Regent 
I;  Street,  London.  Tickets,  six  shillings  each,  may  be  obtained 
from  Mr.  William  Eogland,  7,  St.  James’s  Square,  Notting 
Hill,  London.  Evening  dress  optional.  Ladies  will  be  present. 

In  our  last  number,  we  stated,  in  a paragraph  about  illus- 
t strated  journalism,  that  The  Daily  Graphic  had  to  apologise 
for  a blunder  in  regard  to  one  of  its  illustrations.  We  find 
that  this  statement  is  not  correct,  and  accordingly  express  our 
regret  at  its  insertion,  and  offer  to  our  contemporary  our 
* sincere  apology. 

Proposed  Lantern  Club. — Mr.  T.  H.  Holding,  whose  letter 
■ respecting  this  project  appeared  in  our  issue  of  January  17th, 
writes  as  follows : — “ Permit  me  to  notify  that  a meeting  will 
I be  held  in  the  Upper  Regent  Saloon  of  the  St.  James’s  Hall 
Restaurant,  (Regent  Street  and  Piccadilly),  on  Thursday, 
February  20th,  at  8 p.m.  I have  to  ask  those  who  can  attend 
I to  send  in  their  names  either  to  the  Hon.  Slingsby  Bethell, 
Chelsea  Lodge,  Chelsea,  or  to  myself,  before  that  dav. 
Possibly  there  are  those  who  will  have  engagements,  and, 
nevertheless,  are  in  sympathy.  We  shall  be  glad  also  to  have  a 
1 word  from  them  before  the  20th,  as  it  will  be  useful.  Any 
i suggestions  which  any  gentleman  may  have  and  will  embody  in 
a brief  letter,  shall  be  put  before  the  meeting. — T.  H.  Holding, 
46,  Chesilton  Road,  Fulham,  S.  IF.,  7,  Maddox  Street,  IF.” 


Jj)voccctftng$s  of  £octcttcg. 

The  Camera  Club. 

On  January  30th,  Mr.  T.  R.  Dallmeyer  read  a paper  entitled 
“Practical  Interpretations  of  the  Law  of  Conjugate  Foci.” 
Mr.  Lyonel  Clark  occupied  the  chair. 

The  Hon.  Secretary  handed  round  a matt  surface  silver 
print,  sent  by  Mr.  Quick,  in  which  the  note  paper  on  which  his 
letter  was  written  had  been  sensitised  and  printed  upon  with 
good  results. 

Mr.  Dallmeyer  showed  a graphic  method  of  illustrating  the 
equation  representing  the  law  of  conjugate  foci,  by  the  proper- 
ties of  lines  drawn  within  the  circumference  of  a circle.  He 
also  showed  applications  of  the  law  of  conjugate  foci,  whereby 
the  purposes  of  a view-meter  were  served,  and  also  to  give 
indications  of  the  object  focussed  for  being  actually  in  focus. 
These  included  one  by  Mr.  Berthon,  one  mentioned  by  Mr.  Traill 
Taylor,  and  one  described  and  illustrated  by  an  instrument  by 
Mr.  Dallmeyer  himself. 

The  subject  on  Thursday,  February  13th,  is  “Landscape,” 
when  a paper  will  be  read  by  Mr.  Graham  Balfour. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  30th  ult.,  Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater  occu- 
pied the  chair. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  said  that  he  had  continued  his  experiments  with 
a view  to  test  what  part  the  alkaline  salts  played  in  the  developer 
in  connection  with  and  without  sulphite  of  soda.  Two  plates 
were  shown,  one  developed  with  a ten  per  cent,  solution  of  sul- 
phite, and  the  other  with  a twenty  per  cent,  solution  of  sulphite, 
two  grains  of  pyro  being  used  in  each  case.  The  increased 
strength  of  sulphite  added  considerably  to  the  density  of  the 
image. 

Mr.  A.  Haddon  was  still  of  opinion  that  the  developing  power 
of  sulphite  was  due  to  its  degree  of  alkalinity.  Three  solutions 
he  had  tested,  all  indicated  the  presence  of  excess  of  alkali. 

Mr.  J.  B.  B.  Wellington  exhibited  a 15  by  12  collodio-bromide 
plate,  showing  after  development  innumerable  black  spots  ; these 
spots  were  absent  in  small  plates  coated  with  the  same  emul- 
sion. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  thought  the  spots  might  be  caused  by 
the  plate  not  having  been  thoroughly  clean. 

The  Chairman  drew  attention  to  a report  in  one  of  the  jour- 
nals of  the  bursting  of  a gas  cylinder.  Remarking  upon  the 
daager  of  sending  out  both  oxygen  and  hydrogen  in  black 
bottles,  which  in  many  instances  was  done,  he  would  urge 
upon  all  users  of  the  two  gases  to  insist  upon  having  these  gases 
delivered  in  red  and  black  bottles. 


Dundee  and  East  op  Scotland  Photographic  Association. 

February  6th. — The  first  popular  lecture  this  season,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  above  Association,  was  given  in  the  KinDaird 
Hall  on  Wednesday  by  Mr.  J.  W.  McCall.  The  scenery  illus- 
trated was  that  of  Orkney,  Shetland,  and  Greenland  ; the  pictures 
had  been  prepared  by  Messrs.  Valentine  and  Sons.  A large 
screen  was  used,  some  thirty  feet  square,  and  special  lantern 
arrangements  had  to  be  made. 

Starting  from  Kirkwall,  with  its  celebrated  cathedral,  the 
various  islands  were  visited  in  turn,  and  the  Orkney  group  was 
next  shown,  besides  views  of  Lerwick,  Stromness,  and  Scalloway, 
the  old  castles  and  ruins  found  on  the  various  islands,  and 
scenes  illustrative  of  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  natives.  The 
stries  closed  with  views  of  the  Tay  and  Foith  Bridges;  several 
other  large  structures  were  also  shown  by  way  of  contrast. 


Sheffield  Photographic  Society. 

The  monthly  meeting  was  held  on  Tuesday  evening,  the  4th 
inst.,  at  the  Masonic  Hall,  Mr.  B.  J.  Taylor  in  the  chair. 

A series  of  180  slides  wis  passed  through  the  lantern,  which 
was  manipulated  by  Mr.  G.  Bromley. 

On  the  table  were  laid  the  competitive  enlargement  pictures, 
prizes  for  which  had  been  given. 


114 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  7,  lSI'O. 


Liverpool  Amateur  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  held  on  the  30th  January,  at  3,  Lord  Street, 
Mr.  Paul  Lange  occupied  the  chair. 

Messrs.  J.  AV.  Warburton,  M.D.,  John  Price,  M.I.C.E.,  Rev. 
G.  F.  Wills,  H.  Cope  West,  E.  S.  Gladstone,  B.  Cookson,  and 
J.  Watkins  were  elected  members. 

Mr.  P.  Lange  spoke  at  some  considerable  length  as  to  the 
benefit  derived  from  Conventions  generally,  more  particularly 
when  attention  was  drawn  to  something  really  practical.  He 
advocated  that  a better  feeling  should  be  cultivated  with  kindred 
Societies,  and  drew  attention  to  the  Chester  Conference  to  be 
held  shortly,  of  which  Mr.  F.  Evans  was  the  Secretary. 

A short  discussion  on  the  subject  of  “The  Best  Lenses  for 
Detective  Work  ” then  followed,  in  which  Messrs.  Sayce,  Wil- 
kinson, Earp,  Lange,  Kirby,  Williams,  Tomkinson,  and  Swinden 
took  part.  It  was  pretty  generally  allowed  that  an  ordinary 
French  lens,  working  at//ll  with  a rapid  shutter,  gave  good 
results  ; especially  so  when  working  with  a lens  covering  the 
next  larger  sized  plate  than  the  one  used. 

Mr.  W.  J.  Archer  exhibited  a selection  of  Woodbury  lantern 
slides  and  a series  of  views  of  the  Paris  Exhibition,  including  a 
few  panoramic  slides,  which  gave  great  satisfaction. 

The  exhibits  consisted  of  snap  shots  by  W.  Wilkinson,  on 
glass  and  film  ; new  lantern  slide  carrier,  by  W.  J.  Chadwick 
(Manchester) ; and  Mawson  and  Swan’s  transparency  and  photo- 
graph frame. 


The  twenty-sixth  report  of  the  above  Association  sets  forth 
that  the  President  and  Council  have  much  pleasure  in  congratu- 
lating the  members  on  the  continued  prosperity  of  the  Associa- 
tion. In  previous  reports  the  attention  of  the  latter  had  been 
drawn  to  the  years  1883  and  1884  as  phenomenally  prosperous 
ones,  showing  in  the  former  32  new  members  and  in  the  latter 
37 — an  increase  of  69,  and  accounted  for  by  the  increased 
facilities  offered  to  amateurs  by  the  introduction  of  the  gelatine 
dry  plates. 

In  the  years  1888  and  1889,  there  has  been  a yet  greater 
increase  ; in  the  year  1888  there  were  49  new  members,  and  in 
this  year  74,  showing  an  accession  of  123,  or  an  increase  as 
compared  with  1883  and  1884  of  78  per  cent.  In  1889  alone 
the  number  exceeds  that  in  1883  and  1884  together.  The 
accession  to  the  roll  of  membership  has  been  the  highest  yet 
attained,  and  the  total  number  of  members  238.  There  can 
be  little  doubt  that  this  increase  is  in  a great  measure  due  to 
the  prominence  the  Association  secured  in  connection  with  its 
exhibition  held  in  the  Walker  Art  Gallery  in  1888,  and  to  the 
securing  of  club  rooms  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  city', 
giving  members  such  convenience,  comfort,  and  advantages  of 
association  as  cannot  be  surpassed  by  any  similar  photographic 
society'  in  the  Kingdom. 

The  following  is  a record  of  the  numbers  joining  the  Asso- 
ciation during  each  year  of  its  existence,  viz.  : — 1863,  17  ; 
1864,4;  1865,1  ; 1866,0;  1867,  1 ; 1868,0;  1869,  3; 

1870,  1 ; 1871,  1 ; 1872,  3 ; 1873,  2 ; 1874,  4 ; 1875,  2 ; 

1876,2  ; 1877,7  ; 1878,7;  1879,6;  1880,6;  1881,8; 

1882,  19  ; 1883,  32  ; 1884,  37  ; 1885,  23  ; 1886,  18  ; 1887, 

19  ; 1888,  49  ; 1889,  74. 

The  number  of  members  at  the  commencement  of  the  year 
1889  was  181,  and  17  have  left  the  Association,  thus  making 
the  net  number  at  the  present  time  238.  The  numbers  on  the 
books  for  the  last  six  years  are  as  follows: — In  1884,  138  ; 
1885,  134;  1886,  140;  1887,  144  ; 1888,  181  ; 1889,  238.’ 
There  have  been  two  removals  by  death,  viz.  : — W.  P.  Riley,  a 
member  of  the  Council,  and  one  of  the  most  promising  and 
active  members  ; and  C.  J.  Renfrey’,  who  had  but  recently 
joined  the  Association.  The  Association  has  also  lost  the  ser- 
vices of  two  valued  members  of  the  Executive,  owing  to  busi- 
ness appointments  removing  them  from  this  part  of  the  country, 
viz.  H.  N.  Atkins,  Vice-President ; andW.  A.  Watts,  M.A., 
Hon.  Secretary.  These  vacancies  have  been  filled  by  P.  Lange 
to  the  former,  and  W.  Hughes  to  the  latter.  W.  H.  Tyerman 
and  C.  A.  Timmins  have  been  elected  to  fill  the  other  vacan- 
cies. The  year  1889  is  prominent  in  the  records  of  the  Society' 
on  account  of  the  permanent  club  rooms  which  have  been  so 


happily  acquired.  The  committee  appointed  to  select  and 
furnish  suitable  premises  for  the  club  rooms  consisted  of  the 
following  members: — Messrs.  J.  H.  Day,  J.  Earp,  A.  IV. 
Cornish,  A.  W.  Beer,  B.  J.  Sayce,  and  G.  H.  Rutter  ; but 
before  any  action  was  taken  Messrs.  B.  J.  Sayce  and  G.  H. 
Rutter  retired  from  the  Committee,  and  Mr.  H.  Lupton  was 
elected  in  their  place.  The  Committee  thus  formed  was  subse- 
quently appointed  as  the  “House  Committe.”  Owing  to  the 
substantial  balance  from  the  Exhibition  account  of  £257  18s., 
and  the  ordinary  balance  on  the  24th  November,  1888,  of 
£77  8s.  5d.,  making  £335  6s.  5d.,  the  long-desired  wish  of 
many  members  has  been  attained.  Thanks  to  the  House  Com- 
mittee and  to  Mr.  Day,  their  Secretary,  a number  of  works  of 
art  have  been  secured  for  the  adornment  of  the  room  from 
Messrs.  H.  P.  Robinson,  “Carolling,”  and  own  etching  ; F.  M. 
Sutcliffe,  “Water  Rats;”  R.  Keene,  “ Tissington  Spires;” 
A.  Pringle,  “Dove  Dale;”  Rev.  H.  B.  Hare,  “Thirsty  Mo- 
ments; W,  W.  Winter,  J.  P.  Gibson,  B.Wyles,  H.  S.  Mendels- 
sohn, M.  Auty,  Rev.  H.  J.  Palmer,  and  F.  Whalley.  The 
rooms  have  been  well  furnished,  and  the  comfort  and  con- 
veniencc  of  members  have,  as  far  as  practicable,  been  attended 
to.  An  enlarging  camera  has  also  been  provided  for  the  con- 
venience of  members,  and  has  been  of  service  to  many.  The 
entrance  fee  on  membership  has  been  increased  to  £1  Is.  The 
Treasurer’s  account  shows  a balance  remaining  to  the  credit  of 
the  Association  of  £48  13s.  8d.  after  investing  the  sum  of 
£194  14s.,  and  writing  off  £14  5s.  4d.  as  depreciation  on 
club  room  furniture,  &c.  There  has  been  a great  increase  and 
improvement  in  photographic  work  done  by  the  members  this 
year,  and  it  is  encouraging  to  note  that,  instead  of  the  higher 
class  of  results  coming  only  from  a limited  few  as  heretofore, 
there  is  now  a fair  distribution  amongst  the  younger  members. 
Nothing  of  a very  startling  character  has  been  submitted  to 
photographic  workers  generally  during  the  year.  Developers 
are  now  fairly  divided  in  numbers  of  their  respective  adherents 
— pyro-ammonia  and  hydrokinone  ; yet  another  “ Richmond  ” 
has  appeared  in  the  shape  of  Dr.  Andresen’s  “ Eikonogen,”  of 
which  we  may'  hear  more  next  year.  Celluloid  films  have  appa- 
rently displaced  “paper  ’’-work  to  a great  extent,  and  have 
recently  been  much  improved.  Platinotype  has  been  increas- 
ingly adopted,  the  process  being  simple,  results  artistic  and  per- 
manent, and  the  price  of  the  paper  has  been  greatly'  reduced. 
Much  attention  has  been  directed  to  “ detective  ” or  hand- 
camera  work,  though,  as  yet,  with  but  limited  success  ; still, 
the  difficulties  attendant  upon  this  interesting  branch  of  photo- 
graphy have  been  met  with  praiseworthy  determination,  and 
many  ingenious  devices  and  improvements  have  been  affected, 
notably  the  camera  invented  by  two  of  our  members — Messrs. 
Swinden  and  Earp — which  obtained  the  only  medal  given  for 
apparatus  by  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain  at  the 
recent  Exhibition  at  Pall  Mall,  keeping  up  the  traditions  and 
prestiqc  of  this  Society’  in  the  advancement  of  photographic  art. 
Early  in  the  year  we  received  from  the  Boston  (U.S.)  Camera 
Club  a series  of  lantern  slides,  in  trust,  for  exchange  with  other 
societies,  entitled  “ Illustrated  Boston,”  and  which  has  been 
entour  during  the  year.  The  series  was  carefully  prepared,  and 
reflects  the  highest  credit  on  the  Boston  Camera  Club  for  the 
manner  in  which  the  slides  were  completed  as  a representative 
set.  The  idea  was  one  worthy  of  following,  and  the  Council 
has  requested  the  members  of  this  Association  to  make  up  a 
Liverpool  set  as  a “ return  ” series  for  the  Boston  Club,  and 
also  a representative  set  for  reciprocal  exchange  with  other 
societies  in  our  own  country',  especially  as  so  many’  societies 
have  already  adopted  the  plan  as  a great  incentive  to  individual 
work,  and  an  encouragement  to  the  respective  societies  in  a new 
branch  of  activity.  The  meetings  have  maintained  their  interest 
throughout  the  year.  Papers  have  been  read  and  demonstra- 
tions given  by  Messrs.  W.  Tomkinson,  on  “An  Easter  Trip  to 
the  South  of  France  and  Northern  Italy  ” ; F.  A.  Bartlett,  M.A., 
on  “ A Mouth  in  Normandy  and  Brittany  ” ; J.  Earp,  on  “ Ten 
Days  in  Holland  and  Belgium  with  a Hand  Camera”  ; S.  J.  H. 
Dearie,  on  “English  River  Scenery”;  P.  Lange,  the  repre- 
sentative series  of  lantern  slides  sent  by  the  Birmingham 
Society;  AY.  A.  AAratts,  M.A.,  the  “Illustrated  Boston” 
slides  sent  by’  the  Boston  (U.S.)  Camera  Club;  F.  T.  Paul, 


February  7.  1890.' 


TIIF.  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


ll'> 


F.R.C.S. , a demonstration  on  “Micro-Photography”;  Yero 
C.  Driffield,  paper  on  the  “ Actinograpli  ” ; G.  A.  Kenyon, 
M.D.,  on  “Film  Photography”;  P.  Lange,  demonstration  on 
“Enlarging”;  H.  Wilkinson,  paper  on  “The  Intelligent  Use  of 
the  Detective  Camera  ;”  G.  E.  Thompson,  on  “ Rambles  along 
the  Riviera,  from  Marseilles  to  Genoa  ;”  J.  S.  Brown,  “ From 
Cairo  to  the  Cataract  ;”  Messrs.  Sinclair,  Tomkinson,  and  Tun- 
stall,  on  “Normandy  and  Brittany  ;”  while  discussions  have 
taken  place  upon  “Cloud  Negatives,”  “Warm  Tones  by  De- 
velopment in  Lantern  Slides,”  “ Eikonogen  as  a Developer,” 
and  also  upon  the  various  demonstrations,  papers,  and  novelties 
submitted  to  the  meetings.  Much  interesting  work  has  been 
shown  and  other  exhibits  brought  forward  by  Messrs.  W.  Rogers, 
E.  Roberts,  S.  J.  H.  Dearie,  P.  Lange,  .1.  Comber,  II.  Wilkin- 
son, A.  W.  Beer,  W.  Tomkinson,  T.  S.  Mayne,  C.  A.  Timmins, 
E.  M.  Tunstall,  J.  I,.  Mackrell,  J.  A.  Forrest,  H.  Holt,  1L 
Crowe,  15.  J.  Sayee,  W.  C.  Bustard,  A.  F.  Stainstreet,  and 
others.  The  social  element  has  also  received  attention.  Four 
smoking  concerts  have  been  held,  and  largely  attended. 

The  annual  competition  for  Prints,  Enlargements,  and  for 
Lantern  Slides  has  received  increased  attention  from  the  mem- 
bers this  year,  and  some  excellent  work  has  been  submitted. 

The  thanks  of  the  Association  are  due  to  the  following 
judges,  viz.  : — For  Prints  and  Enlargements — G.  Watmough 
Webster,  -F.C.S.,  John  Finnic,  and  E.  Rimbault  Dilxlin.  For 
Lantern  Slides — G.  E.  Thompson,  Paul  Lange,  W.  D.  Mead, 
and  E.  Landseer  Grundy. 

The  judges’  award  is  as  follows  : — 

Sets  No.  Name. 

Set  of  six  prints,  half-/ Stiver  Medal  > (T.  B.  Sutton. 

plate  and  under...  ( Bronze  Medal •)  < W.  Tomkinson. 

fiet  of  six  prints,  over  J Silver  Medal  > U.  L.  Mackrei.l. 

half-plate  ...  {Bronze Medal)  (1).  Cunningham. 

Set  of  two  enlarge-  f Silver  Medal ) . (F.  K.  Glazeruook. 

ments  ...  ...  ( bronze  Medal)  <J.  L.  Mackrell. 

Set  of  six  lantern/ Silver  Medal ) (A.  J.  Cleaver. 

slides  ...  ...{Bronze Medal)  (T.  B.  Sutton. 

The  excursions  arranged  for  out-door  photography  this  year 
have  been  numerous,  and  the  following  table  of  particulars  of 
attendance  and  results  will  no  doubt  be  interesting  : — 


Date.  Place.  Attendance.  Exposures. 

April  22  Ludlow  and  District  ...  * 


May 

4 

Rossett 

15 

56 

18 

Instantaneous — River ... 

7 

60 

27 

H addon  Hall  and  Bakewell 

19 

150 

June 

1 

Burton  and  Ness 

15 

102 

10 

Dolgelly  

* 





15 

Speke  Hall  and  Old  Hutto 

49 

229 

26 

Emral  Hall  and  Wrexham 

* 

___ 

29 

Bollin  Valley  ... 

16 

106 

July 

13 

Chester 

7 

20 

22 

Pont-y-Pant  ... 

6 

50 

29 

Knowsley  Park 

* 



August 

5 

Boscobel,  Tonge,  and  Lilleshall 

Abbey  ... 

• • • 

5 

20 

10 

Eastham  Rake... 

17 

60 

24 

Raby  Mere 

12 

60 

Sept, 

2 

Sandbach  and  Moreton 

* 

— 

— 

1 1 Excursions 

168 

913 

Last  year  ...  3 ,, 

49 

362 

Increase  ...  8 ,, 

... 

119 

551 

Arrangements  were  made  for  sixteen  excursions,  but  five 
(*)  had  to  1 >e  abandoned  ; the  attendance  at  the  eleven  ex- 
cursions was  168,  and  the  number  of  exposures  made  was 
P13.  As  compared  with  last  year,  there  is  an  increase  in 
the  number  of  those  present  of  119,  and  in  the  exposures 

The  following  are  the  officers  of  the  Association  for  1890 
President , Mr.  Paul  Lange  ; Vice-presidents , Messrs.  Wm. 
Tomkinson,  W.  D.  Mead  ; Treasurer,  Mr.  Joseph  Earp,  c/o 
Edward  Thin,  3,  Rumford  Place  ; Council,  Messrs.  W.  H. 
Tyerman,  D.  Lewis,  C.  A,  Timmins,  G.  H.  Rutter  (to  serve 


one  year)  ; R.  Crowe,  E.  Roberts,  B.  J.  Sayce,  J.  H.  Sin- 
clair (to  serve  two  years)  ; A.  W.  Beer,  J.  H.  Day,  E.  M. 
Tunstall,  J.  L.  Mackrell  (to  serve  three  years)  ; Librarian,  Mr. 
J.  McDonald  Bell  ; Auditor,  Mr.  A.  Bradbury  ; lion.  Secretary, 
Walter  Hughes,  3,  Lord  Street,  Liverpool. 


Derby  Photographic  Society. 

On  Wednesday  night  the  members  of  the  Derby  Photographic 
Society  held  their  annual  conversazione  at  the  St.  James’s  Hall. 
The  work  of  some  of  the  members  of  the  Society  was  exhibited 
in  the  room.  Among  the  exhibits,  many  of  which  consisted  of 
well-known  local  scenes,  prints  were  shown  by  Messrs.  Winter, 
Keene,  Thomas  Scotton,  A.  B.  Hamilton,  C.  J.  Chadwick, 
C.  Bourdin,  W.  Hart,  and  others.  In  addition  a competition 
had  been  organised  by  the  Society,  three  prizes  l>eing  offered 
for  the  best  work  by  amateurs,  for  which  the  following  seven 
entered : Messrs.  F.  Bemrose,  C.  Bourdin,  C.  J.  Chadwick, 
Cope,  A.  B.  Hamilton,  T.  A.  Scotton,  jun.,  and  G.  Walker. 
The  judges  (Messrs.  Simmonds  and  Arthur  Cox)  had  some  diffi- 
culty in  making  their  awards.  Eventually,  Mr.  T.  A.  Scotton, 
jun.,  took  the  first  prize  with  a photograph  of  a country  lane 
near  Birmingham.  Mr.  Bourdin  was  awarded  the  second  prize  ; 
the  scene  of  his  photograph  was  “Derby  from  Exeter  Bridge,” 
and  the  third  prize  fell  to  Mr.  C.  J.  Chadwick,  wrhose  picture 
was  a scene  at  “ King’s  Mills.”  The  judges  also  highly  com- 
mended the  work  of  Mr.  A.  B.  Hamilton,  who  from  a lady’s 
photograph  had  taken  the  head  as  a statue. 

In  opening  the  proceedings,  Mr.  Herbert  Strutt,  J.P., 
delivered  a brief  address,  and  said  that  in  an  assembly  like  that, 
he  should  be  the  last  person  to  introduce  any  controvertial 
matter  or  technicality,  because  he  was  fully  awaie  of  the  fact 
that  he  was  speaking  to  gentlemen  who  knew  more  about  art 
than  he  did  himself,  and  he  should  only  display  his  ignorance. 
He  thought  no  one  present  needed  to  be  told  that  during  the 
past  ten  years  the  number  of  amateur  photographers  had 
greatly  increased,  the  reasons  having  been  the  great  reduction 
which  had  taken  place  in  the  cost  of  the  outfit  and  the  simplifi- 
cation of  the  process.  The  result  was  that  the  number  of 
amateur  photographers  was  about  500  per  cent,  larger  than  it 
was  ten  years  ago.  He  looked  upon  the  art  as  one  of  the  most 
fascinating  that  could  be  taken  up,  not  only  because  it  led  one 
to  the  most  interesting  places,  but  when  they  had  taken  the 
photographs  they  could  enjoy  the  sight  of  them  for  the  rest  of 
their  lives.  He  had  spoken  of  the  increase  of  amateur  photo- 
graphers, and  he  might  say  that  their  Society,  which  was  estab- 
lished in  1884,  had  now  about  sixty-five  members. 

During  the  evening  Mr.  F.  G.  Pierpoint,  of  Leicester,  gave 
an  exhibition  of  lantern  slides,  executed  by  the  members  of  the 
Society,  and  Mons.  Julien  Lachapelle  a shadowgraph.  In  addi- 
tion, Mrs.  Sim,  Mrs.  Hamilton,  Capt.  Sim,  and  Mr.  Drury 
took  part  in  a musical  programme. 


Photographic  Society  op  Philadelphia. 

A meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  January  1st,  President 
Frederick  Graff  in  the  chair. 

The  secretary  read  a communication  inviting  entries  to  the 
exhibition  of  the  Worcestershire  Camera  Club  at  Kidderminster, 
to  be  held  from  March  1st  to  15th.  A prospectus  accom- 
panied the  communication. 

The  annual  report  of  the  treasurer  was  presented,  showing  a 
cash  balance  on  hand  of  820.68  dollars. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Executive  Committee  was  read,  giv- 
ing a resume  of  the  work  of  the  Society  for  the  past  year.  A 
number  of  valuable  additions  to  the  library  had  been  made,  and 
a considerable  sum  expended  for  binding  of  journals. 

Reference  was  made  to  various  papers  read  before  the  Society, 
to  the  Third  Annual  Joint  Exhibition  held  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Society  during  the  month  of  April,  and  to  the  Fall  Competi- 
tive Exhibition,  now  in  progress,  from  which  the  Honour  pic- 
tures for  1889  would  be  selected. 

The  Committee  on  Lantern  Slides  reported  as  follows  : At 
the  Conversational  Meeting,  held  December  18tli,  the  inter- 
change slides  shown  were  those  of  the  Syracuse  Camera  Club. 
This  organization  was  admitted  to  the  American  Lantern  Slide 
Interchange  only  this  year,  and  their  first  contribution  was 


11(5 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Fkisrcaby  7,  1810. 


creditable  to  the  members  of  the  Club,  and  a pleasure  to  the 
members  of  this  Society  who  saw  them.  There  were  seventy -six 
slides  in  all,  most  of  them  on  gelatine  dry  plates,  and  repre- 
sented a wide  stage  of  subjects,  including  some  fine  studies  in 
Europe. 

Dr.  Charles  L.  Mitchell  showed  fifty  slides,  on  gelatine  plates 
developed  by  eikonogen.  The  views  were  chiefly  marine  stu- 
dies, made  with  a Hawkeye  Detective  Camera,  and  the  cloud 
effects  in  most  of  the  views  were  excellent. 

The  election  for  officers  and  committee  for  1890  resulted  as 
follows  : — President — Frederic  Graff  ; Vice-Presidents — John 
G.  Bullock,  Joseph  H.  Burroughs ; Secretary — Robert  S.  Red- 
field  ; Treasurer — Samuel  M.  Fox  ; Executive  Committee — 
Kllerslie  Wallace,  M.D.,  Charles  L.  Mitchell,  M.D.,  Edmund 
Stirling. 

A paper  prepared  by  Dr.  Charles  L.  Mitchell  and  Mr.  John 
G.  Bullock  on  the  “ Dangers  of  Flash-Light  Compounds,”  was 
read  by  Mr.  Bullock  (see  p.  109). 


Bath  Photographic  Society. 

January  29<A.— Meeting  at  10,  Quiet  Street,  Mr.  W.  Pumphrey 
in  the  chair.  Messrs.  H.  J.  Lewis,  H.  G.  P.  Wells,  D.  Swain, 
and  J.  S.  Gibbs  were  elected  ordinary  members.  Messrs. 
Ernest  Pitman  and  J.  Day  were  appointed  auditors. 

A circular  letter  was  read  from  Dr.  P.  H.  Emerson,  offering 
a copy  of  his  work,  “ East  Anglian  Life,”  to  the  Society.  This 
generous  proposal  was  accepted  with  thanks. 

Messrs.  Dug  dale  and  Davis  then,  by  means  of  the  oxy-etho 
light,  showed  a series  of  views  representing  places  visited  by 
the  Society  during  the  summer  excursion. 

Dr.  Dutton  passed  round  developed  prints  on  celluloid,  opal, 
and  cardboard.  He  remarked  that  the  percentage  of  failures 
with  celluloid  was  high. 

The  annual  meeting  will  be  held  on  February  26th. 


Manchester  Amateur  Photographic  Society. 

The  fifth  annual  report  was  presented  at  the  annual  general 
meeting  held  at  the  Manchester  Athenaium,  Princess  Street,  on 
Tuesday,  January  28th,  from  which  we  give  the  following  : — 

Eighty-six  new  members  have  joined  since  the  fourth  annual 
meeting,  and  during  the  year  there  have  been  no  fewer  than  353 
members  on  the  books.  The  present  actual  numerical  strength 
stands  at  293  members. 

The  Treasurer’s  account  shows  a balance  in  hand  of  £44  8s.  10d„ 
as  against  £41  3s.  9d.  last  year. 

An  addition  of  17  volumes  has  been  made  to  the  library  dur- 
ing the  year,  making  a total  of  171  volumes.  The  number  of 
books  issued  to  the  members  was  upwards  of  250. 

Since  the  issue  of  the  last  report  there  have  been  added  to 
the  apparatus  belonging  to  the  Society  a fine  lime-light 
enlarging  lantern,  at  a cost  of  £13  (exclusive  of  the  condensers, 
which  were  presented  by  a member),  a lime-light  lantern, 
costing  £20  8s.,  and  a screen.  In  addition  to  the  lanterns, 
the  Society  has  a slide  cabinet  containing  upwards  of  300  slides 
contributed  by  members,  which  slides  have  been  in  much  request 
during  the  year. 


J he  Camera  Club. — The  Camera  Club  Journal  says  about 
the  probable  new  premises  of  the  Club  “ Provided  that  the 
details  now  under  arrangement  can  be  settled  to  our  satisfac- 
tion, these  premises  will  lie  erected  to  comprise  five  floors  and 
a spacious  basement,  the  entrance  to  the  building  belonging 
solely  to  the  Club.  The  divisions  into  rooms  will  probably  be 
as  follow  s : Eight  or  nine  separate  small  dark  rooms,  work- 

room and  storage,  a waiting-room  and  porter’s  lobby,  large 
meeting-room,  still-room  and  offices,  library,  billiard-room, 
workshop  fitted  with  lathe,  &c.,  committee  and  secretaries’ 
looms,  grill-room,  kitchen,  resident  porter’s  rooms,  studio  and 
enlarging  room,  and  lead  flats.” 


Received.  From  Messrs.  Perken,  Son,  aud  Raymeut,  a 
simple  and  inexpensive  magnesium-ribbon  lamp — an  improve- 
ment on  one  figured  and  favourably  noticed  in  these  columns 
about  a twelvemonth  since, 


to  eromgponBcnts* 


All  Communications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Photographic  News,  6,  Furnival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

Ligroine  Lamp. — A correspondent  in  Vienna  has  been  good 
enough  to  seek  out  the  maker  of  this  incandescent  lamp,  which 
costs  22  gulden  (about  £1  18s.)  all  complete,  with  benzoline 
boiler,  gas  burner,  and  a spare  Welsbach  gauze.  Our  friend 
saw  it  in  action.  The  power  is  said  to  be  100  candle-light, 
aud  it  works  very  efficiently,  bearing  out  Dr.  Eder’s  report  of 
it.  The  maker  is  Herr  C.  Fabricius,  II  Erzherzog  Karl  Platz, 
No.  16,  Vienna.  Benzoline  vapour  mixed  with  air  is  burnt 
at  a jet  surmounted  with  a Welsbach  incandescent  gauze, 
giving  a brilliant  white  light.  See  Year-Book,  page  170. 

Pr.  O.  S. — The  best  hand  camera.  If  you  are  intent  upon 
using  glass  plates,  the  camera  mentioned  is  as  good  as  any, 
but  the  most  portable  form  is  now  the  new  Kodak  No.  2, 
worked  with  a roller  of  flexible  celluloid.  This  gives  circular 
pictures  of  3i  inches  diameter,  very  suitable  for  lantern  trans- 
parencies, but  of  course  not  answering  your  requirement  of 
taking  negatives  3g  by  5 inches. 

Noriam. — Plate-glass  for  studio  roof.  Under  the  special  cir- 
cumstances of  your  case,  being  already  in  possession  of  a large 
square  of  plate-glass,  it  might  be  well  to  make  it  do  duty  as 
part  of  the  roof  of  your  studio.  The  lower  slope,  and  not 
the  top  light,  is  certainly  the  best  place  to  put  it,  for  in  this 
position  it  may  rest  on  a faced  iron  horizontal  ledge  fixed 
directly  on  the  iron  support  as  sketched.  With  regard  to  the 
probability  of  its  changing  colour,  examine  carefully  the  edges 
with  a white  card  behind  to  see  whether,  in  the  protected  parts 
under  the  rabbet,  where  it  was  originally  screened  from  sun- 
light exposure,  there  is  the  slightest  indication  of  a paler  tint 
than  in  the  rest  of  the  glass,  and  be  guided  accordingly. 

M.  W. — Your  letter  was  duly  received  and  acted  upon  a fort- 
night ago.  You  will  know  the  result  next  week  in  ordinary 
course. 

W.  T.  D. — The  back  numbers  of  the  Photographic  Times 
(1889)  are  not  just  now  accessible  at  the  Patent  Office 
Library  ; they  have  been  sent  away  to  be  bound.  There  is 
no  English  patent  in  the  name  of  F.  Winterhoff.  You 
probably  saw  a notice  in  this  column  last  week,  asking  for  in- 
formation as  to  present  address. 

Residues. — You  are  using  vastly  too  much  chrome  alum  in 
your  fixing  bath,  and  every  fresh  addition  of  potassium  sul- 
phide merely  precipitates  the  oxide  of  chromium  along  with 
the  sulphur.  But  the  silver  is  thrown  down  first,  and  this 
with  a moderate  quantity.  When  you  smell  sulphuretted 
hydrogen  in  the  liquor  you  have  added  enough,  or  you  can 
tell  by  the  colour  of  the  precipitate.  The  zinc  method  of 
reduction  is  slow  and  unsatisfactory. 

W.  H.  L. — Gelatino- Chloride  Printing-Out  Process.  Dr.  Barker’s 
formula  : — 


Nelson’s  No.  1 gelatine 

...  175  grains 

Coignet’s  gelatine  ... 

...  175  „ 

Sal  ammoniac 

...  36  „ 

Rochelle  salts 

...  100  „ 

Nitrate  of  silver  ... 

...  150  „ 

Alcohol 

. i . 1 ounce 

Water 

...  10  ounces 

Soak  the  gelatine  in  part  of  the  cold 

water,  then  heat 

to  100"  Fahr.  with  all  ingredients  added,  and  maintain  at  this 
temperature  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  after  everything  is  dis- 
solved. See  also  page  201  of  the  Year-Book,  for  Ashman 
and  Offord’s  formula  for  a Citro-Chloride  paper. 

Flux. — In  addition  to  the  details  given  last  week,  we  may  refer 
you  to  “ The  Reducer’s  Manual  and  Gold  and  Silver  Worker’s 
Guide,”  by  Victor  G.  Bloede,  published  in  New  York  (J.  U, 
Ladd),  and  to  be  had  of  Messrs.  Trubner  and  Co.  The  little 
book  is  full  of  practical  details  which  cannot  fail  to  be  of 
service  to  you. 

Other  correspondents  in  our  next. 


/Supplement  to  the  “ Photographic  JSews.” 


February  lj+th,  1&9G.  1 


Repiociu cod  by  Waterluw  <£.  Horn  Limited,  from  a photograph  by  Cot.  W Nouerre. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 

■ \zj-y 

Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1641. — February  14,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


P AO  K 

focussing  Appliances  117 

Athanasius  Kircher,  the  Inventor  of  the  Magic  Lantern.  By 

James  Mew 118 

Photography  in  France.  By  Leon  Vidnl 120 

Dr.  Otto  Just  121 

The  Solubility  of  Glass  Bottles 121 

The  Royal  Institution 122 

Schirm’s  New  Flash-light  Gallery.  By  Dr.  H.  W.  Vogel  123 


Some  Further  Application  of  the  Ramsden  Eyepiece  to  Photo- 
graphy. By  F.  H.  Varley,  M.I.E.E  , F.R.A.S 125 


PACK 

Notes 126 

The  Late  Dr.  E.  Hornig  ...  127 

Photographic  Waste  Products  128 

A New  Eye.  By  Camille  Flammarion  129 

A Wife's  View  of  Amateur  Photography  130 

The  New  Photographic  Developers.  By  Prof.  Charles  F.  Himes  131 

Correspondence  132 

Patent  Intelligence  133 

Proceedings  of  Societies  134 

Answers  to  Correspondents  136 


FOCUSSING  APPLIANCES. 


Plexty  of  room  exists  for  improvements  in  focussing 
appliances  for  photographic  cameras,  and  a recent  in- 
vention in  connection  therewith  made  by  Mr.  Frank 
Bishop,  of  the  firm  of  Messrs  Marion  and  Co.,  may  be 
explained  by  the  aid  of  the  accompanying  diagrams. 
It  consists  of  an  ordinary  focussing  glass  and  tube, 
and  to  this  larger  tube 
a smaller  one  is  sol- 
dered, as  in  Fig.  1. 

The  smaller  tube  ends 
in  a small  india- 
rubber  cup,  which, 
when  wetted,  will 
hold  on  by  the  pressure 
of  the  atmosphere  to 
the  polished  side  of 
the  glass  focussing  Fig.  1. 

screen,  and  can  readily  be  pushed  about  with  an  easy, 
sliding  motion,  to  any  part  of  the  surface  ; in  short, 
it  is  on  the  principle  of  the  “sucker”  used  by 
schoolboys.  The  object 
of  the  invention  is  to 
allow  the  photographer 
the  free  use  of  both  his 
hands  while  focussing, 
instead  of  employing 
one  of  them  to  retain 
the  focussing  glass  in 
position,  and  this  pur- 
pose it  achieves  ad- 
mirably. Fig.  2 repre- 
sents the  focussing  glass 
holding  on,  limpet-like,  2. 

to  the  screen,  as  it  does  when  in  use.  It  adheres  with 
considerable  tenacity. 


The  method  recommended  in  another  column  by  Mr. 
Varley  of  using  ground  glass  to  ascertain  the  exact 
amount  of  subject  upon  the  plate,  and  afterwards  a 
plain  piece  of  glass  with  scratches  upon  it  to  get  a 


critical  image,  is  often  employed  in  photo-micrographic 
work ; but  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  will  ever  come 
into  general  use  with  ordinary  cameras,  especially  those 
for  outdoor  purposes  ; in  the  latter  case  it  would  form 
an  item  adding  somewhat  to  the  weight  of  the  instru- 
ment, and  be  a step  in  the  direction  of  complexity 
rather  than  of  simplification.  Probably  what  may 
be  called  a (l  piebald  ” screen  would  answer  better, 
that  is  to  say,  a screen  of  finely  ground  glass,  with 
perfectly  transparent  spots  a quarter  or  a third  of 
an  inch  in  diameter  scattered  over  its  surface.  The 
ground  glass  would  give  the  general  view,  and  the 
spots  would  favour  the  easy  focussing  of  a critical 
image. 

A good  focussing  screen  made  on  the  principle  of  those 
now  in  common  use  would  consist  of  much  finer  ground 
glass  than  such  as  is  ordinarily  employed,  and  more 
approaching  in  appearance  unground  glass.  With  two 
lenses  on  Ramsden’s  principle  mounted  in  one  tube,  a 
focussing  glass  is  formed  transmitting  much  more  light 
to  the  eye  than  those  at  present  in  use,  and  when 
employed  to  view  the  image  upon  exceptionally  fine 
ground  glass  there  is  a pleasure  and  ease  in  focussing 
to  which  the  majority  of  photographers  are  entirely 
unaccustomed  ; when  once  they  have  tasted  the  luxury 
they  will  never  return  to  the  present  appliances. 
Now  that  the  magnesium  light  is  coming  into  more 
general  use,  and  that  the  operators  have  usually  to 
focus  beforehand  by  gaslight  or  lamplight,  the  desira- 
bility of  being  able  to  get  a brilliantly  illuminated 
critical  image  when  focussing,  is  all  the  more 
palpable . 

THE  “ PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS”  SUPPLE- 
MENT. 

To-day  we  issue  as  a Supplement  a photo-mcchanical 
reproduction,  on  a reduced  scale,  of  the  photograph  of 
Penzance  Harbour,  by  Col.  W.  Noverre,  which  wa9  so 
much  admired  at  the  last  Photographic  Exhibition. 
The  original  was  upon  very  rough  drawing  paper,  and 
was  of  a terra-cotta  red  colour, 


m 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Ff.brua.rv  14,  1890. 


ATHANASIUS  KIRCHER,  THE  INVENTOR  OF 
THE  MAGIC  LANTERN.— No.  I. 


BY  JAMES  MEW. 


Some  years  ago*  au  occasion  was  taken  to  notice  in  the 
columns  of  this  paper  a communication  made  to  the  Lon- 
don and  Provincial  Photographic  Association  by  Mr.  V . 
II.  Harrison,  containing  many  interesting  and  historical 
notes  on  the  optical  or  magic  lantern.  In  this  communi- 
cation we  learnt  that  the  magic  lantern  was  invented  by 
Athanasius  lurcher  in  the  year  10 46.  A few  lines,  which 
many  of  the  present  readers  of  the  Photographic  Nkw»i 
have  never  seen,  and  many  others  perhaps  forgotten,  may 
be  here  copied  out  of  that  interesting  and  ably  conceived 
communication.  “ There  are,”  says  Mr.  W.  II.  Harrison, 
“ speculations  that  the  magic  lantern  may  have  been  known 
before  lurcher’s  time.  Some  have  ascribed  its  invention 
to  Roger  Bacon,  who,  in  his  1 Discovery  of  the  Miracles 
of  Art,  Nature,  and  Magic,’  written  about  the  year  12G0, 
displays  knowledge  of  the  uses  of  lenses.  Others  have 
speculated  that  it  may  have  been  known  to  Egyptian 
hierophants,  because  they  understood  the  properties  of 
concave  mirrors.  Cellini,  who  died  about  1570,  describes 
spectres  which  had  been  seen  in  ascending  smoke,  and  it 
has  been  said  that  these  must  have  been  produced  by  an 
optical  lantern.  All  this  is  but  speculation.  The  one 
thing  which  can  be  clearly  seen  by  us  when  peering  into 
the  mists  of  antiquity  is  that  lurcher  gave  the  first  clear 
description  of  an  optical  lantern,  and  was  personally  proud 
of  its  invention.”  But  whether  lurcher  be  the  inventor  of 
the  magic  lantern  or  not,  supposing  even  it  could  be  de- 
monstratively proved  that  this  machine — which,  in  the 
English  Patent  Office,  is  not  entered  under  the  heading  of 
Optics,  but,  curiously  enough,  by  a strange  system  of 
governmental  classification,  under  that  of  Toys — was  the 
invention  of  another,  and  not  Kircher,  lurcher  would 
still  be  of  the  greatest  interest  to  photographers  from  his 
remarkab'e  work,  written  in  Latin  at  Rome,  in  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  entitled  “The  Great  Art  of 
Light  and  Shade.”  This  large  folio  volume,  digested  into 
ten  books,  contains  so  many  matters  of  interest  to  photo- 
graphic artists  that  we  propose  to  reproduce  a portion  of 
it  in  these  pages.  We  will  preface  this  reproduction  with 
a short  biography  of  the  author. 


“In  the  year  1602,  on  the  second  day  of  May,  on  the 
third  hour  after  midnight,”  says  Kircher  in  the  story  of 
his  own  life,  entitled  by  him  ‘ The  Life  of  the  very  reve- 
rend bather  Athanasius  Kircher,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
a man  most  celebrated  throughout  all  the  world,  ’ on  the  fes- 
tal day  of  Saint  Athanasius,  was  I by  my  parents,  John 
Kircher  and  Anna  Garsekiu,  catholic  persons  and  most 
devoted  to  divine  worship  and  pious  works,  brought  forth 
into  this  common  air  of  calamity  in  the  town  of  Geyssen. 
distant  some  three  hours’  journey  from  Fulda.  ” He  speak? 
of  his  father  as  a high-souled  person  who,  refusing  all  gifts 
from  the  governing  Prince,  constantly  asserted  that  one 
ounce  of  liberty,  the  wise  man’s  true  delight,  was  ol 
moie  value  than  kingly  honours  of  many  thousand  pounds, 
Athanasius  was  the  youngest  of  nine  children.  His 
name  was  derived  from  the  great  veneration  in  which  his 
father  held  that  saint  on  account  of  his  constancy  and  im- 
perturbable fortitude  in  the  Arian  persecution.  In  hii 
tenth  year  the  young  Kircher  learnt  music,  Latin,  auc 
geography,  and  afterwards  was  sent  to  the  Jesuit  Collegi 
at  I ulda,  where  he  also  acquired  Greek  and  Hebrew. 


“ Histo“cal  Notefl  on  the  Optical  Lantern,”  by  W.  II.  Harrison  ; Pn 
TooRtrmc  News,  Dec.  23,  1887,  p.  803. 


Kircher  speaks  at  some  length  of  the  weekly  purgation 
of  his  conscience  by  confession,  and  of  the  Diviue  aid  by 
which  he  was  encouraged  to  fight  against  all  the  enticements 
of  puerile  play,  and  all  the  idle  occupations  which  are 
wont,  in  ill-conditioned  bosoms,  to  constitute  childhood's 
chiefest  charm.  The  Divine  clemency  preserved  him.  he 
tells  us,  from  manifold  dangers.  On  one  occasion — it  was 
on  a bathing  excursion,  chosen  with  some  apparent  heed- 
lessness in  the  vicinity  of  a water  mill — lurcher  was  sucked 
under  the  wheel  by  the  current,  but  emerged  uninjured  on  the 
other  side,  to  the  astonishment  of  himself  and  of  his  com- 
panions. Another  miracle  happened  in  his  favour  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  on  which  a procession  took  place  to  consecrate 
certain  fields  by  sacerdotal  aid  from  satanic  storms.  This 
solemn  lustration  was  succeeded  by  a horse  race.  Kir- 
cher, being  in  the  first  rank  of  the  spectators,  was  pressed 
by  a sudden  impulse  of  those  behind  him  into  the  middle 
of  the  racecourse  just  as  the  horses  were  about  to  pass. 
“ I lay,"  complains  the  unhappy  Kircher,  “having  com- 
mended myself  to  Supernal  protection,  with  a contracted 
body  and  prone  till  all  the  horses  had  passed  over  me,  after 
which  1 arose  safe  and  sound.”  On  being  asked  how  lie  had 
managed  to  escape,  he  replied  that  there  was  no  diminution 
in  the  power  of  Him  who  delivered  Jonah  from  the  ingur- 
gitating whale,  Tobias  from  the  devouring  fish,  and  Daniel 
from  the  ravening  lions.  On  a third  occasion  Kircher 
was  lost  in  a wood  at  night,  and  was  so  terribly  frightened 
in  consequence  that  he  determined  to  renounce  this  wicked 
world  and  enter  a religious  order.  He  chose  that  of  the 
Jesuits,  and  was  admitted  a novice  at  Paderborn  on  the 
2nd  October.  1618.  Ilerehestudied  logic,  physics,  mathe- 
matics, and  philology. 

The  greater  part  of  lurcher's  autobiography  is  made  up 
of  most  disastrous  chances,  of  moving  accidents  by  flood 
and  field,  from  all  of  which  he,  like  the  Moor,  escaped 
scot  free.  His  descriptions  of  his  dangers,  from  which 
he  considers  himself  liberated  by  Divine  intervention,  are 
sometimes  highly  picturesque.  He  gives,  for  instance,  a 
very  graphic  account  of  how  he  avoided  on  one  occasion 
his  enemies  by  a flight  in  the  wintertime.  The  ways  were 
deep  with  snow,  which  covered  his  knees ; dire  hunger 
assailed  his  stomach,  a cold  wind  froze  his  extremities. 
His  sole  food  was  a loaf  of  barley  bread  mixed  with  a 
great  quantity  of  bran  which,  not  without  difficulty,  had 
been  extorted  from  a surly  peasant ; bread  of  the  very 
worst  condition,  and  yet  to  him  in  his  famished  state,  de- 
licious beyond  all  compare.  It  is  a long  story,  but  it  ends 
well.  He  escapes  his  foes  after  persistent  prayer,  though 
his  knees  are  trembling,  the  rest  of  his  body — Kircher 
writes  “ my  whole  body,”  but  this  must  be  an  error  arising 
from  some  mental  confusion  induced  by  a reminiscence  of 
his  agony — rigid,  and  his  face  a livid  blue.  One  more  of 
these  disastrous  chances  will  probably  suffice  the  reader's 
curiosity.  It  is  told  at  some  length  by  Kircher,  who  in- 
sists on  every  circumstance  of  his  peril  with  naive  minute- 
ness. We  can.  find  room  here  only  for  an  abstract  or  a 
digest  of  this  particular  danger,  a danger  so  formidable 
that  he  cannot  call  it  to  mind  without  much  horror.  It 
happened  in  a garden  of  the  Jesuits’  College  at  Avignon, 
to  which  he  had  retired  in  1635  after  the  celebrated  thirty 
years’  war  which  Gustavus  Adolphus  of  Sweden  had 
carried  on  in  Germany,  where  Kircher  was  professor  of 
philosophy  and  oriental  languages  at  the  College  of  Wirtz- 
burg,  in  Franconia. 

In  the  garden  of  the  Jesuits’  College  at  Avignon  was  a 
large  water  wheel,  placed  between  two  high  walls,  and 


Fkiiroarv  14,  1800.] 


THE  l'lrOTOGHAlMirC  NEWS. 


11! 


driven  round  by  horse  power.  The  wheel  stood  in  a 
narrow  pit  of  deep  water,  and,  raising  the  fluid  in 
buckets,  cast  it  into  a stone  basin,  from  which  it  was 
distributed  by  channels  through  the  whole  garden. 
The  ill-starred  Kircher,  while  standing  near  this  water 
machine  involved  in  thought,  was  suddenly  knocked 
down  by  the  pole  to  which  the  horse  was  attached, 
and  became,  by  some  untoward  destiny,  inextricably  in- 
volved with  the  machinery.  “The  wheel  continually 
moving,  I was,”  says  Kircher,  “ nowhere  able  to  fix  my 
foot,  nor  was  it  allowed  me  to  escape  sideways,  on  account 
of  the  close  proximity  of  the  walls  which,  within  a little, 
touched  the  wheel.  Being  in  this  extreme  necessity  of 
peril  I implored  the  assistance  of  my  companion  ; but  lie, 
being  occupied  in  a remote  part  of  the  garden,  gave  no 
heed  to  my  clamour,  what  time  I was  revolving  with  the 
wheel,  and  was  expecting  death  with  every  moment.” 
Then,  says  this  victim  of  accidents,  solita  fiducia  ad 
Deiparam  confugi,  whereupon  the  wheel  incontinently 
stood  still,  and  Kircher,  who  by  this  time  was  up  to  his 
neck  in  the  water,  managed  to  clamber  out  of  his  difficulty 
and  find  a way  to  escape. 

With  the  good  Jesuits  at  Avignon  lie  passed  two  years, 
occupied  entirely  with  the  study  of  antiquities.  It  was 
during  his  sojourn  here  that  he  became  acquainted  with 
the  learned  Peiresc,  who  advised  him  to  apply  himself  to 
the  explication  of  Egyptiau  hieroglyphics.  Elected  to  a 
Professorship  of  Mathematics  at  Vienna,  he  was  about  to 
return  to  Germany  when  he  received  an  oi’der  to  journey 
to  the  Vatican.  He  was  charged  by  the  Pope  in  1637  to  visit 
Malta.  He  went  afterwards  to  Sicily  and  Naples,  and 
ultimately  taught  mathematics  for  eight  years  in  a college 
at  Rome.  Here  he  had  a dispute  with  Father  Maignan  on 
the  subject  of  the  invention  of  an  optical  instrument. 
Kircher,  on  seeing  it,  said,  “ Quod  stupes,  an  non  hoc  est 
figura  mei  libri?"  What  do  you  wonder  at?  Is  not  this 
the  figure  of  my  book?  Whereupon  one  who  was  pre- 
sent, comprehending  that  Kircher  was  for  taking  to  himself 
all  the  credit  of  the  invention,  replied,  “ On  the  contrary, 
it  is  the  book  of  your  figure  (Into,  hie  cst  liber  tux  fgurx.  ”) 
This  account  is  given  by  Bayle,  who  adds  that  the  matter 
would  have  rested  there  had  it  not  been  that  the  honour 
of  two  nations  French  and  German  was  supposed  to  be 
involved.  After  all,  each  mathematician  may  have  invented 
the  machine  independently. 

Kircher  died  at  Rome  on  28th  November,  1680.  He  was  a 
man  of  immense  erudition,  but  ill-digested  and  uncritical, 
endowed  with  the  wildest  imagination,  a most  retentive 
memory,  and  an  untiring  patience.  He  composed  twenty- 
two  folio,  eleven  quarto,  and  three  octavo  volumes.  It  is 
not  to  be  supposed  that  from  such  a mass  of  literature 
error  could  be  excluded.  One  of  Iris  books,  “ Musurgia 
Universalis ,”  published  in  1650  in  two  heavy  folios,  treats 
of  the  principles  of  music.  The  celebrated  Ur.  Burney, 
in  his  criticism  of  this  composition,  speaks  of  it  as  a large 
work  which  might  give  occasion  to  one  yet  larger,  if  all 
the  errors  contained  therein  were  duly  annotated  and  cor- 
rected. Not  only  was  Kircher  on  some  occasions  inaccu- 
rate— as  who,  indeed,  is  not? — but  he  has  also  been  charged 
with  too  careless  credulity.  How  far  this  charge  is  borne 
out  by  what  the  reader  has  already  perused,  is  for  him 
to  determine  ; but  in  a story  commonly  adduced  to  sup- 
port it  we  can  find  nothing  to  lurcher’s  discredit. 

The  Jesuit  was  more  than  ordinarily  addicted  to 
the  study  of  hieroglyphical  characters.  Mystery  is 
pleasing  to  most  of  us;  for  Kircher  it  had  an  especial 


charm.  Some  gentlemen — as  the  term  was  then,  per- 
haps is  now,  generally  understood — proposed  to  divert 
themselves  at  the  scholar’s  expense.  With  this  ex- 
cellent view  they  caused  to  be  cut  by  a common  stone- 
cutter some  fantastic,  unmeaning  marks  and  figures  upon 
a rude  block  of  stone,  and  had  it  buried  in  a spot  which 
Kircher  had  been  commissioned  to  excavate  and  explore. 
The  learned  antiquarian  stumbled  on  this  stone,  regarded 
it  in  the  light  of  a singular  curiosity,  and,  enraptured 
with  his  discovery,  set  himself  at  once  to  work  to  ascer- 
tain its  meaning.  After  several  days’  assiduous  study, 
he  lighted  upon  an  elucidation  satisfactory  to  himself, 
and — here  the  jest  came  in.  As  to  whether  any  of  the 
gentlemen  apologised  to  the  student  for  having  made  him 
their  laughing  stock,  we  consult  history  in  vain. 
Perhaps  the  whole  account,  of  which  there  is  another 
version,  is  apocryphal.  In  the  other  tale  we  learn  that 
one  Andre  Muller  did  some  scribblings  on  a parchment, 
and  forwarded  them  to  Kircher  as  antique  records ; that 
the  unsuspecting  savant  replied  that  they  were  true  hiero- 
glyphics, and  sent  Muller  the  translation. 

This  prefatory  article  cannot  be  concluded  in  justice  to 
Kircher  without  a short  notice  of  his  manifold  works. 
Casting  aside  some  religious  compositions,  these  may  be 
divided  into  historical,  antiquarian,  linguistic,  hieroglyphic, 
mathematical,  and  physical.  Of  all  these  the  last  are 
chiefly  our  concern.  One  of  the  first  and  rarest  of  his 
works,  which,  by  the  way,  are  nearly  all  written  in  Latin, 
was  called  “ Magnetic  Art,  or  Experiments  on  the  Opera- 
tions of  the  Magnet,”  published  at  Wirtzburg,  1631,  in 
quarto.  In  an  extension  of  this  same  subject  he  pub- 
lished in  1641,  also  in  quarto,  a book  entitled  the 
“Magnet,”  in  the  third  part  of  which  is  a description  of 
the  Tarantula,  with  two  portraits  of  him,  one  exhibiting 
his  belly,  the  other  his  back,  and  a legend  underneath 
declaring  in  a Latin  hexameter  that  music  is  the  only 
potion  against  the  poison  of  his  bite.  Above  is  a 
geographical  sketch  of  the  places  where  the  beast  is 
mostly  to  be  met  with,  and  again  above  that  on  this  full- 
page  plate  is  the  musical  composition  in  which  Kircher 
confides  as  a certain  cure. 

‘ 1 The  Subteranean  World,  in  which  is  shown  the 
Majesty  and  Riches  of  Nature,”  was  published  in  two 
folio  volumes  at  Amsterdam,  in  1668.  Kircher,  being- 
anxious  to  discover  the  interior  of  Vesuvius  to  see,  in 
fact,  if  there  was  anything  in  it,  let  down  a man  hired  for 
a price  into  the  principal  crater,  and  held  him  suspended 
there  until  he  had  fully  satisfied  his  curiosity.  In  this 
book  will  be  found  many  bizarre  and  apocryphal  accounts 
of  giants,  dragons,  devils,  and  men  all  living  underground, 
with  the  secret  of  palingenesis,  or  the  way  to  resuscitate 
a plant  from  its  ashes.  But  lvircber’s  greatest  work  for 
the  photographer  is  his  1 1 Great  Art  of  Light  and 
Shade,”  already  mentioned,  published  at  Rome  in  1645.  Of 
this -book,  from  which  it  is  proposed  to  extract  much 
which  will  be  interesting,  there  has  already  appeared 
a short  notice  in  the  Photographic  News  (December 
23rd,  1887),  where  we  read  that  in  Ivircher’s  pre- 

face to  a portion  of  the  book  devoted  to  optical 
instruments  and  peculiar  kinds  of  cameras,  he  says 
that  the  secrets  contained  therein  are  by  no  means 
Satanic  work,  but  the  result  of  study  and  contemplation. 
He  adds  that  he  has  to  tell  of  some  of  the  rarest  marvels 
in  nature,  such  as  will  excite  admiration  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  behold  them,  that  nobody  has  done  anything 
of  the  kind  before,  and  that  he,  Kircher.  made  his  first 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [February  14,  1890. 

the  effect,  to  exaggerate  the  contrast,  the  fact  shows  that 
the  desired  quality  of  scientific  inter-comparability  is 


experiments  before  any  one  else  knew  anything  about 
the  matter.  There  is  evidently  here  a little  side-wind 
directed  against  his  worthy  colleague  above  mentioned, 
Father  Maignan.  Other  people  (Father  Maignan?) 
sometimes  promised  rare  wonderful  and  unheard  of  things 
which  afterwards  proved  all  wrong,  but  what  he  (F  ather 
Kircher)  had  to  tell  would  prove  all  right.  It  is  at  least 
clear  that  the  worthy  priest  stood  upon  excellent  terms 
with  himself,  and  was  not  devoid  of  that  self-confidence 
which  has  been  said  by  an  excellent  authority  to  be  essen- 
tially requisite  to  all  great  undertakings. 

(To  be  con  tinned). 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  FRANCE. 

BY  LEON  VIDAL. 

French  Photographic  Society— International  Photo- 
graphic Laboratories — Orthochromatism  applied  to 
the  Reproduction  of  Pictures — Positive  Paper  with 
Chloride  of  Iridium — New  Engraving  Process — 
Proofs  from  Orthochp.omatic  Collodion — Theory  of 
Contretypf.s— Lantern  Images. 

The  district  photographic  club  of  the  south-east  of  France 
at  Lyons  has  written  to  the  French  Photographic  Society 
to  announce  that  its  photographic  laboratory  is  at  the 
service  of  members  of  the  Paris  Society  on  presentation 
of  card.  A similar  notice  comes  from  the  Italian  Photo- 
graphic Society  in  Florence.  This  movement  in  a direction 
so  useful  to  amateur  photographers  appears  to  be  spreading. 
It  is  to  be  desired  that  in  every  part  of  the  civilised  world 
there  were  international  laboratories  of  this  kind,  at  the 
service  of  members,  duly  accredited,  of  all  the  photographic 
societies. 

Mr.  Edwards  has  just  presented  to  the  French  Photo- 
graphic Society  some  fresh  specimens  in  support  of  the 
results  that  he  obtains  upon  his  orthochromatic  plates  in 
the  reproduction  of  pictures.  He  sends  an  interesting 
note  on  this  subject,  and  the  specimens  presented  are 
generally  speaking  good.  We  are  not  the  less  con- 
vinced, however,  that  orthochromatism  does  not  suppress 
the  effects  of  reflection,  for  in  that  case  it  would  be 
necessary  to  suppose  that  what  the  eye  sees,  and  to  the 
degree  to  which  it  sees  it,  is  not  rendered  on  the  ortho- 
chromatic plate.  Let  us  commence  by  saying  that  both 
here  and  in  the  Society,  we  discuss  the  matter  from  the 
purely  technical  point  of  view  only.  We  do  not  know 
Mr.  Edwards;  we  have  no  interest  in  being  disagreeable 
to  him,  still  less  to  speak  ill  of  him,  and  when  we  said 
that  the  presentation  was  not  candid  (sincere),  we  merely 
made  allusion  to  the  proofs  placed  in  our  hands  without 
questioning  the  good  faith  of  the  author  of  those  proofs, 
without  having  the  slightest  intention  to  injure  him.  What 
interest  could  we  have  in  doing  so  ? The  word  sincere  in 
the  present  case  signifies  real,  true  (vrai).  We  can  make 
plain  by  an  example  furnished  to  us  by  Mr.  Edwards  him- 
self, what  we  understand  by  the  word.  The  example  is  as 
follows: — Mr.  Edwards  displayed  various  photographs  on 
ordinary  and  isochromatic  plates  ; amongst  these  photo- 
graphs were  two  representing  a vase  of  jonquils  (a 
beautiful  yellow  flower).  On  the  ordinary  plate  these 
flowers  came  out  as  rich  black,  almost  velvet  black;  in  the 
isochromatic  plate  the  same  flowers  were  a beautiful  white 
velvet  in  appearance. 

Well,  this  is  not  real ; if  the  intention  has  been  to  force 


wanting.  The  ordinary  plate,  of  whatever  make,  will 
yield  in  the  hands  of  any  photographer  a reproduction  of 
these  flowers  that  shall  be  less  black.  It  suffices  to  expose 
a little  longer,  in  order  that  in  place  of  a degree  of  black- 
ness answering  to  100,  we  have,  for  example,  a middle 
tone  of  grey  of  the  degree  50.  Now  it  seems  to  us  that 
the  ordinary  plate  is  bad,  defective  in  consequence  of 
insufficient  exposure;  it  might  have  been  less  black  by 
half ; then  it  ought  so  to  have  been  in  order  that  a tech- 
nical comparison  fulfilling  the  desired  conditions  of  scien- 
tific candour  might  be  made.  As  for  the  photograph  on 
the  isochromatic  plate,  it  is  too  white.  The  plate  should 
represent  yellow  more  with  its  true  value — that  is 
to  say  of  a light  grey — evidently  more  closely 
reproducing  the  effect  produced  upon  the  eye  by 
the  tonality  of  yellow.  As  an  orthochromatic  result 
it  is  therefore  defective  ; we  should  give  to  this  too- 
white  proof  the  designation  0 (Zero),  answering  to  com- 
plete absence  of  black.  There  is  thus  between  the  two 
proofs  exhibited  a range  of  from  0 to  100,  but  if  each  had 
been  made  with  the  exact  value  that  it  might  have  yielded, 
the  ordinary  plate  might  be  represented  by  50  (half  as  dark 
as  it  ap/waretl),  and  the  isochromatic  plate  by  15  (the  shade  of 
grey  about  equalling  the  apparent  tonality  of  the  yellow  jonquil),  and 
the  relation  of  one  to  the  other  would  then  not  have  exceeded 
that  of  15  to  50.  The  effect  of  contrast  has  thus  been  ex- 
aggerated by  65,  since  it  is  100  in  the  one  case,  and  35  in  the 
other.  We  have  set  out,  thus,  exactly  our  impressions,  and 
that  is  the  explanation  of  the  expresssion  absence  de  sincerite, 
regarding  only  certain  results  that  were  exhibited,  and  going 
no  farther.  We  wish  to  say  shortly  that,  in  order  that 
results  of  this  character  should  be  comparable  with  each 
other,  it  is  necessary  to  show  the  best  that  can  be  done 
with  the  ordinary  plate  as  well  as  with  the  isochromatic 
plate,  in  which  case  the  contrast  would  have  been  less, 
and  the  result  not  less  favourable  to  the  employment  of 
isochromatic  plates. 

In  so  far  as  concerns  the  reproduction  of  pictures,  that 
which  we  criticised  represents  the  Doge  Loredano,  by  Jean 
Bel  in ; here,  again,  we  have  not  called  in  question 
the  faith  of  Mr.  Edwards  in  our  criticism,  but  we 
have  the  conviction  that  with  a longer  exposure 
the  photograph  upon  the  ordinary  plate  would  have 
beer,  better,  less  harsh,  less  violent ; with  less 
exposure  the  photograph  upon  the  isochromatic  plate 
would  have  shown  more  pronounced  relief ; it  would  then 
have  been  less  soft,  less  harmonious,  but  more  true.  Thus, 
to  our  thinking,  the  contrast  has  been  forced  in  this  case 
as  in  that  of  the  flowers  before  mentioned.  The  ordinary 
plate  is  not  so  good  as  it  might  have  been,  the  isochro- 
matic one  also ; we  have  not,  therefore,  been  shown  the 
best  possible  result  in  the  two  cases  ; that  is  the  origin  of 
our  impression  that  the  true  conditions  of  inter-compara- 
bility have  not  been  obtained,  but  that  is  all  we  desire  to 
say,  using  the  right  of  scientific  criticism  which  absolutely 
belongs  to  us. 

M.  Berthiot  presented  some  beautiful  prints  obtained  on 
paper  containing  chloride  of  iridium.  This  product 
promises  stability  in  the  prints,  but  as  yet  the  value  of  the 
process  is  scarcely  settled. 

M.  Chas.  Guillaume  Petit  has  perfected  a process  of 
typographic  engraving  which  insures  with  skill  the  ab-.ol.’.tc 
purity  of  the  whites.  This  is  the  process  : — The  photo- 
graph is  printed  on  a copper  plate,  covered  with 


February  14,  1890.] 


lthe  photographic  news. 


121 


bitumen,  and  developed  with  essential  oil,  which 
leaves  the  copper  bare  in  the  absolute  lights.  It  is 
washed,  dried,  and  finally  covered  with  powdered 
resin.  It  is  then  heated  until  a grain  is  perfectly 
formed.  This  dressing  of  resin  on  the  insoluble  bitumen 
has  the  property  of  rendering  the  bitumen  soluble 
wherever  the  grain  is  formed.  By  plunging  the  plate  again 

into  the  turpentine  bath,  the  dissolved  resin  leaves  a deep 
perforation  iu  the  bitumen.  The  plate  is  then  re-coated 
with  a solution  of  bichromatised  gelatine ; it  is  then  exposed 
under  the  same  negative  by  the  aid  of  registration  stops 
previously  arranged,  and  is  developed  with  perchloride  of 
iron.  In  the  pure  whites  there  is  no  grain,  and  we  have  a 
plate  where  there  is  no  need  to  have  recourse  to  a tool  in 
order  to  obtain  the  whites.  Prints  were  shown  in  support 
of  this  process,  which  is  very  interesting,  and  may  lead  to 
other  applications.  M.  Petit  says  that  the  dressing  of 
resin  has  the  effect  of  de-oxidising  the  bitumen  rendered 
insoluble  by  light.  We  ought  to  know,  in  the  first  place, 
whether  this  insolubility  proceeds  from  oxidation.  Messrs. 
Chevreul  and  Kaiser  have  demonstrated  that  the  effect 
caused  by  light  is  produced  without  the  presence  of  oxygen, 
but  with  this  reserve  concerning  a detail  only  affecting  the 
theoretical  question,  we  recognise  the  truly  practical  and 
very  interesting  communication  of  M.  Petit. 

M.  Vallot,  whose  patriotism — like  ours — will  doubtless  be 
attacked,  presents  proofs  obtained  with  the  isochromatic 
collodion  emulsion  of  l)r.  Albert,  of  Munich.  As  to 
the  isochromatic  properties  of  this  emulsion  M.  Vallot 
says  textually  “ above  all,  without  the  employment  of  a 
yellow  screen  before  the  lens,  the  effect  is  much  more 
pronounced  than  with  the  best  gelatino-bromide  plates 
prepared  either  with  cosine  or  with  azaline.”  M.  Vallot 
insists  upon  this  point,  which  is  of  very  great  importance 
in  his  opinion,  as  in  the  reproduction  of  pictures  the 
operator  has  a facility  for  varying  at  his  will  the  effects  of 
isochromatism  by  adding  to  the  emulsion,  as  the  case  may 
require,  divers  colouring  matters,  such  as  cyanine,  erythro- 
sine,  aud  chlorophyl. 

M.  Bordet  explains  how  a coutretype  is  formed  when 
using  the  process  with  a bichromated  gelatino-bromide 
plate,  indicated  by  Mr.  Bolas  in  the  News  in  1880,  and 
afterwards  by  Capt.  Biuy  in  1882,  and  studied  afresh  by 
M.  Balagny  in  1889.  According  to  him  the  theory  is  as 
follows:  Bichromate  in  presence  of  light  renders  the 
penetration  of  solutions  difficult  in  the  insolated  portions, 
from  which  fact  arises  the  phenomenon  of  reversal  of  the 
image.  He  has  verified  his  statements  by  dispensing  with 
bromide  of  silver,  and  has  obtained  just  the  same  a con- 
tretype  by  plunging  the  film  of  insolated  bichromated 
gelatine  into  a colouring  bath.  From  the  fact  of  a more 
or  less  profound  imbibition,  according  to  the  degree  of  the 
action  of  fight,  he  obtains  all  the  values  of  the  negative, 
and  the  coutretypes  are  equal  to  those  obtained  in  the 
same  way  on  gelatino-bromide  plates.  M.  Vallot  has  also 
studied  this  question,  but  he  has  arrived,  he  tells  us,  at  a 
different  conclusion  regarding  the  theoretical  explana- 
tion. 

M.  Molteni  presented  transparencies  of  various  tones 
obtained  upon  Ilford  gelatino-chloride  plates,  and  pointed 
out  the  different  modes  of  development.  M.  Audra  has 
done  the  same  for  the  Perron  plates.  Shall  we  be  accused 
of  defamation  if  we  timidly  suggest  that,  in  spite  of  all  the 
improvements  brought  to  bear  on  sensitive  films  of  gelatine 
for  transparencies,  we  have  not  yet  found  them  to  equal 
what  has  been  obtained  on  albumen  or  collodion '! 


DR.  OTTO  JUST.* 

Our  club  has  to  mourn  the  loss  of  an  active  member  in 
Dr.  Otto  Just,  the  owner  of  an  ocular  institution  in  Zittau, 
Saxony,  who  died  suddenly  on  the  5th  of  January  last. 
The  deceased  was  born  in  Zittau  on  the  7th  of  September, 
1836,  and  was  educated  in  the  Gymnasium  there,  and  after- 
wards at  the  University  of  Leipzig,  after  which  he  studied 
diseases  relating  to  the  eye  under  Professor  Arlt  in  Vienna, 
and  Professor  Graefe  in  Berlin.  In  1861  he  established 
himself  at  Zittau  as  a surgeon  and  specialist  for  eye 
diseases,  and  a year  later  founded  on  a very  small  scale  an 
institute  for  the  cure  of  eye  diseases.  This  undertaking 
succeeded  so  well  that  in  1869-70  he  built  a large  house  in 
which  the  Institute  remained  until  his  death.  The  skilful 
surgeon  enjoyed  a high  place  in  the  profession, 
and  his  reputation  extended  far  from  his  own 
abode.  Since  1886  Dr.  Just  occupied  himself  much  with 
photography,  and  he  joined  the  Club  of  Amateur  Pho- 
tography in  1887.  At  the  Exhibition  of  Amateur 
Photographers  in  Vienna  in  the  autumn  of  1888,  he 
showed  a beautiful  collection  of  landscapes,  groups,  in- 
stantaneous pictures,  and  reproductions.  Dr.  Just  wTote 
articles  for  the  Photographische  Rundschau,  having  for  their 
subject  his  varied  experiments  with  Eastman’s  negative 
paper.  In  an  early  number  we  propose  to  issue  one  of 
his  works  as  a supplement. 

Although  not  personally  acquainted  with  Dr.  Just,  we 
lament  not  the  less  his  sudden  death,  which  has  deprived 
photography  of  so  earnest  an  adherent. 


THE  SOLUBILITY  OF  GLASS  BOTTLES. 

Dr.  Thresch  said  at  the  British  Pharmaceutical  Conference, 
some  years  ago  he  was  investigating  the  action  of  rain  in  cer- 
tain districts  on  vegetation.  It  was  supposed  that  some  lime 
kilns,  which  had  been  recently  erected,  materially  affected 
vegetation,  and  he  had  collected  the  rainfall  at  many  different 
points.  When  he  collected  the  rain  on  litmus  and  other  papers 
he  almost  invariably  found  that  it  had  an  acid  reaction  ; but, 
strange  to  say,  when  collected  in  bottles,  it  was  either  neutra 
or  distinctly  alkaline.  On  investigating  the  cause  of  this,  he 
discovered  that  iu  all  the  bottles  he  employed — he  tried  all 
kinds  and  found  the  results  the  same— some  decomposition  took 
place  in  a very  short  time,  and  the  free  acid  disappeared.  His 
impression  was  that  it  was  a decomposition  of  silicate  of  soda 
or  of  lime,  in  which  the  acid  combined  with  the  base,  and  the 
silica  was  thrown  down.  That  this  was  the  case  was  the  more 
probable,  because  in  evaporating  samples  of  rain  water  he  found 
that  when  collected  in  platinum  dishes  the  solid  residue  per 
gallon  was  1 to  4 grains  less  than  when  collected  in  glass,  and 
this  residue  was  chiefly  silica.  He  also  noticed,  in  making 
further  experiments,  that  in  titrating  an  acid  solution,  if  the 
acid  w'ere  run  in  until  a faint  tint  was  produced  with  litmus, 
aud  then  the  liquid  w'ere  boiled  for  a few  minutes  in  a glass 
vessel,  the  colour  would  disappear.  Upon  adding  acid,  the 
colour  would  again  be  obtained,  which  would  again  disappear 
on  boiling,  and  so  on  ; and  he  had  seen  students  in  the  exami- 
nation room  go  on  repeating  that  process  for  an  hour,  thinking 
they  were  increasing  the  accuracy  of  the  result,  evidently  not 
having  observed  that  this  naturally  occurred  when  these  solu- 
tions w’ere  boiled  iu  glass  flasks.  Another  thing  still  more 
interesting  w'as  this  : if  in  one  of  these  bottles — and  they 
varied  considerably,  though  they  w’ere  all  acted  upon — a mix- 
ture practically  neutral  and  containing  tincture  of  cardamoms, 
were  placed  and  kept  in  it  for  some  time,  it  would  vary  con- 
siderably in  colour  in  the  course  of,  say,  a month,  and  it  was 
quite  possible  that  the  complaints  sometimes  made  as  to  the 
colour  of  such  a mixture  were  due  to  this  cause. 

* Translated  for  the  Photoorahic  News  from  the  Photographische 
Rundschau,  organ  of  the  Amateur  Photographic  Club  in  Vienpa. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  14,  18P0. 


122 


THE  ROYAL  INSTITUTION. 

VI. 

Dk.  Thomas  Young’s  Drscovr.iUES  and  Photographs. 
Young’s  researches  on  light  were  ably  and  briefly 
summarised  on  the  22nd  of  January,  886,  at  the  last 
Friday  evening  lecture  which  Professor  Tyndall  de- 
livered at  the  Royal  Institution,  and  whose  utterances 
on  the  subject  are  here  quoted  : — 

The  physical  meaning  of  all  the  terms  applied  to  light  was 
soon  fixed.  Intensity  depended  upon  the  amplitudes  of  the 
waves.  Colour  depended  on  the  lengths  of  the  waves. 
Two  series  of  waves  coalesced  and  helped  each  other  when 
one  was  any  number  of  complete  undulations,  or,  in  other 
words,  any  even  number  of  half-undulations,  behind  the  other. 
Two  series  of  waves  extinguished  each  other  when  the  one  series 
was  any  odd  number  of  semi-undulations  behind  the  other. 
But  inasmuch  as  white  light  is  made  up  of  innumerable  waves  of 
different  lengths,  such  waves  cannot  all  interfere  at  the  same 
time.  Some  interfere  totally',  and  destroy  each  other;  some 
partially  ; while  some  add  themselves  together  and  enhance  the 
effect.  Thus,  by  interference,  a portion  only  of  the  white 
light  is  withdrawn,  and  the  remaining  portion  is,  as  a general 
rule,  coloured.  Indeed  the  most  glowing  and  brilliant  effects 
of  colouration  are  thus  produced.  Young  applied  the  theory 
successfully  to  explain  the  colours  of  striated  surfaces  which, 
in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Rutherfurd  and  others,  have  been  made  to 
produce  such  splendid  effects.  The  iridescences  on  the  polished 
surfaces  of  mother-of-pearl  are  due  to  the  stri;e  produced  by 
the  edges  of  the  shell-layers,  which  are  of  infinitesimal  tliick- 
ness  ; the  fine  lines  drawn  by  Coventry,  Wollaston,  and  Barton 
upon  glass  also  showed  these  colours.  Barton  afterwards  suc- 
ceeded in  transferring  the  lines  to  steel  and  brass.  Most  of 
you  are  acquainted  with  the  iridescence  of  Barton’s  buttons. 
A descendant  of  Mr.  Barton  has,  I believe,  succeeded  in  repro- 
ducing the  instrument  wherewith  his  grandfather  produced  his 
brilliant  effects. 

But  the  greatest  triumph  of  Young  in  this  field  was  the 
explanation  of  the  beautiful  phenomenon  known  as  Newton’s 
rings.  The  colours  of  thin  plates  were  profusely  illustrated  by 
the  experiments  of  Hooke  and  Boyle,  but  Newton  longed  for 
more  than  illustrations.  He  desired  quantitative  measurement. 
The  colour  of  the  film  was  known  to  depend  upon  its  thickness. 
Can  this  thickness  be  measured  ? Here  the  uuparalleled  penetra- 
tion of  Newton  came  into  play.  He  took  a lens  consisting  of 
a slice  of  a sphere  of  a diameter  so  large  that  the  curved  sur- 
face of  the  lens  approximated  to  a plane  surface.  Upon  this 
slightly  convex  surface  he  placed  a plate  of  glass  whose  surface 
was  accurately  plane.  Squeezing  them  together,  and  allowing 
light  to  fall  upon  them,  he  observed  those  beautiful  iris-circles 
with  which  his  name  will  be  for  ever  identified.  The  iris- 
colours  were  obtained  when  he  employed  white  light.  When 
monochromatic  light  was  used  he  had  simply  successive  circles 
of  light  and  darkness.  Here  then,  from  the  central  point 
where  the  two  glasses  touched  each  other,  Newton  obtained  a 
film  of  air  which  gradually  increased  in  thickness  as  he  retreated 
from  the  point  of  contact.  A\  hence  this  wonderful  recurrence 
of  light  and  darkness  ? The  very  constitution  of  light  itself 
must  be  involved  in  the  answer.  His  desire  was  now  to  ascer- 
tain the  thickness  of  the  film  of  air  corresponding  to  the 
respective  rings.  Knowing  the  curvature  of  his  lens,  this  was 
a matter  of  easy  calculation.  He  measured  the  diameter  of 
the  fifth  ring  of  the  series.  This  might  l>c  accurately  done 
with  a pair  of  fine  compasses,  for  the  diameter  was  over  the 
fifth  of  an  inch  in  length.  But  it  was  the  interval  between 
the  glasses  corresponding  to  this  distance  that  Newton  required 
to  know,  and  this  he  found  by  calculation  to  be  1-37, 000th  of 
.an  inch.  1 his,  be  it  remembered,  is  the  distance  corresponding 
to  the  fifth  ring.  The  interval  corresponding  to  the  first  ring 
would  be  only  a fifth  of  this,  or,  in  other  words,  about 
1 -1 80, 000th  of  an  inch.  Such  are  the  magnitudes  with  which 
we  have  to  deal  before  the  question  “ What  is  Light  ?”  can  be 
scientifically  answered. 


Newton’s  explanation  of  the  rings,  which  he  was  the  first 
to  discover,  though  artificial  in  the  highest  degree,  is  marked 
by  his  profound  sagacity.  He  was  hampered  by  the  notion  of 
the  “corporeity”  of  light.  He  could  not  get  over  the  objec- 
tion raised  by  himself  as  to  the  existence  of  shadows  in  a fluid 
medium.  He  held,  therefore,  that  light  was  due  to  the  darting 
forth  of  minute  particles  in  straight  lines  ; and  he  threw  out 
the  idea  that  colour  might  be  due  to  the  difference  of  bigness 
in  the  particles.  He  endowed  these  particles  with  what  he 
called  fits  of  easy  transmission  and  reflection.  The  dark  rings 
in  his  immortal  experiment  were  produced  where  the  light- 
particles  were  in  their  transmissive  “ fit.”  They  went  through 
both  surfaces  of  the  film  of  air,  and  were  not  thrown  back  to 
the  eye.  The  bright  rings  occurred  where  the  light- particles 
were  in  their  reflective  fit,  and  where,  on  reaching  the  second 
surface  of  the  film,  they  were  thrown  back  to  the  eye.  The 
cardinal  point  here  is,  that  Newton  regarded  the  recurrence  of 
light  and  darkness  as  due  to  an  action  confined  to  the  second 
surface  of  the  film.  And  here  it  was  that  Young  came  into 
irreconcilable  collision  with  him,  proving  to  demonstration  that 
the  dark  rings  occurred  where  the  portions  of  light  reflected 
from  both  sides  of  the  film  extinguished  each  other  by  inter- 
ference, while  the  bright  rings  occurred  where  the  light 
reflected  from  the  two  surfaces  coalesced  to  enhance  the  in- 
tensity. 

Young  next  applied  the  wave  theory  to  account  for  the  dif- 
fraction or  inflection  of  light,  that  is  to  say,  the  effects  produced 
by  its  bending  round  the  edges  of  bodies.  When  a cone  of  rays 
issuing  from  a very  minute  point  impinges  on  an  opaque  body 
so  as  to  embrace  it  wholly,  the  shadow  of  the  body,  if  received 
upon  a screen,  exhibits  fringes  of  colour.  They  follow  so 
closely  the  contour  of  the  opaque  body,  that  Sir  John  Herschcl 
compared  them  to  the  lines  along  the  sea-coast  in  a map.  If  a 
very  thin  slip  of  card,  or  a hair,  be  placed  within  such  a cone, 
it  is  noticed  that  besides  the  fringes  outside  the  shadow, 
bands  of  colour  occur  within  it ; the  central  or  brighest  band 
being  always  white  when  white  light  is  employed.  It  is  a 
singular  and  somewhat  startling  fact  that,  by  the  interi>osition 
of  an  opaque  body,  say  a small  circle  of  tinfoil,  the  point  on 
which  we  should  expect  the  centre  of  the  shadow  to  fall  is,  by 
the  joint  action  of  diffraction  and  interference,  illuminated  in 
precisely  the  same  degree  as  it  is  when  the  opaque  circle  is  with- 
drawn.* In  reference  to  the  interior  fringes,  Young  made  the 
observation,  which  is  of  primary  importance,  that,  if  you  inter- 
cept the  light  passing  by  one  of  the  edges  of  the  strip  of  card, 
or  of  the  hair,  the  fringes  disappear.  It  requires  the  inflection 
of  the  waves  round  both  edges  of  the  object,  and  their  conse- 
quent interference,  to  produce  the  fringes. 

Young's  attempt  to  explain  the  phenomena  of  diffraction  was 
a distinct  advance  on  the  extremely  artificial  hypothesis  of 
Newton.  Still,  his  attempt  was  not  so  successful  as  his  explana- 
tion of  the  colours  of  striated  surfaces  and  of  thin,  thick,  and 
mixed  plates.  Here  the  young  officer  of  engineers  to  whom  I 
have  already  referred,  Fresnel,  entered  the  field.  He  presented 
in  1815,  to  the  French  Institute,  a memoir  on  diffraction,  which 
marks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  wave  theory.  It  is  usual 
when  such  a paper  is  presented  to  refer  it  to  a “Commission,” 
who  consider  it,  and  report  upon  its  merits.  The  commission- 
aires in  this  instance  were  Arago  and  Prony. 

Arago  had  read  the  memoirs  of  Young  in  the  “ Philosophical 
Transactions,”  but  had  not  understood  their  full  significance. 
The  study  of  Fresnel's  memoir  caused  the  full  truth  to  flash 
upon  him  that  his  young  countryman  had  been  anticipated 
thirteen  years  previously  by  Dr.  Young.  Fresnel  had  re-dis- 
covered the  principle  of  interference  independently,  and  had 
applied  it,  with  profound  insight  and  unrivalled  ex]«rimental 
skill,  to  the  phenomena  of  diffraction.  It  was  no  light  thing  to 
Fresnel  to  find  himself,  as  regards  the  principle  of  interference, 
suddenly  shorn  of  his  glory.  He,  however,  bore  the  shock  with 
resignation.  He  might  have  readily  made  claims  which  would 
have  found  favour  with  his  countrymen  and  with  the  world  at 
large  ; but  he  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  The  history  of  science, 
indeed,  furnishes  no  brighter  example  of  honourable  fairness 

* A simitar  diffraction  has  been  proved  by  I ■ r i Rayleigh  to  occur  in  the 
case  of  sound.— J.  T. 


February  14,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


123 


than  that  exhibited  throughout  his  too  short  life  by  the  illustrious 
young  Frenchman.  Once  assured  that  he  had  been  anticipated 
— whatever  might  have  been  the  extent  of  his  own  labours, 
however  independently  he  might  have  arrived  at  his  results,  he 
unreservedly  withdrew  all  claim  to  the  discovery.  There  is,  1 
repeat,  no  fairer  example  of  scientific  honour  than  that  mani- 
fested by  Augustin  Fresnel. 

Fresnel  was  a powerful  mathematician,  and  well  versed  in  the 
best  mathematical  methods  of  his  day.  With  enormous  labour 
he  calculated  the  positions  where  the  phenomena  of  interference 
must  display  themselves  in  a definite  way.  He  was,  moreover, 
a most  refined  experimentalist,  and,  having  made  his  calculations, 
he  devised  instrumental  means  of  the  most  exquisite  delicacy 
with  a view  of  verifying  his  results.  In  this  way  he  swept  the 
field  of  diffraction  practically  clear  of  difficulty,  solving  its 
problems  where  even  Young  had  failed. 

Truly  these  were  minds  possessing  gifts  not  purchasable  with 
money,  and  round  about  the  central  labours  of  both  of  them, 
minor  achievements  of  genius  are  to  be  found,  which  would  be 
a fortune  to  less  opulent  men.  I hardly  know  a finer  example 
of  Young’s  penetration  than  his  account  of  the  spurious  or 
supernumary  bows,  observed  within  the  true  primary  rainbow. 
These  interior  bows  are  produced  by  interference.  It  is  not 
difficult,  by  artificial  means,  to  form  these  bows  in  great  num- 
ber and  beauty.  This  is  a subject  on  which,  as  you  are  aware, 
I worked  a couple  of  years  ago  myself.  And  often,  when  look- 
ing at  these  bows,  the  words  of  Young  seemed  to  me  like  the 
words  of  prophesy.  The  bows  were  the  physical  transcript  of 
what  Young  stated  must  occur  ; a transcript,  moreover,  which, 
when  compared  with  his  words,  was  far  more  complete  and 
impressive  than  any  ever  exhibited  by  the  rainbow  in  nature. 
Many  of  you  are  acquainted  with  the  beautiful  rings  of  colour 
observed  when  a point  of  light  is  looked  at  through  the  seeds 
of  lycopodium  shaken  over  a piece  of  glass,  or  shaken  in  the 
air  so  as  to  form  a ckud  whose  particles  are  all  of  the  same 
size.  The  iridescence  of  clouds  that  I have  once  or  twice 
seen  in  great  splendour  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  but  more 
frequently  in  the  Alps,  is  due  to  this  equality  in  the  size  of 
the  cloud -particles.  Now  the  smaller  the  particles,  the  wider 
are  the  coloured  rings,  and  Young  devised  an  instrument  called 
the  Eriometer,  which  enabled  him,  from  the  measurement  of 
the  rings,  to  infer  the  size  of  the  particles.  Again,  Hitter  had 
discovered  the  ultra-violet  rays  of  the  spectrum,  while 
Wollaston  had  noticed  the  darkening  effect  produced  by  these 
rays  when  permitted  to  fall  on  paper  or  leather  which  had 
lieen  dipped  in  a solution  of  muriate  of  silver.  Employing 
these  invisible  rays  to  produce  invisible  Newton’s  rings, 
Young  projected  an  image  of  the  rings  upon  the  chemically 
prepared  paper.  He  thus  obtained  a distinct  photographic 
image  of  the  rings.  This  was  one  of  the  earliest  experiments 
wherein  a true  photographic  picture  was  successfully  obtained. 
Young  had  little  notion  at  the  time  of  the  vast  expansions 
which  the  art  of  photography  was  subsequently  to  undergo. 

But  Young  was  not  permitted  to  pursue  his  great  researches 
in  peace.  The  Edinburgh  Jlevicw  had  at  that  time  among  its 
chief  contributors  a young  man  of  vast  energy  of  brain  and 
vast  power  of  sarcasm,  without  the  commensurate  sense  of 
responsibility  which  might  have  checked  and  guided  his 
powers.  His  intellect  was  not  for  a moment  to  be  measured 
with  that  of  Young  ; but  as  a writer  appealing  to  a large  class 
of  the  public,  he  was,  at  that  time,  an  athlete  without  a rival. 
He  afterwards  became  Lord  Chancellor  of  England.  Young, 
it  may  be  admitted,  had  given  him  some  annoyance,  but 
his  retaliation,  if  such  it  were,  was  out  of  all  pro- 
portion to  Young’s  offence.  Besides,  whatever  his  personal 
feelings  were,  it  was  not  Young  that  he  assailed  so  much  as 
those  sublime  natural  truths  of  which  Young  at  the  time  was 
the  foremost  exponent.  Through  the  undulatory  theory  he 
attacked  Young  without  scruple  or  remorse.  He  sneered  at 
his  position  in  the  Royal  Institution,  and  tried  hard  to  have 
his  papers  excluded  from  the  Philosophical  Transactions. 
“Has  the  Royal  Society,”  he  says,  “degraded  its  publications 
into  bulletins  of  new  and  fashionable  theories  for  the  ladies 
of  the  Royal  Institution?  Let  the  Professor  continue  to 
amuse  his  audieuce  with  an  endless  variety  of  such  harmless 


trifles,  but  in  the  name  of  science  let  them  not  find  admittance 
into  that  venerable  repository  which  contains  the  works  of 
Newton  and  Boyle,  Cavendish  and  Maskelyne,  and  Herschel.” 
The  profound,  complicated,  and  novel  researches  on  which 
Young  was  then  engaged,  rendered  an  occasional  change  of 
view  necesssary.  How  does  the  reviewer  interpret  this  praise- 
worthy loyalty  to  truth  ? “ It  is  difficult,”  he  says,  “ to  deal 

with  an  author  filled  with  a medium  of  so  fickle  and  vibratory 
a nature.  Were  we  to  take  the  trouble  of  refuting  him  he 
might  tell  us,  ‘ my  opinion  is  changed,  and  I have  abandoned 
that  hypothesis.  But  here  is  another  for  you.’  We  demand  if 
the  world  of  science  which  Newton  once  illuminated  is  to  be 
as  changeable  in  its  modes  as  the  world  of  fashion,  which  is 
directed  by  the  nod  of  a silly  woman  or  a pampered  fop  ? 
....  We  have  a right  to  demand  that  the  hypothesis  shall 
be  so  consistent  with  itself  as  not  to  require  perpetual  mending 
and  patching  ; that  the  child  we  stoop  to  play  with  shall  be 
tolerably  healthy,  and  not  of  the  puny  and  sickly  nature  of 
Dr.  Young’s  productions,  which  have  scarcely  stamina  to  sub- 
sist until  the  fruitful  parent  has  furnished  us  with  a new 
litter,  to  make  way  for  which  he  knocks  on  the  head,  or  more 
barbarously  exposes,  the  first.”  He  taunts  Young  with 
claiming  the  inheritance  of  Newton’s  queries,  “vainly 
imagining  that  he  fulfils  this  destination  by  ringing  changes 
on  these  hypotheses,  arguing  from  them,  as  if  they  were 
experiments  or  demonstrations,  twisting  them  into  a partial 
coincidence  with  the  clumsy  imaginations  of  his  own  brain,  and 
pompously  parading  what  Newton  left  as  hints,  in  a series  of 
propositions,  with  all  the  affectation  of  system.” 

To  Brougham’s  coarse  invective  Young  replied  in  a masterly 
and  exhaustive  letter.  A single  copy,  and  one  only,  was  sold 
by  its  publisher.  There  were  at  that  time  in  the  ranks  of 
science  no  minds  competent  to  understand  controversy.  The 
poison  worked  without  an  antidote,  and  for  thirteen  years 
Young  and  his  researches  on  light  had  no  place  in  public 
thought.  His  discoveries  remained  absolutely  unnoticed  until 
their  re-discovery  by  Fresnel  lifted  the  pall  which  for  so  many 
years  had  been  thrown  over  this  splendid  genius. 


SCHIRM’S  NEW  FLASH-LIGHT  GALLERY. 

BY  DR.  H.  W.  VOGEL. 

What  is  the  latest  novelty  in  German  photography? 
Answer:  The  lightning  gallery  of  Professor  Schirm  in 
Berlin.  The  event  hinted  at  by  us  repeatedly  of  the 
establishment  of  a Blitz  gallery  dispensing  entirely  with 
daylight  has  at  last  become  a fact,  and  immense  progress 
in  photography  has  been  made  thereby,  which  cannot  be 
estimated  highly  enough,  particularly  during  the  present 
dark  days  of  winter  and  the  holiday  season.  The  Instan- 
taneous Blitz  Gallery  has  been  open  since  December  1st, 
under  the  modest  title  of  “ Gallery  for  Artistic  Portraits,” 
Potsdam  Str.  20.  This  Blitz  light  is  employed  not  only 
for  taking  negatives,  but  also  for  the  production  of  prints. 
This  is  a still  greater  progress,  the  negatives  being  of  not 
much  advantage  if  the  cloudy  winter  days  make  printing 
an  impossibility. 

Our  advice  to  apply  the  Blitz  light,  if  not  rejected,  at 
least  met  with  indifferent  consideration,  and  thousands  of 
reasons  were  brought  against  it.  We  have  here  an  artist, 
one  of  the  best  in  his  profession,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
clever  amateur  of  photography,  and  he  accomplishes  what 
professionals  would  not  risk  to  touch,  and  in  such  a 
masterly  manner,  that  every  one  who  has  seen  his  estab- 
lishment must  be  at  once  convinced. 

It  was  no  easy  matter  for  Air.  C.  0.  Schirm  to  train  his 
operators  for  this  entirely  new  mode  of  photography.  lie 
has  succeeded  because  lie  is  not  easily  disconcerted. 

Schirm’s  gallery  is  one  of  the  usual  elegant  dwellings  on 
the  first  floor,  with  a small  hall  and  ante-chamber  serving 


124 


The  photographic  news. 


[February  14,  1890. 


as  a reception  room,  two  rooms  which  are  arranged  as  Blitz 
galleries,  and  a large  passage-room  with  one  window,  into 
which  daylight  penetrates  only  from  one  corner,  and  which 
bears  the  name  of  “ Berlin  room,”  as  an  authorised  Berlin 
peculiarity. 

This  ordinarily  partly-dark  Berlin  room  forms  the  large 
Blitz  gallery  for  groups.  Each  of  these  rooms  has,  so  to 
speak,  a firmament  of  Blitz  lamps. 

Schirm’s  lightning  apparatus  is  known,  lie  works,  as 
Piffard  has  done  before  him,  by  blowing  magnesium  pow- 
der through  the  flame  with  an  apparatus ; but  while  Piffard 
applies  large  quantities — more  than  1 gram — he  proves 
that  a minimum  quantity,  0‘03  gram  (l,  grain)  is  sufficient 
for  one  sitting,  and  that  more  is  rather  injurious  than  use- 
ful. This  apparatus  is  excellent  for  single  pictures,  but 
not  sufficient  for  larger  views  in  grand  style.  Here  it  is 
oftentimes  necessary  to  apply  7,  8,  and  even  15  to  20  lamps, 
and  to  ignite  these  simultaneously,  the  latter  being  of  great 
importance.  It  is  also  important  not  to  let  the  lamps  be 
too  near  to  the  subject. 

In  Schirm’s  gallery  they  move  therefore  on  rails,  about 
four  meters  from  the  floor  and  near  to  the  ceiling.  Each 
lamp  consists  of  a Bunsen  flame,  through  which  the  mag- 
nesium is  blown,  and  an  illuminating  flame,  which  serves 
for  studying  the  light  effect  of  the  lamp.  Some  of  the 
lamps  are  ignited  in  front  of  the  subject,  others  from  the 
side.  The  arrangement  is  such  that  the  ceiling  contains  a 
system  of  rails,  which  might  remind  one  of  the  game 
called  “ Mill.”  An  exterior  square  of  rails  is  placed 
round  the  four  walls,  and  in  the  small  room  an  additional 
inner  square  of  about  half  the  size.  In  the  Berlin  room, 
intended  for  groups,  is  a third  and  still  smaller  one. 
Upon  these  rails  the  lamps  can  be  moved  at  will.  Each 
lamp  carries  gas  tubing  and  a tube  for  blowing,  which  are 
connected  with  the  main  gas  pipe  and  also  with  the  bellows. 

This  rather  complicated  system  of  tubing  swinging 
from  the  ceiling  leaves  a peculiar,  still  not  disturbing,  im- 
pression at  first  sight.  In  the  small  room  I counted  four- 
teen on  the  exterior  square,  eight  on  the  inner  one.  In 
the  large  room  there  were  sixteen  lamps  outside.  Each 
lamp  (illuminating  burner  as  well  as  Bunsen  burner) 
had  a cock  with  a long  lever,  which  from  the  floor 
could  be  opened  and  closed  with  a pole-hook.  Above 
each  lamp  burns  continually  a small  igniting  flame,  from 
which  the  gas  will  ignite  by  opening  the  cock.  The  Bun- 
sen burner  is  in  connection  with  a small  magnesium  powder 
reservoir,  which,  on  being  closed,  after  ignition  of  the 
powder,  will  drop  a new,  small  quantity  of  1 j centigram 
of  magnesium  into  the  blow-pipe  for  the  next  view.  A 
larger  quantity  of  magnesium  has  not  been  found  effective ; 
if  more  light  is  required,  more  lamps  should  be  used. 

At  a single  sitting  we  saw  nine  lamps  in  activity — four 
from  the  side,  four  in  front,  and  one  from  the  other  side 
almost  behind  the  sitter.  Most  of  the  negatives  are  taken 
on  old,  extra  blue  sensitive  plates,  the  magnesium  light 
containing  mostly  blue  rays.  A mechanical  electrical 
arrangement  is  used  for  the  exposure,  which,  after  the 
subject  has  been  posed,  opens  first  the  flap  on  the  objec- 
tive, and  immediately  afterwards  sets  the  blowing  apparatus 
to  work,  which  bloWs  the  magnesium  powder  through  the 
flame,  after  which  it  closes  again  the  objective  flap,  all  by 
electrical  movement. 

1 he  whole  system  is  so  neat  and  well  executed  that  we 
cannot  sufficiently  praise  the  inventor. 

The  blow-light  itself  is  not  instantaneous,  and  lasts  about 
quo -half  second,  but  the  time  of  the  objective  shutter  is 


only  about  one -tenth  second,  so  that  the  exposure  can  be 
considered  as  instantaneous.  It  is  remarkable  that  all  brands 
of  dry  plates  have  not  proved  equally  good  and  effective. 
The  sensitive  Beernaert  plates  cannot  be  used  at  all. 
Voigtlander's  Euryscope,  Series  III,  second  diaphragm, 
was  used  as  an  objective.  It  remains  a fact  that  a well- 
exposed  negative  was  obtained.  It  may  have  had  a pretty 
strong  top  light  character,  according  to  the  judgment  of 
some ; but  that  pictures  can  be  obtained  of  faultless 
illumination  is  proved  by  Delden's  magnesium  Blitz  pic- 
tures, Photograpliisclie  Miltheilungen,  1889,  May  2.  It  is 
also  evident  that  in  such  a room  one  is  enabled  to  utilize 
every  place,  under  the  window,  the  piano,  the  stove,  near 
the  door  or  in  any  corner,  for  posing  the  subject,  so  that 
more  change  in  the  artistic  arrangement  is  possible.  The 
decoration  of  the  whole  room  should  of  course  be  selected 
and  graduated  photographically,  and  if  this  has  not  been 
done,  it  is  an  error  which  can  easily  be  remedied. 

The  Blitz  printing  process  is  also  interesting.  This 
is  executed  on  bromide  paper.  To  prove  that  paper 
copies  could  be  obtained  at  once,  Professor  Schirm 
pressed  a piece  of  paper  upon  a gelatine  negative,  quite 
wet,  and  washed  only  for  ten  minutes,  placed  this  upon  a 
table  arranged  with  a measure  (rule)  opposite  a vertical 
ground  glass  at  a distance  of  about  120  cm.,  and  ignited 
behind  it,  with  his  military  Blitz  lamp — which  is  commonly 
used  for  signalling, — a flash  of  li  centigrams  of  magne- 
sium powder.  This  was  sufficient  to  obtain,  with 
eikonogen  development,  a well-exposed  print  It  is 
peculiar  how  the  character  of  the  pictures  and  their  tone 
changed  by  placing  the  negative  nearer  to  the  light  or 
further  off.  Those  near-by  appeared  browner  and  softer. 

Ordinarily  the  prints  are  made  after  the  negative  is 
thoroughly  dry  and  has  been  retouched,  and  a dozen 
cartes-de-visite  can  easily  be  printed  with  one  flash.  The 
tone  of  the  prints  I saw  was  perhaps  a little  too  cold, 
but  warmer  tones  can  easily  be  obtained  by  a change  in 
the  lighting  and  development.  Dr.  .lust’s  book,  “Guide 
for  Positive  Developing  Processes,”  gives  the  desired  in- 
formation. By  the  powerful  action  of  the  Blitz  light  it  is 
shown  that  two  flashes  were  sufficient  to  obtain  a very 
intense  positive  from  a drawing  on  bromide  paper.  Prints 
from  these  flash  negatives  can,  of  course,  also  be  made  by 
any  of  the  other  processes,  so  that  in  this  respect  no 
objection  can  be  made  to  them. 

Mr.  Van  Delden  is  fitting  up  another  Blitz  gallery  in 
Breslau,  but  Mr.  Schirm  deserves  the  merit  of  having  been 
the  first  to  introduce  this  new  kind  of  Blitz  gallery.  This 
is  certainly  a new  step  forward  in  photography — emanci- 
pation from  daylight  and  emancipation  from  time,  and  I 
am  convinced  that  it  will  have  considerable  influence  on 
the  progress  of  our  beautiful  art, — Anthony's  Bulletin. 

“They  have  been  having  tableaux  viva  tits  at  Osborne,”  says 
a daily  contemporary,  “and  the  Royal  photographer  of  the  Isle 
of  Wight  has  been  busy.  A photographer  of  Ryde  has  been 
nearly  a dozen  times  to  t lie  Court,  and  the  other  day  Princess 
Beatrice,  on  her  way  back  from  visiting  the  scene  of  the  Needles 
wreck,  called  at  his  establishment  and  left  her  likeness  in  the 
costume  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots.” 

For  a lantern  slide,  a special  negative  should  be  taken,  or, 
in  other  words,  if  a lantern  slide  of  a view  or  object  is 
desired,  it  should  be  taken  and  manipulated  all  through  with 
reference  thereto.  That  it  should  be  sharp,  clear,  and  brilliant, 
is  a sine  qua  non.  But  it  is  not  enough  that  this  alone  should 
be  obtained,  for  there  is  an  enemy  lurking  in  your  every  sur- 
younding,  against  which  you  must  be  on  constant  guard,  and 
that  is  dust. — Mosaics. 


February  14,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


125 


SOME  FURTHER  APPLICATION  OF  THE 
RAMSDEN  EYEPIECE  TO  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

BY  F.  H.  VARLEY,  M.I.E.E.,  F.K.A.S. 

There  is  nothing  like  having  a hobby,  and  riding  that 
hobby  ; it  is  a cheerful  exercise,  and  does  no  one  except 
the  rider  any  harm,  unless  the  hobby  be  ridden  down  to 

the  death. 

The  Ramsden  eyepiece  as  a hobby  I do  not  think  has  been 
made  to  run  the  heedless  course.  We  find  it  employed  in 
the  double  capacity  of  a microscope  and  an  eyepiece  in 
surveying  levels,  theodolites,  transit  instruments,  and 
micrometers  for  telescopes  ; .also  as  a microscope  for  read- 
ing off  the  fine  divisions  of  the  vernier  and  the  divided 
circle.  The  eyepiece  micrometer  of  telescopes,  the  eye- 
piece of  the  surveying  level,  the  theodolite,  and  the  transit 
instrument  are  all  positive  eyepieces — that  is  to  say,  that 
the  image  is  formed  in  front  of  the  field  lens.  The  reason 
for  using  the  positive  eyepiece  is  obvious.  These  instru- 
ments require  the  cross  hairs,  or  spider  lines,  to  be  in  dis- 
tinct focus  whilst  viewing  the  correctly  focussed  image 
produced  by  the  object  glass;  or,  in  other  words,  the 
image  formed  by  the  object  glass  falls  exactly  upon  the 
same  plane  as  that  occupied  by  the  spider  lines.  Thus,  if 
we  make  the  adjustment  of  the  Ramsden  eyepiece  to  be  in 
correct  focus  with  these  spider  lines,  and  then  adjust  the 
object  glass  to  correctly  focus  the  image,  both  will  be  in 
critical  or  precise  focus.  Now  if  we  make  the  adjustment 
of  the  Ramsden  eyepiece  as  described  in  my  communica- 
tion of  the  31st  idt. , to  be  coincident  with  the  image 
focussed  on  the  ground-glass  screen,  but  employing  a plane 
of  clear  glass  of  equal  thickness  crossed  at  right  angles 
with  parallel  rulings  inserted  in  the  camera  at  the  same 
position  as  the  ground  screen,  a transparent  critical  focus- 
sing plane  is  secured.  The  use  of  this  transparent  plane 
shows  at  once  how  very  much  detail  is  really  lost  by  dis- 
persion from  the  ground  surface.  The  image  formed  by 
the  camera  lens,  instead  of  appearing  with  a woolly  indis- 
tinctness, comes  out  much  sharper,  brighter,  and  clearer. 
This  facilitates  focussiig,  as  it  dismisses  all  fear  and  doubt 
from  the  mind  as  to  whether  the  best  possible  focus  has 
been  obtained.  When  using  the  focussing  apparatus, 
already  described  in  my  former  communication,  at  an  angle 
to  the  ruled  glass  plane,  there  is  a small  amount  of  error 
due  to  refraction  of  the  incident  ray  falling  at  an  angle  to 
the  glass  surfaces.  Practically,  however,  this  may  be  dis- 
regarded, so  long  as  the  rulings  on  the  glass  are  in  distinct 
focus  at  the  centre  of  the  field  of  the  eyepiece.  I should 
therefore  recommend,  first,  focussing  with  the  ground-glass 
screen  in  the  usual  way.  For  the  general  effect  apply  the 
focussing  apparatus  to  that  part  of  the  picture  which  it  is 
desired  to  be  critically  focussed,  and  obtain  the  correct 
adjustment ; remove  the  ground  sceeen,  and  insert  the 
clear  glass  with  rulings,  and  verify  the  focussing. 

Those  who  have  not  tried  the  difference  of  effect  pro- 
duced by  the  interference  and  diffusion  created  by  the 
numerous  prismatic  points  of  the  ground  glass  surface,  will 
be  astonished  at  the  clearness  of  the  detail  and  brilliancy 
of  the  image  obtained  by  means  of  the  Ramsden  eyepiece. 

There  is  one  more  use  to  which  this  eyepiece  can  be 
applied  with  advantage,  and  that  is  as  an  illuminator  for  the 
microscope  in  place  of  the  achromatic  condenser,  especially 
as  it  can  be  employed  for  micro-photography,  and  is  less 
costly. 

The  eyepiece  I have  employed  for  this  purpose  is  con- 
structed with  a field  lens,  §-iuch  focus,  eye-lens  "-inch, 
both  plano-convex,  placed  about  £ths  of  an  inch  apart, 


with  their  convex  side  turned  toward  each  other.  In  front 
of  the  field  lens  I place  a diaphragm  with  an  aperture  of 
■,:A-inch  diameter.  The  distance  of  this  diaphragm  from 
the  field  lens  is  so  adjusted  that  if  the  eyepiece  is  held  at 
a distance  of  two  or  three  inches  from  the  eye,  upon  look- 
ing through,  the  margin  of  the  hole  is  seen  sharply  defined  ; 
it  is  ready  then  to  be  placed  in  the  secondary  stage  of  the 
microscope.  I prefer  to  turn  the  microscope  so  that  the 
body  is  in  a horizontal  position,  and  place  it  in  a direct 
line  with  the  source  of  light,  then  focus  the  object,  after 
which  I adjust,  by  means  of  the  secondary  stage,  the 
illuminator,  so  that  the  margin  of  the  diaphragm  is  distinctly 
focussed  ; next  I place  a condensing  lens  between  the 
light  and  the  diaphragm,  and  so  adjust  the  distances  of 
both  that  the  image  of  the  light  is  focussed  upon  the  dia- 
phragm. The  image  should  be  just  large  enough  to  uni- 
formly cover  the  aperture  and  the  fringe  of  the  light 
caught  upon  the  margin.  In  this  way  an  uniform  and 
perfect  disc  of  light  is  obtained,  and  but  little  difference 
between  this  mode  of  illumination  and  that  from  an 
achromatic  condenser  is  discernible. 

I do  not  remember  having  seen  the  llamsden  eyepiece 
so  applied  as  a condenser  for  the  microscope  except  when 
I adopted  it  myself  as  a convenient  expedient  upon  occa- 
sions when  an  achromatic  condenser  has  not  been  available. 
By  its  means  1 have  obtained,  with  a one-third  of  an  inch 
objective  and  a high-power  eye-piece,  the  markings  of 
Navicula,  Formosa,  and  Podura  scales  perfectly  resolved. 
The  reason  for  employing  it  as  a condenser  is  identical 
with  that  of  focussing  the  image  on  the  ground-glass 
screen — viz.,  to  obtaiu  a critical  image  of  the  flame — or 
surface  of  the  incandescent  lime  when  the  oxyhydrogen 
light  is  employed — coincident  with  the  object  focussed.  I 
believe  it  will  be  found  to  be  of  considerable  utility  when 
photographing  by  artificial  light.  I may  here  state  that 
when  a condensing  lens  is  employed  for  throwing  the 
image  of  the  light  upon  the  diaphragm,  it  is  very  desirable, 
and  for  photographing  I believe  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
that  this  condensing  lens  should  be  achromatic.  The 
two  objectives  of  an  opera  glass  whose  combined  foci  is 
about  two  or  three  inches,  answer  this  purpose  admirably. 
If  they  are  not  available,  place  the  light  as  near  to  the 
diaphragm  as  possible,  but  do  not  employ  a monochro- 
matic lens.  The  Ramsden  eyepiece  and  an  achromatic 
lens  for  producing  the  luminous  image  on  the  diaphragm 
give  the  most  perfect  combination,  as  well  as  greater 
brilliancy  of  illumination. 

If  the  microscope  has  the  achromatic  illuminator 
fitted  to  it,  always  use  it  directed  to  the  light.  To  obtain 
the  critical  image,  if  this  image  is  too  small  to  cover  the 
whole  of  the  field  of  view,  a condensing  lens  has  to  be 
employed  ; it  is  very  important  that  this  lens  be  achromatic. 

So  that,  .after  all,  the  Ramsden  eye-piece  is  practically  as 
perfect  as  the  more  elaborate  and  costly  achromatic  illumi- 
natorsgenerally  employed ; I am  referring  to  the  use  of  artifi- 
cial light.  The  most  perfect,  of  course,  though  very  seldom 
attainable  in  this  country,  is  to  direct  the  achromatic 
illuminator  to  a well-lighted  cloud.  In  this  case  also  the 
Ramsden  eyepiece  can  be  applied,  if  the  image  of  the 
cloud  is  focussed,  or  the  diaphragm  by  means  of  an  achro- 
matic lens. 

A partnership  has  been  airanged,  we  are  informed,  between 
Mr.  M.  Auty,  of  Tynemouth,  and  Mr.  Richard  E.  Ruddock, 
late  of  Messrs.  W.  and  D.  Downey's  Studio,  London.  The 
style  of  the  firm  will  be  Auty  and  Ruddock. 


126 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  14,  1890. 


An  astronomical  photographic  curiosity  was  exhibited 
at  the  last  meeting  of  the  lloyal  Society  in  the  way  of 
a photograph,  by  Mr.  IsaacRobcrts,  of  theOrion nebulae, 
on  which  two  exposures  of  two  hours  and  two  and  a 
half  hours  respectively,  at  an  interval  of  five  days,  had 
been  juxtaposed.  While  the  pairs  of  discs  for  most  stars 
were  sensibly  equal,  the  pairs  for  at  least  ten  faint 
stars  showed  great  differences  in  intensity.  Mr.  Roberts 
considers  that  this  indicates  the  variability  of  these 
stars  in  a few  days.  But,  as  the  Observatory  points 
out,  confirmation  of  this  view  is  eminently  desirable. 
A similar  pair  of  exposures  should  show  the  same  ten 
stars  as  variable,  if  we  are  to  exclude  the  possibility 
of  accidental  appearances.  Indeed,  this  principle  of 
duplicate  exposures  might  be  carried  much  further. 
Despite  delicacy  of  manipulation  in  the  preparation  and 
development  of  negatives,  films  may  behave  with  eccen- 
tricity, and  minute  imperfections  may  be  taken  for 
stars,  and  vice  versa.  This  system  of  duplication  would, 
however,  entail  enormous  expense,  and  at  the  present 
moment  is  impossible. 


Pinhole  negatives  are  attracting  much  attention  just 
now,  and  the  study  is  gradually  taking  form  in  regard 
to  the  principles  of  working.  Captain  R.  Colson  has 
given  to  the  French  Photographic  Society  some  curious 
calculations  apropos  of  the  relationship  which  exists 
between  the  size  and  clearness  of  the  picture  and  the 
dimensions  of  the  pinhole  that  takes  the  place  of  the 
lens,  and  those  who  are  curious  on  the  subject  will 
find  his  figures  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society. 
With  regard  to  the  time  of  exposure,  Captain  Colson 
is  of  opinion  that  it  is  impossible  to  give  exact  figures, 
as  the  circumstances  differ.  Ilis  own  experience  on  a 
particular  brand  of  plates  furnishes,  however,  the 
following  data: — For  distant  objects,  four  seconds; 
for  objects  in  sunlight,  at  a distance  of  ten  to  a hundred 
metres,  fifteen  seconds,  and  for  portraits  well  lighted, 
twenty  seconds. 


A graceful  allusion  to  the  late  Father  Perry  is  made 
in  the  Observatory  by  Mr.  H.  Turner.  In  regard  to 
the  special  photographic  work  of  the  expedition,  Mr. 
Turner  says  the  sudden  illness  of  the  chief  member  of 
the  expedition  made  it  advisable  not  to  attempt  deve- 
lopment ot  the  photographs  so  obtained.  These  were 
brought  by  Mr.  Rooney  to  England,  and  have  recently 
been  developed.  Those  actually  taken  by  Father  Perry 
show  the  very  great  care  he  must  have  taken  to  focus 
his  instrument,  and  the  results  generally  are  successful. 


The  exhibition  to  be  held  in  March,  promoted'by  the 
Royal  Meteorological  Society,  promises  to  be  exceed- 
ingly  interesting  from  a photographic  point  of  view. 
Meteorological  science,  we  understand,  will  be  illus- 
trated by  the  largest  and  most  complete  collection  of 
instruments  and  photographs  which  can  be  got  together 
So  many  uses  have  been  found  of  late  years  for  photo- 


graphy in  connection  with  meteorology,  from  sunshine 
recorders  to  M.  Janssen’s  photographs  of  mists,  and 
the  recent  pictures  of  lightning,  that  the  exhibition 
promises  to  be  altogether  unique. 


An  appreciative  biographical  sketch  of  the  President 
of  the  Photographic  Society  appears  in  the  Popular 
Science  Monthly  (New  York),  accompanied  by  a very 
excellent  portrait.  Mr.  Glaisher’s  labours  in  connection 
with  astronomical  and  meteorological  work  are  well 
known,  and  of  these  labours  the  writer  of  the  sketch 
gives  a very  complete  epitome.  It  is  sufficient  to  say 
that  Mr.  Glaisher  is  the  author  of  more  than  one 
hundred  books  and  papers  relating  to  astronomy, 
meteorology,  and  the  theory  of  numbers,  to  indicate  his 
untiring  industry.  Although  entering  upon  his  eighty- 
first  year,  he  retains  all  his  old  vigour  and  energy,  as 
was  evident  at  the  dinner  of  the  Society  on  Monday. 


The  Japanese  arc  enthusiastic  over  photography. 
The  Minister  of  public  instruction  in  Japan  has  an- 
nounced that  at  the  next  term,  photography  will  be 
taught  in  most  superior  schools,  notably  at  the  Archeo- 
logical Institute,  at  the  Forester’s  Institute,  and  in  the 
Military  Academies.  La  Nature  enquires  when  it  will 
be  that  the  same  course  of  instruction  is  organised  in 
the  special  large  schools  of  France,  and  in  those  of  art 
and  drawing,  and  the  same  question  might  be  asked  in 
England  were  it  not  that  amateurs  are  so  numerous  and 
so  diligent  as  to  almost  render  unnecessary  any  stimulus 
from  the  legislature. 


The  ter-centenary  of  the  invention  of  the  compound 
microscope,  which  is  to  be  celebrated  this  year  at  Ant- 
werp, reminds  us  of  the  respectable  age  to  which  this 
instrument  has  attained.  Of  late  years,  microscopical 
appliances  have  been  vastly  improved,  and  the  applica- 
tion of  photography  has  given  to  microscopical  study 
fresh  interest  and  fresh  power.  Photographic  attach- 
ments will  make  a large  show  at  the  exhibition  pro- 
posed to  be  held,  and  among  the  subjects  to  be  discussed 
at  the  inevitable  conference  will  be  photo-micrography. 


The  annual  report  of  the  Harvard  College  Astro- 
nomical Observatory  just  issued  gives  much  interesting 
information  as  to  the  valuable  work  performed  under 
the  direction  of  Professor  Pickering.  The  handsome 
gift  of  50,000  dollars  by  Miss  Bruce  for  the  construc- 
tion of  a photographic  tele-cope  of  novel  form  is  specially 
alluded  to,  and  it  is  foreshadowed  that,  when  com- 
pleted, the  instrument  will  effect  a total  change  in  the 
work  of  the  observatory.  For  instance,  in  1885  it 
was  proposed  to  photograph  the  entire  sky  with  the 
eight-inch  telescope,  enlarging  the  plates  three  times, 
but  the  generous  aid  of  Miss  Bruce  will  permit  this 
result  to  be  attained  in  the  original  photographs  without 
enlargement — an  enormous  gain  both  in  time  and 
economy.  A contract  has  been  made  with  Messrs. 
Alvan  Clark  and  Sons  for  a telescope  having  an  aper- 
ture of  2 1 inches,  and  a focal  length  of  1 1 feet. 


February  14,  1890. ) 


rHE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


127 


THE  LATE  DR.  E.  IIORNIG. 

Hon.  President  of  the  Photo irap/tic  Society  of  Vienna. 

From  a report  of  the  speech  of  Professor  Fritz  Luckhardt, 
delivered  at  the  January  meeting  of  the  Photographic 
Society  of  Vienna,  in  the  Phntojraphische  Cwrespomlenz,  we 
abstract  the  following  account  of  the  life  and  labours  of 
the  late  Dr.  Emil  Homig. 

We  have  lost,  says  Prof.  Luckhardt,  in  Dr.  Homig  one  of 
our  best  friends — one  whose  heart  was  full  of  warmth  to- 
wards the  Association  and  its  members,  llornig  was  one 
of  those  men  who,  with  the  appearance  of  a somewhat 
rough  exterior,  possessed  a kernel  of  noble  quality.  Those 
who  knew  him  well,  recognised  him  as  one  of  the  best  of 
men.  lie  was  born  in  the  year  1828,  the  son  of  the  Royal 
Counsellor  Josef  llornig,  who,  at  that  time,  was  professor 
of  Roman  law  at  the  University  of  Vienna,  lie  was  edu- 
cated from  hisfourteeuth  yearat  the  Academic  Gymnasium, 
and  after  studying  philosophy  and,  for  some  time,  juris- 
prudence, lie  applied  himself  with  the  greatest  diligence  to 
the  study  of  chemistry  .and  physics  at  the  Polytechnic 
Institute,  lie  was  one  of  the  most  industrious  students 
at  the  Laboratory  of  the  Institute,  where  he  interested  him- 
self in  all  matters  concerned  with  applied  chemistry,  and 
diligently  occupied  himself  with  analysis — both  qualitative 
and  quantitative. 

In  the  year  1851  he  was  appointed  provisionally  in- 
structor in  the  high  school,  and  some  years  afterwards 
prepared  himself  for  obtaining  the  grade  of  professor.  As 
a teacher  he  understood,  as  few  do,  how  to  combine 
necessary  firmness  vith  kindly  forbearance.  lie  was  at 
the  same  time  the  instructor  and  friend  of  his  numerous 
students,  as  is  evidenced  by  many  examples  communicated 
to  me  by  those  who,  as  pupils,  drew  their  inspiration  from 
him — the  councillor  Dr.  IV.  Exner  amongst  ■ others. 
Shortly  after  attaining  his  professorship,  he  was  ap- 
pointed corresponding  member  of  the  Imperial  Geological 
Institute,  and  the  College  of  Doctors  of  the  Philosophical 
Faculty  elected  him  as  Dean.  He  acted  for  some  time  as 
counsellor  of  the  administration  of  the  Lower  Austria 
Industrial  Guilds,  and  edited  its  weekly  journal.  Dr. 
llornig  instructed  himself  in  all  the  domains  entered  upon 
in  connection  with  this  work,  and  was  on  that  account  a 
many-sided  man.  When  his  excellency  llaron  Schwarz- 
Senborn  was  intrusted  with  the  guidance  of  the  Universal 
Exhibition  of  1873,  llornig  was  one  of  the  first  whom  he 
called  to  his  side  to  assist  in  the  undertaking.  For  his 
successful  activity  in  this  matter  he  received  the  title  of 
royal  councillor,  and  was  decorated  with  the  Swedish  order 
of  the  Northern  Star. 

The  experiences  thereby  gained  caused  him  to  be 
selected  in  connection  with  the  Philadelphia  Exhibition 
of  1876,  after  which  he  was  decorated  with  the  order  of 
Francis  Joseph,  and  in  1878  he  was  appointed  as  Royal 
and  Imperial  Commissioner  for  the  Paris  Exhibition.  I 
had  the  opportunity  in  Paris  to  learn  the  pre-eminently 
superior,  though  little  known  side  of  our  friend’s  character. 
I have  seen  how  he  struggled  on  behalf  of  those  who  felt 
that  they  had  been  overlooked  or  not  fairly  appreciated, 
and  especially  how  he  always  stood  up  for  his  own  country- 
men. France  recognised  his  merits  by  conferring  on  him 
the  title  of  the  Legion  of  Honour,  whilst  his  Majesty  the 
Emperor  distinguished  him  with  the  Order  of  the  Iron 
Crown,  a distinction  which  awakened  much  jealousy  and 
envy  in  some  quarters.  lie  now  applied  his  whole  ener- 
gies to  the  advancement  of  our  Association,  the  Photo- 


graphic Union,  to  which  he  had  belonged  from  its  founda- 
tion. He  was  now  chosen  for  the  chief  office  in  our 
Society,  and  under  his  thoughtful  care  discord  vanished 
and  the  Association  grew  and  prospered.  lie  took  over 
the  Corresponded  from  the  then  editor.  Herr  L.  Schranck, 
and  advanced  the  undertaking  by  attracting  notable  writers 
in  technical  matters  and  at  considerable  pecuniary  sacrifice. 
He  devoted  his  time  from  early  till  late  to  the  work  of  the 
Association,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  concentrated  in  his 
own  person  the  labours  connected  with  it.  A new  era 
was  thereby  inaugurated  in  the  life  of  the  Society. 

In  his  own  family  he  was  the  best  of  sons ; it  was 
touching  to  see  the  tenderness  of  his  attachment  to  his 
mother.  The  worthy  matron  died  the  preceding  year  at 
the  age  of  ninety  years.  It  is  a happy  circumstance  that 
llornig,  in  his  illness,  knew  nothing  of  the  pain  of  this 
loss ; he  could  not  have  endured  it.  Four  years  since 
llornig  suffered  from  a paralytic  seizure  from  which  he 
never  recovered.  His  faculties  became  more  and  more 
dimmed,  until  at  last  his  tongue  could  no  longer  move, 
and  he  was  unable  to  pronounce  a word.  I shall  never 
forget  how,  when  I last  visited  him  a few  months  since, 
his  eyes  seemed  to  lighten,  and  he  appeared  to  recognise 
me,  and  to  endeavour  to  say  something,  but  in  vain. 

llornig  was  an  acute  observer,  such  as  is  seldom  met 
with ; on  this  account  he  was  often  applied  to  as  an 
expert.  He  was  president  of  the  Association  of  Gas 
Industries ; especially  he  was  a many-sided  man,  and  it 
was  never  in  vain  to  knock  at  his  door  when  advice  or  aid 
was  wanted.  It  was  he  whom  the  council  of  the  Voight- 
lander  Institute  employed  to  give  the  impulse  to  scientific 
enquiry  into  the  action  of  chromium  salts  upon  gelatine, 
albumen,  and  such  like  substances.  The  selection  fell 
upon  a young  man  whose  talents  llornig  had  recognised, 
and  who  he  expected  would  be  able  to  trace  out  the 
kernel  of  the  question.  The  prize  was  won  by  Dr.  Eder. 

It  was  Ilornig’s  constant  idea  to  create  an  institute  for 
photographic  research,  and  he  worked  at  it  incessantly 
until  that  object  was  reached ; the  idea  was  even  enlarged, 
and  a school  erected  for  instruction  in  combination  •with 
the  institute  for  research. 

I Iornig’s  literary  ability  was  shown  amongst  other  things 
in  technical  chemical  works,  of  which  may  be  noted  a trea- 
tise on  glycerine,  one  on  cheesemaking,  and  one  on 
mineral  analysis.  lie  also  contributed  many  treatises  in 
the  technical  journals,  and  was  on  that  account  made  cor- 
responding member  of  the  Austrian  Museum  of  Art  and 
Industry,  and  honorary  member  of  many  societies. 

From  the  year  1871,  with  but  little  interruption  until 
1885,  Dr.  llornig,  without  any  payment,  edited  a photo- 
graphic annual  which  he  presented  to  the  members  of  the 
society.  This  included  a note-book  for  photographers 
and  amateurs,  with  exposure  tables  and  negative  register. 

In  1880,  Gerot,  in  Vienna,  published  Hornig’s  “ Hand- 
book of  Technical  Chemistry  for  High  Schools  and  Tech- 
nical Institutes  of  Instruction.”  In  1882  Homig  pub- 
lished under  the  title  “ Photographica  ” sheets  illustrating 
photographic  processes  in  four  series. 

Dr.  E.  llornig  was  elected  President  of  the  Association 
in  1871,  and  presided  for  the  last  time  in  February,  1885. 
In  the  following  May  he  was  appointed  Honorary  Presi- 
dent, and  at  the  same  time  was  awarded  the  gold  medal  of 
the  Society. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1870  he  commenced  a 
course  of  lectures  upon  photographic  chemistry  at  the 
Polytechnic  Institute,  which,  however,  was  abandoned  in 


128 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  14,  1890. 


consequence  of  the  unequal  preparatory  schooling  of  the 
hearers. 

It  is  in  our  loving  remembrance  that  our  journal — 
the  Photographische  Corresjxmdenz,  was  presented  by  him  to 
the  Society.  As  llaron  Burg  has  said,  “ The  loveliest 
attribute  of  mankind  is  gratitude.”  Our  grateful  remem- 
brances are  given  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Emil  Ilornig. 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  WASTE  PRODUCTS. 

Mu.  John  Young,  of  84,  Market  Street,  Chicago,  has 
issued  the  following  circular  to  photographers  : — 

1st.  Paper  Clippings,  all  Untoned  or  Over-Exposed  Prints, 
Blotters,  Fillers,  $r.,  should  be  introduced  by  degrees  into 
an  ordinary  stove  and  burned  to  ashes  in  the  most  thorough 
manner.  It  is  important  that  the  ashes  be  not  withdrawn 
from  the  stove  until  the  whole  of  the  carbonaceous  portion 
of  the  paper  is  entirely  consumed.  The  paper  should  be 
kept  free  from  admixture  with  tin-type  clippings,  glass, 
nails,  and  other  extraneous  matter,  which  is  a positive 
injury  to  the  waste.  Before  burning  see  that  the  draught  is 
completely  shut  off,  otherwise  much  loss  of  silver  will  be 
occasioned. 

2nd.  Print  Washings  and  Old  Positive  and  Negative  Baths. 
— To  save  the  above  waste  in  the  easiest  and  most 
economical  manner,  procure  a good  sound  cask,  of  dimen- 
sions suitable  to  your  needs,  loosen  the  top  hoops  in  order 
to  remove  the  head,  and  replace  the  hoop  tightly.  Next 
have  a hole  bored  through  the  side  of  the  cask  about  seven 
or  eight  inches  from  the  bottom  ; into  this  insert  a wooden 
faucet,  and  the  barrel  is  ready  to  receive  the  waste  solu- 
tions referred  to.  To  precipitate  the  silver  from  these, 
proceed  as  follows : Make  a saturated  solution  of  common 
salt,  and  add  it  to  the  liquid  in  the  barrel ; the  precipi- 
tate which  forms  is  chloride  of  silver.  An  ounce  of 
common  sulphuric  acid,  added  occasionally,  acts  bene- 
ficially, keeping  the  solution  in  an  acid  condition.  Should 
the  liquid,  after  standing  twenty-four  hours,  refuse  to 
clear  up,  a wine-glass  full  of  a saturated  solution  of 
common  alum  or  proto-sulphate  of  iron  will  bring  about 
the  desired  result.  When  the  precipitate  has  subsided, 
the  waste  water  can  be  drawn  off  by  the  faucet  and  thrown 
away. 

3rd.  Fixing  Solutions  from  Prints  and  Dry  Plates,  and 
Cyanide.  Solutions  from  Tin-Types. — These  should  be  in- 
troduced into  a barrel  similar  in  every  respect  to  that 
referred  to  in  No.  2.  Instead  of  salt,  however,  the 
savory  compound  known  as  sulphide  of  potassium  must  be 
dissolved  and  added  so  long  as  it  forms  a precipitate.  The 
latter  is  of  a very  dark  colour,  and  in  this  case  is  termed 
sulphide  of  silver.  In  these,  and  indeed  all  waste  solutions, 
large  stoneware  crocks  may  be  advantageously  substituted 
for  barrels,  should  the  volume  of  waste  not  be  too  large. 

4th.  Wet  Plate  Developer  Washings. — These  may  be  intro- 
duced into  a large  stoneware  crock,  and  allowed  to  stand 
untouched  for  twenty-four  hours  or  so.  No  re-agent  for 
precipitating  the  silver  need  be  added,  as  the  proto-sul- 
phate of  iron  necessarily  present  accomplishes  this  in  the 
most  thorough  manner,  more  especially  if  an  ounce  of 
common  sulphuric  acid  be  added.  The  latter  prevents  the 
formation  of  a useless  deposit  of  iron  along  with  the 
silver,  and  the  refining  as  a natural  sequence  is  rendered 
less  difficult.  A few  drops  of  any  “light  oil ” sprinkled 
on  the  surface  likewise  retards  oxidation. 

5th.  Gelatine  Emulsions.  — To  recover  the  bromide  and 
iodide  of  silver  which  are  present  in  the  above  waste,  intro- 


duce the  emulsions  into  a large  stoneware  crock  to  a height 
of  one-third;  a quantity  of  common  sulphuric  acid,  say 
one  or  two  quarts,  must  now  be  added.  This  in  a few 
hours  will  result  in  the  degelatinization  of  the  gelatine,  the 
latter  losing  its  setting  qualities.  A large  amount  of 
boiling  water  must  now  be  added,  so  as  to  make  the  solu- 
tion as  attenuated  as  possible.  The  silver  will  now,  by 
reason  of  its  superior  specific  gravity,  gradually  subside, 
forming  a pale  yellow  deposit  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel. 
Allow  the  crock  to  stand  several  days,  and  then  decant  off 
the  supernatant  liquid,  and  throw  it  away.  Dry  the  pre- 
cipitate spontaneously,  or  by  filtration,  through  very  fine 
bleached  muslin,  and  it  will  be  ready  for  treatment  by  the 
refiner. 

Gth.  Gold  Solutions. — Old  “ spent”  toning  baths  some- 
times contain  a small  amount  of  gold.  To  recover  this 
proceed  as  follows: — Pour  all  these  solutions  into  a stone- 
ware crock ; next  add  an  ounce  or  two  of  common 
sulphuric  acid,  and  finally,  also,  a strong  solution  of 
freshly  dissolved  protosulphate  of  iron.  The  precipitate 
will  soon  subside,  and  in  time  form  a brownish-black 
deposit  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel.  The  deposits,  also, 
which  invariably  form  while  the  toning  bath  is  being 
neutralized  by  carbonate  of  soda  or  other  alkali,  should  be 
saved  and  thrown  into  the  crock. 

7th.  Concluding  Remarks. — If  absolutely  necessary, 
the  wet  plate  developer  waste  may  be  thrown  into  the 
barrel  containing  the  print  washings,  but  it  is  best  kept 
separate. 

8th.  Should  space  be  limited,  the  print  washings  and 
fixing  solutions,  &c.,  may  be  kept  in  the  same  barrel,  and 
sulphide  of  potassium  only  used  to  precipitate  the  sil- 
ver. We  do  not  recommend  this,  however,  if  it  can  be 
avoided. 

9th.  A piece  of  very  tine  bleached  muslin  makes  a good 
filter  for  all  the  wastes  we  have  alluded  to.  An  old  felt 
hat  or  chamois  leather  skin  is  also  very  good,  but  acts 
slowly. 

10th.  In  sending  wastes,  mark  each  lot  with  its  appro- 
priate designation,  and  observe  that  no  gold  will  be  sought 
for  in  silver  residue,  unless  specially  desired.  Do  not  fail 
to  mark  on  outside  of  package  the  name  of  the  firm  on 
whose  account  the  waste  is  to  be  refined,  and  endeavour 
to  allow  at  least  fourteen  days  to  elapse  before  asking 
about  returns.  Very  large  sacks  or  boxes  of  waste  may  be 
forwarded  by  freight ; smaller  and  more  valuable  parcels 
by  express,  and  very  small  lots  by  parcel  post.  If  sent 
by  freight,  invariably  forward  a bill  of  lading,  or  delay  will 
certainly  occur. 


Water  for  PnoTOCRArHic  Purposes. — Ordinary  tap  water  is 
generally  to  be  recommended  for  washing  operations  and  for 
preparing  solutions.  For  a stock  solution  of  gold,  however, 
and  for  nitrate  of  silver  when  that  is  required,  distilled  water 
should  be  employed.  In  solutions  containing  oxalates,  such  as 
the  ferrous  oxalate  developer,  and  the  solution  for  developing 
platinum  prints,  it  is  well  to  avoid  the  presence  of  lime  salts, 
as  these  give  a turbidity  with  oxalates.  If  distilled  water  is 
not  at  hand  in  sufficient  quantity  for  these  purposes,  tap  water 
may  be  made  almost  as  good  by  removing  the  lime  from  it. 
This  maj'  be  done  by  adding  a little  potassium  oxalate,  and 
allowing  the  precipitate  formed  to  settle  down.  The  quantity 
of  oxalate  to  be  added  will  depend  upon  the  quality  of  the 
water  ; and  it  may  be  a guide  to  say  that  for  New  River  water 
about  thirty  grains  of  potassium  oxalate  to  the  gallon  would 
probably  be  a suitable  amount. — Chapman  JoNEs  in  Abraham's 
Photographic  Annual, 


February  14,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


129 


A NEW  EYE. 

BY  CAMILLE  FLAMMARIOX. 

It  cannot  be  gainsaid  that  the  human  eye  is  an  admirable 
optical  instrument.  What  transparency  in  this  living 
crystal : what  delicious  shades  of  colour  in  this  iris  ; what 
depth,  and  what  charm  ! It  is  life,  it  is  passion,  it  is  a de- 
sire, it  is  the  will,  it  is  light!  Close  all  these  eyes  : what 
would  remain  of  creation?  And,  nevertheless,  we 
have  here  a new  eye — complementing  our  own  and  excel- 
ling it — still  more  marvellous.  This  eye,  whose  visions  1 
have  just  admired,  measures  more  than  a metre  in  dia- 
meter, and  fifteen  metres  in  depth.  Its  crystalline  lens  is 
formed  of  an  immense  piece  of  glass,  and  its  retina  of  a 
highly  sensitive  chemical  plate.  The  eye  of  a giant,  in 
verity,  as  the  man  possessing  it  should  measure  in  our 
organic  proportions  100  metres  in  height,  and  he  would 
not  be  able  to  pass  under  the  EiffelTower  without  humbly 
bending.  A gigantic  eye,  possessing  four  marked  advan- 
ages  over  ours  : It  sees  (/nicker,  farther,  longer,  and,  pre- 
cious faculty,  it  fixes,  prints,  and  preserves  what  it  sees. 

Quicker:  In  the  millionth  of  a second  it  photographs 
the  sun,  its  spots,  its  vortices,  its  flames,  its  mountains  of 
tire,  and  gives  them  to  us  in  the  form  of  an  imperishable 
document.  Farther:  Directed  toward  any  point  of  the 
heavens,  in  the  darkest  night  it  discovers  in  the  abysses  of 
the  infinite,  stars,  worlds,  universes,  creations  which  our 
eye  could  never  see  with  the  aid  of  the  best  telescope. 
Longer  : That  which  we  have  not  been  .able  to  see  after  a 
few  seconds’  attention,  we  shall  never  see.  This  eye  only 
has  to  look  long  enough  : at  the  end  of  a half  hour  it  will 
distinguish  what  it  did  not  see  ; at  the  end  of  an  hour  it  will 
see  still  better,  and  the  longer  it  remains  fixed  upon  un- 
known space,  the  better  it  will  possess  it — without  fatigue, 
and  always  better ; and  it  preserves  on  the  plate  . serving 
as  its  retina  all  that  it  has  seen  : our  eye  retains  images 
but  a moment. 

Let  us  suppose,  for  example,  that  a man  is  killed  at  a 
moment  when  quietly  seated  in  his  arm-chair,  and  having 
his  eyes  open  before  a brilliantly-lighted  window,  and  that 
his  eyes  should  be  removed  and  immersed  in  a solution  of 
alum.  These  eyes  would  preserve  the  image  of  the 
window,  with  its  transversal  bars  and  its  illuminated 
openings.  But  in  the  normal  condition  of  things,  our  eyes 
do  not  retain  images — there  would  be  too  many.  The 
giant  eye  of  which  we  speak  retains  all  that  it  has  seen  : 
we  have  only  to  change  the  retina. 

This  new  eye  is  the  photographic  eye.  The  principal 
astronomers  of  the  world  have  just  met  at  the  Paris  Obser- 
vatory in  order  to  decide  on  its  immediate  application  to  a 
new  and  complete  study  of  the  starry  heavens.  Magni- 
ficent specimens  of  photographs  of  the  moon,  the  sun, 
the  stars,  the  nebulae,  and  even  of  the  planets,  were  pre- 
sented to  the  congress,  and  showed  what  may  be  ex- 
pected from  the  new  processes.  Some  photographs 
among  them  show  us  the  lunar  mountains  and  craters, 
such  as  they  would  be  seen  at  a distance  of  forty  leagues. 

Yes,  this  artificial  retina  sees  quicker  and  better,  and 
by  an  absolutely  different  faculty  it  can  penetrate  into 
abysses  into  which  we  cannot  see,  and  will  never  be 
able  to  see  anything.  We  have  here,  perhaps,  its  most 
extraordinary  feature. 

Let  us  place  our  eye,  for  example,  to  the  eye-piece  of 
a telescope  whose  objective  has  an  opening  of  thirty 
centimetres — these  are  the  best  instruments  now  in  prac- 
;cal  use  in  observatories.  In  this  telescope  of  thirty 


centimetres  in  diameter  and  of  three  and  a half  metres  in 
length,  we  discover  stars  up  to  the  fourteenth  magnitude — 
that  is  to  say,  about  44,000,000  of  worlds  of  all  kinds. 
Now,  instead  of  our  eye,  let  us  use  the  photographic  retina. 
Instantly  the  most  brilliant  stars  will  imprint  their  image 
on  the  plate.  Five-thousandths  of  a second  suffice  for 
stars  of  the  first  magnitude,  one-hundredth  of  a second 
for  stars  of  the  second  magnitude,  three-hundredths  of  a 
second  for  those  of  the  third,  one-tenth  of  a second  for 
those  of  the  fourth  order,  two-tenths  for  those  of  the 
fifth  order,  and  five-tenths  of  a second  for  stars  of  the 
sixth  magnitude.  Thus,  in  less  than  one  second,  the  pho- 
tographic eye  has  seen  all  that  we  can  perceive  with  the 
naked  eye.  But  this  is  yet  nothing.  The  telescopic  stars 
visible  in  the  instrument  will  also  imprint  their  image  on 
the  plate.  Those  of  the  seventh  magnitude  require  one 
and  one-third  second,  those  of  the  eighth  magnitude  three 
seconds,  those  of  the  ninth  magnitude  eight  seconds,  those 
of  the  tenth  twenty  seconds,  those  of  the  eleventh  magni- 
tude fifty  seconds,  those  of  the  twelfth  require  two 
minutes,  those  of  the  thirteenth  five  minutes,  and,  finally, 
those  of  the  fourteenth,  thirteen  minutes.  It  follows  that, 
if  we  have  given  our  plate  an  exposure  of  one-quarter 
of  an  hour,  we  will  find  imprinted  on  this  plate  all  that 
portion  of  the  heavens  towards  which  the  glass  had  been 
directed,  and  all  that  that  region  possesses — all  that  which 
with  infinite  trouble  we  might  have  been  able  to  discover, 
to  measure  by  a series  of  laborious  and  very  lengthy  ob- 
servations. A sufficient  number  of  instruments  pointed 
so  as  to  embrace  the  whole  of  the  heavens  will  fix  on 
an  immense  chart  all  that  astronomical  observations  can 
study,  and  which  could  only  have  been  obtained  after  a 
lapse  of  several  centuries. 

But  here  is  only  the  commencement  of  the  marvellous. 
Let  us  allow  the  photographic  eye  to  look  instead  of  our 
own ; it  will  penetrate  into  the  unknown.  Stars  invisible 
to  us  become  visible  to  it.  At  the  end  of  an  exposure 
of  thirty-three  minutes,  the  stars  of  the  fifteenth  magni- 
tude will  have  impressed  the  chemical  retina  and  formed 
their  image.  The  same  instrument  which  shows  to  the 
human  eye  stars  of  the  fourteenth  magnitude,  and  which 
in  the  entire  heavens  would  register  about  44,000,000  of 
stars,  shows  to  the  photographic  eye  134,000,000  at  the 
first  requisition  for  obtaining  the  fifteenth  magnitude.  It 
would  reach  the  sixteenth  at  the  second  requisition,  in  an 
exposure  of  one  hour  and  twenty  minutes,  and  throw  be- 
fore the  astonished  gaze  of  the  beholder  a luminous  dust 
of  four  hundred  millions  of  stars. 

Never  before,  in  all  the  history  of  humanity,  has  man 
possessed  the  power  of  penetrating  so  profoundly  into  the 
depths  of  the  infinite.  With  the  new  improvements, 
photography  gives  us  clearly  the  image  of  each  star,  what- 
ever its  distance,  and  fixes  it  on  a document  where  it  may 
afterwards  be  studied  at  leisure.  Who  knows,  if  at  some 
future  day,  in  the  photographic  views  of  Venus  or  of  Mars, 
a new  method  of  analysis  will  not  enable  us  to  discover 
the  inhabitants ! — and  its  power  extends  as  far  as  the  in- 
finite. Ilereisa  star  of  the  fifteenth,  sixteenth,  seventeenth 
magnitude,  a sun  like  our  own,  at  such  a distance  from  us 
that  its  light  requires  thousands,  perhaps  millions,  of  years 
to  reach  us,  notwithstanding  its  prodigious  velocity  of 
300,000  kilometres  in  a second  ; and  this  sun  lies  at  such  a 
depth  that  its  light,  so  to  speak,  no  longer  reaches  us. 
The  natural  eye  of  man  would  never  have  seen  it,  the 
hnman  mind  would  never  have  guessed  its  existence  with 
the  instruments  of  modern  optics ; and  yet  this  feeble  fight, 


130 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  14,  1890. 


coming  from  so  far,  is  sufficient  to  impress  a chemical 
plate,  which  will  indelibly  preserve  itsimage.  And  this  star 
might  be  of  the  eighteenth,  of  the  twentieth  order,  and 
still  smaller,  so  small  that  never  human  eyes,  assisted  even 
by  telescopes  of  the  highest  power,  will  see  it — for  there 
will  always  be  stars  beyond  our  vision  ; and,  nevertheless, 
with  its  little  ethereal  arrow  it  will  reach  the  chemical  plate 
exposed  to  await  its  coming  and  to  receive  it.  Yes,  its 
light  will  have  travelled  for  millions  of  miles.  When  it 
started  the  earth  did  not  exist — the  present  world  with  its 
inhabitants ; there  was  not  a thinking  being  on  our  planet ; 
the  geuesis  of  our  world  was  about  being  developed ; per- 
haps only  in  the  primordial  seas  which  enveloped  the  globe 
before  the  upheaval  of  the  first  continents.  The  elemen- 
tary primitive  organisms  were  being  formed  in  the  bosom 
of  the  waters,  slowly  preparing  the  evolution  of  future  ages. 
This  photographic  plate  sends  us  back  to  the  past  history 
of  the  universe. 

During  the  ethereal  voyage  of  this  luminous  ray,  which 
to-day  reaches  this  plate,  the  entire  history  of  the  world 
was  accomplished,  and  in  this  history  that  of  humanity  is 
but  a ripple — but  a moment.  And  during  this  time  the 
history  of  this  distant  sun,  whose  photograph  we  now  see, 
may  also  have  been  accomplished  ; perhaps  it  has  long  been 
extinguished,  perhaps  it  no  longer  exists ! 

This  new  eye  that  carries  us  through  the  infinite  causes 
us  at  the  same  time  to  ascend  the  stages  of  a past  eternity. 

Eternity!  The  Infinite!  Contemporaneous  astronomy 
plunges  us  into  their  depth  and  overwhelms  us.  IIow  can 
we  measure  them  V Flying  with  the  quickness  of  the 
lightning,  it  would  require  millions  of  years  to  reach  the 
regions  in  which  these  distant  universes  shine  ; but  carried 
thither,  we  would  not  really  have  advanced  a single  step 
toward  the  limits  of  space — as  space  is  without  boundaries, 
the  infinite  without  measures ; and  everywhere,  in  all 
directions,  there  are  so  many  worlds,  so  many  consecutive 
suns,  that  if  we  were  to  give  the  photographic  plate  the 
sufficient  exposure,  it  would  be  covered  with  contiguous 
luminous  points,  so  close  as  to  only  show  one  heaven  of 
dazzling  light ; as  everywhere,  to  whatever  point  we  may 
direct  the  visual  ray,  there  is  an  infinity  of  suns  back  of 
each  other. 

And  we  live  on  one  of  these  worlds,  on  one  of  the  most 
insignificant,  at  some  point  of  the  limitless  immensity,  re- 
ceiving the  light  from  one  of  these  innumerable  suns,  in  a 
limited  horizon,  a veritable  cocoon  of  the  silk-worm,  igno- 
rant of  all  the  causes ; ephemeral  of  a moment,  imbued 
with  an  illusory  view  of  the  world,  hardly  seeing  anything 
insignificant  enough  to  imagine  that  we  know  something, 
even  flattering  ourselves  with  a sanctimonious  sentiment  of 
pride  to  be  able  to  dominate  nature  ; proud  of  an  illu- 
sion mistaken  for  reality,  we  solve  all  questions.  We  call 
ourselves  materialists  without  knowing  one  word  of  the 
essence  of  matter  ; spiritualists,  without  knowing  a word 
of  the  nature  of  the  spirit ; but  at  the  bottom  of  all  think- 
ing beings  scepticism  resides,  because  we  are  incapable  of 
appreciating  anything.  Our  lost  little  planet  is  still  too 
vast  for  our  conception,  as  we  have  invented  local 
patriotism  and  the  whole  organisation  of  the  divers  social 
groups  which  divide  the  world  between  them  is  founded 
on  the  force  of  arms.  Ah ! the  astronomer  would  wish 
that  tlie  leaders  of  the  people,  the  legislators,  the  politi- 
cians, had  the  faculty  to  look  at  a celestial  chart  and  to 
understand  it.  i'hiscahn  contemplation  might  perhaps  be 
more  useful  to  humanity  than  all  the  congresses  of  sove- 
reigns, and  all  the  speeches  of  diplomacy.  If  it  were 


known  how  small  the  earth  is,  perhaps  man  would  cease 
cutting  it  to  pieces.  Peace  would  reign  over  the  world, 
social  wealth  would  take  the  place  of  the  ruinousand  shame- 
ful military  craze,  political  divisions  would  be  obliterated, 
and  then  only  would  men  freely  rise  to  the  study  of  the 
universe,  to  the  knowledge  of  nature,  and  enjoy  the  plea- 
sures of  an  intellectual  life.  But  we  have  not  yet  reached 
this  point,  and  the  photographic  eye  will  reveal  many 
celestial  mysteries  before  the  human  eye  sees  reason  and 
science  establish  their  reign  on  our  revolving  ball. — Paris 
Figaro. 

A WIFE’S  VIEW  OF  AMATEUR  PHOTOGRAPHY. 
Gentlemen’, — A letter  from  you  addressed  to  my  husband 
lias  come  to  hand.  You  ask  him  to  write  you  an  article 
for  your  photographic  annual  that  is  to  be  published  next 
year,  and  you  put  in  some  taffy  about  his  being  a well- 
known  amateur,  and  some  stuff  about  what  he  writes 
being  of  interest,  and  that  sort  of  thing.  My  husband  is 
now  on  a photographic  tour,  as  he  calls  it,  and,  of  course, 
I open  all  his  letters,  It  is  not  likely  that  my  husband 
will  be  back  in  time  to  write  the  article  you  wish.  When 
he  goes  off  until  that  confounded  camera  of  his  you  never 
know  when  he  will  come  home.  So  1 am  very  pleased  to 
give  you  a woman’s  view  of  amateur  photography,  and  if 
you  print  it  in  your  annual  I think  you  will  not  have 
another  article  just  like  it. 

My  unfortunate  husband  was  stricken  with  the  amateur 
photographic  plague  about  three  years  ago.  Up  to  that 
time  1 always  considered  him  reasonably  sane.  I made 
no  objection  at  the  time  to  his  joining  the  army  of  pho- 
tographic cranks,  because,  you  see,  I knew  nothing  of 
the  subject.  I have  done  everything  I could  since  that 
time,  but,  although  lie  has  quit  smoking  at  my  request,  he 
refuses  to  give  up  the  camera  habit.  At  the  time  he 
began  this  so-called  recreation  my  house,  or  perhaps  I 
should  say  our  house,  was  one  of  the  neatert  in  the 
neighbourhood.  You  ought  to  go  through  it  now.  My 
carpets  have  been  ruined  with  those  abominable  chemicals 
which  he  uses.  I don’t  pretend  to  know  their  names,  but 
I know  well  the  effect  they  have.  Then  the  bath  room  is 
something  frightful  to  behold.  He  uses  that  for  what  he 
calls  his  dark-room,  and  has  contrivances  for  shutting 
out  the  light. 

I notice  that,  in  one  of  the  books  you  sent  him, 
Daguerre  was  the  inventor  of  photography.  He  may  have 
been  the  inventor  of  photography,  but  I think  it  was 
another  sulphurous  gentleman  with  the  same  initial  who 
was  the  inventor  of  amateur  photography. 

My  husband  was  reasonably  good  tempered  until  he 
took  up  your  diabolical  art.  I one  time  opened  the  door 
of  the  room  in  which  he  was  working.  It  was  all  dark 
inside  except  a fearful  red  lamp,  which  threw  a ruddy 
glow  on  his  face,  and  made  him  look  as  if  he  were  going 
to  have  an  epileptic  fit.  The  moment  I opened  the  door 
and  let  some  light  into  the  room  that  man  went  perfectly 
crazy,  lie  claimed  1 had  spoiled  a dozen  of  his  plates, 
although  1 had  touched  nothing,  and  I came  near  suing 
for  a divorce  because  of  his  awful  remarks.  If  the  evil 
one  was  not  the  inventor  of  amateur  photography  then  I 
would  like  to  know  who  was.  Then  the  pictures  he  does 
turn  out  when  he  gets  them  finished  are  perfectly  awful. 
He  has  tried  at  different  times  to  photograph  the  children, 
but  the  poor  little  dears  looked  like  wooden  images  in  the 
pictures.  I went  into  the  bath-room  once  with  the  baby 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


131 


February  14,  1390.] 


and  put  him  in  the  bath  tub.  There  was  some  water  there 
already,  and  it  looked  clear  enough,  but  in  it  was  some 
horrible  solution  of  silver,  that  turned  most  of  the  baby 
jet  black,  and  we  haven’t  been  able  to  get  out  the  colour 

to  this  day. 

Then  the  cost  of  the  thing  is  something  frightful, 
although  my  husband  carefully  conceals  what  he  spends  on 
it.  I came  across  one  of  the  photographic  dealer's  bills 
the  other  day,  and  it  was  enough  to  make  one’s  hair 
stand  on  end.  Pyrogallic  acid,  whatever  that  is,  was 
lifty  cents  an  ounce. 

Just  think,  if  I had  to  pay  that  price  for  sugar!  Eight 
dollars  a pound  instead  of  ten  cents. 

Fifty  cents  an  ounce ! And  that  wasn’t  the  worst  of  it. 
Now  what  do  you  think  chloride  of  gold  costs  V For 
fifteen  grains  he  is  charged  fifty  cents.  Now  that,  as  you 
know  well  enough,  is  very  near  twenty  dollars  an  ounce,  and 
twenty  dollars  an  ounce  is  over  three  hundred  dollars  a 
pound  ! I don’t  know  how  many  pounds  of  the  wretched 
stuff  he  uses  every  week,  but  if  lie  uses  ten  pounds  of  it,  and 
I am  sure  ten  pounds  of  sugar  don’t  go  very  far  in  a house 
with  a large  family  like  ours,  you  would  see  that  that  is 
3,000  dols.  for  that  one  thing  alone,  not  to  mention  the 
dozens  of  other  chemicals  he  uses,  and  1 am  sure  1 don’t 
know  what  the  price  of  them  is. 

I tell  you  that  amateur  photography  was  invented  to 
drive  a poor  woman  crazy  who  has  a husband  that  is  a 
victim  of  the  villainous  practice.  No  wonder  he  says  lie 
can’t  afford  a new  dress  for  me  when  I ask  him  for  it.  The 
house  is  stained  with  horrible  solutions  from  cellar  to 
garret,  and  I am  always  afraid  to  use  any  cups  or  glasses 
for  fear  there  is  some  dreadful  poison  in  them.  The  cat 
took  some  milk  out  of  a saucer  that  had  something  or 
other  of  potassium  in  it,  and  it  just  curled  up  and 
died. 

1 m always  afraid  to  sweep  in  any  part  of  the  house  for 
fear  it  will  raise  a dust  that  will  spoil  something  that  he 
has  tacked  up  on  a board  to  dry.  I wouldn’t  mind  all  this 
so  much  if  he  ever  took  a picture  that  was  worth  looking 
at ; but,  as  I said  before,  he  never  does.  There,  now, 
print  that  in  your  miserable  photograph  book  if  you  want 
to-  Mrs.  .John  Tripod. 

N.B. — If  you  ever  write  to  my  husband  again  telling 
him  that  his  articles  on  photography  will  be  appreciated,  I 
will  burn  your  letter,  and  you  will  lose  your  postage 
stamp.  So  just  remember  that. — Mrs.  J.  T. — Detroit  Free 
Press. 


THE  NEW  PHOTOGRAPHIC  DEVELOPERS. 

BY  PROF.  CHARLES  F.  HIMES. 

For  bromide  paper,  according  to  General  Brown,  eikonogen 
is  undoubtedly  the  developer  of  the  future,  affording 
warmer  tones  than  the  oxalate,  and  beautifully  clear  whites, 
without  acid  flushing,  with  simple  rinsing  with  water  before 
fixing.  A\  ldlst  the  appearance  of  the  picture  is  slow, 
especially  as  a used  developer,  preferably  twenty-four 
hours  old,  is  preferred,  the  development  is  regular  and 
uniform  to  every  detail,  without  risk  of  staining ; and  the 
same  solution  can  be  used  for  a number  of  prints.  It  is 
said  to  be  unaffected  in  its  action  by  variation  in  tempera- 
ture, and  therefore  adapted  to  all  climates.  It  is  non- 
poisonous,  docs  not  stain  the  fingers,  will  keep  over  a 
month  mixed,  acts  so  energetically  that  only  half  the  ex- 
posure is  required  as  that  with  pyrogallol,  and  development 


occupies  a much  shorter  time.  The  solution  can  be  us)d 
over  and  over  again  without  staining  until  its  reducing 
power  is  exhausted.  It  is,  on  the  other  hand,  especially 
adapted  to  development  of  over-exposures.  With  all  its 
excellences  it  is  a cheap  developer,  and  will  keep  indefinitely 
as  a dry  powder.  Its  slight  solubility,  however,  will 
prevent  its  use  in  concentrated  stock  solutions,  as  pyro- 
gallol. 

The  commercial  article  is  accompanied  by  formula  for 
its  use,  and  the  recommendation  by  some  to  reduce  the 
strength  of  these  does  not  seem  to  be  approved  by  the 
most  successful  experimenters  with  it.  The  following 
formula  by  General  Brown,  for  a normal  developer, 
will  serve  to  indicate  the  general  character  of  solutions 
used : — 


No.  1. — Sodium  sulphite 
Eikonogen  . . . 
Water 


1 5 grains 

n „ 

1 ounce 


No.  2. — Carbonate  of  potassium 
Water 


80  grains 
1 ounce 


For  use,  mix  three  pai-ts  of  1,  one-half  to  one  part  of  2. 
according  to  exposure. 

Pi/rocatcchin. — Orthodihydroxybenzol,  an  isomer  of 
hydroquinone,  with  the  formula  C#IIj(OH)2  is  at  present 
a subject  of  careful  investigation  as  a developing  agent 
for  dry  plates.  The  results  thus  far  are  quite  promising. 
Its  use  as  a photographic  developer  was  suggested  as  early 
as  1859  by  Wagner.  Eder  and  Toth  announced  its  deve- 
loping power  in  alkaline  solution  in  1880.  Prof.  Benoist, 
of  Toulouse,  last  year  published  results  of  considerable 
experience  with  it.  Dr.  Arnold  pronounces  it  fifteen  times 
as  energetic  as  hydroquinone,  and  enumerates  among  its 
chief  excellences  the  excellent  tone  and  good  qualities  of 
the  negatives  produced  by  it,  the  absence  of  fog,  loss 
of  sensitiveness  to  light  of  the  plates  after  immersion 
in  the  developer,  so  that  development  may  be  con- 
tinued, after  immersion,  in  ordinary  gaslight,  or  even  in 
diffused  daylight  without  injury  ; great  latitude  of  expo- 
sure, as  development  proceeds  slowly,  but  uniformly; 
freedom  from  stain  to  the  hands ; simplicity  of  formula) 
for  solutions,  and  possibility,  on  account  of  its  solubility, 
of  preparing  concentrated  stock  solutions  which  will 
keep  well  if  the  pyrocatechin  is  chemically  pure,  and 
which  can  be  used  by  the  drop  ; convenience  in  carrying 
the  small  quantities  of  ingredients  required  for  develop- 
ment ; development  without  motion ; and  withal,  on 
account  of  its  high  reducing  power,  the  expense,  .at 
twenty-five  cents  per  gramme,  is  not  exorbitant,  as  that 
quantity  will  develop  100  to  150  plates  13  by  18  cm.  lie 
employs  the  following  stock  solutions : a,  one  per  cent, 
solution  of  pyrocatechin ; b,  twrenty  per  cent,  solution  of 
potassium  carbonate.  Sodium  carbonate  he  does  not 
find  to  answrer  as  well.  For  development  of  a well- 
exposed  plate,  7 by  9 inches,  one  cc.  of  a and  five  to  ten 
cc.  of  b are  mixed  with  sixty  to  eighty  cc.  of  water. 
Sulphite  of  soda  does  not  seem  necessary  or  desirable. 
The  mixed  developer  will  not  keep,  and  should  be  used 
only  once.  Carl  Srna,  employing  it  with  carbonate  of 
soda  and  sodium  sulphite,  as  in  Balaguy’s  formula  for 
hydroquinone,  found  it  more  energetic  than  the  latter, 
whilst  others  have  found  it  less  so.  Dr.  Eder,  in  his  more 
recent  experiments,  was  particular  to  employ  it  in  its 
purest  form,  as  was  Dr.  Arnold,  and  found  it  a rapid, 
energetic  developer,  yielding  coffee-brown  negatives 


132 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  14,  1890. 


of  good  quality.  lie  employed  the  following  solu- 
tions : — 


A.  — Pyrocatechin 

Sulphite  of  soda 
Water 

B.  — Carbonate  of  potash 

Water 


1 part 
4 parts 


..  40 


mixing  for  use  one  volume  of  .1  with  two  of  B.  The  sul- 
phite of  soda  is  not  absolutely  necessary,  but  with  it  the 
solution  will  keep  clear  much  longer. 

Paraphenylendiamin — C6H.|(IINS)  has  been  found  by  Dr. 
Edcr  to  act  well  as  a developer  for  dry  plates,  having 
about  the  same  energy  as  pyrogallol  or  hydroquinone. 
As  far  as  experiments  have  been  conducted,  the  develop- 
ment with  it  is  regular,  and  negatives  produced  are 
delicate  and  soft.  It  was  used  with  potash,  without  sul- 
phite, which  retards  the  development  greatly,  but  pre- 
vents the  solution  from  becoming  coloured. — Franklin 
Institute  Journal. 


THE  DINNER  OF  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY. 
Last  Monday  night  the  annual  dinner  of  the  Photographic 
Society  took  place  at  the  Cafe  Royal,  London,  under  the  chair- 
manship of  Mr.  James  Glaisher,  F.R.S.,  President.  There 
was  a large  attendance. 

Mr.  W.  S.  Bird,  Treasurer,  proposed  success,  and  pros- 
perity, and  usefulness  to  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great 
Britain,  coupled  with  the  name  of  Mr.  Glaisher.  He  spoke  of 
the  high  influence  of  its  Journal  in  times  past,  until  affected 
by  the  advent  of  weekly  newspapers,  and  how  great  improve- 
ments had  been  made  in  its  last  two  numbers  by  the  Honorary 
Secretary.  The  last  exhibition  of  the  Society  he  considered 
to  be,  perhaps,  the  best  ever  held  in  this  country.  Their 
President  was  more  than  fourscore  years  of  age,  and  gave  to 
his  duties  in  the  Society,  as  to  everything  else  he  undertook, 
his  best  work. 

The  President  felt  honoured  by  the  trust  reposed  in  him  ; 
he  had  tried  to  be  faithful  in  his  work,  and  to  hold  the  scales 
of  justice  evenly.  He  wished  to  see  the  Society  placed  in  a firm 
permanent  position,  and  hoped  that  it  would  be  one  day  known  as 
the  Royal  Photographic  Society ; he  also  expected  that  before 
long  it  would  have  a good  library. 

Mr.  Sebastian  Davis  stated  that  there  are  now  about  400 
photographic  societies  in  different  parts  of  the  world.  He 
sjKike  highly  of  Rejlander,  and  the  way  in  which  he  had  pro- 
moted the  artistic  side  of  photography,  and  proposed  pros- 
perity to  the  photographic  societies  throughout  the  world, 
coupled  with  the  name  of  Mr.  George  Davison,  of  the  Camera 
Club. 

The  President  thought  that  every  society  in  this  country 
should  be  connected  with  the  Photographic  Society  ■;  the  parent 
society  was  proud  of  its  children. 

Mr.  G.  Davison  said  that  the  photographic  societies  of  the 
country  looked  to  the  Photographic  Society  to  keep  photography 
up  to  the  highest  standard  from  a scientific  point  of  view.  It 
was  also  desirable  that  photography  should  have  high 
standards  from  a tiue-ai  t point  of  view.  He  returned  thanks 
on  behalf  of  the  photographic  societies,  and  of  himself  indi- 
vidually. 

The  President  then  proposed  the  toast  of  the  photographic 
press,  coupled  with  the  name  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Harrison,  who  had 
been  known  to  him  at  the  British  Association  meetings  years 
before  his  reappearance  in  photographic  circles. 

Mr.  ".  H.  Harrison  resi>onded,  and  in  the  course  of  his 
remarks  said  that  he  ventured  to  suggest  that  the  photo- 
giaphic  societies  of  this  country  should  enter  into  closer 
lelationship  with  foreign  societies,  and  not,  as  was  sometimes 
the  case,  act  as  if  the  latter  had  no  existence. 

Di.  ( Harters  f\  HITE  responded  to  the  toast  of  the  ladies, 
and  narrated  some  mistakes  made  by  girls  at  Board  School 
examinations.  One  girl  said  that  some  food  was  flesh-lormiug, 


and  other  food  bone-formiug  ; if  they  ate  tog  much  of  the 
latter  they  would  grow  too  many  bones,  and  would  look 
funny. 

Mr.  \Y.  S.  Bird  spoke  of  the  admirable  photographic  work 
done  by  Mbs.  Cameron  and  other  ladies. 

Songs,  recitations,  and  music  were  given  by  Miss  l’riesc 
Greene,  and  Messrs.  Wilson,  Brain,  Braharn,  Lowe,  Protheroe, 
and  Cowan  (senr.  and  junr. ). 

Mr.  Glaisher  had  to  leave  somewhat  early,  after  which 
Mr.  Bird  and  Mr.  W.  England  presided  in  turn. 

(tfonespontrenre. 


GAS  CYLINDERS. 

Sir, — A good  deal  of  unnecessary  alarm  has  been  caused  by 
the  lamentable  accident  which  occurred  rather  more  than  a 
week  ago  at  Glasgow  through  the  bursting  of  a cylinder. 
There  is  no  occasion  either  for  alarm  or  surprise  when  the 
facts  of  the  case  are  known.  If  we  hear  of  a man  who  deli- 
berately throws  a lighted  match  into  a barrel  of  gunpowder, 
we  are  neither  alarmed  nor  surprised  at  the  results.  This  is 
exactly  what  has  occurred  at  Glasgow  ; the  unfortunate  man 
who  lost  his  life  charged  hydrogen  into  a black  cylinder — in 
direct  contravention  of  the  Company’s  rules — and  afterwards, 
forgetting  that  he  had  done  so,-  put  oxygen  into  the  same 
vessel  ; the  result  was  an  explosion,  which  took  place  at  the 
first  slight  concussion  which  the  cylinder  received.  A piece  of 
the  cylinder  which  was  picked  up  four  yards  from  where  the 
accident  occurred  was  quite  hot,  showing  conclusively  that 
ignition  had  taken  place,  and  there  could  have  been  no  sponta- 
neous ignition  if  the  two  gases  had  not  been  present. 

Every  precaution  is  taken  by  the  Companies  to  prevent  the 
possibility  of  O and  H getting  mixed  ; under  no  circumstances 
will  they  fill  hydrogen  or  coal  gas  into  black  cylinders,  or  oxygen 
into  a red  one  ; neither  will  they  put  the  one  gas  into  a cylinder 
which  they  even  suspect  has  ever  contained  the  other. 

With  a view,  however,  of  making  it  absolutely  impossible  for 
two  gases  to  be  put  into  the  same  cylinder,  it  has  been  decided 
by  this  Company,  and  also  by  the  Scotch  and  Irish  Oxygen  Co., 
and  the  Manchester  Oxygen  Co.,  to  fit  all  hydrogen  cylinders 
with  a left-hand  thread,  so  that  they  cannot  be  filled  at  the 
oxygen  pump,  and,  in  the  same  way,  it  will  be  impossible  to  fill 
oxygen  cylinders  at  the  hydrogen  pump.  All  consumers  arc 
earnestly  requested  to  send  their  hydrogen  cylinders  either  to 
the  Companies,  or  to  the  agents  through  whom  they  obtain  their 
supplies  of  gas,  to  have  the  alteration  made,  and  the  smallest 
possible  charge  will  be  made  for  taking  off  the  present  valves 
and  fitting  on  new  ones.  After  a certain  limit  of  time,  of 
which  notice  will  be  given,  no  hydrogen  or  coal  gas  cylinders  not 
provided  with  the  new  thread  will  be  filled. 

In  some  quarters  the  fear  has  been  expressed  that  the  acci- 
dent at  Glasgow  occurred  through  over-pressure.  Any  such 
apprehension  may  be  immediately  dismissed  from  the  mind  ; 
explosion  from  such  a cause  is  impossible.  The  cylinders  are 
tested  to  double  the  pressure  at  which  they  are  ever  filled,  and 
it  is  impossible  to  exceed  the  standard  filling  pressure  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  atmospheres.  They  are  also  re-tested 
periodically.  For  years  past  the  Government  have  been  using 
high-pressure  cylinders  for  ballooning  purposes  similar  to  those 
in  use  at  present  ; they  had  them  in  the  Egyptian  and  Boer 
campaigns,  and  they  have  frequently  been  rolled  from  the  top 
of  a hill  to  the  bottom,  bounding  from  point  to  point,  and  in  no 
single  instance  has  an  accident  occurred,  or  a cylinder  burst. 

In  conclusion,  I would  remind  you  of  the  fact  that  since 
oxygen  and  hydrogen  have  been  supplied  in  high-pressure  cylin- 
ders— now  some  three  or  four  years — only  two  accidents  have 
occurred,  and  these  at  the  Works  ; whereas  when  bags  were  in 
vogue,  accidents,  in  many  cases  fatal,  frequently  took  place. 
Only  last  week  in  America,  a lecturer  on  chemistry  and  ten  or 
twelve  of  his  pupils  were  seriously  injured  by  the  bursting  of  a 
retort  in  which  oxygen  was  being  made  by  the  old-fashioned 
chlorate  of  potash  process. 

T.  N.  Hester,  Secretary  to  Brin's  Oxygen  Co.,  Ltd. 

Connaught  Mansions,  Victoria  Strut,  Westminster,  Feb.  7th. 


February  14,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPH fC  NEWS. 


133 


PHOTOGRAPHY  AND  FIRE  INSURANCE. 

Sir, — 't  may  interest  you  to  know  we  have  just  had  our 
insurance  premium  reduced  10  per  cent,  by  pointing  out  to 
our  Insurance  Company  that  no  collodion  or  other  such  inflam- 
mables are  stored  on  the  premises.  Norman  May  & Co. 

12  <(■  13,  Church  Street,  Malvern,  and  at  Cheltenham,  Feb.  8th. 


PHOTOGRAVURE. 

Sin, — Referring  to  Dr.  Gunther  on  photogravure,  page  99 
of  the  Photographic  News  this  week,  can  )ou  tell  me  at  what 
part  of  the  preparation  of  the  secoml  stone  is  the  asphalt 
applied  ? There  is  no  mention  of  its  application  to  the  second 
stone,  but  yet  it  says  at  the  end  of  the  article,  clean  it  off  with 
turps.  If  you  can  give  me  any  information  on  this  point  I. shall 
feel  obliged,  as  I intend  trying  the  process  to  the  end.  I 
thoroughly  understand  a great  deal  of  it  already,  but  cannot 
see  where  the  asplialtum  is  applied  to  the  second  stone.  If  suc- 
cessful, it  must  be  a very  good  process.  E.  Frewing. 

26,  Eden  Street,  Kingston-on-Thames,  Feb.  7th. 


patent  £ntdltgcna\ 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

1,854.  H.  L.  Young,  St.  John’s  Vicarage,  Portsea,  “Combina- 
tion Hand  Camera.” — Februaiy  4th. 

1,857.  J.  V.  Hidden,  Storrington,  I’ulborough,  Sussex,  “ Ex- 
hibiting Photographic  Transparencies  in  an  Ordinary  Lamp- 
Shade.” — February  4th. 

1,938.  F.  Kitto,  18,  Fulham  Place,  Paddington,  London, 
“ Apparatus  for  Exhibiting  Photographs.” — February  5th. 
1,950.  J.  Swift,  81,  Tottenham  Court  Road,  London,  “Iris 
Diaphragm.” — February  5th. 

1,956.  E.  and  C.  Ireland,  8,  Quality  Court,  London,  “ Pro- 
ducing Coloured  Photographs.” — Februaiy  5th. 

1,998.  G.  W.  Secretan,  22,  Southampton  Buildings,  London, 
“ Producing  Magic  Photographs.” — February  6th. 

2,034.  A.  G.  Rider,  323,  High  Holborn,  London,  “ Walking- 
Stick  Tripods.” — Februaiy  7th. 

2,039.  A.  F.  Bannister,  67,  St.  George’s  Avenue,  Holloway, 
London,  “ Hand  Cameras.” — February  7th. 

2.100.  T.  P.  Watson  and  W.  Moscrop,  53,  Chancery  Lane, 
London,  “Cameras.” — February  7th. 

2.101.  G.  Bishop,  F.  Bishop,  and  J.  P.  Kirk,  trading  as 
Marion  and  Co.,  53,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Reflectors 
Used  in  Photographic  Portraiture.” — February  7th. 

Specifications  Published. 

18,357. — December  15 th,  1888.  “Changing  Camera  Slides.” 
Henry  Herbert,  119,  Hartfield  Road,  Wimbledon,  Elec- 
trical and  Photographic  Instrument  Maker. 

The  object  of  this  invention  is  to  provide  means  whereby  a 
considerable  number  of  plates,  say,  for  example,  a dozen,  can  be 
carried,  exposed,  and  changed,  in  one  apparatus,  instead  of  the 
two  plates  usually  carried  in  the  ordinary  dark  back. 

In  carrying  this  invention  into  effect,  I provide  a suitable 
box  or  case  which  may  be  adapted  to  slide  in  the  back  of  the 
camera,  or  in  a separate  frame  of  its  own  which  may  be 
attachable  to  the  camera  in  the  ordinary  way,  or  may  be  used 
separately  where  required.  The  sliding  box  is  made  of  suitable 
size  and  shape,  and  contains  the  required  number  of  plates, 
whether  exposed  or  not,  and  is  preferably  provided  with  a 
closing  shutter  and  a narrow  slit  or  opening  at  the  inner  end, 
through  which  each  plate  as  it  is  required  for  use  can  pass. 
This  opening  may  be  closed  with  an  automatic  shutter,  which, 
upon  the  removal  of  the  case  from  its  frame  or  the  camera,  at 
once  closes  the  opening  and  prevents  the  entrance  of  light 
into  the  case.  In  the  back  of  the  camera  or  frame  I prefer 
to  provide  a spring-controlled  hinged  plate  or  equivalent 
device,  preferably  of  wood,  which  is  pressed  back  into  a suitable 
recess  or  reeeptable  upon  the  insertion  of  the  sliding  case,  and 
upon  the  withdrawal  of  the  case  springs  forward. 

In  using  this  apparatus,  the  sliding  case  is  first  charged  in 


the  usual  manner  with  the  sensitised  plates,  and  is  then  inserted 
into  the  frame  or  camera,  the  automatic  shutter  withdrawing 
from  the  aperture  in  the  end  of  the  case  as  it  enters.  The  case 
having  been  pressed  home,  and  it  being  desired  to  place  the 
plate  in  position  for  exposure,  the  case  is  withdrawn,  the  bottom 
plate  passing  through  the  slit  in  the  casing  and  remaining  in 
the  camera  or  frame  as  the  case  is  withdrawn.  The  spring  back 
is  locked  by  a suitable  detent,  but  when  the  sliding  case  is  with- 
drawn sufficiently  far  from  the  frame  or  camera,  the  detent  is 
automatically  released,  and  the  spring  back  then  moves  the  plate 
forward  to  its  proper  position  for  exposure,  where  it  is  held 
securely  by  the  sliding  case,  which  is  now  returned  into  the 
frame  or  camera.  After  exposure,  the  sliding  shutter  is  with- 
drawn, and  the  plate  falls  back  into  the  sliding  case  with  the 
other  plates  ; the  shutteris  then  closed  again.  To  expose  the  next 
plate  the  sliding  case  is  withdrawn  as  before,  leaving  the  next 
plate  in  the  frame  ; this  is  brought  forward  as  already  dc<- 
cribed,  and  the  sliding  case  is  again  returned,  and,  after 
exposure,  the  second  plate  is  replaced  in  the  case  by  the  with- 
drawal of  the  sliding  shutter  as  before,  and  so  on  until  all  the 
plates  have  been  exposed,  when  the  sliding  case  may  be  removed 
and  a new  one  already  charged  substituted,  or  the  sliding  case 
can  be  relieved  of  the  exposed  plates  in  the  dark  room,  re-charged 
with  fresh  plates,  and  replaced  as  before. 

In  the  frame  or  camera,  at  the  opposite  end  to  that  by  which 
the  sliding  case  enters,  I prefer  to  have  a spring  controlled, 
rising  bottom,  carrying  two  suitable  guides  so  arranged  that, 
when  the  plate  is  pushed  forward  by  the  hinged  back,  it  must 
of  necessity  come  into  the  right  position  for  exposure.  "When 
the  sliding  case  is  inserted,  it  pushes  back  the  rising  bottom. 

1,261. — Jan.  23rd,  1889.  “Photographic  Lenses.”  Hugh 

Blackwood,  Sidney  Cottage,  Beckenham,  Kent,  Gentleman. 

In  order  to  take  portraits  or  views  by  photography  in  a 
proper  and  effective  manner,  the  essential  points  to  be  attained 
are,  the  option  of  rapidity,  width  of  angle,  combined  with  flat- 
ness of  field,  clearness  of  definition,  and  depth  of  focus  (or 
field),  with  a comparatively  large  stop  (or  wide  orifice). 

It  has,  however,  hitherto  proved  exceedingly  difficult  to  satis- 
factorily attain  all  these  points  in  one  lens.  An  improvement 
has  been  effected  on  one  point,  with  a more  or  less  contrary 
effect  upon  another  point. 

Even  the  lenses  of  Dallmeyer,  Ross,  Voigtlander,  and  other 
well-known  makeis,  which  have  been  produced  with  the  object 
of  obviating  these  defects,  have  not  entirely  done  so,  but  the 
improvement  is  so  great  that  these  lenses  are  much  sought 
after,  notwithstanding  the  great  cost  of  the  same  ; and  at  this 
very  heavy  expense  (with  added  weight  when  travelling)  dif- 
ferent lenses  have  to  be  used,  and  have  hitherto  had  to  be  pur- 
chased separately  from  these  makers,  for  the  various  subjects 
to  be  photographed  ; thus,  for  instantaneous  and  general  out- 
door work,  a comparatively  narrow’  angle  lens  is  used,  wffiilst 
for  indoor  work  and  confined  situations  a wide  angle  lens  is 
required,  and  for  indoor  portraits  a portrait  lens. 

Now  the  object  of  my  invention  is  to  entirely  overcome  the 
difficulties  above  mentioned,  by  simple  means,  at  a small  cost. 

In  carrying  out  my  invention,  I employ  an  extra  lens,  which 
I place  just  in  front  of  the  rear  lens,  or  it  may  be  inserted  in 
the  stop  itself,  different  sizes  and  strengths  being  thus  optional. 

This  extra  lens,  by  preference,  consists  of  a bi-convex  and  a 
bi-concave,  which  may  be  cemented  together,  or  arranged  with 
a small  air  space  between.  I prefer  the  latter  arrangement,  as 
I can  thereby  substitute  for  one  or  both  a stronger  or  weaker 
glass  according  to  the  effect  it  is  desired  to  produce,  as  by  the 
addition  of  stronger  bi-convex  lenses,  the  focal  length  may  be 
shortened  down  to  such  an  extent  that  the  sensitised  plate 
may  almost  touch  the  lens. 

The  glasses  which  I employ  for  my  extra  lens  are  ordinary 
eye  glasses  that  can  lie  purchased  for  a small  sum  almost  any- 
where. 

The  strength  of  glass  which  I find  most  suitable  varies  from 
No.  5 to  No.  16  (French  Nos.),  according  to  the  class  of  lens 
to  lie  used  ; thus,  for  a whole  plate  rapid  rectilinear,  or  half- 
plate Lancastei  meniscus  lens,  Nos.  7 or  8 are  most  suitable, 
while,  for  a portrait  lens,  the  strength  may  vary  from  Nos.  5 
to  16,  according  to  results  required.  By  the  addition  of  my 


134 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [February  14,  18&0. 


over  them,  they  may  be  readily  counted,  and  the  aperture  thus 
ascertained  in  a dark  place. 

The  inventors  claim  : — 

1st.  In  diaphragms  or  stops  of  the  kind  described,  the 
actuating  ring  having  a strengthening  rim  or  ring  and  radial 
slots  therein,  opening  from  the  inner  circumference  of  the  ring 
or  thereabouts,  with  which  slots  engage  pins  on  the  leaves, 
members,  or  strips  of  the  diaphragm  or  stop. 

2nd.  In  diaphragms  or  stops  of  the  kind  described,  the  com- 
bination with  an  indicator  or  scale  of  a spring  engaging  with  a 
notched  ring  for  indicating  the  degree  of  aperture,  and  retaining 
the  leaves,  members,  or  strips  of  the  diaphragm  or  stop  in  their 
adjusted  position. 

3rd.  The  arrangement  and  combination  of  parts  constituting 
a lens  tube  or  mounting,  provided  with  a diaphragm  or  stop  of 
the  kind  shown  in  the  drawings  accompanjiug  the  specification. 


extra  lens,  a narrow  angle  Ross,  or  other  maker  s narrow  angle 
lens  is  converted  into  a wide  angle  ; whilst  a Dallmeyer,  or  other 
maker's  wide  angle  lens,  may  be  converted  into  a narrower 
angle  of  any  required  degree  by  substitution  of  a stronger  bi- 
concave. Also,  if  objects  at  a great  distance  are  to  be  photo- 
graphed— say  from  the  top  of  a hill — flatness  of  field  and  depth 
of  focus — with  a large  stop  or  orifice,  enabling  instantaneous 
effects— will  be  attained.  A Voigtliinder  or  other  portrait  lens 
becomes,  by  addition  of  my  lens,  applicable  for  all  known  pur- 
poses, as  the  good  qualities  previously  sacrificed,  to  get  the 
greatest  possible  rapidity,  are  regained.  Similarly,  any  ordi- 
nary lens,  with  addition  of  my  lens,  becomes  incre  vsedly  effi- 
cient for  purposes  of  enlargement. 

I also  find  that,  whilst  with  the  lenses  of  Dallmeyer,  Ross, 
Lancaster,  and  other  well-known  makers,  my  adaptation  pro- 
duces greatly  improved  results,  it  with  some  French  and  other 
lenses  acts  as  a detective,  in  case  such  glasses  are  badly  paired, 
or  the  lenses  be  of  poor  marginal  definition,  though  at  the  same 
time  it  practically  removes  this  defect,  as  it  permits  of  the  lens 
being  stopped  down  to  overcome  the  defect,  but  with  a larger 
stop  than  could  be  otherwise  used. 

I have  found  that  with  mail}'  meniscus  lenses,  by  the  mere 
addition  of  one  bi-convex  glass  of  No.  8 strength,  I obtain 
rapidity  (shortened  focal  length)  width  of  angle,  clear  definition, 
and  flatness  of  field,  but  in  most  cases  I prefer  to  use  the  com- 
pound lens. 

Similarly,  with  an  addition  of  one  No.  1 or  2 short-sight 
eye-glass  inserted  in  the  stop,  an  ordinary  | -plate  portrait  lens 
will  cover  a | or  7"  by  5"  plate  at  the  same  focal  length  (viz.,  6 4") 
as  before  with  a large  (J")  stop,  yet  with  flatness  of  field  and 
depth  of  focus,  or  a Dallmeyer  2C.  Baby  lens  will  cover  from 
a J to  a 12"  by  10"  plate,  with  a larger  orifice  than  at  present, 
and  attaining  increased  rapidity  and  brilliant  effect. 

In  all  cases  a diaphragm  will  be  placed  between  the  extra 
lens  and  the  rear  lens  in  the  combination. 

1,331. — 21</i,  January,  1889.  “ Lens  Diaphragms.”  John 

Stuart,  The  Hollies,  Clapham  Common,  Surrey,  Optician,  and 

George  Harrop,  30,  Russell  Road,  Holloway,  London, 

Engineer. 

This  invention  relates  to  the  stops  or  diaphragms  known  as 
the  “ Iris,”  and  has  for  its  objects  to  enable  the  diaphragm  or 
stop  and  its  holding  and  operating  rings  to  he  contained  entirely 
within  a lens  tube  or  mounting  of  the  usual  size,  and  also  to 
provide  means  whereby  the  operator  can  (without  necessitating 
reference  to  a scale),  with  great  facility  and  certainty,  adjust 
the  diaphragm  or  stop  definitely  to  any  set  size  of  aperture, 
without  danger  of  its  accidentally  becoming  altered.  To  effect 
this,  the  ring  to  which  one  end  of  the  component  members) 
leaves,  or  strips  are  centred  is  made  of  a size  to  fit  in  the  lens 
tube  or  mounting,  aud  the  ring  to  which  the  other  ends  of  the 
said  members,  leaves,  or  strips  are  centred  is  provided  with 
slots  extending  from  the  inner  circumference  to  near  the  outer 
circumference,  where  the  said  ring  is  strengthened  by  a supple- 
mentary ring  or  annulus,  preferably  at  right  angles  thereto. 
A stem  attached  to  this  si  >tted  ring,  or  the  supplementary  ring, 
projects  through  a slot  in  the  tube  or  mounting  for  enabling  the 
operator  to  adjust  the  aperture. 

In  a suitable  part — for  instance,  in  a ring  secured  within  the 
casing  which  contains  the  diaphragm — notches  or  recefeses  are 
made,  with  which  engages  a spring  or  catch  secured  to  any 
suitable  part — for  instance,  to  the  ring  which  is  slotted  as 
aforesaid.  The  free  end  of  the  spring  catch  that  enters  the 
recesses  or  divisions  in  the  ring  allows  the  ring  to  be  rotated  ; 
but  as  it  comes  opposite  the  notches  or  recesses,  the  operator  is 
aw  ire  that  the  diaphragm  or  stop  then  presents  a certain  known 
and  definite  aperture,  in  accord  mce  with  the  recess  or  notch 
with  which  the  catch  is  • ngaged. 

The  tube  or  mounting  of  the  lens  may  be  provided  with 
divisions  marked  so  that  the  position  of  the  stem  corresponding 
with  any  given  aperture  may  be  ascertained  by  reference  to  the 
scale  or  projections  ; recesses  or  the  like  may  be  used  instead  of 
the  scale,  or  in  addition  thereto,  so  that  by  running  the  finger 


IDrocee&mgs  of  ^octettes. 


Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 

The  annual  general  meeting  of  this  Society  was  held  on 
Tuesday  evening  last,  the  President,  Mr.  James  Glaisher, 
F.  R.  S. , in  the  chair. 

The  report  of  the  Council  was  taken  as  read,  and  Mr.  J. 
Spieler  proposed  its  adoption  ; Mr.  Scamell  seconded  this 
motion. 

Mr.  A.  Mackie  made  some  strictures  ui>on  portions  of  the 
report,  and  was  followed  by  Mr.  W.  Bedford,  who,  while  not 
altogether  approving  of  Mr.  Mackie’s  remarks,  thought  there 
was  more  that  might  have  been  done.  The  question  of  affilia- 
tion with  other  societies  had  not  been  advanced,  neither  had 
that  of  establishing  a photographic  museum. 

Mr.  S.  G.  B.  Wollaston  considered  that  the  papers  that 
had  been  presented  to  the  Society  were,  on  the  whole,  of  too 
scientific  and  abstruse  a character. 

Mr.  G.  Davison  held  the  contrary  view,  and  thought  that  the 
dignity  of  the  Society  was  best  upheld  by  papers  of  an  abstruse 
and  scientific  character.  As  to  affiliation  with  other  societies, 
directly  they  went  into  details  to  see  how  it  would  work,  they 
got  into  difficulties.  If  the  affiliated  societies  made  any  pay- 
ment, their  members  would  expect  to  enjoy  as  a right  all  the 
privileges  that  belonged  to  the  present  members,  who  each  paid 
his  subscription. 

After  a few  other  observations,  the  report  of  the  Council 
was  adopted  nem.  con. 

The  Hon.  Treasurer  then  read  his  report,  in  which  it  was 
stated  that  the  capital  of  the  Society  had  been  increased  by 
carrying  forward  a sum  of  £139.  The  profits  on  the  exhibi- 
tion had  been  £161.  The  cost  of  the  Society’s  Journal  for 
the  number  printed  was  about  7s.  a page,  and  the  last  number 
was  a very  full  one.  There  had  been  a considerable  altera- 
tion in  the  character  of  the  Journal,  and  it  was  a matter  for 
consideration  whether  steps  should  be  taken  to  secure  a con- 
tinuance of  similar  abstracts  of  the  various  photographic  sub- 
jects. Several  members  spoke  in  terms  of  high  praise  of  the 
recent  change  in  the  character  of  the  Journal,  and  hopes  were 
expressed  that  it  might  be  continued,  or  even  further  extended. 

The  adoption  of  the  Treasurer’s  report  was  proposed  by  Mr. 
Montcfiore,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Mackie,  and  was  carried  nem 
con. 

The  President  then  handed  the  progress  medal  to  the  son 
of  Capt.  Abney,  who  was  unable  to  be  present  aud  receive 
the  award  in  person. 

Mr.  Wollaston  and  Mr.  Mackie  thought  that  under  the 
new  rules,  the  Council  had  not  the  power  to  award  medals, 
and  a motion  to  this  effect  was  put  to  the  meeting,  without, 
however,  finding  more  than  two  supporters,  whilst  fifteen  voted 
against  it. 

Mr.  Warnerke  proposed  a resolution,  which  was  carried  by 
twenty  against  three,  to  the  effect  that  the  phrase  “ Manage- 
ment of  the  Society  ” occurring  in  the  rules,  included  everything 
that  assists  in  the  advancement  of  photography  and  the 
branches  of  art  connected  therewith. 


i 


February  14,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


135 


The  election  of  officers  was  then  declared  as  follows  : — Pre- 
sident— Mr.  James  Glaisher,  F.lt.S. , kc.  ; Vice-Presidents — 
Capt.  Abney,  C.B.,  Messrs.  T.  Sebastian  Davis,  H.  P.  Robinson, 
and  John  Spiller  ; Treasurer — Mr.  W.  S.  Bird;  Members  of 
Council — Messrs.  G.  L.  Addenbrooke,  \Y.  Bedford,  Valentine 
Blanchard,  Lyonel  Clark,  Francis  Cobb,  A.  Cowan,  T.  R. 
Dallmeyer,  Major  L.  Darwin,  George  Davison,  \V.  E.  Debenham, 
W.  England,  J.  Gale,  H.  Chapman  Jones,  Capt.  A.  M.  Mantell, 
Sir  T.  Prescott,  Sir  D.  Salomons,  J.  \V.  Swan,  J.  T.  Taylor, 
Leon  Warnerke,  and  H.  Trueman  Wood. 

After  the  customary  votes  of  thanks,  Dr.  Lindsay  Johnson 
read  a paper,  in  which  he  pressed  upon  the  notice  of  the  members 
of  the  Society  the  advantages  that  would  lie  derived  from  the 
formation  of  a museum,  and  of  an  institute  for  instruction  and 
research.  Some  months  since,  he  said,  there  had  been  an- 
nounced a sale  of  some  very  valuable  historical  objects  of  great 
photographic  interest.  When  he  heard  of  the  sale  he  wrote  to 
the  Society  to  see  if  they  could  not  see  their  way  to  purchasing 
them  for  the  benefit  of  the  Society.  Some  friends  offered  to  assist 
with  money,  but  the  scheme  fell  through,  and,  if  he  recollected 
rightly,  many  of  the  things  were  bought  for  the  museum  at  Bath. 
As  the  Society  existed  at  present,  it  was  liable  to  be  turned 
out  of  its  place  at  any  time.  He  proposed  several  alternative 
schemes,  the  chief  of  which  was  that  the  Society  should  obtain 
premises  of  its  own,  where  a permanent  museum  could  be 
established  in  connection  with  an  institute  for  instruction  and 
research  in  photography.  This  had  been  done  by  the  Govern- 
ments in  France  and  Germany,  but  it  would  not  do  to  expect  as 
much  from  the  Government  here.  He  thought,  however,  that 
the  aid  of  the  Common  Council  might  be  asked  for  with  a pro- 
bability of  success  if  the  Photographic  Society  were  provided 
with  a place  and  a programme  calculated  to  inspire  confidence. 
He  thought  that  a place  might  beobtained  in  the  vicinity  of  Shaftes- 
bury Avenue,  and  that  if  a design  for  a building  were  prepared 
by  a competent  architect,  a building  to  cost  £20,000  to 
£ 10,000,  the  Court  of  Common  Council  might  be  induced  to 
assist,  supposing,  that  is,  that  it  could  be  shown  to  be  for  the 
advantage  of  the  metropolis  that  the  scheme,  as  a whole, 
should  be  carried.  Other  alternatives  were  to  apply  for  space 
for  a museum  at  South  Kensington,  which,  however,  he  con- 
sidered to  be  too  far  off,  and  to  hire  a flat  in  a convenient 
locality,  where  part  of  the  programme  at  least  could  be  carried 
out. 

The  consideration  of  Dr.  Lindsay  Johnson’s  paper  was  de- 
ferred till  the  next  ordinary  meeting,  March  11th. 

Mr.  Enrico  Resta  was  balloted  for  and  duly  elected  a member 
of  the  Society. 


Camera  Club. 

On  Thursday,  February  6th,  a paper  contributed  by  Sir  David 
Salomons. was  read,  with  Mr.  E.  R.  Shipton  in  the  chair.  The 
paper  contained  formulae  for  ascertaining  the  exact  distance  of 
the  lantern  from  screen  when  a particular  amplification  with  a 
given  lens  is  desired,  and  for  findiug  the  focal  length  of  lens  to 
employ  for  a fixed  distance  and  enlargement.  An  exhibition  of 
lantern  slides  followed  of  views  in  the  Netherlands,  by  Messrs. 
H.  M.  Elder,  E.  G.  Spiers,  and  W.  A.  Greene.  These  were 
succeeded  by  a set  of  New  Zealand  scenes  by  Mr.  Wray  Palliser, 
and  the  first  club  loan  collection  of  slides,  sixty  in  number, 
contributed  by  various  members.  Other  sets  were  shown  by 
Messrs.  Andreae,  Dresser,  Harding,  Tidey,  Payne,  and  A.  Ship- 
ton.  Nearly  300  slides  in  all  were  brought  by  members  for 
exhibition. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  meeting  the  Hon.  Sec.  handed 
round  an  instrument  sent  by  Mr.  Dresser  called  the  “ Lantern- 
scope,”  an  apparatus  devised  for  the  effective  viewing  of  lantern 
slides.  The  lanternscope  exteriorly  is  a little  like  the  stereo- 
scope, but  without  the  means  of  securing  stereoscopic  effect. 
The  transparency  is  viewed  through  a magnifying  eye-piece,  the 
picture  having  behind  it  a piece  of  ground  glass  for  diffusing 
the  light  from  the  lamp.  It  strongly  resembles  the  instrument 
devised  by  Mr.  Bow,  C.F.. 

A photograph  of  the  Eiffel  Tower,  taken  by  M.  A.  Pepper, 
of  Paris,  was  sent  for  inspection  by  Messrs.  Hinton  and  Co. 


The  paper  on  Thursday,  February  20th,  will  be  one  com- 
municated by  Mr.  W.  lv.  Burton,  “ On  One  or  Two  of  the 
Tenets  of  the  Naturalists.”  The  meeting  opens  at  8 p.m. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  7th  inst.,  Mr.  J.  Zaehnsdore  occupied 
the  chair. 

Mr.  A.  C.  Pemberton  was  elected  a member  of  the  Asso- 
ciation. 

A negative  was  handed  round  marked  throughout  the  film 
in  a similar  way  to  one  exhibited  at  a recent  meeting ; the 
negative  had  been  varnished. 

Mr.  A.  Haddon  believed  the  defect  arose  from  particles  of 
dust  in  the  varnish,  causing  the  gelatine  film  to  be  imperfectly 
protected.  Moisture  eventually  finding  its  way  through  the 
varnish,  caused  the  gelatine  film  to  swell  and  so  split  up  the 
varnish,  each  particle  of  dust  in  this  way  forming  a nucleus  of 
the  geometrical  markings. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater  read  a letter  received  from  the  Scotch 
and  Irish  Oxygen  Company  alien t the  recent  explosion,  from 
which  it  appears  that  the  bottle,  at  the  time  of  the  accident, 
was  filled  with  a mixture  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen  ; the  cylinder 
was  marked  H.  A portion  of  the  bottle  found  proved  that 
it  had  received  a test  pressure  of  240  atmospheres,  dated  July 
2nd,  1889.  The  letter  further  stated  that  it  had  been  deter- 
mined in  future  to  adopt  entirely  different  fittings  for  oxygen 
and  hydrogen  bottles,  to  prevent  any  mistake  in  the  filling  of 
the  cylinder,  and  make  it  impossible  to  put  the  two  gases  in  one 
bottle. 

Mr.  J.  >S.  Teape  showed  a stoppered  bottle  of  eikonogen  ; the 
crystals  had  turned  quite  black.  The  bottle  had  only 
been  opened  once.  Some  eikonogen  kept  in  paper  a similar 
length  of  time  was  only  slightly  discoloured. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  had  kept  a sample  in  paper  for  some 
time.  It  had  scarcely  changed  colour. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  believed  the  changing  of  colour  of  the  eikono- 
gen shown  by  Mr.  Teape  was  due  to  its  having  been  put  in 
a damp  bottle. 

Some  crystals  were  taken  out  of  the  bottle  and  placed  in 
water,  when  it  was  found  that  the  black  colour  was  only  on 
their  surfaces. 

In  reference  to  a question  asked  at  the  last  meeting  for 
particulars  as  to  the  photographic  inventions  of  the  late  Dr. 
Joule,  mentioned  in  a letter  to  the  Daily  Standard,  Mr.  A. 
Haddon  brought  down  to  the  meeting  a volume  of  Dr.  Joule’s 
scientific  papers,  collected  by  the  Physical  Society  of  London, 
in  which  no  trace  could  be  found  of  any  reference  to  any 
photographic  discoveries. 

Mr.  J.  B.  B.  Wellington  asked  what  material  was  consi- 
dered the  best  for  a lantern  screen,  and  whether  bamboo  or 
pine  w'ould  be  bestfor  the  frame. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater  said  bamboo  of  course  was  the  lightest, 
but  it  was  difficult  to  get  it  quite  straight,  and  it  was  very 
unequal  in  thickness  ; each  ferrule  w'ould  in  consequence  have  to 
be  marked.  These  objections  did  not  apply  to  pine  wood,  to  which 
he  would  give  preference. 

Mr.  F.  A.  Bridge  said  that  a medium  thick  calico  was  the  best 
material  for  the  screen.  It  was  resolved  that  at  the  next 
lantern  meeting  in  March  a slide  competition  should  take  place. 


Glasgow  Photographic  Association. 

The  fourth  general  meeting  of  the  session  was  held  on  Feb.  6th 
at  207,  Bath  Street,  Mr.  William  Lang,  Jnr.,  in  the  chair. 

The  following  new  members  were  elected  : — Messrs.  Paul 
Rottenburg,  James  Richardson,  C.  J.  Anderson,  J.  T.  Darling. 
Ex-Provost  Clark  was  elected  an  honorary  member. 

In  the  question-box  the  following  questions  were  found  : — 
(1)  “ Can  anyone  give  any  information  about  the  explosion  at 
Polmadic?  Is  there  to  be  any  public  or  scientific  report  to  be 
made  regarding  the  same  ? ” (2)  “ What  method  of  varnish- 

ing celluloid  films  is  the  best?”  (3)  “Can  anyone  mention  a 
formula  for  toning  Alpha  lantern  plates  ? ” 

Regarding  the  first  question,  after  some  discussion,  it  was 


A 


186 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [February  14,  1890. 

EnsUm#  to  eTomgpon&ents. 


thought  that  the  authorities  would  be  sure  to  investigate  the 
matter.  The  second  question  was,  to  a large  extent,  unanswer- 
able. It  was  understood  that  the  Eastman  Company  were 
working  to  produce  a suitable  varnish. 

Professor  E.  J.  Mills  then  gave  a communication,  “ Some 
Practical  Notes,”  in  which  reference  was  made  to  eikonogen,  its 
discovery,  chemical  constitution,  and  its  role  as  a developer. 
Several  interesting  novelties  were  shown  by  Dr.  Mills,  notably 
a lens  mounted  in  aluminium. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Smith,  representing  the  Eastman  Company,  ex- 
hibited the  new  Kodak,  celluloid  film  negatives,  new  glass  tray 
for  developing  same,  and  other  apparatus. 

Specimens  of  a new  glass  etching  process  (Mallodi’s  patent) 
were  next  passed  round,  and  the  proceedings  closed  with  a 
series  of  photographs  illustrative  of  the  various  photographic 
conventions,  forwarded  bv  Mr.  A.  Pringle,  and  some  micrographs 
by  him  were  shown  by  means  of  the  Society’s  lantern. 


Sheffield  Camera  Club. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Club  on  January  27th,  the  following 
were  elected  officers  : — 

President — Mi.  G.  T.  W.  Newsholme,  F.C.S. 
Vice-Presidents — Messrs.  J.  H.  Merton,  M.D.,  and  J.  H. 
Rawson. 

Treasurer — Mr.  B.  W.  Winder,  K.C.S.,  F.R.M.S. 
lion.  Secretary — Mr.  G.  E.  Maleham. 

Council — Messrs.  Wm.  Gillig,  junr.,  W.  Genkinson,  Prof. 
Arnold,  H.  Morrell,  J.  A.  Wanton,  F.R.C.P.,  M.R.C.S.,  T. 
S.  Yeomans. 

The  inaugural  meeting  of  the  new  session  takes  place  on 
Feb.  26th. 


Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  discussion  on  Feb.  19 
will  be  “ Lantern  Illuminants,  including  the  New  Benzoline 
Limelight.” 

East  Dulwich  and  Peckham  Photographic  Society. — A 
lantern  entertainment  was  given  by  this  Society  at  the  Collyer 
Hall,  Peckham,  on  the  17th  inst.,  when  a large  number  of 
slides,  the  work  of  various  members,  was  shown. 

A New  Chemical  Society,  it  is  said  by  the  Monthly  Maga- 
zine, is  likely  to  be  formed  before  long  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  It  is  to  be  called  the  American  Chemical  Society,  and 
is  to  have  local  sections  at  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
Washington,  Baltimore,  and  other  towns.  The  new  society 
will,  it  is  anticipated,  be  an  imitation  of  the  English  Society  of 
Chemical  Industry — that  is,  a national  organisation  with  local 
sections. 

Fluid  Measure. — The  Monthly  Magazine  describes  and 
illustrates  what  it  terms  the  “ Excelsior”  fluid  measure,  which 
consists  of  a well-made  tin  can  or  pot  of  the  ordinary  shape,  with 
spout  and  handle,  the  capacity  of  which  is  exactly  one  imperial 
quart.  Up  the  side  of  this  vessel  are  fitted  in  four  glass  discs 
— looking  something  like  the  port-holes  of  a toy  merchantman 
or  frigate — duly  protected  from  a chance  blow  by  cross-bars  of 
metal.  In  this  way  the  level  of  the  interior  liquid  can  be  seen, 
and  the  quantity  graduated  into  pints,  half-pints,  and  so  on. 

Received. — “ Abraham’s  Photographic  Annual,”  though  in 
the  main  a catalogue  of  photographic  goods,  includes  some 
sixty  pages  of  original  articles  contributed  by  Messrs.  Lyonel 
Clark,  George  Davison,  A.  R.  Dresser,  E.  A.  Golledge,  W. 
Jerome  Harrison,  Chapman  Jones,  Major  J.  W.  Nott,  Andrew 
Pringle,  E.  J.  Wall,  W.  Willis,  and  others  ; it  contains  also 
formula;,  statements  of  processes,  and  other  useful  items 
well  worth  the  outlay  of  the  few  pence  charged  for  this  com- 
bination of  guide-book  and  trade  list. From  Mr.  A.  R. 

Wormald,  a specimen  box  of  assorted  coloured  lantern  slide 
masks,  which  are  made  in  any  desired  colour,  and  in 
gold  and  silver  paper.  They  are  supplied  in  various  shapes 
assorted,  five  shapes  in  each  box.  With  the  foregoing  is 
also  forwarded  a sample  sheet  of  twenty-four  colours. 


The  list  of  awards  at  the  Royton  Exhibition  was  not 
received  by  us. 


All  Alvertisements  and  communications  reliting  to  money  matters, and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5,  Furniva!  Street,  London. 

All  Communications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Photogkaphic  News,  5,  Furnival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  f.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

Histobicus. — Early  history  of  photography.  Consult  the  Rev. 
T.  F.  Hardwich’s  “ Manual  of  Photographic  Chemistry,”  or 
pages  18  to  20  of  Chapman  Jones’s  “ Science  and  Practice  of 
Photography  ; ” or,  lastly,  look  up  the  dates  for  yourself  in 
the  early  copies  of  the  News,  and  the  first  few  volumes  of 
the  Photographic  Journal. 

Nature  Printing  does  not  come  within  the  province  of  photo- 
graphy. Henry  Bradbury’s  lecture  on  the  subject  was 
delivered  at  the  Royal  Institution  in  May,  1855,  The  results 
were  certainly  very  beautiful,  but  they  have  been  to  some 
extent  superseded  by  photo-mechanical  methods,  and  we  do 
not  hear  of  the  process  being  in  actual  use  at  the  present 
time. 

E.  P. — The  print  and  sensitized  paper  both  show  markings,  such 
as  would  be  caused  by  fine  particles  of  pyrogallic  acid  or  other 
reducing  agent  becoming  accidentally  dusted  over  the  paper 
either  before  or  during  the  silver  treatment.  See  page  84  of 
the  Year-Book.  Another  batch,  you  say,  does  not  show  this 
defect  when  sensitized  on  the  same  (filtered)  baths  and  blotted 
off  on  the  same  pads.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  to  be  due 
to  some  such  impurity  in  this  particular  delivery  of  albumeu- 
ized  paper.  Get  some  witness  to  overlook  your  work  and 
certify  to  these  particular  defects,  if  your  own  affirmation  is 
distrusted. 

Colour  (Exeter). — “ The  Art  of  Photographic  Painting,”  by 
A.  H.  Bool— a little  shilling  manual  to  be  had  of  our  pub- 
lishers— gives  all  the  information  required  to  make  a start. 

H.  C.  S. — When  ordering  the  rapid  plates  of  Messrs.  Marion 
and  Co.,  be  sure  to  advise  them  of  your  special  requirement 
of  extreme  rapidity.  If  these  should  not  succeed,  try  Messrs. 
Wratten  and  Wainwright’s  instantaneous  plates. 

Photargus. — Removal  of  brown  silver  spots  from  gelatine  nega- 
tives. Immersion  in  excessively  weak  cyanide  of  potassium, 
after  removal  of  the  varnish,  will  sometimes  answer,  but  it 
is  apt  to  pull  down  the  intensity  of  the  negative.  Remem- 
ber to  wash  well  afterwards.  Valuable  negatives  are  often 
printed  with  a film  of  mica  between,  but  the  new  Eastman 
celluloid  ought  to  be  tried,  as  it  is  cheaper.  Goldbeaters’ 
skin  would  not  be  sufficiently  transparent.  It  is  a well-known 
fact  that  gelatine  negatives  are  more  liable  to  stains  in  the 
printing  than  were  the  old  collodion  plates  when  treated 
with  the  same  varnish.  In  the  latter  case,  the  shellac  gets 
through  the  film  down  to  the  glass,  but  not  so  with  the  gela- 
tine, which  stands,  moreover,  in  higher  relief,  and  is  especially 
sensitive  to  the  most  minute  traces  of  silver.  Some  advise  a 
preliminary  coating  of  plain  collodion  before  varnishing. 

E.  F. — Partly  answered  by  post;  the  other  enquiry  is  pro- 
ceeding, and  your  letter  inserted. 

Ignoramus  (Dublin). — Formula  for  collodio-chloride  is  given  at 
page  203  of  the  Year-Book.  Chloride  of  strontium,  being 
more  soluble  in  spirit,  is  sometimes  preferred  to  chloride  of 
calcium,  and  may  be  used  in  the  same  proportion. 

S.  V.  W. — Silver  washings. — In  cold  weather  the  precipitated 
chloride  does  not  settle  down  so  quickly.  An  acid  reaction 
favours  its  separation,  so  you  should  use  hydrochloric  acid 
instead  of  salt  at  this  season,  and  take  care  to  stir  well. 
Your  remark  about  short  returns  from  silver  residues  may 
admit  of  another  explanation,  and  be  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  less  silver  nitrate  is  commonly  employed  in  the 
ready  sensitized  papers. 

F. R.A.S. — An  excellent  portrait  of  the  late  FatherS.  J.  Perry, 
F.R.S.,  appeared  in  the  IllustratedLondonNeu's  of  18th  ult. 
It  is  a Meisenbach  block  from  a photograph  by  Messrs.  Maull 
and  Fox,  187,  Piccadilly,  from  whom  an  original  copy  may 
very  probably  be  obtained. 

Spots  and  another  letter  received, 


THE 


PHOTOGRAPHIC 


£ 


~\y  v.v'"/ 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1642.— February  21,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PAOl 


The  Report  of  the  International  Photographic  Congress 137 

Filins  on  Olass  Surfaces 133 

Photography  in  Holland  139 

The  Action  of  Heat  on  Sodium  Carbonate 140 

Athanasius  Kircher,  the  Inventor  of  the  Magic  Lantern.  By 

James  Mew 141 

An  Iso-Radial  Focussing  Eyepiece.  By  W.  E.  Debenham...  143 

The  Temperature  of  Photographic  Manipulations 144 

Photography  in  Switzerland 143 

Notes 146 

Photo-Lithography  and  the  New  Albert  Photo-Lithographic 
Transfer  Paper.  By  Hermann  E.  Gunther 147 


PAO* 

Destruction  of  Dry  Plates  by  Insects 148 

Dr.  Andresen’s  Eikonogen  Patent  150 

Photographing  Church  Architecture.  By  Rev.  T.  Perkins, 

M.A 150 

Four  Different  Printing  Processes  Suitable  for  Copying 

Tracings.  By  J.  E.  Qoold 151 

Stereoscopic  Photography  152 

Isochromatic  or  Orthocbromatic  152 

Correspondence 153 

Patent  Intelligence  153 

Proceedings  of  Societies  153 

Answers  to  Correspondents  156 


THE  REPORT  OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL 
PHOTOGRAPHIC  CONGRESS. 

The  official  report  of  the  International  Photographic 
Congress  held  last  year  in  Paris  has  been  issued  this 
■week  by  the  Minister  of  Commerce,  Industry,  and  the 
Colonies.  It  contains  a report  of  the  opening  speech 
of  Dr.  Janssen,  the  President,  also  brief  reports  of  each 
of  the  sittings  of  the  Congress,  and,  finally,  the  con- 
clusions at  which  the  Congress  arrived  in  relation  to 
the  various  subjects  brought  under  its  notice.  The 
report  is  published  by  the  Imprimerie  Rationale,  of 
Paris.  » 

Some  of  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Congress  have 
already  been  criticised  in  detail  by  the  photographic 
press,  because  of  the  official  abstract  of  them  published 
last  autumn.  Among  those  now  given  in  detail,  that 
relating  to  the  terms  used  in  photography  is  of  much 
interest,  for  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  variety  of  words 
now  sometimes  employed  to  denote  one  and  the  same 
process  is  objectionable.  The  Congress  proposed  to 
lay  down  a basis  for  a rational  nomenclature,  by  means 
of  the  following  rules  : — 

1.  The  expression  photo  shall  be  employed,  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  word  helio,  to  indicate  processes  due 
to  the  action  of  light  from  any  source  whatever,  and 
not  alone  to  the  action  of  solar  liglit.  The  expression 
helio  is  exclusively  reserved  to  indicate  those  processes 
only  in  which  solar  light  is  used. 

2.  The  expressions^o-siffm  and  negatives  are  reserved 
to  indicate  respectively  the  images  in  which  the  effects 
of  light  and  shade  resemble  those  of  nature,  or  in  which 
those  effects  are  reversed. 

3.  In  that  which  concerns  photographs  obtained 
solely  by  the  chemical  action  of  light,  the  name  of 
phototypes  will  distinguish  those  produced  directly  by 
the  use  of  the  camera.  The  name  photocopies  will  be 
given  to  the  reproductions  of  these  by  a new  photo- 
graphic operation  by  means  of  a sensitive  surface  acted 
upon  by  light. 

The  name  photocalgues  (photosketches  ?)  will  be  given 


to  reproductions  made  in  the  same  way  from  non- 
photographic original  designs. 

4.  Photomechanical  prints,  or  phototirages,  which 
may  also  be  called  photoprints,  will  be  differentiated 
by  the  following  appellations  : — 

To  designate  these  different  processes,  an  insertion 
will  be  made  between  the  two  radicals  which  form  the 
word  photography,  and  which  will  indicate  the  principal 
characteristics  of  the  particular  process. 

According  to  this  rule  the  word  photocollograpky  will 
indicate  reproductions  in  various  inks  by  processes  in 
which  colloids  (gelatine,  albumen,  bitumen,  and  so  on) 
are  spread  upon  various  supports,  and  rendered  fit  for 
inking  by  the  action  of  light. 

The  word  photoplastography  will  be  employed  to  in- 
dicate processes  in  which  a plastic  substance  changes 
its  form  because  of  the  action  of  light,  and  returns  to 
a thickness  suitable  for  a coloured  gelatinous  ink. 

The  word  photoglyptography  will  be  used  for  pro- 
cesses of  engraving  in  intaglio  by  photography. 

The  word  phototypography  will  be  employed  for 
photographic  processes  of  engraving  in  relief  for  use 
in  the  type-high  letter  printing  press. 

The  word  photochromography  will  be  applied  to 
printing  processes  for  the  reproduction  of  photographic 
images  of  several  colours. 

5.  More  extended  designations  of  photographic  pro- 
cesses or  operations  may  be  applied,  so  far  as  the  French 
language  is  concerned,  by  introducing  generic  words 
preceding  the  necessary  indications  of  the  nature  of 
the  processes  or  operations. 

For  instance,  the  preposition  « or  par  (by),  accord- 
ing to  the  case,  will  precede  the  words  indicating  the 
nature  of  the  sensitive  substance  employed,  or  that 
of  the  mode  of  operation ; and  the  preposition  upon 
precede  the  words  indicating  the  nature  of  the  sup- 
port of  the  preparations.  The  names  of  inventors, 
if  they  have  to  be  used,  can  be  placed  at  the  end. 
Examples:  — Photographs.  — 1.  Positive  phototype  ; 
iodide  of  silver  on  a metallic  plate  (Daguerre’s  process). 
2,  Positive  photo-type ; collodion  on  a metallic  plate 


138 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  21,  1890. 


(Ad.  Martin’s  process).  3.  Negative  photo-type,  col- 
lodio-bromide  of  silver  on  glass.  4.  Positive  photo- 
copy,  gelatino-chloride  of  silver  on  paper.  5.  Positive 
photo-copy,  in  mixed  colours  (Poitevin’s  process).  6. 
Negative  photo-sketch,  ferro-prussiate  blue  paper 
(Motileff’s  process).  7.  Positive  photo-sketch,  gallute 
of  iron.  Photo -prints. — 8.  Photo-oollography,  bichro- 
mated  gelatine  on  ground  glass.  9.  Photo-plastography , 
coloured  gelatinous  inks  (Woodbury’s  process).  10. 
Photoglyptography,  by  bitumen  of  Judea  on  steel 
(Niepce’s  process).  11.  Phototypography,  by  bitumen 
of  Judea  on  zinc. 

6th. — For  the  designation  of  the  divers  applications 
of  photography  to  special  purposes,  are  reserved  com- 
pound words  obtained  by  prefacing  the  word  photo- 
graphy, with  radicals  indicating  by  abbreviation  the 
particular  applications.  Examples  : — Chronophoto- 
graphy ; the  photographic  production  of  successive 
images  taken  at  accurately  measured  intervals  of  time. 
Microphotography ; the  photographing  of  microscopic 
objects.  Heliophotography;  the  photographing  of 
the  solar  surface.  Spectrophotography ; the  photo- 
graphy of  the  spectra  given  by  luminous  sources. 
Uranophotography ; the  photography  of  celestial 
spaces.  Chromophotography ; the  direct  obtaining  of 
the  reproduction  of  colours  by  photography. 

Such  is  the  substance  of  the  decisions  of  the  Con- 
gress on  this  particular  question.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  the  Congress  has  not  vainly  attempted  to  intro- 
duce French  terms  into  photographic  circles  all 
the  world  over,  but  has  culled,  as  customary 
in  the  scientific  world,  from  the  Greek.  The 
Congress  has,  in  this  matter,  accomplished  some 
useful  work,  in  attempting  to  bring  chaotic  nomen- 
clature into  something  more  resembling  law  and  order. 
How  far  the  improvements  it  advocates  will — either 
before  or  after  their  revision  by  other  Congresses — be 
brought  into  general  use  is  another  question.  The 
higher  the  education  of  any  scientific  fraternity,  the 
easier  is  it  to  introduce  more  accurate  terms ; indeed, 
chemistry  and  physics  have  seen  vast  improvements  in 
this  respect  within  the  memories  of  many  persons  now 
living.  The  lower  the  education  of  any  scientific 
fraternity,  the  more  conservatively  does  that  fraternity 
hold  on  to  words  it  has  once  adopted,  however  unsuit- 
able those  words  may  be.  Photography  includes  all 
sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  so  how  any  attempt  to 
revise  its  scientific  nomenclature  will  succeed,  remains 
to  be  seen. 

This  year  an  International  Congress,  an  out- 
come and  continuation  of  that  at  Paris,  will  be 
held  in  Brussels,  in  which  city  also  an  Inter- 
national Photographic  Exhibition  will  take  place 
at  the  same  time.  At  the  Brussels  Congress  the 
late  Paris  Congress  will  be  represented  by  a com- 
mittee it  has  appointed,  consisting  of  MM.  Alex,  de 
Blochouse  (Belgium),  the  Prince  de  Molfetta  (Italy), 
and  Gylden  (Sweden),  honorary  presidents ; Dr. 
Janssen,  president;  MM.  Davannc,  Marey,  and  Wolf, 
French  vice-presidents;  MM.  de  Yylder  (Belgium) 


and  Petersen  (Denmark),  foreign  vice-presidents  ; M. 
S.  Pector,  general  secretary ; M.  Leon  Vidal  and  A. 
Lcnde,  French  secretaries;  MM.  AVada  (Japan),  and 
Stanoiewitch  (Servia),  foreign  secretaries ; Col.  Sebert, 
and  MM.  A.  Martin,  Cornu,  de  Villechole,  Bordet, 
Perrot  de  Chaumeux,  Warnerke,  and  Fabre,  members. 
M.  Maes,  of  Ant  werp,  the  President  of  the  Belgian  Photo- 
graphic Association,  was  present  at  the  Paris  Congress, 
and  said  that  Belgium  would  be  delighted  to  receive 
the  Congress  this  year.  M.  H.  Gylden,  of  Sweden, 
returned  thanks  at  the  Paris  Congress  for  the  warm 
welcome  which  had  been  given  thereat  to  foreign 
visitors,  after  which  the  Congress  came  to  an  end  at 
five  o’clock,  August  17th,  1889. 

It  is  a remarkable  circumstance  that  three  photo- 
graphic exhibitions  will  be  held  this  year  on  the  Conti- 
nent, within  easy  distance  of  London  and  the  larger 
part  of  England,  by  the  night  service  of  boats  via 
Harwich.  In  the  course  of  the  year  Brussels,  as 
already  stated,  will  hold  its  International  Photographic 
Exhibition  ; another  Photographic  Exhibition  will  take 
place  at  Amsterdam,  and  at  Antweqi  will  be  an  Exhi- 
bition specially  devoted  to  Photomicrography. 


FILMS  ON  GLASS  SURFACES. 

Last  Saturday,  at  the  Royal  Institution,  Lord  Rayleigh,  in 
the  first  of  a series  of  lectures  on  “ Electricity  and  Mag- 
netism,” stated  that  glass  has  a great  power  of  condensing 
moisture  upon  its  surface.  Some  German  observers,  he 
added,  have  of  late  years  discovered  that  it  depends  in  a 
great  degree  upon  the  condition  of  the  glass  itself,  and 
upon  the  alkali  which  the  glass  contains.  The  alkali 
causes  it  to  attract  moisture  from  the  air  around,  even 
when  the  air  is  not  saturated  with  aqueous  vapour.  Glass 
can  be  cured  of  this  habit  for  a time  by  boiling  it  for  five 
minutes.  Much  depends  upon  the  kind  of  glass;  for 
instance,  Hint  glass  behaves  better  in  resisting  the  forma- 
tion of  these  films  than  do  the  softer  glasses  usually 
employed  for  chemical  apparatus. 

In  the  course  of  the  same  lecture,  Lord  Rayleigh  exhi- 
bited by  means  of  the  optical  lantern  some  slides  from 
negatives,  which  he  had  had  to  take  by  exposures  of 
excessive  rapidity  even  for  what  is  called  “ instantaneous” 
work.  lie  had  photographed  some  falling  drops  of  water 
so  quickly  that  they  appeared  quite  globular  and  not 
elongated  in  form,  and  had  sharp,  well-defined  edges. 
The  exposure  and  illumination  were  effected  by  means  of  a 
single  electrical  spark,  given  by  the  discharge  of  a battery 
of  Leyden  jars. 

Photographic  Club. — Wednesday,  February  26th,  monthly 
lantern  night — ethoxo  versus  the  new  benzoline  light.  March 
5th,  “Artificial  Light  as  an  Auxiliary  to  Daylight.” 

The  Instantaneous  Photograph,  says  the  Washington  Post, 
bids  fair  to  become  a very  potent  aid  to  artists  who  seek  to 
teach  their  pupils  that  reproduction  is  not  art  ; for  it  is  clearly 
demonstrated  by  this  means  that  the  real  is  in  nowise  like  the 
apparent.  For  example,  an  instantaneous  photograph  of  a 
man  in  the  act  of  running  never  looks  as  much  like  a man  in 
the  act  of  running  as  the  pen-drawing  of  a true  artist  does. 
The  reason  is  that  the  photograph  reproduces  the  one  exact 
position  of  the  runner  at  the  instant  the  picture  is  made, 
while  the  artist  pictures  several  positions  in  one,  and  makes 
his  man  appear  to  be  moving. 


February  21,  181)0. J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


130 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IX  HOLLAND. 

Amateurs  and  Professionals. 

In  the  February  number  of  the  current  year  of  Lux — an 
illustrated  monthly  journal  devoted  to  photographic 
interest,  and  published  at  Amsterdam  under  the  able 
guidance  of  its  editors,  A.  D.  Loman,  jr.,  and  Chr.  J. 
Schuver,  for  the  furtherance  of  photography  and  all  arts 
and  sciences  thereto  related — we  find  an  able  article  by 
Photophotos  on  “Amateurs  and  Professionals.” 

Were  I,  says  Photophotos,  a zoologist  instead  of  a 
photographer,  and  supposing  I was  required  to  draw  a 
distinction  between  the  two  above-named  persons,  this 
distinction  would  probably  run  as  follows  : — 

Type  : Animalia  Vertebra ta. 

Class : Mammalia. 

Order:  Bimana. 

Genus ; Homo. 

Species : Fotogrgficns. 

Varietas  (1)  : Amateur. 

Yarietas  (2) : Professional. 

The  difference  between  the  individuals  composing  the 
first  variety  and  those  composing  the  second  can.  in  the 
opinion  of  Photophotos,  be  confirmed  by  several  distinctive 
marks  and  characteristics.  For  example,  it  will  be  gene- 
rally allowed  that  the  amateur  is  accustomed  to  make  raids 
when  he  wishes  to  capture  spoil  or  booty  ; the  professional, 
on  the  other  hand,  lies,  as  a spider,  in  wait  for  his  prey, 
and  has  generally  a horror  of  the  traitorous  means  em- 
ployed by  the  amateur  to  accomplish  his  nefarious  purposes. 
It  is,  moreover,  to  be  noticed  that  the  amateur  is  generally 
sociable — indeed,  he  might  be  called  gregarious ; wliile 
the  professional,  on  the  contrary,  affects  isolation,  and 
loves  to  remain  alone.  One,  however,  of  the  most  pro- 
nounced characteristics  of  divergency  is  undoubtedly  the 
winter  sleep  or  hybernation  of  the  amateur  what  time  the 
professional,  though  feeling  the  season’s  difference,  and  by 
no  means  insensible  to  the  rude  attacks  of  Jack  Frost 
and  his  cold  confederates,  nevertheless  loses  not  his 
wonted  wakefulness,  and  accosts  with  equal  alertness, 
activity,  and  zeal  the  probable  customer,  whether  that 
customer’s  waistcoat  is  unbuttoned  in  sultry  August,  or 
his  teeth  chatter  in  cold  December.  But  the  amateur, 
falling  to  sleep,  poetically,  with  the  fading  rose  and  the 
exodus  of  the  swallow,  awakens  not  again  for  any  care  of 
customer  till  the  rose  returns,  till  the  flowers  again  appear 
on  the  earth,  till  the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come, 
and  the  winter  is  past,  and  the  rain  is  over  and  gone. 
Cases,  indeed,  have  been  known — but  they  are  rare — in 
which  the  amateur  has  been  aroused  from  his  wintry  sleep 
by  the  sunny  brilliancy  of  a magnesium  flash-light,  when 
he  will,  on  occasions,  feebly  partake  of  a little  nourishment 
in  the  form  of  lantern  plates  of  bromide  of  silver  for 
sciopticon  exhibitions. 

The  relation  of  these  two  interesting  varieties  to  each 
other  is  mostly  of  an  inimical  and  sometimes  a malig- 
nant character,  though,  in  some  instances  of  perfect  neu- 
trality on  both  sides,  a sound  and  lasting  friendship  may  be 
found  to  subsist. 

It  is  a sufficiently  well  known  fact  that  photography, 
which  was  formerly  practised  only  by  professionals,  has,  in 
the  course  of  a comparatively  short  period,  spread  itself 
widely  among  the  most  different  ranks  of  society  inte- 
rested in  it,  partially  from  a scientific  and  partially  from  a 
business  point  of  view.  From  the  nature  of  things  it 
must  necessarily  follow  that  the  branch  of  photography 


to  which  the  amateur  directs  his  attention  is  very  di  fferent 
from  that  which  engages  the  thoughts  of  the  professions  1. 
The  latter  has,  we  will  say,  a well  appointed  studio,  and 
devotes  himself  exclusively  to  the  study  and  practice  of 
portrait  photography  in  the  widest  sense  of  the  word ; the 
former,  intimidated  by  the  costly  apparatus  neoessary  to 
procure  a really  good  portrait,  and  anxious  in  no  small 
degree  to  avoid  the  labour — the  normally  requisite  labour 
— of  retouching,  turns  his  ’prentice  hand  mainly  to  such 
outlying  subjects  as  landscapes,  genre  pictures,  instan- 
taneous pictures,  detective  exposures,  and  photo-micro- 
gravures. 

Although  Photophotos  is  by  no  means  prepared  to  deny 
that  portrait  photography  may  be,  and  is,  occasionally 
practised  with  no  inconsiderable  success  by  amateurs,  it 
is,  he  thinks,  as  a general  rule,  advisable  for  them  to  busy 
themselves  therewith  only  in  a small  degree,  or  still  better, 
not  at  all.  For  this  opinion  he  gives  the  following  reason. 

The  condition  of  those  who  pursue  photography  as  a 
profession  is,  no  one  will  perhaps  venture  to  deny,  far  from 
satisfactory.  It  has  not  been  a favourable  condition  for 
some  little  time.  Although  this  may  doubtless  in  a great 
measure  be  ascribed  to  the  increased  facility  in  photo- 
graphic manipulation — a fact  which  has  brought  studios 
and  ateliers  from  the  ground  like  mushrooms  or  Jonah’s 
gourd — still  the  amateur  photographers,  or  at  least  some 
of  them,  are  mainly  accountable  for  this  unsatisfactory 
condition  of  their  brother  professionals. 

What  is  indeed  too  often  the  case  ? 

Take  a respectable  family  rejoicing — or  the  reverse — in  a 
youth,  one  of  its  members,  with  a passion  for  photography. 
This  youth  has  managed  to  secure  for  himself  some  area 
of  space,  a courtyard — a garden,  be  it  said,  for  politeness' 
sake — or  even  a chamber  where,  with  the  assistance  of  a 
friend  who  can  retouch,  he  is  able  to  take  the  portrait, 
always  made  ship-shape  by  the  said  friend,  of  some  one  or 
other  of  his  associates  ; or  suppose  him  visited  by  a nephew, 
a niece — a more  dangerous  visitant — in  short,  by  any  rela- 
tion or  acquaintance,  but  above  all,  by  an  aunt  with  small 
children,  all  of  whom,  with  unmistakable  signs,  declare 
their  desire,  their  ardent  desire,  to  have  their  portraits  taken 
by  this  able  amateur.  Then  comes  his  moment  of  peril. 
He  takes  a negative,  good  or  bad,  as  the  case  may  be ; they 
with  one  accord  beg  a copy  to  send  home  ; they  obtain  it, 
send  it,  and  no  harm  ensues.  But  if  the  plate  pleases,  if 
they  long,  like  the  daughters  of  the  horse  leech,  or  the 
unhappy  Oliver,  for  more,  then  must  the  amateur  at  once 
put  himself  in  a position  of  defence,  and  make  use  of  such 
artillery  of  refusal  as  his  experience  has  collected,  or  his 
imagination  can  suggest.  If  no  better  safeguards  are  pro- 
curable, such  common  forms  of  denial  will  serve  as  failure 
of  time,  pressure  of  business,  inability  as  a mere  amateur. 
Let  him  profess  himself  content  with  his  work,  but 
let  him  also  add  that  if  a really  good  portrait  is  required, 
the  applicant  must  at  once  betake  himself,  and  especially 
herself,  to  a professional  artist.  If  the  negative  is  really 
worth  the  trouble,  the  applicant  will  surely  not  grudge  the 
payment  of  a reasonable  price  for  as  many  copies  as  may  be 
chosen  to  an  accomplished  workman. 

But  the  case  is  considerably  altered  if  the  amateur,  for 
divine  charity’s  sake,  or  any  other  motive,  is  weak  enough 
to  bestow  a dozen  or  more  copies  on  the  applicant.  For 
the  recipient,  beguiled  by  this  cheap  method  of  acquisition, 
and  totally  blind  to  the  errors  and  imperfections  which 
swarm  in  the  amateurish  gift,  conceives  at  once  an  anti- 
pathy to  the  professional  photographer,  who  makes  worthy 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [February  21,  1890. 


140 

people  pay  for  their  portraits  through  the  nose.  He  for- 
gets that  the  labourer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,  and  that  the 
professional  workman  must  be  recompensed  for  his  pain- 
fully acquired  proficiency  of  skill,  and  the  consequence  is 
that  he  either  ceases  to  visit  the  professional  altogether,  or 
visits  him  only  to  find  fault  with  his  prices,  to  cheapen  a 
bargain,  or  to  return  pictures  with  which  he  is  displeased. 

Some  people  may  think  the  foregoing  description  ex- 
aggerated, but  its  truth  will  be  acknowledged  by  everyone 
who  is  practically  acquainted  with  this  subject,  and  is  alone, 
therefore,  able  to  give  an  opinion  of  value. 

A portion  of  photography  which  may  be  cultivated  with 
success  by  amateurs  is  the  grouping  of  companies  at  festive 
gatherings,  such  as  picnics,  concerts,  marriage  breakfasts, 
cricket  matches,  and  other  diversions  of  a like  nature, 
little  or  no  need  is  here  of  such  technical  knowledge  and 
appliances  as  are  indispensable  to  the  photography  of  por- 
traits. Besides,  and  in  a measure  owing  to  this,  the  artist 
will  be  far  more  satisfied  with  his  work,  and  will,  in  addition, 
accumulate  for  his  later  years  a fund  of  pleasing  recollec- 
tions which  he  may  draw  upon  without  let  or  hindrance 
at  his  own  sweet  will. 

The  dilettante  must  never  forget  that  he  pursues  photo- 
graphy as  a plaything,  or,  if  this  term  be  not  sufficiently 
dignified,  as  a science  or  as  an  art,  but  not  as  a means  of 
earning  a livelihood ; and  such  as  devote  themselves  to  this 
occupation  for  amusement  should  not  complain  hastily  of 
the  expenses  or  trouble  which  it  necessitates  or  involves. 
“He  who  keeps  a monkey,”  says  an  old  adage,  “ must  be 
ready  and  willing  to  make  good  any  damage  which  may 
arise  from  his  malfeasance.  ” He  must  pay,  like  the  amateur 
photographer,  for  the  glasses  he  breaks. 

It  is  only  fair  to  add  that  some  of  the  essential  and  most 
important  services  to  photography  have  been  rendered  by 
amateurs,  and  from  them  will  doubtless  be  stretched  out 
in  the  proximate  future  many  hands  of  support  and  assist- 
ance to  this  seductive  art.  Its  varied  fields  of  labour  are 
indeed  large  enough  for  all. 

It  has  been  in  several  times  and  places  asserted,  with  such 
degree  of  confidence  as  the  absence  of  experience  and 
knowledge  can  alone  inspire,  that  the  amateur  will  in  the 
end  destroy  the  professional,  and  survive  alone  as  the 
fittest  when  the  New  Zealander  acts  according  to 
Macaulay's  imagination.  Hitherto,  however,  there  has 
been  but  slight  sign  of  the  professional’s  decadence,  and  it 
must  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  amateur  is  too 
frequently  an  amateur  not  in  name  only,  but  in  deed. 
Witness,  for  instance,  him  who  goes  in  summer  to  the 
Baarnsche  Bosch  to  photograph  and — drink  Bittertjes. 
No  ! we  need  hardly  make  ourselves  uneasy  as  yet  con- 
cerning the  future  condition  of  the  skilled  and  capable 
professional. 

The  existence  of  the  amateur  has  in  this  article  been 
considered  as  an  important  factor  in  the  present  evil  con- 
dition of  photography  as  a trade  and  calling.  It  is  only 
just  to  mention  also  the  far  more  important  and  deterio- 
rating effect  of  the  exceedingly  low  prices  which  are  asked 
for  portraits  in  several  small  studios.  It  is  indeed 
unfortunate  that  the  majority  of  people,  who  probably  find 
even  these  prices  sufficiently  high,  are  unable  to  discover 
the  low  quality  of  such  low-priced  wares,  wares  which  may 
well  be  called  photographic  offscourings  and  rubbish.  It 
is  through  the  existence  of  this  trash  that  the  intelligent 
artist  suffers,  and  the  grass,  so  to  speak,  grows  on  the 
threshold  of  his  door.  A radical  medicine  for  this  evil 
could  be  dispensed  and  made  up  with  successful  result 


if  photographers  would  but  unite  and  establish  a definite 
minimum  price  for  a dozen  portraits. 

Since  the  above  was  written,  it  has  been  ascertained 
that  M.  van  Os  has  set  such  a plan  in  operation.  In  a late 
number  of  the  Fotograaf  some  of  the  principal  photo- 
graphers of  Amsterdam,  as  Woodbury  and  Page,  Max 
Cosman  and  Koene,  and  Buttinghausen  ; of  the  Hague,  as 
J.  Ch.  Mirande  ; of  the  Bosch,  as  Pierre  Weynen ; and 
of  Nijmegen,  as  van  Wens,  have  been  reported  as  express- 
ing their  adhesion  to  the  formation  of  a committee  with 
such  an  object  in  view. 


THE  ACTION  OF  HE. AT  ON  SODIUM  CARBONATE. 
Fresenius  and  other  analytical  authorities  teach  that,  when 
sodium  carbonate  is  moderately  ignited  and  has  lost  all  excess 
of  water,  Ac. , it  undergoes  scarcely  any  further  loss  ; but  that 
it  loses  materially  if  it  is  heated — even  moderately — to  in- 
cipient fusion. 

Dr.  Richard  Kiessling  lias  studied  this  subject  more  in  detail, 
since  the  use  of  sodium  carbonate  as  one  of  the  fundamental 
chemicals  in  preparing  volumetric  solutions  would  become 
objectionable  if  its  absolute  stability  were  shown  to  be  fallacious* 

In  making  his  experiments,  he  started  from  a bicarbonate 
which  had  the  following  composition  : — 

Sodium  carbonate  ...  ...  ...  64-4  per  cent. 

Water...  ...  ...  ...  ...  11 ‘6  ,, 

Excess  of  C02  ...  ...  ...  24-0  ,, 

A pure  sodium  bicarbonate  of  the  formula  NaHCO.  has  the 
following  composition  ; — 

Sodium  carbonate  ...  ...  63 *1 1 4 per  cent. 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  10*711  ,, 

Extra  CO, 26-175 

Of  the  former  a quantity  of  6-170  gm.  was  subjected,  on  a 
watch  glass,  in  a drying  oven,  to  a gradually  increasing  tempera- 
ture. At  60°  C.  there  was  no  loss  ; at  70’  C.  the  loss  was  very 
trifling  ; at  90°  C.  it  had  become  quite  material,  and  all  of  the 
extra  carbonic  acid  was  dissipated  by  heating  to  125  C.  The 
residue  weighed  .3-982  Gm.,  or  64-54  percent.  This  consisted 
of  sodium  carbonate,  absolutely  free  from  caustic  soda.  It  was 
now  heated  to  200°  C.,  which  caused  no  further  loss.  On 
raising  the  temperature  to  400q  C.,  however,  a loss  of  0'02gm. 
(0  33  per  cent.)  was  incurred,  and  the  residue  gave  a decided 
reaction  of  caustic  alkali. 

On  repeating  the  experiments  in  a platinum  crucible,  which 
permitted  the  employment  of  higher  temperatures,  the  above 
results  were  confirmed.  By  increasing  the  heat  to  incipient 
melting,  the  residue  gave  a strong  reaction  of  caustic  soda. 

It  follows  from  these  experiments  that  a ]>erfectly  homo- 
geneous and  standard  sodium  carbonate  may  be  obtained  by 
exposiug  the  pure  bicarbonate  to  a temperature  of  150°  C. 
until  it  no  longer  loses  weight. 

The  author  suggests  to  control  the  purity  of  the  sodium  car- 
bonate by  using  potassium  tetroxalate  (KHC,04.H,C,04.2H,O) 
as  a control-basis  for  volumetric  purposes. — Zcitsch.  f.  angew. 
Chem.,  1889,  332. 

♦ 

Camera  Club  Notices  for  March,  1890.  — Monday, 
March  3rd,  8.30  p.m.,  smoking  concert  ; Thursday,  March  6th, 
8 p.m.,  Mr.  Andrew  Pringle  on  “The  Optical  Lantern”; 
Thursday,  March  13th,  8 p.m.,  lantern  evening;  Monday, 
March  17th,  8.30  p.m.,  lantern  in  operation  (evening  for 
testing  slides)  ; Wednesday,  March  19th,  8.30  p.m.,  special 
smoking  concert,  and  opening  of  members  annual  exhibition 
of  photographs  ; Thursday,  March  20th,  2 p.m.,  <q>eniug  of 
conference  and  exhibition  of  apparatus  at  the  Society  of 
Arts  by  the  President,  Captain  W.  de  W.  Abney,  C.B., 
R.E.,  F.R.S.,  papers  from  2 p.m.  to  5.30  p.m.  ; Friday, 
March  21st,  10  a.m.,  exhibition  of  apparatus  in  library  of 
Society  of  Arts ; 2 p.m.,  renewal  of  conference,  papers 

from  2 p.m.  to  5.30  p.m.  ; 7.30  p.m.,  annual  dinner  at  Fras- 
cati Restaurant,  Oxford  Street  (near  Tottenham  Court  Road)  ; 
Thursday,  March  27th,  8 p.m.,  Mr.  W.  'Willis  on  “Platino- 
type  Possibilities”;  Thursday,  April  3rd,  8 p.m.,  lantern 
evening  ; Monday,  April  7th,  8.30  p.m.,  smoking  concert. 


February  2l,  1890. } 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


141 


ATHANASIUS  KIRCHER,  THE  INVEN  TOR  OF  THE 
MAGIC  LANTERN. 

II."' 

BY  JAMES  MEW. 

Before  coming  to  a consideration  of  lurcher's  already 
mentioned  work,  the  work  most  important  and  interesting 
for  the  photographer,  the  “ Great  Art  of  Light  and  Shade,” 
some  more  of  the  celebrated  Jesuit’s  compositions  merit 
attention  as  not  only  in  themselves  curious,  but  as  bearing 
rich  testimony  to  the  wide  and  varied  character  of  lurcher's 
intellectual  study  and  attainments.  No  regard  will  be  had 
of  date  in  the  enumeration  of  these  books ; concerning  their 
size,  it  has  been  already  said  that  they  are  mostly  in  ponder- 
ous folios.  Dipping,  then,  our  hand  into  this  learned  lucky 
bag  at  a venture,  we  draw  out  first  what  may  well  be  con- 
sidered a prize,  bearing  the  title  of  “ Polygraphy,  or  the 
Artifice  of  Tongues,”  a marvellous  volume  expounding  a 
project  of  universal  writing,  and  containing  instructions 
for  the  composition  and  unravelment  of  secret  ciphers. 
After  this  we  light  upon  the  “ Egyptian  (Edipus,”  a work 
in  three  volumes,  the  fruit  of  the  arduous  toil  of  twenty 
years,  now  read  by  linguists  only  with  a strange  sensation 
of  wonder.  Two  more  works,  almost  equally  astonishing 
in  their  different  respects,  follow  the  “ (Edipus  ; ” one  the 
first  scientific  work  on  the  Coptic  language,  under  the 
title  of  “ Prodromus  Coptus ; ” the  other,  “ China  Illus- 
trated by  its  Monuments,  Sacred  and  Profane.”  It  has 
been  said  that  both  these  books  abound  in  errors.  How 
far  this  statement  is  accurate  the  learned  reader  can,  if 
he  chooses,  decide  for  himself.  Next  we  have  the  “ Specula 
Meliteusis,  or  Watch  Tower  of  Malta,”  a work  dedicated 
to  the  Knights  of  St.  John,  and  containing  a description 
of  rare  physico-mathematical  instruments.  It  is  worth 
while  noticing  in  passing  that  a curious  misconception  has 
arisen  with  regard  to  this  work  from  a confusion  between 
specula  and  sjteculum,  which  has  led  many  to  suppose  that 
it  is  a treatise  on  burning  glasses,  with  which  instruments, 
indeed,  Kircher  was  much  concerned  during  his  residence 
at  Malta.  The  “ Ecstatic  Heavenly  Itinerary  ” gives  an 
exposition  of  the  planets  and  fixed  stars.  The  “Noah’s 
Ark,”  in  three  books,  treats  of  matter  before,  during,  and 
after  the  deluge.  Then  we  have  a “ Diatribe  " on  some 
wonderful  crosses  which  appeared  on  men’s  garments  and 
elsewhere,  an  “ Arithmetology  " or  treatise  on  the  hidden 
mysteries  of  numbers,  a “ Phonurgia,”  a “Physiologia,” 
a “ Mystagogic  Sphinx,”  a “ Tower  of  Babel,”  a “ Subter- 
ranean AVorld,”  and  a “ Great  Art  of  Knowledge.”  The 
titles  alone  of  these  works  will  surprise  the  reader,  though 
they  give  but  a faint  idea  of  Kircher’s  intellectual  activity. 
Ilis  literary  correspondence  extends  to  fourteen  volumes. 
We  find  in  these  volumes  letters  addressed  to  him  from 
the  principal  men  of  his  day.  Turning  then  over  at  hap- 
hazard we  come  upon  one  from  the  celebrated  Leibnitz, 
who  speaks  of  Kircher’s  enduring  merit,  and,  punning  on 
his  name  Athanasius,  prays  for  him  the  immortality  he 
deserves. 

But  it  is  high  time  to  take  in  hand  that  book  which 
chiefly  interests  us. 

The  first  edition  of  Ivircher’s  “ Great  Art  of  Light  and 
Shade  ” was  published  at  Rome  in  1646.  The  second  edition, 
much  more  copious  than  the  former,  at  Amsterdam  in  1671. 
The  whole  title  of  the  work  runs  thus : — “ Athanasius  Kir- 
cher’s Great  Artof  Light  and  Shade,  digested  in  ten  books, 
in  which  are  shown  for  many  uses  of  mortals  the  wonderful 
powersandcffectsof  lightand  shade  in  the  world  of  universal 


nature,  by  a new  and  varied  exhibition  of  novel  and  recondite 
instances  and  ensamples.”  The  title  page  bears  the  mystic 
figure  of  a sun  with  a Hebrew  quotation  taken  from  the 
Psalms  (139,  12),  which,  being  literally  translated,  signifies, 
As  its  darkness  is,  so  is  its  light.  The  author,  after  saluting 
the  Philomath,  or  learning  loving  reader  in  his  preface,  thus 
addresses  him  : — “The  same  thing  appears,  O reader,  to 
have  happened  to  me  as  happened  to  that  young  man 
mentioned  by  Crassus  in  Cicero's  work,  Dr  ( 'laris  Oratoribus. 
For  he,  walking  one  day  and  meditating  idly  by  the  sea- 
side, lit  by  chance  upon  a thole,  or  peg  to  which  the  oar 
was  commonly  strapped,  lying  half  hid  amidst  the  sea- 
weed and  the  sand.  Taking  it  up  and  finding  it  unbroken, 
complete,  and  fit  for  service,  he  procured  for  himself,  so 
that  the  little  instrument  might  not  remain  useless,  an  oar, 
and  having  attached  the  oar  to  the  thole,  and  being  de- 
lighted with  the  contemplation  of  what  he  had  done,  went 
on  to  purchase  a mast,  and  after  that  sailyards,  which  he 
set  crosswise  on  his  mast  in  due  order.  Not  content,  how- 
ever with  thole  and  oar,  with  mast  and  sailyards,  he 
got  sails  and  ropes,  and  so,  by  degrees,  continually  adding 
to  his  incomplete  endeavour,  at  last  fitted  out  a perfect 
ship,  in  which  he  saibd  over  sea  and  acquired  much  riches.” 
Thus,  says  Kircher,  have  1 also  acted.  For  my  little  work 
of  ten  small  pages  has  grown  gradually  into  a large  volume 
of  ten  big  books.  Starting  from  the  thole  of  a stray  re- 
mark suggested  to  me  in  the  course  of  my  precedent  study, 
I have  furnished  out  a ship  which  has  sailed,  so  far  as  it  is 
permitted  to  the  frailty  of  the  human  mind  to  guide  its 
course,  through  the  immense  ocean  of  aerial  space,  and  so 
have  I found  and  exposed  as  common  merchandize  to  the 
world  treasures  of  light  and  shade  as  yet  unknown,  in  this 
my  work  divided  into  ten  parts,  as  a ship  furnished  with 
ten  banks  of  oars  ; and  this  division  into  ten  parts  has  been 
suggested  to  me  by  the  analogy  of  the  ten  divine  rays 
which  the  Hebrews  call  Sejihiroth,  and  the  Latins  Emana- 
tiones.  And  just  as  the  wise  Jews  affirm  the  world  to  have 
been  built  by  the  ten  rays  of  the  divinity,  so  have  we  con- 
structed upon  our  ten  foundations  of  books  our  own  little 
world  of  light  and  shade. 

Kircher’s  first  book  is  concerned  with  what  he  is  pleased 
to  call  Sciagnomics  and  Chromatics.  “Having  ridden,”  he 
says,  in  a chariot  far  more  sublime  than  that  drawn  by  two 
dragons  which  wras  presented  by  Ceres  to  Triptolemus, 
through  the  varied  orders  and  classes  of  nature,  “ I was 
astonished  by  the  admirable  marriage  of  the  sidereal  and 
the  terrestrial  world,  in  which  ceremony  Light  officiated  as 
a bridesmaid.  I Iavingafterwards  discovered  that  there  exists 
nothing  in  the  innermost  recesses  of  the  mundane  mass 
save  that  which  has  the  principles  and  elements  of  its  com- 
position from  light  and  shade,  I succeeded,  by  varied 
combinations  of  these,  in  building  up  a new  Photosophg , 
which,  of  its  own  natural  fecundity,  produced  two 
daughters, Sciagnomicc and Chromatice,  whichagainproduced 
wondrous  births,  described  at  large  in  my  first  book.” 

The  second  book  of  the  Ars  Magna  treats  of  Radiations, 
or,  as  Kircher  calls  them.  Actinobolisms.  “When,”  he  says, 
“I  perceived  that  all  things  are  affected  by  the  wide-extend- 
ed dominion  of  light,  owing  to  a certain  spherical  diffusion 
of  its  forces,  I built  up  at  once  the  art  of  actinobolisms  of 
things  in  nature,  which  again  in  their  turn  produced  Echo- 
camptice,  or  the  radiation  of  sound  ; Osmetice , or  the  radia- 
tion of  smell ; and  Optice,  or  the  radiation  of  sight,  besides 
other  matters  of  rare  doctrine  and  curious  experiment, 
which  are  fully  set  forth  in  my  second  book." 

The  third  book  introduces  the  reader  to  the  doctrine 


142 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  21,  1890. 


of  Coirc  Section*,  ancl  comprehends  an  apparatus  of 
Gnomon'u  s.  “ When  I considered,”  says  the  author,  “ that 
shade  is  constant,  whereas  light  affects  motion,  and  that 
this  motion  of  light  is  the  sole  base  and  foundation  of  all 
astronomy,  the  gnomon  became  my  pen,  any  assumed 
plane  my  paper,  shade  my  ink,  and  the  Sun  the  artificer's 
hand,  and  the  several  natures  of  gnomon,  plane,  and 
shade,  or  pen,  paper,  and  ink,  are  declared  in  my  third 
book.’’ 

The  fourth  book  is  wholly  concerned  with  sun-dials  or 
horologes,  Italian,  Babylonian,  and  others. 

The  fifth  is  divided  into  Gnomonic  Oaranography  and 
Gnomonic  Geography.  Oaranography,  or  the  description  of 
the  heaven,  originally  the  title  of  a work  by  Democritus, 
comprehends  the  doctrine  of  the  Primum  Mobile,  the  des- 
cription of  Alniucantars  aud  Azimuths,  and  of  the  zodiacal 
arc  on  polar,  meridian,  vertical,  and  horizontal  planes ; 
with  the  whole  system  of  fixed  stars  so  described  as  to 
show  both  their  risings  and  their  settings. 

The  sixth  book  is  called  by  Kircher  the  Sciutheric  Proteus. 
Some  of  the  readers  of  this  paper  may  stumble  at  the 
word  sciatlieric,  but  this  will  become  clear  to  them  by  the 
consideration  that  sciatheras,  or  shadow-catcher,  is  the  Greek 
term  for  the  gnomon  of  a sun-dial.  Another  title  given 
to  this  book  by  the  author,  who  rejoices  in  long  words, 
many  of  which  are  his  own  invention,  is  the  Figured  Astro- 
lobiography.  It  treats  at  great  length  of  the  mechanical 
construction  of  horologes,  horoscopes,  astroscopes,  horo- 
labes,  astrolabes,  and  gnomonic  globes. 

And  now,  says  lurcher,  in  his  preface  to  the  seventh  book, 
which  he  calls  the  Anacamptic  or  Reflected,  as  he  calls  his 
eighth  the  Anaclaslic  or  Refracted  Art,  and  now  we  shall  be- 
hold light  instinct  with  some  Promethean  skill,  delineating 
with  its  golden  pencil  the  immense  volumes  of  the  heavens 
in  the  dark  lurking-places  of  our  homes  so  deftly  that  we, 
though  shut  up  in  a narrow  hovel,  may  feel  ourselves  placed 
in  the  open  fields  of  air,  and  wander  over  the  universal 
ways  of  the  sidereal  world,  and  behold  sacramental 
mysteries  hitherto  unseen.  And  this  is  our  Anacamptic 
Art  or  Reflected  Astronomy. 

And  again  I observed  that  where  light  or  shade  passes 
into  the  recesses  of  a denser  medium,  it  fallaciously  with- 
draws itself,  and  affects  manners  altogether  exotic,  now 
stretching  itself  longitudinally,  and  now  curving  itself 
into  I know  not  what  of  curvature  after  the  fashion  of  a 
hedgehog  or  land-urchin.  On  thishintof  occasion,  I built 
Up  my  Anaclastic  art,  or  Refracted  Astronomy  through 
which  it  is  given  to  all  to  hunt  after  heaven’s  unap- 
proached riches  with  the  weaving  of  an  astronomic  net 
beneath  the  water  by  an  artifice  singular,  and  hitherto 
unknown.  In  this  book  are  tables  for  the  compilation  of 
refractions,  an  anaclastic  table  of  rays  incident  in  wine, 
oil,  &c. , after  the  author’s  observation.  A paragraph  on 
the  refractions  of  the  atmosphere  is  succeeded  by  a table  of 
the  refraction  of  the  stars.  We  also  meet  with  the  con- 
struction of  vertical  and  horizontal  anaclastic  astro- 
labes ; the  construction  of  an  astrolabe  in  a concave 
hemicycle  or  hemisphere,  showing  nothing  unless  pre- 
viously filled  with  fluid,  which  he  calls  the  horologe,  or 
deal  of  Aliaz ; and  the  construction  of  an  anacamptic- 
anaclastic  horoscope. 

Kircher  s ninth  book  is  called  “ Gnomonic  Cosmometry,” 
.and  is  occupied  with  an  investigation  by  means  of  light  and 
shade  of  the  position,  magnitude,  quantity,  and  altitude  of 
the  various  mundane  bodies,  or  parts  of  the  world,  and  their 
distance  from  the  earth.  “Conceiving,”  says  the  author, 


••  of  light  and  shade  as  the  most  absolute  geometer,  and  that 
the  ingenious  doctrine  of  conic  sections  came  from  no  other 
school,  and  that  the  first  elements  and  foundations  of 
practical  geometry  arose  from  the  proportions  of  shade  to 
the  unshaded,  I concluded  that  nothing  in  this  sensible 
theatre  of  the  world  was  so  remote  that  an  approach  to  it 
could  not  be  made  by  means  of  fight  and  shade.  Going 
therefore  by  their  direction  I attained  the  tops  of  the 
highest  mountains  and  clouds,  I climbed  up  to  the  tents 
of  heaven,  I measured  by  a new  invention  (absit  jactantia 
recto,  let  me  be  excused  the  boast),  the  quantities,  distances, 
and  depths  of  all  heavenly  bodies.  lastly,  from  this 
above  mentioned  supply  of  fight  and  shade,  as  from  a 
cornucopia  filled  to  the  brim,  having  selected  some  of  the 
rarer  and  more  recondite  secrets  by  a certain  hidden 
application  of  the  active  to  the  passive,  I have  con- 
structed my  “Magic  of  Light  and  Shade,” by  which  is  gained 
the  threefold  result  of  wonderful  horolabes,  parastases,  or 
representations  of  things  unseen,  and  by  the  aid  of 
mirrors  paradoxical  matamorphoses,  which  new  and  rare 
matters  have  been  deservedly  reserved  as  the  comple- 
ment of  all  the  books  for  the  tenth  and  last  of  them.” 

It  is  this  book  on  the  “ Magic  of  Light  and  Shade  ” which 
is  the  most  interesting  of  all  to  the  photographer,  treating 
as  it  docs  of  the  application  of  their  more  hidden  effects 
to  the  various  uses  of  mankind.  Of  this  book  the  first 
part  is  chiefly  concerned  with  marvellous  horologes,  such 
as  catoptric,  heliocaustic,  magnetic,  sympathic,  botanic, 
zoologic,  rotatile,  hydraulic,  aquatic,  and  sympathetico- 
magnetic  horologes.  The  second  part  treats  of  Parastatic 
Magic,  or  prodigious  representations  of  things  by  means  of 
fight  and  shade.  Under  this  part  is  included  the  artificial 
exhibition  of  aerial  spectres  ; the  wondrous  paintings  of 
nature  on  plants  and  stones  ; the  exhibition  of  things  by 
rays  refracted  in  water ; the  construction  of  a machine  by 
which  images  may  be  made  suddenly  to  appear  and  dis- 
appear ; the  exhibition  of  wondrous  spectacles  by  glass 
prisms  ; a disquisition  of  the  author  as  to  whether  accord- 
ing to  Anaxilaus,  Albertus,  and  Porta,  houses  full  of 
serpents  and  other  animals  can  be  represented,  and  the 
display  of  fiery  spectacles  or  pyroparastases.  There  are 
several  experiments  belonging  to  this  last  head,  as  the  pro- 
duction of  a fountain  of  fire,  and  of  a dragon  flying  in  the 
air,  followed  by  a short  discourse  on  the  eagle  of  Regio- 
montanus and  Architas’  dove.  Then  comes  a chapter  on 
Dioptrics  and  the  place  and  effect  of  lenses.  The  third  part 
of  this  book  deals  with  Catoptric  Magic,  or  the  marvellous 
representation  of  things  by  mirrors,  and  herein  of  mirrors, 
spherico-convex  and  spherico-concave,  cylindrical,  conic 
— as  parabolic,  hyperbolic,  and  elliptic — and  caustic  or 
burning.  Then  we  find  how  to  construct  an  artificial 
machine  by  which  writings  can  be  read  at  a remote  dis- 
tance, and  then  finally  how  to  construct  a Thaumaturge  or 
magic  lantern. 

We  have  received  from  Mr.  Martin  a specimen  of  his  Autocrat 
Magnesium  Magazine,  in  shape  like  a powder  flask,  intended  to 
contain  magnesium  powder,  and  to  measure  out,  by  a spring 
opening  slide,  a given  quantity  for  the  purposes  of  the  flash-light. 

Photographers’  Benevolent  Association.  — The  annual 
meeting  of  the  above  Association  was  held  on  the  14th  inst. 
The  questions  of  reducing  the  subscription  of  professional 
photographers,  and  amateurs  being  allowed  to  serve  on  the 
committee,  having  been  discussed,  the  report  was  adopted,  as 
was  also  the  balance  sheet.  Mr.  Spiller  was  elected  treasurer, 
aud  votes  of  thanks  were  passed  to  the  late  treasurer,  to  Mr. 
Harland,  aud  to  the  president. 


February  21,  1890.]  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 

: — 


143 


AN  ISORADIAL  FOCUSSING  EYEPIECE. 

BY  W.  E.  DEBENITAM. 

As  the  subject  of  eyepieces  for  use  upon  the  focussing 
screen  of  a camera  has  been  recently  brought  forward  in 
the  columns  of  the  Photographic  Nfws,  I send  a descrip- 
tion of  one  which,  like  that  of  Mr.  Varley,  described  in 
the  Photographic  News  of  the  31st  ult.,  has  been  con- 
trived for  the  purpose  of  examining  portions  of  the  field 
other  than  the  centre,  but  which  does  not  require  fresh 
adjustment  of  the  focus  for  each  change  of  position. 

In  the  eyepiece  described  by  Mr.  Varley  the  inclination 
of  the  instrument  is  effected  by  means  of  a ball-and-socket 
joint.  As  the  centre  of  rotation  is  in  the  body  of  the 
instrument  itself,  the  distance  from  the  ground  glass  varies 
with  each  inclination.  If  a rather  rough  ground  glass  is 
used,  the  image  will  be  focussed  thereon,  and  slight  dif- 
ferences of  distance  caused  by  varying  but  small  angles  of 
inclination  may  not  place  the  image  at  a distance  greater 
or  less  than  the  accommodation  of  the  eye  will  make  up  for. 
When,  however,  a very  fine  surface  is  employed,  it  is,  as 
pointed  out  by  Mr.  Varley,  possible  to  obtain  a sharp 
image  which  is  not  coincident  with  the  ground  surface, 
and,  of  course,  with  a focussing  screen  in  which  there  are 
clear  patches  of  unground  glass,  this  will  be  still  more 
easily  done.  With  a smooth  or  semi-smooth  surface, 
therefore,  it  becomes  necessary  to  confine  the  plane  of 
focus  of  the  eyepiece  strictly  to  the  surface  of  the  glass 
coincident  with  the  plate,  and  to  do  this  with  a ball-and- 
socket  arrangement  requires  continual  adjustment  of  the 
focus  of  the  eye-p;ece  itself,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
following  diagram.  This  refocussing  of  the  eyepiece  will 
be  found,  if  not  quite  impracticable,  a difficult  thing  to 
accomplish  on  a fine  surface  covered  with  an  image. 

Let  a,  fig.  1,  represent  the  centre  of  rotation.  . As  the 


Fial. 


eyepiece  is  inclined,  the  focus,  instead  of  remaining  upon 
the  plane  of  the  ground  glass,  follows  the  arc  h c,  until  at 
the  latter  point,  which  is  distant  only  20°  from  the  vertical 
line  a l>,  it  is  removed  from  the  flat  surface  by  the  length 
of  the  versed  sine  c <7.  Supposing  the  distance  « 1>  to  be 
II  inch,  which  is  about  what  would  be  indicated  by  Mr. 
Varley’s  dimensions,  the  versed  sine  for  20"  with  that 
length  of  radius  being  represented  by  -06  X 1'25  of  an 
inch,  = -075,  or  about  the  thirteenth  of  an  inch — quite 
enough  to  put  the  image  out  of  focus. 

The  accompanying  sketch,  fig.  2,  shows  a Ramsden 
eyepiece,  A,  of  the  construction  in  general  use.  There 
is  the  usual  tightening  nut,  13,  acting  upon  the  thread  on 
the  jacket  C.  This  jacket,  however,  is  enlarged  at  I)  into  a 
cup-like  form,  which  slides  between  the  surfaces  of  other 
cups,  E and  F.  The  latter  are  united  at  the  bottom,  as 
shown  in  the  drawing.  The  dot  at  G indicates  the  centre 
of  rotation,  with  which  the  surfaces  of  the  cups  are  made 


concentric.  The  screw-ring  II  is  for  the  purpose  of 
distancing  the  whole  system,  according  to  the  thickness 
of  the  ground  glass,  so  that  the  centre  of  rotation  may  be 
in  the  proper  plane. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  this  centre  of  rotation  should 
be  on  the  ground  surface  of  the  focussing  screen.  This 
would  be  the  case  if  the  ground  surface  were  outwards, 

Fig-2. 


but  as  it  is,  the  focus  is  interfered  with,  and  lengthened 
by  passing  through  the  substance  of  the  glass  itself.  It  is 
owing  to  not  taking  this  factor  into  consideration  that 
photographers  sometimes  fall  into  an  error  when  taking  a 
negative  through  the  glass,  in  order  to  obtain  a non- 
reversed  image,  in  supposing  that,  when  focussing,  an 
allowance  must  be  made  equal  to  the  thickness  of  the  glass 
upon  which  the  sensitive  film  is  spread,  so  as  to  keep  the 
film  at  the  same  distance  from  the  lens  as  that  occupied 
by  the  focussing  screen.  If  half  the  thickness  of  the 
plate  is  allowed,  it  will  be  nearly  enough  true  for  most 
purposes. 

The  objection  to  the  use  of  the  eyepiece,  as  figured,  is 
the  size  of  the  cup  or  bell — about  8^  inches  in  diameter — 
necessary.  It  might  be  reduced  by  making  the  whole 
thing  on  a smaller  scale,  but  I am  afraid  is  not  likely  to 
find  much  favour  with  those  tourists  who  carry  small 
cameras  only.  The  convenience  of  examining  parts  other 
than  the  centre  of  the  image,  by  the  help  of  all  the  light 
available,  should  render  it  very  serviceable  not  only  to 
those  who  may  be  engaged  in  examining  and  testing  lenses, 
but  for  many  other  purposes,  such  as  that  of  focussing 
large  groups,  dark  interiors,  copies  of  paintings,  and  such 
subjects  generally. 


Halfpenny  Inland  Postage. — Messrs.  Erdmann  and  Selianz 
forward  us  a letter  ou  this  subject,  from  which  the  following  is 
extracted  : — “ For  the  financial  year  ending  31st  March,  1889, 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  received  from  the  Postmaster- 
General  £3,199,000.  This  represents  271  per  cent,  on  the 
gross  revenue,  but  the  actual  profit  on  the  sale  of  stamps  which 
are  used  for  the  transmission  of  letters  within  the  British  Islands 
is  much  larger.  Happily,  Mr.  Goschen  is  likely  to  have  a sur- 
plus by  the  31st  March  next,  and  for  this  reason,  among  others, 
the  time  is  particularly  opportune  for  suggesting  the  introduc- 
tion of  a halfpenny  postage  for  letters  weighing  less  than  a half 
ounce.  The  postage  on  letters  to  nearly  all  countries  is  calcu- 
lated by  the  half-ounce.  Why,  therefore,  should  we  be  excluded 
from  the  benefit  of  being  able  to  send  half-ounce  letters  to  resi- 
dents within  the  British  Islands  at  a lower  charge  than  is  now 
levied  for  an  ouuce  letter '!  ” 


144 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  21,  1890. 


the  temperature  of  photographic 

MANIPULATIONS. 

About  this  time  every  winter  season  we  get  our  regular 
line  of  letters  containing  questions  involving  difficulties 
in  photographic  working,  that  are  due  directly  or  indi- 
rectly to  a total  disregard  of  temperature.  The  old,  old 
questions  : — My  developer  stock  bottle  contains  a number 
of  crystals  at  the  bottom  ; will  these  make  any  important 
difference  in  developing?  My  toning-bath  works  slowly, 
and  after  going  a certain  distance  the  prints  refuse  to 
tone  ; what  shall  I do  to  overcome  the  difficulty  ? I have 
had  quite  a good  deal  of  trouble  lately  with  my  fixing 
bath  ; the  same  brand  of  plates  that  I used  several  months 
ago,  and  out  of  the  same  box,  take  twice  or  three  times 
as  long  to  fix  as  formerly,  and  I use  the  same  formula 
for  bath  ; please  tell  me  the  cause  of  the  trouble — have 
the  makers  of  the  plates  changed  their  formula  of  manu- 
facture ? 

To  all  these  questions,  and  a score  of  others,  there  is 
but  one  answer.  Don’t  forget  that  the  difference  in  tem- 
perature between  June  and  January,  for  this  latitude, 
may  be  as  much  as  96°,  and  that  a difference  of  25*  may 
occur  within  twelve  hours  on  any  day  in  January.  In 
summer,  the  fall  of  temperature  from  the  heat  of  daytime 
to  the  cool  of  night  has  no  harmful  effect  upon  photo- 
graphic processes,  but  in  winter,  when  the  day  tempera- 
ture is  only  40*  or  50*  at  best,  a drop  of  25*  means  a 
reduction  of  temperature  below  the  freezing  point  of 
water. 

As  some  of  the  results  of  these  low  temperatures  in 
photographic  operations,  we  may  mention  the  crystallizing 
out  of  the  salts  in  the  stock  solution  of  developers  ; the 
mottling  and  blistering  of  albumen  paper  ; slow  and 
obstinate  toning  solutions,  together  with  hard  negatives 
containing  too  much  contrast. 

In  the  case  of  developing  solutions  which  deposit 
crystals  it  is  very  important  that  these  crystals  should  be 
made  to  go  into  solution  again,  or  the  character  and 
working  qualities  of  the  developer  will  be  entirely  changed. 
A change  of  temperature  such  as  we  have  indicated  above 
as  possible  at  this  time  of  year,  would  cause  the  separation 
of  much  of  the  alkaline  ingredients  of  the  developer,  and 
a consequent  slowing  of  its  action  from  this  cause  alone. 
In  case  the  developer  bottle  has  become  chilled  and 
crystals  have  deposited,  place  the  bottle  in  some  warm 
(not  hot)  water  for  a short  time,  and  then  into  water 
that  is  quite  hot.  Do  not  try  to  raise  the  temperature  too 
quickly,  or  you  will  surely  lose  the  solution  from  the 
fracture  of  the  bottle. 

I he  mottling  and  blistering  of  albumen  paper  can  only  be 
overcome  by  one  method  of  working  : always  have  the 
silver  bath,  the  toning  bath,  and  the  fixing  bath  as  near 
the  same  temperature  as  possible  ; and  be  careful  that 
this  temperature  is  between  60*  and  70*  Fahr.  Slow 
toning  is  also  due  to  the  use  of  baths  at  too  low  a tem- 
perature ; 7U*  Fahr.,  or  even  a little  warmer  in  winter 
time,  will  be  found  to  give  the  best  results. 

As  to  the  character  of  the  negatives  produced  in  cold 
weather,  they  are  usually  hard  from  want  of  activity  in  the 
developer.  Some  writers  have  suggested  that  stronger 
developers  should  be  used  in  winter  ; but  it  appears  to  us 
that  the  best  course  to  pursue  is  to  keep  up  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  developer.  Alfred  Stieglitz,  writing  in  the 
Photographische  Rundschau,  says “ The  temperature  of  the 
developer  in  slow  development  is  particularly  important ; 


for  rapid  development  deviations  are  not  so  important.” 
If  the  development  is  slow  (and  everybody  should  follow 
this  method,  as  only  by  slow  development  the  finest  half 
tones  can  be  realised)  the  developer  must  be  kept  at  a 
pretty  constant  temperature  15*  C.  (60*  F.)  preferred, 
which  degrees  can  be  easily  obtained  in  winter  by  addition 
of  warm,  and  in  summer  by  cold  water. 

By  applying  a developer  of  constant  temperature,  the 
time  of  exposure  can  be  regulated  much  better.  The 
first  appearance  of  the  image,  after  the  plate  is  in  the 
developer,  depends  always  upon  the  following  three  con- 
ditions : — Time  of  exposure,  concentration  of  developer, 
and  temperature  of  the  same. 

A developer  of  about  13*  C.  (55*  F.)  acts  ordinarily 
three  to  five  times  slower  than  it  would  at  15*  C.  (60  F.), 
that  is,  at  a so-called  normal  exposure  ; the  plate  would 
thereby  become  hard,  while  by  an  increase  of  temperature 
of  the  same  developer  to  17*  C.  (65  F. ) with  the  same 
time  of  exposure  quite  a weak  negative  would  be  the 
result. 

Cold  developer  gives  hard  negatives  with  correct  expo- 
sure. For  under-exposed  plates  it  is,  therefore,  best  to 
develop  them  with  warm  developer,  as  .already  proposed 
for  instantaneous  views  ; care  has  to  be  exercised,  of 
course,  or  the  plate  will  become  foggy. 

The  assertion  that  more  detail  could  be  obtained  from 


a warm  than  a cold  developer  is  erroneous ; the  de- 
veloper applied  warm  accelerates  only  the  development  of 
the  shadows — that  is,  the  negative  remains  soft,  and  will, 
therefore,  furnish  harmonious  and  handsome  prints. 

In  short,  I would  recommend  to  everybody  not  to  dis- 
regard the  thermometer  during  the  development  of  the 
plate. 

To  the  above  timely  suggestions  we  would  add  that  it 
is  equally  important  to  be  sure  that  the  fixing  bath  for  the 
negative  is  not  too  cold,  in  order  to  secure  negatives  free 
from  stain  and  that  do  not  turn  yellow  with  time.  A cold 
fixing  batli  is  slow-working,  and  although  it  may  dissolve 
out  the  silver  haloid,  it  may  not  cause  the  complete  solu- 
tion of  the  hyposulphite  of  silver,  and  a decomposition  of 
the  latter  will  make  the  negative  turn  yellow  with  age. 
Therefore,  maintain  a fair  average  of  temperature  (60° 
to  70*  Fahr.)  for  all  photographic  manipulations,  and  very 
many  if  not  all  your  difficulties  in  winter  will  disappear. 
— Anthony's  Photographic  Bulletin. 


Enterprising  Photographers. — There  are  some  enterprising 
photographers  in  Munich,  as  a well-known  artist  discovered 
the  other  day.  He  had  seen  some  photographs  which  took  his 
fancy  greatly,  one  of  the  fairy-like  palaces  built  by  the  crazy 
King  Louis.  Nothing  would  satisfy  him  but  a visit  to  the  spot 
for  the  purpose  of  making  some  sketches.  Accordingly  he  set 
out  for  liis  destination,  arrived  at  the  romantic  place  where  the 
castle  is  situated,  and  toiled  up  a mountain  which  he  imagined 
commanded  the  view  of  the  castle  he  had  seen  in  the  photograph. 
But  when  he  reached  the  top  of  the  mountaiu  and  looked  at 
the  castle,  it  did  not  seem  the  same  as  it  had  appeared  in  the 
photograph.  He  was  greatly  puzzled,  for  there  was  the  front 
of  the  castle  taken  in  the  photograph  staring  him  in  the  face, 
and  no  other  part  save  the  top  of  the  mountain  available  for 
the  planting  of  a camera.  Yet  the  picture  was  different.  He 
made  enquiries,  and  discovered  the  reason.  The  photographer 
had  had  himself  tied  to  a rope,  and  had  l>een  lowered  a 
hundred  feet  or  so  down  the  ]>erpendicular  side  of  the  huge 
rock,  and  so  had  obtained  the  view  he  wanted.- -The  Picture 
and  Art  Trade. 

Continental  photographic  societies  will  be  busy  this  year, 
as  no  less  than  three  exhibitions  will  be  held,  namely,  at 
Brussels,  Amsterdam,  aud  at  Antwerp. 


February  21,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


145 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  Swiss  Photographic  Review , bearing  the  motto  Omnia  luce, 
published  monthly  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  E.  Demole, 
at  Geneva,  is  the  chief  exponent  of  several  photographic 
societies,  as,  for  instance,  of  the  Society  of  Geneva,  of 
Lausanne,  of  Zurich,  and  of  the  Photo.  Club  of  Xeuehatel. 
This  Review,  which  is  now  in  its  second  year,  contains 
an  interesting  article  on  some  meetings  of  the  Photographic 
Society  of  Zurich  from  July  to  December,  1889. 

The  author  of  the  article,  after  alluding  to  a previous 
description  of  the  transactions  of  the  Society  till  the 
month  of  June  last,  notices  the  increased  interest  in  the 
last  six  sittings  of  the  bygone  year,  evidenced  by  the 
attendance  on  every  occasion  of  more  than  half  the 
members.  In  these  sittings,  the  chief  objects  of  curiosity 
and  debate  were  the  orthochromatic  plates,  and  the  new 
developers,  hydrochinon  and  eikonogen,  and  many  speci- 
mens and  experiments  of  the  working  of  these  materials 
were  submitted  to  the  congress. 

It  will  doubtless  be  of  some  interest  to  other  amateurs 
to  learn  the  several  results  of  these  varied  experiments. 
By  far  the  greater  number  of  members  had  tried  their 
hand  with  orthochromatic  plates,  and  the  outcome  of  their 
endeavours  was  so  far  satisfactory  that  the  author  asserts 
that  the  use  of  these  will  probably  become  more  common, 
perhaps  universal. 

The  experiments  were  chiefly  concerned  with  Vogel 
and  Obernetter’s  eosin  silver  plates,  which  certainly  possess 
remarkable  orthochromatic  properties.  It  was,  however, 
unhappily  agreed  upon  by  all  the  members  who  had 
meddled  with  these  plates  that,  in  a comparatively  short 
time,  a strange  marginal  veil  was  formed,  developing  a 
tendency  to  become  even  broader,  so  that,  for  instance,  on  a 
plate  13  by  18,  after  a short  period,  a picture  of  the  dimen- 
sions 10  by  15  was  with  difficulty  to  be  obtained.  The 
author  concludes  that  this  defect  has  been  occasioned 
probably  by  the  use  of  unsuitable  packing  paper,  and  con- 
fidently hopes  that  the  manufacturers  will  in  future  remedy 
this  evil.  The  article  says,  Herr  Scheuermeier,  of  Zurich, 
has  lately  manufactured  orthochromatic  plates  of  excel- 
lent quality,  and  such  as  show,  even  after  the  lapse  of 
three  months,  no  kind  or  sort  of  defect  or  alteration. 

No  good  yellow  screen  is  procurable  in  Geneva  ; those  to 
be  met  with  in  the  glass  factories,  made  of  coloured  glass, 
are  all  far  too  thick  and  uneven  ; the  glass  plates  covered 
with  yellow  collodion,  and  the  yellow  gelatine  films  display 
too  clearly  the  injury  arising  from  dust  and  other  causes. 

As  far  as  regards  developers,  experiments  were  made 
by  the  great  majority  of  the  members  with  hydrochinon 
and  eikonogen,  which,  as  a rule,  were  sufficiently  successful. 
It  was,  however,  found  that  the  hydrochinon  developer 
procured  from  an  emporium  was  not  durable,  and  that 
the  composition,  after  the  flask  had  been  once  opened, 
without  being  further  called  into  use,  within  the  space  of 
two  or  three  weeks  acquired  a brown  tint,  and  became 
utterly  useless  for  the  purposes  of  photography, 

Even  with  the  pulverized  eikonogen,  like  results  were 
attained.  Many  of  the  members,  however,  spoke  in  high 
terms  of  eikonogen  developers  made  with  good  chemicals 
as  quick  and  clean  workers.  In  opposition  to  these  newly 
christened  agents,  the  ammonio-pyrogallol  developer  of  the 
formula  of  Dr.  Barbieri  and  his  fellow-workers  was  praised 
as  most  successful  and  of  the  highest  value. 

In  the  positive  process,  aristo  paper  has  now  been  for 
about  a year  principally  employed,  and  this  paper,  says 


the  author,  is  highly  to  be  recommended  to  every  amateur, 
not  only  on  account  of  its  durability,  but  for  the  reason  of 
its  many  other  good  qualities.  For  toning,  the  combined 
toning  and  fixing  bath  is  commonly  used.  But  it  does 
not  invariably  act  as  might  be  desired,  and  we  give  our 
readers  the  following  gold  bath  recommended  by  Dr. 
Barbieri  with  the  addition  of  a few  drops  of  hyposulphite 
of  soda — 4 gr.  sulphocyanide  of  ammonium,  200  c.m. 
water,  10  drops  hyposulphite  of  soda,  solvent  (1 : 10),  10  c.m., 
chloride  of  gold  1 ’50,  and  as  a solvent  100  c.m.  water.  The 
addition  of  the  hyposulphite  of  soda  produces  colder 
tones.  This  bath  is  not  durable. 

Platinum  paper  cannot  as  yet  claim  the  right  of  full 
citizenship  in  the  photographic  burgh.  The  experiments 
shown  on  this  material  seem  not  to  have  been  taken  with 
sufficient  care  ; in  every  case  the  cautions  as  to  the  con- 
servation of  this  paper  appear  to  have  been  neglected. 

It  was  resolved  early  in  the  spring  of  1889  to  make  an 
attempt  to  facilitate  the  passage  through  the  Custom  Houses 
of  photographers  with  highly  sensitive  preparations,  as,  for 
example,  by  the  formation  of  dark-rooms  at  the  principal 
seats  of  Custom,  or  by  some  course  of  instruction  of  the 
minor  officers.  As,  however,  no  instance  of  damage  or 
loss  accruing  from  the  want  of  such  provisions  was  brought 
forward,  the  Custom  House  authorities  declined  to  interfere 
with  the  matter  for  the  present,  but  gave  an  assurance 
that  they  would  not  hesitate,  as  far  as  lay  in  their  power, 
to  put  a stop  to  any  impropriety  of  action  on  the  part  of 
their  officers  which  should  be  brought  before  their  notice. 

The  International  Photographic  Congress  at  Paris  has 
interested  itself  particularly  in  this  matter,  and  has  resolved, 
as  we  are  informed,  to  procure  the  erection  of  dark-rooms 
at  the  principal  Custom  Houses.  It  would,  however,  be  a 
great  help  to  any  effort  of  this  nature,  if  notice  was  at  once 
taken  by  the  Swiss  Photographic  Union  of  any  ill  or  damage, 
so  that  later  on,  when  a society  fouud  it  advisable  or  neces- 
sary to  take  further  steps  in  the  business,  the  material 
evidence  might  be  close  at  hand. 

In  the  course  of  the  meeting,  several  exceedingly 
interesting  photographic  novelties  were  displayed : objec- 
tives with  iris  diaphragms,  detective  cameras,  instantaneous 
shutters,  &c.  In  the  November  meeting,  Dr.  Barbieri 
showed  a large  collection,  chiefly  of  objects  of  practical 
interest  which  he  had  collected  and  gathered  together 
during  his  summer  journey. 


Dit.  Weyl,  of  Berlin,  has  just  discovered  that  the  anaerobic 
bacteria  exert  a powerful  reducing  influence.  They  will  reduce 
indigo  blue  to  indigo  white. 

Lustrous  Surfaces  on  Glass. — Tiie  following  method  of 
preparation  of  lustrous  metallic  surfaces  on  glass  and  glazed 
ceramic  ware  is  described  in  the  Journal  of  the  Society  of 
Chemical  Industry.  An  aqueous  solution  of  silver  nitrate  is 
mixed  with  a paste  which  when  heated  in  a muffle  at  a low 
temperature  will  not  fuse  to  the  glass  or  porcelain,  but  can  be 
readily  detached  from  it.  Suitable  pastes  may  be  made  from 
chalk,  earth,  lamp-black,  sulphur,  madder  lake,  manganese 
dioxide,  and  oxide  of  iron.  During  the  heating  in  the  muffle 
the  silver  passes  from  the  paste  to  the  surface  of  the  glass  or 
porcelain,  the  paste  is  then  carefully  removed,  and  the  article 
heated  gently  for  a few  minutes  in  a reducing  atmosphere, 
preferably  in  carbonic  oxide.  An  adherent  lustrous  metallic 
coating  is  produced  which  in  transmitted  light  appears  light 
yellow  to  dark  green  white,  while  the  lustre  varies  in  appearance 
from  that  of  silver  to  greenish  gold.  Three  parts  of  paste 
are  used  for  one  part  of  silver  nitrate.  Chloride  or  sulphide  of 
silver  may  also  be  used,  the  former  imparting  a greenish  and  the 
latter  a yellow  colour. 


14G 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  21,  18S0. 


j^otcg. 


Most  photographers  have  noticed  the  common  resem- 
blance which  exists  between  middle-aged  and  elderly 
married  couples,  but  they  will  scarcely  be  prepared  to 
hear  that  this  resemblance  is  also  just  as  marked  in 
the  case  of  youthful  husbands  and  wives.  Professor 
H.  Eol,  a German  savant,  has  been  making  some  experi- 
ments on  the  subject,  and  out  of  seventy-eight  young 
couples  whom  he  photographed,  he  found  that  twenty- 
four  bore  a stronger  resemblance  to  each  other  than 
that  of  brother  to  sister.  In  thirty  the  likeness  was 
marked,  and  in  twenty-four  only  was  there  a total 
absence  of  resemblance.  What  bearing  this  fact,  if  it 
be  established,  has  upon  the  great  question,  “is  marriage 
a failure?”  is  difficult  to  say  without  further  data. 
If  the  history  of  these  seventy-eight  couples  could  be 
closely  followed  up,  and  it  was  found  that  the  twenty- 
four  pairs  who  were  like  each  other  were  “ happy  ever 
afterwards,”  as  the  old  story-books  used  to  say,  and 
that  the  twenty-four  unlike  had  to  seek  the  assistance 
of  the  German  equivalent  of  Sir  James  Hannen,  we 
should  arrive  at  a decidedly  valuable  conclusion. 
Unfortunately  for  the  present  generation,  at  least  half 
a century  would  be  required  to  test  the  theory  fairly. 
In  the  meantime  it  would  be  decidedly  rash  to  advise  two 
young  people  to  marry  simply  because  their  photographs 
resemble  each  other. 


The  universal  application  of  the  electric  light  would 
be  an  enormous  boon  to  photographers.  Could  the 
light  be  supplied  cheaply,  they  would  be  rendered 
independent  of  fog  and  dark  days,  and  in  addition  be 
able  to  work  as  well  in  the  night  as  in  the  daytime. 
We  believe  that  most  of  the  leading  photographers 
who  introduced  the  electric  light,  working  it  from  their 
own  engines,  have  relinquished  this  method,  not  only 
on  account  of  the  expense,  but  by  reason  of  the  un- 
certainty. Those  who  do  use  the  light  take  the 
current  from  the  mains,  but  this  can  only  be  done  in 
exceptional  cases.  Were  the  electric  light  pretty 
general,  a dozen  photographers  would  employ  it  where 
only  one  does  so  at  the  present  time. 


Another  important  branch  of  photographic  industry 
would  also  greatly  benefit ; we  refer  to  photo-zinco- 
graphy. The  electric  light  here  is  indispensable,  if  a 
business  is  to  be  carried  on  satisfactorily.  The 
enormous  increase  of  illustrated  papers,  and  the  exigen- 
cies of  competition,  have  brought  the  time  allowed  the 
photo-zincographer  for  the  photography  of  drawings 
and  the  production  of  blocks  within  very  narrow  limits, 
and  unless  the  electric  light  were  used,  business  could 
not  be  carried  on.  The  electric  light  can  be  obtained 
easily  enough  in  the  great  printing  centre  of  London, 
Fleet  Street,  but  there  is  a serious  drawback  to  success- 
ful results  in  the  constant  vibration.  The  use  of  the 
electric  light  in  the  suburbs  would  give  enormous 
facilities  to  photo-ziucographers,  us  here  they  would  be 


able  to  work  without  the  risk  of  doubling  or  thickening 
of  the  lines  of  a drawing. 

The  Turkish  authorities  have  a strange  horror  of 
photography.  A year  or  so  ago  all  the  photographs 
in  the  Pera  shops  of  the  Sultan’s  brother  were  seized, 
because  it  was  suspected  the  prince  was  conspiring 
against  the  Commander  of  the  Faithful.  Two  months 
after,  the  death  took  place  in  prison  of  a young  Arme- 
nian whose  only  offence  was  that  he  photographed  the 
pictures  of  the  old  Armenian  kings,  and  now  a German 
photographer  has  paid  the  penalty  of  a rash  attempt  to 
take  an  instantaneous  portrait  of  the  Sultan  as  he 
was  going  to  the  mosque.  The  gendarmes  fell  upon 
the  unlucky  man,  smashed  his  camera,  and  carried  him 
off  to  prison,  where  he  lay  three  weeks.  After  that  he 
was  bidden  to  depart  from  the  Turkish  coasts,  and  was 
not  allowed  so  much  as  twenty-four  hours  in  which  to 
wind  up  his  business.  Amateur  photographers  who 
think  of  going  to  Turkey  had  certainly  better  leave 
their  cameras  behind. 


Painters  will  have  a fresh  grivance  against  photo- 
graphers. At  one  time  the  painter  was  an  indispen- 
sable official  at  all  great  ceremonial  functions,  such  as 
royal  marriages,  christenings,  funerals,  and  the  like, 
and  terrible  work  it  used  to  be  for  the  unfortuate  man, 
as  Mr.  W.  P.  Frith,  R.A.,  in  his  “Reminiscences,” 
graphically  relates.  The  difficulties  of  securing  a 
separate  portrait  of  each  actor  in  the  scene  were 
enormous,  and  the  wonder  is  that  any  artist  could  be 
got  to  undertake  the  commission.  We  manage  things 
better  now-a-days.  When  the  Princess  Louise  of 
Wales  was  married  to  the  Earl  of  Fife,  the  ceremony 
was  photographed  by  Messrs.  Byrne,  of  Richmond, 
and  this  photograph,  we  read,  has  now  formed  the  basis 
of  a painting  also  executed  by  the  same  firm.  The 
transaction  has  a commercial  ring  about  it,  and  artists 
may  lament  the  decadence  of  the  times  in  such 
matters,  but  on  the  whole  the  new  order  of  things  is 
much  more  comfortable  for  everybody  concerned. 

One  peculiarity  of  photography  is  that  in  many  cases 
it  acts  as  a sort  of  barometer  of  public  taste.  An 
attentive  study  of  the  principal  photographic  print 
dealers’  windows  will  generally  disclose  what  is  the 
fleeting  fancy.  Very  recently  there  has  been  a sort  of 
worship  of  muscle.  All  the  strong  men  who  have 
been  exhibiting  themselves  on  the  music  hall  stage 
have  had  their  torsos  and  biceps  photographed,  and 
that  these  photographs  attract  is  shown  by  the  gaping 
crowds.  The  pictures  of  the  strong  men  certainly 

have  an  advantage  over  the  photographs  of  prize 
fighters,  who  are  generally  posed  in'the  most  ungainly 
and  vapid  of  attitudes,  with  the  muscles'inactive  and 
flaccid,  and  suggesting  anything  but  strength.  Per- 
haps the  photographing  of  Samson’s  and  Sandow’s  arms 
will  lead  to  the  photographing  of  some  famous  pedes- 
trian’s legs,  or  the  pectoral  and  spinal  muscles  of  a con- 
tortionist. We  do  not  say  that  such  photographs  are 
desirable,  wo  only  suggest  what  is  likely  to  happen. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


147 


February  21,  1890.] 

PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHY  AND  THE  NEW  ALBERT 
PIIOTO-LITHOGRAPII LC  TRANSFER  PAPER. 

BY  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

The  following  is  a detailed  description  of  the  photo- 
lithographic process  as  it  is  in  practical  use  in  the  most 
eminent  printing  establishments  in  Austria  and  Germany. 
I have  very  often  had  opportunity  of  seeing  how  success- 
fully it  is  worked,  and  can  therefore  state  that  the  firm  of 
E.  Jaffe  and  A.  Albert,  of  Vienna,  deserves  much  credit 
for  having  introduced  the  new  transfer  paper,  which  is  a 
boon  to  all  photo-lithographic  workers. 

The  bichromate  bath  consists  of  : — 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  1,000  c.c. 

Bichromate  of  potash  ...  ...  50  grammes 

To  this  solution,  caustic  ammonia  is  added  until  the 
reddish  colour  of  the  bath  turns  to  a light  yellow  colour  ; 
an  excess  of  ammonia  does  no  harm.  The  temperature  of 
the  bichromate  bath  should  be  about  66°  F.  It  is  filtered 
into  a flat  dish  of  sufficient  size,  and  the  paper,  with  the 
prepared  surface  up,  entirely  immersed,  and  allowed  to 
remain  in  the  bath  until  it  is  quite  soft.  This  is  of 
importance,  for,  if  it  is  not  soaked  long  enough,  also  if  the 
temperature  of  the  bath  is  below  66°  F.,  the  bichromate 
solution  will  not  enter  sufficiently  into  the  prepared  film, 
and  consequently,  at  the  subsequent  inking  up  of  the 
copies,  the  colour  will  .adhere  but  badly  to  the  exposed 
parts,  especially  to  the  broader  lines  and  surfaces  of  the 
picture. 

If  sufficiently  soaxed,  the  paper  is  removed,  held  over 
the  dish  so  that  the  fluid  flows  off  only  at  one  of  the  lower 
corners,  and  allowed  to  drain  until  the  liquid  only  drops. 
Then  the  two  corners  of  the  paper,  which  have  been  held, 
are  given  to  a second  person,  who  now  holds  the  sheet 
over  a plate  glass  a little  larger  than  the  paper.  This 
plate-glass  must  previously  be  well  cleaned,  then  rubbed 
in  with  talc  powder,  and  the  surplus  of  the  latter  dusted 
off  with  a broad,  soft  brush.  On  this  glass  plate  the  sheet 
is  placed  with  its  lower  edge  of  the  prepared  surface,  and 
smoothed  down  by  means  of  a soft  cloth.  During  this 
operation  the  person  assisting  holds  fast  the  corners  of  the 
paper  until  the  mounting  is  finished,  and  only  gives  slowly 
way  to  the  pressure  of  the  smoothing  down. 

If  too  much  of  the  talc  powder  has  been  dusted  off  the 
plate  glass,  it  may  happen  that  the  paper,  after  drying,  partly 
adheres  to  the  glass,  and  even  tears  here  and  there  ; it  is 
therefore  necessary  that  a certain  amount  of  the  talc  pow- 
der remains  on  the  plate,  and  better  a little  too  much  than 
too  little.  Should  the  paper,  after  entirely  drying,  still 
adhere  to  some  parts  of  the  glass,  then  the  latter  has  been 
badly  cleaned. 

Care  should  also  be  taken  that  in  smoothing  down  the 
paper  no  air-bubbles  arise  between  the  glass  and  the  paper, 
since  they  will  appear  on  the  dry  paper  in  the  form  of 
matt  spots,  which  will  interfere  in  the  case  of  fine  work. 
As  soon  as  the  sheet  lies  quite  flat  on  the  glass,  the  back 
of  it  is  well  rubbed  with  a soft  cloth,  applying  thereby  a 
certain  degree  of  pressure  to  suck  up  the  fluid  on  the  back 
of  the  paper,  and  also  to  squeeze  out  the  bichromate  bath 
between  the  paper  and  the  glass,  and  by  this  means 
to  accelerate  the  drying  process. 

The  glass  plate,  together  with  the  paper  on  it,  is  now 
placed  in  a darkened,  not  too  warm  room,  and  dried  spon- 
taneously ; after  six  to  twelve  hours  it  will  be  dried.  This 
may  be  ascertained  by  touching  the  back  of  the  sheet,  and 
by  the  paper  easily  stripping  off. 


After  stripping,  the  paper  shows  a beautiful,  high  gloss  ; 
it  is  now  ready  for  copying,  and  must,  of  course,  be  kept 
in  the  dark.  The  sensitised  paper  should  be  used  up 
within  twenty-four  hours,  because  if  it  is  kept  for  a longer 
time  it  is  more  difficult  to  work.  In  the  stripped  state 
the  paper  should  be  kept  in  a not  too  dry  place,  for  if  it  is 
too  dry,  or  even  brittle,  no  sharp  copies  are  to  be  obtained 
with  it,  since  it  does  not  join  closely  to  the  negative.  Be- 
sides, it  is  important  to  preserve  in  the  paper  a certain 
degree  of  flexibility,  because  it  will  then  be  possible  to 
open  one  half  of  the  printing  frame  in  order  to  control 
the  progress  of  the  printing  process,  without  fear  of  ob- 
taining a doubled  print.  Should  it,  however,  occur  that 
the  paper  is  too  brittle,  it  may  be  placed  between  slightly 
moistened  blotting-paper,  but  care  must  be  taken  that 
the  transfer  paper  does  not  become  too  damp. 

In  printing,  it  is  not  necessary  to  use  a photometer, 
since,  as  we  have  mentioned  above,  it  is  possible  to  watch 
the  progress  by  opening  one  side  of  the  back  of  the  frame, 
provided  that  the  paper  is  sufficiently  smooth.  The  print 
should  have  a brown  tone,  and  appear  in  visible  relief 
from  the  ground.  Over-printing  is  very  injurious,  because 
the  lines  and  points  of  the  image  become  thereby  broader, 
and  the  development  of  the  copy  becomes  difficult.  If, 
however,  it  is  under-printed,  the  colour  does  not  adhere 
to  the  image  in  development,  or,  at  least,  it  adheres  only 
to  the  vigorous  parts  of  the  print. 

Care  should  also  be  taken  that  the  backs  in  the  printing 
frame  are  not  damp,  because  this  is  obnoxious  to  the 
sharpness  of  the  print.  Sometimes  it  will  happen,  especi- 
ally in  the  case  of  copies  from  densely-drawn  originals,  and 
in  the  case  of  copper  engravings,  that  certain  parts  of  the 
negative  will  print  too  quickly  ; parts  of  this  kind  are  var- 
nished on  the  back  with  carmine,  as  it  is  usually  done  in 
the  case  of  negatives  with  half-tones. 

The  inking  of  the  transfer  may  be  carried  on  in  different 
manners,  but  in  all  cases  it  is  essential  to  lay  on  a light 
colour-tone  evenly  over  the  whole  of  the  copy.  This  may 
be  done  by  means  of  a sponge  or  a rag,  as  well  as  with  a 
velvet  roller  ; the  main  point  is  always  the  result.  The 
manipulations  are  as  follows: — The  smooth  face  of  a litho- 
graphic stone  is,  by  means  of  an  ordinary  lithographic 
leather  roller,  inked  up  with  good  transfer  ink.  and  the 
velvet  roller,  which  perhaps  serves  the  purpose  best,  care- 
fully charged  with  a thin  coating  of  the  ink  ; then  the  copy, 
which  has  been  placed  on  an  even,  smooth  surface,  is  inked 
up  with  the  velvet  roller  until  it  is  evenly  covered  with  a 
middle  grey  tone.  The  vigorous  parts  of  the  image  should 
still  be  visible  through  the  colour,  otherwise  too  much  ink 
has  been  applied.  When  the  transfer  is  successfully  inked 
up,  it  is  placed  in  clean,  cold  water,  but  care  should  be 
taken  that  no  air-bubbles  adhere  to  the  copy  in  the  water, 
and  that  the  back  of  the  paper  remains  completely  covered 
with  the  water.  After  ten  to  fifteen  minutes  the  transfer 
is  removed,  the  water  allowed  to  drain,  the  copy  laid  once 
more  with  its  back  on  the  smooth  plate,  and  the  water 
squeezed  out  from  the  film  side  by  means  of  fine  tissue 
paper,  which  is  done  best  by  rolling  over  it  with  an  old, 
clean  lithographic  roller,  avoiding,  however,  carefully  the 
formation  of  wrinkles,  because,  otherwise,  the  film  will 
probably  be  damaged.  The  moistened  transferis  now  once 
more  inked  up  with  the  velvet  roller  charged  with  colour. 
If,  after  some  rolling,  the  image  comes  out  quite  distinctly, 
the  paper,  at  the  same  tune,  being  clear  of  the  yellow 
colour  produced  by  the  bichromate  bath,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  wash  off  with  a clean,  very  fine,  and  soft  sponge 


148 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  21,  1890. 


moistened  with  water  the  colour  which  still  adheres  to  the 
imexposed  parts  of  the  impression.  If,  however,  the 
transfer,  after  being  inked  up,  appears  still  yellow,  it  must 
be  placed,  before  the  application  of  the  sponge,  once  more 
in  the  water,  and  the  inking  up  with  the  velvet  roller  must 
be  repeated. 

The  ready  developed  transfers  are  placed  between  dry, 
clean,  and  perfectly  smooth  blotting-paper,  and  by  gentle 
pressure  freed  from  the  still  adhering  water.  Then  they 
are  fastened  by  means  of  drawing  pins  on  a board,  and 
dried  spontaneously  on  a slightly  warmed  place  free  from 
dust. 

The  dry  copy  is  placed  between  damp  blotting-paper. 
In  the  case  of  grained  or  stippled  impressions,  tissue 
paper  must  be  used  instead  of  the  ordinary  blotting-paper. 

In  pulling  through  the  press  for  the  first  time,  only  a 
slight  pressure  should  be  applied,  it  being  increased  at 
each  stroke.  As  usually,  the  transfer  is  several  times  wetted 
with  water.  After  the  last  pulling  through,  the  transfer  is 
removed  without  again  being  wetted;  if  there  is  any 
difficulty  in  doing  so,  the  stone  may  be  taken  out  of  the 
press,  and  placed  for  a short  time  in  a cold  room,  or  the 
transfer  may  be  dried  spontaneously.  In  both  cases  the 
removing  of  the  transfer  is  facilitated. 

The  “ rubbing-in  ” or  intensifying  of  the  image  on  the 
stone  is  done  as  usual,  but  in  the  case  of  very  fine  draw- 
ings, grained  or  stippled  images,  a very  slow  procedure 
will  be  necessary.  The  sponge  which  is  used  in  intensify- 
ing should  contain  only  a small  quantity  of  the  colour. 

The  etching  may  be  done  in  the  ordinary  manner  with 
slightly  acid  gum- water ; in  the  case  of  fine  drawings,  how- 
ever, it  is  recommended  to  apply  a “sharp  or  high-etch- 
ing ” bath,  it  offering  also  otherwise  some  advantages. 

For  this  purpose  the  transfer  is  dusted  in  at  first  with 
resin  powder,  then  with  talc  powder,  and  the  excessive 
powder  carefully  removed  with  a pad  of  cotton.  Then 
two  narrow,  long  strips  of  wood,  about  one-eighth  of  an 
inch  thick,  are  placed  on  the  two  longitudinal  edges  of  the 
stone,  clear  of  the  impression,  and  fastened  at  one  end  in 
any  convenient  way.  Then  a wooden  lath,  about  three 
inches  wide,  1^  inches  thick,  and  a little  longer  than  the 
stone  is  wide,  is  taken,  covered  with  cloth,  and  moistened 
with  sulphuric  ether ; it  is  then  placed  on  the  two  wooden 
strips,  at  the  end  that  has  been  fastened  to  the  stone,  and 
slowly  pulled  over  the  strips  at  f till  length  of  the  stone.  It 
is  sufficient  to  go  once  over  the  stone  in  the  manner  des- 
cribed in  order  to  melt  the  resin  powder,  together  with 
the  colour,  by  means  of  the  ether  vapours.  Then  the 
stone  is  etched  for  about  one  minute  with  the  gum  etching 
bath,  which  should  be  strong  enough,  so  that  it  slightly 
scums  if  poured  on  the  stone.  The  stone  is  then  ready  to 
be  printed  from. 

4Y  ith  the  same  paper,  transfers  can  also  be  made  on  zinc 
to  produce  relief  blocks,  and,  indeed,  it  is  used  for  this 
purpose  by  many  large  establishments.  This  process, 
however,  we  shall  describe  on  another  occasion. 

Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. — Technical  meet- 
ing, Tuesday,  February  25th,  at  8 p.m.,  at  the  Gallery,  5a, 
Pall  Mall  East. 

London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. — On 
Thursday,  Feb.  27,  Mr.  A.  Haddon  will  give  a leeturette  and 
practical  demonstration  of  “ Glass  Blowing  as  Used  in  the 
Chemical  and  Physical  Laboratories.”  Visitors  are  invited. 

‘ How  shall  we  move  the  masses  ? ” cried  the  Chicago 
anarchist  on  Christmas  day.  Just  then  an  amateur  photo- 
grapher was  seen  pointing  his  camera  out  of  a window — and 
the  masses  moved. — II  thou’ a Photographic  Magazine. 


DESTRUCTION  OF  DRY  PLATES  BY  INSECTS* 
Once  more  an  American  industry  is  menaced  and  in 
danger  of  being  proscribed  in  Continental  Europe;  this 
time  it  is  the  American  dry  plate  that  comes  under  the 
ban.  The  current  number  of  the  Photographisches  Wochen- 
blatt  sounds  the  note  of  warning,  and  urges  all  amateur 
and  professional  photographers,  under  the  circumstances, 
to  beware  of  the  purchase  of  any  “ Amerekanische 
Trocken-platten  ” (dry-plates),  or  keeping  any  upon  their 
premises.  The  cause  of  this  agitation  is  said  to  be  the 
discovery  of  an  insect  which  breeds  in  the  emulsion  on 
the  dry-plates  and  films,  and  is  said  to  prove  as  destructive 
to  the  jjlates  as  the  potato-bug  is  to  vines  of  that  tuber ; 
and  if  the  pest  once  gains  a foothold  in  any  gallery,  every 
plate  and  negative  will  soon  be  destroyed,  and  the  place 
become  infested  as  a barn  or  granary  with  weevil. 

Since  the  above-mentioned  urgent  note  of  warning  was 
issued  to  all  Continental  photographers,  further  particulars 
have  reached  us,  together  with  the  circumstantial  account 
connected  with  the  alleged  discovery  of  one  of  the  much- 
dreaded  insects. 

It  appears  that  the  sou  of  Ilerr  Isidore  von  Duukel- 
kammer,  K.  K.  Geheim-Commerzien-rath,  in  Berlin,  pur- 
chased from  a local  dealer  a box  of  dry-plates  of  a cele- 
brated American  maker.  On  opening  his  purchase  in  his 
dark  room,  he  found  securely  entrenched  between  the  two 
packages  of  plates  a nondescript  bug  or  insect.  The 
youth,  who  is  an  active  member  of  the  “ Sonntags-Photo- 
graphischcr  Jager-Verein,”  at  once  surmised  that  here 
was  one  of  the  much-dreaded  insects,  against  which  the 
note  of  warning  had  been  sounded  in  the  Fa ch -bliitter. 
lie  reported  the  matter  to  his  father,  who,  as  an  officer  of 
the  Government,  felt  the  weight  of  the  situation  which 
rested  upon  him  ; repairing  to  the  dark-room,  von  Dun- 
kelhammer  ordered  that  the  animal  be  put  in  a vial  and 
hermetically  sealed,  and  sent  to  the  “K.  K.  Academic  der 
Naturlichen  Wissenschaften.  ” A special  meeting  was 
called  for  the  occasion,  when  the  extreme  thinness  or 
flatness  of  the  specimen  was  much  commented  on,  where- 
by it  would  be  able  to  force  its  way  between  the  sheets  of 
glass  or  film  as  they  were  packed  in  merchantable  pack- 
ages. The  vial  containing  the  specimen,  as  an  extra 
precaution,  was  enclosed  in  another  bottle,  which  was  also 
sealed,  and  was  ordered  to  be  made  the  special  subject  for 
the  next  regular  meeting  of  the  faculty'  a week  hence. 

When  the  day  arrived  Professor  Raupe  von  G'assetten- 
schieber  opened  the  subject  by  stating  that  it  was  his 
sorrowful  duty  to  inform  the  Academy  that  another  Ameri- 
can pest  had  appeared  at  the  threshold  of  Europe,  and 
threatened  the  ruin  of  one  of  the  Fatherland’s  most 
beautiful  professions  and  amusements,  viz. , die  Kunst  der 
Photographie,  but  that  he  had  positive  assurance  that  the 
G overument  would  at  once  take  the  most  radical  steps  to 
prohibit  the  introduction  of  any  photographic  material 
from  America ; in  fact,  that  the  Imperial  Council  would 
place  the  same  interdict  on  American  films  and  dry  plates, 
as  the  Imperial  Chancellor  had  placed  on  the  American 
hog.  The  learned  Professor  was  seconded  in  his  remarks 
by  Ilerr  K.  K.  Ilof-Photograf  Weitwinkel;  after  which 
Dr.  Aaron  Eisenoxolat,  inspector  der  Deutschen-reiclis- 
Trocken-pliitten,  offered  a resolution  of  thanks  to  all 
editors  who  had  given  publicity  to  the  new  danger  which 
threatened  to  ruin  every  photographer  within  the  realm, 
which  was  passed  unanimously ; after  which  Hen’ 

* American  Journal  of  Photography. 


February  21,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


149 


lludolphsohn  von  Momentverschluss,  who  was  also  “ In- 
tendant  und  Geheim-Inspector  des  Staats-Detective 
l’olizei,”  stilted  that  by  order  of  the  Imperial  Chancellor 
his  department  would  at  once  take  measures  to  seize  all 
American  dry-plates  and  films  wherever  found  within 
the  Empire,  and  that  the  confiscated  material  would 
immediately  be  taken  to  the  Imperial  Crematorium 
at  Spandau,  and  there  subjected  to  a heat  of  at  least 
2,400°  Fahrenheit,  which  the  Sanitats  Behrbde  had  judged 
to  be  ample  to  destroy  any  molecules  or  germs  which 
might  escape  from  the  packages  during  the  operation. 

A further  resolution  of  thanks  was  passed  compliment- 
ing Geheim-Commerzien  Rath  von  Duukelkammer  for  his 
courage  and  diligence  in  capturing  the  dreaded  insect,  and 
his  disposition  of  the  same. 

The  members  then  adjourned  to  the  Laboratory  of  the 
Academy  for  the  purpose  of  making  a thorough  and 
scientific  examination  of  the  captive  specimen,  so  that  an 
exact  description  could  be  published  for  the  information 
of  the  public  in  general.  Special  preparation  had  been 
made.  Dry-plates  of  all  known  makers,  domestic  and 
foreign,  were  placed  side  by  side,  so  as  to  allow  the  insect 
to  pass  over  them  consecutively,  to  see  if  any  one  make 
offered  special  attraction  to  the  destroyer.  It  was  con- 
cluded not  to  experiment  on  the  subject  with  the  various 
poisons,  as  in  case  any  should  prove  fatal  it  would  un- 
doubtedly interfere  with  further  investigation. 

Not  the  least  results  were  expected  from  the  micro- 
scopic examination  ; this  was  to  take  place  by  the  great 
bi-ocular-plauo-clectro-objective.  For  this  occasion  the 
subject  was  to  be  illuminated  by  an  electric  light  gene- 
rated by  a purified  current  of  electricity  of  at  least  3,000 
volts,  Siemen  measurement ; this  part  of  the  investigation 
to  be  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  the  celebrated 
specialist,  Herr  Baron  Natron-Ritter  v.  Fixirlbsung,  and 
“ Reichs-Staats-Geheim-Insecten  Anatanom  ” der  Kaiser- 
lichen  Academie,  who  was  himself  an  enthusiastic  amateur 
photographer  of  no  mean  pretensions.  After  the  specimen 
was  brought  forth,  and  taken  out  of  its  double  receptacle, 
it  was  carefully  laid  under  the  objective  of  the  great  micro- 
scope. As  an  extra  precaution,  the  receptacles  which  had 
come  in  contact  with  the  insect  were  all  treated  with  a 
99  per  cent,  solution  of  the  new  disinfectant,  “ Eiko- 
Galliol.” 

‘After  the  focus  had  been  properly  adjusted,  the  learned 
Professor  ordered  the  following  description  of  the  speci- 
men to  be  inscribed  on  the  bulletin  : — 

Genus.  — Epizoa. 

Order.  — Ilemiptera. 

Head. — Small,  from  which  project  two  Jong  antennae. 

Eyes. — Compound,  behind  which  are  two  transparent 
flaps  covered  with  bristles,  which  are  the  rudiments  of 
wings. 

Thorax.  — Broad  and  short. 

Abdominal  Segment. — Very  large,  broad,  and  extremely 
flat. 

Colour. — Reddish  brown. 

It  was  further  ordered  that  Herr  Grobschmidt,  the 
Librarian  and  Archivar,  should  properly  classify  and 
enter  the  subject  as  “Der  Americanische-Gelatin-Brom- 
Trockeu-pliitten-zerstreungs-Kaffer. 

The  members  now  in  turn  examined  the  subject  under 
the  microscope.  Something  of  a sensation  was  caused 
when  one  Griffelschaber.  a schoolmaster,  and  who  was 
only  a member  by  courtesy,  ventured  the  opinion  that 
possibly  the  learned  President  was  mistaken  in  his  diag- 


nosis, as  in  his  humble  judgment  the  specimen  under 
examination  certainly  bore  a strong  resemblance  to  the 
Cimex  lectularius  vulg.  The  schoolmaster  was  at  once  called 
to  order  and  threatened  with  expulsion  if  he  did  not 
remember  his  position. 

After  the  ripple  caused  by  the  above  interruption  had 
subsided,  the  specimen  Kiiffer  was  subjected  to  a current 
of  electricity  of  fully  8,500  volts,  to  insure  its  destruction, 
after  which  it  was  suspended  in  a vial  of  95  per  cent, 
alcohol,  properly  sealed  and  attested,  and  placed  on  exhi- 
bition in  the  “Museo  der  Academie.” 

When  the  action  of  the  faculty  was  brought  to  the 
attention  of  the  Imperial  Chancellor,  he  at  once  entered 
upon  the  suggestions  and  issued  the  necessary  edict,  and 
as  a sequence  American  dry  plates  will  soon  be  excluded 
from  Europe. 

That  this  manifestly  unjust  action  will  be  resisted  to  the 
bitter  end  by  interested  parties  in  this  country,  as  the 
matter  becomes  known,  may  be  taken  as  a foregone  con- 
clusion. It  is  hard  to  state  what  complications  may  arise 
if  the  German  government  persist  in  its  course  in  the 
premises. 

The  initiative  in  the  matter  of  retaliation  was  taken  at 
the  last  meeting  of  the  “ Leopard ville  Camera  and  Tripod 
Club,”  where  a resolution  was  passed  : “Not  to  use  any 
chemicals  or  photographic  paper  imported  from  Germany 
until  the  obnoxious  edict  reflecting  on  American  dry 
plates  be  repealed.” 

A communication  was  also  sent  to  the  State  Department 
at  Washington,  with  the  request  that  the  matter  receive 
immediate  attention.  In  response,  the  Consul  General  at 
Berlin  has  been  telegraphed  to,  and  several  messages  have 
passed  to  and  fro  on  the  subject. 

Personally,  we  have  no  doubt  that  taking  into  considera- 
tion the  fact  that  the  squadron  of  evolution  is  now  in 
European  waters,  the  whole  matter  will  be  amicably 
adjusted  without  delay. 


There  is  some  talk  of  a committee  of  the  Royal  Society 
being  appointed  to  investigate  the  subject  of  colour-blindness, 
and  the  proper  methods  of  testing  the  colour-vision  of  employes 
on  railways. 

Oxygen  in  Water.  — At  a meeting  of  the  Chemical  Society 
a paper  was  read  on  “ A New  Method  of  Estimating  the  Oxygen 
Dissolved  in  Water,”  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Thresh,  M.B.  The  process 
is  based  on  the  observation  that  whereas,  in  absence  of  oxygen, 
nitrous  acid  and  hydrogen  iodide  interact  to  form  iodine,  water, 
and  nitric  acid  ; in  presence  of  oxygen  the  nitric  oxide  becomes 
re-oxidised,  and,  serving  as  a carrier  of  the  oxygen,  an  amount 
of  iodine  equivalent  to  the  oxygen  present  is  liberated,  in 
addition  to  that  resulting  from  the  initial  action  of  the  nitric 
acid  ; hence,  deducting  the  amount  liberated  by  the  nitrous 
acid  and  by  the  oxygen  disso'ved  in  the  solutions  used  from  the 
total  amount,  the  difference  will  be  that  corresponding  to  the 
oxygen  dissolved  in  the  water  examined.  The  solutions  used 
are  : — (1)  A solution  containing  '5  gram  sodium  nitrate,  and 
20  grams  potassium  iodide  in  100  c.c.  ; (2)  a solution  of 
7 -75  grams  sodium  thiosulphate  in  1 litre,  1 c.c.  of  which 
corresponds  to  0-25  milligram  of  oxygen  ; (3)  a clear  solution 
of  starch  ; and  (4)  diluted  pure  sulphuric  acid  (1  : 3).  The 
apparatus  required  is  a simple  one. 

Hypo  in  Negatives. — An  American  writer  says  that  he  finds 
that  a good  way  to  remove  hypo  from  negatives  is  to  lay  them 
facedown  in  a dish  or  trough  with  a concave  bottom.  “If 
you  make  but  few,”  he  says,  “ an  agate-ware  wash  basin  does 
first-rate.  The  hypo  falls  from  the  film  by  its  own  weight,  it 
being  heavier  than  water,  and  in  five  minutes  will  be  cleaner 
even  in  still  water,  than  in  ten  minutes  running  water  with 
face  up.” 


150 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [February  21,  1890. 


DR.  AND  RESEN’S  EIKONOGEN  PATENT. 


No.  5,207.  Mar.  26th,  1889. — The  following  is  the  complete 
specification  of  Dr.  Andresen’s  patent  entitled,  “ Improve- 
ments relating  to  the  Development  of  Photographic 
Pictures”  : — 


I,  Momme  Andresen,  of  44,  Melchiorstrasse,  Berlin,  in 
the  empire  of  Germany,  chemist,  do  hereby  declare  the 
nature  of  this  invention,  and  in  what  manner  the  same  is 
to  be  performed,  to  be  particularly  described  and  ascer- 
tained in  and  by  the  following  statement : — 

My  invention  relates  to  the  development  of  photographic 

(NIP 

pictures  by  means  of  diamidonaphthaline  C10  II6 
amidonaphthol  C°  1IC  and  dioxynaphthaline 

C'°  IP  as  well  as  their  sulpho  acids  : — 


Diamidonaphthaline  monosulphonic  acid 
Diamidonaphthaline  disulphonic  acid 
Amidonaphthol  monosulphonic  acid 

Amidonaphthol  disulphonic  acid 
Dioxynaphthaliue  monosulphonic  acid 
Dioxynaphthaline  disulphonic  acid 


C10  h5  -j 
C10  H4  ■ 


NH3 
NH3 
SOs  OH 
NH3 
NH3 


C10  Hs  ■ 


(SO3  OH)3 
OH 
NH3 
SO3  OH 


C10  H4 
C10  H5 
C10  H4 


(OH 


1 

{ 


NH3 

(SO3  OH)3 
(O  H3), 
SO3  OH 


(OH 

OH 

l (SO3  OH)3 


As  is  well  known  in  photography,  it  is  the  practice  to 
treat  the  sensitive  plates  (prepared  with  chloride,  bromide, 
or  iodide  of  silver,  or  with  two  or  all  of  the  salts)  after 
exposure  with  a developing  solution,  in  order  to  bring 
to  view  the  image  produced  on  the  sensitive  plate.  The 
developing  solution  hitherto  employed  for  this  purpose 
has  usually  consisted  of  a solution  of  oxalate  of  iron,  pyro- 
gallic  acid,  or  hydrochinoue. 

Now,  I have  found  by  experiment  that  the  before-men- 
tioned substances,  diamidonaphthaline,  amidonaphthol, 
and  dioxynaphthaline,  as  well  as  their  sulpho-acids,  are  ex- 
ceptionally suitable  for  developing  photographic  pictures 
produced  on  the  said  sensitive  plates,  and  give  better  results 
than  can  be  obtained  with  an  alkaline  pyrogallol  developer, 
and  excel  the  latter  by  giving  the  plates  a blue  black  tint 
similar  to  that  produced  when  developing  in  a bath  of 
oxalate  of  iron,  without  in  the  least  colouring  the  sensitive 
plate,  but  enabling  the  plate  to  better  resist  the  alkaline 
action  of  the  bath.  I thus  obtain  the  advantages  pos- 
sessed by  known  developing  baths  without  their  disadvan- 
tages. 

A developing  bath  prepared  with  my  naphthol-developer 
in  which  it  is  intended  to  immerse  the  sensitive  plate  after 
having  been  exposed,  for  the  purpose  of  producing  a 
visible  picture  is,  for  instantaneous  photography,  advanta- 
geously composed  of  the  following  ingredients  : — 

5 grammes  of  the  hereinbefore  described  napthol  de- 
veloper. 

15  grammes  of  sulphide  of  soda. 

250  grammes  of  distilled  water  ; and 

5 grammes  of  potash. 

I he  above  proportions  can,  however,  be  varied,  or  one 
or  the  other  of  the  ingredients  can  be  substituted  by  others 
providing  the  essential  part,  namely,  the  before-men- 


tioned naphthol  developer  is  contained  in  the  developing 
bath. 

Instead  of  potash  soda-carbonate,  soda  lye  or  potash 
may  be  used,  in  which  case  it  is  preferable  to  replace  the 
before-mentioned  5 grammes  of  potash  by  20  drops 
of  a concentrated  or  saturated  soda  or  potash  lye, 
and  this  is  especially  recommended  when  diamidonaphtha- 
line or  its  sulphonic  acids  are  used.  In  the  same  propor- 
tion the  quantity  of  sulphide  of  soda  can  be  advantage- 
ously increased  when  alphanaphthol  derivatives  (such  as 
amidoalphanaphthol)  or  their  sulpho-acids  as  mentioned 
above,  are  used. 

The  before  mentioned  five  grammes  ‘"napthol  developer” 
may  be  used  with  any  of  the  above  combinations. 

As  any  one  of  the  “ naphthol  developers”  is  suitable  for 
the  present  purpose,  I find  it  is  not  absolutely  necessary 
to  restrict  myself  to  the  use  of  only  one  of  the  “ naphthol 
developers ” for  the  bath , so  that  the  quantity  of  “naphthol 
developer  ” to  be  used  refers  also  to  mixtures  of  the  above- 
named  “ naphthol  developers.” 

After  having  immersed  the  photographic  plate  in  this 
bath  till  the  picture  becomes  completely  developed,  it  is 
then  fixed  in  the  usual  way. 

Having  now  particularly  described  and  ascertained  the 
nature  of  my  said  invention,  and  in  what  manner  the  same 
is  to  be  performed,  I declare  that  what  I claim  is : — 

The  process  herein  described  of  developing  photographic 
pictures  on  coatings  of  chloride  of  silver,  bromide  of  silver, 
or  iodide  of  silver,  or  of  any  two,  or  of  all  three  of  them 
in  combination,  such  process  consisting  in  treating  such 
coatings  in  a developing  bath  containing  diamidonaphtha- 
line, amidonaphthol,  or  dioxynaphthaline,  or  their  sulpho- 
acids.  t 

♦ 

PHOTOGRAPHING  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE* 

BY  THE  REV.  T.  PERKINS,  SI. A. 

We  often  find  difficulty  in  getting  general  views  of  churches 
and  cathedrals,  on  account  of  adjoining  buildings.  Still, 
in  many  cases  of  parish  churches  we  are  enabled  to  get 
the  best  general  view  from  the  south-east.  People  did  not 
like  to  be  buried  on  the  north  side  of  a church,  so  that 
the  grave-yards  often  extend  furthest  on  the  south  side 
(the  chief  entrance  generally  being  the  south  porch), 
and  this  allows  us  often  to  get  sufficiently  far  away  to  the 
south-east  to  get  in  the  whole  of  the  church,  tower  and 
all,  with  a lens  of  moderately  long  focus.  This  is  a thing 
to  be  aimed  at,  as  if  we  get  too  close  and  use  a lens  of 
short  focus  in  comparison  to  the  plate,  the  tower  is  dwarfed, 
and  the  chancel  roof  rises  too  high  on  the  picture,  and 
the  chancel  itself  is  exaggerated  in  size  from  our  being  so 
much  closer  to  it  than  to  the  tower.  A sunny  day,  shortly 
after  midday,  when  the  eastern  side  of  the  tower  is  in 
shade,  is  the  best  time  to  choose  for  a view  from  the  south- 
east, When  we  wish  to  make  the  tower  the  chief  object, 
the  best  position  is  from  the  western  side,  but  a little 
either  towards  the  south  or  north  ; the  church,  however, 
itself  does  not  generally  look  well  from  this  position.  In 
the  case  of  cathedrals,  the  north  side  is  generally  to  be 
preferred,  the  cloisters,  the  bishop’s  palace,  or  the  deanery 
often  proving  obstacles  on  the  south  side.  If  we  take  a 
cathedral  from  the  north-east,  we  must  choose  early  morn- 
ing or  late  evening  in  summer,  as  the  whole  of  the  building 
will  be  in  shadow  in  our  picture.  The  west  front  of  a 

* A portion  of  a paper  read  before  the  Camera  Club,  and  published  in 
its  Journal. 

t In  the  patent,  “ sulphide"’  seems  to  be  a misprint  for  “ sulphite.”— Em 


February  21,  1890.1 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


151 


cathedral  is  often  well  worth  a plate.  Generally  speaking, 
the  use  of  a wide-angled  lens  used  to  its  full  extent  is  to 
be  avoided.  It  is  often  better  to  take  a view  of  a portion 
only  of  the  building  than  to  endeavour  to  get  the  whole 
in  at  the  risk  of  exaggerated  perspective.  In  taking  an 
interior,  windows  are  often  troublesome,  as  halation  spoils 
the  effect.  Films,  backed  plates,  or  plates  thickly  coated 
on  ground  glass,  should  be  used,  as  these  decrease 
halation.  A lens  with  a somewhat  curved  field  is  useful, 
as  with  it,  if  we  are  taking  a view  from  either  end,  we  can 
get  the  distant  end  and  the  nearer  pillars  and  roof  in  fair 
focus  together  with  a comparatively  large  stop ; a lens 
whose  focal  length  is  about  equal  to  the  length  of  the 
longer  side  of  the  plate  is  generally  the  best.  It  is  a mis- 
take to  endeavour  to  get  too  much  in.  I would  strongly 
deprecate  the  use  of  wide-angled  lenses  for  interiors ; for 
general  views  of  exteriors  they  are  sometimes  a necessary 
evil,  but  for  interiors  I would  scarcely  if  ever  use  them. 
In  the  first  place,  the  exaggerated  perspective  due  to 
including  too  much  on  the  plate  is  painfully  obtrusive  in 
an  interior ; and  in  the  second  place,  the  falling-off  of 
illumination  towards  the  margins  is  a serious  drawback, 
as  it  generally  happens  that  those  parts  included  towards 
the  top  of  the  plate  are  the  worst  lighted.  As  I said  just 
now,  a lens  with  focus  equal  to  the  length  of  the  plate, 
with  the  front  raised  so  that  the  lens  is  opposite  to  a 
point  about  two-thirds  up  the  plate,  will  be  the  best ; a 
lens  of  the  portable  symmetrical  type  is  the  one  I always 
use  for  this  work. 

A day  when  the  light  is  diffused  is  better  than  one  on 
which  the  sun,  shining  through  the  windows,  throws 
patches  of  light  on  the  floor  and  pillars.  There  is  little 
fear  of  giving  too  long  an  exposure,  as  our  object  should 
be  to  get  pleuty  of  detail  in  the  shadows.  It  is  well,  in 
fact,  to  over-expose,  and  develop  slowly  with  a'  weak 
developer  until  all  detail  is  out,  and  then  to  strengthen 
the  developer  or  trust  to  subsequent  intensification.  It 
is  often  useful,  if  time  is  a consideration,  to  begin  the 
exposure  with  stop  //3 2,  and  after  a time  to  carefully 
change  it  to//16  without  shaking  or  moving  the  camera  ; 
the  former  gives  sharpness,  the  latter  shortens  the  time  of 
exposure.  In  baking  a general  view  from  the  nave  it  is 
well  to  get  as  far  back  as  possible,  and  to  place  the 
camera  a little  to  one  side,  say  to  the  north,  and  to  turn 
it  somewhat  to  the  south,  so  as  to  get  the  east  window 
somewhat  to  the  left  of  the  centre  of  the  picture.  An 
artist  making  a drawing  of  an  interior  looking  to  the  east 
would,  I believe,  construct  his  outline  according  to  the 
rules  of  perspective,  imagining  himself  to  be  standing 
outside  the  building,  and  drawing  it  as  it  would  appear 
if  the  west  wall  were  removed.  The  photographer  can- 
not do  this.  He  must  be  content,  I think,  if  lie  desires 
to  have  a picture  with  pleasing  perspective,  to  embrace 
only  perhaps  the  eastern  half  of  the  nave,  and  not  to 
attempt  to  get  in  his  picture  that  part  of  the  roof  which 
he  can  only  see  by  turning  his  eyes  upwards.  But  not 
oidy  is  it  worth  while  to  take  a general  view  of  the 
interior ; many  charming  bits  may  be  got  in  most  of  our 
cathedrals  looking  up  or  down  the  aisles,  or  diagonally 
across  the  transepts,  and  individual  monuments,  and 
chapels,  and  screens  are  also  often  worthy  of  the  ex- 
posure of  a plate. 


Tub  Crystal  Palace  Photographic  Exhibition  will  be 
opened  on  the  11th  of  March  ; the  last  day  for  receiving  intended 
exhibits  will  be  March  1st. 


FOUR  DIFFERENT  PRINTING  PROCESSES 
SUITABLE  FOR  COPYING  TRACINGS* 

BY  ,T.  E.  GOOLD. 

I will  briefly  describe  four  different  processes  by  which 
an  exact  copy  of  a drawing  on  tracing  paper  can  be  made. 

Colon's  Process,  which  gives  a black  fine  on  a white 
ground,  is  now  greatly  in  use  for  copying  tracings ; it 
prints  quickly,  and  is  very  simple  to  work.  The  exposure 
ranges  from  five  to  ten  minutes  in  the  sunlight,  and  from 
twenty  to  forty  minutes  in  the  shade.  I find  the  best 
results  are  got  on  a bright  day,  and  printing  in  the 
strongest  light.  I have  very  often  to  reduce  large  drawings 
made  on  yellow  tracing  paper  to  a small  scale  to  transfer 
to  a stone  for  lithographic  purposes,  and  use  this  process 
to  get  a more  suitable  copy  to  photograph  from.  To  make 
a print,  you  put  the  tracing  face  downwards  in  the 
printing-frame,  and  place  the  sensitive  paper  on  the  top 
of  it,  then  a piece  of  thick  felt,  and  then  the  backs,  and 
put  a good  pressure  on  by  means  of  screws,  which  are 
much  better  than  springs,  as  you  are  able  to  get  a more 
even  pressure.  To  ascertain  if  sufficiently  printed,  lift  up 
one  corner,  and  if  the  greenish-yellow  tint  has  disappeared, 
except  where  covered  by  the  lines,  it  should  be  taken  out 
and  immersed,  face  upwards,  in  a bath  composed  of  gallic 
acid,  20  parts ; alcohol  (methylated),  200  parts ; and 
water,  1,000  parts  ; and  remain  for  about  three  minutes  ; 
at  end  of  time,  the  lines  will  be  up  strong  and  black ; it 
should  then  be  thoroughly  washed  in  running  water  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  and  surface  rubbed  with  soft  sponge ; 
then  taken  out  and  hung  up  to  dry.  The  following  will 
be  found  a good  formula  for  sensitising  the  paper:  — 


Water 

Gelatine  ...  ... 

Perchloride  of  iron 
Tartaric  acid 
Persulphate  of  zinc 
Apply  this  by  means  of 
brush,  or  a fine  sponge, 


parts 


300 

10 

20  „ 

10  „ 

10  „ 

either  a broad,  flat  camel-hair 
to  a hard,  well-sized  paper,  then 
hang  up  to  dry  in  a dark  room.  To  over-expose  a print 
means  losing  the  lines,  and  under-exposure  gives  a very 
dirty,  neutral  tint  ground,  and  very  faint  lines. 

Pellet's  Process. — This  is  the  best  process  I know  of  for 
copying  tracings,  it  being  much  quicker  than  any  other, 
and  giving  a brighter  result,  although  there  is  more  trouble 
in  finishing  the  print,  as  it  requires  developing  on  a satu- 
rated solution  of  yellow  prussiate  of  potash.  The  print 
must  be  allowed  to  remain  for  half  a minute,  then  lifted 
out  of  the  bath  and  hung  up  by  means  of  American  clips 
until  the  lines  have  developed  up  to  a strong  dark  blue  ; 
then  immediately  lay  face  down  in  a tray  of  water  to  stop 
the  action  of  the  developer,  and  by  means  of  an  india- 
rubber  pipe  splash  water  on  the  back  of  the  print.  It  must 
then  be  placed,  and  completely  covered,  in  a bath 
composed  of  one  part  hydrochloric  acid  to  ten  of 
water  for  five  minutes  ; now  take  out  and  well  wash  the 
surface,  and  rub  with  a broad  camel-hair  brush  to  remove 
the  loose  blue  sediment  that  would  otherwise  remain  ; 
after  again  rinsing,  hang  up  to  dry,  and  the  result  will 
be  a beautiful  clean  white  ground  with  strong  blue 
lines. 

Ferro-prussiate  Process  gives  a white  line  on  a blue  ground, 
but  is  not  so  suitable  for  copying  tracings — (1)  because 
you  cannot  very  well  alter  anything  on  the  print,  and  (2) 
a mechanical  or  architectural  drawing  cannot  be  tinted  as 


* A Communication  to  the  Newcastle-on-Tyne  and  Northern  Counties’ 
Photographic  Association. 


152 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


in  the  other  processes  previously  described,  although  it  is 
a cheap  and  rapid  method  of  printing  from  negatives  of 
drawings,  giving  a blue  line  on  a white  ground,  the  expo- 
sure only  taking  from  five  to  ten  minutes  in  a good  light. 
The  great  advantage  is,  the  prints  require  neither  toning 
nor  fixing;  all  that  is  needed  is  to  wash  in  a plentiful 
supply  of  clean  water  until  the  lines  are  dark,  and  the  ground 
perfectly  white.  Or  if  a copy  from  a tracing,  the  lines 
should  be  quite  white,  and  the  ground  a good  dark  blue. 

Messrs.  Halden,  of  Manchester,  supply  a paper  which 
gives  a similar  result  to  Pellet's,  and  only  requires  to  be 
immersed  in  one  bath  containing  red  and  yellow  prussiate 
of  potash,  and  then  rinsing  in  clean  water.  I have  not 
been  able  to  give  this  paper  a fair  trial  since  it  was  intro- 
duced to  me,  but  have  made  one  or  two  very  fair  prints. 


STEREOSCOPIC  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

The  following  is  a portion  of  a paper  delivered  a few  days 
ago  by  Mr.  G.  I).  Macdougald  before  the  Dundee  and 
East  of  Scotland  Photographic  Association  : — 

In  what  does  stereoscopic  vision  consist?  That  is  a very 
difficult  question  to  answer.  We  know  the  conditions,  or  some 
of  the  conditions,  under  which  we  have  such  vision,  and  can 
only  say  it  is  the  natural  state  of  matters  set  up  in  the  brain 
itself  by  the  combination  of  two  distinct  impressions.  When 
we  look  at  a stereoscopic  photograph  we  become  aware  that  we 
are  imitating  nature,  we  feel  we  have  a near  approach  to  natural 
vision.  By  the  well-known  device  of  taking  two  pictures 
little  distance  apart  we  take  another  step  forward.  In  viewing 
such  pictures  we  become  aware  of  very  perfect  stereoscopic  im- 
pression. There  is  greater  solidness  and  relief. 

I can  only  speak  to  my  own  impressions,  and  I say  that  a 
good  stereoscopic  view  gives  me  very  great  satisfaction  indeed. 
Mr.  Pringle  says  that  stereoscopic  impressions  are  only  fit  to 
amuse  children  or  savages  a few  times. 

One  might  be  tempted  to  think  that,  having  two  pictures 
photographed  at  about  the  average  distance  of  the  eyes  apart, 
hardly  any  difference  would  be  observable  between  nature  and 
the  delightful  representation  as  seen  in  the  stereoscope,  yet 
there  is  considerable  difference.  In  looking  at  nature  the  eye 
has  to  adjust  itself  in  focus  for  the  near  and  the  far-away 
objects.  Every  photographer  knows  that  while  photographing 
a near  object  the  back  of  the  camera  has  to  be  drawn  out 
farther  than  in  the  case  of  a far-away  object.  Some  have  gone 
the  length  of  maintaining  that  our  knowledge  of  distance 
when  looking  at  a view  is  mainly  due  to  the  brains  interpreting 
the  continuous  stream  of  telegrams  intimating  the  various  focus- 
sings  of  the  eye.  That,  however,  will  hardly  hold  good,  as  in 
a stereoscopic  picture  all  the  focussing  is  already  accomplished. 
The  picture  being  really  flat,  the  eye  has  no  focussing  to  do. 

Any  one  possessed  of  a stereoscopic  picture  of  some  place  to 
which  he  can  get  access  may  easily  carry  out  an  experiment  on 
this  point.  Comparing  his  impressions  of  nature  with  the  im- 
pressions as  derived  from  the  stereoscope,  one  quickly  finds  that 
the  action  of  the  eyes  is  decidedly  different  in  each  case.  In 
looking  at  nature  the  eye  has  work  to  do,  and  feels  the  distance, 
so  to  speak,  between  each  object.  No  such  action  takes  place 
in  the  stereoscope. 

But  one  may  explain  stereoscopic  vision  to  his  heart’s  content, 
and,  after  all,  there  remains  the  element  of  the  wonderful  in  it. 
We  confess  to  as  much  of  the  child  or  savage  as  to  permit  of  a 
feeling  of  wonder  at  the  possibility  of  combining  two  impres- 
sions by  the  mechanism  of  the  brain  itself.  It  appears  to  me 
there  is  something  so  many-sided  about  this  fact  as  to  indicate 
its  being  a fruitful  starting-point  for  many  investigations — 
anatomical,  physiological,  psychological,  and  metaphysical.  It 
at  least  permits  of  a slight  insight  into  the  working  of  the 
occult  mechanism  v'hich  lies  between  the  action  of  the  eye  and 
the  final  translation  of  the  eye’s  messages  to  our  conscious- 
ness. 

In  conclusion,  is  stereoscopic  work  suitable  for  the  amateur  ? 


[Eemiuary  21,  1890. 

I venture  to  say  it  is  eminently  suitable.  While  it  allows  of 
the  exercise  of  as  high  art  as  any  other  branch  of  photography, 
it  gives  an  undoubted  helping  hand  to  the  worker  who  does  not 
aim  high,  who  may  work  under  circumstances  where  high  photo- 
graphic art  can  hardly  be  looked  for.  In  shorter  language,  its 
range  is  wider,  and  it  gives  hope  of  more  return  for  labour. 
The  amateur  rank  and  file  do  not  aim  at  large  work.  The  con- 
veniences necessary  for  large  work  are  not  to  be  lightly  esti- 
mated by  any  one  limited  in  one  way  or  other  by  space,  time,  or 
cash  ; and  one  or  other  of  these  things,  in  the  case  of  three 
out  of  four  amateurs,  conies  in  to  limit  his  effort. 

I shall  state  the  advantages  of  a stereoscopic  outfit  from  the 
amateur's  point  of  view  : — 

(1)  Compactness  of  apparatus.  (2)  Great  certainty  of  pro- 
ducing a pleasure-giving  result  under  disadvantageous  circum- 
stances. (3)  Suitability  for  production  of  lantern  slides  directly. 
(4)  Suitability  of  apparatus  for  taking  single  pictures  of  artistic 
proportions,  and  large  enough  for  most  amateurs. 


IKOCIIROMATIC  OR  ORTHOCIIROMATIC. 

A writer  in  the  Swiss  Photographic  Review  objects  to  the 
words  orthochromatic  and  isochromatic,  as  signifying  a 
different  thing  from  the  meaning  they  are  intended  to 
convey.  “ Now,  what  is  to  be  defined  ? A process  by 
which  we  correct  the  incapacity  of  the  ordinary  plate  to 
render  exactly  the  value  of  colours.  According  to  the 
dictionaries,  isochromatic  means  of  uniform  tint ; as  to 
the  word  orthochromatic,  it  seems  to  have  been  invented 
for  the  purpose  of  commercial  competition  with  the  first, 
d’lie  two  Greek  adjectives  isos  and  orthos  are  nearly 
synonymous,  and  signify  both  of  them  “ equal,  light,  true  ” ; 
the  two  words  in  question  would,  therefore,  be  translated 
by:  a process  giving  the  exact  colour.  Now,  as  the 
artifice  thus  qualified  does  not  give  colour,  it  is  necessary 
to  have  recourse  to  a cumbersome  paraphrase  in  order  to 
translate  the  thought  of  the  coiners  of  these  words:  a 
process  by  which  the  colours  of  the  objects  do  not  prevent 
them  from  being  reproduced  with  their  proper  luminous 
value.  I would  therefore  propose  the  use  of  a better 
word — orthophotic — that  is  to  say,  a process  giving  the 
exact  rays.” 

To  these  remarks  the  editor  of  the  Swiss  Review  replies 
as  follows : 

“ We  are  happy  that  our  correspondent  has  raised  this 
interesting  question.  It  is  true  the  vocables  iso-  and  ortho- 
chromatic have  but  an  erroneous  and  conventional  significa- 
tion. The  word  orthophotic  seems  preferable,  but  is  it  very 
correct  V Our  eye  classifies  the  seven  colours  of  the 
spectrum,  according  to  the  luminous  intensity  proper 
to  each  ; the  photographic  plate  is  impressioned  by  these 
same  colours,  not  in  the  ratio  of  their  luminous  intensity, 
but  in  accordance  with  the  chemical  property  which  each 
possesses,  more  or  less,  of  decomposing  the  silver  salts. 
The  physical  action  of  shining  which  strikes  our  eye,  and 
the  chemical  action  of  destroying  which  impressions  the 
plate,  do  not  move  in  parallel  directions.  Our  eye  is  ortho- 
chromatic, the  ordinary  plate  is  orthoactinic.  Does  the  word 
orthophotic  well  convey  the  meaning  of  the  chemical  proper- 
ties of  the  rays  of  light  which  are  alone  to  be  considered 
in  photography  ? This  does  not  seem  to  be  so,  and  we 
have  here,  we  think,  something  wanting,  It  is  not  the 
luminous  action  that  the  word  should  recall,  it  is  the  chemical 
action.  We  have  just  said  that  the  ordinary  plate  is  also 
orthoactinic,  as  it  exactly  renders  the  relative  powers  of  the 
diverse  rays  to  decompose  the  bromide  of  silver.  A plate 
that  did  not  express  this  relative  power,  a plate  in  which 
the  actinism  of  the  rays  was  palsied,  in  which  the  green 


February  21,  1890. J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  153 


and  the  red  would  end  by  attracting  the  bromide  of  silver 
in  a certain  measure,  would  possess  properties  outside  of 
those  of  the  ordinary  plate ; it  would  no  longer  be  ortho- 
actinic,  but  rather  paractinic.  Now  this  is  the  property  of 
iso-  and  orthochromatic  plates.  We  ask  our  correspondent 
if  this  word  suits  him.” 

(ftoiwpontfence. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  NATURAL  COLOURS  ON  SILVER 
PLATES. 

Sir, — In  your  article  on  “ Photography  in  Natural  Colours 
on  Silver  Plates,”  in  the  Year-Book,  you  mention  only  one 
name  connected  with  the  development  of  the  method  which  may 
be  termed  composite  heliochromy,  and  only  to  remark  that  his 
(Hauron’s)  method  “ is  occasionally  re-invented,”  &c.  Inasmuch 
as  I have  done  more  actual  work  in  this  line,  and  written  more 
upon  this  branch  of  the  subject  than  anyone  else,  you  will  no 
doubt  allow  me  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  my  own 
method  is  a more  radical  departure  from  that  proposed  by 
Hauron,  than  was  Hauron's  from  that  proposed  by  Henry  Collen 
in  1865.  This  must  be  admitted  if  it  is  true,  as  I assert  it  to 
be,  that  my  method  is  the  first  and  only  one  which  is  based 
upon,  or  which  is  consistent  with,  or  which  in  any  way  recog- 
nizes the  modern  theory  of  colour  vision  which  distinguishes 
l>e tween  primary  spectrum  colours  and  primary  colour  sensa- 
tions. Hauron  and  Cros  would  have  made  photographs  by 
orange,  green,  and  violet  light,  for  projection  by  orange,  green, 
and  violet  light,  or  for  pigment  prints  in  exactly  complemen- 
tary colours.  A recognition  of  the  theoretical  distinction  I 
have  mentioned  involves  the  production  of  a photograph  by  the 
joint  action  of  red,  orange,  yellow,  and  vellow-green  spectrum 
rays,  in  definite  proportions  ; for  projection  by  red  light,  a 
photograph  by  the  joint  action  of  orange,  yellow,  yellow-green, 
green,  and  green-blue  s]>ectrum  rays,  in  definite  proportions  ; 
for  projection  by  green  light,  &c. 

It  seems  to  me  that  nobod)'  who  knows  this  can  help  admit- 
ting that  there  is  a radical  difference  in  the  methods,  as  well  as 
in  the  principles  involved,  and  that  this  difference  is  of  exceed- 
ing importance.  Fred.  E.  Ives. 

911,  Filbert  Street,  Philadelphia,  Fel>.  7th. 


PHOTOGRAVURE. 

Sir, — In  reply  to  Mr.  E.  Frewing’s  letter  in  yours  of  the 
14th  inst.,  I am  sorry  that  a slight  error  had  slipped  into  my 
description  of  Mr.  Carl  Eckstein’s  litho-photogravure  process. 
There  is,  of  course,  no  asphalt  at  all  applied  to  the  second  stone, 
and  the  passage  in  my  letter,  page  99,  should  therefore  run 
thus  : — “ As  soon  as  the  desired  depth  of  etching  is  attained, 
the  stone  is  removed  to  a trough  and  thoroughly  washed  in 
running  water  ; then  the  gelatine  film  and  the  colour  of  the  stippled 
image  is  washed  off  with  turpentine,”  &c. 

Dr.  Hermann  E.  Gunther. 

patent  Entclltgtwe. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

2,122.  \V.  Bentley,  M.  H.  Smith,  and  F.  Walsh,  Crossley 
Street,  Halifax,  “Securing  Caps  to  Lenses.” — Feb.  10. 

2,124.  A.  E.  Lewis,  70,  Wellington  Street,  Glasgow,  “Magic 
Lantern.” — Feb.  10. 

2,178.  S.  Gurney  and  C.  P.  Small,  55,  Chancery  Lane, 
London,  “ Decorating  Looking-glass  by  Photography.” — 
Feb.  11. 

2,211.  G.  Mackmurdie,  8,  James  Street,  Goswell  Road,  Lon- 
don, “An  Optical  Toy.” — Feb.  11. 

2,260.  J.  Martyn,  High  Street,  Southwold,  Suffolk, 
“Cameras.” — Feb.  12. 

2,333.  J.  T.  Thompson,  7,  Battenberg  Street,  Liverpool, 
“Flash  Light.”— Feb.  13. 

2,425.  E.  Galopin,  20,  High  Holborn,  London,  “ Photographic 
Shutter,” — Feb.  14. 


2,444.  E,  K.  Purchase,  166,  Fleet  Street,  London,  “Dis- 
playing Pictures  by  Rotation." — Feb.  14. 

2.484.  J.  Martyn,  Southwold,  Suffolk,  “Flash  Light.” — 
Feb.  1 5. 

2.485.  W.  H.  Humphries  and  E.  A.  King,  268,  Upper  Street, 
Islington,  London,  “ Apparatus  for  Holding  Photographs 
during  Development.” — Feb.  15. 


^rorec&tnga:  of  Societies;. 


Camera  Club. 

Thursday,  February  1 3th. — The  Rev.  A.  B.  W.  Whatton  in  the 
chair. 

Previous  to  the  lecture  the  Hon.  Sec.  read  an  extract  from 
an  alleged  old  book  entitled  “ Giphantia,”  published  in  1761. 
This  extract,  which  had  been  sent  up  by  a member,  Mr.  A.  C. 
Lyster,  gave  an  account  of  a vision  relating  to  photographic 
agency,  said  to  have  been  experienced  in  Central  Africa.  A 
viscous  substance  received  images  which  became  fixed  on  removal 
to  a dark  chamber. 

Mr.  Graham  Balfour  read  a memoir  on  “Landscape,”  in 
which  he  dealt  with  the  relative  artistic  merits  of  pure  land- 
scape and  landscape  with  figures,  and  stated  that  he  felt  inclined 
to  recommend  the  former  ; he  preferred  work  done  to  satisfy 
the  sense  of  beauty  or  art  for  art's  sake.  When  figures  are 
omitted  where  their  presence  might  seem  most  desirable,  their 
absence  may  be  compensated  by  the  introduction  of  well-chosen 
articles  of  human  use.  The  effect  of  a desolate  scene  is  usually 
enhanced  by  the  absence  of  the  human  form,  although  there 
are  exceptions  : a solitary  human  figure  in  the  vast  expanse  of 
the  Great  Sahara  increases  the  feeling  of  desolateness,  but 
such  an  adjunct  is  best  left  out  in  a landscape  wherein  its  pre- 
sence would  be  incongruous  with  the  spirit  of  the  scene.  Mr. 
Andrew  Pringle  maintains  that  figures  in  landscape  photographs 
are  scarcely  ever  in  the  right  place,  and  that  it  is  letter  to 
leave  them  out.  The  old  masters  almost  invariably  introduced 
figures  of  men  and  animals,  or  suitable  substitutes,  into  land- 
scapes ; but  in  these  latter  days  painters  no  longer  feel  that 
course  necessary,  the  truth  being  that  in  the  olden  time  the 
feeling  for  beauty  in  landscape  had  not  been  born  in  the  human 
race,  for  we  live  in  days  of  new  ideas  and  new  conditions  The 
great  appreciation  of  the  external  world,  which  has  grown  up 
within  the  last  hundred  years,  is  due  to  ideas  externalised  by 
modern  painters  and  pCets  ; also  to  the  wonderful  discoveries 
of  science.  In  short,  he  denied  the  supremacy  of  ancient 
authority  on  this  subject,  and  Itelieved  that  we  should  not  wor- 
ship our  ancestors  as  do  the  Chinese.  Besides,  painters  have  an 
object,  which  photographic  workers  in  monochrome  have  not,  of 
sometimes  introducing  figures  to  get  a few  bright  points  of 
positive  colour  in  suitable  positions.  He  thought  beauty  to  be 
a sufficient  quality  for  any  picture  to  possess. 

Mr.  Humphery  considered  the  seeking  for  beauty  to  lie 
one  of  the  greatest  curses  of  photography  at  the  present  day, 
for  the  human  mind  required  something  grander,  something 
more  suggestive  than  prettiness  ; it  wanted  soul,  and  soul 
could  not  be  found  in  mere  beauty.  As  to  figures,  the  in- 
troduction of  them  would  utterly  spoil  certain  pictures,  su,ch, 
for  instance,  as  those  of  the  wild  waves  of  the  ocean  break- 
ing over  the  rocks  ; but  there  were  other  scenes,  such  as 
some  of  those  of  a rural  nature  described  by  Wordsworth 
and  by  Gray,  in  which  the  introduction  of  human  and  other 
figures  enhanced  the  effect. 

Mr.  Ashbury  Greene  agreed  with  all  that  Mr.  Balfour 
had  said  in  his  paper.  Beauty  should  not  be  confounded 
with  prettiness,  for  it  includes  scenes  of  grandeur  and 
majesty,  and  in  a beautiful  scene  he  considered  figures  to 
be  incongruous.  It  is  absurd  to  use  the  term  “ beauty  ” 
as  including  only  subjects  which  are  merely  pretty. 

Mr.  George  Davison  believed  that  there  might  be  as 
much  beauty  in  a simple  landscape,  or  a tree,  or  a bit  of 
a pond,  as  in  grand  scenery,  and  he  did  not  think  figures 
to  be  essential  to  pure  artistic  work.  In  the  past,  those 
who  have  posed  figures  in  the  attempt  to  represent  them 
in  motion,  have  usually  failed,  but  the  resulting  un- 


154 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  21,  1890. 


naturalness  is  not  seen  when  a hand-camera  with  a lens  of 
long  focus  is  used  upon  a figure  in  action  not  specially 
posed.  Fine  art  cannot  he  governed  by  any  didactic 
reason  of  any  description,  for  then  it  would  become  more 
or  less  a science. 

Mr.  E.  R.  Shipton  remarked  that  in  the  old  photographs 
upon  the  wall  of  the  room  in  which  the  meeting  was  held, 
figures  had  been  introduced  largely  into  the  landscapes,  and 
those  pictures  taken  in  the  old  collodion  days  proved  that 
photographers  had  not  advanced  as  much  as  they  ought  to 
have  done.  He  did  not  think  that  Mr.  Pringle’s  attempts 
to  introduce  figures  into  landscapes  had  been  generally  suc- 
cessful, judging  from  the  lantern  pictures  he  had  recently  ex- 
hibited. He  thought  a thorough  grounding  in  art  principles 
to  be  essential  to  good  artistic  work,  and  did  not  think 
that  more  than  one  photograph  in  five  hundred  was  worth 
calling  a picture. 

Dr.  C.  S.  Patterson  said  that  the  objection  made  that 
figures  are  usually  placed  wrongly  in  landscapes  is  no  argument 
against  their  being  put  in  right  positions  therein. 

The  Chairman  would  ask,  “ What  is  beauty  ? ” If  the  reply 
were  that  it  is  truth,  then  they  were  driven  back  to  the  old 
question,  “ What  is  truth  ? ” He  was  utterly  unable  to  grasp 
the  idea  of  pure  beauty.  He  could  imagine  the  beauty  of 
ideas  ; for  instance,  the  idea  of  the  mathematician  about  the 
fourth  dimension  in  space,  and  could  become  lost  in  admira- 
tion thereat,  and  he  thought  that  pictures  are  beautiful  only 
when  they  start  a train  of  ideas,  for  beauty  cannot  be  reduced 
to  mere  symmetry.  Early  Greek  sculpture  began  with  the 
idea  of  pure  beauty,  or  of  art  for  art’s  sake,  but,  as  it  improved, 
it  tried  to  convey  ideas  to  the  mind  ; in  its  early  stages,  Phidias 
and  Praxiteles  produced  nothing  but  Venuses  and  forms  due  to 
“ art  for  art’s  sake,”  but  later  on  Grecian  art  tried  to  convey 
ideas,  by  representing  wrestlers  and  other  subjects  full  of 
action.  Any  picture,  he  thought,  which  had  motive  in  it  must 
include  figures. 

Mr.  William  England  was  of  opinion  that  it  is  desirable  to 
introduce  figures  into  landscapes  wdiere  it  can  be  judiciously 
done,  and  that  in  some  cases  it  is  absolutely  necessary.  He 
had  seen  American  stereoscopic  pictures  in  which  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  human  figure  gave  an  idea  of  the  approximate  height 
of  the  geysers  in  the  Yellowstone  Park.  Sometimes  the  intro- 
duction of  a figure  will  help  to  suitably  break  up  a landscape 
foreground,  and  in  the  instance  of  a trout  stream,  the  intro- 
duction of  a man  fishing  was  an  improvement. 

Mr.  Balfour,  in  the  course  of  his  reply,  said  that  in  the 
term  beauty  he  included  grandeur,  and  that  he  considered 
prettiness  to  be  about  the  greatest  curse  which  could  be  called 
art.  When  figures  were  introduced,  he  strongly  advocated  the 
use  of  the  instantaneous  shutter.  The  great  experience  of  Mr. 
England  made  his  utterances  welcome  and  valuable,  but  that 
evening  they  were  rather  outside  the  range  of  the  subjects  dealt 
with  in  his  paper.  When  figures  were  introduced  to  give  the 
scale  of  the  dimensions  of  a geyser,  he  should  consider  the 
result  to  be  more  properly  classified  with  diagrams  than  with 
works  of  art. 

The  subject  on  Thursday,  Feb.  27th,  is  “ Photography  as 
Applied  to  Medicine,”  when  a paper  will  be  read  by  Dr.  C.  S. 
Patterson. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  13th  inst.  Mr.  G.  W,  Atkins  occupied 
the  chair. 

AY  ith  a view  to  test  the  question  asked  at  a previous  meeting, 
whether  plates  coated  with  collodio- bromide  emulsion  were  sub- 
ject to  reversal  of  image,  Mr.  J.  B.  B.  Wellington  had  during 
the  week  tried  three  plates,  exposing  for  one  minute,  twenty- 
five  minutes,  and  one  hour  respectively — the  latter  in  bright 
sunshine.  Although  all  showed  more  or  less  over-exposure,  no 
trace  of  any  reversal  of  image  was  observable. 

Mr.  AY  . E.  Dbbenham  said  the  resistance  to  reversal  of  image 
might  be  due  to  the  vehicle  or  the  molecular  condition  of  the 
film.  It  was  a question  whether  a plate  coated  with  gelatine 
emulsion  made  as  slow  as  collodio-bromide  would  not  offer  the 
same  resistance  to  reversal. 


A question  from  the  box  was  read,  “ AY'hen  developing  a 
plate  which  is  known  to  be  over-exposed,  is  it  1 letter  to  begin 
with  the  usual  amount  of  pyro  and  bromide  and  a very  small 
quantity  of  ammonia,  and  as  the  development  proceeds  to  add 
more  ammonia,  or  to  use  a solution  weak  in  ammonia  and  bro- 
mide, and  to  add  the  pyro  by  degrees,  beginning  with  only  a 
very  small  quantity  of  pyro,  and  finishing  with  the  usual  deve- 
loper ! ” 

Mr.  A.  Haddon  referred  to  Captain  Abney’s  remarks,  published 
in  the  Year-Book,  endorsing  the  system  of  obtaining  detail  first 
and  density  afterwards,  this  method  of  procedure  proving 
particularly  successful  in  developing  negatives  of  Swiss  scenes. 
By  commencing  with  a minimum  quantity  of  pyro,  details  of 
distant  snow-covered  mountains,  as  well  as  the  foreground, 
were  obtained  in  the  same  negative. 

Another  question  from  the  box  : “ Does  anyone  know  of  a 
formula  for  polish  suitable  for  cameras,  that  can  be  put  on 
rather  thickly  and  finished  at  once  ? ” 

Mr.  A.  C.  Pemberton  said  adding  ether  to  French  polish 
caused  it  to  dry  very  quickly,  but  the  article  coated  was  not  so 
satisfactory  in  apjiearance  as  when  the  French  polish  was  used 
without  the  ether. 

The  Chairman  said  a good  black  for  brass  articles  was  made 
by  dissolving  copper  turnings  in  nitric  acid.  The  article,  freed 
entirely  from  grease,  was  dipped  into  this  solution,  then  passed 
through  the  flame  of  a Bunsen  burner,  and  afterwards  washed 
in  water. 

Mr.  J.  J.  Briginshaw  exhibited  two  prints  from  negatives  of 
the  moon,  taken  recently  with  the  great  Lick  telescope.  He 
believed  this  telescope  was  provided  with  a second  lens  for  photo- 
graphic work. 

A Member  asked  the  focus  of  the  objective  the  negative  was 
taken  with. 

Mr.  A.  Haddon  said  from  the  size  of  the  image  in  the  prints 
passed  round  he  should  say  from  50  to  60  feet. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater  referred  to  the  excellent  negatives, 
full  of  detail,  obtained  of  the  moon  by  Mr.  Lewis  M.  Rutherfurd, 
of  New  York,  in  1863-5,  with  very  rude  apparatus. 

The  remainder  of  the  evening  was  devoted  to  the  optical  lan- 
tern. A varied  and  interesting  selection  of  slides  was  pro- 
jected on  the  screen,  contributed  by  Messrs.  G.  Y\r.  Atkins, 
A.  C.  Pemberton,  T.  E.  Freshwater,  R.  P.  Drage,  J.  Teape, 
and  J.  B.  B.  Wellington. 


West  London  Photographic  Societv. 

An  ordinary  meeting  of  the  above  Society  was  held  at  the 
Addison  Hall  on  the  14th  inst.,  Mr.  F.  H.  Low,  M.B.,  in  the 
chair. 

The  members  were  informed  that  Mr.  AATilson  intended  to 
present  the  Club  with  a selection  of  photographic  works  for  the 
library. 

Mr.  Ronald  AA’hiting  read  a paper  on  “Reducing  aud  Inten- 
sifying Negatives.” 

Mr.  C.  YY’hiting  remarked  that  negatives  which  had  been 
dried  quickly  by  immersion  in  spirit,  to  drive  the  water  off,  are 
generally  much  denser  than  those  dried  in  the  ordinary  way, 
and  that  a negative  which  was  dry  in  some  parts  and  not  in 
others,  on  being  put  into  the  spirit  and  dried,  was  found  to  be 
almost  twice  as  dense  in  the  parts  which  had  not  been  dry  on 
immersion  in  the  spirit.  He  also  mentioned  that  if  a very  much 
under-exposed  negative  were  simply  bleached  with  mercury 
and  then  used,  it  would  be  found  to  be  decidedly  improved,  for 
although  the  contrasts  before  were  too  violent,  the  bleaching 
remedied  that  to  a large  extent. 

Mr.  Blackmokk  said  that  he  did  not  approve  intensifying  a 
badly  under-exposed  negative.  It  had  its  proper  place,  which 
was  certainly  not  in  the  printing-frame. 

Mr.  R.  Waiting,  in  replying  to  questions,  remarked  that 
the  different  processes  of  intensification  he  had  described  could 
be  used  with  films,  aud  he  did  not  think  there  would  be  found 
to  be  any  action  on  the  celluloid  backing. 

The  Chairman  requested  those  members  who  had  won  medals 
at  the  late  exhibition  to  send  them  to  the  secretary,  as  they 
were  to  be  engraved  with  names  and  date,  and  he  announced 
that  a special  general  meeting  would  be  held  on  the  8th  of 


February  21,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


155 


March  to  consider  matters  relating  to  the  Exhibition,  except 
that  the  subject  of  the  awards  must  not  be  touched  upon  in 
the  sense  of  questioning  any  of  them.  The  meeting  of 
the  8th  of  March  is  not  to  interfere  with  the  holding  of  the 
next  ordinary  meeting  on  the  28th  inst. 


Hackney  Photographic  Society. 

Mr.  G.  H.  Slight  read  a paper  on  “ Retrospective  Photo- 
graphy, from  Personal  Recollection,”  on  Thursday  last,  going 
back  over  forty  years.  He  illustrated  his  paper  by  showing 
some  old  wet  plate  negatives,  positives,  and  prints.  He  liked 
the  old  process,  and  was  loath  to  leave  it  in  favour  of  the 
present  dry  plates. 

Dr.  Gerard  Smith,  who  began  photography  twenty  years 
ago,  said  he  liked  it  better,  and  it  was  admitted  by  a number  of 
people  to  be  better,  seeing  some  plates  were  advertised  “like 
the  wet  plate  in  results.  ” 

The  Secretary  announced  that  on  the  27th  an  exhibition  of 
“Apparatus”  would  be  held,  and  invited  members  to  send 
apparatus  by  six  o’clock  on  that  day.  He  said  all  the  mem- 
bers would  be  pleased  to  hear  that  Mr.  Hubert  had  secured  a 
silver  medal  at  tire  Roy  ton  Exhibition. 

Mr.  Dean  showed  some  micro-enlargements. 

Mr.  Hart  showed  the  photograph  he  had  taken  of  the  mem- 
Iters  at  the  preceding  meeting.  Owing  to  the  camera  being  a 
new  one,  the  drawing  of  the  slide  had  caused  it  to  shift,  thus 
getting  it  a trifle  out  of  focus. 

The  Secretary  said  he  had  l>een  trying  pyrocatechin  (Dr. 
Arnold's  formula),  but  could  not  recommend  it,  as  it  was  too 
slow,  anti  had  no  advantage  over  any  of  the  developers  now  in 
use. 

Mr.  Reynolds  wanted  to  know  how  to  remove  films  off  useless 
negatives. 

Dr.  Gerard  Smith  advised  salt  and  water. 

Mr.  Birt  Acres  was  nominated  as  a member. 


Newcastle  and  Northern  Counties  Photographic 
Association. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  on  Tuesday,  the  11th  inst.,  in 
the  Mosley  Street  Caf<5,  Newcastle-on-Tync,  Mr.  J.  P.  Gibson 
in  the  chair. 

The  election  of  officers  was  as  follows  : — President — Mr.  A.  S. 
Stevenson,  J.P. ; Vice-Presidents — Messrs.  J.  P.  Gibson  and 
H.  R.  Procter  ; Council — Messrs.  M.  Auty,  James  Brown, 
T.  Galloway,  J.  E.  Goold,  W.  Parry,  G.  Proud,  H.  G.  Ridg- 
way,  J.  Hedley  Robinson,  H.  Shand,  and  L.  Williamson ; 
Hon.  Treasurer — Mr.  J.  W.  Robson  ; lion.  Secretary — Mr. 
Edgar  G.  Lee,  11,  Beverley  Terrace,  Cullercoats. 

The  Treasurer’s  report  showed  a balance  in  hand  of 
£2  13s.  3d. 

The  following  were  elected  as  members  of  the  Association  : 
Miss  Annie  Philipson,  Messrs.  W.  R.  Ferguson,  \V.  W.  Fry, 
A.  E.  Harris,  W.  Milburn,  and  Lyddell  Sawyer. 

Mr.  J.  E.  Goold  read  a paper  on  “Four  Different  Printing 
Processes  suitable  for  Copying  Tracings  ” (see  page  151). 

Other  printing  processes  were  described  by  Messrs.  M.  Auty, 
Jas.  Brown,  J.  P.  Gibson,  W.  Parry,  and  J.  Pike. 

Some  very  fine  photographs  by  Mr.  Robert  S.  Redfield, 
Philadelphia,  were  exhibited  by  Mr.  J.  P.  Gibson. 

Messrs.  M.  Auty,  Jas.  Brown,  J.  P.  Gibson,  J.  E.  Goold, 
and  W.  Parry  exhibited  a number  of  photographs,  the  work  of 
the  past  season. 


Leicester  and  Leicestershire  Photographic  Society. 

A meeting  was  held  in  the  Mayor’s  Parlour,  Old  Town  Hall,  on 
Wednesday,  Feb.  12th,  Mr.  J.  T.  Cook  in  the  chair.  One 
member  was  elected,  and  oiie  proposed  for  ballot  at  the  next 

meeting. 

The  exhibition  of  lantern  slides  for  competition  in  class  A 
was  then  proceeded  with,  Mr.  F.  Pierpoint  manipulating  the 
lantern.  Eight  members  sent  in  six  slides  each,  which,  after 
being  passed  through  the  lantern,  were  voted  for  by  ballot  by 
the  members  present,  with  the  result  that  the  first  prize  silver 
medal  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Porrit,  and  the  bronze  medal  for 
the  second  prize  to  Mr.  W,  Joliffe. 


North  Middlesex  Photographic  Club. 

On  Feb.  10th  the  members  of  the  above  Club  discussed  the 
best  light  for  use  in  the  dark  room,  and  submitted  the 
several  samples  of  glass  to  a practical  test.  For  this  purpose, 
pieces  of  Ilford  rapid  bromide  paper  were  used,  and  an  exposure 
of  ten  minutes  was  given.  The  following  were  the  results  ob- 
tained : — That  exposed  to  the  light  of  one  thickness  of  cathedral 
green,  after  being  in  the  developer  for  about  one  minute, 
was  quite  black,  while  that  with  two  thicknesses  was  of  a 
dark  grey  ; that  exposed  to  the  yellow  and  ruby  was  still  quite 
white  ; in  about  two  and  a half  minutes  longer,  that  exposed 
to  the  yellow  began  to  show  a grey,  the  ruby — the  darkest 
procurable — following  one  minute  later. 

Mr.  Paul  remarked  that  at  previous  meetings  when  he  had 
recommended  cathedral  green  to  be  used,  he  had  never  advised 
that  it  be  used  alone,  but  in  conjunction  with  a screen  of 
canary  medium,  and  expressed  his  belief  that  if  forty  thick- 
nesses were  used,  it  would  still  be  easy  to  fog  a plate. 

Mr.  Goodhew  remarked  that  the  safety,  or  otherwise,  of  a 
particular  screen  was  largely  influenced  by  the  make  of  lamp, 
for  one  in  which  the  burner  was  six  or  eight  inches 
from  the  glass  would  be  found  much  safer  than  one  with  the 
burner  only  two  inches  from  it  ; also  that  one  with  two  screens 
placed  a few  inches  apart  would  be  found  much  safer  than 
with  the  same  screens  placed  close  together,  although  they 
apparently  gave  the  same  light. 

The  Secretary  said  that  in  choosing  a light  to  work  by  we 
had  the  choice  of  two  evils : either  it  was  necessary  to  have  a 
light  that  was  practically  if  not  absolutely  no  light — if  it 
was  desired  to  have  one  that  would  have  no  effect  upon  the 
sensitive  film,  however  long  exposed — or  a light  which,  while 
promoting  ease  of  working,  would  cause  fog,  if  allowed  to  act 
for  a comparatively  short  time.  And,  therefore,  it  was  neces- 
sary under  these  conditions  to  choose  one  which  hit  the  middle 
course ; that  is,  a medium  which  would  not  show  any  trace  of 
fog  with  the  longest  necessary  exposure  on  the  most  sensitive 
plates.  Anything  which  cut  off  more  light  than  this  was  not  only 
needless,  but  was  an  actual  disadvantage,  and  detrimental  to 
the  best  results,  as  nothing  was  more  necessary  than  a good 
light  to  judge  the  negative  by  in  developing,  and  for  this 
reason  he  objected  to  such  screens  as  had  a mottled  appearance 
(as  cathedral  green),  as  he  opined  that  it  made  the  judging 
of  fine  detail  more  difficult,  and  remarked  that  all  knew  the 
nuisance  of  emulsion  on  the  back  of  a negative. 

The  vote  of  the  meeting  was  taken,  when  it  was  found  that 
canary  medium  and  yellow  glass  were  the  favourites. 

Next  Monday,  February  24th,  Mr.  George  Davison  (of  the 
Camera  Club)  will  give  a lecture  entitled  “A  Chat  on  Pictures 
by  Photography.”  Visitors  are  invited  to  attend. 


Brighton  Photographic  Society. 

The  first  annual  meeting  was  held  on  February  11th.,  the 
President  (Dr.  Rean)  in  the  chair. 

The  Secretary  read  the  committee’s  report,  which  stated 
that  the  Society  now  numbered  sixty  members.  It  also 
referred  to  the  papers  read  during  the  year,  which  have  been 
of  a high  class,  and  evoked  considerable  discussion.  The 
lantern  evenings  have  also  been  a feature,  and  have  proved 
entertaining.  During  the  summer  months  excursions  have 
taken  place  to  the  most  picturesque  spots  in  the  vicinity  ; 
these  have  been  thoroughly  appreciated.  Two  interesting 
competitions  have  also  taken  place,  one  for  the  best  set  of 
lantern  slides  being  keenly  contested. 

The  officers  for  the  current  year  were  then  elected  as 
follows  : — President — Mr.  W.  H.  Rean  ; Vice-President — Mr. 
W.  Jage  ; Treasurer — Mr.  J.  P.  Slingsby  Roberts  ; Committee 
— Messrs.  Bedford,  Caush,  Hardcastle,  Graham,  Perren, 
Mitchell,  Tate,  Webbing,  and  Wicks  ; Hon.  Secretary — Mr.  A. 
H.  C.  Corder,  42,  Montpelier  Road,  Brighton. 

The  prints  sent  in  for  competition  were  on  view  during  the 
evening.  The  judges,  Messrs.  Allen,  Fry,  Hunter,  Graham,  and 
Rean,  awarded^ tJie_bronze  medal  to  Mr.  W.  Duddell.  The  silver 
medal  was  withheld,  as,  in  the  opinion  of  the  judges,  there  were 
no  exliibits  of  sufficient  merit  to  justify  their  awarding  it. 


15C 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  21,  1890. 


Dundee  and  East  of  Scotland  Photographic  Association. 

February  6th.— General  meeting  ; Dr.  Tulloch,  President,  iu 
the  chair. 

Mr.  G.  D.  Macdougald  read  a paper  on  “ Stereoscopic  Photo- 
graphy ” (see  page  152).  Mr.  Macdougald  then  gave  a descrip- 
tion of  the  lime-light  jet  used  at  the  Society’s  lantern  exhibition' 
on  the  29th  ult. 

Dr.  Tulloch  exhibited  an  apparatus  for  magnifying  lantern 
slides  he  had  made  from  a design  published  in  the  current  Year- 
Book.  It  consisted  of  a cardboard  box  with  a plano-convex 
lens  mounted  at  one  end,  the  other  end  being  made  of  ground 
glass.  The  lantern  slide  is  placed  in  a groove  sufficiently  far 
into  the  box  to  throw  the  ground  glass  out  of  focus  when  the 
instrument  is  held  up  to  the  light  to  view  the  slide. 

Beck’s  new  camera,  the  “ Pecrops,”  was  on  exhibition. 
Messrs.  Beck  had  also  two  of  their  “ Autograph  ” lenses  on  view  ; 
one  mounted,  as  usual,  in  brass,  the  other  in  aluminium. 


Birmingham  Photographic  Society. 

At  the  meeting  held  on  the  13th  inst.,  Mr.  W.  Jerome  Harri- 
son, F.G.S.,  occupied  the  chair. 

The  Birkenhead  Photo.  Survey  slides  were  advertised  to  be 
shown,  but  as  these  were  not  ready,  a very  good  substitute  was 
given  through  the  kindness  of  the  following  photographers  and 
societies,  who  sent  a number  of  slides  for  exhibition  ; vix., 
Messrs.  C.  W.  Hastings  and  H.  Sturmey,  the  Camera  Club, 
and  the  Leicester,  Wolverhampton,  and  Coventry  Societies. 
Those  from  the  Camera  Club  were  the  new  set  of  animal  studies, 
and  were  sent  out  with  very  appropriate  readings  of  particulars. 
The  new  club  lantern  was  on  view,  and,  at  the  close,  some  pic- 
tures were  passed  through. 

It  was  announced  that  Prof.  Muybridge  would  give  his  ex- 
hibition at  the  Birmingham  Town  Hall  during  March. 


Society  of  Amateur  Photographers  of  New  York. 

The  regular  monthly  meeting  was  held  on  the  evening  of 
Jan.  14th,  President  C.  W.  Canfield  in  the  chair. 

Mr.  F.  C.  Beach  read  a paper  on  “Camera  Shutters,”  and 
exhibited  a number  of  different  models.  He  thought  almost 
all  shutters  were  operated  either  by  gravity,  spring  power,  or 
pneumatic  power. 

Mr.  Cyrus  Prosch  exhibited  a skeleton  model  of  his  present 
triplex  shutter,  and  a model  of  the  first  one  he  invented. 

Prof.  L.  H.  Laudy  thought  the  word  “instantaneous” 
should  not  be  used,  as  there  was  not,  and  could  not  be,  an  instan- 
taneous shutter.  All  required  time  to  operate. 

Mr.  Wm.  T.  Gregg  preferred  a shutter  operating  between 
the  lenses,  and  exhibited  a model  of  his  diamond  shutter, 
called  such  because  of  the  diamond-shaped  diaphragm  it  made. 
Very  few  shutters  worked  quicker  than  the  yi^th  part  of  a 
second,  and  the  average  about  the  Sgth  of  a second. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Grisdale  showed  a combination  drop  and  door 
flap  shutter  having  attached  spring  hinges,  designed  to  prevent 
the  jar  of  the  doors  as  they  fly  open.  He  also  explained  a model 
of  a shutter  (sector-shaped),  in  which  a simple  movement  of 
one  lever  actuated  by  a spring  operated  two  blades  in  opposite 
directions.  He  believed  in  having  the  apertures  in  the  shutters 
considerably  longer  than  the  actual  area  of  the  lens,  in  order 
that  a large  amount  of  light  may  enter  it. 

Mr.  F.  C.  Beach  exhibited  a German  prayer-book  camera 
made  on  Mr.  J.  A.  Harrison’s  principle. 

Mr.  A.  Peebles  Smith  made  a flash-light  exposure  of  the 
audience  early  iu  the  evening,  developed  the  negative,  dried  it, 
placed  it  in  Dr.  Just’s  automatic  exposing  and  photo-printing 
machine,  sent  by  the  United  States  Photographic  Supply  Co., 
and  exposed,  by  the  aid  of  an  incandescent  electric  lamp,  thirty 
impiessions  on  a continuous  band  of  bromide  paper.  These 
were  quickly  developed  with  the  eikonogen  developer  iu  large 
trays,  fixed,  cut  off,  and  the  prints  presented  to  each  member 
of  the  audience  before  the  meeting  broke  up. 


Experimentalist. — Your  letter  affects  a known  person,  yet 
you  do  not  append  your  own  name  and  address  for  publication. 


to  <£om$pontfnttg. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 

Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

Spots  (Buxton).— Small  blue  marks  on  silver  prints.  We  have 
seen  several  instances  of  late  very  like  yours,  but  of  more 
pronounced  character.  If  correct  in  our  surmise,  they  are 
really  small  blisters,  or  places  of  loose  attachment,  where  the 
gold"  toning  solution  has  got  underneath,  and  so  acted  in 
advance,  or  more  powerfully  than  on  the  rest  of  the  photo- 
graph. By  soaking  in  water  we  expected  to  see  correspond- 
ing blisters  rise  up,  but  no  such  result  was  apparent  even 
when  examined  with  a magnifier.  Avoid  the  use  of  a freshly- 
made  toning  bath,  and  keep  a look-out  for  anything  in  the 
shape  of  blisters. 

A.  M.  M. — Inks  for  india-rubber  stamps.  No  fatty  or  oily 
matter  should  ever  lie  used,  for  they  are  apt  to  corrode  the 
face  of  the  stamp.  Spirit  solutions  applied  from  a stretched 
flannel  pad  are  commonly  employed,  the  most  suitable  colours 
being  extra  dahlia  for  a violet  ink,  spirit  induline  for  black, 
or  this  latter  tempered  by  the  addition  of  a little  Atlas  blue. 
All  these  colours  may  be  procured  of  Messrs.  Brooke,  Simp- 
son and  Co.,  Atlas  Works,  Hackney  Wick,  E. 

F.  S.  A. — The  photograph  of  the  Rosetta  Stone,  plate  278  in 
the  British  Museum  series,  will  be  of  no  use  to  you,  for  the 
inscriptions  are  not  legible  on  account  of  the  stone  being 
covered  with  its  protecting  plate  of  glass.  Apply  to  Messrs. 
W.  A.  Mansell  and  Co.,  271,  Oxford  Street,  W.,  to  know 
whether  they  can  supply  you  with  any  photograph  showing 
the  actual  inscriptions.  Even  then  you  would  require  an 
enlarged  copy  to  exhibit  the  details  properly,  or  they  might 
be  sufficiently  apparent  if  a transparency  were  produced  and 
thrown  upon  a screen. 

R.  L.— Testing  the  speed  of  shutters.  This  problem  would 
appear  to  be  solved  in  a very  simple  and  satisfactory  manner 
by  Mr.  H.  0.  Hughes,  who  describes  his  apparatus  in  the 
Year-Book,  page  109.  He  uses  the  swing  of  a second’s 
pendulum,  painted  white  against  a black  background,  ujion 
which  a graduated  arc  is  described,  and  lets  go  the 
mechanism  of  the  shutter  when  the  bob  is  oscillating  regu- 
larly. The  plate,  when  developed,  will  show  how  far  the 
blurred  image  extends,  and,  consequently,  the  period  during 
which  the  aperture  of  the  lens  remained  uncovered.  For 
further  details,  see  the  author’s  published  account. 

L.  P.  C. A pamphlet  entitled  “ Some  Recent  Advances  in 

Photography,”  by  Frederick  E.  Ives,  reprinted  from  the 
Journal  of  the  Franklin  Institute,  May,  1888,  can  lie  seen  in 
the  Patent  Office  Library,  Southampton  Buildings,  Chancery 
Lane. 

p,  b.  A. The  distinction  between  “ professional”  and  “ ama 

teur  ” is  not  easily  defined.  Many  so-called  “amateurs 
have  at  times  sold  their  negatives,  or  furnished  photo-sketches 
of  passing  events,  ceremonials,  &c.,  for  which  they  have  been 
paid.  Others,  again,  may  have  filled  temporary  engagements, 
accepting  pay,  and  yet  long  since  discontinued  to  make  any 
profit  by  photography.  Another  large  class,  of  uncertain 
qualification,  may  be  photo- mechanical  printers,  opticians, 
and  makers  of  apparatus,  or  of  various  specialities  demanded 
by  photographers.  The  itinerant  operator,  who  practises 
only  during  the  season,  and  carries  on  another  trade  in  the 
winter  months,  is,  we  suppose,  a legitimate  ‘ ‘ professional. 
But,  for  an  authoritative  answer  to  these  points,  we  must 
refer  you  to  the  newly  appointed  honorary  secretary,  whose 
advent  to  office  at  the  annual  meeting  was  hailed  as  a very 
satisfactory  omen  for  the  future  prosperity  of  the  Association. 

\y.  M. — 1.  \\Tiere  many  copies  are  required,  and  in  all  really 
important  cases,  it  is  usual  to  print  from  reproduced  negatives. 
2.  Varnish  for  negatives  on  Eastman’s  new  Tollable  celluloid. 
Mr.  \V.  H.  Walker  recently  stated  that  his  Company  were 
experimenting  with  several  kinds  of  elastic  varnish,  and  that 
he  hoped  very  shortly  to  introduce  that  which  proved  the 
most  suitable  for  general  use. 

Received  copy  of  the  regulations  of  third  annual  Photographic 
Exhibition  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  to  be  opened  on  March  11th. 

A.  C.,  T.  S.,  J.  C.,  and  Photargus,  in  our  next. 


THE 


Vol.  No^%3 .—Fe^. 


NEWS. 


1890. 


Detective  Cameras.  By  C.  Brangwin  Barnes 165 

A Machine  Camera  Taking  Ten  Photographs  a Second  157 

The  Royal  Institution  159 

An  Old  Photograph  Book  160 

An  Institute  of  Photography.  ByG.  Lindsay  Johnson,  M.A., 

M.B.,  B.Sc.,  F.R.C.S 162 

A Printing  Machine  of  the  Future 164 

Platinum  and  Palladium  Toning.  By  Frank  P.  Perkins,  F.I.C.  164 
The  Hinges  of  Dark  Slide  Shutters.  By  Chapman  Jones, 
F.I.C.,  F.C.8 164 


PAOK 

Notes  loo 

Thomas  Wedgwood's  Experiments  on  Light... 107 

A New  Lithographic  Transfer  Ink.  By  Dr.  J.  M.  Eder 169 

Patent  Intelligence  170 

Correspondence — Stereoscopic  Vision — Amateurs  and  Pro- 
fessionals—Hackney  Photographic  Society — Photographic 
Survey  of  Warwickshire — Focussing  Appliances— Patents 

and  Photographic  Progress  172 

Proceedings  of  Societies  474 

Answers  to  Correspondents  170 


A MACHINE  CAMERA  TAKING  TEN  PHOTO- 
GRAPHS A SECOND. 

Foa  some  months  past  rumours  have  been  published 
in  various  photographic  journals  in  England  and 
America,  about  the  advent  of  an  automatic  camera  to 
make  a large  number  of  consecutive  exposures  in  a 
second,  by  the  act  of  merely  turning  a handle.  This 
camera  has  been  invented  by  Air.  Friese  Greene  and 
Mr.  Mortimer  Evans,  civil  engineer.  The  object  of 
it  is  to  obtain  consecutive  pictures  of  things  in  motion, 
which  can  afterwards  he  rapidly  consecutively  pro- 
jected on  a screen,  so  as  to  reproduce,  say, . street 
scenes,  with  the  horses,  human  beings,  and  other 
living  things,  moving  as  in  nature.  For  instance, 
a cab  may  be  seen  passing  in  one  direction,  and  a dog 
in  the  other.  Mr.  Muybridge,  to  produce  something 
yielding  approximately  the  same  results,  used  from 
two  to  three  dozen  cameras,  and  made  the  exposures 
by  means  of  a wheel  electric  commutator ; these 
cameras  took  the  moving  objects  from  either  two  or 
three  different  points  of  view,  so  that,  practically,  he 
obtained  but  a dozen  or  two  pictures  of  a continuous 
series  of  motions.  The  camera  now  under  notice, 
however,  can  take  a continuous  series  of  three  hundred 
photographs,  so  as  to  represent  a long  stream  of  street 
life  as  it  is  to-day.  What  would  we  not  now  give  for 
a series  of  similar  pictures  representing  street  life  in 
the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  with  the  dress  and  gait 
of  the  citizens  of  that  time,  and  their  antique  streets 
and  houses  as  a background  ? 

In  the  scientific  world  such  an  instrument  is  likely 
to  be  useful.  One  well-known  naturalist— not  of  the 
Camera  Club,  but  a real  naturalist — has  suggested  that 
by  means  of  this  camera,  the  actual  motions  of  the 
legs  of  the  centipede  may  be  followed ; with  the  eye 
this  is  difficult,  because  the  animal  has  too  many  legs, 
and  it  is  difficult  for  the  observer  to  keep  the  reckon- 
ing, unless  he  be  a Zerah  Colburn  or  other  “ calcula- 
ting boy.”  To  the  meteorologist  it  may  be  useful, 
when  more  or  less  rapidly  worked,  for  showing  the  for- 


mation and  dissipation  of  clouds.  Air.  Friese  Greene 
has  already,  by  its  means,  photographed  a spider  making 
its  web.  This  may  interest  Mr.  C.  V.  Boys,  who  has  also 
studied  the  characteristics  of  the  spider,  by  placing 
the  prong  of  a vibrating  tuning  fork,  instead  of  a fly, 
in  the  centre  of  the  web  ; the  spider  valorously  laid 
hold  of  it,  but  observed  that  he  had  never  seized  such 
a muscular  fly  before.  Next  Air.  Boys  tried  a hot 
tuning  fork,  but  as  a hot  fly  was  outside  the 
experience  of  the  spider,  the  spider  at  last  took  to  his 
heels — supposing  him  to  possess  such — and  looked  on 
from  a distance,  with  palpitating  heart,  at  his  demoni- 
acal visitor.  All  this,  and  more,  can  the  new  camera 
photograph ; but  now  it  is  high  time  to  describe  the 
instrument  itself. 

Fig.  1 represents  the  exterior  of  the  machine  camera, 
which  is  simply  a box  with  a lens  attached,  and  has 

also  a winch  handle 
protruding  at  the 
back.  Its  exterior 
dimensions  are  8 in. 
by  9in.  by  9^  in. 
Mr.  Alortimer  Evans 
has  recently  improved 
upon  this,  by  making 
a modified  form  of 
the  instrument  for 
popular  rather  than 
scientific  use  ; this 
smaller  camera  is 
little  larger  than  a 
“ kodak,”  and  will 
take  a hundred  consecutive  pictures  by  the  turning 
of  a handle. 

Fig.  2,  on  next  page,  represents  the  working  parts 
of  the  larger  instrument  as  seen  from  above,  and  Fig.  3 
the  working  parts  of  the  machine  camera  as  seen  from 
below. 

Messrs.  Greene  and  Evans  provide  a main  shaft, 
which  is  actuated  by  a winch  turned  by  hand.  To 
this  shaft  are  attached  wheel  work  and  counter  shafts, 


158 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  28,  1890. 


by  which  the  whole  apparatus  is  driven.  The  rotation 
of  the  shaft  pays  out  the  prepared  film,  and  places  it 
in  position  to  receive  the  photographic  impression,  in 
which  it  is  automatically  exposed  to  the  action  of  light. 
The  light  is  then  cut  off,  and  the  exposed  fnm,  which 
was  motionless  at  the  instant  of  exposure,  is  passed  on, 
and  wound  on  a receiving  roller  on  the  lower  part  of 
the  machine.  The  pictures  continue  to  be  taken  so 
long  as  the  main  shaft  is  rotated,  and  so  long  as  any 
film  remains  to  be  paid  out.  The  inventors  wind  a 
long  roll  on  one  of  the  spindles  or  countershafts, 
and  this  spindle  is  so  arranged  that  ns  it  rotates 
it  pays  out  the  film  as  fast  as  necessary.  To 


another  spindle  the  free  end  of  the  film  is  attached, 
and  by  suitable  arrangement  the  second  countershaft 
is  caused  to  rotate  in  a reversed  direction,  and  to  wind 
up  the  film. 

Between  the  two  rollers  is  arranged  an  exposure 
screen  conveying  the  sensitive  film  to  the  rolling-up 
shaft,  and  when  on  this  exposure  screen,  the  film  is 
subjected  to  the  action  of  the  uncovered  lens. 

As  both  the  paying-out  and  rolling-up  rollers  have 
a continuous  motion  communicated  to  them  by  the 
driven  shaft,  and  as  it  is  desirous  that  the  film,  during 
its  exposure  to  the  light,  should  be  at  rest,  an  arrange- 
ment to  effect  this  is  provided  as  follows,  and  this  is 
the  cleverest  part  of  the  invention  : — Immediately 
beyond  the  exposure  screen,  and  between  it  and  the 
up- winding  roller,  is  an  intermittently-acting  drum  of 
such  diameter  or  circumference  as  that  each  turn 


thereof  will  take  up  and  roll  forward  the  exact  amount 
of  film  required  for  each  picture ; in  passing  this  film 
forward,  the  drum  also  draws  into  the  exposure 
position  a fresh  length  of  film  ready  to  be  exposed. 
To  effect  this  intermittent  motion,  the  aforesaid  drum 
has  a single,  long  escapement  tooth,  which,  when  the 
drum  is  not  in  motion,  rests  on  the  cylindrical  surface 
of  a slotted  pinion,  which  gears  into,  and  is  driven  by, 
the  main  shaft  with  a continuous  motion.  The  slot  in 
this  pinion  is  so  arranged  that  once  only  during  each 
revolution  of  the  pinion  does  it  allow  the  escape  tooth 
to  pass,  and  when  this  occurs,  the  drum,  under  the 
action  of  a driving  spring,  with  which  it  is  provided, 
makes  one  full  turn,  when  the  escape- 
ment tooth,  coming  round  again,  rests 
on  the  cylindrical  portion  of  the  slotted 
pinion  as  before.  The  spindle  on  which 
the  drum  revolves  also  gears  into,  and 
is  driven  with  a uniform  motion  from, 
the  main  shaft,  and  to  this  shaft  is 
attached  the  one  end  of  a coiled  spring, 
the  other  end  of  which  is  fixed  to  the 
inner  circumference  of  the  drum  itself. 
As  the  spindle  revolves,  this  spring 
winds  up,  and,  on  the  release  of  the 
escape  tooth  and  drum,  the  spring  un- 
winds, carrying  both  the  drum  and 
escape  tooth  with  it.  Then  the  film  is 
passed  forward  between  the  winding 
and  unwinding  rollers  at  this  point 
only,  with  the  necessary  intermittent 
motion.  The  constant  uniform  motion 
of  the  paying  out  spindle  as  it  unwinds, 
causes  a certain  uniform  length  of  the 
film  to  pass  forward  towards  the  ex- 
posure screen,  when  it  collects  into  a 
kind  of  loop  in  readiness  for  use.  It 
cannot,  however,  pass  into  the  position 
of  actual  exposure  until  that  portion  of 
the  film  occupying  such  position  has 
been  withdrawn.  As  soon,  however, 
as  the  detent  tooth  attached  to  the  drum 
escapes  through  the  slot  in  the  pinion, 
the  drum  makes  a single  revolution,  and  in  so  doing 
both  removes  the  exposed  film  from  the  screen, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  draws  a loop  of  fresh  film  which 
has  been  gathering,  into  the  exposed  position,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  passes  forward  the  already  exposed 
film  into  the  form  of  another  loop  in  readiness  to  be 
wound  up  on  the  winding  roller.  The  latter  is  provided 
with  a similar  uniform  continuous  motion,  from  the 
main  shaft  in  the  paying  out  roller,  and  proceeds 
gradually  to  wind  up  the  loop,  so  that  the  loop  is 
wholly  taken  up  by  the  time  the  escape  tooth  again 
rotates,  when  a fresh  loop  of  film  is  passed  forward. 

The  shutter  for  exposing  the  film  to  the  action  of 
light  is  made  in  two  portions,  each  provided  with  an 
aperture  or  slot,  which  in  one  position  only  allows  the 
light  from  the  lens  to  pass,  and  it  is  only  by  this 
simultaneous  action  of  these  two  shutters — that  is,  when 


February  28,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


159 


the  apertures  in  each  coincide  at  a given  moment — that 
any  action  of  light  on  the  film  can  take  place.  One 
portion  of  this  shutter  is  caused  to  revolve  with  a 
uniform  motion  as  it  is  driven  from  the  main  shaft ; 
the  other  portion  is  worked  by  a rocker,  or  slide, 
actuated  by  a cam  ; to  this  latter  portion  of  the  shutter 
is  attached  a spring,  with  a tension  screw  to  regulate 
its  speed  of  action.  In  this  way  the  duration  of 
exposure  is  rendered  entirely  independent  of  the  speed 
of  the  driving  shaft,  because  by  the  turning  of  this 
screw  a somewhat  longer  or  shorter  exposure  within 
limits  can  be  ensured,  whatever  the  number  of  expo- 
sures per  minute  may  be.  The  moment  the  aperture 
in  the  revolving  shutter  comes  into  position  with  the 
lens,  the  cam  lets  the  sliding  shutter  go,  and  by  means 
of  its  attached  spring  the  aperture  in  the  sliding  shutter 
also  crosses,  and  the  exposure  is  effected.  The  action 
of  this  shutter  is  so  arranged  that  each  exposure  occurs 
simultaneously  with  the  “ at  rest  ” position  of  the  drum, 
escape  tooth,  and  the  film  on  the  exposed  screen. 

Mr.  Friese  Greene  thinks  this  machine  camera  to  be 
likely  to  be  useful  for  military  purposes.  For  instance, 
several  of  them  might  be  employed,  driven  by  any 
suitable  motive  power,  to  automatically  photograph 
the  leading  features  of  a battle.  Some  years  ago  he 
exhibited  to  the  Photographic  Society  a little  optical 
lantern  which  cast  four  pictures  in  succession  upon  the 
screen,  and,  before  the  one  was  quite  removed,  the 
next  was  superimposed ; thus  he  showed  the  change 
of  a countenance  from  grave  to  gay,  and  the  very 
motions  of  the  skin  of  the  face  could  be  seen,  without 
the  presence  of  any  of  the  unpleasant  “jerkiness” 
incidental  to  a series  of  pictures  automatically  projected 
by  apparatus  made  on  the  old-fashioned  principle.  In 
Mr.  Greene’s  lantern  demonstration,  colour  gradually 
came  into  the  moving  face  and  into  the  dress,  because 
he  had  washed  different  parts  of  the  portrait  on  the 
slide  with  various  “ sympathetic  inks,”  as  they  are 
called,  consisting  of  suitable  solutions  of  cobaltic  and 
other  salts.  The  heat  of  the  lantern  caused  the 
colours  to  come  out.  Mr.  Greene  stated  to  the  meeting 
that  the  lantern  had  been  invented  by  an  acquaintance 
of  his  in  the  west  of  England.  By  an  improvement 
upon  that  lantern,  now  in  course  of  manufacture, 
Mr.  Greene  hopes  to  be  able  to  reproduce  upon  the 
screen,  by  means  of  photographs  taken  with  his 
machine  camera,  street  scenes  full  of  life  and  motion  ; 
also  to  represent  a man  making  a speech,  with  all  the 
changes  in  his  countenance,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to 
give  the  speech  itself  in  the  actual  tones  of  the  man’s 
voice  by  means  of  a loud-speaking  phonograph. 


A camera  is,  it  is  said,  among  the  presents  with  which 
Miss  Amy  Fowler  has  left  New  York  for  Molokai  ; she  has  also 
received  gifts  of  2,200  dollars,  a type-writer,  piano,  and  music. 

Liverpool  Amateur  Photographic  Association. — The 
executive  have,  we  are  informed,  decided  on  holding  in  1891 
another  large  photographic  exhibition.  At  their  club  rooms 
the  exhibition  of  Mr.  H.  P.  Robinson’s  pictures  will  close  to-day. 
Over  1,200  visitors,  it  is  said,  have  attended.  The  work  of  Mr. 
Harry  Tolley  will  be  the  next  feature  at  the  Liverpool 
rooms, 


THE  ROYAL  INSTITUTION. 

VII. 

Dr.  Thomas  Yocng’s  Discoveries  and  Photographs. 
On  the  24th  of  November,  1803,  Young  delivered  the 
Bakerian  lecture  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  in  the  memoir 
published  in  The  Philosophical  Transactions  of  1804,  ho 
records  how  he  photographed  Newton’s  rings,  so  that 
he  had  his  share  in  some  of  the  photographic  work 
which  Wedgwood  originated  at  the  Royal  Institution. 
The  following  are  his  own  words  on  the  subject,  copied 
from  the  original  printed  memoir,  for  in  this  series  of 
articles  we  are  careful  to  doal  only,  wherever  possible, 
with  the  oldest  records  extant,  and  not  to  quote  at 
second-hand  from  books  of  later  date  ; thus  the  chance 
of  error  is  reduced  to  a minimum.  He  says  : — 

“ The  existence  of  solar  rays  accompanying  light, 
more  refrangible  than  the  violet  rays,  was  first  ascer- 
tained by  Mr.  Ritter  : but  Dr.  Wollaston  made  the  same 
experiments  a very  short  time  afterwards,  without 
having  been  informed  of  what  had  been  done  on  the 
Continent.  These  rays  appear  to  extend  beyond  the 
violet  rays  of  the  prismatic  spectrum,  through  a space 
nearly  equal  to  that  which  is  occupied  by  the  violet- 
In  order  to  complete  the  comparison  of  their  pro- 
perties with  those  of  visible  light,  I was  desirous  of 
examining  the  effect  of  their  reflection  from  a thin 
plate  of  air,  capable  of  producing  the  well-known 
rings  of  colours.  For  this  purpose,  I formed  an 
image  of  the  rings,  by  means  of  the  solar  microscope, 
with  the  apparatus  which  I have  described  in  the 
Journals  of  the  Royal  Institution,  and  I threw  this 
image  on  paper  dipped  in  a solution  of  nitrate  of  silver, 
placed  at  the  distance  of  about  nine  inches  from  the 
microscope.  In  the  course  of  an  hour,  portions  of 
three  dark  rings  were  very  distinctly  visible,  much 
smaller  than  the  brightest  rings  of  the  coloured 
image,  and  coinciding  very  nearly  in,  their  dimensions, 
with  the  rings  of  violot  light  that  appeared  upon  the 
interposition  of  violet  glass.  I thought  the  dark 
rings  were  a little  smaller  than  the  violet  rings,  but 
the  difference  was  not  sufficiently  great  to  be  accurately 
ascertained ; it  might  be  as  much  as  -sV  or  of  the 
diameters,  but  not  greater.  It  is  the  less  surprising 
that  the  difference  should  be  so  small,  as  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  coloured  rings  do  not  by  any  means  vary 
at  the  violet  end  of  the  spectrum,  so  rapidly  as  at  the 
red  end.  For  performing  this  experiment  with  very 
great  accuracy,  a heliostato  would  be  necessary,  since 
the  motion  of  the  sun  causes  a slight  change  in  the 
place  of  the  image ; and  leather,  impregnated  with 
the  muriate  of  silver,  would  indicate  the  effect  with 
greater  delicacy.  The  experiment,  however,  in  its 
present  state,  is  sufficient  to  complete  the  analogy  of 
the  invisible  with  the  visible  rays,  and  to  show  that 
they  are  equally  liable  to  the  general  law  which  is  the 
principal  subject  of  this  Paper.  If  we  had  ther- 
mometers sufficiently  delicate,  it  is  probable  that  we 
might  acquire,  by  similar  means,  information  still  more 
interesting,  with  respect  to  the  rays  of  invisible  heat 
discovered  by  Dr,  Herschel  ; but  at  present  there  is 


1G0 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  28,  1890. 


great  reason  to  doubt  of  tbe  practicability  of  such  an 
experiment.” 

In  the  first  volume  of  The  Journals  of  the  Royal 
Institution , London,  1802,  pp.  241-45,  is  Vouug’s 
description  of  his  arrangement  for  photographing 
Newton’s  rings  by  means  of  the  solar  microscope. 
Newton  had  observed  that  the  colours  are  more  vivid 
when  a plate  of  a rarer  medium  is  interposed  between 
two  denser  mediums.  Young  thought  the  apparent 
difference  to  be  due  to  the  quantity  of  diffused  light 
present,  and,  to  remove  this  foreign  light,  he  employed 
one  glass  in  the  form  of  a prism,  and  coated  the  lower 
surface  of  the  other  with  black  sealing-wax.  The  light 
reflected  by  the  oblique  surface  of  the  first  was  thus 
thrown  in  another  direction,  and  the  reflection  of  the 
inferior  surface  of  the  second  was  so  reduced  that  it 
could  be  disregarded.  In  fact,  this  device  of  Young’s 
is  the  same  in  principle  as  that  sold  by  opticians  at  the 
present  day  to  produce  Newton’s  rings. 

The  most  perfectly  plane  glass  Young  could  obtain 
was  that  used  in  Hadley’s  quadrants,  one  side  of  which 
he  had  ground,  so  that  the  plate  became  a thin  wedge ; 
the  surface  of  the  lens  employed  was  a portion  of  a 
sphere  of  from  five  to  ten  feet  radius.  The  glasses 
were  thick,  as  they  had  to  sustain  considerable  pressure, 
which  was  applied  by  means  of  three  screws.  For 
adjusting  the  glasses  to  the  microscope,  he  fixed  them 
in  a cylinder,  so  that  they  could  be  easily  turned  “ so 
as  to  reflect  the  light  coming  from  the  speculum  into 
the  direction  of  the  axis  of  the  microscope  : it  is  obvious 
that  in  this  case  they  must  be  somewhat  inclined  to 
the  light,  so  that  the  focus  of  the  whole  image  will 
never  be  equally  perfect ; and,  instead  of  being  circular 
like  the  rings  themselves,  their  images  on  the  screen 
will  be  oval.” 

In  one  of  his  experiments  he  placed  a prism  a few 
feet  from  the  microscope,  and  cut  off  most  of  the  image 
of  the  lings  by  means  of  a diaphragm  with  a central 
slit  in  it,  whereby  he  was  enabled  on  the  screen  to 
analyse  the  light  of  the  different  rings.  Young  said, 
as  other  Royal  Institution  lecturers  have  often  said 
after  him,  that  “ the  colours  of  thin  plates,  as  seen  by 
transmission,  are  also  easily  exhibited  in  the  solar 
microscope  ; but  since  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  exclude 
the  very  great  proportion  of  the  light  which  is  not 
concerned  in  their  formation,  they  never  appear  so 
brilliant  as  the  colours  seen  by  reflection.” 


Photography  and  Electioneering. — A daily  paper  says  that, 
at  a political  meeting  on  Saturday  last,  the  crowd  gathered 
together  “ had  more  than  verbal  eloquence  to  speak  to  them, 
for,  by  the  aid  of  a series  of  limelight  pictures,  the  chief 
features  of  Balfourism  in  Ireland  weie  illustrated.  Mr.  Har- 
mer,  of  the  Home  Rule  Union,  gave  graphic  little  descriptions 
of  the  scenes  and  incidents  represented,  and  the  whole  lecture 
was  a highly  useful  object  lesson  to  the  large  number  of  electors 
present.  The  magic  lantern  ought  to  be  requisitioned  for  the 
rest  of  the  campaign.  Judging  by  its  stirring  effect  on  Satur- 
day it  would  prove  a very  powerful  ally  to  the  speeches  of  the 
coming  week  and  more.  Those  who  see  it  will  remember  that, 
though  orators  may  be  accused  of  exaggeration,  a photograph 
does  not  lie,” 


AN  OLD  PHOTOGRAPH  BOOK. 

Only  .an  old  photograph  book,  found  in  the  dusty  lumber 
closet  of  an  old  country  cottage,  when  the  death  of  the 
farmer  tenant  has  suddenly  introduced  strange  faces  into  the 
old  home,  and  necessitated  an  examination  of  the  property 
of  which  the  deceased  in  legal  language  stood  possessed. 
The  deceased  stands  no  longer ; he  lies  now  in  the  village 
churchyard,  possessing  nothing,  but  among  sundry  articles 
which  erst  belonged  to  him,  is  found,  with  his  name  care- 
fully and  laboriously  written  in  a vignette,  on  the  title 
page,  an  old  photograph  book.  Let  us  look  at  it  before  it 
is  cast  aside  as  rubbish.  For  who  can  tell  with  what  soli- 
citude this  book  wras  once  preserved  ? May  it  not  contain 
the  portraits  of  his  parents,  his  wife  in  the  days  when 
she  was  his  sweetheart,  the  young  woman  he  kept  com- 
pany with,  the  one  woman  in  all  the  world  for  him  ; her 
portrait  and  the  portrait  of  her  children  ? Of  Homer’s 
heroes  we  know  nothing  but  the  name,  either  of  Trojans 
or  well -greaved  Greeks,  of  Antiloclius  or  Ablerus,  of  Lei- 
tus  or  Phylacus,  of  Eurypylus  or  Melauthius,  of  Poly- 
poetes  or  Astyalus,  of  Teucer  or  the  divine  Aretaon. 
The  sixth  book  of  the  Iliad  gives  the  names  of  these  com- 
batants and  of  many  others — the  names  and  nothing  more, 
save  the  distinction  between  the  conqueror  and  the 
conquered,  the  slayer  aud  the  slain.  It  is  all  one  in  some 
of  our  most  important  Biblical  genealogies ; we  know  that 
Matthew'  records  that  Eliakim  begat  Azor,  and  Azor  begat 
Sadoc,  and  Sadoc  begat  Achirn,  and  Achim  begat  Eliud ; 
but  how  little  do  we  know  of  Eliud,  or  of  Achim,  or  of 
their  progenitors  ? 

Our  old  photograph  book  can  do  more  for  us  than  the 
great  Epic  poet  or  the  Evangelist.  Therein,  as  in  a 
Nigaristan,  or  silent  Valhalla,  we  see  in  their  habits,  as 
they  lived,  the  family  and  the  friends,  humble  folk,  the 
common  delf  of  human  kind,  which,  so  many  years  ago, 
made  merry  or  mourned  with  them  on  summer  afternoons 
and  in  the  winter  fire-light  in  the  old  and  now  deserted 
cottage  home. 

Photography,  like  the  grave,  has,  in  one  respect, 
made  the  poor  and  the  rich  equal.  Formerly,  it  was  only 
the  wealthy  who  could  hand  down  conventional  present- 
ments of  themselves  to  their  descendants.  The  labours 
of  Gainsborough  aud  Reynolds,  and  of  many  succeeding 
portrait  painters  and  miniaturists,  demanded  a hire  far 
beyond  the  capacity  of  the  poor  little  purses  of  the  poor. 
Nor  has  the  present,  in  this  respect  only,  an  advantage 
over  the  past.  Phoebus  is  an  artist  who  cannot  flatter. 

But  all  this  is  by  way  of  preface  to  our  book — our  old 
book  of  photographs.  It  is  of  the  common  almost  cubical 
shape,  with  the  embossed  leather  covers,  and  the  metal 
clasps  long  ago  oxidised  into  a rusty  green. 

A pleasing  feature  in  this  old  photograph  book,  which 
is  observable  also  in  other  books  of  the  same  nature,  is 
the  subordination  of  the  private  to  the  public,  of  love  to 
loyalty,  of  the  ties  of  kindred  to  the  exigencies  of  caste. 
The  first  portrait  we  meet  is  that  of  Her  Most  Gracious 
Majesty.  She  looks,  however,  neither  happy  nor  glorious ; 
the  carte,  like  most  of  those  in  the  book,  is  considerably 
faded,  and  suggests  a suspicion  of  a reproduction  from 
a positive,  a branch  of  dishonest  piracy.  Next  after  Her 
Majesty  follows  in  stereotyped  and  toast-like  succession  the 
photograph  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales.  This 
was  evidently  taken  just  after  their  marriage,  when  they 
were  both  young  and  fresh  in  this  grey  w'orld.  The  pic- 
ture of  their  life’s  spring  is  presented  to  us  by  Ghemar 


February  28,  1890.] 


TIIE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEAVS. 


161 


Fnres,  Photographes  du  Hoi,  Bruxelles.  The  Prince  lias 
a slim  appearance,  with  an  abundance  of  curly  locks. 
The  Princess  wears  her  hair  in  a net,  .and  is  encased  in  a 
crinoline  which  occupies  fully  one  half  of  the  carte.  She 
leans  on  the  Prince  in  what  is  doubtless  intended  to  repre- 
sent an  affectionate  attitude,  with  her  hands  lightly 
touching  his  omoplates,  but  the  impression  produced  on 
the  non-artistic  eye  is  that  she  is  taking  his  measure  for 
a coat,  and  observing  with  interest  the  narrowness  of  his 
shoulders.  After  these  portraits,  succeed  in  due  order 
portraits  we  may  suppose  of  the  rustic  family,  and  portraits 
of  their  friends.  I5ut  .all  of  them  suffer  from  the  same 
disability.  Whether  from  rural  nervousness,  or  a deter- 
mination to  follow  the  prevailing  fashion,  they  are, 
without  exception,  unable  to  stand  alone.  One  lady, 
to  save  herself  apparently  from  falling,  clasps  spas- 
modically, and  with  both  hands,  as  a drowning  man  is 
proverbially  supposed  to  clutch  at  a straw,  the  back 
of  an  antique,  elaborately  carved  chair,  such  a chair  as 
we  might  hope  to  meet  in  an  old  baronial  hall,  but  would 
certainly  never  expect  to  find  in  a country  cottage. 
Another  lady  of  more  mature  age,  and  therefore,  perhaps, 
of  a more  sedate  and  pious  turn  of  mind,  rests  one  hand  on 
a portion  of  what  appears  to  be  a sepulchral  monument, 
or  the  construction  of  a tomb,  lacking,  indeed,  nothing 
but  the  usual  “ Here  lies,’’  to  complete  the  resemblance. 
Several  gentlemen  who  have  evidently  doffed  the  rustic 
blouse  and  assumed  their  suit  of  Sunday  black  for  the 
occasion,  place  a weather-beaten  hand,  accustomed  to 
drive  the  plough,  on  a portion — usually  supported  by  one 
leg — of  a chiffonier  or  bureau,  which  exhibits  such 
exquisite  wood  carving  as  reminds  us  of  the  work  of 
Grinling  Gibbons,  to  be  seen  at  Chatsworth  and  St. 
Paul's.  Ladies  and  gentlemen  alike,  who,  even  with 
the  assistance  above  mentioned,  are  yet  wholly 
unable  to  maintain  that  erect  position  which  is 
supposed  to  be  the  privilege  of  humanity,  are 
represented  seated,  usually  with  a table  on  which 
a vase  of  flowers  is  commonly  placed  by  their 
side.  If  the  sitter  be  a gentleman,  the  table  not 
infrequently  supports  his  hat,  which  he  is,  apparently — 
like  the  nervous  member  of  a club,  who  will  not  make  use 
of  the  hat-stand  in  that  case  made  and  provided — 
extremely  anxious  should  not  for  a moment  be  out  of  his 
sight.  The  old  photographic  chair  is  rarely  of  the 
ordinary  pattern;  it  is  either  of  the  ancient,  high-backed, 
intricately  turned  style,  or  of  that  style  which  is  termed 
rustic,  and  supposed  to  be  suitable  to  a country  landscape. 
The  sitter  is  evidently  uncomfortable  in  it,  but  his  dis- 
comfort we  may  hope  is  mitigated  by  the  elegance  of  his 
surroundings.  In  the  background  on  one  side  of  him  is  a 
marble  column  ; on  the  other,  a curtain  of  deftly- worked 
tapestry.  Through  a window  appears  a view  of  gardens, 
such  as  might  have  belonged  to  the  chateau  of  a French 
marquis.  What  can  a man  desire  more  ? 

All  these  portraits  of  rustic  men  and  maidens  have  pre- 
cedence over  such  distinguished  statesmen  and  humani- 
tarians as  Lord  Derby  and  Mrs.  Fry,  who  follow  mixed  up 
with  such  unlikely  companions  in  real  life  as  Agnes 
Willoughby  and  Tom  Sayers.  This  confusion  of  persons  in 
our  old  photograph  book  reminds  us  of  that  democratic 
disregard  of  rank,  that  supreme  negligence  of  order 
of  any  kind,  which  prevails  in  our.  National  Portrait 
Gallery  (free)  of  the  present  day — the  stationer’s 
shop  window — where  gaping  crowds  are  delighted  at  one 
View  with  such  discordant  elements  of  the  social  fabric 


as  Nellie  Farren  and  Lord  Napier,  Sandow  and  Damiens, 
the  Due  d'Orleans  and  Lilley  Langtry,  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain  and  Miss  Lctty  Lind,  and  the  Bishop  of  Manchester 
and  Miss  Mabel  Love.  Our  old  photograph  book  con- 
cludes with  such  accidental  varieties — comets  in  this 
system,  padding  in  this  magazine — as  a fat  baby,  with 
“ ketchy-wetchy,”  or  some  other  infantile  language, 
probably  alone  intelligible  to  the  mother  and  the  monthly 
nurse,  printed  beneath  it ; one  or  two  landscapes  of  moor 
and  fell ; a display  of  architecture  (most  likely  the  village 
high  street)  ; two  dwarfs,  male  and  female,  propped  up  by 
two  chairs,  the  former  holding  a hat  which,  from  its 
undue  prominence,  is  big  enough  to  cover  much  more 
than  his  head  ; and  on  the  last  two  pages,  two  Welsh- 
women, each  with  her  conical  and  hideous  head  gear, 
each  with  her  coloured  apron,  and  each  with  her  parti- 
cular umbrella. 

More  than  a quarter  of  a century  ago,  Schubert,  a 
painter  of  Berlin,  laid  down  some  rules  for  posture  in 
taking  portraits.  Of  these,  more  than  one  rule  survives 
still.  For  example,  the  rule  which,  embodied  in  the 
form  of  a direction,  was  once  almost  invariably  heard 
by  the  person  who  wished  a portrait  taken  as  soon 
as  the  camera  was  suitably  adjusted.  “Let,”  we  may 
suppose  the  photographer  saying  to  the  originals  of 
the  portraits  in  our  old  photograph  book,  “let  your 
position  be  easy  and  unconstrained  ” — and  here  was 
the  rub,  or  the  beginning  thereof.  They  tried, 
doubtless,  their  best  to  throw  themselves  into  a careless 
degage'  attitude,  but  their  efforts  were  not  crowned  with 
success.  “ Oh,  dear  me  ! ” we  can  imagine  the  artist  saying, 
“this  will  never  do;  your  feet  are  too  forward  ; your  hands 
are  not  sufficiently  drawn  back.  This  hand,”  he  takes  it 
with  all  due  delicacy,  “should  rest  on  the  side  table  thus, 
clasping  this  book  thus  ; ” he  suits  his  action  to  his  word, 
introducing  the  hand  to  the  well-worn  volume,  and  steps 
back  the  ligitimate  number  of  paces  to  watch  the  effect. 
“ No,”  he  says  with  a puzzled  expression,  having  arranged  the 
matter,  as  he  conceives,  satisfactorily;  “no,  this  won't  do  ! 
The  thumb  should  be  shown  in  the  foreground,  and  the 
fingers  should  be  bent  more  inwards ; yes,  and  you  must 
show  more  of  the  back  of  yonr  hand.  ” They  conscientiously 
endeavoured — this  rustic  company — to  follow  out,  so  far 
as  they  understood  them,  these  varied  directions,  not 
without  some  danger  of  a sprained  muscle,  owing  to  such 
unusual  contortions,  and  achieved  finally,  after  effort,  what 
they  hoped  was  a successful  result.  But  they  were  doomed 
to  disappointment.  “No,”  says  the  photographer,  “ no,” 
adding  with  a vexed  air,  “ Didn’t  I begin  by  suggesting  to 
you  that  your  position  should  be  easy  and  unconstrained? 
and,”  as  one  of  the  martyr  band  glances  at  the  professional 
behind  his  apparatus,  “ pray  don’t  look  at  the  camera  ” (or, 
as  he  probably  called  it,  the  apparatus)  ; “it  will  tend  to 
impart  to  your  face  an  expression  in  the  highest  degree 
dolorous  and  dissatisfied.”  The  martyr  thinks  at  once 
how  well  such  a photograph  would  express  his  feelings,  but 
is  unwilling  to  follow  the  example  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  who 
charged  young  Lely  to  paint  him  as  he  was,  with  all 
his  pimples,  warts,  protuberances,  and  other  deformities, 
and,  failing  this,  threatened  not  to  pay  him  for  his  picture 
a single  farthing,  and  so  directs  his  wearied  glance  to  the 
door,  perhaps  thinking  in  this  evil  moment  of  suddenly 
making  his  escape.  “ That  is  quite  right,”  murmurs  the 
photographer;  “the  position  of  the  eyes  is  excellent,  and 
now  please  call  up  a ‘ pleasant  ’ look.” 

Alas!  this  “pleasant”  look  and  this  “easy  and  un- 


162 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  28,  1890. 


constrained”  position— seemingly  so  simple,  practically 
so  difficult.  A few  only,  a very  few,  of  these  old 
portraits  have  successfully  managed  both.  The  pleasant 
look  has  lapsed  far  too  often  into  a fatuous  simper, 
or,  in  cases  where  we  may  suppose  the  sitter's  patience 
has  been  supremely  tried,  into  a stern  scowl  of  Spartan 
endurance,  or  even  a truculent  expression  of  internecine 
hatred  ; the  easy  and  unconstrained  position  has  become 
so  strange  and  forced  an  attitude  that  it  communicates 
a feeling  of  discomfort  even  to  the  casual  spectator, 
and  makes  him  wish  that  the  hands  especially  had  been 
hidden  in  the  sitter's  pockets,  or  anywhere  out  of  the  pic- 
ture, instead  of  being  ruthlessly  brought  to  the  front  by 
that  favourite  old  photographic  expedient  of  a book,  a table, 
or  a high-backed  chair. 

SUtnarjj  Xottrc, 


Sun  Artists,  No.  II.  ( Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  and  Co., 

London.) 

The  second  number  of  this  excellent  quarterly  periodical 
— just  published,  although  dated  January — contains  some 
good  photo-mechanical  reproductions  of  four  of  Mr. 
II.  P.  Robinson’s  photographs,  namely,  “Carolling,” 
“ A Merry  Tale,”  “Dawn  and  Sunset,”  and  “When  the 
Day’s  Work  is  Done.”  It  also  contains  an  article  by 
Mr.  Andrew  Pringle  upon  Mr.  II.  P.  Robinson  and  his 
works.  Mr.  Pringle  says:  “Mr.  Robinson  was  born  in 
1830  at  the  pretty  little  town  of  Ludlow,  in  Shropshire. 
Art  seems  to  have  claimed  him  for  her  own  at  a very  early 
period  of  his  life,  for  he  ‘ cannot  remember  the  time  when 
he  was  not  drawing.  ’ ” He  also  says : “ The  greatest 
service  that  Mr.  Robinson  has  rendered  to  photography 
has  been,  in  our  opinion,  his  bringing  under  our  notice, 
in  an  orderly  and  categorical  way,  many  of  the  principles 
which  guide  artists  in  their  work.  It  is  hopeless  to  argue 
that  art  has  no  rules.” 

Last  week  a newspaper  adversely  criticised  the  prints 
issued  in  this  number  of  Sun  Artists,  and  expressed  the 
opinion  that  Mr.  Robinson  would  not  like  them.  He  has, 
however,  written  a letter  expressing  his  thorough  approval 
of  them. 

Mr.  W.  Arthur  Boord  is  the  honorary  editor  of  Sun 
Artists,  and  the  periodical  is  a credit  both  to  him  and  the 
printers  and  publishers. 


The  Photographic  Society. — The  Manchester  Courier  of 
February  13th  published  the  following  paragraph  about  the 
recent  dinner  of  the  Photographic  Society,  written  by  its 
London  correspondent,  who  was  among  the  guests: — “The 
Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain  has  celebrated  its  annual 
dinner  at  the  Cafd  ltoyal,  Regent  Street,  under  the  chairman- 
ship of  its  President,  Mr.  James  Glaisher,  F.R.S.,  and  was 
remarkable  for  the  varied  races  and  conditions  of  men,  and  of 
the  regions  of  the  earth  which  it  represented.  Persons  from 
nearly  every  quarter  of  the  globe  met  together  on  the  common 
ground  of  devotion  to  the  science  and  art  of  photography. 
On  the  chairman's  right  hand,  for  instance,  sat  Mr.  Chang,  of 
the  Cliinese  Embassy,  a member  of  nearly  all  the  photographic 
societies  in  London,  and  whose  speciality  is  the  production  of 
pictures  by  magnesium  flash-light.  On  Mr.  Chang’s  right 
hand,  again,  sat  Mr.  Leon  Warnerke,  a Russian  artist,  founder 
of  the  Photographic  Societies  of  Moscow  and  St.  Petersburg, 
in  which  latter  capital  he  inaugurated  the  first  photographic 
exhibition.  This  was  visited  by  the  Emperor  and  his  family, 
and  won  for  its  promoter  the  Order  of  St.  Stanislas.” 


AN  INSTITUTE  OF  PHOTOGRAPHY.* 

BY  G.  LINDSAY  JOHNSON,  SLA.,  M.B.,  B.SC.,  F.R.C.S. 
Some  months  ago  a notable  sale  of  photographic  relics  in 
connection  with  Daguerre,  Talbot,  and  other  fathers  of 


heard  of  it,  I wrote  a letter  to  the  Society  urging  them  to 
do  what  they  could  to  collect  sufficient  money  to  purchase 
the  collection  for  the  Society.  Many  of  the  members  sent 
cheques,  but  notwithstanding,  the  scheme  fell  through,  and 
the  collection  was  distributed,  a portion  going  to  the 
Museum  at  Bath.  Now,  as  we  arc  told  to-night  that  the 
Society  is  likely  to  be  turned  out  from  its  present  home, 
the  future  will  have  to  be  discussed. 

As  far  as  I can  see  at  present  the  position  is  this : — A 
museum  and  collection  of  photographic  materials  and 
views  is  a scheme  which  has  been  received  with  more  or 
less  approval  by  the  Society.  To  attain  this  object  three 
ways  appear  open : either  to  get  a permanent  building,  or 
at  least  a suite  of  rooms  of  our  own  to  arrange  them  in,  or 
we  must  place  ourselves  in  the  hands  of  the  Directors  of 
the  South  Kensington  Museum,  or  the  Imperial  Institute. 
This  latter  scheme  would  certainly  be  financially  the 
easiest,  as  I am  (unofficially)  informed  the  Government 
would  probably  be  disposed  to  grant  a suite  of  rooms  to 
the  Society  in  return  for  equivalent  benefits  on  our  side. 
On  the  other  hand,  Kensington  is  too  far  from  the  majority 
of  the  members  to  be  altogether  desirable.  The  Institute 
would  not  be  finished  for  eighteen  months  or  more.  A 
more  central  place  near  Charing  Cross  would  doubtless 
meet  the  views  of  the  majority;  but  the  scheme  that  would 
comprise  a building  in  the  City  must  fall  through  unless 
we  can  gain  the  support  of  the  City  magnates.  Before 
February  I hope  to  have  sufficiently  sounded  several 
influential  City  men  to  be  able  to  form  an  idea  how  far 
they  would  lend  their  aid. 

The  third  and  last  way  would  be  to  endeavour  to  come 
to  some  arrangement  with  an  Institute  like  the  School  of 
Mines  or  Society  of  Arts  ; but  here  again  the  question 
arises  (apart  from  the  feasibility  of  the  scheme,  which  is 
also  open  to  question)  whether  the  sacrifice  of  individuality 
is  not  too  high  a price  to  pay  for  the  benefits  to  be  gained. 
It  is  clear  the  Goventment  will  only  help  us  just  as  far  as 
it  can  see  an  immediate  advantage  or  return  for  so  doing. 
It  is  also  clear  that  anything  in  the  nature  of  a permanent 
collection  can  only  be  obtained  when  we  have  already  a 
place  of  our  own  to  arrange  it  in. 

Now,  a building  suitable  for  the  purpose  would  cost  far 
more  money  than  the  resources  of  the  Society  can  hope  to 
reach,  even  if  we  abandon  the  scheme  I proposed  to  you 
of  having  an  institution  where  the  higher  branches  of  art 
photography  can  be  taught  and  practised,  as  well  as  origi- 
nal researches  conducted. 

How  arc  we  to  get  these  necessary  funds,  for  I con- 
sider, at  a rough  guess,  that  at  least  £10,000  or  £15,000 
would  be  required  for  the  mere  building,  apart  from  the 
ground  value  ? It  seems  to  me  the  only  practical  way  will 
be  to  try  to  convince  the  leading  men  in  the  City  that 
the  Institute  and  Society  will  be  of  permanent  value  to  the 
City  of  London.  Considering  the  fact  that  almost  every 
branch  of  art  and  science  is  enriched  by  the  aid  of  photo- 
graphy, and  that  newspapers,  books,  and  literature  gene- 

* A paper  read  before  the  Photographic  Society,  and  entitled  by  its 
author,  “ A Scheme  for  the  Formation  and  Establishment  of  a Central 
Institute  of  Photography  in  Connection  with  the  Photographic  Society  of 
Great  Britain.” 


February  28,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


163 


rally,  not  to  speak  of  calico  printing  and  pottery,  is  becom- 
ing daily  more  and  more  dependent  on  it,  it  may  be 
possible  to  receive  much  of  the  support  we  want  from  this 
source.  Much  has  been  done  in  other  directions  to  en- 
courage us.  There  is  the  proposed  Battersea  Polytechnic, 
under  the  management  of  Mr.  Spicer  and  his  colleagues. 
Here  the  public  has  supplied  more  than  £150,000  demanded 
by  the  Charity  Commissioners  as  a condition  of  their  pro- 
viding a like  sum.  The  Goldsmiths’  Company  are  provid- 
inga  magnificent  budding  at  their  own  expense.  There  are 
besides  the  People’s  Palace,  the  Birkbeck  Institution, 
the  llegent  Street  Polytechnic,  and  the  Guilds’  Institute 
in  Finsbury.  This  shows  that  the  public  are  not  averse  to 
giving  their  support  to  such  objects. 

I,  for  one,  would  like  to  see  the  Society  raised  from  the 
position  of  a mere  debating  club,  relieved  by  an  annual 
soiree  and  exhibition,  to  a permanent  institution  like  the 
Society  of  Arts,  where  not  only  could  the  trophies  of  our 
art  be  exhibited  to  an  admiring  public,  but  where  daily 
instruction  in  every  department  of  photography,  including 
the  mechanical  processes,  could  be  given  under  suitable  in- 
structors, and  where,  moreover,  asm  the  Royal  Institution, 
a complete  laboratory  could  be  at  the  disposal  of  members 
who  were  desirous  of  pursuing  original  research. 

I am  aware  that  such  a scheme  borders  on  the  visionary, 
but  something  is  surely  needed  to  supply  the  wants  of  a 
properly  organised  Photographic  Technical  Institute. 
Both  France  and  Germany  have  had  them  for  some  years. 
We,  as  usual,  are  behindhand.  I admit  that  in  neither 
country  is  the  institute  a part  of  a photographic  society, 
and  I see  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  connected  with  it. 

If  people,  in  reply,  say  we  have  no  need  for  it,  or  such 
a scheme  is  without  precedent,  I could  at  once  point  to  the 
•‘Apothecaries’  Ilall,”  to  the  building  of  the  Pharma- 
ceutical Society,  to  the  School  of  Mines,  or,  to  giye  a better 
example,  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  which,  on  a large 
scale,  comprises  everything  that  I ask  for — classes, 
lectures,  practical  instruction,  reading  room,  laboratory, 
museum,  and  meetings.  As  in  a Law  Court  when  suing  a 
company  for  damages,  it  is  perhaps  better  to  ask  for  too 
much  than  too  little,  and  although  the  scheme  may 
evaporate  down  to  a smaller  nucleus  by  asking  for  too 
much,  I do  not  think  we  shall  get  too  little.  If  the  scheme 
is  too  premature  to  be  appreciated  by  the  general  public 
at  present — although  I think  you  will  agree  with  me  it  is 
more  practical  than,  say,  the  Channel  Tunnel — we  may  be 
assured  of  one  thing,  that  photography  is  progressing  by 
such  leaps  and  bounds  that  a scheme  which  appears  pre- 
posterous now  will,  in  a few  years,  become  a necessity,  and 
by  our  taking  the  chief  rule  on  the  stage  we  may  hope  to 
claim  the  privilege  of  leading  the  way. 

I can  only  hope  the  Council  will  be  induced  to  take  the 
matter  up,  and  not  to  give  up  working  until  we  have  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  an  institution  which  shall  be  a model 
to  other  countries.  With  regard  to  this  matter,  I have 
been  at  some  trouble  to  try  to  feel  the  pulse  of  the 
public.  I have  seen  several  members  of  the  County  Coun- 
cil, the  Common  Council,  and  I have  also  interviewed 
several  prominent  men  in  the  City  of  London,  and  with 
scarcely  an  exception  1 have  had  a most  favourable  and 
encouraging  ear  lent  to  me,  and  have  received  promisesfrom 
several  that,  if  they  saw  that  others  would  fall  in  with  the 
idea,  they  themselves  would  be  only  too  willing  to  help. 
If  we  find  it  impossible  to  accomplish  the  above  scheme, 

I do  not  think  it  altogether  impossible  to  procure  a flat  in 
some  accessible  part  of  the  city  which  should  comprise 


at  least  one  large  room  which  could  be  used  for  exhibi- 
tion purposes,  soirees,  and  the  like,  and  the  results 
of  our  art  could  be  shown,  and  two  smaller  rooms,  one 
of  which  could  be  used  as  a library  and  tea  room,  a 
committee  room,  and  a cloak  room.  A double  room 
attached  would  naturally  be  a great  convenience. 

I may  add  that  there  are  some  suitable  buildings  and 
flats  to  be  seen  about  Shaftesbury  Avenue,  which  the 
Committee  might  deem  it  worth  their  while  to  enquire 
into.  There  is  no  doubt,  in  my  opinion,  that  a per- 
manent building  would  greatly  raise  the  character  of  the 
Society  in  the  eyes  of  the  public,  and,  in  consequence, 
raise  its  income. 

From  Royalty  downwards  the  public  have  always  a 
great  weakness  for  photographs  and  photogravures,  and 
even  if  the  support  of  the  City  Guilds  so  fell  to  the 
ground,  I cannot  help  thinking  that  an  energetic  appeal 
to  the  public  coming  from  the  Council  and  members  of 
the  Photographic  Society,  and  backed  up  by  the  Press, 
who  are  depending  more  and  more  every  day  upon  pho- 
tography to  illustrate  their  sheets,  would  answer,  for  we 
have  only  to  compare  the  number  of  illustrations  obtained 
by  means  of  photography  in  the  daily  papers,  with  the 
occasional  illustrations  which  now  and  then,  as  a kind  of 
phenomenon,  appeared  in  journals  as  a wonderful  exhibition. 

Illustrations  are  becoming  a sine  qua  non  if  a book  now- 
adays is  to  sell  at  all ; the  knowledge  of  that  fact  cannot 
fail  to  have  influence  with  the  public.  But  if  the  public 
are  sufficiently  interested  to  prefer  inferior  papers  only 
illustrated  with  miserable  daubs,  who  can  doubt  that  a per- 
manent gallery  adorned  with  the  choicest  works  of  art 
drawn  from  all  parts  of  the  civilised  world,  will  not  fail  to 
cause  a continual  attraction  to  the  public  ? 

This  is  not  the  time  to  enter  into  details.  My  object 
is  to  sec  whether  it  would  not  be  possible  for  us  to  pass 
some  resolution  in  furtherance  of  the  purpose  in  view.  I 
might  say  1 have  been  making  enquiries  with  regard  to 
the  Imperial  Institute  in  .South  Kensington,  and  have 
spoken  to  Sir  Henry  Roscoe  and  several  other  prominent 
gentlemen  in  connection  with  the  Institute,  and  I have  been 
assured  by  them  that  it  is  not  improbable,  if  the  council 
were  to  meet  certain  members  of  the  Government,  assist- 
ance might  be  received  in  connection  with  South  Ken- 
sington. A member  of  the  Common  Council,  who  is  very 
enthusiastic  on  the  idea  of  a central  institute  in  London, 
told  me  that  he  thought  if  we  got  a sketch  plan  of 
the  building,  such  as  would  be  suitable,  and  brought  it  to 
the  Common  Council,  together  with  an  estimate  of  the 
cost,  that  it  would  be  favourably  considered,  and  pos- 
sibly the  money  might  be  forthcoming.  Another  gen- 
tleman suggested  that  we  might  have  a building  or  a por- 
tion of  a building  in  London,  where  we  might  have  a sort 
of  gallery  of  photographs  and  photographic  materials 
drawn  from  all  sources,  and  to  which  we  might  invite  pho- 
tographers to  send  works  which  had  gained  prizes,  for 
exhibition  on  the  walls.  There  is  also  a possibility  that  wo 
might  get  a loan  exhibition  from  the  works  at  South 
Kensington  placed  upon  the  walls.  Thus,  while  we  have 
the  exhibition  here,  we  might  have  the  technical  part 
going  on  at  South  Kensington.  But  whatever  decision 
is  come  to,  it  must  be  arrived  at  speedily,  because  our 
lease  has  run  out,  and  we  shall  be  without  a place  of 
meeting  at  all.  Therefore,  I would  ask  whether  it  would 
not  be  wise  to  raise  a little  enthusiasm  in  the  public  mind, 
and  get  some  money  together  so  as  to  procure  a room 
which  we  might  call  our  own,  and  where  wc  could  do 


104 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  28,  1890. 


what  we  like.  We  find  that  various  technical  institutes 
are  growing  up  like  mushrooms  in  and  around  London  ; 
and  we  ought  to  do  our  best  to  bring  forward  some  practi- 
cal scheme  which  would  benefit  the  Society  and  photo- 
graphy generally. 


A PRINTING  MACHINE  OF  THE  FUTURE. 
To-day  wc  give  the  first  precise  public  description  of  a 
machine  camera,  rumours  about  which  have  interested 
photographers  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  for  some  months. 
Our  idea  is,  that  the  chief  value  of  the  machine,  or  of  a 
modification  thereof,  may  hereafter  be  found  to  be  in  a 
direction  not  contemplated  by  the  inventors — at  least, 
they  have  said  nothing  to  us  on  the  point — namely,  in  the 
printing  of  positives  for  book  illustration,  and  as  another 
step  beyond  that  taken  by  Mr.  Uric,  in  the  direction  of 
printing  newspapers  by  photography.  Years  ago,  by  a 
kind  of  prophetic  instinct,  one  of  the  greatest  inventors  of  j 
daily  newspaper  printing  machines,  opined  that  perhaps 
photography  would  hereafter  be  the  successful  competitor  j 
in  such  work. 

The  machine  of  Messrs.  Greene  and  Evans,  depicted  j 
in  another  column,  will  take  from  five  to  ten  or  even  more 
impressions  in  a second,  according  to  the  rapidity  with  [ 
which  the  handle  is  turned,  and  Mr.  Greene  says  that  one 
can  be  made  to  give  a large  additional  number  of  exposures 
if  necessary.  In  positive  printing  through  a negative,  the 
amount  of  light  can  be  made  to  vastly  exceed  that  present 
in  the  photographing  of  street  views,  so  the  limit  to  speed, 
especially  with  improved  machines  as  yet  unborn,  is  at  i 
present  beyond  calculation. 

One  can  imagine  the  possibility  of  a practically  endless 
band  of  paper  being  covered  with  some  sensitive  prepara-  j 
tiou  as  it  unrolls,  then  passing  on  to  the  exposure  plat- 1 
form,  and  afterwards  into  devevoping  and  fixing  baths. 

At  the  present  speed,  exposing  a negative  on  a travelling 
band  three  thousand  times  in  five  minutes  would  not  be 
bad  work. 


PLATINUM  AND  PALLADIUM  TONING* 

BY  FRANK  I'.  PERKINS,  F.l.C. 

1 have  observed  that  it  is  sufficient  to  add  to  a slightly 
acidulated  solution  of  platinic  chloride  a fragment  of  sodium 
sulphite,  and  then  brush  the  liquid  over  a well-washed 
silver  print  produced  on  plain  salted  paper,  for  the  silver 
to  be  almost  immediately  displaced  by  platinum.  This  is 
a simple  method  of  “ toning  ” for  such  as  have  not  the 
ready-formed  platinous  salt  at  hand. 

1 have  also  noticed  that  a slightly  acidulated  solution  of 
palladious  chloride  may  be  used  in  the  same  way,  and  with 
similar  results. 


Lantern  Club. — A meeting  of  those  interested  in  the  for- 
mation of  a lantern  society  was  held  at  St.  James’s  Hall,  Upper 
Regent  Saloon,  on  Thursday  the  20th,  when  it  was  decided  to 
form  such  a society,  and  it  was  resolved  that  it  should  be  known 
as  “ 1 he  Lantern  Society.  ” The  Hon.  Slingsby  Bethell,  of 
Chelsea  Lodge,  Chelsea  Embankment,  was  elected  Provisional 
Chairman,  and  Mr.  T.  H.  Holding,  46,  Chesilton  Road, 
Munster  Park,  S.W.,  as  Secretary  pro.  tern.,  together  with  a 
committee  — to  frame  rules— consisting  of  Messrs.  E.  R. 
Shipton,  A.  Mackie,  G.  R.  Croswell,  Lieut.  C.  E.  Gladstone, 
lt.N.,  Mr.  A.  R.  Shophee,  together  with  the  chairman  and 
secretary. 

This  brief  article  from  'l he  Chemical  AVirj  contains  information 
likely  to  be  of  couMtlcrable  use  in  photography,  as  we  krow  from  past  ex-  I 
periments.— Ei>. 


THE  HINGES  OF  DARK-SLIDE  SHUTTERS* 

BY  CHAPMAN  JONES,  F.l.C. , K.C.S. 

The  deleterious  effect  of  the  hinges  of  the  shutters  of 
dark  slides  has  often  been  observed,  the  results  varying 
considerably,  and  showing  sometimes  as  fogging  on 
development,  and  sometimes  as  a loss  of  sensitiveness. 
But  I have  not  known  until  lately  of  a large  increase  of 
sensitiveness  produced  iu  this  way.  The  dark  slide  in  this 
instance  was  bought  second-hand  ; it  liatl  leather  hinges 
to  its  shutters,  the  effect  of  which  was  rapid  enough  to 
give  a well-marked  fog  across  plates  that  remained  in  the 
slide  for  a few  days.  It  was  sent  to  Messrs.  Watson  and 
Sons  to  be  cured  of  the  defect,  and  they  replaced  the 
leather  by  the  material  they  have  specially  made  for  this 
purpose.  After  a few  weeks,  during  which  the  back 
appeared  to  behave  in  a thoroughly  satisfactory  manner, 
it  was  left  with  plates  in  it  for  about  four  months,  and  on 
a dark  December  afternoon  they  were  used  for  making 
an  enlargement,  and,  as  afterwards  proved,  considerably 
under-exposed.  One  plate  was  developed  with  pyro  and 
sodium  carbonate,  and  the  other  with  eikouogen,  and  in 
both  cases  that  part  of  the  plate  that  had  been  opposite 
the  hinge  appeared  as  if  it  had  received  two  or  three 
times  as  much  exposure  as  the  rest  of  the  plate,  but  with 
no  tendency  to  fog,  even  on  forcing  the  development. 
The  plates  were  about  two  years  old  when  exposed. 

On  mentioning  the  matter  to  Messrs.  Watson  and  Sous, 
they  were  good  enough  to  give  me  all  the  information  they 
had.  They  say,  that  having  found  leather  not  always 
reliable  for  the  hinges  of  dark  slides,  they  “came  to  the 
conclusion  that  some  kinds  of  leather  were  dressed  with 
ammonia,  and  that  when  this  was  the  case  the  chemical 
was  never  thoroughly  got  out  of  it,  and,  therefore,  when 
the  leather  was  used,  it  fogged  the  plate  in  the  portion 
that  came  immediately  underneath  it.*’  They  continue, 
“ We  then  gave  lip  using  leather  altogether,  and  substi- 
tuted forita  speciesof  jean,  which  we  have  specially  made  for 
us,  exceedingly  thick  and  strong,  and  since  we  have  used 
this  we  have  had  a total  absence  of  complaints.  When  we 
altered  your  slide  we  merely  took  away  the  old  hinges  and 
replaced  them  by  our  new  material.” 

As  I happened  to  have  a plate  that  had  been  in  a back 
of  Watson's  make  with  hinges  as  described  for  about  two 
years,  the  plate  itself  about  three  years  old,  I tested  it  by 
exposure  and  development,  and  found  no  sign  of  any 
irregularity. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  the  increase  of  sensitiveness 
now  shown  is  apparent  only,  and  due  to  a loss  of  sensi- 
tiveness of  the  plate  except  where  the  hinges  are  ; but 
judging  from  the  exposures  given,  the  result  on  another 
plate  exposed  at  the  same  time,  and  the  behaviour  of  the 
back  before  the  hinges  were  changed,  I do  not  think  this 
is  probable. 

White  DbaJ’ehy. — The  weak  or  diluted  developer,  with  less 
pyro,  is  the  only  one  1 have  ever  been  successful  with  in  white 
drapery.  Try  the  slow  develoi>cr  once,  and  I feel  sure  you  will 
never  use  any  other.  It  does  not  pay  to  be  in  a hurry  in  deve- 
loping ; leave  it  until  evening,  when  there  is  no  danger  of  being 
disturbed,  then  go  slow. — IT.  li.  Glints. 

A Photographic  Society  for  Exeter. — A meeting  to  inaugu- 
rate the  above  will  be  held  at  the  New  London  Hotel,  Exeter, 
on  Thursday,  at  8 o’clock.  Any  information  respecting  the 
proposed  Society  may  be  obtained  of  Rev.  Jolm  Sparshott, 
Fairfield  House,  Alphington  Road ; or  Mr.  Ernest  F.  C. 
Dauiant,  32,  Longbrook  Street. 

* A paper  read  before  tfic  Fhotographie  Society. 


February  28,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


1 ) ETECT I VE  CAM  E HAS. 

BY  C.  BRANGW1N  BARNES. 

During  the  last  two  years  there  has  been  a continual 
advertisement  of  so-called  hand  and  detective  cameras. 
Each  camera  maker  and  dealer  in  photographic  requisites 
has  been  competing  with  the  others  as  to  which  should 
bring  out  the  best.  They  have  appeared  in  all  shapes  and 
sizes,  from  the  book  camera,  taking  plates  about  1 j inches 
square,  to  the  larger  box  or  parcel  camera,  biking  quarter 
and  half  plates.  Amongst  the  varying  shapes  may  be 
mentioned  the  brown  papcrparcel,  the  leather  portmanteau, 
and  the  camera  which  is  concealed  under  the  waistcoat  or 
in  a hat. 

That  there  must  be  a considerable  demand  for  these 
articles  goes  without  saying,  but  I fancy  that  the  buyer 
usually  belongs  to  the  amateur  ranks.  Most  things  that 
are  made  and  sold  have  a use,  and  perhaps  the  detective 
camera  has  one  ; but  I must  confess  that,  so  far  as  1 have 
seen,  1 have  been  unable  to  discover  it.  The  great  dilli- 
eulty  seems  to  me  to  be  that  of  obtaining  a sharp  negative. 
If  the  camera  is  held  in  the  hand  it  is  very  rarely  that  an 
exposure  can  be  made  without  moving  the  instrument,  and 
with  the  buttonhole  apparatus  the  very  motion  of  the 
chest  caused  by  breathing  is  sufficient  to  give  a blurred 
image,  to  say  nothing  of  the  necessary  pull  at  the  cord 
that  releases  the  shutter.  I am  myself  the  happy  possessor 
of  one  of  the  latter  description,  but  it  came  to  me  in  the 
shape  of  a prize  in  a literary  competition,  for  l certainly 
should  never  have  bought  one.  A cheap  detective  camera 
of  the  buttonhole  class  has  recently  been  introduced,  and 
in  the  advertisement  recording  its  various  and  manifold 
merits  the  following  passage  occurs: — “Can  be  used  on 
the  promenade,  in  liw  courts,  churches,  awl  railway  car- 
riages, also  in  braidi  of  promise  and  divorce  cases — in  fact,  at 
all  awkward  moments  when  least  expected.  The-  artful 
maiden,  the  wily  detective,  the  wronged  wife,  will  now  be 
collecting  evidence.  The  bad  boy  will  levy  blackmail 
upon  his  sisters  by  illustrating  family  squabbles  instead  of 
angelic  sweetness,  and  happiness  will  be  within  the  reach  of 
allf 

Now  every  photographer  of  any  experience  must  be 
aware  that  this  is  mostly  “ highfalutin,”  as  “law  courts  and 
churches  " are  not  usually  such  abodes  of  light  as  to  ren- 
der the  production  of  a shutter  negative  a possibility, 
although  the  advertisement  goes  on  to  inform  us  that 
“ every  negative  is  a perfect  gem,”  and  I must  confess  to 
being  somewhat  cynical  as  to  the  universal  happiness  which 
is  to  be  effected  by  the  means  of  the  detective  camera 
when  used  for  the  purpose  of  levying  blackmail  by  the  bad 
boy  of  the  family.  We  arc  further  informed  that  the 
camera  “ works  the  same  in  fog  or  rain,”  that  “ no  move- 
ment is  too  quick  for  it — the  racehorse  at  greatest  speed, 
the  flight  of  birds,  or  the  lightning  flash  itself.” 

The  Paul  Pry  character  of  the  detective  camera  is,  in 
my  opinion,  one  of  its  greatest  drawbacks,  although  we  are 
well  aware  that  we  must  bike  a grain — nay,  a whole  drachm 
— of  salt  with  most  of  the  wondrous  tales  that  are  told 
as  to  what  has  been  done.  In  the  hands  of  a true  gentle- 
man or  lady  the  camera  would  not  be  out  of  place,  but  I 
certainly  object  to  it  in  the  possession  of  the  “artful 
maiden  ” or  the  “ bad  boy.”  Seriously  speaking,  I fancy 
that  the  hand  camera  can  be  made  of  far  more  utility  if 
stood  down  for  exposure.  A parcel  would  attract  no  more 
attention  if  placed  on  a window-sill,  or  any  convenient  rest- 
ing place,  for  a moment  or  so.  than  it  would  in  the  hand, 


1(35 

and  it  would  certainly  give  the  operator  a much  better 
chance  of  obtaining  a fair  result.  The  main  advantage 
of  the  detective  camera  lies  in  the  fact  of  its  having  a fixed 
focus,  as  it  enables  one  to  transfer  to  the  photographic 
plate  many  things  that  he  would  never  get  the  chance  of 
doing  if  he  had  to  set  up  an  ordinary  camera  and  go  through 
the  operations  of  focussing  and  exchanging  the  focussing 
screen  for  the  dark  slide.  This  renders  it  especially  suit- 
able for  animal  photography,  and  during  the  coming  summer 
I hope  to  obtain  some  pictures  of  deer  and  cattle  by  its 
means. 

For  indoor  work,  the  small  lens  puts  one  at  a disadvan- 
tage, unless  a time  exposure  can  be  given,  and  that  of 
course  does  away  with  the  secrecy  of  the  business.  On 
the  whole,  I do  not  think  that  the  introduction  is  an  uu- 
mixed  advantage.  The  sporting  papers  have  lately  been 
printing  much  about  photographing  the  finishes  of  races, 
but  the  time  which  would  have  to  necessarily  be  wasted  in 
developing  operations  would  undoubtedly  prevent  the 
camera  ever  taking  the  place  of  the  judge’s  eye  in  deciding 
which  horse  was  the  winner,  added  to  which  it  would  be 
very  unpleasant  for  the  judge  to  give  a verdict  in  favour 
of  one  horse,  and  the  plate,  when  developed,  to  reverse  it. 
The  usual  run  of  detective  cameras  would  be  far  too  small 
j for  this  class  of  work,  as  the  negatives  would  have  to  be 
enlarged,  especially  in  the  case  of  a very  close  finish.  One 
paper  goes  so  far  as  to  state  that,  in  its  opinion,  there 
never  was  a genuine  dead-heat  run  yet,  and  that  if  a photo- 
graph had  been  taken  of,  say,  the  Derby  finish  between 
Harvester  and  St.  Gatien,  the  owner  of  one  of  the  pair 
would  have  taken  all  the  stakes  instead  of  half.  If  some 
enterprising  experimentalist  can  discover  a method  of 
taking  a photograph  which  can  be  shown  immediately,  a 
nice  little  fortune  awaits  him  on  the  race  course  ; but  until 
that  desirable  consummation  is  arrived  at,  1 am  afraid 
Judge  Robinson  will  not  be  deprived  of  his  berth  by  the 
detective  or  any  other  camera. 


Warming  Solutions.  - Snne  professionals  as  well  as  amateurs 
are  troubled  at  this  time  of  the  year  to  obtaiu  sufficient  density 
in  their  negatives,  and  it  is  owing  to  the  coldness  of  the  solutions, 
plates  and  pans,  which  they  may  not  think  of  as  the  cause. 
By  warming  them  this  difficulty  is  overcome.  A dark  room  and 
all  its  contents  should  be  constantly  kept  at  au  even  and  warm 
temperature.  Mr.  S.  Wing  says  that  he  remembers  a season  of 
unusual  success  in  getting  line  results,  in  a room  where  a 
chimney  passed  up  directly  through  his  darkroom,  and  his  silver 
bath  was  placed  close  to  this  chimney,  which  was  uniformly 
warm  all  through  the  cold  weather.  Better  work  he  never 
performed,  and  he  gives  the  chimney  due  credit  for  its  valuable 
assistance. — Boston  Photographic  Review. 

Edmond  V.  Boissdnas. — Anthony's  Photographic  Bulletin 
records  the  death  of  this  photographer  on  January  25th,  of  typhoid 
fever,  after  a short  illness,  and  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-seven 
and  a-half  years.  Mr.  Cramer,  with  whom  the  deceased  had 
been  associated  since  last  spring,  says  of  him  : “He  was  a young 
man  of  remarkable  talent,  rare  abilities,  and  a highly  honourable 
character — a worthy  son  of  his  father,  who  gave  the  name 
Boissonas  a world-spread  reputation  amongst  photographers. 
His  sudden  death  will  bo  one  more  great  bereavement  to  his 
family,  and  particularly  to  his  aged  mother,  the  father  having 
died  one  year  ago.”  “ His  greatest  achievements,”  says  the 
Bulletin,  “ were  in  the  line  of  orthochromatic  photography  ; 
and  we  have  in  our  posssssiou  a fine  series  of  pictures  illustrating 
this  interesting  branch  of  our  art,  that  we  shall  treasure  now 
more  highly  siuce  he  who  gave  them  will  never  more  be  able  to 
give  us  such  evidences  of  his  genius  and  skill.” 


166 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Fkbkuary  28,  1890. 


iftotfisL 

The  latest  use  of  photography  in  medical  science  is 
seen  in  a new  medical  publication.  The  author  of  a 
paper  on  the  peptones  made  some  experiments  as  to 
the  power  of  various  pepsins  in  digesting  albumen,  and, 
desirous  of  showing  his  readers  the  results,  he  had  the 
flasks  in  which  the  experiments  were  made  photo- 
graphed, and  the  photographs  reproduced  for  publication. 
The  pictures  show  the  exact  relation  and  proportion  of 
the  various  residues,  and  lay  the  experiments  before 
the  mind  in  a very  vivid  way.  The  idea  is  a capital 
one,  and  is  capable  of  much  expansion. 


The  Queen  observes  that  there  is  no  reason  why  a 
lady  should  not  establish  a photographic  studio  in 
the  ordinary  way  of  business.  At  present  ladies  are 
more  frequently  employed  as  touchers  up  than  as 
operators.  For  touching  up,  fifteen  to  twenty-five 
shillings  per  week  is  an  average  payment,  says  our 
contemporary,  and  for  specially  good  work  thirty  to 
sixty  weekly  may  be  earned.  These  prices  are  pro- 
bably correct,  though  wc  doubt  if  the  cases  of  ladies 
earning  as  much  as  three  pounds  a week  are  suffi- 
ciently numerous  to  encourage  any  one  to  take  up 
this  vocation  in  the  expectation  of  obtaining  this 
sum.  The  Queen  recommends  any  lady  desiring  to 
join  the  photographic  profession  to  enter  one  of  the 
large  photographic  firms  as  a pupil  or  an  apprentice, 
as  it  would  be  quite  worth  while  to  pay  a high  pre- 
mium to  obtain  the  requisite  training,  and  it  would 
be  wiser  to  pay  £100  for  entrance  into  a first  rate 
firm  than  £30  to  a less  successful  one.  The  Queen 
has  rather  high  notions ; we  know  plenty  of  first  rate 
photographers  who  would  be  glad  to  initiate  any  lady 
into  the  mysteries  of  photography  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  for  a much  less  sum  than  £100. 


The  most  original  application  of  luminous  paint  is 
that  described  and  illustrated  in  the  Scientific  American. 
The  illustration  represents  an  escutcheon  for  keyholes, 
designed  to  be  especially  convenient  on  closets  and 
chests  in  dark  places.  The  escutcheon  is  formed  with 
glass,  and  has  a concave  or  recessed  back,  to  which  is 
applied  a coat  of  phosphorescent  paint,  and  this  paint  is 
covered  with  a coat  of  cheaper  or  ordinary  paint.  The 
escutcheon  maybe  carried  by  an  ornamental  metal  or  other 
plate  secured  to  the  door  or  other  surface  in  the  ordinary 
way,  theshapeof  the  escutcheon  protecting  the  phosphor- 
escent paint.  One  obvious  use  of  the  luminous  keyhole 
the  inventor  discreetly  omits  to  mention.  It  would 
occur  to  everybody.  A luminous  keyhole  on  a street 
door  would  certainly  be  an  enormous  boon  to  members 
of  festive  clubs.  Freemasons’  lodges,  and  the  like.  The 
only  drawback  is  that  the  luminous  keyhole  would  too 
publicly  advertise  the  propensities  of  the  householder. 
Of  course  all  invidious  reflections  would  be  done  away 
with  if  every  house  had  a luminous  keyhole,  but 
this  is  too  much  to  hope  for. 


Photography  is  the  source  of  a very  comfortable 
income  to  those  privileged  persons  who,  by  long  usage, 
acquire  a sort  of  vested  interest  in  “ show  places.” 
From  St.  Lawrence  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  the  smallest 
church  in  England,  to  York  Minster,  every  ancient 
building  of  importance  furnishes  work  for  the  photo- 
grapher. Fhotographs,  indeed,  enjoy  a relation  to 
sacred  edifices  accorded  to  nothing  else,  as  there  are 
few  vergers  who  have  not  a bundle  of  photographs  of 
the  cathedral  to  which  they  are  attached  about  them, 
and  these  they  do  not  mind  selling  within  the  building 
itself.  We  see  no  particular  harm  in  this,  but  the 
vergers  would  probably  be  horrified  if  they  were  asked 
to  sell  anything  else.  The  lowest  depth  of  this  kind 
of  thing  seems  to  have  been  reached  in  Scotland,  where 
the  Burns’  Mausoleum  has  been  let  to  a grave-digger 
as  a shop  for  the  sale  of  curiosities.  The  tenant  pays 
a small  rent,  and  disposes  of  photographs  and  books 
over  the  poet’s  ashes.  This  does  not  look  much  like 
reverence. 


A capital  use  has  been  found  for  the  series  of  photo- 
graphs which  the  firm  of  Braun  and  Co.  took  of  the 
principal  pictures  in  the  National  Gallery  some  two  or 
three  years  ago.  Last  week  Dr.  J.  G.  Fitch  delivered 
a lecture  at  the  Working  Men’s  College  on  the 
National  Gallery,  and  provided  himself  with  a series 
of  the  photographs  just  named,  which  were  placed  on 
a stand  in  view  of  the  audience  in  the  order  mentioned 
by  the  lecturer,  and  when  required  to  illustrate  his 
remarks.  A further  development  of  this  plan  of  art 
instruction  might  be  made  by  exhibiting  lantern  slides 
of  the  pictures.  Though  Braun’s  photographs  are  of  a 
fairly  large  size,  they  could  not  have  been  seen  to  advan- 
tage by  any  of  the  audience  save  those  seated  on  the 
front  benches.  An  image  on  the  screen  is  of  course 
visible  all  over  the  room. 


Advertisers  are  always  sighing  for  new  worlds  to 
conquer.  Perhaps  the  tallest  notion  yet  put  forward 
is  that  of  constructing  an  optical  lantern  of  sufficient 
capacity  to  throw  an  image  on  the  clouds.  The  inventor 
proposes  to  use  photographic  lantern  slides  of  such 
objects  as  “You  dirty  boy  ! ” of  Pears’  soap  fame,  and 
similar  subjects.  No  doubt  the  project  would  be  a 
splendid  one  from  an  advertising  point  of  view,  but  we 
have  strong  doubts  as  to  its  feasibility.  Nor  does  the 
projector  of  the  plan  help  us  ; he  fails  to  tell  the  world 
whether  he  has  constructed  the  necessary  apparatus. 
When  this  is  accomplished,  discussion  will  be  possible. 


At  a meeting  of  the  Chemical  Society,  a point  inter- 
esting to  photographers  was  raised  by  Mr.  W.  Thorpe, 
who  remarked  that  people  were  very  apt  to  think  that 
uncoloured  glass  was  permanent,  yet  probably  most  of 
the  members  had  seen  specimens  which  had  begun  their 
existence  colourless,  yet  had  before  long  acquired  an 
appreciable  colour.  This  is  a common  experience  in 
photographic  studios,  but  is  one  which  is  apt  to  be 
overlooked. 


February  28,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


1G7 


THOMAS  WEDGWOOD’S  EXPERIMENTS  OX 
LIGHT. 

In  the  series  of  Royal  Institution  articles  in  these  pages, 
one  of  Thomas  Wedgwood’s  memoirs  on  “Light,”  read 
before  the  Royal  Society,  was  introduced.  The  second 
and  last  is  appended  hereto,  to  assist  in  the  completion  of 
our  summary  of  the  life  and  works  of  the  first  English 
photographer. 

XIII. — Continuation  of  a Paper  on  the  Production  of  Light 
awl  Heat  from  different  Bodies .* 

Experiment  1. 

In  order  to  discover  what  effect  the  light  of  the  burning  fuel 
has  ui>on  incombustible  bodies,  I fixed  into  the  end  of  a tube 
of  earthenwaret  two  equal  cylinders  of  silver,  with  polished 
surfaces,  half-an-inch  in  length,  and  a quarter  of  an  inch  in 
diameter  (see  figure  1)  ; one  of  the  cylinders  was  painted 


Fir/s.  1 and  2. 

over,  except  the  tube,  with  a thin  coat  of  incombustible 
black  colour,  to  make  it  absorb  the  incident  light  ; the 
other,  intended  to  refect,  was  left  with  its  polished  surface. 
Applying  my  eye  to  the  opposite  extremity  of  the  tube  (which 
it  fitted  exactly,  so  that  no  extraneous  light  could  enter), 
and  directing  it  towards  the  two  polished  ends  of  the  cylinders, 
I held  the  tube  within  a red  hot  crucible,  surrounded  by  burn- 
ing coaks,  and  continually  turned  it  round,  that  both 
cylinders  might  be  equally  exposed  to  the  light  and  heat. 
The  result  was,  that  the  end  of  the  blackened  cylinder  l>egan 
to  shine  a considerable  time  before  that  of  the  polished  one, 
and  remained  constantly  somewhat  brighter  ; on  removing  the 
tube  from  the  crucible,  still  looking  within  it,  I was  surprised 
to  see  the  appearance  reversed,  the  polished  cylinder  continuing 
to  shine  for  some  time  after  the  blackened  one  had  ceased. 
Cylinders  of  gold  and  of  iron  treated  in  the  same  manner 
gave  the  same  general  result ; but  the  differences  between  the 
polished  and  the  blackened  ones  were  not  so  remarkable  in 
these  as  in  the  silver, 

I repeated  this  experiment  many  times  and  found,  by  obser- 
vations with  a stop-watch,  that  the  blackened  silver  cylinder 
began  to  shine,  at  a medium,  in  two-thirds  of  the  time  which 

*87  Mr.  Thomas  Wedgwood.  Communicated  by  Sir  Joseph  Banks, 
Bart.,  P R.S.  Read  May  10th,  1592. 

t When  earthenware  is  mentioned  in  this  piper,  the  cream-col. ured  or 
queen’s  ware  is  meant. 

} The  line  A B,  in  fig.  1,  rej  resents  the  position  of  the  screen  for  shading 
the  face.— En. 


the  polished  one  required  ; and  that  after  its  removal  from 
the  crucible,  it  continued  to  shine  only  two-thirds  of  tlie  time 
that  the  other  did.  For  this  latter  observation  I was 
obliged  to  make  a little  variation  in  the  apparatus  ; the  tubo 
itself  becoming  frequently  so  hot  as  to  make  the  cylinders 
continue  longer  red  than  they  otherwise  would  have  done.  I 
therefore  took  them  out  of  the  tube,  to  suspend  them  by  a 
fine  wire,  and  then,  heating  them  in  the  ignited  crucible  as 
equally  as  possible  (for  they  cannot  be  made  to  exhibit  to 
the  eye  the  same  precise  tinge  of  redness),  1 removed  them 
immediately  into  a dark  place. 

From  this  experiment  it  would  seem  that  a great  part  of  the 
light  emitted  by  the  cylinders  was  absorbed  from  the  red  hot 
crucible,  as  the  blackened  one,  which  absorbs  most  rays,  not 
only  became  first  red,  but  likewise  shone  brightest.  The  follow- 
ing experiment,  however,  affords  a different  conclusion. 

Experiment  2. 

An  earthenware  pipe  of  a zig-zag  form  (fig.  2)  was  placed  in 
a crucible,  which  was  filled  up  with  sand,  the  two  open  ends  of 
the  pipe  being  left  uncovered  ; one  of  them  was  of  a proper 
form  for  receiving  the  nozzle  of  a pair  of  bellow's,  the  other  bent 
into  angles  of  the  form  of  the  letter  Z.  On  this  last  was 
fastened  a globular  vessel  A,  with  a lateral  bent  pipe  to  let  out 
air,  but  exclude  all  external  light,  and  with  a neck  in  which 
was  inserted  a circular  plate  of  glass.  The  crucible  with  the 
sand  and  the  part  of  the  pipe  contained  in  it  w'as  then  heated 
to  redness.  Having  my  eye  fixed  in  the  neck  of  the  vessel  A, 
and  observing  it  perfectly  dark  within,  I directed  an  assistant 
to  blow  with  the  bellows.  The  stream  of  air  sent  through  the 
red-hot  tube  not  being  at  all  luminous,  I fixed  a small  strip  of 
gold  into  the  orifice  of  the  tube  at  1!,  which,  after  two  or  three 
blasts,  became  faintly  red  ; thus  proving  that  the  air,  though 
not  luminous,  was  equal  in  temperature  to  what  is  usually  called 
red  heat.  I then  heated  the  crucible  to  a brighter  redness  ; 
the  stream  of  air  blown  through  the  brighter  red  hot  tube  still 
came  out  perfectly  dark,  but  the  strip  of  gold  exposed  to  it 
shone  both  sooner  and  brighter  than  before. 

Hence,  it  appears,  that  the  greater  brightness  of  the  blackened 
cylinder,  in  the  first  experiment,  was  owing  to  its  being  of 
higher  temperature,  and  that  it  would  have  been  equally  bright 
had  it  been  raised  to  the  same  temperature  by  any  other  means 
than  the  absorption  of  light,  the  metal  being  here  brought  to  a 
faint  and  to  a bright  ignition  without  the  access  of  any  visible 
light. 

But  perhaps  another  consequence  may  be  drawn  from  this 
experiment.  As  the  gold  may  be  made  to  emit  light  for  any 
length  of  time  by  being  supplied  with  heat  from  the  dark  air  of 
the  temperature  of  red  heat,  neither  the  gold  nor  the  air  suffer- 
ing any  chemical  change  whatever,  is  not  the  light  emitted 
identical  with  the  heat  received?  This  identity  appears  to  be 
confirmed  by  the  following  observation  : — That  if  the  solar  rays 
be  made  to  converge  upon  one  end  of  a blackened  cylinder  of 
metal,  the  other  parts  will  become  red  hot,  and  emit  light ; or, 
if  the  rays  l>e  converged  upon  the  tube  blackened,  and  air  passed 
through  it,  the  gold  placed  in  the  dark  current  will  yield  a con- 
stant light. 

The  simultaneous  absorption  and  emission  of  light  in  a red 
hot  body  is  a subject  of  very  difficult  and  abstruse  investigation, 
as  it  involves  the  nature  of  the  constituent  parts  of  matter, 
and  of  their  relative  actions  and  arrangements.  I shall  not 
attempt  any  hypothesis  for  explaining  the  various  phenomena, 
as  I have  not  been  able  to  form  one  at  all  sat  isfactory  to  myself  ; 
but  shall  proceed  to  state  a few  miscellaneous  experiments  and 
observations  which,  though  apparently  unconnected,  may  yet 
be  of  some  assistance  to  the  speculation  of  some  abler  theorist. 

Experiment  3. 

A quart  of  oil  was  poured  into  a bright  tin  vessel,  which  had 
a Fahrenheit’s  thermometer  fixed  in  its  neck.  The  mercury 
standing  at  45°,  the  vessel  was  plunged  into  boiling  water,  and 
the  time  which  elapsed  before  the  mercury  rose  to  1 808  was 
exactly  noted.  I then  blackened  the  exterior  surface  of  the 
tin  vessel,  and,  repeating  the  experiment,  found  the  ther- 
mometer to  require  exactly  the  same  time  as  before  to  rise  to 
the  same  degree. 


168 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  28,  1890. 


' From  the  foregoing  experiment  it  appears  that  black  matter 
has  no  particular  attraction  to  light  in  a quiescent  state — that 
is,  when  combined  as  heat  with  other  matter. 

Experiment  4. 

Three  equal  cylinders  of  glazed  earthenware  were  fixed  in 
the  end  of  a tube  (like  the  two  silver  ones  in  fig.  1)  ; one  of 
them  blackened,  another  gilt,  all  but  the  ends  within  the  tube, 
and  the  third  with  its  glassy  surface.  These,  treated  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  silver  cylinders  in  the  first  experiment,  all 
became  red  at  the  same  time. 

Without  taking  them  out  of  the  tube,  I removed  the  whole 
from  the  fire,  and,  still  keeping  my  eye  upon  their  ends,  ob- 
served them  all  to  disappear  together. 

To  account,  for  the  simultaneous  ignition  of  these  three 
cylinders,  it  must  be  considered  that  earthenware,  being  a very 
slow  conductor  of  heat,  the  surfaces  of  all  of  them  are  pro- 
bably heated  to  redness  some  time  before  any  such  appearance 
takes  place  in  the  ends  between  the  tube.  Now  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  the  black  matter,  the  gold,  and  the  glaze,  when 
red  hot,  may  reflect  light  equally  ; and,  in  that  case  there 
should  be  no  perceptible  difference  in  the  time  of  the  ignition 
of  the  ends  within  the  tube,  except  the  little  advantage  gained 
by  the  blackened  one  before  its  black  coat  becomes  red  hot, 
which  is  partly  counter-balanced  by  the  powdery  matter,  of 
which  the  coat  consists,  obstructing  the  transmission  of  heat. 
The  surfaces  of  the  silver  cylinders  (Experiment  1)  on  the  con- 
trary, do  not  become  red  any  sensible  time  before  the  ends 
within  the  tube,  the  metal  conducting  the  heat  rapidly  through 
its  whole  mass. 

An  earthenware  cylinder,  fastened  in  the  end  of  an  earthen- 
ware tube  along  with  a gold  one,  and  plunged  into  melted 
glass,  is  much  longer  in  heating  than  the  gold  one.  This  is 
easily  explained  upou  a well-known  principle,  namely,  that  in 
two  bodies  of  unequal  temperature,  the  colder  body  conducts 
the  heat  from  the  hotter  at  a rate  proportionate  to  their  differ- 
ence of  temperature.  Now  the  surface  of  the  earthenware 
cylinder,  as  the  heat  is  conducted  very  slowly  from  it  by  the 
interior  mass,  soon  becomes  very  nearly  of  the  temperature  of 
the  hot  glass  contiguous  to  it.  The  surface  of  the  gold  cylinder, 
on  the  contrary,  having  its  heat  conducted  from  it  much  faster 
by  the  interior  mass,  is  of  consequence  disposed  to  receive  the 
heat  with  greater  rapidity. 

Experiment  5. 

Equal  pieces  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  iron,  blackened  all 
over,  and  suspended  by  a wire  in  a red  hot  crucible,  became 
led  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  here  set  down  ; and  when 
made  equally  red,  and  removed  into  the  dark,  they  disappear 
in  the  same  order.  When  just  brought  out  of  the  fire  they  all 
looked  equally  red  ; but  when  they  had  cooled  a little  the  iron 
was  much  the  brightest. 

An  earthen  cylinder  tried  with  the  metals  disappeared  much 
sooner  than  any  of  them,  the  interior  part  not  communicating 
its  heat  quick  enough  to  keep  the  surface  of  the  temperature  of 
red  heat  ; accordingly,  when  broken,  though  the  surface  gave 
no  light,  the  mass  was  luminous  internally. 

From  a parity  of  reasoning,  a gilt  earthenware  cylinder,  sus- 
pended in  a red  hot  crucible  along  with  a gold  one,  would 
probably  become  red  on  the  surface  before  the  gold  one. 

Experiment  6. 

A tube  of  unglazed  earthenware,  open  at  top,  and  having 
one  half  of  its  bottom  blackened  on  the  outside,  was  placed  in 
a red  hot  crucible,  and  the  eye  directed  as  before  to  the  in- 
side : the  part  which  was  externally  blackened  became  always 
red  before  the  other. 

The  experiment  was  repeated  with  a metalline  tube,  but  no 
difference  could  here  be  perceived  between  the  blackened  and 
unblackened  half  of  the  bottom.  The  reason  is  obvious  from 
the  foregoing  observations. 

Experiment  7. 

To  ascertain  whether  metals  and  earthy  bodies  beyin  to  shine 
at  the  same  temperature,  I gilded,  in  lines  running  across  a 
thin  piece  of  earthenware  of  the  specific  gravity  of  about  2,000, 
and  luted  it  to  the  end  of  a tube,  the  gilt  side  being  inwards  ; 
then  directing  my  eye  into  the  tube,  I held  it  within  a crucible, 


which  was  gradually  made  red  hot  ; but  I could  not  after  many 
trials  perceive  that  either  the  gold  or  the  earthenware  began  to 
shine  first. 

As  it  appears  from  this  experiment  that  gold  and  earthen- 
ware begin  to  shine  at  the  same  temperature,  and  as  no  two 
bodies  can  well  be  more  different  in  all  their  sensible  properties, 
may  it  not  be  inferred  that  almost  all  "bodies  begin  to  shine  at 
the  same  temperature  ? 

Experiment  8. 

Observing  that  colourless  transparent  glass  had  a paler  hue 
when  red  hot  than  most  other  bodies,  I conceived  that  it  might 
not  be  luminous  at  so  low  a temperature.  I therefore  took  a 
circular  piece  of  glass,  about  ^th  of  an  inch  thick,  and,  having 
gilt  one  side  of  it,  exposed  the  ungilt  side  to  a stream  of  air 
passed  through  a red  hot  tube,  but  did  not  perceive  that  the 
gold  shone  at  all  before  the  glass.  This  experiment,  however, 
is  not  decisive  ; glass  being  so  slow  a conductor  of  heat  that  its 
exterior  surface  might  have  been  heated  some  time  before  the 
interior,  and  thus  have  deceived  the  eye.  I could  not  meet 
with  any  glass  sufficiently  thin  for  this  purpose,  nor  think  of 
any  other  possible  mode  of  trial. 

Experiment  9. 

Having  often  remarked  that  the  surfaces  of  red  hot  metals 
had  an  appearance  different  from  what  they  present  by  reflected 
light  when  cold,  1 had  an  idea  that  this  peculiar  appearance 
might  be  derived  from  a transmission  of  the  light  through 
the  superficial  parts  of  the  ignited  body.  To  ascertain  whether 
they  acquired  any  degree  of  transparency  by  heat,  I fixed  a 
circular  plate  of  fine  gold,  about  u\,th  of  an  inch  thick,  on  the 
end  of  a tube,  which  was  perfectly  closed  by  it  ; then,  having 
heated  it  to  redness,  and,  looking  down  into  the  tube,  1 pressed 
the  outer  surface  of  the  gold  against  single  grains  of  gunpowder. 
The  red  light  of  the  gold  looked  whiter  on  every  flash.  To  be 
satisfied  that  no  light  found  admission  through  the  sides  of  the 
tube  (which  were  of  thick  earthenware),  I covered  the  exterior 
surface  of  the  gold  plate  with  a thick  coat  of  clay  luting,  and 
again  making  it  red  hot,  fired  gunpowder  with  it  as  before,  but 
no  increase  of  light  was  perceptible  from  the  flash,  which  proves 
that  the  sides  of  the  tube  were  impervious  to  the  light.  When 
this  gold  was  cold,  1 struck  a few  grains  of  gunpowder  on  its 
surface,  and,  looking  within  the  tube,  fired  them  by  pressing 
them  against  a hot  iron,  but  the  light  of  the  explosion  was  not 
then  sensible. 

Plates  of  silver  and  of  iron  gave  the  same  results. 

Experiment  10. 

A lump  of  the  most  luminous  marble  and  an  equal  lump  of 
the  same  marble  blackened  over  were  placed  together  upon  a 
mass  of  iron  heated  just  under  redness  ; the  former  gave  out 
much  light,  the  latter  none.  Upon  a second  exposure,  the 
lump  not  blackened  gave  a faint  light ; the  blackened  one,  a* 
before,  none  at  all.  Then  wiping  off  the  black,  and  placing 
them  together  upon  the  heater,  1 found  the  one  which  had  been 
blackened  to  emit  as  little  light  as  the  other  ; thus  the  phos- 
phorescent property  was  nearly  destroyed  without  any  visible 
light  leaving  the  body. 

Experiment  1 1 . 

If  apiece  of  glass,  or  glazed  or  unglazcd  earthenware,  with 
any  enamel,  painting,  gilding,  or  writing  upon  it,  be  made  red 
hot,  the  coloured  parts  appear  considerably  more  red  than  the 
others,  and  continue  longer  visible.  Iron  wire  within  a red  hot 
glass  tube  looks  much  more  red  than  the  glass.  Mack  matter 
upon  a large  polished  mass  of  fine  gold  did  not  remain  any  longer 
red  than  the  gold. 

Experiment  12. 

A bit  of  iron  wire  becomes  visibly  red  hot  when  immersed  in 
melted  glass.  Air,  therefore,  is  not  necessary  to  the  shining  of 
ignited  bodies.  ‘ 

Experiment  13. 

A piece  of  red  hot  metal  continues  to  shine  for  some  time 
after  its  removal  from  the  fire,  which  proves  that  constant 
accessions  of  light  or  heat  arc  not  necessary  to  the  shining  of 
ignited  bodies.  If  the  piece  be  strongly  blown  upon,  it  instantly 
ceases  to  shine,  for  the  cold  air  continually  applied  unites  with 


February  28,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


169 


the  light  as  fast  as  it  leaves  the  body,  and  which  otherwise 
would  have  passed  to  the  eye. 

I shall  now  close  this  paper  with  two  or  three  miscellaneous 
observations. 

Red  hot  bodies,  though  ignited  by  white  light,  give  out  only 
the  red  rays.  Perhaps  the  other  more  refrangible  rays,  from 
their  greater  attraction  to  matter,  may  be  circulating  as  heat, 
whilst  the  red  ones,  having  a less  attraction,  yield  sooner  to  that 
force  which  propels  the  light  of  red  hot  bodies.  If  the  intensity 
of  the  incident  white  light  lx:  much  increased,  so  as  to  raise  the 
body  to  a white  heat,  the  more  refrangible  rays  then  come  out 
with  the  others,  constituting  together  a white  light. 

The  flash  of  a grain  of  gunpowder  is  a pure  white  light  ; but 
if  the  explosion  be  made  within  a thin,  unglazed  earthenware 
tube,  closed  at  both  ends,  all  the  light  that  pervades  the  sides 
of  the  tube  is  red  ; the  other  rays  must,  therefore,  remain 
united  with  the  matter  of  the  tube,  whilst  the  less  attractive 
red  ones  are  transmitted.  Thus,  also,  on  looking  at  the  sun 
through  the  thin  bottom  of  an  earthenware  tea-cup,  only  the 
red  rays  are  transmitted,  so  that  the  others  must  be  retained  by 
the  matter  of  the  cup. 

It  would,  perhaps,  be  worth  trying  whether  a body  can  be 
made  red  hot  by  concentrated  rays  of  other  colours. 

The  light  produced  from  bodies  by  attrition  consists  of  a 
double  light  : that  which  their  powder  would  give  out  on  the 
heater  under  redness,  and  that  which  particles  in  their  surfaces 
give  out  by  being  made  red  hot.  The  sudden  heating  of  a 
body  to  redness  by  a single  blow  or  rub  is  a remarkable  phe- 
nomenon, and  deserves  to  be  investigated.  One  effect  produced 
upon  a body  by  attrition  is  a compression  or  condensation  of 
the  parts  on  its  surface  ; and  it  appears  from  general  observa- 
tion that  a condensation  of  the  parts  occasions  a diminution  of 
its  capacity  for  heat.  Iron  may  be  made  red  hot  by  repeated 
blow's  of  a hammer,  and  l have  found  that  if  red  hot  iron  be 
forcibly  struck  by  a heavy  hammer,  with  a sharp  edge  to  con- 
centrate the  action,  the  part  so  struck  emits  a white  light  for  a 
sensible  time,  and  is  probably  raised  to  a white  heat ; also  that 
my  father’s  thermometer  clay  has  its  capacity  for  heat  di- 
minished one-third  by  being  burnt  to  120°  of  his  scale,  and 
thus  reduced  to  about  one  half  of  its  bulk  ; and  as  it -loses  in 
weight  little  more  than  two  grains  on  a pound,  the  diminution 
of  capacity  can  only  be  attributed  to  condensation.  Many 
other  analogous  instances  might  be  adduced  if  necessary  ; but 
these  will,  perhaps,  be  deemed  sufficient  to  render  it  probable 
that  the  sudden  ignition  of  the  particles  by  attrition  proceeds 
from  the  compression  and  consequent  diminution  of  the  capa- 
city for  heat. 

I am  not  certain  that  the  increase  of  brightness  in  the  gold 
plate  (Experiment  9)  must  be  attributed  to  its  transparency  ; 
it  may  arise  from  the  gold  being  suddenly  raised  to  a white 
heat  by  the  light  of  the  explosion  ; or  the  force  of  the 
explosion  may  condense  its  parts,  and  diminish  its  capacity  for 
heat  or  light.  There  is,  however,  a strong  analogical  argument 
for  the  transparency  of  the  gold  ; every  body  whatever,  when 
extremely  thin,  is  pervious  to  light  in  such  quantity  as  to  be 
perceptible  to  our  eyesight;  thus  gold,  perhaps  the  most  opaque 
of  all  bodies,  platina  excepted,  when  beaten  into  leaf  gold  is 
so  ]>ervious  to  the  green  rays  that,  if  held  close  to  the  eye, 
all  objects  are  seen  through  it  with  considerable  distinctness, 
appearing  of  a deepish  green  hue.  Now  the  particles  of 
matter  in  the  gold  plate  being  much  separated  from  one  an- 
other, if  not  more  regularly  arranged  by  the  heat,  and  the 
intensity  of  the  light  in  the  explosion  of  the  gunpowder  being 
so  great,  it  is  not  improbable  that  some  few  rays  may  be 
transmitted  through  the  gold. 

5*After  some  reflection  upon  the  curious  resultof  Experiment  1, 
I am  inclined  to  think  that  the  blackened  cylinder  does  not 
begin  to  shine  at  so  low  a temperature  as  the  polished  one  ; and, 
consequently,  that  the  commencement  of  ignition  is  not,  in  all 
cases,  a certain  indication  of  a particular  temperature.  For, 
when  the  two  cylinders  were  removed  from  the  ignited  crucible 
(see  fig.  1),  the  blackened  one  looked  of  a brighter  red  than 
the  polished,  and  yet,  in  the  course  of  cooling,  disappeared  in 
about  two- thirds  of  the  time  that  the  polished  one  continued 
to  shine,  without  any  apparent  reason  for  its  cooling  at  a 


faster  rate.  Should  it  not,  therefore,  seem  that  it  requires  a 
greater  heat  to  make  it  shine  ? 

I am  well  aware  that  these  appearances  may  be  differently 
explained  ; and,  to  determine  this  point,  I would  propose  the 
following  experiment : Fut  larger  cylinders  into  the  tube  ; and, 
having  made  them  red  hot,  drop  them  separately,  each  at  the 
instant  of  its  disappearing,  into  cups  of  weighed  water  of  the 
temperature  of  between  211°  and  212°  of  Fahrenheit  ; then,  as 
any  addition  of  heat  will  expand  the  water  into  steam,  the  loss 
of  weight  of  each  vessel  will  give  an  exact  measure  of  the  heat 
of  the  cylinders  at  the  time  of  immersion. 


A NEW  LITHOGRAPHIC  TRANSFER  INK. 

BY  DR.  J.  M.  EDER. 

As  every  one  knows,  the  process  of  lithography  depends 
on  the  formation  upon  the  stone  of  two  films  or  surfaces, 
with  different  properties,  one  of  which,  secured  by  fatty 
chalk  or  crayon,  is  of  a greasy  surface,  repels  water, 
and  takes  fatty  inks ; the  other,  secured  by  etching,  is 
acid  and  open-textured,  absorbs  water,  and  so  repels 
grease. 

Good  prints  depend  on  the  degree  of  success  in  securing 
these  different  surfaces ; the  more  greasy  the  one,  the  more 
acid  the  other,  the  better  the  lithograph.  Up  to  the  pre- 
sent, only  two  substances  have  been  used  to  give  the 
greasy  surface — soap  and  fat,  brought  with  wax  or  shel- 
lac to  the  right  consistency  for  use  as  paint,  crayon, 
or  transfer  ink.  They  fulfil  two  objects — first,  to  estab- 
lish the  greasy  surfaces ; second,  to  protect  those  parts 
of  the  stone  from  the  subsequent  etching  action  of  the 
acid. 

Lithographic  ink  and  crayon  have  already  been 
brought  practically  to  perfection ; but  the  preparation  of 
a good  transfer  ink  still  offers  a wide  field  for  experiment ; 
and  the  transfer  inks,  often  very  costly,  in  the  market  arc 
still  susceptible  of  improvement.  It  is  still  more  desirable 
to  find  a good  transfer  ink  for  working  on  metal.  All  are 
liable  to  weaken,  partly  dissolve  in  the  acid,  or  leave  the 
stone  under  certain  circumstances. 

Working  from  a thorough  knowledge  of  the  defects  of 
the  existing  inks,  I have  found  in  gum  elemi  the  most 
favourable  characteristics  and  consistence  of  all  the  sub- 
stances expei'imented  on  ; and  after  several  years’  use  and 
testing,  I believe  I have  found  in  it  a satisfactory  product; 
which,  with  the  addition  of  soap  and  other  somewhat 
fatty  substances,  such  as  suet  and  varnish,  on  one  side 
takes  the  ink  excellently  and  transfers  well,  and  on  the 
other  is  utterly  unaffected  by  the  etching  acid. 

Gum  elemi  is,  according  to  Valenta,  a mixture  of  acid 
and  neutral  gums  containing  the  elemic  acid  first  described 
by  Buri.  My  own  researches  prove  that  this  acid  acts 
just  like  soap  and  similar  fatty  substances  as  a species  of 
cement ; hence  is  evident  the  possibility  of  the  prepara- 
tion of  a transfer  ink  upon  a basis  of  gum  elemi  in  place 
of  soap. 

The  printing  qualities  of  the  ink,  prepared  by  me  after 
a well-tested  formula,  I find  in  no  wise  inferior  to  any  of 
the  commercial  transfer  inks  in  the  market,  whose  com- 
position is  a secret.  It  is  a so-called  stiff  ink,  as  every 
transfer  ink  must  be  ; but,  nevertheless,  it  may  be  easily 
spread  in  a cold  room  or  on  cold  stones,  holds  well,  does 
not  smear,  and  gives  most  satisfactory  prints. 

This  is  my  recipe : — 

Asphalt  20  grammes 

Colophony  ...  ...  ...  ...  100  ,, 

Oil  of  turpentine  ...  ...  ...  40  ,, 


170 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  28,  1890. 


Dissolve  by  warming,  and  add — 


Yellow  wax  ... 
Suet  ... 

Gum  elemi  ... 
Marseilles  soap 
Linseed  oil  varnish 
Finest  soot  . . . 


...  ...  ...  20  grammes 

140  „ 

230  ,, 

30  „ 

(medium  strength)  60-80  ,, 

80-100  „ 


Another  method  substitutes  ready-prepared  transfer 
colour  for  soap,  leaving  out  that,  and  using  instead 
40  grammes  of  transfer  colour  and  200  grammes  Venetian 
turpentine.  These  arc  well  cooked  and  rubbed  together. 
The  transfer  ink  works  equally  well  on  stone  or  zinc. 

The  successful  commingling  of  the  ingredients  is  a 
manipulation  in  itself,  and  requires  considerable  practice. 
All  must  be  free  from  water,  and  care  should  be  taken 
not  to  burn  them  or  set  them  on  fire.  The  latter  part  of 
the  heating  should  be  done  with  the  vessel  uncovered. — 
Photo.  Correspondent. 


patent  EntcUtgcnce. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

2,537.  A.  G.  Speight, 257,  Liverpool  Road,  Islington,  “Machine 
for  Corrugating  Paper.”— February  17th. 

2,628.  A.  J.  Boult,  323,  High  Holboru,  London  ; C.  Lansi- 
aux,  and  C.  Merville,  France,  “ Magnesium  Flash-Light.” — 
February  18  th. 

2,636.  E.  Maitre,  45,  Southampton  Buildings,  London, 
“ Transparent  Case  for  Pictures.” — February  18th. 

2,671.  W.  Foster,  14,  Clement’s  Inn,  London,  “ Improve- 
ments in  Photometry.” — February  19th. 

2,776.  Frank  Bishop,  of  the  firm  of  Marion  and  Co.,  53, 
Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Photographic  Lens  Shutters.” 
Yoigtliinder  and  Sou,  Germany. — February  20th. 

2,781.  G.  Ott,  142,  Fleet  Street,  London,  “Apparatus  for 
Glueing  Picture  Frames  and  Compressing  Mitred  Quoins.” — 
February  21st. 

2,812.  O.  Freeworth,  41,  Eastcheap,  London,  “ Cameras.” — 
February  21st. 

2,820.  A.  Hester,  41,  Cheapside,  London,  “ Picture  Holders.” 
— February  21st. 


Amended  Specification. 

8,722.  McKellen,  “Exposing  Photographic  Paper,”  1885. 


Specifications  Published. 

2,295.— 8th  February , 1889.  “Optical  Illusions.”  Charles 

Emile  Reynaud,  No.  58,  Rue  Rodier,  Paris,  Optician. 

The  object  of  this  invention  is  to  produce  the  illusion  of 
continuous  or  indefinitely  prolonged  motion  of  the  subjects  in 
apparatus  of  the  “ praxinoscope  ” class  patented  by  the  inven- 
tor in  the  year  1877,  under  No.  4,244,  in  which,  as  in  the 
‘‘Zootrope”  and  other  analagous  combinations,  the  illusion  of 
motion  has  hitherto  been  necessarily  limited  to  a repetition  of 
the  same  sequence  of  positions  at  each  rotation  of  the  instru- 
ment. 

The  present  improvements  may  be  applied  to  apparatus 
carrying  either  opaque  or  transparent  pictures,  the  former 
illuminated  by  reflected  light  for  direct  view,  and  the  latter 
by  transmitted  light  for  projection  on  a screen. 

After  describing  the  mechanical  details  of  his  invention,  M. 
Reynaud  says  : — 

The  “illusion  of  motion’’  is  produced  as  in  the  original 
praxinoscope  and  other  like  instruments,  but  with  this  essential 
difference,  that  the  successive  phases  of  action  of  the  figures, 
instead  of  being  limited  to  those  comprised  in  a single  revolution, 
may  be  varied  and  prolonged  to  a practically  indefinite  extent, 
dependent  only  on  the  length  of  the  flexible  band,  thus  permit- 
ting,  for  instance,  the  reproduction  of  a continuous  theatre  scene, 
comprising  an  almost  infinite  variety  of  actors  in  their  successive 
positions  on  the  stage. 


3,347. — 25 th  February,  1889.  “ Books  for  Exhibiting  Photo- 

graphs.” Henry  William  Taunt,  9 and  10,  Broad  Street, 
Oxford,  Photographer. 

My  invention  consists  of  an  improved  method  of  constructing 
show  books  for  photographs  by  which  the  photograph  with  its 
supporting  leaf  can  at  once  be  delivered  to  the  purchaser. 

My  plan  is  to  make  one  or  more  perforations  in  the  leaf  so 
that  it  can  be  at  once  detached,  such  perforations  being  free, 
or  protected  by  an  additional  backing  of  thin  paper  or  other 
material  so  as  to  guard  it  from  accidental  removal. 

4,047. — 7th  March,  1889.  “Apparatus  for  Changing  Plates 
or  Films.”  Enrico  Ferrero,  Riva  Inglemere  Road,  Forest 
Hill,  Merchant. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1st.  A combined  dark-slide  and  changing-box  provided  with 
a flexible  bag  having  a hole  or  holes  for  permitting  the  insertion 
of  the  hand  or  the  thumb  and  one  or  more  fingers,  whilst 
excluding  light. 

2nd.  A changing-box  provided  with  a flexible  bag  having  a 
hole  or  holes  for  permitting  the  insertion  of  the  hand  or  the 
thumb  and  one  or  more  fingers,  whilst  excluding  light,  and  with 
a lid  or  cover  which  can  be  opened  and  closed  within  the  said  bag. 

3rd.  The  pressure-board  provided  with  means  whereby  it 
will  be  drawn  back  in  the  operation  of  opening  the  lid  or  cover 
of  the  changing-box,  and  will,  when  the  said  lid  or  cover  is 
closed,  press  the  film  or  plate  against  the  edges  of  the  exposure- 
aperture  in  the  dark-slide. 

4th.  The  combination,  with  the  dark-slide,  of  the  changing- 
box,  the  pressure-board,  and  a suitable  spring  or  springs  for 
forcing  the  said  pressure-board  and  the  plates  or  films  against 
the  back  of  the  dark-slide. 

5th.  The  changing-box  having  the  spring  lid  or  cover  and 
the  jointed  or  toggle  arms  for  preventing  accidental  closing  of 
the  said  lid  or  cover. 

6th.  The  improved  apparatus  constructed  substantially  as 
described  with  reference  to  the  drawings  accompanying  the 
specification. 

4,131. — March  9th,  1889.  “Detective  or  other  Cameras.” 
Frank  Miall,  Photographic  Apparatus  Maker,  13,  Shelgate 
Road,  Northcote  Road,  Battersea  Rise,  Surrey. 

My  improvement  in  detective  or  other  cameras  consists  of 
the  use  of  two  grooved  boxes  superposed  on  each  other,  with 
parallel  racks  on  the  sides  or  ends  of  each  box,  the  said  racks 
to  be  actuated  by  a pinion  at  right  angles  to  and  between  them, 
having  on  its  end  either  a square  (to  be  used  with  a key)  or  a 
milled  head,  on  turning  which  the  one  box  containing  the  un- 
exposed plates  or  films  (each  in  a suitable  carrier)  advances  as 
the  other  recedes,  and  drops  a plate  or  film  from  the  upper  box 
into  the  lower  one,  through  a fixed  slot,  thus  always  ensuring 
each  plate  or  film  to  be  exposed  in  a fixed  plane  to  the  lens. 
The  said  grooved  boxes  to  slide  in  or  on  suitable  grooves  or 
runners  formed  in  or  on  an  outer  case  or  box,  in  the  front  of 
which  said  box,  and  oscillating  at  will,  is  a segment  of  a circle 
(of  metal  or  other  suitable  material)  either  in  a vertical  or  hori- 
zontal position,  and  forming  the  exposing  shutter,  the  said 
segment  having  an  opening  for  the  light  to  pass  through  the 
lens  to  the  sensitive  plate  or  film  ; the  outer  ends  of  the  said 
segment  to  be  opaque,  so  that  before  and  after  exposure  the 
lens  will  be  covered.  On  the  centre  of  the  segment  from  which 
the  radius  is  struck  is  fixed  a pinion,  which  engages  in  an 
oscillating  rack,  which  can  be  actuated  from  any  part  of  the 
camera  either  by  hand  or  pneumatic  influence. 

The  camera  takes  the  form  of  a box  of  such  varied  shape  as 
may  be  found  most  convenient,  and  can  be  covered  with  paper 
or  other  material  to  suit  the  individual  tastes  of  the  users,  and 
either  carried  by  a strap,  or  handle,  or  the  like. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1.  The  use  of  two  grooved  boxes  superposed  on  each  other, 
and  actuated  by  racks  and  pinion  substantially  as  described,  so 
that  the  boxes  move  simultaneously  in  opposite  directions. 

2.  The  use  of  a segment  of  a circle  having  an  opening  in 
the  centre,  and  with  opaque  ends  actuated  substantially  as 
described,  and  forming  an  exposing  shutter. 


February  28,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


171 


3,790. — March  4th,  1889.  “Photographic  Cameras.”  Henry 
John  Gray,  225,  Piccadilly,  London,  Truss  Maker. 

My  invention  relates  to  photographic  cameras,  and  has  for  its 
object  to  provide  an  improved  camera  which  is  especially 
adapted  for  use  by  detectives,  and  which  is  more  compact  than 
cameras  of  the  same  kind  as  heretofore  constructed. 

According  to  my  said  invention,  the  box  of  the  camera  is 
divided  by  a partition  into  two  compartments,  one  of  which 
forms  the  camera  proper,  while  the  other  serves  for  the  recep- 
tion of  plates,  papers,  or  other  media  for  carrying  sensitised 
surfaces.  The  said  plates  or  the  like  are  arranged  to  lie  hori- 
zontally one  upon  another  in  a stack,  and  are  successively 
transferred  from  the  bottom  of  the  stack  into  position  for  the 
exposure,  and  thence  to  the  top  of  the  stack. 

The  transfer  is  effected  by  means  of  two  pivotted  lever 
carriers,  and  a slide  or  plunger.  The  said  slide  or  plunger 
serves  to  push  the  lowermost  plate  of  the  stack  on  to  the  first 
lever  carrier,  which  latter  then  delivers  the  plate  on  to  the 
second  lever  carrier  into  position  for  the  exposure.  After  the 
exposure,  the  second  lever  carrier  is  operated  to  return  the 
plate  to  the  top  of  the  stack. 

The  slide  or  plunger  is  provided  with  an  auxiliary  plunger 
which  serves  to  push  the  plate  entirely  on  to  the  first  lever 
carrier. 

The  lever  carriers  are  provided  with  spring  clips  for  holding 
the  plates  thereon. 

In  order  to  prevent  the  films  of  the  plates  or  the  like  from 
being  rubbed,  the  said  plates  or  the  like  are  carried  in  frames  or 
holders. 

4,264. — llt/i  March,  1889.  “Tissue  Transfer  Paper.” 
Thomas  Phcenix.  Liverpool  lload,  Newcastle-under-Lyme, 
Taper  Maker,  and  George  Kirk  (administrator  of  the  per- 
sonal estate  and  effects  of  Mary  Ann  Lamb,  Widow,  Paper 
Manufacturer,  deceased),  of  Uttoxeter,  Gentleman. 

The  inventors  claim  : — 

1.  The  preparation  of  tissue  paper  for  printing  transfers 
thereon  by  sizing  the  tissue  paper  by  causing  it  to  pass  into 
contact  with  the  upper  part  of  a sizing  roller,  the  lower  part  of 
which  dips  into  a trough  containing  size,  and  then  to  pass  be- 
tween the  surface  of  the  sizing  roller  and  that  of  a soft  pressure 
roller. 

2.  The  preparation  of  tissue  paper  for  printing  transfers 
thereon  by  sizing  the  same  by  causing  the  paper  to  pass  into 
contact  with  a sizing  roller,  and  to  be  carried  down  thereby 
through  a trough  containing  size,  into  which  the  lower  part  of 
the  cylinder  dips,  and  then  to  pass  between  the  surface  of  the 
siziug  roller  and  that  of  a soft  pressure  roller. 

3.  The  preparation  of  printed  transfers  for  transferring 
designs  on  to  pottery  ware  by  causing  tissue  paper  to  pass  in 
contact  with  a roller,  and  whilst  on  the  roller  to  receive  size, 
and  then  to  travel  on  continuously  between  an  engraved  print- 
ing roll  and  a soft  impression  roll. 

4.  The  preparation  of  tissue  paper  for  printing  transfers 
thereon  by  arranging  the  roll  of  tissue  paper  to  bear  upon  the 
surface  of  a revolving  roller,  and  so  to  be  driven,  and  as  the 
paper  unwinds  causing  size  to  be  applied  to  it,  and  causing  the 
sized  paper  to  be  carried  on  the  sizing  roller  between  the  sur- 
face of  the  said  roller  and  a soft  pressure  roller. 

5.  A machine  for  the  preparation  of  printed  transfers  for 
transferring  designs  on  to  pottery  ware  consisting  of  a roll 
from  which  the  tissue  paper  is  unwound  ; a sizing  roller  ; a 
soft  pressure  and  impression  roller  ; and  an  engraved  printing 
roller  ; the  whole  revolving  at  the  same  surface  speed,  and  the 
paper  passing  in  contact  with  these  rollers  successively. 

4,261. — 1HA  March,  1889.  “Photographic  Lens  Shutter.” 
Thomas  Rudolph  Dallmeyer,  25,  Newman  Street,  Oxford 
Street,  London,  Optician,  and  F hancis  Beauchamp,  Hope 
Cottage,  Whalebone  Lane,  Chadwell  Heath,  Kssex,  Engineer. 
This  invention  relates  to  improvements  in  photographic  lens 
shutters  of  the  kind  described  in  the  specification  of  a patent 
granted  to  us,  dated  the  12th  day  of  October,  a.d.  1887,  No. 
13,844. 

In  the  invention  described  in  the  specification  of  the  aforesaid 
patent,  the  shutters  are  opened  more  or  less  gradually,  aud,  as 


soon  as  opened,  they  begin  to  close  again  more  or  less  gradually, 
so  that  the  quantity  of  light  reaching  the  photographic  film 
gradually  increases  as  the  shutters  open,  and  gradually  decreases 
as  the  shutters  close,  the  closing  commencing  immediately  after 
the  maximum  opening  has  been  obtained,  the  result  being  that 
the  plate  receives  the  maximum  quantity  of  light  for  an  instant 
only.  The  object  of  one  part  of  our  invention  is  to  cause  the 
shutters  to  open  as  instantaneously  as  possible,  to  remain  wide 
open  for  a definite  length  of  time,  and  then  to  close  as  instan- 
taneously as  possible,  whereby  the  plate  receives  the  maximum 
quantity  of  light  during  a longer  portion  of  the  time  occupied 
in  the  opening  and  closing  of  the  shutters  than  in  the  arrange- 
ments described  in  the  aforesaid  specification. 

In  order  to  effect  this  object,  we  move  the  shutters  to  and 
from  each  other  by  means  of  two  levers  somewhat  in  the  manner 
described  in  the  aforesaid  specification,  but  preferably  so 
arranged  that  each  lever  is  operated  independent! y of  the  other, 
instead  of  one  lever  being  operated  by  the  other,  as  in  that 
case.  We  operate  the  said  levers  by  means  of  a crank  pin 
rotated  by  means  of  a coiled  spring.  This  crank  pin  engages  in 
a curved  slot  in  each  of  the  shorter  arms  of  the  levers,  the  said 
slots  being  so  shaped  that  the  crank  pin  acting  upon  them  for 
a very  small  portion  of  its  revolution  suffices  to  move  the  two 
levers  far  enough  to  open  the  shutters  to  their  fullest  extent  ; 
when  that  is  effected  the  crank  pin  passes  along  portions  of  the 
slots  in  the  levers  which  are  concentric  with  the  path  of  the 
crank  pin  for  another  and  larger  part  of  its  revolution,  whereby 
the  levers  are  not  acted  on  by  the  crank  pin,  and  the  shutters 
are  consequently  held  wide  open  while  the  crank  pin  is  traversing 
these  concentric  parts  of  the  slots.  The  crank  then  reaches  and 
acts  upon  parts  of  the  slots  which  are  not  concentric  with  its  path, 
and  move  the  levers  so  as  to  close  the  shutters  during  another  very 
small  portion  of  its  revolution.  The  axis  of  the  crank  or  crank 
plate  carrying  the  crank  pin,  \v  hicli  is  actuated  by  a coiled  spring 
as  before  explained,  carries  a disc  furnished  with  three  stops. 
Two  of  these  stops  come  in  the  line  of  a catch  or  pawl  on  a 
releasing  lever.  When  the  axis  is  turned,  winding  up  the 
coiled  spring  until  the  catch  or  pawl  drops  behind  the  first 
of  these  stops,  the  shutters  are  wide  open,  and  are  held  so 
by  the  said  catch  and  first  stop,  so  that  the  necessary  focu  - 
sing can  be  effected.  When  the  axis  is  turned  further,  so 
that  the  catch  or  pawl  drops  behind  the  second  of  the  stops, 
the  shutters  are  closed  again  and  are  held  so  by  the  said  catch 
and  second  stop  until  the  catch  is  withdrawn  from  behind  the 
said  stop,  when  the  coiled  spring  acts,  turning  the  crank  pin 
and  causing  the  practically  instantaneous  opening  of  the 
shutters,  their  retention  wide  open  for  a definite  time,  and 
then  their  practically  instantaneous  closing  as  before  explained. 
The  third  stop  on  the  aforesaid  disc  has  a twofold  function  : 
firstly,  when  the  shutters  are  in  the  closed  position  it  comes 
against  a suitable  stop,  so  as  to  prevent  rotation  of  the  crank 
pin  beyond  a certain  point,  whereby  the  said  crank  pin  is  pre- 
vented from  pressing  unduly  on  the  slots  in  the  levers  ; and 
secondly,  it  forms  a means  in  conjunction  with  an  adjustable 
stop  on  the  releasing  lever,  or  with  a stop  on  a separate  lever, 
whereby  the  shutters  can  be  held  open  any  required  length  of 
time  when  a long  exposure  is  desired. 

Another  part  of  our  invention  consists  of  improved  means  of 
guiding  the  two  shutters  in  their  horizontal  movements  to  aud 
from  each  other.  Instead  of  the  shutters  sliding  in  grooves 
made  in  the  upper  and  lower  parts  of  the  lens  mount,  we 
arrange  them  to  slide  at  their  upper  or  lower  ends  on  a guide 
rod  or  spindle  placed  at  the  upper  or  lower  part  of  the  lens 
mount,  and  we  leave  them  free  at  their  other  ends,  the  points 
of  connection  of  the  actuating  levers  with  the  sliding  shutters 
being  preferably  placed  near  the  aforesaid  guide,  rod,  orspindle. 
By  these  means  the  possibility  of  the  shutters  jamming  in  their 
guides  is  avoided. 

17,998. — November  12th,  1889.  “Cameras  and  Dark  Slides.” 

Thomas  (Archdeacon)  Colley,  18,  Landsdowne  Circus, 

Leamington,  Warwickshire,  Archdeacon  of  Pietermaritzburg 

in  Natal. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1.  A plate-holder  or  dark  slide  for  photographic  cameras, 


172 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  28,  1890. 


the  lid  of  which  plate-holder  is  so  weighted  that  it  shall, 
when  placed  at  the  proper  angle,  fall  open  of  its  own  weight. 

2.  A swing-frame  for  the  said  plate-holder,  which,  when 
placed  in  the  camera  made  or  adapted  for  its  use,  shall  so 
rotate  upon  its  axis  that  the  lid  of  the  plate-liolder  which  it 
carries  may  be  opened  and  closed  at  pleasure. 

3.  An  indicator  outside  the  camera  that  shall  show  the 
position  and  govern  the  action  of  the  swing-frame  and  plate- 
holder  inside  the  camera  when  the  camera  is  closed,  and  every- 
thing is  ready  for  immediate  and  unobserved  use. 

4,649 .—March  16</i,  1889.  “Shutters  for  Photographic 
Cameras.”  Thomas  Wright  Green  all,  The  Grammar 
School,  Hartlebury,  near  Kidderminster,  Clerk  in  Holy 
Orders,  and  Frank  Bishop,  of  the  Firm  of  Marion  and  Co., 
of  22  and  23,  Soho  Square,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex, 
Dealers  in  Photographic  Materials. 

This  invention  relates  to  an  improved  so-called  “Instan- 
taneous ” shutter  for  photographic  lenses.  The  shutter  is  of 
that  kind  which  opens  and  closes  upon  a diametrical  line,  by 
the  motion  in  opposite  directions  from  the  centre  to  the  sides 
of  a pair  of  plates  or  wings  pivoted  upon  a common  centre, 
and  overlapping  when  closed. 

The  invention  relates  essentially  to  the  mechanism  whereby 
the  plates  or  wings  are  operated,  and  the  object  of  the  inven- 
tion is  to  simplify  this  mechanism  and  reduce  the  cost  of  manu- 
facture. The  plates  or  wings  are  operated  by  a pin  moving 
in  a curved  angular  or  bi-angular  slot  in  each  of  them,  the 
slots  lying  in  a direction  such  that  the  two  extremities  of  each 
slot  are  in  a line  about  radial  to  the  centre  of  motion  of  the 
plate  or  wing,  and  the  slots  being  oppositely  bent  or  curved 
so  that  motion  of  the  pin  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the 
two  slots  will  cause  simultaneous  motion  of  the  two  plates  or 
wings  in  opposite  directions,  the  motion  of  the  pin  through 
the  first  half  of  the  slots  causing  an  outward  separating  or 
opening  motion  of  the  plates,  and  the  motion  of  the  pin 
through  the  second  half  of  the  slots  causing  an  inward  or 
closing  motion  of  the  plates.  This  actuating  pin  is  carried  or 
actuated  by  a lever  pivoted  to  the  frame,  and  acted  on  by  a 
spring  provided  with  means  of  varying  its  tension  for  the  pur- 
pose of  regulating  the  velocity  of  motion  of  the  plates  accord- 
ing to  the  length  of  exposure  required,  a spring  trigger  being 
also  provided  having  notches  or  shoulders  adapted  to  engage 
with  the  lever,  and  hold  the  plates  either  in  the  closed  or  open 
position  as  required,  said  trigger  being  released  either  directly 
by  hand  or  by  pneumatic  agency,  as  well  understood.  The 
pin  through  which  the  plates  are  actuated  projects  through  a 
slot  in  the  frame,  and  serves  as  the  medium  through  which  the 
shutter  may  be  brought  to  the  open  position  for  focussing  for 
a prolonged  exposure,  or  “ set  ” for  a short  or  “ instantaneous  ” 
exposure. 

19,770. — December  9 th,  1889.  “Photographic  Carriers  or 
Sheaths.”  Frank  Miaul,  13,  Shelgate  Road,  Battersea 
Rise,  Surrey,  Manufacturer  of  Photographic  Apparatus. 
The  inventor  claims  : — 

1.  In  the  construction  of  carriers  or  sheaths  for  the  holding 
of  sensitive  photographic  plates  or  films,  the  use  of  retaining 
catches  or  clips. 

2.  The  use  of  retaining  catches  or  clips  in  connection  with 
carriers  or  sheaths  for  holding  sensitive  photographic  plates 
or  films. 


Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  consideration  on  March 
5th  will  be  “ Artificial  Light  as  an  Auxiliary  to  Daylight,” 
followed  by  a selection  of  lantern  slides  of  Norway,  by  Mr. 
J.  B.  B.  Wellington.  March  12th,  “Sterescopic  Photography.” 

A Simple  View  Meter. — For  time  exposures  carry  a light, 
compact  tripod.  Ascertain  by  calculation  or  experiment  the 
number  of  inches  that  at  arm’s  length  from  the  eye  will  include, 
with  the  lens  used,  the  view  upon  the  plate.  A small  rule,  or 
its  equivalent,  held  with  extended  arm  at  right  angles  to  the 
line  of  vision,  will  then  always  give  instant  information,  re- 
quired before  every  exposure. — A.  W.  Dimock. 


Cfomspontinue. 


STEREOSCOPIC  VISION. 

Sir, — Mr.  G.  Macdougald,  in  his  communication  to  the 
Dundee  and  East  of  Scotland  Photographic  Association,  has, 
while  trying  to  combat  some  statements  alleged  to  have  been 
made  by  me,  so  completely  overlooked  my  real  position  in  the 
matter,  and  has  made  so  many  statements,  the  absurdity  of 
which  he  might  have  seen  had  he  consulted  the  most  element- 
ary class-books,  that  I might  well  pass  his  remarks  unheeded. 
Still,  it  may  be  well  to  point  out  some  matters,  not  of  opinion 
at  all,  but  perfectly  well  known  to  every  beginner  in  optical 
science,  and  perfectly  clearly  laid  down  by  every  writer  who, 
within  many  years,  has  treated  the  subject  of  stereoscopic 
vision. 

In  the  first  place,  I suppose  I must  once  more  point  out 
that  the  origin  of  the  discussion  was  a remark  by  “ F.  M.  S.” 
in  Photography,  May  9,  1889,  touching  stereoscopic  photo- 
graphy in  its  relation  to  art.  I have  never  denied  the  scientific 
uses  of  the  stereoscoi>e  ; on  the  contrary’,  I did  them  full 
justice.  My  point  all  along  has  been  that  stereoscopicity  is 
no  attribute,  much  less  an  essential,  of  art.  But  to  turn  to  Mr. 
Macdougald’s  optical  utterances. 

He  begins  with  the  old  story  of  stereoscopic  vision  by 
squinting.  That  is  right  enough  for  those  who  can  do  it, 
probably  not  one  in  1,000  without  being  educated  up  to  it. 
Mr.  Macdougald’s  alternative  method  is  to  “ look  at  the  right 
picture  with  the  right  eye,  and  the  left  in  like  manner  with 
the  left.”  He  admits  that  personally  he  cannot  do  it  ; well, 
so  far  as  goes  stereoscopicity,  iu  which  his  soul  delights,  his 
inability  is  no  loss,  for  there  is  no  stereoscopic  vision  in  such  a 
case.  (Text-books  passim.) 

“ It  is  surely  more  natural  to  look  at  a double  pictorial  repre- 
sentation than  at  a single.”  (Macdougald.)  “When  a body 
of  moderate  size,  ascertained  by  touch  to  be  solid,  is  viewed 
with  both  eyes,  the  images  of  it  formed  by  the  two  eyes  are 
necessarily  different.  . . Nevertheless,  they  coalesce  into  a 

common  image  which  gives  the  impression  of  solidity.”  (Hux- 
ley, Elementary  Physioloyy.)  “We  have  two  eyes,  most  of 
us,  but  we  do  not,  under  normal  conditions  of  diet,  see  dou- 
ble.” (l’ringle.) 

Mr.  Macdougald  writes  that  it  appears  that  “ Mr.  Pringle 
labours  under  the  impression  that  binocular  vision — that  is, 
vision  giving  the  appearance  of  solidity’ — requires  that  each  eye 
looks  at  the  object  from  a different  standpoint.”  I confess  I 
am  under  that  impression,  but  find  no  “labour”  iu  compre- 
hending the  truth,  nor  in  agreeing  with  every  text-book  on  the 
subject  that  I can  find.  Without  the  sense  of  touch,  and 
without  two  eyes,  we  cannot  have  the  impression  of  solidity, 
nor  of  relative  distances.  I should  like  Mr.  Macdougald  to  ex- 
plain how  two  eyes  can  look  at  an  object  simultaneously  from 
the  same  standpoint.  “ One  may  mount  two  prints  from  the 
same  negative,”  says  Mr.  Macdougald,  “ and  such  prints  will 
give  the  appearance  of  solidity  when  viewed  either  by  the 
unaided  eye  in  the  manner  above  mentioned,  or  through  the 
stereoscope.”  Here  is  news  indeed  ; but  if  there  were  the 
slightest  foundation  for  such  an  assertion,  who  so  foolish  as  to 
carry  a stereo-camera  and  make  stereo-negatives  when  single 
ones*  will  do?  If  Mr.  Macdougald  will  consult  “ Hardwich  and 
Taylor,”  or  indeed  any  class-book  on  optics,  he  may  derive  some 
benefit. 

On  the  binocular  miscroscope,  as  proof  of  his  theory,  Mr. 
Macdougald  surpasses  himself.  “The  binocular  microscope,” 
he  says,  makes  it  “ at  once  apparent  that  the  appearance  of 
solidity  or  stereoscopic  impression  does  not  rest  on  the  fact  of 
each  eye  having  a picture  for  itself.  M ell,  1 always  thought 
it  did  exactly  rest  on  that  fact.  If  Mr.  Macdougald  ever 
used  a binocular  microscope,  it  is  very  strange  that  he  did  not 
notice  that  not  only  does  each  eye  see  the  image  projected  by 
one-half  of  the  objective,  but  by  means  of  a prism  the  image 
projected  by  the  right  half  of  the  objective  is  projected  to 
the  left  eye,  while  the  right  eye  views  the  image  projected  by 
the  left  portion  of  the  objective  ; and  further,  when  the  in- 
strument is  so  arranged  that  the  right  eye  looks  through  the 


February  28,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


173 


right'  half  of  the  objective,  and  vice  versa,  the  image  is  not 
seen  stereoscopically,  but  pseudoscopically.  (Another  death- 
blow to  the  second  alternative  method  of  seeing  sterescopically 
with  the  unaided  eye  mentioned  above.)  The  binocular  micro- 
scope, in  fact,  furnishes  a complete  refutation  of  nearly  every 
sentence  on  stereoscopic  vision  in  Mr.  Maedougald’s  paper  with 
which  he  regaled  the  Dundee  Society.  (See  “ Carpenter,”  and 
any  other  text-book  on  the  microscope.) 

Mr.  Macdougald  says  I “dislike  the  small  hole  trick.”  This 
is  proof  that  he  has  not  carefully  read  what  I wrote.  I ex- 
pressed neither  liking  nor  dislike  of  it.  He  refers  the  impression 
of  solidity  obtained  by  the  “small  hole  trick  ” to  suppression  of 
surface  on  the  picture.  I do  not  believe  in  this  theory  of  his 
at  all ; I attribute  the  illusion  to  brain  action  chiefly.  But  till 
the  elements  are  mastered  there  is  not  much  use  discussing  more 
difficult  matters.  Mr.  Macdougald  says,  “ In  what,  then,  does 
stereoscopic  vision  consist  ? That  is  a very  difficult  question  to 
answer.”  Possibly,  but  it  is  answered  for  us,  even  if  we  are 
incompetent  to  work  it  out  for  ourselves,  in  every  treatise  on 
elementary  optics  with  any  pretension  to  completeness. 

I omit  notice  of  the  bantering  tone  of  Mr.  Macdougald’s 
paper.  No  doubt  it  may  have  amused  such  of  his  hearers  as 
were  unaware  of  the  extraordinary  weakness  of  his  arguments, 
and  his  entire  misapprehension  of  stereoscopic  optics. 

I also  reserve  further  comment  on  the  fact  that  in  my  ori- 
ginal article  ( Photoyraphy , June  13,  1889,)  I dealt  with  stereo- 
scopicity  as  related  to  art.  I said,  and  I say,  solidity  is  not 
art,  nor  is  art  illusion.  Andrew  Pringle. 


AMATEURS  AND  PROFESSIONALS. 

Sir, — There  is  one  consideration  that  has  escaped  the 
notice  of  “Photophotos”  in  his  critical  review  of  Amateurs 
and  Professionals  in  Holland  (see  page  139  of  last  week’s  News). 
The  definitions  are  good  and  humorous,  and  the  shallow  fear 
that  the  amateur  is  likely  to  supplant  the  professional  is  fairly 
stated  and  disposed  of.  Another  aspect  of  the  case  has,  how- 
ever, been  entirety  overlooked — namely,  the  fact  that  the  wide- 
spread practice  of  photography  by  numerous  amateurs  tends 
to  elevate  the  status  of  the  professional,  and  inspire'a  higher 
appreciation  for  the  generally  superior  character  of  his  work. 
His  claims  thus  become  more  widely  recognised,  and  those  who 
seek  for  experience,  especially  in  portraiture,  must  needs  avail 
themselves  of  special  talent,  training,  and  appliances.  To 
borrow  a simile  :--The  regular  forces  of  the  British  army  were 
never  so  popular  or  so  well  appreciated  until  the  volunteers 
sprang  into  existence,  and  then  came  a laudable  feeling  of 
rivalry  in  shooting  and  drilling,  which  has  since  proved  most 
beneficial  both  to  the  regular  and  auxiliary  services.  Old 
methods  and  weapons  were  criticised,  and  the  army  gained 
more  by  friendly  competition  and  healthy  rivalry  than  was 
possible  formerly  without  such  occasional  stimulus  and  review. 
In  fact,  the  volunteers  have  popularised  and  vastly  improved 
the  efficiency  of  the  regular  army.  There  is  no  question  about 
this  ; and  so  it  may  be  with  the  mutual  relations  of  the  ama- 
teur and  professional  photographer  ; the  latter  gains  much  by 
securing  a wider  appreciation  of  his  highest  aims  by  an  edu- 
cated public,  and  reaps  the  benefit  of  more  extended  patronage. 

If  the  army  of  professionals  is  occasionally  recruited  from  the 
ranks  of  trained  amateurs,  so  much  the  better  for  all  concerned  ; 
real  progress  cannot  be  in  any  way  imperilled,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, assisted,  and  a wider  clientele  created. 

Resecting  definitions  : There  is  an  old  adage,  “ Once  a cap- 
tain, always  a captain.”  Does  this  stand  true  of  the  professional 
photographer  ? I know  a man  who,  a quarter  of  a century  ago, 
took  pay  for  several  years  as  an  instructor  and  photographer  in 
the  Government  service,  but  now  he  only  uses  his  camera  as  an 
amateur.  To  which  class  does  he  belong  ? Again,  your  Dutch 
correspondent  says,  “ One,  however,  of  the  most  pronounced 
characteristics  of  divergency  is  undoubtedly  the  winter  sleep  or 
hybernation  of  the  amateur.”  But  if  this  be  true,  what  shall 
be  said  of  the  large  class  of  quasi-professionals,  like  those 
having  studios  at  suburban  or  watering  places,  who  regularly 
“ hybernate,”  or  practise  photography  only  during  the  season, 
and  follow-  some  other  occupation  during  the  winter  ? 


Is  there  any  “hard  and  fast  rule”  applicable  to  such  cases? 
I for  one  w-ould  like  to  know  what  answer  to  give  to  these  and 
similar  enquiries.  John  Spiller. 


HACKNEY  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY. 

Sir, — Below  is  our  programme  for  March,  1890,  at  Morley 
Hall,  Hackney,  Room  No.  4: — Thursday,  13th,  “ A Talk  on 
Photographic  Optics,”  by  Mr.  .1.  Traill  Taylor.  Thursday, 
27th,  “Photograph}-.”  Prize  lantern  slides. 

W.  Fenton  Jones,  Hon,  Sec. 
12,  Kino  HI  ward  Road,  Hackney,  N.E. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  SURVEY  OF  WARWICKSHIRE. 

Sir, — So  many  applications  have  been  received  for  copies  of 
my  pamphlet  on  “ Methods  of  conducting  a local  photo- 
graphic Survey  of  Warwickshire  ” (methods  which  are  equally 
applicable  to  other  districts)  that  I have  had  it  reprinted,  and 
copies  can  be  obtained  post  free,  sixpence  each,  from  Mr.  A. 
J.  Leeson,  20,  Cannon  Street,  Birmingham  (Hon.  Secretary, 
Birmingham  Photographic  Society),  or  from 

W.  Jerome  Harrison, 

Science  Laboratory,  Board  School,  Icknield  Street,  Binniny 
ham. 

PS. — The  price  named  just  about  pays  for  printing  and 
postage,  but  any  profit  will  go  to  the  Society’s  funds. 


FOCUSSING  APPLIANCES. 

Sir, — In  reference  to  the  above — vide  the  leader  in  your 
impression  of  February  14th — for  about  the  twentieth  time 
I recommend  my  brother  amateurs  to  adopt  for  a focussing 
screen  the  plan  I have  had  in  use  for  some  years,  viz. , a circle 
or  strip  of  plain  glass  in  the  centre  of  the  screen.  I made 
mine,  and  have  made  a few  for  friends  since,  by  cleaning  and 
varnishing  an  old  negative  plate,  when  cool  rubbing  it  with 
the  ball  of  the  thumb,  to  get  a very  fine  tooth,  much  finer 
than  any  ground  glass,  then  removing  a small  circle  or  strip  of 
the  varnish  in  the  centre  of  the  plate.  This  gives  a bright 
picture  quite  up  to  the  edges  of  the  plate  ; and  in  the  centre 
on  the  plain  glass,  with  a focussing  glass,  absolute  microscopic 
sharpness.  Lastly,  if  you  should  have  the  misfortune  w-hen 
away  on  a tour  to  break  your  screen  it  is  easily  replaced.  A 
quarter  of  an  hour  will  make  it.  W.  T.  F.  M.  Ingall. 

Greenhithe,  Kent. 


PATENTS  AND  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PROGRESS. 

Sir, — There  is  no  doubt  that  the  protection  afforded  by  the 
patent  to  the  outcome  of  the  labour  and  ingenuity  of  the 
actual  inventor  is  an  advantage  to  scientific  progress,  inasmuch 
as  it  acts  as  a spur  and  incentive  to  experimental  research  ; 
on  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  greater  bar  to  advance  and  im- 
provements in  any  direction  of  progress  than  the  practice  of 
claiming  a monopoly  of  manufacture  on  the  ground  of  novelty 
where  no  such  novelty  exists.  It  would  be  well  if  claims  for 
invention  were  more  carefully  scrutinised  than  appears  to  be 
the  case,  although  every  facility  has  been  lately  given  by  the 
photographic  journals  which  record  the  applications  made  in 
their  department.  It  may  be  said  that  the  public  have  a means 
of  redress  in  cases  of  invalidity  of  patents  by  opposing  or  dis- 
regarding the  claims  which  are  made.  This  may  be  true  in 
theory,  but  practically  it  is  well  known  that  the  irrecoverable 
expenses,  and  annoyance,  and  loss  of  time  involved,  even  in 
cases  of  successful  issue,  deter  many  from  taking  that  step. 
There  may  be  some  of  your  readers,  interested  like  myself  in  the 
special  subject  of  actinometry,  to  whom  the  following  references 
to  some  passages  in  a work  by  a well-known  writer  may,  per- 
haps, be  of  benefit. 

Capt.  Abney,  in  the  1884  edition  of  his  “Instructions  in 
Photography,”  gives  a figure  and  description  of  the  “Wood- 
bury Photometer,”  the  principle  of  which  is  the  determination 
of  the  actinic  power  of  light  by  the  exposure  of  a strip  of 
sensitised  paper,  coiled  in  a small  box,  in  the  form  of  a com- 
pass. The  actinic  light  is  measured  by  the  darkening  of  the 
exposed  paper  in  comparison  with  a standard  tint  or  tints 


174 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  28,  1820. 


provided  for  that  purpose.  The  writer  goes  on  to  say,  “ I 
believe  it  would  be  an  improvement  to  use  bromised  paper  for 
the  aetinometer,"  and  in  a former  part  of  the  work  a formula  is 
given  for  the  use  of  nitrites  with  the  bromised  silver  solution, 
the  well-known  salts  by  which  the  bromised  paper  is  made  to 
darken  in  the  light  without  development. 

Since  the  publication  of  this  edition  of  the  “ Instructions  ” 
two  applications  have  been  made  for  patents  for  actinometers, 
which  may  now  be  compared  with  the  above  extracts. 

I need  not  point  out  that  the  matter  has  a wider  significance 
than  the  invalidity  or  validity  of  these  patents.  It  is  a public, 
not  a personal  <|uestion,  and  on  the  solution  of  it  depends  our 
conclusion  as  to  whether  the  results  of  research  and  experiment 
given  to  us  by  public  writers  in  works  of  general  reference  are 
for  the  full  and  free  use  of  the  public,  or  only  for  the  benefit 
of  individual  monopoly.  Experimentalist. 

♦ 

Theodor  Prumm. — The  German  Photographic  papers  an- 
nounce the  death,  on  the  11th  inst.,  of  this  well-known  and 
ski'ful  portrait  photographer,  at  the  age  of  forty-nine. 

Albemarle  Amateur  Photographic  Society — Mr.  Walter 
Pilkington,  of  St.  Margaret’s,  Newlands  Park,  Sydenham,  asks  us 
to  record  the  formation  of  this  Society,  established  for  the 
“ social  discussion  of  the  technicality  of  photography.” 

Camera  Club  Conference,  1890. — The  Conference,  as 
already  announced,  will  take  place  at  the  Society  of  Arts  on 
Thursday  and  Friday,  March  20th  and  21st,  under  the  presi- 
dency of  Captain  Abney.  Amongst  the  papers  to  be  read  and 
discussed  will  be  the  following  : — “ The  Art  of  Drawing  and 
Photography,”  by  Mr.  A.  M.  Itossi ; “ Photography  by  the 
Light  of  the  Electric  Spark,”  by  Lord  Rayleigh  ; “ The  Latent 
Image,”  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Bothamley  ; “ Limitations  in  the  Treat- 
ment of  Subjects  by  Focus,”  by  Mr.  T.  R.  Dallmeyer  ; “ Collo- 
type and  Photo-Etching,”  with  practical  illustrations,  by  Mr. 
W.  T.  Wilkinson  ; and  other  papers  by  the  President,  Mr. 
Lyonel  Clark,  and  others.  It  is  further  proposed  to  bring  for- 
ward, in  as  complete  a manner  as  possible,  the  subject  of  photo- 
graphic exhibitions  and  their  regulations.  The  exhibition  of 
apparatus  will  be  as  usual  in  the  library  of  the  Society  of  Arts. 
All  photographers  or  others  interested  in  the  subjects  under 
discussion  are  invited  to  be  present. 

The  Photographic  Convention. — The  1890  meeting  of  the 
Photographic  Convention  will  take  place  at  Chester,  from  the 
23rd  June  to  the  28th  inclusive.  The  proceedings  will  open 
on  the  evening  of  June  23rd  with  a conversazione,  at 
which  the  President’s  address  will  be  delivered,  and 
there  will  be  a lantern  exhibition.  Excursions  have 
been  arranged  for  each  day  during  the  week.  The  even- 
ings will  be  devoted  to  the  reading  of  papers  and  discussions. 
An  exhibition  will  be  held  of  novelties  in  apparatus,  and  no 
charge  will  be  made  for  space.  The  Convention  dinner  will 
take  place  on  the  evening  of  the  27th  June.  Arrangements 
are  being  made  for  excursions  to  the  following  places  : — Moreton 
Old  Hall,  Conway,  Bettwys-y-Coed,  Carnarvon,  Harwarden, 
Llongollen,  and  other  places.  Also  a trip  on  the  Mersey  to 
witness  the  regatta  of  the  Mersey  Yacht  Club.  Cheap  railway 
tickets  to  these  places  will  be  issued  by  the  railway  companies 
upon  production  of  membership  tickets. 

Photographic  Novelties.— From  Mr.  Robert  Talbot,  of 
Berlin,  we  receive  the  first  number  of  Photographische  Neu- 
heiten,  or  “Photographic  Novelties,”  the  object  of  which  is 
stated  to  be  to  furnish  the  amateur  and  professional  photo- 
grapher, the  photographic  printer,  the  zinc  and  copper  etcher, 
and  the  photo-lithographer — all  those,  in  fact,  who  are  directly 
or  indirectly  interested  in  photographic  experiment  or  research — 
with  the  latest  news  in  the  photographic  world,  in  the  quickest, 
clearest,  and  most  concise  fashion.  It  is  proposed  by  the 
editorial  staff  to  give  a comprehensive  description  of  all  the 
photographic  novelties  which  may  be  transmitted  to  them, 
both  from  Germany  and  elsewhere,  with  their  prices  attached, 
and  illustrations  in  such  cases  as  make  them  desirable  or  con- 
venient. The  editorial  staff,  through  its  intimate  association  with 
the  well-known  firm  of  Romain  Talbot,  claims  to  be  in  a posi- 
tion to  give  the  very  earliest  notice  of  all  novelties  of  inte- 
rest or  importance. 


Pioccc&tngs  of  .Societies, 


Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 

At  the  technical  meeting  of  this  Society,  held  on  the  25th 
inst.,  the  chair  was  occupied  by  Mr.  \V.  E.  Debexham. 

A letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society 
was  read,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  the  photographs  of  Cau- 
casian scenery,  taken  by  Signor  Sella,  would  be  on  view  until 
the  end  of  the  month. 

A shutter  that  had  been  sent  by  the  manufacturer  was 
shown  and  handed  round.  The  arrangement  for  resetting 
after  each  exposure  was  effected  by  the  pressure  of  the  pneu- 
matic ball  that  actuated  the  release,  so  that  it  was  always 
ready  for  use  without  resetting.  If  wanted  as  a time  shutter, 
there  was  an  arrangement  by  which  two  pressures  of  the  ball 
were  used,  one  for  opening  and  one  for  closing.  A dark-room 
lamp  was  also  shown  ; it  was  for  use  with  benzoline,  and 
resembled  a brass  candlestick  in  appearance.  There  was  a 
ruby  chimney  surrounding  the  flame. 

The  Chairman  remarked  that  manufacturers  of  these  things 
were  rather  conservative  in  keeping  to  red  instead  of  using 
deep  yellow. 

A letter  was  read  accompanying  some  photographs  sent  by  a 
photographer  in  the  provinces,  who  asked  for  an  explanation 
of  some  peculiar  markings  that  covered  about  half  the  plate. 
The  photographs  had  been  taken  in  a hall  at  night,  and  one  of 
them  showed  a row  of  gas  jets.  It  was  noticed  that  the  mark- 
ings were  parallel,  and  proceeded  from  the  direction  in  which 
the  gas  jets  appeared,  and  the  opinion  was  expressed  that  the 
marks  were  in  reality  photographs  of  the  gas  jets  spread  across 
the  plate  by  a movement  of  the  camera,  probably  caused  by 
opening  or  closing  the  dark  slide. 

Mr.  H.  Chapman  Jones  allowed  a lens  and  camera,  which  he 
called  the  memorandum  camera,  for  taking  photographic  notes  of 
any  subjects  of  which  it  might  be  required  to  obtain  a reproduc- 
tion. As  it  was  desired  that  it  should  lie  available  under  all 
practicable  conditions  of  light,  the  lens  was  of  the  rapidity  taken 
as  unity  in  the  Photographic  Society’s  standard,  //4.  It  was 
fitted  with  Swift’s  iris  diaphragm,  which  was  so  arranged  that 
there  was  literally  no  projection  from  the  tube.  The  size  of 
plate  used  was  half  of  the  quarter-plate,  or  3|  by  2j  inches. 
The  lens  for  the  purpose  was  of  about  34  in.  focus.  It  was 
graduated  so  as  to  be  fixed  for  objects  at  certain  distances  from 
two  feet  upwards.  At  the  two  feet  distance  it  was  practicable 
to  get  quite  a readable  negative  from  a page  of  a book,  which 
might  be  easily  done  by  setting  up  the  book  on  an  ordinary 
table  at  the  distance  mentioned,  and  adjusting  the  diaphragm 
to  the  smallest  opening.  The  shutter  was  of  the  roller 
kind,  and  had  a long  opening  in  proportion  to  the 
diameter  of  the  lens,  being  more  than  three  times 
as  long  as  the  diameter.  The  rollers  were  made  one  inch  thick, 
so  that  violent  speed  of  rotation  was  not  necessary  in  order 
to  obtain  a quick  exposure.  He  had  found  a difficulty  in  ob- 
taining a material  strong  enough  to  bear  the  strain  of  the 
strong  spring  necessary,  but  had  overcome  the  difficulty  by 
using  black  tape  at  the  ends  of  the  rollers,  and  attaching  the 
blind  itself  to  those  tapes.  The  blinds  and  tapes  passed  com- 
pletely round  the  rollers  at  both  ends,  so  as  to  distribute  the 
pull,  and  render  them  less  liable  to  be  torn  off.  Mr.  Samuels’s 
arrangement  of  plates  was  adopted,  although  of  course  a roller 
slide  could  be  used  if  desired.  The  camera,  with  twelve  plates 
complete,  weighed  thirty-five  ounces.  He  used  a view  meter 
and  finder,  which  was  furnished  with  a square  ground  glass,  on 
which  lines  were  ruled,  which  indicated  both  positions,  vertical 
and  horizontal,  in  which  the  plate  could  be  used,  so  that  a choice 
might  be  made  from  actual  ius[>ection  of  the  two  positions. 
With  the  shutter  working  with  its  full  opening,  it  was  fitted 
for  ordinary  instantaneous  work,  but  if  desired,  by  narrowing 
and  opening,  and  placing  it  next  to  the  plate,  a rapidity 
exceeding  that  mentioned  by  Anschutz  for  photographing 
such  objects  as  bullets  in  motion  could  be  obtained.  The 
camera  being  narrow,  could  be  employed  as  a secret  camera 
more  easily  than  most  others,  but  he  did  not  personally 
desire  to  use  it  as  a secret  camera.  In  order  to  show  that 


February  28,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


175 


one  need  scarcely  ever  fail  to  secure  a photographic  record, 
whatever  the  light  or  time  of  day.  He  had  taken  some  street 
scenes  on  the  21st  of  December,  at  various  hours  of  the  day. 
The  day  itself  was  a dull  one.  These  photographs  were 
exhibited,  as  well  as  one  of  a printed  page  which,  under  a 
Ramsden  eye  piece,  could  be  easily  read.  For  developing  he 
used  a dish  of  eikonogen,  and  had  another  dish  at  hand  con- 
taining a weak  solution  of  bromide,  into  which  any  plates 
were  removed  that  gave  signs  of  over-exposure.  After  a 
stay  in  this  solution  they  were,  if  necessary,  returned  to  the 
eikonogen  bath  to  gain  density. 

‘The  Chairman  noted  that  a lens  of  / /4  aperture  was  used, 
although,  doubtless,  it  would  generally  be  stopped  down  to//8 
or  less.  When  this  stopping  had  to  be  doue,  it  was,  according 
to  his  experience,  better  to  use  a lens  originally  not  of  so  rapid 
a character,  as  the  field  might  be,  and  was,  made  flatter  than 
was  practicable  with  the  more  rapid  lens.  Was  that  in  accord- 
ance with  Mr.  Chapman  Jones’s  experience  ? 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  replied  that  , in  so  far  as  flatness  of  field 
is  concerned,  that  was  so,  but  as  occasions  did  arise  for  using 
the  utmost  available  rapidity,  he  had  decided  to  have  a lens 
which  would  give  that  when  required.  The  curvature  of 
field  with  this  lens  was  equal  to  r'5th  of  an  inch  at  the 
margin  of  the  plate  of  the  size  indicated. 

Mr.  W.  Bedford  noted  particularly  the  smooth,  spiral 
movement  of  the  lens  tube  for  focussing. 

Mr.  W.  England  would  use  the  roller  shutter  next  to  the 
plate. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  said  that  that  was  the  worst  position 
for  the  shutter,  although,  for  specific  purjwses,  like  that  of 
photographing  a bullet,  it  might  be  necessary. 

Mr.  Cowan  exhibited  three  bromide  paper  photographs  of  cabi- 
net size  to  show  the  effect  of  a very  small  quantity  of  bromide 
in  an  eikonogen  developing  solution.  The  first  had  received  a 
certain  exposure,  and  been  placed  in  four  ounces  of  a fresh  solu- 
tion of  eikonogen  to  develop.  It  came  up  grey  and  flat,  and 
the  next  print  therefore  received  only  half  the  exposure.  This 
came  out  bright  and  powerful,  but  a third  print  that  hail  re- 
ceived the  same  exposure  as  the  first  one  came  out  best  of  all. 
The  only  difference  between  this  print  and  the  first  one  was  that 
it  was  the  third  to  be  developed,  and  the  eikonogen  had,  ‘there- 
fore, accumulated  a small  quantity  of  bromide  given  out  in  the 
development  of  the  first  two. 

Mr.  Atkinson  showed  a print  thirty-two  years  old,  printed 
upon  salted  paper,  and  not  mounted.  It  appeared  to  be 
quite  free  from  fading. 

The  Chairman  said  that  unmounted  prints  notoriously  had 
a longer  average  life  than  mounted  ones.  The  print  shown 
looked,  too,  as  if  it  had  been  toned  with  sel  d’or.  Was 
that  so  ? 

Mr.  Atkinson  replied  that  it  had  been  toned  in  that  way. 

The  Chairman  continued  that  that  process  conduced  very 
much  to  permanency.  It  was  to  be  regretted  that  it  had 
not  been  found  practicable  to  use  it  generally  for  albumen 
prints.  Many  unmounted,  and  some  mounted,  albumen  prints 
certainly  existed  which  had  been  printed  for  many  years 
without  showing  any  signs  of  fading,  but  the  sel  d’or  bath 
deposited  so  much  gold  on  the  print  that  there  was  considerably 
more  probability  of  permanency  in  prints  so  produced. 


Camera  Club. 

On  Thursday,  February  20th,  a paper  communicated  by  Mr.  W. 
K.  Burton,  on  “One  or  Two  of  the  Tenets  of  the  Xaturalistics,” 
was  read  by  Mr.  A.  Pringle  ; Mr.  W.  A.  Greene  occupied  the 
chair. 

Mr.  Burton,  in  his  paper,  took  the  view  that  any  want  of 
sharpness  in  the  principal  objects  or  planes,  and  any  falling  off 
away  from  the  centre  of  interest  in  the  different  planes,  could 
not  be  defended  upon  optical  principles,  but  that,  on  the  other 
hand,  these  principles  would  appear  to  demand  that  planes  other 
than  the  plane  of  chief  interest  should  be  less  perfectly  defined. 
He  further  dealt  with  the  subject  of  imagination  in  the  pictorial 
arts,  and  the  possibility  of  introducing  it  in  photographic  work. 
The  discussion  was  opened  by  Mr.  Davison,  who  observed 


that  the  variation  in  focus  of  different  planes  admitted  and 
argued  by  Mr.  Burton  was  one  of  the  chief  contentions  of 
those  called  “ Xaturalistics.”  He  thought  it  was  more  a matter 
of  the  mental  attitude  whether  representations  should  be 
sharp  or  not.  A definite  detailed  examination  of  nature  was 
the  scientific,  not  the  artistic  attitude.  He  thought  imagina- 
tion could  not  be  expected  to  supply  the  truth  of  representa- 
tion, in  which  lay  the  thrilling  charm  experienced  by  an  artistic 
perception  of  a beautiful  scene  in  nature. 

On  Thursday,  March  6th,  Mr.  A.  Pringle  will  treat  of  the 
subject  “ The  Optical  Lantern.”  Meeting  at  8 p.m. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 


At  the  meeting  on  the  20th  Mr.  A.  Haddon  occupied  the 
chair. 

Mr.  J.  B.  B.  Wellington  showed  two  bottles  of  eikonogen 
recently  received  from  the  manufacturers.  In  one  of  the  1 Kittles 
the  crystals  had  become  quite  dark  ; there  was  no  trace  of  any 
discolouration  of  the  crystals  in  the  other  bottle.  Both  bottles 
had  been  received  at  the  same  time. 

The  Chairman  had  exposed  a mixture  of  powdered  eikonogen 
and  sulphite  to  the  air,  and  had  also  enclosed  some  of  the  powder 
in  a sealed  tube,  raising  the  temperature  to  boiling  heat  for  half 
an  hour  ; but  little  change  of  colour  was  noticeable  in  the  samples 
passed  round.  He  had  also  taken — 

Eikonogen  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  1 part 

Carb.  soda  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  2 parts 

Sulphite  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  4 ,, 

A portion  of  this  was  kept  in  paper,  and  the  remainder  placed 
in  a sealed  tube.  In  both  cases  considerable  discolouration  had 
taken  place.  The  Chairman  said,  from  his  experiments,  he  was 
of  opinion  that  the  sample  of  sulphite  used  by  Mr.  Cowan, 
when  he  succeeded  in  developing  plates  with  pyro  and  sulphite, 
and  also  eikonogen  and  sulphite  alone,  contained  a large  excess 
of  carbonate. 

A question  was  asked  whether  any  member  had  used  anglol. 

Mr.  J.  B.  B.  Wellington  said  he  had  found  it  a rather  slow 
developer.  The  results  were  very  similar  to  those  by  eikonogen 
development. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  exhibited  a series  of  bromide  prints  developed 
with  various  developers— ferrous  oxalate,  eikonogen  and  car- 
bonate of  lithium,  with  and  without  bromide,  pyro  and  car- 
bonate of  lithium,  pyro  and  eikonogen  mixed,  eikonogen,  both 
with  weak  and  strong  alkalies,  hydrokinone  of  different 
strengths,  and  eikonogen  with  caustic  alkali.  Two  of  the 
prints  were  selected,  which  were  generally  acknowledged  by  the 
members  present  to  be  excellent  both  in  detail  and  quality  of 
image.  The  prints  had  been  developed  by  use  of  the  following 
formula)  respectively : — 

Eikonogen...  ...  ...  ...  ...  4 grains 

Sulphite  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  32  ,, 

Carbonate  of  lithium  ...  ...  ...  2 „ 


Hydrokinone  ...  ...  ...  ...  2 grains 

Sulphite  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  8 ,, 

Carbonate  of  potassium  ...  ...  ...  10  ,, 

Mr.  Cowan  said  his  chief  object  was  to  find  a good  developer 
that  did  not  require  to  be  followed  by  the  acid  bath.  Hydro- 
kinone gave  extreme  density,  consequently  it  would  be  found  a 
good  developer  for  prints  from  thin  negatives. 

Mr.  P.  P.  Drage  showed  a negative  with  some  peculiar 
transparent  markings  on  it.  The  negative  had  been  developed 
with  washing  soda  and  dry  pyro  ; it  took  a long  time  to 
come  out. 

Several  members  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  the  markings 
were  due  to  air-bubbles. 


Photographic  Society  of  Japan. 

A meeting  was  held  at  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  Rooms, 
Tokyo,  on  December  12th,  when  the  following  were  elected 
members  of  the  Society  : — Mr.  Tamamura,  Dr.  G.  Wagener, 
and  Messrs.  Katzuzo  Takenouchi,  E,  H,  R.  Manley,  and  J.  B, 
Coulson, 


176 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[February  28,  1890. 


Objection  had  been  taken  to  a certain  proposed  member  on 
account  of  his  having  copied  without  permission,  and  sold,  the 
pictures  of  a member  of  the  Society.  An  explanation  which 
was  satisfactory  both  to  the  objecting  member  and  to  the 
Society  was  given,  but  the  following  resolution,  proposed  by 
Mr.  E.  R.  Holmes,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Pallister,  was  unani- 
mously passed  : — “ That  this  Society  discountenances,  by  all 
means  in  its  power,  the  practice  of  copying  the  photographs 
of  other  artists  for  sale,  and  that,  if  the  practice  be  continued, 
the  Society  will  take  into  consideration  the  desirability  of  making 
a bye-law  whereby  such  practice  shall  ipso  facto  exclude  from 
membership  of  the  Society.” 

Mr.  K.  Ogawa  exhibited  the  colossal  camera  with  which  he 
had  made  photographs  direct,  measuring  38  by  30  inches,  for 
the  forthcoming  exhibition,  and  an  enormous  tripod  intended 
to  be  used  with  it  in  photographing  interiors.  The  top  of  the 
tripod  reached  the  roof  of  the  hall.  A monster  printing 
frame  for  making  the  pictures  on  paper  measuring  4ft.  6in.  by 
3ft.  6in.  was  also  shown. 

Mr.  Konishi  showed  the  “ Kodak,”  the  smallest  of  the 
numerous  hand  cameras  now  so  popular,  and  Mr.  Kajima  some 
very  beautiful  opalotypes  done  on  opal  glass  that  had  been 
coated  with  emulsion  in  Japan. 

Mr.  W.  K.  Burton  read  a paper  on  “ Eikonogen,”  the  new 
developer.  The  results  of  his  experiments  had  certainly  been 
to  make  him  conclude  that  the  developer  had  good  qualities, 
but  he  considered  the  claims  made  by  the  makers  to  be  quite 
extravagant.  On  the  whole,  Mr.  Burton  doubted  if  it  would 
oust  our  old  friend  pyrogallic  acid. 

After  the  ordinary  meeting  was  concluded  a special  meeting 
was  held,  and  Messrs.  J Johnston  and  F.  Walkinshaw  were 
elected  members  of  Committee.  Mr.  A.  J.  Hare  was  elected 
Foreign  Treasurer. 


Abney  Camera  Club. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  21st  inst,  Mr.  A.  J.  Adkins  gave  a 
demonstration  on  “ Carbon  Printing,”  showing  the  processes 
of  single  and  double  transfer. 

A series  of  club  competitions  was  arranged  for  ; the  first 
was  for  gelatine  lantern  plates,  to  be  held  on  March  28th. 

On  March  7th  there  will  be  an  exhibition  and  discussion  on 
“ Detective  Cameras.” 


Genre  Pictures. — Mr.  J.  Hubert,  of  Hackney,  who  has 
been  studying  art  principles  for  some  time  past,  has  shown  us 
a series  of  three  photographs  illustrating  incidents  described 
in  Longfellow’s  poem  “The  Happiest  Land,”  in  which  four 
“hale  and  hearty  fellows  ” by  “an  alehouse  on  the  Rhine,"  argue 
as  to  the  locality  of  the  happy  country  : — 

And  then  the  landlord's  daughter 
Up  to  heaven  raised  her  hand, 

And  said,  “Ye  may  no  more  contend— 

There  lies  the  happiest  land.” 

At  the  Royton  exhibition  these  three  pictures  formed  the  only 
entry  in  the  special  genre  class,  but  the  judges,  after  due  con- 
sideration, decided  that  the  pictures  were  so  good  that  they 
awarded  Mr.  Hubert  the  silver  medal,  despite  the  absence  of 
competition. 


Received. — Pallowfield’ s Photographic  Remembrancer  for 
quarter  ending  March.  It  contains  four  illustrations  of  snap 
shots  with  the  “l"acile  ” hand  camera,  for  the  use  of  which  very 
explicit  directions  are  given.  It  contains  also  useful  and  in- 
teresting photographic  tit-bits,  interspersed  among  the  adver- 
tisements of  which  the  paper  mainly  consists. The  Art 

Weekly,  “an  independent  art  newspaper,”  which,  we  learn,  was 
to  have  been  called  “ The  Art  World,”  but  that  the  latter  title 
belonged  to  others.  Its  object  is  claimed  to  be  sufficiently  set 

forth  upon  its  title-page. From  The  Photographic  Times,  of 

New  \ork,  per  the  Eastman  Dry  Plate  and  Film  Company,  a 
calendar  for  the  year  1890,  neatly  framed,  and  containing 
moveable  parts. 


^Ingfoerg  to  ©orrespontrentg. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 

Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.8.,  2,  8t.  Mary’s  Roai,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

All  Advertisements  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 

to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 

Photoorapbic  Nkws,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London. 
All  Communications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication! 

should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Puotografhic  News,  6,  Furnival 

Street,  London,  E.C. 

Artist  (Bangor.) — Obscuring  top  lights  without  blinds.  Papier 
mineral  might  do,  or  tissue  paper  pasted  on  ; but  if  you 
want  a paint  for  this  purpose  we  should  advise  you  to  try 
the  whitest  quality  of  Aspinall’s  enamel,  which  dries 
quickly,  and  is  not  affected  by  light.  White  lead  is  not 
permanent,  and  zinc  white  is  so  slow  in  drying.  Or,  try  a 
warm,  thin  gelatine  mixed  with  zinc  white  brushed  on  the 
glass. 

J.  C.  (Edinburgh.) — Definition  of  an  “ AnuUeur  Photographer.'* 
See  reply  to  P.  B.  A.,  last  week.  A dealer  in  photo* 
graphic  chemicals  and  apparatus,  who  uses  his  camera 
habitually  for  his  own  pleasure,  and  makes  no  profit  by  the 
sale  of  his  photographs,  is,  we  think,  a bond  fide  amateur. 

T.  S. — Wishes  to  communicate  with  Ignoramus  (post  mark 
Dublin),  who  sent  us  an  enquiry  about  collodio-cliloride  a 
fortnight  ago.  By  forwarding  his  name  and  address  to  our 
office,  or  to  Canonbury,  he  will  oblige  our  Carlisle  correspon- 
dent. 

Photargus. — Stained  collodion  for  orthochromatic  screens. 
Our  correspondent  finds  it  difficult  to  strip  tinted  collodion 
films  successfully.  We  would  suggest  the  use  of  East- 
man’s reliable  celluloid  as  a foundation,  or  a plate  of  mica, 
if  he  is  not  prepared  to  adopt  Captain  Abney’s  plan  of 
applying  the  stained  collodion  direct  to  the  back  lens. 
Gelatine  skins  are  not  sufficiently  tranparent.  Or,  would  a 
coating  of  india-rubber  in  benzol  stiffen  the  collodion  up  to 
the  point  of  stripping  ? 

Samson. — Blue  tones  in  silver  prints.  Your  complaint  that  the 
acetate  toning  bath  works  so  slowly  in  giving  you  the 
required  result  may  be  answered  by  advising  you  to  use  a 
stronger  and  freshly  mixed  carbonate  or  acetate  bath  ; but 
you  must  bear  in  mind  that  speed  is  not  always  desirable 
when  you  look  for  uniformity  of  action,  and  push  the  toning 
process  to  extremities.  Prints  of  this  kind  will,  of  course, 
require  more  gold  than  the  chocolate  shades. 

W.  Morgan. — 1.  Removal  of  varnish  from  old  negatives. 

There  is  nothing  better  than  prolonged  immersion  in  two  or 
three  changes  of  methylated  spirit,  which,  in  cold  weather, 
may  be  slightly  warmed.  Mr.  W.  T.  Wilkinson's  manual  of 
photo-lithograpliy  and  half-tone  processes  is  just  now  being 
reprinted.  Apply  to  Messrs.  England  Bros.,  25,  Charles 
Street,  Notting  Hill,  W. 

W.  W.  J.  N. — Robert  Hunt's  early  photographs.  These  were 
shown  at  the  Photographic  Exhibition  of  1888,  and  again 
fully  described  at  page  193  of  the  Year-Book.  The  ferric 
salt  used  was  ammonio- tartrate  (or  citrate)  of  iron,  applied 
as  a single  wash  ; this  becomes  partially  reduced  to  ferrous 
salt  by  exposure  to  light  in  the  printing  frame,  and  the  pic- 
ture is  developed  by  subsequent  treatment  with  a gold  or 
silver  salt,  and  fixed  with  hypo.  The  image  being  unques- 
tionably composed  of  reduced  silver  (or  gold)  should,  if  pro- 
perly washed,  lie  permanent,  as  our  specimens  appear  to  be, 
and  they  bear  the  date  of  1852. 

Artistic. — It  is  not  clear  from  your  note  whether  or  not  you 
have  read  Mr.  H.  P.  Robinson’s  article  on  “ Winter  Photo- 
graphy for  the  Artist.”  You  will  find  that  he  recommends 
the  use  of  isochromatie  plates  for  general  purposes,  and  these 
to  be  of  fairly  large  size,  so  as  to  get  foreground  details 
without  the  necessity  of  subsequent  enlarging.  We  agree  in 
your  estimate  of  the  reproduction  of  Mr.  J.  Gale’s  “ Home- 
wards,” which  is  simply  superb.  For  snow  pictures,  “as  a 
rule  choose  sunlight,”  says  the  author. 

E.  O.  C.  (Boston,  U.S.A.) — We  thank  you  for  the  formula  of 
collodion  suitable  for  black-and-white  reproductions,  and  also 
for  your  generous  offer  in  the  matter  of  collotype. 


y£\ 




THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC 


J) 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1644. — March  7,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


F AO  K 

An  Unsolved  Problem  in  the  History  of  Photography  177 

Photography  in  Belgium 178 

The  Belgian  International  Photographic  Inhibition  178 

Some  Relations  between  Fine  Art  and  Photography.  By 

Philip  H.  Newman  179 

Vocation  of  an  Amateur  Photographer.  By  H.  Pocklington, 

F.R.M.S 181 

Photographing  the  Forth  Bridge 182 

Photography  in  an  Age  of  Movement.  By  Friese  Greene 183 

Reactions  of  Various  Developers.  By  L.  Van  Neck  184 

Toning  with  Metals  of  the  Platinum  Group 185 

A New  Photo-Lithographic  Transfer  Paper 186 


FAO  K 

Notes  186 

Photography  in  Germany.  By  Dr.  H.  W.  Vogel 187 

Professor  Piazzi  Smyth  on  Fignres  in  Photographs 188 

More  Experiments  with  Eikonogen.  By  P.  C.  Duchochois...  189 

Mr.  Ruskin  on  “ Beauty  ” 190 

Flash  Powder  Explosions.  By  Charles  L.  Mitchell,  M.D., 

Philadelphia,  Pa 191 

Notices  of  Books  192 

The  Camera  Club  Conference  193 

Patent  Intelligence  193 

Proceedings  of  Societies  194 

Answers  to  Correspondents  196 


AX  UNSOLVED  PROBLEM  IN  THE  HISTORY 
OF  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

In  historical  matter  which  has  been  published  in 
these  pages  during  the  last  four  months,  it  has  been 
made  clear  that  the  first  publication  of  Wedgwood’s 
discoveries  in  photography  was  made  at  the  Royal 
Institution  in  1802,  but  the  question  remains  how 
long  before  that  time  Thomas  Wedgwood  had  found 
out  his  process.  The  claim  has  been  advanced  that 
his  discoveries  were  made  at  least  as  early  as  1799, 
because  a sentence  in  a letter  from  James  Watt, 
written  in  that  year,  seems  possibly  to  bear  reference 
thereto.  In  this  relation  the  following  paragraph 
appears  in  Miss  Meteyard’s  Group  of  Englishmen, 
London,  1871,  page  150  : — 

“ When  James  Watt  visited  Etruria  in  1799,  on 
business  relative  to  a hand-mill  he  and  Boulton  were 
supplying  to  the  firm,  the  subject  of  Thomas  Wedg- 
wood’s extraordinary  discovery  seems  to  have  been 
discussed;  and  a few  days  later  Watt  received  a 
letter  (probably  a promised  one)  from  Josiah  Wedg- 
wood, in  which  were  given  the  details  necessary  to 
experiment.  To  this  Watt  replied : ‘ Dear  Sir,  I 
thank  you  for  your  directions  for  the  silver  pictures, 
on  which,  when  at  home,  I shall  try  some  experi- 
ments. I was  thinking  of  your  mill  after  I left  you, 
and  fear  the  motion  of  the  spindle  is  too  slow,  &c.’ 
James  Watt  to  Josiah  Wedgwood , docketed  Hand  Mill, 
1799.  Wedgwood  MS.  S.’” 

Additional  examination,  however,  shows  that  before 
that  time  Thomas  Wedgwood  was  using  nitrate  of  silver 
at  Etruria ; at  least,  such  was  the  case  if  we  assume 
the  accuracy  of  Miss  Meteyard’s  statements  and  dates. 
The  silver  salt  is  said  by  her  to  have  been  used  in 
relation  to  the  ornamentation  of  pottery,  and  if  some- 
times applied  as  sketches  for  burning-in,  Watt  might 
possibly  apply  to  them  the  term  “pictures.”  Miss 
Meteyard’s  statement,  given  in  her  Life  of  Josiah 
Wedgwood,  vol.  2,  London,  1866,  page  685,  is: — “To 
solve  some  problems  connected  with  light  he  used  silver 
differently  prepared,  and  his  observations  thereon  led 


to  the  invention  of  what  was  termed  * silvered  ware,’ 
namely,  a pattern  of  dead  and  burnished  silver  upon  a 
black  earthenware  body.  We  first  hear  of  this  ware 
in  February,  1791.  Thomas  Wedgwood  to  Byerley, 
February,  1791,  Mayer  MS.S .” 

The  question  therefore  is — Did  Watt’s  remark  refer  to 
designs  for  pottery,  or  to  the  earliest  English  photo- 
graphs ? 

A few  days  ago  we  received  a private  letter  from 
Mr.  Hensleigh  Wedgwood  on  this  and  other  subjects, 
and,  with  his  permission,  now  give  its  contents,  a3 
follows  : — 

“ Many  thanks  for  the  last  News,  which  completely 
settles  the  question.  It  is  clear  that  Thomas  Wedg- 
wood never  got  beyond  the  unfixed  figure  on  silver 
salts  in  a camera.  After  1802  he  was  in  such  a 
wretched  state  of  health  as  to  be  quite  incapable  of 
research  of  any  kind.  If  in  the  nineties  he  had  been 
capable  of  producing  a true  Daguerreotype,  it  is  certain 
that  he  would  have  brought  forward  that  process  before 
the  Royal  Society,  and  not  the  fugitive  photographs  of 
1802.  I have  no  doubt  that  the  silver  pictures  men- 
tioned by  Watt  in  his  letter  to  my  father  were  the 
photographs  in  question.  Miss  Meteyard’s  assertions 
are  worth  nothing.  She  could  give  me  no  authority 
for  attributing  the  photographs  in  her  book  to  Thomas 
Wedgwood.  As  a proof  of  her  carelessness  and  in- 
accuracy, I may  cite  her  assertion  that  Thomas  Wedg- 
wood bought  an  estate  at  Castle  Flory  and  lived  there 
for  a year.  The  truth  was  that  the  brothers  had  it  in 
contemplation  to  purchase  an  estate  at  Combe  Flory, 
but  the  plan  was  never  carried  into  execution,  nor  did 
they  ever  live  there  at  all.  No  silver  pictures  were 
ever  made  upon  earthenware  at  all.” 

Possibly  some  light  may  be  thrown  upon  the  main 
point  at  issue  by  an  examination  of  the  documents  on 
which  Miss  Meteyard  founded  her  statements,  to  see 
that  she  has  made  no  mistakes  in  dates  or  facts.  Was 
James  AVatt  engaged  in  any  experiments  relating  to 
ceramic  art  about  1799? 

A well-known  and  popular  writer  has  an  article  in 


178 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Marcii  7,  1890. 


tlie  last  Photographic  Quarterly,  the  title  of  which 
pushes  Wedgwood’s  discoveries  in  photography  back  to 
the  year  1790,  but  no  evidence  is  given  in  support 
thereof  ; indeed,  the  author  says  in  the  article,  “ photo- 
graphy was  not  discovered  during  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.” The  title  of  his  memoir  is,  “ Wedgwood  and 
Davy  : What  they  did  for  Photography  a Hundred 
Years  Ago.” 

They  did  nothing  for  photography  a hundred  years 
ago,  and  Dr.  Eder  has  unearthed  evidence  that  photo- 
graphy was  discovered  during  the  eighteenth  century, 
as  published  recently  in  these  pages. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  BELGIUM. 

The  Bulletin  of  the  Association  Beige  de  Photographic, 
just  received,  is  full  of  interesting  matter,  and  has  for 
its  frontispiece  an  exquisite  specimen  of  heliogravure 
by  J.  Lowy,  of  Vienna,  and  some  good  photo-mechani- 
cal prints  by  M.  J.  Maes. 

At  a meeting  of  the  Brussels  Section  of  the  Belgium 
Association,  at  which  Mr.  0.  Campo  occupied  the  chair, 
Mr.  Van  Eechout  suggested  that  the  Section  should 
fit  up  a laboratory  for  the  use  of  members,  and  should 
apply  to  the  city  authorities  for  permission  to  hold  its 
meetings  in  the  Industrial  School,  and  Mr.  W.  Janssens 
undertook  to  take  preliminary  steps  for  the  attainment 
of  the  object.  M.  Geruzet  brought  under  the  notice  of 
the  meeting  his  method  of  taking  photographs  by  means 
of  an  explosive  magnesium  compound  consisting  of : — 
Magnesium  powder...  ...  ...  ...  4 parts 

Chlorate  of  potash  .. . ...  ...  ...  6 ,, 

Sulphide  of  antimony  ...  ...  ...  1 part 

To  obtain  diffusion  of  the  light,  he,  by  pneumatic 
means  and  the  use  of  spirit  flames,  fired  two  small 
charges  of  this  powder  for  each  exposure,  and  it  was 
found  that  there  was  an  appreciable  interval  between 
the  ignition  of  the  two  mixtures ; nevertheless,  he 
obtained  a good  group  photograph  of  the  membeis  pre- 
sent. M.  Geruzet  would  probably  find  it  better  to  fire 
the  charges  by  electricity.  A dangerous  compound,  ! 
such  as  that  described,  should  not  be  kept  ready  mixed. 
A few  grains  only  of  the  powders  should  be  mixed  just 
before  use,  otherwise  a deadly  accident  may  take  place 
at  some  unexpected  moment. 

At  a meeting  of  the  Ghent  Section  of  the  Belgian 
Association,  M.  Coupe  recommended  for  the  develop- 
ment of  lantern  slides  that  the  plate  should  be  im- 
mersed in  a mixture  of  three  parts  of  a 10  per  cent, 
solution  of  oxalate  of  potash  with  one  part  of  a 10  per 
cent,  solution  of  bromide  of  potassium,  before  the 
application  of  the  usual  iron  developer ; he  said  that 
by  this  method  the  high-lights  of  the  image  come  out 
absolutely  transparent.  At  this  meeting  Mr.  De 
Keyzer  distributed  some  platinum  prints  of  a picture 
which  had  been  much  admired  at  the  Exhibition  of  the 
Section  ; it  was  a view  of  the  banks  of  the  Zwralm,  in 
Flanders. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Antwerp  Section,  M.  Maes, 
President  of  the  Belgian  Photographic  Association, 
occupied  the  chair,  and  he  read  a report  about  the  work 


done  by  this  comparatively  new  Section  since  its 
foundation.  Three  years  ago  it  began  with  thirteen 
members ; their  number  has  since  increased  to  seventy- 
two.  M.  Raymond  Storms  remarked  truly,  that  much 
of  the  prosperity  of  the  Section  was  due  to  the 
devotedness  of  M.  Maes.  The  President  then 
proposed  that  the  Section  should  occasionally  have 
demonstrations  of  ancient  photographic  processes, 
practically  unknown  to  most  workers  who  first 
took  up  photography  in  the  dry  plate  era.  M.  Lunden 
said  that  a good  way  to  obtain  a matt  surface  with 
aristotype  paper  is  to  rub  a sheet  of  glass  with  a solu- 
tion of  green  soap  ( savon  vert),  then  gently  wash  it 
under  a rose  tap  to  get  rid  of  the  excess  of  soap,  then 
apply  the  print  to  the  glass  by  means  of  an  india-rubber 
roller.  'When  dry  the  print  will  have  a fine  matt  surface. 
Mr.  Hansen  drew  attention  to  a letter  from  the 
Minister  of  Finance,  dated  November  9th  last,  saying 
that  positives  on  glass  can  enter  Belgium  duty  free, 
when  they  are  declared  as  objects  of  art  and  collection. 

The  Ghent  Photographic  Exhibition,  to  which  allusion 
has  previously  been  made,  was  held  in  the  grand 
salon  of  the  Cercle  Artistique.  The  salon  itself, 
says  the  Bulletin,  was  coquettishly  decorated  with 
dried  flowers  prepared  by  M.  Schmitz.  Mr. 

Edgar  de  Keyser  was  among  the  exhibitors.  M. 
D’Hoy,  a veteran  Belgian  photographer,  exhibited 
specimens  of  photo-mechanical  printing  processes, 
dating  from  the  time  of  Fox  Talbot  down  to  the  present 
day.  Mr.  A.  Sacre-Smits  exhibited  large  carbon  prints 
of  flowers,  reminding  the  Bulletin  reviewer,  Mr.  0. 
Campo,  of  a similar  type  of  photographs  on  view  at  the 
Brussels  Exhibition  in  1883,  and  exhibited  there  by 
an  English  amateur,  “Mr.  Stevens,  of  Loudon.” 


THE  BELGLVN  INTERNATIONAL  PHOTOGRAPHIC 
EXHIBITION. 

“ Because  of  circumstances  beyond  its  control,”  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Belgian  Photographic  Association  has  decided 
to  postpone  until  1891  the  International  Exhibition  which 
it  intended  to  hold  in  Brussels  in  August,  1890.  The 
cause  of  the  postponement  is  said  to  be  the  tardiness  of 
the  replies  of  the  Belgian  Government  officials  to  letters 
about  suitable  buildings  for  the  proposed  Exhibition. 


Mexican  Fireflies.  — A gentleman  travelling  from  Cali- 
fornia to  Vera  Cruz  came  across  millions  of  fireflies  near 
Jalapa,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  in  Mexico.  He  says 
that  the  road  from  this  point  was  lined  with  a dense  chaparral, 
which  was  brilliantly  illuminated  with  myriads  of  fireflies. 
These  are  a bug  about  the  size  of  an  ordinary  roach,  and  emit 
a light  almost  equal  to  that  of  a small  wax  taper.  It  is  not 
the  occasional  sparkle  of  the  little  firefly  of  our  country,  but 
a continual  blaze,  proceeding  from  the  eyes,  as  well  as  from 
two  points  beneath  the  wings.  Several  of  these  insects, 
placed  in  a glass  jar,  will  give  sufficient  light  by  which  to  read 
the  smallest  print,  and  when  one  rises  in  the  air  to  any  con- 
siderable height,  it  resembles  a beautiful  meteor  slowly  cross- 
ing the  heavens.  Numbers  of  them  flying  through  the  air  in 
different  directions  on  a dark  night  present  a very  pretty 
appearance,  well  calculated  to  excite  the  wonder,  if  not  the 
superstitious  fears,  of  a person  unacquainted  with  the  cause  of 
so  strange  a phenomenon. — American  Druggist, 


March  7,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


179 


SOME  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  FINE  ART  ANI) 
PHOTOGRAPHY.* 

BY  PIIILir  H.  NEWMAN. 

I say  “ some  ” advisedly,  because  I could  not,  in  anything 
like  the  time  at  our  disposal,  make  even  a catalogue  satis- 
factorily of  all  the  relations  these  two  subjects  bear  to 
one  another ; so  rapid  of  late  years  has  been  the  growth 
and  progress  of  the  science  which,  for  good  or  ill,  must 
affect  in  some  degree  every  branch  of  the  fine  arts  in  the 
future.  There  are  doubtless  those  here  who  would  like, 
and  possibly  expect,  me  to  describe  and  enlarge  upon  the 
multiform  processes  of  photogravure,  whereby  elaborate 
reproductions  of  works  of  fine  art  have  been  made  in  such 
quantities,  and  of  such  quality,  as  to  rival,  if  not  to  quite 
revolutionise,  most  of  the  engraving  processes.  Drawing 
on  wood,  for  example,  seems  going  the  road  of  lost  arts, 
while  chromo-lithography  trembles  at  the  advance  science 
is  making  in  the  direction  of  chromo-photography.  But 
however  much  I may  regret  I may  be  disappointing 
some  of  my  audience  in  barely  noting  these  important 
changes,  I conceive  that  my  business  this  evening  is  with 
something  of  greater  importance  still,  namely,  with  the 
bearing  photography  has  had,  and  may  be  expected  to 
have,  not  only  on  the  fine  art  of  to-day  itself,  but  upon 
public  taste  and  criticism,  and  how  that  sense  of  appre- 
ciation has  been  and  will  be  affected  in  us,  without  which 
fine  art  can  have  no  existence  at  all,  and  by  which  appre- 
ciation it  has  lived  and  had  its  being  in  every  period,  and 
thriven  under  conditions  of  such  exact  ratio  that  its  re- 
mains constitute  for  ”s  an  intellectual  reflex  of  the  ages. 

Making  due  allowance  for  much  exaggeration  and  the 
enthusiasm  natural  to  new-born  hopes  but  only  partially 
realised,  no  one,  I suppose,  more  than  myself  will  acknow- 
ledge the  many  benefits  and  advantages  photography  has 
conferred  on  the  artist,  in  permanently  registering  with 
the  rapidity  of  a flash  those  effects  in  nature  that  are  as 
evanescent  in  mountain,  sea,  ®r  cloud;  the  crisp-cast  sha- 
dow of  the  sun-lit  snow,  the  thundering  breaker  on  the 
storm-lashed  beach,  or  wandering  wavelets  of  a silent 
strand  ; the  lightning-laden  cumulus,  the  tempest’s  rack, 
the  myriad-leaved  copse,  and  the  bewildering  detail  of 
hedgerow  and  flowering  dale  : all  are  brought  home  to  us 
in  light  and  line,  half-tone  and  shade,  in  an  exactitude  no 
pencil  could  imitate,  and  no  lifetime  be  long  enough  to 
master.  Yet,  in  acknowledging  all  this  and  much  more, 

I am  not  blinded  to  the  fact  that  photography  is  not  an 
unmixed  blessing,  and  that  it  has  exercised,  and  will  exer- 
cise, an  influence  not  altogether  for  good,  unless  our  eyes 
are  opened  in  time,  and  a great  effort  is  made  to  minimise 
the  evil.  Should  any  photographer  be  here  who  fears 
from  the  foregoing  that  I am  intending  to  follow  any  other 
artist’s  lead,  and  run  a tilt  against  the  camera,  let  him  be 
assured  I have  no  such  quixotic  intention,  as  I recognise 
both  its  stability  and  its  use  too  well. 

But  there  are  photographers  and  photographers ; photo- 
graphers that  are  artists,  and  photographers  who  never  will 
be  artists.  Now-a-days,  everybody  is  a photographer, 
from  duchesses  downwards,  and  this  increases  the 
danger,  because  it  is  in  the  nature  of  things  that,  though 
photographers  be  many,  artists  will  always  be  few.  I will 
go  further  than  this,  and  say  at  once  there  are  some  people 
no  more  to  be  trusted  with  a camera  than  they  are  to  be 
trusted  with  a six-shooter ; indeed,  far  less,  for  he  who 

Head  February  27th,  before  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of 
Fine  Art. 


misused  the  six-shooter  and  killed  someone,  would  probably 
be  sorry  for  it,  but  those  who  misuse  cameras,  and  blaze 
away,  pot-shotting — so  to  speak — anything  and  everything 
that  turns  up,  are  hardened  sinners,  and  usually  very 
boastful  of  their  enormities.  For  this  reason  I look — 
perhaps  with  suspicion — upon  some  recent  inventions  in 
photographic  apparatus,  as  offering,  by  their  extreme 
simplicity,  premiums  to  this  sort  of  people  to  commit 
something  worse  than  homicide,  for  they  kill  their  mother 
Nature,  and  glory  in  the  crime.  Then  there  is  another 
class — a class  that  ought  to  know,  and  perhaps  does  know, 
better  ; indeed,  its  members  can  often  appreciate  a work 
of  art  when  they  see  one  ; who,  while  they  are  quite  able 
to  take  a good  photograph,  will  not  use  their  brains  when 
finding  a subject,  will  not  bear  in  mind  that  detail  will 
never  compensate  for  faulty  composition.  These  people 
take  a view  when,  if  they  had  simply  moved  their  tripod- 
stand  twenty  yards  perhaps  to  right  or  to  left,  they  might 
have  taken  a picture.  Here,  then,  I think  is  one  of  the 
relations  of  fine  art  to  photography  that  we  may,  I hope, 
profitably  talk  about  to-night,  for  you  know  there  are 
those  in  these  highly  artistic  and  aesthetic  times  who  look 
upon  every  photograph  as  a picture.  One  hears  them  say  : 
“ It  must  be  a picture,  you  know  ; it  is  nature  itself,  and 
the  detail  comes  out  sharp  all  over.”  So  like  a picture  ! 
But  absurd  as  this  is,  the  feeling  that  prompts  this  kind  of 
criticism  is  far  wider  spread  amongst  us  than  we  are 
inclined  to  allow,  and  besides  affecting  photography,  from 
which  it  has  sprung,  it  has  affected  fine  art  in  a very 
marked  manner  ; for  while  a very  great  advance  must  be 
noted  in  our  drawing  and  painting,  and  in  the  public 
appreciation  of  drawing  and  painting  of  late  years,  yet  the 
exhibition  of  the  intellectual  qualities  of  composition  and 
breadth  is  rarer  among  us,  and  not  so  keenly  sought  for 
as  it  should  be  by  an  art  loving  people  ; and  I have  no 
hesitation  whatever  in  saying  that  the  insidious  influence 
of  bad  photography  has  much  to  answer  for  in  this  respect. 

There  is  good  cause,  then,  for  us  to  use  our  utmost 
endeavour  to  guard  against  the  growth  of  an  evil  that  i3 
likely  to  bear  so  seriously  upon  the  art  of  the  future  ; and 
where  there  are  so  many  photographers,  the  greater  reason 
for  the  multiplication  of  critics,  and  the  furtherance  of  the 
study  of  art  based  on  the  just  contemplation  of  that  of 
past  ages — a study  now  within  the  reach  of  everyone ; a 
study  that  everyone  with  any  pretension  to  culture  and 
refinement  ought  and  might  make  their  own.  Now  I 
know  perfectly  well  that  I shall  be  met  on  the  very 
threshold  of  this  argument  by  the  answer,  “ Oh,  don’t  you 
think  that  we  have  far  too  many  studies  already  ? ” Alas  ! 
every  schoolboy  knows  that ; but  with  the  view  of  each 
becoming  an  admirable  Crichton,  we  do,  as  a rule,  too 
much  of  everything,  and  too  little  of  any  one  thing  to 
succeed.  A bit  of  Latin,  a bit  of  Greek,  a bit  of  painting, 
a bit  of  fiddling,  a bit  of  banjoing,  a bit  of  photography — 
bits  of  everything  by  turns,  and  nothing  long.  This  is 
an  age  of  “bits,”  as  regards  culture — little  “ bits,”  Vage  tie 
morceaux.  One  of  our  most  prosperous  periodicals  is,  you 
know,  called  Tit-Bits.  I have  no  digression  to  apologise 
for,  as  the  curse  of  pretty  trifling  often  follows  the  photo- 
grapher into  the  field,  where  perforce  he  goes  in  for  bits 
— lovely  bits  forsooth  though  they  be,  and  full  of  detail, 
don’t-cher-know.  Let  me  warn  him,  however,  if  he  in- 
dulges much  in  this  sort  of  thing  artistically,  he  is  a lost 
creature,  for  he  will  neglect,  and  gradually  ignore,  the 
higher  claims  of  something  greater — the  subtle  charm  of 
distance  midst  the  rounded  hills,  the  solemn  stillness  of 


180 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  7,  1890. 


the  darkening  woods,  the  noble  sentiment  of  landscape, 
the  mystery  of  light  and  space.  In  his  hunger  for  detail 
his  camera  so  readily  gratifies,  he  is  in  danger,  I repeat, 
of  overlooking  the  main  elements  of  a grand  picture. 
Pity,  indeed,  if  in  this  search  after  ever  so  enchanting 
“ bits,-’  he  and  his  following  become  blinded  to  higher  in- 
tellectual claims.  Surely  it  were  idolatry  to  worship  a 
goddess  at  every  corner,  and  forget  a uniting  and  over- 
ruling divinity. 

From  this  it  will  be  gathered  that  I am  not  of  those  who 
think  it  is  in  “the  very  nature  of  photography  to  degrade 
natural  appearances  ” ; indeed,  it  should  be  known  to  the 
merest  tyro  in  the  art  that  where  this  is  the  case,  the 
photographer  has  but  himself  to  blame  for  having  taken 
his  picture  with  a wrong  lens,  altering  the  perspective  of 
the  scene,  widening  his  foreground  to  the  sacrifice  of  his 
distance.  Of  course  your  one-lens  man  is  constantly 
doing  this,  and  it  would  seem  as  though  he  were  often 
one-eyed,  as  he  does  not  himself  see  the  distortion.  It 
is,  however,  when  he  comes  to  photograph  animals,  or  the 
human  figure,  that  these  considerations  first  dawn  upon 
him  seriously,  especially  when  he  finds  a photograph  of  a 
horse,  for  instance,  with  a head  and  neck  of  monstrous 
dimensions,  but  with  the  legs  and  hind-quarters  of  a pony. 
Then,  of  course,  it  is  admitted  that  something  is  wrong 
somewhere.  Only  the  other  day  I saw  exhibited  in  the 
Strand  a photograph  of  this  description,  certainly  not 
quite  so  exaggerated,  but  still  defective  in  proportion, 
while  in  all  other  respects  it  was  really  a beautiful  work  ; 
but  it  is  precisely  this  beauty  that  misleads  our  taste,  for, 
as  Pope  says : — 

“ Vice  is  a monster  of  such  frightful  mien, 

That  to  be  hated  needs  but  to  be  seen  ; 

Yet  seen  too  oft,  familiar  with  her  face, 

We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace.” 

That  there  are  difficulties  to  overcome  to  obtain  a good 
photograph  goes  without  saying,  and  those  who  cannot,  or 
■will  not,  draw,  but  rely  on  the  camera  as  their  means  of 
expression  in  fine  art,  must  be  prepared  to  meet  with  some 
disappointment.  The  camera  is  a great  mannerist  in  art, 
and  it  needs  not  only  very  great  technical  skill,  but 
adaptive  artistic  capacity  of  no  mean  order,  to  become 
facile  princeps  with  it,  and  to  rise  above  mannerism  ; hence 
the  reason  why,  though  photographers  are  many,  really 
fine  photographic  pictures  are  so  few. 

It  has  been  said  that  “ photography  is  an  operation  of 
chemistry  more  or  less  directed  by  taste.”  Quite  so  ; this 
is  no  disparagement,  however,  for  art  of  all  kinds  is  brought 
about  by  operations,  either  chemical  or  mechanical,  more 
or  less  directed  by  taste,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that 
where  some  of  these  operations  are  more  difficult  of  control 
than  others,  it  simply  makes  them,  when  successful, 
redound  the  more  to  the  credit  of  the  operator.  But  we 
are  not  now  talking  so  much  about  the  operations  as  of 
the  taste  that  directs  them.  And  again,  we  are  face  to 
face  with  the  relation  between  fine  art  and  photography, 
for  if  you  set  out  to  take  a photograph,  unless  as 
a mere  topographical  memorandum,  it  is  presumably 
with  the  idea  of  obtaining  what,  for  want  of  a more 
accurate  definition,  we  term  a picture.  But  to  get  a 
picture  presupposes  a large  amount  of  the  artistic 
faculty,  either  inborn,  or  developed  by  wide  education 
and  knowledge  of  art.  The  mere  use  of  the  camera  will 
not  give  you  what  you  want,  any  more  than  the  use,  how- 
ever mechanically  excellent,  of  the  pencil.  Nature  is 
not  art ; it  must  be  seen  with  artistic  eyes,  or  presented 


by  artistic  means.  Children  and  naked  savages  have  an 
advantage  over  us  here : they  make  nature  artistic,  because 
they  invest  it  with  their  superabundant  imagination, 
untrammelled  by  the  conventions  of  the  artificial  and  the 
commonplace.  They  are  the  true  impressionists,  and 
make  a clean  sweep  of  all  that  detail  that  we  so  much 
require  to  help  our  halting  fancy.  Suppose,  for  a moment, 
it  were  possible  to  bring  back  a Viking  cruiser,  some  early 
hardy  Norseman,  and  give  him  half  an  hour’s  run  on  the 
underground  railway;  if  he  survived,  we  know  precisely 
what  he  would  do  when  he  got  back  to  his  crags  and 
peaks  or  native  swamp : he  would  take  a deep,  deep 
draught  of  something ; he  would  free  his  mind  from  all 
considerations  of  block  systems,  Westinghouse  brakes, 
and  times  of  trains ; he  would  string  his  harp  as  it  had 
ne'er  been  strung  before,  and  he  would  sing,  until  his  eyes 
were  bleared  and  his  beard  like  a waterfall,  a saga  that, 
both  in  artistic  truth  and  poetic  intensity,  would  ring 
the  world  through  till  the  crack  of  doom.  Now  I do  not 
believe  there  are  many  season-ticket  holders  who  could 
do  that.  No ; as  civilization  advances,  imagination  recedes, 
in  many  minds  “great  conjuration,”  and  very  “mighty 
magic  ” is  needed  to  call  up  in  them  the  ghost  of  an  idea 
outside  the  actual  facts  of  a scene,  commonplace  or  other- 
wise. This  conjuration  it  is  the  function  and  privilege 
of  the  artist  to  supply ; he  may  do  it  by  pen  or  pencil, 
chisel  or  graver,  or  with  the  camera  to  a certain  extent, 
if  he  choose,  but  he  never  can  do  it  at  all  unless  he 
possess  the  abracadabra  of  his  art,  call  it  genius,  divine 
afflatus,  what  you  will : merely  focussing  a view  and 
developing  a plate  will  never  succeed  in  charming  a be- 
holder with  the  result,  unless  something  of  this  sort  has 
guided  the  photographer,  and  been  present  with  him 
throughout  all  the  operations — that  something  that  you 
may  get  a smattering  of,  at  least,  in  the  National  Gallery, 
but  which  is  never  learnt  in  the  dark  room. 

Coleridge  has  called  painting  “something  between  a 
thought  and  a thing.”  I think  it  would  not  be  amiss  if 
photographers,  professional  or  amateur,  would  always 
remember  this  definition  when  they  focus  a view  or 
subject.  In  these  days  of  perfect  appliances,  dry  plates, 
and  ready-made  developers,  they  are,  as  a rule,  pretty 
well  sure  of  the  “thing”  they  focus;  but  how  about  the 
thought  ? 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  photographers  are  not  all 
to  blame,  be  they  amateurs  or  professionals.  We  members 
of  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  the  Fine  Arts — 
have  we  not  sinned  also  ? Have  we  not  looked  too  much 
for  the  thing,  and  gloated  over  it  in  our  picture  exhibitions? 
Of  course  we  have.  Our  art  training  throughout  the 
country  is  one  persistent  effort  to  get  the  thing,  at  any 
rate,  and  not  to  trouble  much  about  the  thought,  leaving 
it  very  much  to  chance,  and  to  come,  perhaps,  of  its  own 
accord.  But  it  does  not  come.  Year  after  year  goes  by ; 
the  thing  increases  and  multiplies,  but  the  thought,  even 
when  it  presents  itself  at  all,  is  snubbed  and  passed  over 
for  the  most  part  almost  as  an  impertinence. 

No,  this  is  not  an  imaginative,  but  a localizing  age.  A 
writer,  in  a recent  number  of  the  Athenxum,  instances  and 
comments  on  this  very  ably.  He  says  : “ Lord  Tennyson 
informed  a recent  visitor  to  Farringford  that  Locksley 
Hall  is  no  particular  hall,  and  the  Moated  Grange  is  no 
particular  grange.  But  the  localizing  craze  is  already 
busy  upon  them.  So  profoundly  undramatic  is  the  temper 
of  our  times,  that  a poet  is  not  considered  capable  of 
imagining  any  dramatic  action.”  Had  a “ Midsummer’s 


March-  7,  1890. ) 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


181 


Night’s  Dream  ” been  written  by  a contemporary  poet,  the 
public  would  have  demanded,  and  the  literary  and  artistic 
providers  would  have  provided,  a photograph  from  life  of 
Titania,  and  an  accurate  water-colour  drawing  ‘ of  the 
bank  whereon  the  wild  thyme  blows.”' 

Let  us,  then,  try  and  encourage  both  the  “ thought  and 
the  thing  ” — the  idea  and  its  realization — in  future,  and, 
above  all,  never  encourage  the  thing  without  an  adequate 
proportion  of  thought ; we  shall  then  do  a great  deal  to 
stop  reckless  pot-shotting  in  photography.  The  dry-plate 
makers  will  suffer  a little,  indeed,  as  they  will  sell  a few 
thousand  dozen  less  plates  each  year ; but  not  only  will 
there  be  a much  nearer  alliance  between  Fine  Art  and 
photography  than  there  has  ever  been,  but  Fine  Art  itself 
will  be  beuefitted  in  every  branch,  as  we  shall  have  the 
ineffable  satisfaction  of  seeing  all  picture  exhibitions 
reduced  to  reasonable  proportions,  and  even  sculpture  in 
England  may  reveal  another  Galatea.  The  thing  will  be 
inspired  with  a thought. 

In  saying  thus  much  on  the  intellectual  side  of  the 
question,  let  me  not  be  considered  to  ignore  what  has 
already  been  accomplished  by  photographers  and  amateurs 
who  have  really  been  artists.  An  exhibition  of  the  works 
of  the  late  Mi-.  O.  G.  Rejlander,  shown  in  the  rooms  of 
the  Camera  Club,  sufficiently  indicates,  among  many 
failures,  many  successes  in  an  earnest  endeavour  and  hope 
to  make  the  camera  subserve  a very  high  art  ideal  indeed ; 
and  when  we  consider  that  these  works  were  taken  under 
the  disadvantages  and  with  the  extra  Labour  of  the  wet  or 
collodion  process,  we  must  allow  them  the  greater  ac- 
knowledgment and  praise.  At  the  same  time,  we  cannot 
help  wondering  the  more,  that  this  higher  art  ideal  has 
been,  so  to  speak,  lost  sight  of  in  figure  composition, 
excepting  by  a few  well  known  names,  and  this,  too,  in 
an  age  of  manipulative  simplicity  that  Rejlander  could 
hardly  have  dreamt  of.  All  praise,  then,  to  them  and  he 
if,  ever  persevering,  they  seem  to  have  borne  in  mind,  with 
Browning,  “A  man’s  reach  should  exceed  his  grasp,  or 
what’s  a Heaven  for?” 

It  must  always  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  in  a material- 
istic age,  that  the  spread  of  artistic  capacity  can  never  be 
expected  to  keep  pace  with  scientific  progress,  and  this 
has,  doubtless,  been  an  obstacle  to  the  higher  successes  in 
photographic  art ; for  while  there  are  all  manner  of  aids 
to  scientific  research,  and  the  accumulation  of  scientific 
fact  has  contributed  to  the  continuous  and  progressive 
excellence  in  the  production  of  what  we  have  termed  the 
“thing,”  the  thoughtful  part  of  the  subject,  as  we  have 
seen,  is  a matter  of  individual  effort,  and  of  course  of  a 
much  slower  and  laborious  cultivation,  dependent  on  a 
multitude  of  contributive  and,  at  first  sight  perhaps, 
irrelevant  studies,  besides  the  divine  afflatus,  or  genius, 
as  it  rarely  occurs  ; and  where  it  does  not  occur,  the  per- 
sonal trouble  and  observation  necessary  arc  all  the  more 
laborious,  before  arriving  at  the  most  mediocre  capacity  for 
compiling  or  creating  the  elements  that  shall  stir  that 
something  in  a spectator  which  assures  him  he  is  in  the 
presence  of  a work  of  art. 

Now  let  us  see  where  we  are  arrived.  Firstly,  I have 
endeavoured  to  show  that  photography  has  exercised,  and 
is  exercising,  for  good  or  ill,  an  influence  on  fine  art,  and 
that  this  influence  has  not  been  altogether  for  good  in  the 
past,  more  especially  as  having  occasioned  an  attention  to 
detail  to  the  prejudice  of  unity  and  breadth.  Secondly,  1 
express  a confident  belief  that  an  increasing  love  of  frag- 
mentary studies  by  photography  and  painting  is  tending 


to  narrow  the  scope  of  art  generally.  Thirdly,  I insist  that, 
in  regard  to  Coleridge’s  definition  of  painting  as  being 
“ something  between  a thought  and  a thing,”  the  thought  in 
this  country  is  too  often  a minus  quantity.  Moreover, 
although  we  have  seen  that  very  earnest  endeavours  have 
been  made  from  time  to  time  to  achieve  a very  high  art 
ideal  indeed  with  the  camera,  yet  much  carelessness  and 
want  of  training,  external  to  technique,  have  brought  it  into 
artistic  disrepute,  and  made  it  very  productive,  in  an  artis- 
tic sense,  of  bad  work.  For  this  reason  it  behoves  us  to 
be  more  eclectic,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  the  future  of 
photography,  but  for  the  sake  of  art  itself,  and  it  would  be 
well  were  the  photographic  societies  to  offer  more  prizes 
for  really  artistic  work,  and  obtain,  where  necessary, 
acknowledged  artistic  assistance  in  making  the  awards. 

I have  admitted  already  that  the  camera  has  a place 
among  art  methods  as  a means  of  expression,  if  photo- 
graphers choose  to  make  it  so.  This  has  been  often  dis- 
puted, and  not  without  great  show  of  reason,  and  it  must 
be  allowed  that,  while  as  a means  of  illustration  it  is 
boundless  in  scope  and  detail,  as  a means  of  expression  it 
is  very  limited  indeed,  and  can  never,  in  that  sense,  hold 
an  equal  place  with  brush,  pencil,  chisel,  or  graver, 
implements  which,  in  the  nature  of  things,  mostly  being 
moved  directly  by  the  artist’s  hand,  in  nervous  continuity 
with  his  brain,  express  his  thoughts  more  directly.  Thus 
an  etching,  equal  in  breadth  and  light  and  shade  generally 
with  a photograph  of  the  same  subject,  though  the  photo- 
graph shows  an  unquestionably  greater  veracity  in  detail, 
the  etching  will  always  command  our  greater  interest  as 
being  far  and  away  the  greater  work  of  art.  Another 
important  disadvantage  in  photography  is  the  inalterability 
(in  general)  of  the  model,  susceptible  always  of  modifica- 
tion in  other  artistic  modes  of  expression. 

To  show  the  great  appreciation  I have  for  what  photo- 
graphy has  already  done  as  an  assistant  to  art,  I cannot  do 
better  now  than  afford  you  a few  more  glimpses  of  some 
of  my  own  studies,  and  those  of  gentlemen  who  have 
kindly  lent  me  some  of  theirs  for  the  same  purpose,  not, 
however,  pretending  for  a moment  that  they  (at  least  mine) 
at  all  adequately  illustrate  the  possibilities  the  camera  may 
have. 


VOCATION  OF  AN  AMATEUR  PHOTOGRAPHER. 

BY  H.  VOCKLINGTON,  F.R.M.S. 

The  paper  defined  an  amateur  photographer  as  one  who 
practised  photography  from  his  love  of  it.  A man  did 
not  cease  to  be  an  amateur  because  he  chanced  to  sell  a 
few  prints  now  and  then,  or  become  one  through  photo- 
graphing for  exhibition  purposes  with  the  single  hope  of 
coming  prizes. 

The  vocation  to  which  an  amateur  photographer  was 
called  consisted  : — 1st,  in  following  up  the  line  of  the 
history  of  the  relation  between  amateurs  and  photo- 
graphy by  doing  what  he  could  to  improve  our  knowledge 
of  the  principles  underlying  photographic  practice,  per- 
fecting the  technique,  and  devising  new  methods  ; and 
2nd,  in  doing  practical  work,  such  as  photographing  old 
buildings,  historic  remains,  incidents  of  daily  life,  which 
though  of  no  great  interest  now,  would  be  excessively 
valuable  to  posterity,  and  especially  in  photographing  care- 
fully year  by  year  those  phases  of  our  national  life,  such 
as  peasant  life,  which  were  slowly  passing  away.  In  brief, 
the  paper  said  that  the  true  vocation  of  an  amateur  pho- 
tographer lay  in  helpfulness. 

' Abstract  of  a paper  read  at  the  Yorkshire  College,  Leeds. 


182 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  7,  1890. 


PHOTOGRAPHING  THE  FORTH  BRIDGE. 
Last  Tuesday  the  Forth  Bridge  was  opened  by  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  and  just  at  the  time  that  this  great  struc- 
ture has  been  completed,  the  following  account  of  the 
photographing  thereof,  written  by  the  editor  of  The 
Journal  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  India , and  pub- 
lished in  the  Journal,  will  be  of  additional  interest : — 

When  at  home  the  other  day,  I remember  being  pro- 
foundly impressed  with  the  truth  of  this  moral  whilst 
attempting  to  take  within  the  limits  of  a 7 by  5 plate  some 
photographs  indicative  of  the  colossal  proportions  of  the 
Forth  Bridge. 

The  resident  engineer,  Mr.  Cooper,  had  kindly  allowed 
me  to  photograph  the  bridge  from  any  part  I chose  ; and 
no  sooner  had  I landed  on  one  of  its  enormous  piers  than 
my  difficulties  began.  There  was  no  getting  far  enough 
away  from  any  part  of  it.  Looking  up  through  the  thicket 
of  cross  bracings  and  girders  branching  out  from  the 
gigantic  booms,  I could  see  the  busy  workmen  far  above 
me  clinging  about  them  like  bees.  To  the  naked  eye  the 
immensity  and  grandeur  of  the  noble  structure  was  all 
present ; but  when  I attempted  to  focus  anything  which 
required  much  tilting  of  the  camera  upwards,  the  picture 
on  the  ground  glass  became  like  the  stereoscopic  puzzle  T 
have  been  describing,  exaggerated  and  unmeaning.  So, 
wisely  refraining  from  the  impossible,  I took  all  I could 
see  from  eye  level  which  afforded  the  chance  of  a view. 

A westerly  gale  was  sweeping  the  rain  clouds  down  the 
Firth  and  screaming  through  the  great  bridge  on  the 
morning  of  my  visit,  rendering  it  impossible  for  good 
photography.  But  it  was  my  only  chance  of  securing 
pictures,  so,  having  taken  some  from  the  pier  level,  I was 
spirited  aloft,  bag  and  baggage,  in  a cage  hung  from  a 
wire  rope,  and  swiftly  deposited  on  the  landing  stage  at 
rail  level  150  feet  high.  Here  I was  conducted  by  an 
obliging  official  to  the  extreme  bed  of  the  cantilever,  where 
the  workmen  were  engaged  in  adding  girder  to  beam  and 
beam  to  girder,  every  day  lessening  the  gulf  intervening 
between  the  cantilevers.  Amidst  the  hissing  of  steam 
cranes,  the  clanking  of  the  rivetters,  the  cries  of  the 
workmen,  and  the  roaring  of  the  wind,  I set  up  my  camera 
iu  a sheltered  nook  to  leeward  of  a huge  boom,  and, 
having  focussed  across  the  chasm,  waited  impatiently  for 
a lift  in  the  clouds. 

“ I low  would  it  be,’’  shouted  my  guide  through  the  tem- 
porary fog  horn  he  made  of  his  hands,  u were  one  of  the 
workmen  to  get  out  there  in  the  foreground?  ” pointing  to 
the  very  outermost  cross  girder,  under  which  150ft.  below 
could  be  seen  the  muddy  water  rushing  like  a mill  stream. 

A magnificent  idea,’  roared  I incredulously  in  return — 
“if  his  life  is  insured  ! Before  I could  expostulate,  he 
addressed  one  of  the  workmen  near— “ 1 say,  Wullie,  just 
slip  along  that  girder  a bit,  and  let  the  gentleman  take 
your  portrait.’  Wullie,  who  was  bolting  together  a piece 
of  the  ironwork,  laid  down  his  tools  with  an  “ Aye,  aye 
sir,  quietly  walked  out  on  one  of  the  overhanging  beams. 
Reaching  the  extreme  end,  this  amateur  Blondin  then 
deliberately  buttoned  up  his  pea-jacket,  and,  cramming 
his  peaked  cap  well  down  on  his  head,  got  astride  of  the 
gilder,  propelling  himself  with  hands  and  legs  right  out 
to  the  centre.  Wullie  was  now  exposed  to  the  full  force 
of  the  wind  and  rain  ; but  turning  his  bearded  face 
towards  us  with  a good-humoured  smile,  he  signified  his 
sense  of  being  photographed  by  stiffening  himself  into  an 


attitude  of  muscular  rigidity  too  dreadful  to  see.  How- 
ever, there  was  neither  time  nor  opportunity  to  get  him  to 
look  less  like  the  girder  on  which  he  sat,  so,  holding  up  a 
warning  hand,  I gave  him  twenty  seconds’  exposure,  and 
he  was  soon  back,  working  away  with  his  tools  again.  But 
in  my  endeavour  to  pierce  the  murky  atmosphere,  this 
bearded  son  of  Anak  is,  I regret  to  say,  a mere  smudge. 

After  several  attempts  at  photographing  the  long  vistas 
of  the  bridge  at  rail  level  I was  personally  conducted 
by  my  obliging  companion  to  the  extreme  top  of  the  can- 
tilever. To  get  there  we  entered  a lift  similar  to  the  one 
below,  and,  on  the  signal  being  given,  up  we  went  at  a 
great  pace,  swaying  through  the  keen  wind  and  pene- 
trating rain.  I would  have  given  much  to  have  had  a good 
hand  camera  and  a clear  day,  for  the  opportunities  for  pic- 
tures on  that  upward  journey,  now  that  the  bridge  is  com- 
pleted, are  gone  for  ever.  On  reaching  the  top,  a fresh 
surprise  awaited  me.  I had  been  cogitating  as  to  how 
I could  possibly  take  pictures  in  such  a howling  wind, 
and  was  astonished  to  find  that  I stepped  out  of  the 
cage  into  a comparative  calm.  Here  we  were  with  the 
clouds  within  arm’s  length,  so  to  speak.  I could  hear 
the  wind  blowing,  and  see  the  rain  swishing  about.  We 
were  in  it  all,  and  yet  sheltered  from  it!  This  pheno- 
menon was  presently  explained  by  my  companion  going 
to  the  windward  side  of  the  staging,  and  holding  his 
handkerchief  over  the  rail.  There  it  snapped  and  wriggled 
about  in  a strong  upward  wind  current  induced  by  the 
obstruction  which  the  structure  offered  to  the  blast.  This, 
rushing  upwards,  formed  an  invisible  arch  of  shelter  over 
us  before  speeding  on  its  way.  Under  this  strange  refuge 
and  in  spite  of  the  rain,  I managed  to  secure  some  fairly 
good  negatives  of  the  bridge  and  surrounding  country, 
precious  not  only  for  the  reminiscences  they  recall,  but 
also  because  no  photograjdi,  now  the  bridge  is  finished, 
can  ever  be  taken  again  from  its  summit. 

The  painting  of  this  enormous  mass  of  steel  is  a work 
the  magnitude  of  which  may  be  faintly  estimated  from  the 
fact  that  there  are  some  forty-eight  acres  of  surface  to  go 
over  with  the  brush ; and  parlous  besides,  seeing  the  paint 
has  to  be  applied  after  the  removal  of  the  fixed  stagings. 
Hence  the  painters  have  to  be  raised  and  lowered  on  mov- 
able stagings  hung  wherever  required.  From  the  summit 
where  I stood,  looking  down  through  the  forest  of  frame- 
work, I could  see  the  painters  no  bigger  than  ants  working 
far  below.  Here  I had  pointed  out  to  me  the  scene  of  one 
of  the  many  thrilling  incidents  attendant  on  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Forth  Bridge,  which  I consider  appropriate  to 
relate  in  these  pages,  seeing  the  hero  of  it  was  a professional 
photographer,  and  the  story  is  quite  true. 

Five  painters  were  painting  down  one  of  the  colossal 
booms  which  radiate  from  the  base  of  the  cantilevers. 
The  stage  they  were  on  was  suspended  near  the  very  top, 
when,  without  warning,  it  suddenly  gave  way.  Three  of 
the  poor  fellows,  long  before  they  reached  the  bottom,  were 
literally  smashed  to  pieces  against  the  interlacing  frame- 
work which  lay  in  their  way.  The  other  two  providen- 
tially caught  at  some  of  the  cross  bracings  immediately 
underneath  them.  There,  suspended  by  their  hands,  they 
clung  witli  all  the  energy  of  despair.  The  resident  engi- 
neer, Mr.  Cooper,  saw  the  accident  from  another  part  of 
the  bridge,  and  rushed  with  others  to  the  rescue.  Now, 
to  get  at  the  poor  fellows,  some  of  the  heavy  planking  of 
the  overhead  staging  had  to  be  ripped  off.  This  was  done 
as  quickly  as  a hundred  nervous  hands  couldttear  it  away, 
and  presently,  down  far  underneath,  could  be  seen  one 


March  7,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


183 


of  the  men.  The  other  was  out  of  sight,  and,  to  get  at 
him,  still  another  piece  of  heavy  staging  had  to  be  cut 
away.  Meanwhile,  hasty  preparations  were  made  to  rescue 
the  one  in  view ; but  he,  looking  up  at  them,  cried  out, 
“ Leave  me,  and  save  the  other  man.  He  is  done  ; I can 
hold  out  a bit  longer.”  Thus  re-assured,  they  ran,  and 
lowered  down  a man  with  a rope,  to  which  the  exhausted 
painter,  on  the  point  of  letting  go  his  hold,  was  securely 
fastened  and  hauled  up  into  safety.  They  then  returned 
and  rescued  in  like  manner  the  brave  fellow  who  had  so 
gallantly  risked  his  life  for  his  comrade.  The  hero  of 
this  adventure  was  a poor  photographer's  assistant,  called 
Toddy,  who,  being  out  of  work,  had  to  accept  this  perilous 
painter’s  work  to  keep  him  from  starving. 

Perhaps  the  most  touching  part  of  the  tale  was  its  sequel. 
Toddy,  after  this  miraculous  escape,  went  to  Edinburgh, 
where  he  found  work  in  a photographer’s  studio  ; but,  it 
having  transpired  that  he  had  been  working  on  the  Forth 
Bridge,  his  employer  actually  turned  him  into  the  streets, 
on  the  plea  that  he  dared  not  entertain  the  services  of  an 
artist  who  had  been  known  to  work  as  a common  labourer 
on  the  Forth  Bridge!  Mr.  Benjamin  Baker,  the  eminent 
engineer  and  designer  of  the  Forth  Bridge,  has  told  this 
story  in  one  of  his  lectures,  and  a subscription  was  being 
raised  for  the  brave  Toddy  when  I left  for  India. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IX  AX  AGE  OF  MOVEMENT.* 

BY  FRIESE  GREENE. 

Oi"R  age  is  not  on’y  an  age  of  movement,  but  of  move- 
ments. Xone  of  us  who  aspire  to  the  keeping  pace  with 
the  times  can  afford  to  be  indifferent  to  photography — it 
is  something  which  sharpens  our  intellects,  and  brings 
things  to  our  notice  whith  we  arc  always  passing,  but 
never  would  have  noticed  but  for  the  knowledge  of  photo- 
graphy. Besides,  there  are  heaps  of  things  we  could 
never  notice — because  we  never  see  them — without  the 
aid  of  photography ; so  we  will  call  photography  an  extra 
bit  of  sight  and  an  extra  bit  of  intellect,  which  no  doubt 
it  is.  And  it  is  not  easy  to  foretell  the  future  of  photo- 
graphy offhand,  nor  yet  any  other  way,  so  we  will 
keep  to  the  present  uneasiness  (which  is  a sure  sign  of 
advancement),  and  dwell  upon  one  or  two  subjects 
which  are  shaping  its  future. 

Now  the  first  is,  the  interest  taken  in  it  by  all  classes — 
high,  low,  rich,  and  poor  ; the  second  is  its  thrusting  its 
prying  eye  into  everything  within  the  world  and,  1 may 
say,  outside  of  it  too,  for  it  affords  the  means  of  depicting 
the  magnitudes  and  the  places  of  stars  which  must  other- 
wise have  been  quite  unknown  to  us.  There  are  still 
other  more  marvellous  applications  which  the  camera  I am 
about  to  bring  before  you  this  evening,  or  at  least  some- 
thing akin  to  the  camera.  It  will  be  able  to  investigate 
all  the  movements  of  the  spider  making  its  web,  or  a 
cloud  as  it  forms,  and  thousands  of  other  things  too 
numerous  to  mention,  because  you  can  take  600  pictures 
a minute,  on  one  continuous  roll  of  film,  by  merely  turning 
a handle.  When  I first  saw  a roll  of  paper  go  through  at 
the  rate  of  ten  a second,  and  stop  an  instant  when  each 
exposure  was  made,  I felt  like  a child  over  new  toys,  though 
I was  as  sanguine  as  possible,  notwithstanding  that  there 
was  a slight  feeling  within  me  of  doubt  if  it  would  really 
go  on  doing  it.  I think  my  enthusiasm  was  more  than 

* A communication  to  the  Bath  Photographic  Society. 


usual  over  such  things.  Mr.  Mortimer  Evans  has  improved 
and  improved  upon  it  so  much  that  I am  positive  the 
results  will  have  a tendency  to  bring  forward  a new 
kind  of  photography;  in  fact,  it  will  make  an  epoch  which 
will  be  immensely  interesting,  for  the  movements  of  the 
centipede,  the  vibrations  of  the  heart,  will  have  to  submit 
to  its  power  of  rapid  delineation. 

Now  the  next  subject  I shall  connect  with  this  paper, 
or  at  least  the  movement  or  movements  of  photography,  is 
the  ladies,  for  they  are  pushing  themselves  forward  in  a 
marked  manner.  The  interest  they  take  in  photography, 
the  patience  with  which  they  work,  and  the  amount  of 
pains  bestowed  by  them  in  the  different  departments,  is 
something  alarming,  and  we  men  must  look  to  our  laurels 
when  we  bring  the  words  comparison  and  competition 
into  notice,  for  all  advancement  is  brought  -within  the 
scope  of  those  two  words — two  words,  I should  say, 
that  are  shaping  a future  in  photography.  The  ordinary 
view  held  by  the  majority  of  people  as  to  the  intellectual 
power  of  women  as  compared  with  men  is  not  very 
encouraging  to  the  fair  sex  (still,  this  is  comparatively  a 
bygone  notion),  whose  smaller  brain  is  held  to  be  positive 
evidence  of  smaller  mind,  or  of  no  mind  at  all.  This 
idea  is  still  cherished  by  some,  though  in  the  face  of 
everything  tending  to  show  the  opposite  it  has  taken  a 
long  time  to  convince  others  that  women  are  truly 
capable  of  rising  to  any  position  above  that  of  slavery, 
socially  and  physically.  In  my  opinion  it  will  not  be  long 
before  we  shall  be  convinced  of  the  fact  that  women, 
when  given  the  same  intellectual  advantages  and  educa- 
tion as  men,  will  prove  intellectually  equal  I know  it  is 
difficult  to  realise  in  the  increasing  battle  for  existence 
that  men  can  be  confronted  by  rivals.  An  argument 
may  be  brought  forward  that  these  smaller,  delicate  beings, 
with  whiter  hands  and  long  hair,  are  physically  and  there- 
fore mentally  incapable  of  taking  an  equal  place  with  men 
in  the  intellectual  world.  Well,  what  they  may  be  I do  not 
know,  but  I do  know  this,  as  regards  their  intellect  in 
connection  with  the  fascinating  art  of  photography,  we 
shall  find  a hot  competition,  and  one  in  which,  if  we  do  not 
help  them  to  win  a place,  they  will  win  a place  for  them- 
selves. If  you  watch  closely  you  can  see  women’s  intel- 
lect brought  into  use  day  by  day  in  connection  with  photo- 
graphy. 

Women,  having  had  greater  educational  advantages  in 
the  last  few  years,  have  proved  themselves  able  to 
appreciate  and  to  bring  their  refined  and  cultivated 
intellect  to  bear  upon  the  art  of  photography,  and  we 
only  want  another  Mrs.  Cameron  to  set  the  ball  rolling. 
She  was  one  who  was  earnest  in  her  work  in  photography, 
as  her  results  show.  I wish  I had  some  here  to-night 
to  bring  before  you.  She  was  one  evidently  who  knew 
that  true  knowledge  can  but  make  the  learner  more 
humble  and  more  willing  to  learn.  A weakness  may 
hinder,  but  we  must  all  bear  in  mind  it  does  not  crush 
mental  effort.  So  let  me  impress  upon  you,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Bath  Photographic  Society,  to  encourage 
ladies  to  join  the  Society,  and,  whatever  you  do,  do  not 
ignore  their  work.  Look  at  it  two  or  three  times,  com- 
pare your  ideas  with  theirs,  and  you  will  find  you  will 
have  soon  other  ideas  cropping  up. 

Now,  a few  concluding  words  to  this  Society.  Can 
you  not  begin  a museum  of  photographic  relics?  and 
within  this  museum  can  you  not  start  a weekly  class  for 
young  ladies  and  gentlemen  to  learn  photography,  and 
let  some  of  the  members  teach  them? 


x'r\ 


184 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  7,  1890. 


REACTIONS  OF  VARIOUS  DEVELOPERS.— Bv  L.  van  Neck. 


Hvdroquinone. 
l)r.  Byck's 
Yellowish 
crystals- 

Pyrogallol. 

White 

sublimate. 

Pyrocatechin. 

Greyish. 



Hydroquinone. 

White 

needles. 

EikonogeD. 

Yellowish 

crystals. 

Rf-sorcine 

sublimed. 

Hydroxy  lmnine 
> ydrochlorate. 
White  crystals. 

Taste 

Sweet ; 

Slightly 

Bitter. 

Sweet ; 

Saline. 

Sweet. 

Acid. 

slightly 

bitter. 

slightly 

bitter. 

bitter. 

Solution 

Colourless. 

Colourless, 

Colourless, 

Colourless, 

Colourless, 

Colourless. 

Colourless. 

becoming 

becoming 

becoming 

turning 

brown. 

greenish. 

slightly 

rapidly  dark 

brownish. 

brown. 

Reaction 

Neutral. 

Acid. 

Acid. 

Neutral. 

Neutral. 

Neutral. 

Very  acid. 

Act  ion  of  lleat. 

Fusible  and 

Fusible  and 

Fusible  and 

Fusible  and 

Fixed  residue, 

Fusible  and 

Fusible  and 

volatile. 

volatile. 

volatile  at 

volatile. 

carbonises 

volatile. 

volatile. 

240°  C. 

and  becomes 
incandes- 

cent,  leaving 
a white  saline 

residue. 

Solution  of 

Nil. 

Blue  coloura- 

Nil,  turns 

Nil. 

Violet 

Nil. 

Nil. 

Ferrous 

tion. 

green  after 

colouration. 

Sulphate. 

long  stand- 
ing. 

Solution  of 

Nil. 

Dark  brown 

Emerald 

Nil. 

Yellowish 

Violet  blue. 

Nil,  decolour- 

Ferric 

colouration, 

green, 

green,  be- 

ises  the  ferric 

Chloride. 

becoming 

becoming 

coming 

chloride. 

violet  with 

violet  with 

rapidly 

excess  of 

a little 

yellowish 

sodium  car- 

sodium 

brown, 

bonate. 

carbonate, 

and  then 

and  red  with 

dirty-brown 

excess  of 

with  sodium 

same  salt. 

carbonate. 

Tincture  of 

Decolourises 

lled-brown 

Nil. 

Decolourisa- 

Reddish- 

Instantaneous 

Decolourisa- 

Iodine. 

the  tincture. 

colouration. 

tion. 

brown 

decolourisa- 

tion. 

colouration. 

tion. 

Solution  of 

Nil. 

White  pre- 

White  pre- 

Nil. 

White  pre- 

Nil. 

At  first  no- 

Flu  ml  lie 

cipitate. 

cipitate. 

cipitate, 

thing;  then  a 

Acetate. 

turning 

precipitate 

black. 

forms. 

Solution  of 

Yellowish 

Yellow, 

Yellow, 

Yellow, 

Yellow,  turn- 

Nil. 

Nil. 

Potassium 

colouration. 

turning 

becoming 

turning 

iug  brown 

Carbonate. 

turning 

blackish 

brown. 

brown 

very  rapidly 

brown  in 
the  air. 

brown. 

rapidly. 

on  shaking. 

Solution  of 

After  a time  a 

Slow  reduc- 

Very  slow 

Slow  reduc- 

Instantaneous 

Nil. 

White  pre- 

Silver 

grey  precipi- 

tion  to 

reduction ; 

tion. 

reduction. 

cipitate. 

Nitrate. 

tate;  solution 

metal ; 

solution 

colourless. 

solution 

brown. 

yellowish. 

Dilute  lhjdro- 

Nil. 

Nil. 

Violet 

Nil. 

Rose  coloura- 

Nil. 

Nil. 

chloric  Acid. 

colouration. 

tion  in  dilu- 
ted solution, 
becoming 
greenish  on 
addition  of 
ammonia. 

These  reactions  take  place  in  a solution  containing  i per  cent,  of  the  developing  agent. — Bulletin  Belye. 


Makch  7,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


185 


TONING  WITH  METALS  OF  THE  I ’LATENT  .0 
GROUP. 

The  attempts  heretofore  made  to  tone  silver  prints  with 
platinum  have  not  yielded  satisfactory  results.  In  solu- 
tions of  platinic  chloride,  the  silver  image  rapidly  becomes 
pale  and  disappears,  for  the  silver  is  converted  into  chloride, 
and  is  not  replaced  bv  platinum,  that  metal  being  simply 
reduced  to  platinous  chloride.  But  if  a solution  of  platin- 
ous  chloride  be  employed,  and,  contrary  to  the  require- 
ments of  a gold  toning  bath,  this  bath  be  rendered  acid 
with  mineral  or  vegetable  acid,  the  silver  prints  immersed 
in  it  quickly  acquire  a black  tone,  passing  through  inter- 
mediate shades  of  an  agreeable  purple.  Two  atoms  of 
silver  are  then  replaced  by  one  of  platinum. 

Palladium,  iridium,  and  osmium,  under  the  same  con- 
ditions as  the  platinum,  furnish  characteristic  tones,  and 
the  general  method  of  preparation  of  the  baths  appears  to 
be  based  on  the  principle  that  toning  by  metals  of  the 
platinum  group  must  be  conducted  in  acid  baths,  and  the 
metal  must  be  in  the  lowest  form  of  combination. 

Platinum  Toning. — The  soluble  and  very  stable  chloro- 
platinites  make  excellent  toning  baths.  Any  of  the 
alkaline  chloroplatinites  can  be  employed,  the  following 
formula  serving  as  a type  : — 

Potassium  chloroplatinite  ...  ...  ...  1 

Sulphuric  acid  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  5 

Water 1,000 

The  sulphuric  acid  may  be  replaced  by  hydrochloric  acid, 
but  since  the  latter  renders  the  chloroplatinites  more  stable, 
its  quantity  should  not  be  greater  than  3 in  1,000,  or,  by 
organic  acids,  excepting  such  as  formic,  tartaric,  or  oxa- 
lic, which  exert  a reducing  action  on  the  platinum  salt, 
especially  under  the  influence  of  light. 

The  toning  bath  may  be  prepared  directly  from  platinic 
chloride  by  boiling  it  in  the  light  with  an  appropriate 
reducing  agent  in  the  exact  quantity  required  to  reduce 
the  salt  to  the  platinous  condition. 

An  excellent  toning  bath  may  be  thus  prepared  by 
boiling  in  a glass  flask  a mixture  of  two  grams  platinic 
chloride  in  solution,  with  one  gram  sodium  neutral  tartrate, 
until  the  yellow  liquid  assumes  a dull  grey  colour,  then 
making  up  the  solution  to  one  litre,  and  adding  the  proper 
quantity  of  acid. 

Rutheiiiiim  and  Osminin. — I have  not  succeeded  in  ob- 
taining with  ruthenium  and  osmium  other  tones  than 
yellow,  differing  but  little  from  the  untoned  prints. 

Palladium.  — A solution  containing  one  gram  sodium 
chloride,  two  grams  palladious  chloride,  and  200  grams 
acetic  acid  to  the  litre  of  water,  rapidly  blackens  silver 
tones,  but  the  paper  takes  a yellow  tint,  which,  even  after 
bleaching  by  five  per  cent,  ammonia  water,  reappears  more 
or  less  rapidly  after  fixing,  and  destroys  the  value  of  the 
prints. 

Iridium. — The  iridium  tone  resembles  that  of  gold.  The 
bath  may  be  prepared  by  dissolving  one  or  two  grams  of 
iridium  and  platinum  double  chloride  in  one  litre  of  water, 
and  acidifying  as  with  platinum.  Silver  prints  tone  slowly 
in  this  bath,  but  the  whites  remain  pure  and  hard  : some 
soft,  violet  tones  are  obtained. 

Osmium. — This  metal  gives  tones  quite  characteristic. 
The  bath  may  be  made  by  dissolving  one  or  two  grams  of 
ammonia  chlorosmite  and  twenty  grams  .acetic  acid  in  a 
litre  of  water.  Prints  immersed  in  this  bath  take  first  a 
sienna  brown  tint;  this  colour  soon  becomes  modified, 
first,  in  the  half  tones  of  the  image,  and  changes  to  a more 


or  less  intense  sky  blue,  which  affects  the  whole  print.  If. 
instead  of  allowing  the  prints  to  become  blue,  they  are 
withdrawn  from  the  bath  as  soon  as  the  blue  begins  to 
appear  in  the  whites,  a very  curious  result  is  obtained  after 
the  fixing.  Besides  the  whites  of  the  photograph,  two 
tones  are  present — alight  brown  in  the  deep  shadows,  and 
a blue  in  the  half-tones.  With  mineral  acids,  the  final  tone 
obtained  by  the  use  of  osmium  is  not  blue,  but  violet,  and 
this  tint  appears  even  in  the  whites  of  the  print. — Com/itrs 
Rend  ns. 


A NEW  PHOTO-LIT  IIO  GRAPHIC  TRANSFER 

PAPER. 

This  new  transfer  paper  has  been  used  with  good  results 
in  the  ^ ienna  Royal  Institute  of  Photography  and  Repro- 
duction. A colour  is  used  on  it,  prepared  by  .Mr.  Adalbert 
Franz,  which  is  put  up  in  foil  tubes,  like  oil  colours.  The 
paper  carries,  as  usual,  a thin  coating  of  gelatine.  The 
colour  is  thin  and  very  fatty.  Mr.  Franz  gives  the  follow- 
ing directions  for  its  preparation  : — The  sensitising  solu- 
tion is  made  up  of  50  gin.  (in  winter  GO)  of  bichromate  of 
potash,  dissolved  in  1,000  gm.  of  water.  After  this  is 
completely  dissolved,  add  aqua  ammonia  until  the  solution 
is  a bright  yellow.  The  paper  is  soaked  in  this  solution 
in  a dark  room  until  it  is  thoroughly  impregnated  and 
soft,  and  then  hung  up  in  the  same  room  to  dry. 

For  fine  drawings  and  autotypes,  the  paper  should  bo 
squeegeed  on  to  a thoroughly  cleaned  glass  plate  ; a sheet 
of  waxed  tracing  cloth  or  rubber  should  be  laid  between 
the  wet  paper  and  the  squeegee  to  avoid  rubbing  away  the 
former.  The  exposure  should  be  ample.  After  exposing, 
the  sheet  is  fastened  on  a board  with  thumb-tacks,  and 
the  colour  applied  as  directed  below.  It  should  be  spread 
all  over  the  print,  very  thinly  and  equally.  After  about 
three  minutes’  immersion  in  the  water  the  highest  reliefs 
begin  to  appear,  and  washing  is  then  continued  until  all 
the  detail  is  out,  the  print  finally  being  laid  upon  a glass 
plate  and  rubbed  with  a soft  sponge  or  a tuft  of  cotton- 
wool until  completely  developed.  Care  should  be  taken 
that  everything  is  very  clean,  in  order  to  avoid  spotting 
the  whites  of  the  print. 

For  transfer  to  zinc  the  paper  must  be  soaked  in  a two 
per  cent,  solution  of  alum  and  washed  again.  Tf  the  colour 
leaves  the  print  in  washing,  exposure  has  been  too  short. 
A property  of  this  paper  is  to  be  noted — the  formation  of 
a hard  film  cm  the  gelatine  in  case  any  of  the  solutions  are 
too  warm,  which  repels  the  colour.  The  sheet  may  be 
anchored  at  the  corners  by  little  bits  of  lead,  to  prevent 
its  rolling  up  during  development.  The  colour  is  squeezed 
out  of  its  tube  in  a semi-fluid  condition,  and  is  dissolved 
in  a solution,  kept  ready,  of  equal  parts  of  benzine  and 
turpentine.  Then,  with  a broad  brush  or  a very  soft 
sponge,  it  is  evenly  spread  over  the  print  in  a thin  and 
equal  coating.  It  should  only  be  used  well  thinned  down 
with  the  oils. 

Before  transferring,  the  print  is  laid  between  sheets  of 
wet  blotting-paper  until  it  is  soft  enough.  It  should  be 
run  through  the  press  under  considerable  pressure.  The 
colour,  it  is  said,  transfers  well  to  zinc,  as  well  as  upon 
stone.  — Photo.  Com-spondenz. 


Views  Wanted. --Mr.  R.  E.  Mack,  24,  St.  Bride  Street, 
E.C.,  writes  : — “I  am  wanting  some  good  views  of  beautiful 
scenes  and  landscapes.  Could  any  of  your  readers  recommend 
one  or  two  really  good  photographers  of  these  subjects  ? ” 


186 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Mabcii  7,  1890. 


iflotcg, 

A city  contemporary  is  rather  behind  the  times.  In 
referring  to  some  old  houses  near  Crutchcd  Friars,  it 
suggests  that  these  are  subjects  which  the  “ Society 
for  Photographing  llelics  of  Old  London  ’’  should  interest 
itself  in.  This  Society  has  now  been  extinct  some  two 
or  three  years,  as  has  been  regretted  more  than  once  in 
these  columns.  As  for  the  scries  of  photographs,  the 
result  of  some  years  working,  we  understand,  they — or 
a selection  of  the  most  interesting— will  shortly  be 
issued  to  the  public  in  the  form  of  reproductions.  The 
size  will  be  much  reduced,  and  the  idea  is  to  form  a 
kind  of  gift  book  of  an  ornamental  and  tasteful  charac- 
ter. Mr.  Monks,  the  secretary  of  the  defunct  society, 
will,  we  believe,  edit  the  series.  With  appropriate 
letterpress  well  done,  the  volume  should  prove  very 
attractive. 

Photography,  we  suppose,  has  been  productive  of  more 
verbal  quips  and  cranks  than  any  science  one  could 
mention.  A pun  by  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  is  the 
latest  instance.  He  used  to  be  an  amateur  photo- 
grapher, and  whenever  he  presented  a picture  to  a 
friend,  he  wrote  on  the  back  of  it  “ Taken  by  0.  W. 
Holmes  and  Sun.”  Perhaps  the  neatest  example  of 
word  play  is  that  furnished  by  the  late  William 
Brough,  who,  when  shown  a photograph  of  a friend 
taken  by  a photographer  named  Death,  exclaimed, 
“ Ah,  taken  from  life,  of  course  ! ” 

Mr.  Yicat  Cole  is  painting  the  Thames  from  the 
point  of  view  which  fifty  years  ago  or  so  used  to  be 
considered  the  only  one ; at  least  it  always  figured  in 
the  illustrated  topographical  books  of  London  of  the 
period  when  steel  engravings  were  most  in  vogue. 
We  refer  to  the  view  as  seen  from  the  Observatory 
Hill,  in  Greenwich  Park.  It  is  rather  curious  that  of 
late  years  this  singularly  picturesque  view  of  London, 
with  St.  Paul’s  as  the  conspicuously  central  object, 
should  have  been  so  neglected  by  photographers. 
Possibly  the  reason  is  that  with  the  enormous  steam 
boat  traffic,  and  the  multiplication  of  factories  on  the 
river  side,  the  atmosphere  is  never  free  from  smoke. 
This  view  of  London  without  St.  Paul’s  would  be 
worthless,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  times  in  a year 
when  St.  Paul’s  is  visible  from  the  Observatory  Hill 
could  be  counted  on  one’s  fingers.  Mr.  Cole’s  experi- 
ence is,  wc  understand,  of  this  nature.  He  is  anxious 
to  secure  an  afternoon  effect,  but  though  he  has  visited 
the  place  many  times,  on  only  two  occasions,  and  then 
for  a very  brief  space,  has  he  seen  the  cathedral. 


Photography  in  France  still  keeps  up  its  character 
as  a political  barometer.  Those  who  regarded  the  es- 
capade of  the  Due  d’Orleans  as  the  outcome  of  a boyish 
impulse  must  have  been  somewhat  undeceived  when 
they  saw  the  shower  of  portraits — mostly  photographs 
— with  which  Paris  has  been  deluged.  The  inference 
is  that  the  so-called  escapade  was  the  result  of  a Royalist 


organization,  as  these  portraits  must  have  taken  a long 
time  preparing,  and  the  sudden  avalanche  can  only  have 
had  for  its  object  apolitical  demonstration.  To  anyone 
ignorant  of  party  tactics  the  appearance  of  these  photo- 
graphs might  seem  an  indication  of  public  feeling,  but 
of  course  it  means  nothing  of  the  kind. 

We  have  not  the  slightest  objection  to  supplying 
our  non-photographic  contemporaries  with  information, 
but  wc  are  inclined  to  raise  a protest  when  our  para- 
graphs are  appropriated  in  wholesale  fashion  and  made 
to  pass  as  original.  In  the  Artist,  a sixpenny  monthly 
magazine,  for  February  is  a special  column  headed 
“Photographic Notes,”  consistingentircly  of  unacknow- 
ledged paragraphs  clipped  nolens  volens  from  our  issue  of 
January  1 7th. 


Jan  Van  Beers  is  as  lucky  over  his  law  suits  as  he  is 
over  his  paintings,  some  of  which  have  made  remark- 
able hits.  He  was  once  accused  of  producing  his  well- 
known  picture,  “ La  Sirene,”  by  painting  over  a 
photographic  basis.  He  brought  an  action  against  his 
slanderer,  and  won  his  case.  Since  then  certain  art 
workmen,  once  in  his  employ,  accused  him  of  signing 
paintings  made  by  him  and  others,  and  selling  them  as 
his  own.  He  went  to  law,  but  was  defeated,  one 
result  being  that  Sedelmeyer,  the  American  art  dealer, 
who  exploited  Munkacsy’s  “Christ  before  Filate,”  in 
the  United  States,  repudiated  the  contract  he  had  made 
with  Van  Beers  to  allow  him  the  use  of  his  gallery  in 
Paris  for  an  exhibition  of  his  pictures.  The  artist, 
however,  carried  his  case  to  a superior  court,  and  there 
the  judgment  of  the  court  below  was  reversed.  On 
being  cleared  of  the  charge  of  manufacturing  spurious 
“ Van  Beers,”  he  immediately  commenced  an  action 
against  Sedelmeyer,  and  has  just  won  the  day,  the  art 
dealer  being  compelled  to  pay  damages  and  costs. 


Piobably  these  legal  proceedings  have  prevented  the 
holding  in  London  the  usual  exhibition  of  Van  Beers’ 
artistic  eccentricities  and  horrors,  which  had  come  to 
be  quite  a metropolitan  institution.  Of  course  it  is 
annoying  to  be  charged  with  forging  one’s  own  produc- 
tions, but  the  system  of  employing  others  to  do  the 
minor  details,  the  characteristic  touches  being  reserved 
for  the  master,  is  by  no  means  an  uncommon  one. 
Vandyck,  as  a writer  in  the  Times  proved  the  other 
day,  was  really  a wholesale  manufacturer  of  portraits. 
Indeed,  in  no  other  plan  than  by  a subdivision  of  labour 
could  lie  have  executed  the  enormous  number  of  com- 
missions which  flowed  in  upon  him.  How  much  of  his 
own  work  and  how  much  that  of  his  assistants  is  to  be 
discovered  iu  his  various  paintings,  only  experts  can 
decide ; but  it  may  be  taken,  as  a rule,  that  the 
arrangement  of  the  figures,  the  lighting  of  the  hands 
and  face  were  his,  the  drapery  being  left  to  others. 
In  this  respect  the  system  is  analogous  to  that  pursued 
by  the  busy  photographer,  who  interests  himself  only 
in  the  posiug  and  lighting,  his  assistant  performing  the 
other  operations. 


March  7,  1890.] 


TIIE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


187 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  GERMANY. 

BY  DR.  H.  W.  VOGEL. 

Water  Liciitdruck:  Process  —Magnesium  Flash-Light— 
Police  and  Jury — New  Magnesium  Flash-Light- — 
The  Grammophone  and  Photography— Restoring  Yel- 
low Albumen  Prints — Yellow  Fog  on  Dry  Plates. 
In  my  letter,  published  December  28th,  page  7-13,  I men- 
tioned Husuik's  water  Liciitdruck  process.  This  process 
is  a curious  one.  The  Liciitdruck  process  is  based  upon 
the  principle  that  a gelatine  chromated  film  becomes  in- 
soluble in  water  by  the  action  of  light,  but  obtains  the 
capability  of  absorbing  fatty  ink.  If,  therefore,  a chrome 
gelatine  film  is  copied  under  a negative,  the  parts  through 
which  the  light  can  penetrate  will  absorb  fatty  ink,  whereas 
the  parts  on  which  the  light  has  not  acted  will  not  absorb 
ink.  They  remain,  however,  pervious  to  water,  e.<j.,  for 
water-colours. 

If,  therefore,  a copy  has  been  made  under  a positive, 
and  the  film  is  rolled  with  water-colour,  this  will  adhere 
to  the  parts  which  were  not  acted  on  by  light.  This  is 
the  principle  of  the  water  Liciitdruck  process.  This  has 
not  yet  been  applied  practically  as  far  as  I know. 

In  my  last  letter  I wrote  to  you  about  the  new  mag- 
nesium blitz  studio.  Such  a one  has  now  been  fitted  up 
at  the  head  quarters  of  our  police  to  take  the  portraits  of 
criminals  instantaneously.  They  are  taken  to  this  studio, 
which  has  the  appearance  of  an  ordinary  room,  and  asked 
to  take  a seat.  Before  they  are  aware  of  it  the  proper 
focus  is  taken,  the  magnesium  flashes,  and  their  pictures 
are  ready  to  adorn  the  album  for  criminals. 

A still  more  extensive  application  of  photography  in 
the  judiciary  department  is  intended  to  be  made. 

The  many  murder  cases  which  have  occurred  lately 
point  to  the  necessity  of  photographing  the  locality  where 
the  murder  took  place.  These  photographic  pictures  are 
to  give  not  only  a true  description  of  the  locality,  but  to 
reproduce  the  original  position  of  the  corpse,  &c.,  as  far 
as  obtainable.  They  should  be  made  in  sufficient  num- 
bers to  serve  at  the  preliminary  investigation  as  well  as 
during  the  jury  trial,  and  be  handy  to  judge,  jury,  experts, 
and  defence.  This  arrangement  would  furnish  the  most 
correct  proof,  as  such  representations  would  facilitate  very 
much  the  comprehension  of  the  records  and  the  testimony 
of  witnesses,  while  otherwise  incorrect  ideas  as  to  position 
and  locality  might  often  be  formed.  The  photographic 
pictures  seem  to  be  of  particular  advantage  to  the  jury, 
who,  with  their  aid,  are  much  better  enabled  to  follow  the 
proceedings.  It  might,  therefore,  be  recommended  to 
take  views  of  external  wounds  which  are  discovered  on 
the  corpse  for  the  better  understanding  of  medical  experts. 
If  photography  is  introduced  for  the  purpose  above- 
mentioned,  it  would  have  to  be  applied  the  same  as  in 
railroad  accidents  and  conflagrations.  Wherever  such  a 
photograph  could  be  handed  to  the  jury,  it  would  simplify 
the  proceedings  considerably,  as  a good  many  questions 
might  be  avoided  thereby.  The  photographic  picture 
woidd  also  be  of  particular  advantage  in  complicated  law- 
suits. 

That  the  magnesium  light  is  here  of  importance  for 
'lews  of  dark  interiors  need  hardly  be  questioned.  The 
latest  now  is  the  simplifying  of  the  magnesium  lamps,  so 
that  any  common  oil  lamp  can  be  easily  arranged  to  serve 
as  a magnesium  flash-light.  This  has  been  accomplished 
by  the  "Fulgur”  apparatus  of  Dr.  Leonhard.  This  new 
flash  arrangement  is  such  that  it  can  be  attached  to  any 


lamp  with  a chimney,  and  that  here  the  magnesium  is  not 
blown  by  a cooling  forced  air-pressure  into  the  lamp  in 
the  direction  of  the  escaping  gas  from  the  lamp,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  in  an  opposite  direction,  and  is  thrown  in  by 
a mechanical  appliance.  The  magnesium  is  completely 
burned  up  with  an  intense  flame  ; no  unburned  magnesium 
powder  can  fill  the  air.  Black  spots  on  silvered  paper  are 
oftentimes  caused  by  the  magnesium  powder.  The 
arrangement  consists  of  a kind  of  sling,  fastened  by 
means  of  a spring  and  pneumatic  release,  and  can  be 
attached  to  the  upper  end  of  any  oil  lamp  or  gas  burner 
chimney.  If  several  flashes  are  to  be  produced  at  the 
same  time — in  groups,  for  instance — the  several  lamps 
containing  the  arrangement  are  connected  with  tubing 
and  bulb  ; thus  all  the  lights  of  a large  chandelier  can  be 
set  off  with  a single  pressure  for  an  instantaneous  flash. 

The  apparatus  may  remain  on  the  lamp  for  hours  be- 
fore and  after  use  without  the  slightest  injury.  As  the 
burnt  magnesium  will  only  adhere  to  the  inside  of  the 
chimney  as  an  easily  removable  dust,  one  is  enabled  to 
take  photographs  at  any  time  of  the  day  or  night  in  the 
most  luxuriously  fitted  up  salons  without  the  least  dis- 
turbance to  the  occupants. 

The  flashes  produfced  in  oil  lamps  are  not  so  powerful 
as  those  from  gas  burners.  Still,  two  oil  lamps  are 
sufficient  to  produce  a single  portrait  just  as  good  in 
every  respect  as  one  taken  by  daylight,  and  they  can 
hardly  be  distinguished  from  each  other. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  expressly  that  it  is  of  no 
advantage  to  use  too  large  a quantity  of  the  powder.  A 
few  centigrams  are  sufficient. 

To  photograph  by  magnesium  light,  not  too  large  a 
room  with  light  walls  is  the  most  suitable,  saving  con- 
siderable light  in  such  a place.  Portraits  of  one  or  two 
persons  can  be  well  exposed  with  two  or  three  oil  lamps  or 
one  or  two  gas  lamps,  even  with  a not  very  rapid  objec- 
tive. Both  lamps  should  be  placed  on  the  light  side, 
about  j m.  above  the  height  of  the  eyes;  at  a distance  of 
14  m.  for  bust  pictures,  and  for  two-thirds  or  full  figures 
a little  further  off,  so  that  objective,  object,  and  lamp  form 
an  angle  of  about  45  degrees.  The  shadow  side  is  lit  up  by  a 
white  screen,  to  be  placed  at  more  or  less  distance  from  the 
object.  In  this  way  all  light  effects  can  be  obtained 
easily  ; for  instance,  by  placing  the  lamp  near  by,  an  illu- 
mination of  plastic  effect  can  be  had.  An  attentive 
operator  can  easily  regulate  the  effect  of  his  illumination 
by  the  previous  picture. 

For  groups,  four  or  more  lamps  should  be  employed, 
according  to  the  size  and  condition  of  the  room  and  the 
number  of  persons.  They  are  divided  in  about  the 
following  proportion  : — With  four  lamps — three  on  the 
light  side,  and  one  on  the  shadow  side,  all  about  4 in. 
above  the  eyes,  the  distance  to  be  in  proportion  of  how 
much  of  the  object  is  to  be  taken.  If  the  lamps  are 
so  placed  that  no  direct  light  will  fall  into  the  objective, 
then  the  holder  and  objective  may  be  opened  without 
the  slightest  danger  of  fogging  the  plate,  and,  bulb  in 
hand,  the  suitable  moment  may  be  waited  for,  when  the 
picture  is  taken.  I have  observed,  oftentimes,  how  a 
jovial  party  was  taken  at  night  with  this  “ fulgur 
apparatus,  using  the  same  lamp  that  served  to  light  the 
room.  The  mirror  hanging  on  the  chimney  protects  the 
objective  from  directly  penetrating  light. 

Everybody  knows  Edison’s  phonograph.  This  has  now 
a competitor  in  the  grammophone  of  Jacob  Berliner,  which 
admits  the  application  of  photography. 


188 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  7,  1890. 


The  grammophone  reproduces  the  sound — the  human 
voice  as  well  as  music — faithfully,  but  not  always  without 
a disturbing  noise.  The  grammophone  is  particularly 
successful  in  the  reproduction  of  pieces  of  music  of  several 
instruments,  which  arc  rendered  with  an  almost  faultless 
expression.  In  Berliner's  grammophone  the  wax  cylinder 
of  the  Edison  phonograph  is  replaced  by  a zinc  plate, 
covered  with  some  protecting  coating,  into  which  a point, 
fastened  by  a membrane,  draws  undulating  lines  corres- 
ponding with  the  vibrations  of  the  membrane,  which  is  set 
in  motion  by  the  undulating  sound. 

Those  metal  plates  are  then  treated  with  acids  like  etch- 
ings, and  one  obtains  therewith  an  imperishable  plate, 
which  can  be  multiplied  at  pleasure  by  the  gal  va  no -plastic 
process  ; yes,  it  is  even  possible  to  make  enlarged  photo- 
graphic copies  from  the  original  plate,  from  which  new 
and  larger  plates  of  correspondingly  stronger  sound  can 
be  produced.  The  sound-funnel  arrangement  of  the 
grammophone,  by  which  the  tunes  can  be  so  increased 
thata  greater  number  of  people  can  hear  it  at  the  same  time, 
has  been  more  successful  than  the  arrangement  with  which 
Edison  tried  to  attain  the  same  effect. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  our  Society  several  questions 
were  asked,  which  might  also  be  of  interest  to  foreign 
readers.  They  are  the  following : — Ts  there  an  effective 
intensifier  for  yellow  albumen  prints,  and  what  is  the 
treatment  ? 

According  to  Davanne,  the  picture  is  removed  from  the 
cardboard  by  soaking  in  water;  it  is  then  plunged  into  a 
neutral  gold  bath  with  0’2  to  0-5  chloride  of  gold  and 
potassium  to  100  parts  of  water,  left  therein  until  it  has 
assumed  the  desired  tone,  washed  in  a partly  dark  room, 
and  is  fixed  again.  We  have  not  obtained  very  satisfactory 
results  with  this  method. 

How  is  a heavy  yellow  fog  on  the  erythrosin  bath  plate 
to  be  removed  or  to  be  avoided. 

Yellow  fog  on  erythrosin,  or  erythrosin  silver  bath 
plates,  has  never  happened  to  us.  If  the  pyro  developer 
should  be  the  cause  of  the  yellow  fog,  it  can  be  removed 
easily  by  bathing  the  plate  in  aqueous  sulphurous  acid.  A 
solution  of  sulphite  of  soda  (10  per  cent.),  to  which  is 
added  muriatic  acid,  or  diluted  sulphuric  acid,  until  it 
smells  strongly  of  sulphurous  oxide,  acts  just  as  well. 
Another  kind  of  yellow  fog,  which,  if  looked  at  sideways, 
shows  a metallic  gloss,  forms  easily  if  the  developer  has 
been  contaminated  with  fixing  soda.  The  latter  dissolves 
small  quantities  of  bromide  of  silver,  which,  being  reduced 
by  the  developer  to  metallic  silver,  settles  in  the  gelatine 
film.  This  fog  can  sometimes  be  removed  from  the  moist 
plate  by  careful  rubbing  with  the  fingers,  or  a cotton  tuft. 
Both  kinds  of  fog  appear  just  as  much  on  ordinary  as  on 
colour  sensitive  plates. — Anthony's  Photographic  Bulletin. 

Royal  Institution  ok  Cheat  Britain. — The  following  are 
among  the  arrangements  for  the  lectures  after  Easter  : — Louis 
Fagan,  Esq.,  Assistant  Keeper  of  Prints  and  Drawings,  British 
Museum — Three  lectures  on  “ The  Art  of  Engraving  ” : 1.  Line 
Engraving  ; 2.  Wood  Engraving  ; 3.  Mezzotint  Engraving; 
on  Tuesdays,  May  6,  13,  20.  C.  V.  Boys,  Esq.,  A.R.S.M., 
F.R.S.,  M.  R.L,  Assistant  Professor  of  Physics,  Normal  School 
of  Science,  South  Kensington — Three  lectures  on  “ The  Heat 
of  the  Moon  and  Stars  ” (the  Tyndall  lectures)  ; on  Thursdays, 
April  17,  24,  May  1.  Professor  Dewar,  M.A.,  F.R.S.,  M.R.I., 
Fullerian  Professor  of  Chemistry,  R.I.,  Jacksonian  Professor  of 
Natural  Experimental  Philosophy,  Cambridge — Six  lectures  on 
“Flame  and  Explosives”  ; on  Thursdays,  May  8,  15,  22,  29, 
June  5,  12.  Captain  W.  de  W.  Abney,  R.E.,  C.B.,  F.R.S., 
M.R.I. — Three  lectures  on  “ Colour  and  its  Chemical  Action  ” ; 
on  Saturdays,  April  19,  26,  May  3. 


PROF.  PIAZZI  SMYTH  ON  FIGURES  IN 
PHOTOGRAPHS, 

Komi-;  time  ago  we  selected  some  American  views,  and 
especially  some  of  natural  clouds  caught  in  the  White 
Mountain  region,  and  sent  them  to  our  esteemed  friend. 
Prof.  < '.  Piazzi  Smyth,  the  learned  astronomer  and  Egypto- 
logist. Ilis  return  remarks  upon  some  of  them  have  so 
interested  us  that  we  are  impelled  to  share  them  with  our 
readers.  The  learned  critic  says : — 

“And  the  top  one  of  the  parcel  (no  name)  struck  me  at 
first  speechless  in  admiration  of  the  clouds,  with  all  the 
silvery  brightness  and  effective  shading  they  should  have 
in  a hand  and  head  painted  picture,  yet  accompanied  by 
trees  in  the  foreground,  bright  and  variously  tinted,  instead 
of  masses  of  midnight  darkness.  Those  trees  I still 
admire  for  those  qualities  of  brightness  and  illumination, 
and  wonder  whether  Prof.  Vogel's  4 orthochromatic  ’ 
plates  could  do  anything  of  the  kind  better,  or  even  so 
good  : but,  alas  ! for  the  beautiful  clouds,  and  the  tops  of 
the  hills  too,  now  that  I sec  what  I regard  as  symptoms  of 
their  being  a printing-in  from  a second  negative  of  clouds, 
and  clouds  alone  : taken,  too,  probably  at  another  place 
and  time. 

“ Another  view,  where  there  is  a large,  diagonal  burst 
of  light  coming  down  from  the  upper  right-hand  corner, 
and  forming  a central  light  amongst  the  clouds,  and  where 
the  earth  part  of  the  view  is  almost  entirely  composed  of 
distant  aeriform  and  air-tinted  hills,  valleys,  and  plains, 
and  where  the  dark-green  foreground  has  been,  most 
judiciously,  almost  entirely  cut  away,  gives  a better  pic- 
torial representation  of  earth  and  sky  meeting  in  a most 
harmonious  embrace  of  beautiful  infinities. 

“But  what  shall  I say  of  the  last  of  the  set?  A lake 
and  mountain  scene,  of  a larger  kind  than  our  Scottish 
lochs ; more  like  Swiss  lakes,  but  spoilt  by  that  steam 
yacht  lying  broadside  along  parallel  to  the  silvery  distance 
on  the  water,  without  any  of  the  beautiful  curves  which 
the  perspectives  of  other  directions  would  have  given,  and 
all  the  seven  gentlemen  on  board  caring  nothing  about  the 
grandeur  of  the  scenery,  but  keeping  watch  on  the  photo- 
grapher to  see  that  he  pictures  their  beautiful  physiog- 
nomies, little  thinking  all  the  time  that  nobody  cares  for 
them  when  they  are  indulging  in  idleness  and  cultivating 
vanity ! 

“ This  is  a maltreatment  of  the  very  powers  of  photo- 
graphy itself,  to  make  it  depict  what,  as  a fine  art,  it  must 
eschew  : as  bad  as  the  accusation  against  a Persian  king, 
that  he  had  made  the  fire,  which  he  worshipped,  consume 
some  nasty,  stinking  stuff — he  put  it  in  his  way,  and  the 
fire-god  could  not  help  himself,  but  was  obliged  to  eat 
it  up. 

14  It  is  an  unhappy  feature,  too,  in  all  unartistical  minds, 
whether  of  the  world  at  large  or  photographers  in  particu- 
lar, which  I had  hoped  the  birth  of  extra-sensitive  dry 
plates,  and  Kodak,  detective,  and  other  instantaneous  por- 
table cameras  would  have  been  the  means  of  correcting, 
by  furnishing  innumerable  subjects  of  figures  in  action, 
in  their  own  duties  in  life,  taken  unawares  to  themselves. 

‘ ‘ I am  glad  you  will  soon  use  the  late  Mr.  Front’s  studies 
to  show  your  readers  how  figures  may  be  introduced  into 
views,  both  large  and  small,  so  as  to  add  to  their  interest, 
instead  of  causing  any  real  artist  to  objurgate  their  un- 
happy intrusion.” — 1 1 7 i l son's  Photographic  Magazine. 

At  the  anniversary  meeting  of  the  Institute  of  Chemistry  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  on  the  1st  inst.,  Dr.  James  Bell  was 
re-elected  president. 


March  7,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


189 


MORE  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  El  KO  NOG  EX. 

BY  P.  C.  DUCHOCHOIS. 

Continuing  my  experiments  with  eikonogen.  I was  led  to 
use  a more  energetic  compound  to  counteract  the 
tendency  of  this  developer  to  yield  flat  negatives.  It  is 

as  follows : — 


rt. 

Sodium  sulphite,  cryst. . . . 

20 

grains  .. 

4 

grammes 

Eikonogen 

25 

i) 

5 

grammes* 

Water 

1 

ounce  . . 

. 100 

cub.  cent. 

Potassium  bromide,  1:10 
Dissolved  by  the  aid  of  heat. 

2 

drops  . . 

6 drops 

b. 

Sodium  sulphite,  cryst.... 

60 

grains  .. 

..  12 

grammes 

Potassium  carbonate,  pure 

30 

if 

6 

i f 

Water  ... 

1 

ounce  . . 

,.  100 

cub.  cent. 

These  solutions  keep  well.  For  use,  equal  volumes. 

In  this  formula  the  percentage  of  sulphite  is  much 
larger  than  that  previously  given.  The  reason  is  that  I 
found  the  gelatine  film  liable  to  be  stained  yellow  by  long 
development.  Even  a fog,  greenish  by  reflection,  pink  by 
transparency,  occurred  in  one  of  the  experiments  made  by 
Dr.  Charles  Ehrmann.  This  fog,  or  better,  this  dye,  was 
peculiar,  being  intenser  in  the  great  shadows  and  clear 
parts  of  the  plate,  and  melting  to  yellow  in  the  lights. 

Now,  as  to  the  capacity  of  eikonogen.  With  a view 
lens  11|  inches  equivalent  focus,  stop// 60,  exposure  less 
than  one-half  of  one  second,  good  negatives  were  obtained 
on  Carbutt’s  B plates,  sensitometer  16,  with  the  above 
developer.  This  exposure  may  be  considered  as  rapid  as 
those  by  the  drop-shutter,  when  using  more  rapid  plates 
and  the  usual  // 22  "617  or  //32  stop,  according  to  the 
subject.  The  image  in  these  experiments  appeared  rapidly, 
requiring  from  five  to  six  minutes  to  obtain  sufficient 
intensity. 

Carbutt s plates  “Keystone  special,”  sensitometer  25, 
exposed  simultaneously  with  the  B,  sensitometer  16, 
developed  slowly  with  potassium  pyrogallate,  giving,  how- 
ever, good  negatives,  although  they  were  evidently  some- 
what under-exposed. 

I made  oidy  a few  instantaneous  views,  so-called,  the 
persistence  of  bad  weather  and  the  poor  quality  of  light  in 
this  season  not  being  favourable.  The  pictures  I obtained 
— mostly  street  views — developed  much  more  rapidly  with 
eikonogen  than  with  pyrogallol,  and  were  the  best,  but 
none  of  them  were  very  good.  I must  say  that  the 
days  I made  them  the  light  was  yellowish  and  variable. 

I did  not  find  much  difference  in  the  results  when  treat- 
ing the  plates  before  development  with  the  preliminary  or 
accelerating  bath.  I do  not  deny  its  usefulness,  however, 
for  I did  not  make  special  tests  for  it.  I must  confess  I 
do  not  understand  its  action,  mercuric  chloride  being  con- 
verted into  sulphide  by  sodium  thiosulphate.  Perhaps  it 
may  be  explained  by  an  action  similar  to  that  occurring  in 
the  curious  experiments  made  years  ago  by  Mr.  Carey 
Lea,  which  consisted  of  developing  an  image  in  mercury  by 
substituting  the  nitrate  of  this  metal  to  that  of  silver  in  an 
acidified  pyrogallol  developer. 

The  preliminary  bath  is  compounded  thus  : — 

Sodium  thiosulphate) 

(hyposulphite)  / 5 &rams  - 0 2 grammes 

Water...  ...  ...  25  ounces  ...  100  cub.  cent. 

Bi-chloride  of  mercury, ) 

1 : ioo  | - 30  mmims...  1-2  cub.  cent. 


Tint  is  the  mutimum  tha.  can  be  <li-s:>lved  with  the  sulphite.  By 
increasing  the  percentage  of  the  1 itter,  eikonogen,  being  much  less  soluble, 
is  precipitated. 


The  plate  is  immersed  in  this  for  a minute,  and  then 
developed  without  washing. 

The  following  experiments  in  portraiture  were  done  with 
the  kind  collaboration  of  Dr.  Charles  Ehrmann  : — 

Simultaneous  exposures  were  made  on  Cramer’s  plate, 
sensitometer  30,  with  a Gundlach’s  rectigraphic  lens, 
6)  by  8£,  stop //15-7,  and  developed  side  by  side,  some 
with  eikonogen,  and  others  with  pyrogallol.  All  the  plates 
yielded  good  negatives,  those  developed  with  pyrogallol 
being  more  brilliant  than  the  eikonogen  developed  plates, 
which  we  thought  were  over-exposed.  Therefore,  other 
plates  were  exposed  with  stop  //22,  giving  exactly  the 
same  time,  2£  seconds,  expecting  that  they  would  be 
under-exposed.  To  our  surprise  the  image  came  out 
regularly  with  eikonogen,  while  the  plates  treated  with 
pyrogallol  developed  slowly,  being  under-exposed  and, 
consequently,  deficient  in  the  shadows. 

Theoretically,  the  increase  of  exposure  between  // 15*7 
and  // 22  is  about  twice  as  long;  but  we  know  that  in 
practice  it  is  not  so,  being  much  less.  One  second  more 
exposure  would  likely  have  been  sufficient  to  bring  out  a 
good  portrait  with  pyrogallol  when  taking  the  usual  care. 

The  developers  employed  in  these  experiments  were 
compounded  by  Dr.  Ehrmann.  They  are  as  follows  : — 

Ready-made  Eikonogen  Developer. 

Sodium  sulphite,  cryst. ...  4 ounces  ...  11 -3  grammes 

Eikonogen  ...  ...  1 ounce  ...  2'8  ,, 

Potassium  carbonate  ...  1 ,,  ...  2'8  ,, 

Water  ...  ...  ...  34  ounces  ...  100  cub.  cent. 

Dissolved  by  heat. 

During  the  development  a few  drops  of  a solution  of 
potassium  bromide  were  added. 

Pyrogallol  Developer. 

a.  Sodium  sulphite,  cryst.  ...  4 ounces  ...  1 1 "3  grammes 

Pyrogallol  ...  ...  1 ounce  ...  2-8  „ 

Water  ...  ...  ...  34  ounces  ...  100  cub.  cent. 

b.  Sodium  carbonate,  cryst....  8 ounces  ...  22 -6  grammes 

Potassium  carbonate,  pure  4 ,,  ...  11-3  ,, 

Water  ...  ...  ...  34  ,,  ...  100  cub.  cent. 

For  use,  two  drams  of  a and  one  dram  of  b in  one  ounce 
of  water,  or  24  cub.  cent,  of  a and  12  of  b in  100  cub.  cent, 
of  water. 

The  above  results  bring  me  to  this  question  : What  is  a 
normal  exposure  ? Under  the  conditions  Dr.  Ehrmann  and 
I were  working,  2)  seconds  with  stop  //2 2 was  a correct  or 
normal  exposure  for  Cramer's  plate,  sens.  30,  by  developing 
with  eikonogen,  but  a short  exposure  by  developing  with 
pyrogallol.  Hence  a normal  exposure  can  be  defined 
thus : The  minimum  of  exposure  which  will  yield  a per- 
fect image  on  a given  plate  developed  with  a certain 
developer.  But  that  teaches  us  nothing  about  compara- 
tive exposures  so  long  as  there  is  not  a standard  com- 
pound for  each  of  the  reducing  agents  employed,  and  the 
plate  manufacturers  do  not  use  the  same  sensitometer, 
one  graduated  something  like  the  United  States  stops. 

The  image  in  all  the  experiments  came  out  more  rapidly 
with  eikonogen  than  with  pyrogallol,  but  intensity  was 
with  the  latter  more  easily  obtained. 

For  over-exposures  the  development  is  restrained,  as 
usual,  with  potassium  bromide,  using  less  alkali.  Hydroxy- 
lamine  is  said  to  be  an  effective  restrainer.  How  can  a 
reducing  agent  exert  a restraining  action  V It  may  be  so  ; 
I did  not  try  it.  In  cases  of  short  exposures  I found  it 
sufficient  to  use  a warm  solution — 75°  F. , 19°  C.  Im- 
pressions by  drop  shutter  exposures — stop  //22,  time  /" 
— were  developed  thus  by  somewhat  diluting  the  developer 


190 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  7,  1890. 


with  hot  water.  No  frilling  occurs  with  good  plates. 
This  manner  of  operating  I found  necessary  to  force  out 
the  details,  for,  as  said  before,  the  days  I could  spare  for 
experimenting  were  not  propitious  for  rapid  exposures, 
the  light  being  poor.  The  negatives  were  weak,  and  had 
to  be  intensified. 

The  number  of  plates  that  can  be  developed  in  the  same 
solution  depends,  of  course,  upon  the  subject  photo- 
graphed and  the  time  of  exposure,  the  contrasts  increasing 
gradually  with  each  plate  from  the  accession  of  more 
alkaline  bromide  and  the  oxidation  of  eikonogen,  which 
latter  diminishes  reducing  power.  The  solution,  in  the 
meantime,  discolours  to  a greenish  tint  by  reflection,  and 
a yellowish  brown  by  transparency.  By  adding  a small 
quantity  of  sodium  bisulphite,  it  clears  up  to  a brownish 
yellow  in  a day  or  two — more  rapidly  by  heating — and 
deposits  a brown  substance,  which  is  the  dye  staining  the 
gelatine  film. 

The  old  solution  can  be  used  again  for  the  development 
of  over-exposed  plates,  and  to  begin  that  of  those  normally 
exposed.  For  short  and  even  normal  exposures,  I advise 
a new  solution  for  each  plate,  in  order  to  work  in  the 
same  conditions,  which  is  important  to  obtain  good  uniform 
results ; indeed,  I never  could  understand  that  economy 
of  using  the  same  solution  strengthened  over  and  over 
again,  recommended  by  some  authors.  That  soi-disanl 
economy  certainly  does  not  compensate  the  risk  of  spoiling 
a negative,  or  that  of  obtaining  an  imperfect  one. 

As  to  the  compared  merit  of  pyrogallol,  hydroquinoue, 
and  eikonogen,  I will  repeat  what  I have  said  : each  one 
has  properties  of  its  own  which  the  photographer  must 
know  how  to  apply.  For  myself  I do  not  care  whether  in 
time  exposures  I expose  one  second  more  or  one  second 
less.  What  I aim  at  is  to  obtain  a good  negative  by  being 
able  to  control  the  development  at  will.  Now  eikonogen 
works  quite  rapidly,  brings  out  the  details  easily,  but  in 
my  experience  is  not  so  well  under  control  as  pyrogallol. 
For  this  reason  I prefer  the  latter  for  time  exposures, 
eikonogen  for  instantaneousphotography,  and  hydroquinone 
for  diapositives,  on  account  of  the  colour  of  reduction. — 
The  Photographic  Times. 


A Cemejtt. — A new  cement  for  securing  iron  into  stone  is 
described  in  some  of  the  foreign  papers.  The  cement  is  made 
by  melting  resin  and  stirring  in  brick-dust,  which  must  be 
finely  ground  and  sifted,  until  a sort  of  putty  is  formed,  which, 
however,  runs  easily  while  hot.  In  using,  the  iron  is  set  into 
the  hole  in  the  stone  prepared  to  receive  it,  and  the  melted 
putty  poured  in  until  the  space  is  filled  ; then,  if  desired,  bits 
of  brick  previously  warmed  may  be  pushed  into  the  mass,  and 
a little  of  the  cement  thus  saved.  As  soon  as  the  whole  is 
cool  the  iron  will  be  firmly  held  to  the  stone,  and  the  cement 
is  quite  durable  and  uninjured  by  the  weather  ; unlike  lead 
and  sulphur,  it  has  no  injurious  effect  on  the  iron. 

Cutting  Photogkaphic  Paper. — Can  the  following  machine 
be  utilised  for  cutting  sheets  of  photographic  paper  ? — Mr  W. 
Hanlon,  of  Cohassett,  Mass.,  has  obtained  a patent,  dated 
November  26th,  1889,  for  a beheading  block  and  axe.  There 
are  five  claims;  the  fifth  runs  thus  : — “ 5.  In  an  executioner’s 
head-block,  the  combination,  with  the  body  of  the  block,  of  a 
neck-rest  composed  of  parallel  uprights  and  opposing  flexible 
strips  secured  at  their  upper  ends  and  bridging  the  space 
between  them,  of  a headsman’s  axe  the  blade  of  which  is  bifur- 
cated and  flexibly  covered,  substantially  as  described,  whereby 
when  brought  down  upon  the  neck-rest  the  forks  of  said  blade 
will  strike  upon  the  posts  thereof,  and  the  flexible  covering 
bridge  the  space  between  the  said  posts,  and  have  a yielding 
contact  with  the  object  to  be  beheaded,  substantially  as 
described.” 


MR.  RUSKIN  ON  “BEAUTY.” 

Mr.  Buskin’s  rule  for  the  judgment  of  beauty  is  this  : — 
“ Any  material  object  which  can  give  us  pleasure  in  the 
simple  contemplation  of  its  outward  qualities,  without 
any  direct  and  definite  exertion  of  the  intellect,  I call  in 
some  way,  or  in  some  degree,  beautiful.  Why  we  receive 
pleasure  from  some  forms  and  colours,  and  not  from 
others,  is  no  more  to  be  asked  or  answered  than  why  we 
like  sugar,  and  dislike  •wormwood.  The  utmost  subtility 
of  investigation  will  only  lead  us  to  ultimate  instincts  and 
principles  of  human  nature,  for  which  no  farther  reason 
can  be  given  than  the  simple  will  of  the  Deity  that  we 
should  be  so  created.  We  may,  indeed,  perceive,  as  far 
as  we  are  acquainted  with  His  nature,  that  we  have  been 
so  constructed  as,  when  in  a healthy  and  cultivated  state 
of  mind,  to  derive  pleasure  from  whatever  things  are 
illustrative  of  that  nature ; but  we  do  not  receive 
pleasure  from  them  because  they  are  illustrative  of  it,  nor 
from  any  perception  that  they  arc  illustrative  of  it,  but 
instinctively  and  necessarily,  as  we  derive  sensual 
pleasure  from  the  scent  of  a rose.  On  these  primary 
principles  of  our  nature,  education  and  accident  operate 
to  an  unlimited  extent ; they  may  be  cultivated  or 
checked,  directed  or  diverted,  gifted  by  right  guidance 
with  the  most  acute  and  faultless  sense,  or  subjected  by 
neglect  to  every  phase  of  error  and  disease.  He  who 
has  followed  up  these  natural  laws  of  aversion  and  desire, 
rendering  them  more  and  more  authoritative  by  constant 
obedience,  so  as  to  derive  pleasure  always  from  that  which 
God  originally  intended  should  give  him  pleasure,  and 
who  derives  the  greatest  possible  sum  of  pleasure  from 
any  given  object,  is  a man  of  taste. 

‘ ‘ This,  then,  is  the  real  meaning  of  this  disputed  word. 
Perfect  taste  is  the  faculty  of  receiving  the  greatest 
possible  pleasure  from  those  material  sources  which  are 
attractive  to  our  moral  nature  in  its  purity  and  perfec- 
tion. He  who  receives  little  pleasure  from  these  sources, 
wants  taste ; he  who  receives  pleasure  from  any  other 
sources,  has  false  or  bad  taste. 

“ And  it  is  thus  that  the  term  ‘taste’  is  to  be  distin- 
guished from  that  of  ‘ judgment,’ with  which  it  is  con- 
stantly confounded.  Judgment  is  a general  term, 
expressing  definite  action  of  the  intellect,  and  is  appli- 
cable to  every  kind  of  subject  which  can  be  submitted  to 
it.  There  may  be  judgment  of  congruity,  judgment  of 
truth,  judgment  of  justice,  and  judgment  of  difficulty  and 
excellence.  But  all  these  exertions  of  the  intellect  are 
totally  distinct  from  taste,  properly  so-called,  which  is  the 
instinctive  and  instant  preferring  of  one  material  object 
to  another  without  any  obvious  reason,  except  that  it  is 
proper  to  human  nature  in  its  perfection  to  do  so.” 

Celluloid  may  be  mended,  it  is  said,  by  wetting  the  edges 
with  glacial  acetic  acid,  and  pressing  them  together  for  a short 
time. 

A New  Test  for  Albumen. — Salicysulphonic  acid  has  been 
recommended  by  Mr.  Roch  as  a certain,  delicate,  and  con- 
venient test  for  albumen  ( Pharm . Centralb.,  September  19th, 
page  519).  The  albumen  is  said  to  be  thrown  down  by  the 
acid  as  a white  powder,  having  an  acid  reaction,  and  giving  with 
ferric  chloride  an  intense  red  colour.  The  separation  of  albu- 
men from  a liquid  is  stated  to  be  complete,  0-0005  gm.  in 
10  c.c.  being  distinctly  recognizable.  On  examining  urine,  it 
is  recommended  to  introduce  a fewr  crystals  of  the  acid  into  a 
cubic  centimeter  of  the  liquid,  and  shake,  when  the  occurrence 
of  turbidity  may  be  taken  as  evidence  of  the  presence  of  albu- 
men, since  the  reaction  is  not  affected  by  the  presence  of  urea, 
uric  acid,  peptones,  or  glucose. — Pharm.  Journ. 


March  7,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


191 


FLASH  POWDER  EXPLOSIONS. 

BY  CHARLES  L.  MITCHELL,  M.D.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 
Within  the  last  two  years  the  community  of  Philadelphia 
has  been  startled  by  a series  of  fatal  accidents,  occurring 
during  the  manufacture  of  a compound  used  in  photo- 
graphy, called  magnesium  flash  powder,  whereby,  in  all, 
five  human  lives  have  been  lost. 

The  first  accident  occurred  about  two  years  ago  at  the 
drug  milling  establishment  of  Mcllvaine  Brothers,  where, 
while  a workman  was  engaged  in  grinding  this  powder  in  a 
peculiar  form  of  mill  known  as  a “ chaser,”  the  compound 
suddenly  ignited  and  exploded,  burning  him  fatally.  The 
second  accident  occurred  at  the  chemical  laboratory  of 
Messrs.  Wiley  and  Wallace,  some  months  later.  While  a 
lad  in  their  employ,  named  John  I).  Cruice,  was  engaged 
in  sieving  this  powder,  it  suddenly  burst  into  a flame, 
burning  him  so  severely  about  the  face  and  body  that  he 
died  within  a few  hours.  The  third  and  last  accident,  and 
the  most  fatal  of  all,  the  memory  of  which  is  still  fresh  in 
the  mind  of  the  public,  occurred  a little  more  than  a month 
ago,  and,  singular  to  note,  at  the  same  place  where  the 
preceding  accident  had  taken  place.  In  this  occurrence 
three  persons  lost  their  lives,  Mr.  Joseph  Wiley,  the  senior 
member  of  the  firm,  and  two  of  his  assistants  in  the  chemi- 
cal laboratory.  W bile  handling  some  of  this  flash  powder, 
it  suddenly  exjiloded  with  terrific  force,  killing  them  in- 
stantly, and  badly  wrecking  the  building.  This  series  of 
lamentable  and  fatal  accidents  has  served  to  direct  public 
attention  to  the  subject  of  “flash  powders,”  and  it  has 
revealed  dangers  attending  their  manufacture  and  use 
which  have  been  but  little  known  and  comparatively  un- 
suspected. 

Magnesium  flash  powder  is  a compound  used  in  photo- 
graphy for  the  purpose  of  portraiture  at  night,  and  in 
photographing  dark  interiors  and  underground  localities, 
in  which,  owing  to  scanty  light  or  even  absolute  darkness, 
it  has  been  impossible  to  obtain  an  image  on  the  sensi- 
tive silver  plate. 

The  introduction  of  magnesium  flash  powder  as  a 
means  of  photographic  illumination  dates  back  now  some 
three  years,  when  Gsedicke,  of  Berlin,  introduced  to  pub- 
lic notice  a compound  containing  metallic  magnesium, 
which,  when  ignited,  gave  a sudden  brilliant  and  intense 
white  light,  possessing  high  actinic  properties.  Metallic 
magnesium  alone  had  been  used  for  this  purpose  for  some 
time  previous,  being  burnt  in  the  form  of  wire  or  ribbon  ; 
but  it  was  slow,  expensive,  and  uncertain,  and  was  but 
seldom  employed.  Gsedicke’s  invention,  however,  em- 
ployed the  magnesium  in  the  powdered  form,  and  com- 
bined it  with  highly  oxygenising  substances,  such  as 
potassium  chlorate  and  nitrate,  for  the  purpose  of  increas- 
ing the  rapidity  and  intensity  of  the  combustion  of  the 
metal.  The  new  compound  sprang  into  immediate  and 
extended  favour,  for  it  afforded  a convenient  and  satisfac- 
tory means  for  accomplishing  many  results  hitherto  either 
very  difficult  or  utterly  impossible  for  photographers. 
The  photographic  amateur  also  took  hold  of  it  with 
his  accustomed  vigour,  and  all  over  the  land  he 
exercised  his  skill  in  “taking”  the  company 
assembled  at  many  an  entertainment,  supper,  or  ball,  while, 
on  more  informal  occasions,  he  burnt  his  own  fingers,  and 
astonished  his  admiring  relatives  with  the  sudden  and 
brilliant  flashes  of  the  compound  in  his  endeavour  to  suc- 
cessfully accomplish  home  portraiture  by  night.  A note 
of  warning  was  soon  sounded,  however,  and  the  first  fatal 


accident,  occurring  during  its  manufacture,  demonstrated 
that  this  new  compound  possessed  properties  which  ren- 
dered it  under  many  circumstances  extremely  dangerous. 

Magnesium  flash  powder,  specifically  considered,  comes 
under  the  heading  of  pyrotechnic  compounds.  While 
metallic  magnesium  will  burn  by  itself  when  ignited,  it 
does  so  with  but  moderate  rapidity.  It  is  necessary, 
therefore,  in  order  to  produce  the  sudden  and  brilliant 
flash  of  white  light  so  desirable  for  photographic  purposes, 
that  the  activity  and  intensity  of  its  combustion  be  very 
much  increased.  The  ingredients  used  for  this  purpose 
have  been  the  same  as  usually  enter  into  the  composition 
of  other  forms  of  fireworks,  namely,  potassium  chlorate, 
nitrate,  permanganate  or  bichromate,  amorphous  phos- 
phorus, picric  acid,  sulphur,  and  antimony  sulphide. 
Gaxlicke’s  formula  has  always  been  a secret,  and  conse- 
quently those  who  manufactured  flash  powder  have  been 
obliged  to  devise  formulae  of  their  own.  The  composi- 
tion of  these  different  powders  has  been  kept  secret,  and 
it  is  highly  probable  that  in  many  cases  the  ingredients 
have  been  combined  with  but  little  regard  to  their  chem- 
ical properties,  and  the  chemical  reactions  which  might 
occur  from  their  admixture.  The  inventor  of  the  parti- 
cular brand  of  flash  powder  which  caused  the  deaths  of 
the  five  persons  previously  noted,  testified  at  the  coroner’s 
inquest,  and  subsequently  in  court,  that  “he  was  not  a 
chemist,”  and  the  terrible  results  which  accompanied  this 
flash  powder,  which  he  had  1 ‘ invented,  ” showed  very 
clearly  that  it  was  formulated  in  utter  ignorance  of  the 
dangerous  properties  of  its  several  ingredients. 

The  chemical  composition  of  many  of  the  different  flash 
powders  in  the  market  has  been  such  that  the  resulting 
compounds  were  exceedingly  dangerous  in  character ; in 
fact  equally,  if  not  even  more  so,  than  gunpowder,  or  the 
fulminates,  and  for  this  reason : that  a flash  powder,  to 
meet  with  the  requirements  of  many  photographers,  must 
not  only  burn  rapidly,  but  must  “flash  ; .”  that  is,  the  com- 
bustion must  take  place  with  such  rapidity  that  it  must  be 
almost  instantaneous  in  duration  of  time,  so  as  to  avoid 
the  movement  of  the  eyelids,  or  the  changes  in  expres- 
sion of  the  person  being  photographed.  Such  combus- 
tion must  necessarily,  for  chemical  reasons,  be  exceedingly 
intense,  and  to  produce  this  result,  chemical  agents 
have  to  be  employed  which  will  liberate  oxygen  gas 
freely  and  in  large  quantities,  so  as  to  supply  to  the 
burning  metallic  magnesium  the  amount  required  for  rapid 
and  complete  incandescence.  A compound  of  this  cha- 
racter is  a gunpowder  to  all  intents  and  purposes.  When 
ignited  with  a match  it  bursts  violently  into  flame,  often 
with  a puff  or  partial  report,  showing  that  its  component 
gases  are  liberated  so  quickly  as  to  produce,  if  the  com- 
pound were  in  a confined  space,  all  the  effects  of  an  explo- 
sion. These  compounds  are  liable  from  their  chemical 
nature,  and  from  the  presence  of  potassium  chlorate,  to 
accidentally  explode  or  ignite  under  certain  conditions, 
and  may,  indeed,  do  so  spontaneously,  for  reasons  unkown 
to  chemical  science. 

The  particular  make  of  flash  powder  which  caused  the 
five  deaths  previously  mentioned  was  known  as  the 
“yellow  flash  powder,”  or  “brutem  fulmen,”  and  was 
manufactured  for  and  sold  by  the  firm  of  Buchanan, 
Bromley,  and  Co.,  of  Philadelphia,  general  photographic 
stock  merchants.  This  firm  made  two  kinds  of  flash 
powder:  the  “yellow,”  which  was  composed  of  magnesium, 
potassium  chlorate,  picric  acid,  bichromate  potassium, 
&c. ; and  the  “ violet,”  which  was  similar  in  composition, 


192 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  7,  1890. 


excepting  that  the  picric  acid  was  omitted.  It  was 
claimed  that  the  death  of  the  boy,  John  D.  Cruice, 
occurred  while  preparing  the  “violet”  flash  powder; 
but  from  the  fact  that  the  death  of  Mr.  Wiley  and  his 
assistants  resulted  while  endeavouring  to  destroy,  some 
months  later,  some  of  this  dangerous  compound,  it  is 
highly  probable  that  it  was  in  reality  the  “ yellow  ’’powder 
which  the  boy  was  engaged  in  mixing  when  he  met  his 
death.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  combination  of  ingredients 
in  each  of  these  powders  is  sufficiently  dangerous  to 
render  them  articles  exceedingly  unsafe  to  handle,  the 
most  perilous  being  probably  the  yellow  powder.  This 
powder,  as  before  stated,  contained  picric  acid,  magnesium, 
and  the  chlorate,  nitrate,  and  bichromate  of  potassium. 
No  one  of  these  agents  would  in  itself  be  explosive, 
except  under  extraordinary  circumstances ; but  the  com- 
bination of  these  different  substances  introduces  at  once 
a large  element  of  danger.  It  is  a well-known  chemical 
fact  that  many  metals,  when  in  a state  of  fine  subdivision, 
become  rapidly  oxidized — so  rapidly,  indeed,  that  the 
absorption  of  the  oxygen  is  attended  with  both  light  and 
heat,  particularly  if  the  element  of  moisture  be  added. 
Powdered  magnesium  and  powdered  zinc,  after  being 
wet  with  water,  have  been  known  to  become  sufficiently 
hot  to  ignite  material  in  contact  with  them.  The  admix- 
ture, therefore,  of  any  chemical  substance  rich  in  oxygen, 
or  holding  it  loosely  in  combination,  with  a readily 
oxidizable  metal  like  magnesium  in  a state  of  fine  powder, 
renders  the  compound  exceedingly  susceptible  to  rapid 
changes,  and  certain  physical  conditions,  such  as  mois- 
ture, heat,  light,  and  perhaps  electricity,  will  greatly 
assist  such  decomposition.  Picric  acid,  another  element 
in  this  particular  compound,  is,  when  in  a pure  condition, 
comparatively  safe,  as  it  will  burn  without  danger,  and 
explodes  only  when  heated  in  a confined  space.  That 
of  the  market  is  often  impure  and  contaminated  with 
the  picrates  of  sodium  or  potassium,  by-products  of  its 
manufacture,  thus  considerably  increasing  its  dangerous 
qualities.  The  salts  of  picric  acid — namely,  the  picrates 
of  potassium,  sodium,  ammonium,  lead,  barium,  mag- 
nesium, &c. — are  extremely  dangerous  in  character,  be- 
longing to  the  class  of  fulminates  or  detonators,  a series 
of  compounds  unstable  in  character,  and  liable  to  explode 
with  slight  percussion  or  friction,  ■with  the  liberation  of 
immense  volumes  of  gas.  Sarrau  states  that  the  relative 
force  of  picrate  of  potassium  when  exploded,  as  com- 
pared with  gunpowder,  is  as  1*98  to  l’OO,  almost  twice  as 
great,  A mixture  of  0-5  kilograms  of  potassium  picrate 
and  05  kilograms  of  potassium  chlorate  evolves  through 
its  combustion  352  litres  of  gas;  1 kilogram  of  gun- 
powder evolves  but  200  litres  under  the  same  circum- 
stances. 

( To  be  continued). 


Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. — At  the  meeting 
on  Tuesday,  March  11th,  at  5a,  Pall  Mall  East,  at  8 p.m.,  the 
adjourned  discussion  will  take  place  on  the  paper  read  by  Dr. 
Lindsay  Johnson  at  the  annual  meeting  ; and  Mr.  John  Spiller, 
F.C.S.,  F.I.C.,  will  read  a paper,  “ Experiments  by  Dr.  Percy 
and  Mr.  George  Shaw  on  the  Chemical  Phenomena  of  Light.” 

Photographers’  Benevolent  Association. — The  address  of 
the  above  has  been  changed  to  65  and  66,  Chancery  Lane, 
W.  C. , and  all  communications  respecting  the  Association  should 
be  forwarded  so  addressed  to  the  honorary  secretary,  Mr.  H. 
J.  Beasley.  We  are  requested  to  state  that  the  annual  meeting, 
which  was  adjourned  till  the  7th  inst.,  cannot  take  place  on 
this  date,  as  the  Registrar  lias  not  passed  the  new  rules. 


Xoticcs  of  Books. 


Jaiirbucii  fur  Photografhie  und  Reproductioxstechnic 

fur  1890.  Edited  by  Dr.  Joseph  M.  vou  Eder.  (Knapp: 

Halle). 

The  appearance  of  the  fourth  of  Dr.  Eder’s  annuals  will 
be  hailed  with  satisfaction  by  lovers  of  photographic 
science.  Germany  has  become  so  much  the  home  of 
original  research  in  photographic  matters,  that  we  expect 
to  find  in  such  a work  as  that  before  us,  which  includes 
articles  by  so  many  leading  experts,  a wealth  of  original 
matter  carrying  our  knowledge  in  several  points  a step 
farther  than  before,  and  our  expectation  is  not  disap- 
pointed. A feature  of  the  work,  which  might  be  inferred 
from  the  title,  is  the  attention  which  is  bestowed  upon 
giving  the  latest  advances  in  the  arts  of  photographic 
reproduction  by  printing-press  methods.  Amongst  others, 
we  find  original  articles  on  these  matters  by  Ilubl  and 
Jaffe,  as  well  as  detailed  accounts  of  processes  or  methods 
in  use  by  Volkmcr,  Strasila,  J.  G.  Albert,  Husnik,  and 
Koese,  the  latter  referring  to  chromo-zincotype. 

Amongst  the  illustrations  produced  by  various  photo- 
ink  methods,  is  one  in  chromo-lithography,  with  a set  of 
the  tints  used,  of  which  there  are  no  less  than  eighteen, 
printed  underneath.  The  register  has  been  wonderfully 
well  kept,  and  the  picture  is  very  bright  and  airy. 

There  are  about  a score  of  these  photo-ink  illustra- 
tions printed  by  various  methods  and  from  different 
establishments,  most  of  them  reaching  a high  standard 
of  excellence,  and  possessing  a special  interest  in  con- 
nection with  some  photographic  process. 

One  very  curious  page  represents  fish — sturgeon  and 
gold  fish — swimming  in  an  aquarium,  and  photographed 
by  the  magnesium  flash.  There  are  also  several  which 
are  the  work  of  students — they  might  very  well  be  the 
productions  of  masters — at  the  Institute  for  Instruction 
and  Research  in  Photography  and  Reproduction  Processes 
in  Vienna.  A copy  of  an  oil  painting  which  forms  one 
of  these  supplements,  taken  with  orthochromatic  collodion 
emulsion,  is  particularly  charming  in  softness  and  har- 
mony of  gradation.  Samples  of  work  by  the  Reporter 
camera  serve  to  show  what  really  interesting  pictures  may 
be  obtained  in  such  a small  compass,  the  photographs 
being  only  about  the  size  of  one-fourth  of  a quarter- 
plate,  or  half  that  of  those  recently  shown  by  Mr. 
Chapman  Jones  as  taken  with  his  Memorandum  camera. 
Such  works  illustrate  the  fact  that  there  are  optical 
reasons  why  that  may  be  done  with  a small  image  which 
it  is  impossible  to  obtain  relatively  sharp  with  a larger  one. 

There  are  some  papers  of  special  interest  on  varnishes 
for  photographic  use  ; onartificial  light,  particularly  various 
details  connected  with  magnesium  flash  lamps ; and  on 
orthochromatic  processes. 

We  do  not  pretend  in  this  rapid  summary  to  have 
exhausted  the  mention  of  what  is  useful  and  interesting 
to  photographers  in  Dr.  Eder's  Annual,  and  the  best 
advice  we  can  give  to  those  who  can  avail  themselves  of 
the  store  of  information  contained  in  the  work  is,  to  get  it. 

A paper  on  the  perception  of  luminous  radiations  by  the 
skin,  as  exemplified  by  the  blind  Proteus  of  the  grottos  of 
Carniola,  has  been  read  before  the  Academy  of  Sciences  by  M. 
Raphael  Dubois.  By  a number  of  experiments  upon  Proteus 
anyuinis,  the  author  demonstrates  that  the  sensibility  of  its 
skin  to  light  is  about  half  of  the  sensibility  of  its  rudimentary 
eyes,  and  further,  that  this  sensibility  varies  with  the  colour 
of  the  light  employed,  and  is  greatest  for  yellow  light. 


March  7,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


198 


THE  CAMERA  CLUB  CONFERENCE. 

The  Journal  of  the  Camera  Club  gives  the  following  full 
programme  of  the  Conference  : — Wednesday,  March  19th, 
8. 30  p.  m.  — Smoking  Concert  at  the  Camera  Club  Rooms, 
21,  Bedford  Street,  W.C.  Thursday,  March  20th. — 
Conference  and  Exhibition  of  Apparatus  at  the  Society  of 
Arts,  18,  John  Street,  Adelphi,  to  be  opened  by  the  Presi- 
dent at  2 p.m.  Papers  to  be  read  from  2 p.m.  to  5.30  p.m. 
in  the  Theatre : — 1.  Capt.  W.  de  W.  Abney,  C.B.,  D.C.L., 
RE.,  F.R.S.,  Presidential  Address;  2.  Mr.  A.  M.  Rossi, 
“The  Art  of  Drawing  and  Photography;”  3.  Mr.  T.  R. 
Pallmeyer,  “ Limitations  in  the  Treatment  of  Subjects  by 
Focus;”  4.  Mr.  Lyonel  Clark,  “The  Influence  of 
Stops  on  Exposure  ;”  5.  Mr.  A.  A.  Common,  F.R.S. , 
“Eclipse  Photography;”  6.  Mr.  W.  T.  Wilkinson, 
“Collotype  Practically  Illustrated.”  At  8 p.m. — Exhi- 
bition of  Lantern  Slides  in  the  Theatre.  Friday, 
March  21st,  10  a.m. — Apparatus  on  view  at  the 

Society  of  Arts,  and  exhibition  of  photographs  by 
members  at  the  Club  Rooms,  21,  Bedford  Street.  2 p.m. 
— Renewal  of  conference  in  the  Theatre,  Society  of 
Arts.  Papers  to  be  read  from  2 p.m.  to  5.30  p.m.  : — 

I.  Official  communication  upon  the  subject  of  Regula- 
tions for  Photographic  Exhibitions;  2.  Lord  Rayleigh, 
“ Photography  by  the  Light  of  the  Electric  Spark;”  3. 
Captain  Abney,  “A  Photographic  Untruth;”  4.  Mr.  C. 

II.  Bothamley,  “The  Intent  Image;”  5.  Mr.  W.  T. 
Wilkinson,  “Photogravure,  Practically  Illustrated.”  7.30 
p.m. — Annual  club  dinner  for  members  and  friends  at 
the  Frascati  Restaurant,  Oxford  Street  (near  Tottenham 
Court  Road).  All  photographers  are  cordially  invited  to 
the  Conference  and  Exhibitions.  The  meetings  (except 
the  smoking  concert)  will  be  open  to  ladies. 


patent  EnteUtgcnre* 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

2.916.  E.  Underwood  and  T.  A.  Undf.iiwood,  128,  Colmore 
Row,  Birmingham,  “ Detective  and  other  Cameras.” — Feb- 
ruary 24th. 

2,920.  H.  Campbell,  52,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “ Flash 
Lamps.” — February  24th. 

2,989.  IV.  L.  Hare,  7,  Bride  Court,  Fleet  Street,  London, 
“ Zinc  Plates  for  Printing  by  Letter  Press,  and  from  Copper- 
plates by  Intaglio  Process.” — February  25th. 

3,155.  F.  A.  Gregory  and  H.  F.  Ainley,  6,  Bream’s  Buildings, 
Chancery  Lane,  Loudon,  “Camera  Slides.” — February  27th. 
3,203.  C.  Leigh,  128,  High  Street,  Homerton,  “Tinting  Opal 
Glass.” — February  28th. 

3,281.  E.  J.  Wake  LING,  3,  Poet’s  Corner,  Westminster, 
“Displaying  Photographs.” — March  1st. 

3,300.  R.  Wells,  114,  High  Street,  Kingsland,  London, 
“ Frames  for  Optical  Glasses.” — March  1st. 

Specifications  Published. 

4,955. — March  21  at,  1889.  “Apparatus  for  Automatically 
Operating  Valves.!’  Brin's  Oxygen  Company,  Limited,  of 
Connaught  Mansions,  Westminster,  and  Kenneth  Suther- 
land Murray,  of  21,  Redburn  Street,  Chelsea,  London, 
Engineer. 

This  invention  is  intended  more  particular!}'  for  use  with 
apparatus  employed  in  producing  oxygen  known  as  the  Brin 
process,  but  is  not  restricted  thereto,  and  has  for  its  object  to 
provide  means  for  readily  reversing  one  or  several  of  a series 
of  cocks  or  valves  used  in  the  said  process  so  as  to  produce 
suction  or  pressure  as  required  in  a series  of  pipes  with  which 
they  are  connected  without  stopping,  reversing,  or  setting  in 
motion  any  additional  machinery.  In  order  to  abstract 


oxygen  from  the  atmosphere  by  what  is  commonly  known  as 
the  Brin  process  it  is  necessary  to  pump  or  otherwise  deliver 
air  through  a series  of  pipes  and  retorts  for  a given  period. 
It  is  then  necessary,  by  means  of  cocks  or  valves,  to  divert  the 
current  in  pipes  and  retorts  to  prevent  any  further  admission 
of  air,  to  exhaust  said  pipes  and  retorts  of  all  air  which  they 
contain,  and  finally,  having  obtained  the  required  quality  of 
oxygen,  to  deliver  it  to  a gasholder  or  other  suitable  receptacle. 

To  accomplish  this  automatically  according  to  this  inven- 
tion it  is  proposed  to  utilize  the  motion  of  some  rotating  or 
reciprocating  portion  of  a pump  or  any  other  suitable  piece 
of  machinery  that  may  be  employed  in  connection  with  the 
process,  by  means  of  ■which  motion  of  rotation  is  imparted  by 
means  of  an  adjustable  pawl  and  ratchet  gearing  or  equiva- 
lent mechauism  to  a shaft  either  in  a vertical  or  horizontal 
plane,  as  may  be  most  convenient.  Connected  direct  to  this 
shaft,  or  by  means  of  worm  and  worm  wheel  or  other  suitable 
gearing,  are  a series  of  pairs  of  adjustable  cams  arranged  to 
act  on  back  pressure  or  other  valves  so  as  to  cause  them  to 
admit  steam  or  other  motive  fluid  to  a cylinder  to  exert  pres- 
sure on  a piston,  and  move  it  either  forward  or  backward  as  the 
case  may  be. 

5,373. — 29</i  March,  1889.  “Wooden  Vessels  for  Holding 
Corrosive  Substances.”  I’kt'kr  Wardlaw  Turner,  38,  Gar- 
turk  Street,  Crosshill,  Glasgow,  Merchant. 

The  separate  parts  of  which  the  wooden  vessel  is  composed 
(staves  or  other  pieces)  are  steeped  in  a warm  solution  of  melted 
paraffin  wax,  which  contains  enough  of  a foreign  substance  or 
substances  to  destroy  the  crystalline  nature  of  the  paraffin  wax 
when  cool,  such  as  a small  quantity  of  india-rubber  or  gutta 
percha,  or  both  together,  either  of  these  substances,  or  both 
together,  being  preferable  to  any  others.  The  wooden  pieces, 
when  fully  saturated  with  the  mixture,  are  taken  out  of  the 
bath  and  put  together  to  form  a liquid-tight  vessel,  which  is 
then  shaken  up  with  a quantity  of  the  liquid  mixture  so  as  to 
form  an  inside  skin  for  the  purpose  of  further  protecting  the 
wooden  vessel. 

5,920. — April  6th,  1889.  “ Photographic  Cameras. ” Claude 

Raymond,  of  23,  Boulevard  de  Strasbourg,  Paris,  Mer- 
chant. 

My  invention  has  reference  to  photographic  cameras  of  the 
kind  generally  called  bellows  cameras,  and  it  consists  in  improved 
means  whereby  these  cameras  can  be  made  to  expand  or  con- 
tract as  required. 

For  this  purpose  I fit  the  camera  with  two  levers  or  rods 
crossing  each  other  in  the  form  of  the  letter  X>  and  jointed 
together  at  the  middle.  One  end  of  each  lever  is  jointed  to  a 
pivot,  and  the  other  end  slides  in  a grooved  guide.  For  easier 
manipulation  of  these  levers  one  or  both  of  the  sliding  ends  is 
or  are  preferably  fitted  with  a milled  button  carrying  a pinion 
which  gears  with  a rack  on  the  guide. 

The  manner  in  which  my  invention  can  be  best  carried  into 
effect  will  depend  partly  upon  the  size  of  the  camera.  For  a 
small  portable  camera  I would  have  one  pair  of  the  crossing 
levers  at  the  top  and  another  pair  at  the  bottom  of  the  camera. 
For  a larger  camera  I would  have  a pair  of  crossing  levers  at 
each  side,  and  in  order  to  give  additional  strength  and  to  dis- 
pense with  the  bed  portion,  a third  pair  can  be  placed  at  the 
bottom,  but  without  a pinion  and  rack.  The  levers  of  this 
third  pair  can  be  ribbed  to  make  them  stronger,  and  there 
may  be  a boss  at  their  crossing  point  to  serve  as  a foot. 

One  or  other  of  the  side  pairs  of  level's  can  be  more  or  less 
extended  so  as  to  slightly  incline  to  one  side  the  plate  holder 
or  front  part  of  the  camera  carrying  the  object  glass.  The 
levers  can  also  have  screw'  threaded  or  extensible  parts  so  as  to 
allow  of  inclining  the  plate  holder  in  a vertical  direction. 


At  the  meeting  of  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of 
Fine  Art  last  week,  at  which  Mr.  Newman’s  paper,  printed  in 
this  issue,  was  read,  the  slides  w'ere  exhibited  by  means  of  one 
of  Messrs.  Watson  and  Sons’  lanterns.  Mr.  Gale,  Mr.  G. 
Davison,  and  Mr.  George  Smith  were  among  the  photographers 
present, 


194 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  7,  1890. 


i^roccetitngs  of  Societies;. 

Camera  Club. 

On  Thursday,  27th  February,  Dr.  C.  S.  Patterson  read  a 
paper  on  ‘ ‘ Photography  as  applied  to  Medicine  and  Surgery.  ” 
Mr.  T.  Charters  White  occupied  the  chair. 

The  lecturer  began  by  stating  the  qualities  which  he  con- 
sidered indispensable  in  a good  medical  photographer.  He 
then  gave  a short  resumd  of  the  history  and  literature  of  the 
subject,  and  going  on  to  its  present  development,  he  gave  the 
three  great  directions  in  which  it  was  used,  viz.  (1)  as  an  in- 
vestigator, (2)  as  a recorder,  (3)  as  a demonstrator,  giving  many 
examples.  He  then  considered  it  under  its  various  medical 
departments,  illustrated  by  lantern  slides.  He  said  that  before 
a general  audience  it  would  be  absurd  to  go  into  the  photo- 
graphic details  of  manipulation,  but  he  would  like  to  lay  great 
stress  upon  two  points,  isochromatic  plates  and  the  magnesium 
flash  lamp,  both  of  which  he  found  almost  indispensable.  He 
impressed  on  the  audience,  moreover,  the  important  aid  they 
could  render  to  the  medical  photographer  by  influencing 
hospital  authorities  to  give  proper  facilities  for  medical  appli- 
cation of  photography.  The  paper  concluded  by  a short 
notice  of  the  way  in  which  this  work  was  now  gaining  ground. 

In  the  discussion  which  followed,  Messrs.  Pringle,  Elder, 
Cooper,  Andreae,  Dr.  Massey,  and  the  Chairman  took  part. 

Thursday,  March  13th,  will  be  a lantern  evening.  Meeting 
at  8 p.m. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  weekly  meeting  on  the  27th  ult.  Mr.  H.  M.  Hastings 
occupied  the  chair. 

Mr.  Birt  Acres  was  elected  a member  of  the  Association. 

Mr.  A.  Haddon,  at  the  last  meeting,  suggested  a delicate  test 
for  grease  in  water,  which  he  was  unable  to  demonstrate  then 
from  the  impurities  of  the  water.  He  had  brought  a bottle  of 
distilled  water  to  the  meeting.  The  scrapings  from  a piece  of 
camphor  were  allowed  to  fall  on  the  surface  of  the  water, 
motion  being  at  once  imparted  to  them.  By  simply  drawing 
the  finger  across  the  forehead  or  face,  and  then  dipping  the  fin- 
ger in  the  water,  the  particles  of  camphor  instantly  ceased  to 
have  movement,  from  the  grease  imparted  by  the  finger. 

Mr.  F.  P.  Cembrano  showed  a foreign  postcard  illustrated 
by  photography,  under  government  sanction. 

Mr.  A.  Haddon  gave  a demonstration  of  glass-blowing, 
remarking  upon  the  usefulness  of  being  able  to  make  the  various 
small  glass  articles  required  for  the  dark  room  and  laboratory. 
The  lecturer  proceeded  to  explain  the  composition  and  varieties 
of  glass,  of  which  there  are  four  kinds,  German  glass,  soft  and 
hard,  ordinary  English  soda  glass,  lead  glass,  and  combustion 
tubing.  Of  these  the  best  for  all  ordinary  work  is  the  soft 
German.  It  is  necessary  to  select  that  special  variety  that 
will  stand  heating  and  reheating.  By  diagrams  on  the  black 
board  the  zones  of  a candle  flame  were  explained,  followed  by 
a description  of  the  several  blowpipes  in  use,  worked  either 
by  the  foot,  or  blown  by  a tube  held  in  the  mouth.  Illus- 
trating the  manipulation  of  the  blow-pipe,  the  lecturer  com- 
menced by  making  a simple  but  indispensable  article  of 
dark-room  use,  a stirring  rod.  A piece  of  glass  rod  of  the 
requisite  size  was  cut,  and  one  end  held  at  the  point  of  the  flame, 
and  fused.  By  revolving  the  rod  at  the  same  time,  the  end 
became  hemispherical  ; the  other  end  was  then  fused  and 
flattened.  If  the  object  is  simply  to  bend  a piece  of  glass,  an 
ordinary  fishtail  or  batswing  is  useful.  All  that  is  necessary  is 
to  hold  the  tubing  in  the  flame  until  sufficiently  soft  to  bend  to 
the  required  angle.  A wash  bottle,  delivering  tube,  and 
pressure  guage  were  then  made.  A piece  of  glass  tube  was 
taken,  one  end  closed  and  rounded,  and  the  edges  of  the  other 
end  rounded  ; this  formed  a test  tube.  The  sealing  of  solids 
and  liquids  in  tubes  was  next  shown.  For  the  latter,  a piece 
of  glass  tubing  is  taken,  one  end  closed  by  fusing,  and  rounded. 
This  tube  is  then  heated  in  the  centre,  and  drawn  out,  the 
upper  part  forming  a funnel  to  receive  the  liquid.  To 
get  this  into  the  reservoir  below,  the  bottom  part  of 
the  tube  is  held  for  a short  time  over  a flame,  causing 


the  air  to  expand,  the  liquid  being  drawn  into  the  lower 
tube  as  it  cools.  The  top  part  is  then  broken  off, 
and  the  neck  sealed.  To  weld  two  pieces  of  glass  of  different 
diameters  together  successfully,  both  pieces  of  glass  should  be 
j from  the  same  pot.  How  to  make  a T joint,  blow  a bulb, 
make  a minim  glass  and  bulb  pipettes  was  next  shown.  The 
determination  of  the  specific  gravity  of  solutions  in  use,  the 
lecturer  held  to  be  of  the  greatest  importance  to  photographers. 
This  was  easily  ascertained.  Small  glass  bulbs  are  blown, 
water  inserted,  the  neck  fused  and  sealed,  and  then  adjusted 
so  that  they  just  sink  in  any  liquid  of  known  strength.  Am- 
monia, used  in  every  dark  room,  was  instanced.  How  was  it 
! possible  to  know  its  strength  after  the  bottle  in  which  it 
) was  kept  had  been  opened,  perhaps,  as  in  the  case  of  an 
amateur,  several  times  ? By  using  a specific  gravity  bulb,  its 
| determination  was  exceedingly  simple.  A ten  per  cent,  solu- 
tion is  made  up  from  ammonia  of  known  full  strength  880°. 
A glass  bulb  is  weighted  to  just  sink  in  the  solution.  In  mak- 
ing up  subsequent  solutions,  the  bulb  has  only  to  be  placed  in 
a measure  of  water,  and  ammonia  of  any  unknown  strength 
poured  in  carefully  until  the  bulb  commences  to  sink  ; a ten 
per  cent,  solution  can  thus  always  be  guaranteed. 

In  answer  to  the  question  as  to  the  method  adopted  for 
creating  the  vacuum  in  an  incandescent  lamp,  the  lecturer,  by 
a diagram  on  the  blackboard,  explained  the  principle  of  one  of 
the  most  effective  pumps  known  for  this  purpose.  A glass 
tube  is  bent  in  the  form  of  a syphon.  At  the  top  bend  is  a 
stopcock,  to  which  is  attached  the  glass  bulb  to  be  exhausted 
containing  the  filament.  The  vertical  column  is  filled  with 
mercury  until  it  rises  to  the  top  bend  ; passing  over  this  it 
descends  by  small  globules  to  a receptacle  placed  to  receive  it. 
Each  globule  as  it  descends  carries  with  it  by  its  own  weight  a 
certain  amount  of  air  imprisoned  between  it  and  the  globule 
following.  By  this  means  a vacuum  in  the  bulb  is  almost  per- 
fectly formed.  This  is  the  Sprengel  pump,  in  fact 

The  demonstration  concluding  at  a late  hour,  admitted  of 
but  little  discussion. 


Hackney  Photographic  Society. 

This  Society  held  its  first  exhibition  on  Thursday  last  at  the 
Morley  Hall.  Dr.  Roland  Smith  opened  the  exhibition,  and 
hoped  it  would  prove  of  use  to  those  present. 

During  the  evening  a “ flash-light  ” group  was  taken  by  Mr. 
J.  Hubert  with  his  oxygen  blow-through  lamp.  Among  those 
present  were  Messrs.  J.  Traill  Taylor,  Henry  Sturmey,  G.  J. 
Clark,  and  W.  L.  Beurle. 

The  members  had  a good  show  of  apparatus  and  work, 
Messrs.  Clarke,  Hoddle,  Houghton,  Hubert,  Dean,  Roder, 
Gosling,  Reynolds,  Barton,  Acres,  W.  Fenton  Jones,  Grant, 
and  others  exhibiting. 

The  professional  element  was  represented  in  a large  exhibi- 
tion by  dealers  of  apparatus. 


West  London  Photographic  Society. 

At  the  last  ordinary  meeting  Mr.  G.  F.  Blackmore  occupied 
the  chair.  Mr.  Roe  was  elected  a member  of  the  Society, 
and  Mr.  Wilmer  was  nominated  for  election. 

After  the  disposal  of  the  formal  business,  Mr.  Clias.  Dixon’s 
paper  on  “Holland  House,”  was  read  by  Mr.  Hodges.  Mr. 
Dixon  superintended  the  exhibition  of  slides. 

The  paper  was  prefaced  by  a short  description  of  the  process 
employed  in  the  production  of  the  slides.  They  were,  with 
the  exception  of  a few  on  chloride  dry  plates,  produced  by  the 
wet  collodion  process  by  reduction  in  the  camera  from  9 by  7 
negatives,  which  also  owed  their  origin  to  the  same  wet- 
plate  method.  In  the  case  of  some  of  the  interiors, 
exposures  of  two  hours  had  been  given,  and  the  plates  were 
backed  with  wet  blotting  paper  to  keep  the  films  moist.  The 
lecturer  then  traced  the  history  of  the  house  from  the  time 
it  first  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Holland  family  in  1600 
down  to  the  present  time,  illustrating  his  remarks  with  a large 
number  of  interior  and  exterior  views  of  the  house,  and  of  the 
park  and  grounds. 

Mr.  Wilson  presented  the  Society  with  a number  of  photo- 


March  7,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


195 


graphic  works  of  reference  .as  a nucleus  for  the  formation  of 
the  Society’s  library.  After  some  discussion  it  was  decided  to 
refer  the  appointment  of  the  Librarian  to  the  Council  for 
further  consideration. 

On  the  14  th  March,  Mr.  H.  Selby  is  to  read  a paper  on 
“ Stripping  Films.” 


North  Middlesex  Photographic  Cluii. 

Ox  February  24th  Mr.  G.  Davison  delivered  a lecture  upon 
“Pictures  by  Photography,”  illustrating  it  by  about  one  hun- 
dred photographs  taken  by  himself. 

After  speaking  of  the  advances  that  photography  had  made 
and  the  restrictions  which  it  imposed,  lie  proceeded  to  review 
what  are  generally  considered  the  rules  of  art,  and  remarked 
that  exceptions  to  these  were  almost  as  much  the  practice  as 
not,  and  instanced  Mr.  Robinson  and  others,  who  had  taken 
some  of  their  best  pictures  with  the  sun  in  front  of  the  camera, 
in  direct  contradiction  to  one  of  the  best  known  rules.  Again, 
another  rule  was  that  the  horizon  line  should  not  be  in  the 
centre  of  the  picture  ; this,  and  many  other  rules  he  referred 
to,  and  had  one  or  more  pictures  to  prove  that  they  might 
sometimes  be  departed  from,  and  advised  that  the  simplest 
subjects  be  chosen — namely,  those  with  as  little  in  them  as 
possible — so  that  the  interest  might  be  centred  upon  the  prin- 
cipal feature,  and  to  endeavour  to  introduce  originality  and 
boldness  into  their  pictures.  He  then  referred  to  the  faults  to 
be  avoided  and  merits  to  be  sought,  giving  force  to  his  words  by 
a photograph  showing  each  particular  feature. 

Monday,  March  10th,  will  be  members’  lantern  night. 
Visitors  invited  ; ladies  admitted. 


Bristol  and  West  of  England  Amateur  Photographic 
Association. 

On  January  3rd  a meeting  of  the  Association  was  held  in  the 
Queen’s  Hotel  for  the  lantern  exhibition  of  slides  by  various 
members.  In  the  absence  of  the  president,  the  proceedings 
were  conducted  informally. 

Several  members  were  present,  including  Messrs.  W.  L. 
Rernard,  J.  W.  Evens,  M.  Lavington,  F.  B.  Bond,  W.  Norgrove, 
and  W.  W.  Boyden,  all  of  whom  exhibited  work.  Mr.  Boyden 
showed  some  slides  on  chloride  plates  developed  with  “ photo- 
pel,”  the  vivid  red  colour  of  which  is  quite  a departure 
from  the  usual  scale  of  tints. 

The  annual  business  meeting  for  1890  was  held  Feb.  7th, 
when  the  President,  Mr.  H.  A.  H.  Daniel,  took  the  chair. 

The  president,  vice-presidents,  and  secretary  and  treasurer  for 
tiie  past  year  were  re-elected. 

It  was  agreed  that  the  Secretary  be  asked  to  write  to  Dr. 
Emerson,  thanking  him  for  and  accepting  his  offer  of  “ Life 
on  the  Norfolk  Broads.” 

Mr.  Brightman  was  requested  to  obtain  a lantern  for  the 
Society’s  use  from  Messrs.  Perken,  Son,  and  Rayment. 


Liverpool  Amateur  Photographic  Association. 

A meeting  was  held  on  the  27th  of  February,  with  Mr.  Paul 
Lange  in  the  chair. 

The  following  were  elected  members  of  the  Association,  viz. , 
Messrs.  Hugh  R.  Jones,  M.A.,  John  H.  Welsh,  H.  F.  Tiklesley, 
Geoffrey  Cather,  William  Rock,  junr.,  and  William  T.  Bell. 

The  President  announced  that  letters  of  resignation  had 
been  received  from  Messrs.  T.  H.  Day  and  G.  H.  Rutter  as 
members  of  the  Council,  and  from  Mr.  Walter  Hughes,  the 
Hon.  Secretary,  and  that  Mr.  Edward  M.  Tunstall  had  been 
appointed  Hon.  Secretary.  The  attention  of  members  was 
drawn  to  the  extra  meeting  to  be  held  at  the  City  Hall,  Everle 
Street,  on  Thursday,  March  20th,  for  which  evening  a concert 
was  being  arranged,  to  be  followed  by  the  President’s  illustrated 
lecture  on  “ Norway.”  The  President  also  announced  that  the 
Council  had  arranged  for  a series  of  practical  demonstrations 
in  photography  for  the  special  benefit  of  beginners. 

The  Council  had  also  arranged  to  exhibit  the  pictures  (sixty 
in  number),  15  by  12,  of  Mr.  H.  Tolley,  the  gold  medalist,  of 
Nottingham.  These  would  be  on  exhibition  for  a short  period 
in  the  club  rooms.  It  was  hoped  they  would  prove  an  attrac- 


tion, as,  through  the  exhibition  of  Mr.  H.  P.  Robinson’s  series, 
thirteen  new  members  had  been  induced  to  join  the  Associa- 
tion. 

Mr.  T.  Sayce  submitted  a most  ingenious  hand-camera, 
made  at  a very  trifling  cost,  and  meeting  all  the  require- 
ments of  the  amateur  photographer. 

Other  business  being  concluded,  the  general  public  gained 
admittance,  and  Mr.  D.  Lewis  gave  his  paper  on  “ A Fortnight 
in  the  Netherlands  with  a Camera,”  followed  by  Mr.  W.  P. 
Christian  with  “Moor  and  Don,  or  Studies  in  Algeria  and 
Spain.”  Both  lectures  were  illustrated  with  the  lantern. 

The  Manchester  Lantern  Competition  slides  lent  to  the 
Association  were  then  exhibited. 


Sheffield  Camera  Club. 

The  first  soiree  in  connection  with  this  club  was  held  last 
evening  at  the  Masonic  Hall.  Among  those  who  attended 
were  Mr.  G.  T.  W.  Newsholme,  F.C.S.  (president),  Dr.  T.  H. 
Morton  (vice-president),  Mr.  B.  W.  Winder,  F.C.S.,  F.R.M.S. 
(treasurer),  Mr.  G.  E.  Maleham  (secretary),  Dr.  Manton,  and 
Mr.  Wm.  Gilley,  junr.  A considerable  quantity  of  photo- 
graphic apparatus  was  displayed.  Messrs.  Marion  and  Co., 
and  R.  and  J.  Beck,  of  London,  contributed  lenses,  and  the 
Eastman  Company  furnished  some  very  interesting  enlarge- 
ments. 

The  President,  in  the  course  of  a short  address,  referred  to 
the  origin  of  the  Club,  and  said  some  of  the  members  when 
they  joined  were  novices  in  the  art,  but  others  were  men  of 
great  experience  and  ability,  ready  at  all  times  to  give  advice 
and  valuable  help  to  the  recruits.  In  their  Club  the  profes- 
sional element  did  not  enter,  not  that  he  would  say  one  word 
in  disparagement  of  the  professional  photographer  ; but  he 
felt  strongly  that  a society  could  not  do  well  which  had  both 
the  professional  and  amateur  within  its  ranks.  To  the  amateur 
photographer  was  due  the  credit  for  the  great  and  rapid 
advancement  of  the  art  of  photography  during  the  last  few 
years.  Still,  although  there  had  been  that  advancement,  the 
art  was  now  only  well  advanced  in  infancy.  If  such  rapid 
progress  had  been  made  in  the  past,  who  could  predict  what 
its  progress  would  be  in  the  future  ? Who  could  measure  the 
great  value  it  must  become  to  the  microscopist,  the  chemist, 
and  the  physiologist  ? 

During  the  evening  Mr.  Winder,  with  the  aid  of  a lantern, 
showed  some  of  the  members’  slides.  A flash-light  photo- 
graph of  a group  was  also  taken  by  Prof.  Arnold. 


Bath  Photographic  Society. 

February  25. — Annual  meeting  ; Mr.  W.  Pumphrey  in  the 
chair. 

Messrs.  Baldwin,  Cloakley,  Christopher  Morris,  Charles 
Terry,  and  W.  S.  Wilkins  were  elected  members. 

The  Treasurer’s  balance  sheet  showed  a balance  in  favour  of 
the  Society,  and  in  all  respects  was  a most  satisfactory  one. 

The  Hon.  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Mr.  W.  Middleton  Ash- 
man, read  a carefully  prepared  and  exhaustive  report  of  the 
Society’s  proceedings. 

The  Chairman,  in  moving  the  adoption  of  the  account,  said 
the  Society  had  cause  to  be  very  well  satisfied.  The  principal 
expenses  would  not  have  to  be  incurred  again  ; part  was  met 
out  of  the  income,  and  the  rest  by  a loan  from  officers  of  the 
Society. 

The  election  of  officers  was  then  proceeded  with,  and  all  who 
served  during  the  past  year  were  unanimously  re-elected. 

Mr.  Greene  read  a paper  entitled  “ Photography  in  an  Age 
of  Movement”  (see  page  183).  Both  the  instruments  and 
examples  shown  were  regarded  with  much  interest. 

The  Secretary  exhibited  one  of  the  “Collins”  detective 
cameras,  and  explained  the  details  of  working  it.  The  neatness 
and  simplicity  of  this  instrument  were  remarked  upon. 

The  Chairman  then  explained  the  method  of  producing 
photo- micrographs.  He  exhibited  a number  of  specimens  and 
the  apparatus  used  to  produce  the  same. 

The  leading  points  requiring  attention  having  been  dealt 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  7,  1890. 


196 


with,  a brief  discussion  followed,  in  which  Messrs.  Rrnest  Pit- 
man, Greene,  and  the  Secretary  took  part. 

Mr.  Kino,  in  moving  thanks  for  the  papers,  spoke  of  the 
advantages  of  such  a process  for  obtaining  permanent  records 
in  microscopy,  and  the  work  could  be  done  of  a winter  evening. 
He  also  referred  to  the  more  certain  determinations  of  astro- 
nomers  to-day  than  before  photography  was  employed  in  their 
calculations. 

There  will  be  a lantern  competition  on  March  26th.  Slides 
and  particulars  of  process  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Secre- 
tary the  day  previous. 


Photographic  Society  of  Ireland. 

A few  evenings  ago  the  members  had  a practical  demonstra- 
tion given  them  by  Mr.  James  Carson,  C.E.  He  introduced 
the  subject  by  showing  the  utility  of  the  several  parts  of  the 
lanterns  and  their  accessories,  such  as  gas  bottles,  valves,  and 
gauge;  the  differences  between  the  “ blow-through  ” and 
mixed  gas  jets  ; how  to  properly  centre  the  light  for  disc  illu- 
mination ; methods  of  introducing  slides  into  the  lantern  for 
both  single  and  double  lantern  exhibitions.  Mr.  Carson  was 
thanked  by  the  members  present,  and  desired  to  place  the 
matter  on  paper  to  be  read  at  some  ordinary  meeting  of  the 
Society. 

On  March  3rd  Mr.  J.  H.  Hargrave,  C.E.,  gave  a lecturette 
on  “Lantern  Slides,  and  how  to  make  them.”  He  directed 
attention  to  the  methods — (a)  by  contact  ; (6)  by  reduction. 
In  the  first  class  he  demonstrated  the  remarks  made  by  exposing 
and  developing  two  slides.  In  the  class  (6)  he  submitted  a 
home-made  reducing  arrangement,  by  means  of  which  the 
ordinary  camera  was  brought  into  play,  being  fixed  on  a 
substantial  base-board,  and  focussed  roughly  by  moving  by 
hand,  but  finely  in  the  usual  manner.  The  negative  was 

placed  at  a measured  distance  from  the  lens  in  a slot  cut 
in  card-board,  and  suitably  safe-guarded.  He  gave  much 
information  as  to  his  experience  with  plates  by  several 
makers,  first  dividing  these  plates  into  two  classes — “chloride” 
and  “bromide.”  The  developing  he  favoured  was  “pyro.” 
He  devoted  time  to  demonstrate  the  mounting  of  slides,  and 
referred  to  various  masks. 

Dr.  J.  Alfred  Scott  added  remarks  as  to  intensification, 
showing  a distinct  preference  for  Monckhoven’s.  He  exhibited 
a printing  frame  made  by  himself  for  use  with  quarter-plates 
in  contact  lantern  plate  exposure.  It  was  so  constructed  as  to 
admit  of  so  much  of  the  lantern  plate  projecting  over  any 
part  of  the  edge  of  a quarter-plate  as  might  be  covered  by  a 
mask,  when  it  would  be  advantageous  to  include  or  exclude  a 
part  of  the  subject  in  the  quarter-plate  as  the  case  might  be. 
♦ ' 

Photographic  Club — The  subject  for  discussion  on  March 
12th  will  be  “ Stereoscopic  Photography  on  March  19th,  the 
adjourned  discussion  on  ‘ 1 Artifical  Light  as  an  Adjunct  to 
Daylight,”  will  take  place. 

On  the  question  of  which  is  best  for  dark-room  windows, 
paper  or  coloured  glass,  it  may  be  said  that  if  a satisfactory 
coloured  glass  can  be  got  it  is  preferable,  as  the  colour  of  paper 
is  apt  to  be  discharged  by  the  continued  action  of  daylight. — 
Photographic  Scraps. 

Gold  Bath. — In  an  article  communicated  by  E.  Kiewning 
to  the  Dutch  photographic  journal  Lux,  there  is  a notice  of 
what  the  author  holds  to  be  a remarkable  receipt  for  a toning 
bath  which  is  not  liable  to  deterioration  : — 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  600  grams. 

Chlor.  gold  ...  ...  ...  ...  4 ,, 

Chlor.  potass.  ...  ...  ...  60  ,, 

After  the  solution  is  effected,  20  grs.  of  chemically  pure  chalk 
in  the  form  of  powder  are  added.  Let  this  mixture  stand  for 
three  or  four  days  protected  from  the  light  ; the  bath 

is  then  ready  for  use.  The  tones  produced  by  this  bath 
are  brown  and  blue,  with  all  the  intermediate  tints,  according 
to  the  concentration  and  duration  of  the  toning.  The  above- 
mentioned  bath  is,  says  E.  Kiewning,  of  the  chiefest  importance 
in  the  summer,  when  the  temperature  is  high,  and  the  employ- 
ment of  carbonate  of  soda  in  the  gold  bath  is,  in  consequence 
of  its  reduction-accelerating  powers,  by  no  means  desirable. 


Bnstocrg:  to  (tfoiTtspntJcntg. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

All  Advertisements  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5,Furnival  Street,  London- 
All  Communications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Photographic  News,  6,  Furnival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

J.  D. — The  Ligroine  Lamp  was  sent  -off  to  you,  per  L.  and 
N.  W.  R.,  on  Monday  morning.  We  shall  be  glad  to  hear 
of  its  safe  arrival  and  successful  employment.  The  Wels- 
bach  incandescent  cones  are  easily  procurable  in  this  country, 
and  you  need  not  wait  long  for  extra  supplies.  When  using 
part  of  the  apparatus  as  a blow-pipe,  a special  air-jet  will  be 
required,  and  then  silver  can  be  easily  melted. 

M.  P.  S. — Council  Elections.  There  is  a mistake  somewhere, 
twenty-one  names  appearing  on  the  cover  of  the  Journal. 
Your  friend  was  duly  nominated,  but  declined  to  serve  on 
the  council. 

A.  F.  (Warwick).  — Gelatine  brands.  Information  already  given 
by  post ; let  us  hear  in  the  event  of  your  having  any  further 
difficulty. 

Litho.  — Albert  Transfer  Paper  and  Zincography . It  is 

hardly  likely  that  the  new  transfer  paper  would  be  already 
procurable  in  this  country.  For  reversing  plant,  apply  to 
any  optician  ; all  you  want  is  a good  plane  mirror.  For 
etching  troughs  use  wood,  well  dried  and  coated  with 
melted  paraffine  ; glass  bottoms  would  be  of  no  particulai 
advantage.  The  sensitising  bath  of — 

Bichromate  of  potash  ...  ...  50  grammes 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  1,000  c.c. 

is  equivalent  to  a five  per  cent,  solution,  which  you  cat 
make  by  disolving  one  ounce  in  a pint  of  water,  if  you  have 
not  gramme  weights  and  litre  measures.  Remember  to  adc 
the  ammonia. 

L.  M.  A. — See  “ Concise  Instructions  in  the  Art  of  Retouch 
mg,’’  by  Burrows  and  Colton  — Messrs.  Marion  and  Co 
Somewhat  old,  but  a very  good  book,  with  full  descriptions 
and  pair  of  negatives  as  frontispiece. 

Collodio-Chloride. — There  is  no  reply  from  Dublin. 

F.  C.  S. — Inactivity  of  Developing  Solutions  in  Cold  Weather 
We  can  quite  confirm  all  you  say,  having  tried  to  work  thi 
week  at  an  uncomfortably  low  temperature.  The  image 
preferred  to  remain  latent,  and  the  naphthol  developer  wa 
far  behind  pyro  in  power  of  development.  From  our  ow 
and  Mr.  W.  K.  Burton’s  comparative  experiments,  w-e  kno\ 
that  there  is  no  disadvantage  of  this  kind  in  summer  time. 
Graphic. — Photo  Waste  of  the  NoUc  Metals.  There  is  an  era 
of  calculation,  or  misprint,  in  the  American  statement,  h 
on  the  data  given  there  is  an  0 too  many.  £2,500,00 
should  read  £250,000.  Even  then  it  is  a big  estimate. 


pjiotograplnc  lottos. 


SUBSCRIPTIONS. 

Including  Postage  to  any  part  of  the  United  Kingdom  : — 
Yearly...  1 5s.  Od.  | Half-Yearly. .. 7s.  8d.  | Quarterly...  3s.  10 
To  the  United  States,  the  Continent,  and  the  Colonies  : — 
Yearly. ..17s.  4d.  | Half- Yearly... 8s.  8d.  | Quarterly...  4s.  4 
To  India  (Yearly)  ...  ...  ...  ...  19s.  6d. 

For  Advertisement  Scale  see  page  v. 

Advertisements  should  be  forwarded  (prepaid)  to  Pipf.r  and  Oarti 
5,  Furnival  Street,  llolborn,  E C.,  to  reach  the  office  r ot  later  than  noon 
Thursday.  A fee  of  6d.  must  be  forwarded  when  the  Publishers 
expected  to  receive  and  forwarded  replies  to  Advertisements  ; and  wl 
they  undertake  the  receipt  of  replies,  they  must  be  entrusted  with 
name  and  address  of  advertiser,  for  revelation  to  applicants,  in  case  tl 
may  deem  it  necessary. 


Supplement 


to  the  fJiotof/mphiiQ  Xt  irs,  March 

/■■  — 


1 4 lit , 


1890 


jfrtis  M Liber  X.  \fagja  (dtoftnc.t. 


F ‘3  2- 


Alphdbrtu 
irai  rr/um 


ulo 


Alphabetum  Cateptneutn 

BCDEFGHIKLMNOP  0_R  S T V X Y Z 
Y B CD  E L G H I }:  r W M O t (fir  U An  s 

AlpHab : Htzbrerutn  D P H *1  3 V ^ N D D ^ 3 ’ O n 11  HI  J J X 

imierjian  in xjpeeuh  JJ  J fa  /.  F.  tlD^DlDDDjljDtDUIJDJ'/D 


Alptbhifrreurectu  A g p ^ 2 H 0 I K A M N Z O fl  P I T Y (P  X f fl 

muerjum  mjpefulo  yypvE^HQ  I K V n M Z O 11  1)  2 J.  A (I)  X * U 


THE  FIRST  MAGIC  LANTERNS. 

Invented  uy  ATHANASIUS  KIRCIIEK, 


Supplement  to  the  Photographic  Xuos,  JfAkcn  14th,  1330. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1645. — March  14,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PAOX 

The  First  Optical  Lantern 197 

The  “ Photographic  News”  Supplement 197 

Athanasius  Kirchcr,  the  Inventor  of  the  Magic  Lantern.  By 

James  Mew 198 

Buies  for  Photographic  Exhibitions  201 

Chromo-Photography  in  the  Printing  Press  202 

Photography  in  Germany.  By  Hermann  E.  Gunther 203 


PAOl 


Notes 204 

The  Crystal  Palace  Photographic  Exhibition 205 

French  Correspondence.  By  Leon  Vidal 206 

Patent  Intelligence  207 

Correspondence 209 

Proceedings  of  Societies  ' 209 

Answers  to  Correspondents  212 


THE  FIRST  OPTICAL  LANTERN. 

An  able  article  by  Mr.  James  Mew  appears  in  the 
present  issue  of  this  journal,  and  includes  a translation 
of  Kircher’s  own  description  of  the  magic  lantern,  of 
which  popular  instrument  he  was  the  inventor.  Mr. 
Pringle,  at  the  Camera  Club  last  week,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  report  in  another  column,  gave  currency  to  a 
rumour  which  had  reached  him  that  the  magic  lantern 
was  first  invented,  as  he  put  it,  by  John  the  Baptist, 
otherwise  Giambatista  Porta,  the  inventor  of  the 
camera  ; but  any  such  claim  can  probably  be  sustained 
only  by  special  pleading,  and  will  not  shake  the  title 
to  the  honour,  almost  universally  admitted  from  time 
immemorial,  to  belong  to  Athanasius  Kircher,  the  good 
and  self-confident  Jesuit  priest.  The  truth  6eems  to 
be  that  it  is  not  easy  in  some  cases  to  draw  a line  of 
demarcation  between  the  camera  and  magic  lantern  ; 
for  instance,  the  largest  photozincograpliic  print  in  our 
pictorial  supplement  issued  this  week  represents  such 
a transition  instrument,  invented  by  Kircher.  The 
solar  beams  are  received  upon  pictures  or  inscriptions 
painted  upon  polished  plates  made  of  some  not  readily 
oxidizable  metallic  alloy,  the  composition  of  which  is 
not  on  record ; then,  by  means  of  one  double  convex 
lens  for  each  picture,  the  images  are  projected  on  the 
walls  and  roof  of  a darkened  chamber.  The  instrument 
bears  a strong  resemblance  to  a camera,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  a strong  resemblance  to  that  optical  lantern 
of  modern  times,  in  which  the  image  of  a brilliantly 
illuminated  inverted  opaque  object  is  projected  on  a 
screen  in  a darkened  room.  Kircher,  it  will  be  seen, 
for  use  with  this  instrument,  took  the  trouble  to  have 
the  letters  of  the  alphabet  engraved  bottom  upwards, 
and  then  called  them  a “ catoptric”  alphabet,  instead 
of  simply  telling  his  readers  to  take  ordinary  printed 
letters  and  turn  them  upside  down.  The  other  two 
pictures  in  the  supplement  represent  a magic  lantern 
beyond  all  mistake ; one  of  them  differs  only  in 
principle  from  the  other,  being  fitted  up,  Polytechnic 
Institution  fashion,  in  a second  chamber.  The  pictures 
prove  that  Kircher  mounted  rows  of  lantern  slides  in 
long  rectangular  frames,  as  they  are  mounted  and 
sold  in  shops  at  the  present  day. 

Kircher  used  a reflector  behind  the  oil  light,  but  it 
was  not  truly  optically  centred,  if  the  Italian  draughts- 
man who  shared  in  the  production  of  one  of  Kircher’s 


blocks  can  be  trusted  ; probably,  however,  he  cannot 
be  trusted,  for  throughout  the  whole  of  the  ponderous 
old  Latin  book,  there  are,  occasionally,  small  dis- 
crepancies between  the  engravings  and  the  letter-press. 
The  position  and  description  of  the  projecting  lens  are  • 
neither  clearly  pictured  nor  clearly  described,  perhaps 
intentionally  ; even  in  modern  times  we  find  inventors 
sometimes  secretive  on  essential  points.  Some  of  the 
earliest  pictures  of  magic  lanterns  in  old  books  repre- 
sent a bull’s-eye  lens  in  front  of  the  slide,  and  a light 
behind  the  slide ; this,  there  is  little  question,  was 
Kircher’s  arrangement.  The  first  lantern  slide 
pictures  of  which  any  information  has  come  down  to 
us  were  not,  it  will  be  seen,  of  a cheerful  nature  ; the 
one  picture  represented  Father  Time  as  a skeleton 
with  scythe  and  hour-glass ; the  other  picture  repre- 
sented one  of  the  units  of  poor  humanity  roasting  in 
eternal  flames.  They  took  life  sadly  in  those  days. 

The  small  cut  from  Kircher’s  book,  represented  on 
page  198,  in  Mr.  Mew’s  article,  has  been  by  some 
modern  writers  mistaken  for  a drawing  by  Kircher 
of  the  optical  system  of  his  lantern,  but  it  is  not  so. 
The  oval  in  front  is  not  intended  to  represent  a lens, 
but  a piece  of  flat  glass.  The  opening  behind  it  is 
not  intended  for  the  passage  of  a lantern  slide,  but 
for  the  passage  of  air  to  the  flame.  In  fact,  the  cut 
is  meant  to  represent  a lamp  for  illuminating  objects 
at  great  distances,  by  means  of  a light  suitably 
directed  by  parabolic  or  other  reflectors. 

Lord  Rayleigh  once  said  that  few  persons  now-a- 
days  read  Newton’s  “ Optics,”  yet  that  they  are  well 
worth  perusal,  and  contain  records  of  devices  which  are 
occasionally  re-invented  in  modern  times.  The  same 
remark  might  also  be  applied  to  Kircher’s  ‘‘Great 
Art  of  Light  and  Shade.” 


THE  “PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS”  SUPPLEMENT. 
With  the  present  number  of  this  journal  is  issued  a pic- 
torial two-page  supplement,  representing  the  first  magic 
lantern  invented  by  Kircher,  and  a transition  instrument 
half-way  between  an  optical  lantern  and  a camera.  These 
are  photo-zincographic  copies,  on  a somewhat  reduced 
scale,  of  Kircher’s  original  engravings,  published  in  Rome 
in  1646,  and  in  Amsterdam  in  1671.  The  latter  seems  to 
be  the  date  of  the  first  printed  publication  of  a description 
of  a true  magic  lantern. 


198 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  14,  1890. 


ATHANASIUS  KIRCHER,  THE  INVENTOR  OF  THE 
MAGIC  LANTERN. 

m. 

nr  JAMES  MEW. 

In  the  third  and  last  part  of  the  tenth  and  last  book  of  his 
“ Great  Art  of  Light  and  Shade,”  Kircher  deals,  it  lias  been 
already  said  in  the  preceding  article,  with  Catoptric  Magic, 
or  the  wonderful  representations  of  objects  by  means  of 
mirrors.  Commencing  with  explanations  of  the  construc- 
tion of  mirrors  in  their  many  varieties — such  as  spherical, 
cylindrical,  and  conical — the  reader  next  meets  with  a series 
of  problems,  as  Kircher  calls  them,  or  propositions  con- 
cerning the  formation  of  several  mechanical  instruments. 
The  first  of  these  propositions  is  how  to  construct  an 
alembic  which,  by  the  sole  assistance  of  burning  mirrors, 
can  effect  distillation  better  than  by  the  aid  of  a fire.  The 
second  is  how  to  make  a machine  which  can  light  a fire 
on  an  altar  at  any  given  hour,  ignite  also  the  holy  candles, 
and,  after  that,  cause  a fountain  to  rise  which  will  turn  the 
sacrificial  flame  to  ashes. 

The  tim'd  problem  will  be  given  at  full  length.  Its  sub- 
ject is  how  to  construct  an  artificial  lantern,  by  means  of 
which  any  writings  may  be  read  at  a long  distance. 

“ Let,”  says  the  author,  “a  lantern  (see  fig.  1)  be  con- 


Fiff.  1. 


structed  of  the  cylindrical  figure  which  is  here  shown  in  the 
picture,  in  whose  base  A B there  must  be  set  a concave 
mirror  as  nearly  as  possible  parabolic,  and  within  the  focus 
of  this  mirror  let  there  be  placed  the  flame  of  a candle  F, 
and  you  will  have  at  once  what  you  desire. 

“ For  the  light  wall  then  shine  with  such  unusual  splen- 
dour as  to  show  without  any  difficulty,  and  by  night,  even 
the  minutest  letters,  oidy  to  be  otherwise  seen  by  the  aid 
of  a telescope,  while  those  who  behold  the  flame  from  a 
distance  will  surely  suppose  it  to  be  a mighty  fire.  The 
light  will  be  increased  if  the  interior  of  the  cylinder  be 
formed  out  of  shining  tin  into  an  ellipse,  but  the  figure 
will  sufficiently  explain  the  invention.  E designates  the 
handle,  D the  window  opening  or  outlet  for  the  light,  and 
C the  chimney.” 

Kircher,  after  referring  to  a chapter  in  a previous  portion 
of  his  work,  which  will  be  given  hereafter,  in  which  an 
instrument,  a peculiar  camera,  conducive  to  the  birth  of 
the  magic  lantern,  is  shown,  goes  on  to  say,  “Since  this 
singular  invention  wasleft  byus  to  be  amplified  and  adorned 
by  other  greater  inventions,  it  has  happened  that  many, 
enticed  by  the  novelty  of  the  matter,  applied  their  minds  to 
its  perfection.  And  among  the  first  of  men  to  do  this  was  a 
certain  Dane — whom  Kircher  calls,  somewhat  strangely, 
Thomas  Walgensten — a mathematician  of  no  mean  repute, 


who,  after  a consideration  of  my  invention  described  by  me 
as  aforesaid,  of  the  magic  lantern,  effected  some  improve- 
ments therein,  and  then,  to  his  own  great  pecuniary  advan- 
tage, sold  it  to  different  men  of  rank  in  Italy,  so  that  in  a 
short  time  the  lantern  was  fairly  well  known  through  the 
whole  of  Rome.  The  only  difference  between  this  lantern 
of  Walgensten’s  and  my  own  invention  was  that  the  former 
showed  the  forms  of  many  objects  very  clearly  in  a dark 
room,  to  the  extreme  admiration  of  the  beholders.  ” Kircher, 
however,  also  exhibited  in  his  own  Jesuit  College  in  a dark 
room  with  equal  surprise  on  the  part  of  the  spectators. 
“ And  it  is  indeed  a thing  well  worthy  of  being  seen,”  says 
Kircher,  “ when  by  its  aid  whole  tragic,  satiric,  or  other 
scenes  are  exhibited  to  the  life.” 

The  catoptric  artifice,  previously  described,  differs  from 
the  new  lantern  only  in  this,  that  in  the  latter  case  a 
movable  light  is  called  into  use,  while  Kircher  utilized  the 
rays  of  the  sun.  “ Everything  that  could  be  shown  by 
the  movable  lantern  was,”  says  Kircher,  “shown  by  me 
in  colours  to  the  life  by  means  of  the  sun’s  rays  falling  on 
a mirror  on  which  the  forms  of  objects  were  described, 
and  reflecting  them  on  the  wall  of  an  inner  chamber  ; and 
we  also  taught  in  the  same  place  how,  without  the  aid  of 
the  sun’s  rays,  to  represent  objects  by  a concave  mirror  or 
a transparent  lens.  And,”  says  Kircher,  “I  enter  into 
these  matters  the  more  fully  in  order  to  make  clear  to  the 
reader  whence  these  new  mysteries  of  the  lantern  have 
derived  their  origin,  a lantern  not  undeservedly,  in  our 
own  opinion,  called  magic  and  thaumaturgic,  from  its 
wondrous  representations  of  all  conceivable  objects  in  a 
dark-room  or  in  the  deep  silence  of  night.”  And  now 
nothing  remains  but  to  explain  in  a few  words  the  fabrica- 
tion of  this  instrument — an  instrument  which,  as  the  date 
is  important,  it  is  proper  to  say  was  not  shown  to  the  public 
in  the  edition  published  at  Rome  in  1646,  but  first 
appeared  in  that  published  at  Amsterdam  in  1671,  which 
date,  therefore,  may  be  considered  that  of  the  birth  of  the 
magic  lantern. 

Let  a box  (sec  fig.  2 in  supplement)  be  made  of  wood, 
A B C D,  with  an  opening  at  L for  a chimney,  through  which 
the  smoke  of  the  lantern  may  pass.  Let  the  lantern  K be  set 
in  midst,  either  suspended  by  a wire  or  on  a stand  M,  oppo- 
site to  the  aperture  at  H,  in  which  let  a tube  be  fixed,  and  at 
one  end  of  the  tube,  I,  let  there  be  inserted  a good  lens;  at 
the  other  end  of  the  tube,  at  II,  let  a plane,  clear  piece  of 
good  glass  be  fixed,  on  which  whatever  you  choose  has 
been  painted  in  diaphanous  water-colours. 

This  being  accomplished  in  the  chamber  V X,  and  on 
its  white  wall  the  light  of  the  lantern  passing  through  the 
lens  will  exhibit  the  image  painted  on  the  plain  clear  glass 
at  II  (which  must  be  drawn  on  the  glass  upside  down), 
with  the  right  side  up.  and  magnified  and  expressed  with 
all  its  different  colours  to  the  life.  Note,  however,  that 
the  light  of  the  lantern  must  be  intense,  and  in  order  to 
ensure  this,  we  place  the  concave  steel  mirror  before  the 
flame,  by  which  means  the  power  of  the  light  will  be 
increased  in  a wonderful  manner. 

It  remains  to  explain  the  manner  of  multiplying  images. 
Between  two  boards  neatly  formed  in  the  shape  of  a 
parallelogram  let  a piece  of  polished  glass  be  inserted,  equal 
in  size  to  the  opening  at  II ; upon  this  glass  let  images  of 
whatever  kind  and  number  you  wish  be  painted  in  dia- 
phanous water-colours,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  parallelogran: 
M N.  This  being  inserted  between  the  fissures  II 1J,  N R.’ 

* The  letter  P is  not  in  the  picture,  and  N seems  to  have  been  writtei 

for  o; 


MAKCn  14,  1890.1 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


199 


and  its  pictures  moved  one  after  the  other  to  the  opening  II, 
will  exhibit  eight  different  images  upon  the  wall,  whence  it 
is  clear  that,  if  you  have  ready  four  or  five  parallelograms 
of  this  kind,  of  which  every  one  gives  different  images,  by 
help  of  these  you  may  easily,  in  a darkened  room,  show 
the  spectators  whatever  you  will. 

The  exhibition  will  affect  the  beholders  with  greater 
wonder  if  the  lantern  be  placed  in  a separate  chamber, 
A B C P (see  fig.  3 in  supplement),  and  the  little  tube 
insertediu  the  wall  B Datthe  place  II,  in  the  manner  already 
mentioned,  for  then  in  the  adjoining  chamber,  BED  F,  on 
the  opposite  wall  G,  will  appear  as  many  images  as  have  been 
inscribed  on  the  parallelogram— joyful,  sad,  dreadful,  horri- 
ble, and,  to  spectators  ignorant  of  their  cause,  miraculous — 
together  with  such  sentences  and  writings  as  have  been 
delineated  on  the  glass,  all  of  which  the  reader  will  best 
and  most  readily  understand  from  the  illustration. 

In  the  conclusion  of  Kircher’s  “ Great  Art  of  Light  and 
Shade,”  is  a short  treatise  entitled  a New  Cryptology, 
a catoptric  art  by  which  two  friends,  being  at  a distance 
from  one  another,  may  manifest  mutually,  without  any 
obstacle  or  inconvenience,  their  hidden  conceptions,  and 
in  addition  thereto,  show  their  personal  presentments 
reciprocally  by  a kind  of  catoptric  replication,  and  exhibit 
such  other  matters  as  they  may  desire. 

This  treatise  is  divided  into  two  parts,  of  which  the  one 
part  is  concerned  with  the  projection  of  figures  to  any 
distance  by  means  of  the  sun,  the  other  with  catoptric 
steganography  by  means  of  a caudle. 

It  is,  says  Kireher,  in  his  preface  to  his  new  Cryptology, 
part  of  the  nature  of  the  human  intellect  to  aspire  to  the 
attributes  of  the  divinity,  and  to  prosecute  their  attain- 
ment by  daring  and  almost  gigantic  endeavour.  Of  these 
attributes,  the  two  chief  are  the  following,  the  one  to  pene- 
trate into  the  future,  and  the  other  to  manifest  to  those  who 
are  absent  mental  conceptions  without,  it  must  be  under- 
stood, the  aid  of  any  human  medium.  Both  of  these,  as  they 
seem  at  first  sight  to  be  far  beyond  the  bounds  of  natural 
possibility,  deservedly  occupy  a front  place  in  the  ranks 
of  the  hidden  and  the  mysterious.  With  the  former, 
astrology  is  busied,  of  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak  here ; 
with  the  latter,  steganography  ; that  is  to  say,  the  secret 
means  of  speaking  at  a distance.  In  this  art,  the  author 
informs  us,  monarchs  of  the  world  have  considered  them- 
selves especially  blessed,  having  regard  to  its  convenience 
for  ready  counsel,  and  the  expeditious  dispatch  of 
necessary  business.  The  love  of  the  emperor  Maximilian 
for  the  abbot  Trithemius,  at  that  time  the  sole  proprietor 
of  such  a secret,  is  sufficiently  well  known. 

Our  concern  here  is  with  Catoptric  Steganography,  an 
art,  says  Kireher,  entirely  of  our  own  invention,  since  we 
remember  not  to  have  read  anything  of  the  kind  in  any 
other  author.  An  admirable  art  is  this,  and  indeed  worthy 
of  the  curiosity  of  kings,  an  art  by  which  friends  at  the 
distance  even  of  three  miles  may  converse  together  un- 
heard with  security  and  ease.  But  leaving  the  wanderings 
of  words,  let  us  come  at  once,  says  the  author,  lest  the 
reader  should  suppose  we  are  gulfing  him,  to  our  grand 
secret.  And  so  we  come  at  once,  though  Kireher  does 
not,  to  his  second  chapter. 

Concerning  the  Mirrors  Necessary  for  Catoptric  Stegano- 
graphy.— In  Catoptric  Steganography,  according  to  the 
industrious  Jesuit,  three  things  are  required — a mirror,  a 
mesoptic  glass  or  lens,  and  a support  or  stand.  The 
mirror  must  be  plane,  not  made  of  glass,  nor  of  steel,  but 
molten  of  metallic  material.  In  the  first  place  it  may  not 


be  of  glass  or  crystal,  on  account  of  the  profundity  of 
the  matter  rendering  the  mirror  opaque,  from  which  it 
follows  that  the  reflected  ray  being  refracted  in  too  dense 
a medium  falls  upon  the  wall  doubled — an  accident  which 
not  only  renders  the  characters  indecorous,  but  causes 
also,  amongst  them,  no  insignificant  confusion.  Steel  it 
may  not  be,  for  steel  is  well  known  to  be  impatient  of  all 
humidity.  And  therefore  a mirror  of  the  above-mentioned 
material  must  not  be  chosen  as  the  base  and  foundation  of 
our  steganographic  operations,  for  when  we  proceed  to 
write  thereon  our  mental  concepts,  such  a mirror  becomes 
easily  infected  and  befouled  with  the  juice  of  the  corro- 
sive ink,  and  will  contract  rust,  and  by  no  means  com- 
modiously  respond  to  our  design.  And  so  the  most  suit- 
able of  all  for  our  purpose  will  be  a plane  mirror  molten 
of  metallic  material,  for  this  will  sustain  the  ink  without 
any  injury,  and  may  also  be  polished  with  the  least  amount 
of  inconvenience. 

In  the  next  place  will  be  required  a mesoptic  glass  of  a 
hyperbolic  or  of  a lens-shaped  figure  ; an  obtuse  section 
as  far  as  may  be,  with  a diameter  of  half -a -palm's  breadth  ; 
and  happy  may  that  man  consider  himself  who  can  attain 
unto  a hyperbolic  glass  after  the  fashion  of  the  pupil  of 
his  own  eye,  for  he  will  behold  an  effect  ten  times  that  of 
a particular  lens,  and  thereby  be  astonied.  The  fashion 
of  both  of  these  glasses — the  lens-shaped,  and  the  hyper- 
bolic— has  been  .already  treated  of  at  considerable  length,* 
and  we  know  that  while  the  hyperbolic  can  be  used  for 
the  most  remote  distances,  the  lens  will  only  have  its 
effect  within  a limited  radius,  and  the  greater  the  distance, 
the  greater  also  must  be  the  hyperbole  ; and  thus  much 
with  regard  to  the  glass  in  general.  For  the  present 
experiment,  an  ordinary  lens  of  somewhat  obtuse  con- 
vexity will  amply  suffice. 

In  the  third  place,  the  support  has  to  be  considered. 
This  should  be  made  (see  Iconism  xxxiv,  fig.  1)  of  an 
oblong  piece  of  wood  C D,  having  a fissure  in  its  midst 
G II,  within  which  the  mirror  A may  move.  The  glass  B 
and  the  mirror  A are  so  furnished  with  joints,  that  they 
may  be  fixed  in  any  part  or  position  by  versatile  craft. 
F is  the  foot,  or  pedestal  sustaining  the  whole  machine  ; and 
F is  of  such  a size  as  may  be  easily  set  in  the  valves  of  a 
window.  This  is  an  instrument  which  will  be  found 
exactly  suited  to  the  performance  of  any  work  in  catoptric 
steganography,  as  will,  from  what  follows,  more  clearly 
appear. 

Of  Concave  Mirrors. — Concave  mirrors  may  also  prove 
of  the  greatest  service  in  this  experiment,  for  they  in- 
crease in  a marvellous  manner  the  images  of  objects, 
and  set  them  forth  in  the  most  perspicuous  fashion.  But 
since  it  is  not  every  one  who  possesses  mirrors  of  this 
kind,  we  rather  use  plane  mirrors  which  are  of  more 
easy  attainment.  Mirrors  made  with  a section  of  eighteen 
degrees  have  in  this  art  of  ours  a prodigious  effect,  and 
project  the  shadows  of  things  to  a much  greater  distance. 
But,  says  Kireher,  I have  communicated  only  to  a few 
skilled  friends  and  acquaintances  the  art  of  applying  such 
mirrors. 

Kircher’s  third  chapter  treats 

Of  the  distances  which  are  required  for  the  projection  of  the 
forms  of  objects.  — Since  no  natural  agent  can  act  to  an  infinite 
distance,  it  follows  necessarily  that  it  must  have  a certain 
and  determinate  sphere  for  its  activity,  the  semi-diameter  of 
which  sphere  may  be  called  the  distance  of  the  agent  and 

* In  Book  X.,Part  II.,  Chapter  8,  where  the  matter,  forms,  varieties, 
collocations,  and  effects  of  lenses  are  admirably  illustrated  and  explained. 


200 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  14,  1890. 


patient,  since  within  this  distance  all  sensible  actions  o* 
natural  things  are  concluded.  A sphere  of  this  fashion 
throws  off  a sensible  light,  whilst  it  continually  diffuses  itself 
through  a mean  by  uniform  propagation,  until,  when  the 
sensible  forms  of  light  at  last  are  lost,  it  finally  ceases  in 
shade,  and  this  sphere  extends  itself  so  much  the  more  as 
the  intermediate  body  more  increases  the  light ; but  that 
which  increases  the  light  in  the  greatest  degree  is  a lens  in 
the  form  of  a hyperbola,  and  others  of  this  kind,  as  has  been 
already  described,  arranged  in  a proportionate  degree  of 
distance  between  the  light  itself  and  its  boundary.  Reflected 
forms,  with  which  we  are  here  particularly  concerned,  are 
allotted  a smaller  distance  than  direct  forms,  which,  having 
been  laid  down,  we  have  the  following  problem  presented 
to  us. 

It  is  required  to  know  to  what  distance  the  reflected 
forms  of  objects  may  be  projected.  The  answer  is  that 
since  light  is  multifold,  it  has  also  a multifold  reflected 
sphere  of  its  diffusion.  The  rays  of  the  sun  diffuse 
reflected  forms  to  the  greatest  distance,  a candle  less 
remotely.  “ I,  myself,  ’’  the  author  informs  us,  ‘ 1 have 
proved  that  a glass  (mirror)  of  a half  palm’s  size  will  project 
the  forms  of  objects  to  a distance  of  five  hundred  feet,  so 
that  such  forms  projected  into  a dark  room  can  be  easily 
and  distinctly  interpreted  by  the  bystanders.”  The  plane 
mirror  was,  as  has  been  said,  of  the  magnitude  of  half  a 
palm,  the  diameter  of  the  round  lens  of  one-third  of  a 
palm,  and  so  with  a proportional  increment  of  both  mirror 
and  glass  (lens)  the  reflected  forms  of  objects  may  be  still 
further  projected  in  exact  accordance  with  the  additional 
magnitude  of  mirror  and  lens. 

“Therefore,  if  the  mirror  and  lens  be  both  of  eight 
palms,  I affirm,”  says  Kircher,  “that  in  this  case  sensible 
forms  of  objects  may  be  projected  to  the  distance  of 
twelve  thousand  feet,  nor  can  this  matter  admit  of  the 
smallest  degree  of  doubt ; and  this  being  so,  I can 
imagine  nothing  more  divine.  For  is  it  not  a paradox, 
and  a matter  in  the  opinion  of  all  incredible,  that  a man 
should  speak  with  his  friend  by  means  only  of  a mirror 
at  a distance  of  three  leagues,  should  exhibit  to  him  any 
figures  he  may  desire,  and  send  him,  if  he  so  choose,  a 
long  letter  for  his  perusal  ? But  that  these  things  are  as 
I have  said,  that  mortal  alone  knows  to  whom  alone  in  all 
the  world  I have  communicated  this,  my  secret.” 

As,  however,  nothing  is  altogether  perfect  in  this  best 
of  worlds,  so  even  Kircher’s  steganographic  system  is 
attended  by  some  slight  inconveniencea  Of  these  the 
author  mentions  two  only.  They  are  that  the  forms  of 
the  reflected  objects  are  immensely  increased — so  that,  for 
example,  one  letter  may  attain  the  magnitude  of  a tower, 
the  other  that,  in  proportion  to  the  distance  of  the  images 
of  the  objects,  their  appearance  is  weaker ; indeed,  they 
wax  so  feeble  that  unless  the  whole  room  be  dark,  nothing 
whatever  will  be  seen.  If,  therefore,  anyone  shall  be  able 
to  hit  upon  a means  by  which  he  may  reduce  the  propor- 
tion of  these  figures  when  seen  at  a great  distance,  and 
yet  at  the  same  time  exhibit  them  clearly,  he  may  con- 
gratulate himself  on  having  discovered  a secret  well 
worthy  of  self-glorification,  As  for  me,  says  Kircher, 
who  am  without  the  necessary  leisure  for  such  an  under- 
taking, and  destitute  of  the  wealth  which  it  would  be 
likely  to  consume,  I have  hitherto  failed  in  bringing  the 
matter  to  this  satisfactory  conclusion.  But  let  no  man 
doubt  that  such  a desirable  end  may  be  attained  by  the 
proper  disposition  of  intermediate  concave  mirrors.  And, 
concludes  Kircher,  I think  that  I have  for  the  nonce 


sufficiently  explained,  as  it  were,  in  a preface  the  nature 
of  my  secret. 

The  next  chapter — chapter  four — is  headed, 

Of  Steganographic  Praxis. — We  will  first  teach  how  to 
transmit  the  letters ; but  before  doing  so,  it  is  to  be  noted 
that  nothing  can  be  writt  en  by  this  art  of  ours  save  upon 
the  walls  of  some  shady  and  obscure  place.  In  a mani- 
fest light  no  reflected  ray  can  be  well  perceived,  and  so 
neither  the  forms  of  inscriptions  reflected  from  a mirror ; 
but  wherever  a place  is  somewhat  dark,  the  shadows  of 
objects  may  be  perceived,  and  they  will  appear  with  so 
much  the  more  exquisiteness  and  minuteness  as  the  place 
in  which  they  are  represented  is  more  shady  or  more 
obscure.  Whosoever  therefore  will  desire  to  practise 
himself  in  this  matter,  before  all  things  it  is  necessary 
(see  Iconism  xxxiv.,  figure  1),  that  he  should  inscribe 
with  common  ink,  and  upon  a plane  mirror  A,  whatso- 
ever he  would  have  appear  in  reflection.  But  since  the 
letters  he  employs  cannot  be  portrayed  in  their  ordinary 
fashion,  and  have  their  erect  natural  and  proper  position 
upon  the  plane  mirror,  we  have  thought  it  right  to  J 
append  to  this  article  an  alphabet  constructed  as  if 
must  necessarily  be  to  procure  for  him  the  result 
required.  And  we  trust  that  by  means  of  the  use  thereof 
every  stumbling  block  which  may  offend  him  in  his  firsi 
essay  will  be  wholly  removed  out  of  his  path. 

The  letters  must  he  inscribed  on  the  mirror  in  the  position  ii 
which  they  appear  in  the  Latin  alphabet  displayed  in  the  ad 
joined  Iconism. 

Iu  the  present  Iconism  we  have  displayed  the  alphabet! 
of  three  tongues — Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin.  In  thest 
different  alphabets,  the  upper  series  of  every  alphabet  i 
that  which  is  natural.  The  lower  series  represents  th< 
same  alphabet  written  inversely,  or  turned  upside  down 
and  the  letters  are  to  be  inscribed  on  the  mirror  in  tin 
fashion  in  which  they  are  here  represented. 

This  then  is  to  be  the  position  of  the  characters  in  whic! 
we  must  write  what  we  wish  to  express  upon  the  mirror 
for  then  they  will  appear  in  their  right  order  and  positioi 
projected  upon  the  distant  wall.  Suppose  you  are  desirou 
to  communicate  a matter  to  a friend  at  an  appointe' 
hour,  you  will  first  inscribe  the  matter  on  the  plan 
mirror  in  the  conceived  words,  in  letters  upside  down,  a 
here  are  shown.  Let,  for  instance,  your  communicatio 
to  your  friend  written  on  the  mirror  be  conceived  in  th 
following  words: — 

AD  MAJOREM  DEI  GLORIAM. 

You  will  write  these  words  in  the  manner  displayed  o 
the  mirror  AS. 

The  words  PAX  VOBIS  should  (see  Iconism  xxxiv 
figure  2)  be  inscribed  so  that  they  may  appear  as  on  tb 
plane  mirror  V.  The  figures  to  be  projected  are  also  < 
be  drawn  upside  down,  as  is  clearly  shown  in  the  mirroi 
R and  N. 

After  the  inscription  of  the  letters  in  the  mann< 
indicated,  the  plane  mirror  must  be  continually  turne 
about  until  the  reflected  ray  falls  exactly  on  the  dark  plac 
whereon  the  letters  are  to  appear.  If  the  reflected  rf 
cannot  be  seen  on  account  of  the  distauce,  the  visual  ra 
following  the  path  of  the  reflected  ray,  will  quick 
demonstrate  the  line  of  steganographic  direction.  T1 
incidence  of  the  reflected  ray  having  been  determined  1 
this  artifice,  a lens  must  next  be  interposed  between  tl 
mirror  and  the  dark  place  or  terminus  in  such  a mann 
that  the  reflected  light  may  cover  the  whole  superficies 


March  14,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


201 


the  glass.  The  lens  must  also  be  set  in  an  exactly  propor- 
tioned distance,  which  distance  must  be  beforehand 
determined  by  observation — that  is  to  say,  by  approximating 
or  elongating  the  glass  (lens)  from  the  mirror,  until  the 
reflected  forms  of  the  letters  appear  as  distinctly  as  may 
be  in  the  position  desired.  And  after  all  this  has  been 
achieved,  there  will  be  beheld  within  the  walls  of  the 
room,  if  the  terminus  be  of  that  nature,  the  whole  of  your 
concept  projected,  not  without  the  astonishment  of  those 
who  gaze  thereon,  in  letters  a foot  and  a half  in  magnitude, 
so  that  the  whole  wall  of  the  room  will  be  occupied  there- 
with. for  these  letters  will  appear  so  much  the  larger  as 
the  space  is  more  distant  between  the  mirror  and  the 
terminus. 

It  is  also  here  to  be  noted,  that,  by  some  unexplained 
artifice  of  Nature,  the  master-painter,  the  letters  will  be 
seen  depicted  with  every  variety  of  colour,  which  matter, 
as  it  is  indeed  unusual,  will  -work  the  greater  admiration  in 
the  minds  of  those  who  behold  it. 

The  figure  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  Ieonism,  repre- 
senting the  popular  idea  of  an  angel,  bears  a tablet 
containing  a Hebrew  quotation,  a little  misspelt,  from 
Proverbs  xv.  15,  which  is,  being  translated  in  the  English 
version,  “ lie  that  is  of  a merry  heart  hath  a continual 
feast.” 

Kircher’s  fifth  chapter  treats  of  the  projection  of 
figures.  This  is  virtually  the  same  as  that  of  the  letters. 
It  is  written,  he  says,  in  the  Book  of  Magic,  that  Solomon, 
to  inspire  awe  in  his  subjects,  exhibited  his  figure  in  places 
from  which  he  was  himself  far  away.  Many  interpret 
this  as  a fiction  of  the  Kabbis,  but  by  the  catoptric  art,  an 
image  of  oneself  may  be  projected  to  a distance  as  easily 
as  that  of  any  other  person.  It  is  necessary  only  to  draw 
the  extreme  lineaments,  commonly  called  the  profile. 
But  experience  will  teach  here  more  than  many  words. 
By  Catoptrics  may  be  explained  marvellous  matters  in  his- 
tory, hitherto  supposed  to  be  the  works  of  devils.  Roger 
Bachon,  as  Kircher  spells  his  name,  was,  owing  to  his 
knowledge  of  catoptrics,  considered  a necromancer. 

Chapter  VI.  deals  with  coloured  images.  The  only  point 
of  variation  in  the  directions  for  producing  them  is,  that 
the  figure  desired  to  be  projected  must  be  painted  in 
transparent  colours.  The  result  is  so  extraordinary,  that 
many  calling  themselves  acute  philosophers  accused  more 
than  once  the  unhappy  Kircher  of  dealing  with  the  black 
art 

In  the  seventh  chapter  Kircher  explains  how  motion  may 
be  communicated  to  his  catoptric  semblances.  Profiles 
must  be  cut  out  in  paper,  and  legs,  arms,  feet,  hands,  and 
head  are  to  be  attached  by  joints,  so  that  they  may  be 
moved  by  means  of  strings.  The  bodies  must  be  fastened 
by  glue  to  the  surface  of  the  mirror.  Then  the  shadows  will 
be  seen  to  move  on  the  wall  to  the  trepidation  of  all 
beholders.  If  you  wish  to  represent  flies,  you  must  smear 
the  edges  of  the  mirror  with  honey,  and  you  will  see  flies 
like  giants  crawling  upon  the  wall.  These  attached  to  steel 
"ill  follow  a magnet  moved  behind  the  mirror  in  any 
direction  desired. 

Chapter  VHL  contains  the  mechanism  of  a stegano- 
graphic  horologe,  with  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  trouble 
the  reader. 

A short  Second  Part  deals  with  steganographic  catoptrics 
by  means  of  a candle.  Here  the  praxis  is  the  same,  but 
the  mirror  different.  It  should  be,  says  Kircher,  of  an 
obtuse  section  of  eighteen  degrees,  or  parabolic,  with  a 
lens-shaped  tube  in  the  form  of  an  hyperbola,  proportioned 


to  the  concavity  of  the  mirror.  The  fantasms  produced 
in  this  manner  are  much  more  formidable,  and  with  this 
machine  an  impious  man  may,  by  means  of  devils  described 
upon  the  mirrors,  be  easily  restrained  from  the  perpetra- 
tion of  atrocities. 

Another  method  of  presenting  images  by  a candle  is  to 
write  upon  the  convex  superficies  of  a glass  sphere  having 
as  large  a diameter  as  may  conveniently  be  gotten.  Behind 
the  sphere  is  set  a burning  torch.  Images  are  obtained  in 
this  way  more  deftly,  with  greater  certainty,  and  at  a far- 
ther distance  than  by  the  use  of  the  concave  mirror. 
“ But,”  says  the  author,  “to  leave  others  some  room  for 
their  experiments,  and  to  prevent  our  work  growing  to  an 
excessive  size,  we  willingly  break  off  the  thread  of  our 
machinations,  mindful  of  that  of  Menander — 

O crofbs  wuKKk  oAlyots  roTs  \iyois. 


RULES  FOR  PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITIONS. 
Last  week  the  programme  of  the  papers  to  be  read  at  the 
Camera  Club  Conference  was  published  in  these  pages. 
It  is  proposed  to  have  a discussion  upon  the  regulations 
for  photographic  exhibitions,  at  the  Conference,  at  the 
Society  of  Arts,  on  Friday  next,  with  Captain  W.  de  W. 
Abney  in  the  chair. 

The  Club  has  informed  a large  number  of  photographic 
societies  that  in  continuation  of  the  Conference  upon  this 
subject,  held  at  the  Camera  Club  in  1888,  and  in  view  of 
the  special  interest  attaching  to  the  question  at  the  present 
time,  it  is  felt  to  be  advisable  to  gather  together  as  many 
views  as  possible  upon  certain  leading  points  in  exhibition 
regulations,  with  the  ultimate  object  of  removing  some  of 
the  disadvantages  which  are  generally  held  to  attend  the 
systems  now  in  vogue.  At  the  Camera  Club  Conference 
the  Camera  Club  will  bring  forward  a set  of  regulations 
and  recommendations  as  a basis  for  discussion. 

It  is  believed  that  there  are  at  least  some  few  points  of 
reform  upon  which  all  who  are  accustomed  to  exhibit,  or 
are  called  upon  to  manage  exhibitions,  are  agreed.  Much 
good  would  accrue  if  these  conditions  could  be  settled 
with  some  definiteness,  and  be  adopted  by  the  leading 
societies. 

The  following  are  set  out  as  points  on  which  there 
appears  to  be  fair  general  agreement ; upon  these  and  all 
the  submissions  criticism  is  desired  : — 1.  That  exhibition 
authorities  and  societies  should  decline  prizes  placed  at 
their  disposal  for  the  purposes  of  advertising.  2.  That 
some  restriction  as  to  the  number  of  awards  is  required ; 
suggest  a basis  for  a limitation.  3.  That  awards  should 
be  all  of  equal  value.  4.  That  if  any  farther  division  than 
Art  and  Scientific  Sections  be  required,  the  classification 
be  of  the  simplest — say,  in  the  Art  Sections : (a)  landscape 
and  landscape  with  figure  ; ( b ) figure  subjects ; (c)  por- 
traiture ; ( d ) architectural. 

Other  points  upon  which  agreement  is  desirable  are  as  follows: — 
1.  Selection  and  constitution  of  Board  of  Judges  for  Art 
and  Scientific  Sections.  2.  Announcement  of  judges’ 
names  as  early  as  possible,  and  before  entries  are  due. 

3.  The  working  of  the  system  of  champion  classes. 

4.  Exhibition  in  competition  of  work  by  a firm,  in  which 
work  several  hands  have  had  a share.  5.  An  intimation 
in  the  regulations  that  the  judges  are  requested  to  withhold 
awards  in  cases  of  insufficient  merit  in  a class  or  classes. 

Other  points: — Retouching?  One  picture,  one  frame? 
Diplomas  or  medals  ? Separate  amateur  and  professional 
classes?  Hanging  committee  ? 


202 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  14,  1890. 


Since  the  foregoing  was  in  type,  we  have  received  the 
following  communication  on  the  same  subject  from  Mr. 
Ralph  W.  Robinson  : — 

“ A very  able  and  interesting  article,  by  Mr.  G.  Davi- 
son, in  a contemporary,  deals  sensibly,  I think,  with  the 
present  degraded  state  of  photographic  exhibitions. 

“As  Mr.  Davison  suggests,  it  is  time  that  exhibitors 
should  speak  with  no  uncertain  voice  their  opinions  in 
the  matter.  It  appears  there  was  once  a time  when  it 
was  an  honour  to  receive  an  award ; but  now,  alas ! on 
how  few  of  the  medals  scattered  about  with  such  profu- 
sion can  the  photographer  with  common  sense  honestly 
set  any  value.  As  trade  advertisements,  perhaps  they  are 
useful  as  a guarantee  that  the  recipient  has  obtained  a 
certain  degree  of  proficiency,  but  to  those  who  really 
know  the  state  of  affairs,  what  are  they  ? The  very  bad- 
ness of  design  and  inferiority  of  workmanship  of  many  of 
them  are  a slight  on  the  artistic  perception  of  the  recipient, 
or  an  only  too  faithful  testimonial  to  the  want  of  taste  on 
the  part  of  those  responsible  for  their  issue.  How  long, 
I wonder,  will  the  long-suffering  exhibitor  continue  to 
enter  his  pictures  for  competition  and  allow  them  to  be 
adjudicated  upon  by  journalists  and  others,  however 
eminent  in  their  own  profession,  unless — which  is  rarely  the 
case — they  have  the  education  and  experience  necessary 
for  the  true  art  critic  ? The  deliberations  of  the  Camera 
Club  next  week  should  do  good  in  giving  us  the  carefully 
considered  views  of  the  amateurs.  Have  not  the  leading 
professionals,  too,  something  to  say?  It  should  be 
possible,  I think — so  self-evident  is  the  undignified  state 
into  which  exhibitions  have  fallen — for  a combination  to  be 
brought  about,  of  the  principal  exhibitors,  to  protest  against 
present  abuses.  If  only  a dozen  or  twenty  of  the  most 
representative  men  would  make  up  their  minds  to  united 
action,  and  refuse  to  exhibit,  except  where  men  of 
acknowledged  ability  as  artists,  either  in  painting  or 
photography,  will  be  judges,  the  exhibition  committees 
would  soon  see  the  advisability  and,  indeed,  necessity  of 
reform. 

“For  my  own  part  I would  willingly  see  medals 
abolished  entirely,  and  only  the  best  of  the  photographs 
sent  in  hung.  Of  course,  the  proportion  rejected  would 
depend  on  the  quality  of  work,  and  space  at  the  disposal 
of  the  committee,  but  the  standard  should  be  a high  one  ; 
and  I think  Mr.  Davison  goes  under  rather  than  over 
the  mark,  when  he  suggests  the  rejection  of  forty  per 
cent.  I most  emphatically  agree  with  Mr.  Davison  that 
there  should  be  no  division  between  professional  and 
amateur,  and  no  classification  except  into  art  and  science 
divisions,  and  perhaps  a technical  division  should  be 
added  to  include  .all  photographs  not  shown  as  works  of 
art,  or  as  of  a scientific  character.  Most  interiors, 
photographs  of  machinery,  copies  of  paintings  and  other 
works  of  art,  and  similar  subjects,  would  be  included  in 
this  division.  With  regard  to  the  fusion  of  amateur 
and  professional  classes,  I believe  it  is  fallacious  to  argue, 
as  some  do,  that  it  is  unfair  to  the  amateur  to  make  him 
compete  on  equal  terms  with  the  professional  On 
the  contrary,  the  professional  has  many  disadvan- 
tages, except  in  portraiture.  lie  must  attend  to  business 
for  the  greater  part  of  his  time — which  many  amateurs 
need  not  do — and  can  devote  his  leisure  only  to  art 
study.  I believe,  too,  that  it  has  been  an  invariable 
result  of  the  mixture  of  commercialism  and  art  that 
one  or  the  other  has  had  to  suffer. 

“ I would  suggest  that  instead  of  awarding  medals,  the 


judges  should  weed  out  all  inferior  work  and  reject  it, 
and  from  the  photographs  exhibited  select  a few  of  the 
very  best,  to  be  purchased  by  the  Society  holding  the 
exhibition,  to  form  a permanent  collection,  to  the  lasting 
honour  of  the  producer,  an  encouragement  to  do  good 
work,  and,  as  time  goes  on,  to  form  invaluable  historical 
records  of  the  art  progress  of  photography." 


CIIROMO-PIIOTOGRAPIIY  IN  THE  PRINTING 

PRESS. 

Ix  our  notice  of  Dr.  Eder's  annual  in  last  week’s  issue  we 
had  occasion  to  refer  to  one  of  the  supplements  or  illus- 
trations with  which  it  is  enriched,  an  illustration  printed 
in  coloured  inks,  and  resembling  in  all  respects  a bright 
and  airy  sketch  in  water  colours.  The  fact  of  producing 
a coloured  illustration  by  means  of  selecting  portions  of  a 
negative  for  printing  each  with  a separate  tint,  or  in  some 
parts  with  several  tints  overlaid  on  the  same  part  is,  of 
course,  not  new  ; but  when  any  particularly  striking  pro- 
duction is  seen,  there  are  naturally  enough  enquiries  as  to 
the  means  by  which  it  has  been  accomplished,  and  as  in 
the  subject  of  the  present  notice,  the  process  is  one 
which  is  scarcely  known  in  this  country,  some  details  of 
it  may  be  interesting  to  our  readers. 

We  gather  from  the  annual  containing  the  illustration, 
and  from  other  sources,  that  the  plates  employed  by  Messrs. 
Wezel  and  Naumann,  of  Leipzig,  are  prepared  as  follows  : 
— Lithographic  stone  is  partly  dissolved  and  partly 
reduced  to  a pulp  by  digestion  in  hydrochloric  and  sul- 
phuric acids.  To  this  pulp  is  added  a mixture  of  solu- 
tion of  asphaltum  and  resin  and  a small  quantity  of  oil. 
By  this  means  a mixture  of  fatty  or  resinous  salts  of 
lime  and  sulphate  of  lime  is  formed.  After  evaporating 
the  excess  of  acid  a dilute  solution  of  soda  is  added,  and 
warm  zinc  plates  are  covered  with  a fine  spray  of  the  mix- 
ture. The  plate  thus  coated  with  a film  of  artificial  litho- 
stone,  is  afterwards  treated  in  the  same  way  as  an  ordinary 
lithographic  stone,  except  that  in  place  of  nitric  or 
hydrochloric  acid,  phosphoric  acid  mixed  with  dilute 
gum  arabic  is  employed. 

Plates  thus  prepared  have  yielded  as  many  as  6,000 
impressions,  and  we  learn  that  the  process  is  used  to  the 
almost  entire  exclusion  of  other  processes  by  Messrs  Wezel 
and  Naumann,  who  have  over  thirty  steam  presses  doing 
various  lithographic  work. 

As  the  film  of  stone  is  thin  it  is  recommended  to  avoid 
as  much  as  possible  having  to  make  corrections.  If, 
however,  any  are  necessary,  the  place  is  washed  with  tur- 
pentine, and  is  then  lightly  rubbed  with  pumice  powder 
and  water.  When  dry  it  is  again  lightly  rubbed  with  dry 
pumice  powder,  care  being  taken  not  to  lay  the  zinc  bare. 

If  any  correction  has  to  be  made  after  etching,  a solu- 
tion of  citric  acid,  of  about  one-third  strength  of  that  used 
for  stone,  is  employed,  and  the  spot  may  then  be  worked 
upon  again.  Dirty  corners  or  patches  are  best  rubbed 
away  with  oxalic  acid.  If  by  any  mischance  a place 
has  been  laid  bare  on  the  zinc  it  is  treated  with 
gallic  or  tannic  acid. 

The  process  as  described,  it  will  be  seen,  is  applicable 
to  all  lithographic  work.  In  the  example  before  us,  the 
registering  of  the  different  plates  is  so  perfectly  performed 
that  we  cannot  detect  any  fault  in  that  respect,  and  the 
total  result  is  the  production  of  a charming  chromo-litho- 
graph from  a photographic  negative. 


March  14,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


203 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  GERMANY. 

BY  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

Electro-Chemical  Etching  Process  for  Hard  Metals — 
Retouching  Negatives — Developers  for  Flashlight 
Negatives — Fixing  with  Magnesium  Chloride. 
Electro-Chemical  Etching  Process. — For  the  production  of 
photo-mechanical  blocks,  zinc  plates  are  almost  exclusively 
used  to  receive  the  transferred  image,  which  is  etched  into 
them  by  means  of  acids.  This  process  has  been  very  much 
perfected  of  late,  as  it  is  well  known  ; but  where  harder 
metals  have  been  tried  for  the  same  purpose,  it  has  always 
been  found  exceedingly  difficult  to  etch  them  as  cleanly  as 
required  for  the  various  photo-mechanical  printing  pro- 
cesses. To  attain  the  desired  effect,  it  was  necessary  to 
use  very  strong  etching  solutions,  which  attacked  the 
metal  unequally,  destroyed  the  fine  lines,  and  produced 
rough  edges.  This  is  now  obviated  by  a new  patented 
“electro-chemical  hard  metal  etching  process,”  which  is 
worked  commercially  by  a trading  company  at  Berlin  under 
the  firm  of  “ Electrochemische  Graviranstalt.”  The  ad- 
vantages of  this  process  consist  in  the  fact  that  it  is  not 
only  possible  to  readily  work  hard  metals  useless  for  the 
ordinary  etching  process,  but  that  also  very  good  etchings 
may  be  produced  on  curved  or  cylindrical  surfaces.  A 
short  description  of  the  modus  operandi  of  this  establish- 
ment may  be  interesting  to  some  of  your  readers.  The 
etching  is  done  in  a stoneware  trough  ; the  etching  fluid 
is  a diluted  solution  of  an  acid,  rendered  a good  con- 
ductor of  electricity.  For  the  production  of  the  electrical 
current  a dynamo  machine  of  about  200  amperes  is  used. 
The  hard  metal  plate  is  first  well  polished,  and  then  the 
transfer  is  made  on  it.  The  latter  is  dusted  with  resin 
powder  in  the  ordinary  way.  The  surplus  of  the  powder 
is  first  wiped  off  and  blown  away,  and  then  the  rest  of 
it,  adhering  to  the  lines  and  surfaces  of  the  transfer,  is 
melted.  This  is  done  by  placing  the  plate  on  a roasting 
iron  and  heating  it  by  means  of  a Bunsen’s  burner  until,  by 
an  evenly  black  colour  of  the  transferred  impression,  it  is 
evident  that  the  whole  of  the  remaining  resin  powder  has 
been  melted.  The  metal  plate,  the  back  of  which  has 
been  protected  by  asphalt  varnish,  is  now  placed  in  the 
bath,  the  composition  of  which  is  a different  one 
according  to  the  metallic  alloy  used.  As  an  electrode 
on  the  one  hand  the  hard  metal  plate  itself  is  used ; 
on  the  other  hand  a carbon  plate  is  arranged 
parallel  to  the  metal  plate.  The  surface  of  the  hard 
metal  plate  is  of  course  directed  to  the  counter-plate. 
If  the  circuit  be  now  completed,  the  unprotected  spaces 
of  the  metal  arc  attacked  by  influence  of  electro-chemical 
decomposition.  Where  the  metal  plate  dips  in  the  liquid, 
small  bubbles  arise,  and  on  the  plate  bubbles  appear, 
forming  a whitish  scum.  If  after  a short  time  the 
plate  is  removed,  it  will  be  found  covered  on  the  un- 
protected parts  with  a whitish  mass,  i.e.,  a metallic  com- 
pound. If  the  latter  is  rinsed  off  under  the  tap,  it  will  be 
observed  that  the  pure  metal  is  already  bitten-in  to  the 
thickness  of  a sheet  of  paper.  As  in  the  case  of  ordinary 
zinc  etching,  the  plate  is  removed  from  time  to  time,  dried, 
re-inked  with  fatty  ink,  dusted  with  resin,  and  the  latter 
melted  superficially.  After  the  electrolytic  etching  pro- 
cess is  finished,  the  asphalt  film  is  removed  from  the  back 
and  the  edges  of  the  plate,  and  the  latter  made  ready  for 
use  by  sawing,  filing,  and  cutting. 

Retouching  Negatives  from  Lead-Pencil  Drawings. — The 
following  method  has  been  devised,  and  is  a thoroughly  cer- 


tain and  excellent  one,  by  an  experienced  retoucher,  Mr. 

1 1.  Lenhard.  It  will  be  of  special  value  to  those  retouchers 
who  work  in  collotype  and  zincography,  as  they  have  in 
hand  many  lead-pencil  drawings.  To  make  the  ren- 
dering of  such  a drawing  true  to  nature,  and  upon  a purely 
white  ground,  the  following  method  should  be  used. 
Zinc-white,  finely  rubbed  down  with  water— to  which  some 
albumen  or  gum  solution  is  added,  in  order  to  insure  to 
the  colour  a certain  degree  of  permanence — is  applied  to 
the  varnished  film  of  the  negative,  which  may  be  either  a 
wet  collodion  plate,  or  a gelatine  dry  plate,  and  the  colour 
is  spread  by  means  of  two  badger-hair  brushes  (so- 
called  dabbers)  by  even  strokes  downward  and  from 
right  to  left,  or  vice  versa,  so  as  to  form  an  entirely 
equal  and  well-covering  layer  over  the  varnish  film.  After 
drying,  the  negative  is  placed  on  the  retouching  desk,  and 
a mirror  is  placed  beneath  it,  in  order  to  enable  the 
retoucher  at  work  to  see  the  most  delicate  fines  of  the 
drawing,  and  by  means  of  a pointed  wooden  pencil  (beech- 
wood),  the  drawing  is  touched  up  in  all  its  lines.  By  this 
means  every  line  becomes  uncovered  and  remains  sharp, 
whilst  the  ground  retains  its  full  covering  power.  Of 
course  the  printer  must  treat  such  negatives  delicately, 
because  the  zinc-white  film  is  easily  damaged  by  rubbing. 
The  Laying  on  of  the  covering  ground  requires  some  prac- 
tice. 

Developers  for  Flashlight  Negatives. — We  learn  from  the 
Wochenhlatt  that  Professor  Eder,  in  his  new  book,  “ Photo- 
graphy by  Magnesium  Light,”  recommends  the  following 
developers  for  flash-light  pictures  : — 


1. — Pyro  Developer. 
\. — Sodium  sulphite  ... 

Pyro  

Water 

Concentrated  sulphuric  acid 
13, — Cryst.  soda... 

Water 


100  grammes 

H 

500  c.c. 

6 drops 
50  grammes 
500  c.c. 


Just  before  use,  not  sooner,  20  c.c.  of  solution  A and 
20  c.c.  of  solution  B are  mixed  witli  20  c.c.  of  water. 


2.  — Ilydroq  u inone  Developer. 

A.  — Hydroquinone  ...  ...  ...  10  grammes 

Sodium  sulphite  ...  ...  ...  40  ,, 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  400  c.c. 

B. — Potassium  carbonate  ...  ...  20  grammes 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  20  ,, 


Before  development  20  c.c.  of  solution  A are  mixed  with 
20  c.c.  of  solution  B.  This  developer  can  be  used  re- 
peatedly. and  it  is  recommended  to  add  a small  quantity 
of  fresh  developer,  but  not  before  the  development  has 
been  nearly  finished. 

Fixing  with  Magnesium  Chloride.—  Magnesium  chloride 
(Mg  Cl,),  which,  as  the  older  operators  will  remember, 
served  as  a useful  addition  to  the  collodion,  by  which  the 
vigour  of  the  negative  was  increased,  and  the  solarisation 
of  the  sky  prevented,  lias  of  late  been  tried  by  Herr 
R.  E.  Liesegang  as  a fixing  agent  for  gelatino-chloride 
paper.  This  experimenter  found  that  prints  on  this  paper 
were  completely  fixed  if  treated  with  a diluted  solution  of 
this  salt,  and  that  they  were  not  at  all  reduced  in  vigour, 
as  is  the  case  with  hypo,  ammonia,  and  sulphocyanide  of 
ammonia.  The  fixed  prints  kept  well ; but  as  the 
gelatine  of  the  film  is  slightly  attacked  by  the  salt,  it  is 
advisable  to  add  a small  quantity  of  alum  to  the  bath. 
“Perhaps,”  says  the  author,  “the  magnesium  chloride, 
on  account  of  these  properties,  can  be  used  for  fixing 
photographs  in  natural  colours.” 


204 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  14,  1890. 


JlOtCS* 

The  latest  photographic  curiosity  is  the  rhombohedral 
camera  of  Professor  Cohu,  of  Breslau,  by  which  a 
picture  can  be  taken  while  the  eye  is  regarding  it  in 
the  glass  screen.  This  is  effected  in  the  following 
way  : — Two  rhombohedra  of  glass  are  placed  in  a 
special  chamber  just  behind  the  camera  lens,  by  which 
means  two  images  are  thrown  upon  the  upper  and 
lower  halves  respectively  of  the  ground  glass  screen, 
the  eye  looking  along  a path  between  the  two  rhombo- 
hedra. To  use  the  instrument  a sensitive  plate  is  put 
in  place  of  the  upper  half  of  the  ground  glass.  When 
a sharply  defined  image  has  been  obtained  upon  the 
lower  glass,  an  instantaneous  shutter  is  released  in  the 
interior  of  the  camera  in  front  of  the  upper  rhombo- 
hedron,  and  the  picture  is  obtained  on  the  sensitive 
plate. 

The  competition  in  the  insuiance  world  to  obtain 
new  “lives”  is  so  keen  that  many  contrivances  ai-e 
adopted  on  the  part  of  agents  to  ingratiate  themselves 
with  possible  insurers.  The  great  point  is  to  get  an 
introduction,  and,  after  a little  agreeable  conversation, 
to  artfully  bring  up  the  subject  of  life  insurance  and 
its  incalculable  benefits  by  a sort  of  side  wind.  One 
of  the  most  successful  agents,  who  does  a large  busi- 
ness in  the  provinces,  finds  a photographic  outfit  one  of 
the  most  useful  baits  he  has  ever  tried.  In  calling 
upon  the  various  farmers,  what  can  be  easier  than  to 
talk  to  the  farmer’s  wife  or  daughters  about  photo- 
graphy ? The  matter  once  started,  the  next  thing  is 
to  produce  the  camera  from  the  gig,  and  proceed  then 
and  there  to  photograph  the  members  of  the  farmer’s 
family.  “ If,”  as  the  agent  shrewdly  remarks,  “ the 
farmer  has  got  no  family,  then  I commence  talking 
about  his  favourite  horse,  dog,  or  cow,  and  the  photo- 
graphs, so  far  as  I am  concerned,  are  quite  as  good  as 
those  of  human  beings.” 

Of  course  the  photograph  once  taken,  a second  visit 
is  a necessity  in  order  to  exhibit  the  proof,  and  in  this 
way  friendly  relations  are  built  up.  But  one  thing 
the  agent  informs  us  is  indispensable.  The  ladies  must 
be  flattered  ; hence  an  arrangement  with  a skilful  re- 
toucher is  indispensable.  This  makes  photography 
rather  a heavy  outlay,  but  the  commission  paid  by 
insurance  offices  is  now-a-days  so  large  that,  though 
the  enterprise  is  purely  speculative,  it  pays  in  the  long 
run. 

Professor  ltomyn  Hitchcock,  in  the  American 
Monthly  Microscopical  Journal , gives  some  valuable 
hints  as  to  the  use  of  coloured  screens  in  photo- 
micrography. The  blue  produced  by  ammonio-sulphate 
of  copper  was  formerly  used,  but  when  colour  sensi- 
tive plates  were  introduced  yellow  screens  took  the 
place  of  blue,  because  it  was  found  that  many  speci- 
mens had  yellow,  red,  and  brown  parts  which  were 
not  well  photographed  with  blue  light.  The  colour 
and  thickness  of  the  screen  both  require  attention. 


If  it  be  too  thin  the  blue  light  is  not  sufficiently  cut 
off.  In  particular  cases  an  almost  monochromatic 
yellow  light  is  desirable,  as  when  it  is  desired  to 
obtain  sharp  outlines  of  deeply  stained  objects  regard- 
ess  of  structural  details. 

But  generally  a rather  broader  spectrum  range  is 
desirable,  for  the  light  employed  should  correspond 
to  the  different  colours  or  shades  of  colour  of  the 
object.  It  is  owing  to  neglect  of  this  consideration 
l;hat  we  often  see  photo-micrographs  which  are  mere 
silhouettes,  while  the  objects  show  much  more 
structure  to  the  eye.  This  is  frequently  observed  in 
photographs  of  such  structures  as  the  tongue  and 
sting  of  a bee,  and  legs  of  insects.  In  other  prepara- 
tions, in  which  the  colour  is  a stain-brown  or  red,  for 
example,  the  fault  lies  partly  in  the  exposure,  which, 
in  many  cases,  is  insufficient  to  give  more  than  out- 
lines and  blank  interiors.  This  is  frequently  notice- 
able in  photographs  of  bacteria.  By  a proper  choice 
of  a screen,  if  a screen  is  required,  a photograph 
should  show  any  object  as  clearly  as  we  can  see  it  in 
the  microscope.  Colour-sensitive  plates  may  be  said  to 
be  indispensable  in  the  photography  of  rock  sections 
with  polarized  light. 

It  is  curious  to  read  in  Mr.  W.  P.  Frith’s  “Reminis- 
cences” how  photography,  now  used  so  extensively  by 
the  police  in  the  detection  of  criminals,  was  antici- 
pated by  the  pencil.  Mr.  Frith  gives  two  examples. 
The  first  relates  to  an  experience  of  Mulready,  who, 
while  walking  down  the  Bayswater  Road  in  1805,  was 
stopped  by  a foot-pad  armed  with  a pistol.  The  artist 
had  no  choice  but  to  comply,  and,  on  reaching  home, 
drew  the  man’s  face  very  carefully,  taking  the  drawing 
to  Bow  Street.  Within  a fortnight  the  man  was  cap- 
tured, his  apprehension  being  due  entirely  to  the  pic- 
ture. The  second  instance  relates  to  Mr.  G.  B.  O’Neil, 
who  was  robbed  of  his  watch  while  looking  at  the 
time  under  a gas  lamp  near  Kensington  Church.  The 
time  for  observation  was  very  short,  but  the  artist  was 
able  to  make  a drawing,  which  he  gave  to  the  police. 
The  man  was  soon  after  caught,  and  at  his  trial  the 
drawing  was  produced,  and  the  likeness,  together  with 
Mr.  O’Neil’s  recognition,  was  sufficient  to  convict  him. 
Mr.  Augustus  Egg,  R.A.,  also  made  a drawing  in  con- 
nection with  a robbery  at  his  house.  Unfortunately 
the  drawing  was  not  that  of  the  thief,  but  of  his  dis- 
mantled room,  with  himself  standing  ruefully  gazing 
at  the  scene. 


From  a discussion  on  a paper  read  by  Mr.  W.  Lovi- 
bond  at  the  Chemical  Society  on  a new  method  of 
colour  analysis  by  means  of  the  tintometer,  it  appears 
that  women,  in  regard  to  eyesight,  are  vastly  superior 
to  men.  Mr.  David  Howard,  who  presided,  remarked 
that  in  all  his  experience  he  had  never  met  with  a 
colour-blind  woman,  and  did  not  believe  that  one 
existed.  This  opens  up  a new  sphere  of  woman’s 
work.  Where  nicety  of  vision  in  regard  to  tints  is 
required,  women  certainly  should  be  employed. 


March  14,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


205 


THE  CRYSTAL  PALACE  PHOTOGRAPHIC 
EXHIBITION.— I. 


The  Photographic  Exhibition  this  year  at  the  Crystal 
Palace  contains  more  pictures  than  did  the  Exhibition  of 
1889,  and  a smaller  show  of  photographic  apparatus.  The 
pronounced  novelties  in  apparatus  placed  on  view  are  not 
numerous,  but  the  most  interesting  feature  to  the  land- 
scape photographer  is  the  evidence  of  a growing  tendency 
to  substitute  aluminium  for  brass,  wherever  possible,  in 
lens  mounts  and  cameras.  The  recent  improvements  in 
the  manufacture  of  aluminium  on  a large  scale  have,  accord- 
ing to  a statement  made  some  months  ago  by  Sir  Henry 
Roscoe  at  the  Royal  Institution,  reduced  the  price  of 
aluminium  to  twenty  shillings  a pound. 

Messrs.  Watson  and  Son  have  fitted  up  an  aluminium 
turn-table  to  some  of  their  well-known  “ Acme  ” cameras, 
thereby  obtaining  a palpably  great  reduction  in  weight ; 
this  reduction,  they  state,  amounts  to  three-quarters  of  a 
pound  in  a half-plate  camera  ; and  in  a whole-plate  camera, 
to  seventeen  ounces. 

The  same  firm  has  also  on  view  a heavy  studio  camera 
and  stand,  with  exceptionally  quick  screw  focussing 

motions,  and  fig.  1 will 
help  to  explain  the  princi- 
ple on  which  the  ponderous 
camera  can  be  tilted  up- 
wards or  downwards  by 
the  operator.  The  base 
of  the  camera  is  repre- 
sented by  N K,  and  W V represent  the  ends  of  two 
wooden  bars  affixed  thereto.  A E represents  an  angular 
piece  of  wood,  which  by  a screw  motion  can  be  made  to 
slide  backwards  or  forwards  horizontally  along  the  top  of 
the  stand,  whilst  the  camera  base  N K is  so  hinged  that 
it  cannot  move  horizontally.  Under  these  conditions, 
when  A E is  moved  in  the  direction  indicated  by  the 
arrow  in  the  cut,  the  bar  V rises  and  the  bar  W falls,  and 
the  camera  is  tilted  accordingly  ; if  they  be  moved  in  the 


Fig.  1. 


opposite  direction,  the  end  N of  the  camera  will  rise,  and 
K will  fall.  The  camera  has  a large  turntable,  with 
spanners  of  suitable  dimensions,  and  works  firmly. 

The  chief  feature  of  the  exhibit  of  Mr.  Fox  Shew  is,  of 
course,  his  well-known  hand-camera,  but  he  has  two 
novelties  in  the  shape  of  lens  shutters.  One  of  these, 
which  he  calls  “The  Eclipse  Repeating  Shutter,”  is 
represented  in  fig.  2.  It  has  an  adjunct  which  is  a 


Fig,  2.  Fig.  3. 


blessing,  namely,  an  arrangement  by  which  it  can  befitted 
on  to  lens  hoods  of  different  diameters  ; this  arrangement 
consists  of  a compressing  ring  and  an  india-rubber  washer. 
The  shutter  has  a pneumatic  release,  does  not  require 
setting,  and  will  work  in  any  position. 

The  other  shutter,  fig.  3,  exhibited  by  Mr.  Shew,  is 
the  invention  of  an  Italian,  Signor  Mattioli.  Mr.  Shew 
calls  it  “ The  1890  Eclipse  Shutter.”  Its  mechanism  con- 
sists chiefly  of  three  sectors,  which  open  concentrically, 
and  are  actuated  by  a revolving  flat  ring,  which  travels 
round  and  opens  or  closes  them.  The  shutter  has  a strong 
spiral  spring  with  little  play ; each  moving  part  of  the  shut- 
ter has  little  work  to  do,  and  this  principle  favours  rapi- 
dity of  action.  The  following  are  some  of  the  advantages 
which  Mr.  Shew  states  to  belong  to  the  shutter : — 
(1)  It  can  be  fitted  in  the  centre  of  the  lenses,  at  the 
back,  or  on  the  hood  as  required ; (2)  It  is  of  very  high 
rate  of  speed,  due  to  an  entirely  new  system  of  propelling 
disc  ; (3)  It  can  be  adjusted  to  eight  different  speeds  as 
well  as  for  time  exposures ; (4)  It  is  perfectly  smooth 
and  free  from  vibration  in  its  action,  whether  at  full  speed 
or  slow ; (5)  It  is  smaller  and  more  compact  than  any 
shutter  in  the  market,  being  at  the  same  time  very  strong, 
and  not  liable  to  be  affected  by  any  change  of  climate — a 
shutter  uncovering  a lens  for  8 by  5 measuring  only  3£ 
inches  diameter  by  £ inch  in  thickness  ; (6)  It  is  provided 
with  a rotating  diaphragm  plate  corresponding  with  the 
stops  of  the  lens  ; (7)  Owing  to  an  improved  method  of 
releasing  valve,  the  ball  or  pear  of  the  pneumatic  release 
is  considerably  smaller  than  usual,  and  instantly  refills 
itself ; (8)  It  is  provided  with  a trigger,  which  may  be 
used  in  lieu  of  the  pneumatic  release  for  box  detective 
and  other  hand  cameras  ; (9)  The  mode  of  manipulating 
the  shutter  is  engraved  on  the  face,  thus  dispensing  with 
loose  instructions. 

Messrs.  Smith  and  Beck  exhibit  their  recently  intro- 
duced aluminium  mounts  for  lenses,  and  which  will  effect 
a considerable  reduction  in  the  weight  of  the  apparatus  of 
landscape  photographers,  more  especially  of  those  who 
adopt  the  wise  system  of  travelling  with  plenty  of  lens 
power.  The  aluminium  mounts  are  one-third  the  weight 
of  brass  mounts.  There  are  difficulties  in  working  alu- 
minium. It  ‘ ‘ drags  ” under  the  tool,  as  does  pure  copper, 
so  has  to  be  turned  slowly  under  some  lubricating  medium  ; 
for  aluminium,  paraffin  is  the  medium  selected.  There 
is  a difficulty  in  soldering  it,  which  has  been  partially 
overcome  by  Cowles  and  others.  Messrs.  Beck  and  Co. 
inform  us  that,  “under  certain  conditions  the  metal  can 
be  soldered  ; but  joints  cannot  be  made  sufficiently  sound 
to  bear  tube  drawing.  Where  tubes  are  required,  they 
must  be  drawn  out  of  solid  castings,  and  the  results  are  not 
even  then  always  as  satisfactory  as  might  be  wished. 
Another  difficulty  in  working  the  metal  is  that  of  obtaininga 
good  surface.”  Aluminium  is  reasonably  free  from  liability 
to  attack  by  any  chemical  substances  it  is  likely  to  meet  when 
it  is  in  the  form  of  fairly  cared-for  lens  mounts.  The 
lenses,  mounted  as  described  by  Messrs.  Smith  and  Beck, 
have  iris  diaphragms,  graduated  to  indicate  the  apertures 
recommended  by  the  Photographic  Society.  The  same 
firm  exhibits  its  “Pecrops”  tourists’ camera,  one  of  the 
features  of  which  is,  that  it  does  not  rack  out,  but  pulls 
out,  and  can  then  be  clamped  at  once,  so  that  time  is  saved 
by  the  user. 

Mr.  Stanley  exhibits  a convenient  combined  rocker  and 
developing-room  lantern,  the  principle  of  which  may 
be  explained  by  the  aid  of  fig.  4.  In  this  cut,  E E E 


20G 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  14,  1890. 


represent  the  red  glass  front  of  a developing-room 
lamp,  through  the  bottom  and  inclined 
window  of  which  the  rays  from  the  light 
A fall  upon  the  mirror  N M,  and  are 
reflected  upwards  through  the  glass 
platform  F II  F ; on  this  platform  the 
glass  developing  dish  is  placed ; red 
light  thus  passes  from  below  through 
the  negative  in  course  of  development, 
so  that  the  amount  of  density  it  is  gain- 
ing can  be  continuously  watched. 
Some  light  from  the  upper  part  of  the 
lamp  falls  at  the  same  time  upon  the 
upper  surface  of  the  plate  in  the  dish. 
A rocking  motion  is  given  to  the  plat- 
form by  means  of  the  pendulum  II  K. 

* At  M the  mirror  is  held  by  a hinge ; a 

little  chain  is  attached  to  the  other  end 
of  the  mirror,  N,  by  the  aid  of  which  chain  the  mirror 
can  be  raised  or  lowered,  and  hooked  so  as  to  rest  at  any 
required  angle. 

Mr.  Stanley  also  exhibits  a new  magnesium  lamp,  in- 
vented by  Mr.  Ferrero,  intended  for  the  illumination  of 

negatives  which  have  to 
be  copied  in  the  camera, 
and  for  other  purposes. 
Fig.  5 will  help  to  explain 
its  principle.  In  this  cut, 
H N is  a sheet  of  ground 
glass,  closing  the  major 
opening  of  a horizontal 
pyramidal  chamber  made 
of  tin,  whitened  inside. 
A is  a wheel  carrying  a 
coil  of  magnesium  ribbon,  which  is  paid  out  by  hand. 
W W is  a small  sheet  of  glass,  with  a small  circular  piece 
of  white  paper  affixed  to  it  at  K to  prevent  the  direct  rays 
of  the  light  M falling  upon  the  sheet  of  glass  II  N.  The 
rays  can  thus  reach  it  only  by  reflection  from  -white  sur- 
faces, by  which  means  the  illumination  is  more  equalised. 
When  in  use.  a spirit-flame  is  constantly  burning  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tube  whence  the  magnesium  ribbon  enters 
the  lamp,  so  that  should  the  magnesium  light  go  out,  it  is 
soon  re -lit. 


Fig.  5. 


The  tops  of  Mr.  Stanley’s  folding-stands  are  made  on 
the  principle  indicated  by  fig.  6,  in  which 
D is  the  wooden  top  of  the  fork  of  one 
leg,  and  Iv  E the  brass  slip  attached 
thereto.  B is  a part  of  the  stand  head, 
and  A B a brass  cone  on  which  the  fork 
of  the  leg  bears  in  use.  This  conical 
form  is  given  to  the  brass  peg  A B,  we 
are  told,  to  prevent  K E from  springing  to  B,  and  in  pro- 
longed use  the  latter  always  finds  a part  of  the  peg  to  bear 
against,  instead  of  touching  a flat  portion  of  the  stand 
head  proper,  in  which  latter  case  the  stand  would  be  less 
rigid. 


[Fig.  6. 


Photographic  Society  of  Ireland. — A lantern  meeting 
will  be  held  on  March  27th,  and  on  April  11th  Prof.  J.  H. 
Stewart  wll  take  as  his  topic,  “The  Stop,  and  the  Optical 
Centre.” 

Last  Friday  night  the  machine  camera  invented  by  Mr. 
I'riese  Greene  and  Mr.  Mortimer  Evans  was  exhibited  in  the 
library  of  the  Royal  Institution  after  the  close  of  the  usual 
Friday  evening  lecture.  The  instrument  attracted  much  atten- 
tion. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  FRANCE. 

French  Photographic  Society — Exposure  Shutter — 
Developer  in  Tablets — Halo  and  Means  of  Pre- 
venting it— Orthochromatism. 

Exposure  Shutter.  — A communication  was  received  from 
MM.  Marillier  and  Robelet,  introducing  the  instantaneous 
shutter  of  R.  Bliinsdorf.  This  instrument  is  truly  simple 
and  ingenious.  The  length  of  exposure  is  regulated  by  a 
fan  which  may  be  changed  at  will  for  one  of  larger  or 
smaller  size,  as  the  exposure  is  desired  to  be  comparatively 
long  or  short.  The  resistance  offered  by  the  air  to  the 
speed  of  the  fan  is  greater  or  less  as  the  surface  of  the  vanes 
is  more  or  less  extended.  If  the  apparatus  is  well  con- 
structed, apparently  it  should  not  alone  work  with  almost 
| chronometric  exactitude,  but  should  be  free  from  the 
danger  of  getting  out  of  order. 

Developer  in  Tablets. — This  developer,  the  composition 
of  which  is  not  stated,  is  presented  in  the  form  of  tablets, 
or  pastilles.  No  weighing  is  required  ; it  is  sufficient  to 
know  that  for  a given  quantity  of  -water  a certain  number 
of  the  pastilles  will  be  necessary.  Several  members  of  the 
Society  have  experimented  with  these  tablets  and  find 
them  very  satisfactory. 

Theoretical  Explanation  of  Halo , and  the  Means  of  Pre- 
venting It. — By  a singular  coincidence  communications 
have  been  received  at  the  same  time  from  M.  Cornu,  of 
the  Institute,  and  from  Messrs.  Lumiere  and  Son,  of 
Lyons,  relating  to  the  same  subject,  “The  Cause  of  Halo.’’ 
From  the  explanations  given,  it  appears  that  there  are  rays 
which  arc  totally  reflected  after  falling  upon  the  inner 
surface  of  the  glass.  The  fact  is  verified  by  using  a lumin- 
ous point  on  a black  background.  This  spot  is  photo- 
graphed, and  the  image  shows  an  aureole  or  halo  round 
the  luminous  spot.  M.  Cornu  endeavoured  to  suppress  the 
halo  by  covering  the  back  of  the  glass  with  a varnish 
composed  of  essences  of  cinnamon  or  of  clove  in  which  a 
piece  of  glass  is  placed,  and  other  essences  are  gradually 
added  until  the  glass  ceases  to  be  visible.  AVe  have  then 
a liquid  the  refraction  index  of  which  is  the  same  as  that 
of  the  glass.  This  varnish  is  blackened  with  lamp  black, 
and  is  applied  to  the  back  of  the  plates  with  a brush.  The 
rays  traversing  the  thickness  of  the  glass  are  thus  entirely 
absorbed  ; there  are  no  longer  any  reflections,  and  the  halo 
is  suppressed.  The  unfortunate  thing  connected  with  this 
remedy  is,  that  it  is  not  very  practicable  in  application. 
It  is  unfortunately  difficult  to  replace  this  coating  by  a 
sheet  of  paper  or  by  any  other  black  surface,  for  optical 
contact  is  indispensible  in  order  to  suppress  the  halo.  To 
arrive  at  the  desideratum,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  manufac- 
ture an  adhesive  black  material,  the  index  of  which  is 
equal  to  that  of  glass,  and  which  might  be  applied 
immediately  to  the  back  of  the  glass,  thus  realising  optical 
contact.  In  this  way  the  employment  of  the  proposed 
remedy  would  be  easy. 

Contretgpes  in  China  Ink. — M.  E.  A'allot  showed  a very 
successful  contretype  obtained  with  liquid  China  ink.  It 
had  been  produced  in  the  following  way.  A glass  plate 
covered  with  bichromated  gelatine  had  been  exposed  to 
the  action  of  light  under  a negative  for  the  desired  time, 
and  then  developed  in  water  blackened  by  liquid  China 
ink.  The  gelatine  not  indurated  by  the  light  imbibed  the 
liquid,  and  finally  an  excellent  negative  was  obtained. 
The  same  operations  may  be  gone  through  by  immersing 
the  exposed  gelatine  in  a colouring  bath  of  any  tint,  but  it 
is  necessary  to  use  permanent  colours  if  the  negative  is  not 


March  14,  1890.] 


HIE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


207 


to  be  liable  to  fading.  This  process  shows  that  there  is  no 
necessity  to  use  a plate  containing  silver  bromide  in  gela- 
tine ; certainly  such  a plate  may  be  used  if  the  silver  com- 
pound is  first  dissolved  in  hyposulphite  of  soda.  The  plate 
is  then  well  washed,  sensitised  in  solution  of  bichromate  of 
potassium,  and,  after  drying,  exposed  under  a negative,  and 
developed  in  a colouring  bath.  A perfect  contretype  is 
thus  obtained. 

Practical  Orthochromatism. — M.  Leon  Vidal — in  view  of 
the  interest  excited  amongst  the  members  of  the  Society 
by  divers  presentations  relating  to  orthochromatism — 
thought  it  desirable  to  explain  that  this  art,  which  consists 
in  reproducing  in  grey  tones  (monochrome)  the  various 
tonalities  of  coloured  objects,  is  practically  easy  of  applica- 
tion provided  that  one  is  somewhat  initiated  in  the  know- 
ledge of  the  question.  In  the  first  place,  we  should 
know  what  are  the  cases  in  which  orthochromatism  is 
necessary.  Generally,  he  said,  it  is  useless,  when  working 
from  nature  in  taking  landscapes  and  buildings,  to  employ 
orthochromatic  plates.  It  is  sufficient  to  be  furnished 
with  pellicular  screens  coloured  with  aurantia  of  different 
degrees  according  to  the  subject,  and  a little  practice  soon 
teaches  what  is  the  depth  required  for  the  particular  case. 
In  photographing  interiors,  orthochromatic  plates  are  often 
necessary,  especially  for  such  subjects  as  fruits,  flowers, 
pictures,  and  designs  in  coloured  material.  In  this  case, 
however,  the  employment  of  screens  is  still  indispensable, 
and  it  is  very  rarely  that  their  use  can  be  omitted.  Xow, 
it  is  inexact  to  say  that  for  coloured  objects  we  may  use 
with  success  one  sole  orthochromatic  preparation. 
Preparation  of  eosine,  erythrosine,  and  chrysaniUne,  may 
do  for  reproductions  where  yellow,  green,  and  orange  arc 
the  dominant  colours;  but  where  red  i3  dominant,  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  other  preparations, 
notably  chlorophylla  cyanine,  or  to  a mixture  of  erythrosine 
and  cyanine.  The  best  thing  to  do,. then,  when  not  engaged 
in  some  definite  work  for  which  ordinary  commercial  plates 
may  be  suitable,  is  to  make  orthochromatic  plates  oneself, 
by  preparing  them  for  the  particular  kind  of  work  to  be 
done.  Nothing  is  easier  or  simpler  than  the  preparation  by 
the  bath  method,  and  he  asked  himself  in  vain 
how  it  happens  that  so  few  persons  have,  up  to  the 
present,  thought  of  preparing  their  photographic  palette. 
For  our  own  part,  says  the  author  of  the  communication, 
we  continue  to  make  various  preparations  for  the  purposes 
of  our  work,  and  we  succeed  with  the  most  complete 
facility.  The  conclusion  arrived  at  is,  that  except  for 
special  cases,  it  is  better  worth  while  to  prepare  oneself  the 
plates  that  may  be  required,  than  to  use  commercial  ones, 
and  that  it  should  be  remembered  that  more  often  than 
not  the  screen  alone  suffices,  and  that  its  use  is  indispen- 
sable for  correcting  tonality,  even  when  using  orthochro- 
matic plates.  By  the  aid  of  lantern  slides  M.  Vidal  showed 
results  obtained  with  and  without  screens  on  orthochro- 
matic plates,  as  well  as  on  ordinary  ones,  and  called  atten- 
tion to  the  very  feeble  difference  existing  between  views 
of  the  same  subject  taken  by  him  on  ordinary  and  on  ortho- 
chromatic plates  when  used  without  a screen. 

The  meeting  terminated  with  the  exhibition  of  some  very 
fine  lantern  slides  by  M.  Bagnet  and  M.  Balagny. 

Leon  Vidal. 

♦ 

The  Earl  of  Crawford  and  Balcarres  has  closed  and  dismantled 
the  observatory  at  Dun  Echt,  which  has  been  so  well-known  to 
all  astronomers  for  many  years  past,  and  has  presented  all  the 
instruments  and  the  astronomical  library  to  the  Royal  Obser- 
vatory at  Edinburgh, 


patent  £ntcUtgcncc* 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

3,329.  J.  Clegg,  Connaught  Mansions,  Victoria  Street,  West- 
minster, “Light  Emitters  for  Lamps.” — March  3rd. 

3,338.  W.  H.  Prestwich  and  E.  P.  Prestwich,  High  Road, 
Tottenham,  “ Bicycles  and  Tricycles.” — March  3rd. 

3.392.  W.  Griffiths,  King’s  Heath,  “ Detective  Camera.  ” — 
March  4th. 

3.393.  E.  W.  Foxi.ee,  22,  Goldsmith  Road,  Acton,  London, 
“Flexible  Film.” — Marth  4th. 

3,403.  C.  Hudson  and  J.  S.  Hudson,  3,  Langdale  Terrace, 
Stockton-on-Tees,  “ Applying  Mucilaginous  Substances  to 
Paper.” — March  4th. 

3,446.  A.  P.  Riley,  77,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Camera 
and  Receptacle.” — March  4th. 

3,482.  L.  Van  Neck,  45,  Southampton  Buildings,  London, 
“Cameras.” — March  4th. 

3,494.  E.  W.  Parish,  19,  Bowling  Green  Street,  Leicester, 
“ Cleaning  Prints.” — March  5th. 

3,546.  M.  E.  Banger,  98,  Salisbury'  Road,  High  Barnet, 
Herts,  “Automatic  Continuous  Flashlight.” — March  6th. 
3,571.  R.  Slinosby,  115,  Cannon  Street,  Loudon,  “Dis- 
charging Flash  Lamps  and  Photographic  Shutters.” — March 
6th. 

3,597.  A.  Penhiro,  22,  Southampton  Buildings,  London, 
“ Cameras.” — March  6th. 

3,718.  R.  W.  Thomas,  181,  Chcapsidc,  London,  “Portable 
Artificial  Light  Studio.” — March  8th. 

3,730.  M.  Evans,  321,  High  Holborn,  London,  “ Cameras.” 
— March  8th. 

Specifications  Published. 

5,374. — March  29  th,  1889.  “Photographic  Printing.” 
William  Walker  James  Nicol,  Mason  College,  Birming- 
ham, Doctor  of  Science,  Lecturer  on  Chemistry. 

My  invention  has  for  its  object  the  production  of  photo- 
graphic pictures  or  images  in  silver  on  paper,  wood,  or  other 
surfaces. 

For  this  purpose  I apply  to  paper  or  other  suitable 
material,  a coating  of  a ferric  salt,  alone  or  mixed  with  the 
other  salts  hereinafter  specially  mentioned  ; the  surface  thus 
prepared  is  sensitive  to  light.  The  ferric  salt  used  may  be 
that  of  any  of  the  organic  acids  afterwards  mentioned,  which 
prevent  the  precipitation  of  iron  by  ammonia  ; or  it  may  be 
any  other  ferric  salt  sensitive  to  light,  and  the  precipitation  of 
the  iron  is  in  this  case  prevented  by  the  addition  of  a sodium, 
ammonium,  or  potassium  salt  of  one  of  the  organic  acids, 
which  prevents  the  precipitation  of  iron  by  ammonia,  and 
this  may  be  employed  either  in  the  solution  with  which  the 
paper  or  other  material  is  coated,  or  it  may  be  added  to  one 
or  other  of  the  solutions  subsequently  used.  The  surface 
sensitive  to  light  is  then  exposed  to  the  action  of  light  under 
a negative  or  other  screen  of  similar  character,  when  after 
some  time  a faint  image  becomes  visible.  It  is  then  brought  in 
contact  with  a solution  containing  silver  nitrate  or  the  other 
sales  of  silver  (subsequently  mentioned)  dissolved  in  ammonia, 
to  which  has  been  added  potassium  oxalate,  or  the  other 
salts  mentioned  later,  which  may  tend  to  increase  the  rapidity 
and  vigour  of  the  development,  alter  the  tone  of  the  finished 
picture,  or  prevent  the  precipitation  of  the  iron  by  the 
ammonia.  The  print  is  then  washed  in  water  to  which  has 
been  added  ammonia,  and  a salt  of  one  of  the  organic  acids, 
which  prevents  the  precipitation  of  iron  by  ammonia.  A 
subsequent  washing  in  water,  followed  by  drying,  completes 
the  operation. 

Hitherto  no  means  have  been  known  by  which,  when  using 
ferric  salts  as  sensitisers  (i.e.,  for  coating  the  paper),  and 
developing  with  solutions  containing  silver  salts,  a print  could 
be  obtained,  the  tone  of  which  was  such  that  toning  with 
gold  or  other  metals,  followed  by  the  use  of  sodium-thio-sul- 
phate,  could  be  dispensed  with;  I therefore  greatly  simplify  the 
operations  involved,  and  add  to  the  permanency  of  the  finished 
print.  According  to  my  invention,  I use  paper,  wood,  glass, 
woven  or  other  material,  the  surface  of  which  I prepare  and 


208 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  14,  1890. 


render  sensitive,  by  applying  to  it  in  any  convenient  manner 
a solution  prepared  in  one  of  the  following  ways  : — 

1.  I make  a solution  of  normal  feme  sodium  citrate 
(Fe  Na3  (C6  H5  07)  2)  containing  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  salt 
as  expressed  by  the  above  formula,  and  add  to  it  five  per  cent, 
of  normal  potassium  oxalate  (K2  C„  04),  but  I do  not  confine 
myself  to  these  exact  proportions ; they  may  be  altered  accord- 
ing to  the  vigour  and  tone  desired  in  the  resulting  picture.  In 
place  of  the  ferric  sodium  citrate  mentioned  above  I sometimes 
use  other  salts  as  follows  : — Ferric  ammonium  citrate  or  ferric 
potassium  citrate  or  the  corresponding  salts  of  tartaric  acid, 
also  ferric  tartrate  and  ferric  citrate,  and  I sometimes  use  a 
mixture  of  these  ferric  salts  with  citric  or  tartaric  or  oxalic 
acid,  or  the  salts  of  these  acids  with  potassium,  sodium,  or 
ammonium.  I have  also  been  very  successful  with  solutions 
of  ferric  salts  which  are  precipitated  by  ammonia  either  alone 
or  with  one  or  other  of  the  above  salts  and  acids.  Thus  I 
have  obtained  excellent  results  with  the  following  : — 

2.  I make  a solution  containing  five  per  cent,  of  normal 
ferric  oxalate  (Fe4  (Cs  Oi)  3),  and  five  per  cent,  normal  ferric 
tartrate  (Fe2  (C,  H4,  06)  3),  and  one  per  cent,  of  tartaric  or 
oxalic  acid  ; in  this  case  the  precipitation  of  the  iron  is  pre- 
vented by  modifying  the  developer  or  subsequent  solutions  as 
stated  below.  1 do  not,  however,  confine  myself  to  these 
exact  proportions,  as  they  may  be  altered  according  to  the 
effect  desired,  as  stated  above.  In  general,  however,  I prefer 
to  use  one  or  other  of  these  solutions,  the  composition  of 
which  I have  stated  in  full.  In  some  cases  depending  on  the 
nature  of  the  surface  to  be  coated : if,  for  instance,  it  be  glass, 
wood,  or  cloth,  thickening  material,  such  as  gelatine,  starch, 
arrowroot,  or  gum-arabic  may  be  added  to  the  above  solutions  ; 
usually  this  is  not  required  for  paper.  The  paper  or  other  sur- 
face prepared  with  one  or  other  of  the  foregoing  solutions  is 
dried,  and  is  then  ready  for  use.  After  exposure  to  light  in 
the  usual  manner  I apply  to  it  the  developing  solution. 

I use  solutions  of  various  soluble  salts  of  the  metals  of  the 
alkalies  or  ammonium.  I have  been  most  successful  with  the 
following — viz.,  potassium,  sodium,  or  ammonium,  oxalate, 
acetate,  borate,  citrate,  or  tartrate,  either  alone  or  mixed 
together. 

1.  Thus,  with  paper  sensitised  with  No.  1 solution,  for  cold 
blue-black  tones  I prefer  a solution  containing — (a)  20  per  cent, 
potassium  oxalate  ; 1 •»  per  cent,  silver  nitrate,'  the  precipitate 
formed  being  nearly  dissolved  by  theaddition  of  ammonia.  (6)  For 
black  neutral  tones  : — 10  per  cent,  potassium  oxalate  ; 1*5  per 
cent,  silver  nitrate,  (c)  For  sepia  tones  : — 7 per  cent,  borax  ; 
1 ‘5  per  cent,  silver  nitrate.  In  both  cases  ammonia  is  added 
as  above. 

2.  When  the  paper  is  sensitised  with  No.  2 solution  I prefer 
a solution  containing — (a)  15  per  cent,  potassium  citrate  ; 
10  per  cent,  sodium  acetate  ; 1*5  per  cent,  silver  nitrate  ; or 
(6)  15  per  cent,  potassium  citrate  ; 10  per  cent,  potassium 
oxalate;  l-5  per  cent,  silver  nitrate;  ammonia  being  added 
in  both  cases  as  above. 

The  developing  solutions  1,  a,  b,  or  c,  may  be  used  with 
paper  prepared  with  sensitising  solution  2,  if  the  prints,  after 
removal  from  the  developing  solution,  are  placed  for  a short 
time  in  a solution  prepared  thus  : — 

Clearing  solution — 20  per  cent,  solution  of  citrate  or  tartrate 
of  potassium,  sodium  or  ammonium  rendered  distinctly  alka- 
line with  ammonia.  When  greater  contrast  is  desired  in  the 
print  I obtain  this  by  adding  an  oxidising  agent  to  the  developer, 
preferably  a salt  of  chromic  acid  in  quantities  of  from  2 to 
10  c.cms.  of  a 5 percent,  solution  of  potassium  chromate  to 
the  litre  of  developer.  I do  not  confine  myself  to  any  definite 
temperature  of  the  developer,  though  I prefer  to  use  this  at 
the  temperature  of  the  air.  The  developer  may  be  applied  to 
the  printed  surface  in  any  convenient  way. 

After  treatment  with  the  developer  the  print  is  washed  in 
successive  changes  (i.c.,  till  iron  and  silver  salts  are  removed)  of 
the  washing  solution.  I prepare  this  as  follows  : — Washing 
solution — A 25  per  cent,  solution  of  sodium  citrate  is  mixed 
with  an  equal  volume  of  strong  ammonia  solution.  This  is 
then  diluted  with  ordinary  water  in  the  proportion  of  150  c.cms. 
to  every  10  litres  of  water.  Potassium  or  ammonium,  citrate, 


or  potassium,  sodium  or  ammonium,  tartrate,  or  sodium,  potas- 
sium tartrate,  may  be  used  in  place  of  the  sodium  citrate  in 
the  above. 

The  prints  are  then  washed  in  water  and  dried. 

Having  now  particularly  described  and  ascertained  the  nature 
of  my  said  invention,  I wish  it  understood  that  I do  not  con- 
fine myself  to  the  mixtures  mentioned,  or  to  the  exact  propor- 
tions of  the  ingredients  given  therein,  but  employ  on  occasion 
other  mixtures  and  proportions  of  the  salts  particularly  men- 
tioned as  suitable  for  my  purpose,  nor  do  I confine  myself  to 
aqueous  solutions  of  the  said  salts,  but  may  for  the  purposes  of 
preparing  the  sensitising  and  developing  solutions  use  other 
solvents  where  these  are  permitted  by  the  chemical  nature  of 
the  salts  employed,  and  I therefore  claim  as  my  invention  as 
follows  : — 

1.  The  use  of  paper  or  other  surfaces  coated  with  ferric  salts 
as  described  above,  to  be  used  for  the  production  of  photo- 
graphic images  in  silver,  along  with  the  class  of  developing 
solutions  already  given  and  particularly  referred  to  in  my  second 
claim. 

2.  The  use  of  solutions  of  silver  salts  dissolved  in  ammonia 
in  conjunction  with  salts  of  the  alkalies  or  ammonium  with 
oxalic,  acetic,  boric,  citric,  or  tartaric  acids,  for  the  pur  pose  of 
producing  on  paper  or  other  surfaces  previously  coated  with 
ferric  salts  sensitive  to  light,  images  in  silver  which  arc  of  such 
a colour  as  not  to  require  toning  with  gold  or  other  metals. 

3.  The  combined  use  of  ammonia  and  a potassium,  sodium, 
or  ammonium  salt  of  citric  or  tartaric  acid,  in  a solution  used 
for  washing  prints  obtained  on  surfaces  coated  with  ferric  salts, 
and  developed  with  solutions  of  silver  salts  in  ammonia. 

4.  The  use  of  the  solutions — sensitising  solutions  1 and  2. 
Developing  solutions  1 a,  b,  and  c ; 2 a,  b,  and  c.  Clearing 
solution  ; washing  solution  in  the  way  and  manner  substanti- 
ally as  described  and  set  forth  in  the  foregoing. 

5.  The  use  of  an  oxydising  agent,  such  as  chromic  acids  or 
any  of  its  salts,  in  a developer  prepared  as  described  and  set 
forth. 

4,716.  March  18th,  1889.  “ Photographic  Cameras.”  James 

Yate  Johnson,  47,  Lincolns  Inn  Fields,  Loudon,  Gentle- 
man, communicated  from  abroad  by  Henri  Pusset,  of  48, 

Rue  de  Bondy,  Paris. 

An  improved  photographic  camera,  according  to  this  inven- 
tion, is  provided  with  a magazine  containing  a number  of 
sensitive  plates  which  are  capable  of  being  pushed  towards  the 
front  by  a spring.  These  sensitive  plates  are  separated  from 
each  other  by  plates  of  ebonite  or  other  material  not  liable  to 
be  affected  by  the  chemicals  employed  in  the  developing 
process,  which  may  be  performed  in  the  interior  of  the  camera, 
as  hereinafter  explained.  The  plates  are  pressed  together  by 
the  action  of  the  spring,  and  a partition  working  in  suitable 
guides  so  as  to  push  forward  the  plates  without  inclining  or 
tilting  them  may  be  interposed  between  the  plates  and  the 
spring  at  the  back. 

To  charge  the  magazine  with  plates  a slide  at  the  back  is 
drawn  out  so  as  to  disengage  a sliding  cover  which,  being  drawn 
back,  horizontally  exposes  the  interior  of  the  magazine  so  that 
the  plates  can  be  inserted,  after  which  the  magazine  is  closed 
by  returning  the  slides  to  their  original  position.  When  a 
plate  has  been  exposed,  it  is  pushed  by  means  of  a flexible 
slide  or  curtain  into  a light-tight  bag  underneath  the  magazine. 
The  plate  can  then  be  passed  through  an  opening  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  back  into  a dish  on  the  bottom  of  the  camera,  in 
which  it  can  be  developed,  the  process  being  watched  through 
an  opening  covered  with  ruby  glass  in  the  top  of  the  camera. 
The  interior  of  the  camera  is  lighted  during  this  operation  by 
means  of  one  or  more  ruby  glass  windows  or  openings  in  the 
side  or  sides.  These  openings  may  be  provided  with  dark  slides 
or  shutters. 

The  developer  is  introduced  into  the  dish  through  a rubber 
tube  fitted  to  a short  tube  attached  to  the  bottom  of  the  dish. 
This  short  tube  protrudes  through  an  opening  in  the  bottom  of 
the  camera  so  arranged  as  to  admit  of  the  necessary  movements 
of  the  dish. 

The  camera  is  provided  with  a sliding  shutter,  which  is 


March  14,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


209 


retained  in  the  closed  position  by  a spring  catch.  A rubber 
spring  tends  to  pull  down  the  shutter  and  uncover  the  lens. 
By  means  of  a rod  the  spring  catch  can  be  caused  to  release  the 
shutter,  which  thereupon  descends  and  uncovers  the  lens.  A 
pin  on  the  shutter  then  comes  in  contact  with  a horizontal 
rubber  spring  or  band,  the  elasticity  of  which  causes  the  shutter 
to  rebound  and  return  to  the  closed  position,  where  it  is  retained 
by  the  spring  catch.  The  shock  is  absorbed  by  a spring  pro- 
vided for  the  purpose. 

To  exclude  light  from  the  magazine  the  flexible  slide  or  cur- 
tain hereinbefore  referred  to  is  arranged  to  close  the  opening 
between  the  magazine  and  the  camera,  and  extends  downwards 
tlirough  an  opening  in  the  bottom  of  the  magazine  sufficiently 
to  cover  the  opening  hereinbefore  referred  to  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  back  of  the  camera.  The  opening  in  the  bottom  of  the 
magazine  for  the  passage  of  the  shutter  is  closed  by  a spring 
shutter  when  the  slide  or  curtain  is  drawn  up.  This  flexible 
slide  works  in  a vertical  groove  in  the  front  of  the  magazine, 
and  in  a horizontal  groove  in  the  top  of  the  latter. 

The  camera  may  be  provided  with  two  focus  finders,  in  which 
the  image  is  projected  by  a lens  on  to  a mirror  which  reflects 
it  on  to  ground  glass  screen  in  the  usual  way.  One  of  these 
focus  finders  is  used  for  pictures  taken  with  the  longer  axis  of 
the  plate  vertical,  the  other  serving  for  pictures  taken  with  this 
axis  horizontal.  The  apparatus  is  further  provided  with  a 
focus  finder  of  special  construction,  composed  of  a convex 
mirror  receiving  light  through  an  opening  in  the  front  of  the 
camera,  and  which  can  be  seen  through  an  opening  in  the  top 
of  the  camera.  A small  hole  is  formed  in  the  centre  of  this 
mirror,  and  a thread  or  wire  extending  diagonally  across  the 
opening  in  the  front  carries  a register  mark,  such  as  a small 
glass  bead.  In  order  to  direct  the  camera  on  an  object  it  is 
held  under  the  arm  in  such  a position  that  the  register  or 
bead  coincides  with  the  hole  in  the  centre  of  the  mirror.  This 
mirror  may  be  made  of  glass  tinned  or  simply  blackened  at  the 
back. 


On  Thursday,  March  20th,  there  will  be  an  exhibition  of 
lantern  slides  at  the  Society  of  Arts  in  connection  with  the 
Camera  Club  Conference. 

Photographic  Club. — On  Wednesday,  March  19th,  the 
adjourned  discussion  will  be  held  on  ‘ ‘ Artificial  Light  as  an 
Adjunct  to  Daylight  ” ; March  26th  will  be  the  monthly 
lantern  meeting. 

Travellers  in  Russia  are  now  obliged  to  have  their  photo- 
graphs annexed  to  their  passports.  The  photographer,  how- 
ever, rarely  lias  any  good  fall  to  his  lot  without  having  to  pay 
some  compensation  for  it.  The  Russian  law’  will  soon  impose 
a stamp  duty  upon  cartes-de-visite. 

Shefield  Photographic  Society. — An  exhibition  of  photo- 
graphic slides  has  been  given  at  the  Montgomery  Hall,  in  aid  of 
the  building  fund  of  the  Public  Hospital  and  Dispensary. 
The  slides  were  mostly  the  work  of  members  of  the  Society, 
the  majority  being  of  local  interest,  and  w’ere  exhibited  by 
means  of  a powerful  lantern  belonging  to  Mr.  W.  D. 
Forsdike.  The  slides  were  described  and  commented  upon  by 
Mr.  Alleyne  Reynolds.  The  first  series  of  photographs  con- 
sisted of  views  in  Sheffield,  and  most  of  them  instantaneous 
street  scenes.  Following  these  were  a number  of  pictures 
taken  in  the  suburbs,  and  afterwards  photographs  of  Derby- 
shire views  were  exhibited.  The  exhibitions  concluded  with  a 
number  of  miscellaneous  views. 

A London  Summer  Photographic  Exhibition. — Mr. 
Kenric  B.  Murray,  Secretary  to  the  London  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, sends  us  information  about  a proposed  city  summer 
photographic  exhibition,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Trade  Section  of  the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce. 
He  says  that  it  has  been  decided  by  the  Photographic  Trade 
Section  to  organise  an  exhibition  of  photographic  apparatus 
and  pictures,  to  take  place  in  the  centre  of  the  City  of  London 
from  the  1st  to  the  loth  June  next,  and  that  it  is  believed  that 
one  of  the  largest  of  the  City  Companies  will  kindly  give  the 
Section  the  free  use  of  its  hall  and  rooms  for  this  purpose. 
The  undertaking  has  a long  list  of  “ patrons,”  headed  by  the 
Lord  Mayor. 


(Forrcspontfcncc. 


THE  ROYAL  METEOROLOGICAL  SOCIETY. 

Sir, — At  the  ordinary  meeting  of  the  Society  to  be  held  by 
kind  permission  of  the  Council  of  the  Institution  of  Civil 
Engineers  at  25,  Great  George  Street,  Westminster,  on  Wed- 
nesday, the  19th  inst.,  at  7 p.m.,  the  following  papers  will  be 
read  : — 

“A  Brief  Notice  respecting  Photography  in  Relation  to 
Meteorological  Work,”  by  G.  M.  Whipple,  B.Sc. , F.R.Met.Soc.  ; 
“ Application  of  Photography  to  Meteorological  Phenomena,” 
by  William  Marriott,  F.R.Met.Soc.  These  papers  will  be 
illustrated  with  lantern  slides. 

After  the  reading  of  these  papers  the  meeting  will  be  ad- 
journed, in  order  to  afford  the  Fellows  and  their  friends  an 
opportunity  of  inspecting  the  exhibition  of  instruments  illus- 
trating the  application  of  photography  to  meteorology,  and  of 
such  new  instruments  as  have  been  invented  and  first  con- 
structed since  the  last  Exhibition. 

The  Exhibition  will,  at  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  be  open  in  readiness  for  their 
meeting  on  Tuesday  evening,  the  18th  inst.,  and  will  remain 
open  till  Friday,  the  21st  inst. 

William  Marriott,  Assistant  Secretary. 

30,  Great  George  Street,  Westminster,  .S'.  II'.,  March,  1890. 


THE  LANTERN  SOCIETY. 

Sir, — The  adjourned  general  meeting  of  the  above  Society 
will  be  held  in  the  Regent  Street  Saloon  of  the  St.  James’s 
Hall  on  Wednesday,  March  19th,  at  7.30  p.m.,  for  the  purpose 
of  considering  the  rules  drawn  up  by  the  provisional  committee. 

T.  H.  Holding,  Secretary  pro.  tern. 
46,  ChesUton  Road,  Munster  Park-. 


JjJvoccctftngs:  of  £octtttcg. 


Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 

At  the  meeting  of  this  Society  held  on  Tuesday  evening,  the 
11  tli  inst.,  the  chair  was  occupied  by  Mr.  J.  Glaisher,  F. R.S., 
President. 

Mr.  G.  L.  Addenbrooke,  who  had  been  announced, to  open  the 
discussion  on  Dr.  Lindsay  Johnson’s  paper,  adjourned  from  the 
previous  meeting,  sent  a letter  regretting  his  inability  to  be 
present,  and  giving  his  views  on  the  subject.  He  thought 
that  the  scheme  for  an  Institute  proposed  by  Dr.  Johnson 
could  only  be  accomplished  either  by  obtaining  a charter  for 
the  Society,  and  granting  diplomas  for  which  fees  could  be 
charged,  or  by  munificence  of  private  donors. 

A letter  from  Dr.  Emerson  was  also  read,  in  which  he  said 
that  he  thought  the  proposed  Institute  ought  to  be  indepen- 
dent of  any  other  body,  such  as  the  authorities  of  South 
Kensington.  He  had  no  idea  of  sharing  rooms  with  any 
other  Society,  but  would  like  the  Institute  to  have  its  own  pre- 
mises, in  which  there  ought  to  be  a library,  a laboratory,  space 
for  exhibitions,  a dark  room,  &e. , as  well  as  a museum.  There 
should  be  courses  of  lectures,  and  those  who  attended  them 
should  be  furnished  with  diplomas  of  the  Society,  but  for  the 
first  year  or  so  members  of  the  photographic  societies  should 
receive  diplomas  without  qualification.  As  to  the  Society’s 
Journal,  he  thought  that  in  it  the  art  side  of  photography 
had  been  sadly  neglected,  and  that  there  should  be  associated 
with  the  Editor  some  one  specially  qualified  and  interested 
in  that  department.  The  management  of  the  proposed  In- 
stitute should  be  entrusted  to  amateurs  and  professionals  who 
were  practical  men,  and  those  who  merely  took  up  photography 
in  a diUetante  spirit  should  be  excluded  from  office. 

Mr.  W.  S.  Bird  said  that  they  had  to  consider  whether  a 
scheme  could  be  drafted  that  would  be  capable  of  being  put 
into  effect.  He  thought  that  in  the  first  instance  a subscrip- 
tion list  should  be  opened.  If  members  came  forward  so  that 
they  could  start  with  £2,000,  they  could  appeal  with  much 
better  grace  either  to  the  City  Companies  or  to  the  public.  Dr. 
Johnson,  he  knew,  felt  strongly  that  with  a proper  programme 
help  might  be  obtained  from  the  City  Companies, 


210 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  14,  1890. 


Mr.  T.  Scamell  thought  that  before  going  to  the  public  for 
money  they  ought  to  have  some  notion  of  the  probable  cost  of 
the  building.  It  seemed  to  him  that  £10  a head  from  every 
member  of  the  Society  would  go  but  very  little  way  towards 
the  expense  necessary.  If,  however,  he  were  furnished  with 
details  as  to  the  size  and  number  of  rooms  required,  he  would 
calculate  something  like  what  the  cost  might  be  expected  to 
be. 

Mr.  IV.  E.  Debenham  thought  that  it  was  not  desirable  to 
offer  a bait  to  persons  to  join  the  Institute  by  proposing  to 
confer  diplomas  without  examination  or  qualification.  Diplomas 
were  supposed  to  represent  some  ascertained  competency,  and 
he  thought  it  not  dignified  to  use  them  in  the  way  proposed. 

Mr.  W.  Bedford  said  that  an  ideal  had  been  placed  before 
them,  and  if  that  ideal  was  pitched  rather  high, -it  was  perhaps 
as  well  that  it  should  be  so.  The  first  question  was  whether  a 
charter  could  be  and  should  be  obtained.  Before  any  appeal 
was  made  either  to  the  public  or  to  the  City  Companies,  the 
Society  ought  to  be  in  a position  to  show  that  the  Institute 
proposed  to  be  formed  would  really  advance  photography. 
Photography,  he  thought,  might  very  well  lay  claim  to  a share 
in  the  public  munificence,  although  for  his  own  part  he  would 
rather  work  on  the  basis  of  improving  the  present  position  of 
the  Society. 

Mr.  Chapman’  Jones  understood  that  some  of  the  speeches 
implied  that  the  Institute  was  to  have  power  to  license  photo- 
graphers. 

Mr.  Bird  said  that  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  any  com- 
pulsory powers  would  be  vested  in  the  Institute,  but  he  was 
quite  certain  that  traders  and  photographers  would  consider 
the  diplomas  valuable,  and  would  obtain  them.  In  any  case, 
it  would  take  several  years  to  carry  out  such  a programme  as 
had  been  sketched  out. 

Mr.  T.  Sebastian  Davis  said  that  although  it  was  desirable 
to  have  the  Exhibition  premises  and  the  meeting  and  other 
rooms  in  the  same  building,  it  might  not  be  absolutely  so,  and 
it  might  be  found  more  practicable  to  get  the  premises  they 
required  separately. 

The  Chairman  said  that  it  might  be  an  instruction  to  the 
council  to  ascertain  the  cost  and  the  probability  of  obtaining  a 
charter,  and  this  course  was  approved. 

Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.I.C.,  F.C.S.,  read  a paper  on  “Early 
Experiments  by  Dr.  Percy  and  Mr.  George  Shaw  on  the  Chemi- 
cal Phenomena  of  Light.”  Having  been  a pupil,  assistant, 
and  friend  of  Dr.  Percy,  he  had  been  trusted  by  his  executors 
with  his  photographic  note-book.  Mr.  Shaw,  too,  had  given 
free  permission  to  use  the  notes.  Mr.  Spiller  w'rote  on  the 
blackboard  the  following  table,  showing  the  direction  of  the 
experiments  made,  some  of  which  dated  back  as  far  as  1844  : — 
First  Set  of  Exper  iments, 
a AgCl  in  air 

b ,,  „ hydrogen 

c Moist  AgCl  in  air 

d „ ,,  ,,  nitrogen-K  in  tube 

c „ ,,  „ ether  vapour  ; 

Second  Series. 

1 Dry  AgCl  in  dry  chlorine 

2 ,,  ,,  ,,  ,,  nitrogen — K aud  CaCl  in  tube 

3 ,,  ,,  ,,  iodine  vapour 

4 ,,  ,,  ,,  air  wTith  phosphorus 

5 Silver  foil  in  dry  chlorine 

Third  Series. 

I.  — Dry  AgCl  in  dry  Cl 

II.  — AgCl  in  moist  Cl 

III. — Dry  AgCl  in  dry  air 

The  expressions  Iv  in  tube,  K and  CaCl  in  tube,  meant  that 
there  was  potassium  to  absorb  oxygen,  and  chloride  of  calcium 
to  absorb  moisture  sealed  up  in  the  same  tube  as  the  silver 
chloride.  These  substances  were  not,  however,  in  contact 
with  the  sensitive  substance,  but  were  enclosed  in  a sort 
of  chamber  in  the  tube,  and  packed  in  with  asbestos. 
The  result  of  these  experiments  was,  that  after  exposure  to 
light,  the  AgCl  in  the  tube  marked  a of  the  first  series  had 
undergone  the  least  change  of  the  set,  whilst  if  there  was  any 
difference  in  the  others,  that  in  the  hydrogen  had  been  the 


most  affected.  In  the  second  series,  it  was  noted  that  the 
silver  chloride,  which  was  reduced  by  the  action  of  light, 
became  reconverted  into  the  original  compound  when  put  away 
in  the  dark.  The  chloride  in  tubes  2 and  3 became  chocolate 
brown,  and  the  iodine  present  in  No.  3 did  not  retard  this 
change.  In  No.  4 tube,  the  chloride  darkened  considerably, 
and  to  some  extent  even  in  the  dark.  In  No.  5,  the  silver  foil 
acquired  a beautiful  iridescence  by  exposure  to  light.  In  the 
third  series,  the  last  tube  No.  III.  rapidly  changed  colour,  aud 
of  the  others,  No.  2 (that  containing  moist  chlorine),  was  more 
quickly  darkened  in  the  light,  and  more  rapidly  bleached  in  the 
dark  than  No.  I. 

The  Chairman  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  April 
meeting  would  be  held  on  the  15  th,  and  not  on  the  customary 
second  Tuesday  in  the  month. 

Mr.  F.  F.  Baggalloy  was  elected  a member  of  the  Society. 


Camera  Club. 

On  Thursday,  March  6th,  Mr.  Andrew  Pringle  gave  an 
address  on  “The  Optical  Lantern.”  Mr.  Francis  Cobb 
occupied  the  chair. 

Before  the  lecture  a handsome  testimonial,  consisting  of  a 
silver  jug  and  three  goblets,  was  presented  by  the  members  to 
Mr.  E.  G.  Spiers,  as  a friendly  recognition  of  Ills  valuable 
services  as  late  Hon.  Secretary  to  the  Camera  Club  Company. 

The  Secretary  handed  round  a copy  of  the  work  called 
tiiphantia,  bearing  the  date  1761,  in  which  was  found  the 
singular  forecast  of  photography  read  at  a previous  meeting. 
The  book,  which  had  been  lent  by  Mr.  A.  C.  Lyster,  is  a 
translation  from  the  French  work  Giphantic,  by  Tiphaigne 
de  la  Roche,  published  at  Cherbourg.  The  Secretary  also 
handed  round  a convenient  little  actinometer,  arranged  as  a 
small  printing  frame,  in  which  a little  scale  of  letters  of 
different  densities,  printed  on  silver  paper,  served  as  the  in- 
dication of  sufficient  exposure  for  printing  in  platinum.  He 
believed  that  the  instrument  would  be  brought  out  by  the 
Platinotype  Company. 

Mr.  Charles  White  also  exhibited  a series  of  photographs 
bearing  on  the  subject  treated  of  at  the  previous  meeting, 
“Photography  applied  to  Medicine  and  Surgery.”  The 
photographs  showed  in  succession  the  means  adopted  for 
patching  up  and  giving  artificially  a normal  appearance  to  the 
face,  in  the  case  of  a patient  who  had  suffered  severe  ravages 
from  cancer. 

Mr.  Andrew  Pringle  said  that  for  some  years  he  had  made 
a variety  of  experiments  in  relation  to  the  optical  lantern,  and 
had  gained  a certain  amount  of  experience,  especially  in  regard 
to  the  lime  light.  He  would  not  deal  with  the  historical  part 
of  the  subject  that  evening,  but  would  remark,  in  passing, 
that  he  had  been  told  that  the  optical  lantern  was  first  invented 
of  John  the  Baptist — that  is  to  say,  by  Giambatista  Porta. 
The  condenser,  provided  it  be  large  enough  for  the  slide,  can- 
not be  too  small  ; a 34-inch  condenser  will  cover  an  ordinary 
lantern  slide  with  a circular  mask,  but  not  if  the  slide  have 
an  oblong  mask.  The  diameter  of  the  condenser  should  be 
slightly  greater  than  the  diagonal  of  the  mask.  The  smaller  a 
condenser  can  be  made,  the  shorter  will  be  its  focal  limit,  aud 
about  2|  or  2|  inches  is  about  the  nearest  a lime  light  can  be 
brought  to  it  with  a reasonable  amount  of  safety.  Nine  out  of 
ten  of  the  condensers  now  in  the  market  consist  of  two  plano- 
convex lenses,  mounted  with  their  curved  sides  towards  each 
other.  Herschel’s  condenser  consisted  of  a slightly  meniscus 
and  a double  convex  lens  ; the  double  convex  lens  was  mounted 
in  front,  and  the  meniscus  behind,  with  its  concave  surface 
towards  the  light.  He  did  not  know  that  one  of  these  con- 
densers was  better  than  the  other.  Then  there  was  the  triple 
condenser,  due  to  the  optical  ingenuity  of  Mi-.  John  Traill 
Taylor,  and  which  picked  up  a considerable  percentage  of  the 
rays  from  the  source  of  light,  which  percentage  would  other- 
wise have  been  lost  in  space.  This  plan,  however,  lengthened 
the  focus  of  the  system.  Mr.  Dallmeyer  had  made  a condenser 
which  he  (Mr.  Pringle)  had  not  tested  against  any  other,  and 
the  Camera  Club  possessed  one  of  them.  Any  person  using  the 
lantern  would  not  be  far  wrong  in  using  the  first  and  commonest 
of  the  condensers  he  had  mentioned,  for  it  was  the  best  all- 


March  14,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


211 


round  condenser,  and  the  one  lie  almost  always  used.  The 
projection  lenses  should  give  a flat  field,  and  he  of  sufficient 
diameter  to  transmit  plenty  of  light  ; lenses  for  ordinary  lan- 
tern views  work  at  not  less  than  // 4.  As  everywhere  in  optics 
it  is  a case  of  compromise  : as  the  aperture  is  enlarged,  defini- 
tion is  sacrificed  ; and  as  the  lens  is  stopped  down,  light  is 
sacrificed,  and  better  definition  obtained.  When  oil  is  used 
in  the  lantern  a good  draught  of  air  is  necessary,  and  the  air 
channels  must  be  of  larger  size  than  necessary  when  the  lime 
light  is  employed.  He  knew  no  reason  why  lanterns  should  be 
made  of  such  enormous  size  as  at  present,  whereby  they  had 
become  so  bulky  to  carry  anywhere,  as  to  make  life  not  worth 
living.  Here  the  speaker  exhibited  a small  lantern  made  by 
Messrs.  Newton  and  Son  ; also  another  and  smaller  one  made 
by  Mr.  Beard.  As  to  the  cottages  sold  by  some  makers  to  pro- 
duce dissolving  effects,  he  felt  great  respect  for  those  who  could 
afford  to  buy  them  ; as  for  himself,  he  did  not  feel  inclined 
to  use  these  enormous  edifices  ; they  might  lie  useful  to  pro- 
fessional lecturers,  for  to  give  dissolving  views  the  register 
must  be  everywhere  perfect,  and  great  care  taken  beforehand 
in  preparation.  Mr.  .1.  Malden  had  the  most  perfect  lime  light 
arrangement  for  such  lanterns  that  he  had  ever  seen,  but  a vast 
amount  of  preparation  was  necessary,  and  lus  (Mr.  Pringle’s) 
remarks  that  evening  were  not  intended  for  professional  lecturers 
at  all,  but  for  those  who  used  lanterns  for  home  purposes.  The 
speaker  then  said  a little  about  the  history  of  jets,  beginning  with 
that  invented  by  Canon  Beechy,  in  which  oxygen  was  driven  up 
through  the  centre  of  an  argandoil  flame,  and  acted  upon  a ball  of 
lime  suspended  within  the  flame.  He  next  described  the  blow- 
through  and  mixed  gas  jets,  and  he  spoke  of  a mixed  jet  in  which 
he  used  common  gas  from  the  main  at  the  ordinary  pressure 
thereof  ; in  this  he  used  a specially  small  nipple,  and  obtained 
quite  as  much  light  as  from  a blow-through  jet,  and  the  light 
was  concentrated  on  a smaller  area.  He  next  exhibited  a 
mechanical  device,  consisting  of  a cut-off  for  economising  gas  ; 
he  said  that  one  of  the  same  kind,  but  slightly  differing  in 
form,  is  made  by  Mr.  Steward.  The  gas  in  jets,  he  continued, 
must  not  travel  round  any  sharp  corners,  or  the  flame  will  roar, 
and  the  “way”  inside  the  pipe  must  be  smooth  everywhere. 
He  believed  that  there  were,  practically  speaking,  only  two 
kinds  of  lime  cylinders  in  the  market,  namely,  Nottingham 
limes  and  the  composition  limes  ; the  first  is  the  best  except 
for  blow-through  jets,  which  require  a softer  lime.  The 
composition  limes  are  usually  very  truly  turned  ; but 
the  Nottingham  limes  are  badly  turned  as  a rule,  so 
lose  much  of  the  advantage  they  would  naturally  pos- 
sess, otherwise  they  would  be  the  best  for  mixing  jets, 
lie  had  tried  various  substitutes  for  limes,  but,  in  his  hands, 
they  had  all  been  utter  failures.  The  oxygen  obtained  direct 
from  chlorate  of  potash  was  usually  the  best  ; but  within  the 
last  month  or  two  Brin’s  had  been  improving  a great  deal.  He 
hail  found  Beard’s  regulators  to  be  excellent,  and  said  that 
they  are  now  in  use  nearly  everywhere  ; he  had  never  used 
the  early  ones,  but  spoke  of  those  with  recent  improvements. 
As  for  lantern-slide  carriers,  lie  would  rather  have  none  of 
them  ; he  did  not  know  any  better  than  Chadwick’s  for  the 
■single  lantern  ; he  thought  Beard's  to  be  the  best  for  the 
dissolving  lantern.  Mr.  Cembrauo  had  brought  a carrier 
that  evening  to  the  meeting,  and  which  had  been  invented 
by  Mr.  Cowan  ; he  had  never  seen  it  before,  and  no 
doubt  it  would  be  examined  by  the  members  present. 
The  nature  of  the  screen  used  is  very  important  ; 

with  a bad  screen  at  least  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the 

light  may  be  lost  to  the  observers  ; if  any  light  can  be  seen 
liehind  the  screen,  that  is  so  much  light  lost  to  the  spectators. 
A properly  plastered  wall  is  the  best  screen.  For  a flexible 
screen  he  recommended  one  coated  with  a size  charged  with 
zinc  white  ; it  must  not  be  a shining  screen,  neither  must  it 
be  too  thin,  for  then  much  of  the  light  will  be  lost  by  absorp- 
tion. For  darkening  a room  in  daylight,  Clarke’s  patent 

shutters  are  the  best.  An  open  stage  to  the  lantern  is 

almost  a necessity.  Mr.  Newton  has  made  a lantern  which 
can  be  turned  up  in  a moment,  if  necessary,  so  as  to  point  to 
the  ceiling,  and  the  image  can  then  be  thrown  on  the  wall  by 
means  of  a mirror  or  prism  ; this  device  is  useful  to  show 
bjects  which  must  be  kept  in  a horizontal  position. 


Mr.  Beard  then  exhibited  Hardwich’s  ether  tank  at  work. 

Mr.  J.  Traill  Taylor  said  that  the  triple  condenser  caused 
an  enormous  increase  in  the  illumination  of  the  projected  image, 
and  that  all  the  best  American  lanterns  had  triple  or  quadruple 
condensers.  He  was  having  apparatus  constructed  to  make 
oxygen  on  the  spot,  and  to  supply  it  automatically  to  the  lan- 
tern at  proper  pressure  and  in  proper  quantity  directly  it  was 
evolved.  He  was  aware  that  apparatus  to  do  so  had  been 
invented  in  Manchester,  but  it  was  large  and  cumbrous.  He 
then  described  means  he  had  devised  to  get  a parallel  beam  for 
polarisation  by  a reflecting  bundle  of  glass  plates  ; he  placed  a 
concave  lens  in  the  conical  beam  from  the  condensers. 

After  some  remarks  from  other  speakers,  and  a reply  from 
Mr.  Pringle,  a vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  the  latter. 

The  Chairman  said  that  the  tilting  of  the  lantern  was 
nothing  new  ; he  had  seen  it  done  some  years  ago  at  the 
Society  of  Arts. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  6th  inst.,  Mr.  R.  P.  Dragb  occupied 
the  chair. 

Mr.  F.  York  sent  to  the  meeting  some  lantern  slides  of 
French  make,  showing  an  opaque  deposit  on  the  inside  of  the 
cover  glasses,  which  were  detached  for  inspection.  A letter  from 
Mr.  York  accompanying  the  slides  stated  that  he  had  received 
them  from  an  old  lanternist  in  Trinidad,  who  attributed 
erosion  to  the  extreme  humidity  of  the  climate  during  the 
summer  montlis.  Government  lenses  were  similarly  affected, 
and  had  to  be  repolished.  Mr.  York  also  stated  in  his  letter 
that  during  his  stay  in  the  West  Indies  he  saw  some  plates 
packed  face  to  face  separated  by  pieces  of  cardboard  at  each 
end  ; between  the  plates  a network  of  fungoid  growth  had 
sprung  up,  due  to  the  same  cause. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater  stated  that  he  had  seen  a great  many 
lenses  that  had  been  sent  from  Barbadoes  to  this  country  to  be 
repolished.  In  every  case  they  were  of  foreign  manufacture. 
He  knew  of  no  instance  of  English  glasses  being  affected  in 
the  same  way. 

On  the  subject  of  a remedy  for  condensation  on  lantern 
slides,  Mr.  A.  Haddon  suggested  the  removal  of  the  free  alkali 
from  the  surface  of  glass  by  boiling.  Glass  so  treated  would 
not  be  so  liable  to  condense  moisture  with  change  of  tempera- 
ture. 

The  Chairman  asked  for  the  best  method  of  removing  car- 
bon images  from  opal  plates. 

The  general  opinion  was  in  favour  of  rubbing  with  very  fine 
silver  sand  or  emery  powder. 

Mr.  A.  Haddon  would  soak  the  plate  in  hot  water,  then 
pour  over  it  strong  hydrochloric  acid,  giving  the  plate  a good 
wash  afterwards. 

Mr.  F.  P.  Cembrano  showed  a lantern  carrier  made  in  brass, 
from  a model  designed  by  Mr.  A.  Cowan,  and  exhibited  by  him 
at  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  Association. 

The  competition  pictures  were  exhibited.  The  conditions, 
as  previously  announced,  were  that  the  prints  should  all  be 
from  three  negatives  selected  by  the  members,  and  that  any 
printing  process  might  be  employed.  All  the  members  present, 
except  the  exhibitors,  acted  as  judges,  each  member  having 
three  votes,  with  the  result  that  two  awards  fell  to  Mr.  F.  P. 
Cembrano,  and  one  to  Mr.  J.  B.  B.  Wellington. 


Sheffield  Photographic  Society. 

At  the  last  monthly  meeting,  held  at  the  Mason  Hall,  on  Tuesday 
evening,  Mr.  B.  J.  Taylor  occupied  the  chair. 

The  judges’  awards  in  lantern  competition  for  the  best  series 
of  six  slides  was  announced  as  follows  : — “In  the  opinion  of  the 
judges  no  set  of  slides  was  of  sufficient  merit  to  take  the  first 
prize  ; the  same  was,  therefore,  withheld.”  The  second  was 
awarded  to  Mr.  W.  T.  Furniss,  who  also  secured  the  prize  for 
the  best  slide  in  the  competition.  The  whole  of  the  slides 
were  afterwards  passed  through  the  lantern. 

Mr.  G.  Bromley  gave  a demonstration  and  lecture 
on  the  new  benzoline  saturator,  as  an  adjunct  to  the  opti- 
cal lantern.  He  commenced  by  showing  the  working  of  the 
oxy-hydrogeu  mixed  jet  light.  Having  explained  the  details 


212 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


and  points  requiring  care  and  attention,  lie  passed  on  to  the 
ether  light,  explaining  the  method  of  charging  the  saturator 
and  connecting  the  tubes.  The  lecturer  showed  that  no  fear  of 
explosion  need  be  entertained  ; that  a “ suck-back  ” could  not 
happen,  providing  pressure  was  maintained  on  the  oxygen  gas, 
and  the  chance  of  firing  the  saturator  minimised  again  by  care 
fully  draining  away  the  fluid  not  soaked  up  by  the  stuffing  in 
the  saturator  tubes.  The  best  light  was  obtained  when  just 
short  of  hissing  at  the  jet,  and  it  could  be  maintained  at  equal 
brilliancy  by  slight  attention  from  time  to  time  to  the  cylinder  key 
and  turning  the  lime.  Attention  was  next  drawn  to  the  benzole 
and  benzine  saturator — firstly,  the  method  of  charging  was 
shown,  next  the  warming  appliance  for  increasing  the  volatilisa- 
tion of  the  fluid,  and  lastly  the  connection  with  the  gas  and  lan- 
tern jet.  It  was  explained  that  a jet  with  larger  aperture  could 
be  used  with  this  light  than  was  practicable  with  ether,  but  on 
application  little,  if  any,  difference  was  seen  in  the  brilliancy. 
Gasoline  could,  with  advantage,  be  used  in  place  of  benzine, 
and  altogether  the  process,  as  compared  with  ether,  was  more 
economical  ; if  anything,  the  light  was  more  intense  and  pene- 
trating, and  certainly,  in  the  hands  of  the  operator,  produced 
the  best  results,  the  ordinary  mixed  jet  being  inferior  to  ether, 
although  it  had  many  good  points  in  its  favour.  The  same 
slides  were  used  in  each  case,  so  that  the  comparison  should  be 
equal  and  fair. 


Lewes  Photographic  Society. 

A meeting  was  held  on  the  4th  inst.,the  President  in  the 
chair.  Two  new  members  were  elected. 

A vote  of  condolence  with  the  widow  and  family  of  the  late 
Mr.  Simon  Norman  was  passed. 

The  slides  sent  in  for  the  first  quarterly  competition  were 
passed  through  the  lantern,  and  the  awards  of  the  judges  were 
as  follows  : — Class  1 (landscape) — Mr.  A.  H.  Webling  ; Class  2 
(architecture) — Mr.  Percy  Morris  ; Class  3 (any  other  subject) 
— Mr.  G.  E.  Constable.  There  were  fourteen  sets  sent  in  from 
seven  competitors. 

A special  general  meeting  is  to  be  held  to-day,  to  consider 
the  question  of  carrying  out  a photographic  survey  of  the  dis- 
trict, when  a paper  on  the  subject  will  be  read  by  the  Hon. 
Secretary. 


East  Dulwich  and  Pf.ckham  Photographic  Society. 

A meeting  was  held  on  March  7th,  Mr.  F.  W.  Edwards  in  the 
chair,  when  hand  and  detective  cameras  were  the  topic  for  con- 
sideration. 

Amongst  the  specimens  on  view  were  Fallowfield’s  “ Facile  ” 
and  Abraham’s  “Ideal.”  Another  exhibit  was  a shutter,  for 
which  the  advantage  was  claimed  that  it  could  be  regulated  for 
speed,  as  the  setting  was  automatic.  A camera  which  was 
introduced  resembled,  in  appearance,  a walking  stick.  It  was 
made  entirely  of  metal,  was  light,  and  yet,  when  set  up,  very 
rigid.  Furnished  with  a ball  and  socket  joint  at  the  top,  it  is 
easily  opened  and  closed. 

The  Society  having  decided  to  exhibit  at  the  Crystal  Palace 
Exhibition,  the  members  brought  a good  number  of  photo- 
graphs to  the  meeting. 

Dundee  and  East  ok  Scotland  Photographic  Association. 
March  6 th. — General  meeting,  Mr.  D.  Ireland  in  the  chair. 

Eleven  competitors  entered  for  a lantern-slide  competition. 
The  votes  having  been  scrutinised,  the  following  were  declared 
the  prize-winners  : — First,  Mr.  D.  Ireland  ; equal  seconds, 
Messrs.  J.  R.  Stewart  and  A.  Wilson  ; third,  Mr.  V.  C. 
Baird. 

Mr.  A.  Stewart  gave  an  account  of  his  visit  to  Western  Nor- 
way in  the  s.s.  St.  Sunniva.  After  a few  introductory  remarks 
he  showed  a number  of  lantern  slides,  with  descriptions. 


G.  D.  51. — Your  reply  to  Mr.  Pringle  includes  answers  to 
criticisms,  by  different  persons,  of  your  utterances  made  in 
another  journal,  which  criticisms  many  of  our  readers  have  not 
seen. 


[March  14,  1890. 


Hustons  to  (JTomsponticnts* 


All  questims  requiring  a reply  iu  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C  3.,  2,  St.  Miry’s  Roll,  Cinonbury,  London,  N. 

AH  Aivertisements  and  comrauni rations  relating  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5,Furnival  Street,  London. 

All  C imm  inications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publicationl 
should  be  adlreised  to  the  E liter  of  the  Photographic  News,  5,  Furniva 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

Senoj.  (Malvern). — Exhibition  Announcements.  If  you  are  a 
member  or  exhibitor  of  any  one  of  the  leading  photographic 
societies,  especially  those  publishing  a list  of  members  like 
the  Parent  Society,  you  will  be  sure  to  receive  a notification 
of  all  forthcoming  exhibitions.  Without  being  so,  you  must 
take  the  trouble  of  watching  the  advertisements  and  special 
announcements.  The  Pall  Mall  Exhibition  always  receives 
at  Michaelmas,  and  opens  a week  later. 

D. — Fuel  for  the  Liyroine  La  mp.  Ordinary  benzoline  is  the 
liquid  now  recommended  for  charging  the  boiler  ; it  is  not 
necessary,  therefore,  to  look  about  for  a product  of  exception- 
ally low  boiling  point,  such  as  gasoline,  although  this  was 
specified  in  the  first  published  account.  We  are  glad  to  hear 
of  the  apparatus  coming  safely  to  hand,  and  regret  that  your 
second  letter  could  not  be  answered  last  week. 

C.  J.  (Nice.) — Developers  for  Prints  on  Gclalino-Chloridc 
Paper.  The  hydroxy lamine  developer  (seepage  197  of  the 
Year-Book)  answers  very  well  for  the  alpha  paper  of  the 
Britannia  Company,  Ilford.  You  have  the  choice  of  two 
qualities,  rough  or  smooth. 

L. — Flash  Powder  Explosions.  The  dangers  to  which  we 


J. 


R. 


directed  attention  some  months  ago  have  received  an  awful 
exemplification  in  the  article  on  page  191  of  last  week’s 
News.  By  the  incautious  admixture  of  magnesium  powder 
with  picric  acid,  chlorate  of  potash,  sulphide  of  antimony, 
&c.,  five  lives  in  all  have  been  sacrificed  in  America,  enough 
to  preach  a warning  to  those  who  ignorantly  deal  with  such 
detonating  substances.  With  magnesium  alone  projected 
through  a spirit  flame,  all  such  terrible  disasters  may  be 
avoided,  but  it  is  well,  even  then,  to  keep  a vigilant  look-out 
for  dropping  fire. 

L.  T. — Price  of  Platinum.  Owing  to  the  demand  for  elec- 
trical purposes,  superadded  to  the  use  of  this  metal  in 
photography,  the  price  of  platinum  has  recently  advanced. 
At  the  sale  of  Dr.  Percy’s  effects  last  week  twenty-eight 
ounces  realized  £55  3s.,  and  this  included  some  scrap;  so 
that  £2  per  ounce  is  about  the  lowest  quotation  at  the 
present  time. 

A.  M.  (Bootle). — Test  for  Alums.  It  is,  perhaps,  imma- 
terial whether  you  employ  potash  or  ammonia  alum  ; but 
they  may  be  distinguished  by  warming  up  the  solution 
with  caustic  soda,  when  the  latter  will  give  off  the  odour  of 
ammonia.  A negative  result  is  here  sufficient  to  indicate 
potash  alum.  The  sulphate  of  alumina  is  more  strongly  acid. 

D.  H.  M. — Blisters  on  Bromide  Paper.  The  fault  is  most 
likely  inherent  to  this  particular  lot  of  paper,  which  was 
coated  too  dry,  and  so  the  attachment  of  the  gelatino- 
bromide  coating  is  imperfect.  From  your  description  there 
is  nothing  wrong  either  in  the  chemicals  or  manipulation. 
Albumenized  paper  sometimes  fails  from  the  same  cause. 

C.  J. — Collotype  Films.  Gelatine  sensitized  with  a five  per 
cent,  bichromate  solution,  and  if  you  want  extra  insolu- 
bility add  a small  quantity  of  chrome  alum  dissolved  in 
acetic  acid  to  the  softened  gelatine.  Read  up  Mr.  Bolas’s 
Cantor  Lectures,  of  1884  (Society  of  Arts  Journal),  or  get 
Mr.  W.  T.  Wilkinson’s  book,  published  by  Messrs.  England 
Brothers,  Charles  Street,  Notting  Hill,  W. 

J.  W. — Surfacing  Carbon  Prints.  Finding  that  the  lustre  is 
too  great  when  transferred  and  dried  upon  glass,  could  you 
not  squeegee  down  upon  a slightly  grained  zinc  plate,  or 
even  try  a very  finely  ground  glass  ? 

Received. — The  Prods  Verbaux  et  Resolutions  of  the  Paris  Con- 
ference, and  Programme  of  the  Fourth  Annual  Conference 
of  the  Camera  Club,  to  be  held  on  the  20th  and  21st  inst., 
at  the  Society  of  Arts,  under  the  Presidency  of  Captain 
Abney, 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1646. — March  21,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PACK 


Aluminium  in  Photoprxpbic  Apparatus  213 

The  Crystal  Palace  Photographic  Exhibition  214 

Photography  at  the  Royal  Meteorological  Society 215 

Tht  Camera  Club  Conference 2)0 

Photography  in  Natural  Colours  217 

Photography  iu  Rome 218 

Chromo-Photography  by  Block  Printing 219 

Another  Photographic  8urrey  219 

The  Sizes  of  Photographic  Plates.  By  J.  Craig  Annan  220 

People  with  Double  Faces 220 


P AO  R 


Modified  Collodion  Emulsion.  By  A.  Peebles  Smith 221 

Notes  222 

Grade  in  Professional  Photography.  By  II.  Colebrook 223 

Celluloid  or  Ce’lonite  ? 224 

Plash  Powder  Explosions.  By  Charles  L.  Mitchell,  I I) 225 

The  First  Optical  Lantern 226 

Patent  Intelligence  227 

Correspondence— A Photographic  Scholarship  209 

Proceedings  of  Societies  230 

Answers  to  Correspondents  232 


ALUMINIUM  IN  PHOTOGRAPHIC  APPARATUS. 
Aluminium,  which  was  first  isolated  by  Wohler,  in 
1827,  seems  destined  to  play  an  important  part  in  the 
photographic  apparatus  of  the  future,  because  of  its 
lightness  as  compared  with  brass,  and  because  of  its 
recent  fall  in  price,  due  to  improved  methods  of  manu- 
facture on  a large  scale. 

Aluminium  does  not  rank  with  noble  metals,  such 
as  gold  and  platinum,  since  it  is  more  easily  attacked 
by  chemical  reagents ; for  instance,  it  is  acted  upon  by 
acetic  and  several  other  vegetable  acids ; this,  how- 
ever, is  not  particularly  in  its  disfavour,  for  the  same 
may  be  said  of  brass,  the  alloy  with  which  it  will  have 
to  compete.  Pure  air,  wet  or  dry,  has  no  action 
upon  it,  but  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  wet 
air  containing  ammonia,  and  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  ammonia  is  practically  always  present- 
in  the  air  of  towns,  also  in  the  country  over  manured 
land.  If  any  traces  of  chloride  of  aluminium  be  left 
in  the  metal,  due  to  its  method  of  manufacture,  the 
metal  is  less  stable  and  more  easily  attacked  by  damp 
and  by  certain  chemical  reagents.  According  to  De- 
ville,  neither  sulphur  nor  sulphuretted  hydrogen  has 
any  action  upon  pure  aluminium,  either  at  ordinary  or  at 
somewhat  high  temperatures ; but  according  to  Fremy, 
aluminium  decomposes  sulphide  of  silver  by  uniting 
with  the  silver  and  setting  free  the  sulphur.  Sul- 
phuric acid,  concentrated  or  diluted,  has  little  or  no 
action  upon  aluminium,  especially  when  the  metal  is 
pure,  neither  does  nitric  acid  act  upon  it  at  normal 
temperatures;  at  the  boiling  temperature  it  dissolves 
it  slowly.  Hydrochloric  acid  dissolves  the  pure  metal 
slowly,  and  the  impure  aluminium  rapidly ; alkaline 
solutions  act  upon  aluminium  rapidly,  at  the  same  time 
liberating  hydrogen.  When  the  sample  of  aluminium 
contains  traces  of  iron  or  sodium,  it  is  more  readily 
attacked  than  otherwise  by  the  solutions  of  certain 
metallic  salts.  A solution  of  common  salt,  hot  or  cold, 
has  little  or  no  action  upon  aluminium.  The  metal  is 
attacked  somewhat  by  soap.  Commercial  aluminium 
is  never  chemically  pure,  but  usually  contains  a little 
silicon  and  iron  ; of  late  manufacturers  have  been  more 
successful  in  eliminating  the  iron,  the  presence  of 
which  deteriorates  its  colour.  Certain  gases  are  oc- 


cluded by  aluminium,  and  from  it  carbonic  acid  and 
hydrogen  have  been  extracted. 

Aluminium  has  a bluish  white  colour,  will  take  a 
beautiful  matt  surface,  and  can  be  polished  and  bur- 
nished under  a suitable  lubricant;  when  pure  it  has 
no  smell,  but  when  rich  in  silicon  exhales  the  odour 
of  silicuretted  hydrogen.  It  is  easily  forged,  rolled, 
or  beaten  into  leaves,  and  the  leaves  will  burn  with  a 
most  brilliant  light  in  oxygen  gas.  Aluminium  is 
easily  drawn  into  wire  or  tubes,  but  requires  anneal- 
ing afterwards  to  become  flexible  once  more ; the 
tenacity  of  the  wire,  according  to  Fremy,  is  half  way 
between  that  of  zinc  and  tin,  but  increases  when  the 
metal  is  hammered.  Barlow  found  the  tensile 
strength  of  aluminium  to  be  twelve  tons  to  the 
square  inch.  It  is  exceedingly  sonorous,  and  some 
of  its  alloys  are  particularly  suitable  for  church  bells. 
Its  melting  point  is  between  those  of  zinc  and 
silver. 

At  present,  the  most  useful  alloy  of  aluminium  in 
the  arts  is  that  with  copper,  namely,  the  well-known 
aluminium  bronze,  which  is  tougher  than  gun-metal, 
and  takes  a polish  resembling  that  of  gold.  The  alloy 
likely  to  be  most  useful  in  photographic  apparatus 
must  be  one  not  seriously  above  the  weight  of  pure 
aluminium,  and  a good  one  for  the  purpose  consists  of 
ninety-five  per  cent,  aluminium  and  five  per  cent, 
silver.  We  have  reason  to  suppose  that  some  of  the 
aluminium  now  used  in  photographic  goods  on  sale  in 
the  market  is  slightly  alloyed  with  another  metal, 
which  we  guess  to  be  possibly  silver.  Au  aluminium- 
silver  alloy  in  the  proportions  just  stated  possesses, 
according  to  Tissier,  an  elasticity  which  is  wanting  in 
the  pure  metal,  also  a greater  hardness  and  capability 
of  being  polished.  An  alloy  of  aluminium  with  German 
silver  has  excellent  physical  properties,  and  as  this 
alloy  is  in  the  market,  it  may  probably  be  that  used  in 
the  portions  of  photographic  apparatus.  Any  alloy  of 
real  silver  and  aluminium  is  attacked  somewhat  by 
sulphur. 

At  present,  we  know  of  no  evidence  that  aluminium 
will  prove  less  durable  than  brass  in  photographic 
apparatus,  especially  if  the  apparatus  be  kept  dry,  and 
in  as  pure  an  atmosphere  as  possible.  Should  any 


214 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  21,  1890. 


evidence  be  found,  after  lapse  of  time,  of  galvanic 
action  between  an  aluminium  milled  head  and  an 
interior  brass  screw,  the  action  ran  probably  be  stopped 
by  keeping  the  camera  in  a dry  place. 


THE  CRYSTAL  PALACE  PHOTOGRAPHIC 
EXHIBITION. 

IT. 

Before  closing  the  notice  of  Mr.  W.  F.  Stanley's  exhibits, 
Mr  Ferrero's  dark  slide  and  changing  box  combined,  for 
celluloid  films,  represented  in  fig.  7,  claims  attention  as  a 


Fit).  7. 


useful  appliance  for  the  photographer,  provided  extended 
experience  in  working  with  it  should  prove  that  it  has  all 
the  merits  claimed  for  it  by  those  who  place  it  on  public 
view  ; so  far  as  can  be  ascertained  from  a passing  inspec- 
tion, we  sec  no  reason  why  it  should  not  fulfil  their  claims, 
which  are  : — (1)  Extreme  simplicity  and  absence  of  any- 
thing liable  to  get  out  of  order ; (2)  the  films  are  put 
into  the  carrier  just  as  they  are  taken  from  the  packet,  no 
sliields  or  metal  frames  being  required  ; (ft)  the  films  are 
moved  by  the  fingers — no  reliance  is  placed  on  springs  or 
the  action  of  gravity,  which  so  often  fail  to  act  in  changing 
boxes  for  glass  plates  ; (4)  two  qualities  of  films  can  be 
carried  in  one  carrier,  and  either  can  be  picked  out  for 
exposure  as  required  ; (•'>)  the  operation  of  changing  the 
films  is  done  in  a few  seconds,  whilst  the  filling  or  empty- 
ing of  the  carrier  is  infinitely  more  simple  than  with 
roller  slides. 

This  Ferrero's  film  carrier  is  intended  to  enable  the  pho- 
tographer to  carry  and  to  expose  two  or  even  three  dozen 
films  without  having  recourse  to  a dark  room.  It  con- 
sists of  a box,  the  front  of  which  is  fitted  as  a dark  slide. 
Inside  box  a loose  board,  actuated  by  a spring,  presses  the 
films  towards  the  rebate,  whilst  a light  papier-mache  board 
divides  the  film  which  is  being  exposed  from  the  others, 
and  a similar  board  placed  behind  the  unexposed  films 
divides  them  from  those  which  have  been  exposed.  When 
the  film  has  to  be  changed,  the  opening  of  the  lid  causes 
the  pressure  board  to  be  drawn  back  to  the  bottom  of  the 
box,  thus  leaving  ample  space  in  which  the  films  can  be 
changed.  Attached  to  the  carrier  is  a bag  having  two 
holes,  in  which  the  thumb  and  forefinger  are  inserted  for 
changing  the  films.  The  two  finger  holes  are  provided 
with  elastic  bands,  which  exclude  all  light  from  the 
interior  of  the  teg  when  the  fingers  are  inserted. 

Messrs.  D.  Noakes  and  Co.  have  a good  show  at  the 
Exhibition,  and  some  men  at  work  in  the  actual  manufac- 
ture of  the  mounts  of  lenses,  and  other  varieties  of  brass 
portions  of  instruments.  Moreover,  in  the  evening,  when 
the  great  display  of  lantern  slides  is  going  on  in  the 
adjoining  theatre,  Mr.  Noakes  gives  a small  show  of  his 
own  at  his  stall,  and  employs  the  limelight  for  the  purpose. 


This  firm  exhibits  the  simple  little  gas  regulator  pictured 

in  fig.  8.  It  is  virtually 
a fine-adjustment  tap, 
which,  when  in  use,  is 
screwed  into  the  back 
of  the  ordinary  jet- 
cock  ; the  rough  adjust- 
ment is  first  made  with 
the  latter,  and  the  fine 
ad  j ustment  afterwards 
made  with  the  little  re- 
gulator ; when  the  re- 
gulators are  once  set  to 
suitably  and  delicately 
balance  the  gases,  operations  can  be  carried  on  for  a long 
time  with  the  ordinary  cocks  before  a fresh  adjustment  of 
the  regulators  becomes  necessary.  The  object  of  the  regu- 
lator is  to  economise  gas,  and  to  stop  any  hissing  of  the 
flame.  Interiorly  it  consists  of  an  acute  cone  working 
within  a similar  cone. 

The  “key  camera,”  fig.  9,  as  sold  by  Messrs.  Noakes 
and  by  the  Platinotypc  Company,  is  also  on  view.  Some 


Fig.  9. 

improvements  have  been  made  in  it  since  it  was  first 
exhibited  at  St.  James's  Hall  last  year,  as  described  in 
these  pages  at  the  time.  The  improvements  consist  of 
small  mollifications  to  prevent,  within  certain  limits,  its 
getting  out  of  orrhr  when  carelessly  manipulated.  The 
main  principle  of  this  ingenious  instrument  is,  it  may  be 
remembered,  that  the  plates  are  kept  in  little  cases  which 
may  be  carried  in  the  pocket ; the  plates  are  introduced  into 
the  camera  and  removed  therefrom  by  passing  through  a 
kind  of  “ tap”  with  an  excessively  long  slot  in  it. 

Fig.  10  may  interest  lovers  of  the  ideal  who  have  never 

been  behind  the  scenes 
at  theatres,  to  see  by 
what  methods  fairy-land 
is  brought  within  the 
view  of  ordinary  mortals, 
and  to  give  some  glimpses, 
in  this  matter-of-fact, 
vulgar  age,  of  the  times 
when  fairies  danced  in 
the  forest  glades,  and  imps 
swung  upon  the  aspen 
sprays.  It  is  a limelight 
lantern,  of  not  particu- 
larly romantic  form,  with 
a disc  in  front,  carrying 
circlesof  glass  of  different 
colours.  By  turning  the  perforated  disc,  the  stage  canbeillu- 


Fig.  8. 


Fn.  10. 


March  21,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


215 


minated  with  any  desired  colour  at  the  will  of  the 

operator. 

Messrs.  B.  J.  Edwards  and  Co.  have  a stall  at  the  Exhi- 
bition in  illustration  of  the  results  obtainable  by  ortho- 
chromatic  photography,  and  among  the  most  remarkable 
are  yellow  daffodils,  blue  hyacinths,  violets,  and  lilies  of 
the  valley,  in  a yellow  vase,  taken  on  isochromatic  and 
ordinary  plates.  They  also  exhibit  photographs  of  paint- 
ings. in  which  orthochromatic  methods  are  so  valuable,  and 
their  isochromatic  specimens  on  view  include  portraiture, 
landscapes,  and  copies  of  paintings,  by  leading  photo- 
graphers : also  transparencies,  lantern  slides,  and  negatives 
showing  difference  between  isochromatic  and  ordinary 
processes.  Among  these  are  copies  of  a painting  in  the 
National  Gallery,  “Bacchus  and  Ariadne,”  by  Titian 
(Signor  Morelli),  and  of  an  oil  painting,  “Grapes  and 
Oranges.” 

Messrs.  G.  Houghton  and  Son  exhibit  dark-room  speci- 
alities, and  give  occasional  demonstrations  of  the  working 
of  Mr.  Friese  Greene’s  sensitised  cards,  in  which  the  posi- 
tive image  is  developed  upon  the  card  itself,  so  that  no 
mounting  is  necessary,  and  all  the  operations  are  finished 
expeditiously. 

Messrs.  Sands  and  Hunter  have  an  exhibit  of  good 
photographic  apparatus,  but  no  special  novelty  this  year. 
They  have  a permanent  stand  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  con- 
sisting of  a glass  case  full  of  photographic  appliances. 

Sir  David  Salomons  exhibits  a rocking-table  of  a com- 
pact nature,  with  the  weight  ingeniously  placed  altogether 
out  of  the  way  of  the  operator  when  the  latter  is  perform- 
ng  developing  work.  Mr.  E.  G.  Platt  exhibits  photo- 
graphic brass  work  ; Messrs.  Pearson  and  Denham  a reduc- 
ug  camera  and  circular  bellows  camera  ; Mr.  W.  P.  Baker 
i satchel  camera  and  walking-stick  stands;  Messrs, 
rrevor  and  Co. , photographic  wrappers  ; Messrs.  Benham 
md  Proud,  a dark  room  lamp  with  parabolic  reflector  ; Mr. 
W.  F.  Slater,  picture  frames ; Mr.  A.  Clarkson,  limelight 
ipparatus  ; and  Messrs.  T.  Riley  and  Son,  a detective 
amera.  Mr.  Ilenry  Crouch  exhibits  a four-fold  stand, 
vith  thumb-screws  to  tighten  up  the  parts  ; these  are 
asy  to  manipulate,  but  are  sometimes  absent  in  this 
lass  of  stand  to  gain  an  advantage  in  packing.  Mr.  W. 
mks  exhibits  albums,  screens,  and  frames;  Mr.  W. 
icorer,  cameras  and  lenses;  Messrs.  T.  W.  Couch  and  Co., 
rames and  mounts;  Messrs.  E.  Mander  and  Son,  frames 
nd  screens;  Messrs.  Taylor,  Taylor,  and  Hobson,  lenses; 
he  Platinotype  Co.,  platinum  prints  with  demonstrations 
'f  the  process;  Messrs.  J.  Theobald  and  Co.,  lithographic 
intern  slides  with  operators  at  work  ; Messrs.  Justin, 
>ros.,  a camera  stand  of  spiral  metallic  ribbon,  which 
■acks  into  a small  case  measuring  about  S by  4 inches ; 
nd  Messrs.  Sharp  and  Ilitchmough,  photographic 
pparatusin  large  variety. 

Every  evening  a lantern  entertainment  is  given  at  the 
’alace,  with  the  powerful  limelight  lantern  in  charge  of 
lr  W . Brooks.  As  the  screen  is  a long  way  off,  a pro- 
action  combination  of  longer  focus  and  larger  aperture 
ian  usual  is  employed.  All  through  the  evening  last 
uesday  the  jets  were  worked  without  any  “ roaring,”  nor 
as  there  a hitch  of  any  description. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  prizes  awarded  at  this  Crystal 
alace  Photographic  Exhibition  of  1890  : — 
doll  Medal  for  Best  Alcove. — Lafayette,  Dublin. 

Chd,  Challenge  Cup. — The  Birmingham  Photographic 
aciety. 

1 h*11  >o  Professional  and  Amateur  Photographers. — Class  A. 


(Sec.  1)  Green  Bros.,  Grasmere — Silver  medal  for  alcove, 
bronze  medals,  Class  A — (Sec.  1),  Auty  and  Ruddock, 
Tynemouth,  for  560  and  series  ; (Sec.  2)  Lyd.  Sawyer, 
Newcastle,  for  469;  (Sec.  0)  Richard  Keene.  Derby,  for 
948  and  series:  (Sec.  8)  Henry  W.  Reeve,  for  1,186  and 
1,179  ; (Sec.  5)  James  E.  Goold,  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  for 
568  : (Sec.  5)  Symonds  and  Co.,  Portsmouth,  for  1.176: 
(Sec.  7)  Gambier  Bolton,  Camera  Club,  for  screen,  12  ; 
(Sec.  8)  ,1.  Pattison  Gibson,  Hexham,  for  470  and  series, 
f lass  B (Sec.  1),  AY.  AY.  AYinter.  Derby,  for  199 ; 

R.  Faulkner,  Baker  Street,  Portman  Square,  AY.,  for 

I, 170  ; B.  Scott  and  Co.,  Carlisle,  for  1,177  ; T. 
I'.  Goodwin,  68,  Anerlcy  Road,  S.E.,  for  489  and  series ; 
(Sec.  2)  AY.  J.  Byrne,  Richmond,  for  517  ; (Sec.  6)  F.  AAr. 
Edwards,  Peckham  Rye,  S.E.,  for  616.  Class  C (Sec.  1), 
Frank  Sutcliffe,  AYhitby,  for  1,164;  R.  H.  Lord,  Cam- 
bridge, for  1,148  ; (Sec.  3)  Arthur  II.  Carnell,  Plymouth, 
for  1,057  ; (Sec.  7)  AA'alter  L.  Colls,  Barnes,  for  1,139  ; 
(Sec.  8)  Thomas  Scotton,  Derby,  for  1,001  ; (Sec.  9)  H. 

J.  Godbold,  St.  Leonard’s-on-Sea,  for  1,166.  General 
— George  Thompson.  Liverpool,  for  222. 

Open  to  Amateurs  Only. — Lady  Amateur  Class  (Silver 
medal) — Miss  Clarissa  Miles,  Malmesbury,  for  80,  81,  and 
82.  Bronze  medals — Class  A A (Sec.  1),  G.  II.  Catt,  Spet- 
tisbury,  Dorset,  for  1,225  ; (Sec.  3)  Court  Cole,  Folly 
Bridge,  Oxford,  for  891  and  892  ; Rev.  AAr.  Mann,  M.A., 

S. C.L.,  Bristol,  for  1,322  ; (Sec.  5)  Martin  .1.  Harding, 
Shrewsbury,  for  870;  T.  J.  Bright,  Gipsy  Hill,  for  862  ; 
Surgeon  A.  G.  Xewlaud,  I.M.S.,  for  1,035  (for  photographs 
taken  under  great  difficulty)  ; (Sec.  8)  J.  L.  Mackrell, 
Fairfield,  Liverpool,  for  256  and  257.  Class  AB  (Sec.  2), 
J.  E.  Austin,  West  Court,  Detling,  Maidstone,  for  814  and 
815.  Class  AC  (Sec.  1),  E.  C.  Middleton,  Birmingham, 
for  414.  General— AV.  Jerome  Harrison,  Birmingham,  for 
401  to  406. 

The  judges  also  recommend  that  a complimentary 
medal  be  awarded  to  Mrs.  Rejlander  for  the  exhibit  of  her 
late  husband’s  art  studies. 

Owing  to  the  large  number  of  lantern  slides  in  compe- 
tition, awards  in  the  Lantern  Division  cannot  be  published 
this  week. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  AT  THE  ROA'AL  METEOROLOGICAL 
SOCIETAL 

Last  AArednesday  night  a meeting  of  the  Royal  Meteorological 
Society  was  held  in  the  theatre  of  the  Institution  of  Civil 
Engineers,  Great  George  Street,  AVestminster,  with  Mr.  Blan- 
ford,  F.R.S.,  in  the  chair.  In  another  part  of  the  building  was 
an  exhibition  of  instruments  illustrating  the  application  of 
photography  to  meteorological  purposes  ; also  an  exhibition  of 
photographs  of  meteorological  phenomena. 

Air.  G.  M.  AVhipple,  Superintendent  of  Kew  Observatory, 
read  a paper  on  “ Photography  in  Relation  to  Meteorological 
VYork,”  which  was  much  to  the  same  effect  as  the  memoir  he 
read  some  months  ago  before  the  Photographic  Society,  and 
the  same  illustrations  were  given  by  means  of  the  optical 
lantern,  which  last  Thursday  was  worked  by  Mr.  AA'aiuwright. 

Mr.  AYilliam  Marriott  then  gave  an  address  on  “The  Appli- 
cation of  Photography  to  Meteorological  Phenomena,”  during 
which  lantern  views  from  the  same  negatives  from  which  the 
chief  prints  in  the  adjoining  exhibition  were  taken,  were  pro- 
jected on  the  screen,  so  that  the  facts  represented  could  easily 
be  explained  to  all  the  listeners  present  before  they  inspected 
the  exhibition  itself.  Some  of  these  photographs  were  exceed- 
ingly  curious.  One  represented  hanging  against  a parti- 
tion the  clothes  of  two  men  who  had  been  struck  by 
lightning,  but  fortunately  not  killed  ; one  man’s  trousers  had 
been  torn  to  shreds,  whilst  one  leg  of  the  nether  garments  of 


211? 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  21,  1890. 


the  other  man,  simply  was  less  injured,  but  had  the  knee 
taken  out,  and  showed  indications  of  the  flash  having  passed 
zig-zag  fashion  from  one  leg  to  the  other.  Some  boots 
burst  in  all  directions  formed  pitiable  objects  in  the  fore- 
ground. The  old  story  of  lightning  sometimes  impressing 
the  picture  of  an  adjoining  tree  upon  the  body  of  a person 
struck  by  the  flash  seems  to  have  been  founded  upon  an 
actual  natural  fact,  for  the  photograph  of  the  arm  of  a boy 
who  had  been  struck  by  lightning  was  shown,  and  it  had 
picturesque  arborescent  markings  burnt  on  the  skin,  such 
markings  as  inaccurate  observers  might  hastily  conclude  to 
represent  the  branches  of  a real  tree.  An  excellent  photo- 
graph representing  gigantic  icicles  hanging  from  the  branches 
of  trees  was  shown  ; it  had  been  taken  by  the  Rev.  F.  W. 
Stow.  Some  photographs  of  clouds  taken  by  M.  Paul 
Gamier,  at  the  Observatory,  Boulogne-sur-Seine,  near  Paris, 
were  also  shown,  and  were  considered  by  the  speaker  to  be 
the  finest  specimens  of  that  class  of  photographic  work  which 
the  Meteorological  Society  had  yet  seen.  Photographs  of 
floods,  tornados,  lightning  Hashes,  and  of  trees  broken  by  rime 
frost  were  among  those  shown.  One  photograph  showed  how 
a broken  tree  carried  by  a tornado  had  with  its  stem  speared 
a horse  in  the  side  and  killed  the  poor  animal  ; 

and  another,  how  pieces  of  straw  carried  “end  on” 
by  a tornado  had  been  partially  driven  into  trees,  so  as  to 
stick  therein  like  nails.  Dr.  A.  Riggenbach,  of  Bale,  had  sent 
some  photographs  of  cirrus  clouds,  which  he  had  taken  by  means 
of  their  reflection  from  the  surface  of  Lake  Sarnen,  when  he 
could  not  get  them  so  well  by  direct  means.  He  attributed 
the  greater  ease  in  photographing  to  the  partial  polarisation  of 
the  light  by  water  ; this  we  think  to  be  an  error,  and  that  no 
evidence  has  yet  been  produced  that  polarised  light  acts  differ- 
ently from  other  light  on  photographic  films. 

THE  CAMEBA  CLUB  CONFERENCE. 

Yesterday  afternoon  the  third  annual  Camera  Club  Conference 
apened  in  the  hall  of  the  Society  of  Arts. 

Capt.  W.  de  W.  Abney,  in  the  course  of  his  presidential 
address,  stated  the  fact  that  colour-vision  is  three-fold  with  a 
normal  eye,  and  he  thought  that  the  same  principle  may,  per- 
haps, apply  to  the  sensitive  photographic  plate.  The  eye  is 
sensitive  to  red,  green,  and  violet,  and  many  intermediate 
visual  colours  may  be  compounded  of  two  or  more  of  these 
three  colours.  A sensitive  plate  may  be  said  to  take  the  place 
of  the  retina,  and  the  sensitive  salts  used,  to  a colour  perception. 
He  thought  that  the  photographic  spectrum  norms  of  sensitive- 
ness are  analogous  to  the  spectrum  norms  of  colour-perception  in 
the  eye,  or,  in  other  words,  that  a photographic  plate  has,  in 
reality,  only  one,  two,  or  three  colour-perceptions,  and 
that  all  sensitiveness  to  other  colours  is  due  to  only 
partial  response  of  this  vibrating  molecule  to  wave-lengths, 
which  differ  slightly  from  those  with  which  it  is  in  accord.  A 
study  of  the  simple  mixture  of  the  natural  salts  favours  this 
view,  and  he  believed  that  by  using  this  as  a working  hypo- 
thesis, a better  understanding  of  the  apparent  vagaries  in  the 
extent  of  sensitiveness  will  be  attained.  Recently,  in  The 
Standard,  an  announcement  had  been  published  that  the  prob- 
lem of  photography  in  natural  colours  had  just  been  solved, 
and  that,  too,  by  a printing  process.  Dr.  Eder’s  name  was 
coupled  with  this  statement  as  endorsing  the  discovery,  other- 
wise he  (the  speaker)  would  more  readily  have  supposed  it  to  be 
a specimen  of  journalistic  credulity.  Photography  in  natural 
colours  has  long  been  a fact.  He  argued  that  a printed  photo- 
graphic image  in  natural  colours  cannot  be  produced  on 
an  elemental  substance,  so  a compound  substance  must 
be  used.  With  chloride  of  silver,  as  he  had  proved  and  pub- 
lished long  ago,  the  spectrum  exercised  reducing  action  at  one 
of  its  ends,  and  an  oxidising  action  at  the  other.  When 
photographs  in  natural  colours  are  obtained,  the  difficult  pro- 
blem of  how  to  fix  them  remains.  Fixing  means  the  removal  of 
something  still  sensitive  to  light,  and  this  removal  must  at  once 
change  the  colour,  if  the  colour  has  been  produced  by  chemical 
change.  If  the  colour  is  produced  by  altered  molecular 
arrangement,  that  molecular  arrangement  must  also  be  destroyed 


by  white  light.  The  existence  of  the  power  of  fixing  such 
images  is  therefore  improbable.  He  did  not  believe  in  the 
discovery  of  any  really  practical  method  of  producing  per- 
manent photographs  in  natural  colours. 

Mr.  A.  M.  Rossi  then  read  a paper  on  “ The  Art  of  Drawing 
and  Photography,”  which  was  followed  by  a brief  discussion, 
in  which  Messrs.  Adcock,  Davison,  Dresser,  Newman,  and 
Major  Nott  took  part. 

Mr.  T.  R.  Dallmeyer  then  read  a paper  entitled  “ Limitations 
in  the  Treatment  of  Subjects  by  Focus,”  in  the  course  of  which 
he  argued  that  two  of  the  points  set  forth  in  the  memoir  of 
Mr.  W.  K.  Burton,  read  recently  before  the  Camera  Club, 
were  erroneous.  He  said  that  it  is  a scientific  mistake  to 
state  that  a photographic  lens  cannot  give  a sharper  image  than 
does  th?  eye.  The  authority  of  Helmholtz  was  against  the 
assertion,  and  so  were  his  (Mr.  Dallmeyer’s)  experiments. 

In  testing  the  matter,  it  is  necessary  that  the  photograph  and 
the  view  shall  be  examined  under  the  same  angle.  Mr.  Burton 
had  also  stated  in  effect  that  the  eye  will  give  as  perfect  a 
representation  as  a lens  of  a near  and  distant  object  when 
viewed  at  the  same  time.  Mr.  Dallmeyer  disputed  this,  and 
said  it  was  impossible,  except  bv  artificial  means.  To  try  the 
experiment  fairly,  the  eye  and  lens  must  be  placed  under  the 
same  conditions,  and  if  the  eye  be  stopped  down  by  placing  in 
front  of  it  a moderately  large  piuhole  in  a screen,  near  and 
distant  objects  can  be  seen  at  the  same  time  with  considerable 
sharpness. 

In  the  course  of  the  discussion  upon  this  paper,  Captaii 
Abney  expressed  the  opinion  that  a good  photograph  must  lx 
sharp  all  over,  and  be  viewed  at  the  same  angle  as  was  the 
original  subject  ; the  eye  will  then,  when  viewing  one  part  o i 
the  photograph,  see  the  rest  of  it  with  the  same  “ fuzziness’ ll 
as  in  nature  under  like  conditions. 

Mr.  A.  A.  Common,  F.R.S.,  gave  a summary  of  his  pape: 
upon  “ Eclipse  Photography,”  in  the  course  of  which  h 
expressed  the  opinion  that  eclipses  in  the  future  can  be  ob 
served  and  photographed  by  much  simpler  appliances  thai 
heretofore.  He  suggested  the  use  of  one  large  heliostat,  whicl 
then  would  be  the  only  instrument  requiring  astronomical  ad 
justment,  and  with  it  but  one  driving  clock  would  be  necessar  t 
for  the  purposes  of  the  whole  expedition.  The  whole  of  th 
different  observations  could  then  be  made  by  the  aid  of  th 
heliostat.  The  idea,  he  said,  is  not  new,  for  small  heliostat  * 
have  been  used  for  somewhat  similar  purposes,  but  the  imped 
ment  of  so  working  on  a large  scale  has  been  the  difficulty  < il 
obtaining  a plane  mirror  of  sufficiently  large  size.  Now,  it 
possible  to  construct  a mirror  to  serve  the  whole  of  the  instrt  t 
ments.  By  the  adoption  of  this  plan  the  enormous  weigh  1 
and  quantity  of  packages  now  taken  out  by  eclipse  observe) 
would  be  greatly  reduced. 

Mr.  Albert  Taylor  said  that  during  the  recent  eclipse  of  tl 
sun,  the  Americans  took  out  some  interesting  instrument 
Professor  Todd  took  out  a large  polar  axis,  eleven  feet  loni 
composed  of  two  great  tubes  side  by  side,  and  provided  wit 
several  supports.  On  this  great  polar  axis  he  fixed  all  h 
twenty-seven  instruments. 

The  President  remarked  that  Mr.  Common  had  for  son 
time  past  been  using  mirrors  in  which  the  proportion  j 
aperture  to  focal  length  was  greater  than  had  ever  been  set 
before  ; he  tested  his  own  mirrors,  and  they  were  perfects 
itself.  He  had  just  been  talking  in  a jaunty  way  of  makii 
a twenty-inch  flat  mirror ; the  difficulties  in  the  way  we 
enormous,  but  if  Mr.  Common  were  to  say  that  he  wou 
make  a three  feet  plane  mirror,  he  would  afterwards  do  i 
He  (('apt.  Abney)  believed  that  Mr.  Common  had  found  ot 
how  to  overcome  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  opticians  h: 
in  making  large  flat  surfaces. 

Mr.  H.  Trueman  Wood  then  took  the  chair,  and  Mr.  W.  ' 
Wilkinson  gave  a demonstration  of  the  working  of  the  colloty 
process,  and  gave  explanations  of  the  chief  points  connect 
therewith. 

To-day  (Friday)  the  Conference  will  be  resumed  in  the  H 
of  the  Society  of  Arts  at  two  o’clock.  One  of  the  papers  is 
Lord  Rayleigh,  on  “ Photography  by  the  Light  of  the  Elect 
Spark,”  relating  chiefly,  in  all  probability,  to  some  expe 


March  21,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


217 


m ents  of  his  recently  performed  at  the  Royal  Institution, 
iu  w hich  the  drops  into  which  a large  vertical  jet  of 
water  burst,  at  some  distance  above  the  nozzle  of  the 
delivery  pipe,  were  proved  to  amalgamate  to  a certain 
extent  by  the  proximity  of  a neighbouring  electrified  glass  rod. 
The  great  water- jet  is  exceedingly  sensitive  to  electrical  action, 
indeed  more  so  than  a gold-leaf  electroscope  ; the  drops  showed 
a tendency  to  amalgamate  even  when  the  rod  was  excited  at  a 
distance  from  it  of  several  yards.  To  photograph  the  varied  di- 
mensions of  these  drops,  an  extraordinarily  short  exposure  was 
necessary,  and  this  was  effected  by  means  of  a single  spark  from 
a powerful  battery  of  Leyden  jars — the  means,  indeed,  by 
which  Fox  Talbot  half  a generation  ago,  in  the  same  theatre, 
photographed  printed  matter  upon  the  rim  of  a rapidly-revolving 
wheel. 

This  evening  the  annual  dinner  of  the  members  and  friends 
of  the  Club  will  take  place  at  the  Frascati  Restaurant,  Oxford 

Street,  London. 

PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  NATURAL  COLOURS. 

Last  Tuesday's  Stamlard  contains  the  following  telegram 
from  its  Vienna  correspondent : — 

Dr.  Eder,  Professor  of  the  Photographic  Institute  of 
Vienna,  has  announced  that  a photographer  named  Verescz, 
living  iu  Klausenburg,  Transylvania,  has  succeeded  in  solving 
the  problem  of  photographing  in  natural  colours.  Up  to  the 
present,  only  the  shades  between  deep  red  and  orange  can  be 
retained,  and  even  these,  if  exposed  to  the  light,  fade  in  from 
two  to  three  days  ; but  the  experiments  are  being  continued, 
with  good  prospects  of  complete  success. 

The  Stamlard  has  a leading  article  upon  this  telegram,  in 
which,  on  the  face  of  it,  there  may  be  nothing  which 
photographers  have  not  known  for  years  ; the  only  thing 
which  suggests  that  there  is  something  new  in  the  inven- 
tion but  missing  in  the  telegram  is,  that  Dr.  Eder  gives 
the  weight  of  his  name  to  something  which  has  been  done. 

Some  correspondence  about  this  telegram  has  since  been 
going  on  in  the  Standard, 'in  which  journal,  on  Wednesday, 
the  following  letter  appeared  over  the  initials  A.  J.  M.  : — 

I have  read  with  much  interest  your  leader  on  “ Photo- 
graphing Natural  Colours,”  as  well  as  the  telegram  from  your 
Vienna  correspondent,  and,  comparing  the  two,  I cannot  help 
feeling  that  you  think  rather  too  much  of  Herr  Vercscz’s  dis- 
covery, for  it  appears  that  all  he  has  done  as  yet  is  to  get  red 
aud  orange,  which  may  be  only  a lighter  or  brighter  shade  of 
red.  Now,  if  this  is  the  extent  of  his  “discovery,”  I can 
claim  to  have  done  as  much,  and  more,  in  time  so  remote  as  to 
make  me  feel  that  I must  have  passed  the  “bloom  of  youth.” 
In  the  early  days  of  photography,  I had  much  experience  in 
the  Daguerreotype  process,  and  have  often  produced  portraits  in 
which,  while  the  black  coat  has  been  black,  the  face  has  been 
a natural  flesh  tint,  and  the  background  or  sky  a clear  light  blue. 
This  has  occurred  mostly  when  the  light  was  particularly  actinic  ; 
it  was  the  result  of  no  discovery,  but  came  naturally,  and  if 
there  should  be  any  others  still  living  who  practised  that  ancient 
art,  they  can  doubtless  testify  to  a similar  experience.  It  is  my 
belief  that  the  only  way  in  which  photographing  natural  colours 
can  ever  become  an  accomplished  fact  is  by  the  discovery,  not 
of  a method  of  producing  mere  colour  by  light,  for  that  has 
been  done  again  and  again,  but  of  a sensitive  film  that  will  give 
the  complementary  colours,  so  that  the  red  would  give  in  the 
negative  an  equally  decided  or  undecided  green,  aud  the  blue  a 
corresponding  orange  ; then  in  printing  from  such  a negative 
the  colours  would  be  again  reversed,  and  so  faithfully  portray 
the  original  natural  colours.  But  of  such  a discovery  your 
correspondent  gives  not  a hint.  You  refer  in  your  article  to 
our  greatest  authority  iu  these  matters,  Captain  Abney,  and  one 
would  much  like  to  know  what  he  thinks  of  the  “ discovery.” 

Yesterday  the  following  letter  from  Capt.  Abney 
appeared  in  the  Standard:— 

In  your  Leader  of  yesterday,  and  iu  your  Correspondent’s 


letter  signed  “ A.  J.  M.”  of  to-day,  a reference  has  been 
made  to  myself  as  regards  Photography  in  Natural  Colours. 
May  I be  allowed  to  say  that  the  description  given  by  your 
Vienna  Correspondent  of  the  discovery  made  by  Herr  Verescz 
is  not  such  as  to  favour  the  idea  of  any  advance  in  such  a 
branch  of  photography  having  been  made  ? Photography  in 
natural  colours  has  been  an  accomplished  fact  for  years  past ; 
but  to  render  such  colour  permanent  and  unaffected  by  expo- 
sure to  white  light  is  a problem  which  is  almost,  if  not  quite, 
on  a par  with  that  of  perpetual  motion  from  a physical  point 
of  view.  I am  dealing  more  fully  with  the  question  to- 
morrow in  my  Presidential  Address  at  the  opening  of  the 
Camera  Club  Conference  at  the  Society  of  Arts,  and  will  not 
anticipate  my  remarks. 

Yesterday  also,  J.  T.  wrote  to  the  Standard  as  follows: — 

I have  shared  iu  “ J.  M.’s  ” experience.  A really  good 
Daguerreotype  always  seemed  to  bear  a suspicion  of  colour, 
and  once,  . by  purely  accidental  circumstances,  1 obtained 
veritable  colours.  I remember  it  was  an  Autumn  day,  one- 
half  the  overhead  sky  was  bright,  but  angry  clouds,  from 
which  came  frequent  electric  discharges,  obscured  the  rest. 
My  sitter  was  gaily  attired  in  a black  silk  gown,  checked  with 
green,  red,  and  a narrow  yellow  stripe.  All  being  ready,  the 
then  rather  impertinent  warning  was  given,  “ Now, 
madam,  sit  still  if  you  please,  and  don’t  wink.”  The  roar  of 
the  rain  was  at  hand,  the  cap  was  removed,  when  the  light- 
ning and  thunder  crash  came  simultaneously.  My  subject 
jumped  up  with  a squeal,  and  ran  away  to  the  house.  I had 
little  thought  of  anything  but  a failure,  the  exposure  having 
been  interrupted.  My  astonishment  was  great,  on  ‘ 1 bringing 
out  ” the  picture,  to  find  1 had  a beautifully  delicate,  naturally 
coloured  Daguerreotype.  I kept  my  treasure,  and  many  saw  it  ; 
but  after  some  months  the  colours  faded  away.  On  mentioning 
these  circumstances  toa  clergyman,  he  told  me  that,  whilst  receiv- 
ing lessons  iu  photography  at  the  Polytechnic  Institution,  Lon- 
don, during  a violent  thunderstorm,  a coloured  image  was 
imprinted,  not  upon  the  plate,  but  upon  the  lens  of  the  instru- 
ment. These,  and  other  facts  with  which  I am  acquainted, 
seem  to  point  to  electricity  as  a means  of  producing  naturally- 
coloured  pictures. 

Yesterday  we  received  a letter  on  various  subjects  from 
Dr.  Eder,  in  which  he  said  nothing  about  any  recent  great 
discovery  in  photography. 

A New  American  Photographic  Journal. — We  have 
received  No.  1 of  The  Photographic  Globe,  a monthly  journal, 
devoted  to  the  artistic  and  scientific  advancement  of  photo- 
graphy, edited  by  Maximilian  Tocli,  and  published  by  the 
Photo.  Globe  Publishing  Co.,  New  York.  The  editor  says  : — 
“In  adding  another  journal  to  the  sterling  issues  of  its  kind, 
we  beg  to  make  our  obeisance,  and  repeat  the  words  of  the 
old  proverb : ‘ There  can  never  be  a superfluity  of  good 

things.’  . . . It  will  be  our  aim  to  publish  succinctly  the 

discoveries  and  inventions  as  they  are  produced,  and  to  lay 
aside  those  intricate,  abstruse,  and  subtle  topics  which  to  the 
majority  of  the  profession  aie  unintelligible.”  The  frontis- 
piece is  a print  on  “Diamond  Extra  Brilliant  Peuse  Albumen 
Paper,”  from  a negative  by  E.  C'.  Dana. 

Exeter  Hall  Camera  Club. — A photographic  society  thus 
entitled  has  been  formed  iu  connection  with  the  Central 
Y.M.C.A.  The  Club  has  been  divided  into  two  sections,  to  one 
of  which  ladies  will  be  eligible  for  membership.  The  follow- 
ing advantages  aud  privileges,  amongst  others,  are  offered  to 
members: — Use  of  dark  rooms  to  be  constructed  in  basement 
at  Exeter  Hall  ; popular  and  instructive  lectures  on  photo- 
graphy ; out-door  excursions  for  the  study  of  landscape  photo- 
graphy ; facilities  for  exchanging  photographs,  and  purchasing 
apparatus  and  chemicals  at  cost  price  ; and  periodical  exhibi- 
tions by  members,  besides  ordinary  meetings  from  time  to  time. 
Those  desirous  of  becoming  members  should  communicate 
with  Mr.  G.  J.  Ingram,  Hon.  Sec.,  Exeter  Hall  Camera 
Club,  Exeter  Hall,  Strand,  from  whom  also  full  particulais 
may  be  obtained  on  enclosing  a stamped  directed  envelope. 


218 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  ROME. 

The  Association  of  Amateurs  of  Photography  in  Rome,  I 
located  in  Via  l’oli,  25,  publishes  every  two  months  a 
Bulletin  of  photographic  news  interesting  both  to  the 
amateur  and  the  professional.  The  Bulletin  was  born  on 
the  15th  May  of  last  year.  The  number  for  January  of 
the  present  year  contains  a photographic  illustration  by 
Carlo  Rocchi,  of  a highly  picturesque  character,  taken 
from  the  plantations  of  chestnut  trees  which  surround 
Rocca  di  Papa — of  this  the  heliotype  has  been  executed  by 
Martelli.  The  number  also  gives  a report  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  genera!  assembly  held  on  2Gth  January  in  the 
present  year,  an  article  on  orthochromatic  plates  by 
E.  anti  F.  Boissonas,  some  photographic  c nuserie  or  chit- 
chat by  Giovanni  Gorgiolli,  together  with  a bibliography 
and  occasional  notes  of  a varied  character. 

The  assembly  held  on  2Gth  January  was  presided  over 
by  Augusto  Ducros,  the  vice-president  of  the  Association. 
Carlo  Rocchi  read  a paper  in  which,  after  mentioning  the 
friendly  relations  which  subsisted  between  the  Society  at 
Rome  and  the  Societies  of  Florence,  Naples,  and  Milan,  he 
stated  that  strangers  interested  in  photography  passing 
through  Rome  might  avail  themselves  of  the  hospitality  of 
the  society  of  which  he  was  a member,  and  obtain  photo- 
graphic assistance  and  appliances  of  which,  as  travellers, 
they  might  be  destitute.  The  following  were  then 
formally  elected  members  of  the  council  of  administra- 
tion of  the  Association: — Don  Antonio  Ruffo,  Augusto 
Ducros,  Ing.  Giovanni  Gargiolli,  Carlo  Rocchi,  Don 
Prospero  Colonna,  Cav.  Enrico  Valenziani,  Edoardo 
Kowalsky,  Conte  Guiseppe  Primoli,  Ilruto  Marini. 

The  article  which  its  author,  with  sufficient  modesty,  calls 
Photographic  Chit-chat,  is  the  continuation  of  another 
which  treated  of  the  relations  of  photography  to  painting  and 
sculpture.  That  architecture  also  may  be  profited  by  the 
camera  is,  says  the  author,  sufficiently  clear.  The  repro- 
duction of  monuments,  with  their  details  of  geometric 
design  and  accurate  perspective,  may  be  of  the  greatest 
service  to  the  architect ; but  careless  pictures,  such  as  those 
too  often  seen  in  the  shop  windows,  are  worse  than  useless. 
Before  all  things,  it  is  necessary  that  the  photographic 
artist  should  be  an  adept.  “ How  often,”  says  Gargiolli, 
“is  an  eyesore  found  in  a falling  monument,  in  hanging 
columns,  in  a disfigured  capital,  in  a door  or  window  larger 
below  than  above,  not  to  mention  false  and  badly  arranged 
effects  of  light  and  shadow,  defects  not  indeed  of  photo- 
graphy, but  of  the  photographer.” 

To  enumerate  all  the  useful  applications  of  the  photo- 
graphic art  to  the  reproduction  of  machines  and  instruments 
of  every  kind,  and  the  many  advantages  it  might  lead  to  in 
the  industrial  arts — as,  for  instance,  in  the  matter  of 
furniture  and  decoration — would,  says  the  author  of  the 
article,  be  too  long  a matter  for  the  present  Bulletin.  He 
particularises,  however,  the  great  use  of  photography  in 
obtaining  enlargements  of  pictures  of  microscopic  prepara- 
tions. The  secrets  of  the  world  of  the  infinitely  little  are 
hereby  laid  bare  to  the  interested  spectator.  Medicine, 
surgery,  anatomy,  botany,  mineralogy,  and  all  the  natural 
sciences  have  in  the  application  of  photography  their 
firmest  and  most  useful  support.  Suppose,  says  Gargiolli, 
we  have  a case  of  building  ; suppose  the  engineer  lias  to 
furnish  the  directorate  with  a relation  of  his  monthly 
progress.  What  could  do  this  better  than  a photograph 
of  the  edifice  at  the  end  of  every  month?  This  would 
show  at  a glance  its  exact  state  and  advancement,  and 


[March  2l,  1890. 

| finally,  when  all  these  pictures  were  collected  together  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  work,  they  would  give  an  exact 
! chronological  story  of  the  whole  construction. 

In  the  army,  photography  would  be  of  the  greatest  ser- 
vice if  the  principal  officers  were  previously  instructed  in 
a special  photographic  school.  It  would  afford  an  exact 
and  complete  view  of  forts,  bridges,  trenches,  and  other 
military  appliances,  of  the  position  of  the  troops,  and  of 
the  different  localities,  for  the  Ministry  to  consider  at 
home.  1 am  of  opinion,  says  the  author,  “ that  the 
army  would  derive  no  small  advantages  from  a rational 
! exercise  of  photography,  a fact  which  is  demonstrated  by 
the  dispensations  made  in  this  regard  already  by  the  military 
councils  of  many  nations.  What  has  been  said  of  the  army 
applies  equally  well , in  the  author's  opinion,  to  the  navy. 
Buthe  says,  photography  is  with  us  in  no  great  credit; 
it  is  considered  generally  a mere  trade  if  exercised  by  the 
professional,  or  if  by  an  amateur  a mere  diversion  for  idle 
people.  “This,”  says  he,  “is  false,  aye,  most  false.” 
And,  lie  adds,  the  absolute  negligence  of  our  Govern- 
ment in  this  respect  is  deeply  to  be  deplored.  In  Vienna, 
Berlin,  and  other  great  towns,  institutions  for  teaching 
photography  are  provided  by  their  governments,  universi- 
ties, so  to  speak,  furnished  with  cabinets,  laboratories,  and 
everything  which  is  theoretically  or  practically  necessary 
to  the  development  of  the  art,  while  we  Romans  have 
nothing.  Such  instruction  cannot,  in  the  opinion  of  Gar- 
giolli, be  given  adequately  by  the  professors  of  physics  in 
the  lyceums  and  universities.  Their  pupils  could  obtain 
little  more  than  a superficial  smattering,  a collection  of 
wandering,  disconnected  ideas  from  the  few  lectures  on 
photography  that  any  professors  would  be  able,  having 
regard  to  their  other  duties,  to  deliver.  But  if  the  govern- 
ment were  to  establish  a school  of  photography  the  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  Ministry — as  those  connected  with  war, 
the  navy,  public  works,  agriculture  and  commerce — would 
all  be  interested  in  its  maintenance.  All  these  might  avail 
themselves  of  its  services.  Even  the  police  might  gain 
something  by  the  detection,  through  its  means,  of  a 
criminal,  a “ person  wanted.” 

“Then  could  the  Government,”  says  Gargiolli,  “have  such 
photographs  as  it  desires  properly  executed,  and  not  be 
obliged  to  content  itself  with  such  daubs  and  enormities 
as  are  at  present  too  often  the  result  of  the  labours  of  the 
first  photographer  who  happens  to  be  at  hand.  The 
Ministry  of  Public  Instruction  would  find  their  advantage 
therein  with  the  production  of  ably  executed  works,  which 
might  serve  for  schools  of  industrial  art  and  academies  of 
design.” 

The  author  concludes  this  interesting  article  with  two 
scenes  from  his  own  experience.  lie  wanted  to  obtain, 
on  one  occasion,  permission  from  the  Ministry  of  Public 
Instruction  to  execute  photographs  of  certain  monuments 
for  his  own  private  use  and  gratification,  lie  obtained, 
after  some  little  delay,  a reply  that  it  was  impossible  to 
give  him  a general  licence,  but  that  lie  would  be  allowed 
to  copy  any  specified  objects  if  he  would  first  give  notice 
of  such  objects  to  the  Ministry,  and  afterwards  send  them 
copies  of  the  photographs  taken.  “ I had,”  says  Gargiolli, 
“ no  objection  to  parting  with  the  photographs,  but  was  not 
altogether  content  with  the  other  condition,  not  being  a 
photographer  by  profession,  but  a mere  amateur  who 
desired  the  beautiful  without  any  prospect  of  profit."  On 
another  occasion,  seeking  a photograph  of  some  object  of 
public  art  which  pleased  him,  several  were  brought  to  him 
by  the  seller,  but  all  so  vilely  done,  either  from  a bad 


March  21,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


219 


position  or  a bad  light,  or  a deflection  of  the  vertical  lines, 
that  he  proposed  to  take  a picture  for  himself ; but  as  this 
was  strictly  forbidden,  he  departed,  shaking  the  dust  off 
his  feet  against  all  monopolies  of  professionals. 

C II ROMO-P 1IOTOG  It  AP 1 1 Y 15V  IILOCK 

PRINTING. 

Referring  again  to  the  illustrations  in  Dr.  Eder's  annual, 
we  And — in  addition  to  the  zincographic  print  from 
18  plates,  which  we  described  last  week — two  further 
examples  of  printing  in  several  colours  on  the  same  paper. 
In  both  of  these  cases  there  is  the  important  fact  that 
block  printing  in  high  relief  is  the  process  employed,  and 
some  interesting  details  concerning  each  method  are  to  be 
found  i i the  work  in  which  they  are  contained. 

The  first  example  to  be  noted  is  a copy  of  a subject  printed 
in  red — or  rather  a sort  of  terra-cotta  colour — and  black. 
It  represents  a figure  in  arms  on  horseback,  and  is  a very 
effective  production.  There  are  three  impressions — one  of 
the  subject  in  black  outline;  one  of  the  general  terra-cotta 
tone,  which  in  the  finished  print  covers  all  but  the  high 
lights ; and  one  of  the  two  combined.  The  method  by 
which  the  separate  negatives  are  obtained  from  the  parti- 
coloured original  is  ingenious  though  simple,  and  is 
described  by  Professor  lloese,  of  the  Imperial  Printing 
Establishment  in  Berlin,  from  whose  account  we  extract 
the  following  details. 

For  coloured  reproductions,  as  many  negatives  are 
taken  as  there  are  colours  to  be  used.  For  the  purpose  of 
producing  the  particular  illustration  under  discussion,  two 
negatives  are  made.  The  one  negative — that  for  repro- 
ducing the  black  outlines — receives  a very  long  exposure, 
and  is  best  effected  with  an  orthochromatic  plate.  By 
this  means  the  red  terra-cotta  colour  produces  so  much 
effect  on  the  negative  that  it  classes  with  the  white,  and 
leaves  the  black  lines  remaining  wherewith  to  produce  the 
zinc  plate  that  is  to  print  black.  For  the  “tone  plate,’’ 
on  the  other  hand,  such  a short  exposure  is  given  that 
only  the  white  lights  show  distinctly,  and  the  red  is  classed 
with  the  black. 

In  this  way  are  made  facsimile  reproductions  cither  of 
the  original  size,  or  on  a smaller  scale,  from  coloured 
wood  engravings.  In  the  Imperial  Printing  Office  in  Berlin 
there  is  a large  collection  of  reproductions  from  coloured 
works,  as  well  as  black  and  whites,  of  the  old  masters  in 
wood  engraving: — Jan  Livens,  Hans  Balding  Grien,  II. 
Burgkmaier,  Albert  Durer,  Job.  Vechtliu,  Lucas  Cranach, 
Andrea  Andreani,  Tobias  Stimmer,  Urse  Graf,  II.  S. 
Beham,  Schauenfeleiu,  Altdiirfer,  &c. 

The  other  example  of  chromo-zincotype  contained 
in  the  book  is  a print  in  four  colours,  reproduced  from 
a sketch  in  oil  colour  by  Kotschenreiter.  The  print  is  by 
Meisenbach  and  Schmaedel,  of  Munich,  who  use  the  word 
“autotype  ” in  connection  with  the  ziuc-ctching  processes 
that  they  employ.  The  picture  represents  a weather- 
beaten head,  and  is  very  effective  both  in  drawing  and 
suggestive  colouring. 

On  the  subject  of  autotype  colour  printing — by  which, 
as  above  mentioned,  the  idea  associated  in  the  minds  of 
English  readers  with  the  word  autotype  must  not  be  con- 
nected— we  have  an  article  in  Dr.  Eder’s  book  by  G.  Fritz, 
technical  Inspector  of  the  State  Printing  Office  in  Vienna. 
Much  more  highly  than  black  and  white  reproduction,  says 
lie,  must  be  esteemed  prints  in  chromo-autotype,  for  by  its 
application  it  is  possible  to  secure  a truer  representation 
of  the  originals,  both  in  drawing  and  correct  rendering  of 


colour,  than  by  any  other  method  hitherto  known.  Water 
colour  drawings,  however,  lend  themselves  better  to  repro- 
ductions, by  the  block  photo  processes,  than  do  oil  paint- 
ings. The  latter  often  require  a large  number  of  colour 
plates,  and  to  represent  their  solid  effect  many  tones  must 
be  overlaid  on  the  same  place,  whilst  water  colour  paint- 
ings and  other  pictures  that  are  painted  in  a similar  style, 
are,  on  account  of  the  generally  transparent  character  of 
the  tones,  much  better  within  the  reach  of  the  typographic 
printer’s  art.  Each  method  of  printing  has  its  own  cha- 
racteristic, and  typographic  or  block  printing  is  less  suited 
than  the  copper  etching,  lithographic,  or  collotype  methods 
for  representing  the  deep,  powerful,  solid  effects  commonly 
found  in  oil  paintings. 

-*■ 

ANOTHER  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SURVEY. 

Tiie  Manchester  Amateur  Photographic  Society  has  in- 
augurated a photographic  survey  of  Manchester  and 
Salford,  and  its  Secretary  has  sent  the  following  letter 
to  each  of  the  members  of  the  Society  : — 

“Dear  Silt, — I beg  to  inform  you  that  the  Committee  are 
now  making  arrangements  for  carrying  out  this  scheme. 
April  and  May  being  considered  the  best  months  for 
taking  street  scenes  and  some  of  the  objects  suitable  for 
the  survey,  it  is  imperative  that  operations  should  begin 
at  once.  At  the  present  stage  I cannot  give  you  details 
of  our  plans,  as  these  will  depend  upon  the  number  of 
volunteers  we  get  to  assist  us.  It  is  intended  to  photo- 
graph street  scenes,  prominent  buildings,  market  places, 
railway  stations,  churches,  interiors  and  exteriors,  old  bits 
of  architecture,  interesting  nooks  and  corners,  especially 
those  doomed  to  early  demolition,  parks,  historical 
residences,  including  those  in  the  surrounding  neigh- 
bourhood of  Manchester  and  Salford,  and  having  connect- 
ing associations ; also  instantaneous  views,  such  as  Fairs 
and  * High  Change;'  in  short,  anything  that  will  record 
the  city  and  borough  and  the  habits  of  the  people,  as  they 
are  to-day. 

“ I need  not  point  out  to  you  that  this  is  a vast  under- 
taking, and  one  that  will  require  our  full  strength.  But 
we  arc  a large  Society,  and  if  every  member  will  take  his 
share  of  the  work,  the  divisions  will  be  very  small.  If, 
however,  it  be  left  to  a few  to  perform,  the  survey  will  be 
a burden.  I hope  you  will  do  your  best  to  obviate  this 
by  helping  us. 

“ To  take  an  ordnance  map  and  cut  it  up  into  slips, 
giving  a piece  to  each  member  to  mark  his  circuit,  would 
be  rather  arbitrary  in  a voluntary  work  of  this  kind.  It 
is  considered  better  to  leave  it  to  the  members  to  photo- 
graph whatever  and  wherever  they  choose,  and  to  send 
in  the  results  for  selection  by  the  Committee.  But  apart 
from  this,  the  Committee  will  collect  the  names  of  all  the 
places  and  objects  to  be  taken,  and  make  an  allotment  to 
each  member,  for  which  he  will  be  held  responsible  to 
photograph  at  his  earliest  convenience. 

“In  the  binding  of  the  survey,  the  artist’s  name  will  be 
written  under  the  print,  and  at  the  completion  the 
negatives  will  be  returned  to  their  respective  owners.  I 
shall  be  glad  to  communicate  with  any  member  respecting 
the  scheme,  and  hope  to  give  fuller  information  in  the 
next  number  of  the  Recurd. 

“Will  you  kindly  give  your  best  consideration  to  the 
questions  at  foot,  and  let  me  liave  your  replies  not  later 
than  Monday’s  post,  and  oblige, 

“John  Wilcock,  Hon.  Secretary, 
“odd,  Moss  Lane  East,  Manchester,  March  6tA.’’ 


220 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  21,  1890. 


THE  SIZES  OF  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PLATES* 

BY  J.  CRAIG  ANNAN. 

The  question  whether  the  sizes  of  plates  and  papers  at 
present  adopted  by  British  manufacturers  are  the  most 
economical  that  could  be  devised,  is  a subject  worthy  of 
careful  consideration. 

How  the  present  sizes  came  to  be  fixed  I do  not  precisely 
know.  The  terms  whole-plate,  half-plate,  and  quarter- 
plate  have  the  ring  of  a convention  about  them,  and  may 
have  been  fixed  by  some  photographic  parliament  in  days 
long  gone  by.  Plates  81X(H  were  the  largest  size  prepared 
for  Daguerreotypes,  and  probably  were  then  known  as  full 
plates,  and  this  may  be  the  origin  of  the  term.  Other  sizes 
appear  to  have  been  designed  by  the  makers  of  cameras  in 
a haphazard  way,  as  their  fancy  or  expectancy  of  custom 
led  them.  What  I wish  to  discuss  to-night  is,  whether 
the  proportions  of  length  and  breadth  in  the  standard  sizes 
of  British  plates  are  the  most  economical  that  could  be 
devised?  I think  most  certainly  they  are  not,  and  I would 
like  very  much  to  see  this  subject  taken  up  by  the  Inter- 
national Congress  which  is  to  meet  this  year  in  Brussels ; 
for  the  double  reason  that  an  international  series  of  sizes 
might  be  fixed,  and  that  they  should  be  arranged  on  some 
reasonable  basis. 

In  a communication  to  this  Society  about  five  or  six 
years  ago,  the  late  Mr.  Norman  Macbeth,  R.S.A.,  laid 
down  a rule  to  find  the  best  proportions  of  length  and 
breadth  for  a picture,  the  resulting  proportions  being 
V2X1. 

Now,  while  maintaining  that  the  ultimate  proportions  of 
a print  must  depend  entirely  on  the  composition  of  the 
picture,  I have  become  firmly  convinced  that  this  shape  is 
the  most  useful  and  economical  that  could  be  found  for 
general  work. 

Compare  this  size  with  those  in  use. 

a/2x  1 =1-41X1  8.|X6£  = l-31Xl 

15*12  = 1-25X1  71X5=1-5X1 

12X10=12  XI  6^X43=1  37X1 

10X8  =125X1  61X41  = 1-53X1 

A glance  at  the  list  shows  that  nearly  all  the  sizes  are 
less  oblong  than  the  Macbeth  proportions,  the  modified 
half-plate  6J-X4J  beingnearer  it  than  any  other.  Consider 
for  a moment,  and  I think  you  will  find  that  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten  in  trimming  a print  from  a 15X12,  12X10,  or 
even  whole-plate  negative,  you  have  to  cut  more  off  the 
breadth  than  the  length  to  make  the  shape  look  pleasant, 
and  that  a half-plate  oftcner  than  any  other  size  is  a suitable 
shape  as  it  stands. 

Compare  this  size  also  with  the  artists’  canvasses  which 
have  the  largest  sale. 

/2xl  =1-41X1  10X7  =1-43X1 

18X12=1-5  XI 
14x10=1-4  XI 
12x8  =1-5  xl 

These  two  last  sizes  are  for  portraits,  head  and  shoulders, 
and  are  of  course  squarer  than  an  average  picture  would 
be. 

And  now  I wish  to  point  out  the  most  interesting  and 
useful  feature  of  this  shape,  which  is  that,  when  it  is 
doubled,  the  relative  proportions  are  precisely  maintained. 
1 : ^2::  ^2 : 2. 


20X16=1-25X1 
18x14  = 1-28x1 


paper  is  not  intended  to  go  fully  into  the  subject,  but  is 
written  more  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a discussion  on 
what  I consider  a most  important  matter,  I will  conclude 
by  giving  a list  of  sizes  on  the  lines  which  I woidd  like  to 
see  carried  out.  Of  course  if  an  international  series  were 
fixed,  they  would  be  worked  out  in  the  metric  system. 

4^X3  12X  8i 

6 X4£  17X12 

8JX6  24X17 

As  the  sizes  become  large,  the  difference  between  them 
is  too  great,  and  intermediate  sizes  would  be  required. 

7X  5 20X14 

10X  7 28X20 

14x10 

PEOPLE  WITH  DOUBLE  FACES. 

Mi:.  Napoleon  S a pony's  observations  on  the  human 
countenance,  to  a New  York  World  reporter,  run  thus : — 

“Perhaps  you  are  not  aware  of  the  fact,  but,  unless 
you  are  entirely  different  from  the  rest  of  humanity,  one 
side  of  your  face  is  unlike  the  other.  Doubtless  nine 
persons  out  of  ten  would  not  notice  the  difference,  but  it 
is  there,  and  if  you  make  a careful  study  of  the  profiles  of 
your  friends’  faces  you  will  find  it  in  a more  or  less  marked 
degree  in  every  instance. 

“ This  peculiarity  of  nature  was  called  to  my  attention 
when  I entered  the  practice  of  photography.  Previous 
to  this  time  I had  been  an  artist  and  lithographer,  and 
naturally  had  been  led  to  study  the  human  figure  with 
more  or  less  care.  I had  discovered  this  incongruity  of 
nature,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  but  it  was  not  until  I began 
posing  models  before  the  camera,  and  had  every  line  of 
the  face  emphasized,  that  this  idiosyncrasy  became  more 
apparent  to  me,  and  I set  to  work  to  discover  the  cause  ; 
for,  of  course,  there  is  a cause  for  everything,  the  human 
face  included. 

“My  first  discovery  was  that  the  difference  in  outline 
lay  almost  invariably  on  the  two  opposite  sides  of  the 
nose.  The  right  side,  for  instance,  might  be  pure  aqui- 
line, and  the  left  show  a decided  inward  curving  line. 
This  difference  I found  in  many  instances  had  been  caused 
by  accidents,  such  as  had  been  received  in  wrestling,  fall- 
ing, being  struck  by  a ball,  or  other  misfortunes  which 
youth  is  heir  to.  There  is  an  indentation  on  one  side  of 
my  own  nose,  caused  by  a blow  from  a ball,  and  it  renders 
the  expression  of  one  side  of  my  face  almost  entirely 
different  from  the  other. 

“ But  accident  is  not  the  principal  cause  of  these  facial 
differences  in  humanity.  Not  by  a great  deal.  It  traces 
way  back  to  the  cradle.  Mothers  find  that  their  infants 
will  remain  quieter  when  they  are  sucking  their  thumbs, 
and  for  peace  in  the  household  they  very  often  lay  the 
foundation  for  what  becomes  a deformity  in  after  life. 

“ Let  me  explain  : Baby  lies  in  her  cradle  as  still  as  a 
mouse.  Her  chubby  little  thumb  is  held  between  her 
rosy  lips,  and  the  forefinger  is  pressing  the  cartilages  of 
the  nose  on  one  side.  It  is  that  little  forefinger  that  is 
doing  all  the  mischief,  for  it  is  slowly,  but  surely,  pressing 
the  cartilage  out  of  shape.  If  drops  of  water  wear  away 
a stone,  surely  constant  pressure  will  indent  a human 
face.” 


You  will  at  once  see  the  manifold  advantages  of  a series 
of  plates  based  on  a principle  such  as  this.  And  as  this 

* A communication  to  the  Glasgow  Photographic  Association. 


Photographic  Club. — March  ‘26th,  monthly  lantern  night  j 
April  2nd,  “Standard  Solution  and  the  Expression  of  Photo- 
graphic Formulse.” 


March  21,  1890.] 


HOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


221 


A MODIFIED  COLLODION  E 

BY  A. 

That  collodion  methods  arc  bntiittlr  used  in  the  produc- 
tion of  lantern  slides  by  amateurs  goes  without  saying. 
■■  Takes  too  much  time — costs  too  much."  < >ne  might 
say  that  emulsion  making  was  the  thief  of  time,  and 
chemicals.  It  is  not  only  this ; but  time  is  the  thief  of 
emulsion,  especially  in  the  amateur’s  hands,  as  lie  can  only 
use  a small  portion  at  a time,  and  the  emulsion  becomes 
of  the  consistency  of  water  with  age — entirely  useless. 
To  gain  time  and  prevent  collodion  emulsion  from  sinking 
into  the  silver  waste,  or  oblivion,  and  to  show  its  cheap- 
ness, is  the  purport  of  this  article. 

Before  acquainting  the  reader  with  the  rapid  ten-minute 
method,  possibly  a description  of  the  actual  practice  here- 
tofore indulged  in.  and  its  subsequent  cutting  down  in 
time,  and  the  preserving  of  one's  good  nature  would  be  of 
interest. 

In  the  first  place,  to  make  an  emulsion  by  collodion 
methods,  it  is  essential  we  have  some  broino-iodised  collo- 
dion. The  formula  in  use  is  as  follows  : — 

Collodion. 

...  ...  ...  ...  li  ounces 


Alcohol  ...  ...  ...  ••• 

Ether  ...  •••  •••  >> 

Gun-cotton 40  grains 

Iodide  of  ammonia  ...  ...  ...  15  ,, 

Bromide  of  cadmium  54  ,, 

First  take  the  alcohol  and  dissolve  the  iodide  in  it.  Take 
next  your  bromide  and  grind  it  in  a mortar,  adding  a few 
drops  of  distilled  water.  Now  pour  the  combined  alcohol 
and  iodide  gradually  into  it,  grinding  constantly  until 
nearly  all  the  bromide  is  taken  up.  A slight  precipitation 
occurs,  but  if  well  ground  will  be  very  small,  and  of  no 
serious  consequence.  Gradually  add  the  ether  to  the 
alcohol,  iodide,  and  bromide,  shaking  it  with  a kind  of 
circular  motion.  Add  the  gun-cotton  ; filter  it  through  a 
tuft  of  cotton  saturat'd  with  alcohol,  and  put  away  to 
ripen  for  a week.  If  white  iodide  is  used,  and  the  col- 
lodion does  not  become  a deep  cherry  colour,  by  adding 
two  or  three  drops  oc  iolinc  the  collodion  will  be  in 
prime  condition  for  sensitising. 

Sensitising. — Dissolve  in  a test  tube  by  gentle  heat  To 
grains  of  nitrate  of  silver  in  one  dram  of  distilled  water, 
adding  4 drams  of  alcohol,  which  has  previously  been 
heated  in  another  test  tube.  Now  go  into  your  dark- 
room, and  by  orange  light  gradually  add  the  alcoholic 
solution  of  silver,  giving  it  a vigorous  shaking  after  each 
addition,  finally  rinsing  the  test  tube  with  2 drams  of 
alcohol  and  adding  it  to  the  emulsion.  After  shaking  well, 
add  to  the  finished  emulsion  three  drops  of  nitric  acid. 
Care  must  be  observed  to  keep  silver  solution  heated,  else 
precipitation  will  be  the  result,  and  though  it  may  not 
spoil  the  emulsion,  the  bromide  of  silver  formed  will  be  in 
a very  coarse  state,  making  it  useless  for  lantern  positives. 

It  will  be  observed  from  the  foregoing  that  to  make  an 
emulsion  we  merely  make  bromo-iodised  collodion  and 
sensitise  it.  In  other  words,  we  take  the  collodion  of  the 
old  wet  process  and  fire  the  silver  bath  into  it.  \\  ell- 
ripened  bromo-iodised  collodion  can  be  obtained  in  eight- 
ounce  bottles  from  any  of  the  leading  photographic  stock- 
houses.  at  a less  cost  to  the  purchaser  than  the  amount  of 
bromides,  iodides,  ether,  and  alcohol,  necessary  to  the 
making  of  the  same  amount  of  collodion.  Provided  with 
an  eight-ounce  bottle  as  above,  take  four  ounces  of  its 
contents  and  follow  the  instructions  given  in  this  article 


about  sensitising,  and  the  result  is  a collodion  emul- 
sion which  should  not  have  taken  more  than  ten  minutes  to 
[complete.  Emulsion  so  made  does  not  keep  for  any 
length  of  time  : nor  does  the  amateur  so  wish  it,  as  he  is 
compelled  to  work  spasmodically. 

Make  the  emulsion  the  evening  before  the  day  you  intend 
using  it.  Secure  a slab  of  plate  glass  ; level  it.  covei'ing 
its  surface  with  well  cleaned  alhumenized  glass.  by  4. 
Measure  out  1 i drams  of  emulsion  ; pour  in  the  centre  of 
each  plate.  When  the  surface  becomes  tacky,  wash  in 
two  or  three  changes  of  distilled  water  ; allow  the  plates 
to  soak  for  two  minutes  in  a tincture  of  quinine  of  the 
following  strength  : — 

Water  5 ounces 

Tincture  quinine  ...  ...  ...  ...  2 drams 

Wash  again  in  distilled  water,  and  dry  bv  gentle  heat. 
When  dry  the  plates  are  ready  for  exposure.  The 
albumen  solution  is  made  by  dissolving  the  white  of  an 
egg  in  three  pints  of  water,  and  filtering  through  cotton 
saturated  with  alcohol.  Tt  is  best  to  filter  the  emulsion  at 
the  time  of  coating  the  plates.  If  four  ounces  of  collo- 
dion make  more  emulsion  than  can  conveniently  be 
coated  for  use  the  following  day,  cut  down  the  formula, 
preserving  the  proportions,  thereby  saving  loss  of  emulsion 
and  time  in  coating  plates. 

I laving  exposed  the  plate,  we  now  take  up  its  develop- 
ment. The  exposure  should  be  about  four  times  as  long 
as  that  given  a very  slow  gelatine  plate*.  One  point  to  be 
remembered  in  the  development  of  collodion  emulsion  is 
that  it  cannot  stand  a very  great  amount  of  alkali.  The 
slides  shown  at  the  Society  of  Amateur  Photographers 
were  developed  with  eikonogen  in  the  following  pro- 
portions : — 

Eikonogen...  ...  ...  •••  2 grains 

Water  1 ounce 

The  alkali  was  one  drop  of  a saturated  solution  of  carbonate 
of  soda.  Previously  to  applying  the  developer,  the  plate 
was  soaked  in  a solution  of  alcohol  two  parts,  water  one 
part.  After  fixing  and  washing,  the  plate  is  intensified 
with  pyro  and  silver,  as  used  in  wet  process,  with  proportions 
as  follows : — 

A.  — Pyro  ...  ...  •••  •••  •••  24 

Citric  acid  ...  •••  •••  ...  21 

Acetic  acid,  X<>.  8 ...  ...  •••  4 

B.  — Nitrate  of  silver  ...  ...  ...  40 

Citric  acid  ...  •••  •••  ...  10  ,, 

Water  8 ounces 

If  old  ferrous  oxalate  developer  is  used,  no  intensifica- 
tion is  necessary : but  eikonogen  tones  are  unsurpassed, 
even  by  the  carbon  process. — ■American  Amateur  Photo- 
grapher. 


grains 

ounce 

grains 


North  Middlesex  Photographic  Club. — On  Monday  next, 
March  24tli,  Mr.  Smith  will  give  a lecture  on  “ Micro- Photo- 
graphy,” and  illustrate  it  by  means  of  the  optical  lantern. 
Visitors  invited  to  attend. 

Brighton  Photographic  Society’s  Syllabus. — Address  by 
the  President,  March  25.  Excursions — Shoreham,  April  26  ; 
Newick,  May  26  ; Steyning,  June  28  ; Isfield,  July  26  ; Hay- 
ward’s Heath  for  Balcombe,  August  30  ; Lancing  for  Sompting 
and  Broadwater,  September  13.  Lantern  nights — April  8, 
November  11,  December  9.  Papers — Mr.  Jago,  April  22; 

Mr.  A.  H.  ('order,  “ Platinotype,”  May  13;  Mr.  Hethton 
Lewis,  June  10  ; Mr.  E.  J.  Bedford,  “Composition,  Light  and 
Shade,”  July  8 ; Rev.  H.  G.  Day,  “ Photography  considered 
iu  its  Relation  to  Art,”  August  12;  Mr.  A.  Welding,  “On 
Exposures,”  September  9 ; Mr.  F.  Tate,  October  14  ; Mr.  D. 
E.  Causli,  “Failures,”  October  28.  Social  evening,  Nov.  25. 


222 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  21,  1890. 


In  France  the  study  of  composite  photography  has 
been  taken  up  with  great  enthusiasm,  the  specimens 
exhibited  in  the  International  Exhibition  giving  some 
remarkable  results,  as  we  mentioned  some  time  ago. 
A veiv  thoughtful  article  appeared  in  La  Nature 
recently,  and  is  well  worth  perusing  by  those 
interested  in  the  subject.  The  method  pursued  in 
France  differs  considerably  from  that  first  put  forward 
by  Mr.  Francis  Galton.  Mr.  Galton  produced  his  com- 
posites in  the  printing-frame;  the  French  workers 
produce  theirs  in  the  camera  by  a succession  of  ex- 
posures. The  writer’s  theory  is  this : — The  variations  in 
the  features  of  each  photograph  being  given  an  in- 
sufficient exposure,  do  not  print ; the  features  which 
are  common  to  all  the  photographs  receive  the  proper 
exposure  because  they  occur  again  and  again.  Hence 
these  salient  lines  alone  printing,  we  get  the  type  of 
the  particular  collection  of  individuals.  An  objection 
has  been  raised  to  this  method  on  the  ground  that  the 
plate  becomes  more  sensitive  the  more  often  it  is  struck 
by  feeble  light ; consequently  those  portraits  last 
exposed  will  have  a predominant  influence  in  the  final 
res  ult. 


This  objection,  the  author  shows,  by  a series  of 
experiments  difficult  to  explain  without  the  diagrams 
and  pictures  which  accompany  the  article,  has  no  force 
if  the  operations  be  conducted  properly.  The  conclu- 
sion the  writer  comes  to  is  that  the  larger  the  number 
of  subjects  in  each  composite,  the  greater  the  proba- 
bility of  obtaining  a real  type.  When  a small  number — 
say  three — is  taken,  there  is  a risk  of  generalising  too 
much,  and  as  the  exposure  in  each  case  is  but  a third 
of  the  normal  exposure,  it  is  sufficiently  long  to  give 
details  which  are  not  common  to  these  faces,  and  the 
consequence  is  we  get  not  a combined  result,  but  a 
super-imposing  of  the  three.  A very  brief  exposure 
is  insisted  upon  as  indispensable  to  obtaining  a trust- 
worthy result. 


A new  work  on  London  is  about  to  be  brought  out 
by  the  Religious  Tract  Society,  and  the  editor  has 
made  an  application  for  permission  to  inspect  and  photo- 
graph certain  of  the  charters  and  documents  in  the 
Guildhall  Library.  The  application  was  granted  by 
the  Court  of  Common  Council  at  its  meeting  last 
week,  and  under  the  directions  of  the  town  clerk  such 
charters  and  records  as  may  be  desirable  will  be  photo- 
graphed. This  application  suggests  the  propriety  at 
some  time  of  setting  up  a proper  studio  at  the  Guild- 
hall Library,  and  of  appointing  an  efficient  photo- 
grapher. At  the  present  moment  we  know  of  more 
than  one  illustrated  paper  which  would  be  glad  to 
have  photographs  of  old  engravings  and  wood-cuts 
for  reproduction,  were  it  not  for  the  trouble  and 
expense  of  employing  a photographer.  If  an  ordinary 


business  charge  were  made  for  such  copies  as  might  be 
required,  the  expenses  of  a Corporation  photographer 
would  soon  be  paid.  There  are  many  other  useful 
things  which  such  an  official  could  perform,  and  the 
City  might  do  worse  with  its  superfluous  cash  than 
devote  a portion  to  such  a purpose. 


The  question  is  sometimes  asked,  why  do  some  photo- 
graphers so  excessively  retouch  the  negative  as  to  in 
many  cases  effectually  destroy  the  likeness?  An 
excellent  answer  is  to  be  found  in  a little  story  which 
has  found  its  way  here  from  America.  A lady  of  an 
uncertain  age,  and  still  more  uncertain  looks,  inter- 
views a photographer’s  youthful  assistant  on  the  subject 
of  being  photographed,  upon  which  there  is  the  usual 
stipulation  made  that  payment  must  be  in  advance. 
Lady:  “ But  suppose  I pay  for  them  and  don’t  like 
them,  what  am  I to  do?”  “Don’t  know,  ma’am  ; Mr. 
Blank  is  out  just  now,  but  he’ll  be  in  soon,  and  will 
tell  you.”  “That  seems  to  me  a very  queer  rule; 
you  ought  at  least  to  guarantee  satisfaction.”  “Yes, 
but  you  see,  ma’am,  there  ain’t  no  way  to  keep  pictures 
from  lookin’  like  the  people.”  Truthful  lad!  But 
this  was  in  the  old  days.  It  is  now  quite  possible  to 
keep  the  pictures  from  looking  like  the  sitters.  We 
retouch. 


The  Oberammcrgau  Passion  Play  is  enacted  the  first 
year  of  every  decade,  and  thousands  will  flock  to  the 
Bavarian  Hochland  in  May,  on  the  26th  of  which 
month  the  performance — we  presume  we  must  call  it 
—takes  place.  Whatever  may  be  the  feelings  of  the 
audience,  the  performers  at  least  conscientiously  regard 
the  affair  in  a religious  light,  and  so  sacred  do  they 
think  it  that  they  will  not  allow  the  Crucifixion  scene 
to  be  photographed  or  otherwise  depicted.  In  this 
they  show  better  taste  than  did  the  American  minister 
who  lately  preached  on  Mars  Hill — where  St.  Paul 
preached  his  sermon  to  the  Athenians — and  had  himself 
photographed  in  the  act  ! 


According  to  the  Globe,  the  head  waiter  at  a long- 
established  and  well-known  restaurant  is  a capable 
amateur  photographer.  The  fact  has  come  out 
apropos  of  some  pictures  which  appeared  in  the  New 
York  Herald,  “by  which  William’s  genial  coun- 
tenance was  grievously  libelled  in  six  several  pictures.” 
The  Globe  recommends  the  “ waiter-photographer  ” 
to  have  his  revenge  on  the  Herald  artist  when  he 
comes  to  the  restaurant  again,  and  “shoot”  him — 
photographically,  of  course — on  the  feed.  We  may 
remark,  apropos  of  that  mysterious  man  the  waiter,  that 
the  oddest  discoveries  are  apt  to  be  made  concerning  him. 
We  recollect  finding  in  the  head  waiter  at  a quaint  old 
inn  at  Canterbury  an  accomplished  microscopist,  and 
an  authority  on  infusoria.  With  all  his  scientific 
reputation — for  he  was  well  known  in  London — he  was 
modest,  and  gratefully  took  his  tip  in  the  proper  pro- 
fessional manner. 


March  21,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


223 


GRADE  IX  PROFESSIONAL  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

BY  H.  COLE BROOK. 

Scarcely  another  business  can  show  so  many  widely  dis- 
tinct and  varied  grades  as  photography,  and  a study  of  no 
mean  interest  may  be  found— -to  those  who  care  about 
such  things — in  the  links  and  connections  which  bind  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  the  Court  photographer  to  the  beach- 
man,  wide  as  is  the  difference  between  them.  It  would 
almost  seem,  from  the  countless  numbers  of  existing 
grades,  that  each  professor  of  the  art  finds  for  himself  an 
original  position,  so  forming  a grade  of  his  own  ; and 
further,  were  it  possible  for  a man  to  ascend,  by  gradual 
progression,  through  these  many  divisions,  from  the  lowest 
degree  to  the  highest  points,  it  may  be  imagined  that  the 
extent  of  his  improvement  would  scarcely  be  patent  to 
himself.  It  is  only  by  selecting,  for  comparison,  points 
fairly  wide  apart,  that  any  real  difference  can  be  appreci- 
ated. The  comparison  of  the  two  extremes  would  pre- 
sent something  truly  striking,  but  the  gradual  course 
through  all  would  give  little  or  no  idea  of  progress  in 
photography.  There  is  the  difference  of  taste,  the  differ- 
ence of  education,  the  difference  of  position,  opportunity, 
capital,  all  influencing  that  widest  difference  of  all  between 
good  and  bad  photography.  For  illustration  take  four 
representatives  from  the  two  extremes,  and  two  inter- 
mediate stages. 

The  “ beach-man,”  as  lie  has  already  been  called  in  this 
article — though  merely  for  distinction — will  perhaps  be 
better  recognised  from  his  description  than  from  his 
name.  There  is  nothing  extraordinary  in  his  being  found 
by  the  sad  sea  waves,  there  !s  something  even  appropriate 
in  it.  lie  has  many  points  in  common  with  the  seafaring 
man.  Ilis  general  appearance  hardy  and  weather-beaten,  his 
most  prominent  feature  partakingof  the  beacon  description, 
his  eyes  bearing  that  almost  barometrical  indication  of  too 
much  ‘•wet,’'  the  effect  of  shingle  and  sand  giving  him  a 
walk  peculiarly  his  own,  all  proclaim  the  man.  Ills  general 
standpoint  is  between  two  bars — viz.,  the  harbour-bar, 
if  there  be  one,  and  the  refreshment  bar,  which  there  is 
sure  to  be.  He  moves  amongst  the  crowd  of  pleasure- 
seekers,  bearing  in  his  hand  a specimen  of  work — to  the 
public,  a beautiful  collodion  positive  ; to  the  initiated,  a 
silver  print  set  off  by  a remarkably  bright  brass  mat  and 
tray.  Ilis  voice,  though  husky,  is  skilled  in  smooth 
phrases;  he  is  also  skilled  in  argument.  He  need  be,  for 
though  his  specimen  meets  with  general  admiration,  the 
completion  of  an  order  is  generally  accompanied  by  a 
little  altercation  and  a large  amount  of  abuse  on  the  part 
of  the  customer.  Ilis  posing  is  simplicity  itself,  and  the 
adjustment  of  his  instrument  perfectly  bewildering  in  its 
celerity.  The  number  of  his  journies  to  the  inland  bar 
would  require  a clever  mathematician  to  calculate.  This 
is  such  an  undoubted  fact,  that  the  ordinary  Table  of 
Solubilities  appears  incomplete  without  the  following 
item : — 

I T,-rap.  | Water  I Temp.  | Alcohol.  | 

Cash  Receipts.  | Immaterial,  j Insol.  j At  all  T’s.  | Highly  Sol  | 

His  education,  taste,  and  capital  may  be  algebraically 
expressed  as  x,  y,  z,  an  equation  with  three  unknowns ; 
but  whatever  else  may  be  urged  against  him,  it  cannot  be 
said  he  lets  his  opportunities  go  by.  Ilis  position  must 
be  represented  in  the  trade  as  zero.  The  above,  of 
course,  is  a specimen  of  the  lowest  of  his  class.  To  say 
that  an  honest,  conscientious  positive  worker  is  not  to  be 
found  would  be  extreme,  but  they  are  unique  in  their 


rarity,  and  generally  seek  a quiet  spot,  where  their  names 
cannot  be  tarnished  by  the  juxtaposition  of  their 
unworthier  brethren,  who,  as  a class,  must  be  mildly  con- 
sidered as  degenerate.  Leaving  the  beach-worker  to 
revel  in  his  alcoholic  propensities,  and  ascending  to  the 
nearest  quiet  street,  the  representative  of  the  second 
grade  makes  his  appearance  in  rather  an  eccentric 
manner.  Advertisements  varying  in  number  from  ten 
to  thirty  appear  in  every  available  space,  in  shop-window, 
door,  and  on  the  walls  of  the  building,  setting  forth  that 
artistic  portraits  can  be  had  beautifully  finished  at 
5s.  Gd.  a dozen.  It  is  said  that  a romance  repeatedly 
told  becomes  gospel  in  time,  even  to  the  romancer.  It 
may  be  so  with  these  advertisements,  the  proprietor 
really  believing  that  what  he  is  continually  advertising 
is  indisputably  correct.  Ilis  window  is  a marvel  of 
uniformity  and  variety,  both.  Rows  of  cartes  and 
cabinets,  tier  upon  tier  in  symmetrical  profusion,  lay 
claim  to  the  one,  while  the  other  is  evidenced  by  the 
wide  range  of  tones,  the  faces  ranging  from  ghastly  to 
tropical;  the  mixture  of  subjects  from  the  sweep  to  the 
ballet-dancer ; and  lastly,  the  positions,  many  and  easy, 
the  ballet-dancer  in  particular  looking  excessively  com- 
fortable with  one  foot  on  a very  high  chair.  Within  we 
have  a good  example  of  that  style  of  unarrangement 
known  as  unstudied.  Framed  pictures  lie  about  as 
specimens  of  “ Our  Club  Portrait.”  The  proprietor  is 
suave  and  polite  ; his  beiug  no  grammarian  forms  not  the 
slightest  check  to  his  volubility.  The  studio  is  a trifle 
bare,  but  with  everythiugin  its  place — in  fact,  everything 
seems  to  have  taken  root  and  grown  there.  The  instru- 
ments are  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word  adjustable, 
though  seemingly  of  an  automatic  adjustment.  Leaving 
the  pose  to  the  operator,  it  becomes  merely  a question 
as  to  whether  you  shall  hold  a lean  pedestal  up,  or 
whether  the  pedestal  shall  hold  you  up.  The  pedestal 
being  the  shakiest,  you  take  the  safest  course,  and  after 
a few  mystic  “ passes  ” the  operator  retires  to  develop. 
The  result  is  more  than  successful — it  always  is — so  after 
a few  business  formalities  have  been  gone  through,  and 
you  have  resisted  the  temptation  to  “Try our  Club,”  you 
leave,  a happy  man.  In  a few  weeks’  time  you  are  pro- 
bably a wiser  man,  and  if  there  is  any  inclination  left  to 
try  the  effect  of  any  sort  of  club,  without  doubt  it  will 
be  a war  club. 

Doubling  the  price  of  the  foregoing  example  will  give 
us  a representative  of  the  third  grade,  but  luckily  price 
will  not  form  the  only  distinction  here.  A strong  impres- 
sion that  a plain  reproduction  of  a face  is  not  the  sum 
total  of  artistic  portraiture,  will  be  found  to  exist.  The 
uniformity  and  variety  of  the  window  may  be  nearly 
gone,  but,  strangely  enough,  there  remains  something 
attractive  in  its  arrangement.  The  quantity  of  specimens 
beiug  considerably  diminished,  the  quality  is  the  more 
apparent.  The  work  shows  signs  of  careful  finish,  and 
there  is  a softness,  and  roundness,  that  the  eye  rests  on 
with  pleasure,  after  its  former  experience.  There  is  still 
a uniformity — a pleasing  one — in  the  tone  and  depth  of 
printing,  and  a decided  taste  in  the  selection  and 
character  of  the  specimens  shown.  The  same  principles 
are  found  to  exist  inside.  You  are  not  told  what  a 
splendid  portrait  you  are  sure  to  obtain,  but  there  is  an 
evident  anxiety  to  prove  it,  and  when  you  see  that  there 
are  few  or  no  “ clubs  ” about,  you  feel  there  is  a possibi- 
bility,  or  even  a probability  of  it.  Politeness  and  suavity 
still  exist,  but  of  a more  intelligent  and  educated  order, 


224 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  21,  1890. 


and  this  with  the  trouble  and  pains  that  are  taken,  cause 
you  to  breathe  as  though  in  a purer  atmosphere.  There 
is.  perhaps,  an  eyesore  here  and  there ; a straining  after 
unnatural  effect,  a tendency  to  bury  the  sitter  in  acces- 
sories, a want  of  character,  a want  of  simplicity  and 
greater  breadth,  but  on  the  whole  there  seems  an  upward 
tendency,  and  the  impression  left  is  certainly  more  com- 
plimentary to  the  photographer  and  his  art. 

The  fourth  grade  has  already  been  spoken  of  as  the 
“Court”  photographer,  though  this  is  also  merely  for 
distinction,  for  although  many  high  class  photographers 
have  had  something  of  Court  work,  yet  there  are  many 
who  have  not.  As  I speak  of  a class,  Court  must,  there- 
fore, be  understood  in  a general  sense.  There  is,  or 
ought  to  be,  a sensation  amounting  almost  to  awe  in 
approaching  this  class,  who  have  reached  the  summit  of 
many  a lesser  man’s  ambition — a feeling  that  patent  leather, 
and  a little  more  polish,  will  not  be  inappropriate.  1 will 
endeavour  to  step  lightly  and  with  circumspection. 

The  first  point  that  would  strike  an  outsider  would  be 
the  fact  that  advertisement  is  either  entirely  absent,  or 
nearly  so.  This  may  prove  many  things,  but  amongst 
others,  certainly  a sense  of  security  and  prosperity,  it  being 
unnecessary  to  attract  custom  by  anything  approaching 
vulgar  display,  an  excellent  guarantee  that  this  class  do 
not  seek,  but  are  sought.  To  say  that  their  show  rooms, 
reception  rooms,  dressing  rooms,  and  studio  exhibit  taste 
of  the  highest  order;  that  even  fashion  finds  its  way  into 
their  sacred  precincts — that  everything  is  of  the  com- 
pletest — all  this  would  be  superfluous ; and  to  hint  at  the 
presence  of  anything  partaking  of  ordinary  vulgarity 
would  be  simply  to  call  into  requisition  sal  volatile  and  eau- 
de-cologne,  and  other  revivifying  necessaries.  Though 
many  a lesson  might  be  learnt  from  these  things,  they  do 
not  form  the  fairest  subject  for  comparison.  The  work 
itself  is.  of  course,  the  actual  test,  and  this  may  be  seen 
by  all  in  the  form  of  pictures  of  celebrities.  1 do  not 
mean  to  say  that  this  work  is  of  the  highest  order  of 
artistic  merit — far  from  it ; but  as  I am  speaking  of  the 
work  of  a class,  1 wish  to  take  a general  sample.  Some- 
thing even  the  reverse  of  artistic  might  be  found  in 
many,  but  there  is  one  grand  point,  that  as  a whole  they 
exhibit  judicious  use  of  the  materials  of  a picture  ; there 
is  that  combination  of  tasteful  simplicity  and  worth  that 
stamps  the  photo  as  coming  from  one  who  has  an  intelli- 
gent appreciation  of  the  powers  of  photography.  Much 
might  be  claimed  in  favour  of  their  subjects,  but 
were  these  subjects  submitted  to  the  ordinary  retoucher, 
photographs  of  very  ordinary  mortals  would  be  the  result 
in  nine  cases  out  of  ten.  Posing  in  the  hands  of  this  class 
becomes  easy  and  natural,  even  though  in  some  cases  it 
be  rather  studied ; but  the  same  pose  on  an  unsuitable 
subject,  in  the  hands  of  one  of  the  lower  orders,  becomes 
such  an  awful  and  horrible  perpetration,  that  it  is  a wonder 
that  the  friends  of  the  latter  subject  do  not  take  sudden 
and  immediate  revenge.  The  imitator  doubtless  has  the 
same  idea,  but  without  the  feeling  that  prompted  it,  and 
herein  lies  the  strongest  distinction  of  all,  for  were  there 
no  room  for  the  influence  of  thought  and  feeling,  then  a 
distinct  line  might  be  drawn  to  represent  the  limit  within 
the  reach  of  all,  bearing  little  or  no  room  for  comparisons. 

Now,  by  joining  these  four  examples,  and  carefully 
filling  in  the  space  between  each,  an  uninterrupted 
succession  of  degrees  will  be  shown  from  first  to  last,  each 
degree  at  the  same  time  possessing  somethin//  original  and 
distinct.  From  this  I want  to  show  that,  collectively, 


progress  is  evidenced ; individually,  the  reverse.  Take, 
for  example,  the  case  of  a man  starting  a business  in  one 
of  the  intermediate  stages.  lie  will  naturally  open 
according  to  his  ability,  but  will  have  still  more  regard  for 
his  capital  and  surroundings,  this  point  governing  his 
charges.  If  he  be  a conscientious  worker,  he  will  give 
full  value  for  money.  Having  established  a connection — 
which,  needless  to  say,  will  take  time— can  he  advance  his 
prices  so  as  to  improve  his  work?  for  he  cannot  do  it 
otherwise.  But  rarely;  for  lie  cannot  do  this  without 
a general  upset  of  his  whole  business,  and  a fresh  start,  as 
it  were,  on  a new  basis.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are 
many  things  likely  to  influence  him  in  lowering  his  prices, 
and  unfortunately  the  work  does  not  at  first  follow  (it 
must  eventually),  thereby  bringing  his  downward  influence 
to  bear  on  his  brethren  of  the  same  degree.  Thus  a 
process  of  filtration  is  continually  going  on.  swelling  the 
lower  ranks  enormously,  and  leaving  the  higher  ones  clear 
and  free,  with  every  prospect  of  a brilliant  future.  And 
then — well,  for  the  peace  of  mind  of  the  many — “ When 
things  get  to  the  worst,  they  generally  mend.” 

OKT,H'L<  dll  OR  CELLONITE  ? 

A sen  that  t lie  Celluloid  Manufacturing  Company,  of  New  York 
and  Newark,  began  a year  ago  against  the  Cellonite  Manufac- 
turing Company,  Wilmington,  for  infringement  of  copyright, 
has  been  decided  by  Justice  Bradley,  of  the  United  States 
Circuit  Court  of  New  Jersey,  in  favour  of  the  plaintiffs.  What 
makes  the  suit  remarkable  is  that  it  has  caused  the  respective 
publishers  of  Webster’s  and  Worcester’s  dictionaries,  and  of 
Chamber’s  “ Encyclopaedia,”  to  remove  the  word  “celluloid” 
from  the  class  of  words  that  were  heretofore  considered  public 
property.  The  Wilmington  Company  makes  a substance  that 
is  similar  to  celluloid,  and  have  put  it  on  the  market  under 
the  somewhat  similar  name  of  cellonite.  The  New  York  and 
Newark  concern  at  once  brought  suit  to  restrain  the  rival  firm 
from  using  the  word,  asserting  that  the  word  “celluloid”  was  a 
noun  of  its  own  creation  ; that  it  had  copyrighted  the  word  as 
a trade  mark,  and  that  the  use  of  a word  in  any  way  similar  i 
was  an  infringement  of  this  copyright.  The  Wilmington  Com-  < 
pany  offered  the  dictionaries  as  evidence  that  the  word  was 
public  property.  Lawyer  Cox,  for  the  plaintiffs,  set  up  the 
claim  that  the  dictioners  had  no  right  to  include  the  word  in 
their  publications,  and  that  such  unlawful  publication  could  not 
affect  the  copyright  rights  of  the  plaintiff.  He  meantime  laid 
the  matter  before  the  publishers  of  the  dictionaries,  and  the 
latter  promptly  revised  their  latest  editions.  They  published 
the  word  in  its  alphabetical  place,  but  with  an  explanation  that 
it  was  a private  trade  mark.  Lawyer  Cox  and  the  publishers 
are  now  trying  to  introduce  a substitute  word  that  may  be  used 
by  anybody  without  affecting  the  copyright,  and  that  will 
enable  the  dictionary  publishers  to  continue  to  print  a descrip- 
tion of  what  the  substance  called  celluloid  in  trade  is.  Justice 
Bradley’s  decision  gives  the  plaintiff  exclusive  use  of  the  word 
“celluloid  ” as  a trade  mark,  and  also  of  its  corporate  name, 
au«l  gi  ants  a perpetual  injunction  against  the  use  by  anybody 
of  any  name  in  any  manner  resembling  celluloid.  A suit  is 
now  pending  against  a prominent  retail  business  house  in  New 
York  for  selling  cellonite  for  celluloid,  and  also  for  permitting 
customers  to  leave  the  shop  under  the  impression  that  cellonite 
was  celluloid.  The  Celluloid  Company  assert  that  this  also  is  an 
infringement  of  their  copyright. — Invention. 


To  Wash  Negatives  Quickly. — Place  the  negative  under 
the  tap,  and  turn  the  water  on  so  that  it  will  fall  with  con- 
siderable force.  Hold  the  plate  diagonally,  and  turn  it  round 
occasionally.  While  the  water  is  falling  on  it,  go  over  the 
surface  with  a camel-hair  brush  or  a soft  sponge,  always 
moving  from  centre  outwards  to  margin.  In  a few  minutes 
he  hypo  will  lie  eliminated. — Pltotoijraphic  Scraps. 


March  21,  1890.] 


rHE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


225 


FLASH  POWDER  EXPLOSIONS.* 

Bi'  CHARLES  L.  MITCHELL,  M.D.,  PHILADELPHIA,  l’A. 
Explosive  compounds  are  defined  to  be  certain  bodies 
which  possess  the  property,  when  heated  or  set  on  fire,  or 
from  some  other  cause,  of  being  converted  from  their 
solid  or  liquid  state  into  gases  in  an  almost  immeasurably 
short  space  of  time,  such  gases  during  their  chemical 
conversion  liberating  heat,  and  in  consequence  highly  ex- 
panding, and  through  this  expansion  exerting  a great 
pressure  on  their  surroundings.  This  conversion  is 
accompanied  by  a detonation,  which  in  its  proper  sense  is 
called  an  explosion.  Explosive  compounds  are  divided 
into  two  classes.  In  the  first  class,  designated  as  ‘‘deton- 
ators” or  “shattering  compounds,”  of  which  nitro- 
glycerine is  an  example,  the  explosion  is  effected  in  an 
immeasurably  short  space  of  time,  and  all  parts  of  the 
substance  decompose  simultaneously,  thus  making  the 
initial  pressure  of  evolved  gases  the  maximum  one,  and 
producing  the  most  powerful  impression  upon  closely 
adjacent  bodies.  The  second  class,  of  which  gunpowder 
and  blasting  powder  are  illustrations,  are  called  “disin- 
tegrating compounds.”  The  explosion  of  these  proceeds 
progressively  by  combustion,  and  their  gases  gradually 
accumulate  until  the  resistance  to  them  gives  way. 

Of  all  the  salts  formed  by  picric  acid,  the  picrate  of 
magnesium  is  probably  one  of  the  most  dangerous,  and,  no 
doubt,  caused  the  last  explosion  of  the  series  mentioned. 
It  is  a well-known  fact  that  chemical  combination  and  de- 
composition will  take  place  when  two  different  substances 
are  simply  mechanically  mixed  together,  and  allowed  to 
remain  undisturbed  for  a period  of  time.  Considering 
these  facts,  there  is  no  doubt  that,  if  picric  acid  and  mag- 
nesium were  placed  in  intimate  contact  with  each  other, 
as  would  occur  when  used  as  component  parts  of  this  flash 
powder,  and  then  allowed  to  remain  undisturbed  for  some 
time,  chemical  combination  would  ensue,  with  the  formation 
of  picrate  of  magnesium.  Another  fact  in  connection 
with  this  is  that  powdered  magnesium  is  quite  hygx-oscopic, 
and  has  a tendency  to  cake  together  in  loose  masses,  or 
adhere  to  the  sides  of  a bottle,  if  exposed  to  a moist  atmos- 
phere. Picric  acid,  when  powdered,  is  also  rather  sticky 
in  character,  and  it  can  be  readily  seen  how,  if  these  two 
substances  existed  together  in  a mixture,  they  would  be 
attracted  to  one  another;  then,  given  the  elements  of 
time,  moisture,  and  perhaps  some  slight  warmth,  and 
chemical  combination  would  inevitably  occur.  That  this 
is  not  pure  theory,  but  fact,  can  be  substantiated  by  a 
fact  lately  mentioned  to  the  writer  by  Professor  Ilenry 
Leffman,  of  this  city,  in  a personal  conversation.  He 
stated  that  some  time  previously,  while  microscopically 
examining  a sample  of  this  “ yellow  ” flash  powder,  he  was 
surprised  to  notice  an  entire  absence  of  metallic  magnesium 
the  yellow  crystals  of  picric  acid  being  alone  prominent. 
On  dropping  the  powder  into  water,  however,  an  abun- 
dant sediment  of  metallic  magnesium  was  deposited, 
showing  its  presence;  and  a closer  examination  of  the 
powder  showed  that  particles  of  magnesium  were  completely 
enveloped  in  a yellow  coating  of  picric  acid.  Of  course 
these  circumstances  afforded  a most  fruitful  opportunity 
for  the  conversion  of  the  two  substances  into  the  explosive 
picrate  of  magnesium,  and  there  is  no  doubt  whatever  in 
the  mind  of  the  writer  that  such  combination  actually 
took  place. 

rhe  presence  of  this  dangerous  ehemical,  probably 


in  considerable  quantity,  was  undoubtedly  the  cause 
of  the  last  accident  at  the  laboratory  of  Wiley  and 
Wallace.  It  was  testified  at  the  coroner’s  inquest 
that  the  victims  of  the  accident  were  engaged  at  the 
time  it  occurred  in  emptying  some  of  this  “ yellow”  flash 
powder  into  a drain,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  rid  of  it. 
They  had  just  returned  from  court,  where  Mr.  Wiley 
was  defendant  in  a suit  for  damages  brought  by  the  rela- 
tives of  the  boy,  John  I).  Cruice,  and  his  assistants 
were  witnesses,  and  no  doubt  impressed  by  the  evidence 
of  the  dangerous  character  of  this  powder,  as  brought 
out  during  the  trial,  determined  to  remove  it  out  of  harm's 
way  as  soon  as  possible.  There  were  some  seven  or 
eight  pounds  of  this  powder,  contained  in  a large  bottle, 
still  remaining  in  their  cellar,  which  had  been  made  some 
eighteen  months  previously,  and  had  remained  undisturbed 
all  that  time.  It  is  not  known  to  a certainty  what  was 
the  immediate  cause  of  the  explosion.  Neither  fire  nor 
chemicals  were  known  to  have  been  present.  Water  had 
been  thrown  upon  some  of  it ; but  experiments  subse- 
quently made  proved  that  the  addition  of  water  to  the 
compound  would  not  generate  sufficient  heat  to  ignite  it. 
The  most  reasonable  explanation,  therefore,  and  probably 
the  only  one  that  can  be  offered,  is  that  the  picric  acid 
and  magnesium  had,  through  long  standing,  become  con- 
verted into  their  resulting  salt,  and  that  by  some  acci- 
dental jar,  or  perhaps  in  shaking  or  knocking  the  bottle 
to  loosen  its  contents,  a portion  of  the  picrate  was  de- 
tonated, causing  the  detonation  of  the  entire  mass,  and 
the  consequent  terrific  explosion.  That  it  was  a detona- 
tion, and  not  merely  a sudden  ignition  of  the  mass,  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  the  bodies  of  those  killed  were  not 
in  the  least  burned  or  charred,  but  of  course  greatly 
mangled  from  the  force  of  the  explosion.  Mr.  Wiley’s 
body  in  particular  was  found  only  after  some  search,  and 
then  it  was  discovered  tightly  wedged  in  an  empty  barrel, 
dismembered  and  horribly  mangled.  In  the  two  previous 
accidents  the  victims  were  simply  burned  through  the 
sudden  ignition  and  partial  explosion  of  the  compound, 
and  their  bodies  accordingly  were  marked  by  great  eschars 
where  the  flames  had  reached  them  ; but  in  the  last  acci- 
dent a perfect  detonation  occurred.  This  was  due  probably 
to  the  fact  that  thorough  chemical  combination  of  the 
picric  acid  had  occurred  through  length  of  time.  The 
other  accidents  occurred  during  the  mixing  of  the  fresh 
powder,  and  the  injury  caused  was  more  due  to  an  intense 
combustion  of  the  magnesium  and  chlorate,  an  explosion 
of  the  second  class  only  taking  place. 

It  is  evident  from  these  fatal  accidents  that  this  par- 
ticular compound,  the  “yellow  " flash  powder  of 
Buchanan,  Bromley,  and  Co.,  was  a substance  possessing 
properties  even  more  dangerous  than  dynamite,  and  one 
that  was  alike  unsafe  to  make,  to  use,  or  to  keep.  To 
sell  such  an  article,  therefore,  for  ignorant  and  unskilled 
persons  to  use,  or  to  induce  anyone  to  attempt  its 
manufacture,  places  a terrible  responsibility  upon  those 
who  knowingly  undertook  such  a risk.  The  testimony 
at  the  coroner’s  inquest  upon  the  first  victim  revealed  fully 
the  dangerous  character  of  this  compound,  and  if  its 
vendors  had  possessed  but  an  ordinary  regard  for 
human  life  and  safety,  they  would  have  promptly  with- 
drawn it  from  the  market.  A plea  of  ignorance  is,  there- 
fore, useless,  and  they  stand  convicted  before  the  bar  of 
public  opinion  of  causing,  through  cupidity  and  reckless 
defiance  and  disregard  of  public  safety,  the  death  of 
five  human  beings,  with  its  attendant  train  of  widowed 


• Concluded  from  page  l»2. 


220 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Makcii  21,  1890. 


wives  and  orphaned  children.  Not  many  men  would  con- 
sider this  a satisfactory  exchange  for  a few  paltry  dollars. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Wiley  and  his  associates,  though 
greatly  to  be  deplored,  was  largely  the  result  of  their  own 
imprudence,  and  sadly  illustrates  the  fact  that  men  will, 
through  familiarity  and  frequent  handling  of  dangerous 
substances,  often  become  almost  insensible  to  the  risks  of 
their  occupation,  and  take  chances  that  they  would  pro- 
bably counsel  others  to  avoid. 

As  before  mentioned,  a curious  fact  is,  that  at  the  time 
this  accident  occurred,  the  firm  of  Wiley  and  Wallace 
were  engaged  as  defendants  in  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 
No.  2,  in  a suit  for  damages  brought  by  the  relatives  of 
the  boy  John  D.  Cruice.  The  case  of  Cruice  v.  Wiley  et 
al,  will  long  be  a “ cause  celebre”  in  judicial  records,  not 
so  much  from  the  legal  features  attending  its  trial, 
although  the  case  was  somewhat  unique,  but  from  the 
tragic  features  which  brought  it  to  such  a sudden  termi- 
nation. It  is  almost  unprecedented  in  the  annals  of 
medical  jurisprudence,  and  a very  extraordinary  fact,  that 
the  three  individuals  who  had  testified  in  open  court  that 
this  flash  powder  compound  was  not  dangerous  and  not 
explosive,  should,  within  a few  hours  after  so  testifying, 
and  within  a short  time  after  leaving  the  court-room,  be 
hurled  into  eternity  by  the  explosion  of  the  very  mixture 
they  had  endeavoured  to  prove  harmless.  As  an  expert 
witness  for  the  prosecution,  it  became  necessary  for  the 
writer  to  express  a decided  and  positive  opinion  upon  the 
dangerous  nature  of  this  flash-powder  mixture,  and  dur- 
ing cross-examination  the  following  quotation  from  Eissler's 
work  on  “The  Modern  High  Explosives,” was  cited,  more 
particularly  in  reference  to  such  combinations  with  potas- 
sium chlorate : 

“ In  mixing  these  compounds  great  danger  is  attendant, 
and  too  much  circumspection  cannot  be  used.  They 
explode  instantly  upon  any  violent  stroke,  very  often  by 
friction  alone  ; sometimes  spontaneously,  as  when  in  a 
state  of  rest,  and  no  known  cause  for  their  combustion 
can  be  ascertained.  Many  are  deluded  as  to  its  safety  by 
so-called  experiments  with  freshly-made  powder.  Manu- 
facturers of  the  compound  may  attempt  to  show  its  safety 
by  hammering  it  and  cutting,  and  similar  tests ; but  let 
the  powder  be  exposed  to  the  natural  atmospheric  action, 
attract  some  moisture,  then  get  dry,  and  the  least  friction 
or  blow  will  cause  an  explosion.” 

Viewed  in  the  light  of  the  subsequent  tragedy,  these 
words  seem  almost  prophetic  ; yet  little  did  the  writer 
think,  at  the  time  when  he  cited  them  as  evidence,  that 
so  soon  and  so  impressively  would  their  truth  be  demon- 
strated. Verily,  “truth  is  often  stranger  than  fiction.” 

It  seems  hardly  necessary  now,  in  view  of  all  that  has 
been  cited,  to  raise  a note  of  warning  in  regard  to  the  use 
of  these  flash-powders,  but  the  statement  has  already  been 
made  that,  whilst  this  particular  compound  was  unsafe, 
other  compounds  are  harmless.  The  writer  wishes  to  state 
emphatically,  therefore,  that  in  his  opinion  all  forms  of 
flash-powders  are  dangerous , the  difference  between  them 
being  only  in  the  degree  of  danger  involved.  As  had 
been  said,  they  are  composed  of  substances  prone  to  rapid 
decomposition  when  in  contact  with  each  other  ; they  are 
liable  to  form  new  compounds,  often  possessing  danger- 
ous and  unknown  properties.  Their  combustion  is 
attended  with  an  intense  amount  of  heat,  involving  risk 
from  severe  burns,  and  they  are  liable  to  spontaneous 
explosion  or  ignition.  This  danger  is  greatly  augmented 
when  they  arc  made  or  kept  iu  mass,  and  the  probable 


reason  why  a greater  number  of  fatal  accidents  have  not 
occurred  is  because  the  powders  have  been  mostly  made 
in  comparatively  small  quantities  and  put  up  in  separate 
packages,  each  containing  but  a few  grains  of  the  mixture. 
A simple  mixture  of  magnesium  and  potassium  chlorate, 
which  has  been  claimed  to  be  harmless,  has  been  known  to 
explode  under  percussion,  and  there  is  probably  no  com- 
pound of  this  character  which  does  not  possess  some 
elements  of  danger. 

T he  use  of  these  powders  will  and  should  be  entirely 
abandoned,  for  there  are  now  equally  satisfactory  and 
much  more  safe  methods  of  producing  the  same  result. 
The  different  forms  of  magnesium  lamps  now  on  the 
market,  in  which  the  powdered  metallic  magnesium  is 
thrown  into  the  flame  of  an  alcohol  lamp,  gives  a form 
of  illumination  which  is  quite  as  efficient  photographically, 
and,  what  is  equally  to  the  purpose,  if  is  perfectly  safe ; 
it  has  been  claimed  by  some  that  the  combustion  of  the 
magnesium,  when  used  with  this  lamp,  was  not  as  rapid 
as  when  the  flash  powder  was  employed,  and  in  conse- 
quence certain  instantaneous  effects  could  not  be  obtained. 
In  the  writer’s  opinion,  it  would  be  much  better,  then,  to 
abandon  this  class  of  work  entirely,  rather  than 
run  the  risk  attending  the  employment  of  such  dan- 
gerous compounds ; moreover,  he  considers  that 
these  objections  are  mostly  imaginary.  In  Charles 
Lamb's  “ History  of  lloast  Pig,”  it  is  related  that  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country  deemed  it  necessary  at  first 
to  burn  down  a house  in  order  to  roast  a pig.  In 
course  of  time  they  discovered,  however,  that  much 
simpler  and  less  dangerous  methods  would  answer  equally 
as  well.  It  is  hoped,  therefore,  that  the  time  will  soon 
arrive  when  the  photographic  public  will  discover  that 
magnesium  can  be  employed  for  purposes  of  illumination 
without  using  compounds  which  are  akin  to  gunpowder 
and  dynamite  in  their  dangerous  properties. 


THE  FIRST  OPTICAL  LANTERN. 

Kiucheu  knew  the  use  of  projection  lenses  for  the  optical 
lantern,  because,  in  his  older  book,  he  pictured  such  lenses 
in  the  plate  representing  the  apparatus  in  which  the  solar 
rays  were  used  for  the  illumination.  Yet  in  his  later 
work,  printed  at  Amsterdam,  he  pictures  his  magic  lantern 
without  projection  lenses  in  front;  hence,  last  week  we 
hazarded  the  guess  that  perhaps  he  left  such  lenses  out  of 
the  diagram  on  purpose,  especially  as  there  is  evidence 
that  over  some  of  his  discoveries  lie  had  a somewhat 
secretive  disposition.  However,  this  supposition  is  rather 
hard  upon  lvircher,  for  no  first-rate  man  of  science  or 
man  of  fine  feeling  would  give,  under  the  guise  of 
publication,  a method  which  would  not  work  to  the 
best  advantage  so  far  as  his  knowledge  went.  More 
probably  the  true  explanation  of  the  matter  is, 
that  Kircher’s  projection  lenses  were  not  of  suitable 
focal  length  for  the  new  conditions  under  which  he 
worked  with  the  whole  apparatus  in  a small  room,  so  he 
then  threw  shadows  of  lantern  pictures  upon  the  wall  by 
means  of  an  optical  system  entirely  behind  them,  as  repre- 
sented in  these  pages  last  week  ; if  so,  the  means  he  used 
were  not  unlike  the  optical  system  of  the  lantern  of  the 
London  policeman.  Kircher’s  pictures  had  never  before 
been  published  in  this  country,  nor  had  Kircher’s  detailed 
description  of  his  magic  lanterns  been  previously  circulated 
in  the  English  language. 


March  21,  181) 


la 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


227 


patent  Intelligence. 

Spoeiflcation3  Published. 

2,983. — February  "20th,  1889.  “ An  Improved  Lantern.”  Tom] 
Bell  Kuhns,  C.imelford,  Corawa.ll,  Ironmonger  and  Manu- 
facturer. 

This  improved  lantern  can  be  made  of  any  shape  and  fitted 
with  gla<s,  mica,  or  horn  panes,  or  glass  globes,  or  any  other 
contrivance  for  allowing  the  light  to  pass  through  ; the  upper 
part  of  the  lantern  having  an  opening  for  inserting  a kettle, 
can,  bottle,  or  any  other  receptacle  for  holding  fluids  or  food, 
and  which  is  heated  by  means  of  a candle,  lamp,  or  other  heat- 
ing apparatus.  The  can,  bottle,  kettle,  or  other  receptacle 
cau  be  carried  inside  the  lantern,  if  re  [uired,  for  the  purpose 
of  keeping  the  fluid  or  food  warm.  The  opening  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  lantern  is  fitted  with  a door  either  hinged  or 
slidiug,  or  other  suitable  contrivance  to  prevent  the  wind  from 
blowing  out  the  lamp  or  candle. 

3,279. — February  23rd,  1889.  “ Flashing  or  Continuous 

Lights.”  Frederic  William  Hart,  8 and  9,  Kingslaud 
Green,  London,  N.E. , Manufacturer  of  Scientific  Instru- 
ments. 

I would  here  premise  that  in  Patent  No.  356,  January  9th, 
1888,  there  is  described  by  me  in  reference  to  fig.  3,  a cham- 
bered plug  into  which  falls  the  magnesium  or  other  inflam- 
mable powder  from  the  hopper  above,  and  on  turning  the  plug 
half-way  round,  the  contents  are  discharged  into  a container 
below  ; one,  two,  or  more  charges  could  be  introduced,  accord- 
ing to  the  volume  of  light  required,  the  volume  and  power  of 
the  air  blast  being  regulated  as  set  forth  by  figs.  4 and  5 of 
the  said  Patent.  Now  in  the  apparatus  about  to  be  described, 
instead  of  the  chambered  plug  discharging  the  powder  into  a 
container  for  holding  one  or  more  measured  charges,  1 dis- 
charge the  powder  direct  from  a plug,  tube,  or  other  container, 
•surrounded  by  a barrel  or  sleeve,  to  which  is  attached  a hopper 
or  reservoir  of  the  powder  communicating  with  the  chambered 
plug,  tube,  or  other  container,  or  the  two  fittings  may  work 
together  over  a port  or  ports,  after  the  manner  of  the  slide 
valve  of  a cylinder,  so  that  alternate  flashes  of  light  can  be 
given  like  the  discharge  from  the  exhausl  tube  of  an  engine,  or 
the  hopper  can  be  allowed  to  remain  over  one  port,  and  thus 
give  forth  a continuous  stream  of  inflammable  powder  through 
the  aid  of  air  from  a fan,  beiiows,  or  gas  bottle  under  a regu- 
lated pressure.  In  the  ease  of  circular  plugs  or  tubes,  instead 
of  the  plug  or  tube  turning,  the  barrel  or  sleeve  with  a covered 
hopper  may  turn  on  the  plug  or  tube  ; the  hopper  or  sleeve  is 
fitted  with  means  to  ascertain  when  the  reservoir  of  material 
is  becoming  exhausted.  In  cases  where  india-rubber  injection 
balls  or  bottles  are  used  for  compressing  air  for  the  discharge  of 
| the  inflammable  matter,  the  valves  of  the  Patent  No.  356, 
1888,  are  used  for  the  purpose  therein  set  forth.  For  igniting 
the  inflammable  matter  the  pairs  of  flames  are  arranged  in 
line  thus  = = = =,  one,  two,  or  more,  with  intervals  so  that 
there  is  free  access  of  air  or  oxygen  in  all  directions.  When 
gas  is  employed  the  burners  are  disposed  on  an  adjustable  frame 
also  movable  on  a joint  for  fixing,  so  that  the  light  can  be 
directed  at  any  angle  from  the  horizontal  to  the  vertical  posi- 
tion, the  hopper  and  container  for  the  inflammable  material 
travel' ing  therewith,  so  that  the  discharge  tube  remains  always 
in  line  with  the  igniting  burners,  so  as  to  produce  at  pleasure 
innumerable  combinations  for  dot  and  dash  signals. 

In  combination  with  a flashing  lamp  or  lamps  for  photo- 
graphic, scenic,  signal  and  other  purposes,  I employ  portable 
reservoirs  of  inflammable  gas  for  igniting  purposes,  and  where 
numbers  of  separate  flashes  are  required  simultaneously,  also 
separate  chambers  of  air  or  oxygen  gas,  each  under  regulated 
pressure  adjusted  to  the  number  of  lamps  and  resistance  to  be 
overcome. 

3>465..  February  2 6th,  1889.  “ Reproducing  Pictures  and 

Designs.  Henri  Jules  Le  Boulch,  Versailles,  France. 

By  my  invention  a simple  sheet  of  paper  is  used  in  place  of 
stones,  or  copper,  or  other  plates  ordinarily  used  for  the  repro- 
duction and  multiplication  of  designs  of  different  sorts,  such 


stones  or  plates  only  being  required  to  obtain,  in  the  first 
instance,  the  design  upon  the  simple  sheet  of  paper. 

1 take  a sheet  of  transparent  paper  or  other  sufficiently  trans- 
parent material,  and  I print  upon  it  from  the  original  stone  or 
plate  containing  the  design,  and  I retain  this  printed  sheet 
until  copies  are  required,  when  I transfer  the  design  upon  it  to 
the  surface  of  a stone  or  other  suitable  support.  For  printed 
or  lithographed  composition  or  designs,  I make  the  print  upon 
paper  coated  with  a gelatinous  layer,  and  I then  pass  it  through 
a hath  of  solution  of  bichromate  of  potash,  or  other  suitable 
bichromate  having  the  property  of  rendering  gelatine  insoluble  ; 
and  I dry  the  sheet,  expose  it  to  light,  then  soak  it  in  water 
until  the  parts  forming  the  original  design  completely  disappear, 
then  dry  it  and  treat  it  as  a photographic  negative.  Or, 
instead  of  the  process  just  described,  the  design  may  be  put 
upon  a sheet  of  paper  coated  with  bichromated  gelatine,  then 
exposed  to  light,  developed  in  water,  dried,  and  then  treated 
as  a photographic  negative.  The  gelatinised  paper  may  be 
replaced  by  any  other  kind  of  sensitised  paper  capable  of  giving 
a negative  in  the  same  w'ay. 

Or  the  design  may  be  printed  upon  a sheet  of  paper  with 
gelatinous  or  mucilaginous  ink,  the  sheet  being  then  placed 
face  downward  upon  a surface  of  stone  or  zinc  well  covered 
with  black  ink,  which  adheres  to  all  the  sheet  except  the  gela- 
tinous or  mucilaginous  design,  and  passed  through  a press,  the 
print  being  then  dried  and  developed  in  water,  the  gelatinous 
or  mucilaginous  design  being  washed  away,  and  a negative  being 
thus  obtained  from  which  proofs  can  be  produced. 

By  writing  upon  ordinary  paper  w ith  ink  of  the  same  kind, 
and  treating  the  sheet  in  the  way  just  described,  a facsimile 
negative  is  obtained,  from  which  proofs  can  be  obtained  in  the 
same  way. 

Or  a negative  may  be  obtained  by  writing  directly  upon  the 
paper  or  other  material  with  gelatinous  or  mucilaginous  ink 
slightly  acidulated,  treating  the  surface  with  greasy  matter, 
then  washing  and  inking  the  surface,  and  printing  from  it. 

Or  a sheet  of  glass  or  paper  may  be  coated  with  white 
varnish,  the  print  or  sheet  carrying  the  design  being  laid  in 
contact  with  the  varnish,  and  the  other  side  of  the  paper  sup- 
port being  oiled  ; the  whole  is  then  soaked  in  water,  and  a 
positive  is  obtained  from  which  a negative  may  be  made  in  the 
manner  already  described. 

What  I claim  is  : — 

The  methods  of  reproducing  pictures  and  other  designs  sub- 
stantially as  described. 

4,169. — March  9th,  1889.  “ The  Manufacture  of  Aluminium.” 

John  Leman  Eckersley  Daniel,  3,  Victoria  Street,  West- 
minster, Electrical  Engineer. 

My  improved  process,  which  is  based  on  the  well-known 
laboratory  experiments  of  Bunsen  and  St.  Claire  Deville,  has 
for  its  object  the  manufacture  of  aluminium  on  a commercial 
scale,  certain  improvements  being  made  in  such  experiments, 
as  hereinafter  described,  to  enable  the  manufacture  to  be  suc- 
cessfully carried  out. 

In  this  process  aluminium  is  produced  by  electrolysing  the 
double  chloride  of  aluminium  and  sodium,  and  means  are  pro- 
vided for  maintaining  the  bath  at  all  times  in  a uniform  state 
or  condition. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1.  Maintaining  a constant  and  continuous  replenishment  ov 
regeneration  of  the  bath  with  chloride  of  aluminium  as  fast  as 
it  loses  the  same  while  undergoing  electrolysis. 

2.  The  construction  aud  use  of  apparatus,  substantially  as 
described  aud  shown  by  drawings,  for  the  continuous  manu- 
facture of  aluminium  on  a commercial  scale. 

5,067. — 23rd  March,  1889.  “ Photometric  Apparatus.”  John 

Methven,  of  the  Gas  Light  and  Coke  Company’s  Works,  Nine 

Elms,  Surrey,  Associate  Member  Institute  of  Civil  Engineers. 

My  invention  relates  to  that  class  of  photometric  apparatus 
which  are  known  as  jet  photometers,  the  object  of  the  invention 
being  to  render  these  apparatus  more  accurate  and  reliable  than 
heretofore. 

It  is  a well  kuown  and  accepted  fact  that  jet  photometers,  as 
at  present  constructed,  are  not  to  be  relied  upon  to  give  an 


228 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  21,  1890. 


accurate  indication  of  the  quality  of  the  gas  to  be  tested,  and 
the  reason  for  this  is,  that  not  only  the  apparatus,  but  the  gas 
itself,  are  more  or  less  seriously  affected  by  changes  in  the  con- 
dition of  the  atmosphere,  both  as  regards  variations  in  tempera- 
ture, and  in  the  barometrical  pressure. 

It  will  be  evident,  then,  that  to  obtain  perfect  accuracy  in 
indicating  the  illuminating  power  of  the  gas,  two  conditions  are 
necessary,  viz.,  a constant  temperature  and  a constant  baro- 
metrical pressure. 

Now,  my  invention  consists  in  the  means  whereby  these  two 
conditions  are  practically  provided  for. 

In  carrying  out  my  invention,  1 make  use  of  the  ordinary  jet 
photometers,  whether  they  are  constructed  to  indicate  che 
quality  of  the  gas  used  by  maintaining  a constant  height  of 
flame,  and  observing  the  pressure  required  to  produce  that 
height  of  flame  ; whether  they  are  of  a construction  to  indicate 
the  quality  of  the  gas  used  by  maintaining  a constant  pressure, 
and  observing  the  height  of  the  flame  produced  by  such  constant 
pressure  ; or  of  any  other  form  or  description  of  jet  photometer, 
where  a jet  flame  is  used  for  the  purpose  of  a photometer. 

For  the  purpose  of  maintaining  an  uniform  temperature  of 
and  within  the  apparatus,  I enclose  in  a water  jacket  the  whole 
of  the  gas  way  and  the  tank  or  vessel  containing  the  water  used 
for  indicating  the  pressure  of  the  gas  within  the  instrument, 
and  which  is  commonly  known  as  a King’s  gauge.  The  water 
within  the  jacket  I keep  at  a constant  temperature  by  means 
of  circulating  tubes  attached  to  the  water  jacket,  and  heated  by 
a jet  or  jets  of  gas.  These  tubes  project-  through  the  box  in 
which  the  instruments  are  generally  placed  for  the  protection 
from  draughts,  and  the  heating  jets  may  be  brought  into  con- 
tact with  them  when  desired. 

A thermometer  is  inserted  in  the  water  jacket  and  in  the  gas 
way  of  the  instrument,  so  that  the  temperature  can  be  always 
ascertained. 

In  this  way,  the  temperature  of  the  gas  in  the  gas  ways,  or 
measuring  parts  of  the  apparatus,  can  always  be  maintained 
constant. 

A thermometer  will  also  be  placed  in  the  box,  so  that  the 
general  temperature  in  the  box  may  be  the  same  as  the  water 
jacket. 

Alterations  in  the  barometrical  pressure  of  the  atmosphere 
affect  not  only  the  volume  of  the  gas  in  the  measuring  chamber 
of  the  instrument,  but  also  the  combustion  of  the  jet  flame. 

For  instance,  with  a prevailing  high  barometer,  the  volume 
of  gas  within  the  measuring  chamber,  or,  m other  words,  the 
volume  of  gas  passing  through  the  instrument,  as  indicated 
by  the  pressure  recorded  by  the  “ King’s  gauge,”  is  compressed  ; 
consequently,  the  quantity  of  combustible  material  passing 
through  the  jet  to  form  the  flame  is  such  that  a longer  flame 
is  required  to  consume  it.  The  reverse  is  the  action  of  a pre- 
vailing low  barometer.  The  volume  of  gas  passing  through 
the  instrument,  as  indicated  by  the  pressure  recorded  by  the 
gauge,  is  expanded  ; consequently,  the  quantity  of  combustible 
material  which  forms  the  flame  is  less,  and  the  flame  is  of 
necessity  shorter. 

The  means  which  I use  to  provide  for  changes  in  the  baro- 
metrical pressure  consist  of  a movable  scale,  by  means  of  which 
I am  enabled  to  ascertain  what  should  be  the  height  of  the 
flame,  according  to  the  barometrical  pressure  for  the  time 
being. 

The  scale  is  attached  to  a frame  secured  to  the  top  of  the 
instrument  just  beneath  the  socket  of  the  jet  burner,  and  which 
extends  upwards  in  front  of  and  behind  the  jet  flame.  The 
back  of  the  frame  is  fixed  at  about  two  inches  from  the  centre 
of  the  flame,  and  the  front  portion  at  any  distance  being  a 
multiple  of  the  distance  the  back  is  from  the  centre  of  the 
flame.  On  the  front  portion  of  the  frame  is  engraved  the  scale. 
The  centre  portion  of  the  front  of  the  frame,  which  is  made  of 
coloured  glass,  arranged  to  be  adjusted  by  a screw  arrangement, 
is  moved  up  or  down  the  frame  in  guides  provided  for  the  pur- 
pose, so  that  the  top  edge  of  the  glass  may  be  brought  to  the 
mark  on  the  scale  indicating  the  height  of  the  barometer  for 
the  time  being. 

The  height  of  the  flame  will  be  ascertained  in  the  usual  way, 
by  sighting  the  top  edge  of  the  movable  blue  glass,  the  top  of 


the  flame,  and  the  line  fixed  on  the  back  of  the  frame.  The 
position  of  the  line  on  the  back  of  the  frame  is  arrived  at  when 
the  instrument  is  rated  by  comparison  with  the  results  of  the 
standard  photometer.  Having  adjusted  the  height  of  the  flame, 
the  readings  of  the  instrument  may  be  regarded  as  indicating 
the  correct  illuminating  power  of  the  gas  by  observing  the  pres- 
sure necessary  to  give  the  adjusted  length  of  flame.  When 
the  instruments  are  designed  to  indicate  the  quality  of  the  gas 
by  maintaining  a fixed  pressure,  and  observing  the  height  of 
the  flame  produced  by  such  constant  or  fixed  pressure,  the  scale 
indicating  the  length  of  the  flame  may  be  marked  on  the  mov- 
able blue  glass,  and  which  may  be  adjusted  in  like  manner  to 
the  scale  indicating  the  barometer  for  the  time  being  ; the 
length  of  flame  will  thus  have  the  necessary  correction  for  the 
barometer  prevailing. 

I may  also  use,  to  provide  for  changes  in  the  barometrical 
pressure,  a scale  which  I apply  outside  the  ordinary  scale  on  the 
dial  of  the  instrument,  and  which  supplemental  scale  maybe 
worked  round  the  dial  by  means  of  a screw  which  projects 
through  the  side  of  the  box. 

The  supplemental  scales  1 use  result  from  observations  ex- 
tending over  a long  period  of  time,  and,  by  taking  a reading  of 
the  barometer,  anil  bringing  zero  on  the  scale  to  the  division  at 
which  the  pointer  of  the  instrument  is  arrested,  the  exact 
quality  of  the  gas  in  caudle  power  can  be  read  off. 

Instead  of  moving  the  scale,  1 may  secure  it  on  the  dial, 
with  zero  point  on  the  scale  corresponding  to  zero  on  the  dial. 
Then,  taking  the  reading  of  the  barometer,  I make  the  corre- 
sponding reading  on  the  scale  zero  for  the  time  being,  and 
adjust  the  quantity  of  float  water  in  the  instrument  to  bring 
the  pointer  opposite  such  division.  In  this  manner  I start 
with  the  proper  correction  according  to  circumstances. 

In  these  last-named  means  for  providing  for  variations  in 
barometrical  pressure,  in  which  the  scale  is  used  as  a supple- 
mental scale  to  the  dial  of  the  instrument,  or  is  attached  to 
the  zero  end  of  the  dial,  the  results  obtained  .are  equivalent 
to  those  obtained  by  altering  the  height  of  the  flame,  but  in 
the  latter  case  the  correction  is  made  on  the  pressure  indicated 
by  the  pointer  of  the  “ King’s  gauge.” 

5,218.  Marc. i 26 lit,  1889.  “ Expansible  Opera  and  like 

Glasses.”  Caroline  Spilsbury  Pocock,  2,  The  Elms,  St. 

Anns  Hiil,  Wandsworth,  Surrey,  Gentlewoman. 

So  far  as  can  be  judged  by  the  drawings,  this  instrument 
closes  in  an  exceedingly  neat  manner,  and  the  mounting 
might  possibly  be  made  to  suit  a miniature  binocular  camera. 
The  inventress  thus  describes  the  arrangement. 

According  to  the  usual  construction  or  arrangement  of 
opera  glasses,  field  glasses,  and  the  like,  whether  used  alone  or 
in  combination  with  views,  boxes,  or  cases,  the  cases  have  been 
of  circular  form  telescoping  one  within  the  other  to  close  them 
to  reduce  their  bulk  or  occupy  less  space  than  when  drawn  out. 

Now  the  object  of  my  invention  is  to  dispense  with  these 
cases  which  telescope  within  one  another,  and  use  a flexible  or 
yielding  body  which  is  compressible,  such  as  leather,  or  water- 
proof canvas,  or  other  similar  material  affixed  to  the  frame 
composing  the  object  glass  and  field  glass  ends,  said  leather 
or  canvas  connection  being  of  tapered  form,  so  that  when  the 
object  glass  frame  is  expanded  or  drawn  away  from  the  field 
glass  end,  the  article  has  the  appearance  of  an  ordinary  leather 
or  canvas  bound  metal  frame. 

To  the  field  or  large  glass  end  1 arrange  a hinge  joint  to  each 
half  of  the  opera  glass,  and  by  leaves  or  strips  hinged  thereto, 
and  slotted,  I can  by  a pin  connected  to  the  frames  of  the 
object  glasses  retain  the  object  glasses  at  the  required  distance, 
or  expanded  from  the  field  or  larger  glass  end,  the  end  of  the 
slot  in  the  side  strips  having  a kink  in  which  the  pin  becomes 
lodged  to  retain  the  article  in  an  expanded  form. 

The  object  glasses  may  be  carried  in  a separate  frame  to 
that  carrying  the  pins,  and  by  means  of  a central  screw  the 
focussing  can  be  adjusted. 

The  parts  betw'een  the  object  glasses  and  the  field  or  larger 
glasses  may  be  provided  with  springs  to  push  the  object  glasses 
into  an  expanded  condition,  and  the  slotted  frames  which 
would  limit  the  extent  of  expansion  can  also  be  arranged  for 
retaining  the  article  in  a closed  stale. 


March  21,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


229 


5,525.  April  1st,  1889.  “ Photographic  Hand  Cameras.” 

Denis  McNamara,  25,  South  Terrace,  Inchicore,  Dublin, 

Engine  Fitter. 

Its  novel  features  are,  first,  a dry  plate  is  changed  and  placed 
in  focal  position  and  the  shutter  set,  by  the  one  movement, 
thereby  preventing  the  possibility  of  exposing  the  same  plate 
twice  over  through  inadvertence  or  otherwise  ; secondly,  the 
one  button  or  knob  serves  .all  purposes,  viz.,  for  changing  dry 
plate,  for  setting  and  discharging  the  shutter.  Hence  the 
advantage  by  which  a number  of  dry  plates  may  be  exposed  in 
very  rapid  succession. 

In  outward  shape  it  consists  of  a rectangular  box  or  case, 
one  end  of  which  is  recessed  to  receive  the  lens.  Within  said 
case  is  a grooved  box  open  at  the  side  next  to  the  lens,  its 
depth  a little  more  than  double  that  of  the  sensitised  plates, 
of  which  it  is  capable  of  holding  twelve  or  more ; each  of  the 
latter  is  inserted  in  a thin  metallic  sheath  ; midway  on  the 
inside  of  the  two  opposite  walls  of  said  box  is  formed  a 
horizontal  groove  parallel  to  the  axis  of  the  lens,  through  which 
is  passed  a thin  metallic  plate  or  partition  dividing  it  into  two 
compartments,  the  upper  for  the  unexposed,  and  the  lower 
for  the  exposed  plates,  and  on  which  it  is  capable  of  sliding  ; 
the  ends  of  said  partition  are  attached  to  the  walls  of  outer 
casing,  and  a slot  is  cut  in  the  foimer  sufficiently  large  to 
allow  one  plate  with  its  sheath  to  drop  through  at  a time  from 
top  to  bottom  compartment.  Immediately  beneath  par- 
tition and  in  said  bottom  compartment  is  a rod,  one  end 
crossing  said  slot,  so  as  to  prevent  a plate  from  dropping 
through,  and  is  kept  in  position  by  a spiral  spring  ; the  other 
end  passes  through  wall  of  outer  case  at  the  end  opposite  to  1 
the  lens,  and  terminates  in  a joint,  to  which  is  attached  a 
lever  actuated  by  a bar  placed  longitudinally  on  the  outside 
of  camera,  one  end  bearing  at  right  angles  against  said  lever  ; j 
the  other  terminates  in  a knob  or  button,  which  is  used  for 
setting  and  discharging  the  shutter,  and  also  for  changing  the 
dry  plates.  On  the  bottom  of  the  outer  case  is  a sliding 
cover  through  which  the  grooved  box  is  charged  with  dry 
plates.  In  doing  so  the  plates  are  placed  in  their  grooves  in 
the  lower  chamber,  the  camera  being  inverted  according  as 
grooved  box  is  moved  along  the  partition  ; each  time  a plate 
comes  over  the  said  slot  it  drops  through  into  the  upper  com- 
partment, the  rod  being  kept  back  so  as  to  clear  the  slot  by 
pressing  upon  the  knob  during  this  operation. 

The  instantaneous  shutter  is  inside  the  camera.  A nozzle 
or  rim  is  formed  at  the  back  of  the  lens,  on  which  is  fitted  a 
cap  capable  of  opening  by  a hinged  joint  at  the  bottom,  and 
actuated  by  a spindle,  one  end  of  which  passes  through  the 
outer  wall  of  camera,  terminating  in  a cross-piece  forming  a T 
with  said  spindle.  At  one  end  of  said  cross-piece,  at  right 
angles  to  it,  and  parallel  with  wall  of  outer  ease,  is  secured 
or  formed  a thin  flexible  arm  of  spring  steel,  the  end  of  said 
arm  resting  upon  a ledge  or  stud  when  the  shutter  is  closed  ; 
the  other  end  of  cross-piece,  forming  a crank  with  said  spindle, 
is  used  for  the  purpose  of  opening  the  cap  by  means  of  a 
hook  hinged  on  to  a sleeve,  and  kept  in  position  by  a flat 
spring.  Said  sleeve  is  capable  of  sliding  upon  the  bar,  to 
which  is  attached  knob  or  button  heretofore  mentioned,  and 
is  actuated  by  a spiral  spring  slipped  over  said  bar,  one  end 
bearing  against  the  sleeve,  the  other  against  a movable  pin  for 
regulating  the  speed  of  the  shutter.  When  said  bar  is 
pushed  forward  by  the  knob  the  sleeve  and  hook  are  carried 
with  it,  the  spiral  spring  becomes  compressed,  the  hook  coming 
into  contact  with  cross-piece,  and  having  a wedge-shaped  end, 
loops  on  to  it ; when  the  finger  is  removed  from  said  knob  the 
latter  returns  to  its  original  position,  being  acted  upon  by  the 
spiral  spring  in  grooved  box,  the  hook  retaining  its  hold  upon 
the  cross-piece  ; the  shutter  is  now  set. 

To  discharge  the  shutter,  the  knob  is  pushed  in  the 
opposite  direction,  thereby  bringing  a thin  flat  projecting 
piece  secured  to  said  bar  into  contact  with  flexible  arm  resting 
upon  projecting  ledge,  which  yields  by  its  flexibity,  and  is 
pushed  off  said  ledge  ; the  spiral  spring  now  acting  on  the 
hook  shoots  it  forward,  thereby  turning  round  the  cross-piece 
with  it,  and  opening  the  cap  ; when  said  cross-piece  arrives  at 
a certain  angle  the  hook  slips  off,  but  the  momentum 


imparted  to  the  cap  causes  the  latter  to  strike  an  elastic  band 
or  spring  which  causes  it  to  rebound  and  lock  itself  once 
more  on  projecting  ledge. 

To  change  a plate,  the  knob  is  pushed  forward,  the  shutter 
becomes  set  as  before,  the  bar  bearing  against  the  end  of 
lever  draws  out  the  rod  in  grooved  box,  and  a plate  is  dropped 
into  bottom  compartment  ; the  pressure  of  the  finger  is  now 
removed  from  said  knob,  and  the  spiral  spring  brings  back 
said  rod  into  its  original  position,  but  the  latter,  when 
returning,  comes  into  contact  with  the  top  edge  of  plate  which 
has  just  dropped,  and  pushes  it  forward,  and  being  in  its 
groove  it  carries  the  entire  grooved  box  along  the  sliding 
partition  until  the  next  plate  following  up  drops  a short 
distance  down  into  slot  in  partition,  and  rests  on  top  of  rod  ; 
said  plate  becomes  jammed  in  the  slot  by  the  pressure  of  the 
rod  still  bearing  on  top  edge  of  plate  in  bottom  compartment, 
thereby  keeping  the  plate  steady  for  exposing. 

The  plates  when  dropping  would  be  liable  to  stick  after 
being  jammed  in  the  manner  described.  To  overcome  this, 
the  partition  where  it  is  attached  at  both  ends  to  camera  is 
made  to  slide  longitudinally  through  a short  distance.  A 
lever  Ls  hinged  on  inside  to  wall  of  camera,  one  end  bearing 
against  a stud  on  partition,  the  other  end  against  a similar 
stud  on  rod ; when  the  latter  is  drawn  out  the  said  lever 
moves  the  partition,  the  grooved  box  remaining  stationary,  and 
liberates  the  plate  which  had  been  jammed  in  the  slot,  thereby 
allowing  it  to  drop  freely,  said  partition  being  brought  back 
again  to  position  by  a spring. 

An  indicator  is  attached  to  camera  for  the  purpose  of 
[ registering  the  number  of  exposed  plates.  It  consists  of  a 
flat  graduated  bar  connected  to  grooved  box,  and  capable  of 
moving  in  a guide  on  the  inside  of  camera,  with  a hole  in  the 
, latter,  forming  light-tight  communication  with  said  guide,  and 
through  which  the  number  of  exposed  plate  can  be  read  from 
the  outside. 

5,287. — March  27th,  1889.  “ Focussing  Field,  Marine,  and 

Opera  Glasses.”  Samuel  Joseph  Levi,  Optician,  and  Ernest 
Carre,  Clerk,  of  40,  Furnival  Street,  Holborn,  London. 

Our  invention  relates  to  an  improved  focussing  motion  for 
field,  marine,  and  opera  glasses  ; and  it  has  for  its  object  to 
enable  the  glass  to  be  more  quickly  and  easily  adjusted,  which 
is  of  importance,  especially  when,  as  in  the  case  of  a hore  race, 
the  object  viewed  is  in  rapid  motion,  and  its  distance  from  the 
observer  is  therefore  constantly  and  quickly  varying. 

The  invention  consists  in  substituting  for  the  ordinary  screw 
motion,  a motion  worked  by  a wheel,  or  preferably  a pair  of 
wheels,  turning  on  a transverse  axis  at  right  angles  to  the  line 
of  motion  of  the  central  sliding  spindle,  and  of  such  diameter 
as  to  be  readily  worked  by  the  pressure  of  the  thumbs  when 
the  instrument  is  held  by  both  hands,  as  race  glasses  are  usu- 
ally held.  Each  wheel  acts  on  the  sliding  spindle  through  a pin 
or  stud  projecting  laterally  from  the  sliding  spindle  through  a 
longitudinal  slot  in  its  guide  tube,  the  said  pin  or  stud  engag- 
ing in  a radial  slot  in  the  inner  face  of  the  wheel.  Or  instead 
of  a slot,  each  wheel  may  have  a crank  pin  fixed  to  its  inner 
face,  the  said  crank  pin  being  connected  with  the  stud  on  the 
sliding  spindle  by  a short  connecting  link.  Instead  of  wheels 
small  levers  may  be  used. 

6,353. — April  1 3<A,  1889.  “Photographic  Apparatus  for 
Tourists.”  Samson  Albert  Darier-Gide,  4,  Rue  Ilellot, 
Geneva,  Switzerland. 

This  invention  can  be  adequately  explained  only  by  the  aid 
of  diagrams. 

19,691. — December  7th,  1889.  “Photographic  Cameras.” 
Oscar  Freeworth,  of  Lenkerbad,  County  Wallis,  Switzer- 
land, Gentleman. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1 . In  photographic  cameras  the  arrangement  consisting  essen- 
tially of  a prism  and  eccentric  discs  which,  when  the  prism  is 
turned,  force  the  bellows,  which  are  held  firmly  against  the 
prism  by  means  of  springs,  away  from  the  prism. 

2.  In  connection  with  the  arrangement  described  in  the  above 
claim,  the  employment  either  of  plate  or  film-frames  connected 
with  each  other,  or,  in  case  of  sensitive  paper,  of  rollers, 


230 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 

/ . . , lv.'  . \ 


[March  21 , 1890. 


(^oiTcsponticncc. 

A PHOTOGRAPHIC  SCHOLARSHIP. 

Sih( May  I beg  you  will  insert  enclosed  correspondence 

your  next  issue  ? The  matter  appears  of  sufficient  interest  to 
require  public  discussion,  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  best  method 
of  disposing  of  the  gift  in  question. 

I may  say  that  my  own  feeling  is  to  offer  the  sum  as  a 
scholarship,  to  be  competed  for  by  examination  amongst  the 
students  of  the  schools  of  photography  at  the  Polytechnic, 
South  Kensington,  &c.,  and  that  the  earning  of  such  scholarship 
should  carry  with  it  the  necessity  for  a year’s  residence  and 
study  at  one  of  the  best  schools  of  photography  on  the  Continent. 

I venture  to  think  this  method  would  tend  to  elevate  the 
art-science,  and  place  it  on  a level  with  other  special  subjects 
which  are  already  similarly  endowed.  John  Howson. 

Mv  deah  Sir, — In  looking  over  the  programme  of  the 
Conference  I see  amongst  the  agenda,  a proposal  to  abolish  trade 
medals  at  exhibitions.  Now,  though  I hold  views  on  this 
subject  opposed  to  yours,  I am  quite  ready  to  admit  that 
general  feeling  is  against  me  ; and  that  being  so,  it  is 
manifestly  for  the  benefit  of  photography  that  my  views  should 
be  put  aside,  and  trade  medals  should  disappear.  Therefore 
the  Britannia  Works  Company  will,  in  future,  abstain  from 
offering  any  such  medals.  This  I hope  will  be  some  little 
help  in  clearing  the  way  for  a prompt  and  easy  settlement  of 
the  question,  as  my  firm  is  one  of  the  principal  offenders. 
I take  this  opportunity  of  recording  my  earnest  conviction 
that,  however  ripe  the  time  may  be  now  for  such  a sweeping 
change,  in  the  past  the  giving  of  trade  medals  has  served  a 
good  purpose,  by  stimulating  competition,  and  bringing  to 
exhibitions  good  work  which  would  have  been  absent  in  many 
eases  without  such  inducement.  I claim,  moreover,  to  have 
credit  given  us  for  a real  desire  to  further  the  art  of  photo- 
graphy, as  well  as  our  own  ends,  in  what  we  have  done  in  the 
past.  To  prove  that  we  have  been  and  are  to  a great  extent 
disinterested  in  our  motives,  I am  pleased  to  inform  you 
that  the  Britannia  Works  Company  have  generously  placed  at  my 
disposal  the  sum  of  £100  per  annum  for  three  years  as  a 
scholarship  to  be  used  as  may  best  seem  adapted  to  further 
the  interests  of  either  the  art  or  science  side  of  photography, 
with  an  expression  of  preference  for  the  science  side.  To  the 
Camera  Club,  as  the  leading  spirit  in  all  forward  movements 
in  the  art,  I desire  to  transfer  this  generous  gift,  and  I trust 
the  Conference  will  see  their  way  to  accept  it,  and  that  we 
may  conjointly  be  able  to  dispose  of  it  in  a fitting  way. 

Jirokenhurst,  Ilford,  March  10th.  John  Howson. 

G.  Davison,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir, — The  Committee  of  the  Club  discussed  the  sub- 
ject of  your  kind  offer  at  their  last  meeting  on  Thursday  last, 
and  requested  me  to  thank  you  for  your  generous  proposition. 
At  the  same  time  it  was  thought  that  the  best  way  of  applying 
the  gift — or,  rather,  the  best  course  to  adopt — would  be  to 
place  the  fund  entirely  at  the  disposal  of  a committee  or  trustees 
formed  independently  of  any  one  society,  but  rather  from  the 
Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain  and  other  leading  societies 
conjointly.  A representative  committee  formed  in  this  way 
would  probably  be  able  to  suggest  a method  of  applying  such  a 
fund  to  advantage,  either  by  offering  inducement  for  research 
and  experiments  in  certain  directions,  or  for  original  work  of 
value  in  any  way  bearing  on  the  advancement  of  the  science  or 
art  of  photography.  G.  Davison. 

Camera  Club,  March  14f/i. 

To  John  Howson,  Esq. 

Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. — Technical  meet- 
ing, Tuesday,  March  25th,  at  8 p.m.,  at  the  Gallery,  5a,  Pall 
Mall  East. 

Sheffield  Camera  Club. — At  a meeting  held  on  March 
12th,  Mr.  H.  W.  Smith,  representative  of  the  Eastman  Com- 
pany, Ltd.,  gave  a lecture  on  “Enlargements  on  Bromide 
Paper.”  After  detailing  the  most  suitable  lights  and  deve- 
lopers, he  gave  a practical  demonstration  on  the  Kastman 
paper,  explaining  the  process  step  by  step. 


Hvocectttncjs  of  Societies. 

Camera  Club. 

ffThursday,  March  13th,  lantern  slides  were  shown  at  the 
Camera  Club.  Mr.  Webber  occupied  the  chair. 

The  Hon.  Sec.  handed  round  some  collotype  prints  on 
Japanese  paper  and  satin  by  Mr.  W.  K.  Burton.  Some  fine 
Japanese  paper,  intended  for  experiment,  were  distributed  to 
those  desiring  pieces. 

Professor  Stebbing  exhibited  some  collotype  prints  brought 
from  Paris,  which  had  been  produced  by  M.  Balagny.  Some 
of  these  were  on  rough-surfaced  papers.  Mr.  Stebbing  stated 
that  within  three-quarters  of  an  hour  of  giving  a negative  to 
M.  Balagny,  about  twenty  prints  were  given  to  him.  He 
thought  that  M.  Balagny  would  introduce  his  method  into 
England,  and  he  saw  no  reason  why  the  amateur  should  not 
have  his  own  machine  at  a cost  of  about  £4,  and  make  his  own 
collotype  reproductions. 

A show  of  lantern  slides  was  then  given  ; altogether,  about 
200  slides  were  brought  or  sent  up  by  Messrs.  W.  M.  Robertson, 
Lane,  Elder,  Seyd,  Ellis,  Laurie,  Fitz-Payne,  Howlett,  and 
Grimshaw. 

The  subject  on  Thursday,  March  27tli,  will  be  “ Platiuotyi>e 
Possibilities,”  when  Mr.  W.  Willis  will  read  a paper.  Meeting 
at  8 p.m. 


London  University  College  Photographic  Society. 

March  1 1th. — Dr.  R.  T.  Plimpton  in  the  chair. 

Dr.  N.  Collie,  F.R.S.E.,  read  a paper  on  “ The  Chemistry 
of  Photographic  Developers.”  The  simplest  form  of  develop- 
ment was  first  noticed,  where  a ferric  salt  has  been  reduced 
by  light  to  a ferrous  salt,  when  the  nearly  invisible  image  can 
be  made  visible  by  washing  with  ferricyanide  of  potassium,  or 
treating  with  a silver  or  gold  salt,  which  metals  are  deposited 
where  the  iron  has  been  reduced,  thus  developing  the  image. 
The  development  of  the  visible  image  on  the  photographic 
plate  was  then  noticed,  and  it  was  pointed  out  that  in  this 
case,  as  only  an  infinitesimal  quantity  of  haloid  salt  of  silver 
undergoes  change  during  exposure  to  light,  development  has 
to  be  carried  on  in  a different  way  from  that  already  noticed. 
The  alkaline  developers — pyrogallic  acid,  liydroquinone,  and 
others — were  next  mentioned.  These  developers  are  charac- 
terised by  their  great  affinity  for  oxygen,  and  differ  from 
ferrous  sulphate,  the  reaction  of  which  with  nitrate  of  silver 
was  discussed,  in  being  able  to  reduce  the  haloid  salts  of  silver. 
The  actual  chemical  change  which  takes  place  when  a plate  is 
developed  by  any  of  these  substances  was  shown  to  be  the 
same.  It  is  a case  of  reduction  of  the  silver  salt  by  the 
developer,  but,  as  the  developer  contains  no  silver,  the  only 
way  in  which  the  image  can  be  built  up  is  by  the  further 
reduction  of  the  silver  salt  in  the  film.  The  question  why 
silver  is  deposited  on  one  part  of  the  film  and  not  on  another, 
thus  forming  the  image,  is  explained  by  the  assumption  that 
electro-chemical  decomposition  occurs.  It  was  finally 
pointed  out  that  in  all  ordinary  cases  of  development  a 
reducing  substance  was  necessary,  and  usually  the  greater  the 
reducing  power  the  more  powerful  the  developer ; and,  as 
there  are  numberless  substances  amongst  organic  compounds 
which  possess  this  reducing  power  in  a greater  or  less  degree 
(phenyl  hydrazine  was  shown  as  an  example),  the  choice  of  new 
developers  is,  probably,  by  no  means  limited. 

In  the  discussion  which  ensued,  Mr.  E.  S.  Worrall 
criticised  eikonogen  as  being  admirably  adapted  for  certain 
kinds  of  work,  but,  to  get  a good  negative,  he  preferred  the 
yellow  image  obtained  by  using  the  old-fashioned  pyro  developer. 

The  next  meeting  will  be  held  on  Tuesday,  March  25th, 
which  will  be  a lantern  night,  and  the  last  meeting  this  term. 


Derby  Photographic  Society. 

The  monthly  meeting  was  held  at  the  Rooms  in  Derwent  Street 
on  Thursday  last ; Mr.  A.  B.  Hamilton  presided. 

Mr.  Bankart,  of  Leicester,  gave  a lecture  on  “ Development,” 
and  exhibited  a number  of  his  negatives. 


March  21,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


231 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  13th  inst.  Mr.  L.  Medland  occupied  the 

chair. 

The  evening  was  devoted  to  judging  lantern  slides  put  in  for 
competition  by  the  members.  The  slides  were  all  made  from 
three  quarter-plate  negatives  chosen  for  the  purpose,  which 
were  passed  to  each  intending  competitor  in  turn.  The  sub- 
jects were  : — “Land’s  End,  Seascape,”  “Old  Houses  at  New 
Lyn,”  and  “Children  Gathering  Seaweed.”  The  slides  were 
projected  on  the  screen  side  by  side  from  two  lanterns  supplied 
and  manipulated  by  Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater,  the  slide  judged  to 
be  the  best  being  left  on  the  screen  until  displaced  by  one  voted 
to  be  better. 

At  the  conclusion  it  was  found  that  Mr.  J.  I!.  15.  Wellington’s 
slides  had  taken  first  place  in  all  three  subjects,  and  also  the 
second  place  with  two  of  the  subjects,  Mr.  1).  W.  Atkins  taking 
the  other.  Mr.  Wellington’s  slides  were  made  from  collodio- 
bromide  plates.  Mr.  I).  W.  Atkins  used  gelatine  plates.  The 
competition  was  an  exceedingly  close  one  in  several  cases,  and 
.-rested  a great  amount  of  interest  among  the  members. 


West  London  Photographic  Society. 

A meeting  was  held  14th  March,  Mr.  E.  W.  Foxi.ee  in  the 

chair. 

Mr.  H.  Sei.by  gave  a paper  and  demonstration  on  “ Eastman 
Stripping  Films.”  The  lecturer  said  although  condemned  to 
die  a natural  death,  owing  to  the  introduction  of  celluloid  films, 
yet  stripping  films,  in  the  hands  of  careful  workers,  presented 
few  difficulties,  and  were  undoubtedly  superior  to  glass  in  the 
matter  of  portability,  storage,  and  immunity  from  damage  if 
dropped.  He  attributed  his  early  failures  to  neglect  of  the 
instructions  issued  by  the  Company.  He  seldom  dealt  with 
more  than  two  films  at  a time.  The  great  point  was  not  to 
leave  the  film  more  than  ten  minutes  in  washing  water  after 
development  and  fixing.  After  that  time  he  placed  them  in  an 
aeid  bath  composed  of  acetic  acid  1 0 minims,  water  1 0 ounces, 
in  which  they  were  left  all  night.  Films  so  treated  always 
stripped  without  trouble.  It  was  very  essential  to  have  clean 
glass.  He  did  not  use  rubber  solution,  but  polished  the  glass 
with  French  chalk,  employing  a thin  collodion  made  by  the 
Company.  His  mode  of  working  differed  from  that  recom- 
mended by  the  Company  in  the  following  particulars  : he  did 
not  strip  the  same  evening  as  he  developed  ; he  never  used 
rubber  solution  ; he  did  not  place  the  film  on  glass  support 
under  water,  it  being  easy  to  avoid  bubbles  without  so  doing  ; 
he  never  used  glycerine  and  alcohol,  and  did  not  varnish  the 
gelatine  skin. 

In  the  course  of  the  discussion  which  ensued,  Mr.  Hazeon  said 
he  had  developed  only  five  films,  given  him  by  a friend.  He  had 
used  neither  skins,  collodion,  or  rubber  solution,  but  he  suc- 
ceeded in  stripping  all  of  them  without  mishap. 

Mr.  Wilson,  in  developing  Kodak  films,  used  a weak  solution 
of  sulphuric  acid  and  water.  He  sometimes  left  them  several 
hours  under  pressure,  not  allowing  them  to  dry  ; they  then 
always  stripped.  He  rather  liked  the  operation  of  collodion- 
ising  and  coating  with  rubber,  and  therefore  employed  both 
solutions,  although  sometimes  with  the  rubber  there  was  a 
tendency  of  the  film  to  stick  locally. 

Mr.  Stein  had  found  the  film  negative  detach  itself  from  its 
skin  sometimes,  and  that  when  collodion  had  been  employed. 

Mr.  Rickford  wished  to  know  why  hydroquinone  rotted  the 
film.  It  did  not  seem  to  do  so  in  all  cases. 

Mr.  W ILSON  had  found  the  films  melt  away  in  a hydrokinone 
developer,  which,  however,  contained  caustic  soda. 

Mr.  Hodges  considered  a roll-holder  and  films  far  more  con- 
venient on  tour  than  plates  ; the  negatives,  owing  to  the 
absence  of  halation,  were  full}’  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  those 
on  glass.  They  also  were  very  suitable  for  enlarging,  the 
mat  surface  backing  producing  a very  soft  effect.  By  copying 
a small  transparency  in  the  enlarging  camera  the  film  side  out, 
and  enlarging  on  transferotype  paper,  or  a stripping  film, 
enlarged  negatives  could  be  readily  and  cheaply  produced. 

Mr.  Roland  'Whiting  wished  to  know’  whether  the  film 
would  give  a good  bite  to  the  retouching  pencil.  The  collodion 
surface  seemed  to  be  very  glossy. 


Mr.  Foxi.ee  thought  the  collodion  film  a very  valuable  part  of 
the  process,  and  Mr.  Hazeon  ought  to  attribute  his  success  to 
sheer  good  luck.  The  collodion  not  only  protects  the  stripped 
film,  but  holds  it  together  while  upon  the  glass,  and  to  avoid 
risk  it  was  better  to  employ  a preliminary  coating  of  rubber 
solution.  In  very  refractory  cases  lie  had  used  boiling  water 
with  success,  which  could  have  done  without  a rubber  sub- 
stratum. Damp  sometimes  caused  the  insoluble  ehromated 
emulsion  to  affect  the  soluble  substratum  of  gelatine  ; difficulty 
in  stripping  them  occurred  ; the  weak  acid  solution,  however, 
remedied  this  defect.  He  did  not  leave  the  films  under  pres- 
sure more  than  ten  minutes.  It  was  a mistake  to  leave  them 
soaking  after  fixing,  because  the  pyro  exercised  a tanning 
action  on  the  soluble  gelatine,  and  if  the  film  were  allowed  to 
dry  before  stripping,  the  difficulty  of  stripping  would  be  greater. 
He  had  never  found  the  films  become  detached,  and  was  at  a 
loss  to  assign  a reason. 

Mr.  Hodges  thought  it  might  be  due  to  the  presence  of 
grease,  or  to  careless  squeegeeing. 

The  next  meeting  will  be  on  March  28th,  a lantern  night, 
when  friends  are  invited. 


Glasgow  Photographic  Association. 

March  6th. — Mr.  William  Lang,  jun.,  F.C.S.,  in  the 
chair. 

A paper  on  “The  Sizes  of  Plates”  (see  page  220),  by  Mr. 
J.  Craig  Annan,  was  read,  and  a discussion  followed,  the 
general  outcome  of  which  was  that  if  an  adjustment  should 
be  made,  it  should  be  done  on  an  international  basis. 

A picture  taken  by  an  automatic  photographic  apparatus 
was  afterwards  shown  to  the  members.  It  had  evidently  been 
tiken  on  a wet  plate,  but  particulars  of  the  apparatus  itself 
had  not  been  given  in  sufficient  detail  to  explain  the  modus 
operand  i. 

Mr.  Patrick  Falconer  followed  with  a communication — 
“A  Neglected  Dry-plate  Process,”  showing  results  obtained  by 
the  method,  both  transparencies  and  negatives.  The  process 
in  question  is  one  put  forw’ard  by  Mr.  Hannaford  in  1861, 
where  the  sensitised  collodion  plate,  after  being  washed,  is 
coated  with  a preservative  of  white  of  egg  to  which  a 
certain  amount  of  nitrate  of  silver  has  been  added,  and  the 
albuminate  of  silver  formed  dissolved  in  ammonia.  Mr. 
Falconer  has  worked  the  process  for  twenty-five  years.  The 
speed  of  the  plate  would  appear  to  be  very  rapid,  Mr. 
Falconer  and  the  President  having  made  transparencies 
shown  at  the  meeting  on  the  screen  by  means  of  the  Asso- 
ciation’s lantern,  when  the  exposure  behind  a negative  did  not 
amount  to  more  than  a second  or  two  in  front  of  an 
ordinary  batswing  burner.  The  image  was  brought  out  by 
means  of  eikonogen,  and  afterwards  strengthened  by  means  of 
pyro,  citric  and  glacial  acetic  acids,  and  silver. 

Several  photographic  novelties  were  shown,  and  an  exhibi- 
tion of  transparencies  by  means  of  the  Association’s  lantern 
concluded  the  evening’s  programe. 


Photographic  Society  of  Ireland. 

A meeting  was  held  at  the  Rooms,  Dawson  Street,  Dublin,  on 
the  14th  inst.,  with  Mr.  Greenwood  Pim  in  the  chair.  After 
election  of  four  new  members, 

Mr.  Louis  Meldon  read  a paper  on  “Shutters.”  He  said 
that  he  would  confine  himself  to  observations  on  instantaneous 
work,  and  the  lenses  most  suitable.  Having  explained  the 
working  of  the  Wilson  chronograph,  which  he  used  as  his 
timing  apparatus,  he  went  on  to  say  that  shutters  might  best 
be  classified  relatively  to  the  position  they  occupy  when  used 
with  the  ordinary  form  of  doublet  lens  : 1st,  on  the  hood  of 
the  lens  ; 2nd,  between  the  two  combinations  ; 3rd,  imme- 
diately behind  the  lens  ; 4 th,  immediately  in  front  of  the 
plate.  The  fourth  class  he  intended  at  once  to  dismiss,  for, 
although  its  position  was  in  many  respects  the  most  favourable 
of  all,  the  advantages  were  much  out-balanced  by  the  incon- 
venience due  to  the  large  size  of  the  apparatus  needed.  An 
ideal  shutter,  he  said,  was  one  which,  if  it  were  possible,  would 
open  to  its  full  aperture  suddenly,  and  without  lapse  of  time, 
and,  having  remained  open  a certain  time,  would  close  suddenly 


232 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  21,  1890. 


again.  Mr.  Meldon,  having  considered  most  of  the  instan- 
taneous shutters  in  general  use  amongst  photographers,  pro- 
ceeded to  describe  his  own,  and  passed  through  the  lantern  some 
specimens  of  its  work.  

Leicester  and  Leicestershire  Photographic  Society. 

A meeting  was  held  in  the  Mayor’s  Parlour,  Old  Town  Hall,  on 
March  12th,  Mr.  S.  S.  Partridge  in  the  chair.  Mr.  Thos. 
Scotton  was  elected  a member  of  the  Society. 

The  silver  and  bronze  medals  were  presented  to  the  successful 
competitors  in  the  lantern  slide  competition— Mr.  Porritt  and 
Mr.  Joliffe  respectively.  The  competition  for  silver  and  bronze 
medals  for  enlargements  offered  by  Mr.  F.  Pierpoint  was 
declared  void,  in  consequence  of  the  number  of  entries  not 
complying  with  the  conditions.  The  competition  was  postponed 
until  the  October  meeting,  when  silver  and  bronze  medals  will 
be  offered  by  Mr.  Pierpoint  for  the  best  enlargement,  members 
to  enter  not  more  than  three  specimens  for  competition.  The 
medals  are  offered  on  condition  that  not  less  than  three  compete 
for  the  silver,  and  five  for  the  silver  and  bronze  medals. 


North  Middlesex  Photographic  Club. 

The  annual  dinner  was  held  at  Beale’s  Restaurant,  Holloway, 
on  the  15tli  inst.,  Mr.  J.  Humphries,  F.S.A.,  in  the  chair. 

The  usual  loyal  toasts  having  been  honoured, 

Mr.  J.  W.  Marchant  proposed  the  toast  of  the  evening, 
“The  North  Middlesex  Photographic  Club  and  its  Officers,” 
which  w as  responded  to  by  the 

Chairman,  who  briefly  sketched  the  position  of  the  Club, 
and  alluded  to  the  ability  and  energy  displayed  by  the  council 
and  lion,  secretary  (Mr.  G.  R.  Martin)  in  the  past  year,  and  to 
the  successful  maimer  in  which  the  arrangements  in  connection 
with  the  recent  exhibition  of  photographs  and  soiree  had  been 
carried  out  by  them.  The  roll  of  membership  had  increased, 
as  also  had  the  finances  of  the  Club.  The  lectures  and  demon- 
strations had  been  well  attended. 

Mr.  Brocas  (Holborn  Camera  Club)  acknowledged  the  toast 
of  “ Kindred  Societies.” 

Mr.  G.  R.  Martin  (hon.  secretary),  who  replied  to  the  toast 
of  “ The  Press,”  said  he  was  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  stating 
how  much  the  Club  was  indebted  to  the  Press  in  reporting 
their  meetings. 

Mr.  Davall,  senr.,  responding  for  “The  Visitors,”  referred 
to  the  wonderful  advances  made  in  photography,  particularly 
in  the  astronomical  direction. 

During  the  evening,  a varied  series  of  vocal  and  instrumental 
music  added  to  the  entertainment. 

The  menu  card  consisted  of  an  original  design  by  Mr.  Saville, 
photographed  and  finished  by  Mr.  Beckett,  both  members  of 
the  Club. 

♦ 

The  Photo-Nephograph. — In  the  exhibition  at  the  Meteoro- 
logical Society,  w'as  Captain  Abney’s  photo-nephograph,  or 
cloud  camera,  which  Mr.  Whipple  described  as  an  apparatus 
not  yet  fully  developed.  He  said  that  its  object  is  to 
obtain  simultaneous  instantaneous  photographs  of  the  same  cloud 
from  two  or  three  stations  situated  at  a distance  from  half 
a mile  and  upwards  from  each  other.  These  simultaneous  pic- 
tures are  then  utilised  for  determining  the  positions  of  clouds 
above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  so  obtaining  a knowledge 
of  the  upper  currents  of  the  air,  their  direction  and  motion  at 
heights  far  above  those  at  which  anemometers  can  be  placed, 
and  in  places  where  they  may  be  supposed  to  be  unaffected  by 
the  irregularities  and  eddies  formed  by  excrescences,  such  as 
hills  and  valleys,  which  modify  the  contour  of  the  earth’s  sur- 
face. At  Kew,  two  cameras  fitted  to  theodolites  are  erected 
on  stands  half  a mile  apart,  but  electrically  connected  by  an 
underground  telegraph  wire.  Each  camera  is  provided  with  an 
adjustable  instantaneous  shutter,  which  can  be  manipulated  by 
an  electric  current  at  the  will  of  the  directing  operator.  The 
modus  operand!  is  as  follows  : — A first  points  his  camera  at  a 
selected  cloud,  and  then  having  instructed  the  observer  at  the 
remote  station  B,  through  a telephone,  as  to  the  direction  in 
which  he  should  place  his  instrument,  releases  both  shutters  at 
the  same  instant  of  time,  so  obtaining  a pair  of  pictures  in 
which  the  stereoscopic  effect  affords  the  required  data. 


to  ('Tomspontfcnta!. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 

Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Roal,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

All  A ivertisements  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 

to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 

Photographic  Nkws,  Messrs  Piper  <fe  Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London 

M.  E. — Asbestos  Wicks.  We  have  had  no  experience  with 
asbestos  wicks,  but  imagine  that  they  would  not  be  less 
liable  to  clog,  for  a carbon  deposit  would  be  formed  at  the 
top,  and  entail  the  necessity  of  occasionally  igniting  the 
.asbestos  to  get  rid  of  it.  Try  the  experiment  for  yourself, 
either  with  the  loose  fibres  or  a strip  of  asbestos  cloth. 

C.  N.  W. — Photogravure  Details.  Try  to  attend  the  prac- 
tical demonstration  to  be  given  at  the  Camera  Club  Con- 
ference this  afternoon,  about  5 p.m.,  at  the  Society  of  Arts. 
You  will  be  admitted  on  signing  the  visitors'  book. 

Retoucher. — The  Address  of  Herr  Fritz  Luckardt  is  Hotel 
National,  Vienna.  You  will  find  an  account  of  his  studio 
and  special  device  for  glazing  the  roof  in  the  article,  “ Fritz 
Luckardt  at  Home,”  at  page  400  of  our  vol.  xxv. 

R.  B.  B.  (Dennistown). — Etching  of  Glass.  There  are  two  i 
methods:  the  first,  producing  “satin  effects,”  is  done  by 
hydrofluoric  acid  alone.  For  a dead-white  etching,  make  a 
mixture,  in  a gutta-percha  or  lead  bottle,  of  very  finely 
powdered  fluor-spar  with  enough  strong  oil  of  vitriol  to 
form  a thin  paste,  and  allow  time  for  the  acid  to  decompose 
the  calcium  fluoride.  Write  with  a quill  pen  or  small  brush 
dipped  in  the  fluoric  ink  on  the  glass  direct,  without  either 
wax  or  varnish  for  protection.  After  a few  minutes’  contact, 
wash  off  and  dry  with  filter-paper.  A small  proportion  of 
precipitated  sulphate  of  baryta  is  sometimes  added  to  thicken 
the  ink  before  use,  and  give  more  opacity. 

V.  R.  (Malta). — Method  of  Reviving  Daguerreotypes.  The  best 
process  is  by  immersion  in  a very  weak  solution  of  cyanide 
of  potassium,  watching  carefully  until  the  image  is  just 
cleared,  and  then  quickly  washing  under  a tap,  with  final 
rinse  in  distilled  water.  Allow’  to  dry  spontaneously  in 
the  air. 

M.  F. — A Small  Studio.  The  information  you  require  is  given 
in  Mr.  H.  P.  Robinson’s  little  book  entitled  “ The  Studio ; j 
and  what  to  do  in  it,”  published  by  Messrs.  Piper  and 
Carter.  A very  compact  form  of  studio  was  described  by 
Dr.  John  Anthony,  at  the  April,  1870,  meeting  of  the 
Photographic  Society.  See  the  Journal  of  that  date.  But 
the  details  of  construction  must  always  be  to  some  extent 
governed  by  local  circumstances.  You  might  be  able  to 
build  one  for  the  sum  named,  but  the  calculation  v’ould  be 
rather  close. 

H.  B. — Your  letter  received,  signed,  and  passed  on  to  the 
Kingsland  Branch. 

M.  E.  P. — The  Crystal  Palace  Exhibition  remains  open  until 
Saturday,  29th  inst.  The  lantern  display  is  better  than 
ever  ; two  new  lenses,  of  three  inches  clear  aperture,  with  big 
lime  lights,  project  the  image  upon  the  screen,  which  is  said 
to  be  35  feet  in  diameter.  The  amplification  is  therefore 
about  140  times.  Ask  Mr.  Brooks  to  let  you  see  the 

apparatus. 

D.  W. — Received  the  four  cabinet  vignettes.  They  are, 
indeed,  excellent,  and  we  will  write  you  respecting  them  in 
the  course  of  a few  days. 

F.  S. — Iris  Diaphragm.  The  only  objection  arises  from  the 
chance  of  grit  getting  into  the  working  parts  ; but  against 
this  you  may  put  down  the  loss  of  time  in  changing  the 
sliding  diaphragms,  and  the  possibility  of  leaving  them 
behind,  or  of  dropping  them  into  long  grass  or  heather  in 
the  field. 

E.  P.  — Fading  of  Silver  Prints.  The  liabity  to  change  has 
been  vastly  over-rated,  for  if  carefully  fixed  and  thoroughly 
well  washed,  finishing  off  with  hot  v’ater,  the  longevity  is 
quite  remarkable.  \Ye  have  seen  some  notable  instances 
lately  of  good  prints  not  appreciably  affected  in  thirty 
years. 

Several  other  corespondents  in  our  next. 


THE 


PHOTOGRAPHIC 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1647. — March  28,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


P AO  K 


The  Invisible  Photographic  Image 233 

Tht  Camera  Club  Conference  234 

Mr.  Rossi  on  “ Photography  and  Drawing” 234 

Regulations  for  Photographic  Exhibitions  234 

Lord  Rayleigh  on  “ Photography  by  the  Light  of  the 

Electric  Spaik  ” 230 

Capt.  Abney  on  “ A Photographic  Untruth  ” 237 

Mr.  C.  II.  Bothamley  on  “The  Latent  Image'’ 237 

Mr.  W.  T.  Wilkinson  on  “ Photo-Mechanical  Printing”  ...  237 

The  Club  Dinner  237 

On  Differences  of  Colour-Sensitiveness  at  Different  Times.  By 
Professor  II.  W.  Vogel  239 


PAOX 


Severe  Tests  of  Compressed  Gas  Cylinders  239 

Photographing  a Speaker’s  Gestures 240 

Mounting  Lantern  Slides  241 

Notes  242 

Children.  By  A Photographer  243 

Photography  in  Germany.  By  Hermann  E.  Gunther 245 

What  Photography  will  Not  Do 24C 

Patent  Intelligence  247 

Correspondence— A Photographic  Scholarship— Challenge  Cup 

Competition  at  the  Crystal  Palace  250 

Proceedings  of  Societies  25# 

Answers  to  Correspondents  252 


THE  INVISIBLE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  IMAGE. 
The  nature  of  the  invisible  photographic  image  being 
unknown,  the  wisest  course  is  to  weigh  all  the  different 
hypotheses  at  present  in  existence,  and  not  to  try  to 
raise  any  one  of  them  to  the  level  of  a kind  of  Athana- 
sian  Creed  which  must  not  be  denied  without  the  in- 
dividual falling  under  the  ban  of  heresy.  Mr. 
Bothamley  did  not  do  this  in  his  paper  read  before  the 
Camera  Club  Conference,  still  there  may  be  no  harm 
in  pointing  out  some  of  the  arguments  in  favour  of 
the  dynamical  hypothesis  of  the  nature  of  the  in- 
visible image . 

The  chemical  hypothesis  is  that  the  molecule  of 
bromide  of  silver  is  decomposed  by  the  action  of  light. 
The  dynamical  hypothesis  is  that  it  perhaps  is  not 
decomposed,  but  that  the  interatomic  vibrations  of  the 
molecule  are  modified,  and  that  the  affinity  of  the 
bromine  for  the  silver  is  thereby  somewhat  weakened 
by  the  action  of  light,  so  that  the  developer  acts  more 
easily  thereupon,  and  decomposes  the  modified  molecule 
more  quickly  than  if  it  had  not  been  acted  upon  by  light. 

The  initial  effect  of  the  light  is  undoubtedly  of  this 
kind,  because  an  instantaneous  action  is  unknown  to 
science ; every  decomposition  requires  time,  for  all 
nature  works  as  if  upon  springs.  A bottle  of  mixed 
hydrogen  and  oxygen  gases,  for  instance,  cannot  be 
exploded  all  at  once ; experiment  has  proved  that  a 
portion  of  the  mixed  gases  remains  unburnt.  On  these 
principles  the  dynamical  hypothesis  is  certainly  to 
[ some  extent  true,  even  if  the  chemical  hypothesis 
should  be  the  true  one  in  relation  to  the  final 
phenomenon  of  an  invisible  image  on  the  plate  when 
the  latter  is  ready  for  development. 

In  the  abstract  of  the  paper  given  last  Friday  by 
Mr.  Bothamley,  the  main  argument  against  the 
dynamic  hypothesis  was,  that  if  light  merely  modified 
the  motions  of  the  constituents  of  the  molecule,  in 
the  course  of  months  or  years  the  motions  would 
resume  their  original  character,  and  the  fact  would  be  i 


indicated  by  the  dying  out  of  the  invisible  image  on 
the  plate,  so  that  no  picture  could  be  brought  out  by 
development. 

For  the  sake  of  simplicity  in  illustration,  two  atoms 
only  may  be  assumed  to  be  in  a state  of  some  kind  of 
vibration  in  relation  to  each  other,  and  to  place  a de- 
finite picture  in  the  mind’s  eye,  we  will  compare  these 
two  atoms  with  the  sun  and  the  earth,  calling  the  sun 
an  atom  of  silver,  and  the  earth  an  atom  of  bromine. 

Leverrier  first  proved  that  the  orbit  of  the  earth 
varies  with  time,  in  consequence  of  perturbations  set 
up  by  the  planets.  At  the  present  time  the  path  of 
the  earth  round  the  sun  is  nearly  circular,  and  at  mid- 
winter the  earth  is  nearly  ninety-one  millions  of  miles 
from  the  sun  ; but  when  the  orbit  was  at  its  greatest 
eccentricity  the  earth  was  nearly  ninety -nine  millions  of 
miles  from  the  sun  at  midwinter.  One  period  of  great 
eccentricity  began  240,000  and  ended  80,000  years  ago, 
and  is  one  which  is  quoted  by  Dr.  Croll  and  others  in 
support  of  the  astronomical  theory  of  glacial  epochs,  a 
theory  more  generally  accepted  by  scientific  men  than 
any  other.  In  the  thousands  of  consecutive  years  dur- 
ing which  the  earth  is  at  midwinter  more  than,  say, 
four  millions  of  miles  from  the  sun  than  at  present,  it 
neither  breaks  away  from  the  sun,  which  would  corres- 
pond to  the  decomposition  of  our  imaginary  molecule, 
nor  does  it  come  back  in  a few  months  or  years,  or 
hundreds  of  years,  to  its  present  path  round  the  sun . 

The  objection  may  be  raised  that  in  the  matters  of 
weight  and  speed  it  is  not  fair  to  compare  the  infinitely 
great  with  the  infinitely  small,  but  the  response  is  that 
little  is  known  about  atoms ; nobody  has  ever  seen  one, 
nor  is  much  known  about  the  immense  forces  which 
control  their  motions.  Professor  Tyndall  often  amused 
Royal  Institution  observers  by  bursting  bombshells  by 
means  of  the  molecular  force  exercised  by  water  when 
in  the  act  of  freezing. 

The  argument  was  put  forth  at  last  week’s  Con- 
ference that  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  decomposition 
of  the  molecule,  because  of  the  smell  emitted  by  large 

IT 


234 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  28,  1890. 


numbers  of  bromide  plates  when  exposed  to  strong 
daylight  at  works  where  they  have  been  spoilt  in  the 
course  of  manufacture.  Nobody  denies,  however,  that 
light,  when  it  acts  long  enough,  may  set  up  chemical 
decomposition,  though  this  is  not  so  clear  in  the  case 
of  absolutely  pure  iodide  of  silver  when  not  in  contact 
with  any  other  chemical  substance,  so  far  as  man  can 
surround  it  with  such  conditions. 

Mr.  Carey  Lea,  who  accepted  the  dynamic  hypo- 
thesis soon  after  it  was  first  published  by  its  two  origi- 
nators, has  changed  his  opinion  at  least  three  times  as 
to  the  nature  of  the  invisible  image,  and  there  would 
be  nothing  surprising  if  he  changed  it  again  next 
week.  This  is  to  his  credit;  it  proves  him  to  be  a 
philosopher  who  does  not  dogmatise,  but  changes  his 
opinions  from  time  to  time  as  newly  revealed  facts 
come  under  his  notice. 

One  of  the  functions  of  trained  scientific  men  is  that 
of  experimentally  investigating  such  problems  as  these, 
and  much  chemical  and  mathematical  investigation 
will  have  to  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  particular 
question  now  under  notice.  The  chemist  may  hereafter 
tell  us  what  is  given  off  by  bromide  plates  when 
exposed  to  sunlight,  and  the  mathematician  may  bring 
evidence  to  bear  as  to  the  possible  duration  of  modified 
interatomic  motions,  assuming  such  to  exist.  Professor 
Dewar  took  up  safe  ground  when  he  stated  that  it  is 
an  exceedingly  difficult  task  to  determine  what  takes 
place  when  light  first  strikes  a photographic  film. 
Professor  Meldola  is  to  lecture  on  this  subject  a few 
weeks  hence  at  the  Royal  Institution,  and  what  he  has 
to  say  thereupon  cannot  fail  to  be  of  interest. 


THE  CAMERA.  CLUB  CONFERENCE. 

The  Fibst  Day’s  Proceedings. 

A report  of  the  first  day’s  proceedings  of  the  Camera 
Club  Conference  was  published  in  these  pages  last 
week,  and  to-day  we  add  a brief  portion  of  Mr.  Rossi’s 
paper  read  thereat,  as  follows  : — 

Mr.  Rossi  on  “Photography  and  Drawing.” 

Mr.  Rossi,  in  the  course  of  a paper  on  the  above  subject, 
said : — 

The  marvellous  perfection  to  which  photography  has 
risen,  and  the  facilities  that  she  offers  us,  have  so  minimised 
the  long  and  tedious  years  of  an  art  education,  that  a youth 
born  an  artist  can  now  accomplish,  in  as  many  months, 
that  which  would  have  taken  him  so  many  years  to  learn 
before  photography. 

The  three  great  components  that  constitute  an  artist  are 
design,  drawing,  colouring.  By  design  we  understand  the 
idea,  the  scheme,  the  conception  that  an  artist  wishes  to 
express.  This  is  a creative  faculty,  and,  like  colour, 
cannot  be  taught;  if  it  is  to  some  extent  acquired  by 
tuition,  it  will  be  destitute  of  individuality  and  void  of 
originality.  Drawing  is  the  necessary  foundation  of  paint- 
ing, without  which  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  the  images  of 
things  or  their  action,  their  just  proportions,  expressions,  or 
animation. 

This  knowledge,  though  infinitely  easier  to  some  than 
to  others,  can  be  sooner  or  later  acquired,  and  by  practice 
can  be  perfected.  Colouring,  as  we  said  before,  is  an 


instinct  born  with  us.  Every  man  has  a genius— the  evil, 
the  dormant,  the  sluggish,  and  the  bright  genius  that  in- 
spires in  our  works  that  mysterious  breath  of  the  spirit 
that  makes  us  see  lovely  images.  Unfortunately  for  many, 
their  mind  has  been  unable  to  carry  them  beyond  the 
borders  of  the  boundless  area  of  mediocrity  to  get  a glimpse 
of  the  glorious  fields  of  immortality.  Nevertheless,  their 
academical  education  has  not  been  lost,  for  it  has  given 
them  experience,  which  has  convinced  them  that  a true 
artist  now  is  not  made  at  an  academy,  or  in  any  of  the 
numberless  schools  where  young  people  flock  by  the  hun- 
dred to  the  destruction  of  art,  but  by  going  to  nature  ; and 
if  such  youths  who  can  from  nature’s  inexhaustible  book 
get  inspiration  and  learning,  devoted  themselves  to  art,  it 
would  be  a blessing  for  all  connected  with  it.  Michael 
Angelo  called  with  Vasari  one  day  on  Titian,  at  the  Belvi- 
dere  at  Rome,  to  see  a picture  of  a naked  figure  of  Dauea. 
Many  of  the  guests  began  to  praise  the  work  highly,  as  do 
people  when  the  artist  is  present,  and  Michael  Angelo, 
when  all  had  left,  declared  that  the  manner  and  colouring 
of  Titian  pleased  him  greatly,  but  that  it  was  a pity  that  the 
Venetian  did  not  study  drawing  more,  for  if,  he  added,  the 
artist  had  been  as  aided  by  art  and  knowledge  of  design  as 
he  had  by  nature,  he  would  have  produced  works  that 
none  would  surpass. 

I would  ask  you,  if  an  artist  of  Titian's  gigantic  powers 
lived  now,  and  had  produced  a picture  of  a naked  figure, 
would  he  have  incurred  the  criticism  that  his  great 
brother  artist  passed  upon  him  ? I think  not ; for 
conscious,  as  great  men  generally  are,  of  the  weak  point 
in  their  works,  he  would  be  sure  to  use  all  the  legitimate 
means  in  his  power  to  secure  a correct  outline  before 
applying  to  it  his  fascinating  powers  of  painting.  1 can 
therefore  well  imagine  a nineteenth  century  Titian  taking  a 
good  photograph  of  that  lie  has  conceived  with  his  imagi- 
nation, and  tracing  it  on  his  canvas  to  his  size  before 
painting  from  his  model,  and  thus  he  would  be  sure  to 
produce  that  which  the  modern  Michael  Angelo  would 
admire,  not  only  in  the  manner  and  colouring,  but  also  in 
the  drawing.  It  is  indisputable  that  photography  has 
destroyed  all  conventionality  and  mannerism  in  art,  and 
has  shown  us  the  correct  way  of  drawing,  by  placing 
before  our  eyes  the  true  forms  of  lovely  things  and  of  all 
things. 

Mr.  Rossi  concluded  his  paper  by  expressing  his  firm 
belief  that  the  only  teachable  part  of  art,  which  is  draw- 
ing, is  sinking  with  the  rising  of  photography,  and,  in  his 
humble  belief,  the  days  are  not  far  off  when  a youth,  born 
with  artistic  instincts,  in  a few  months  of  mechanical  in- 
struction can  be  his  own  teacher,  and  photography  will  be 
his  academy. 

The  Second  Day’s  Proceedings. 

The  second  and  last  day’s  proceedings  of  the  Con- 
ference began  last  Friday  morning  in  the  hall  of  the 
Society  of  Arts,  London,  under  the  presidency  of  Capt. 
W.  de  VV.  Abney. 

Discussion  on  Regulations  for  Photographic 
Exhibitions. 

Mr.  George  Davison  read  a variety  of  papers  and  letters 
upon  photographic  exhibitions,  in  the  course  of  which  he 
stated  that  the  following  opinions  had  been  expressed  by 
various  societies  and  exhibitors  at  a representative  con- 
ference in  1888 : — 

1.  Length  of  Notice.  —Unanimous  that  long  notice  should 
be  given. 


March  28,  1890.] 


235 


rHE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


2.  Previous  Announcement  of  Judges. — The  meeting  at  the 
Camera  Club  in  1888  was  unanimous  in  favour  of  early 
announcement  of  judges’  names,  and  there  was  a large 
preponderance  of  replies  from  influential  exhibitors  con- 
sulted in  which  the  same  view  was  definitely  taken. 

3.  As  to  Classification. — Opinions  divided,  but  consider- 
ably in  favour  of  classification  by  “ subject.” 

4.  Awards  or  no  Awards. — A large  majority  of  opinion 
that  awards  are  generally  desirable  at  photographic  exhibi- 
tions. 

5.  As  to  Frequent  Exhibition  of  Prize  Pictures. — The  1888 
meeting  decided  by  a large  majority  in  favour  of  a 
champion  class ; but  there  was  a very  large  preponderance 
of  opinions  from  leading  exhibitors  that  medalled  pictures 
should  only  be  restricted  by  a time  limit  varying  from  one 
to  three  years  from  date  of  first  exhibition. 

6.  As  to  the  Amount  of  Work  to  be  Performed  by  the  Exhi- 
bitor.— All  the  written  opinions  urged  the  necessity  of 
selection,  exposure,  development,  and  printing  being  the 
work  of  a competitor,  a fair  sprinkling  making  an  excep- 
tion as  regards  mounting.  The  meeting  added  a unani- 
mous resolution  that  where  competitive  exhibits  were  the 
work  of  more  than  one  operator,  the  same  should  be  noti- 
fied in  the  catalogue. 

7.  Judges  for  Art  Section. — The  1888  meeting  preferred, 
by  a majority,  that  the  judges  in  the  Art  section  should 
be  “ photographers,  admitted  authorities  on  the  artistic 
side  of  photography,”  rather  than  solely  “ artists  recognised 
in  the  artistic  world.  ” 

8.  Judges  for  Scientific  Classes. — Unanimous  that  experts 
only  be  adjudicators. 

Other  points  which  were  unanimously  agreed  upon  were 

as  follows : — 

9.  All  awards  should  be  of  equal  value. 

10.  The  granting  of  large  numbers  of  awards,  and  the 
acceptance  by  exhibition  authorities  of  prizes  offered  for 
the  purposes  of  advertising,  greatly  to  be  deprecated. 

11.  That  some  limit  be  imposed  upon  the  number  of 
photographs  to  be  accepted  from  one  exhibitor. 

He  added  that  opinions  on  some  of  these  points  had 
since  been  modified,  and  that  the  discussion  thereof  would 
be  useful. 

As  recommendations  the  Club  put  forward  the  follow- 
ing suggestions: — (a)  That  the  power  of  rejection  of  infe- 
rior entries  should  be  rigidly  exercised  ; ( b ) that  with 
reference  to  Rule  6 greater  effort  should  be  made  to 
encourage  the  exhibition  of  photographs,  specimens,  and 
other  things  illustrating  the  application  of  photography  to 
various  sciences  and  industries ; (e)  that  retouching  be 
declared;  (d)  that  proper  and  full  provision  be  made  for 
re-packing  pictures  for  transit ; (?)  that  a small  charge 
for  wall  space — minimum  2s.  6d.  for  10  square  feet — be 
made ; (/)  that  the  number  of  photographs  sent  in  to  any 
one  section  by  each  exhibitor  be  limited ; ( g ) that  each 
photograph  in  the  Art  section  shall  be  separately  framed. 

Any  distinction  between  amateur  and  professional  in 
photographic  exhibitions  is  considered  absolutely  unneces- 
sary, and  greatly  to  be  deprecated. 

The  Club  looks  forward  to  a time  when  it  may  be  possi- 
ble to  dispense  with  awards  entirely,  and  would  approve 
of  an  exhibition  in  which  no  medals  were  offered,  but  in 
which  greater  stringency  was  exercised  by  the  committee 
of  selection,  so  that  the  honour  of  being  hung  would  con- 
stitute an  award. 

Mr.  Mansfield,  president  of  the  Dublin  Photographic  Society, 
objected  to  the  formation  of  a champion  class  at  exhibitions. 


Mr.  Davison  found  the  objection  to  a champion  class  to  be 
general.  He  added  that  Mr.  Robinson  had  written,  stating 
the  best  exhibition  system  to  be  that  of  the  Photographic 
Society  of  Great  Britain,  that  champion  classes  are  objection- 
able, and  that  he  thought  that  the  disqualification  of  photo- 
graphs which  have  previously  taken  one  prize  would  amount  to 
giving  place  to  second-rate  pictures.  He  objected  to  a division 
between  amateurs  and  professionals,  but  thought  that  if  one 
were  made,  it  should  be  absolute.  He  likewise  thought  that 
excessive  retouching  should  be  discouraged.  Mr.  F.  Hollyer 
wrote  that  the  champion  demon  should  be  knocked  out  ; he 
had  known  many  champions  in  his  time,  and  they  all  drank 
themselves  to  death.  Mr.  Sutcliffe  wrote  that  all  prizes  should 
be  declined  which  savoured  of  trade,  and  that  a total  of  about 
ten  medals  should  be  given  to  each  five  hundred  exhibits. 
Judges’  names  should  be  published  from  the  outset,  that 
photographers  might  know  whether  to  exhibit  or  not.  He  was 
in  favour  of  separating  amateur  and  professional  work  at 
exhibitions.  Messrs.  Cembrano,  F.  Evans,  and  others  had  also 
written  on  the  subject.  The  Camera  Club  found  the  number 
of  awards  to  be  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  number  of  photo- 
graphs exhibited,  and  that  they  were  seldom  withheld.  The 
secretary  to  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain  wrote 
that  the  council  hoped  that  the  step  taken  by  the  Club  would 
lead  to  some  general  agreement,  and  hoped  that  the  suggested 
regulations  for  exhibitions  would  be  drawn  up  somewhat  on 
the  lines  of  the  annual  exhibition  of  the  Photographic 
Society. 

The  Rev.  F.  C.  Lambert  would  like  to  gather  general 
opinions  on  several  points,  and  thought  that  rules  and  recom- 
mendations should  be  separated.  He  did  not  wish  the  idea 
of  classification  to  be  suppressed  for  photographs  which  were 
not  upon  attractive  subjects,  for  then  the  latter  would  have 
little  chance  of  being  recognised.  He  thought  it  to  be 
undesirable  that  editors  should  be  judges,  and  that  all  the 
work  over  the  photographs  on  view  should  be  done  by  the 
exhibitor  or  exhibitors.  On  the  principle  of  “one  day’s 
work  one  day’s  pay,”  he  hoped  that  no  picture  would  receive  a 
second  award,  and  that  there  should  be  some  time  limit  ; for 
instance,  it  might  be  a rule  that  photographs  exhibited  should 
have  been  taken  within  the  previous  twelve  months.  There 
might  be  one  champion  class  once  a year,  but  he  should  prefer 
the  abolition  of  champion  classes  altogether.  He  thought 
that  in  judging,  technical  excellence  should  weigh  somewhat, 
but  artistic  excellence  chiefly. 

Mr.  C.  W.  Hastings  said  that  it  was  all  very  well  for  the 
Camera  Club  to  lay  down  rules,  but  could  provincial  societies 
adhere  to  them  ? He  suggested  that  a permanent  photographic 
exhibition  committee  should  be  formed  in  London,  that  the 
councils  of  the  Camera  Club  and  Photographic  Society  should 
be  drawn  upon  for  such  committee,  and  that  the  presidents  of 
provincial  photographic  societies  should  be  members  thereof  ; 
there  should  also  be  local  provincial  exhibitions  and  sub-com- 
mittees. No  picture  should  take  a second  prize,  and  perma- 
nent judges  should  be  appointed.  All  medals  and  diplomas 
should  come  from  the  permanent  committee.  Champion  classes 
had  been  established  to  keep  out  “pot  hunters.” 

Mr.  W.  D.  Welford  wished  to  try  to  represent  the  feelings 
of  the  provinces  in  the  matter.  He  agreed  with  the  principles 
expressed  by  the  Camera  Club,  but  thought  that  it  would  not 
be  safe  to  pass  the  rules  and  recommendations  as  they  stood, 
because  they  would  be  thought  impracticable,  for  exhibitions 
in  the  provinces  ran  on  different  ground  to  those  in  London. 
One  of  the  aims  of  provincial  exhibitions  is  to  educate  the 
public  as  to  the  claims  of  artistic  photography ; it  is  also 
necessary  that  they  should  pay,  and  the  rules  before  them 
would  prevent  exhibitions  being  held.  Practical  and  not 
ideal  rules  were  required,  especially  as  there  are  more  exhibi- 
tions in  the  provinces  than  in  London.  Everything  seemed  to 
depend  on  the  judges,  and  that  the  exhibitors  should  have 
confidence  in  them.  He  thought  that  editors  should  not  be 
judges,  because  they  might  have  to  express  opinions  else- 
where on  the  exhibits  ; he  also  thought  that  technique  should 
not  be  entirely  lost  sight  of  in  judging.  To  abolish  all  classi- 
fication was  too  sweeping  a change,  and  he  did  not  see  what 


236 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  28,  1890. 


gain  there  would  be  to  art  by  making  a distinction  between  the 
amateur  and  the  professional  photographer. 

Mr.  A.  Mask  ell  was  opposed  to  any  system  of  prizes, 
awards,  or  judges,  and  if  the  Camera  Club  did  not  have  them, 
he  could  not  see  why  it  should  try  to  lay  down  rules  on  these 
subjects  for  others.  He  objected  to  advertising  prizes.  He 
should  like  to  see  an  annual  salon  or  academy,  at  which  it 
would  be  an  honour  to  have  pictures  hung  on  its  walls,  and 
the  judges — that  is  to  say,  the  hanging  committee — should  be 
mainly  sought  from  without.  In  the  arts,  much  work  is  done 
by  assistants  ; and  in  photography,  in  which  so  much  of  the 
work  is  mechanical,  he  did  not  think  this  matter  was  one  which 
need  be  inquired  into.  He  hoped  that  the  term  “ amateur  ” 
would  soon  be  disused.  At  all  international  exhibitions 
photography  has  been  placed  in  the  background,  and  the 
exhibits  put  in  any  out-of-the-way  places  ; and  photographic 
meetings  seem  to  be  recognised  by  an  ignoring  press  as  dealing 
neither  with  mechanics  nor  with  art. 

Sir  David  Salomons  objected  to  landscapes  and  portraits 
being  classified  under  the  same  heading  ; he  did  not  see  how 
they  could  be  compared  in  giving  one  award.  As  for  those 
firms  who  offered  trade  medals,  he  never  bought  goods  of  them, 
and  he  advised  his  friends  to  take  the  same  line  of  action.  If 
judging  went  only  upon  artistic  merits,  technical  photography 
would  soon  go  down  hill.  Nine  out  of  ten  photographers 
admitted  retouching  to  be  necessary  in  portraiture  whenever 
there  was  no  power  to  select  the  subject,  and  landscapes  could 
often  be  improved  by  introducing  clouds ; so  photographs 
produced  on  such  lines  ought  not  to  be  disqualified. 

Mr.  H.  Trueman  Wood  thought  the  classification  of  the 
Photographic  Society  to  be  good,  and  that  it  had  worked  well. 
The  rules  before  them,  he  thought,  should  be  referred  back  to 
the  Camera  Club  Committee,  which  could  thenjbe  guided  by 
the  light  thrown  upon  them  by  that  discussion. 

Mr.  Davison  then  gave  his  persona'  views,  which  were,  in 
reply  to  Mr.  Lambert,  that  he  thought  it  to  be  far  easier  for 
the  judges  if  there  were  no  classification.  As  to  Sir  David 
Salomon’s  objection,  there  was  a provision  in  the  rules,  for  the 
judges  had  the  power  of  deciding  how  many  awards  should  be 
made.  Some  workers  produced  but  one  or  two  artistic  pictures 
in  a year,  and  the  competition  system  prevented  some  of  the 
best  work  being  exhibited.  A suggestion  had  been  made  that 
in  judging,  attention  should  be  “chiefly”  instead  of  entirely 
given  to  artistic  merit.  He  thought  that  the  two  things — 
technical  and  artistic  merit — could  not  be  separated.  Some  of 
the  suggestions  of  Mr.  Hastings  deserved  consideration.  Mr. 
Welford  had  argued  that  classification  would  interfere  with  the 
success  of  local  exhibitions,  but  he  (the  speaker)  did  not  see 
that  at  all ; he  agreed  with  the  ideas  of  Mr.  Masked,  and  was 
of  Mr.  Trueman  Wood’s  opinion  that  the  matter  had  better  be 
postponed. 

Mr.  Macey  Wright  wished  to  know  if  all  editors  were  to  be 
excluded  from  being  appointed  judges. 

The  President  replied  that  the  rule  was  meant  to  apply  to 
the  editors  of  photographic  newspapers.  As  to  Mr.  Maskell’s 
remarks,  if  the  Photographic  Society  was  not  recognised  by  the 
scientific  press,  it  was  entirely  its  own  fault,  for  when  scientific 
papers  were  read  before  it,  some  of  the  members  said  that  they 
were  too  abstruse  and  had  better  be  taken  somewhere  else. 

The  report  was  then  referred  back  to  the  Camera  Club 
Committee. 

Lord  Rayleigh  on  “Photography  by  the  Light  of  the 
Electric  Spark.” 

Lord  Rayleigh,  Secretary  to  the  Royal  Society,  and  Pro- 
fessor of  Natural  Philosophy  at  the  Royal  Institution,  said 
that  in  response  to  an  invitation  from  their  Hon.  Sec.,  he 
had  attended  to  describe  his  experiments  upon  the  above 
subject.  He  had  had  occasion  to  photograph  the  drops  into 
which  jets  of  water  burst  soon  after  issuing  from  a nozzle  or 
from  a hole  in  a plate,  and  the  jets  under  examination  varied 
from  \ inch  to  inch  in  diameter.  They  were  in  a state  of 
unstable  equilibrium,  for  the  tendency  of  such  cylindrical 
bodies  of  water  is,  to  separate  into  drops  bearing  a tolerably 
definite  relation  to  the  diameter  of  the  particular  jet. 
He  then  projected  upon  the  screen  by  means  of  the  lantern 


a photographic  picture  of  that  part  of  the  jet  at  which 
it  breaks  into  drops.  As  the  drops  are  sometimes 
at  the  rate  of  about  100  per  second,  to  photograph  them  sharply 
the  time  of  exposure  must  be  limited  to  a great  deal  less  than 
liiVo  a second,  and  in  some  cases  to  of  a second.  A 

very  great  degree  of  luminous  intensity  in  the  images  thrown 
upon  the  plate  is  therefore  necessary,  and  he  did  not  think  that 
this  could  be  obtained  by  means  of  ordinary  photographic  appli- 
ances. He  added  that  “ the  spark  is  taken  between  brass  balls 
enclosed  in  a magic  lantern.  The  light  issuing  from  the  con- 
denser, still  slightly  divergent,  falls  at  a distance  of  sixteen  feet 
upon  a large  single  lens  of  about  ten  inches  diameter,  which 
plays  the  part  of  a field-glass.  The  photographic  lens,  a large 
portrait  combination  by  Dallmeyer,  is  situated  about  seven  feet 
behind  in  the  image  of  the  lantern  condenser  as  formed  by  the 
field-glass,  and  is  just  large  enough  to  include  it.  The  jet  to 
be  photographed  is  placed  parallel  to  the  field-lens,  and  as  near 
as  conveniently  may  be  upon  the  side  next  the  photographic 
camera.  The  preliminary  focussing  of  the  image  upon  the 
ground  glass  cannot  well  be  effected  by  the  light  of 
the  sparks.  For  this  purpose  a candle,  which  may  stand 
in  front  of  the  lantern  condenser,  is  substituted.”  To  get 
the  spark,  he  used  the  large  battery  of  Leyden  jars  at  the 
Royal  Institution,  charged  by  a powerful  Wimshurst’s  electrical 
machine.  All  along,  his  principal  difficulty  had  been  that  of 
getting  enough  light,  for,  in  these  very  rapid  exposures,  the 
effect  of  the  light  upon  the  eye  seems  altogether  greater  than, 
and  out  of  proportion  to,  its  effect  upon  the  photographic  plate. 
A great  deal,  however,  can  be  done  by  varying  the  development, 
and  by  subsequent  intensification.  Each  drop,  as  it  comes  off, 
is  connected  by  a ligament  to  the  main  jet  ; this  ligament  then 
breaks,  and  forms  itself  into  a little  drop  behind  the  big  one, 
and,  as  it  travels  faster  than  the  larger  one,  comes  into  collision 
with  it.  He  described  the  effect  of  weak  electrical  action  upon 
the  sensitive  part  of  these  nearly  vertical  fountains,  which  is 
where  they  break  into  drops,  and  how  electricity  caused  a 
number  of  the  drops  to  coalesce  into  one  large  blob. 

Mr.  Charlton  Wollaston  thought  that  perhaps  the 
experiments  revealed  the  cause  of  the  large  size  of  drops  of 
rain  during  a thunderstorm,  and  that  electrical  influences  might 
have  something  to  do  with  the  formation  of  waterspouts. 

Mr.  Trueman  Wood  had  seen  the  experiments  at  the  Royal 
Institution  ; he  had  also  tried  to  repeat  the  experiments  at 
home,  and  he  had  been  struck  by  the  small  amount  of  light 
available ; he  had  been  much  struck  by  the  feebleness  of 
the  photographic  effect,  as  compared  with  the  brightness  of  the 
image  on  the  screen.  A great  amount  of  concentrated  light 
was  necessary  to  get  any  image  at  all.  Could  any  estimate  lie 
made  of  the  length  of  time  of  duration  of  the  spark  ? 

Another  speaker  asked  if  Lord  Rayleigh  had  photographed 
drops  when  falling  on  a surface  and  breaking  into  splashes. 

Mr.  Elder  thought  that  the  brightness  of  the  spark  increased 
with  the  amount  of  self-induction  in  the  circuit. 

Sir  David  Salomons  said  that  the  spider,  in  spinning  its 
web,  exuded  a viscous  substance  which  aggregated  into  beads  ; 
he  thought  that  perhaps  by  the  means  described  such  facts 
could  be  photographed,  and  additional  information  obtained 
about  insects  and  animals. 

Lord  Rayleigh  replied  that  no  doubt  electrical  influence  had 
to  do  with  the  big  drops  in  which  rain  fell  during  thunder- 
storms. If,  instead  of  placing  a weakly-electrified  body  near 
the  jet,  a strongly-electrified  one  were  used,  the  dispersion  of 
the  jet  was  increased  instead  of  diminished,  for  the  drops,  being 
similarly  electrified,  then  repelled  each  other,  and  did  not 
collide.  When  moderately  electrified,  they  united  instead  of 
rebounded,  and  it  seemed  as  if  some  kind  of  a disruptive 
discharge  took  place.  It  is  not  clear  to  which  of  these  causes 
the  big  drops  of  rain  during  thunderstorms  are  due.  He  had 
not  yet  attempted  the  photographing  of  drops  splashing  upon 
a plate,  for  to  make  the  exposure  at  the  precise  moment  when 
a drop  fell  on  a plate  was  a difficult  matter.  He  doubted  if 
increased  induction  would  give  a brighter  light,  but  had  not 
tried  it.  He  had  not  exact  measures  of  the  periods  of  the 
electrical  sparks  he  used.  An  American  professor  had  done 
some  work  in  estimating  the  period  of  electrical  sparks,  and 


March  28,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


237 


had  proved  that  very  small  sparks  had  periods  going  down  to 
one-millionth  of  a second,  or  less. 

The  President  said  that  photographing  by  the  electric  spark 
had  been  done  in  the  old  Daguerreotype  days,  and  that  he  had 
repeated  the  experiment  at  the  Royal  Institution,  but  lie  used 
a reflector  instead  of  a condenser  to  concentrate  the  light  from 
the  flash.  He  had  also  tried  to  ascertain  the  duration  of  the 
light,  and  made  out  that  it  was  certainly  less  than  i„gVon  Part 
of  a second.  The  late  Professor  Guthrie  and  himself  had 
begun  the  investigation  of  splashes  ; but  the  death  of  the 
former  broke  off  the  experiments. 

Captain  Abney  on  “ A Photographic  Untruth.” 

Mr.  H.  Trueman  Wood  then  took  the  chair,  while  the  Presi- 
dent read  a paper  on  the  above  subject. 

Captain  Abney  said  that  the  particular  photographic  untruth 
with  which  he  had  to  deal  was  the  untruth  in  form  which  a 
photograph  gives  when  judged  by  the  effect  of  light  and  shade. 
He  had  placed  a white  cylinder  in  a perfectly  dark  room,  then 
had  illuminated  it  from  one  direction  only,  and  had  found  that 
the  effect  varied,  according  to  the  angle  at  which  the  light,  fell. 
Such  illumination  made  the  photograph  of  a man’s  face  longer 
from  front  to  back  than  it  should  be,  and  photographers,  by  a 
kind  of  instinct,  seemed  to  try  to  get  rid  of  this  by  extra 
illumination  of  the  side.  He  had  used  exact  measurements  in 
his  experiments,  and  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  photo- 
graphic gradation  is  never  right.  Photographers  had  long 
ago  found  out  that  they  could  not  use  the  same  mode  of  light- 
ing as  the  painter. 

Mr.  C.  H.  Bothamley  on  “The  Latent  Image.” 

Mr.  C.  H.  Bothamley  gave  an  abstract  of  his  paper  on  the 
above  subject.  He  said  that  the  physical  theory  of  the  latent 
image  is,  that  when  light  falls  on  a sensitive  plate,  the  mole- 
cules on  which  it  acts  are  thrown  into  a state  of  unstable  equi- 
librium, so  as  to  be  afterwards  more  readily  affected  by  a 
reducing  agent.  If  so,  the  disappearance  of  the  latent  image 
ought  to  be  spontaneous,  and  he  took  it  that  the  disappearance 
of  the  latent  image  is  not  spontaneous.  Carey  Lea,  once  one 
of  the  foremost  supporters  of  the  physical  theory,  had  recently 
thrown  over  the  last  vestige  of  evidence  in  its  favour  by  show- 
ing that  silver  iodide  has  the  power  of  absorbing  a con- 
siderable quantity  of  free  iodine.  After  the  exposure 
of  the  plate  to  light,  the  iodine  is  re-absorbed,  and 
the  plate  comes  back  to  its  normal  state.  The  per- 
fectly pure  haloids  are  not  changed  by  light,  but  in  the 
presence  of  moisture  they  are  decomposed  under  luminous 
action.  The  dark  solid  substance  formed  under  such  conditions 
is  probably  not  metallic  silver,  because  it  is  difficultly  attacked 
by  nitric  acid.  He  thought  that  the  chlorine  and  the  bromine 
liberated  by  light  united  with  the  gelatine,  for  he  had  failed 
to  obtain  evidence  of  the  liberation  of  bromine  in  the  free 
state  upon  the  exposure  of  the  plate  to  light.  Exposed  plates 
had  been  kept  for  months  in  some  cases,  and  in  some  other 
instances  for  two  or  three  years  before  development  ; if, 
then,  the  change  set  up  by  light  had  been  merely  throwing 
molecules  into  a state  of  unstable  equilibrium,  it  was  highly 
probable  that  in  all  that  time  the  plate  would  have 
gone  back  to  its  original  condition.  He  had  repeated 
the  experiments  of  others,  and  had  found  that  bromine 
destroyed  the  latent  image,  but  that  it  was  extremely  doubtful 
if  even  the  strongest  nitric  acid  would  do  so.  Mr.  Carey  Lea 
had  proved  that  marking  a plate  with  a weak  solution  of  hypo- 
phosphite  of  soda,  also  of  certain  other  salts,  would  produce  a 
latent  image  which  could  be  made  visible  by  development. 
He  (Mr.  Bothamley)  had  found  that  a plate  so  treated  acted  in 
every  way  the  same  under  chemical  reagents  as  a normally 
exposed  plate.  Pressure,  or  rather  shearing  stress,  will  produce 
a latent  image,  which  is  destroyed  by  bromine  and  certain 
other  reagents  ; evidently  stress  produced  the  same  substance 
in  the  film  as  did  light.  He  thought  Hodgkinson’s  and 
Meldola’s  views  as  to  the  chemical  constitution  of  this  substance 
to  be  extremely  improbable  ; he  thought  that  no  oxychloride 
was  present,  but  some  reduction  compound  of  silver.  The 
investigations  of  Mr.  Spring,  of  Liege,  might  have  some  bearing 
upon  the  problem  of  the  effect  of  shearing  stress  upon  a photo- 


graphic plate,  for  Mr.  Spring  had  found  that  substances  which 
expand  when  they  combine,  form  a compound  which  is  decom- 
posed under  pressure. 

Mr.  John  Spiller  said  that  free  bromine  is  given  out  when 
dry  plates  are  exposed  to  light.  Last  summer  he  was  near  a 
stack  of  condensed  plates  exposed  to  sunshine,  and  the  smell  of 
bromine  was  nearly  strong  enough  to  knock  a man  over.  He 
thought  that  experiments  as  to  how  long  a Daguerreotype  plate 
would  keep  between  exposure  and  development  would  have  some 
bearing  on  the  subject. 

Another  speaker  stated  that  Dr.  Eder  had  recently  published 
that  the  effect  of  shearing  stress  can  be  reversed  by  exposure  of 
the  plate  to  light. 

Captain  Abney  had  had  more  than  nasal  proof  that 
the  substance  liberated  by  light  from  photographic  plates 
is  bromine.  Nitric  acid  was  the  most  doubtful  of  the  oxidising 
agents  for  destroying  the  image.  In  the  old  wet  plate  process 
it  was  easy  to  develop  an  image  on  iodide  of  silver,  then  to  dis- 
solve it  with  nitric  acid,  and  afterwards  to  develop  the  image 
again  upon  the  same  plate,  and  so  on  for  a long  time.  The 
term  “ latent  image  ” should  not  be  used,  for  there  is  no  latent 
image  ; the  term  “ photographic  image”  would  be  better. 

Mr.  Bothamley  thought  smell  to  be  an  unsafe  guide  as  to 
the  substance  thrown  off  by  dry  plates  exposed  to  sunshine  ; it 
might  possibly  not  be  pure  bromine,  but  a compound  containing 
bromine. 

Mr.  W.  T.  Wilkinson  on  “ Photomechanical  Printing.” 

As  the  lastitem  of  the  Camera  Club  Conference  programme, 
Mr.  W.  T.  Wilkinson  gave  a practical  demonstration  of  the 
photogravure  process.  From  the  nature  of  the  case  demanding 
excessive  care  at  each  stage  of  the  operation,  and  the  late  hour 
at  which  Mr.  Wilkinson  was  called  upon  to  give  his  explanations, 
the  circumstances  were  not  favourable  to  the  production  of  a 
good  result,  and  so  it  happened  that  the  final  printing  process 
was  never  reached.  Commencing  with  a clean  copper 
plate,  the  speaker  said  that  the  first  step  was  to 

lay  the  ground  or  “ grain  ” the  surface  ; this  he  did  by  shaking 
up  a quantity  of  finely-powdered  resin  in  a capacious  box, 
lifting  the  lid  to  insert  the  plate,  and  allowing  the  resinous 
particles  to  settle  like  so  much  dust  upon  its  surface.  The 
attachment  was  secured  by  a spray  producer,  or  the  newly  - 
invented  “air-brush,’’  finishing  off  on  a hot  plate.  Upon 
this  grained  surface  a reversed  carbon  print  from  a transparency 
was  laid  down,  and  then  developed  with  hot  water  in  the  usual 
manner,  the  paper  backing  being  removed,  and  all  the  soluble 
gelatine  washed  away  in  water  heated  to  as  high  a temperature 
as  the  hand  could  conveniently  bear.  This  done,  the  surface'  was 
rinsed  with  methylated  spirit  to  quicken  the  drying,  and  then  a 
resist  varnish  of  gum  dammar  in  benzole  was  applied.  Now'  the 
plate  was  ready  to  be  etched,  and  for  this  purpose  it  was  laid 
face  upwards  in  a dish  and  treated  with  an  alcoholic  solution  of 
perchloride  of  iron.  This  latter  salt  slowly  attacked  the  copper 
through  the  varnish  layer,  the  iron  salt  having  the  effect  of 
hardening  or  tanning  the  gelatine  film,  and  the  spirit  induced 
a more  regular  action  than  could  be  got  by  the  use 
of  an  aqueous  solution.  It  required  some  experience  to  know 
how  far  to  carry  this  etching  process,  and  the  margins  had, 
of  course,  to  be  protected  by  asphalte  during  this  operation. 
The  plate  was  now  ready,  after  washing  off  the  ferric  salt  and 
cleaning  away  the  carbon  pictures  and  resinous  coating,  to  be 
inked  up  and  mounted  for  the  production  of  successive  impres- 
sions. This  part  of  the  process  waa  “taken  for  granted,” 
inasmuch  as  time  had  not  permitted  the  operator  to  get  a 
sufficiently  deep  etching  ; but  Mr.  Wilkinson  showed  some  other 
plates,  previously  manipulated,  which,  in  this  respect,  lie 
regarded  as  perfectly  satisfactory. 

The  Camera  Club  Dinner. 

Last  Friday  night  the  annual  dinner  of  the  members  of  the 
Camera  Club,  and  their  friends,  was  held  at  the  Frascati 
Restaurant,  Oxford  Street,  London,  under  the  Presidency  of 
Captain  Abney. 

After  the  toasts  of  the  Queen,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  the 
members  of  the  Royal  Family,  Professor  Meldola  proposed 
that  of  “ Success  to  the  Camera  Club,”  coupled  with  the  name 


238 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  28,  1890. 


of  the  President  of  the  Club,  Captain  Abney,  upon  which  the 
company  struck  up  “ For  he’s  a j ally  good  fellow,”  and  they 
gave  him  their  emphatic  assurance  that  there  was  no  division  of 
opinion  upon  that  point. 

Captain  Abney,  in  response,  said  nobody  could  accuse  him  of 
too  much  partiality  for  the  Club,  for  his  attendances  at  its 
meetings  had  been  few  and  far  between,  and  he  felt  that  he  had 
not  done  his  duty.  The  Club  had  been  prospering  ; it  had  now 
nearly  600  members,  and  more  papers  were  read  before  it  than 
at  any  other  ten  photographic  societies  in  Great  Britain  put 
together.  Through  the  action  of  the  Camera  Club  the  Cus- 
toms’ examination  of  dry  plates  had  been  greatly  facilitated, 
and  now  dark  rooms  for  the  proper  examination  of  such  plates 
had  been  provided  at  our  various  seaport  towns.  That  day  it 
had  been  seen  that  the  Club  had  taken  a step  in  relation  to 
photographic  exhibitions,  and  the  Club  had  started  the  one  man 
exhibitions.  He  hoped  to  see  the  time  when  no  medals  would 
be  given  at  exhibitions,  and  that  the  simple  fact  of  permitting 
photographs  to  be  suspended  on  the  walls  would  be  considered 
sufficient  honour.  Soon  the  Club  would  enter  into  new  pre- 
mises with  full  accommodation,  with  eight  or  nine  well-fitted  dark 
rooms,  also  with  workshop,  laboratory,  studio,  enlarging  room, 
and  last,  but  not  least,  a billiard  room.  Nothing  went  into  its 
journal  but  original  matter  ; he  had  been  editor  of  the  journal 
of  another  society  for  several  years,  but  had  never  found  any 
committee  or  anyone  to  aid  him  with  original  matter.  He 
would  propose  the  toast  of  “ The  Photographic  Societies  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,”  coupled  with  the  names  of  Mr. 
Mansfield,  president  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  Ireland  ; 
Capt.  Mantel],  honorary  secretary  of  the  Photographic  Society 
of  Great  Britain  ; and  Surgeon-General  Ranking,  the  represen- 
tative of  the  Photographic  Society  of  Leamington.  He  thought 
that  the  improvements,  if  any,  in  the  Photographic  Society  of 
Great  Britain  had  been  due  to  the  action  of  the  Camera 
Club  ; he  felt  this  to  be  a rather  doubtful  compliment,  but 
he  meant  it. 

Mr.  Mansfield,  in  response,  remarked  that  he  thought  all 
the  photographic  societies  at  a distance  from  London  were 
grateful  to  the  Camera  Club  for  bringing  them  together  ; 
otherwise  they  would  have  been  less  able  to  make  their  voices 
heard  in  the  management  of  photographic  affairs,  as  exemplified 
in  the  discussion  on  exhibitions  that  day. 

Capt.  Mantell  stated  that  an  unexpected  honour  had  been 
thrust  upon  him  that  evening,  and  had  he  known  it  before- 
hand he  should  not  have  enjoyed  his  dinner  so  thoroughly, 
but  he  was  sure  that  all  wrho  had  attended  the  Conference  that 
day  must  have  been  thankful  for  all  the  work  it  had  done. 

Mr.  M.  Smith  said  that  the  Camera  Club  was  a social 
organisation,  and  had  social  gatherings  each  year  to  which  it 
invited  a certain  number  of  visitors.  Among  their  visitors  that 
evening  were  Professor  Meldola,  M.  Paul  Nadar,  of  Paris,  M. 
Lafort,  Mr.  Rossi,  Mr.  Chapman  Jones,  Mr.  H.  Botliamley, 
Mr.  W.  T.  Wilkinson,  Mr.  W.  H.  Harrison,  Mr.  Welford, 
Professor  Stebbing,  of  Paris,  Mr.  H.  Harriden,  Mr.  A.  Cowan, 
Mr.  Turner,  Deputy  Astronomer-Royal,  Mr.  O.  Smith,  of 
Stockholm,  also  the  manager  of  the  Nobel  Explosive  Co., 
and  Mr.  Mead,  of  the  Alpine  Club.  He  would  couple  with 
this  toast  the  names  of  M.  Nadar,  Mr.  Mead,  and  Mr.  Frank 
Braine. 

M.  Nadar,  who  spoke  in  French,  said  that  it  was  difficult  for 
him  to  speak  English,  and  that  he  wished  success  to  the  Camera 
Club. 

Mr.  Mead  responded  that  his  knowledge  of  photo- 
graphy in  Switzerland  for  many  years  consisted  in  stumbling 
over  the  legs  of  camera  men  at  Swiss  Hotels  ; of  late  years, 
however,  he  had  stumbled  on  higher  ground,  and  photo- 
graphed several  Swiss  peaks. 

Mr.  Braine  explained  that  he  was  a bashful  and  retiring  man, 
and  that  he  had  brought  a friend  to  return  thanks  for  him  ; 
that  friend  was  Mr.  Edwards.  He  had  met  Mr.  Edwards  on  board 
the  French  steamboat  between  St.  Malo  and  Dinan.  The 
friend  then  told  a story,  not  strictly  photographic,  about  a 
man  with  a pickaxe. 

Sir  David  Salomons  then  proposed  “ The  Press,”  coupled 
with  the  names  of  Messrs  Harrison,  Hastings,  Sturmey, 


Wright  and  Horsley  Hinton.  He  was  not  in  favour  of  anony- 
mous journalism,  and  thought  that  every  article  should  have 
the  name  of  the  writer  appended  thereto. 

Mr.  Macey  Wright  responded,  that  in  making  a speech 
he  felt  like  the  mau  who,  when  going  to  bury  his  wife, 
remarked,  “ I cannot  go  in  that  carriage  with  my  mother-in- 
law  ; if  I must,  I must,  but  you  will  quite  spoil  my  day’s  plea- 
sure. ” He  was  glad  to  hear  that  the  Camera  Club  was  going 
into  new  premises,  and  thought  that  the  Provincial  Press  would 
be  ready  to  aid  it  in  giving  publicity  to  its  ideas  if  country 
newspapers  were  regularly  made  acquainted  with  its  desires  in 
that  respect. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Harrison  agreed  with  Sir  David  Salomons  in 
not  being  in  favour  of  anonymous  journalism  ; he  also  thought, 
with  the  Camera  Club,  that  the  editors  of  photographic 
journals  should  have  nothing  to  do  with  exhibitions  or  other 
executive  work  in  photography,  on  which  they  might  afterwards 
have  to  comment  in  another  capacity  ; they  should  stand  out- 
side such  work  as  free  and  independent  spectators.  In  like 
manner,  he  thought  that  public  workers  in  photography,  who 
posed  before  the  public  as  men  submitting  to  free  and  impartial 
criticism,  should  not  in  their  private  capacity  be  shareholders 
in  newspapers.  He  was  glad  to  see  the  culture  and  education 
which  characterised  the  proceedings  of  the  Camera  Club,  and 
that  it  had  an  excellent  honorary  secretary,  for  those  experienced 
in  the  working  of  organised  bodies  were  aware  to  what  a large 
extent  their  prosperity  is  due  to  the  capacity  of  the  working 
secretary. 

Mr.  Hastings  was  pleased  to  hear  about  the  new  premises, 
and  hoped  that  the  new  home  of  the  members  would  be  in 
every  way  a credit  to  the  Club. 

Mr.  Sturmey’s  connection  with  photography  had  been  a 
short  one  ; he,  too,  thought  that  articles  should  be  signed.  He 
then  told  some  anecdotes  about  the  errors  of  amateurs,  and 
entered  into  some  details  relating  to  his  journal. 

Mr.  Horsley  Hinton  made  some  brief  remarks,  which  were 
imperfectly  heard  at  the  other  end  of  the  room. 

Mr.  Herbert  Harraden  then  sang  a song,  “The  Photo- 
graphic Fiend.” 

The  President  next  gave  the  toast  of  “The  Officers  of  the 
Camera  Club,”  coupled  with  the  names  of  Mr.  Ferrero,  man- 
aging director  of  the  Camera  Club  ; Mr.  George  Davison,  hon- 
orary secretary  ; and  Mr.  Asbury  Greene. 

Mr.  Ferrero  felt  more  at  home  in  reminding  memlrers 
about  arrears  of  subscription,  than  in  making  after-dinner 
speeches,  but  the  greatest  pleasure  next  to  doing  one’s  duty  was 
to  know  that  it  was  appreciated.  He  spoke  highly  of  the 
work  done  by  his  predecessor,  Mr  Spiers. 

Mr.  Davison  said  that  without  such  work  for  the  Club  as 
that  given  by  Mr.  Ferrero,  all  would  come  to  a standstill.  His 
(Mr.  Davison’s)  own  work  was  easier  because  more  interesting  ; 
he  had  an  interest  in  his  kind  friends  of  the  Camera  Club,  but 
regretted  being  kept  somewhat  from  the  study  of  photography. 
The  summer  months,  however,  for  which  they  were  pining, 
were  coming. 

Mr.  Asbury  Greene,  as  one  of  the  original  members  of  the 
Club,  would  be  glad  to  do  all  he  could  for  it  in  the  future. 

Mr  Charters  White  told  a humorous  anecdote  or  two,  after 
which  the  company  separated, 


Cleanliness  in  Photography. — On  one  occasion  Lord 
Palmerston  was  asked  for  his  definition  of  dirt.  He 
promptly  replied  that  it  was  matter  in  the  wrong  place  ; so 
if,  after  a peep  into  your  neighbour’s  dark-room,  you  sec  pyro, 
soda,  and  other  chemical  stains  in  stream-like  courses  on  the 
outsides  of  bottles  and  graduates,  then  you  can  draw  a direct 
conclusion  that  the  operator  or  his  assistant  is  negligent,  and  it 
is  impossible  for  him  to  get  perfect  negatives.  The  matter  on 
the  outside  of  his  bottles  will,  while  handling,  drop  into  his 
developer,  thereby  causing  streaks,  stains,  pin-holes,  and  an 
endless  train  of  other  evils  which  will  sometimes  work  an 
irreparable  injury  to  a properly  posed  and  well-lighted  negative. 
— B.  F.  M’Manus. 


March  28,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


239 


OX  DIFFERENCES  OF  COLOUR-SENSITIVENESS 
AT  DIFFERENT  TIMES.* 

BY  PROF.  H.  \V.  VOGEL. 

It  is  recognised  that  the  quality  of  the  light  varies  con- 
siderably in  the  course  of  a day.  According  to  the  height 
of  the  sun  and  the  more  or  less  murky  condition  of  the 
atmosphere,  a greater  or  smaller  proportion  of  light  is 
received  direct  from  the  sun  on  the  one  hand,  or  reflected 
from  the  sky  on  the  other  hand.  As  one  or  other  of  these 
sources  of  illumination  comes  into  play,  the  character  of 
the  light  changes  in  a noteworthy  manner.  So  long  as  we 
worked  with  collodion  plates  and  iodide  of  silver,  it  was  the 
indigo  coloured  light  that  was  essentially  important 
(spectrum  line  G).  Violet  and  ultra-violet  light,  which 
would  also  come  into  the  reckoning,  are,  in  fact,  so  little 
reflected  by  solid  bodies,  that  the  said  rays  need  not  for 
ordinary  subjects  be  taken  into  account,  although  in  photo- 
graphing heavenly  bodies  they  play  an  important  part. 

Since  the  introduction  of  dry  plate  photography,  the 
maximum  of  activity  is  removed  towards  the  bright  blue 
(half-way  between  the  lines  F and  G),  and  at  present  the 
photographic  intensity  of  the  light  depends  upon  the 
quantity  of  bright  blue  existing  in  it. 

With  the  introduction  of  colour-sensitive  plates  the 
matter  again  undergoes  an  important  change.  Since  it  has 
become  possible  to  prepare  plates  which  arc  from  six  to 
ten  times  as  sensitive  to  yellow  as  to  blue,  the  amount  of 
yellow  and  yellowish  green  present  plays  a most  important 
part.  I made  the  observation  so  long  ago  as  the  year  1874 
that  the  chemical  action  of  the  solar  spectrum  varies  con- 
siderably at  different  times,  especially  towards  the  ends— 
that  is  to  say,  the  violet  and  the  red  and  yellow.  I was 
working  with  colour-sensitive  plates,  and  found  this  effect 
even  with  the  sun  at  the  same  height  and  the  weather 
apparently  similar. 

In  the  year  1875,  during  my  voyage  to  the  East  Indies, 
I made  a set  of  spectrum  experiments  in  the  Red  Sea  and 
Indian  Ocean  with  collodion  plates,  the  sensitiveness  of 
which  was  about  equal  to  yellow  and  blue.  Five  photo- 
graphs of  the  spectrum  were  taken  daily.  On  one  day  I 
found  that  the  action  of  the  yellow  greatly  exceeded  that 
of  the  blue,  and  this  in  the  afternoon  and  at  midday,  as 
well  as  in  the  morning.  This  can  only  be  explained  on 
the  assumption  that  on  that  particular  day  the  yellow 
light  in  the  atmosphere  was  very  overpowering,  for  what 
reason  I know  not. 

Since  colour-sensitive  plates  have  come  into  regular  use, 
it  has  happened  to  me  that  in  photographing  the  same 
object  under  apparently  similar  conditions  as  to  weather, 
the  colour-sensitiveness  of  the  same  plates  has  shown 
decided  variations.  It  has  happened  that  a bouquet  of 
flowers,  which,  at  the  Imperial  Technical  High  School,  has 
served  as  a test  object  for  colour-sensitive  (eosine  silver) 
plates,  against  the  ordinary  plate,  would  sometimes  show 
a very  striking  difference  between  the  action  of  the  two, 
whilst  at  other  times  the  difference  would  be  exceedingly 
slight. 

Finally,  I observed  that  colour-sensitiveness  showed  to 
least  advantage  on  those  days  when,  with  a half-veiled 
sun,  a sort  of  greyish  light  prevailed,  in  which  objects 
appeared  without  brilliancy.  All  the  phenomena  con- 
sidered, it  seems  that  the  intensity  of  different  coloured 
light  in  the  atmosphere,  even  when  there  is  no  difference 
perceptible  to  the  eye,  varies  considerably.  Sometimes 

Translated  from  the  Juhrbuch  fur  rhotogranhie,  1890,  for  the  Photo- 
graphic Nkws. 


the  red  and  yellow  predominate  ; sometimes  blue.  In  the 
latter  case,  the  effect  of  colour-sensitiveness  is  least 
noticeable.  Further  experiments  on  the  subject  are  in 
course  of  being  made. 

SEVERE  TESTS  OF  COMPRESSED  GAS 
CYLINDERS. 

The  Scotch  and  Irish  Oxygen  Co.,  of  Polmadie, 
Glasgow,  ask  us  to  publish  the  following  interesting 
account  of  the  severe  testing  of  compressed  gas 
cylinders,  which  appeared  in  The  Glasgow  Herald  of 
March  13  th:— 

A series  of  experiments  was  conducted  yesterday  at 
Stevcnston  by  the  Scotch  and  Irish  Oxygen  Company, 
Limited  (Brin’s  Process),  for  the  purpose  of  demonstrating 
the  absolute  safety  of  their  cylinders  for  containing  com- 
pressed gases.  It  will  be  remembered  that  a fatal  accident 
occurred  to  the  foreman  of  their  Works  at  Polmadie  by 
the  bursting  of  a cylinder  some  six  weeks  ago,  and  the 
impression  was  conveyed  to  the  public  that  the  explosion 
was  due  either  to  some  defect  in  the  cylinder,  or  to  its 
strength  being  overtaxed  by  being  charged  to  an  excessive 
pressure. 

A thorough  investigation  was,  however,  made  into  the 
cause  of  the  accident,  and  the  facts  disclosed  left  no  doubt 
that  it  occurred  through  a mistake  on  the  part  of  the 
unfortunate  man  himself.  It  was  clear  that  he  had  in- 
troduced oxygen  into  a cylinder  which  was  already  partly 
charged  with  hydrogen,  these  gases  forming  an  explosive 
mixture  when  brought  together.  One  fact  especially 
which  pointed  at  once  to  this  conclusion  was  that  the  main 
portion  of  the  exploded  cylinder,  found  almost  on  the  spot 
where  the  accident  occurred,  was  almost  too  hot  to  be 
touched ; whereas,  the  portions  of  cylinders  which  have 
since  been  intentionally  burst  by  being  subjected  to 
excessively  severe  treatment  were  found  to  be  perfectly 
cold.  In  consequence  of  this  erroneous  impression  it  was 
thought  advisable  to  subject  the  cylinders  to  an  exhaustive 
series  of  tests,  so  as  to  prove  beyond  dispute  that  they  are 
thoroughly  adapted  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the  gases, 
and  capable  of  withstanding  the  most  extreme  amount  of 
rough  usage  to  which  they  can  possibly  be  subjected 
during  transit  from  place  to  place. 

The  cylinders  used  are  of  different  sizes,  varying  from 
1 foot  long  by  3£  inches  diameter  to  6 feet  6 inches  long 
by  51  inches  diameter.  They  are  made  of  mild  wrought 
steel  j-  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  before  being  used  each 
cylinder  is  subjected  to  a hydraulic  test  of  at  least  twice 
its  working  pressure,  and  is  afterwards  stamped  with  the 
pressure  to  which  it  was  subjected,  the  date  of  the  test, 
and  the  test  mark.  The  cylinders  are  re-tested  periodi- 
cally, and  for  the  purpose  of  safety  the  custom  of  the 
Company  has  been  to  paint  those  for  the  different  gases  in 
distinctive  colours,  so  as  to  avoid  the  danger  of  mixing. 
As  a further  precaution,  every  cylinder  which  is  brought 
into  the  works  after  having  been  in  use,  is  at  once 
emptied. 

To  make  the  recurrence  of  such  a misfortune  as  the 
recent  accident  absolutely  impossible,  it  has  been  decided 
to  adopt  a left-handed  thread  for  the  valves  on  the  hydro- 
gen and  coal  gas  cylinders,  so  that  by  no  possible  inad- 
vertency can  they  be  filled  at  the  oxygen  pump.  A num- 
ber of  experiments  were  made  about  ten  days  ago  which 
gave  excellent  results.  A 6 feet  6 inch  cylinder,  weighing 
about  1 cwt.,  was  twice  raised  to  a height  of  35  feet,  and 


210 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


dropped  horizontally  upon  a solid  iron  block  12  inches 
square  and  weighing  31  ewt.,  each  blow  bending  it  to  the 
extent  of  about  three-quarters  of  an  inch.  It  was  then 
dropped  vertically  on  to  its  round  end,  having  a clear  fall 
of  31  feet,  when  it  was  found  that  the  impact  had  only 
flattened  a part  of  about  the  size  of  a pennypiece.  It  was 
next  placed  across  the  iron  block,  and  an  iron  weight  of 

cwt.  dropped  on  to  its  centre  from  a height  of  35  feet, 
the  blow  crushing  in  the  side  to  the  extent  of  J of  an  inch. 
The  cyliuder  was  subsequently  placed  on  two  iron  blocks, 
set  1 feet  1 inch  apart,  so  as  to  support  the  ends,  and  the 
same  weight  again  let  fall  upon  it  from  the  same  height, 
with  the  result  that  it  was  bent  4 1 inches  from  the  straight, 
but  did  not  explode. 

Another  cylinder  was  afterwards  tried  in  the  same 
manner,  with  the  exception  of  the  crushing  blow,  and  in 
this  case  even  a more  satisfactory  result  was  obtained,  as 
it  was  bent  to  the  extent  of  7yV  inches  by  the  bending  blow, 
and  still  remained  intact.  A smaller  cylinder,  measuring 
31  inches  long  by  5^  inches  diameter,  containing  171b,  lique- 
fied carbonic  acid  gas,  was  also  dropped  crossways  and 
vertically  from  the  same  height,  and  was  afterwards  flatt  ened 
to  the  extent  of  If  inches  by  dropping  the  6£cwt.  weight  upon 
it,  without  injuring  it  otherwise  than  in  shape.  Each  of 
these  tested  cylinders  was  subsequently  found  to  contain 
the  full  quantity  of  gas,  and  to  be  perfectly  sound. 
Yesterday’s  experiments  were  of  a similar  character,  and 
were  equally  satisfactory.  A Gft.  6inch  cylinder,  weighing 
1071b.  including  the  contents,  was  dropped  four  times 
across  the  iron  block  from  a height  of  35ft.,  these  trials 
producing  a bend  of  2£  inches.  It  was  also  allowed  to 
fall  on  its  end,  with  little  perceptible  result.  A smaller 
cylinder  was  treated  in  the  same  manner,  and  sustained  no 
greater  injury  than  a few  dents. 

From  these  particulars  it  will  be  seen  that  the  tests  were 
eminently  satisfactory,  for  it  is  inconceivable  that  such 
cylinders  during  transit  could  undergo  anything  like  the 
severe  treatment  to  which  they  were  subjected,  while  it 
was  evident  that  they  still  possessed  a considerable  reserve 
of  strength. 


PHOTOGRAPHING  A SPEAKER’S  GESTURES. 
About  a year  ago,  Mr.  Edison  became  intensely  interested 
in  instantaneous  photography  in  its  possible  availability  in 
connection  with  the  phonograph,  and  at  once  began  an 
exhaustive  series  of  experiments  in  that  direction.  The 
first  thing  was  to  develop  the  possibilities  of  the  camera 
as  to  rapidity  of  exposure,  and  an  elaborate  system  of 
experiments  was  begun  to  try  if  possible  to  photograph 
a rifle  bullet  in  its  passage  through  the  air  at  its  maximum 
initial  velocity  of  5,000  feet  a second.  To  do  this  success- 
fully no  known  mechanical  means  were  adequate — 5,000 
feet  means  60,000  inches,  an  inch  being  about  the  length 
of  a rifle  bullet.  But  to  secure  a perfect  picture  of  a 
bullet  moving  at  this  extraordinary  velocity  it  must 
apparently  be  at  rest,  and  hence  the  actual  time  of 
exposure  must  be  brought  down  to  incredibly  infini- 
tesimal limits. 

The  great  inventor  at  once  harnessed  the  lightning  to 
do  the  work,  and  before  the  camera  arranged  a series  of 
vertical  wires  so  fine  as  to  be  practically  invisible,  and  so 
connected  that  the  breaking  of  any  one  of  them  would  com- 
plete an  electrical  circuit  and  furnish  an  illuminating 
spark  for  the  two-hundredth  of  a second.  At  first  the 
experiments  seemed  to  be  fruitless,  as  the  rapidity  was 
such  as  to  exceed  the  limits  of  sensitiveness  of  the  plate 


[Makcii  28,  1890. 

in  the  camera  ; but  weeks  of  careful  experiment  brought 
a solution  in  a new  combination  of  sensitising  chemicals 
by  which  even  this  infinitesimal  period  of  time  sufficed 
for  a perfect  image. 

But  a new  difficulty  arose.  The  slight  imperceptible 
tremor  of  the  room  in  which  the  experiments  were  con- 
ducted, caused  by  the  motion  of  the  machinery  and  ] 
dynamos  in  another  part  of  the  building,  was  sufficient 
to  destroy  the  sharpness  and  value  of  the  photographic  *] 
image.  This  was  overcome  by  erecting  a special  building 
for  the  purpose,  and  placing  the  camera  on  a pier  of  solid 
masonry  running  down  to  the  primitive  rock.  Then,  j 
and  then  only,  it  was  that  success  attended  the  experiments. 

But  the  reader  will  doubtless  ask  the  question,  i 
Cut  bono  ? — what  possible  good  was  it  to  get  a picture  of  a 
rifle  bullet  showing  the  condensation  of  air  in  front  of  it,  1 
the  vacuum  behind,  and  the  air  eddies  that  were  thus  I 
created  ? Much  every  way  ! Not  only  as  a practical 
means  of  studying  the  best  form  for  a bullet  in  over-  ' 
coming  the  resistance  of  the  air,  but  more  especially  as  i 
a means  of  developing  the  great  idea  that  Mr.  Edison  had  1 
in  his  mind  of  bringing  photography  to  bear  as  au  adjunct  1 
to  the  phonograph.  He  thought  that  if  a speaker’s  per- 
sonality could  be  brought  before  the  eye  by  means  of 
photography  and  the  stercopticon  while  the  phonograph 
was  bringing  the  subject-matter  before  the  ear,  that  an 
important  end  would  be  gained,  and  to  accomplish  this 
the  elaborate  series  of  experiments  was  planned  and 
carried  out.  The  result  has  been  the  most  marvellous  i 
success  and  the  most  wonderful  machine  it  is  possible  to 
conceive. 

Let  the  reader  imagine  a popular  lecturer,  preacher,  or 
orator  delivering  an  address.  In  front  of  him,  at  the  so- 
called  reporters’  table,  are  two  small  machines,  one  the 
well-known  phonograph,  and  the  otheran  ingenious  piece  ! 
of  mechanism  by  which  photographs  of  the  speaker  are  ( 
taken  in  succession  with  enormous  rapidity — at  intervals, 
let  us  say,  of  from  one-eighth  to  one-twentieth  of  a second, 
and  suppose  both  these  machines  to  be  at  work  silently 
recording  both  the  uttered  speech  and  the  personal 
appearance  of  the  speaker  at  each  fractional  part  of  a 
second.  The  results  thus  obtained  may  be  sent  to  any 
desired  point,  and  the  photographs  thrown  on  a screen  by 
an  ingeniously  contrived  piece  of  mechanism.  Thus  the 
exact  appearance  of  the  speaker,  with  all  his  gestures  and 
play  of  features,  are  exactly  reproduced,  while  the  phono- 
graph simultaneously  delivers  the  speech.  The  interval 
between  the  successive  photographs  is  so  infinitesimal 
that  the  screen  picture  is  apparently  a living  one,  moving, 
gesticulating,  and  apparently  uttering  the  words  which, 
in  fact,  are  spoken  by  the  phonograph.  The  greatest  i 
difficulty  experienced  by  Mr.  Edison  in  his  experiments 
was  the  synchronization  of  the  two  instruments,  so  that 
the  utterances  of  the  phonograph  should  exactly  coincide 
with  the  gesticulations  ; but  this  was  finally  overcome,  and 
the  experiments  were  crowned  with  the  most  perfect 
success.  What  the  commercial  value  of  the  invention 
may  be  is  yet  to  be  decided.  It  cannot  fail  to  be  intensely 
interesting  as  an  exhibition  feature,  but  whether  it  will 
fill  a useful  niche  in  the  every-day  life  of  the  world  is 
another  question  entirely. 

Mr.  Edison  is  not  pushing  the  matter  at  present,  being 
absorbed  in  his  experiments  on  electrical  traction  for 
street  cars.  When  that  problem  is  decided  he  may  bring 
this  new  invention  prominently  before  the  public.  We 
wait. — Netv  YurL  Herald. 


March  28,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


241 


MOUNTING  LANTERN  SLIDES. 

So  far  as  we  can  gather,  there  are  only  two  reasons  for, 
or  advantages  to  be  gained  by,  the  system  of  what  is 
generally  called  uniform  mounting : facility  in  carrying 
on  the  operation  consequent  on  the  use  of  mats  already 
cut,  and  the  pretty  appearance  of  a set  when  so  mounted. 
The  first  is  unworthy  a moment’s  consideration ; and 
anyone  who  would  let  it  influence  him  had  better  at  once 
turn  to  some  other  hobby,  or  wait  till  he  can  mount  his 
slides  by  a “ drop  a nickel  in  the  slot  machine.”  A good 
deal  can  be  said  in  favour  of  the  other  reason,  as  the  chief 
aim  and  object  of  at  least  a large  quantity  of  the  photo- 
graphy of  the  present  is  to  satisfy  the  craving  for  the 
beautiful ; and  if  the  disadvantages  of  uniformity  under 
circumstances  where  it  should  not  be  sought,  were  not  out 
of  all  proportion  greater  than  its  advantages,  we  should 
not  have  so  much  to  say  against  it. 

So  long  as  the  results  of  photography  were  merely 
curiosities,  people  were  content  with  simply  wondering 
how  such  things  could  be,  and  even  the  initiated  were  too 
much  intent  on  improving  the  technical  to  give  much  con- 
sideration to  the  artistic  ; but  now  that  the  technical  has 
reached  a stage  only  a little  short  of  perfection,  photo- 
graphy is  more  and  more  assuming  in  men’s  minds  its  true 
position — not  itself  an  art,  but  only  the  means  by  which 
artistic  results  may  be  produced.  In  other  words,  and 
words  more  especially  applicable  to  our  purpose,  lantern 
slides  are  gradually  becoming  less  and  less  looked  at 
and  thought  of  as  photographs,  and  more  and  more 
regarded  as  a means  of  producing  on  a large  scale 
projections  that  shall  be  in  the  truest  sense  of  the 
word  pictures.  We  are  aware  that  there  is  at  present 
a school,  or  a few  weak  enthusiasts  who  would  fain 
be  considered  such,  which  sneers  at  rules  of  composi- 
tion and  canons  of  art ; and,  perhaps,  for  them,  and  the 
kind  of  work  they  show,  when  they  do  show  anything, 
rules,  laws,  and  canons  are  not  needed.  Hut  the  great 
body  of  sober-minded  artists,  the  men  of  light  and  leading, 
both  ancient  and  modern,  have  given,  and  are  giving,' 
ample  evidence  of  their  faith  in  what  may  be  said  to  be 
the  great  principles  of  light  and  shade,  and  composition. 

We  may  take  it  for  granted  that  a very  large  majority  of 
the  lantern  slides  that  are  made,  except  by  those  profes- 
sionally engaged  in  their  production,  are  from  negatives 
not  especially  taken  for  the  purpose,  and,  consequently, 
better  suited  for  either  upright  or  horizontal  pictures. 
From  negatives  of  4 by  5 and  under,  the  positives,  as  a 
rule,  are  printed  by  superposition  and,  of  course,  by  re- 
duction in  the  camera  from  larger  sizes.  Now,  it  will  be 
evident  that  if  the  composition  has  been  good  for  an  up- 
right ora  horizontal  picture,  and  the  whole  plate  filled,  an 
equally  good  composition  cannot  be  made  to  fill  the  square 
opening  of  the  regulation  mat,  and  the  attempt  to  do  so 
can  only  result  in  the  cutting  out  of  material  necessary  to 
proper  balance,  excessive  and  often,  in  consequence,  offen- 
sive foregrounds,  weakly-placed  horizon  lines  or  vanishing 
points,  and  other  equally  objectionable  faults. 

Hut  we  may  ask.  why  should  lantern  pictures  be  square, 
•or  nearly  so?  Artists  of  the  brush  are  deservedly  credited 
with  a fairly  good  appreciative  taste  in  such  matters,  and 
we  are  within  the  mark  in  saying  that  less  than  one  per 
cent,  of  the  frames  that  adorn  our  galleries,  either  public 
or  private,  are  of  that  form,  and  even  of  those  few,  for 
most  of  them  there  is  some  special  reason  for  the  choice 
■of  the  direct  square. 


The  true  artist,  then,  in  making  lantern  slides  from  his 
ordinary  negatives,  will  arrange  so  that  the  longest  side  of 
the  composition  shall  come  just  within  the  regulation 
mount,  as  uniformity  in  the  length  or  height  is  easily 
obtainable,  and  of  course  let  the  sky  and  foreground  take 
care  of  themselves.  In  mounting  he  will,  of  course,  see 
that  the  mat  is  suitable  to  the  horizontal  or  upright  so 
made,  and  although  the  slides  may  not  look  so  pretty  when 
simply  looked  at,  they  will,  when  on  the  screen,  fully 
reward  him  for  all  the  extra  trouble  he  has  taken. 

Hut,  notwithstanding  those  facts  which  “are  chiels 
that  winna  ding,”  we  know  that  there  are  some  who, 
octopus-like,  will  continue  to  cling  to  “ the  good  old  size 
and  shape,”  and  as  they,  if  they  are  not  to  fall  behind,  must 
cease  to  be  content  with  photographs  and  strive  after 
pictures,  the  following  suggestion  may  help  them  to  make 
a fairly  satisfactory  compromise. 

If  the  stickler  for  the  regulation  mount  believes  in  the 
adage,  “ whatever  is  worth  doing,  is  worth  doing  well,” 
he  will  not  mind  a little  additional  trouble  and  a little 
extra  expense  in  carrying  out  his  desires.  Before  going 
to  the  field,  he  should  mark  off,  by  a heavy  pencil  line,  a 
direct  square  on  his  focussing  screen.  If,  say,  his  camera 
is  an  Hr  by  G.l,  a square  of  six  inches  will  be  suitable.  He 
should  then  take  all  his  pictures  in  duplicate,  the  first  fil- 
ling the  full  size  of  the  plate,  and  the  second  confined 
within  the  limits  of  the  square.  lie  should  remember 
also  that  faults  in  composition  are  more  noticeable  on  a 
large  than  on  a small  scale,  and  take  especial  care  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  second  exposure.  In  this  no  pains 
should  be  spared,  and  no  time  grudged  or  thought  mis- 
spent, and  an  exposure  should  never  be  made  on  a subject 
that  is  not  in  every  way  satisfactory.  Better  a clean  plate 
than  a picture  that  needs  to  be  apologised  for. — The 
Beacon. 


Devon  and  Cornwall  Camera  Club. — On  Monday,  17th, 
at  the  Athenaeum,  Plymouth,  Mr.  S.  Weekes  passed  through 
the  Club  lantern  about  two  hundred  slides  of  his  own  making 
and  from  his  own  negatives,  making  appropriate  remarks  upon 
each.  The  lecturer  led  the  company  from  Plymouth  to  the 
South  of  France,  thence  to  Venice,  Home,  the  Italian  Lakes, 
Switzerland,  and  back  to  Devon  and  Cornwall,  winding  up  with 
groups  of  persons  associated  with  the  Club  either  as  members 
or  friends. 

The  Sizes  of  Ph&tographic  Plates. — In  one  part  of  the 
final  report  of  the  International  Photographic  Congress  at  Paris, 
dealing  with  the  question  of  “ Uniformity  of  Dimensions  of 
Plates,”  a normal  international  plate  18  by  24  centimeters 
(71  by  9 j inches  about)  was  adopted.  The  division  12  by  18 
centimeters  was  also  adopted,  and  the  divisions  and  multiples 
of  18  by  24  centimeters.  In  the  matter  of  sizes  of  lantern 
slides,  the  form  8i  by  10  centimeters  (3|  by  4 inches  about) 
was  adopted  by  a "vote  of  18  to  13.  Another  size  proposed 
was  9 by  12  centimeters,  but  was  not  adopted  because  it 
was  thought  to  be  too  large.  The  screw  for  attaching  the 
camera  to  the  tripod  was  also  considered,  and  the  following 
size  was  adopted  : lbs  diameter  shall  be  9 ‘5  millimeters,  with 

a thread  cut  an  isosceles  triangle  of  55  degrees  opening  running 
to  the  summit,  not  more  than  1 '3  millimeters  deep,  and  having 
a pitch  of  one-sixth  of  its  height.  This  is  the  g-inch  screw  of 
the  English  system  of  Whitworth,  adopted  by  the  Photo- 
graphic Society  of  Great  Britain  in  1882.  For  the  attach- 
ment of  lenses  of  different  sizes  to  the  same  camera,  a system 
of  universal  screws  was  adopted  upon  the  same  system  as  that 
mentioned  above,  and  with  sufficient  play  to  allow  easy  work- 
ing. The  screw  flanges  for  all  new  lenses  made  in  the  future 
are  recommended  to  be  cut  with  exterior  openings  having 
10,  50,  75,  100,  125  millimeters. — Anthony’s  Bulletin. 


242 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  26,  1890. 


The  likeness  of  the  new  German  Chancellor,  General 
von  Caprivi,  to  his  predecessor,  Prince  Bismarck,  is  a 
happy  coincidence.  Prince  Bismarck  used  to  have 
a double,  who  was  accustomed  to  sit  to  unscrupulous 
photographers  in  Berlin,  and  whose  photographs  were 
sold  as  those  of  the  Chancellor.  This  fraud  went  on  for 
some  time,  but  was  at  length  discovered,  and  the 
“double”  found  his  way  to  durance  vile.  Those  who 
wish  to  turn — we  will  not  sayan  honest  penny — will 
probably  be  tempted  to  pass  off  the  photographs  of  the 
old  Chancellor  for  those  of  the  new  one.  We  mention 
this  so  that  purchasers  may  be  on  their  guard. 


A lady  correspondent  of  an  evening  paper  has  made 
the  astonishing  discovery  that  the  portraits  of  curates 
and  other  smaller  religious  lights  are  not  only  exhibited 
in  suburban  shop  windows,  but  command  a ready  sale. 
The  announcement  is  rather  late  in  the  day,  as  from 
the  earliest  photographic  times  a suburban  photographer 
invariably  seized  upon  the  countenances  (if  he  could 
get  them)  of  the  local  ministry,  both  of  the  Church 
and  Dissent,  as  a good  advertisement.  But  the  lady 
writer  goes  a little  further;  in  fact,  she  has  a “ good 
idea,”  and  has  come  forward  to  assist  ladies  of  limited 
means.  Her  suggestion  is  that  a number  of  ladies 
should  form  themselves  into  a company  for  the  sale  of 
curates’  photos.  She  is  confident  the  profits  would 
exceed  all  expectations,  as  the  number  of  ladies  of  all 
ages  who  are  ready  to  expend  their  spare  cash  in  pur- 
chasing the  photos  of  their  pet  parsons  is  very  large* 
Moreover,  the  young  ecclesiastics  themselves,  in  so1  good 
a cause,  would  willingly  “ countenance”  the  work. 
There  is,  unfortunately,  a frivolity  about  this  last 
observation  which  makes  one  doubt  the  sincerity  of 
“A  Feminine  Observer,”  for  so  the  writer  signs  her- 
self. We  are  really  afraid  she  is  having,  under  the 
guise  of  philanthropy,  a quiet  laugh  at  the  curates. 

At  last  the  automatic  drop-a-penny-in-thc-slot 
photographic  apparatus  is  an  accomplished  fact.  At 
present  it  has  its  habitat  at  West  Bromwich,  where  a 
demonstration  took  place  the  other  day,  and  as  the 
circumstance  has  been  narrated  in  all  its  details  in  the 
financial  papers,  we  may  take  it  that  the  patent  will 
occupy  the  attention  of  a limited  liability  company. 
Mr.  G.  A.  Sala — who,  like  a true  journalist,  has  always 
his  imagination  on  tap — sees  possible  drawbacks  in 
the  invention.  He  entreats  the  patentees  very  pro- 
perly to  guard  against  the  following  contingencies  : — 
First,  the  malevolent  small  boy  suddenly  crying  out, 
“Shove  in  your  mouldy  coppers!”  or  “Hi,  there 
Mister!  ” just  as  you  have  begun  to  stand  motionless; 
second,  a violent  fit  of  sneezing  or  coughing ; third, 
the  uncalled-for  interposition  of  an  entire  stranger, 

» who,  at  the  critical  moment,  pops  his  head  over  your 
shoulder,  grinning  horribly,  and  gets  photographed  for  > 


nothing  on  the  unhandsome  and  untradesmanlike  plea 
that  it  is  “ the  same  concern.”  Mr.  Sala  has  really 
spotted  the  initial  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
success  of  the  apparatus,  and  it  will  be  interesting  to 
see  how  they  will  be  overcome. 


A photographer  in  one  of  the  large  provincial 
towns  has  found  his  business  greatly  increase,  and 
his  photographs  more  pleasing  to  his  customers,  since  he 
has  employed  a young  lady  of  prepossessing  appearance 
to  assist  him  in  the  studio.  When  a nearly  full  face 
is  required,  and  the  eyes  are  to  be  turned  in  the 
direction  of  the  camera,  he  gets  the  young  lady  to 
take  off  the  cap.  If  the  best  view  of  the  features 
necessitates  looking  away  from  the  camera,  the  lady 
assistant  plants  herself  at  the  required  spot,  and  with 
pneumatic  attachment  makes  the  exposure  all  the 
same.  The  essential  point  is  that  the  sitter  shall  turn 
his  eyes  towards  the  fair  asistant.  We  use  the  word 
“his”  advisedly,  as  we  are  not  ready  to  believe  the 
plan  would  answer  so  well  with  feminine  sitters. 


Sterne’s  oft-quoted  sentiment,  “they  order  these 
things  better  in  France,”  has  received  a fresh 
exemplification  from  a photographic  point  of  view. 
In  a recent  murder  case  which  has  just  excited  some 
attention  in  Paris,  the  victim,  Hippolyte  Richard,  was 
by  profession  a canvasser  for  photographers.  With 
that  nice  discrimination  and  attention  to  details 
so  peculiar  to  the  French  mind,  his  arrangement 
with  his  employers  was  based  upon  the  distinctions 
which  exist  between  the  representatives  of  various 
classes ; that  is  to  say,  a customer  was  not  a customer 
and  nothing  more,  but  varied  considerably  in  value 
according  to  his  or  her  position  and  notoriety.  In  fact, 
a sort  of  tariff  appears  to  have  been  established,  of 
which  the  following  formed  the  leading  items : — For 
every  deputy  he  introduced  he  was  to  receive  5 francs ; 
for  a senator,  3 francs  ; for  a negro  potentate,  10  francs  ; 
for  an  actress  taken  in  ordinary  costume,  20  francs ; 
and  for  an  actress  taken  decollete,  20  francs.  We  in 
England  have  not  yet  approached  this  perfection  of 
tabulation. 


It  is  impossible  to'exaggerate  the  future  importance 
of  photography  in  regard  to  astronomical  observations. 
At  no  distant  date  the  world  will  be  spotted  with  ob- 
servatories all  filled  with  photographic  appliances,  and 
all  collecting  records  of  the  heavens,  which  will  be  of 
the  utmost  service  when  compared  together.  The 
latest  additions  to  the  world’s  observatories  comprise 
one  at  the  Vatican  and  one  recently  established  by  the 
Catholic  Mission  at  Madagascar,  where  a building  has 
been  erected  on  a hill  about  4,000  feet  in  height,  and 
situated  a short  distance  to  the  east  of  Tnnanarivo. 
The  first-named,  so  far  as  astronomy  is  concerned,  will 
concern  itself  principally  with  celestial  photography. 
In  the  second  a photographic  telescope  for  solar  obser- 
vations will  be  provided. 


March  28,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


243  7 


CHILDREN. 

BY  A PHOTOGRAPHER. 

M.  Legouve,  writing  of  Madame  de  Stael,  informs  us  that 
she  died  talking.  When  her  friends  were  nervously 
solicitous  to  exclude  visitors  who,  moved  by  affection,  or 
fashion,  or  curiosity,  or,  lastly,  by  a common  but  ghoulish 
gluttony  of  distress  and  agony,  pressed  for  admission  to 
the  bed-chamber  in  which  the  accomplished  authoress  lay 
dying,  she  is  reported  to  have  rebuked  them,  and  to  have 
insisted  on  her  visitors'  admission.  “ Let  them  come  in,” 
she  cried,  “let  them  corns  in;  I thirst  for  the  human 
face — J'ai  soif  du  visar/e  humain  /” 

This  thirst  for  the  human  face,  which  Robinson  Crusoe 
must  have  felt  in  its  deep  desire  and  insatiable  longing, 
expresses,  undoubtedly,  one  of  the  most  ardent  passions 
of  humanity  throughout  all  time.  AVe  have  all  a thirst  for 
the  human  face ; but  the  photographer  is  perhaps  possessed 
by  it  in  an  exceptional  degree,  and  has  been  known,  whether 
as  professional  or  as  amateur,  to  undergo  considerable 
risks  in  his  attempts  to  quench  it.  Our  memories  are 
green  of  the  gentleman  who  proposed,  in  defiance — or 
rather,  perhaps,  in  ignorance  —of  the  Koranic  law,  to  take 
a portrait  of  the  Sultan  of  Turkey. 

In  what  considerable  measure  this  thirst  is  shared  at  the 
present  day  by  the  general  public,  any  reflecting  observer 
may  find  out  by  taking  up  his  position  in  front  of  a 
stationer's  shop  in  a popular  thoroughfare — say,  for 
example,  in  Regent  Street — where  the  photographs  of 
celebrities  of  the  season  are  exposed  for  sale.  There  the 
hero  or  heroine  of  the  hour,  strong  man  or  fashionable 
woman,  convicted  murderer  or  military  chief,  draws  the 
noses  of  the  crowd  in  such  close  proximity  to  the  glass  of 
the  shop  window,  that  a greasy  film  soon  settles  upon  the 
pane,  only  to  be  rubbed  off  by  a fresh  band  of  inquisitive 
investigators.  “ No  mere  curiosity,  however,  is  this,”  say 
the  arniabb  apologists  of  human  nature  ; no  silly  love  of 
distraction,  no  empty  frivolity  of  idleness.  No ! the 
street  crowd  of  which  the  component  elements  are  only 
too  familiar,  is  thirsting  for  the  human  face,  because  it  is 
thirsting  for  the  human  soul ! It  may  be  so  ; but  is  the 
photographer  similarly  affected  ? It  is  extremely  doubtful. 
In  the  case  of  children,  the  contrary  has  been  too  often 
the  case  with  him.  lie  has  thirsted  for  the  human  soul, 
because  he  has  thirsted  for,  and  failed  to  obtain,  the 
human  face.  Failing  to  take  the  child  from  life,  he  has 
yearned  to  tike  life  from  the  child. 

The  charms  of  infancy  have  been  in  every  age  and 
country  a subject  on  which  prose  writers  and  poets  have 
been  allowed  to  dilate  without  let  or  reprehension.  Euri- 
pides, in  his  “Meleager,”  a piece  which  the  public,  and 
especially  the  male  adolescent  portion  thereof,  will  regret 
to  hear  has  been  lost  in  the  lapse  of  time,  has  not  omitted 
to  give  vent  in  verse  to  the  following  ideas,  which  Stobseus, 
the  author  of  the  Latin  Anthology,  has  been  kind  enough 
to  preserve:  “Sweet  is  the  sun’s  light,  sweet  is  the  sight 
of  a calm  sea,  or  a mighty  river,  or  a land  in  spring — a 
thousand  other  things  are  sweet — but  believe  me,  there  is 
nought  sweeter  than  to  see,  after  a life  of  celibacy,  beau- 
tiful children  flourishing  in  our  home.”  This  sentence 
seems  somewhat  strange — strange  enough,  indeed,  to  casta 
doubt  on  the  authenticity  of  the  fragment — when  it  is  re- 
membered that  Euripides  was  a confirmed  misogynist,  and 
“said  things”  about  women  which  it  would  be  painful  to 
repeat  in  any  publication  laying  claim  to  an  iota  of  respec- 
tability. 


The  charms  of  infancy  and  of  childhood  have  inspired 
poets  of  imagination  all  compact  to  sing  of  the  fair  heads, 
the  curly  hair,  the  sparkling  looks,  the  rosy  lips,  and  the 
smiling  cheeks — poets  apparently  oblivious  or  ignorant  of 
the  constant  worry,  the  strange  perversity,  the  nocturnal 
peevishness,  the  mulish  obstinacy,  and  the  congenital 
deceit — from  the  days  of  Euripides  till  the  days  of  Victor 
Hugo,  who  lias  distinguished  himself  in  some  degree  as  the 
children’s  poet.  The  Orientates  and  the  Contemplations  savour 
much  of  this  simple  theme,  and  a poem  of  two  dozen  lines  is 
devoted  to  the  description  of  a child  dreaming  of  sand  full 
of  diamonds,  and  other  strange  matters — perhaps  the  result 
of  an  overburdened  stomach — in  a soft  cradle  set  in  the 
secure  shadow  of  the  maternal  bed.  There  have  been 
photographers,  it  is  whispered,  who  devoutly  wished  that 
the  condition  of  the  poet’s  child  was  chronic  in  the  infantile 
world — that  children,  if  not  dreaming,  might  at  least  be 
continually  asleep.  They  would  not,  they  believe,  under 
these  conditions,  have  been  called  upon  to  take  their  por- 
traits, or  if  they  were,  it  might  have  been  done  with  ease. 

Rut  to  photograph  a child  awake  ! This  is  the  work, 
this  is  the  labour.  A man  must  be  to  the  manner  born  to 
accomplish  this.  I speak  of  the  past  rather  than  the 
present,  but  the  present  is  not  all  plain  sailing.  The 
strange  difficulty  of  the  undertaking,  the  indomitable 
perseverance  which  it  requires,  can  scarcely  be  conceived 
by  the  outside  world.  It  is  hidden  from  all  save  those 
unhappy  ones  who  have  experienced  it. 

The  greatest  reverence,  says  a celebrated  satirist,  is  due  to 
the  child.  I fully  concur  with  the  justice  of  this  observa- 
tion in  the  abstract — but  Juvenal  was  not  a photographer. 
If  he  had  been,  and  had  been  asked — we  will  suppose — to 
take  the  portrait  of  his  friend  Sempronius’s  little  boy,  and 
had  maintained  his  reverence  for  that  child  unimpaired 
after  the  operation,  I should  hold  a higher  opinion  of 
Juvenal.  Job  is  commonly  credited  with  the  virtue  of 
patience ; lie  did  not,  indeed,  manifest  this  virtue  to  any 
very  great  extent  when  he  cursed  his  day — nevertheless, 
the  patience  of  Job  has  passed  into  a proverb.  I trust  I 
shall  not  be  accused  of  irreverence  when  I say  that  to  take 
the  portrait  of  a child  requires  something  more  than  the 
patience  of  Job. 

Bairns,  says  a Scotch  proverb  invented  before  the  days 
of  photography,  are  a blessing;  to  the  photographer  they 
are  only  too  commonly — well,  to  avoid  any  strong 
language,  I will  say — the  reverse.  'They  cannot  and  will 
not  be  taken,  and,  like  the  child  of  Themistocles  who 
governed  his  mother,  who  governed  her  husband,  who 
governed  Greece,  their  will  is  supreme.  Not  that  there  is 
not  plenty  of  counsel  on  the  subject  how  the  thing  is 
to  be  managed ; but  it  is  like  that  of  the  conjuror  who 
professes  to  tell  you  how  to  do  it.  In  the  moment  of 
need  the  counsel  pierces  your  hand,  or  slips  from  you 
like  uncertain  quicksilver.  For  instance,  there  are  some 
counsellors  who  will  talk  of  an  infant,  wholly  for- 
getting the  great  reverence  due  to  it,  as  if  it  were  a dog 
or  a horse.  You  must  study — say  these  wise  ones — 
its  points ; you  must  approach  it  gradually,  or  like  an 
old  acquaintance  (imagine  any  child  of  ordinary  capacity 
being  deceived  by  so  transparent  a device)  ; you  must 
show  a love  for  it ; this  is  indeed  a trial ; and  you  must 
stroke  it  down,  and  talk  sympathetically  to  it. 

A gentleman  who  speaks,  as  it  were,  ex  cathedra,  says : 
“ I find  the  following  method  most  successful  in  dealing 
with  this  difficulty.  On  the  arrival  of  the  youthf  ul  sitters  in 
the  studio,  I place  them  at  once  in  the  proper  focus,  and, 


214 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  28,  1890. 


after  a general  adjustment,  leave  them  to  themselves 
during  the  time  I make  the  requisite  preparations.”  Now, 
as  to  the  proper  focus,  it  is  quite  certain  that  those  children, 
unless  children  of  a wholly  abnormal  character,  would 
quickly  move  out  of  it ; and  as  to  leaving  them  to  them- 
selves— well,  I have  had  my  own  experiences.  There  is  a 
tale  of  a child,  who,  being  left  to  itself,  was  incontinently 
poisoned  by  drinking  a solution  of  cyanide  of  potassium. 
“ Then,”  says  the  gentleman,  “ I finally  adjust  the  children 
according  to  my  already  preconceived  ideas,  and  attract 
their  attention.”  Quite  so  ! Various  methods  of  doing 
this  have  been  suggested  and  proved  in  practice  futile. 
One  will  tell  you  to  move  about  some  showy  toy  or  other, 
a certain  way  of  putting  the  child  on  wires  throughout  the 
sitting  ; another  will  counsel  you  to  imitate  the  mooing  of 
a cow,  the  buzzing  of  a bluebottle,  or  the  barking  of  a dog, 
careless  of  the  ridiculous  loss  of  dignity  which  is  thereby 
incurred  by  the  artist,  and  all  too  frequently  to  no  purpose. 
The  ordinarily  lively  child  will,  by  such  ill-judged  pro- 
ceedings, be  transformed,  as  by  some  unholy  spell,  into 
stone  ; it  will  regard  all  your  dramatic  endeavours  with, 
concealed  indifference,  or  with  a calm  and  open  con- 
tempt ; it  will  assume  a suspicious,  if  not  a sulky 
expression.  The  graceful  forms  which  we  arc  told 
all  children  unconsciously  assume  will,  by  some  pre- 
pense malice,  some  instigation  of  Satan,  be  wholly  absent 
in  this  child  ; and  when,  after  endeavours  frittered  away, 
and  wasted  energy,  after  much  loss  of  time  and  more  loss 
of  temper,  you  at  last,  in  sheer  despair,  say,  “ Now  is  the 
time  ! ” and  uncover  the  lens,  the  probability,  amounting 
almost  to  a certainty,  is  that  the  child  will  have  moved, 
and  a satisfactory  picture  will  not  have  been  obtained. 

There  is  a photographer,  an  intimate  friend  of  mine — a 
man  of  considerable  skill — a man,  I may  say,  for  I knew  him 
well,  of  genius,  kind,  amiable,  gentle,  and  long-suffering, 
whose  evil  lot  it  was,  some  years  ago,  to  be  asked  to  take  a 
picture  of  oh,  such  a sweet  child ! But  a difficulty  occurred  at 
the  very  outset  which  should  have  been,  but  unfortunately 
was  not,  a warning  to  that  artist.  The  sweet  child,  the  dear 
artless  little  thing,  a boy  in  his  tender  nonage,  stoutly 
refused  to  go  to  the  photographer's  studio,  and  insisted, 
like  a young  sultan,  on  that  artist  being  brought  to  his 
own  apartment.  A doting  mother,  to  whom  the  child’s 
will  was  law,  in  her  earnest  desire  to  possess  a picture  of 
her  darling,  gave  way  to  this  arrangement,  not,  indeed, 
being  able  to  do  otherwise  ; for  as  soon  as  an  expedition 
was  proposed  to  the  studio,  the  little  tyrant  filled  the  neigh- 
bourhood with  loud  lamentations.  And  so  the  photo- 
grapher came,  with  all  appliances  and  means  to  boot,  into 
the  nursery.  Trailing,  not,  indeed,  as  Wordsworth 
imagines,  clouds  of  glory,  but  a little  go-cart  attached  to 
a string  from  an  adjoining  apartment,  this  interesting  child 
approached  the  artist,  and  leisurely  examined  him  with 
much  the  same  kind  of  sympathetic  and  interested  curi- 
osity as  is  shown  to  the  student  of  human  nature  by  that 
portion  of  the  public  which,  on  a Bank  Holiday,  delights 
itself  with  a prolonged  examination  of  the  monkeys  in  the 
Zoological  Gardens.  After  this  examination  was  concluded 
the  photographer,  anxious  to  propitiate  the  subject  of  his 
future  proceedings,  fumbled  in  his  pocket  and  produced  a 
parcel.  ‘ ‘ What  is  that  ?”  said  the  infant.  “ That,  my  dear,  is 
a box  of  sweets,  which  I shall  have  the  pleasure  of  giving 
you  if  you  are  a good  boy” — and  here  he  arranged  his 
camera — “ when  I go.”  “ Give  it  me,  then,”  said  f he  boy, 
“and  go  at  once !”  “There  arc,”  says  Cicero,  “ children 
who  need  the  bridle,  there  are  others  who  require  the  spur.” 


Evidently  this  child  was  not  to  be  included  under  the 
latter  category.  My  friend — my  injured  friend — never 
confided  to  me  whether  he  was  in  a pet  at  this  precocious 
entamure,  or  whether  lie  had  some  doubt  as  to  the  pro- 
priety of  giving  to  posterity  the  portrait  of  so  impolite  an 
infant ; but  it  is  certain  that  he  then  and  there  collected 
his  chattels  together  and  took  his  departure,  probably 
with  the  indignant  Gloster,  in  Lear,  saying,  sotto  voce — 

“ I shall  see 

The  winged  vengeance  overtake  such  children  !” 

There  was  a piece  of  mechanism — not  yet  quite  extinct — 
employed  in  photography  known  as  the  head-rest.  It 
was  probably  so  named  on  the  Incus  a non  lucendo  principle. 
Now  this  is  an  instrument  which  even  adults  arc  not 
altogether  disposed  to  look  upon  with  delight.  Its 
screws  and  articulations  give  it  an  uncanny  appearance  ; 
it  is  suggestive  in  some  remote  way  of  a dentist  s chair. 
The  child,  as  a rule,  rebels  against  it  at  once.  Instances 
have  been  known  in  which  children  have  been  thrown 
into  strong  convulsions  by  an  injudicious  appliance 
of  this  machine.  Some  kindly  intentioned  French 
person  once  patented  a special  head-rest  for  their 
proper  use.  Its  distinctive  feature  was  the  greater 
curvature  of  those  long  thin  branches,  which  convey  to 
the  fanciful  observer  the  idea  of  the  tentacles  of  a squid. 
These  branches,  by  a neatly  worked  movement  like  that  of 
calipers,  embraced  both  sides  of  the  infant's  head,  under- 
neath its  hair.  The  writer — lie  mentions  the  fact  witli  a 
feeling  of  fervent  gratitude — has  had  no  experience  of  the 
effect  upon  the  child  of  this  mechanical  construction,  but 
the  inventor  thereof  was  clearly  not  altogether  sanguine 
about  its  success.  lie  speaks  with  no  manner  of  certainty, 
but  he  speaks  as  one  who  has  suffered,  and  he  speaks 
without  the  reverence  recommended  by  the  Roman  satirist. 
By  the  use  of  this  instrument,  he  says,  the  portraits  of  these 
little  devils  (res  diablotins),  who  are  the  curse  of  the  photo- 
grapher of  every  country  and  of  every  time,  may  perhaps 
be  taken  successfully. 

It  is  told  in  the  “ Memoirs”  of  Alexander  Dumas,  con- 
cerning the  savages  of  Florida,  that  when  they  were  espe- 
cially wroth  with  a prisoner,  and  anxious  to  torture  him  in 
the  most  prolonged  and  painful  manner,  they  committed 
him  to  the  care  of  a select  circle  of  women  and  children, 
who,  in  the  cruel  subtilty  of  their  devices  for  ensuring  the 
highest  amount  of  agony,  left  nothing  whatever  to  be  de- 
sired. It  is  the  unhappy  experience  of  a large  number  of 
professional  photographers  that  the  children  of  savages  are 
not  by  many  lengths  in  advance  of  the  children  of  civili- 
zation in  the  capacity  of  the  latter  to  inflict  mental  pain. 

The  Daguerre  Monument. — We  have  received  several  letters 
criticising  rather  severely  the  design  for  the  Daguerre  monu- 
ment. The  general  tenor  of  these  communications  is  that 
Daguerre  is  placed  in  too  subordinate  a position,  and  that  the 
female  figure  and  the  sphere  are  too  prominent.  In  regard  to 
these  critics,  we  would  state  that  we  agree  with  them  as  far 
as  the  published  designs  are  concerned  ; but  we  understand 
that  we  must  withhold  our  judgment  until  Mr.  Hartley  has 
| finished  the  large  clay  model  which  he  is  now  working  upon  at 
his  studio.  This  model  is  soon  to  be  placed  on  public  exhibition 
in  New  York,  and  all  interested  will  have  an  opport  unity  of 
seeing  it.  The  changes  made  in  the  model  are  : reduction  of  the 
size  of  the  sphere,  elevation  of  the  sphere,  an  increase  of  the 
size  of  the  head  of  Daguerre  to  one  and  a-half  life-size,  and  the 
total  height  of  the  monument  will  be  sixteen  feet  from  the 
ground. — Anthony's  I’kotoyraphic  Bulletin. 


March  28,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


245 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  GERMANY. 

BY  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

Professional  Development— Flat  and  Greyish  Platino- 
types— Price  of  Albumen  Paper  — Influence  of 
Development  on  the  Deposit  on  Negatives— Quinol 
Developer  with  (^vlcium  Bisulphite  — Platinum 
Toning  for  Gklatino-Cjiloride  Paper. 

Professional  Development. — In  order  to  ascertain  what 
developer  is  chiefly  used  by  the  German  professional 
photographers,  and  to  give  a correct  idea  of  the  mode  of 
development  in  general  every-day  practice,  the  editors 
of  Liesegang's  Photoyraphisches  Archiv  have  sent  round 
inquiries  among  the  most  eminent  photographers  in 
Germany  and  Austria,  and  the  results  of  these  investiga- 
tions have  been  published  in  the  last  few  issues  of  that 
interesting  journal.  In  the  first  place,  the  following  two 
facts  have  come  out : that  the  ferrous  oxalate  developer 
is  still  used  by  about  two-thirds  of  the  German  photo- 
graphers, and  that  next  to  it  the  new  eikonogen  developer 
has  found  the  most  numerous  and  most  exalted  followers. 
The  pyro  developer  seems  to  be  employed  by  only  a small 
number  of  practitioners.  As  to  the  eikonogen  developer, 
the  following  communications  are  of  special  interest.  A 
court  photographer  of  M’iesbaden  says:  “It  allows  a 
shorter  exposure  than  any  other  I know  of  ; it  gives  fine 
details,  works  neither  too  monotonously  nor  too  hard,  and 
develops  quickly.  In  the  studio,  I expose,  even  on  dull 
winter  days,  with  an  aplanatic  lens,  full  aperture,  for  less 
than  one  second,  and  in  summer  a quarter  of  a second  is 
enough.  I use  the  following  composition  : — 

A.  — Distilled  water  (hot)  1,500  c.c. 

Chem.  pure  sodium  sulphite  ...  100  grammes 

Eikonogen  ...  ...  ...  ...  50  ,, 

This  stock  solution  must  be  kept  in  a dark-coloured 
bottle  with  glass  stopper,  and  in  a dark  room  in  which  no 
acids  and  no  ammonia  are  kept. 

B.  — Distilled  water  ...  ...  ...  500  c.c. 

Chem.  pure  potassium  carbonate  ...  75  grammes 

(Stock  solution  2).  Mix  3 parts  of  A with  one  part  of  15 
just  before  use.  This  developer  can  be  applied  to  from 
three  to  five  plates  the  same  day,  if  well  protected  against 
air  and  light.  Wash  the  plate,  if  sufficiently  developed, 
under  the  tap  by  means  of  the  ball  of  the  hand  ; harden 
it  in  a five  per  cent,  alum  bath  for  one  minute,  wash  again 
thoroughly  under  the  rose  by  means  of  the  ball  of  the 
hand,  and  fix  in — 

Water 800  c.c. 

Hypo  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  200  grammes 

Bisulphite  of  soda  (chem.  pure)  ...  40  ,, 

Another  court  photographer,  of  Altenbourg,  proceeds 
as  follows: — 12  grammes  of  eikonogen  in  crystals 
are  finely  pulverised  in  a porcelain  mortar,  and 
the  resulting  powder  is  poured  into  a funnel 
the  aperture  of  which  is  plugged  with  cotton, 
neither  too  loosely  nor  too  firmly.  On  it  are  poured 
60  grammes  of  sodium  sulphite,  also  pulverised,  and  the 
funnel  is  filled  up  with  750  c.c.  of  distilled  water.  During 
filtering  the  sediment  in  the  funnel  is  repeatedly  stirred 
with  a glass  rod,  and,  after  the  liquid  has  run  through, 
about  8 to  10  c.c.  of  bisulphite  lye  of  1 18*^  F.  are  added 
to  it,  by  which  its  colour  is  almost  entirely  destroyed. 
I hen  into  the  same  funnel,  directly  on  the  slight  sediment 
left,  38  grammes  of  chemically  pure  soda  (calcium)  are 
poured,  and  the  funnel  is  filled  up  with  250  c.c.  of  distilled 
water,  which  dissolve  the  last  traces  of  the  eikonogen, 


sodium  sulphite,  and  soda.  This  second  filtered  liquid  is 
then  poured  into  the  first  one,  and  the  whole  well  shaken. 
In  this  way  the  developer  (in  all  1,000  c.c.)  is  ready  for 
use  within  fifteen  minutes  without  the  u«e  of  boiling  water. 
It  keeps  well  for  a long  time.  If  applied  when  freshly 
prepared,  it  works  a little  Softer  than  when  it  has  been 
kept  for  some  time.  A third  photographer,  of  Hirschberg, 
says : “ The  eikonogen  developer  usually  gives  beautifully 
clear,  though  vigorous,  negatives,  with  perfect  details  in 
the  deepest  shadows ; indeed,  such  as  are  hardly  obtain- 
able by  means  of  any  other  developer.  I proceed  as 
followrs : — 


I. — Sodium  sulphite  ... 
Distilled  water  ... 
Eikonogen 

II. — Carbonate  of  soda 
Distilled  water  ... 

I mix  3 parts  of  solution  I 
The  fixing  bath  consists  of  :- 


200  grammes 

3.000  c.c. 

50  grammes 

150  grammes 

1.000  c.c. 

with  1 part  of  solution  II. 


Hypo  ...  ...  ...  ...  2o0  grammes 

Sodium  sulphite  ...  ...  ...  50  ,, 

Water  1,000  c.c. 

Concentrated  sulphuric  acid  ...8  to  10  ,, 

For  developing,  I take  at  first  an  old  solution,  and  allow 
the  plate  to  remain  in  it  until  the  image  has  come  out 
about  thirty  to  thirty-five  seconds ; then  the  old  solution 
is  poured  off,  and  replaced  by  a fresh  one.  The  image 
must  be  rather  vigorously  developed,  because  it  is  reduced 
a little  in  the  fixing  bath. 


A Reined//  for  Flat  and  Greyish  Platinotypes. — Those 
who  work  the  platinotype  process  with  hot  development 
will  from  time  to  time  make  the  unpleasant  discovery  that 
the  prints,  though  they  appear  vigorous  in  the  fixing  bath 
and  in  the  washing  water,  become  flat  and  grey  after  dry- 
ing, at  least  if  looked  at  by  reflected  light ; by  transmitted 
light  they  appear  vigorous,  as  before.  This  is  probably 
caused  by  the  fact  that  the  hot  solution  of  oxalate  of 
potash,  and,  later  on,  the  hydrochloric  acid  of  the  fixing 
bath,  destroy  the  size  of  the  paper,  and  the  platinotype 
is  consequently  caused  to  sink  into  the  paper.  In  this 
case  the  following  method,  recommended  by  I Ians  Lenhard, 
of  Yienua,  can  be  used  with  good  results  : — In  1,000  c.c. 
of  water  125  grammes  of  pure  gelatine  are  melted  as 
usual,  and  the  solution  is  gradually  brought  up  to  the 
boiling  point.  After  the  gelatine  solution  has  been  taken 
from  the  fire,  125  grammes  of  pulverized  alum  are  added, 
and  dissolved  in  it  with  perpetual  stirring.  Of  this  solu- 
tion one  part  is  diluted  with  two  parts  of  water ; the 
mixture  is  poured  into  a flat  dish,  and  the  latter  kept  warm 
in  the  water  bath.  In  this  warm  solution  the  platinotypes 
are  immersed,  and  allowed  to  remain  for  some  minutes. 
They  are  then  put  for  some  time  in  a dish  with  cold  water, 
and  afterwards  dried  between  sheets  of  blotting-paper. 
It  w ill  be  found  that  after  this  treatment  the  prints  appear 
vigorous  again  by  reflected  light.  This  additional  sizing 
of  the  platinotype  paper  has,  besides,  the  advantage  that  to 
the  positive  retoucher  the  work  is  made  easy,  because  in 
this  state  the  paper  does  not  suck  up  the  colour  so  eagerly 
as  before. 


Rise  in  the  Price  of  Albumen  Paper. — Some  weeks  ago 
several  manufacturers  of  albumen  paper — among  these  the 
“ Yereinigte  Fabriken  photographischer  Papiere,”  of  Dres- 
den-sent out  a circular,  in  which  was  announced  that  on 
accouut  of  innovations  requiring  the  utmost  care  in  the 
production  of  photographic  plain  paper,  as  well  as  of  the 
albumenised  paper,  the  price  of  this  latter  would  be  raised 


246 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  28,  1890. 


in  future  ten  per  cent.,  i.e.,  by  ten  marks  the  ream.  This 
announcement  seems  to  have  influenced  the  fraternity  very 
disagreeably,  for  in  the  last  meeting  of  the  Photographic 
Association  of  Berlin,  where  the  affair  came  on  for  dis- 
cussion, reference  was  made  to  a business  report  of  the 
“ Yereinigte  Fabriken,”  according  to  which  the  financial 
result  for  the  year  1889  allowed  the  distribution  of  a 
dividend  of  19  per  cent.,  whilst  the  dividend  which 
has  been  paid  to  the  shareholders  for  the  year  1888 
amounted  only  to  10  per  cent.  The  question  was 
raised,  “How  do  the  two  facts  harmonize,  and 
wherefore  the  rise  in  the  price  of  a jjroduct  after  a 
dividend  last  year  raised  by  9 per  cent.  ? ” It  was 
recommended  to  professional  photographers  to  turn  them- 
selves more  and  more  to  the  gelatino-chloride  papers. 

Influence  of  Development  on  the  Fineness  of  the  Deposit  on 
the  Negative. — To  ascertain  whether  the  mode  of  developing 
exerts  any  influence  on  the  fineness  of  the  deposit  or  grain 
of  the  negative,  Dr.  Miethe  made  the  following  experiment : 
A gelatine  plate  was  exposed  at  a distance  of  thirty-eight 
inches  from  a stearine  light  for  ten  seconds,  and  then  cut 
into  eight  pieces,  which  were  developed  separately  in  eight 
different  solutions,  consisting  of  ferrous  oxalate,  pyro, 
and  quinol  developers  of  varied  proportions.  All  the 
plates  were  developed  until  they  began  to  turn  grey  when 
looked  at  from  the  back,  and  were  then  fixed  in  the  acid 
fixing  bath.  After  drying,  the  single  strips  were  compared 
under  the  microscope.  It  was  not  observed  that  the 
fineness  of  the  deposit  was  different  on  the  various  plates; 
on  the  contrary,  in  all  the  films  about  the  same  quantity 
of  coarse  grain  was  found  intermixed  with  the  finer  grain. 
It  is,  however,  just  this  coarse  grain  to  which  the  greater 
sensitiveness  to  light  must  be  attributed.  This  may  be 
perceived  by  the  fact  that  if  a very  briefly  exposed  plate  is 
forced  in  development,  the  image  will  be  formed  almost 
entirely  of  the  coarser  grain.  Now,  since  in  the  case  of 
instantaneous  exposures  generally  strong  developing  solu- 
tions are  used,  it  appears  that  this  has  given  rise  to  the 
error  that  the  size  of  the  grain  depends  on  the  composition 
of  the  developer,  and  that  a finely-grained  negative  might 
be  produced  by  slow  development.  An  over-exposed 
plate,  the  coarse  grain  of  which  has  been  already  ‘ ‘ solarised,  ” 
will  therefore,  however  it  has  been  developed,  always 
show  a finer  grain  than  a briefly  exposed  one. 

Quinol  Developer  with  Calcium  Bisulphite. — Photographic 
tourists  will  always  find  it  a great  convenience  to  be  able 
to  carry  a large  quantity  of  developing  solution  in  a con- 
centrated condition  sufficient  for  a large  number  of  plates. 
The  following  method  is  recommended  by  A.  von  Loehr. 
Four  small  bottles  are  filled  with  the  following  ingredi- 
ents:— 1.  A small  bottle  with  100  c.c.  of  a concentrated 
solution  of  calcium  bisulphite.  2.  A small  bottle  with 
100  c.c.  of  a solution  of  caustic  soda,  1 : 10.  3.  A small 

bottle  with  25  grammes  of  quinol.  4.  A small  bottle  with 
10  c.c.  of  a solution  of  potassium  bromide,  1 : 10.  This 
quantity  is  sufficient  for  one  hundred  quarter-plates. 
Development  is  carried  on  in  the  following  manner.  To 
100  c.c.  of  water,  4 c.c.  of  calcium  bisulphite  solution  are 
added,  and  1 gramme  of  hydroquinone  is  dissolved  in  it. 
On  the  other  hand,  4 c.c.  of  caustic  soda  solution  are 
diluted  with  100  c.  c.  of  water.  The  two  solutions  can  be 
kept  for  a long  time,  and  are  to  be  mixed  in  equal  parts 
just  before  development. 

Platinum  Toning  Bath  for  Gelatino-Chloride  Paper. — Mr. 
A.  Stieglitz  gives  in  the  photographic  Year-Book  (Eder) 
for  1890  the  following  directions  relating  to  the  platinum 


toning  bath,  which  has  been  mentioned  in  this  journal  on 
a former  occasion.  The  following  solution  is  made  up : — 
Solution  A. 

Oxalate  of  potash  ...  ...  ...  90  grammes 

Monopotassic  orthophosphate  ...  45  ,, 

Distilled  water  ...  ...  ...  1,000  c.c. 


Solution  B. 

Potassium  chloroplatinite  ...  ...  1 gramme 

Distilled  water  ...  ...  ...  20  c.c. 


Before  toning,  three  parts  of  solution  A are  mixed  with 
two  parts  of  distilled  water  and  one  part  of  solution  B. 
The  bath  keeps  for  one  hour,  but  after  half  an  hour  it 
should  be  intensified  by  the  addition  of  a few  cc.  of  solu- 
tion B.  The  prints,  which  should  be  barely  over-printed, 
are  washed  two  or  three  times,  and  then  jflaced  in  the 
bath,  film  side  up,  until  they  show  a violet  tint  by  trans- 
mitted light.  This  requires  one  or  two  minutes  in  sum- 
mer. Then  they  must  at  once  be  thoroughly  washed, 
since  otherwise  the  whites  will  appear  yellow  after  fixing. 

Fixing  and  washing  performed  as  usual.  To  impart 
to  the  prints  a matt  surface,  they  are  squeezed  on  to 
ground-glass,  which  they  will  leave,  after  drying,  with  a 
matt  surface  of  sepia  tone.  To  attain  black  tones,  a few 
cubic  centimetres  of  a saturated  solution  of  nitrate  of 
lead  should  be  added  to  the  toning  bath,  and  the  prints 
must  be  printed  very  deeply. 


WIIAT  PHOTOGRAPHY  WILL  NOT  DO. 
Under  the  above  heading  Captain  Abney  writes  as  follows 
to  the  Daily  Graphic  of  March  24th  : — 

The  jubilee  of  photography  is  past,  and  we  have  had  recounted 
in  public  journals,  almost  ad  nauseam,  what  photography  has 
already  done,  and  there  has  been  a little  prophesying  of  what 
we  may  expect  it  to  do  in  the  next  fifty  years,  but  there  has  been 
no  one  bold  enough  to  tell  us  what  it  can’t  do.  1 am  going 
to  take  upon  myself  the  r6lc  of  prophet,  and  mention  one  or 
two  advances  which  photography  cannot  make,  although  it  is 
popularly  believed  that  these  will  become  fails  accomplis  in 
the  not  too-immediate  future. 

Photograp.iy  in  Natural  Colours. — The  question  is  often 
asked,  “When  will  photography  in  natural  colours  be  found 
out?”  Had  the  question  been  put,  “When  will  photography 
in  natural  colours  be  commercially  practicable?"  or,  “When 
will  portraits  in  natural  colours  be  feasible  ? ” the  answer  to  be 
given  is,  “Not  before  the  centenary.”  Photography  in  natural 
colours  has  been  effected,  but  by  a process  so  tedious  and  long 
in  operation  that  it  can  never  become  of  the  least  practical 
value.  Becquerel,  Ni6pce  de  St.  Victor,  and  others  have  pro- 
duced photographs  on  silver  plates  in  the  camera  approximating 
to  the  colours  of  objects,  and  the  writer  has  produced  the  whole 
spectrum  in  its  hues,  though  dim,  on  collodion  plates,  but  all 
have  been  effected  by  means  of  what  is  known  as  the  printing- 
out  method,  i.e.,  by  making  light  itself  do  the  whole  of 
the  work  on  the  plate,  instead  of  merely  imitating  it, 
and  obtaining  the  final  result  by  means  of  development. 
Such  a process,  when  used  in  the  camera,  is  necessarily 
extremely  slow — so  slow,  indeed,  that  only  with  a very  bright 
light  illuminating  the  object,  and  by  an  exposure  some- 
times extended  over  days,  any  coloured  image  at  all  can  be 
produced.  This  method  is,  therefore,  completely  out  of  court 
as  a practical  process  for  obtaining  portraits,  and  is  many 
times  worse  than  the  Daguerreotype  process  in  its  early  days, 
when  a sitter  had  to  endure  being  screwed  up  in  a head-rest 
for  an  hour  or  so  in  bright  sunshine.  From  a theoretical 
point  of  view,  what  has  been  done  is  interesting,  but  at 
present,  at  all  events,  it  remains  only  as  a scientific  curiosity. 
To  enable  it  to  be  of  any  practical  value,  exposures  must  be 
short,  and  this  entails  the  after  process  of  development.  Light 
may  so  sift  and  shake  the  matter  on  which  it  falls  that  it 
aggregates  or  disintegrates  into  minute  particles  of  such  a size 


March  28,  1890. “[ 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


247 


that  the  light  reflected  from  them  shall  be  of  that  particular 
colour  which  falls  upon  them  ; but  it  can  scarcely  be  con- 
ceived, though  a short  exposure  may  so  change  some  small 
portion  of  the  matter  on  which  it  falls,  that  a subsequent 
action  produced  by  purely  chemical  means,  as  is  the  case  in 
development,  can  continu^  to  produce  the  same  necessary 
aggregations  or  disintegrations  of  the  particles.  Again,  with 
the  results  that  have  been  obtained,  the  permanency  of  the 
images  is  but  short,  as  they  will  bear  no  subsequent  exposure 
to  white  light,  the  colours  vanishing  rapidly.  From  what  has 
been  said,  it  is  apparent  that  photography  in  natural  colours  is 
out  of  the  range  of  practicability  with  the  present  known 
substances  which  are  sensitive  to  light,  and  it  is  unlikely  that 
any  substance  will  be  discovered  sufficiently  sensitive  to 
enable  it  to  be  carried  out  by  a printing-out  process,  and  we  have 
seen  how  unlikely  it  is  that  any  developing  process  can  succeed. 

Transmitting  the  Photographic  Image  to  a Distance. — The 
transmission  of  photographic  images  to  a distance  by  electrical 
means  is  also  popularly  believed  to  be  within  the  range  of 
practicability.  The  transmission  of  sounds  by  a telephone,  and 
their  reproduction  by  the  phonograph,  have  seemed  to  the  lay 
mind,  and  even  to  minds  which  are  not  lay,  to  be  akin  to  the 
transmission  and  reproduction  of  photographic  images.  Had  a 
little  more  thought,  however,  been  expended  on  the  subject,  it 
would  have  been  seen  that  the  conditions  of  the  two  were  totally 
different.  The  phonograph  enables  sound  to  be  reproduced 
by  means  of  lines  or  points  marked  on  a sheet  of  foil,  the  depth 
of  sound  being  indicated  by  variations  in  depth  and  breadth  of 
the  furrowed  line.  In  a photographic  image  one  is  not  dealing 
with  anything  that  can  be  represented  by  a line,  but  only  by  a 
surface.  There  are  two  systems  which  may  be  employed  to 
produce  the  effect  of  light  and  shade  lying  on  a surface,  but 
even  then  the  two  systems  blend  together  by  the  fact  that  the 
continuous  surface  at  one  end  of  a telegraph  wire  has  to  be 
represented  at  the  other  by  lines  more  or  less  closely  ruled 
parallel  to  each  other.  Bains’s  system  of  the  transmission  of 
handwriting  by  telegraph  may  be  modified  to  reproduce  a photo- 
graphic image.  In  this  system,  the  paper,  with  the  writing  to 
be  transmitted,  was  placed  beneath  a pointer  connected  with 
the  telegraph  wire,  and  made,  or  broke,  electrical  contact, 
according  as  the  blank  paper  or  the  writing  came  beneath  it. 
The  paper  at  one  end  moved  at  a fixed  rate,  and  at  the  other 
the  paper  was  made  to  pass  beneath  a pointer  at  a similar  rate. 
At  the  other  end,  and  when  contact  was  made,  or  broken,  at 
the  one  station,  similar  contacts  were  made  at  the  other,  mark- 
ing the  paper  when  contacts  were  made.  By  passing  the  sheet 
of  paper  on  which  the  writing  was  made  in  parallel  lines  beneath 
the  pointer,  evidently  a sort  of  facsimile  of  the  writing  was 
produced.  By  a modification  of  this  plan,  a photographic 
print  might  be,  in  a measure,  reproduced  ; for  instance,  by 
causing  the  lights  and  shades  of  a photograph  to  offer  more  or 
less  resistance  to  the  passage  of  the  current.  By  this  means, 
greater  or  less  blackening  of  a properly  prepared  paper  might 
1)e  caused,  and  produce  lights  and  shades  represented  by  parallel 
lines. 

A Dream  and  Nothing  More. — The  use  of  selenium,  which 
alters  its  resistance  to  the  passage  of  a current  according  to 
the  intensity  of  light  acting  on  its  surface,  has  also  been  sug- 
gested as  a sensitive  surface.  This  sounds  very  nice,  but 
unfortunately,  a telegraph  wire  will  not  discriminate  between 
the  currents  transmitted  from  one  part  of  a surface  and 
another.  Hence,  its  connection  with  the  telegraph  wire  for 
this  purpose  is  useless.  By  acting  somewhat  on  the  same  plan 
as  that  adopted  by  Bains,  an  image  thrown  on  such  a surface 
might  be  roughly  transmitted,  but  it  would  bear  but  little 
resemblance  to  a proper  photograph,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether 
it  would  be  practically,  or  even  scientifically,  of  any  use. 
Other  plans  based  on  the  same  principles  might  be  suggested, 
but  they  all  must  fail,  and  until  such  a time  arrives  that  one 
small  wire  will  transmit  an  infinite  number  of  small  currents 
coming  from  different  parts  of  a surface,  and  record  them 
simultaneously  on  a surface  at  the  other  end  of  the  wire,  in 
proper  order  and  magnitude,  the  idea  of  practical  photography 
at  a distance  is  a dream,  and  nothing  more. 

Light  and  Shade, — One  more  point  is  that  photography  can 


never  be  strictly  truthful  as  regards  light  and  shade.  If  the 
high-liglits  in  a photograph  be  accurately  depicted  on  a paper 
print,  the  shades  will  be  found  wanting  in  correctness.  This 
is  an  inherent  defect  in  photography,  even  when  black-and- 
white  have  only  to  be  reproduced.  But  besides  this  we  have 
another  inherent  defect,  in  the  difficulty  in  portraying  colours 
in  proper  relation  to  one  another.  A photographic  plate  is 
more  sensitive  to  some  colours  than  it  is  to  others  ; and  although 
modern  improvements  have  lessened  this  defect,  and  may  still 
further  minimise  it,  yet  the  want  of  truth  ill  rendering  shades 
correctly  must  always  remain.”  Perpetual  motion  will  probably 
be  a thing  of  the  past  when  truth  in  photography  is  still  non- 
existing. 


XottCCS  Of 


Platinum  Toning.  By  Lyonel  Clark,  C.E.  (London: 

Tlazell,  Watson,  and  Viney , 1890.) 

This  little  book,  which  is  clearly  written,  and  contains 
instructions  put  into  good  form  for  practical  purposes, 
consists  partly  of  information  which  has  already  been 
published  in  the  Journal  of  the  Camera  Club.  The  only 
thing  publicly  wanting  in  relation  to  Mr.  Lyonel  Clark’s 
method  of  toning,  seems  to  be  some  series  of  exact 
experiments  from  which  some  idea  can  be  gained  as  to 
the  comparative  resistance  of  platinum-toned  and  gold- 
toned  photographs  to  destructive  chemical  reagents,  all 
other  conditions  being  equal.  At  present  no  figures  on 
this  point  are  before  the  world. 

In  an  appendix  to  the  book  Mr.  Clark  gives  the  follow- 
ing useful  details  from  French  sources,  about  photographic 
residues : — 

“ I advise  all  photographers,  however  humble  their  out- 
put, to  save  their  residues — not  that  that  they  can  expect 
to  recover  the  whole  97  per  cent.,  but  they  would  cer- 
tainly get  a return  of  something  like  80  per  cent. 

“ From  the  following  table,  the  result  of  careful 
analysis  made  by  MM.  Davanne  and  Girard,  we  can  see 
exactly  where  the  different  losses  take  place  : — 


Draining  papers 

Silver 
per  cent. 
1-028 

First  and  second  washing  waters 

before 

toning 

...  52-860 

Hypo  bath  ... 

...  32100 

Washing  water  of  fixed  proofs 

4-110 

Cuttings  and  clippings 

4-570 

Remaining  on  proofs 

...  3-100 

Loss... 

2-232 

100-000 

‘ 1 It  will  be  at  once  seen  that  the  majority  of  the  silver  is 
found  in  the  preliminary  washing  waters  and  the  hypo 
bath,  being  about  85  per  cent,  of  the  whole  ; so  that  if  we 
only  manage  to  save  a fair  proportion  of  this,  we  shall 
effect  a notable  economy  in  our  nitrate  of  silver  bill. 

“ A sheet  of  paper  measuring  17 J by  22  will  take  up 
about  37  grains  of  silver — say  36  ; and  we  should  easily  be 
able  to  recover  of  this  about  27  grains;  or,  in  intrinsic 
value,  for  every  ten  shillings’  worth  of  silver  we  should 
get  back  seven-and-sixpence  from  our  residues — on  the 
whole,  not  a bad  return.” 

After  giving  one  of  the  methods  of  recoving  silver  from 
washing  waters  and  clippings,  Mr.  Clark  says  : — 

“ The  old  hypo  baths  cannot  of  course  be  treated  in  the 
same  way,  since  chloride  of  silver  is  soluble  in  this  men- 
struum ; neither  can  zinc  very  well  be  used  to  precipitate 
silver,  as  sulphide  of  zinc  appears  to  be  formed  in  the 


248 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  28,  1890. 


operation.  The  usually  adopted  plan  is  to  add  liver  of 
sulphur,  and  throw  down  the  silver  in  the  form  of  the 
sulphide,  which  is  next  roasted  to  free  it  from  the  sulphur, 
and  then  fused.  There  are  two  drawbacks  to  this  method  : 
the  stench  produced  thereby  is  beastly  and  even  injurious, 
and  the  roasting  of  the  residue  is  nearly  as  inodorous, 
and  if  not  properly  carried  out — that  is  to  say,  if  any  free 
sulphur  is  left — explosions  may  occur  when  the  mass  is 
fused.  If  this  system  of  treatment  be  resorted  to,  the  pre- 
cipitated sulphide  should  be  sent  direct  to  the  refiner’s. 

“ But  the  simplest  and  perhaps  best  way  is  Davanne’s 
method.  This  simply  consists  in  immersing  a plate  of 
copper  in  the  hypo  bath,  and  letting  it  stand  for  about 
four  days.  Silver  is  gradually  deposited  on  the  copper, 
whilst  the  copper  is  dissolved  in  the  liquid.  From  time 
to  time,  therefore,  the  copper  plates,  which  are  simply 
stood  up  against  the  side  of  the  tub,  should  be  brushed  ; 
the  metallic  silver  will  then  gradually  settle  to  the  bottom, 
and  when  sufficient  has  been  collected  it  can  be  fdtered  and 
washed.  The  dried  filtrate  consists  of  metallic  silver  mixed 
with  a little  copper,  and  can  of  course  be  at  once  converted 
into  silver  nitrate,  contaminated  with  a little  copper,  giving 
it  a bluish  colour.  This  colour  will  cause  no  harm  to  the 
print,  as  it  is  soluble ; but  if  it  is  very  strongly  present,  it  can 
be  got  rid  of  by  adding  gently  silver  oxide  in  the  manner 
described  in  the  preparation  of  silver  nitrate.” 

patent  Entclltcjnuf. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

3,736.  J.  C.  Shenstone,  13,  High  Street,  Colchester,  “ Hori- 
zontally Elongating  Easel  for  Photographic  Enlarging  and 
Copying.” — March  10th. 

3,743.  W.  Scorer,  North  Street,  Havant,  Hants,  “Improve- 
ments in  Cameras,  Slides,  and  Stands.” — March  10th. 

3,763.  H.  Horsey,  38,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Glazing 
Skylights  and  Lanterns.” — March  10th. 

3,765.  A.  P.  Riley,  77,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Telescopic 
Camera  Stands.” — March  10th. 

3,775.  W.  Langdon-Davies,  45,  Redcliffe  Square,  South 
Kensington,  “Apparatus  for  Developing  Photographic  Plates 
without  a Dark  Room.” — March  10th. 

3,833.  F.  W.  Hart,  8,  Ivingsland  Green,  London,  “Stands  for 
Flash  Lamps,  Backgrounds,  and  Screens.” — March  11th. 

3,880.  A.  Watt  and  C.  Symes,  14,  Hardman  Street,  Liver- 
pool, “ The  Production  of  Light  for  Photographic  Purposes.” 
— March  12  th. 

3,898.  L.  G.  Strangman,  St.  Albans,  Monkstown,  Dublin, 
“ Camera  Stand.” — March  12th. 

3,958.  J.  W.  Clarke,  37,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Repro- 
ducing Photographs.” — March  13th. 

3,968.  T.  W.  Snagge,  14,  Courtfield  Gardens,  London, 

“Facsimile  Autograph  ‘Keys’  for  Portrait  Groups.” — 
March  13  th. 

4.035.  A.  T.  Clarkson,  28,  Bartlett’s  Buildings,  Holborn 

Circus,  London,  “Apparatus  for  Facilitating  the  Production 
of  the  Lime  Light.” — March  14th. 

4.036.  A.  T.  Clarkson,  28,  Bartlett’s  Buildings,  London, 

“ Storing  Lime  Points  for  Lime  Lights.” — March  14th. 

4.037.  A.  T.  Clarkson,  28,  Bartlett's  Buildings,  London, 

“Pressure  Gauges.” — March  14th. 

4.134.  A.  D.  Loman,  186,  Fleet  Street,  London,  “Cameras.” 
— March  17  th. 

4.135.  A.  D.  Loman,  186,  Fleet  Street,  London,  “ Portable 
Cameras.”— March  17th. 

4,178.  G.  Balagny,  323,  High  Holborn,  London,  “Flexible 
Phototype  Plates.” — March  17th. 

4,269.  W.  W.  J.  Nicol  and  J.  Lewis,  Mason  College,  Birming- 
ham, “Improvements  in  Photographic  Printing.” — March 
19  th. 


4,364.  Catherine  E.  Bissmire,  37,  Chancery  Lane,  London, 
“ Device  for  Theatrical  Performances  for  Dissolving  Living 
Statues  from  View.” — March  20th. 

Specifications  Published. 

6,385. — April  13  th,  1889.  “Stereoscopes  and  Cameras.” 
Harry  Ransom,  47,  Friars  Street,  Sudbury,  Suffolk,  Cabinet 
Maker. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1 . A photographic  camera  adapted  to  take  stereoscopic  pic- 
tures and  to  be  used  also  as  a stereoscope. 

2.  In  a combined  camera  and  stereoscope  a chamber  adapted 
to  hold  a screen  of  ground  glass  or  the  like  in  either  of  two 
positions,  according  as  the  screen  is  being  used  as  a focussing 
screen  for  the  camera,  or  a light-diffusing  medium  or  back  for 
stereoscopic  pictures. 

3.  In  a combined  camera  and  stereoscope  having  a chamber 
as  described,  providing  the  said  chamber  with  a pivotted  reflec- 
tor for  reflecting  light  on  to  the  pictures  when  the  apparatus 
is  used  as  a stereoscope,  and  for  closing  the  said  chamber  when 
the  apparatus  is  used  as  a camera. 

4.  In  a combined  camera  and  stereoscope,  a screen  having 
springs  which  serve  to  maintain  the  said  screen  in  position, 
and,  when  the  apparatus  is  being  used  as  a stereoscope,  as  a 
holder  for  the  pictures. 

5.  A combined  camera  and  stereoscope,  the  lens  carrying 
sockets  of  which  are  adjustable  relatively  to  each  other. 

6.  The  combination  with  the  apparatus  hereinbefore  de- 
scribed of  the  dark  slide  or  plate-holder,  haviug  a central  slide 
or  partition  adapted  to  press  against  the  backs  of  the  sensitised 
plates  and  hold  them  firmly  in  position  in  the  slide,  the  plates 
being  introduced  into  and  removed  from  the  slide  at  one  end. 

6,585.  17 th  April,  1889. — “A  New  Use  for  Gelatine.” 
Richard  Henry  Brunton,  21,  Wellington  Street,  Strand, 
London,  Civil  Engineer. 

The  object  of  this  invention  is  to  manufacture  tablets  suit- 
able for  advertising  purposes,  whereby  the  tablets  are  produced 
in  relief. 

The  inventor  takes  a model  of  the  tablet  he  wishes  to  repro- 
duce, such  model  having  whatever  undercut  or  relief  may  be 
required  in  the  tablet  ; from  this  model  he  obtains  a mould  in 
gelatine  ; he  then  takes  fine  plaster  of  Paris  reduced  to  a liquid 
state,  to  which  he  adds  a small  quantity  of  alum,  which  tends 
to  produce  a hardness  of  surface  in  the  cast.  Liquid  plaster 
thus  prepared  is  then  inserted  into  the  various  interstices  in 
the  mould  (which  is  conveniently  effected  by  a brush),  and  sub- 
sequently (with  the  fingers)  tow  or  other  fibrous  material  as 
near  the  surface  of  the  mould  as  may  be  found  practicable  ; 
layers  of  canvas  or  equivalent  material  are  then  placed  over 
the  whole  surface  and  a framework  of  wood.  Liquid  plaster 
is  now  washed  over  the  surface,  and  when  it  sets  all  the  mate- 
rials become  incorporated,  and  the  tablet  is  removed  from  the 
mould  in  one  piece,  and  then  painted  and  decorated  to  suit 
requirements,  as  fancy  or  taste  may  dictate. 

6,686. — April  18 th,  1889.  “ Photographic  Cameras  and 

Lenses.  ” Thomas  Rudolph  Dallmeyeil  25,  Newman  Street, 
Oxford  Street,  Loudon,  Optician,  and  Francis  Beauchamp, 
Hope  College,  Whalebone  Lane,  Chadwell  Heath,  Essex, 
Engineer. 

Our  invention  relates  to  photographic  cameras  and  lenses. 
Heretofore  in  applying  a lens  to  a camera  for  which  it  has 
not  been  specially  fitted,  it  has  frequently  happened  that  the 
diaphragm  slot  does  not  occupy  its  proper  position,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  lens,  when  screwed  up,  has  not  been  turned 
quite  far  enough,  or  has  been  turned  too  far,  and  in  order  to 
remedy  this  defect  it  has  been  necessary  to  alter  the  lens  mount 
to  adapt  it  for  the  camera.  The  same  difficulty  has  also  existed 
when  applying  a shutter  to  a lens. 

The  object  of  our  invention  is  to  provide  means  whereby  a 
lens  or  shutter  can  always  be  caused  to  assume  its  proper  posi- 
tion without  the  necessity  for  special  adjustment,  and  to  this 
end  it  comprises  the  improvements  hereinafter  described. 

According  to  our  invention  the  flange  on  the  camera  into 
which  the  lens  is  screwed  is  provided  with  an  adjustable  ring  or 
collar,  haviug  a slight  longitudinal  movement  upon  the  said 


March  28,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


249 


flange,  so  that  it  'can  be  adjusted  to  the  proper  position  to  cause 
the  diaphragm  slot  of  the  lens  to  occupy  its  proper  position 

when  screwed  up. 

In  practice  we  prefer  to  adjust  the  ring  or  collar  upon  the 
exterior  of  the  flange  by  means  of  screw  threads,  but  it  may 
be  provided  with  a series  of  inclined  teeth,  or  arranged  in  any 
other  suitable  manner. 

In  cases  where  a shutter  is  to  be  screwed  into  the  front  cell 
of  a lens,  the  latter  can  be  provided  with  a ring  or  collar  of 
similar  construction. 

The  inventors  claim  : — 

1.  The  combination  with  a photographic  camera  or  lens  of  an 

adjustable  ring. 

2.  A photographic  camera,  the  lens  carrying  flange  of  which 
is  provided  with  an  adjustable  ring. 

3.  A lens  having  an  adjustable  ring  or  rings  thereon  sub- 
stantially as  described. 

6,999. — April  26 th,  1889.  “Magic  Lanterns.”  Charles 
Gray,  11,  Crooked  Lane,  King  William  Street,  and  Henry 
Kemp,  7 and  8,  Thavies  Inn,  both  in  the  city  of  London, 
Opticians. 

Our  invention  relates  to  magic  lanterns  for  producing  dis- 
solving view  effects.  In  dissolving  view  lanterns  as  heretofore 
constructed,  it  has  been  usual  to  provide  each  set  of  lenses 
with  independent  illuminating  apparatus,  which  arrangement, 
when  oil  lamps  are  used  for  effecting  the  illumination,  renders 
it  necessary  to  place  the  lenses  side  by  side. 

According  to  our  invention,  we  employ  one  set  of  illuminating 
apparatus  in  connection  with  two  or  more  sets  of  lenses,  where- 
by we  are  enabled  to  place  the  said  lenses  one  over  the  other, 
and  thus  produce  an  oil  illuminated  lantern  which  is  more 
compact  than  those  heretofore  constructed. 

In  carrying  out  our  invention,  we  advantageously  place  the 
lamp  or  other  illuminating  apparatus  upon  a movable  platform 
or  stage,  by  means  of  which  the  said  illuminating  apparatus 
can  be  placed  in  connection  with  either  set  of  lenses.  The  said 
platform  is  advantageously  moved  by  means  of  a rack  and 
pinion,  but  any  other  suitable  mechanism  may  be  employed  for 
the  purpose. 

In  some  cases  we  use  only  a single  condenser,  which  is  placed 
on  the  platform  with  the  illuminating  apparatus,  and  is  moved 
therewith  so  as  to  operate  in  conjunction  with  either  set  of 
magnifying  lenses. 

Although  we  prefer  to  arrange  our  improvements  in  a lantern 
in  which  the  several  sets  of  lenses  are  arranged  in  a vertical  line, 
it  is  to  be  understood  that  our  said  improvements  are  equally 
applicable  to  lanterns  the  lenses  of  which  are  placed  in  a hori- 
zontal line. 

The  inventors  claim  : — 

1.  A magic  lantern  having  two  or  more  lenses,  and  a single 
lamp  or  illuminating  apparatus,  the  said  illuminating  appara- 
tus being  mounted  upon  a platform  adapted  to  be  moved  so  as 
to  bring  it  opposite  to  either  lens. 

2.  In  a magic  lantern,  the  illuminating  apparatus  of  which 
is  adapted  to  be  moved  to  bring  it  opposite  to  either  lens, 
mounting  the  condenser  so  that  it  will  move  with  the  said 
illuminating  apparatus. 

3.  In  a magic  lantern,  mounting  the  lamp  or  other  illumin- 
ating apparatus  uj>on  a platform  adapted  to  be  moved  verti- 
cally in  guides  by  means  of  a rack  and  pinion,  so  that  the  said 
illuminating  apparatus  can  be  placed  opposite  either  lens. 

7,905.  May  11  th,  1889. — “Measuring  Distances  of  Objects.” 
Charles  Francis  Martin,  of  the  2nd  Battalion  The  High- 
land Light  Infantry,  Depot  Hamilton,  Lanark,  Lieutenant. 
My  invention  relates  to  means  of  measuring  distance  > of 
objects,  as  for  range  finding,  topographical  surveying,  and  such 
like  purposes.  By  means  of  a suitable  mirror  or  prism,  I 
determine  a station  whence  the  distant  object  sppears  at  or 
about  right  angles  to  a second  object.  I then  pace  or  measure 
a base  in  the  direction  of  the  second  object  until  I come  to 
another  station  whence  some  other  distant  third  objeet  is  at  or 
about  right  angles  to  the  second  object.  At  this  last  station 
I hold  a double  sight  of  known  width  at  such  a distance  from 
the  eye,  that  I see  both  the  first  and  the  third  objects  coinciding 


respectively  with  the  two  slits  or  points  of  the  double  sight  ; 
then,  by  a simple  proportion,  I compute  the  distance  of  the 
first  object  from  the  first  station,  for,  as  the  known  width  of 
the  two  sights  is  to  the  ascertained  distance  of  the  sight  from 
the  eye,  so  i3  the  paced  or  measured  base  to  the  distance 
required.  The  prism  or  mirror,  the  double  sight,  and  a tape 
or  other  measure  for  ascertaining  the  distance  of  the  sight  from 
the  eye,  may  all  be  accommodated  in  compact  form  for  the 
pocket. 

173.  4 th  January,  - 1890. — “ Holding  and  Exhibiting  Photo- 
graphs.” Frederick  Kitto,  3,  Lower  Union  Street,  Tor- 
quay, Devonshire,  photographer. 

My  invention  relates  to  improvements  in  apparatus  for  hold- 
ing and  exhibiting  photographs  and  other  like  view's,  and  is 
intended  for  the  purpose  of  using  up  photographers’  waste 
plates  by  mounting  photographs  thereon  by  optical  contact  or 
otherwise. 

The  invention  consists  of  a frame  to  receive  a photograph, 
view,  or  any  picture,  with  the  back  portion  glued  to  the  frame 
to  fix  the  aforesaid  photograph  or  view  in  its  desired  position. 

The  frame  is  constructed  of  leather,  cloth,  linen,  wood,  metal, 
or  of  any'  other  suitable  material,  with  any  degree  of  elaboration 
on  the  frame. 

The  object  of  my  invention  is  to  fix  the  photograph  or  view 
in  the  frame,  or  to  fix  a view  or  picture  on  the  glass,  after  or 
before  the  glass  is  fixed  in  the  aforesaid  frame. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1 . The  combination  of  the  apparatus  for  holding  and  exhibit- 
ing photographs  and  other  like  views,  and  for  using  up  photo- 
graphers’ waste  plates,  by  mounting  photographs  thereon,  or 
by  optical  contact  ®r  otherwise,  as  described  and  according  to 
drawings. 

2.  The  frame  to  be  of  any  shape  or  size,  and  to  be  construc- 
ted of  any  suitable  material. 

616.  Jan.  13 th,  1890.  (Communicated  from  abroad  by 
Georgina  Newton,  of  No.  6,  Avenue  du  Bois  de  Boulogne, 
Paris,  France,  Gentlewoman.) — “ Improved  Pocket  Lamp.” 
Charles  Denton  Abel,  28,  Southampton  Buildings, 
Chancery  Lane,  London,  Consulting  Engineer. 

This  invention  relates  to  an  improved  construction  of  appa- 
ratus in  which  are  combined  in  a compact  form  a lamp  and 
means  for  automatically  igniting  the  same.  The  cylindrical 
lamp  vessel  is  filled  with  a suitable  porous  material,  such  as 
cotton  wool,  which  is  saturated  from  time  to  time  with  paraffin 
on  unscrewing  the  bottom,  and  the  said  lamp  vessel  is  so 
arranged  that  on  turning  the  bottom  cap  in  the  contrary  direc- 
tion to  that  in  which  it  unscrews,  it  will  cause  the  lamp  vessel 
to  revolve  in  the  casing.  At  one  side  of  the  latter  a flat 
channel  is  formed  on  the  outside,  and  through  the  open  lower 
end  of  the  passage  is  inserted  a strip  of  cardboard  or  stiff  paper, 
on  one  face  of  which  are  deposited  small  quantities  or  dots  of 
combustible  compound,  such  as  is  used  for  matches  or  fusees, 
situated  at  equal  distances  apart.  On  the  top  of  the  lamp  is 
fixed  a piece  of  wire  or  strip  of  metal  which,  at  each  rotation  of 
the  lamp  vessel,  has  its  projecting  end  brought  sharply  against 
one  of  the  dots  of  material,  to  thus  cause  its  ignition,  where- 
upon the  resulting  flame  ignites  the  wick  of  the  lamp. 

611. — January  13«A,  1890.  “ Magic  Lanterns  and  Apparatus 

relating  thereto.”  William  Charles  Hughes,  Brewster 
House,  82,  Mortimer  Road,  Kingsland,  Middlesex,  Manu- 
facturing Optician. 

This  invention  can  be  adequately  explained  only  by  the  aid  of 
diagrams. 

765. — January  15 th,  1890.  “ Plate- Changing  Apparatus.” 

Newnham  Browne,  73,  Cheapside,  London,  Fellow  of  the 
Institute  of  Patent  Agents.  Communicated  from  abroad  by 
Friedrich  Auguste  Fichtner,  of  Elisenstrasse,  6,  Dresden, 
Altstadt,  Saxony,  Cabinet  Maker. 

The  invention  relates  to  an  arrangement  or  apparatus  for 
application  to  photographic  cameras  carrying  several  plates 
simultaneously  (such,  for  instance,  as  are  known  as  detective 
cameras)  enabling  an  exposed  plate  to  be  rapidly  changed  for 
a fresh  or  unexposed  plate,  so  that  a fresh  exposure  may  be 
made  w'ith  a loss  of  a few  seconds  only. 


250 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  28,  1890. 


(ftomspontienct. 


^rocecUtngg!  of  jrorictteg. 


A PHOTOGRAPHIC  SCHOLARSHIP. 


Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 


Sir, — May  I trespass  again  on  your  space  to  make  an  alter- 
native proposal  for  the  disposal  of  the  above.  At  the  Camera 
Club  Conference  on  Friday  it  was  proposed  that  an  annual 
exhibition  of  photographs  should  be  held,  on  the  lines  of  the 
Royal  Academy  or  Paris  Salon,  where  the  hanging  of  a picture 
would  be  its  own  reward.  The  only  difficulty  in  the  way  was 
want  of  funds.  Now,  if  such  a scheme  is  carried  out,  I may 
say  that  the  Britannia  Works  Company  will  be  most  happy  to 
place  their  gift  at  the  disposal  of  the  committee  that  might  be 
formed  for  the  purpose.  If  others  who  have  hitherto  limited 
their  efforts  to  raise  photography  to  a higher  status  to  mere 
talk,  should  follow  the  admirable  practical  example,  there  is  no 
reason  why  both  the  suggestions  put  forward  should  not  be 
carried  out.  Then  we  may  see  our  art  science  rank  with  other 
branches  of  learning  which  have  endowments  for  the  furtherance 
of  their  study,  and  adequate  rewards  for  those  who  excel 
therein.  John  Howson. 

Ilford,  22nd  March,  1890. 


CHALLENGE  CUP  COMPETITION  AT  THE  CRYSTAL 
PALACE. 

Sir, — Would  you  kindly  insert  the  enclosed  in  your  next 
issue,  and  oblige  James  Brown,  Edgar  G.  Lee, 

Hon.  Secs.  Newcastle-on- Tyne  and  Northern  Counties  Photo- 
graphic Association. 

[Copy  of  a letter  sent  to  Messrs.  G.  B.  Wollaston  and 
J.  F.  Peasgood,  Photographic  Exhibition,  Crystal  Palace, 
London.] 

Gentlemen, — Confirming  my  telegram  of  the  19th  inst.,  I 
am  instructed  by  our  exhibitors,  whose  names  are  appended  at 
foot,  to  formally  protest  against  the  award  in  the  Challenge 
Cup  Competition,  on  the  ground  that,  from  authoritative 
information  in  our  possession,  a portion  only  of  our  exhibits 
was  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  judges. 

A large  portion  of  our  pictures  having  been  excluded  from 
the  competition,  as  we  know  to  be  the  case,  we  hereby  demand 
an  explanation,  and  unless  that  explanation  is  satisfactory,  we 
insist  upon  the  entire  Cup  Competion  being  re-judged. 

A copy  of  this  letter  is  being  sent  to  each  of  the  photographic 
papers.  Edgar  G.  Lee,  Hon.  Sec. 

Mosley  Street  Cafe,  Neiecastle-on-Tyne,  21s<  March,  1890. 

Exhibitors'  names  : — Auty  & Ruddock,  T.  Galloway,  J.  P. 
Gibson,  J.  E.  Goold,  Edgar  G.  Lee,  W.  Parry,  J.  Pike,  H.  R. 
Procter,  H.  G.  Ridgway,  Lyd.  Sawyer. 


NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE  AND  NORTHERN  COUNTIES 
PHOTOGRAPHIC  ASSOCIATION. 

Sir, — In  connection  with  our  forthcoming  Photographic 
Exhibition,  kindly  permit  us,  through  your  columns,  to 
announce  to  intending  exhibitors  that  we  have,  in  their  interest, 
decided  to  extend  the  date  for  sending  in  application  forms 
from  April  1st  to  April  7 th.  Pictures  must,  as  previously 
advertised,  be  in  our  hands  by  the  1 0th  prox. 

James  Brown  j ,, 

Edgar  G.  Lee)  Hon'  Sect' 


The  Photographic  Society. — The  following  are  the  piesent 
officers  of  the  Photographic  Society.  President — James 

Glaisher,  F.R.S.,  F.R.A.S.  ; Vice-Presidents — Capt.  W.  de  W. 
Abney,  C.B.,  R.E.,  D.C.I.,  F.lt.S.,  T.  Sebastian  Davis,  F.C.S., 
II.  P.  Robinson,  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  F.I.C.  ; Treasurer — 
Walter  S.  Bird,  74,  New  Oxford  Street,  W.C.  ; Members  of 
Council — G.  L.  Addenbrooke,  W.  Bedford,  Valentiue  Blanchard, 
Lyonel  Clark,  Francis  Cobb,  Alexander  Cowan,  Thomas  R. 
Dallmeyer,  Major  L.  Darwin,  R.E.,  G.  Davison,  W.  E.  Debeu- 
ham,  W.  England,  J.  Gale,  H.  Chapman  Jones,  F.I.C.,  F.C.S., 
Sir  George  Prescott,  Bt.,  Sir  David  L.  Salomons,  Bt.,  J.  W. 
Swan,  M.A.,  F.C.S.,  J.  Traill  Taylor,  Leon  Wamcrke,  H. 
Trueman  Wood,  M.A.  ; Hon.  Secretary — Capt.  A.  M.  Mantell, 
R.E.,  8,  Mansion  Row,  Old  Brompton,  Chatham  ; Assistant 
Secretary — Edwin  Cocking,  52,  Pall  Mall  East,  S.W. 


The  monthly  technical  of  this  Society  was  held  on  Tuesday 
evening  last,  the  25th  inst.  The  chair  was  occupied  by  Mr 
Arnold  Spiller,  F.C.S. 

The  Assistant-Secretary,  Mr  E.  Cocking,  having  noticed  that 
the  subject  of  the  fading  of  silver  prints  was  under  discussion, 
and  having  .an  illustrative  specimen  in  his  possession,  had  noti- 
fied to  members  that  the  subject  would  be  presented,  and  had 
brought  the  specimen  with  him.  It  had  been  taken  only  four 
years  since,  and  had  been  printed  upon  commercial  ready  sensi- 
tised pai>er,  and  toned  with  the  acetate  bath.  The  print  had 
faded  very  badly  ; whereas  another  print  made  thirty-one 
years  ago,  and  toned  with  the  mixed  hypo  and  gold  bath — the 
print  having  been  mounted  in  a similar  frame  to  that  containing 
the  faded  one,  and  hung  on  the  same  wall — was  still  in  good 
condition. 

The  Chairman  believed  that  there  were  some  makes  of  cheap 
albumen  paper  which  were  very  conducive  to  fading.  About  five 
years  ago  he  was  using  a cheap  kind  of  albumen  paper,  and  had 
since  found  that  all  the  prints  that  he  could  trace  as  having 
been  printed  on  that  sample  had  faded  considerably.  Some  of 
the  prints  even  showed  distinct  signs  of  fading  within  two 
months  of  then’  being  executed.  The  paper  had  a strong 
smell.  Unmounted  prints  of  that  lot  had  not  faded  so  much  as 
the  mounted  ones,  but  the  former  had  the  advantage  of  having 
been  kept  in  a drier  place. 

Mr.  Atkinson  mentioned  that  in  a part  of  Spain  where  the 
atmosphere  was  generally  very  moist,  prints  had  been  found  to 
fade  very  rapidly. 

The  Chairman  asked  whether  it  was  known,  with  any  cer- 
tainty, that  encaustic  paste  has  a preservative  effect  ? He  had 
a particular  collection  of  photographs,  all  of  which  had  faded 
except  three.  Of  these  three,  one  was  a carbon  print,  ard  the 
two  others  had  been  treated  with  encaustic  paste. 

Mr.  W.  Bedford  said  that  encaustic  paste  was  not  a com- 
plete protection.  He  had  in  his  possession  three  prints  that 
had  been  treated  in  that  way,  one  of  them  by  Adam  Salomon, 
and  they  all  showed  signs  of  fading. 

Mr.  A.  Mackie  said  that  Mr.  A.  L.  Henderson  had  used  a 
sort  of  varnish  consisting  of  a weak  solution  of  gum  dammar  in 
benzole,  and  had  found  that  prints  so  protected  and  exposed 
side  by  side  with  others  not  so  treated  had  stood  much 
better.  He  would  enquire  whether  there  were  not  two  kinds 
of  fading,  one  kind  showing  itself  by  partial  disappearance  of 
the  image,  and  the  other  by  a yellowing  of  the  lights. 

The  Chairman  said  that  the  yellowing  of  the  lights  was  due 
to  a silver  compound  not  dissolved  out  in  the  fixing  bath.  The 
presence  of  this  compound  could  be  detected  in  a fresh  print 
by  applying  a dilute  solution  of  sulphide  of  ammonium. 

Mr.  Bedford  enquired  whether  the  addition  of  carbonate  of 
ammonia  to  the  fixing  bath,  which  had  been  proposed  as  a 
remedy  for  the  kind  of  imperfect  fixation  referred  to,  had 
proved  to  be  a complete  success  ? 

Mr.  John  Spiller  said  that  ammonia  dissolved  nearly,  but 
not  quite,  the  whole  of  the  silver  compounds.  The  only  sub- 
stance which  he  had  found  to  completely  remove  the  silver  was 
cyanide  of  potassium  ; this  must  be  used  in  a very  dilute  state 
— half  a grain  to  the  ounce  was  sufficient. 

Mr.  T.  Sebastian  Davis  said  that  at  the  present  time  a great 
many  negatives  were  made  very  thin.  That  was  a condition 
which  was  conducive  to  fading  of  prints  made  from  them,  as  a 
good  vigorous  image  could  not  be  obtained.  Printing  in  sun- 
light also  gave  a much  more  permanent  print  than  could  be  got 
by  printing  in  the  shade.  The  use  of  sodium  acetate  in  the 
toning  bath  resulted  from  some  experiments  made  by  Mr. 
Hannaford  and  himself.  Too  much  soda  had  been  added  when 
making  up  the  alkaline  bath  then  in  use,  and  Mr.  Hannaford 
put  in  some  acetic  acid  to  counteract  the  alkalinity.  He  then 
observed  a characteristic  effect  upon  the  tone  of  the  prints,  and 
afterwards  acetate  of  soda  was  used  direct. 

Mr.  Mackie  enquired  whether  there  was  any  characteristic 
difference  of  tone  obtainable  with  the  different  salts  added  to 


March  28,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


251 


neutralise  the  gold.  He  could  not  discover  any  difference 
when  all  were  stopped  at  the  same  stage.  He  hail  used  carbonate, 
borate,  tungstate,  and  acetate. 

Mr.  Davis  considered  tha^  borax  gave  a blue  tone  more 
readily  than  acetate,  but  there  was  a great  differanee  in  the 
keeping  power.  A borax  bath  should  be  used  directly,  whereas 
an  acetate  bath  was  better  for  being  kept  for  twenty-four 

hours. 

Mr.  W.  E.  DebenHam  said  that  he  found  it  stated  in  books 
and  periodicals  that  the  active  condition  of  gold  in  a toning 
bath  lasted  until  the  metal  was  precipitated.  His  own 
observations,  however,  led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  the  gold 
passed  by  keeping  into  a state  when  it  would  tone,  if  at  all, 
only  with  extreme  difficulty,  and  that  whilst  still  in  solution. 
On  the  other  hand,  even  a dilute  solution  of  gold  might  tone 
actively,  although  partial  precipitation  had  taken  place.  This 
was  shown  by  the  alkaline  process  with  carbonate  of  soda 
and  citric  acid,  recommended  by  Hardwich  at  about  the  end  of 
the  year  1858.  It  was  directed  to  heat  the  solution  until  a 
bluish  colouration  showed  the  commencement  of  precipitation, 
and  the  bath  on  cooling  down  was  then  found  to  be  in  vigorous 
toning  condition. 

The  Chairman  said  that  toning  baths  appeared  to  get 
soonest  into  condition  as  the  acid  of  the  added  salt  was  weak. 
Hypochlorous  and  carbonic  acids  were  amongst  the  weakest 
acids  known,  and  baths  made  with  carbonate  of  soda,  or  hypo- 
chlorite of  lime,  were  the  soonest  ready  for  use. 

Mr.  John  Spieler  then  showed  a collection  of  about  forty 
photographs  which  had  been  made  from  twenty-five  to  thirty- 
one  years  ago  by  direction  of  the  War  Office ; none  of  them 
showed  any  fading.  They  were  not  a picked  lot,  but  the 
whole  of  the  set  that  he  possessed.  The  practice  in  making 
these  prints  was  to  use  purchased  albumen  paper,  and  to  float 
it  on  a fifty-grain  bath.  The  toning  was  done  with  bicarbonate 
of  soda,  and  the  fixing  in  fresh  hypo.  Washing  was  effected  by 
means  of  a trough  in  which  the  prints  were  swirled  round  by 
a stream  of  water,  and  with  an  intermittent  syphon  discharge 
they  were  drained  occasionally  during  the  course  of  the  wash- 
ing. A false  bottom  of  zinc  pierced  with  holes  prevented  the 
prints  from  sti.  king  to  the  vessel  when  it  was  emptied  of  water. 
After  a time  the  prints  were  taken  out,  and  left  to  soak  in 
dishes  during  the  night  ; the  prints  after  drying,  were  mounted 
with  warm  glue  beaten  into  a froth  like  shaving  paste.  The 
mounts  used  had  been,  according  to  the  date,  of  four  different 
colours,  and  were  not  all  from  the  same  manufactory. 

Mr.  Bedford  thought  that  thorough  fixing  was  of  more 
importance  than  long  washing.  He  had  two  hypo  baths  in 
use  ; the  first  contained  a solution  of  one  part  of  the  salt  to 
five  of  water.  The  prints  were  removed  from  this  bath  to  one 
containing  one  part  hypo  to  ten  of  water.  Both  baths  contained 
liquid  ammonia  in  the  proportion  of  eight  minims  to  the  pint. 
It  had  been  said  that  citric  acid  in  the  paper  hindered  the 
toning.  In  his  experience,  the  effect  was  just  the  contrary. 
In  reply  to  questions  as  to  the  preparation  of  the  paper,  he 
stated  that  he  first  floated  upon  a fifty-grain  bath — which  must 
be  quite  neutral — and  then,  after  removing  the  surface  liquid 
by  (Ira wing  the  paper  over  a glass  rod,  it  was  floated  for  half 
a minute  upon  a second  bath  containing  thirty  grains  of  nitrate 
of  silver,  and  a like  quantity  of  citric  acid,  to  the  ounce. 
Paper  thus  prepared  would  keep  good  for  months.  The  second 
bath  did  not  require  to  be  replenished  with  silver,  but  only 
with  citric  acid,  which  was  added  in  the  proportion  of  five 
grains  for  every  sheet  of  paper  that  had  been  floated. 

Mr.  England  said  that  a difficulty  had  been  found  in  keeping 
celluloid  films,  except  those  of  small  size,  flat  in  the  dark 
slides.  He  had  found  that  if  a slight  curve  were  given  to  the 
film  it  would  maintain  its  position,  and  he  had,  therefore,  had 
strips  put  in  the  dark  slides,  which  made  the  film  slightly 
concave  towards  the  lens.  The  ends  of  the  film  with  a whole 
plate  were  about  one-eiglith  of  an  inch  in  advance  of  the  centre. 
This  concavity  also  was  useful  in  bringing  the  ends  more  in  focus 
at  the  same  time  as  the  centre  of  the  field.  He  had  particularly 
noticed  tliis  when  using  a rapid  rectilinear  lens. 

Mr.  D Eli  exham  said  that  there  was  a certain  amount  of  dis- 
tortion when  a curved  plate  was  used  with  a non-distorting  lens. 


In  ordinary  cases  it  might  not  be  sufficient  to  show,  but  in 
architectural  subjects,  when  filling  the  plate  to  the  margin,  it 
might  do  so.  With  an  ordinary  single  lens  the  distortion  would 
be  increased,  but  with  an  orthoscopic  lens  the  distortions  might 
be  made  to  nearly  correct  each  other. 

It  was  announced  that  at  the  next  technical  meeting,  which 
will  take  place  oil  the  fifth  Tuesday  in  April,  the  subject  of 
Celluloid  Films  will  be  discussed.  Mr.  T.  S.  Davis  also  pro- 
mised to  make  some  experiments  on  the  lines  indicated  by  the 
discussion  of  this  evening,  and  bring  up  the  results  on  that 
occasion. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 
March  20 th. — Professor  E.  Steering,  of  Paris,  in  the  chair. 

The  Circular  issued  by  the  Camera  Club  Conference,  with 
reference  to  the  Regulations  for  Photographic  Exhibitions,  was 
taken  into  consideration.  The  members  were  of  opinion  that 
it  was  little  use  attempting  to  frame  regulations,  as  each 
committee  managing  an  exhibition  would  make  its 
own  conditions,  leaving  it  to  the  public  to  accept  them, 
or  refrain  from  exhibiting,  as  the  case  might  be.  About 
many  of  the  questions  asked,  it  was  impossible  to  give 
a decision,  as  so  much  depended  upon  circumstances. 
With  regard,  however,  to  some  of  them,  they  thought  that 
(1)  Exhibition  authorities  should  decline  prizes  placed  at  their 
disposal  for  advertising  purposes  ; (2)  That  awards  should  not 
be  of  equal  value  ; (3)  That  there  should  be  a class  for  un- 
touched pictures  ; (4)  That  it  was  not  desirable  to  stipulate 
that  each  picture  should  be  in  a separate  frame  ; (5)  That  all 
pictures  should  be  judged  on  their  merits,  and  that  there  should 
be  no  distinction  made  between  amateur  and  professional  ex- 
hibitors. 

The  Chairman  exhibited  some  very  good  collotype  prints  by 
Balagny,  of  Paris.  The  negative  of  one  of  the  subjects  was  by 
himself,  and  such  was  the  rapidity  of  the  process,  that  within 
forty-five  minutes  of  placing  it  in  M.  Balagny’s  hands  twelve 
collotype  proofs  were  produced.  The  Chairman  also  passed 
round  some  photochromic  prints  by  the  Zurich  Photochrome 
Co.  They  were  printed  from  stone,  the  bitumen  process 
being  employed. 

The  “ International  Photographic  Union  ” was  referred  to  by 
the  Chairman,  who  said  that  any  members  of  a photographic 
society  joining  it  would  be  welcomed  by  their  continental 
brethen.  Ladies  were  eligible,  and  there  was  no  subscription. 

Replying  to  a question  as  to  the  popularity  of  eikonogen  in 
Paris,  the  Chairman  said  that  it  was  not  in  popular  favour. 
Hydrokinone  was  the  favourite,  and  was  very  economical  ; he 
had  developed  about  nine  hundred  whole-plate  negatives  at  a 
cost  of  about  twelve  shillings. 

A discussion  on  orthochromatic  photography,  and  the  ease 
with  which  plates  could  be  prepared,  brought  the  meeting  to  a 
close.  

Liverpool  Amateur  Photographic  Association. 

On  the  evening  of  Thursday,  20th  March,  the  members  and 
friends,  to  the  extent  of  four  hundred  and  thirty,  held  their 
first  “ Ladies’  Social.”  Although  the  Association  has  been  in 
existence  since  1863,  the  experiment  of  a ladies’  evening  had 
not  been  before  attempted.  The  large  hall — the  “ Eberle” — 
was  occupied  to  its  utmost  capacity.  The  first  hour  was 
devoted  to  a vocal  and  instrumental  concert,  at  which  some  of 
the  leading  local  amateurs  kindly  assisted.  This  portion  of  the 
entertainment  was  under  the  guidance  of  two  musical  members, 
Messrs.  Arnold  J.  Cleaver  and  F.  K.  G’azebrook,  who  are  able 
photographic  workers  ; they  both  secured  medals  at  the  Society’s 
last  Annual  Members’  Competition. 

The  entertainment  concluded  with  the  President’s  “Lecture 
on  Norway.”  This  included  130  views  taken  last  June  by  the 
speaker,  Mr.  Paul  Lange.  The  descriptive  matter  was  enter- 
taining and  instructive.  Many  of  the  scenes  depicted  were 
hand-camera  exposures,  giving  the  daily  life  of  the  people  of 
Norway,  and  there  were  general  views  of  mountain,  glacier, 
and  river  scenery.  The  pictures  were  shown  to  advantage  on  a 
16-feet  opaque  screen,  with  Messrs.  Archer  and  Sons’  long- 
focus  12-inch  lenses. 


252 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[March  28,  1890. 


The  Lantern  Society. 

A representative  meeting  was  held  last  week  at  St.  James’s 
Hall,  when  a set  of  rules  was  adopted.  The  programme  of  the 
Society’s  work  is  to  embrace,  amongst  other  things,  the  inter- 
change or  provision  for  an  interchange  of  slides  between  members 
in  town  and  country,  concessions  in  the  shape  of  special  terms 
from  makers  and  dealers  in  slides,  lanterns,  and  apparatus, 
together  with  an  interchange  between  various  clubs  of  ex- 
hibitions. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  the  council  as  far  as  appointed  : — 
Chairman — the  Hon.  Slingsby  Bethell  ; Vice-Chairman — Mr. 
T.  H.  Holding  ; Secretary  and  Treasurer — Lieutenant  C.  E. 
Gladstone,  R.N.,  North  wood  Hall,  Rickmansworth,  together 
with  Messrs.  G.  S.  B.  Cresswell,  E.  Hall,  N.  Mackin,  Maw, 
A.  N.  Shepperd,  and  E.  R.  Shipton. 

The  annual  subscription  is  a guinea,  the  entrance  fee  a 
guinea,  and  for  country  members  it  is  10s.,  and  10s.  ; but  all 
joining  the  Society  before  October  1st  are  admitted  without 
entrance  fee,  and  all  subscriptions  will  free  members  up  to 
October  1891. 


Photographic  Society  op  Ireland. 

At  a meeting  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  Ireland,  held  on 
the  24th  inst.,  the  chair  was  occupied  by  Dr.  J.  Alfred  Scott, 
Vice-President  ; and  Mr.  J.  Joly,  M.A.,  delivered  a lecture 
entitled  “ Among  the  Alps  with  a Camera.”  The  photographs 
were  taken  en  tour,  commencing  at  Brunnen,  on  Lake  Lucerne. 
The  places,  heights,  and  valleys  of  interest  were  numerous, 
and  the  chief  of  them  were  exhibited  either  as  reductions  or 
contact  lantern  slides,  and  comprised  about  seventy-two  views, 
and  included  w'ell-known  mountains,  glaciers,  and  passes.  The 
exposures  were  varied  from  one-eighth  of  a second,  with  a small 
stop,  to  whatever  the  light  indicated  for  the  foreground.  In  this 
latter  particular  assistance  had  been  gained  by  resorting  to  the 
standard  tables  now  published  by  various  authors.  The  camera, 
7 j by  5,  was  supplied  with  a Dallmeyer  R R Landscape  Lens. 
The  plates  used  were  Wratten  and  Wain  wright’s.  With  regard 
to  development,  pyro  was  first  tried,  but  afterwards  discarded, 
and  hydrokinone  entirely  used. 

To  get  the  best  results  Mr.  Joly  developed  by  the  “ partial  ” 
method,  recommended  by  Dr.  P.  H.  Emerson  and  Capt.  Abney. 
The  sky  and  bright  lights,  as  from  snow,  were  first  brought  up, 
and  development  of  them  stopped  by  plunging  the  plate  in 
water.  The  development  of  the  foreground  is  then  proceeded 
with  by  dipping  and  brushing  on  a stronger  developer,  i.e., 
a weak  developer  is  used  in  the  first  part  of  the  process  ; when 
detail  is  obtained  the  development  is  equalised  by  putting  the 
plate  back  into  the  developer  for  a moment ; washing  and  fixing 
complete  the  process. 

The  details  were  good,  while  the  snow,  glaciers,  and  skies 
were  excellent.  Instances  of  passing  mists,  or  mountain  tops 
peeping  through  clouds,  showed  that  the  lecturer  and  his 
fellow-traveller  (Mr.  Dixon)  had  displayed  taste  in  select- 
ing their  views,  and  judgment  as  to  exposure  and  develop- 
ment. 


Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  consideration  on 
April  2nd  will  be  “ Standard  Solutions,  and  the  Expression 
of  Photographic  Formula!.”  Bank  Holiday  outing  at  Godai- 
ming. 

Becquerel  is  sometimes  credited  by  his  friends  to  be  the  first 
who  photographed  the  solar  spectrum.  The  spectrum  was  first 
photographed  by  Ritter,  and  about  the  same  time,  quite  inde- 
pendently, by  Wollaston. 


M.  H.,  Dublin. — Some  parts  of  your  MS.  just  received  are 
illegible,  and  some  incomplete. 

M.  Goupil,  Havre. — We  hope  to  publish  your  interesting 
communication  nest  week. 

The  publication  of  some  notices  of  books,  apparatus,  and  other 
matters  is  postponed  until  our  next  issue. 

The  Photographic  News  will  Ire  published  on  Thursday 
next,  on  account  of  the  Easter  holidays.  All  communications 
should  therefore  reach  the  office  not  later  than  Wednesday 
morning. 


Urnshms!  to  ©omsponticnts. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 

Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

All  Advertisements  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 

to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 

Photograph ic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5,Furnival  Street,  London 

Ubique  (Co.  Wexford). — Photographic  Trebles  and  Doubles. 
“ How  to  take  a treble  image  of  one  and  the  same  person 
playing  at  Chess  ?”  is  your  question.  All  depends  upon  the 
position  occupied  by  the  players.  If  you  mean  to  have  three 
figures — say,  right  and  left  profile  and  front  face  (of  the 
same  individual)  seated  around  the  table,  and  supposed  to 
be  playing  a two  to  one  game — then  we  should  be  inclined  to 
take  the  chess  board  and  central  figure  by  one  exposure,  a 
side  player  against  the  same  background  by  a second  expo- 
sure, and  reverse  this  plate  for  the  third  figure.  Is  this 
an  answer  ? For,  to  reply  literally,  a Victoria  camera  with 
three  lenses  would  give  at  once  “a  treble  image  of  one 
and  the  same  person.”  But  this,  surely,  is  not  what  you 
mean  ? There  is  no  difficulty  in  taking  “doubles;”  such, 
for  instance,  as  “ Rejlander  the  Artist  introducing  his  friend 
Rejlander  the  Volunteer,"  or  “The  Painter  and  his  Critic,” 
now  in  the  Crystal  Palace  Exhibition  (screen  20)  ; but  the 
addition  of  a third  figure,  at  what  is  ordinarily  the  point  of 
junction,  is  not  so  easy  of  accomplishment. 

W.  S. — Hydrometer  Test  for  Silver  Baths.  Under  ordinary 
circumstances  it  is  sufficiently  reliable  both  for  the  printing 
and  collodion  baths.  Take  the  specific  gravity  of  the  newly- 
made  solutions,  and  maintain  this  uniformly  by  the  addition 
of  fresh  nitrate  of  silver.  This  is  not  quite  exact,  for  the 
accumulation  of  alkaline  nitrate  in  the  solution  is  not  taken 
account  of,  although  it  must  slightly  affect  the  hydrometer 
indications  ; but  for  practical  purposes  this  interference  may 
be  disregarded. 

L.  T.  E. — Chromates  versus  Bichromates  in  Gelatine. — We  are 
not  aware  of  any  experiments  showing  the  comparative 
sensitiveness  of  such  preparations  ; but  Mr.  W.  T.  Wilkin- 
son asserted  last  week,  at  the  Camera  Club,  that  it  was 
desirable  to  add  ammonia  to  the  bichromated  gelatine,  which 
would  of  course  determine  the  formation  of  a neutral  chro- 
mate in  the  film,  and  that  he,  in  practice,  found  this  to 
be  a decided  improvement. 

M.  F. — A Small  Studio.  Further  particulars  go  to  you  by  post, 
together  with  a letter  of  introduction. 

J.  D. — Incandescent  Lamp.  Received  your  letter,  and  we 
will  bear  it  in  mind.  No  news  since  our  interview. 

Inverness. — We  are  returning  your  photographs  with  a private 
letter. 

J.  E.  M. — Photography  in  Natural  Colours.  We  think  the 
case  has  been  well  stated  by  Captain  Abney  ; and,  until 
further  evidence  is  forthcoming,  we  must  suspend  our 
judgment.  One  can  hardly  say  that  it  has  been  confirmed 
by  Dr.  Eder. 

M.  I’. — Blisters  on  Albumcnized  Paper.  Have  you  tried  to 
overcome  this  difficulty  by  adding  a small  quantity  of 
methylated  spirit  to  the  silver  bath  ? This  might  tend  to 
diminish  the  solubility  of  the  albumen.  Use  about  one 
ounce  of  spirit  per  pint  of  silver  nitrate  solution,  which 
hail  t >etter  be  mixed  of  full  strength  to  compensate  for 
such  dilution. 

E.  G.  (Barnet). — Isochromatic  Plates.  The  evidence  is  open 
to  inspection  at  the  Crystal  Palace  Photographic  Exhibition, 
Block  G ; but  bear  in  mind  that  to-morrow  will  be  the  last 
day. 

L.  A.  (Devonport). — Collodio-Chloridc  Prints  : Want  of  Density. 
This  method,  like  the  old  Wbthlytype,  was  always  supposed 
to  be  best  fitted  for  the  production  of  delicate  prints,  and 
does  not  lend  itself  so  well  to  the  printing  of  dense  negatives. 

Residues. — Reduction  of  Silver  by  Iron.  Zinc  is  a much  better 
reduciug  agent,  and  the  difference  of  cost  is  not  worth 
consideration.  Iron  only  very  slowly  reduces  the  nitrate 
of  silver,  whereas  zinc  does  so  immediately,  being  a more 
highly  electro-positive  metal. 


THE 


PHOTOGRAPHIC 


NEW 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1648.— A/»H  4,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PAOl 

“ Giphantia  ” Invf  stigattd  263 

Photography  iu  Sweden ; 254 

Photographic  Printing,  Outdoor  and  In.  By  C.  Brangwin 

Barnes 255 

Photography  in  Habana 256 

The  Chemical  Phenomena  of  Light.  By  John  Spiller,  F.I.C., 

F.C.S 256 

Emulsions.  By  William  Bell 259 

The  Havre  Photographic  Club 259 

Extraordinary  Assertions 260 

With  the  Lushai  Field  Force.  By  T.  D.  Latoucbe 261 


P AO  X 

Notes  262 

Photography  in  Florence  263 

A New  Printing  Process.  By  General  Joseph  B.  Bro^n  263 

Photographic  Apparatus  265 

The  Photographer  of  the  Future  266 

The  Photographic  International  Exhibition  at  Amsterdam  ...  26" 

Crystal  Palace  Exhibition 267 

The  Foaming  of  Certain  Liquids  used  in  Photography  268 

Patent  Intelligence  26s 

Proceedings  of  Societies 269 

Answers  to  Correspondents  272 


“GIPHANTIA”  INVESTIGATED. 

Some  weeks  ago,  a communication  was  made  to  the 
Camera  Club  about  photography  having  been  foretold 
in  an  old  book  called  “ Giphantia,”  published  in  1761. 
Long  ago,  in  the  old  wet-plate  days,  this  matter 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  photographic  press,  and 
one  writer,  whose  utterances  we  have  recently  tried  to 
rediscover,  but  failed,  sent  to  one  of  the  photographic 
journals  some  strong  reasons  or  statements  questioning 
the  antiquity  of  “ Giphantia,”  or  the  extract  therefrom  ; , 
therefore  our  reports  of  the  statements  made  at  the 
Camera  Club  in  relation  to  the  book  were  cautiously 
worded. 

As  the  exceedingly  curious  matter  deserved  investi- 
gation, we  have  since,  by  examination,  found  that 
the  British  Museum  Library  contains  three  editions  of 
the  book,  all,  so  far  as  antique  appearances  go,  bearing 
external  evidence  of  being  old  and  genuine.  The  first 
of  these,  entitled  “ Giphantie,”  is  in  French,  and  bears 
the  date  of  1760  ; it  is  anonymous,  and  purports  to  be 
published  at  “ Babylon.”  The  second  is  also  in  French, 
is  dated  1761,  and  purports  to  be  published  at  La  Uaye 
by  Daniel  Monnier.  The  third  is  an  English  transla- 
tion, with  the  following  words  on  the  title  page  : — 
“Giphantia:  ora  view  of  what  has  passed,  wliat  is 
now  passing,  and,  during  the  present  century,  what 
will  pass  in  the  world.  Translated  from  the  original 
French,  with  explanatory  notes,  London.  Printed  for 
Robert  Horsfield,  in  Ludgate  Street,  1761.”  The 
anonymous  translator  dedicates  this  edition  to  “The 
Hon.  Miss  Boss.”  On  the  leaf  opposite  the  title  page 
is  written  : — “This  book  belongs  to  Twickenham,  and 
taken  from  thence  .Tune  ye  1st,  ’99. — F.  Howe.” 
Some  members  of  the  Camera  Club  state  that  another 
edition  of  the  work  was  published  at  Cherbourg. 

The  authorities  of  the  British  Museum  ascribe  in 
their  catalogue  the  authorship  of  the  book  to  Tiphaigne 
de  la  Roche,  and  state  that  the  two  French  editions, 
which  are  first  mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraph, 


were  in  reality  published  in  Paris.  Barbier’s  Diction- 
naire  des  Guvrages  Anonymes,  vol.  ii.,  page  544, 
published  in  Paris  in  1874,  ascribes  the  authorship  of 
“ Giphantie  ” to  Ch.  Fr.  Tiphaigne  de  la  Roche,  and 
gives  the  date  of  the  book  as  1760,  so  fully  recognises 
its  genuineness ; and  it  is  probable  that,  on  the  authority 
of  Barbier’s  book,  the  name  of  Tiphaigne  de  la  Roche 
is  applied  to  the  work  in  the  British  Museum  catalogue 
of  printed  books.  Vol.  III.  of  the  Bibliotheca 
Britannica,  published  in  Edinburgh  in  1 824,  cata- 
logues the  English  edition  of  “ Giphantia,”  so  that  the 
work  was  certainly  in  existence  before  the  advent  of 
the  Daguerreotype,  collodion,  and  gelatine  processes ; 
consequently  the  work  may  be  regarded  as  not  of  recent 
date.  Under  these  circumstances,  we  now  quote  in 
full  the  remarkable  passages  contained  in  the  book  : — 

I saw,  out  of  a window,  a sea  which  seemed  to  me  to 
be  about  a quarter  of  a mile  distant.  The  air,  full  of 
clouds,  transmitted  only  . that  pale  light  which  forebodes  a 
storm : the  raging  sea  ran  mountains  high,  and  the  shore 
was  whitened  with  the  foam  of  the  billows  which  broke 
on  the  beach. 

By  what  miracle — said  I to  myself — has  the  air,  serene 
a moment  ago,  been  so  suddenly  obscured?  By  what 
miracle  do  I see  the  ocean  in  the  centre  of  Africa? 
Upon  saying  these  words,  I hastily  ran  to  convince  my 
eyes  of  so  improbable  a thing.  But  in  trying  to  put  my 
head  out  of  the  window,  I knocked  it  against  something 
that  felt  like  a wall.  Stunned  with  the  blow,  and  still 
more,  with  so  many  mysteries,  I drew  back  a few  paces. 

“Thy  hurry,”  said  the  Prefect,  “occasions  thy  mistake. 
That  window,  that  vast  horizon,  those  thick  clouds,  that 
raging  sea,  are  all  but  a picture.” 

From  one  astonishment  I fell  into  another ; I drew 
near  with  fresh  haste  ; my  eyes  were  still  deceived,  and 
my  hand  could  hardly  convince  me  that  a picture  should 
have  caused  such  an  illusion. 

“ The  elementary  spirits,”  continued  the  Prefect,  “are 
not  so  able  painters  as  naturalists ; thou  shalt  judge  by  their 
way  of  working.  Thou  knowest  that  the  rays  of  light 
reflected  from  different  bodies  make  a picture  and  paint 


254 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  4,  1890. 


the  bodies  upon  all  polished  surfaces,  ou  the  retina  of  the 
eye,  for  instance,  on  water,  on  glass.  The  elementary 
spirits  have  studied  to  fix  these  transient  images ; they 
have  composed  a most  subtile  matter,  very  viscous,  and 
proper  to  harden  and  dry,  by  the  help  of  which  a picture 
is  made  in  the  twinkle  of  an  eye.  They  do  over  with  this 
matter  a piece  of  canvas,  and  hold  it  before  the  objects 
they  have  a mind  to  paint.  The  first  effect  of  the  canvas 
is  that  of  a mirrour  ; there  are  seen  upon  it  all  the  bodies 
far  and  near,  whose  image  the  light  can  transmit.  But 
what  the  glass  cannot  do,  the  canvas,  by  means  of  the  vis- 
cous matter,  retains  the  images.  The  mirrour  shows  the 
objects  exactly,  but  keeps  none ; our  canvases  show  them 
with  the  same  exactness,  and  retain  them  all.  This  im- 
pression of  the  images  is  made  the  first  instant  they  are 
received  on  the  canvas,  which  is  immediately  carried  away 
into  some  dark  place.  An  hour  after,  the  subtile  matter 
dries,  and  you  have  a picture  so  much  the  more  valuable, 
as  it  cannot  be  imitated  by  art,  nor  damaged  by  time.  We 
take,  in  their  purest  source,  in  the  luminous  bodies,  the 
colours  which  painters  extract  from  different  materials, 
and  which  time  never  fails  to  alter.  The  justness  of  the 
design,  the  truth  of  the  expression,  the  giadation  of  the 
shades,  the  stronger  or  weaker  strokes,  the  rules  of  per- 
spective— all  these  we  leave  to  nature,  who,  witli  a sure 
and  never-erring  hand,  draws  upon  our  cauvases  images 
which  deceive  the  eye,  and  make  reason  to  doubt  whether 
what  are  called  real  objects  are  not  phantoms  which  im- 
pose upon  the  sight,  the  hearing,  the  feeling,  and  all  the 
senses  at  once.” 

The  Prefect  then  entered  into  some  physical  discussions, 
first,  on  the  nature  of  the  glutinous  substance  which 
intercepted  and  retained  the  rays ; secondly,  upon  the 
difficulties  of  preparing  and  using  it ; thirdly,  upon  the 
struggle  between  the  rays  of  light  and  the  dried  substance ; 
three  problems  which  I propose  to  the  naturalists  of  our 
days,  and  leave  to  their  sagacity. 

Meanwhile,  I could  not  take  off  my  eyes  from  the  picture. 
A sensible  spectator,  who  from  the  shore  beholds  a tem- 
pestuous sea,  feels  not  more  lively  impressions ; such 
images  are  equivalent  to  the  things  themselves. 

The  Prefect  interrupted  my  extasy.  “ I keep  you  too 
long,”  says  he,  “ upon  this  storm,  by  which  the  elementary 
spirits  designed  to  represent  allegorically  the  troublesome 
state  of  this  world,  and  mankind’s  stormy  passage  through 
the  same ; turn  thy  eyes  and  behold  what  will  feed  thy 
curiosity  and  increase  thy  admiration.” 

Charles  Francois  Tiphaigne  de  la  Roche  was  born  at 
Montebourg  iu  1729,  and  died  on  the  12th  August, 
1774.  He  was  a doctor  of  medicine  and  a literary 
man,  and  chiefly  made  his  mark  in  the  world  in  the 
latter  capacity.  He  took  his  degrees  in  the  University 
of  Caen.  His  works  aie  little  known,  and  but  few 
of  them  preserved  in  this  country  ; most  of  them  arc  of 
an  idealistic  nature.  Gipliantia  is  the  name  of  an 
island  which  the  author  supposes  to  have  been  given 
to  supernatural  beings  one  day  before  Paradise  was 
closed  on  the  ejection  of  Adam.  He  wrote  a few 
scientific  works:  one  of  them,  entitled  “Physical 
Observations  on  Agriculture,  Plants,  and  Minerals,” 
was  published  in  176.5. 

Why  does  not  the  Photographic  Convention,  which  meets  at 
Chester  this  year,  arrange  for  an  excursion  to  the  top  of 
Snowdon  ? It  may  be  years  before  it  is  within  the  same 
moderate  distance  thereof. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  SWEDEN. 

The  Fotogmfisk  ' Tidskrtfi , or  Photographic  News,  published 
at  Stockholm  under  the  management  of  Albin  Roosval, 
presents  its  readers  in  last  month’s  issue  with  a pictorial 
supplement  of  no  mean  interest.  In  the  course  of  every 
year  six  illustrations  at  the  least  accompany  this  publica- 
tion. The  present  picture,  says  the  paper,  will  show 
what  we  are  able  to  accomplish  by  aid  of  the  newest  and 
possibly  most  important  of  the  means  of  photographic 
printing.  The  picture  is  a phototype  taken  direct  from  a 
negative  after  nature  by  a new  method  elaborated  by  Axel 
Lagrelius,  with  the  assistance  of  a lithographic  institution, 
representing  a country  scene  with  figures.  A man  is 
shown  reclining  under  a tree  by  a river-side  watching  the 
approach  of  a boat  containing  a man  and  woman  to  the 
shore.  In  the  foreground  are  reeds,  sedges,  and  other 
water-plants.  On  the  spectator's  right  is  a pier  or  boat- 
house. The  whole  presentment  is  soft  and  delicate,  and 
the  process  is  said  to  be  quick  and  cheap. 

At  a meeting  of  the  Society  at  Stockholm  on  the 
19th  February,  under  the  presidency  of  II.  Gilden,  the  fol- 
lowing were  elected  members : — John  Hojer,  Max 
Sievert,  Henrik  Rosen,  C.  G.  Engstrom,  C.  Johansson, 
M.  E.  Biickstrbm,  15.  W.  Lundin,  A.  F.  Hdglund, 
A.  Lindstedt,  II.  (1.  ohrling,  K.  Salin,  O.  Lindberg. 
Feychting,  Victor  Berg,  E.  Lundstrom,  C.  Akrell.  F. 
Almgren,  Professors  Montan  and  lletzius,  C.  G.  Rude,  a 
photographer  of  Christiana,  and  the  Court  photographer. 
M.  Hansen. 

Professor  Ilasselberg  gave  a lecture  at  this  meeting  on 
some  experiments  of  the  elder  Draper,  chiefly  derived 
from  “ Draper’s  Scientific  Memoirs.”  The  “Scientific 
Memoirs”  or  experimental  contributions  to  a knowledge 
of  radiant  energy,  written  by  John  William  Draper,  M.D., 
LL.D.,  the  celebrated  President  of  this  Faculty  of  Science 
in  the  University  of  New  York,  were  published  in  England 
in  octavo  in  1878,  and  are  sufficiently  well-known. 

The  most  interesting  part  of  this  work,  which  engaged 
the  attention  of  Professor  Ilasselberg,  is  perhaps  “ on  the 
analogy  between  the  phenomena  of  the  chemical  rays  and 
those  of  radiant  heat,”  extracted  from  the  Philosophical 
Magazine  of  September,  1848. 

The  editor,  Albin  Roosval,  exhibited  during  the  meeting 
a collection  of  photographs,  executed  and  presented  to  the 
Society  by  Christensen  and  Sorensen,  of  Silkeborg,  in 
Denmark.  These  photographs  were  copied  on  aristo 
paper  manufactured  by  that  firm,  and  some  specimens  of  this 
paper  were  submitted  to  the  members  of  the  Society  for 
experiments. 

Numa  Petersen  showed  a flash-lamp  of  French  con- 
struction. This  apparatus,  which  has  the  form  of  an 
ordinary  note-book,  gives  a strong  light,  sufficient  to 
illuminate  a small  group  in  a room,  and  will  supply  twenty 
flashes  uninterruptedly,  one  after  the  other,  in  the  space 
of  one  minute.  It  contains  a benzine  lamp,  lucifer 
matches,  and  magnesium  powder,  and  is  ready  for  use  on 
any  occasion.  The  cost  for  every  flash  is  a mere  trifle. 
The  whole  apparatus  may  be  purchased  for  10  kronor,  or 
about  1 Is.  l$d. 

The  rest  of  the  number  is  made  up  of  the  usual 
answers  to  correspondents,  reviews  of  works  treating  on 
photography,  an  article  on  composite  photography  after 
J.  T.  Stoddard,  and  an  announcement  of  an  amateur 
photographic  exhibition  in  Buda-Pesth ; this  exhibition, 
commencing  on  the  15th  of  April,  will  remain  open  till 
the  conclusion  of  May. 


Aerie  4,  1800.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


255 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  PRINTING,  OUTDOOR  AND  IN. 

BY  C.  BRANGWIN  BARNES. 

It  has  often  been  a matter  of  considerable  surprise  to  me 
that  so  many  photographers  should  still  conduct  their 
printing  in  the  open  air.  From  the  earliest  days  of  photo- 
graphy it  has  been  a recognised  fact  that  the  operating,  or 
taking  the  negative,  is  more  likely  to  prove  a success  in  a 
studio  than  the  open,  but  for  some  occult  reason  which  I 
have  never  been  able  to  discover,  the  subsequent  operation 
of  printing  from  the  negative  has  always  been  looked  upon 
as  a very  minor  detail,  requiring  but  little  skill  and 
capable  of  being  conducted  anywhere,  and  preferably  on 
the  leads  or  in  the  back  yard  or  garden.  Now  a very 
little  consideration  will  prove  that  this  ideaisan  erroneous 
one,  and  that  the  erection  of  a studio  for  printing  under 
glass,  or  the  conversion  of  some  part  of  a room  into  the 
same,  will  amply  repay  its  primary  cost,  and  that  in  a very 
short  space  of  time.  The  advocates  of  open  air  printing  will 
no  doubt  allege  that  prints  arc  obtained  more  rapidly  out 
of  doors,  and  it  is  a fact  that  such  might  be  the  case  if  (Oh, 
those  dreadful  if’s !)  we  had  a climate  where  bright,  dry 
weather  was  the  rule,  and  rain,  fog,  and  mist,  the  excep- 
tion ; but  such  not  being  the  case,  I contend  that  so  far 
from  time  being  gained  by  printing  out  of  doors,  the  boot 
is  decidedly  on  the  other  leg,  as  more  prints  can  be 
obtained  under  glass,  and,  what  is  perhaps  more  to  the 
purpose — where  such  a thoroughly  conscientious  set  of 
human  beings  as  photographers  are  concerned — the  number 
will  not  only  prove  to  be  greater,  but  the  general  quality 
better.  A terrible  amount  of  time  is  lost  to  the  out-door 
printer  in  rainy  or  showery  weather  ; each  little  downpour 
necessitates  the  covering  up  of  all  the  frames,  and  if  the 
shower  threatens  to  be  prolonged  they  all  have  to  be  rushed 
indoors  and  wiped,  and  await  another  glimpse  of  bright- 
ness ; and  with  such  weather  as  we  usually  get  at  this  time 
of  the  year,  the  coveringand  uncovering  and  taking  indoors 
and  out  again  of  two  or  three  hundred  frames  necessitates 
some  considerable  waste  of  time.  In  ioggy  or  misty 
weather  the  moisture  in  the  air  condenses  rapidly  on  the 
glass  and  materially  retards  printing,  added  to  which  the 
damp  atmosphere  also  affects  the  sensitised  paper,  causing 
it  to  print  red  and  weak.  Occasionally  a shower  comes 
on  so  quickly  that  the  frames  are  swamped  before  the 
printer  can  cover  them,  and  a few  drops  of  water  find 
their  way  round  the  glass  to  the  film  side  of  the  negative  ; 
the  paper  sticks  and  either  necessitates  the  varnish  being 
soaked  off,  or,  in  the  event  of  the  plate  not  being  var- 
nished, it  requires  re-immersion  in  hyposulphite  of  soda, 
followed  by  washing  and  drying:  loss  of  valuable  time 
again.  Add  to  this  the  fact  that  the  frames  have  to  be 
hurriedly  scrambled  up,  and  that  occasionally  one  falls  to 
the  ground  and  reduces  the  negative  to  fragments,  such 
negative  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  being  the  most  valuable 
one  in  print,  and  I fancy  we  have  a strong  argument  in 
favour  of  inside  printing. 

In  the  summer,  when  we  have  less  rain,  the  dust  plays 
havoc,  entailing  constant  dusting  of  the  outsides  of  the 
frames,  and  even  then  it  manages  to  get  inside  while  the 
print  is  being  examined.  Then  think  of  the  numerous 
breakages  caused  by  sudden  change  of  temperature ; a 
negative  is  brought  in  from  a temperature  of,  say,  28°, 
the  frame  opened  and  the  paper  changed  in  a room  warmed 
to  about  50°,  and  it  is  then  sent  out  again  to  be  printed  : 
there  is  a sudden  ominous  click,  and  the  negative  displays 
a crack  from  one  side  to  the  other. 


All  this  might  be  avoided  by  printing  under  glass,  and 
a printing  studio  can  be  erected  at  a very  trifling  cost 
when  compared  with  what  is  cheerfully  paid  for  the  one 
in  which  the  operating  is  performed.  I have  seen  an 
arrangement  which  admirably  answers  the  purpose  required, 
in  use  at  one  or  two  studios  I could  mention,  and  which  I 
may  briefly  describe  as  follows : A few  boards  are  run  out 
level  with  the  sill  of  a back  window  to  form  a sort  of  floor- 
ing, and  a glass  roof  is  run  from  the  level  of  the  top  of 
window  sloping  down  to  the  end  of  the  boards ; this  is 
extended  about  four  or  five  feet  on  each  side  of  the  win- 
dow opening,  and  is  capable  of  receiving  a considerable 
number  of  frames,  which  are  thus  protected  from  the  rain, 
mist,  dust,  and  change  of  temperature,  added  to  which 
the  printer  is  always  at  hand  close  to  his  work,  and  has  not 
one  half  of  the  running  about  to  do  that  falls  to  the  lot  of 
his  brother  who  has  to  do  his  printing  in  the  garden  or  on 
the  leads.  Platinotype  and  carbon  printing  benefit  from 
this  method  of  procedure  even  more  than  albumen  silver, 
or  gelatino-bromide. 

Should  a bright  sun  glare  upon  the  glass,  a covering  of 
white  tissue  paper  is  an  advantage,  as  sun  printing  soon 
damages  gelatine  negatives.  In  the  little  island  of  Malta 
I have  seen  printing  carried  on  through  a covering  of 
calico,  so  intense  was  the  power  of  our  best  friend,  the 
sun.  However,  it  is  a rare  thing  to  get  very  much  sun- 
light here  in  England,  so  it  is  advisable  to  fix  even  the 
tissue  paper  in  a way  that  it  can  be  easily  removed  and 
replaced.  An  excellent  way  is  to  stretch  it  upon  little 
wooden  squares  just  fitting  into  each  pane  of  glass,  and 
fastening  with  a button  on  either  side,  although  one  or 
two  panes  might  always  be  kept  covered  during  the  bright 
weather  for  the  purpose  of  printing  the  vignettes,  which 
are  always  softer  through  tissue  paper  than  when  the 
aperture  is  uncovered.  The  best  man  to  commission  to 
erect  the  printing  studio  or  box  is  one  who  is  in  the  habit 
of  building  or  glazing  greenhouses,  as  they  have  a way  of 
keeping  out  the  water  that  the  ordinary  run  of  builders 
seem  to  be  ignorant  of,  and  it  is  necessary  that  such  an 
erection  should  be  water  and  dust  tight. 


A I’HOTO  negative  bath  dish  has  been  patented  by  Mr.  John 
R.  Moeller,  Grand  Island,  Neb.  This  is  a dish  with  vertical 
end  and  side  ribs,  integral  transverse  ledges  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  end  ribs,  and  a corrugated  partition,  to  support  a number 
of  negatives  in  a single  dish  so  that  they  will  not  bear  against 
each  other,  while  their  lower  edges  will  be  held  above  the 
sediment  in  the  bath. — Invention. 

Nature  calls  attention  to  an  “ Album  ” which  has  been  sent 
to  it,  containing  reproductions  of  photographs  taken  in 
Celebes.  “ The  collection  has  been  formed,”  it  says,  “ by  Dr. 
A.  B.  Meyer,  director  of  the  Zoological  and  Ethnographical 
Museum  of  Dresden,  and  includes  thirty-seven  plates,  on  which 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  reproductions  are  printed.  In 
1870  and  1871  Dr.  Meyer  spent  some  time  in  Celebes,  and 
the  greater  number  of  the  photographs  which  have  been 
reproducer!  he  brought  back  with  him.  Others  he  has  received 
from  friends.  We  cannot  say  that  the  process  employed  lias 
always  yielded  perfectly  satisfactory  results ; nevertheless, 
the  ‘Album’  contains  many  representations  that  cannot  fail 
to  interest  students  of  anthropology  and  ethnography.  There 
are  groups  of  portraits  from  northern,  central,  and  southern 
Celebes,  and  any  one  who  carefully  studies  them  will  find  that 
they  give  him  a very  vivid  idea  of  the  various  types  of  the 
native  population.  The  tables  are  accompanied  by  short 
explanatory  notices,  some  of  the  best  of  which  are  by  Dr. 
.1.  G.  F.  Riedel,  Utrecht.  The  work  is  edited  by  Dr.  Meyer,  and 
issued  by  Messrs.  Stengel  and  Markert,  Dresden." 


25G 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  HABANA 
The  Photographic  Bulletin,  which  is  published  monthly  in 
Habana  by  the  well-known  depot  of  photographic  effects 
superintended  by  J.  S.  Lopez  and  Company,  has  already 
reached  the  last  number  of  its  eighth  volume.  Of  this  last 
number  the  most  interesting  contents  are  articles  on 
eikonogen,  contretypes,  transparencies  for  the  lantern  on 
gelatine  plates,  and  practical  demonstrations. 

The  author  of  the  article  on  eikonogen  tells  of  his  experi- 
ence of  this  new  developer,  of  its  action  ou  different  com- 
binations, and  of  its  value,  as  he  conceives  it,  in  comparison 
with  other  agents.  On  the  whole,  he  is  of  opinion  that 
not  enough  is  known  of  eikonogen  to  furnish  matter  for  a 
definite  and  conclusive  verdict,  but  so  far  as  he  has  yet 
gone  in  his  experiments,  such  hopes  as  he  has  formed 
about  it  have  not  been  disappointed. 

The  exact  place  which  eikonogen  has  to  occupy  in  the 
photographic  laboratory  has  yet  to  be  determined  ; but 
there  is  no  doubt  in  the  mind  of  the  writer  of  the  article 
in  the  Bulletin  that  it  presents  brilliant  qualities  for  the 
display  of  the  most  delicate  details  in  the  deepest 
shadows,  requiring,  as  a rule,  less  exposure  than  is 
necessary  with  hydrokinone. 

Discussing  the  various  external  forms  of  eikonogen,  he 
says  it  presents  itself  sometimes  as  a grey  crystalline 
powder ; at  others  it  discovers  a deep,  dark  red  with  inter- 
sections ; and  again,  at  others,  a colour  known  as  cenizas 
ile  rosas,  or  ashes  of  roses.  The  colour  of  the  solution 
differs,  of  course,  according  to  the  colour  of  the  substance 
itself,  and  the  experimentalist  may  obtain  a dark  vermilion, 
an  intense  green,  and  a green  primrose,  besides  other  still 
paler  hues.  The  article,  which  is  a long  and  interesting 
one,  goes  on  to  treat  of  the  solubility  of  the  agent,  which, 
it  says,  varies  about  as  much  as  its  colour.  As  to  the 
quantity  of  eikonogen  to  be  employed,  the  author  is  of 
opinion  that  the  published  formula;  usually  state  an  excess 
of  what  is  actually  required.  In  our  own  experi- 
ments, he  says,  we  have  found  that  a very  small  quantity 
of  alkali  gives  results  far  superior  to  those  obtained  by  a 
more  concentrated  solution.  The  nature  of  the  alkali  is 
unimportant.  A caustic  alkali  may  be  used  with  the 
eikonogen,  or  a carbonate  of  potash  or  sodium.  A formula 
foreikonogen  is  given  by  the  writer,  which,  he  says, produces 
peculiar  clearness  and  brilliancy  in  the  shadows.  This 
formula  is  as  follows : — 

Sulphite  of  soda  (cryst.)  ...  ...  194  grains 

Carbonate  of  potassium  ...  ...  15  ,, 

Carbonate  of  sodium  ...  ...  ...  32  ,, 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  8 ounces 

The  solution  must  be  preserved  in  a well-stoppered 
bottle,  and  when  required  to  be  used,  to  every  ounce  of 
the  solution  must  be  added  G grains  of  eikonogen.  In  place 
of  the  15  grains  of  carbonate  of  potassium  and  the  32 
grains  of  carbonate  of  sodium  may  be  substituted,  with 
excellent  effect,  30  grains  of  carbonate  of  potassium. 
Bromide  may  also  be  added.  This  works  very  well  on  the 
bromised  paper,  and  gives  that  crispness  to  negatives 
which  is  so  highly  prized  by  many  artists. 

The  article  on  contretypes,  communicated  byM.  Balagny, 
is  of  unusual  length,  and  contains  much  profitable  informa- 
tion ; but  the  consideration  of  space  forbids  a detailed 
examination. 

The  practical  demonstrations  of  E.  de  Saint  Priest  is 
another  article  which,  owing  to  the  same  consideration, 
cannot  be  otherwise  mentioned  than  as  well  worthy  of 
an  attentive  perusal 


[April  4,  1890. 

The  volume  of  the  Bulletin , which  is  concluded  by  the 
present  number,  contains  many  matters  attracting  the 
attention  of  the  photographer.  Especially  may  be  men- 
tioned the  articles  on  mosaics,  on  colours  in  photography, 
on  photo-miniature,  on  landscapes,  on  photography  on 
wood,  on  the  reproduction  of  old  engravings,  on  the 
varied  applications  of  photography,  on  the  suppression  of 
the  red  light,  on  impressions  on  clothes  and  other  textile 
materials,  and  lastly,  on  the  means  of  obtaining  photo- 
graphs in  true  colour  relation  bv  the  medium  of  coloured 
crystals. 


THE  CHEMICAL  PHENOMENA  OF  LIGHT.* 

BV  JOHN  SPIELER,  I.C.S.,  F.I.C. 

As  a past  pupil  of  the  late  Dr.  Percy,  I have  been  per- 
mitted to  read,  and  make  extracts  from,  the  photographic 
note-book  of  my  old  friend  and  much  respected  Pro- 
fessor, and  I commence  by  acknowledging  my  obligations 
to  the  executors,  who,  through  Mr.  Hilary  Bauerman, 
F.G.S.,  entrusted  me  with  this  very  interesting  record, 
and  to  Mr.  George  Shaw,  of  Birmingham,  whose  permis- 
sion was  freely  given. 

The  account  extends  to  twenty-three  pages  (quarto) 
in  the  note-book,  and  two  extra  pages  fastened  in,  which 
are  in  the  handwriting  of  our  member,  Mr.  George 
Shaw  ; all  the  rest  being  in  the  clear  manuscript  of  Dr. 
Percy,  and  illstrated  by  sketches  of  the  apparatus  used. 
The  entries  are  arranged  as  a diary,  commencing  on  the 
28th  October,  1844.  and  running  on  consecutively  to  some 
date  beyond  the  5th  November.  Then  a break  occurs, 
and  there  are  occasional  entries  in  later  years — October 
1850,  and  May  1853 — with  other  suggestions  for  experi- 
ments, to  which  no  specific  date  is  attached.  Further  on 
the  pages  become  a sort  of  general  note-book,  devoted 
to  the  entry  of  a variety  of  technical  and  metallurgical 
details,  analytical  processes,  &c.,  with  which  Dr.  Percy's 
subsequent  career  was  so  intimately  associated.  As 
showing  the  original  intention,  however,  it  should  be 
stated  that  the  cover  of  the  book  is  endorsed  “ Light, 
October,  1844  ” — at  a time  when  Percy  was  lecturer 
on  Chemistry  at  the  Queen's  Hospital,  Birmingham — and 
the  first  heading  runs  thus  : — “Experimental  Investigation 
concerning  the  Chemical  Phenomena  of  Light.  Record 
of  Experiments,  by  G.  S.  and  J.  P.,  commenced  on  the 
evening  of  October  28th,  1844/’ 

Tn  some  respects  it  was  unfortunate  that  the  work  was 
begun  so  late  in  the  year,  for  the  weather  on  successive 
days  wjs  noted  as  “overcast  and  dull,”  “cloudy  with 
slight  rain,”  “dull  November  day,”  &c.,  and  only  on  the 
31st  October  and  4th  November  did  the  exposures  get 
the  full  advantage  of  sunshine.  But.  on  the  other  hand, 
it  should  be  stated  that  the  bulk  of  the  experiments  was 
comparative,  and  sometimes  the  slower  action  of  the 
light  enabled  more  accurate  observations  to  be  taken  in 
the  earlier  stages  than  would  have  been  possible  under 
brighter  meteorological  conditions. 

The  first  set  of  experiments  was  made  with  pure 
chloride  of  silver,  precipitated  from  the  nitrate  by  a 
slight  excess  of  hydrochloric  acid,  and  well  washed  with 
distilled  water,  by  decantation,  in  the  dark.  The  pro- 
duct was  dried  in  a porcelain  dish  over  a sand-bath, 
ground  to  powder,  and  divided  out  into  several  tubes  ; 

* Read  at  thi  Photographic  Society.  The  full  title  of  this  paper  is 
“Eirly  Experiments  by  Dr.  Percy  and  Mr.  Oejrge  Shaw,  ou  the  Chemical 

Phenomena  of  Light.** 


April  4,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS, 


257 


the  object  being  to  expose  them  all  simultaneously  under 
various  conditions,  such  as  dry  and  moist  air,  or  with  dry 
hydrogen  or  ether  vapour  in  sealed  tubes;  and,  in  one 
case,  with  potassium  enclosed,  so  as  to  absorb  any 
chlorine  that  might  be  liberated,  as  well  as  most  of  the 
oxygen  contained  in  the  air.  In  other  words,  this  last 
tube  was  exposed  in  an  atmosphere  mainly  of  nitrogen, 
with  an  ingredient  capable  of  taking  up  any  evolved 
chloride  ; the  potassium  was  not  in  contact  with  the  silver 
chloride,  but  held  back  at  one  end  behind  a loose  plug  of 
asbestos.  Details  are  given  about  the  mode  of  drying 
the  air,  hydrogen,  or  other  gas,  and  a sketch  showing  the 
disposition  of  the  chloride  of  calcium  and  caustic  potash 
tubes  is  appended.  The  sealed  tubes  prepared  over 
night  were  left  in  a perfectly  dark  place  until  the  next 
morning.  The  results  (recorded  by  J.  P.)  were  as 
follows : — 

“ October  29th.  At  half-past  ten  they  were  exposed  in 
the  open  air  to  light ; the  sun  was  visible  through  the 
clouds,  but  the  day  continued  overcast  and  dull. 
Darkening  of  the  chloride  rapidly  took  place  in  every 
tube,  but  so  far  as  I could  observe  not  more  rapidly  in 
one  than  another.  They  were  turned  round  several  times 
during  their  exposure  to  light,  which  continued  until  4.30 
the  same  day.  From  the  fact  of  every  particle  of 
chloride  not  having  been  brought  equally  under  the 
influence  of  light,  part  of  the  salt  remained  white,  so 
that  there  was  a mixture  of  black  and  white  particles  in 
each  tube — hence  the  difficulty  of  estimating  in  a per- 
fectly correct  and  satisfactory  manner  the  precise 
degree  of  darkening  that  had  been  effected  in 
each.  However,  that  in  a (ordinary  dry  AgCl, 
in  a corked  test  tube)  seemed  to  have  undergone  the 
least  change,  while  that  in  b,  cl,  e (hydrogen,  nitrogen,  and 
ether  vapour)  appeared  to  have  been  nearly  equally 
affected ; if  anything,  that  in  b (hydrogen)  had  been 
most  altered.” 

There  is  no  specific  report  about  the  final  condition  of 
tube  c (that  containing  the  moist  chloride  in  a sealed  tube), 
but  it  is  evident  that  in  this  clotted  state  of  the  white 
chloride,  the  action  of  light  at  best  must  have  been  very 
partial.  With  regard  to  the  influence  of  moisture,  Dr. 
Percy  goes  on  to  say : — 

“ It  must  not  be  omitted  that  we  cannot  vouch  for  the 
strict  correctness  of  the  term  dry  chloride,  employed  in 
the  preceding  description,  as  we  only  dried  it  in  a cap- 
sule over  the  sand-bath,  and  did  not  ascertain  whether 
every  trace  of  moisture  had  been  expelled  ; so  that  if 
moisture  had  any  influence  upon  the  chloride  exposed  to 
light,  the  preceding  experiments  become  unsatisfac- 
tory.” 

A second  series  of  tubes  was  got  ready  for  exposure  to 
light  on  the  following  day ; as  before,  five  in  number, 
but  somewhat  differently  constituted.  The  chloride  of 
silver  was  dried  for  six  hours  in  a hot-water  oven,  and 
rubbed  to  fine  powder  for  Experiment  1,  or  dried  in  the 
same  way  upon  slips  of  glass  for  Experiments  2,  :t,  4. 
Then  arranged  as  follows  : — 

No.  1.  Tube  charged  with  dry  AgCl  in  dry  chlorine. 

No.  2.  Dry  AgCl  in  dry  nitrogen  (/.e.,  with  potassium 
at  one  end  of  the  tube,  and  fused  chloride  of  calcium  at 
the  other). 

No.  3.  Dry  AgCl  in  iodine  vapour.  (Turned  yellow  at 
once  by  partial  formation  of  iodide  of  silver.) 

No.  4.  Dry  AgCl  in  air  with  phosphorus.  (This  dark- 
ened before  exposure.) 


No.  5.  Silver  foil  in  dry  chlorine*.  (The  metal  pre- 
viously heated  to  redness,  and  dry  chlorine  gas  passed 
over  it  for  some  time  ; the  tube  being  full  of  chlorine 
when  hermetically  sealed.) 

All  exposed  from  10  till  4 on  October  30th  (dull  and 
cloudy  day,  with  slight  rain  in  the  forenoon),  and  again 
from  10  till  5 on  October  31st  (a  brighter  day,  with  occa- 
sional gleams  of  sunshine). 

Results. — No.  1 Tube.  Scarcely  perceptible  change  at 
the  end  of  the  first  day,  becoming  sensibly  darkened  in 
ten  minutes  of  bright  sunshine,  ultimately  changing  to  an 
‘ * ash  grey.  ” 

Note. — October  31st,  1844. — “ Now  we  learn  from  this 
experiment  that,  to  a certain  extent,  the  chloride  of  silver 
in  chlorine  affords  an  indication  of  the  intensity  of  the 
chemical  action  of  light ; for  that  which  underwent 
scarcely  any  perceptible  change  yesterday,  became  rapidly 
and  sensibly  affected  to-day.” 

When  put  back  again  in  the  dark,  the  chlorine  gas  acted 
upon  the  coloured  chloride,  and  in  three  hours  it  became 
perfectly  white,  ready  to  undergo  a like  change  by  repeated 
exposure.  This  observation  induced  Dr.  Percy  at  a later 
period  to  propose  the  use  of  such  an  arrangement  as  an 
actinometer,  which  he  described  at  the  Photographic 
Society’s  meeting  of  June,  1853. — See  this  Journal,  Vol.  I., 
p.  84. 

Nos.  2 and  3 tubes  both  changed  colour  to  a chocolate 
brown,  and,  contrary  to  expectation,  the  iodide  formed  in 
No.  3 did  not  appear  to  retard  the  change,  which  the 
authors  then  supposed  might  be  accounted  for  by  assum- 
ing the  existence  of  a chloro-iodide  of  silver  sensitive  to 
light,  whereas  pure  iodide  per  se  was  known  to  be  quite 
unaffected  by  exposure. 

No.  4 tube  also  darkened  considerably,  and  the  phos- 
phorous acid  probably  assisted  the  change,  for  it  was 
bound  to  have  had  an  influence  even  in  the  dark. 

No.  5 tube,  containing  the  chlorinated  silver  foil, 
acquired  a beautiful  iridescence  by  exposure  to  light,  the 
film  showing  a play  of  colours,  red  or  green,  according  to 
the  direction  of  the  reflected  rays.  The  second  day’s 
exposure  did  not  alter  this  appearance,  but  the  under  side 
of  the  foil  began  now  to  be  attacked,  and  presented  a dull 
leaden-grey  colour.  [Mr.  Shaw  repeated  this  experiment 
in  a somewhat  modified  form,  using  Daguerreotype  plates 
acted  upon  by  the  fumes  arising  from  chlorine  water. 
The  results  are  described  later  on.  ] 

A third  series  of  tubes  was  now  prepared,  all  charged 
with  chloride  of  silver  spread  upon  little  glass  plates,  with 
the  object  of  ascertaining  whether  the  presence  of  moisture 
might  have  any  influence.  A pen-and-ink  sketch  shows 
the  disposition  of  apparatus,  with  spirit  lamp  to  warm  the 
tube,  and  exhausting  syringe  to  draw  off  every  trace  of 
watery  vapour. 

I.  Dry  AgCl  in  dry  chlorine  gas.  Tube  hermetically 
sealed. 

II.  AgCl  in  moist  chlorine  gas.  Tube  hermetically 
sealed. 

III.  Dry  AgCl  in  dry  air.  Partial  vacuum  and  tube 
sealed.  Exposed  simultaneously  from  10. 20  until  5 o'clock, 
October  31st ; fine  day,  with  gleams  of  sunshine. 

Results. — The  last  rapidly  changed  colour  (in  ten 
minutes),  and  went  on  darkening.  II.  was  more  quickly 
discoloured  than  I.,  but  the  atmosphere  of  chlorine 
hindered  the  change ; and  the  former  (moist  chlorine) 
proved  most  operative  in  bleaching  the  darkened  chloride 
when  the  tubes  were  taken  indoors  at  5 p.m.,  and  by  nine 


253 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Atril  4,  1890. 


o’clock,  as  seen  by  gaslight,  the  white  chloride  was  quite 
restored. 

Iu  order  to  set  at  rest  this  question  of  chlorine  hinder- 
ing the  action  of  light,  other  experiments  were  arranged 
in  which  the  white  chloride  of  silver,  dried  upon  a watch 
glass  and  covered  with  a flat  glass  plate  cemented  on  with 
white  wax,  was  exposed  to  light  under  a bell-jar,  with 
corresponding  apparatus  beside  it  in  which  chlorine  (and 
afterwards  bromine)  had  access  to  the  chloride  of  silver. 
The  results  were,  as  before,  that  only  a slight  darkening 
occurred  when  chlorine  had  access,  and  the  bleaching  at 
night  took  place  as  usual.  The  authors  sum  up  as  fol- 
lows:— “ We  have  now  distinct  proof  that  the  vapour  of 
chlorine  does  either  retard,  or  otherwise  modify,  the 
chemical  action  of  light.  Is  this  owing  to  the  colour  of 
chlorine  ?” 

Next  came  comparative  experiments  with  bromine,  in 
which  a difficulty  occurred  from  the  bromine  vapours 
attacking  the  wax,  so  the  white  chloride  of  silver  was 
enclosed  in  hermetically  sealed  glass  tubes,  placed  within 
bell-jars  filled  respectively  with  chlorine  and  vapour  of 
bromine.  Although  the  latter  manifestly  obstructed  more 
light,  it  was  found  that  the  white  chloride  in  the  jar  of 
bromine  was  more  rapidly  and  deeply  coloured  than  that  con- 
tained in  the  jar  of  chlorine.  “It  would  appear,  then, 
(say  the  authors)  that  the  modification  induced  in  light, 
iu  its  passage  through  an  atmosphere  of  chlorine,  does  not 
depend  upon  the  colour ; because,  if  that  were  true,  the 
degree  of  modification  should  vary  directly  with  the  in- 
tensity of  colour,  and  should  consequently  be  greater  in 
the  case  of  light  passed  through  bromine,  than  in  the  case 
of  light  passed  through  chlorine.  ” 

Finally,  the  crucial  test  of  exposing  chloride  of  silver 
in  sealed  tubes,  placed  within  a jar  of  colourless  nitric  oxide 
gas  over  water,  and  another  one  into  a large  stoppered 
bottle  of  the  same  gas,  with  occasional  admission  of  air,  so 
as  to  produce  the  red  nitrous  acid  fumes,  showed  most 
distinctly  that  with  the  colourless  gas  the  darkening  pro- 
ceeded as  rapidly  as  in  air ; whilst  in  the  deep  red  gas 
the  darkening  was  completely  prevented  for  some  time, 
and  only  very  slowly  changed  to  a lead-grey  hue  as  the 
ultimate  effect  of  protracted  exposure.  Here  the  ob- 
served difference  could  only  be  accounted  for  by  assuming 
that  the  hignly  coloured  nitrous  acid  gases  cut  off  the 
chemically  active  rays,  and  apparently  did  so  much  more 
thoroughly  than  the  bromine  vapour. 

Experiments  by  Mr.  George  Skate,  November,  1844. — A 
couple  of  Daguerreotype  plates  was  cleaned  with  dilute 
nitric  acid  and  powdered  tripoli,  rubbed  afterwards  with 
dry  cotton  wool,  and  highly  polished  on  a velvet  buff 
sprinkled  with  charcoal  powder.  One  of  them  was  ex- 
posed, face  downwards,  for  thirty  minutes,  to  the  fumes 
arising  from  chlorine  water,  and  the  other  for  twelve  hours 
to  the  same  treatment.  Both  were  alike  in  appearance, 
coated  with  a deal-white  film  of  chloride  of  silver,  which 
was  very  compact,  had  considerable  lustre,  and  reflected 
the  images  of  neighbouring  objects  with  tolerable  distinct- 
ness. So  prepared,  half  of  the  twenty-four  hours’  plate  was 
covered  up  to  protect  it  partly  from  light,  and  then  both 
plates  were  exposed  for  several  hours  ou  a “very  dull 
day,  the  sky  thickly  clouded.” 

The  surfaces  gradually  changed  to  a moderately  dark 
slate  colour,  neither  approaching  blackness  or  the  tint 
assumed  by  precipitated  chloride  of  silver  under  like  cir- 
cumstances. On  the  next  day,  November  4th,  which  was 

very  much  brighter,”  the  two  plates  were  put  out  again, 


this  time  the  half  of  the  thirty  minutes'  plate  being  covered 
up,  and  both  exposed  for  more  than  an  hour  to  “ hazy 
sunlight.”  They  now  suffered  a very  marked  change  ; the 
slate-colour  disappeared,  and  the  surfaces  assumed  a rich 
brown  colour,  with  very  metallic  lustre,  closely  resembling 
the  appearance  of  old  bronze  medals,  and  those  parts 
which  had  been  longest  exposed  to  light  .actually  assumed 
a much  lighter  colour  than  the  surfaces  that  had  been 
partly  protected. 

Here  the  only  circumstance  calling  for  notice  is  the 
fact  that  Daguerreotype  plates  were  sometimes  made  of 
rolled  Sheffield  plate,  the  upper  layer  of  which  was  stand- 
ard silver  (containing  about  one-twelfth  copper,  and  the 
sensitive  surface  was,  therefore,  possibly  a mixture  of 
cuprous  and  argentic  chlorides,  in  which  the  latter  largely 
preponderated). 

Amongst  other  interesting  suggestions  given  in  Dr. 
l’ercy’s  note-book  was  a proposal  to  try,  as  a substitute 
for  the  amalgamation  process,  the  extraction  of  silver  from 
its  ores  by  first  attacking  them  with  ferric  chloride  solu- 
tion, and  then  dissolving  out  the  silver  chloride  so  formed 
with  a solution  of  hyposulphite  of  lime.  There  is  no 
record  of  experiments  actually  performed,  but  we  know 
that  the  process  was  adopted  later  in  the  treatment  of  cer- 
tain silver  ores,  before  other  improved  methods  came  into 
general  use. 

“ Indigotic  acid  in  Calotype,  Oct.,  1850,”  is  another 
entry,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  guess  the  purport  of  such  an 
experiment,  unless  it  was  an  early  idea  of  working  with 
stained  films. 

“May  29,  1853.  Photography.  In  the  negative  or 
positive  impression  in  the  Talbotype  process,  in  what  state 
is  the  silver?  If  it  be  metal,  mercury  should  certainly 
remove  it.  Try  the  experiment.  Is  AgS  soluble  in  KCy  ? 
I think  not ; if  not,  then  after  exposing  a positive  to  IIS  it 
should  not  be  obliterated  by  KCy.  But  is  it  not  so  ? ” 

At  this  date  I was  an  assistant  in  Dr.  Percy’s  Laboratory 
at  the  Royal  School  of  Mines,  Jennyn  Street,  and  I well 
remember  some  experiments  being  tried  with  hot  and  cold 
mercury  to  extract  the  silver  from  paper  photographs,  but 
it  was  found  impossible  to  get  contact  with  the  liquid 
metal.  I do  not  know  whether  mercury  vapour  was  ever 
tried  for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  amalgam,  and  then 
extracting  this  with  the  liquid  mercury.  On  the  second 
point,  1 also  remember  Dr.  Percy  toning  some  silver  prints 
on  plain  paper  by  exposing  them  to  sulphuretted  hydrogen, 
and  these  were  afterwards  shown  at  one  of  the  Society’s 
exhibitions. 

About  this  time  Dr.  Percy,  being  on  the  first  Council  of 
the  Society,  was  frequently  engaged  in  photographic  expe- 
riments, and  testing  the  permanence  of  silver  prints,  on 
which  later  he  was  invited  to  report. — See  Photo.  Journal, 
Vol.  II.  pp.  175,  190,  251. 

M.  Leon  Vidal  writes  to  us  that  he  has  just  won  the  ease 
in  an  action  at  law  brought  against  him  in  Paris  by  Mr. 
15.  J.  Edwards,  for  certain  criticisms  on  isoehromatic  photo- 
graphs, published  in  the  Moniteur  dt  Id  Photographic,  of  which 
M.  Vidal  is  the  editor.  The  court  considered  that  M.  Vidal 
had  not  exceeded  his  right  of  criticism. 

North  Middlesex  PHoTouit.mnc  Club. — An  outing  has 
been  arranged  for  K aster  Monday  to  Welwyn,  by  the  train  leaving 
Finsbury  Park,  G.N.K.,  at  10.45.  Any  interested  are  invited 
to  join.  On  Monday,  Thomas  F.  Smith,  F.R.M.S.,  delivered  a 
lecture  on  “ Micro-Photography,”  illustrating  it  by  means  of 
lantern  slides,  and  showing  the  method  of  making  the  same. 
Both  botanical  and  histological  slides  of  interest  were  shown  ; 
some  of  them  were  enlarged  2,000  diameters. 


April  4,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


1 a 


259 


T 

EMULSIONS  * 

BY  WILLIAM  BELL, 

The  accompanying  formula  for  the  preparation  of  a 
gelatine  emulsion  for  photographic  purposes  are  the  result 
of  several  years  of  constant  study  and  experimentation  on 
the  part  of  the  writer,  and  it  is  believed  that  if  the  details 
of  the  process  are  strictly  carried  out  with  but  an  ordinary 
degree  of  ability,  plates  fully  equal  to  the  best  brands  in 
the  market  can  be  easily  and  uniformly  prepared. 

A mmon  ia  ■ Nit  rate  Em  ul  s ion . 


vS> 


No.  1— - 


| Boiled  water 


No.  2.— 


1 ounce 
a grains 
20  grains 
4 drachms 


No. 


( Iodide  of  ammonium 
C Chloride  of  ammonium 
I Water 

| Acid,  nitric,  a drop  or  two  to  render  the  solution 
{ acid. 

(Nitrate  of  silver  ... 


60 


....... grams 

(Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  4 drachms 


To  the  nitrate  of  silver  dissolved  in  the  water  (No.  8)  add, 
drop  by  drop,  the  solution  of  iodide  of  ammonium  (No.  1), 
until  the  precipitate  of  iodide  of  silver  formed  ceases  to 
dissolve  in  the  solution.  Then  pour  in  the  solution  of 
chloride  of  ammonium  (No.  2),  wash  the  chloride  of  silver 
formed  with  three  separate  waters,  draining  each  time  ; 
then  add  some  pieces  of  broken  glass  to  the  moist  mass, 
and  then  16  grains  of  Nelson’s  No.  2 gelatine,  and  dissolve 
with  gentle  heat  (temp.  90° — 100°).  Shake  well,  and  add 

the  following  solution  : — 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  4 drachms 

Bromide  of  potassium  ...  ...  ...  43  grains 

Liquor  ammonia  ...  ...  ...  4 drachm 

Pour  this  solution  at  one  time  into  the  bottle  containing 
the  melted  gelatine  and  chloride  of  silver ; cork  the 
bottle  to  retain  the  ammonia.  Keep  at  a temperature  of 
90v  for  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes.  Test  the  emulsion  by 
a drop  on  glass,  looking  through  by  transmitted  light  from 
a match  to  see  if  all  reddish  colour  is  gone.  When  this 
has  disappeared,  and  the  emulsion  viewed  by  transmitted 
light  is  greyish  blue  or  green  in  colour,  the  heating  has 
proceeded  far  enough  ; and  then  120  grains  of  Heinrich’s 
gelatine  (previously  softened  in  water,  and  melted  at  a 
temperature  higher  than  90°)  are  added  to  the  emulsion. 
This  is  to  be  well  shaken,  and  then  allowed  to  cool  by 
gelatinizing  it  slowly  upon  the  sides  of  the  bottle.  Let  it 
stand  six  hours,  lte-melt  at  a temperature  of  100°, 
gelatinizing  again  upon  the  bottle.  Allow  to  stand  six 
hours,  and  melt  once  more.  It  is  now  ready  to  be  mixed 
with  the  boiled  acid  emulsion  (see  following  formula). 
Or,  if  the  ammonia  nitrate  formula  is  alone  to  be  used, 
the  melted  emulsion,  as  just  made,  is  to  be  poured  into  a 
dish,  and  allowed  to  cool  and  set ; when  cold,  placed  on  a 
clean  cloth  (mesh  1-80  inch),  squeezed  through,  the 
finely-divided  mass  well  washed,  drained,  and  pressed 
under  weight  to  expel  excess  of  water,  re-melted,  filtered 
through  white  silk,  and  then  coated  on  glass.  The  final 
amount  should  not  be  more  than  three  ounces : if  more, 
then  the  gelatine  lias  absorbed  too  much  water  in  washing  ; 
to  avoid  this,  press  longer.  In  preparing  this  emulsion, 
it  has  been  found  that  the  presence  of  the  bromide,  with 
heat  and  free  ammonia,  favours  the  acid  and  alkaline 
emulsions.  When  the  plates  are  coated,  they  can  be  im- 
mediately passed  through  a small  opening  into  an  adjoining 
room,  kept  at  a uniform  temperature  of  50°,  with  free 
circulation  of  air,  and  dried  either  on  racks  or  on  nails  on 
the  wall,  face  outwards. 

* Read  before  the  Photographic;  Society  of  Philadelphia. 


Glass. — This  should  be  previously  cleaned  by  soaking 
it  in  a mixture  of  equal  parts  of  nitric  acid  and  water, 
well  washed,  dried  on  racks,  polished  with  cuttle-fish  bone 
and  water,  using  a piece  of  well-washed  flannel.  This 
should  be  washed  with  a weak  solution  of  soda,  so  as  to 
remove  any  traces  of  oil  or  grease.  The  plates,  after  being 
dried,  should  be  edged  with  a thick  solution  of  gum  traga- 
canth,  by  means  of  a small  camel’s  hair  brush  tied  to  a 
short  thin  stick,  with  the  end  of  the  stick  projecting  a 
short  distance  so  as  to  act  as  a guide  for  the  brush.  The 
plates  should  then  be  stored  in  the  hot  room  until  wanted. 

Filtering. — If  this  is  done  in  the  hot  room,  it  can  be 
accomplished  by  passing  the  melted  emulsion  through 
absorbent  cotton  ; otherwise  a hot-water  jacket  should  be 
used  for  the  filtering  funnel,  and  the  emulsion  passed 
through  well-washed  white  silk  or  cotton. 


THE  HAVRE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CLUB. 

In  January,  attention  was  invited  in  these  pages  to  the 
circumstance  that  Havre,  and  more  especially  its  adjacent 
town  of  Trouville,  on  the  other  side  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Seine,  offers  attractions  to  those  photographers  who,  when 
they  have  but  three  or  four  days’  leisure,  desire  to  spend 
that  short  time  upon  a foreign  shore.  Among  London 
photographers,  the  popular  landing-place  for  such  a holiday 
has  been  Antwerp  from  time  immemorial ; Brussels, 
Malines,  Ghent,  Bruges,  and  Dinant  being  one  or  more  of 
them  also  visited.  Of  late,  the  stream  of  brief  holiday 
seekers  has  been  slightly  diverted  to  Rotterdam  and  places 
adjacent  thereto.  France  alone,  which  is  nearer  to  our 
shores  than  any  other  foreign  country,  seems  to  have  its 
nearest  seaport  towns  avoided  by  the  greater  throng  of 
English  photographic  tourists,  although  Boulogne-sur-Mer 
is  but  three  hours'  journey  from  London,  is  exceedingly 
picturesquely  situated,  and  presents  to  the  photographer 
that  attraction  which  he  cannot  get  at  watering-places 
near  London — sunsets  at  sea.  The  reason  of  this  disin- 
clination of  the  photographer  to  make  short  photographic 
excursions  to  France  is,  no  doubt,  the  uncertainty  whether 
he  will  not  unintentionally  get  into  trouble  on  the  plea 
that  he  is  taking  pictures  too  near  fortifications,  or  in 
some  way  or  other  coming  into  adverse  contact  with 
F rencli  officialism.  France  is  over-regulated.  The  troubles 
in  which  various  harmless  tourist  photographers  have 
found  themselves  in  France,  through  not  understanding 
local  regulations  and  having  no  means  of  ascertaining 
them  without  losing  half-a-day  in  the  inquiry,  have 
been  from  time  to  time  published  in  the  English  news- 
papers, with  the  result  that  the  feeling  of  “ uncer- 
tainty ” about  having  a spoilt  holiday  induces  others  to  go 
as  usual  to  Belgium,  where  they  know  that  they  will  be 
well  received. 

We  recently  mentioned  the  existence  of  these  deterrent 
influences  to  some  of  the  officers  of  the  Havre  Photo- 
graphic Club.  They  stated  that,  so  far  as  they  knew, 
anyone  could  take  outdoor  photographs  of  the  interior  of 
Havre,  and  they  thought  along  the  beach  also,  but  would 
make  inquiry,  and  send  full  information  on  the  subject. 
The  information  will  be  welcomed,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
they  can  state,  perhaps,  whether  there  are  any  impedi- 
ments to  photography  in  llonfleur,  Trouville,  and  Caen. 
Recently  we  found  none  in  photographing  at  various 
places  on  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Loire,  and  found  the 
people  everywhere  in  that  district  polite  and  exceedingly 
lriendly. 


200 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


M.  Goupil,  honorary  secretary  to  the  Havre  Photo- 
graphic Club  (Photo-Club  Havrals),  sends  us  the  report  of 
its  Committee  of  Administration  about  the  work  of  the 
Club  during  the  year  1889.  The  report  sets  forth  that 
the  I Iavre  Photographic  Club  was  founded  at  a meeting 
held  on  the  13th  of  June,  1889,  and  began  to  exercise  its 
functions  on  July  1st  following.  The  Club  is  composed 
entirely  of  amateur  photographers,  and  has  for  its  object 
the  diffusion  of  the  photographic  art,  and  of  all  its  appli- 
cations. At  the  outset  the  Club  had  twenty-one  members, 
and  a provisional  Committee  of  Administration,  the 
functions  of  which  expired  at  Christmas,  1889.  The 
members  of  the  committee  were: — Mr.  Emile  Rouge, 
president;  Dr.  Perrichet,  vice-president;  Mr.  David, 
treasurer;  Mr.  Acher,  assistant  treasurer;  Mr.  Albert 
Goupil,  secretary ; Mr.  P.  de  Jonckheere,  assistant 
secretary  ; and  Mr.  Soret,  librarian.  The  premises  of  the 
Club  were  and  are  at  27,  Rue  de  Normandie,  and  had 
been  previously  occupied  by  a photographer  : the  house 
has  a salon  suitable  for  meetings,  a studio,  and  a laboratory ; 
adjoining  it  is  a large  garden. 

Messrs.  Fleury  Hermagis  presented  the  Club  at  the 
outset  with  an  excellent  portrait  lens  three  inches  in 
diameter,  and  Mr.  Mackensteiu  presented  it  a well-made 
camera.  Mr.  David,  its  treasurer,  presented  to  it  a 
picturesque  background,  and  the  Club  bought  a plain  one.  ! 
The  studio  is  appreciated  by  the  members,  as  most  of  them 
would  have  had  difficulty  in  fitting  up  anything  of  the 
same  kind  at  home. 

The  Club  has  three  classes  of  members,  namely,  active,  I 
corresponding,  and  honorary.  The  active  members  pay 
an  entrance  fee  of  ten  francs,  and  an  annual  fee  of  thirty- 
six  francs.  The  corresponding  members  pay  fifteen  francs 
a year.  The  fee  paid  by  each  honorary  member  is  not 
limited,  but  should  not  be  less  than  ten  francs  a year. 
The  honorary  members  have  the  right  to  a certain  number 
of  proofs,  selected  fromamong  those  exhibited  by  the  Club,  j 

The  Club  has  developed  rapidly.  At  the  end  of  1889 
the  number  of  its  active  members  was  39,  of  its  corres- 
ponding members  4,  and  of  its  honorary  members  68 — 
total  111.  At  a meeting  of  the  Club  held  Dec.  20th,  1889, 
the  following  officers  were  appointed  for  the  year  1890  : — 
Dr.  Perrichet,  president ; M.  David,  vice-president ; 
M.  P.  de  Jonckheere,  treasurer  ; M.  L.  Poupel,  assistant 
treasurer ; M.  Albert  Goupil,  secretary ; M.  Dorey, 
assistant  secretary;  and  M.  Soret,  librarian.  The  Havre 
Photographic  Club  is  prospering  financially,  notwithstand- 
ing the  expenses  of  starting  it.  The  Club  had  a public 
exhibition  in  Havre  of  the  work  of  its  members,  which 
exhibition  was  open  from  Dec.  21st  to  Jan  5th  last,  in  the 
Passage  Bernardin  de  St.  Pierre  ; the  premises  had  been 
kindly  lent  for  the  purpose  by  M.  Pellot  The  exhibition 
was  highly  popular,  and  sometimes  visited  by  more  than 
1,300  persons  in  a day. 

At  several  meetings  of  the  Club  experiments  have  been 
made  which  have  a bearing  upon  points  in  theoretical 
photography.  M.  Soret  has  made  some  experimental 
investigations  in  relation  to  the  photographing  of  the 
electric  spark.  Several  photographic  excursions  have 
been  made  by  the  Club,  but  all  of  them  limited  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Havre.  During  the  early  part  of  the 
present  year  a course  of  lectures  on  practical  photo- 
graphy is  being  given  every  other  Sunday,  from  ten  o’clock 
until  midday,  in  the  rooms  of  the  Club,  and  it  is  expected 
that  these  lectures  will  considerably  augment  the  number 
of  its  members. 


[April  4.  1890. 


EXTRAORDINARY  ASSERTIONS. 

A circular  has  been  handed  to  us  entitled,  “The  New 
Colour  Process  in  Photography,”  purporting  to  contain  matter 
reprinted  from  Brighton  Society  of  Saturday,  August  31st, 
1889,  as  follows  : — 

“ Plain  photography  has  made  rapid  advances  within  the  last 
few  years,  and  many  efforts  have  been  made  by  the  photo- 
graphic scientist,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  to  produce  a com- 
bination of  the  chemical  action  of  light  upon  the  plate  and  the 
colour  vibrations  that  will  suit  the  light  and  shade  of  the  image. 
Further,  the  aim  of  experimenters  has  been  to  produce  these 
colour  effects  upon  the  negative  alone,  but  not  with  much  suc- 
cess. Professor  Ives,  of  Philadelphia,  has  laboured  for  years  in 
this  direction,  but  he  has  been  obliged  to  confess  that  the 
results  are  evanescent.  I have,  therefore,  much  pleasure  in 
drawing  attention  to  the  discovery  of  the  new  colour  process  in 
photography  which  has  been  made  by  Mr.  J.  E.  Mayall,  beauti- 
ful specimens  of  which  maybe  inspected  at  his  studio,  43,  Can- 
non Place,  Brighton. 

“ He  has  started  on  a new  basis.  Aided  by  spectrum  analy- 
sis, he  has  produced  a film  which  registers  every  vibration  of 
light  from  the  deepest  red  and  green  through  the  whole  gamut 
of  the  spectrum  to  the  violet  and  grey  rays  of  Sir  John  Her- 
schel.  When  this  film  is  looked  ui>on  at  an  angle,  the  vibra- 
tions of  light  can  actually  be  seen  on  the  negative.  In  the 
process  of  completing  the  photograph  these  vibrations  are  trans- 
ferred to  the  positive  film,  which  registers  with  great  accuracy 
the  vibrations  of  the  image.  Thus  he  has  sub-divided  the  sub- 
ject into  negative  and  positive  photography,  and  by  applying 
highly  attenuated  forms  of  colour  to  the  delicate  vibrations 
which  the  light  has  made — and  which  colours  assimilate  them- 
selves to  the  image — he  has  succeeded  in  producing  a picture 
in  which  the  lights  and  shades  of  the  original  are  brought  out 
with  an  accuracy  unapproachable  by  any  other  method.  The 
colours  are  attenuated  to  the  180,000th  part  of  a grain,  and 
are  sufficiently  transparent  to  fill  up  the  interstices  of  the  por- 
trait which  the  light  has  made.  Professor  Owen,  who  has 
inspected  Mr.  Mayall’s  new  process,  says  : — 1 It  suggests  the 
conditions  whereby  the  thousandfold  varieties  of  colours  are 
selected  by  flowers.  I gaze  upon  my  garden  as  if  I had  a new 
sense.  Those  conditions  had  never  been  the  subject  of  a 
thought  when  I entered  with  my  neighbour  Chadwick  your 
studio.  But  when  I received  evidence  of  the  process  by  which 
not  only  forms,  lights,  shades,  but  also  tints,  in  finest  grada- 
tions, had  been  secured  in  the  photograph  before  me — a second 
self-living  and  gazing  at  me — I began  to  feel  that  you  were 
leading  the  way  to  a cognition  of  the  subtle  modus  opcrandi  to 
which  we  are  indebted  for  the  countless  lieauties  of  feathers, 
scales  (of  butterflies),  and  flowers  that  adorn  our  world.’ 
Amongst  the  specimens  I have  seen  at  Mr.  Mayall's  studio,  and 
which  it  should  be  mentioned  are  produced  in  a few  minutes, 
are  several  which  exhibit  all  the  delicacy  and  finish  of  a high- 
class  miniature  by  Cosway. 

“ Mr.  Mayall  jxissesses  many  high  testimonials  to  the  im- 
portance of  his  discovery,  besides  that  referred  to  above  by 
Professor  Owen.  Among  them  is  one  by  Dr.  Thudicum,  the 
organic  analyst  to  the  Government.  Mr.  \V.  H.  \Y alien,  the 
expert  in  the  Patents  Office,  having  made  an  elaborate  and 
exhaustive  report  upon  Mr.  Mayall’s  new  process,  says,  ‘ The 
conclusion  at  which  I gladly  arrive  is  that  Mr.  Mayall’s  process 
is  the  most  jierfect  of  its  kind,  both  in  regard  to  its  i»erfection 
of  optical  form,  its  selection  of  the  precise  colour  of  the  sitter, 
and  its  permaneucy.’  A good  deal  of  Mr.  Mayall’s  success  in 
the  production  of  this  new  artistic  process  lies  in  the  fact  that 
he  has  discovered  the  way  to  help  Nature,  and  that  l>eing  so, 
there  can  scarcely  lie  a doubt  that  the  result  being  so  beauti- 
fully effective,  it  will  soon  supersede  every  other  method  of 
j colouring.” 

One  would  like  to  be  informed  if  the  writer  of  the  foregoing 
knows  anything  about  light  or  photography,  and  if  so,  whether 
he  or  anyone  else  will  show  the  vibrations  on  the  negative  of 
which  he  speaks  at  a meeting  of  the  Photographic  Society  ; 
, also  the  production  of  a positive  image  by  the  transference  of 
1 the  said  vibrations,  as  stated. 


Aruii.  4,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


201 


WITH  THE  LUSHAI  FIELD  FORCE.* 

DY  T.  D.  LATOl'CHE. 

Leaving  the  Kurnafuli,  with  the  dolcc  fur  niente  of  its 
dugouts,  at  Demagiri,  and  following  a bridle-path  made  by 
the  expedition  of  last  year,  we  plunge  at  once  into  jungle 
as  dense  as  any  to  be  found  in  India.  How  the  engineers 
managed  to  find  their  way  through  it  is  astonishing,  con- 
sidering they  were  seldom  able  to  see  more  than  a few 
yards  ahead,  and  the  hills  are  cut  up  by  innumerable 
ravines  in  bewildering  fashion.  For  the  greater  part  of 
the  distance  to  Fort  Lungleh,  forty-three  miles,  there  was 
not  a vestige  of  a former  path.  The  immense  trees,  with 
hundreds  of  huge  creepers  hanging  in  festoons  from  one 
to  the  other  in  wild  confusion,  with  the  path  winding 
beneath  them,  present  one  with  pictures  of  great  beauty  at 
every  turn,  but  it  is  impossible  to  transfer  these  to  the 
camera,  at  any  rate  to  a detective,  as  the  dense  canopy  of 
leaves  overhead  shuts  out  the  greater  part  of  the  light,  and 
an  instantaneous  exposure  results  in  a blank  plate,  or  one 
showing  the  faintest  possible  image.  Moreover,  one  view 
of  such  jungle  is  so  like  another,  though  all  are  beautiful, 
that  it  requires  something  of  the  human  element  to  make 
such  a scene  interesting  enough  for  a picture,  and  it  is 
only  where  one  can  bring  in  a string  of  coolies  or  mules  on 
the  march,  or  a camp  with  its  background  of  trees,  or  a 
stream  crossed  by  a bamboo  bridge,  that  one  feels  inclined 
to  bring  the  camera  into  play.  Such  scenes  are  not  want- 
ing on  a march  like  the  present,  but  at  ordinary  times  the 
main  attribute  of  the  jungle  is  its  vast  loneliness,  and  silence 
too,  for  it  is  surprising  how  few  signs  of  animal  life,  even 
of  birds,  one  can  detect. 

Fort  Lungleh  is  built  on  a narrow  ridge  at  an  elevation 
of  :l,500  feet  above  the  sea,  near  the  site  of  an  old  Lushai 
village,  Saipuya’s.  It  is  surrounded  by  a stockade  of 
upright  timbers,  within  which  the  huts  occupied  by  the 
force  of  the  Frontier  Police,  who  garrisoned  it  during  the 
last  rainy  season,  make  a picturesque  group,  but  its 
cramped  position  renders  it  difficult  to  get  a good  view  of 
the  whole  work.  There  is  a magnificent  view  to  the  north 
down  the  valley  of  the  Dullesarv  or  Klong  river,  and  to 
the  east,  in  which  direction  lies  the  goal  of  our  hopes,  the 
village  of  Ilaka.  which  a column  from  Burma  is  also  mak- 
ing for.  Hills  piled  on  hills  in  endless  confusion  make 
up  the  view,  all  covered  with  a uniform  expanse  of  dark- 
green  jungle,  amid  which  patches  of  brighter  green  show 
where  the  ground  has  been  4i  jhiimed,”  or  cleared  for  cul- 
tivation in  former  years,  these  patches  being  now  covered 
with  a dense  growth  of  bamboos.  A few  brown  patches 
also  show  where  the  forest  is  being  cut  down  for  this  year's 
cultivation,  and,  with  a good  glass,  near  these  a villager 
can  generally  be  discerned.  The  large,  neatly-built  bamboo 
huts,  supported  on  piles,  like  most  of  the  hill  villages  of 
Assam,  stand  well  out  from  the  surrounding  jungles. 
Most  of  those  in  sight  belong  to  so-called  friendly  villagers, 
to  whose  friendship,  however,  it  would  not  be  well  to 
trust  in  most  instances  without  an  escort  at  one’s  back. 
But  some  of  those  near  Lungleh  have  shown  their  sincerity 
by  assisting  in  cutting  a road  through  the  jungle  to  the 
north,  prompted  no  doubt  by  self-interest,  as  the  chief 
Lieupunga,  whose  village  lies  in  that  direction,  is  almost 
as  much  an  enemy  of  theirs  as  of  the  British. 

1 accompanied  a reconnaissance  party  sent  out  to  inspect 
this  path,  which  we  found  was  cut  along  the  banks  of  the 

From  the  March  number  of  the  Journal  of  the  Photographic  Society 
of  India, 


Klong  river,  flowing  due  north  towards  C'achar,  where  it 
goes  by  the  name  of  the  Dullesary.  For  two  marches  we 
were  able  to  use  bamboo  rafts,  and  numerous  were  the 
pretty  views  which  we  came  across  as  we  rounded  bend 
after  bend  of  the  river.  Some  of  these,  when  a raft  or  a 
string  of  coolies  fording  the  river  could  be  brought  into 
the  picture,  were  duly  transferred  to  the  camera,  also  a 
“jhiim”  hut,  in  which  we  spent  a night,  and  a group  of 
friendly  Kuki  chiefs,  who  came  down  to  interview  their 
friend,  Mr.  Murray,  our  popular  political  officer.  Al- 
together we  were  away  from  Lungleh  for  eight  days,  and 
had  a very  pleasant  time. 

After  a long  delay  at  Fort  Lungleh,  waiting  until  a 
sufficient  length  of  the  road  ahead  should  be  completed  to 
make  it  worth  while  to  move  on,  I came  on  as  far  as  the 
camp  I am  writing  from,  which  is  about  twenty  miles  from 
the  Fort,  and  situated  on  the  Mat  river,  a fair-sized  stream 
which  joins  the  Koladync  some  miles  below.  Here  there 
is  some  good  fishing  to  be  had.  or  rather  was,  for,  after  the 
first  few  days,  when  the  bag  included  a 20  and  a 1 7-pounder, 
the  fish  have  unaccountably  stopped  running,  and  not  even 
the  most  artfully  thrown  spoon  will  now  induce  them  to 
leave  the  depths  of  the  pools  they  live  in.  The  scenery 
on  this  river  is  very  fine,  the  hills  being  more  precipitous 
and  rocky  than  those  on  the  Klong,  and  there  is  plenty  of 
work  for  the  camera  along  its  banks. 

Since  coming  up  here  1 have  seen  two  other  forms  of 
the  detective  cameras  belonging  to  officers  of  the  expedi- 
tion. One  of  these  is  the  Kodak,  which  is  no  doubt  a 
handy  little  instrument,  and  if  the  paper  it  contains  could 
be  depended  on,  would  be  a capital  sort  of  camera  to  carry 
with  one  where  every  extra  ounce  of  baggage  has  to  be 
considered ; but,  on  development,  none  of  the  pictures 
taken  with  this  one  were  entirely  successful ; in  fact,  it  was 
difficult  in  some  cases  to  make  out  what  the  picture  was 
meant  for,  and  the  paper  showed  the  same  whitish  blotches 
that  1 described  in  a letter  written  to  the  journal  some  time 
ago  concerning  paper  negatives.  The  other  camera  is  one 
of  those  circular  “ secret  ” affairs,  which  take  six  small 
pictures  in  succession  on  a round  plate;  I developed  one 
or  two  of  these  for  the^owner  of  the  camera,  but  though 
the  image  came  out  fairly  well  in  some  cases,  the  plates 
frilled  so  badly  that  they  were  of  no  use  whatever.  On 
the  whole,  I think  that  an  ordinary  detective,  in  which 
plates  of  an  admittedly  good  description  can  be  used,  is 
the  best  to  take  on  an  expedition  of  this  kind,  and  I am 
well  satisfied  with  the  performance  of  my  “ Optimus." 
By  the  way,  I see  that  Messrs,  l’erken  and  Rayment  have 
brought  out  another  form  of  this  camera,  in  which  there  is 
an  arrangement  for  bringing  each  plate  into  position  for 
exposure  without  opening  the  camera,  but  it  seems  to  me 
from  the  diagram  given  with  the  advertisement  that  it 
must  add  considerably  to  the  bulk  of  the  camera.  Can 
any  reader  of  the  journal  speak  from  personal  experience 
of  the  performance  of  this  new  form,  and  if  so.  will  he,  of 
his  kindness,  publish  his  opinion  of  it  ? 

Camp  Mat  Hirer,  10/7#  February , 1890. 


Thk  Library  Catalogue  for  1890  of  the  Photographic 
Society  of  Philadelphia  is  to  hand.  The  introductory  notice 
says  that  “a  noteworthy  feature  in  the  Library  is  the  number 
of  complete  sets  of  journals,  dating  from  the  earliest  days 
of  the  art  down  to  the  present  time.  Although  separate  text- 
books of  the  various  branches  of  photographic  science  are  not 
wanting  in  the  Society’s  collection,  the  journals — which  detail 
the  progress  of  the  art  from  day  to  day — still  remain  the  most 
useful  sources  of  information,” 


262 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  4,  I860. 


jaotcgi. 

Photographers  who  make  a speciality  of  copying 1 
pictures  have  been  excessively  busy  during  the  past 
fortnight,  and  will  continue  to  be  so  until  “ sending-in 
day.”  Indeed,  it  is  said  such  is  the  desire  for  artists 
to  have  their  pictures  photographed,  that  work  has  been 
turned  away.  No  doubt  the  fashion  of  illustrated  cata- 
logues has  led  to  this  rush  of  business.  Unquestion- 
ably artists  are  immensely  the  gainers  by  the  publica- 
tion of  copies  of  their  exhibited  pictures,  and  they  are 
now  not  contented  with  the  sketch  notes  made  by  them- 
selves— which  were  once  considered  sufficient — but 
prefer  to  have  the  originals  photographed  and  reproduced 
by  the  Meisenbach  or  some  analogous  process.  Their 
practice,  however,  of  delaying  the  completion  of  their 
works  until  the  very  last  moment  rather  hampers  the  , 
photographer,  who  finds  himself  inundated  with  com- 1 
missions  which  he  is  unable  to  execute  in  the  limits  of 
time  allowed.  Very  few — if  any — artists  who  arc  also 
photographers  photograph  their  own  pictures.  As 
eveiyone  knows,  copying  with  the  camera  is  a special 
study  in  itself,  and  a study  which  requires  infinite 
judgment  and  knowledge  of  the  relative  value  of  tints. 

Apropos  of  the  illustrated  catalogues,  the  majority  of 
the  artists  make  no  charge,  and  make  no  objection  to 
copies  of  their  pictures  appearing.  One  or  two,  on  the 
other  hand,  take  a keener  view  of  the  matter,  and 
stipulate  for  a fee.  We  do  not  see  why  they  should 
not.  Though  the  illustration  may  benefit  the  artist 
from  an  advertising  point  of  view,  the  publication  of 
an  illustrated  catalogue  is  purely  a business  affair,  and, 
we  presume,  is  not  run  for  the  benefit  of  the  artist,  but 
for  the  benefit  of  the  publisher.  Why,  then,  should  the 
latter  not  pay  for  his  material?  Of  course,  in  fixing 
the  price,  the  value  of  the  picture  to  the  artist  as  an 
advertisement  would  be  taken  into  account. 


“ The  “ International  Cyclorama,”  the  title  of  a 
species  of  enteitaiument  now  being  given  in  London, 
seems  to  indicate  a revival  of  the  stereoscope,  which 
for  some  years  has  fallen  into  disfavour  so  unaccountably. 
To  see  the  “ Cyclorama,”  the  visitor  seats  himself  in 
a chair,  and  looks  through  a pair  of  lenses  fixed  in 
a large  circular  cabinet.  A series  of  instantaneous 
views  then  passes  before  his  eyes,  sufficient  time  being 
given  to  enable  him  to  thoroughly  take  in  the  points 
of  the  pictures.  The  pictures  now  on  view  illustrate 
the  scenery  of  the  1th ine,  and  the  Paris  Exhibition, 
and  it  is  intended  from  time  to  time  to  replace  them 
by  other  scries  illustrating  other  European  countries. 

Taking  snap  shots  with  an  instantaneous  dotectivc 
camera  is  very  much  like  shooting  a bird  on  the  wing. 
We  are  inclined  to  think  that  dependence  on  “ finders  ” 
is  of  not  much  use,  and  that  to  be  successful  in 
“ shooting  folly  as  it  Hies,”  one  must  get  accustomed  to 
act  almost  by  instinct.  A good  instantaneous  photo- 
grapher is  more  likely  to  be  born  than  made.  A 
writer  iu  a sporting  magazine,  relating  his  experience 


in  shooting,  somewhat  bears  out  the  theory.  When  he 
commenced  trap  shooting  he  “ thought  it  was  neces- 
sary to  lay  my  cheek  down  on  the  gun  stock  and  screw 
around  until  I got  my  eye  and  the  sight  iu  a line  with 
the  object.”  The  result  was  that  he  was  more  often 
at  the  foot  than  at  the  head  of  the  class.  Then  he 
got  reckless  and  fired  without  taking  all  this  trouble. 
To  his  surprise  he  smashed  the  glass  ball  at  which  lie 
fired,  and  having  got  hold  of  the  idea,  he  afterwards 
seldom  saw  the  sight  or  even  the  gun  when  he  pulled 
the  trigger,  and  his  success  was  surprising.  Applying 
the  same  plan  to  field  shooting,  he  found  it  succeeded. 
“ Of  course,”  he  remarks,  “ allowance  must  be  made  for 
birds  crossing,  rising,  or  falling,  but  that  is  instinctive, 
and  seldom  thought  of  by  our  most  successful  shots. 
Indeed,  thinking  has  little  to  do  with  it.  If  it  had, 
one’s  bird  would  be  out  of  range  before  he  could  collect 
his  thoughts.”  This  puts  the  matter  on  all  fours  with 
instantaneous  photography.  The  action  of  exposure 
must  be  simultaneous  with  the  sight,  or  the  much 
desired  picture  disappears. 

The  possibility  of  photographing  a horse  race  at  the 
winning  post  has  often  been  talked  about.  The  new 
racing  club  at  Hurst  Park,  shortly  to  be  opened,  intends 
to  try  the  thing  practically.  A new  “patent  camera  ” is 
spoken  of,  with  which  it  is  proposed  to  take  instan- 
taneously the  “ finishes,”  while  additional  instruments 
will  be  also  stationed  at  various  jumps  on  the  course. 
So  enthusiastic  arc  the  believers  in  this  “ patent 
camera,”  that  a syndicate  of  well-known  persons  has 
been  formed  to  work  it  commercially. 

The  attention  ■which  Mr.  Herbert  Marshall’s  studies 
of  London  are  exciting  shows  how  attractive  and 
popular  are  pictures  of  life  in  the  great  metropolis. 
The  camera  has  been  employed  times  out  of  number, 
but  although  photographs  admirable  in  execution  and 
artistic  in  arrangement  have  been  taken,  these  are  very 
few  compared  with  the  great  mass  of  mediocrities.  To 
render  London  properly  requires  much  patience  and  a 
good  deal  of  luck.  It  is  so  rare  that  the  traffic  takes 
the  exact  disposition  necessary  for  a well-balanced 
picture.  The  murky  atmosphere,  even  on  sunny  days, 
very  frequently  spoils  all  the  photographer’s  efforts. 
We  believe  that  the  proprietors  of  one  of  the  illustrated 
papers  some  time  ago  contemplated  a series  of  repro- 
ductions from  photographs,  but  gave  up  the  attempt 
because  they  did  not  come  up  to  their  idea  of 
what  constituted  an  artistic  picture.  London  has  yet  to 
be  photographed . II  itherto  it  has  not  had  j ustice  done. 

Photography  appears  to  great  advantage  in  connection 
with  some  experiments  made  on  the  Continent  with 
smokeless  powder.  To  show  the  difference  between 
a volley  fired  with  the  ordinary  powder,  and  the  new 
variety,  photographs  were  taken  at  the  moment  the 
commander  gave  the  order  to  “ fire.”  In  the  case  of 
the  first  named,  a thick,  black  cloud  is  represented, 
through  which  the  gunners  are  barely  perceptible, 
while,  in  the  second  case,  only  a thin  haze  is  noticeable. 


Abkil  4,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


263 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  FLORENCE. 

The  Camera  Oscnra  or  Monthly  Review  of  the  Progress  of 
Photography,  which  is  published  at  Prato,  near  Florence, 
under  the  able  supervision  of  Professor  L Borlinetto, 
with  the  calloboration  of  Professors  L.  Mei),  l’iccioli.  A. 
Rossi,  (i.  Jankovick,  1).  Ratti,  L.  Ciardelli,  Sac.  Sobacchi, 
1).  Leuzi,  Danesi,  G.  Glisante,  Dr.  L.  Gioppi,  and  its 
energetic  editor  Genuano  Salvi,  is  now  entering  its 
eighth  year  of  life.  No  Italian  photographic  journal 
born  in  Italy  can  boast  of  an  equally  long  existence. 
It  has  not,  indeed,  escaped  the  sickness  and  various 
maladies  which  infest,  unfortunately,  adolescence.  There 
have  been  times — disastrous  epochs,  says  its  editor — 
when  this  journal  has  seemed  to  be  threatened  with  the 
adverse  fates  of  the  family  of  Saturn.  It  has  on  some 
evil  days  presented  the  appearance  of  a child  desiring 
to  devour  its  own  progenitors,  but  such  an  accursed 
hunger  and  infuriate  longing  has  been  happily  stilled 
without  any  sacrifice  of  artistic  life  ; and  the  Camera 
Oscura,  with  its  mystic  motto  taken  from  the  pages  of 
G.  B.  Porta.  . . Ex  qua  maxima  naturae  si  nobis 

iUucesccre  possant,  still  lives,  and  is  doing  well.  Resistance 
at  every  cost  is,  we  are  told,  the  motto  blazoned  on  its 
ancient  banner,  and  this  motto  the  editor  is  determined 
to  Haunt  in  the  face  of  adversity,  and  to  maintain  in  its 
full  significance,  undeterred  by  any  expense  and  undis- 
mayed by  any  sacrifice.  As  a handsel  of  this  heroic 
sentiment  the  readers  of  the  Camera  Oscura  arc  pro- 
mised a carbon  photograph  with  the  signature  of  the 
illustrious  Italian  statesman  Quintino  Sella,  the  work  of 
Luigi  Luzzati,  a name  well  known  in  Italy  and  elsewhere. 

The  present  number  of  the  Camera  opens  with  an 
article  by  Bettiui  on  a subject  of  great  interest  to  every 
professional  photographer— the  artistic  property  in  photo- 
graphic works. 

A committee,  it  appears,  was  formed  in  Italy  in  the 
year  1855,  under  the  able  presidency  of  Carlo  Brogi,  of 
Florence,  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  from  the  Government 
some  legislative  disposition  for  the  legal  protection  of 
works  of  photography.  After  much  expenditure  of  time 
and  labour,  a letter  was  received  by  the  committee  from 
the  Minister  of  Agriculture,  Industry,  and  Commerce,  to 
the  effect  that  as  the  law  with  regard  to  intellectual  labours 
included  those  of  photography,  any  new  legislation  was  j 
inexpedient  and  unnecessary.  Like  other  artistic  works, 
such  as  painting  and  sculpture,  photography  deserved  to 
be,  and  was,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Minister,  under  the  ! 
tutelary  aegis  of  the  law.  Like  painters,  photographers  1 
also  had  their  exclusive  rights  to  publish  and  to  reproduce. 
The  only  difficulty  was  to  distinguish  counterfeit  or 
imitations  where  several  photographers  possessed  a copy 
of  the  same  monument,  statue,  or  picture. 

This,  however,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Minister,  was  a 
question  rather  of  a juridical  than  of  an  administrative 
nature.  A competent  jury  well  acquainted  with  photo- 
graphic details  would,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  have  amply 
sufficient  data  to  pronounce  their  verdict  as  to  whether 
any  given  photograph  was  or  was  not  a counterfeit  or 
imitation.  In  fine,  the  Minister  assured  the  President  of 
the  ( ommittee  that  he  had  determined  to  admit  registra- 
tion in  the  case  of  photography  for  the  preservation  of  the 
authors  rights,  whether  in  the  matter  of  original  works,  or 
of  photographic  reproductions. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  Signor  llettini  declares  that 
arbitrary  reproductions  aud  counterfeits  are  as  frequent  as 


ever,  lie  utters  loud  lamentations.  But  if  it  be  any 
consolation  to  him  to  have  companions  in  misfortune,  he 
has  many.  It  is  not  in  Italy  alone  that  proprietors,  as  he 
complains,  of  leading  photographic  establishments  con- 
descend to  reproduce  the  work  of  others  solely  for  the  sake 
of  illicit  profit.  And  indeed  it  is  time,  as  he  affirms,  to 
put  a stop  to  such  abuses  and  infractions  of  the  law.  .Men 
who  are  capable  of  such  dishonesty  should,  says  Signor 
Bettini,  not  only  be  denounced  at  the  bar  of  public  opinion, 
but  also  legal  proceedings  should  be  taken  .against  them 
under  the  statute  which  covers  with  its  protecting  shield 
all  intellectual  arts  and  labours,  among  which  photography, 
as  has  been  already  shown,  is  to  be  numbered. 

'The  next  article  in  the  Camera  is  the  continuation  of 
an  instructive  communication  on  Instantaneous  Photo- 
graphy, giving  practical  rules  about  its  expedition,  rules 
which  arc  at  the  same  time  exceedingly  simple,  and  would, 
if  borne  well  in  mind,  prevent  the  occurrence  in  the 
photographic  laboratory  of  many  vexatious  mistakes. 
They  all  rest  on  mathematical  considerations,  by  which 
their  exactitude  may  be  verified.  The  concluding  article 
in  this  number  treats  of  the  Development  of  Latent  Images. 


A WRITING  INK  PRINTING  PROCESS. 

I1Y  GENKKAI,  JOSEPH  li.  BliOW.W 
In  looking  over  my  note-book  to  find  some  subject  in 
order  to  comply  with  your  request  for  an  article,  I came 
upon  the  appended  particulars,  which,  you  will  see,  were 
written  for  publication  quite  ten  years  ago.  As  I was  not 
quite  satisfied  that  I might  not  still  farther  perfect  the 
process,  or  at  least  render  the  manipulations  so  exact  as  to 
ensure  uniform  and  constant  results,  I deferred  making  it 
public  till  I had  further  leisure  for  working  it.  But  cir- 
cumstances prevented  my  ever  taking  it  up  again,  till  it 
was,  in  the  pressure  of  other  duty,  absolutely  forgotten. 
But  when  I found  in  an  old  portfolio  some  of  the  prints 
then  made  by  the  process  so  well  preserved,  and  so 
superior  to  any  specimens  which  I have  ever  seen  resulting 
from  the  attempt  to  get  black  tones  from  “ blue  pictures,” 
or  to  tone  or  dye  the  faint  but  beautiful  prints  upon  plain 
bichromated  papers,  I have  thought  that  this  process 
deserves  some  attention  and  may  be  of  interest,  or  possibly 
lead  to  a popular  process.  Samples  of  the  prints  then 
made  I enclose.  Remember,  these  prints  were  made  ten 
years  ago,  and  though  “ink  pictures,”  they  were  but 
slightly  deteriorated  in  tone— a slight  treatment  with  a 
weak  gallic  acid  solution  has  brought  them  up  to  their 
original  strength,  and  1 see  no  reason  why  they  should  not, 
even  after  the  lapse  of  fifty  years,  be  restored  in  the  same 
manner  should  they  become  faded,  which  is  more  than  can 
be  said  of  any  silver  print. 

I intend,  at  my  earliest  leisure,  to  work  at  this  process, 
according  to  my  original  idea,  till  I can  ensure  exact 
results,  for  as  you  will  see  by  an  examination  of  the  prints 
enclosed,  the  effect  is  due  to  the  action  of  light  in  render- 
ing the  chromated  albumen  insoluble  the  same  as  in  pig- 
mented gelatine  in  the  carbon  print,  and  of  course  it  is 
liable  to  the  same  mishaps  of  over-exposure,  rendering 
the  whole  insoluble,  or  of  under-exposure  when  the 
carbonate  of  soda  would  remove  everything,  instead  of 
producing  the  proper  gradation  to  receive  the  required 
degree  of  staining  or  dyeing. 

I remember  that  I had  the  best  results  from  the  use  of 
a weak  solution  of  gallic  acid  and  a prolonged  development 
j in  the  iron  bath. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  4,  1890. 


2(54 


Since  Mr.  Mungo  Ponton,  in  1889  or  1888,  published 
the  method  of  producing  photographic  prints  by  exposing 
papers  coated  with  bichromate  of  potash  under  a nega- 
tive to  the  action  of  the  light,  experimenters  have  never 
ceased  their  endeavours  to  render  this  agent  the  basis 
of  some  process  by  which  it  could  be  made  to  take  the 
place  of  the  salts  of  silver  for  positive  prints.  Its 
extreme  solubility  in  plain  water,  by  which  the  portions 
unacted  upon  by  light  can  be  so  perfectly  removed 
from  the  paper,  is  its  immense  advantage,  since  the 
silver  salts  require  a special  solvent,  which  itself  is 
difficult  to  remove  from  the  paper  after  it  has  done  the 
like  office  for  the  silver,  and  which  is  unquestionably  one 
of  the  chief  causes  of  the  want  of  permanence  of  silver 
prints.  The  process  of  Mr.  Ponton  gives  but  feeble 
images,  and  though  most  beautiful  for  their  minuteness  of 
detail  and  exquisite  gradation,  are  of  no  practical  value  as 
pictures. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  Mr.  J.  Perry,  an  English  gentle- 
man, thought  he  had  accomplished  the  business,  and 
patented  his  process,  which  was  exceedingly  ingenious, 
and  made  use  of  some  very  interesting  chemical  reactions. 
Ilis  process  was  this,  briefly : — After  the  original  bichro- 
mate print  was  thoroughly  washed,  it  was  placed  in  a 
solution  of  protosulphate  of  iron,  and  then,  after  washing, 
was  treated  with  gallic  acid  solution,  which  developed  an 
“ink  picture."  It  was  found  impossible  in  practice,  how- 
ever, to  preserve  the  purity  of  the  whites  of  the  picture, 
or  to  prevent  the  paper  from  being  irregularly  stained, 
and  the  tone  of  the  “ink  picture”  was  also  far  from 
agreeable. 

Innumerable  attempts  have  since  that  time  been  made 
by  French,  German,  and  English  experimenters  to  over- 
come these  defects  without  success,  till  this  process  and  its 
allies  have  been  wholly  abandoned. 

The  “Foxtype”  was  patented,  depending  upon  the 
reaction  of  aniline  upon  oxide  of  chromium,  but  it  would 
not  give  half-tones,  and  was  only  suitable  for  map  repro- 
ductions ami  line  work,  such  as  the  multiplication  of 
plans.  After  the  fact  that  bichromated  gelatine  is  made 
insoluble  by  the  action  of  light  was  known,  and  the 
“ carbon  print  ” was  gradually  brought  to  perfection, 
the  use  of  the  bichromates  as  printing  agents  was  wholly 
given  up,  except  in  connection  with  some  form  of 
gelatine  and  pigment  printing. 

I find,  however,  in  the  Photographic  News  (British) 
of  October  7th,  1876,  a communication  from  the  govern- 
ment photographer  in  Madras,  India,  describing  a process 
for  developing  bichromate  and  gelatine  prints,  without 
pigment,  bv  means  of  protosulphate  of  iron  and  pyrogallic 
acid,  in  which  he  claims  to  have  succeeded  in  preserving 
the  purity  of  the  whites  by  glacial,  acetic,  and  citric 
acids.  This  claim,  however,  proved  fallacious  in  the 
hands  of  others. 

Mr.  Wharton  Simpson,  in  an  editorial,  recapitulates 
these  failures  above-mentioned,  as  well  as  his  own,  and 
suggests  that  the  only  method  by  which  the  staining  of 
the  paper  can  be  prevented  would  be  to  combine  the 
process  of  dyeing,  or  developing,  with  single  or  double 
transfer,  as  in  -Mr.  Swan’s  carbon  process,  suggesting 
logwood  infusion  as  a promising  agent  for  effecting  the 
dyeing  of  the  chromic  image.  No  success  has  met  this 
plan,  it  is  evident,  for  nothing  has  been  heard  of  it  since 
that  time. 

In  the  last  number  of  the  Scovil  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany’s Photographic  Times  (.January,  1890),  a very  pleasantly 


written  article  appears,  by  a gentleman  who  calls  attention 
to  “an  unrecognized  bichromate  process,"  describing  the 
old  patented  process  of  Mr.  .1.  Perry,  and  speaks  of  it 
as  “my  process"!  It  is  undoubtedly  a most  interest- 
ing adaptation  of  a well-known  chemical  reaction,  from 
the  cheapness  of  the  salts  used  a great  acquisition,  and. 
if  it  could  be  freed  from  its  apparently  inherent  defects, 
would  be  likely  to  supplant,  for  many  purposes,  the 
silver  print.  Its  permanence  is  quite  certain. 

The  platinotype  process  of  Mr.  Willis  displays  reactions 
of  great  beauty,  and  is,  doubtless,  all  that  its  inventor 
and  advocates  claim,  but  it  requires  rare  and  expensive 
chemicals,  and  cannot  be  easily  extemporaneously  prepared 
by  the  average  operator;  it  entails  much  extra  trouble  in 
preparing  and  using  the  hot  developer,  and  for  these 
reasons  will  demand  much  time  and  persuasion  to  super- 
sede silver  printing.  The  process,  as  originally  given, 
called  for  silver  salts  and  necessarily  for  hypo  for  their 
elimination,  but  the  improved  method  dispenses  with  both, 
and  it  is  therefore  the  most  promising  competitor  to  silver 
that  has  yet  been  proposed. 

The  new  modification  to  Mr.  Ferry's  process,  which  I 
have  worked  out,  requires: — (1)  .Double  albumenised 
paper;  (2)  saturated  solution  of  bichromate  potash;  (8) 
protosulphate  of  iron;  (4)  carbonate  of  soda  (washing 
soda)  ; (•’>)  gallic  acid. 

Float  the  paper  on  the  solution  of  bichromate,  with  the 
albumenized  side  uppermost,  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes, 
taking  care  that  nothing  soils  the  upper  surface.  Drain 
and  dry,  preferably  by  radiant  heat.  When  dry  it  is 
very  sensitive,  and  must  be  carefully  shielded  from  the 
light.  Expose  under  the  negative  one-third  of  the 
time  required  for  a silver  print  under  equal  con- 
ditions. 

From  printing  frame  immerse  in  a large  quantity  of 
pure  water  for  ten  minutes.  From  this  time  all  opera- 
tions can  be  conducted  in  full  daylight.  Change  water 
and  soak  as  before  till  every  trace  of  unaltered  bichromate 
is  gone.  Immerse  in  a ftan  containing  a solution  of 
protosulphate  of  iron,  twenty  grains  to  one  ounce  of 
water,  for  five  minutes.  Then  place  in  a moderately 
strong  solution  of  carb.  soda  (washing  soda)  for  one-half 
to  one  minute.  Wash  thoroughly,  and.  lastly,  place  in 
the  toning  bath  of  gallic  acid,  three  grains  to  one  ounce 
water.  The  colour  changes  slowly  up  to  full  purple 
black,  and  if  the  soda  detergent  has  been  properly  pro- 
portioned in  strength  to  the  action  of  light  in  the  planting 
— i.e. , stronger  for  over-exposure,  or  weaker  for  under- 
exposure— every  detail  of  the  bichromate  print  will  be 
exquisitely  preserved,  and  in  any  event,  the  whites  of 
the  print  will  remain  perfectly  clear,  and  the  paper  be 
unstained.  Wash  in  a few  changes  of  water,  and  hang 
up  to  dry.  Should  there  be  any  cloudiness  of  the  whites 
after  drying,  the  print  may  be  again  treated  with  a weak 
solution  of  soda  with  advantage. — The  Beacon,  Chicago. 

- m 

Hackney  Photographic  Society. — The  annual  soiree  of  this 
Society  is  announced  for  the  24th  inst.  : this  will  conclude  the 
first  year  of  the  Society’s  work. 

The  Calcutta  Photographic  Exhibition.— The  Journal  of 
the  Photographic  Society  of  India  states,  in  relation  to  the  late 
Calcutta  Photographic  Exhibition,  that  the  judges  have  awarded 
a silver  medal  to  Mr.  B.  G.  Wilkinson,  London,  for  his  set  of 
twelve  lantern  slides,  and,  in  the  Indian  amateur  class,  a 
certificate  of  honourable  mention  to  Mr.  J.  W.  Wade,  Cochin, 
for  his  set  of  fourteen  lantern  slides. 


April  4,  1890.] 


Til 


<\ 


I IE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


265 


zl 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  APPARATUS: 

Mr.  Eastman  is  now  in  London,  and  has  been  in  this 
country  for  a few  weeks.  With  the  introduction  of  the 
Eastman  Co.'s  Tollable  celluloid  film  has  been  the  advent 
of  several  new  hand-cameras  of  the  “kodak  ” type,  which 
all  put  less  tension  upon  the  film  than  was  the  case  when 
films  supported  by  paper  were  alone  used.  The  new 
kodaks  bike  rectilinear  instead  of  circular  pictures  ; one 
camera  takes  a quarter-plate,  and  another  a 4 in.  by  5 in. 
plate.  Each  camera  has  two  finders,  one  for  use  when 
the  plate  is  vertical,  and  the  other  for  use  when  it  is  hori- 
zontal. The  camera  has  a focussing  device,  and  a doublet 
lens  with  three  diaphragms.  The  new  cameras  are  made 
in  four  sizes,  and  will  carry  transparent  film  enough  for 
either  48  or  100  exposures.  For  the  four  sizes  of  camera, 
there  are  but  the  two  sizes  of  plates  already  mentioned. 
The  new  kodak  for  round  pictures  carries  a film  for  100 
photographs,  has  a fixed  focus  lens,  and  one  finder. 

Mr.  Eastman  has  brought  with  him  from  America 
a new  “kodak”  for  7 by  5 inch  plates,  which  camera  at 
some  future  time  will  appear 
in  commerce.  It  carries 
enough  film  for  forty- 

eight  exposures,  and  has  a 
lens  of  six  inches  focal  length, 
with  a pointer  and  scale  to 
assist  in  adjusting  the  lens  to 
focus.  The  side  of  the  case 
containing  this  camera  opens, 
and  falls  into  a horizontal 
position,  permitting  the  front 
and  bellows  to  be  then  drawn 
out. 

Messrs.  Mawson  and  Swan 
have  sent  us  a specimen  of 
the  developing  - room  lamp 
shown  in  fig.  1,  the  merit  of 
which  lies  in  its  simplicity 
and  cheapness.  The  lower 
part  is  a spring  candlestick, 
which  keeps  a carriage-lamp 
candle  flame  always  at  the 
same  level ; above  this  is  a 
cylindrical  chimney  of  ruby 
glass,  with  a conical  tin  reflector  hanging  upon  its  exterior 

Mr.  J.  Fallowfield’s  “facile”  detective  camera  is  not 
quite  new,  but  has  not  been 
previously  described  in  these 
pages.  The  instrument  has 
been  in  public  use  for  some 
months,  and  the  chief  merit  of 
it  is  its  extreme  simplicity. 

The  plate-changing  arrauge- 


Fi:.  1. 


Fxq.  2. 


Fiy.  3. 


ment  consists,  as  represented  in  fig.  2,  of  two  boxes, 
one  above  the  other,  and  as  the  feeding,  or  upper  box,  is 
moved  forwards,  the  lower  box  travels  backwards  ; thus, 
when  one  plate  has  been  exposed,  it  is  drawn  backwards  ; 
another  sheathed  plate  drops  into  its  place  from  above, 
through  a slot,  and  is  then  brought  to  focus ; and  so  on 
until  the  charge  of  plates  is  used  up.  The  shutter  of  the 
“facile,”  which  is  represented  in  fig.  3,  is  also  extremely 
simple  ; it  consists  of  a light,  fan-shaped  piece  of  metal 
with  a curved  aperture  near  the  top ; this  is  pushed  back- 
wards or  forwards  to  make  the  exposure,  by  either  the  one 
or  the  other  of  two  light  rods  which  project  outside  the 
box. 

Fallowfield  has  introduced  a light  walking-stick 
tripod  stand,  represented  in  fig.  4. 
When  the  walking-stick  has  closed, 
it  carries  a long  tubular  top  or  lid. 
When  this  tubular  top  is  drawn  off, 
and  turned  bottom  upwards,  it  will 
screw  on  the  top  of  the  tripod,  and 
thus  add  to  its  height ; by  this  in- 
genious method,  which  was  invented 
by  Mr.  Raker,  of  Wallington,  a fairly 
high  stand  can  be  closed  to  form  a 
walking-stick  of  but  moderate  length. 
Mr.  Fallowfield  asks  us  to  announce 
that  before  long  he  will  move  his 
establishment  to  new  premises  in 
Charing  Cross  Road,  London. 

Messrs.  Skinner  & Co.  have  exhibited  to  us  a camera, 
fitted  with  an  appliance,  represented  in  fig.  5,  by  which  the 

bellows  can  be  racked 
out  with  much  greater 
speed  than  usual.  A 
toothed  wheel,  instead 
of  the  usual  milled 
head,  is  fixed  at  each 
end  of  the  pinion,  and 
has  a folding  handle  by 
which  it  can  be  grasped 
by  the  fingers.  Several 
teeth  of  this  wheel  bite 
the  rack  at  once,  so  give 
steadiness  of  motion, 
and  the  large  diameter 
of  the  wheel,  which  is  about  that  of  the  ordinary  milled 
head,  causes  the  bellows  to  be  expeditiously  racked  out. 
The  camera  has  also  a fine  adjustment. 


A paper  in  the  Bulletin  de  la  Soctite  Chimique  dc  Paris,  by 
W.  Spring  and  M.  Lucion,  says  that  manganese  peroxide  should 
not  be  represented  by  the  formula  Mn02,  but  by  Mn*04,  and  it 
is  very  probably  a manganous  inanganate  MnO,  MnO,,  or  a 
manganese  permanganate  Mu20j3Mn0=5(MnO2). 

A Detective  Pencil. — “Our  Celebrities”  gives  the  follow- 
ing account  of  Mr.  Harry  Furniss’s  method  of  seizing  points 
for  caricatures  : — “I  take  them  how,  and  when,  and  where  I 
can.  1 never  let  my  victims  know  I am  on  their  trail.  Some- 
times they  are  riding  in  the  park,  sometimes  they  are  just 
getting  into  a train,  or  they  are  chatting  to  a friend  in  the 
lobby,  or  fast  asleep  in  the  House  during  some  very  dry 
debate.  It  doesn’t  matter  to  me  ; all  I strive  to  avoid  is  the 
conventionality  of  a photograph  You  see,  a photographer  may 
often  lose  all  the  salient  points  which  go  to  make  a man’s  indi- 
viduality. I seize  them  all,  and  the  result  is  that,  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten,  I will  produce  by  far  the  best  likeness.  But, 
mind  you,  it  isn’t  always  easy  work,  even  with  the  same 
men.” 


26G 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  4,  1890. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHER  OF  THE  FUTURE. 
While  not  fully  sympathizing  with  those  who  write  and 
talk  about  the  alleged  state  of  degradation  into  which 
photography  has  fallen,  we  are  aware  that  it  is  low  enough 
to  make  thoughtful  photographers  anxious,  although  it 
does  not  appear  to  deter  the  thoughtless  from  entering  the 
ranks  in  numbers  altogether  out  of  proportion  to  the 
increase  of  the  population,  or  the  enhanced  demand  which 
may  be  expected  from  increased  culture.  In  every  large 
city,  and  in  many  of  the  smaller  ones,  too,  there  are  men 
who  do  excellent  work  and  get  fair  prices  for  it,  but  it 
must  be  confessed  that  they  are  but  a few  among  the  many ; 
while  the  rank  and  tile,  or  at  least  a large  proportion 
thereof,  ean  command  little  more  than  a trading  profit  on 
the  material  employed,  which  too  often,  alas ! is  really  more 
than  it  is  worth. 

The  alleged  causes  of  this  unfortunate  state  of  matters 
arc  perhaps  as  varied  as  the  men  who  proclaim  them  are 
numerous,  but  a careful  consideration  of  the  question  will 
resolve  them  all  into  one — over  supply.  Photography  in 
its  trade  aspects  is  not  different  in  any  essential  feature 
from  other  trades,  and  is  influenced  as  they  are  by  the 
relation  of  supply  and  demand,  and  while,  to  a small 
extent,  the  former  may  create  the  latter,  the  effect  will  be 
small  indeed  compared  with  the  influence  of  the  latter  over 
the  former. 

The  cheapest  of  the  so-called  “ cheap  Johns” is  neither 
the  knave  nor  the  fool  that  he  is  sometimes  represented  to 
be.  lie  is  simply  a tradesman  who  has  embraced  a calling 
the  members  of  which  are  already  too  numerous,  and 
realizes  the  fact  that  wherever  there  are  more  workers  than 
work,  the  work  will  go  to  the  worker  who  offers  the 
greatest  inducement  to  the  employer.  In  the  case  of  the 
photographic  worker  the  possible  inducements  are  only,  or 
mainly,  two — better  quality  than  the  average,  or  lower 
price.  Improvement  in  the  quality  or  style  of  work  is 
frequently,  perhaps  generally,  beyond  the  reach  of  “ John,” 
and  he  knows  that  although  it  were  not,  the  public,  or  a 
large  proportion  thereof,  are  not  yet  sufficiently  cultured 
to  appreciate  it,  and  so  has  recourse  to  the  other  alterna- 
tive, and  reduces  his  prices  to  attract  work  that  would  not 
come  to  him  without  such  reduction.  In  other  words,  the 
photographic  labour  market  is  overstocked,  and  so  long  as 
the  trade  aspects  of  photography  bulk  as  largely  as  they 
do  at  present  in  the  practice  of  the  art,  the  man  or  body 
of  men,  by  whatever  high  sounding  title  they  may  assume, 
that  promises  t<j  cure  or  even  ameliorate  this  unfortunate 
state  of  matters  by  secret  methods,  or  methods  other  than 
those  that  may  be  legitimately  applied  to  ordinary  com- 
mercial transactions,  should  be  disregarded  as  but  sound- 
ing brass  and  tinkling  cymbals. 

In  the  good  old  days,  when  the  practice  of  photography 
was  profitable,  and  technical  excellence  not  so  easily 
reached,  the  portals  by  which  the  business  was  entered 
were  either  the  good  and  time-honoured  apprenticeship,  by 
which  the  pupil  agreed  to  give  four  or  more  years  of 
labour,  in  return  for  which  the  master  became  bound  to  I 
initiate  him  into  all  the  mysteries  of  the  craft ; or  by  the 
payment  of  a tolerably  large  sum  for  the  required  practical 
instruction,  followed  by  much  patient  and  persevering 
practice,  until  the  difficulties  and  uncertainties  of  the 
various  processes  had  been  overcome.  Both  of  these 
methods  of  preparation  for  the  life  work  were  costly,  and 
involved  the  ability  to  spend  a considerabls  portion  of  un- 
profitable, or  rather  unpaid  for,  time,  and  consequently 


the  additions  to  the  ranks  were  rarely  in  excess  of  the 
work  waiting  them.  Then,  too,  the  general  public  were 
less  critical  and  more  easily  satisfied,  looking  on  a photo- 
graph as  simply  a photograph,  and  considering  the  pro- 
ductions of  one  man  just  as  good  as  those  of  another  ; 
so  that  the  hands  of  a favoured  and  abler  few  were  not, 
as  now,  crowded  with  all  that  they  could  do,  while  the 
visitors  to  the  many  were  and  far  between. 

All  this  is  changed  now.  The  introduction  of  the  dry 
plate  and  simplification  of  the  various  processes  have  made 
the  acquirement  of  the  ability  to  make  photographs  suffi- 
ciently good  to  please  a large  portion  of  the  community 
an  easy  matter  ; ami  the  cost  of  apparatus  that  will,  at 
least,  answer  the  purpose  has  been  so  much  reduced  that 
any  one  of  average  ability  may,  and  hundreds  during  the 
last  year  or  two  have,  after  a little  reading,  or  a few 
practical  lessons,  started  as  full-fledged  photographers, 
and  thereby  doubled,  or  perhaps  trebled,  the  number  of 
professional  photographers  actually  required  to  do  the 
work  of  the  country. 

But  there  is  nothing  either  morally  or  legally  wrong  in 
this.  In  a free  country  the  practice  of  trades  and  pro- 
fessions is  open  to  all  who  care  to  qualify  themselves,  and 
although,  in  the  case  of  professions  involving  the  life  or 
property  of  the  people,  the  State  justly  steps  in  and 
demands  evidence  of  the  qualifications  of  the  candidates 
for  admission,  the  public  are  with  equal  justice  left  to 
judge  for  themselves  of  the  ability  of  those  who  seek  only 
to  minister  to  their  necessities  in  connection  with  trade, 
commerce,  or  art  ; and  our  friend  “John,” in  trying  to 
attract  sitters  to  his  studio  by  reducing  his  prices,  is  as 
clearly  within  his  rights  as  a citizen  of  a free  country,  as 
are  Lehmann  of  Chicago,  or  Wanamaker  of  Philadelphia, 
in  advertising  that  they  will  furnish  the  public  with 
crockery  or  clothing  at  prices  lower  than  their  neigh- 
bours. 

It  should  be  observed  that  the  question  is  not  as  to  the 
quality  of  the  articles  supplied,  but  as  to  the  rights  of  the 
parties  to  supply  such  articles  at  such  prices  as  will 
please  themselves  and  the  public.  It  may  be  that  the 
articles  supplied  by  tlm  magnates  of  Chicago  and  Phila- 
delphia and  the  “John”  brotherhood  throughout  the  land 
are  not  quite  equal  to  those  dealt  in  by  higher-priced 
dealers,  but  as  the  magnates  in  question,  and  some  at 
least  of  the  “ John  ” family,  have  amassed  tolerably  large 
fortunes,  we  may  fairly  presume  that  they  are  not  the 
round  men  in  the  square  holes. 

The  sum  of  the  matter,  then,  is  this  : — A certain  degree 
of  proficiency  in  the  practice  of  photography  is  easily 
attained,  and,  consequently,  the  ranks  of  professional 
photographers  have  been  increased  far  beyond  the  require- 
ments of  the  people. 

The  value  of  this  excessive  labour  has,  in  accord  with 
the  inevitable  laws  of  supply  and  demand,  been  so  reduced 
in  value,  as  to  have  inflicted  great  hardship  on  consider- 
able numbers,  and  changed  the  practice  of  photography, 
in  all  but  the  hands  of  a favoured  few,  from  a highly 
profitable  to  a poorly  paying  profession. 

This  being  the  true  state  of  matters,  is  there  any  remedy, 
or  possibility  or  probability  of  amendment?  We  think  there 
are  two  movements,  which,  working  together,  may  effect 
a cure,  and  restore  the  professional  practice  of  photo- 
graphy to  even  a higher  degree  of  prosperity  than  it  lias 
heretofore  attained — the  education  and  cultivation  of  the 
public  taste  and  appreciation  of  art,  and  the  higher  educa- 
tion, technically  amd  artistically — especially  artistically — of 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


267 


April  4,  1890.] 

the  photographers.  We  have  already  said  that  in  many  of 
the  larger  cities,  and  in  some  of  the  smaller  ones,  there 
are  photographers  whose  hands  are  always  full,  but  either 
from  heredity  or  patient  study  they  are  artists  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  term,  and  find  a clientele  sufficiently  cultured 
to  appreciate  their  work.  Through  the  spread  of  educa- 
tion generally,  and  especially  the  high-class  illustrations 
in  modern  periodicals,  and  the  equally  powerful  influence 
of  photography  itself,  what  is  now  confined  to  the  favoured 
few — cultivated  artistic  taste,  and  the  ability  to  appreciate 
true  works  of  art — will  become  the  heritage  of  the  many  ; 
and  photographs  that  are  accepted  by  the  thousand  and 
paid  for  now,  will  then  have  no  commercial  value. 

This  movement  is  going  on  now,  and  will  continue  to 
go  on,  independent  altogether  of  the  photographer ; but 
the  other  to  which  we  alluded  must  be  carried  on  by  him- 
self, or  some  one  for  him,  and  how  is  it  to  be  done  ? 
The  question  is  indeed  a difficult  one — so  difficult  that, 
like  the  lecturer  on  temperance,  we  almost  despair  of 
making  any  satisfactory  impression  on  the  old,  and  would 
fain  devote  our  attention  exclusively  and  hopefully  to  the 
young.  The  old,  the  men  already  struggling  with  a poorly 
paying  business,  will  feel  the  necessary  study  somewhat 
irksome ; but  much  may  be  done  by  first  attempting  to 
thoroughly  realise  the  possibilities  of  photography,  and 
then  resolving  to  reach  the  highest,  or  as  high  as  may  be 
within  their  power.  Careful  study  of  engravings  from 
the  men  of  mark  of  former  and  present  times,  and 
analysis,  line  by  line,  of  the  illustrations  in  the  leading 
periodicals,  most,  if  not  all,  of  which  may  be  so  studied 
with  profit.  Simultaneous  with  such  study  should  be 
carried  on  the  careful  reading  of  works  treating  of  art 
in  all  its  phases,  especially  its  composition  and  light  and 
shade ; some  of  Ruskin’s  are  good,  and  Burnet's  essays 
are  simply  invaluable.  This  is  about  all  that  the  older 
men  can  do  for  themselves,  and  any  man  who  asks  them 
to  pay  for  promises  to  do  more,  tries  to  induce  them  to 
lean  on  a broken  reed. 

For  the  rising  generation  we  think  there  is  a brighter 
prospect,  or,  at  least,  for  those  of  them  who  will  truly 
realize  the  importance  of  proper  preparation  for  their  life 
work.  But  for  that  preparation  proper  opportunities 
must  be  afforded,  and  that  is  a desideratum  that  can  only 
be  accomplished  by  the  united  action  of  those  who  truly 
wish  to  see  photography  and  photographers  occupy  the 
high  position  to  which  they  are,  or  ought  to  be,  entitled. 

It  would  be  impracticable  to  restore  the  system  of 
apprenticeship  which,  so  far  as  ordinary  trades  are  con- 
cerned, in  spite  of  all  that  is  said  and  written  of  technical 
schools,  is  the  only  method  by  which  trades  can  be  properly 
taught,  and  if  it  were,  the  masters  competent  to  teach  are  j 
too  few  to  meet  the  requirements.  But,  properly  equipped 
and  rightly  managed,  schools  of  photography  could,  we 
think,  be  made  to  answer  the  purpose.  Such  a school 
should  contain  all  the  appliances  of  an  ordinary  studio, 
facilities  for  enlarging  and  copying  of  all  kinds ; a suitably 
equipped  chemical  laboratory  and  lecture  room,  with 
accommodation  for  both  theoretical  and  practical  instruc- 
tion ; and  models,  specimens,  and  all  necessary  appliances 
for  the  proper  teaching  of  the  principles  applicable  to 
art. 

Those,  in  the  hands  of  a staff  of  thoroughly  able, 
conscientious  teachers,  selected  not  only  for  their  know- 
ledge of  the  subjects  to  be  taught,  but  also  for  their 
ability  to  communicate  that  knowledge,  would  form  a 
school  from  which  there  would  periodically  issue  a baud  i 


of  young  men  in  every  way  worthy  of  the  much  misused 
title,  photographic  artist. 

One  such  school  might  be  established  in  the  principal 
city  in  each  state,  and  a central  examining  board,  or  one 
in  the  East  and  one  in  the  West,  who  would,  after  the 
passing  of  a proper  examination,  confer  a diploma,  which 
will  be  at  once  recognised  by  the  profession,  and  in  due 
time  by  the  public,  as  an  evidence  of  qualification  on 
the  part  of  the  holder. 

Of  course  the  schools  of  photography  and  their  in- 
fluence could  not  prevent  unqualified  men  from  going 
into  business  as  photographers,  but  qualified  employers 
would  only  employ  qualified  assistants,  and,  as  we  said 
I before,  the  general  public  is  gradually  approaching  to  a 
state  of  art  culture  and  appreciation  that  wjll  not  tolerate 
work  that  does  not  come  up  to  a certain  standard  of 
excellence.  Then,  however  loudly  the  untrained  and 
unqualified  man  may  pipe,  the  trained  and  appreciative 
public  will  refuse  to  dance. — The  Beacon  of  Chicago. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  INTERNATIONAL 
EXHIBITION  AT  AMSTERDAM. 

We  have  just  received  additional  particulars  about  the 
photographic  exhibition  to  be  held  in  Amsterdam  in  the 
spring  of  next  year.  This  Exhibition  will  be  international, 
and  for  the  furtherance  of  the  photographic  interest. 
The  societies  principally  concerned  in  it  are  the  Helios,  or 
Dutch  Union  of  Dilettante  Photographers,  and  the 
Amateur  Photographic  Union  of  Amsterdam.  The  com- 
mittee is  under  the  presidency  of  J.  G.  van  Gelder ; and 
has  for  its  treasurer  D.  von  Bosse,  and  its  general  secre- 
tary A.  Scheltema  Beduin.  The  local  secretaries 
are  : — For  France,  II.  v.  d.  Masch  Spakler;  for  Germany, 
A.  I).  Lomau ; and  for  England,  C.  II.  Grook. 

The  Exhibition,  which  is  open  to  all  nations,  asks 
support  from  all.  Its  object  is  to  make  professionals 
and  amateurs  practically  acquainted  with  the  latest  photo- 
graphic inventions  and  discoveries.  Medals  will  be  awarded 
for  the  best  work  sent  in.  A programme  will  shortly 
be  published,  giving  further  and  more  detailed  infor- 
mation. In  the  meantime,  all  persons  interested  in  the 
Exhibition  are  desired  to  apply  to  Mr.  A.  D.  Loman,  Jnr., 
157,  Warmoerstraat,  Amsterdam. 


CRYSTAL  PALACE  EXHIBITION. 

The  following  are  the  additional  awards  at  the  Crystal 
Palace  Exhibition  : — 

Silver  medal  given  by  ill'.  S.  G.  Buchanan  Wollaston 
for  the  best  picture,  irrespective  of  class,  in  the  amateur 
section,  not  having  taken  any  other  award  in  this 
Exhibition:  awarded  to  Paul  Lange  for  1,431  (“  A Tour 
in  Norway”). 

Silver  medal  given  by  Mr.  J.  F.  Peasgood  for  the  best 
picture,  irrespective  of  class,  in  the  professional  section, 
not  having  taken  any  other  award  in  this  Exhibition  : 
awarded  to  F.  Whaley  for  1,146  (,l  A dale  of  the  World  ’). 

Special  silver  medal  for  picture  not  previously  shown 
at  a public  exhibition  : awarded  to  E.  C.  Middleton  for 
414  (“Gossips”). 

Lantern  Section. 

Bronze  Medals. — Professional  (sets  of  48  slides)  : — • 
Section  1,  British  Subjects,  J.  Dove  ; (2)  Foreign,  G.  *E. 
Thompson ; (4)  Microscopic,  F.  Evans ; (5)  Statuary, 
Seiopticon  Co.  Amateurs  (sets  of  6 slides)  : — Section  1, 


268 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  4,  1890. 


British  Landscape,  F.  Griffiths ; (2)  Foreign  Views, 
A.  Heywood ; (3)  Seascapes,  F.  W.  Wade  ; (4)  River 
and  Lake,  J.  E.  Austen  ; (5)  Architectural  (exterior), 
E.  A.  White  ; (6)  Architectural  (interior),  J.  A.  Sinclair ; 
(7)  Still  Life,  J.  Carpenter  ; (8)  Animals,  K.  L.  Reynolds; 
(9)  Figures  in  Motion,  II.  Little ; (10)  Microscopic, 
A.  A.  Camel!. 

The  attendance  at  the  1890  Exhibition  has  beaten  the 
record  of  previous  years  by  a considerable  number. 

THE  FOAMING  OF  CERTAIN  LIQUIDS  USED  IN 
PHOTOGRAPHY. 

Last  Friday  night  Lord  Rayleigh  lectured  to  a full  house 
at  the  Royal  Institution  on  “ Foam.”  He  remarked  that 
he  intended  the  title  of  the  lecture  to  be  “Froth,”  only 
friends  had  represented  to  him  that  “ foam  ” was  more 
poetical.  Pure  liquids,  he  said,  will  not  foam ; those 
which  do  so  are  essentially  dirty  or  contaminated  with 
other  substances,  and  he  illustrated  this  point  with 
several  liquids  used  in  photography.  Pure  alcohol  will 
not  foam,  but  water  containing  five  per  cent,  of  alcohol 
exhibits  a stronger  tendency  to  foam  than  would  otherwise 
be  the  case.  Glacial  acetic  acid  does  not  foam ; when 
made  weaker  it  foams  more,  and  a ten  per  cent,  solution 
of  it  shows  a much  stronger  tendency  to  foam.  Some 
samples  of  ether,  when  mixed  with  water,  will  cause  more 
foaming  than  others  when  similarly  treated,  although  the 
proportions  be  the  same  in  all  cases.  That  was  the  case 
with  two  samples  before  them  from  the  laboratory  down- 
stairs. Both  samples  were  sold  as  absolutely  pure.  Why 
one  of  them  should  set  up  in  water  the  tendency  to  foam 
more  than  the  other  he  did  not  know  ; perhaps  one  of  them 
contained  a trace  of  grease.  Three  parts  of  gelatine  in 
100,000  of  water  favours  the  formation  of  foam  in  large 
bubbles,  and  saponine  acts  even  more  strongly.  A strong 
solution  of  pure  salt  does  not  foam  much.  He  believed 
the  foaming  of  the  sea  to  be  due  to  something  extracted 
from  seaweeds  in  rough  weather. 

The  rest  of  the  lecture  bore  no  relation  to  photographic 
subjects.  Sir  Frederick  Bramwell  presided. 


patent  Intelligence. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

10,393a.  J.  T.  Fairfax,  433,  Strand,  London,  “ Photographic 
Films.  (Frederick  Crane,  United  States).  This  applica- 
tion having  been  originally  included  in  No.  10,393,  dated 
26th  June,  1889,  takes,  under  Patent  rule  23,  that  date. 

4,581.  T.  Samuels,  53,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Camera 
Backs  or  Slides.”— March  24th. 

4,592.  H.  T.  Parkitt,  55,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Kilns for 
Firing  Enamel  Ware.” — March  24th. 

4,606.  J.  Leslie,  2,  Somerset  Terrace,  Belfast,  “Photographic 
Flexible  Films.” — March  25th. 

4,610.  G.  Newsum,  Bradford,  Yorksliire,  “Apparatus  for  Ap- 
plying Bronze  and  other  Powders.” — March  25th. 

4,622.  Friese  Greene  and  F.  H.  Varley,  92,  Piccadilly, 
London,  “ Improvements  in  Photometers.” — March  25th. 

4,666.  J.  C.  E.  Carre,  53,  Chancery  Lane,  London, 
“ Cameras.” — March  25th. 

1,704.  F.  H.  Varley,  82,  Newington  Green  Road,  Loudon, 
“Improvements  in  Cameras  for  Photographing  Objects  in 
Motion.” — March  26th. 

4,863.  F.  W.  Branson,  14,  Commercial  Street,  Leeds,  “Light- 
ing Developing  Rooms.” — March  28th. 

4,881.  G.  H.  P.  Burne,  19,  Bowling  Green  Street,  Leicester, 
“ Photographic  Shutters.” — March  28th. 


4,914.  W.  Crosland,  New  Street,  Miles  Platting,  Manchester, 
“ Making  a Rough  Surface  on  Paper.” — March  29th. 

4,918.  S.  M.  Hancocks,  419,  Glossop  Road,  Sheffield,  “Stand 
for  Photographs.” — March  29th. 

4,956.  Friese  Greene  and  F.  H.  Varley,  92,  Piccadilly,  Lon- 
don, “ Photographic  Printing  Apparatus  for  Producing 
Copies  at  a Rapid  Rate.” — March  29th. 

Specifications  Published. 

6,264.  April  1 2th,  1889.  — “ Cutting  Screw  Threads.” 
William  Wilson  Hci.se,  Ordsal  Works,  Salford,  Lancaster, 
Engineer. 

Both  internal  and  external  screw  threads  may  be  cut  by 
means  of  revolving  radial  dies  moveable  towards  or  away  from 
the  axis  about  which  they  revolve  for  the  purposes  of  adjust- 
ment, and  of  setting  them  up  to  or  withdrawing  them  from 
the  work  as  may  be  required.  For  cutting  external  threads, 
the  dies  are  held  in  a die  box,  and  are  actuated  radially  by  a 
cam  action  such  as  commonly  employed.  The  cam  block  is 
rotated  by  means  of  a worm  (which  is  by  preference  made 
solid  with  its  spindle)  and  of  a worm  wheel  formed  upon  the 
back  of  the  cam  block  of  a smaller  diameter  than  that  of  the 
block,  in  order  that  the  worm  and  its  spindle  may  lie  accom- 
modated without  increasing  the  diameter  of  the  die  box  for  the 
purpose.  The  die  box  is  formed  or  secured  upon  a spindle, 
which  is  by  preference  made  hollow,  and  is  mounted  in  liear- 
ings  in  a hcadstock  secured  upon  a bed.  Sometimes  the  dies 
may  lie  arranged  in  pairs,  one  of  each  pair  cutting  when  the 
die  box  rotates  in  one  direction,  and  the  other  when  it  rotates 
in  the  opposite  direction.  The  work  is  secured  in  a vice 
which  is  adjustable  along  the  bed,  and  which  holds  the  work 
by  means  of  gripping  dies  operated  similarly  to  the  cutting 
dies,  and  with  a similar  arrangement  of  worm  and  worm  wheel. 
While  the  threads  are  being  cut  the  work  remains  stationary, 
and  the  cutting  die  box  and  spindle  have  an  endwise  as  well 
as  a rotary  movement,  the  endwise  movement  corresjionding  to 
the  advance  of  the  cutting  dies  along  the  threads  they  are 
forming. 

6,963.  April  26<A,  1889. — “ Securing  Glass  Sheets  in  Roofs.” 
Alexander  Drummond,  35,  Montrose  Street,  Glasgow,  Glass 
Merchant. 

This  invention  relates  to  and  is  a further  development  of 
my  prior  invention  for  glazing  structures  No.  5,947,  dated  21st 
April,  1888. 

Iu  securing  the  glass  sheets  in  roofs  of  structures  in  accord- 
ance with  this  invention,  1 entirely  dispense  with  the  use  of 
astragals  or  glazing  bars. 

The  glass  sheets  are  placed  edge  to  edge,  or  they  may  over- 
lap, and  are  fitted  at  their  upper  ends  into  grooves  or  recesses 
cut  longitudinally  in  the  purline  bars.  The  meeting  edges  of 
the  glass  sheets  are  covered  by  narrow  strips  of  glass,  metal, 
or  wood,  which  are,  at  their  upper  ends,  either  entered  into 
recesses  in  the  purline  bars,  or  are  held  in  position  by  forked 
shaped  catching  devices,  which  may  be  of  cast  or  stamped 
metal  having  projections  on  them  capable  of  being  driven 
into  the  purlines  to  secuie  them  in  position,  or  they  may  be 
secured  thereto  by  screwing  or  otherwise.  The  lower  end  of 
each  of  said  narrow  strips  of  glass  is  held  firmly  in  position  by 
a stop  piece,  which  is  secured  to  the  purline  bars  by  screwing 
or  otherwise.  Gutters  for  carrying  off  moisture  are  cut  in  the 
upper  sides  of  the  purline  liars. 

The  stop  piece,  as  described  in  my  prior  specification,  con- 
sists of  a clip  or  cover  which  is  dovetailed  into  a rectangular 
or  other  shaped  base  plate  secuied  to  the  purline  bars. 
Under  this  invention  the  head  of  this  clip  or  cover  has  two 
arms  or  projections  on  it,  so  made  as  to  grip  the  glass  strips  and 
prevent  lateral  movement. 

The  stop  piece,  instead  of  being  made  as  described  in  my 
prior  specification,  may  lie  made  of  a base  plate  or  piece 
having  a thick  part  at  one  end  through  which  a hole  is  bored 
or  made  ; over  the  thickened  part  the  clip  or  cover  is  fitted 
by  a pin  passed  through  a hole  in  each  of  the  sides  of  the 
clip,  and  through  the  hole  in  the  thickened  part  of  the  plate  ; 
or  the  clip  may  be  hinged  to  the  base  plate,  the  hinged  part 
folding  over  on  top  of  the  glass,  and  being  held  in  position  by 


April  4,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


269 


a pin  passed  through  a projection  on  the  thickened  end  of  the 
ba.se  plate.  In  some  cases  the  clip  itself  may  be  narrowed  at 
one  end,  and  may  pass  through,  and  lie  secured  in  a hole  made 
longitudinally  in  the  thick  part  of  the  base  plate  ; or  the  clip 
may  be  dovetailed  over  the  thick  part  of  the  plate. 

In  lieu  of  making  the  base  plate  thicker  at  one  end,  it 
may  be  bent  upwaid.s  or  stepped  instead,  and  the  lower  end 
of  the  clip  lie  made  to  slip  over  or  to  lie  bent  over  the  raised 
part. 

Under  another  modification  the  clip  may  have  projections  at 
its  under  side  which  will  fit  easily  into  recesses  or  holes,  or 
their  equivalent,  made  in  the  clips  ; or  rice  versa,  the  clips 
may  fit  or  slide  on  projections  made  on  the  base  plate.  The 
base  plate  and  the  clip  would  each  have  preferably,  in  all  cases, 
arms  for  gripping  and  holding  the  glass  strips  in  position. 

When  the  glass  sheets  overlap  each  over  a different  sort  of 
stop  piece  from  those  hereinbefore  described  would  preferably 
lie  used.  This  stop  piece  has  only  one  arm  on  one  side  of 
both  the  clip  and  base  plate,  and  the  base  plate  is  further  pro- 
vided with  a raised  projection  or  ridge  to  prevent  the  under 
sheets  of  glass  from  moving  laterally. 

Instead  of  being  secured  by  stop  pieces  as  hereinbefore 
described,  the  narrow  strips  of  glass,  metal,  or  wood,  may  have 
flanges  or  projections  made  on  them  which  would  fit  into  or 
catch  on  corresponding  grooves  or  projections  made  on  or  in 
the  glass  sheets.  In  some  cases  the  narrow  strips  may  be 
T sliaj*  in  cross  section  instead  of  as  hereinbefore  described. 

Strips  of  tarred  cotton,  felt,  or  canvas,  may,  if  desired, 
cover  the  meeting  edges  of  the  glass  sheets,  and  on  this  the 
narrow  locking  strips  may  be  laid. 

In  some  cases  the  narrow  locking  strips  may  be  underneath 
the  glass  sheets  instead  of  above  them. 

My  improvements,  l>esides  being  used  for  glazing  purposes, 
are  equally  applicable  for  securing  corrugated  metal  roofing, 
tiles,  slates,  and  sheet  metal  roofing  in  position. 


JiJrocee&tngs  of  ^octettes. 


The  Camera  Club. 

Thursday,  March  20th. — Capt.  W.  de  Abney  in  the  chair. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  exhibited  his  “memorandum  camera,” 
which  has  already',  to  some  extent,  been  described  in  these 
pages.  He  said  that  it  could  be  used  all  the  year  round,  and 
at  anyr  time  of  day,  and  under  very  different  circumstances,  for 
the  lens  worked  at//4,  which  enabled  the  user  to  overcome  the 
disadvantages  of  bad  light.  The  lens  was  a portrait  one,  by 
Swift,  and  had  a focal  length  of  3^  inches,  and  the  camera  had 
a roller-blind  shutter  next  the  plate,  giving,  an  exposure  of 
about  one-twentieth  of  a second,  but  it  could  be  tightened  so 
as  to  give,  perhaps,  one-sixtieth  of  a second.  Farther,  by  a 
modification  of  the  conditions,  it  became  possible  to  give  an 
exposure  of  one-tenth  the  duration  of  that  employed  by 
Anschutz,  and  to  obtain  which  he  used  an  800  lb.  weight. 
The  memorandum  camera  carried  a plate  of  half  the  size  of  a 
quarter- plate,  and  as  the  latter  are  always  in  the  market,  there 
is  no  difficulty  in  getting  them  and  cutting  them  in  two.  The 
camera  was  fitted  with  a finder. 

Mr.  Ferrero  exhibited  a contrivance  to  facilitate  the  taking 
of  lantern  slides  from  negatives. 

Mr.  George  Davison  exhibited  some  photographs  by  Mr. 
Corbould,  showing  the  distortion  produced  in  portraiture  by 
wide  angle  lenses. 

Mr.  W.  Willis  then  read  a paper  on  “ l’latinotype  Possibili- 
ties.” He  began  by  speaking  of  the  mixed  oxalate  and  phos- 
phate developer  for  the  hot  bath  process  ; with  these  salts  in 
the  bath,  the  initial  image  is  less  rapidly  dissolved  from  the 
paper,  so  that  the  developer  has  longer  time  to  act,  and  there 
are  extra  crispness  and  definition  in  the  results,  with  more 
clearness,  brilliancy,  and  transparency.  The  print  should  be 
removed  from  the  bath  the  moment  the  shadows  have  sufficient 
density,  and  be  at  once  placed  in  the  acid  bath.  The  phos- 
phatic  salt  used  is  the  monopotassic  orthophosphate.  At  a 
temperature  of  120°  F.  this  bath  gives  excellent  results,  but 
for  hard  negatives  the  heat  should  be  increased.  In  the  course 


of  his  remarks,  Mr.  Willis  said  that  the  object  of  the  final 
washing  of  platinotype  prints  was  to  remove  the  last  traces  of 
acid,  which  otherwise,  in  course  of  time,  might  attack  the 
paper  ; therefore,  the  washing  should  be  ample  to  clear  all  acid 
from  the  fibres,  and  it  was  better  that  a little  alkali  should  be 
added  to  the  last  washing  water.  Few  papers  in  the  market 
were  suitable  for  platinotype  work.  Among  the  prints  he 
exhibited  were  some  on  rough  paper  ; they  presented,  he  said, 
but  slight  loss  of  definition,  and  he  did  not  know  that 
the  results  were  more  artistic  than  on  smooth  paper.  The 
rough  paper  required  exceedingly  careful  handling  in  the  various 
baths,  in  which  also  they'  must  not  be  allowed  to  rub  against 
each  other,  or  the  image  would  be  taken  from  the  tops  of  the 
minute  hillocks  of  the  paper.  The  prints  before  them,  on 
strongly  wire-marked  superior  writing  paper,  were  remark- 
able, he  stated,  because  of  the  surprisingly  small  way 
in  which  the  wire-marks  interfered  with  the  general 
appearance  of  the  pictures.  Other  of  the  prints  be- 
fore them  presented  beautiful  results  with  certain  subjects  ; 
they  had  been  taken  upon  an  exceedingly  strong  and  thin 
paper,  namely,  that  used  for  bank  notes.  The  image  went 
right  through  the  substance  of  this  paper,  and  the  beauty  of 
the  results  did  not  become  apparent  until  the  prints  were 
mounted  upon  pure  white  cardboard.  Other  prints  before 
them  were  upon  nansook,  a fabric  made  entirely  of  cotton  ; 
one  of  them — a snow  scene — was  marvellous  in  its  intensity' ; 
he  had  never  seen  it  surpassed,  and  the  intensity  increased 
the  stronger  the  light  in  which  it  was  viewed.  He  thought 
that  nansook  gave  the  ideal  surface,  for  it  rendered  both  ends 
of  the  scale  and  nearly  every  gradation  between  them.  The 
next  material,  sateen,  was  also  all  cotton,  and  such  faults  as 
were  in  the  prints  he  thought  to  be  due  to  that  material  ; the 
results  were  nearly'  but  not  quite  so  good  as  those  upon 
nansook.  Linen  worked  well  in  the  matters  of  ease  and  of 
certainty  in  results,  and  he  thought  that  it  gave  better  defini- 
tion than  the  other  two  substances  ; the  platinum  pigment 
seemed  to  attach  itself  very  strongly'  to  linen.  He  knew  a 
man  in  America  who  printed  in  platinum  the  likenesses  of  his 
lady-loves  upon  his  shirt  wristbands — he  “wore  his  heart  upon 
his  sleeve,”  so  to  speak — 

Captain  Abney  interposed  “His  sweethearts,  you  mean.” 

Mr.  Willis  continued  that  the  man  told  him  that  his  shirts 
had  been  washed  twenty  times  by  Wall  Sing,  yet  the  like- 
nesses were  as  good  as  ever.  He  (Mr.  Willis)  knew  the  able 
Chinaman,  Wah  Sing,  and  the  way  he  smashed  buttons  during 
his  energetic  washing  of  shirts  was  amazing.  Other  prints 
before  them  were  upon  silk  ; it  was  a troublesome  material  in 
the  platinotype  process,  and  he  could  not  say  that  his  results 
were  very  successful  ; the  results  were  better  when  the  silk 
was  not  pure,  but  contained  a certain  amount  of  cotton.  The 
prints  on  nansook  looked  very  bad  while  they  were  wet.  The 
prints  he  hail  shown  that  evening  on  fabrics  had  all  been 
brought  out  by  the  cold  bath  developer.  In  working  the 
platinotype  process  with  ferrous  salts,  they  would  find  that 
the  addition  of  a very  little  ferric  oxalate  had  a powerful 
restraining  effect.  To  mount  the  fabrics  on  card,  he  used  a 
stiff  cold  jelly',  applied  thinly,  and  consisting  of  mixed  starch 
and  gelatine. 

Captain  Abney  asked  about  the  sizing  of  the  fabrics. 

Mr.  Willis  replied  that  those  before  them  had  all  been  abso- 
lutely unsized.  The  papers  were  sized  with  arrowroot. 

Mr.  Asbury  Greene  asked  if  the  fabrics  could  be  developed 
by'  applying  the  solution  with  a brush  ? 

Mr.  WlLLIS  replied  that  it  might  be  easily  done  without 
leaving  marks  ; he  hail  tried  the  use  of  a spray'-producer,  but 
the  results  were  disappointing  ; the  liquid  then  seemed  to 
settle  on  the  surface  in  fine  drops  which  did  not  coalesce,  so 
that  a kind  of  mottled  appearance  was  the  result.  A brush,  to 
answer  well,  must  be  broad  enough  to  cover  the  whole  plate 
with  one  sweep,  and  must  be  charged  with  an  amply'  large 
supply  of  the  developer  ; it  must  be  a self-feeding  brush. 

Mr.  F.  de  P.  Cembrano,  Jr.,  asked  if  ferric  oxalate  could  be 
so  Jused  as  to  save  an  over-exposed  print  ? 

Mr.  Willis  replied  that  it  was  a bad  restrainer,  because  its 
action  seemed  to  be  so  irregular, 


270 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  4,  1890 


Mr.  Elder  liked  warm-toned  platinotypes.  Once,  when 
using  the  hot  bath  process,  he  wished  to  prove  to  some  pupils 
how  damp  injured  the  sensitive  paper  ; he  cut  a print  in  half, 
and  placed  it  over  a sink  for  several  hours.  To  his  astonish- 
ment, the  part  of  the  print  which  had  been  made  damp  deve- 
loped better  than  the  other  half.  Once  he  had  been  engaged 
on  some  experiments  in  the  dyeing  of  silks,  and  found  that 
whenever  a mineral  dye  was  applied,  the  silk  lost  its  lustre. 
The  fabrics  he  employed  were  those  known  as  “liberty  silks.” 
This  destruction  of  lustre  might  help  to  explain  the  difficulties 
of  Mr.  Willis  with  silks. 

Mr.  Humph  ery  had  found  maps  on  linen  to  be  excellent  when 
bicycling. 

Captain  Abney  remarked  that  some  years  ago,  when  he  was 
in  charge  of  the  Photographic  School  at  Chatham,  there  was 
a case  of  preparing  for  war — he  would  not  say  with  what 
country — and  the  War  Office  wanted  copies  of  maps  for  use  in 
the  army.  He  thought  that  such  maps  must  be  useless  for 
such  a purpose  if  printed  on  paper,  so  he  turned  them  out  on 
linen  by  means  of  a special  lithographic  ink,  and,  on  trial,  it 
was  found  that  they  did  not  suffer  by  exposure  to  weather  and 
lain  in  the  field.  He  mentioned  this  to  show  that  the  War 
Office  was  well  aware  of  the  value  of  maps  upon  linen. 

Mr.  .1.  B.  B.  Wellington  stated  that  once  he  had  a sample 
of  platinotype  paper  which  gave  flat  images,  and  that  when  he 
put  a little  gelatine  in  the  oxalate  bath,  he  obtained  better 
results  ; too  much,  however,  must  not  be  added,  or  it  will 
coagulate  on  the  surface  of  the  paper. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  suggested  that  perhaps  the  gelatine 
filled  up  the  texture  of  the  paper,  and  made  it  more  transparent. 

Mr.  Lyonel  Clark  had  experimented  mostly  with  silver 
salts  ; but  there  was  an  analogy  between  silver  and  platinum 
printing,  as  exemplified  by  the  results  shown  that  evening. 
The  fabric  which  had  given  him  the  most  pleasing  results  was 
satin  jean,  which  he  had  sized  by  means  of  dextrine  ; this  kept 
the  print  on  the  surface,  just  where  it  was  wanted,  and  the 
dextrine  afterwards  dissolved  off  in  the  washing  baths.  The 
silk  used  by  Mr.  Willis  was  strongly  ribbed  ; he  thought  that 
the  French  silk  used  in  the  manufacture  of  fans  would  answer 
better.  When  prints  on  fabrics  were  to  be  small,  he  mounted 
each  piece  of  fabric  on  paper  with  dextrine,  and  kept  the  print 
on  its  paper  support  through  all  the  solutions.  As  a mountant, 
he  applied  starch  to  the  mount,  and,  when  it  was  nearly  dry, 
he  placed  the  print  in  position  upon  it,  then  ran  the  two 
through  the  rolling  press.  A great  advance  had  been  made  in 
the  adoption  of  the  platinotype  process  during  the  past  fewr 
years,  and  he  was  glad  to  see  that  of  the  large  number  of 
prints  adorning  their  walls  that  evening,  only  five  or  six  were 
photographs  by  the  silver  process  on  albumenized  paper. 

Mr.  Willis  had  been  specially  interested  in  what  Mr.  Elder 
had  said  about  the  action  of  mineral  dyes  upon  silk,  for  he 
thought  that  it  explained  some  of  the  phenomena  which  he  had 
seen.  Mr.  Wellington's  experiment  was  of  interest ; he  had 
tried  it  himself  and  had  failed — perhaps  from  using  too  much 
gelatine.  Gelatine  combines  with  platinum  over  the  whole 
image,  so  perhaps  a small  proportion  of  it  in  the  oxalate  bath 
gives  the  developer  more  time  to  act,  by  preventing  the  ferrous 
salt  getting  away  before  the  completion  of  its  work.  After  a 
fabric  has  been  sensitised  by  ferric  oxalate,  it  became  so  brittle 
as  to  be  not  easily  distorted  in  the  printing  frame  when  the 
size  of  the  print  is  not  too  large  ; under  sucli  circumstances 
he  had  never  failed  to  get  registration  after  examination. 
Mr.  Davison  had  just  handed  him  some  samples  of  Japanese 
paper  which  had  been  sent  to  the  former  by  Mr.  W.  K.  Burton. 
He  (Mr.  Willis)  had  found  that  it  was  possible  to  sensitise 
Japanese  papers,  but  that  the  difficulty  was  great — so  much  so, 
that  he  had  given  up  the  attempt,  although,  on  occasions  of 
success,  the  results  were  very  lovely. 


Southsea  Amateur  Photographic  Society. 

A public  lantern  exhibition  was  given  on  the  26th  ult.  in  the 
large  Victoria  Hall,  Southsea.  The  entertainment  was  in  every 
way  highly  satisfactory.  A fine  collection  of  pictures,  repre- 
senting Canadian,  Scotch,  and  English  scenery,  with  various 


genre  studies,  and  some  good  cathedral  scenes,  were  thrown 
on  the  screen  by  Lieut.  Gladstone,  R.N.,  and  a short  descrip- 
tion of  each  picture  was  given  by  Lieut.  Cobb,  R.N.  There 
was  a large  and  appreciative  audience.  The  slides  were  en- 
tirely the  work  of  members  of  the  Society,  prominent  among 
whom  were  Capt.  Lamb,  Lieut.  Gladstone,  Dr.  Wardrope,  and 
Messrs.  Thornton  and  Leaventhorpe.  The  arrangements  were 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  F.  Lord  and  the  committee. 


Photographic  Society  of  Philadelphia. 

A meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  on  March  5th,  President 
Frederic  Graff  in  the  chair. 

The  Secretary  read  a communication  from  the  President 
of  the  Welsbach  Gas  Light  Co.,  announcing  that  the  company 
had  fitted  up  a room  at  their  factory  for  photographing  with 
incandescent  gas  light,  and  inviting  the  members  to  make  use 
of  the  room,  and  to  visit  the  factory  and  witness  the  production 
of  the  light. 

Mr.  Stirling,  chairman  of  the  Lantern  Slide  Committee, 
reported  satisfactory  progress  in  the  preparation  for  the 
exhibition  to  be  held  subsequently,  and  the  prospects  of  a fine 
display  of  representative  work  of  the  members.  Mr.  Stirling 
also  announced  that  forty-three  English  slides,  representing 
the  Society's  share  of  the  hundred  sent  to  this  country  by 
the  Camera  Club  of  London  on  account  of  the  last  English 
interchange,  had  been  received.  They  had  been  selected  by 
lot  impartially,  and  after  the  meeting  would  be  distributed  in 
like  manner  to  the  ten  members  whose  slides  had  been  selected 
to  send  aluoad.  Mr.  Stirling  stated  that  hereafter  the  Inter- 
change slides  to  be  sent  abroad  Mould  be  simply  loaned,  the 
idea  of  permanent  exchange  having  >>een  abandoned,  so  that 
eventually  each  member  would  get  back  all  slides  lent  for 
interchange. 

Mr.  Bell  presented  a paper  on  “Gelatine  Emulsions.”  In 
introducing  the  subject,  he  said  he  thought  that  it  was  the 
late  president  of  the  Society,  Mr.  Bates,  who  was  first  in  this 
country  to  bring  into  use  the  gelatine  plate.  In  his  frequent 
trips  to  Europe,  Mr.  Bates  had  had  Mr.  Kennett  prepare  some 
of  them,  and  they  were  brought  over.  It  Mas  a long  time 
before  Mr.  Bell  had  heard  of  anybody  using  them  here.  The 
next  one  he  heard  of  making  emulsions  M’as  Mr.  George  W. 
Hewitt.  He,  himself,  had  also  been  more  or  less  engaged  in 
investigating  gelatine  emulsions.  The  next  one  that  Mas 
successful  was  Mr.  Carbutt.  Not  having  himself  )>een  success- 
ful,  he  did  not  claim  anything. 

Mr.  Bell  then  proceeded  to  read  his  paper,  which,  he  said, 
Mas  the  result  of  a good  many  years’  experience.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  the  reading,  Mr.  Bell  said  that  if  any  of  the  members 
M'ere  ‘ ‘ chemically  inclined”  he  would  ask  them  to  take  the 
No.  1 formula,  and  test  it  to  see  if  it  was  what  he  claimed  for  it. 

Referring  to  the  sensitiveness  of  plates,  Mr.  Carbutt  asked 
“ What  does  40  or  80  mean  '!  ” 

Mr.  Coates. — I think  it  means  the  gullibility  of  the  buyer, 
I have  bought  “ 40  ” plates,  and  found  “ 20  ” much  better. 

Mr.  Browne. — Mr.  Bell,  in  the  early  part  of  his  paper, 
alluded  to  Mr.  George  W.  Hewitt’s  experiments.  So  far  as  I 
know,  Mr.  HeM’itt  M’as  one  of  the  earliest  experimenters  Math 
gelatine  plates,  and  certainly  Mr.  Hewitt’s  process,  and  the 
results  that  he  succeeded  in  obtaining,  M’ere  remarkable. 
There  was  one  peculiarity  about  his  plates  that  I have  never 
seen  in  any  purchased  plates,  and  that  M'as,  that  the  api>earance 
of  the  image  M’as  more  beautiful  than  I have  ever  seen  in  a 
commercial  plate.  The  ap|>earance  of  the  image  Mas  slow,  and 
remarkably  beautiful.  I think  Mr.  Carbutt  saw  some  of  them. 

I do  not  know  that  Mr.  Hewitt  claims  anything  original  in 
that  process,  but  there  was  one  difficulty  in  his  plates  M'hich 
M’as  a very  serious  one,  and  M’hich  he  M’as  never  able  to  over- 
come, that  was  the  liability  to  frill.  I used  many  of  his  plates, 
but  there  M’as  that  uncertain  character  in  the  matter  of 
frilling  M’hich  made  it  to  me  very  disagrcable.  I think  that  in 
the  future  Mr.  Hewitt  Mill  always  receive  credit  as  being  one 
of  the  earliest  experimenters  in  gelatine  dry  plates. 

Under  the  head  of  “Verbal  Communications,”  Mr.  Carbutt 
referred  to  the  subject  under  discussion  at  the  previous  meet- 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


27 1 


April  4,  1890.] 

ing — that  of  deposits  ou  the  cover  glasses  of  slides,  saying  that 
he  had  received  a number  of  slides  from  Mr.  Pancoast,  accom- 
panied by  a letter  in  which  he  said,  “Referring  again  to  the 
incrustation  on  lantern  slides,  I was  looking  over  some  old 
slides  I made  in  1883  (possibly  1882)  on  some  of  your  A plates, 
and  find  them  in  A1  order,  no  discolouring,  mould,  or  incrus- 
tation whatever.  They  were  not  varnished  or  protected  in  any 
way,  and  were  subject  to  the  same  conditions  as  the  one  1 
showed  you  at  the  Society.”  In  another  letter  of  a later  date 
to  Mr.  Carbutt,  Mr.  Pancoast  wrote  on  the  same  subject ; “I 
send  you  by  this  mail  one  of  the  lot  I spoke  of  in  a previous  let  ter, 
in  order  that  you  may  see  how  perfectly  it  has  kept.  It  was 
in  the  same  box  as  the  other  slides,  and  subjected  to  the  same 
conditions  as  those  which  show  such  a marked  incrustation.  I 
think  the  glass  is  B.  P.  C.,  at  least  the  plates  were  your  regular 
A plates.  These  slides  were  made  by  contact  printing,  and 
developed  with  oxalate.” 

Mr.  Bell  called  attention  to  a portion  of  the  report  of  a 
previous  meeting,  in  which  the  words  occurred,  referring  to  the 
use  of  turmeric  for  colour  screens  for  orthochromatie  plates, 
“ Mr.  Bell  thought  turmeric  to  be  adapted  to  the  work  with 
orthochromatie  plates,  and  was  as  good  as  anything.”  He 
desired  to  say  that  he  distinctly  stated  that  turmeric  could  not 
be  relied  upon  unless  freshly  prepared. 

Referring  to  orthochromatie  photography,  he  showed  a screen 
of  brilliant  yellow,  prepared  by  Mr.  Ives,  and  loaned  by  him. 
It  was  put  behind  the  lens,  holding  back  blue  rays,  and  allowing 
the  yellow  to  act  more  strongly  on  the  plate.  It  was  necessary 
to  have  a plate  specially  prepared,  as  the  ordinary  plates  would 
not  answer.  It  should  bean  orthochromatie  plate.  He  showed 
two  glasses  in  illustration  of  his  remarks,  saying  that  turmeric 
would  not  answer. 

Continuing,  Mr.  Bell  showed  the  same  colour  screens  he  had 
obtained  in  London  last  year.  One  was  of  pot  metal,  ground 
and  polished  like  plate  glass,  and  which,  he  said,  would  never 
fade.  He  had  three  tints,  but  finding  one  was  too  light,  he 
had  cemented  two  together  with  balsam  of  fir. 

Mr.  Redfield  showed  a screen  similar  to  that  of  Mr.  Bell’s, 
made  by  Mr.  Ives.  He  also  showed  the  fiont  board  of  his 
camera,  and  the  slide  in  which  the  screen  was  placed.  It  was 
a double  glass  prepared  by  Mr.  Ives.  Another  method  was 
a circular  piece  of  glass  prepared  by  Mr.  Carbutt,  which  was 
dropped  in  the  front  of  the  lens,  and  a strip  of  blackened 
leather  slipped  in  front  of  it,  acting  as  a spring,  and  keeping 
the  glass  in  position.  Probably  an  improvement  would  be  the 
introduction  of  some  springs  bracing  the  plate  squarely  against 
the  back  of  the  lens,  so  as  to  prevent  its  being  at  an  angle,  and 
thus  producing  distortion.  A still  better  way  would  be  to 
coat  the  surface  of  the  lens  with  some  colouring  matter,  or 
have  the  lens  made  of  some  coloured  glass,  as  suggested  recently 
in  one  of  the  English  journals. 

Mr.  Cheyney  said  he  had  found  it  utterly  imi>ossible  to  get 
a slurp  image  by  focussing  first  and  putting  the  screen  in  after- 
wards. If  focussing  were  done  without  the  screen,  and  then 
the  screen  put  in,  the  focus  would  be  altered  and  thrown  back. 

Mr.  Supplee  asked  what  would  take  place  if  placed  in  front 
of  the  lens. 

Mr.  Cheyney  said  the  change  would  be  very  slight. 

Mr.  Carbutt  suggested  the  preparation  of  thin  films  of 
coloured  collodion  attached  to  diaphragms  of  black  cardboard, 
and  used  in  place  of  the  usual  diaphragms. 

Mr.  Redfield  thought  that  two  pieces  of  thin  black  rubber 
could  be  used. 

Mr.  Carbutt  said  that  he  had  suggested  cardboard  because  it 
could  be  obtained  so  easily. 

Mr.  Bell  said  that  he  had  already  gone  over  that  process, 
and  found  the  collodion  film  was  too  brittle,  and  curled  all 
up. 

Mr.  Carbutt  said  that  it  was  not  properly  prepared,  then. 
It  had  a natural  tendency  to  curl,  but  not  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  preclude  its  use.  If  5 i>er  cent,  of  castor  oil  were  put  in, 
it  would  remain  firm. 

Continuing  the  subject  of  orthochromatie  photography,  Mr. 
Carbutt  showed  some  prints  illustrating  the  excellent  keeping 
of  the  plates,  and  also  a photogravure  print  made  by  a pub- 


lishing house  in  Boston  from  a negative  on  one  of  his  ortho- 
chromatic  plates.  The  print  was  from  an  old  painting,  and  had 
a remarkable  brilliant  quality  with  correct  colour  tone. 


Liverpool  Amateur  Photographic  Association. 

The  third  ordinary  meeting  of  the  twenty-seventh  session  was 
held  in  the  Association’s  Club  Rooms,  3,  Lord  Street,  on 
March  27th  ; the  President,  Mr.  Paul  Lange,  occupied  the 
chair.  There  was  a large  attendance. 

The  following  were  elected  members  : — Messrs.  T.  J.  P. 
Masters,  H.  G.  Pouting,  William  Mason,  junior,  E.  M.  Rateliffe, 
J.  A.  Knowles,  Oswald  Harrison,  J.  H.  Pardon,  Dr.  E.  J. 
Foulston,  and  F.  H.  Dudley. 

The  President  announced  that  the  new  Boston  slides,  entitled 
“ The  White  Mountains,”  and  Mr.  John  Hargreaves’  lecture  on 
the  completed  survey  of  the  “ Hundred  of  Wirral,”  would 
take  place  in  the  City  Hall,  Eberle  Street,  on  Monday,  April  14th. 

Mr.  Fred  Evans  was  then  called  upon  to  explain  the  arrange- 
ments that  were  being  made  concerning  the  Convention  of 
Photographic  Societies  of  Great  Britain  at  Chester  in  the  last 
week  of  June,  when,  amongst  other  attractions,  special  facili- 
ties, not  hitherto  allowed  to  amateurs,  would  lie  granted  by 
the  Duke  of  Westminster  for  photographing  both  the  exterior 
and  the  interior  of  Eaton  Hall. 

The  principal  business  of  the  evening  was  the  contemplated 
Photographic  Exhibition  of  1891.  The  President  entered  very 
fully  into  the  particulars  of  the  matter  ; that  it  should  take 
place  in  the  spring  of  1891  for  the  term  of  one  month  - that 
the  offer  of  the  Library  and  Arts  Commit  tee  of  the  Corpora- 
tion of  Liverpool  be  accepted  for  the  use  of  the  same  splendid 
apartments  in  the  Walker  Art  Gallery  as  used  in  1888. 

The  members  unanimously  decided  that  such  an  exhibition 
should  be  held.  The  President  called  on  Mr.  T.  S.  Mayne,  the 
Honorary  Secretary  appointed  for  Exhibition  matters,  who 
then  explained  in  detail  some  fresh  features  which  were  in  con- 
templation. In  due  time  full  details  will  appear  on  the  pro- 
spectus. 

The  meeting  concluded  with  an  interesting  exhibition  of 
photographic  novelties,  of  which  there  were  a large  collec- 
tion. 

Colonel  Ellison  explained  a new  hand-camera,  convertible 
into  an  ordinary  camera,  of  his  own  invention,  working  on 
an  ingenious  tripod  ball-and-socket  arrangement  also  made  by 
himself.  / 


Photographers’  Benevolent  Association. 

A meeting  was  held  on  the  28tli  March  at  4,  St.  James’s 
Street,  Bedford  Row,  Mr.  Bedford  in  the  chair. 

The  following  were  elected  members: — Misses  Barton  and 
Martin  ; Messrs.  Skillman,  Gottheil,  Farrington,  Evans,  Plum- 
mer, Hinks,  and  Dr.  Roland  Smith. 

An  application  for  assistance  was  considered  and  granted. 

Mr.  Hanbly  was  appointed  lion,  local  secretary  for  Lincoln- 
shire. 


Bath  Photographic  Society. 

March  2 6th.  Mr.  W.  Pumphrey,  President,  in  chair. 

Messrs.  T.  Bush,  W.  C.  Lee,  H.  Isaccs,  and  C.  O.  R.  Wood 
were  elected. 

The  Hon.  Secretary  (W.  Middleton  Ashman)  read  a com- 
munication from  the  Mayor  of  Sutton  Coldfield,  anent  the 
Norway  excursion  promoted  by  the  Vesey  Club,  which  starts 
in  July  next. 

The  Chairman  said  the  Vesey  Club  desired  to  associate  with 
scientists  of  all  kinds  in  this  special  tour.  The  arrangements 
were  very  complete,  and  as  he  should  be  one  of  the  party,  he 
hoped  to  report  favourably  upon  his  return. 

The  Secretary  exhibited  a dark-room  candle  and  reading 
lamp  known  as  the  “ perfection.” 

The  following  were  appointed  an  excursion  committee  for 
the  ensuing  season  : Messrs,  Powell,  Perren,  Tabsley,  Collins, 
and  the  Secretary.  The  first  outing  will  take  place  April  24th. 
Train  11.25  a.m.,  G.  W.  R.,  to  Box  and  neighbourhood, 


272 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  4,  1890. 


The  Chairman  stated  that  the  annual  report  having  been 
printed  in  full  in  the  Bladud  newspaper,  they  had  ordered  250 
reprints.  Copies  could  be  obtained  from  the  Secretary.  He 
wished  to  correct  an  error  as  to  date  which  appeared  therein. 
The  publication  of  Daguerre’s  process  should  read  1839,  in- 
stead of  1840,  and  it  would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  the 
neighbourhood  of  Bath  was  the  scene  of  Fox  Talbot  researches. 

Mr.  C.  H.  Talbot  (son  of  Fox  Talbot)  said  he  felt  responsible 
for  these  matters  mentioned  by  the  chairman  being  sprung 
upon  the  meeting,  he  having  spoken  to  Mr.  Ashman  concerning 
them  earlier  in  the  day.  With  regard  to  date,  there  certainly 
was  an  error  in  the  committee’s  report.  He  was  not  then 
prepared  to  say  the  exact  date,  but  it  could  be  found  in  the 
second  edition  of  Tissandier’s  work.  His  father  made  an 
application  fora  patent  earlier  than  January,  1839  ; but,  on 
the  12th  of  that  month,  he  announced  his  method  of  making 
camera  pictures  to  avoid  being  forestalled  in  case  Daguerre’s 
process  should  prove  to  be  similar.  This  was  followed  by  the 
paper  his  father  read  on  January  81st,  1839,  before  the  Royal 
Society.  All  these  experiments  were  carried  on  at  Lacock 
Abbey,  thirteen  miles  from  Bath. 

The  Chairman  having  read  a passage  from  Mr.  Robert  Hunt’s 
book,  showing  how  the  error  referred  to  occurred, 

Mr.  Talbot  said  Niepce,  in  all  probability,  produced 
camera  pictures  earlier  than  his  father  or  Daguerre. 

The  Chairman  remarked  that  the  process  must  have  been 
very  slow  if  Niepce  used  bitumen  for  the  purpose. 

Mr.  Talbot:  Niepce’s  process  was  very  slow.  Daguerre’s 
process  did  not  precede  my  father’s  ; it  must  have  been  the 
other  way,  otherwise  its  publication  might  have  been  delayed. 
No  doubt  he  published  to  protect  himself.  He  (Mr.  Talbot) 
was  inclined  to  think  Niepce  made  the  earliest  camera  pictures. 
Wedgwood  had  tried  to  do  so,  but  he  failed. 

A lantern  exhibition  of  transparencies,  produced  by  members 
of  the  Society  during  the  past  session,  then  took  place  ; 
Messrs.  Pumphrey,  Bristow,  Peacock,  Perren,  Powell,  Maton, 
Wells,  and  the  Rev.  E.  A.  Purvis  contributed. 

Wet  collodion  slides,  toned  with  potassium  sulphide,  were 
shown  by  the  President  and  Mr.  Bristow.  The  remainder 
were  by  gelatine  processes,  either  developed,  with  ammonia  pyro, 
or  hydroquinone.  An  oxy-hydrogen  apparatus,  lent  by  the 
President,  was  used. 

The  Chairman  hoped  that  more  members  would  compete  next 
year,  so  that  all  might  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  each 
one’s  work.  Upon  the  whole  he  thought  they  had  a very  satis- 
factory display  of  a variety  of  subjects.  It  was  interesting  to 
note  the  different  treatment  these  subjects  had  received  at  the 
hands  of  the  members. 


Photographic  Society  of  Ireland. 

On  Thursday,  the  27tli  March,  the  monthly  technical  meeting 
was  held,  Dr.  J.  A.  Scott,  M.B.,  Vice-president,  in  the  chair. 
After  two  new  members  had  been  balloted  for,  the  evening  was 
devoted  to  exhibiting  such  lantern  slides  as  the  members  had 
brought  down  with  them,  and  some  pictures  were  put  upon 
the  screen,  and  elicited  discussion  as  to  the  various  conditions 
under  which  they  were  produced. 

After  the  lantern  exhibition,  Dr.  J.  A.  Scott  showed  Tylar’s 
lanternscope,  an  apparatus  designed  for  placing  upon  a table 
for  the  purpose  of  viewing  lantern  slides,  and  explained  its 
working. 

-♦ 

London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. — 
Thursday  next,  April  10th,  will  be  the  last  lantern  meeting 
this  season.  A special  feature  will  be  the  exhibition  of  slide 
carriers  and  slide  changing  apparatus. 

From  Messrs.  Gauthier- Villars  wre  receive  the  tenth  part  of 
the  second  volume  of  Ch.  Fabre’s  “ Traite  Fncyclopedique 
de  Photographic,”  which  is  being  issued  in  parts  on  the  15th 
of  each  month.  The  number  for  March  treats,  among  other 
matters,  of  phototypic  negatives  on  flexible  films,  and  nega- 
tive retouching,  not  only  in  portraiture,  but  in  landscape 
work. 


F,  Ives. — V e will ■ attend  to  your  letter  next  week, 


^nstoerg  to  (^orrcsijjon&cttts;. 

All  Communications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Photographic  News,  6,  Furnival 
Sreet,  London,  E.C. 

All  Advertisements  and  c immunisations  relating  tomoney  matters, and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

Cocoa. — The  details  of  Obernetter’s  Photo- Engraving  Process  will 
be  found  in  the  News  for  1884,  p.  67,  and  for  1885,  p.  159. 
It  is  there  stated  that  a gelatino-bromide  transparency  may 
be  employed,  the  film  of  which  is  converted  into  chloride  of 
silver  by  a mixture  of  percliloride  of  iron  and  chromic  acid,  or 
your  method  of  sulphate  of  copper  and  common  salt,  or  any 
other  solution  capable  of  converting  the  metallic  silver  into 
chloride.  This  altered  film  is  then  stripped,  and  laid  down 
upon  the  copper  surface,  which  gradually  becomes  etched, 
especially  if  moistened  with  a solution  of  chloride  of  zinc. 
The  process  is  expedited  by  backing  up  the  film  with  any 
conducting  surface,  and  attaching  the  positive  wire  of  a voltaic 
battery  with  the  metal  to  be  etched,  and  the  negative  pole 
to  the  aforesaid  conductor  at  the  back.  Mr.  Pearson’s  modifi- 
cation (p.  159)  consists  in  the  use  of  zinc  plates  instead  of 
copper,  when  no  battery  current  is  required.  The  trans- 
parency should  be  produced  on  a gelatino-bromide  film 
containing  a minimum  of  gelatine,  so  as  to  be  heavily  charged 
with  silver. 

W.  J.  \V.  (Hull).  — Grained  Metal  Plates  for  Photo- Engraving. 
These  may  probably  be  obtained  from  Mr.  J.  J.  Ayling,  12, 
Crane  Court,  Fleet  Street.  If  not  procurable  from  that 
quarter,  try  the  method  of  getting  a stippled  surface  by  pho- 
togi  aphing  your  subject  behind  a wire  gauze  screen,  or  even 
by  indenting  the  metal  plate  by  powerful  pressure  against  a 
bed  of  wire  gauze. 

Katie. — Spotting  Unmounted  Prints.  Indian  ink  will,  of 
course,  get  washed  off  when  the  prints  are  mounted,  but  we 
arc  not  acquainted  with  any  medium  which  could  safely  be 
employed  without  risk  of  revealing  itself  at  the  time  of  mount- 
ing the  prints. 

C.  T.  S. — Vegetable  Parchment.  The  proportions  are  two  parts 
by  measure  of  oil  of  vitriol  to  one  part  of  water,  allowed  to 
become  quite  cold,  and  then  the  blotting  pajier  immersed. 
As  soon  as  saturated,  remove  and  wash  quickly  in  a large  bulk 
of  water.  Fine  cambric  may  be  treated,  but  calico  does  not 
answer  so  well.  We  doubt  whether  you  will  succeed  witli 
cotton  tape,  or  any  closely  woven  fabric. 

E.  G. — Bar  of  Solder  Fallen  into  the  Nitrate  Bath.  Some 
of  the  silver  will  doubtless  be  reduced,  and  the  tin  partly 
oxidised,  but  only  lead  dissolved.  Filter  off  and  use  the 
solution  for  a printing  bath,  either  concentrating  it,  or 
strengthening  by  addition  of  more  nitrate  of  silver. 

M.  P.  S. — Cyanide  for  Reducing  Albumenized  Prints  and 
Taking  out  the  Silver.  There  is  a misprint  in  last  week’s 
report,  page  250,  second  column.  “ Half  a grain  to  the 
ounce,”  should  read  half  a grain  to  the  pint  of  water. 
Even  with  this  highly  dilute  solution  the  prints  will  suffer  if 
left  in  longer  than  a minute  or  two,  unless  they  were 
originally  much  over-printed. 

L.  M. — Incandescent  Gas  (Welsbach  system.)  Enquire 

for  further  particulars  at  the  office,  45a,  Piccadilly,  W. 

Camera. — Either  your  No.  1 or  the  “ Acme.”  Aluminium  fit- 
tings make  it  still  lighter.  We  should  advise  you  to  try  b, 
with  the  special  contrivance  for  holding  it  flat,  which  Mr. 
England  indicated  at  the  last  technical  meeting  of  the  Parent 
Society.  See  the  News,  p.  251. 

A.  W. — Platinotype.  Received  at  the  moment  of  going  to 
Press  ; we  will  answer  your  enquiries  next  week. 

R.  B.,  and  other  Correspondents,  in  our  next. 


oi55g. 

v.  ^ \ 


* V.. 


< Ho 


THOMAS  WEDGEWOOD. 

Producer  of  the  First  English  Photographs.  1802. 


From  a Crayon  Drawing  in  the  uossession  of  Miss  K.  Wedge, rood  Negative  bg  Ralph  W.  Robinson 


' v ^ 

Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1649. — April  11,  1890. 

\ . . ;v  '*■?* 

CONTENTS. 


Aluminium  in  Photographic  Apparatus  273 

On  the  Sensitisirg  and  Conservation  of  Albumenised  Paper. 

By  C.  Cataldi 274 

Photography  in  Natural  Colours 276 

The  Art  of  Drawing  and  Photography.  By  A.  M.  Rossi 277 

Photographic  Groups.  By  Fred.  Hart  Wilson 278 

Notes  280 

Ferdinand  Adolf  Beyersdorff  281 


P AO  K 


Photographic  Exhibitions  in  America  281 

The  Latent  Photographic  Image.  By  C.  H.  Bothamley 283 

Correspondence.  — The  Photographic  Societies’  National 
Challenge  Cup — The  Crystal  Palace  Challenge  Cup  Com- 
petition— The  Crystal  Palace  Exhibition 264 

Patent  Intelligence  285 

Proceedings  of  Societies 287 

Answers  to  Correspondents  28s 


ALUMINIUM  IN  PHOTOGRAPHIC  APPARATUS. 
The  dream  of  half  a generation  ago  of  the  advent  of 
the  time  in  which  aluminium  should  be  used,  not  alone 
for  lens  mounts  and  the  screws  of  cameras,  but  for  the 
cameras  themselves,  now  seems  likely  to  be  realised 
within  a moderate  period,  for  aluminium  has  been 
steadily  falling  in  price,  and  at  the  present  time  can  be  ' 
bought,  of  good  quality,  at  fifteen  shillings  a pound, 
and  of  superfine  quality  at  twenty  shillings  a pound.  I 
Worse  qualities  can  be  had  at  eleven  and  thirteen 
shillings  per  pound.  The  lower  the  quality  of  the 
metal  the  more  brittle  it  is,  and  the  more  likely  to  be 
attacked  by  various  chemical  reagents.  There  are 
rumours  in  commercial  circles  that  aluminium  before 
long  will  fall  in  price  to  about  six  shillings  a pound,  | 
but  whether  there  is  any  substantial  foundation  for  the 
report  we  do  not  know.  Deville,  when  he  was  making 
it  years  ago,  at  the  cost  of  about  forty  shillings  a 
pound,  calculated  on  theoretical  grounds  that  the  day 
was  likely  to  come  when  it  could  be  sold  at  about 
seven  shillings  a pound.  He  attempted  to  turn  it 
out  on  a large  scale  under  the  encouragement  of 
Napoleon  III.,  who  hoped  thereby  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion of  a new  great  manufacturing  industry  for  France. 
There  seems  to  be  no  chance  of  its  ever  falling  so  low 
as  brass  in  price  for  equal  bulks,  although  aluminium, 
weight  for  weight,  occupies  about  three  times  the  space 
of  brass.  Bad  brass  can  be  bought  at  sixpence  a 
pound,  good  at  between  eightpence  and  tenpence,  and 
the  alloy  of  copper  and  tin  known  as  gun  metal,  at 
fourteen  pence  a pound. 

The  necessary  extra  cost  of  aluminium  fittings,  even 
at  the  present  price  of  the  metal,  and  with  the  difficulties 
incidental  to  its  working,  is  not  a serious  question  in 
relation  to  their  introduction  into  tourists’  photographic 
apparatus  for  the  lightening  of  the  weight  thereof,  and 
perhaps  if  aluminium  milled  heads  were  now  in  the 
market  to  replace  those  of  brass,  there  might  at  once 
be  a steady  demand  for  them. 

In  addition  to  the  two  or  three  large  London  photo- 
graphic apparatus  firms  which,  as  already  stated  in  these 
pages,  have  begun  to  turn  their  attention  to  aluminium, 


Messrs.  Perken,  Son,  and  Rayment  tell  us  that  they 
have  been  experimenting  with  it  for  some  months ; 
they  find  it  difficult  to  turn,  and  that  screw-threads  on 
it  are  difficult  to  make,  and  in  such  operations  they 
lubricate  it  with  soap.  They  find  it  to  work  well 
under  the  file,  and  state  that  one  sample  they  have  been 
trying  has  been  alloyed  with  a slight  proportion  of 
other  metal  or  metals. 

From  the  Alliance  Aluminium  Company  we  have 
received  some  interesting  information  about  aluminium, 
including  the  following  table  relating  to  the  proper- 
ties of  various  metals  : — 


Specific  Weight 

Gravity.  per  Cubic  foot 

lbs. 

Melting 

Point 

Fahrenheit. 

Aluminium 

...  2-56  ... 

160  ... 

about  1600 

Antimony 

...  C-72  ... 

420  ... 

n 

810 

Zinc 

...  7* 

437  ... 

736 

Iron 

...  7-23,  ... 

451  ... 

1 1 

2786 

Tin 

...  7-29  ... 

455  ... 

442 

Steel 

...  8- 

499  ... 

? 1 

— 

Copper  ... 

...  8-6  ... 

537  ... 

>> 

1950 

Bismuth  ... 

...  9-82  ... 

613  ... 

> » 

495 

Silver 

...  10-47  ... 

654  ... 

1873 

Lead 

...  11-36  ... 

709  ... 

612 

Mercury  ... 

...  13-60  ... 

849  ... 

t > 

— 

Gold 

...  18-41  ... 

1150  ... 

»» 

2100 

Platinum... 

...  21-53  ... 

1344  ... 

* » 

3080 

The  Company 
tion  about  castin 

also  furnishes 
g aluminium  : 

the  appended  informx 

The  melting  point  of  aluminium  is  about  1,600^  F. 
The  melting  is  best  performed  in  a plumbago  crucible,  but 
an  earthenware  crucible  may  be  employed  ; no  flux  should 
be  used,  and  only  part  of  the  charge  be  melted  at  a time, 
and  added  to  little  by  little.  The  pieces  to  be  melted 
should  be  dipped  in  benzine  previous  to  being  put  into  the 
crucible.  In  melting  the  metal  the  heat  should  be  raised 
very  gradually  to  the  melting  point,  which  it  should  not  at 
any  time  much  exceed.  Aluminium  can  be  cast  either  in 
metallic  moulds  or  in  sand.  If  in  metallic  moulds,  the 
moulds  should  Jirst  be  heated,  and  coated  with  an  air- 
expeller,  then  thoroughly  dried  and  warmed  before  using. 
If  in  sand,  care  should  be  taken  that  the  mould  be  dry ; in 
either  case  the  moulds  should  be  provided  with  many 
vents.  The  metal  should  be  poured  quickly,  and  a suit- 
able allowance  made  for  shrinkage. 


274 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  11,  1890. 


The  Alliance  Co.  gives  the  following  instructions 
for  plating  aluminium  : — 

In  order  to  plate  aluminium  with  gold,  silver,  or  other 
suitable  metal,  it  is  necessary  first  to  cover  it  with  a firm 
coating  of  copper,  to  obtain  which  the  following  process 
is  recommended : — 

Dissolve  a certain  quantity  of  copper-sulphate  in  dis- 
tilled water,  and  add  another  solution  made  by  dissolving 
potassium- cyanide  (00  to  6f>  per  cent.)  in  water.  A green 
precipitate  will  appear,  which  dissolves  by  adding  more  of 
the  cyanide  solution  : then  add  a little  potassium-cyanide 
of  90  to  95  per  cent.;  this  may  be  continued  until  the  blue 
colour  of  the  liquid  has  completely  disappeared. 

The  solution  thus  prepared  will  generally  be  too  strong, 
and  it  should,  therefore,  be  diluted  with  water  until  it 
indicates  20  per  cent.  Tw.  — 11  sp.  gr.  This  solution 
will  only  answer  well  if  used  at  a temperature  of  10° 
Celsius,  care  being  taken  that  the  aluminium  is 
thoroughly  cleaned  immediately  before  immersing  it.  The 
current  must  be  regulated  in  such  a manner  that  only 
very  small  bubbles  appear  on  the  aluminium ; as  soon 
as  the  bubbles  get  too  large  the  coating  becomes  imper- 
fect, and  the  current  has  been  too  strong. 

After  obtaining  a perfect  coating  of  copper  in  the 
manner  described,  it  may  be  brushed,  or  polished,  or 
simply  dried ; the  articles  may  be  silvered,  gilt  bronzed, 
or  brassed  in  the  ordinary  way.  For  obtaining  a second 
thick  coating  of  copper,  use  the  acid  solution  of  copper- 
sulphate,  containing  a little  tartaric  acid,  instead  of  the 
sulphuric  acid  commonly  employed. 

For  polishing  aluminium  the  appended  instructions 
are  given  : — 

Equal  weights  of  olive  oil  and  rum  are  shaken  in  a flask 
till  emulsified.  Dip  the  burnisher  in  this  mixture,  and  do 
not  press  heavily  on  the  metal.  To  clean  a soiled  surface, 
dip  the  object  in  benzine,  and  dry  in  fine  boxwood  saw- 
dust. Olive  oil  and  pumice  make  a good  grinding  mix- 
ture for  hammered  or  pressed  objects  before  polishing. 

Next  we  come  to  the  methods  of  mixing  aluminium 
with  steel  or  cast  iron,  for  an  exceedingly  small  pro- 
portion of  it  m either  of  these  improves  its  quality  ex- 
ceedingly. 

The  proportion  for  steel  is  0'01  to  0-2  percent,;  for 
iron,  0-l  to  0-2  per  cent. 

Run  the  molten  iron  from  the  cupola  into  the  ladle ; 
then  take  the  right  proportion  of  aluminium  in  a pair  of 
tongs,  or  in  a cartridge  (iron)  full  of  holes  through  the 
sides  to  let  the  gases  out  freely ; plunge  it  sharply  through 
the  molten  iron  to  the  bottom  of  the  ladle,  and  stir  the 
whole  thoroughly  for  at  least  two  minutes.  On  the  intro- 
duction of  the  aluminium,  the  mixture  will  be  found  to 
become  very  lively,  and  to  “ work  ” considerably,  almost, 
so  to  speak,  to  boil ; the  stirring  should  be  continued  until 
this  agitation  begins  to  subside.  If  the  mixture  be  not 
well  stirred,  the  castings  will  be  found  to  be  spongy,  and 
to  have  little  air-cells  in  them.  Both  the  tongs,  or  car- 
tridge, and  the  aluminium  should  be  heated  and  dried 
before  plunging,  or  the  metal  may  fly.  The  man  who 
plunges  the  aluminium  in  should  be  well  guarded  against 
the  metal  flying. 


I HOTOGRAPHic  Clcb. — -The  subject  for  discussion  on  April 
16th  will  be  “ Printed-out  Opals  April  23rd,  “ The  Develop- 
ment of  Instantaneous  Exposures.” 


ON  THE  SENSITISING  AND  CONSERVATION  OF 
ALBUMENISED  FABER* 

BY  C.  CATAT.DI. 

It  is  generally  allowed  that  a good  negative  ought  to  pro- 
duce a good  positive,  but  it  must  always  be  carefully 
understood  that  in  order  to  have  a good  positive  a well 
prepared  paper  is  essential.  The  sensitising  of  the  albu- 
menised  paper  is  on  this  account  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant operations  of  photography,  and  it  may  even  be 
said  that,  next  to  the  preparation  of  the  sensitive  emulsion 
for  the  plates,  it  ranks,  in  a descending  scale  of  import- 
ance, the  first. 

A customer  who  pays  a visit  to  a photographer  for  the 
purpose  of  having  his  photograph  taken,  is  anxious  to 
receive  good  pictures.  He  little  recks  that  the  photo- 
grapher, in  order  to  accomplish  his  desire,  is  bound  to 
obtain  a good  negative,  and  to  develop  such  negative  with 
this  rather  than  with  that  developer— all  that  the  cus- 
tomer requires  is  a good  portrait.  This  he  pays  for,  and 
troubles  himself  no  whit  about  aught  else.  It  is,  there- 
fore, clearly  to  the  photographer's  interest  to  select  a good 
quality  of  paper,  to  sensitise  it  in  a proper  manner,  and 
never  to  entrust,  through  ignorance  or  carelessness,  this 
most  delicate  of  all  photographic  operations  to  any  inex- 
perienced hands. 

The  foregoing  serves  to  explain  why  many  persons  well 
known  and  long  experienced  in  the  photographic  art  have 
occupied  themselves  in  the  preparation  of  paper  with 
serious  diligence,  and  why  it  is  sought  to  secure,  at  least 
for  some  time,  the  preservation  of  the  sensitive  state  after 
sensitising  by  seeking  a remedy  against  the  yellowing  of 
the  paper. 

Signor  Klary — from  whose  kindness  I have  received 
much  information  in  regard  to  my  experiments  in  this 
matter — to  whom,  indeed,  any  praise  which  may  result  from 
them  is  wholly  due — has  demonstrated  incontestably  the 
necessity  of  a strict  attention  to  the  degree  of  concentra- 
tion of  the  sensitising  bath,  and  to  the  duration  of  the 
floating  of  the  paper. 

The  concentration  of  the  bath  determines  more  or  less 
rapidly  the  coagulation  of  the  albumen,  and  from  this  it 
follows  that  its  density  should  be  delicately  adjusted,  so 
as  on  the  one  hand  not  to  hasten  the  coagulation  necessary, 
because  this  would  hinder  the  silver  lath  from  penetrating 
the  albumen  ; and  on  the  other  hand,  not  to  retard  it 
beyond  what  is  necessary,  because  then  the  lath  would  be 
very  easily  absorbed,  not  only  by  the  albuminous  stratum 
in  which  it  ought  to  remain,  but  also  by  the  paper  itself, 
entailing  thereby  a grievous  damage. 

The  duration  of  the  sensitising  process  ought  to  be  in 
exact  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  salts  contained  in  the 
albumen,  to  the  concentration  of  the  bath,  to  its  tempera- 
ture, and  to  the  temperature  of  the  place  where  the 
process  is  carried  on.  As  Signor  Klary  observes,  in  all 
operations  having  regard  to  the  sensitising  of  the  paper, 
an  exact  and  perfect  harmony  is  necessary,  to  which  must 
be  added,  in  my  opinion,  a just  criterion,  because  it  is 
easy  to  understand  that  the  floating  of  the  paper  over  the 
sensitising  bath  has  no  other  end  than  to  cause  the  trans- 
formation of  the  nitrate  of  silver  into  chloride  and 
albuminate  of  silver,  and  this  transformation  occurs,  as  I 
have  already  said,  relatively  to  the  quantity  of  chloride  of 
sodium  which  the  albumen  contains,  and,  therefore,  in  a 

* Translated  for  the  PHOTooHAPHicNEWs^from  the  Bulletin  of  the  Italian 
Photographic  Society,  published  at  Florence. 


Arim.  11,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


determinate  lapse  of  time.  When  .all  the  chloride  of 
sodium  has  been  transformed,  the  prolonged  contact  of 
the  paper  with  the  silver  bath  is  not  only  useless,  but  even 
prejudicial,  because  the  nitrate  of  silver  continues  to  filter 
itself  into  the  pores  of  the  paper,  which,  thus  sensitised, 
no  longer  retains  in  the  impressions  that  transparency  of 
tints  which  would  be  apparent  if  all  the  salts  of  silver  were 
found  on  the  surface  of  albumen.  In  this  last  case 
the  image  is  retained  upon  this  surface,  and  the  paper, 
preserving  its  whiteness  unaltered,  produces  impressions 
praiseworthy  alike  for  their  transparency  and  their  relief. 

More  clearly  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  this  assertion, 
I will  call  the  reader's  attention  to  the  fact  that  prints 
taken  upon  aristotype  paper  are  generally  better  than  those 
upon  albumenised  [taper  in  the  matters  of  transparency  and 
depth  of  tints,  which  the  former  shows  in  marked 
superiority  to  the  latter,  and  this  only  because  all  the 
chloride  of  silver  contained  in  the  former  paper  is  dis- 
tributed in  the  gelatinous  mass,  and  the  paper  itself  is 
therefore  preserved  uncontaminated.  An  impression  upon 
albumenised  paper  rendered  as  translucent  as  one  upon 
aristotype  by  the  method  of  Signor  Crozat,  fails  to  acquire  the 
value  of  the  latter  if  the  sensitising  has  been  excessive. 
From  my  own  experiments,  I can  guarantee  as  fairly 
trustworthy  the  following  formula},  which  I here  tender 
with  all  good  will  to  such  of  my  honourable  fellow-workers 
as  may  desire  perchance  to  prepare  in  their  own  labora- 
tories a paper  which  may  be  satisfactory  to  them. 


Te 

rperature. 

Percentage  of 
Silver  Bath. 

Duration  of 
Sensitibing. 

Notes. 

From 

2“  to  16“  C. 

10  5 Gramme- 

From  60  to  70  secs. 

These  indications 
are  for  aimply  alhu. 

17°  „ 29“  C. 

9 

»»  35  „ 50  ,, 

mcnized  paper.  For 
doubly  albumer.izett 

30“  „ 35“  C. 

» 

the  duration  of  the 
sensitising  must  be 

- 

increased  by  a few 
seconds. 

The  paper  thus  sensitised  may  be  kept  very  well  for  a 
few  days,  if  care  be  taken  to  preserve  it  in  a dry  place. 
If,  however,  it  be  desired  to  keep  it  for  a longer  period, 
several  methods  of  preservation  have  been  suggested, 
which  I will  here  recapitulate  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
may  wish  to  avail  themselves  of  any  of  them. 

I)r.  Van  Monckhoven  advises  the  addition  to  the  silver 
bath  of  as  much  nitrate  of  magnesia  as  there  is  nitrate  of 
silver  contained  therein.  This  receipt  I have  not  found 
to  answer  very  well. 

Mr.  William  Bedford  advises  the  sensitising  of  the 
paper  in  the  ordinary  manner,  and  after  that  allowing  it  to 
float  for  about  a minute  on  the  sensitised  surface  in  a bath 
composed  of — 

Distilled  water  ...  ...  ...  ...  1,000  c.c. 

Nitrate  of  silver...  ...  ...  ...  62,5  gr. 

Citric  acid  ...  ...  ...  ...  62\r>  gr. 

The  Bulletin  of  the  Belgian  Association  of  Photographers 
prescribes  the  use  of  leaves  of  blotting-paper  impregnated 
with  carbonate  of  soda,  which  are  interposed  between 
the  sheets  of  dried  sensitised  paper.  Rolled  up  together 
with  these,  the  sensitised  paper  may,  says  the  Bulletin,  be 
preserved. 

Doctor  Stoke  gives  the  following  method : — The  paper  is 
to  be  sensitised  upon  a silver  bath  of  10  per  cent. , and  while 
not  yet  completely  dry,  is  to  be  floated  on  the  side  opposite 
to  the  albumen  upon  a bath  of  citrate  of  potassium  (1 : 30) 
for  about  four  minutes.  It  is  to  be  then  washed  with 
rain  water,  and  toned,  after  fixing,  with  a bath  of  sulpho- 
ryanide  of  gold. 


•> 


M.  I,  eon  Vidal,  in  the  Photogruphie  ties  Debutants,  suggests 
putting  the  paper,  after  the  sensitising  process,  and  on 
the  side  opposite  to  it,  for  the  space  of  five  minutes  upon 
a bath  composed  of — 


Distilled  water  ... 
Gum  arabic 
Citric  acid 
Tartaric  acid 
Hydrochloric  acid 


...  1,000  c.c. 

...  30  gr. 

...  20  „ 

...  20  „ 

...  20  „ 


M.  Leon  Warnerke  counsels  the  use  of  nitrate  of  potassium 
in  the  ratio  of  1:4,  with  which  the  paper  is  to  be  wetted 
after  the  sensitising,  and  on  the  side  opposite  to  it. 

Mr.  Debenham,  of  London,  points  out  the  use  of  the 
perchloric  acid  of  commerce.  lie  adds  ten  drops  of  this 
acid  to  every  30  c.c.  of  the  sensitising  bath. 

Mr.  Taylor  declares  that  his  own  experiments  lead  him  to 
employ  tartaric  acid  rather  than  citric  acid,  which  is  the 
acid  generally  used  to  preserve  the  sensitised  paper. 

Captain  Abney  asserts  that  if  the  sensitised  paper  be 
kept  in  a place  perfectly  dry,  and  otherwise  empty,  it  may 
be  preserved  for  an  indefinite  period. 

Herr  Liesegang.  in  his  treatise  HaniUmch  ties  Praktischen 
Pliotographen,  indicates  two  distinct  methods.  With  the 
first  of  these  he  prescribes  the  addition  of  a small  quantity 
of  citric  acid  to  the  silver  bath,  which  is  composed  as 
follows : — 


f Nitrate  of  silver 
( Distilled  water 


Citric  acid  ... 
Distilled  water 


...  20  gr. 

...  100  c.c. 
...  2 gr. 

...  100  c.c. 


After  the  complete  solution  of  the  substances,  No.  2 is 
poured  into  No.  1,  and  five  drops  are  added  of  phenol 
(carbolic  acid).  The  sensitising  of  the  paper  is  effected 
in  the  ordinary  manner. 

For  the  second  method  we  are  told  to  sensitise  the  paper 
with  the  usual  bath  of  ten  per  cent.,  then  to  let  it  float, 
while  yet  somewhat  moist,  on  the  non-albumenised  side,  on 
a bath  composed  of  one  part  of  citric  acid  to  fifteen  parts 
of  water  for  about  ten  seconds. 

From  my  own  experience  I have  found  that  the  best 
methods  to  adopt  are  those  indicated  by  Herr  Liesegang, 
with  which  I sensitised  several  sheets  of  paper  upon 
the  21st  of  November  in  last  year.  These  sheets  I have 
found  with  pleasure  to  be  well  preserved  up  to  the  present 
time.  Printing,  toning,  and  fixing  succeed  with  these 
methods  well  and  easily  —a  result  which  I have  not  obtained 
after  other  methods  of  treatment. 

If  the  advice  given  by  M.  Leon  Vidal  be  followed,  the 
paper  w ill  not  retain  its  sensitiveness  if  it  be  allowed  to 
float  on  the  second  bath  for  the  space  of  five  minutes,  as 
the  author  prescribes,  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  it  will  be 
preserved  excellently  well  if  the  time  be  restricted  to  ten 
or  twelve  seconds.  This  inconvenience  aroused  in  me  the 
idea  of  discovering  its  cause,  and  I thought  at  first  that 
some  endosmosc  of  the  silver  had  taken  place  into  the 
gununy  and  acidulated  water,  because,  whilst  the  image 
appeared  pale  on  the  side  of  the  albumen,  it  presented 
itself  in  the  clearest  manner  when  looked  at  as  a trans- 
parency and  from  the  back.  But  I afterwards  considered 
that  this  inconvenience  possibly  was  caused  by  the  trans- 
formation into  chloride  of  silver  of  the  excess  of  nitrate  of 
silver  wdiich  remained  in  excess  on  the  surface  of  the  sheet 
— a transformation  due  to  the  action  of  the  chlorhydric  acid 
— and  as  it  is  know  n by  the  investigations  made  in  this 
matter  by  MM.  Davanne  and  Girard,  that  the  silver 
reduced  by  the  light  to  the  metallic  state  releases  chlorine, 


276 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


which,  finding  itself  in  the  presence  of  nitrate  of  silver 
forms  successively  new  proportions  of  chloride  upon  which 
the  light  continues  to  exercise  its  action  ; so  it  seemed  to 
me  clear  that,  wanting  that  part  of  nitrate  of  silver  in 
excess,  the  image  remained  somewhat  faint  and  pale.  I 
cannot,  however,  speak  with  any  certainty,  as  I have  not 
had  sufficient  time  to  study  this  phenomenon.  Very 
probably  one  of  my  suppositions  may  be  just,  but  I appeal 
to  all  my  excellent  companions  and  fellow  students  in  the 
photographic  art  to  endeavour  to  give  a more  exact 
explanation  of  the  matter  which  I submit  to  them. 

For  applying  the  preserving  bath  to  the  paper,  the 
method  which  I have  hitherto  found  the  best  is  that  which 
follows  : — Every  sheet,  as  soon  as  it  is  removed  from  the 
sensitising  bath,  is  to  be  suspended  by  two  of  its  coiners, 
letting  it  hang  a little  on  one  side,  and  so  drained. 
When  a certain  number  of  sheets  have  been  sensitised,  and 
whilst  the  paper  is  still  moist,  the  excess  of  liquid  which  may 
yet  remain  on  the  lower  margin  is  to  be  removed  by 
placing  the  sheet  between  some  folds  of  white  blotting- 
paper.  It  is  then  to  be  floated  on  the  acidulated  bath, 
on  which  it  is  not  to  be  left  more  than  ten  or  fifteen 
seconds.  The  object  of  this  second  bath  being  used 
whilst  the  sheet  is  still  moist,  is  facility  of  the  working, 
since  the  paper  is  then  much  more  pliant,  and  in  a condi- 
dition  most  favourable  for  the  prevention  of  that  curling 
up  which  would  certainly  spoil  it. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  NATURAL  COLOURS. 

In  the  Standard  of  April  2nd  is  the  following  letter  on 
the  above  subject  from  its  Vienna  correspondent,  who 
has  had  an  interview  with  Dr.  Eder  in  relation  to  the 
alleged  photographs  in  natural  colours,  which  attracted 
attention  at  the  Camera  Club  Conference.  From  the  letter 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  method  of  Herr  Veress  is  a secret 
one,  that  Dr.  Eder  has  not  been  made  aware  of  its  nature, 
and  that  so  much  of  the  method  as  lias  been  made  known 
is  chiefly  Becquerel’s  process,  except  that  the  chloride  of 
silver  is  applied  emulsified  in  gelatine  or  collodion,  but 
that  also  is  not  new.  In  fact,  in  such  details  of  the  pro- 
cess as  the  Correspondent  has  been  able  to  obtain,  there 
is  nothing  new  nor  even  comparatively  recent : — 

I have  already  mentioned,  in  a former  telegram,  that  the 
photos  of  Herr  Franz  Veress,  of  Klausenburg,  Transylvania, 
were  shown  to  me  by  Professor  Eder  at  the  Photographic  In- 
stitute. The  interesting  specimens  were  sent  to  the  Institute 
not  by  Herr  Veress  himself,  who,  perhaps,  does  not  know 
German,  and  was,  therefore,  not  able  to  write  to  Professor 
Eder,  but  by  the  Hungarian  landed  proprietor,  Herr  E.  von 
Gothard,  of  Heruny,  in  Hungary,  an  amateur  photographer, 
who  had  heard  of  the  achievements  of  the  unknown  Transyl- 
vanian artist,  and,  out  of  scientific  interest,  assisted  him  in 
the  pursuit  of  his  discovery.  The  photos  are  upon  glass  and 
upon  paper.  The  former  are  diapositives,  and  if  looked 
.hrough  show,  for  the  most  part,  a beautiful  ruby-red  ground 
colour,  with  a picture  in  bright,  sometimes  brilliant,  colours, 
from  the  deepest  hue  of  ruby-red — far  deeper  than  the  ground 
colour — to  light  orange,  with  several  shades  of  red  and  yellow, 
and  from  violet  to  aniline  blue,  and  the  intensest,  most  bril- 
liant blue  that  can  be  imagined.  The  same  colours  prevail 
also  on  the  paper  positives,  which  have  all  a greyish-brown 
ground-colour,  upon  which  the  red  inclines  more  to  purple 
than  ruby,  and  the  violet  is  especially  brilliant.  Green  is 
missing  on  all  the  positives,  and  it  is  not  known  whether  Herr 
Veress  has  succeeded  in  producing  it,  since  the  photos  now 
in  Vienna  were  obtained  some  four  weeks  ago.  I looked  at 
the  photos,  together  with  Professor  Eder,  through  a magni- 
fying glass,  and  we  could  not  detect  a single  impurity  in  the 


[April  11,  1890. 


drawing  or  in  the  pigment  of  the  colours.  The  outlines  of 
the  pictures  are  perfectly  exact,  and  each  colour  stands  out 
from  the  other  with  marvellous  distinctness.  Professor  Eder 
told  me  he  did  not  dare  to  expose  the  photos  to  the  direct 
sunlight,  as  he  was  afraid  of  their  being  injured  ; but  he 
was  astonished  to  find  that  the  colours  were  quite  unaffected, 
and  not  changed  in  the  slightest  degree,  after  lieing  exposed  to 
the  ordinary  daylight  in  Dr.  F.der’s  office  for  fully  three  weeks, 
during  which  the  photos  upon  glass  and  paper  were  examined 
by  a great  number  of  persons,  were  lying  about  uncovered  at 
different  times  of  the  day,  and  were  also  shown  during  a 
lecture  at  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  Natural 
Science  during  gas-light.  Such  permanency  of  colour  on 
photos  has,  Professor  Eder  says,  never  lieen  known  l>efore, 
and  constitutes  the  principal  achievement  of  the  Transylvanian 
discoverer.  It  will  lie  necessary  to  expose  the  photos  .to  a 
more  severe  light  experiment  liefore  final  judgment  can  be 
passed  ; but  if  we  remember  that  in  former  cases  of  photo- 
graphing in  natural  colours  a coating  of  varnish  has  had  to  be 
applied  to  protect  the  colours,  as  otherwise  they  would  have 
faded  away  within  a few  days,  if  not  within  a few  hours,  it 
must  be  .admitted  that  the  solution  of  the  problem  has  been 
greatly  advanced  by  Herr  Veress,  when  he  has  succeeded  in 
making  the  natural  colours  durable  for  such  a long  time 
in  diffused  light. 

In  sending  the  photos,  Herr  von  Gothard  gave  the  following 
details  of  the  applied  process.  The  sensitive  preparation  is  a 
silver  chloride  emulsion  in  collodion,  or  in  gelatine,  and  the 
solution  being  prepared  in  a peculiar  way,  which  is  the  inven- 
tor’s secret,  it  is  jwured  upon  either  the  glass  or  the  paper, 
where  it  soon  takes  a brownish-red  colour.  The  plate  is  put 
into  a copying  frame  and  exposed  to  the  rays  from  a trans- 
parent coloured  drawing,  of  which  the  negative  picture  is  soon 
visible,  the  dark  parts  appearing,  of  course,  in  white.  The 
exposure  has  to  last  in  the  case  of  glass  negatives  two  to  three 
hours,  and  in  the  case  of  paper  at  least  three  days,  as  the 
colours  come  out  very  slowly,  but  the  picture  having  been  fixed 
in  an  alkaline  bath,  the  colours  become  brighter  and  more  in- 
tense. The  process  in  the  camera  would  require  an  exposure 
lasting  several  weeks,  but  even  the  ordinary  process  will  be 
largely  reduced  if  some  experiments  on  which  Herr  Veress  is 
at  present  engaged  succeed  as  well  as  he  hopes,  and,  according 
to  the  latest  information,  he  has  already  so  changed  his  original 
system  as  greatly  to  lessen  the  time  of  exposure,  esjiecially  for 
the  paper  negatives. 

Professor  Eder  has  not  made  the  slightest  attempt  to  j>ene- 
trate  into  the  secret  of  Herr  Veress’s  process,  in  order  not  to 
deprive  him  of  the  ultimate  pecuniary  benefit  of  his  arduous 
labours.  All  he  would  say  is,  that  Herr  Veress,  who  must  be 
a very  clever  practical  photographer,  has  most  likely  by  some 
professional  device  so  changed  the  process  descrilied  by  Carey 
Lea  some  two  years  ago,  of  applying  the  photo  chlorides  of  sil- 
ver in  the  form  of  an  emulsion,  as  to  achieve  what  nobody 
before  him  has  succeeded  in,  namely,  photographing  in  several 
colours  which  are  permanent.  The  sulistance  he  uses  is  pro- 
bably much  the  same  as  that  experimented  with  by  Herschel  in 
1840,  by  Becquerel  in  1847,  1848,  till  1855,  and  by  Niepce 
de  St.  Victor,  1851  till  1866.  But  the  system  is  a different 
one,  and,  as  it  has  led  to  such  great  results  in  so  short  a time, 
it  may  be  presumed  that  Herr  Veress  is  the  right  man  to  bring 
the  solution  of  the  great  problem  within  reach,  if  enabled  to 
pursue  his  studies  on  the  subject. 

Professor  EJer  is  not  quite  sure  whether  he  must  regard  the 
colours  on  the  Transylvanian  photos  as  a real  pigment,  or  as 
the  effect  of  very  thin  layers.  He  is  delighted  with  the  exact- 
ness and  precision  of  the  coloured  picture  obtained  by  Herr 
Veress,  and  although  he  must,  of  course,  look  upon  photo- 
graphing in  natural  colours  as  still  in  its  infancy,  and  even  the 
results  of  Herr  Veress  as  only  a crude  specimen  of  what  ulti- 
mately may  lie  achieved,  the  possibility  of  fixing  colours  for 
such  a long  time  is,  in  his  opinion,  so  great  a step  in  advance 
that  minor  shortcomings  are  of  small  importance.  I gave  the 
professor  everything  to  read  that  has  appeared  in  the  Standard 
since  the  first  article  on  the  subject,  and  after  going  through 
all  the  letters,  he  said — 


April  1 1 , 1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


277 


“ Captain  Abney’s  results  in  obtaining  natural  colours  by 
photography  have  never  teen  seen  on  the  Continent.  I am, 
therefore,  not  able  to  say  anything  about  them.  The  process 
of  Mr.  Ives,  of  Philadelphia,  is  printing  in  colours  by  the  aid 
of  photography,  and  not  photographing  ; it  can,  therefore,  in 
no  way  compare  with  the  discovery  of  Herr  Veress,  which  is 
quite  a different  thing.  The  photo-chromic  pictures  prcxluced 
in  Philadelphia  are  also  produced  in  jierfection  by  Albert,  in 
Munich,  and  by  Sieger  and  Lowy,  in  Vienna,  and  to  my  taste 
those  of  Sieger  are  the  test  in  existence.  But,  as  I said  before, 
that  is  chromo-lithography,  in  which  photograph}’  is  only  an 
accessory,  and  not  sun-printing  in  natural  colours.  The  other 
statements  in  the  letters  to  the  Editor  of  the  Standard  are 
completely  negatived  by  what  you  have  seen  yourself,  and  what 
I can  vouch  for  as  really  achieved — namely,  the  retention  of 
the  colours  for  several  weeks.  Everything  else  rests  with  the 
future,  and  the  problem  is,  of  course,  not  even  approximately 
solved  as  yet.” 

The  professor  is  quite  a young  man,  very  energetic,  very 
cautious  in  scientific  matters,  and  given  heart  ar.d  soul  to 
natural  science  in  all  its  branches.  He  is  the  director  and 
leading  spirit  of  an  Institute  which  has  not  its  equal  in  the 
world.  It  owes  its  existence  to  the  energy  of  Baron  Gautsch, 
the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  who  founded  it  as  a State 
Institute  with  the  assistance  of  the  Vienna  Town  Council, 
which  placed  the  greater  part  of  a house  in  the  Wertbahnstraase 
at  its  dis[x>sal,  defrayed  the  cost  of  the  necessary  alterations, 
and  still  provides  the  lighting,  heating,  and  the  service  in  the 
four  glass-covered  studios,  nearly  forty  different  rooms,  and  the 
large  class-room,  which  together  make  up  the  Institute.  The 
first  expenses  for  fitting  up,  and  for  the  purchase  of  a very 
large  collection  of  instruments  and  appliances,  photographic  as 
well  as  physical  and  chemical,  were  defrayed  out  of  a State 
grant,  and  the  current  expenses  are  met  by  a State  subvention 
and  the  fees  of  the  students.  These  number  at  present  nearly 
two  hundred,  including  several  ladies,  in  addition  to  a great 
number  of  amateurs  who  do  not  attend  all  the  lectures  given  by 
the  six  professors,  but  only  follow  special  branches,  and  have  the 
use  of  the  Institute  as  far  as  they  need  it.  The  students  are, 
to  a large  extent,  foreigners,  and  I spoke  to  two  young  gentle- 
men, sons  of  photographers  in  the  vicinity  of  Chicago,  who 
have  come  all  the  way  from  America  to  attain  perfection  in  the 
different  arts  connected  with  photography.  The  speciality  of 
the  Vienna  Institute  consists,  mainly,  in  the  union  of  every  art 
or  profession  into  which  photography  enters  as  an  auxiliary, 
besides  the  promotion  of  studies  in  photography  itself  and  in 
its  application  to  science.  The  Institute  has  been  in  existence 
only  since  the  1st  May,  1888,  and  has  already  such  a reputation 
that  applications  are  made  from  all  parts  of  the  world  for  places 
in  the  different  classes,  usually  half  a year  before  the  courses 
begin,  as  the  number  of  seats  is  limited. 

Treatment  of  Uranium  Residues. — Large  quantities  of 
uranium  salts  are  used  in  the  analytical  laboratory  for  the 
estimation  of  phosphoric  acid  in  manures  and  agricultural  pro- 
duce. M.  Lacete  has  proposed  the  following  treatment  for 
recovering  the  uranium  in  the  residues  of  this  operation 
When  a sufficiently  large  quantity  of  liquid  containing  its  pre- 
cipitate of  phosphate  of  uranium  has  accumulated,  the  super- 
natant liquid  is  decanted  off,  and  the  precipitate  is  boiled  with 
soda  until  dissolved.  After  cooling,  and  without  filtering, 
ammonia  is  added,  and  the  phosphoric  acid  eliminated  by  means 
of  the  ordinary  magnesia  mixture.  Twelve  hours  later  the 
liquid  over  this  precipitate  of  phosphate  of  magnesia  and 
ammonia  is  syphoned  off,  and  the  residue  washed  with  ammo- 
niacal  water.  The  filtrate  from  the  phosphate  of  magnesia  is 
neutralised  by  means  of  hydrochloric  acid  or  sulphuric  acid,  and 
the  carbonic  acid  is  eliminated  by  boiling  the  liquid.  The 
uranium  which  the  latter  contains  is  now  precipitated  by 
ammonia  ; the  precipitate  is  washed  with  water,  to  which  a 
little  sulphate  of  ammonia  is  added.  It  is  finally  dissolved  in 
nitric  acid  taken  rather  in  excess,  and  the  solution  yields  on 
evaporation  crystals  of  nitrate  of  uranium.  These  are  collected 
in  a filter,  and  washed  with  a minute  quantity  of  very  cold 
water.- — Buryoyncs  Monthly  Magazine. 


THE  ART  OF  DRAWING  AND  PHOTOGRAPHY.* 

BY  A.  M.  ROSSI. 

In  an  article  written  by  me  some  time  ago  in  the  Photographic 
Quarterly,  I endeavoured  to  show  the  preponderating 
influence  that  photography  bears  on  art.  I went,  perhaps, 
a little  too  far  in  mentioning  certain  facts  and  incidents, 
and  this  brought  upon  me  an  avalanche  of  hostile  criticism 
from  my  brother  artists.  On  this  occasion  I propose, 
notwithstanding,  to  follow  on  the  same  track,  and  try  as 
best  I can  to  prove  that  photography,  instead  of  being  the 
useful  servant  to  art,  has  almost  become  its  mistress. 

When  photography  was  in  its  infancy,  a thorough 
academical  art  education  was  acquired  by  long,  tedious, 
and  assiduous  study.  Drawing,  by  which  is  meant  not 
only  an  outline,  but  the  inside  accentuation  and  modelling 
of  the  form  by  means  of  the  correctness  of  values  and 
passages  in  the  chiaroscuro,  formed  without  exaggeration 
three-fourths  of  an  art  education.  The  rest  was  occupied 
by  the  student  in  learning,  if  learning  it  could  be  called, 
the  art  of  painting.  Students  admitted  in  the  academies 
began  by  copying  from  the  flat,  and  then  drawing  from  the 
cast,  extremities,  and  heads,  and  busts,  Ac.,  attending  at 
the  same  time  classes  in  anatomy,  geometry,  ornamentation, 
elementary  architecture,  and  perspective,  all  considered 
necessary  for  the  formation  of  an  art  draughtsman,  who, 
after  a period  of  six  or  eight  years,  if  he  could  distinguish 
himself  by  executing  an  original  cartoon  of  a given  subject, 
was  promoted  to  the  last  and  to  him  most  fascinating 
school,  that  of  painting  from  life,  where  he  could  nestle 
until  he  felt  his  wings  stroDg  enough  to  fly  in  search  of 
name  and  fame.  Beyond  teaching  a few  tricks  and  the 
way  of  holding  the  pallet  and  the  maulstick,  the  professors 
contented  themselves  in  passing  their  own  private  opinion 
upon  the  works.  Hence  it  was  that  one  day  Professor  A. 
would  pronounce  a painting  too  hot,  and  the  same  would 
be  too  chalky  for  Professor  B. ; an  academy  from  life 
would  be  lacking  in  transparency  for  Professor  €.,  and 
the  same  a day  or  two  later  on,  in  too  light  a key  for 
Professor  I). ; and  so  on.  lie  who  is  not  bom  a painter 
can  never  become  a great  one.  Some  of  the  best  prodigies 
in  the  academies,  in  emerging  into  the  schools  of  painting, 
have  thoroughly  flagged,  and  it  is  hardly  necessary  for  me 
to  mention  many  names  of  men  of  modern  times  who  gave 
up  the  pallet,  or  used  it  to  the  detriment  of  their  beautiful 
designs.  We  have  an  Overbeck,  a Kaulbach,  a Cornelius, 
a Tancrede,  almost  our  contemporaries,  great  men  who 
threw  the  brush  away.  We  find  an  Ingres  in  France,  a 
Maclise  in  England,  who  merely  smeared  their  immortal 
compositions ; the  art  of  drawing  constitutes  the  longest 
and  only  teachable  part  of  an  artist's  education.  In  the 
days  I am  speaking  of  painters  were  fewer  than  now. 
Only  those  who  distinguished  themselves  were  recognised, 
or  even  admitted  into  society  ; wonderful  transition  from 
the  days  of  Medicis,  Charles,  V.,  of  Francis  I.,  of  a T.eo  X. , 
whose  munificence  made  their  courts  the  centres  of  genius, 
for  they  loved  art  and  honoured  the  artist. 

Nine-tenths  of  the  art  students  belonged  to  the  lower 
classes  of  the  people,  mostly  artisans’  or  farmers’  sons ; 
the  academies  were,  no  doubt,  well  stocked,  but  not  one 
in  a hundred  became  an  artist  at  all.  Before  the  second 
or  third  year  of  their  studies  some  would  be  caught  by  the 
conscription,  others  would  become  shopkeepers’  appren- 
tices, and  I have  known  many  of  my  chums  accepting 

* Abstract  of  a paper  read  before  the  Camera  Club  Conference,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Journal  of  the  Club, 


278 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  11,  1890. 


situations  as  waiters  at  a cafe  : thus  this  little  illustration’ 
of  which  I can  bear  witness,  is,  I venture  to  hope, 
sufficient  to  prove  that  it  was  beyond  any  moral 
possibility  in  those  almost  pre-photographic  days, 
for  any  house-painter’s  apprentice,  or  a boy  cow-keeper, 
or  a cabin  lad,  or  an  artists’  colourmau’s  sou,  to  go  to  bed 
one  night,  in  the  fulness  of  his  various  vocations,  and 
awake  a year  or  two  later  a ready-made  artist,  as  has 
been  the  case  in  this  and  other  countries  beyond  any 
possible  dispute  within  these  last  twenty  years,  because 
in  those  days,  when  artists  had  to  depend  solely  on  their 
intellectual  efforts  and.  the  training  they  received  from 
their  masters,  who  admitted  in  their  ateliers  only  men  of 
exceptional  talent,  the  paths  of  art  were  comparatively 
free  from  the  useless  and  poisonous  weeds  that  now  infest 
it.  Now,  thanks  to  the  facility  that  photography  offers 
alike  to  the  strong  and  the  weak,  the  ranks  of  art  are 
overcrowded  with  aspirants  to  fortune  and  to  fame.  A 
few  push  their  way  through  the  crowd  and  attain  excel- 
lence, more  wrestle  with  cruel  mediocrity,  and  the 
majority  are  canvas  daubers,  who  glut  the  market  with 
rubbish,  to  the  destruction  of  art,  the  gradual  degeneia- 
tion  of  artists,  and  the  disgust  and  confusion  of  the 
patron. 

With  your  kind  permission,  I will  now  try  and  put  be- 
fore you  an  illustration  in  support  of  my  forthcoming 
assertions.  We  take  two  young  men,  one  in  good  cir- 
cumstances with  a liking  for  art,  although  not  an  artist, 
who,  not  knowing  what  else  to  do,  decides  to  become  one. 
The  other  is  a boy  born  in  poor  circumstances,  but  a 
painter ; within  him  lies  dormant  the  instincts  of  a 
designer  and  an  artist.  Whilst  the  first  goes  through  his 
academical  training,  the  latter  goes  about  with  the  painter’s 
can,  being  an  apprentice  to  a house-decorator. 

Tbe  former  devotes  six  or  eight  weeks  in  shading  the 
head  of  a Yitellius,  stippling  it  with  the  point  of  the 
crayon  and  bread  putty.  The  apprentice,  with  a piece 
of  chalk,  is  smearing  with  forms  of  all  kinds  every  avail- 
able space  of  wall  he  can  come  across.  The  academy 
student  is  busy  trying  to  win  a scholarship  for  best  draw- 
ing from  the  antique,  and  the  little  apprentice,  getting 
hold  of  a photograph,  traces  it  on  a smooth  piece  of  board 
at  his  master's  shop,  and  with  his  master’s  paints  he  colours 
it.  It  is  a portrait  of  his  employer,  who,  having  detected 
him,  instead  of  discharging  the  refractory  one,  sends  him 
at  his  own  expense  to  Ileatherly’s  to  join  the  evening 
classes.  There  he  learns  in  six  months  enough  drawing 
to  enable  him  to  copy  with  exactness  anything  from  the 
fiat.  After  six  months'  education  he  copies  from  a Christ- 
mas number  a picture,  which  he  sells  for  £1 ; next  he  buys 
for  2d.  the  photo  of  a pretty  lady  from  a hawker’s  wheel- 
barrow, makes  an  enlargement,  paints  it,  and  sends  it  to  an 
exhibition,  where  it  is  hung  and  sold.  Without  any 
further  instruction  the  boy  now  devotes  every  available 
minute  to  painting  from  nature,  and  goes  to  the  parks,  and 
in  the  country,  producing  landscapes.  Ilis  first  attempts 
are  naturally  consistent  with  the  slow  awakening  of  his 
genius,  but  steadily  progressive,  and  gradually  approaching 
that  manly  and  rapid  development  characteristic  to  all 
men  of  genius.  In  that  manner  he  devotes  two  years, 
when  he  has  the  courage  of  submitting  one  of  his  land- 
scapes to  the  crucial  test  of  the  academical  council.  It  is 
accepted,  well  hung,  and  sells.  This  bit  of  luck  gives  him 
an  opportunity  of  visiting  frequently  the  Royal  Academy, 
and  he  uses  his  keen  eye  of  observation,  without,  however, 
allowing  his  mind  to  be  influenced  by  what  he  sees  around 


him.  Meanwhile  the  Royal  Academy  student  sends  an 
ambitious  figure-subject,  and  it  is  rejected. 

Henceforth  the  humbly-born  young  man  is  a regular 
exhibitor  in  the  It.  A.  ; each  succeeding  picture  is  better 
than  its  predecessor — his  development  is  surprising  to  all. 
A pastoral  subject  of  ambitious  dimensions  the  following 
year  attracts  great  notice,  and,  to  cut  a long  story  short, 
the  young  man  is  in  the  enjoyment  of  a great  reputation, 
and  perhaps  an  associate  of  more  than  one  institute  of  arts. 
The  R.  A.  student,  discouraged  at  the  repeated  rejection 
of  his  works  at  the  hands,  most  probably,  of  his  teachers, 
throws  pallet  and  brushes  away,  and  turns  his  back  on  art 
for  ever. 

And  yet.  gentlemen,  the  house-painter  could  not  draw, 
at  this  period  of  my  narrative,  from  nature  half  so  well  as 
the  Academy  student,  who  is  very  well  versed  in  anatomy, 
in  geometry,  perspective,  all  occult  gifts  to  our  young 
prodigy,  who,  on  his  part,  could,  however,  produce  a pic- 
ture redolent  with  all  the  charms  that  only  an  artist  can 
give.  This  little  illustration,  which.  1 ventui-e  to  hope,  will 
not  flavour  either  of  improbability  or  exaggeration,  is  a 
fact  within  my  memory,  which,  however,  could  not  have 
taken  place  in  the  days  of  Titian  or  Ruonarotti  under  the 
same  circumstances,  unless  the  poor  boy  had  a camera  and 
all  the  rest  of  the  multifarious  appliances  that  photography 
offers  us  now. 

If,  therefore,  we  can  trace  the  career  of  a brilliant 
artist,  almost  self-taught,  how  many  more  similar  cases 
might  we  not  have  amidst  us  of  men  who  attain  the  same 
results  with  no  better  means  ? and  thus  it  is  that  I main- 
tain that  the  cabin  lad,  and  the  yeoman's  son,  and  the 
artists’  colourman’s  boy,  if  born  talented,  can  all  reach  the 
apex  of  excellence  in  art.  It  is  immaterial  what  means 
are  used,  providing  they  are  legitimate. 

An  artist  must  show  what  he  can  do  and  not  how  he 
does  it.  I conclude  my  paper  by  expressing  my  firm 
belief  that  the  only  teachable  part  of  art,  which  is  drawing, 
is  sinking  with  the  rising  of  photography,  and,  to  my 
humble  belief,  the  days  are  not  far  off  when  a youth,  born 
with  artistic  instincts,  in  a few  months  of  mechanical 
instruction  can  be  his  own  teacher,  and  photography  will 
be  his  academy. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  GROUPS. 

BY  FREI)  HART  WILSON. 

The  successful  “group”  marks  the  top  notch  in  the  scale 
of  photographic  achievement.  It  is  certainly  the  most 
difficult  problem,  exacting  and  uncertain. 

The  painters,  infinitely  less  trammelled  than  the  photo- 
graphers, themselves  feel  this ; so  much  so,  that  the  power 
of  successful  combination  of  a number  of  figures  into  the 
unity  of  a composition  has  always  been  the  mark  of  a 
master.  One  has  said  that  to  paint  one  figure  is  simple, 
two  very  hard  to  manage,  and  the  difficulty  increases  in 
geometrical  ratio  with  every  additional  figure  introduced. 
Another  declares  that  composition  is  simply  a special 
faculty,  not  to  be  acquired,  but  inborn  ; one  either  has  it, 
or  has  it  not. 

This,  however,  is  too  severe,  and  we  will  proceed  on 
the  understanding  that  composition  is  not  unique  among 
human  accomplishments,  but,  like  other  things,  may  be 
attained  by  intelligent  study.  The  artist’s  assertion  is 
simply  a significant  tribute  to  the  difficulties  of  the  subject. 

In  the  very  first  place,  a word  on  the  mental  side  of 
composition  may  not  be  wasted.  It  does  exact,  for 


Apkil  11,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


279 


thorough  success  in  it,  a certain  mental  power  of  calling 
things  up,  of  projecting  the  picture  on  the  air,  of  seeing 
with  the  mind's  eye.  One  must,  in  fact,  see  the  finished 
picture  before  it  is  begun.  The  way  to  begin  the  con- 
struction of  a group  is  not  to  get  together  models  and 
accessories  that  seem  likely  to  look  well,  and  then  worry 
them  about  until  an  idea  of  some  kind  occurs.  The  idea 
must  come  first — there  must  be  some  distinct  notion  of 
what  one  is  going  to  do,  and  the  more  clean-cut  this  idea 
is  the  better.  After  that,  of  course,  there  may  be  infinite 
experiment  and  alteration ; but  the  thing  is  to  get  an 
intelligent  start,  and  not  take  the  subject  by  the  tail  end 
first 

It  is  the  faculty  the  French,  as  a nation,  possess  of  putting 
a thing  visibly  before  one,  of  seizing  and  completely  em- 
bodying the  point  of  an  idea,  seeing  all  over  and  all 
around  it  at  once,  that  makes  them  so  supreme  in  art. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  well  to  define  the  group,  as  we 
begin,  as  a number  of  persons  gathered  in  one  picture, 
with  some  common  interest  binding  them  together.  The 
last  clause  at  once  rules  out  the  masses  of  people  who  may 
be  seen  in  many  so-called  group  pictures,  each  oue  a 
separate  object,  independent  and  unique.  There  must  be 
some  rational  relation  between  the  figures,  and  some 
reason,  besides  that  of  their  being  photographed,  for  their 
being  there  together.  A pyramidal  arrangement  of  six 
people,  one  on  the  floor,  two  seated,  and  three  standing, 
all  looking  straight  ahead,  vacuous  and  without  any  visible 
reason  for  being,  is  not  a group.  It  is  simply  six  people — 
six  units,  not  oue. 

And  the  photographer  must  realize  this  difference  be- 
tween photograph  and  picture.  lie  cannot  arrange  people 
like  the  specimens  on  the  shelves  of  a museum,  and  expect 
a picture.  He  cannot  show  the  full  faces  of  all  the  five 
people  of  a family,  for  instance,  and  expect  anything  but 
five  separate  portraits.  Some  of  them  must  be  sacrificed 
to  some  degree,  and  must  be  seen  iu  profile,  or  three- 
quarter  view  at  most.  If  he  wants  to  make  a picture  of 
such  a family,  I think  the  only  solution  of  the  difficulty 
will  often  be  to  take  two  photographs,  or  more,  if  he  can. 
In  one  he  may  show  the  full-face  photographic  portrait 
view  of  two  or  three,  sacrificing  the  others  to  the  exigen- 
cies of  composition;  in  the  other,  he  may  make  those 
thus  lost  the  important  heads,  and  subordinate  the  first 
ones.  Any  family  which  has  enough  artistic  sense  to  care 
for  a pictorial  quality  in  their  photograph,  will  not  object 
to  the  double  exposure.  Yet  it  is  by  no  means  impossible 
that  he  could  get  good  portraits  all  on  one  plate,  which  is, 
after  all,  the  object  of  the  group,  lie  will  very  often 
find  more  beautiful  aud  more  characteristic  aspects  of  the 
face  in  the  quarter  circle,  of  those  from  three-quarter  view 
to  full  profile,  than  in  the  front  face  view,  and  by  skilfully 
using  these  may  safely  tread  in  the  thorn-beset  path,  and 
make  both  a satisfactory  photograph  and  a picture. 

A reason  for  the  group  must  always  exist,  and  be  well 
in  evidence ; in  other  words,  the  composition  must  tell 
its  own  story.  The  figures  composing  it  must  not  be  there 
without  a reason,  and  they  must  be  doing  something.  It 
is  not  enough  to  account  for  their  being  together,  the 
mere  fact  that  they  are  being  photographed — as  we  find 
so  often  in  groups  of  families,  associations,  clubs,  and 
societies.  Of  course,  where  three  hundred  men  must  be 
taken  on  one  plate,  there  is  usually  nothing  to  do  but 
put  them  there  in  rows,  like  figs  in  a box.  But  even 
this  can  be  avoided  in  many  cases,  and  with  a reasonable 
number  the  devices  for  giving  life  and  picturesqueness 


to  the  group  are  as  numerous  as  life  itself.  The  family 
may  be  reading,  talking,  looking  at  something,  or,  if  acces- 
sories can  be  brought  in,  engaged  in  characteristic  occu- 
pations. A good  example  of  the  success  with  which  even 
a large  group  may  be  treated,  and  that  within  ordinary 
limits,  is  a plate  I have  seen  of  the  jury  for  the  admission 
of  pictures  into  the  Salon.  All  the  pictures  are  good  and 
sufficient,  yet  the  whole  is  real  and  stirring  with  life,  and 
does  not  look  arranged  or  photographic.  And  this  is 
done  simply  by  taking  a front  view,  facing  them  behind 
two  workmen  who  hold  up  a painting  for  judgment.  The 
jury  is  looking  at  it,  crowded  rank  above  rank,  in  various 
attitudes ; the  whole  thing  is  a success,  both  as  a picture 
and  as  a series  of  portraits.  Yet  though  the  arrangement 
is  very  subtle  and  practically  unnoticed,  it  is  decidedly 
there,  and  success  is  not  an  accident. 

And  here  a word  on  this  topic  of  arrangement.  There 
are  certain  principles,  formula;  almost,  which  have  found 
great  popularity  and  acceptance  on  account  of  easy  com- 
prehension and  simplicity  of  application.  The  two  such 
that  come  in  particularly  in  grouping  arc  the  “ pyramidal 
principle,"  and  the  principle  of  circular  composition.  The 
former  especially  has  had  a famous  career,  aud  I fear  a 
good  many  photographers  consider  that  they  have  intro- 
duced the  much-desired  touch  of  “ art”  into  their  work, 
and  are  safe  and  sure  to  make  a picture,  when  they  have 
adopted  the  “oue,  two,  three”  system  of  arrangement 
referred  to  above.  Yet  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
artistic  quality  is  a delicate  aud  evasive  thing,  not  by 
any  means  to  be  secured  by  definite  formulae  and 
practical  receipts.  These  principles  are  simply  crude 
and  rough  statements  of  the  general  experience  of 
value  up  to  a certain  point.  They  are  above  all  not  to 
be  applied  too  literally,  remembering  what  “ the  aim  of 
art”  is  said  to  be.  They  must  be  as  well  concealed  as 
the  skeleton  is  concealed  by  the  flesh.  They  are  merely 
the  framework  of  a picture,  and  their  corners  must  not 
stick  out,  but  must  be  very  deftly  covered  and  hidden 
in  the  finished  composition. 

The  truly  universal  principle  of  good  composition,  if 
there  is  one,  seems  to  be  a certain  sinuous  sway  of  lines 
and  a harmonious  connection  of  things  with  one  another, 
that  balances  mass  with  mass,  and  gives  that  indescribable 
sense  of  satisfaction  to  the  eye  iu  passing  from  one  to 
another.  This  is  what  we  feel,  rather  than  any  cold  aud 
mathematical  arrangement  of  symmetrical  pyramids  or 
complete  aud  uniform  circles.  It  must  be  much  more  felt 
than  done  by  rule.  The  trouble  lies  in  taking  these  ab- 
stract formula;  as  rules.  Any  plate  of  the  Crucifixion,  for 
instance,  by  the  old  masters,  will  show  how  thoroughly 
covered  up,  and  modified,  and  transgressed  they  have 
been. 

A final  hint  on  illustrative  compositions,  such  as  the 
Hiawatha  and  Evangeline.  In  reading  over  the  subject, 
certain  passages  will  strike  one  as  having  the  graphic  quality, 
calling  up  pictures.  Let  the  photographer  select  a num- 
ber of  these,  and  then  reading  and  re-reading  them,  try  to 
get  all  the  circumstances  in  his  mind,  or  at  least  to  embody 
his  impression  as  vividly  and  really  as  possible,  until  he 
positively  sees  something.  The  larger-  part  of  art  is 
mental,  let  him  remember,  and  so  not  be  iu  haste  to  get 
his  models  before  him  until  he  has  something  for  them  to 
do.  After  that  let  him  labour,  and  alter,  and  try  experi- 
ments, and  re-arrange  a<l  infinitum  in  the  details,  if  he  wish. 
When  the  jewel  is  secured,  it  may  be  cut  and  polished 
patiently  to  perfection.  — WiUons  Photographic  Magazine. 


280 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  11,  1890. 


l^OtCS. 

The  rumour  is  that  portraits  will  be  more  numerous 
than  ever  at  the  next  Academy.  Indeed,  some  have 
gone  so  far  as  to  say  that  it  will  be  known  as  “ The 
Portrait  Year.”  The  fact  cannot  be  denied  that  the 
most  remunerative  branch  of  art  which  the  painter  can 
take  up  is  portraiture,  and  it  is  not  surprising,  though 
it  may  be  regretted,  that  men  who  have  made  their 
name  through  works  of  imagination  and  poetic  feeling 
have  turned  their  talents  to  the  delineation  of  the 
features  of  merchants,  princes,  doctors  of  divinity,  and 
society  ladies.  Towards  this  end,  photography  has 
contributed.  Undeniably  there  has  been  a rage  for 
portraits ; the  crowds  round  the  shop  windows  show 
the  direction  of  the  public  taste.  The  outcome  of  this 
tendency,  of  course,  varies  according  to  means  : while 
those  with  limited  purses  are  contented  with  photo- 
graphs, the  wealthy  patronise  the  painter.  There 
cannot  be  the  slightest  objection  to  this  so  long  as  the 
public  who  pay  their  shillings  to  the  Royal  Academy 
have  not  to  undergo  the  infliction  of  having  to  gaze  on 
perpetual  portraits. 

The  Stereoscopic  Company  has  had  its  annual  meet- 
ing, and  declared  its  annual  dividend  of  five  per  cent. 
This  is  the  fifth  year  of  the  Company’s  existence,  yet 
it  has  never  realised  the  promises  held  out  in  the 
prospectus.  A safe  five  per  cent,  is  not  bad  as  times 
go,  and  considering  that  Consols  yield  now  no  more 
than  2f ; but  the  general  idea  is  that  a photographic 
business  is  an  extremely  lucrative  one,  and  therefore 
the  inability  of  the  Stereoscopic  Company  to  get  beyond 
five  per  cent,  must  be  a little  disappointing  to  the 
shareholders.  Nor  does  it  appear  that  the  chairman 
was  able  to  give  any  very  definite  reason  for  the  falling 
off.  All  he  said  was:  “Five  years  ago,  when  we  put 
this  concern  into  a company,  the  price  that  was  paid  for 
the  business  was  a price  that  would  have  paid  seven 
per  cent,  to  the  shareholders  taking  the  profits  over  an 
average  of  the  twenty-three  preceding  years.  Now,  if 
these  profits  had  been  realised,  that  would  have  given 
you  seven  per  cent.”  Quite  so ; but  the  discontented 
may  ask  how  is  it  these  profits  have  not  been  realised  ? 
Mr.  Howard  V.  Kennard  failed  to  explain  this.  Indeed, 
he  left  the  statement  to  stand  by  itself,  and  the 
inference  is  unavoidable  that  the  Company  has  not 
been  doing  so  much  business. 


But  again  the  question  will  again  be  asked,  why  ? 
The  last  five  years  have  been  almost  without  parallel 
in  the  growth  of  photography,  and  the  “ turn  over”  in 
the  sale  of  photographic  materials.  It  is  true  por- 
traiture has  fallen  off,  but  the  loss  here  must  have  been 
nearly  counterbalanced  by  the  extension  of  photo- 
graphy in  directions  other  than  the  sale  of  apparatus 
and  chemicals.  Under  the  two  last  heads  the  returns 
must  have  been  very  large  indeed,  for  every  amateur 
five  years  ago  hundreds  can  now  be  numbered.  It 
would  have  been  interesting  to  the  profession,  as  well 


as  to  the  shareholders,  if  the  chairman  could  have  given 
his  views  on  this  point ; but  possibly  this  would  have 
involved  details  of  the  “ trading  account”  which  few 
business  companies  like  to  divulge,  as  it  gives  informa- 
tion to  their  rivals.  Mr.  Kennard,  however,  has  hopes 
of  shortly  being  able  to  get  back  to  a six  or  seven  per 
cent,  dividend. 


Mr.  Henry  Blackburn,  the  Editor  of  Academy  Notes, 
is  advertising  lectures  and  classes  for  instruction  in 
drawing  for  the  press.  It  is  quite  time  the  principles 
were  established  on  some  fixed  basis,  not  the  least 
important  being  the  requirements  of  photography. 
We  do  not  see  this  specially  mentioned  in  Mr. 
Blackburn’s  advertisement,  but  it  may  not  be  over- 
looked. For  want  of  the  most  elementary  knowledge 
of  photography,  we  saw  the  other  day  a reproiuction 
of  a drawing  by  an  experienced  and  skilful  artist 
totally  spoilt.  The  artist  was  chiefly  accustomed  to 
draw  on  transfer  paper,  but  thiuking  to  produce  a finer 
result,  he  made  the  drawing  on  card  to  be  photographed. 
Unfortunately,  he  omitted  to  cut  out  the  faint  pencil 
lines,  and  then  was  surprised  to  find  the  reproductive 
print  with  several  curious  marks  and  blemishes,  which 
were  totally  inexplicable  until  the  original  was  ex- 
amined. The  artist  then  was  amazed  to  find  that  lines 
which  were  quite  faint  to  the  eye,  were  reproduced 
almost  as  strongly  as  those  in  ink. 


A curious  theory  as  to  colour-blindness  and  its  cause 
under  special  conditions  has  been  put  forward  by  Mr. 
W.  A.  Sherwood,  in  a paper  read  at  the  Canadian 
Institute.  He  says,  in  regard  to  the  effect  of  colour  in 
nature  upon  the  eye,  that  in  Philadelphia  one  out  of 
every  five  of  the  children  there  is  found  to  be  colour- 
blind or  compelled  to  wear  glass  es.  He  alleges  that 
this  is  due  to  the  lack  of  colour  in  this  somewhat  prim 
and  monotonous  city.  He  contends  that  the  greatest 
painters  the  world  has  produced  flourished  in  lands 
where  colour  was  seen  on  every  side.  From  these 
resources  of  nature  the  artists  drew  their  inspiration, 
and  not  from  shops  of  fashion.  Colour-blindness  is 
almost  unknown  in  many  countries — Japan,  Spain,  and 
Italy,  for  example.  In  Philadelphia  we  have,  unfor- 
tunately, the  reverse  of  this.  Mr.  Sherwood  believes 
this  lack  of  appreciation  accounts  for  the  preference 
many  persons  there  have  for  steel  engravings  and  prints 
to  paintings.  This,  he  holds,  is  false  to  the  principles 
and  teachings  of  nature.  Those  who  favour  engravings 
do  so  honestly  because  of  their  training  in  black-and- 
white,  to  which  from  childhood  they  have  been  accus- 
tomed. The  children  of  the  Quaker  City  have  seen 
the  sombre  attire  of  tbeir  parents,  and  even  worn  the 
same  themselves;  their  city  surroundings  show  the 
white  marble  residences  and  the  black  roadway,  and 
their  books  and  writing  are  all  black  and  white.  Hence 
their  sense  of  colour  is  limited.  There  seems  to  be 
some  force  in  this  reasoning.  A limb,  if  allowed  to 
remain  inactive,  finally  grows  torpid  and  useless.  Why 
not  also  a sense  ? 


April  It,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


281 


FERDINAND  ADOLF  BEYERSDORFF. 

From  the  Photographische  Correspoiulenz  we  translate  the 
following  account,  relating  to  the  death  of  the  well-known 
Viennese  photographer,  1 lerr  Beyersdorff. 

With  Beyersdorff  disappears  once  more  a typical  figure 
from  the  familiar  artistic  circle  of  professional  photo- 
graphers in  Vienna.  Beyersdorff  was  essentially  a self- 
taught  photographer,  skilful  extremely  in  all  the  manual 
functions  of  his  art,  and  well  experienced  in  modern 
delineation,  lie  was  born  on  the  3rd  of  May,  1837,  at 
liimeritz,  in  the  royal  district  of  Frankfurt-on-the-Oder, 
and  was  originally  intended  for  a mercantile  career,  bnt 
apparently  not  liking  this  employment,  obtained  a place 
on  board  a merchant  vessel  as  a sailor,  and  served  after- 
wards in  the  Royal  Prussian  Marines.  An  unlucky 
accident,  by  which  his  breast  was  seriously  injured, 
rendered  him  useless  for  military  service,  though  he  was 
discharged  in  a fairly  sound  condition  from  the  hospital  at 
Marseilles. 

Beyersdorff  s first  acquaintance  with  photography  was 
made  in  Berlin  in  the  Gruudner  Atelier,  and  he  after- 
wards obtained  a place  in  the  Studio  of  Reproduction  of 
11.  Ilirsch,  in  those  days  a flourishing  institution.  Here 
he  remained  for  five  years,  and  acquired  for  himself  know- 
ledge of  the  most  varied  character,  hiking  especial  inte- 
rest in  the  production  of  portraits  on  porcelain.  At  the 
age  of  sixty  he  left  Berlin  for  Vienna,  and  was  then  em- 
ployed for  various  intervals  in  the  studios  of  Julius  Leth, 
C.  Haack,  Victor  Angerer,  and  Pokorny  aml  Reuter.  lie 
stayed  for  some  time  at  Kozmata,  in  Pesth.  Then,  for 
several  years,  he  possessed  a studio  of  his  own.  In  the 
meanwhile  Beyersdorff  had  been  actively  employed  in 
reproductions  by  F.  Bruckmann,  in  Munich,  and  Rbmmler 
and  Jonas,  at  that  time  Wilhelm  Iloffman,  in  Dresden. 
Beyersdorff  has  made  himself  known  repeatedly  to  the 
readers  of  the  Photographische  Con'&tpondenz  through  his 
communications,  showing  considerable  practical  knowledge 
of  photography.  He  was  nevertheless  rejected  when  he 
applied  for  the  post  of  Professional  Instructor  in  the 
Royal  Institution  established  for  experiment  and  instruc- 
tion in  this  art. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  current  year  Beyersdorff  began 
to  sicken ; unlucky  financial  conditions  affecting  his 
private  purse  hastened  doubtless  his  deathward  career. 
As  if  inspired  with  some  sad  presentiment,  he  with  much 
labour  and  difficulty  reduced  his  varied  experiences  and 
experiments  to  some  sort  of  order,  intending  to  publish 
them  for  the  use  and  gratification  of  his  fellow  profes-  j 
sionals,  but  in  the  midst  of  his  toil,  in  the  month  of ! 
March  of  the  present  year  a pneumoplegea,  or  paralysis  of  ! 
the  lung,  brought  his  busy  and  careful  life  to  a compara- 1 
tively  sudden  end. 

A new  amateur  photographic  society  entitled  “ Freie  Photo- 
graphische  A ereinigung  zu  Berlin  ” has  been  established  under 
the  presidency  of  Herr  Gustav  Fritsch. 

The  Royal  Institution. — The  general  monthly  meeting  was 
held  on  Monday,  April  7 th,  with  Sir  James  Crichton  Browne, 
M. lb,  LL.D.  F.R.S.,  Treasurer  and  Vice-President,  in  the 
chair.  Mr.  Arthur  Edward  Ash,  Mr.  Robert  Dobbie,  Mr. 
" illiam  S.  Hall,  Major  Percy  A.  Macmahon,  R.A.,  Miss  May 
Pollock,  Mrs.  Joseph  Shaw,  and  Major-General  C.  E.  Webber, 
C.B.,  were  elected  members  of  the  Royal  Institution.  The 
special  thanks  of  the  members  were  returned  for  the  following 
donations  to  the  fund  for  the  promotion  of  exjierimental 
research Mr.  Ludwig  Mond,  £100,  and  Mr.  Lachlan  M. 
Rate,  £50. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITIONS  IN  AMERICA* 
There  are  some  things  in  connection  with  photography 
of  which,  as  a nation,  we  may  well  be  proud,  and  there 
are  some  in  connection  with  which  we  might  profitably 
take  a leaf  out  of  the  book  of  our  brethren  across  the 
water.  Of  the  latter,  by  far  the  most  important,  in  our 
opinion,  is  the  holding  of  exhibitions  of  photographs  as 
frequently  as  possible,  and  in  as  many  centres  of  popu- 
lation as  may  be  practicable. 

Readers  of  the  various  English  journals  devoted  to 
photography  cannot  but  be  struck  with  the  many  exhibi- 
tions that  are  noticed  in  almost  every  number  as  being 
held  all  over  Great  Britain,  even  in  towns  that  a few  years 
ago  would  have  been  considered  too  small  to  offer  a 
chance  of  success,  and  perhaps  even  more  striking  is  the 
fact  that  they  are  successful,  not  only  in  so  far  as  really 
good  displays  of  photographs  are  almost  invariably  got 
together,  but  that  they  are  almost  always  financially  so. 
It  is  true,  we  have  annually  one  grand — or  what  ought  to 
be  a grand — exhibition,  in  connection  with  the  Photo- 
grapher’s Association  of  America,  but  in  consequence  of 
distance,  and  other  causes,  it  is  seen  by  comparatively 
few,  and  has  little  or  no  influence  in  the  most  important 
phase  of  such  institutions,  the  education  of  public  taste. 

Exhibitions,  less  pretentious,  but  vastly  more  useful, 
have  also  been  occasionally  held  by  several  local  societies, 
but  before  such  influences  can  be  brought  to  bear  on  the 
whole  people,  they  must  become  much  more  numerous  ; 
be  more  systematically  organized,  and  especially  more 
thoroughly  popularized. 

We  have  repeatedly  expressed  the  opinion  that  the 
only  way  by  which  photography  as  a profession  can  be 
raised  from  its  present  position  to  the  platform  which 
it  ought  to  occupy,  is  the  elevation  of  photographers 
themselves  from  photographers  merely  to  artists  in  the 
true  sense  of  the  term.  Photography  will  never  attain  to 
its  rightful  position  till  those  who  practise  it  cease  to  be 
content  with  pretty,  nicely-finished  photographs ; and  not 
only  aim  at,  but  succeed  in  making  each  photograph  a 
picture. 

In  the  present  state  of  matters,  however,  so  long  as  a 
certain  degree  of  technical  success  in  photographic 
practice  is  so  easily  reached,  and  the  general  public  are 
sufficiently  ignorant  of  art  as  to  be  satisfied  with  such 
productions,  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  expect  much 
improvement;  and  thus  we  are  met  face  to  face  with  the 
fact  that  photographic  advancement  really  depends  on 
the  art  education  and  culture  of  the  public. 

We  believe  that  properly  organized  and  properly 
popularized  exhibitions  would  be  found  among  the  most 
efficient,  if  not  the  most  efficient,  of  all  means  of  pro- 
moting such  education,  and  therefore  urge  every  photo- 
graphic society  and  club  throughout  the  country  to  get 
up  at  least  one  exhibition  every  year.  How  best  to  do 
that  it  is  not  for  ijs  to  suggest,  as  the  details  will  pro- 
bably require  to  be  different  in  different  localities,  but  a 
few  suggestions  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

In  the  first  place,  and  perhaps  most  important  of  all, 
there  should  be  no  question  of  “ shop  ” introduced,  and 
absolutely  no  distinction  between  professional  and 
amateur.  Although  we  have  frequently  shown  the 
impossibility  of  making  satisfactory  awards  for  works  of 
art,  we  know  that  as  yet  awards  must  be  offered  as  in- 
ducements to  photographers  to  send  pictures  for  exhibi- 


• From  The  Beacon,  of  Chicago. 


282 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  11,  1890. 


tion,  and  so  medals  should  be  offered,  but  offered  for  the 
best  pictures  considered  from  an  art  point  of  view,  and 
irrespective  of  process  or  person.  Many  of  the  societies 
are  too  weak  to  do  much  in  the  medal  way  ; but  we  are 
persuaded  that  if  the  thing  were  fairly  started  and  pro- 
perly wrought,  each  exhibition  would  not  only  pay  its  own 
way,  but  leave  a balance  in  its  favour. 

Then  the  Photographers'  Association  of  America  might 
redeem  its  character  by  lending  valuable  aid.  It  might 
save  some  of  the  money  now  worse  than  wasted  in  very 
much  overpaying  officials,  and  make  a suitable  die  from 
which  silver  and  bronze  medals  could  be  struck  and 
offered  for  competition.  The  medals  would  cost  little 
more  than  the  price  of  the  metal,  and  be  infinitely  better 
than  the  fancy,  but  generally  little  to  be  fancied  designs 
that  are  selected  from  year  to  year.  One  or  more  of 
each  of  such  medals  given  to  each  society,  and  offered  as 
the  “ Association  medal,"  would  be,  we  believe,  eagerly 
competed  for,  and  an  excellent  means  of  securing  large 
numbers  of  exhibits. 

Another  cardinal  point  should  be  the  abolition  of  the 
foolish  system  of  charging  for  wall  or  exhibition  space. 
Not  only  should  the  exhibits  be  admitted  free,  but, 
whenever  the  society  can  see  its  way  to  it,  the  carriage 
should  be  paid  one  or  both  ways,  and  the  hanging  com- 
mittee should  have  full  power,  and  exercise  it  rigorously, 
to  exclude  every  frame  that  does  not  come  up  to  a cer- 
tain standard.  By  frame  we  of  course  mean  picture, 
and  no  picture  should  be  admitted  without  a frame. 

'Phe  most  difficult  question  is  undoubtedly  that  of  the 
judges.  In  selecting  them  it  should  be  kept  in  mind 
that  the  object  of  the  exhibition  is  to  promote  the 
advancement  of  art,  and  that  fine  finish,  “ chemical 
effect,"  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  should  be  utterly  dis- 
regarded. At  the  present  time  that  would  almost  imply 
that  the  jury  should  not  include  a photographer ; or,  if 
it  does,  he  should  be  one  who  would  rather  give  the  prize 
to  a production  of  Mrs.  Cameron  or  Rejlander,  stained 
and  blotched,  and  technically  imperfect,  as  they  too 
often  were,  than  to  some  pictures  to  which  were  awarded 
a gold  medal  at  the  Boston  convention  for  nothing  but 
nice  finish  and  technical  qualities.  But  it  is  difficult  for 
a photographer  to  altogether  ignore  beautiful  sharpness” 
“delicate  detail,”  &c.,  &c.,  and,  therefore,  we  would 
put  our  trust  in  a jury  of  acknowledged  artists. 

But  all  this,  even  if  done  in  the  very  best  way,  will  be 
but  labour  in  vain,  so  far  as  the  main  object  is  concerned, 
unless  the  public  can  be  induced  to  come  and  see.  IIow 
this  is  to  be  achieved  each  society  must  decide  for  itself. 
We  were  once  prominently  connected  with  an  exhibition 
in  a city  of  250,000  inhabitants,  for  which  we  had 
gathered  together  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe  1,149 
flames,  sent  by  208  exhibitors,  and  displayed  them  to 
excellent  advantage  in  a suite  of  six  great  halls,  the 
use  of  which  was  liberally  granted  by  the  government  of 
the  time.  The  galleries  were  occupied  till  10  o'clock  on 
the  night  before  the  advertised  day  of  opening,  but  the 
pictures  were  unpacked  and  standing  in  corridors  and 
ante-rooms,  and  a few  minutes  after  that  hour  a number 
of  willing  hands  carried  them  in.  They  were  examined 
by  (lie  committee  of  selection,  passed  to  the  hanging  com- 
mittee, and  hence  to  the  walls  so  rapidly  that  by  10  o’clock 
next  day  the  exhibition  was  opened  and  the  catalogue  in 
the  hands  of  the  printer,  who  handed  us  the  proof- 
sheets  a little  after  12  o’clock. 

We  doubt  whether  ever  so  much  work  was  done  and 


done  so  well  in  such  a short  time,  but  it  should  be 
remembered  that  it  was  not  done  by  paid  officers.  It 
was  all  a labour  of  love  and  could  not  have  been  done  for 
filthy  lucre. 

But  although  we  had  arranged  certainly  the  best  photo- 
graphic exhibition  that  had  as  yet  been  seen,  and  had 
ticket  seller,  check  taker,  and  doorkeeper — the  latter  a 
government  official  in  uniform  and  cocked  hat — all  ready 
to  welcome  the  dear  public,  that  public  did  not  come. 
The  second  day  seemed  about  to  pass  as  unsuccessfully, 
and  some  of  us  were  looking,  or  at  least  feeling,  very  blue. 
A meeting  of  the  committee  of  management  was  held, 
and  one  of  the  members  said  it  was  quite  evident  that  the 
public  had  no  idea  of  the  treat  that  awaited  them,  and,  con- 
sequently, must  be  brought  in  to  see  it.  The  only  way 
to  do  that  was  to  make  the  exhibition  fashionable  by 
getting  the  military  baud  to  play  during  the  afternoons. 
On  its  being  pointed  out  that  it  would  cost  35  dols.  a day, 
or  some  875  dols.  for  the  month,  and  that  we  had  not  the 
wherewithal  to  pay  it,  lie  offered  to  guarantee  the  payment, 
and  the  offer  was  accepted  on  the  spot. 

Xext  day  the  band  marched  from  the  castle  through 
some  of  the  principal  streets  and  into  the  galleries,  bring- 
ing in  its  train  an  influx  that  almost  filled  the  rooms.  In 
the  meantime  some  of  the  newspapers  were  induced  to 
send  art  critics,  and  for  others  art  critisms  were  written, 
so  that  for  a few  days  every  morning  paper  contained  a 
glowing  account  of  the  treasures  to  be  seen,  and  thousands 
that  were  crowding  to  see  them.  In  short,  the  exhibition 
was  a great  success,  and  yielded  a revenue  of  nearly 
4,000  dols.,  which  not  only  enabled  the  committee  to  pay 
all  the  expenses  and  give  a handsome,  but  unexpected, 
honorarium  to  each  of  a few  of  the  most  active  workers, 
but  also  to  place  in  the  bank  a good  round  sum  to  be 
available  on  a future  occasion. 

Somewhat  Dismal  News. — “We have  been  favoured,”  says 
Burgoyne’s  Monthly  Magazine,  “ with  a copy  of  the  weather 
chart  of  London,  compiled  by  Mr.  K.  G.  Jenkins,  F.R.A.S., 
from  which  we  abstract  the  following  particulars  concerning  our 
disgraceful  climate  for  the  year  of  grace  we  are  now  in  : — 
April — Rather  wet,  esi>ecially  for  ten  days  round  middle.  May 
—Rather  dry  ; wet  for  about  a week  round  the  2. 1th.  June — 
Rather  wet.  July — Wet  ; thunderstorms  about  3rd,  8th,  15th. 
August — Wet  ; stormy  about  9th  and  22nd.  September — 
Rather  wet.  October — Dry;  but  gales  about  5 th,  15th,  22nd. 
November — Dry  ; fog  about  12th,  17tli,  19th.  December — 

Rather  dry  ; but  gales  aliout  8th,  20th,  27th. 

The  Livehfool  Amateuk  Photographic  Association. — This 
Association  will  have  an  Optical  Lantern  Evening  on  Monday, 
14th  April,  when  an  entertainment  will  be  given  at  the  City 
Hall,  Eberle  Street,  Liverpool.  — Part  I.,  at  7'30  promptly, 
“The  Hundred  of  Wirral,”  the  Completed  Survey,  with 
Descriptive  Lecture  by  Mr.  John  Hargraves,  when  about  oue 
hundred  and  fifty  lantern  slides  will  be  shown,  from  negatives 
taken  by  the  members  of  the  Liverpool  and  Birkenhead 
Societies',  l’ait  II.,  at  9T5  promptly,  the  New  Boston  (U.S.A.) 
Set  entitled  the  “ White  Mountains,”  with  full  descriptive 
matter  supplied  by  the  Boston  (U.S.A.)  Photographic  Society. 
An  excursion  will  be  made  to  Raby  Mere,  on  Saturday, 
12th  April.  Members  can  meet  at  Club  Rooms,  at  1-30,  or  on 
the  Stage  at  2 p.m.  The  train  leaves  Birkenhead  at  2-20,  and 
is  due  at  Bromborough  at  2 ‘39  ; taking  the  lanes  and  cross 
country  route,  finishing  up  at  Itaby  Mere.  The  train  leaves  in 
return  at  6*40,  due  at  Landing  Stage  7 ‘15,  or  a later  train  is 
timed  from  Bromborough  7 ‘45  ; due  at  the  Landing  Stage  at 
8-25.  Conductor:  Mr.  William  Tomkinson.  The  pictures  of 
Mr.  Harry  Tolley  are  now  on  view.  Members  can  obtain 
tickets  for  the  admission  of  friends  on  application  at  the  Rooms. 


Ai>ril  11,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


280 


THE  LATENT  PHOTOGRAPHIC  IMAGE* 

ItY  C.  H.  BOTHAMLEY,  F.I.C.,  F.C.S. 

Few  questions  are  of  greater  interest  to  the  scientific  pho- 
tographer than  the  nature  and  properties  of  the  latent 
image,  i.e.,  the  result  of  impact  of  light  on  a photographic 
plate,  invisible  to  the  eye,  but  quickly  revealing  its  pre- 
sence when  the  plate  is  treated  with  a reducing  agent  in 
the  form  of  a developer.  It  has  been  the  subject  of  a 
considerable  number  of  experiments,  and  a very  large 
amount  of  speculation,  and  a paper  which  aims  at  giving  a 
complete  summary  of  what  is  known  about  the  matter,  as 
distinguished  from  what  is  merely  guessed  or  surmised, 
may  not  be  without  some  value.  It  is  often  very  useful 
to  realise  exactly  what  point  we  have  reached,  and  what 
problems  still  remain  to  be  attacked. 

We  are  concerned  with  the  action  of  light  on  the  haloid 
compounds  of  silver  embedded  in  gelatine  or  collodion  and 
surrounded  by  the  aqueous  vapour  and  other  gases  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  are  only  indirectly  interested  in  the  effect 
of  light  on  these  salts  when  pure  or  merely  in  contact  with 
water.  The  changes  which  take  place  under  the  latter 
conditions  have,  however,  an  important  bearing  on  the 
probable  nature  of  the  latent  image.  Briefly,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  published  experimental  evidence  shows  that 
perfectly  pure  silver  haloids  in  a vacuum  are  not  decom- 
posed by  light  at  all,  but  in  the  presence  of  moisture 
silver  bromide  or  chloride  is  altered  with  formation  of 
a dark-coloured  compound  containing  a lower  percentage 
of  the  halogen  than  the  original  salt.  At  the  same  time  a 
substance  is  formed  which  has  the  power  of  liberating 
iodine  from  potassium  iodide,  and  if  the  action  of  light 
takes  place  in  presence  of  liquid  water,  the  solution  gives 
a precipitate  of  silver  bromide  or  chloride  on  addition 
of  silver  nitrate.  The  nature  of  the  substance  which  acts 
on  potassium  iodide  has  never  been  satisfactorily  investi- 
gated. The  dark,  solid  product  is  in  all  probability  not 
metallic  silver,  because  the  action  of  light  readily  takes 
place  even  in  the  presence  of  nitric  acid  so  strong  that  it 
readily  dissolves  the  metal.  For  a long  time  it  has  been 
supposed  that  the  dark  substance  is  silver-sub-bromide  or 
sub-chloride,  but  this  point  will  be  discussed  later  on. 

When  light  acts  on  the  silver  haloids  in  a collodion 
film,  the  halogen  which  they  lose  may  internet  partly  with 
the  moisture  which  is  always  present,  partly  with  the 
pyroxiline.  It  is,  however,  well  known  that  pyroxiline 
shows  comparatively  little  tendency  to  yield  chlorine  or 
bromine  derivatives,  and  hence  it  is  probable  that  the 
part  which  it  plays  in  the  alteration  of  the  silver  salts  is  of 
secondary  importance. 

Gelatine,  however,  behaves  quite  differently.  It  readily 

hikes  up  chlorine  and  bromine,  and  if  bromine  water  is 
added  to  a solution  of  gelatine,  a yellowish,  curdy  precipi- 
tate of  a bromo -gelatine  is  formed.  Knop  found  t that 
gelatine  will  take  up  as  much  as  50  per  cent,  of  bromine, 
forming  a yellowish,  insoluble  compound.  There  can  be 
little  doubt,  therefore,  that  when  light  acts  on  the  silver 
haloids  in  presence  of  gelatine,  the  bromine  or  chlorine 
which  they  lose  combines  with  the  gelatine.  We  have, 
indeed,  direct  evidence  in  the  fact  that  where  the  light  has 
acted  the  gelatine  becomes  less  soluble.  The  readiness 
with  which  the  gelatine  takes  up  the  halogen  explains  its 
great  efficiency  as  a sensitiser,  and  the  consequent  high 
sensitiveness  of  gelatine  plates. 

' Read  at  the  Camera  Club  Conference,  and  published  in  the  j ournal  of 
the  Club. 

t Chun.  CentralbMt,  1879. 


Three  views  as  to  the  nature  and  mode  of  formation  of 
the  latent  image  seem  to  me  to  deserve  attention.  Many 
hypotheses,  and  guesses  unworthy  even  of  the  name  of 
hypothesis,  have  been  put  forward,  but  have  served  only 
to  prove  that  their  promulgators  were  incompetent  to 
deal  with  the  question  by  reason  of  their  want  of  acquaint- 
ance with  the  established  facts  of  chemistry  and  physics. 
The  problem  is,  in  fact,  of  a high  degree  of  difficulty  and 
complexity,  and  its  solution  will  require  experimental  work 
of  the  same  order  of  accuracy  as  the  work  involved  in  the 
determination  of  the  atomic  weights  of  the  elements.  It 
seems  almost  necessary  to  point  out  that  work  of  this 
kind  involves  a certain  amount  of  preliminary  training. 

The  physical  theory  of  the  latent  image  assumes  that  the 
energy  of  the  light  rays  is  transferred  to  the  molecules  of 
the  silver  haloid,  which  are  thereby  thrown  into  a state  of 
unstable  equilibrium  such  that  the  compound  is  reduced  to 
the  metallic  state  by  re-agents  which,  under  normal  con- 
ditions, would  have  no  action  on  it.  The  chief  evidence 
in  support  of  this  view  was  the  observation  that  the  latent 
image  spontaneously  disappeared.  There  is,  however,  a 
considerable  amount  of  evidence  to  show  that  the  latent 
image  does  not  fade  spontaneously,  but  in  all  cases  where 
its  disappearance  is  observed  it  is  destroyed  by  the 
action  of  atmospheric  impurities,  or  by  secondary  re- 
actions with  substances  retained  in  the  film.  Carey  Lea, 
who  was  at  one  time  one  of  the  firmest  supporters  of  the 
physical  theory,  showed*  that  silver  iodide  will  absorb  free 
iodine,  and  hence  the  gradual  disappearance  of  the  latent 
image  on  Daguerreotype  plates  or  any  other  films  obtained 
by  treating  silver  with  an  iodising  agent  may  be  traced  to 
the  fact  that  the  silver  iodide  has  absorbed  an  excess  of 
iodine  during  its  preparation,  and  this  iodine  gradually 
acts  upon  the  product  of  the  action  of  light  and  re-con- 
verts it  into  normal  silver  iodide. t 

Analogy  would  lead  us  to  expect  that  if  the  silver 
haloid  were  thrown  into  an  unstable  condition  by  the 
action  of  light  waves,  it  would  gradually  and  somewhat 
rapidly  return  to  its  normal  condition  when  the  disturb- 
ing cause  ceased  to  act.  I have  myself  kept  gelatino- 
bromide  plates  for  fourteen  months  after  exposure  without 
observing  any  reduction  in  the  character  of  the  image  on 
development.  Other  workers  have  kept  exposed  plates 
for  twoj  and  even  three§  years.  It  is  in  the  highest 
degree  improbable  that  a mere  condition  of  unstable  equili- 
brium would  persist  for  so  long  a time,  and  these  facts, 
combined  with  the  fact  that  the  latent  image  is  destroyed 
by  re-agents  of  a particular  kind,  but  not  by  others,  seem 
to  me  to  be  conclusive  against  the  physical  theory. 

(To  be  continued.) 


A Japanese  Photocuapheh. — -In  its  issue  of  March  22nd, 
Anthony's  Photographic  Bulletin  gives  a photogravure  repro- 
duction of  the  portrait  of  K.  Ogawa,  founder  of  the  Shush  in 
Shimpo,  the  only  photographic  periodical  published  in  Japan. 
Prof.  \V.  K.  Burton  gives  a very  interesting  personal  history 
of  the  Japanese  photographer,  and  recounts  the  difficulties  that 
had  to  be  overcome  by  him  in  acquiring  a knowledge  of  photo- 
graphy. The  picture  referred  to  was  reproduced  from  a print 
furnished  by  Mr.  Burton. 

* A mcr.  J.  Science,  xxx  ii. ; I'hotooraphic  News,  xxxi.,  p.  380r 

t Carey  Lea  himself  (tic.  cit.J  supposes  that  the  iodine  which  the  silver 
iodide  loses  when  exposed  to  light  is  absorbed  by  the  adjacent  unaltered 
silver  iodide,  and  in  course  of  time  re-converts  the  photo-iodide  into  the 
normal  iodide.  It  is  doubtful  whether  silver  iodide  can  act  as  its  own 
sensitiser,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  the  other  explanation  here  given  is  the 
more  probable. 

} Berwick,  Brit.  J.  l'hot.,  1882,  pp.  542  and  549. 

} Wright,  l'hot.  Mittheilungen , 1882,  p.  16. 


281 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  11,  1890. 


SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE  “ PHOTOGRAPHIC 
NEWS.” 

With  the  present  number  of  this  journal  is  issued  a 
portrait  of  Thomas  Wedgwood,  who  produced  in  1802 
the  first  English  photographs.  The  original  is  a crayon 
drawing  in  the  possession  of  Miss  lv.  Wedgwood,  of  which 
a negative  was  taken  for  us  by  Mr.  Ralph  W.  Robinson, 
and  the  photogravure  work  has  been  done  by  Messrs. 
Waterlow  and  Sons. 

(EormponUcitce. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SOCIETIES’  NATIONAL 
CHALLENGE  CUP. 

Sir, — In  reply  to  the  letter  in  your  last  number,  signed  by 
Mr.  Edgar  G.  Lee,  we  append  the  following  copy  of  a letter 
addressed  to  that  gentleman  some  days  before  the  opening  of  the 
Exhibition.  We  venture  to  think  that  your  readers  will  con- 
clude that  in  offering  to  allow  the  Newcastle  Society  to 
substitute  other  pictures  for  those  which  had  been  previously 
shown  and  medalled  at  the  Crystal  Palace  Exhibitions,  we  did 
even  more  than  they  had  a right  to  expect. — Yours  faithfully, 

S.  G.  Buchanan  Wollaston. 

J.  F.  Peasgood. 

Crystal  Palace,  March  28,  1890. 

Edoar  O.  Lkk,  Esu. 

Dear  Sir,— Your  papers  duly  to  hand,  and  we  are  much  obliged  for  the 
great  care  you  have  taken.  We  must  just  point  out  that  Mr.  Gibson  has 
included  two  pictures  with  the  same  titles  as  previously  sent;  also  Mr. 
Lyd.  8awyer  has  sent  again  “The  Boat  Builder,”  though  shown  here  in 
1888,  and  “ The  Castle  Garth,”  shown  here  last  year.  As  we  cannot  admit 
pictures  more  than  once,  perhaps  they  would  like  to  substitute  others. — 
Yours  truly,  J.  F.  Peasgood, 

Crystal  I'alace,  JF*  b.  26,  1890. 


THE  CRYSTAL  PALACE  CHALLENGE  CUP  COM- 
PETITION. 

Silt,- — We  approach  this  subject  fully  aware  how  unpleasant 
the  task  usually  is  of  championizing  our  own  works,  and  this 
alone  would  have  induced  us,  under  any  other  circumstances, 
to  leave  matters  as  they  stand  in  the  Crystal  Palace  Club  Cup 
Competition,  but  for  the  glaring  injustice  of  this  extraordinary 
award,  and  the  duty  it  involves  of  warning  the  photographic 
world  against  encouraging  its  repetition. 

We  have  so  much  proof  of  the  Cup  having  been  misdealt 
with  in  this  present  case  as  to  amount  to  a positive  embarras 
de  richesse  when  it  is  necessary  to  reduce  it  to  a sufficiently 
compressed  space  for  presentation  before  your  readers. 

Previous  to  determining  on  entering  for  this  Challenge  Cup 
Competition,  we  carefully  perused  the  entire  rules  appertaining 
to  it,  as  forwarded  to  us  for  that  purpose,  and  found  it  to  be 
thoroughly  open,  with  absolutely  no  restriction  as  to  amateurs 
or  professionals  only  competing,  no  limitation  as  to  size  or  class 
of  photograph,  and  no  mention  even  that  pictures  which  had 
l>een  previously  exhibited  in  individual  classes  at  the  Crystal 
Palace  were  not  eligible.  Carefully  abiding  by  these  rules,  we 
selected  and  sent  75  pictures,  more  than  45  of  which  had 
already  received  awards  ; 24  lantern  slides  and  6 stereoscopic 
slides,  most  of  which  had  also  previously  been  medalled. 

We  received  the  following  acknowledgment  and  acceptance  of 
our  exhibit,  under  date  of  February  26tli.  [See  letter  quoted 
above.] 

This  was,  of  course,  tacitly  accepting  all  our  exhibits  with  the 
exception  of  the  four  pictures  mentioned.  These  latter  were 
sent  because  we  found  that  there  teas  no  rule  debarring  them, 
and  because  it  was  as  reasouable  to  acoept  pictures  for  the  Chal- 
lenge Cup  class  which  bad  been  shown  in  individual  classes  last 
year  as  to  accept  pictures  shown  in  individual  classes  this  year. 
However,  on  receipt  of  this  letter,  Mr.  Gibson  and  Mr.  Sawyer 
each  wrote  to  the  executive  separately,  requesting  that  the  four 
pictures  alluded  to  should  be  placed  aside  until  the  end  of  the 
exhibition,  and  Mr.  Sawyer  forwarded  two  others  in  place  of 
those  of  his  objected  to. 


Subsequently,  we  received  another  letter  from  the  same 
source,  of  which  the  following  is  a sufficient  extract,  dated 
March  8th  : — 

Your  Club  exhibit  has  arrived  sifely,  and  all  pictures  are  hung.  I think 
you  will  be  very  pleased  with  the  show. 

If  all  our  pictures  were  hung,  in  face  of  two  separate 
requests  from  us  for  four  of  them  to  be  withdrawn,  it  suggests 
that  either  they  were,  after  all,  accepted  as  admissible  by  the 
executive,  or  else  that  they  were  still  hung  as  a weak  plea  for 
afterwards  disqualifying  us.  Which  was  it  ? 

We  next  hear  of  our  pictures  through  Photography  of 
March  20th,  which  states  : — 

At  the  timeof  writing  this  we  do  not  know  the  awards,  but,  to  our  minds, 
Newcastle— by  reason  of  having  atleast  6ve  noted  professionals  represented 
—stands  far  away  ahead.  Next  must  come  the  Liverpool  Amateur,  which 
is  represented  by  an  excellent  lot  of  pictures. 

Writing  later,  in  the  same  number,  Photography  again 

says  : — 

It  will  be  seen  by  our  report  that  the  Society  Challenge  Cup  Competition 
at  the  Crystal  Palace  has  fallen  to  Birmingham.  It  is  rather  a significant 
fact  ( side  report)  that  when  the  award  was  announced  or.  the  sheet,  it 
appeared  as  “Three  Cheers  for  Birmingham.”  Before  expressing  any 
further  opinion  on  the  matter,  we  should  like  to  know  if  any  Societies 
were  disqualified,  and  why  ? 

The  Amateur  Photographer  for  March  21st  contains  the 
following  anent  the  Cup  Competition  : — 

Next  year  probably  some  conditions  will  be  laid  down  by  the  manage- 
ment, for  surely  it  cannot  bean  equal  competition  when  one  of  two  alcoves 
occupied  by  the  Newcastle  Society  is  filled  by  the  work  of  two  such  men  as 
Gibson  of  Hexham,  and  Lyd.  Sawyer. 

Now,  one  of  the  extraordinary  parts  of  this  quotation  is  that 
we  have  reason  to  believe  it  was  written  by  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  Cup  Competition,  and,  although  it  says  plainly 
that  our  exhibit  was  too  good  for  the  rest,  yet  the  Cup  has 
not  been  awarded  us  ! We  know  that  we  cannot  be  honestly * 
disqualified,  and,  as  stated  in  our  previous  letter  which 
appeared  in  your  columns,  we  challenged  an  explanation,  and 
stated  that  we  had  good  authority  for  knowing  that  only  a 
portion  of  our  pictures  was  judged. 

The  following  reply  from  the  Executive,  dated  March  24th, 
was  duly  received  : — 

In  reply  to  your  letter  ol  2lst  inst.,  I have  the  honour  to  refer  you  to 
our  letter  of  2Gth  February  ult , and  to  Rules  (..'(note  to  rule)  and  16,  marked 
and  enclosed.  You  can  have  no  authoritative  information  except  through 
the  hands  of  the  Executive,  consisting  of  Mr.  Peasgood  and  yours  faithfully, 
S.  G.  Buchanan  Wollaston. 

This  is  very  nice  and  decisive,  if  we  were  prepared  to  accept 
it,  and  if  there  was  no  higher  tribunal  than  these  same  Messrs. 
Peasgood  and  Wollaston  to  ap)>eal  to.  But  we  did  not  take 
the  trouble  to  make  and  send  our  exhibit  only  to  lie  dealt  with 
as  their  whims  or  interest  dictated.  There  is  a higher  tribunal, 
in  the  shape  of  our  photographic  confreres,  to  lay  the  matter 
before. 

Here,  tlieu,  let  us  analyse  their  lame  attempt  at  justification. 
“ Our  letter  of  26th  February  ” refers  to  the  one  above  quoted, 
in  which  they  objected  to  two  pictures  sent  by  Mr.  Gibson  and 
two  sent  by  Mr.  Sawyer.  As  Messrs.  Gibson  and  Sawyer  each 
individually  wrote  asking  for  these  four  pictures  to  be  with- 
drawn, this  fact  ceases  to  have  any  liearing  ui>on  the  case. 
The  “ Note  to  Rule  6 ” referred  to  says  : — 

N.B.  — The  Executive  reserve  all  rights  as  regards  the  hanging  of  pictures, 
and  may  refuse  to  display  any  picture  without  assigning  reasons  for  so 
doing. 

This  rule  in  no  manner  applies  to  us,  as,  according  to  their 
own  statement  of  March  8th,  all  onr  pictures  were  accepted  and 
hung;  but  whether  or  not  this  includes  the  four  pictures 
objected  to  we  cannot  say,  and  as  it  was  a matter  entirely 
resting  in  their  own  bands,  we  are  not  legitimately  affected 
by  it. 

Rule  16,  as  underlined  by  them,  says  : — 

From  the  decision  of  the  Judges  there  can  be  no  appeal. 

Very  proper,  so  far  as  it  goes  ; but  more  remains  liebind. 
They  continue  : — 

You  can  have  no  authoritative  information  except  through  the  hands  of 
the  Executive,  &c. 

* There  is  no  question  as  to  the  absolute  honesty  of  intention  of  the 
Crystal  Talacc  authorities,  and  of  Messrs.  Wollaston  and  Pea  good.— Ed. 


April  11,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC 


, , -.t  /Z  v,\ 


28.') 


That  is  official-like,  but,  unfortunately,  it  is  not,  or  should  not , 
be  true.  The  judge*  are — or,  shall  we  in  this  case  say,  should 
he  ? — the  first  authorities  in  these  matters,  and  it  is  from  one  of 
the  judges  we  learn  that  Messrs.  Gibson  and  Sawyer’s  pictures 
(not  the  four  of  them  in  question,  but  all,  or  nearly  all)  were 
left  unjudged  ; hence,  as  the  judges  did  not  decide  ou  all  our 
exhibits,  it  is  not  a complete  decision,  and  need  not  lie  final. 
Now  what  can  your  readers  infer  from  this  array  of  facts 
The  letter  of  the  judge — a man  of  known  integrity  and 
eminence — was  not  sent  us  for  publication,  so  we  refrain  from 
any  possible  breach  of  confidence  by  further  locating  it,  and 
we  have  an  amount  of  other  confidential  correspondence 
touching  on  the  subject,  couched  in  terms  which  would  make 
Messrs.  P.  and  YV.’s  ears  tingle  if  they  heard  it. 

We  hope  your  readers  will  not  think  that  we  are  still  sighing 
for  “the  Cup  that  cheers  ” (?)  We  did  at  first  intend  to 
obtain  it  by  legal  means,  but  now  feel  it  to  be  made  of  a too 
“ base  metal  ” to  touch  on  any  consideration  ; and  if  our 
Birmingham  confreres — against  whom  we  have  no  single  word 
to  say — feel  that  they  can  hold  with  honour  what  they  must 
now  know  is  not  fairly  their  own,  then  they  are  very  welcome 
to  keep  it. 

It  remains  for  us  to  apologise  to  you  for  the  unavoidable 
length  of  our  communication,  which  we  trust  may  come,  at  all 
events,  with  some  nogative  appropriateness  to  the  present 
discussion  on  rules  and  regulations  at  exhibitions.  We,  at 
least,  have  arrived  at  a very  unanimous  decision  from  this 
experience,  which  is,  that  we  will  individually  and  collectively 
carefully  avoid  any  future  exhibition  associated  with  the  names 
of  Messrs.  Wollaston  and  Peasgood,  in  the  event  of  such  a 
contingency  ever  again  arising. 

Auty  & Ruddock, 

T.  Galloway, 

J.  P.  Gibson, 

J.  E.  Gooi.d, 

Edgar  G.  Lee, 

Newcastle-on- Tyne  and  Northern  Counties  Photographic  Asso- 
ciation, Mosley  Street  Cufe,  Neiccastle-on-Tyne,  March  31,  1890. 


W. 

J. 

H. 

H. 


Parry, 

Pike, 

R.  Proctor, 
G.  Ridgway, 


Lyd.  Sawyer. 


THE  CRYSTAL  PALACE  EXHIBITION. 

Sir, — Will  you  please  announce  in  next  issue  that  the 
award  in  Section  4,  Lantern  Division,  was  made  to  Fred  H. 
Evans,  and  that  Mr.  Wade’s  initials  should  have  been  “J.  W.” 

.1.  F.  Peasgood. 

Photographic  Society  ok  Great  Britain. — At  this  Society 
on  Tuesday,  April  lath,  at  8 p.m.,  at  5a,  Pall  Mall  East, 
London,  a paper  will  lie  read  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Bothainley,  F.C.S., 
F.  I.C.,  on  “ A Standard  Method  of  Development.” 

Salted  Paper  for  Enlargements. — The  Bulletin  of  the 
Photographic  Sojiety  of  Italy,  published  at  Florence,  gives  in 
its  last  number  a special  formula  for  salted  paper  for  enlarge- 
ments, communicated  to  it  by  Signor  G.  Moretti,  a member  of 
the  Society  and  Director  of  the  Studio  for  the  Dilettanti  Pho- 
tographers in  Florence.  The  formula  is  this  : — 


Water 
Gelatine 

Chloride  of  sodium 
Citrate  of  soda 
Ammonia  chlorhydrate 


1,000  gr. 
2 „ 
4 to  6 ,, 
21  „ 
13  to  lti  ,, 


The  gelatine,  cut  up  into  very  small  slices,  is  first  dissolved  in 
the  tepid  water  ; afterwards  the  other  substances  are  added  ; 
when  all  are  dissolved  the  solution  is  filtered,  and  placed  in 
bottles  for  use.  To  prepare  the  paper,  the  mixture  is  poured 
into  a basin,  and  the  sheets  are  allowed  to  float  for  three  min- 
utes, using  the  same  precautions  as  in  the  preparation  of  albu- 
menised  paper.  After  the  moisture  has  been  removed  from 
the  sheets  prepared  with  this  solution,  they  are  sensitised  on 
an  ordinary  12  per  cent,  silver  bath,  and  when  dry  they  may  at 
once  be  used,  and  a beautiful  tint,  imitating  perfectly  that  of 
hematite,  will  be  obtained.  When  the  bath  above  described 
is  employed,  especially  if  it  be  fresh  and  uncontaminated  by 
any  noxious  vapours,  the  sensitised  paper  may  l>e  kept  in  ex- 
cellent condition  for  three  days  during  the  summer,  and  for  a 
week  in  the  winter  season. 


patent  Entelligcnre. 


Specifications  Published. 

5,337.  March  28th,  1889. — “ Photographic  Cameras,  and 

Apparatus  in  connection  therewith.”  William  Henry  Smith, 

Upton  Villa,  Beckenham  Road,  Kent,  Engineer,  and  William 

Willis,  Bromley,  Kent,  Manufacturer. 

Our  invention  relates  to  photographic  apparatus,  and  one 
of  its  objects  is  to  provide  improved  means  whereby  sensitised 
plates  or  films  may  be  conveniently  transported,  and  may  at 
any  time  be  inserted  in  and  removed  from  the  camera  without 
liability  to  exposure  of  the  said  plates  or  films  to  light.  Our 
said  invention,  moreover,  comprises  an  improved  shutter, 
hereinafter  described,  for  facilitating  exposures  of  short  dura- 
tion. 

For  holding  the  sensitise^  plates  and  transferring  them,  as 
required,  to  and  from  the  camera,  we  employ  a holder  or  dark- 
slide,  which  comprises  a metal  sheath  or  case,  one  end  of 
which  is  open,  and  is  firmly  attached  to  one  side  of  a tube 
having  slots  therein  through  which  the  plates  may  be  inserted 
in  and  removed  from  the  said  sheath.  In  the  said  tube  is 
fitted  a plug  of  shutter  of  any  suitable  material.  This  plug  is 
so  formed  that  the  portion  thereof  which  corresponds  with  the 
slots  in  the  tube  is  semicircular  or  of  other  convenient  shape 
in  tranverse  section  so  that  it  will,  in  one  position,  close  the 
opening  or  mouth  of  the  sheath,  or  case,  and  thus  exclude 
light,  but,  by  turning  the  said  plug  about  its  axis  through  a 
greater  or  less  angle,  a clear  way  through  the  slots  and  the 
open  end  of  the  sheath  may  be  made,  through  which  the  pho- 
tographic plate  can  be  inserted  or  removed. 

Our  improved  dark-slide  is  very  compact  and  can  be  cheaply 
manufactured.  Moreover,  the  said  dark-slides  can  be  very 
closely  packed,  so  that  a large  number  of  them  may  be  con- 
tained in  a comparatively  small  space. 

To  provide  for  the  use  of  our  improved  dark-slide  on  a 
camera,  we  attach  to  the  said  camera  a tube  or  portion  of  a 
tube  with  a slot  in  it  through  which  a plate  may  pass  into  or 
from  the  camera  ; this  tube  is  of  such  internal  diameter  that 
the  tube  on  the  aforesaid  sheath  or  case  will  accurately  fit  and 
slide  in  it.  The  tube  or  socket  on  the  camera  is,  moreover, 
provided  with  a slot  throughout  or  nearly  throughout  its 
length  to  admit  the  sheath  or  case,  so  that  the  dark-slide 
can  be  readily  applied  to  or  removed  from  the  camera.  When 
the  dark-slide  containing  the  plate  is  slid  into  position  in 
the  aforesaid  tube  or  socket,  and  the  plug  is  turned  by  a key 
or  otherwise  through  the  required  angle,  the  plate  will  fall 
through  the  slot  in  the  said  tube  or  socket  into  the  camera  ; 
grooves  or  other  suitable  means  are  provided  in  the  camera  to 
hold  the  plate  in  a proper  position  therein.  To  remove  the 
plate  from  the  camera,  the  latter  is  inverted,  and  the  opera- 
tions above  described  are  performed  in  the  reverse  order. 

In  some  instances,  we  provide  a key  or  other  device  in  one 
end  of  the  tube  or  socket  on  the  camera,  so  that,  by  turning 
the  dark  slide  through  the  required  angle  after  it  has  been 
inserted  in  the  said  tube  or  socket,  the  said  dark-slide  may  be 
opened  and  closed. 

Iu  other  instances,  we  arrange  within  the  tube  or  socket  on 
the  camera  another  slotted  tube  capable  of  revolving  therein, 
and  adapted  to  receive  the  tube  on  the  sheath.  Then,  by 
arranging  in  a proper  position  the  key  or  other  device  for 
opening  and  closing  the  dark-slide,  we  are  enabled  to  insert 
the  sheath  in  the  tubes  on  the  top  or  side  of  the  camera  in 
a plane  parallel  thereto,  and  then,  by  turning  the  said  sheath 
about  the  axis  of  its  tube,  the  opening  of  the  sheath  will 
be  effected,  and  the  slots  in  the  tubes  brought  into  line  with 
each  other,  thus  permitting  the  plate  to  fall  into  the  camera. 
When  the  plate  has  been  thus  transferred  to  the  camera,  the 
sheath  may  be  turned  back  so  as  to  lie  parallel  with  the  top, 
and  therefore  out  of  the  way,  or,  when  in  this  position,  it  may 
be  altogether  withdrawn,  the  slot  in  the  camera,  when  the 
inner  tube  is  in  this  position,  being  closed  by  the  said  inner  tube. 

We  sometimes  provide  the  camera  with  means  for  attaching 
a dark-slide  to  the  top  thereof,  and  another  dark-slide  to  the 
bottom  thereof,  one  for  the  insertion  of  the  unexposed  plates 


2SC 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  11,  1890. 


into  the  camera,  and  the  other  for  the  reception  of  the  exposed 
plates  from  the  camera.  We  can  employ  with  a camera  any 
desired  number  of  interchangeable  dark-slides  constructed  as 
above  described. 

If  desired,  we  provide  means  whereby  the  sliding  of  the  tube 
on  the  sheath  into  the  tube  or  socket  on  the  camera  will 
effect  the  opening  of  the  dark-slide. 

We  sometimes  employ  a slotted  tube,  or  socket,  similar  to 
that  above  described,  in  combination  with  a dark-slide  of 
ordinary  construction  (or  with  a receptacle  similarly  used),  so 
that  plates  or  films  may  be  inserted  therein  and  removed  there- 
from by  means  of  our  improved  dark-slide  without  risk  of 
exposure  of  the  said  plates  to  light. 

Our  improved  dark-slide  is  constructed  to  contain  a single 
plate,  or  is  adapted  to  contain  and  successively  deliver  more 
than  one  plate.  In  the  latter  case,  the  dark-slide  is  provided 
with  grooves,  or  other  devices,  for  keeping  the  plates  apart,  and 
is  made  reversible  in  the  tube,  or  socket,  on  the  camera. 

We  sometimes  provide  for  facilitating  the  removal  of  the 
camera  from  a tripod  for  the  purpose  of  inverting  the  camera 
to  change  plates  by  means  of  our  improved  dark  slide,  and  for 
permitting  the  removal  and  replacement  of  the  camera  without 
risk  of  altering  a position  already  secured  by  the  tripod.  For 
this  purpose  we  provide  on  the  underside  of  the  camera  a pro- 
jection, or  block  of  wood  or  metal,  having  parallel  sides.  This 
projection  fits  into  a suitable  groove,  or  opening,  in  the  tripod- 
head,  or,  preferably,  in  a turntable  which  is  attached  to  the 
tripod-head,  capable  of  being  partially  closed,  so  as  to  tightly 
clamp  the  said  projection.  The  closing  of  the  sides  of  the 
groove  against  the  said  projection  may  be  accomplished  by 
means  of  a spring,  screw,  cam,  or  eccentric,  or  otherwise. 

Our  improved  shutter  for  effecting  exposures  of  short 
duration  comprises  two  plates,  or  pieces  of  metal,  or  other 
suitable  material,  each  having  its  inner  end  V 'shaped,  and  its 
outer  end  provided  with  a projecting  pin  or  stud.  These  pins 
or  studs  slide  in  cam-grooves  formed  in  a disc  of  ebonite,  or 
other  suitable  material,  acted  upon  by  a spring  whereby  it  is 
partially  rotated  to  open  and  close  the  shutter. 

If  the  shutter  is  applied  to  a lens  of  the  doublet  or  recti- 
linear type,  the  slides  are  preferably  arranged  to  operate 
between  the  lenses,  the  mount  of  the  lens  being  cut  or 
divided  for  the  purpose  of  admitting  them.  When  the 
shutter  is  closed  the  V-shaped  ends  overlap  each  other,  and 
when  the  shutter  is  opened  so  far  as  just  to  admit  light  through 
the  lens,  the  aperture  thus  formed  should  be  central  in  respect 
to  the  lens.  These  V-shaped  shutters  slide  easily  over  one 
another  in  grooves,  and,  on  being  operated,  they  first  of  all 
recede  from  one  another  until  the  maximum  aperture  is 
given  to  the  lens,  and  afterwards  approach  each  other  until  the 
aperture  is  closed.  The  aforesaid  grooved  disc  is  preferably 
fitted  to  turn  on  the  mount  of  the  lens.  A catch  with  a 
trigger  forms  a convenient  means  for  releasing  the  spring  for 
operating  the  shutter.  A suitable  device  is  provided  for 
winding  up  the  said  spring.  We  prefer  to  use,  for  this  pur- 
pose, a ring  or  annular  piece  fitted  to  turn  in  a box  or  case 
enclosing  the  said  disc.  The  duration  of  the  exposure  may  be 
regulated  by  winding  up  the  spring  more  or  less  as  may  be 
required. 

Twelve  claims  are  appended  to  the  complete  specification, 
which  specification  is  accompanied  with  drawings. 

8,085.  May  15 th,  1889. — “The  Production  of  Developers.” 

Henry  William  Jones,  1 7,  White  Street,  Coventry  (formerly, 

and  at  date  of  application,  residing  at  3,  Grosvenor  Street, 

Coventry),  Chemist. 

The  nature  of  the  said  invention  described  as  “ Improve- 
ments in  the  Production  of  Developers  for  Photographic  Use,” 
is  to  produce  a portable  and  permanent  photographic  develoi>er, 
consisting  of  a specially  prepared  compound  of  hydrokinone  in 
a compressed  state.  To  accomplish  this  I take  crystallised  sul- 
phite of  sodium,  or  similar  alkaline  sulphite,  but  I prefer  to 
use  the  ordinary  sulphite,  and  I heat  this  until  it  fuses,  and 
until  all  water  of  crystallization  has  been  driven  off.  The  dry 
mass  is  then  ground  with  an  equal  weightof  hydrokinone  orother 
similar  proportion,  but  I prefer  an  equal  weight,  and  one-tenth 
partof  t he  whole  of  bromide  of  sodium  added.  The  mixture,  after 


being  thus  made,  is  wetted  with  aqueous  sulphurous  acid,  and 
then  partially  dried  ; and  whilst  still  damp  forced  through  a 
sieve  of  forty  meshes  to  the  inch,  and  dried  at  a gentle  heat, 
by  which  means  the  conij>ound  is  obtained  in  small  dr}-  granules. 

' The  compound  thus  formed  is  made  into  tablets,  or  circular 
discs,  or  pellets,  by  a powerful  press. 

What  I claim  is  : — 

1.  The  production  of  a compound,  formed  from  alkaline 
sulphite,  as  sodium  sulphite  which  I employ,  hydrokinone  and 
alkaline  bromide,  as  sodium  bromide  which  I use  ; the  same 
compound  l>eing  produced  in  the  dry  granular  form,  as  and 
after  the  manner  described. 

2.  The  formation  of  the  compound  hydrokinone,  produced 
after  the  manner  described,  into  pellets,  or  tablets,  or  discs 
by  pressure,  exerted  by  a steam  or  other  form  of  press. 

7,939.  May  13 th,  1889. — “ Shutters  for  Cameras.”  John 

Thomas  Daniels,  14,  Smith  Street,  Northampton  Square, 

London,  E.C.,  Mathematical  Instrument  Maker. 

This  invention  relates  to  improvements  in  shutters  for 
photographic  cameras,  the  object  being  to  combine  simple  in- 
stantaneous shutting  mechanism  with  equally  simple  devices 
whereby  the  shutter  can  be  kept  open  and  the  lens  exposed 
for  any  desired  length  of  time. 

The  shutter  which  I propose  to  use  consists  of  a rectangular 
piece  of  sheet  metal,  mounted  in  vertical  guides  fixed  in  front 
’ of  the  lens  or  object  glass.  On  the  outer  face  of  the  shutter 
is  a stud  or  button,  and  on  each  of  the  vertical  guides  is  a 
similar  stud  or  button,  these  latter  being  placed  horizontally 
opposite  each  other  and  vertically  above  the  stud  in  the  shutter 
so  that  the  three  studs  represent  the  three  corners  of  a triangle  of 
which  the  apex,  represented  by  the  stud  in  the  shutter,  is  the 
lowest.  For  a reason  which  will  be  afterwards  explained,  the 
upper  studs  project  further  from  the  guide  pieces  than  the 
lower  one  in  the  shutter.  Around  the  three  studs  is  stretched 
an  india-rubber  ring  which,  when  free  to  act,  raises  the  shutter 
and  exposes  the  object  glass.  The  shutter  is,  however,  con- 
trolled by  a notched  lever  pivotted  below  the  lens  tube,  the 
notch  spanning  a pin  on  the  bottom  of  the  shut  ter,  in  which 
position  it  is  retained  by  a flat  spring.  The  releasing  motion 
can  lie  effected  by  pneumatic  pressure  orother  device,  and  the 
contraction  of  the  india-rubber  ring  jerks  the  shutter  quickly 
upwards  and  retains  no  further  hold  on  the  stud  in  the  shutter, 
as  the  latter  falls  in  consequence  of  the  lower  stud  lying  in  a 
different  plane  from  the  two  upper  ones,  and  the  tendency  of 
the  ring  to  hang  vertically  when  free  to  do  so.  Thus  released, 
the  shutter  would  fall  under  the  influence  of  gravitation,  but 
its  downward  motion  is  accelerated  by  a second  india-rubber 
spring  which  is  stretched  across  its  upward  path,  and  with  which 
the  stud  in  the  shutter  comes  in  contact,  whereby  its  upward 
course  is  checked,  ami  a rebounding  motion  iuqtarted  to  it. 
For  “ time  ” exposures  a vertical  lever  is  pivotted  to  the  shutter 
slides  or  other  convenient  part,  the  upper  end  of  which  is  turned 
inwards  towards  the  shutter.  To  the  lower  end  of  this  lever  is 
hinged  an  arm,  which  can  lie  connected  to  the  catch  lever 
which  retains  the  shut  ter  in  its  closed  position.  As  soon  as  the 
latter  is  disengaged  by  the  pneumatic  or  other  appliance,  the 
shutter  flies  upwards,  but  lieforeit  can  descend,  the  turned-in 
end  of  the  side  lever  has  advanced  sufficiently  to  intercept  its 
downward  motion,  and  the  operator  can  thus  obtain  any  desired 
period  of  exposure. 

It  must  be  understood  that  the  details  above  mentioned  may 
be  modified  without  departing  from  the  main  features  of  the 
invention. 

7,007.  April  26th,  1889. — “Producing  Negatives  for  Mecha- 
nical Printing  Processes.”  Charles  Studders  and  Georg 

Kohl,  of  the  firm  of  .Studders  and  Kohl,  of  Leipzig  Reudnitz, 

Germany. 

This  invention  relates  to  the  production  in  a camera  of 
photographic  negatives  suitable  for  mechanical  printing  pro- 
cesses, and  especially  to  the  process  in  which  the  said  negatives 
are  produced  by  arranging  before  the  sensitive  plate  a trans- 
parent screen  having  a number  of  opaque  parallel  lines  or  cross 
hatchings.  Heretofore  it  has  been  usual  to  place  the  screen 
and  plate  in  the  dark  back,  and  to  expose  the  same  in  the 
camera  for  a certain  )>eriod,  and  then  to  remove  the  dark  back 


April  11,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


287 


aud  replace  the  screen  by  another  screen,  the  lines  of  which 
stand  generally  at  an  angle  of  90°  to  those  of  the  first  screen, 
and  again  expose  the  plate  in  the  camera  for  the  remainder  of 
the  necessary  period  of  exposure.  This  twofold  insertion  of 
screens  occupies  more  time  and  trouble,  and  the  sensitive  plate 
is  liable  to  be  shifted  in  the  process  so  that  the  negative  is 
doubled  aud  therefore  useless. 

The  object  of  this  invention  is  to  enable  one  screen  to  be 
used,  and  to  be  moved  into  the  second  position  without  removal 
from  the  camera. 

To  this  end  they  support  the  said  screen  in  a circular  frame, 
providing  the  latter  with  a fixed  l«ad  and  with  a movable  bead 
adjusted  by  set  screws  for  holding  the  screen.  This  circular 
frame  is  supported  in  a circular  hole  in  a suitable  carrier, 
adapted  to  lie  placed  in  the  camera  so  that  the  frame  may  lie 
moved  to  an  angle  of  90°  (or  for  a greater  or  less  angle  if 
desired)  in  its  plane.  Suitable  stops  are  provided  for  accurately 
limiting  this  movement,  which  may  be  effected  by  hand  by 
means  of  a cord  connected  to  the  frame  and  led  out  through  a 
suitable  hole  in  the  camera.  The  screen  being  set  in  one 
position  and  the  sensitive  plate  inserted,  the  lens  is  uncovered, 
a half  time  exposure  given,  anil  the  lens  is  again  covered.  The 
screen  is  then  revolved  by  the  cord  into  the  second  position, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  exposure  given. 

4,082.  March  8 th,  1889. — “ Head  for  Camera  Stands.”  Fox 

Shew,  88,  Newman  Street,  Oxford  Street,  London,  W., 

Maker  of  Socialities  in  Photographic  Instruments. 

The  invention  relates  to  an  improved  head  for  portable  fold- 
ing or  non-folding  camera  or  other  stands  ; to  this  end  the 
inventor  so  constructs  the  head  that  the  supports  may  be 
removed,  and  when  closed  by  inserting  two  of  them  within  the 
third,  and  capping  the  third  with  a top,  the  stand  may  lie  used 
as  an  ordinary  walking  stick,  preferably  bamboo. 

In  practice  he  makes  the  head  circular  mailer  at  top  than 
at  base,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  an  angle  inside,  so  that 
when  the  sticks  are  inserted  in  their  respective  positions  they 
form  an  extended  triangle  at  base,  making  a firm  support  for 
the  whole  apparatus. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

The  use  of  one  complete  circle  and  two  half  sections  or  half 
squares,  preferably  half  circles,  contained  in  one  large  conical 
ring,  to  attain  the  object  shown  in  the  drawings  accompany- 
ing the  provisional  specification. 

Photography  and  Wood  Kngraving. — Mr.  H.  Trueman 
Wood,  in  the  course  of  discussion  on  a paperread  at  the  Society  of 
Arts  by  Mr.  W.  .1.  Linton,  said  that  he  thought  the  recent  school 
of  wood-engraving,  in  great  measure,  owed  its  faults  and  merits 
alike  to  photography  and  the  public  taste  as  influenced  by  pho- 
tography. He  had  heard  a lecturer  on  photography,  holding 
up  an  excellent  old  woodcut  aud  a modern  one  by  the  side  of 
it,  point  out  that  by  means  of  photography  the  public  taste 
hail  lieen  educated  to  look  for  something  better  than  they  were 
satisfied  with  twenty  years  ago.  The  public  had  got  to  look 
for  minute  detail,  and  the  exquisite  rendering  of  tone  and 
colour  effect  which  they  found  in  photograph}-,  and  hence  were 
not.  satisfied  with  the  semi-conventionalised  older  forms  of 
wood-engraving  ; but  this  public  taste  for  photography  had 
somewhat  avenged  itself,  for  the  recent  school  hail  succeeded 
mainly  in  copying  the  faults  of  photography,  so  that  many  of 
their  engravings  looked  like  badly  exposed  photographs.  It 
seemed  to  be  much  easier  to  copy  photographic  faults,  flatness, 
and  absence  of  vigour,  than  to  render  that  microscopic  minute- 
ness of  detail  which  was  in  part  one  of  the  beauties  and  in 
part  one  of  the  greatest  defects  of  photography.  On  the  other 
hand,  some  of  the  more  recent  school  of  photographers — the 
impressionist  or  naturalistic  school,  as  they  were  called — tended 
to  imitate  inferior  wood-engraving,  to  strive  after  effects  which 
photography  was  not  capable  of  rendering,  whilst  dispensing 
with  those  which  it  would  render  most  satisfactorily.  Possibly 
by  means  of  photographic  methods  they  might  get  back  again 
to  a more  vigorous  style  of  work.  The  modern  periodical  press, 
which  now  depended  for  its  illustrations  to  a large  extent  on 
photographic  methods,  demanded  a rapidity  which  was  incom- 
patible with  the  finer  quality  of  work. 


THE  LANTERN  SOCIETY. 

The  new-  Lantern  Society,  under  the  chairmanship  of  the 
Hon.  Slingsby  Bethell,  C.B.,  has  issued  a notice  drawn  up  by 
its  Council,  suggesting  that  the  objects  of  the  Society  may  be 
fittingly  attaiued  in  the  following  manner  : — 

1.  — By  the  engaging  of  premises  in  some  central  position  in 
London,  at  which  the  meetings  of  the  council  and  of  the 
Society  may  be  held. 

2.  — By  acquiring  suitable  apparatus  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
exhibitions  of  general  and  scientific  interest,  to  both  members 
and  their  friends. 

3.  — By  obtaining  the  services  of  specialists  in  every  branch 
of  art  or  science  suited  to  optical  demonstration. 

4.  — By  offering,  as  far  as  the  funds  of  the  Society  will 
permit,  remuneration  or  awards  for  the  development  of  the 
optical  lantern,  and  of  all  apparatus  pertaining  thereto. 

f». — By  imparting  instruction  to  those  who  are  desirous  of 
learning  howto  effectively  manipulate  the  optical  lantern,  to 
produce  slides  and  apparatus,  and  to  efficiently  employ  the  same 
both  in  private  and  public. 

6.  — By  securing  for  the  members  of  the  Society  special  and 
advantageous  terms  from  manufacturers  and  others  for  the  pur- 
chase or  loan  of  apparatus  and  slides. 

7.  — By  forming  a large  and  comprehensive  loan  collection  of 
lantern  transparencies  pertaining  to  art,  science,  and  kindred 
subjects  ; such  loan  collection  to  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
every  member  upon  conditions  to  be  laid  down  by  the  council. 

8.  — By  providing  a means  of  inter-communication  between 
the  members  of  the  Society,  whereby  each  member  may  be 
made  acquainted  with  the  private  collections  of  his  fellow- 
members,  and  may  be  able  to  negotiate  a mutual  loan  if  so 
desired. 

9.  — By  arranging  an  interchange  of  demonstrations  between 
photographic,  microscopical,  and  other  societies  interested  in 
optical  lantern  work. 

JjJroccctJingg  of  £oriettcg. 


Sheffield  Photoguafhic  Society. 

The  monthly  meeting  was  held  at  the  Masonic  Hall  on  Tues- 
day evening,  when  it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  the  first 
excursion  be  to  Bolton  Abbey  aud  Woods,  June  11th,  or  as 
near  that  date  as  can  be  arranged. 

In  reference  to  the  late  exhibition  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Sheffield  General  Hospital  Building  Fund,  it  was  announced 
that  the  nett  amount  to  be  given  to  the  same  was  £10  10s., 
along  with  £ 1 2s.  9d. , given  by  Miss  Dorris  Taylor. 

Mr.  T.  Hibbert  laid  on  the  table  some  prints  produced  by 
the  nerv  '■  kallitype  ” process,  which  gave  satisfactory 
results  ; after  which  Mr.  R J.  Shields,  of  Mexbro’,  gave  a paper, 
subject  “ Notes  on  a Tour  in  Norway.” 

London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  third  inst.,  Mr.  W.  Bedford  occupied 
the  chair. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Hastings  exhibited  a print  from  a negative  taken 
on  an  isochromatic  plate,  and  also  a print  from  a negative 
taken  on  an  ordinary  plate.  From  a comparison  of  the  prints, 
it  was  generally  conceded  that  the  ordinary  plate  had  proved 
the  more  rapid  of  the  two. 

Mr.  .1.  J.  Briginshaw  showed  a lantern  slide  of  a micro- 
scopic object,  from  which  the  cover  glass  had  been  removed  ; 
the  part  of  the  film  which  had  been  in  contact  with  the  mask 
was  covered  with  brown  markings. 

Mr.  A.  Haddon  thought  that  the  effect  might  be  due  to 
moisture  from  the  binding  strip  getting  between  the  glasses, 
or  to  insufficient  washing. 

Mr.  Briginshaw  exhibited  a “ facile  ” camera  fitted  with 
the  new  patent  sheaths  for  holding  the  plates,  by  which  any 
thickness  of  plate  could  lie  used. 

Mr.  A.  Haddon,  referring  to  a published  article  on  “ Cellu- 
loid and  Electricity,”  in  which  a possible  danger  of  electricity 
being  generated  in  a celludoid  film  was  suggested,  said  that  he 
had  made  several  experiments  in  coating  celluloid  films  with 
emulsion,  and  he  showed  a negative  in  which  the  ramifications 


288 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  11,  1890. 


of  what  was  believed  to  be  an  electrical  discharge  could  be 
clearly  traced.  Celluloid,  he  said,  is  composed  of  gun-cotton 
and  camphor,  and  is  known  to  be  highly  electrical,  therefore  as 
a support  for  sensitive  emulsion  is  liable  to  give  off  a discharge 
with  the  least  friction.  Mr.  Haddon  mentioned  an  instance  of 
simply  drawing  the  film  through  the  fingers  in  the  act  of 
unwinding  it  from  the  roller  being  sufficient  to  set  up  an 
electrical  discharge  to  the  detriment  of  the  film. 

Mr.  W.  Coles,  in  comparing  the  results  of  his  experience 
with  the  eikonogen  and  ordinary  pyro  developers,  said  he  should 
give  preference  to  the  latter  developer  for  density  of  image. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debexham  suggested  that  when  reference  is  made 
to  density,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  is  of  two  kinds, 
ocular  and  printing. 

The  Chairman  said  that  some  makes  of  plates  gave  out 
during  development  a greater  amount  of  free  bromine  than 
others,  and  this  would  influence  the  action  of  the  developer, 
causing  it  to  be  more  or  less  restrained. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  had  made  many  experiments  with  eikonogen 
by  itself  and  also  mixed  with  pyro,  and  had  found  no  decided 

difference.  

Lewes  Photographic  Society. 

At  the  ordinary  meeting  April  1st,  with  the  President  in  the 
chair,  Mr.  O.  J.  Wightman  opened  a discussion  on  “ Pinhole 
Photography,”  and  specimen  negatives  and  prints  were  passed 
round  for  inspection. 

The  Society  is  about  to  commence  a photographic  survey  of 
Lewes  and  environs,  to  be  carried  out  as  far  as  possible  during 
the  coming  summer  ; and  it  is  intended  to  produce  a set  of 
lantern  slides  which  can  be  sent  to  any  other  Society  in 
exchange  for  a similar  set. 

The  first  excursion  of  the  season  will  be  to  Newhaven,  on 
April  24th. 

At  the  next  meeting,  on  May  6th,  Mr.  J.  J.  Holloway  will 
read  a paper  on  “ Cloud  Photography.” 


Bolton  Photographic  Society. 

The  monthly  meeting  was  held  at  the  Baths,  Bridgeman  Street, 
on  Thursday,  April  3rd,  Mr.  Edmund  Naish  Ashworth  in 
the  chair. 

Mr.  R.  Harwood  gave  a lecture  on  his  journey  round  the 
world.  Many  of  the  places  described  by  Mr.  Harwood  were, 
by  the  aid  of  the  optical  lantern,  worked  by  Mr.  James  Leach, 
disclosed  to  view. 

Mr.  Walter  Knowles  exhibited  an  apparatus,  actuated  by 
clockwork,  for  mechanically  rocking  the  plate  during  develop- 
ment. 

Errata. — In  our  last,  the  statement  that  Messrs.  Skinner 
and  Co.’s  camera  therein  described  was  provided  in  addition 
with  a fine  adjustment,  should  have  been,  was  “ not  ” so  pro- 
vided. Mr.  Fred.  Ives,  of  Philadelphia,  writes  that  the  sense 
of  the  four  last  lines  of  the  first  paragraph  of  his  communication 
(page  153)  was  destroyed  by  the  transposition  of  punctuation 
marks  : “ The  first  semicolon  should  be  a comma,  and  the  next 
comma  a semicolon  ; the  last  semicolon  should  be  a comma.” 

Filtering-Paper  from  Grycksbo,  Sweden. — In  his  “Trea- 
tise on  Chemistry,”  vol.  viii. , p.  222,  Berzelius  expresses  him- 
self regarding  the  valuable  qualities  of  this  paper  as  follows  : 
— “The  best  filtering-paper  I know  of  comes  from  Grycksbo, 
in  Dalecarlia  ; the  water  with  which  it  is  made  is  so  pure 
that  it  does  not  give  any  reaction  indicating  the  presence  of 
foreign  substances,  nor  does  it  retain  any  of  the  earths  in 
solution.  The  acid  and  the  water  extract  from  this  paper,  and 
the  ash  which  it  leaves  when  burnt,  are  not  more  abundant 
nor  of  any  other  nature  than  those  which  come  from  the  most 
unadulterated  linen  ; that  is  to  say,  they  do  not  amount  to 
more  than  0 ■006  of  its  weight.  Latterly  they  have  begun  to 
make  this  paper  an  article  of  export,  and  assuredly  there  are 
few  localities  where  nature  has  combined  with  so  many  favour- 
able circumstances  as  at  Gryeksl>o  for  the  fabrication  of  an 
excellent  filtering-paper.”  Kresenius’s  “Guide  to  Quantita- 
tive Chemical  Analysis”  (1862,  Fifth  Edition,  p.  81),  on  the 
subject  of  filtering-paper,  says  : — “The  best  is  that  known  by 
the  name  of  ‘The  Swedish  Filtering- Paper,”  and  which  bears 
the  water-mark  of  J.  H.  Munktell.” — Chemical  News. 


to  ©orrcgpontftntg* 

All  Communications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Eiitor  of  the  Puotookaphic  News,  6,  Furnival 
Sreet,  London,  E.C. 

All  A lvertissments  and  c immunisations  relating  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  of  the  pap  ;r,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photograph ic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.3.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Roal,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

H.  G.  P.  (Ireland). — Kiewning's  Gold  Toning  Both.  Our 
correspondent  is  thanked  for  calling  attention  to  some  errors 
that  have  crept  into  the  formula  extracted  from  Lux,  and 
printed  at  the  bottom  of  page  196  of  the  News  for  March  7th. 
First,  that  grains  and  grammes  are  mixed  up  together,  and 
that  “chlor.  potass.”  is  ambiguous,  for  it  may  mean  either 
chlorate  or  chloride  of  potassium  ; it  ought  to  be  the  latter, 
KC1.  Furthermore,  it  should  lie  stated  that  the  proportions 
given  furnish  a concentrated  solution,  which  requires  to  lie 
diluted  with  from  fifteen  to  twenty  times  its  bulk  of  water 
liefore  use.  Employed  in  this  way,  our  friend  says  that  the 
bath  produces  remarkably  fine  tones,  and  that  he  has  used 
it  also  with  aristotype  paper,  getting  shades  of  colour  which 
he  has  not  seen  excelled. 

Ubique. — Photographic  Triplicates.  The  difficulty  is  to  get 
rid  of  the  lines  of  junction,  and  instead  of  printing  the 
negative  piecemeal,  you  should  try  and  separate  the  exposures 
by  moveable  screens  within  the  camera,  but  out  of  focus, 
as  is  always  done  in  the  case  of  photographic  doubles.  It. 
may  not  lie  easy  to  accomplish  this  at  once,  but  a few  pre- 
liminary experiments  may  give  you  the  requisite  technical 
skill,  and  you  should  aim  at  producing  a negative  with 
uniform  density  throughout.  We  understand  the  problem 
by  the  help  of  your  sketch.  It  is,  as  we  supposed,  two  men 
playing  at  chess,  and  one  (full  face)  looking  on,  all  three 
being  portraits  of  the  same  individual. 

R.  B.  — Portraiture  Prices.  We  are  sending  you  two  cards  of 
terms  for  London  : remember  it  is  easier  to  make  a reduc- 
tion than  to  advance  your  scale  of  prices  afterwards. 
Historicus. — Some  Dates.  Your  list  requires  rather  an 
extended  search,  but  we  can  give  you  at  once  the  following 
dates: — “Two  Ways  of  Life,”  O.  G.  Rejlander,  1857  ; 
“ Fading  Away,”  H.  P.  Robinson, .1858  ; “Bringing  Home 
the  May,”  ditto,  1863  ; “Stolen  Moments,”  John 
Hubbard,  1869  ; “A Wee  Customer,”  Adam  Diston,  1871  ; 
“Rebecca  at  the  Fountain,”  Valentine  Blanchard,  1873  ; 
“ Tired  Companions,”  George  Nesbit,  1877. 

K.  Schwier  is  thanked  for  sending  us  the  programme  of  the  Ger- 
man Photographic  Convention  to  lie  held  from  26th  to  29th 
August,  at  Eisenach,  Saxe-Weimar.  To  those  who  can 
spare  the  time  to  visit  this  attractive  region,  seldom  seen  by 
Englishmen,  a rich  treat  is  provided,  including  the  usual 
business  meetings,  an  evening  concert  at  the  Wartburg, 
and  excursions  to  Wilhelmsthal,  Ruhla,  and  other  places  in 
the  Thuringian  Forest.  There  is  likewise  to  be  an  exhibi- 
tion of  photographs,  mechanical  prints,  apparatus  and 
materials,  for  which  gold,  silver,  and  brouze  medals,  diplomas, 
and  money  prizes  are  offered.  Full  particulars  will  be  duly 
announced  in  our  columns. 

I’hotargus. — Small  Pictures  taken  with  1st vgc  Lenses.  Your 
questions  1 to  3 may  all  be  answered  in  the  negative  ; there 
would  be  no  advantage  in  employing  a whole-plate  lens  for 
carte-de-visite  work.  The  / 4 lens  would  be  most  suit- 
aide  for  photographing  animals  and  children.  Other  points 
in  your  letter  demand  a fuller  answer,  but  this  Easter  week 
is  a bad  time  for  making  enquiries. 

A.  W. — Platinotype  Patents.  1.  All  the  patents  aie  protected 
in  France  and  the  United  States,  and  some  of  them  likewise 
in  the  more  important  countries  of  Europe,  including  those 
you  named.  2.  The  Pizzighelli  process  could  not  be  worked 
here  without  infringing  the  Company’s  patent.  3.  But  it  is 
open  both  in  Germany  and  Belgium.  4.  There  are  two 
patents,  bearing  date  1887,  the  latest. 

Cincinnati  and  J.  H.  Ainley. — Received  with  thanks. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1650. — April  18,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


P AO  K 


A Photographic  Exhibition  in  the  City  of  London 289 

Photographic  Composition.  By  James  Mew  290 

Photography  in  Germany.  By  Hermann  E.  Gunther 291 

A Photographic  Untruth.  By  Capt.  W.  de  W.  Abney,  C.B....  293 

Selecting  a Lens.  By  J.  K.  'i'ulloeh,  M.B 295 

On  Photography  by  the  Light  of  the  Electric  Spark.  By  Lord 

Rayleigh,  Sec.,  R.S 297 

Notes  298 

Colour  Sensation.  By  Capt.  W.  de  W.  Abney,  C.B 299 

Photographic  Apparatus 301 

Photography  in  France.  By  Leon  Vidal 302 

The  Latent  Photogiaphic  Image.  By  C.  H.  Bothamley  F.I.C., 


PAOI 

Limitations  in  the  Treatment  of  Subjects  by  Focus.  By  T.  R. 


Dallmeyer  304 

Correspondence 305 

Patent  Intelligence  305 


Proceedings  of  Societies.— Photographic  Society  cf  Great 
Britain— Camera  Club— Hackney  Photographic  Society — 
London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association — Leicester 
and  Leicestershire  Photographic  Society— Newcastle-on- 
Tyne  and  Northein  Counties  Photographic  Association — 
Dundee  and  East  of  Scotland  Photographic  Association — 
Croydon  Camera  Club— Photographic  Society  of  Ireland — 


West  London  Photographic  Society  S0C 

Answers  to  Correspondents  308 


A PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITION  IN  THE 
CITY  OF  LONDON. 

The  Photographic  Section  of  the  London  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  which  includes  among  its  members  several 
of  the  chief  merchants  connected  with  the  art-science 
in  the  Metropolis,  has  resolved  to  hold  a trade  Photo- 
graphic Exhibition  in  the  heart  of  the  city  of  London. 
This  Exhibition  will  open  on  Friday,  May  30th  next, 
and  remain  open  till  June  10th.  No  charge  will  be 
made  to  the  public  for  admission.  The  committee  of 
management  of  the  Exhibition  consists  of  Mr.  W.  S. 
Bird  (Autotype  Co.),  chairman  ; Mr.  Frank  Bishop 
(Messrs.  Marion  &Co.);  Mr.  T.  Watson  (Messrs.  W. 
AYatson  & Sons) ; Air.  Payne  Jennings,  and  Mr.  Con- 
rad Beck  (Messis.  R.  & J.  Beck).  The  Drapers’ Com- 
pany, which  is  one  of  the  great  livery  companies  of 
London,  has  generously  lent  its  hall  for  the  purposes 
of  the  Exhibition,  and  the  Lord  Mayor  has  expressed 
his  interest  in  the  undertaking. 

The  Diapers’  Hall,  in  Throgmorton  Street,  in  which 
the  Exhibition  will  be  held,  is  a more  luxurious 
building  than  has  ever  before  been  used  for  public 
photographic  purposes  in  this  country.  It  is  a palatial 
establishment,  more  of  the  type  of  the  chief  salons  of 
Paris,  than  of  the  cold,  repellent  structures  commonly 
used  for  public  purposes  in  London.  A range  of  gilded 
chambers  will  be  used  for  the  Exhibition,  and  the 
apparatus  will  be  chiefly  displayed  in  the  Banquetting 
Hall.  The  Drapers’  Hall  is  a quadrangular  building, 
with  a fountain  in  the  centre  ; it  is  rich  in  statues  and 
paintings,  and  belongs  to  a powerful  and  wealthy 
organisation  of  high  antiquity.  The  first  Drapers’ 
Hall  upon  the  Throgmorton  Street  site  was  bought  of 
Henry  VIII.  in  1541,  and  had  formerly  been  the  house 
of  Cromwell,  Earl  of  Essex.  The  present  magnificent 
hall,  on  the  same  site,  was  built  in  1869. 

The  Drapers’  Company  was  founded  before  1252, 
and  was  incorporated  in  1439,  “the  seventeenth  year 


of  the  thrice  Christian  king,  Henry  VI.,”  whose  letters 
patent  gave  it  the  name  of  “ Masters,  AVardens, 
Brethren,  and  Sisters  of  the  Guild  or  Fraternity  of  the 
Blessed  Mary  the  Arirgin,  of  the  Mystery  of  Drapers 
of  the  City  of  London.”  Immediately  after  its  founda- 
tion, the  livery  began  to  expend  for  charitable  purposes 
about  £4,000  a year.  Photographers  will  be  deeply 
moved  upon  learning  that  the  armorial  ensigns  of  their 
new  friei.ds,  the  drapers,  are  three  clouds  iadiated 
proper,  each  adorned  with  a treble  crown  or,  the 
crest  on  a helmet  and  torse ; a ram  lodged  at  the 
second,  attired  as  the  third.  Supporters,  two  lion’,  as 
the  last,  peletee.  Motto:  “ Unto  God  only  be  honour 
and  glory.”  The  patroness  of  the  Co  npany  is,  or  was, 
the  Virgin  Mary.  Those  photographers  who,  on  bended 
knees,  have,  duiiug  the  past  two  or  three  years,  begged 
to  be  patronised,  are  thus,  it  will  be  seen,  supported 
by  an  ancient  piecedent,  and  those  other  photogruphers 
who  wish  to  spend  much  money  for  a peacock’s  feather 
— in  shape  of. a royal  charter — to  stick  in  their  hats, 
before  getting  their  woik  done  in  establishing  a 
library,  laboratories,  and  so  on,  might  persevere  in 
their  present  principles  by  going  to  the  Herald  Office 
for  a helmet  and  torse,  as  well  as  for  other  necessaries 
for  the  promotion  of  photography  as  an  art  and  a 
science. 

The  coming  Exhibition  will  no  doubt  be  one  of  a 
first-class  nature;  it  is  under  the  control  of  good 
practical  men,  and  will  take  place  in  the  greatest  centre 
of  commercial  activity  in  this  country. 


THE  CAMERA  CLUB  CONFERENCE. 

Long  reports  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Camera  Club 
Conference  have  been  published  in  these  pages,  and 
now,  by  the  courtesy  of  the  Camera  Club,  which  has 
lent  us  the  wood-blocks,  and  permission  so  to  do,  we 
are  enabled  to  print  more  or  less  in  full  the  papers 
read  at  the  Conference- 


290 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


PHOTOGR  API  I IC  COM  POSITION. 

BY  JAMES  MEW. 


[April  18,  1890. 


Pope,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Earl  of  Burlington,  which 
constitutes  the  fourth  of  his  so-called  .Moral  Essiys,  after 
speaking  of  the  use  of  riches  and  the  abuse  of  the  word 
“ taste,”  gives  some  examples  of  the  latter  in  horticultural 
construction  in  the  following  sentence  : — 

“No  pleasing  intricacies  intervene, 

No  artful  wildness  to  perplex  the  scene  ; 

Grove  nods  at  grove,  each  alley  has  a brother, 

And  half  the  platform  just  reflects  the  other.” 

The  poet  here  finds  fault  in  the  matter  of  gardening 
with  repetition,  or  that  orderly  and  exact  arrangement 
which  Nature  so  seldom  shows,  and  is  therefore  one  of 
the  evils  to  l>e  guarded  against  by  the  artist,  whether 
painter  or  photographer.  Though,  however,  the  sides  of 
a picture,  like  those  of  a garden,  should  be  different  from 
each  other,  and  though  the  character  of  the  distance 
should  not  be  reproduced  in  the  foreground,  or  of  the 
foreground  in  the  distance  : in  a word,  though  repetition 
is  offensive,  yet  balance  is  necessary.  It  would  be  clearly 
a mistake  to  photograph  all  the  tall  people  of  a group  on 
one  side,  and  all  the  short  on  the  other.  This  would  not, 
indeed,  be  repetition ; but  in  running  from  one  vice,  we 
should  be  making  our  escape  into  its  contrary.  If  in  a 
picture  there  be  a large  tree  on  one  side,  and  a vacuity — 
or,  as  Dr.  Johnson  might  have  said,  a copious  negative 
catalogue — on  the  other,  the  effect  will  be  unpleasing. 

This  absence  of  balance — speaking  with  all  possible 
deference  to  a distinguished  Dutch  artist — seems  to  be  a 
defect  in  a well-known  picture  by  Cuyp  in  the  National 
Gallery,  catalogued  as  a landscape  with  cattle  and  figures. 
Here  the  left-hand  side  contains  little  of  importance, 
while  the  principal  elements  of  the  picture  are  grouped  on 
the  right,  the  figure  on  horseback,  dressed  in  a coat  of 
glaring  vermilion,  throwing  additional  weight  into  a por- 
tion of  the  painting  which  had  already  too  much.  On  the 
contrary,  Claude  de  Lorraine — who  is  now  called  Gellee 
in  the  catalogue  of  the  National  Gallery,  which,  indeed, 
was  his  proper  name — has  given,  in  a landscape  known  as 
“The  Ford,”  a very  admirable  example  of  balance;  and 
indeed  of  .all  the  best  general  qualities  of  composition. 
The  trees  on  each  side  of  this  picture  are  different,  and 
answer  well  the  purpose  of  their  introduction.  The  right 
side  is  bold,  but  light ; the  left  strong,  but  delicate.  The 
whole  presents  that  “artful  wildness”  which  seems  to 
have  been  as  much  desired  by  the  painter  as  by  the  poet. 

Composition  in  art  has  been  well  defined  to  be  an 
arrangement  of  the  separate  objects  represented,  which 
leads  the  spectator  to  conceive  that  such  objects  are  con- 
nected or  interested  in  a subject  common  to  them  all. 
There  must  be  in  a well-composed  photograph,  whether 
of  landscapes  or  figures,  some  central  thought  or  fact 
animating  the  whole  picture.  What  that  central  matter 
may  be  is  of  comparatively  small  importance,  but  it  must 
exist.  It  is  the  pictorial  raison  d'etre  of  the  work.  It 
is  the  focus  of  interest  to  which  all  the  forms  in  the 
picture  converge.  It  is  the  string  which  binds  the 
scattered  sticks  together,  giving  them  a force  and  meaning 
which,  isolated,  they  cannot  possess.  It  is  the  primary 
law  of  what  is  known  as  grouping.  Digressions  from  this 
rule  may  be  licensed  in  poetry,  but  in  painting,  photo- 
graphy, and  sculpture,  they  can  never  be  permitted.  The 
picture  of  the  photographer  who  has  to  represent  a num- 
ber of  persons  together  must  tell  some  story.  It  must 


not  be  in  the  condition  of  Canning's  needy  knife-grinder. 
The  wheel  out  of  order,  the  hat  with  the  hole  in  it,  and  the 
breeches  in  a like  condition,  the  knife  or  scissors  in  the 
act  of  being  ground — these  are  all  good  in  themselves,  but 


say,  of  a dozen  persons,  every  one  of  the  twelve  having 
none  other  connection  with  his  neighbour  than  this,  that 
he  conceals  more  or  less  of  that  neighbour's  figure  by  his 
own,  or  is  himself  concealed  by  more  or  less  of  his  neigh- 
bour— every  one  of  the  twelve  with  a fatuous  gaze  on  a 
previously  indicated  spot,  a gaze  which  reveals  only  every 
one  of  the  twelve's  consciousness  of  having  his  portrait 
taken — every  one  of  the  twelve  with  a full-face  aspect  of 
melancholy  resignation,  or  of  smirking  conceit — every 
one  of  the  twelve  so  wholly  isolated,  in  conception,  from 
his  fellow  as  to  form  no  part,  save  numerically,  of  the 
picture— such  a photographer  clearly  says,  with  the 
knife-grinder, 

“ Story  ! God  bless  you  ! I have  none  to  tell,  sir.” 

And,  though  he  meets  with  no  such  sad  fate  as  that  outcast 
met  with  at  the  hands  of  the  Friend  of  Humanity,  yet 
he  seems  to  merit  some  shadow  thereof,  if  he  calls  himself 
an  artist. 

There  is  no  surer  proof  of  failure  in  any  aesthetic  com- 
position than  the  fact  that  it  is  unable  to  tell  its  own  story 
to  the  intelligent  spectator.  A photograph  which  needs 
the  help  of  a commentary,  a picture  of  which  the  meaning 
can  be  alone  explained  by  a reference  to  its  number  in  a 
printed  catdogue — and  not  always  by  that— is  clearly  of 
less  value  than  something  which  he  that  runs  may  read. 
The  essential  and  fundamental  notion  of  an  aesthetic  com- 
position is  an  appeal  to  the  senses.  Intellectual  difficulties 
would  transfer  it  into  another  region,  of  which  it  is  not  an 
indigenous  growth. 

Though  the  subject  of  composition  is  extremely  impor- 
tant  to  the  photographer,  it  is,  unfortunately,  very  diffi- 
cult to  give  other  than  general  rules  concerning  it.  Like 
so  many  matters  of  importance,  it  cannot  be  taught  by 
rule  and  square.  There  are  audacious  folk  who  have  not 
hesitated  to  publish  Rules  of  Politeness,  Rules  of  Letter- 
writing, Rules  of  Etiquette,  and  many  other  rules,  which 
are,  doubtless,  good  enough  of  their  kind  so  long  as  they 
remain  in  the  region  of  the  abstract  and  the  general,  but 
whosoever  seeks  in  them  a rule  of  conduct  for  a particular 
occasion  will  probably  never  find  it,  or,  having  found  it 
and  followed  it,  will  not  look  back  upon  his  conduct  .alto- 
gether with  satisfaction.  Some  general  hints  may,  how- 
ever, be  given,  of  which  the  first  is  of  universal  applica- 
tion. Let  the  photographer  who  is  about  to  bike  a group 
form  some  clearly  defined  idea  what  his  work  is  intended  to 
express  before  he  attempts  to  arrange  its  elements.  This 
is  such  a plain,  matter-of-fact  piece  of  advice  that  its  in- 
sertion would  seem  to  be  unnecessary,  and  so  unjustifiable, 
were  it  not  for  the  notorious  fact  that  so  many  photo- 
graphers sin  against  this,  the  first  of  the  laws  of  compo- 
sition. It  were,  indeed,  all  one  for  a man  to  attempt 
to  paint  something  which  he  has  not  previously 
drawn,  or  to  build  a house  without  a scaffold.  The 
artist  must,  in  the  first  place,  make  his  work  clear 
to  his  own  mind,  and  then  it  may  afford  intelli- 
gible interest  to  the  minds  of  others.  Having  conceived 
his  idea,  he  will  arrange  his  characters  to  correspond  with 
it.  The  usual  plan  is  the  reverse.  He  shuttles  together 
his  personages  at  haphazard,  and  if  the  group  should  turn 
out  to  be  something  in  the  nature  of  a circle  or  pyramid, 


April  18,  1890.] 


291 


< ‘~s  & 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


f\ 

ETC 


the  two  figures  chiefly  affected  by  the  ordinary  photo- 
grapher, he  will  therewith  rest  content. 

The  absence  of  sameness,  or  the  presence  of  variety,  is 
another  leading  principle  of  composition.  It  is  probably 
for  this  reason  that  an  old  cottage,  however  inferior  to 
inhabit,  pleases  more  in  a photograph — owing  to  the  many 
alterations  in  it  sketched  by  the  hand  of  time — than  a brand 
new  building,  smooth  and  well  adjusted  by  the  builder’s 
adze.  So,  again,  a winding  road  or  river  delights  the  eye 
more  than  one  which  is  straight. 

Another  rule  for  photographic  composition  is  that  the 
principal  object  should  never  be  placed  in  the  centre  of 
the  photograph  ; nor  again,  should  several  figures  be  in  a 
direct  line  with  one  another. 

Such  rules,  and  others  like  them,  arc  commonly 
understood  by  the  experienced  photographer,  but  they 
are  not  always  followed.  The  unhappy  man  is  only 
too  often  not  allowed  to  follow  them  even  when  he  will. 
He  has  to  consider  his  customers.  The  Cheap  Jack  and 
the  Beach-man,  with  whom  public  favour  is  as  the  very 
breath  of  their  nostrils,  though  they  may  clearly  under- 
stand such  principles,  experience  constant  difficulties  in 
carrying  them  out.  Their  position  is  very  much  that  of 
the  poor  playwright,  who  has  too  frequently  to  spoil  his 
play  for  the  sake  of  his  players.  Thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  principles  of  dramatic  proportion,  he  must  never- 
theless make  his  drama  lopsided  to  suit  their  notions  of 
their  own  importance. 

As  every  actor  desires  what  is  called  in  theatrical 
slang  “fat,”  so  every  person  of  a group  to  be  photo- 
graphed commonly  desires  to  occupy  a prominent  position. 
The  idea  of  sacrificing  herself  or  himself  to  the  interest 
of  the  whole  seldom  enters  the  head  of  any  individual 
member  of  a group.  For  such  interest  it  is,  of  course, 
usually  necessary  that  some  faces  should  be  taken  in 
profile,  and  some  in  three-quarter  face,  but  to  bring 
about  such  a simple  arrangement  involves,  no  ordinary 
toil.  The  pride,  envy,  jealousy,  vanity,  and  general 
ill-feeling  evoked  on  such  an  occasion  is  too  well-known 
to  the  conscientious  artist,  and  he  must  succumb  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten  to  the  wishes  of  his  clients,  and 
the  ordinary  photograph  of  a dozen  full-faces  looking  at 
nothing  is  the  melancholy  result.  Were  he  to  kick  against 
the  pricks  his  party  would  go  elsewhere,  and,  after  a pre- 
liminary fight  among  themselves,  be  photographed  at  last 
more  or  less  to  their  own  satisfaction,  but  with  an  utter 
disregard  to  the  elementary  principles  of  composition, 
and  in  a manner  which  would  seriously  shock  any  photo- 
grapher who  has  received  a proper  education,  or  possesses 
an  innate  particle  of  artistic  taste. 


The  Wklsbach  Gas  Light  Company,  Gloucester,  New 
Jersey,  have  fitted  up  a room  in  connection  with  their  factory, 
for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  suitability  of  the  light  given 
by  their  burners  for  photography,  and  invite  photographers  to 
visit  it,  and  satisfy  themselves  by  experiment  or  otherwise. 


Water-developing  Plates. — The  following  is  the  formula 
used  by  Dr.  Backelaudt  for  coating  the  backs  of  his  water- 


developing  plates  : — 
Pryogallic  acid 
Salicylic  acid 
Gum  or  dextrine  ... 
Alcohol 
Water 


...  154  grains 


1 fl.  dr.  21  minims 
5 fl.  drs.  25 


This  is  allowed  to  dry  at  the  ordinary  temperature.  Develop- 
ment takes  place  by  immersion  in  water  with  the  addition  of  a 
very  small  quantity  of  ammonia. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IX  GERMANY. 

BY  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

Washing  Apparatus  for  Emulsions — Acid  Eikoxogkn 
Developer  — Cheap  and  Effective  Flash-Lamp  — 
Chloride  of  Iron  as  a Restrainf.r  — Eliminating 
Hyposulphite  of  Soda — Print-Washing  Apparatus. 
Improved  Washing  Apparatus  for  Emulsions. — In  most  of 
the  existing  pieces  of  washing  apparatus  for  gelatine  emul- 
sions the  threads  of  gelatine  are,  by  the  pressure  of  the 
water  entering  from  above  or  from  below,  pressed  tightly 
against  the  outlet  tubes,  where  they  stick,  pap-like,  and 
allow  only  a comparatively  small  quantity  of  water  to  pass. 
The  washing  therein  is  therefore  imperfect,  and  must  be 
continued  for  a comparatively  long  time.  To  prevent  this, 
Herr  Alois  Brunner  has  constructed  the  following  arrange- 
ment, in  which  by  the  inflow  of  water  a constant  circular 
motion  of  the  threads  from 
below  upwards,  and  vice 
versa , is  produced  ; the  flow 
off  of  the  water  is  not  at  all 
disturbed,  and  no  loss  is 
caused  by  the  finer  particles 
of  emulsion  being  washed 
away.  The  arrangement 
consists  of  a sufficiently 
large,  wide-mouthed  glass 
vessel,  in  which  a system  of 
three  or  more  small  glass 
tubes  reaches  to  the 
bottom.  The  glass  tubes 
are  at  the  lower  end 
curved  in  the  direction 
of  the  sides  of  the  glass 
vessel,  and  at  the  other 
end,  before  they  pass 

through  the  top  of  the  vessel,  they  are  cemented  in  a 
stout  metal  tube.  The  glass  vessel  is  placed  in  a some- 
what larger  vessel  of  sheet  zinc,  which  can  be  covered 
light-tight  by  means  of  an  overlapping  cover  sliding  in  a 
groove.  The  cover  in  its  centre  has  an  aperture  provided 
with  a short  tube,  through  which  the  metal  tube  bearing 
the  glass  tubes  projects  so  far  that  india-rubber  tubing 
for  the  introduction  of  the  water  can  be  attached  to  it. 
In  order  to  prevent  the  glass  tubes  from  being  broken  by 
pressure  in  attaching  the  india-rubber  tubing,  they  are 
fixed  by  an  adjusting-screw  affixed  to  the  short  tube  in  the 
aperture  of  the  cover.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  india- 
rubber  tubing  a sufficiently  large  funnel  is  placed,  which 
is  suspended  by  means  of  cords  to  the  water-tap.  The 
number  and  diameter  of  the  glass  tubes  depend  on  the 
size  of  the  washing  bottle,  and  on  the  quantity  of  emulsion 
to  be  regularly  worked. 

The  Acid  Eikonogen  Developer.—  It  has  been  found  by 
some  experimentalists  that  the  keeping  qualities  of  the 
eikouogen  developer  are  much  improved  if  it  is  made  acid, 
or  nearly  so.  With  regard  to  this,  the  following  formula 
is  recommended  by  Mr.  T.  II.  Voigt,  chairman  of  the 
Photographic  Society  of  Frankfort-on-Maine  : — 

Solution  No.  1. 

Water 500  c.c. 

Sodium  sulphite  25  grammes 

Eikonogen  (previously  pulverized)  ...5  to  6 ,, 

As  soon  as  the  eikonogen  has  completely  dissolved,  20  c.c. 
of  a mixture  of  500  c.c.  of  a saturated  solution  of  sodium 


292 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  18,  1890. 


sulphite,  and  40  c.c.  of  hydrochloric  acid,  are  added  to 
the  above  (Solution  No.  1). 

Solution  No.  2. 

Water 500  c.c. 

Carbonate  of  soda  20  grammes 

Carbonate  of  potash  ...  ...  ...  5 ,, 

To  develop  a cabinet  plate,  30  c.  c.  of  solution  No.  1 are 
poured  over  the  plate  in  the  dish,  and  the  latter  is  well 
rocked,  so  that  the  plate  is  entirely  covered  by  the  solution. 
Previously  10  c.c.  of  solution  No.  2 have  been  poured  into 
a measure  ; if  it  is  probable  that  the  plate  has  been  over- 
exposed, at  first  5 c.c.  of  solution  No.  2 are  added  to  the 
developer  in  the  dish  ; if,  however,  it  is  found  that  the 
plate  has  been  correctly  exposed,  the  remaining  5 c.c.  of 
the  alkali  solution  are  also  added.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
with  this  method  of  development  only  about  one-third  the 
quantity  of  the  alkali  which  is  usually  taken  is  used.  It 
seems  that  the  minute  quantities  of  the  chloride  of  soda 
and  chloride  of  potash,  which  are  formed  by  the  addition 
of  the  hydrochloric  acid,  increase  the  energy  of  the  deve- 
loper. 

Cheap  anil  Inflective  Flash-Lamp. — The  following  instru- 
ment, of  which  I give  a sketch,  is  said  by  IJerr  Sasse  to 

give  as  good  results  as  the 
more  elaborate  and  expensive 
lamps  which  arc  in  the  market. 
It  consists  simply  of  a curved 
tube  provided  with  a small 
spirit  reservoir,  which  is  filled 
with  cotton-wool,  and  of  a 
small  funnel  for  dropping 
down  into  the  curved  tube  dry  magnesium  powder.  To 
the  end  of  this  tube  an  india-rubber  tube,  with  ball 

The  size  of  the  spirit  flame 


attached,  should  be  fitted. 


can  be  regulated  by  pulling  out  the  cotton-wool  more  or  j 
less. 

Chloride  of  Iron  as  a Restrainer. — A.  Einsle  has  found 
that  chloride  of  iron  forms  an  excellent  means  of  saving  ! 
over-exposed  plates.  If  a plate  which  has  been  exposed 
five  times  too  long  is  placed  before  development  for  two 
minutes  in  a ten  per  cent,  solution  of  chloride  of  iron, 
then  rinsed  under  the  tap,  and  then  developed,  a vigorous 
negative,  full  of  contrast,  is  obtained.  Dr.  Miethe 
suggests  in  the  case  of  hydroquinone  and  eikonogen 


development  the  washing  of  the  plate  thoroughly,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  staining  of  the  negative. 

Eliininatinff  Hi/posnlphite  of  Soila. — Dr.  A.  Bannow  pub- 
lishes in  Prof.  Eder's  year-book  a scries  of  most  careful 
and  interesting  experiments  which  he  has  made  in  order 
to  ascertain  the  method  by  which  hyposulphite  of  soda  is 
eliminated  most  efficiently  and  thoroughly  from  negatives 
and  prints.  The  results  of  these  experiments,  which  are 
too  extensive  to  be  reproduced  in  full,  are  the  following: 
— Washing  in  a current  of  water  is  more  efficient  than 
the  washing  in  several  changes  of  water  ; the  bulk  of  the 
hypo  is  soon  removed,  but  the  last  traces  stick  very 
obstinately.  After  the  pictures  have  been  washed  in 
five  to  six  changes  of  water  after  they  have  been  washed 
for  one  to  two  hours  in  running  water,  they  may  prac- 
tically be  taken  as  freed  from  hypo.  Paper  prints  are 
freed  from  hypo  a little  sooner  than  gelatine  plates: 
they  .are,  however,  more  sensitive  to  its  action  on  account 
of  the  smaller  quantity  of  silver  they  contain.  The 
various  substances  which  are  from  time  to  time  recom- 
mended toaccelerate  the  washing  process — as,  for  instance, 
alum,  common  salt,  and  chloride  of  lime- — are  unneces- 
sary, and  even  doubtful,  inasmuch  as  it  has  not  yet  been 
proved  that  their  action  upon  the  small  quantity  of  silver 
contained  in  the  pictures  is  not  an  injurious  one. 

Washinj  Apparatus  for  Prints. — A skilled  photographer 
of  Braunau,  Mr.  .1.  F.  Klinger,  has  for  his  own  purposes 
constructed  the  following  washing  apparatus  for  paper 
prints.  It  consists  of  a wooden  box  <1,  about  0 feet  high, 
:!4  inches  broad,  111  inches  deep,  lined  inside  with  thick 
sheet  zinc.  The  box  consists  of  a small  water-reservoir 
/i,  with  roses cc  attached,  and  at  the  bottom  it  has  another 
reservoir  e,  in  which  the  waste  water  is  collected,  and 
which  is  provided  with  a delivery-cock  </.  The  centres  of 
the  side  of  box  support  the  winch 
handle  of  the  rotating  paddle-wheel 
h.  To  the  shaft  of  the  handle,  at 
each,  of  its  two  ends,  are  fitted  six 
wooden  carriers  provided  with  a 
groove  ; , these  serve  as  carriers  of 
the  horse-hair  slides//.  One  of  the 
horse-hair  slides,  after  it  has  been 
inserted  in  the  apparatus  and 
covered  with  prints,  is  shown  in  the 
sketch  by  i k.  As  soon  as  all  of 
the  six  slides  have  been  covered 
with  prints,  they  are  inserted  in 
the  grooves  of  the  carriers  at  the 
small  door  y‘;  the  latter  is  then 
shut,  and  the  apparatus  is  ready  for 
use.  At  first  the  water  is  turned 
on  by  means  of  the  tap  m ; then  the 
valves  n of  the  roses  re  are  adjusted, 
and  the  handle  is  turned.  Mr. 

Klinger  asserts  that,  by  means  of 
this  washing  arrangement,  the  prints  are  soon  entirely  freed 
from  all  traces  of  hypo,  and  that  they  are  never  injured. 

Fotografi-Forkningen  i UrsALA. — This  Society,  founded  at 
the  beginning  of  the  year,  now  numbers  thirty-eight  members. 
Its  president  is  Dr.  K.  Duner,  who  informs  us  that  he  has  just 
learned  that  the  Swedish  Parliament  has  afforded  the  means 
for  fitting  the  observatory  under  his  charge  with  a photo- 
graphic refractor  of  thirteen  inches  aperture,  so  that  in 
1892  he  expects  to  be  able  to  do  good  astro- photographic 
work. 


April  18,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


293 


A PHOTOGRAPHIC  UNTRUTH.* 

BY  CAPT.  W.  DE  W.  ABNEY,  C.B. 

When  pressed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Camera  Club  for  the 
title  of  my  paper,  I was  at  a loss  to  know  what  to  give.  I 
felt  that  as  your  President  you  would  have  quite  enough 
of  my  voice,  and  thought  it  hardly  fair  that  I should  read 
a paper  at  all.  However,  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  I 
put  down  “A  Photographic  Untruth”  as  the  heading — 
not  for  any  sensational  purpose,  but  because  I knew  that 
there  were  many  untruths  perpetrated  by  photography, 
.any  one  of  which  might  well  be  treated  of.  The  particular 
untruth  I am  going  to  touch  upon  to-day  is  the  untruth  of 
form  which  a photograph  gives  when  judged  by  depths  of 
light  and  shade.  A dead  white  cylinder  standing  vertically 
and  illuminated  by  horizontal  parallel  rays  of  light,  or  by 
what  is  equivalent,  by  light  projected  from  a point  at  a 
long  distance  from  it,  in  a dark  room,  is  a good  example 
of  what  I mean.  The  part  of  the  surface  which  will  be 
most  strongly  illuminated  is  the  line  where  a plane  passing 
through  the  axis  of  cylinder  and  parallel  to  the  rays  of 
light  cuts  that  surface.  If  the  illumination  of  the  vertical 
line  be  expressed  by  I,  then  the  illumination  falling  on  any 
other  vertical  line  can  be  theoretically  expressed  by  the 
formula  I'  = Icos8  where  I'  is  the  illumination  required  to 
be  found,  9 is  the  angle  between  the  plane  passing 
through  the  axis  and  parallel  to  the  direction  of 
the  light  and  a plane  passing  through  the  axis 
with  the  part  of  the  cylinder  whose  illumination  is 


have  supposed  that  one  side  is  exactly  perpendicular  to  the 
path  of  the  rays  of  light  illuminating  it,  the  other  sides 
lying  symmetrically  around  it.  From  the  curves  of 
gradation  in  a negative,  as  given  in  the  Photo.  Journal  of 
last  November,  of  which  one  of  the  curves  in  fig.  2 is  a 
transcript,  the  transparency  of  the  images  of  the  different 
sides,  as  shown  in  a negative  which  could  be  taken  from 
it,  have  been  calculated,  and  then  from  these  transparencies 
the  amount  of  white  in  a resulting  platinum  print,  for  every 
side  exposed  to  the  light,  or  the  amount  of  white  has  been 
deduced  from  a curve  of  the  gradation  from  a platinum 
sensitometic  print  (fig.  1).  Taking  the  amount  of  white- 
ness of  the  lightest  side  as  unity  or  1, 1 have  calculated  the 
angle  that  the  side  should  make  with  this  side  (which  is 
perpendicular  to  the  direction  of  thelight),  and  constructed 
the  polygon  in  fig.  2,  remembering  that  the  projections  of 
the  angles  of  the  polygon  must  always  be  the  same. 

The  following  table  gives  the  theoretical  illumination. 
The  side  No.  1 is  that  on  the  left  or  right,  and  is  parallel 
to  the  beam  : — 


TH  KORKTICAL  ILLUMINATION  OF  1I1F.  D1FFRRKNT  SIDF.S  OF  THK  POLYO'>NAL 

PRISM. 


No.  1 and  13 
„ 2 and  12 

„ 3 and  1 1 
„ 4 and  10 

„ 5 and  9 
.,  6 and  8 


Inclioation.  Numerical  Value. 


C'»S 

90 

— 

0 

CC8 

75 

259 

COS 

00 

= 

500 

COS 

45 

n 

707 

C08 

30 

. == 

860 

C08 

15 

= 

966 

COS 

0 

>•  =3 

1,000 

If  in  fig.  1,  1,000  be  taken  as  15  on  the  scale,  that  is,  the 
intensity  is  3a/215,  the  following  table  is  arrived  at  for  the 
transparency  of  the  negative  for  different  sides  of  the 
polygon.  This  number  on  the  scale  is  chosen  as  giving  a 
negative  fairly  dense  for  the  whitest  side. 


Value  on 

Koiatire 

No.  of  sides. 

Illumination. 

scale  > f flg.  1. 

transpar*  ncj 

3 ./  T 

v2 

ot  negative. 

1 aDd  13 

0 

0 

800 

2 aDd  12 

•259 

91 

340 

3 and  11 

•500 

12-0 

18-0 

4 and  10 

•707 

1354 

12-5 

5 and  9 

•866 

14-4 

9-6 

6 and  8 

•966 

149 

8-4 

7 

1,000 

150 

8-2 

It  must  be  remembered  that  sides  No.  1 and  13  are  not 


visible,  so  cannot  be  taken  into  account. 

From  such  a negative  we  can  take  platinum  prints,  and 
knowing  the  value  of  the  transparency,  we  can  calculate 
the  whiteness  of  each  side  as  it  would  be  rendered. 


Fig.  1. 

required.  This  is  evident : let  All  be  a section  of  one 
plane  of  a length  unity,  BC  be  the  section  of  another  plane 
of  the  same  length,  but  inclined  at  an  angle  9.  The  light 
falling  on  All  in  a perpendicular  direction  is  evidently 
more  than  the  light  falling  on  HC,  though  it  is  the  same 
length.  Simple  mathematics  show  that  the  light  thus 
falling  on  the  surface  is  I1C  cos  9t  and  the  illumination  of  BC 
is  therefore  to  that  on  AB  as  cos  ® : 1 . A little  more  simple 
elementary  geometry  will  show  that  the  inclination  of  the 
surface  of  any  cylinder  to  a fixed  part  is  the  angle  made 
by  the  two  radii,  and  therefore  this  law  applies  in  this 
case. 

Instead  of  a cylinder,  I have  taken  a polygonal  prism 
of  twenty-four  sides  illuminated  as  described,  and  calcu- 
lated the  illumination  which  is  given  to  each  side,  and  I 

* Abstract  of  a paper  read  before  the  Camera  Club  Conference,  and 
published  in  the  Journal  of  the  Ciub. 


Supposing  80  to  be  the  greatest  transparency  of  the 
negative  we  have  produced  theoretically,  and  that  we  take 
the  whiteness  of  the  print  produced  with  this  transparency 
to  be  5-G  (white  being  80),  then  80  corresponds  to  No.  18 
hole  of  the  sensitometer,  or  Vj1*.  We  then  get  the 
following  table : — 


. 

09 

09 

*2 

<3 

Im 

O 

o 

fc 

Transparency. 

Value  on  scale 
of  platinot>pe 
curve. 

Ob 

•M.S 
o - - 
.5  3 

gsi 

is  £ 

•c  3 3 
> 

* © 
* ® 

ift  • 

«C 

6CC 

•2  o? 
M ~ 

cS  JZ 

H * 

8j  . 

* 

» « o 

* f.O 

li-2 

Ǥ 

6 he 

Tc.  c 
2-3  d 

a C 
o £ 

.2  £ o 
O s 

1 and  13 

80- 

18- 

5-6 

T20 

83° 

90° 

2 and  12 

34-0 

14  5 

140 

•301 

72°  30' 

75° 

3 and  1 1 

18-0 

116 

26-0 

•559 

56°  0' 

60° 

4 and  10 

125 

100 

35  0 

•762 

41°46' 

45° 

5 and  9 

9 6 

8-8 

42-5 

•913 

24°30' 

30° 

6 and  8 

8 4 

8-3 

455 

■978 

12*25' 

15° 

7 — 

82 

8 1 

465 

1000 

0 

0° 

294 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  18,  1890. 


Nos.  1 and  13  are  not  seen,  so  in  constructing  the 
polygon  in  the  diagram  these  sides  have  been  shown  as  the 
original  lengths.  It  must  be  noticed  here  that  the  photo- 
graph shows  the  side  No.  7 as  a mixture  of  more  than  half 
white  with  rather  less  than  half  black,  so  the  print  would 
look  verv  grey. 


Fig.  2. — Sections  of  I’olygons. 

In  the  two  outside  polygons  the  lightest  side  is  nearly  pure  white. 
In  the  two  inside  calculated  curves  the  lightest  sides  are  dark  grey. 


We  can,  however,  bike  a lighter  print.  If  we  take  80 
transparency  as  represented  by  12  on  the  scale  of  the 
platinotype  curve,  we  get  the  following  table : — 


80 

s 

■g 

o 

6 

K 

Transparency. 

l 

Value  of  scale 
of  Platinotype 
curve. 

Amount  of 
white,  80  being 
maximum. 

Taking  77  as 
white,  or  1*000. 

Angles  whose 
cosines  are  those 
in  Col.  V. 

Original  angles* 
corresponding 
to  these. 

1 and  13 

81- 

12- 

24- 

•322 

71°12' 

90° 

2 and  12 

34-0 

8-2 

465 

•598 

53°50' 

75° 

3 and  11 

180 

55 

62  5 

•812 

35°40' 

60° 

4 and  10 

12-5 

40 

70-5 

•916 

23°30' 

45° 

5 and  9 

96 

2-8 

75-5 

•981 

10°  O' 

30° 

C and  8 

8-4 

2-25 

76'5 

•994 

6°  0' 

15° 

7 — 

8 2 

2-15 

77-0 

1-000 

0° 

0° 

As  before,  1 and  13  are  hidden,  so  are  shown  of  original 
length  in  the  diagram. 

Here  the  print  is  nearly  white  as  regards  side  No.  7, 
but  the  shading  is  incorrect  as  before. 

The  nearest  approach  to  correctness  tried  is  when  80 
is  made  to  be  of  the  value  of  21  on  the  scale  of  the 
platinotype  prints,  when  we  get  the  following  results:  — 


Calculated 

Corresponding 

Sides. 

angles. 

angles  in  original. 

1 and  13 

84 

= 90 

2 and  12 

...  76-50 

= 75 

3 and  1 1 

6030 

= 60 

4 and  10 

4534 

= 45 

5 and  9 

2855 

= 30 

6 and  8 

11-20 

= 15 

7 — 

0 

= 0 

But  in  this  case  the  whiteness  of  the  whitish  side  No.  7 
is  only  of  pure  white,  and  is,  consequently,  a very 
grey  dull  print,  which  no  one  could  accept.  A model 
of  the  polygon  was  illuminated  as  described  and  photo- 


graphed in  a dark  room,  and  a print  taken  from  the 
negative,  which  experts  judged  satisfactory.  'Ihe  black- 
ness of  the  different  sides  was  measured,  and  the  results 
are  given  in  the  following  table,  and  is  also  shown  in 
fig.  2. 

Three  different  depths  of  printing  are  here  given  : 


No.  of  riles. 

Whiteness 
meat  uri  d. 

Wniwr.es 
wi  h 

maximum  i. 

Angle  whose 
cot-ines  are 
those  of 
Col.  III. 

1 and  13 

0 

0 

0 

2 and  12 

6 5 

•08 

4°  30' 

3 and  1 1 

10-6 

•14 

8°  10' 

4 and  10 

24  0 

•32 

19°  0 

5 and  9 

50-0 

■07 

47°  30' 

6 and  8 

69  0 

•92 

67°  0 

7 — 

75  0 

T10 

90°  0 

Pure  white  in  this  case  was  80. 

The  following  table  gives  the  values  of  the  curves  for 
the  negative  and  for  the  platinum  print ; see  fig.  1 : — 


No.  ut  hole 
of  ?tnsito- 
meter. 

1 1 auap&rem  v 
of 

Pl»tinotvre. 

w hite  in 
l’latino- 
t\  pe. 

Remarks. 

0 

80 

80 

i 

79  2 

79  3 

Each  hole  of  the 

o 

76  8 

770 

sensitorneter  dimin- 

3 

73  0 

743 

isbes  3 V2 

4 

68 

702 

5 

621 

652 

The  curves  of  the 

0 

555 

59  6 

negative  and  plati- 

7 

48-7 

53'5 

notype  print  each 

8 

41-8 

473 

follow  the  curve  given 

9 

35  T 

412 

by  I 

10 

290 

35-2 

being  the  intensity 

11 

23-4 

297 

of  the  No.  0 hole,  I' 

12 

18-5 

24-6 

that  to  be  found,  n a 

13 

144 

20T 

constant,  and  * the 

14 

10-9 

160 

number  of  the  hole. 

15 

8-2 

12-6 

16 

59 

9-8 

For  the  negative, 

17 

4-25 

75 

1=80,  m= ‘0101 5. 

18 

30 

5-0 

19 

20 

4 0 

For  the  platino- 

20 

... 

3-0 

type  print, 

21 

... 

2-5 

1 = 80,  a* =-0082. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  judging  by  shades,  photographs 
give  no  correct  rendering  of  slopes,  and  no  matter  how 
the  light  is  altered  by  reflectors  and  so  on,  untruth  must 
always  be  present.  A painter  can  afford  to  do  with  one 
light  to  illuminate  his  sitter,  a photographer  uses  reflectors 
to  lighten  the  shadows.  If  not  lightened,  the  tendency  is 
to  make  the  head  look  deeper  than  it  really  is. 

A very  good  plan  of  demonstrating  this  untruth  in 
photography  is  by  photographing  discs,  some  rotating  and 
some  still.  The  accompanying  figure  shows  what  is  meant 
(Fig.  3).  The  two  outside  rings  contain  each  one  part  of 
black  and  two  of  white,  whilst  the  two  inside  ones  contain 
two  parts  of  black  and  one  of  white.  It  is  easy  to  .arrange 
cards  so  that  the  two  centre  ones  shall  rapidly  rotate,  and 
the  innermost  and  outermost  remain  fixed.  In  the  nega- 
tive representing  these  and  in  subsequent  prints,  we  shall 
have  two  grey  rings,  bounded  by  rings  made  up  of  black 
and  white  segments.  If  photographic  representation  were 
true,  then  on  rotating  the  print  obtained  round  its  centre 
the  innermost  and  outermost  rings  should  give  the  same 
greys  as  the  rings  next  to  them.  No  variation  in  the 
intensity  of  the  negative  nor  in  the  depth  of  print  will  give 
this  result.  One  ring  will  always  be  darker  or  lighter 
than  that  which  it  should  match,  even  when  the  printing 
is  carried  on  so  far  that  a match  is  made  in  the  other.  A 


April  18,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


295 


further  development  of  the  plan  is  to  rotate  the  original 
sectors  with  the  different  proportions  of  black  to  white, 
that  containing  the  two-thirds  white  outside  the  photo- 
graphed discs,  and  the  other  within  them.  We  then  have 
three  rings  containing  what  should  be  the  same  propor- 
tion of  black  to  white  in  both  cases,  and  which  should 
give  the  same  grey.  It  is  found  that  none  of  them  v ill 
probably  match,  or  that  if  two  rings  of  grey  of  oue  set 


Fig.  3. 


match,  the  other  one  differs  from  them,  and  in  the  other 
set  of  three  rings  they  will  all  differ. 

One  word  in  conclusion : let  it  not  be  imagined  that  the 
untruth  appears  only  when  one  direct  light  is  employed. 
The  same  differences  will  exist  however  an  object  is 
lighted,  but  the  lighting  may  be  so  modified  to  the  eye 
that  it  may  appear  fairly  correct  in  the  photograph,  but 
for  totally  different  lightning. 


SELECTING  A LENS.* 

BY  J.  K.  TULLOCH,  M.  B. 

In  order  to  come  at  the  optical  aids  which  the  average 
amateur  requires,  let  us  consider  what  will  be  the  probable 
work  he  will  undertake.  First,  then,  landscape  pure  and 
simple  will  probably  be  the  chief  item ; secondly,  he 
will  ere  long  want  to  do  a little  instantaneous  photo- 
graphy ; thirdly,  architecture,  including  interior  work  ; 
fourthly,  portraiture,  either  in  a common  sitting-room, 
or  perhaps  out  of  doors.  Now,  the  problem  to  be  solved 
is  this : IIow  to  provide  one’s  self  with  the  necessary 
lenses  at  the  least  cost,  and  at  the  same  time  with  no 
sacrifice  of  efficiency.  Let  it  be  understood  that  the 
arguments  to  be  advanced  hold  equally  well  whatever  the 
size  of  plate. 

In  order,  however,  that  it  may  be  easily  followed,  let 
us  say  that  a half-plate  kit  is  in  view.  For  a half -plate, 
opticians  generally  advise  a rapid  rectilinear  of  about 
nine  inches  focus,  that  is  if  only  one  lens  is  to  be  sup- 
plied. This,  to  my  mind,  is  a very  absurd  proceeding, 
and  for  the  following  four  reasons  : — First,  while,  of  course, 
it  is  rectilinear  for  a half-plate,  or  any  other  plate  it  can 
cover,  a cheap  single  lens  is  also  rectilinear  on  a half- 
plate, that  is  if  it  is  about  nine  inches  focus — the  same 

Abstract  of  a communication  to  the  Duniec  Photographic  Asso- 
ciation. 


focus  as  the  rectilinear.  Second,  a rectilinear  is  much 
more  expensive  than  a single  lens.  Third,  a recti- 
linear of  nine  inches  focus  is  made  up  of  two  achromatic 
combinations,  each  of  them  so  long  in  the  focus  that  they 
cannot  be  used  singly  in  any  ordinary  camera;  add  to  this 
that  they  are  generally  symmetrical,  that  is,  of  the  same 
focus,  and  even  if  you  can  use  one  the  other  is  never  of 
any  service.  And  the  fourth  reason  is  that  the  focus  is 
too  long  for  wide-angle  subjects,  and  you  need  another 
lens  to  take  them. 

A much  better  bargain — so  to  speak — can  be  made  than 
this  ; but  before  propounding  my  own  ideas  on  this  matter, 
it  might  be  as  well  to  explain  to  the  uninitiated  why  lenses 
have  to  be  of  different  lengths  of  focus. 

Since  fight  travels  in  straight  fines,  a certain  size  of 
plate  being  given,  the  focus  of  the  lens  directly  deter- 
mines the  amount  of  subject  included ; or,  to  use  the 
proper  expression,  the  focus  of  the  lens  and  size  of  plate 
together  give  the  angle  included  by  the  lens.  A short- 
focus  lens  includes  a wide  angle,  and  a long  focus  lens  a 
narrow  one.  A lens  which  would  give  a wide  angle  for 
interior  work  would  be  of  little  use  in  the  great  bulk  of 
landscape  work,  for  it  would  include  too  many  objects  at 
the  expense  of  the  size  of  these  objects.  A lens  of  long 
focus,  first  class  for  sea  or  hill  subjects,  would  be  useless 
for  interiors,  for  a long-focus  lens  renders  the  various 
objects  of  such  a size  that  but  few  of  them  can  be  repre- 
sented, and  in  place  of  getting  a representation  of  a whole 
room,  one  would  barely  get  in  the  whole  of  the  end  wall. 
One  could  do  with  a great  many  lenses  of  different  foci, 
but  practically  in  landscape  work  generally,  including 
exterior  and  interior  architecture,  a choice  of  three  lenses 
of  different  foci  is  sufficient. 

Granted,  then,  that  the  necessity  for  different  lenses  is 
allowed,  what  does  experience  suggest  as  to  the  focus  for 
each  of  the  three  lenses,  and  is  it  possible  to  get  one  com- 
bination to  give  the  whole  three?  We  have  seen  that  to 
have  a nine-inch  rectilinear  as  an  only  lens  for  a half-plate 
ties  you  down  to  having  oniy  one  focus,  for  the  two 
halves  of  the  lens  cannot  be  used  singly  on  account  of 
their  extreme  length  of  focus ; therefore  this  does  not 
fulfil  the  required  conditions.  If,  however,  we  substi- 
tute a wide-angle  rectilinear  in  place  of  a rapid  rectilinear, 
we  will  have  attained  our  object  almost  at  a single  step. 
Let  a wide-angle  rectilinear  of,  say,  four  and  a half  inches 
focus  be  chosen  for  a half-plate,  and  the  following  advan- 
tages immediately  accrue. 

First  : Used  just  as  it  is — that  is,  both  combinations  to- 
gether— it  makes  a first-class  short-focus  lens  for  a half- 
plate, including  a wide  angle,  with  great  depth  of  focus 
and  perfection  of  detail  all  over.  In  this  shape  it  is  the 
very  thing  for  interiors  and  cramped  exteriors,  such  as 
buildings  in  closes  or  narrow  streets,  and,  of  course,  it  is 
strictly  rectilinear.  The  two  halves  used  separately  (and 
the  mount  is  always  arranged  so  that  they  may  be)  give 
other  two  foci  of  about  eight  and  ten  inches.  Now,  on  a 
half-plate  an  eight-inch  and  a ten-inch  single  lens  are  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  rectilinear,  so  that  we  have  in  this 
one  combination  a choice  of  three  different  foci,  all  of 
them  rectilinear  on  a half-plate. 

liut,  it  may  be  said,  what  are  the  disadvantages  of  this 
system,  for  surely  everybody  would  adopt  this  were  there 
no  equally  powerful  drawbacks?  It  has  only  one  draw- 
back, and  that  is  its  want  of  rapidity.  1 have  two  answers 
to  this:  first,  the  double  combination  is  rapid  enough  for 
all  ordinary  instantaneous  work  ; and  secondly,  even  if 


206  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [April  18,  1890. 


it  were  not,  a single  lens  can  be  purchased  for  a mere 
trifle  capable  of  taking  up  the  instantaneous  and  portrait 
branch  of  the  subject.  All  the  finest  professional  instan- 
taneous work  has  been  done  with  lenses  working  no  quicker 
than  this,  and  I myself  find  that  for  street  views,  including 
moving  figures,  the  lens  is  amply  quick  enough.  For  cer- 
tain optical  reasons  a small  stop,  that  is,  a comparatively 
small  stop,  has  to  be  used  with  wide-angle  lenses,  and  this 
prevents  them  being  the  most  rapid  form  of  lens,  but  their 
other  good  qualities  far  more  than  make  up  for  any  loss  of 
rapidity,  that  is,  always  supposing  the  very  highest  degree 
of  rapidity  is  required. 

Assuming,  however,  that  it  be  allowed  that  this  wide- 
angle  combination  is  the  best  for  landscape  and  architec- 
tural work,  but  that  a quicker  lens  is  necessary  for  portraits 
and  instantaneous  views,  what  lens  should  be  recom- 
mended ? During  the  winter  that  is  past  I have  been  much 
pleased  with  the  working  of  plano-convex  lenses.  Those 
who  have  not  experimented  somewhat  have  no  idea  how 
interesting  a field  this  is.  Compared  witli  the  meniscus 
form,  which  is  the  usual  form  of  single  lens,  I find  that  the 
plano-convex  works  with  a much  larger  aperture,  giving 
excellent  definition,  but  this  through  a somewhat  restricted 
field.  Given  a meniscus  and  a plano-convex,  I find  that 
if  they  are  of  the  same  focus  the  plano-convex  will  give 
crisp  definition  for  a certain  space,  while  the  meniscus 
will  give  a far  blunter  image,  but  not  falling  off  in 
defining  power  so  rapidly  towards  the  edges. 

But  in  these  days  of  enlarging  from  small  negatives,  the 
plano-convex  is  just  what  is  wanted,  for  it  matters  little 
what  size  the  negative  is  if  it  is  very  good,  what  there  is  of 
it.  The  moving  object  in  instantaneous  work  generally 
occupies  only  a very  small  part  of  the  field,  and  the  plano- 
convex is  the  very  thing  for  this.  Again,  in  portraiture, 
what  though  the  shoulders  and  draperies  be  a little  blunt, 
if  the  head,  the  centre  of  attraction,  be  faultlessly  rendered. 

A good  plano-convex  lens  will  work  as  rapidly  as  ninety- 
nine  per  cent,  of  the  rapid  rectilinears,  while  the  cost  is 
not  a fourth  part. 

It  is  perfectly  astonishing  to  me  why  this  most  excellent 
form  of  lens  has  been  in  abeyance  so  long,  unless  on  the 
assumption  that  its  narrow  angle  has  prejudiced  workers 
against  it.  Of  course,  it  must  be  understood  that  I 
only  strongly  uphold  it  in  such  cases  as  are  of  narrow 
angle  naturally,  such  as  portraiture  and  instantaneous 
work. 

But  it  might  be  argued  that  by  this  system  the  wide- 
angle  lens  in  its  double  form  would  be  but  rarely  used, 
while  one  would  constantly  be  working  with  a single  lens. 
This,  of  course,  is  quite  true,  but  there  is  no  determent  in 
this.  Lantern  work,  which,  of  course,  requires  negatives 
of  the  highest  degree  of  sharpness,  is  a good  test  for  any 
lens,  and  the  whole  of  my  very  finest  slides  are  from 
negatives  taken  by  a single  lens,  and  leave  absolutely 
nothing  to  be  desired  in  fineness  of  detail. 

lo  recapitulate,  then,  I think  that  an  amateur  who 
would  have  a thoroughly  reliable  battery  of  lenses  requires 
nothing  more  than,  first,  a wide-angle  rectilinear  with  a 
focus  of  about  two-thirds  the  long  diameter  of  the  plate, 
and  secondly,  a simple  achromatic  plano-convex  lens  with 
a focus  about  one  and  one  half  times  the  long  diameter  of 
plate.  Ihe  wide-angle  lens  will  give  him  three  different 
foci,  all  practically  rectilinear,  and  as  good  as  can  be  made 
for  all  kinds  of  photographic  work,  except  the  fastest 
instantaneous  and  portraiture.  The  plano-convex  lens  will 
give  him  a fourth  focus  for  landscape,  and  at  the  same  time 


be  an  instrument  second  to  none  for  the  quickest  instan- 
taneous work  and  portraiture. 

I am  not  advising  a system  which  has  been  imagined 
but  never  tried.  The  arrangement  described  is  precisely 
the  one  which  I have  used  myself  for  years,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  plano-convex  lens,  the  splendid  properties  of 
which  I have  only  been  acquainted  with  for  the  last  six 
months  past.  With  regard  to  everything  else  proposed, 
I may  say  that  with  a photographic  experience  ranging 
through  every  branch  of  the  subject,  I have  never  once 
failed  through  not  having  a proper  lens.  I have  since  got 
a plano-convex  suitably  mounted,  and  feel  now  quite  at 
ease  whatever  kind  of  work  I determine  to  undertake, 
although  I must  say  I never  had  any  difficulty  in  instan- 
taneous work,  using  my  wide  angle  lens  at  full  aperture, 
which  is  about /-16. 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  I advise  cheap  lenses 
from  second-class  makers — nothing  is  further  from  my 
purpose.  I wish  rather  to  point  out  that  a suitable  choice 
of  one  first-class  lens  will  do  all  the  work  of  three  equally 
expensive  instruments ; that  the  economy  comes  in  in 
carefully  choosing  one  good  lens  that  is  capable  of  over- 
taking all  the  work,  rather  than  being  at  the  expense  of 
three  separate  instruments  that  can  do  no  more  than  the 
one,  provided  it  be  intelligently  chosen. 

A few  words  may  be  said  as  to  the  more  material  side — 
I mean  the  actual  workmanship  of  a lens.  The  brass  work 
should  be  first-class.  In  second-class  lenses  this  is 
frequently  defective.  Threads  of  screws  should  be  clean 
cut  and  not  too  fine.  The  diaphragm  or  diaphragms 
should  fit  the  slot  accurately,  neither  too  tight  nor  too  easy. 
If  the  diaphragms  be  the  ordinary  Waterhouse  ones,  there 
should  be  guides  to  the  very  bottom  of  the  slot,  so  that 
the  diaphragm  when  pushed  home  may  be  properly 
centred. 

The  Iris  diaphragm  is  better  than  Waterhouse,  but 
inferior  to  rotating,  where  this  form  can  be  used,  which  is 
not  always.  I have  no  special  objection  to  Iris  diaphragms 

when  dealing  with  larger  apertures,  but  when  the  light  is 
shut  off  from  f- 32  to  f- 60,  a very  trifling  error  in  the 
adjustment  may  seriously  increase  or  diminish  your 
exposure. 

A wide-angle  rectilinear,  such  as  I have  recommended, 
is  invariably  fitted  with  rotating  diaphragms,  and  in  having 
it  screwed  to  the  camera,  care  should  be  taken  to  have  the 
diaphragm  slot  on  the  under  side  (not  the  upper),  so  as  to 
prevent  or  lessen  the  chance  of  light  getting  in  where  it  is 
not  wanted.  When  the  lens  is  not  in  its  place  in  the 
camera,  it  should  be  kept  covered  at  both  ends — a screw 
cap  being  generally  provided  for  the  one  end,  and  the 
ordinary  exposing  cap  for  the  other. 


Photographic  Convention  ok  the  United  Kingdom  (Lens 
Standard  Committee).  — Opticians  and  all  interested  are 
invited  to  a meeting  to  be  held  at  the  Mona  Hotel,  Henrietta 
Street,  Covent  Garden,  on  April  ‘25th,  1890,  at  7‘0  p.m.,  to 
discuss  the  desirability  of  adopting  and  further  defining  “The 
Lens  Standards  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain.” 
— April  14th,  1890,  byorderof  the  Committee,  A.  Haddon. 

At  a lecture,  by  Mr.  Henry  Blackburn,  Kditor  of  Academy 
Notes,  to  be  delivered  at  the  Kensington  Town  Hall,  on  Fri- 
day, April  18th,  at  8 p.m.  ; ami  at  the  Eyre  Arms  Assembly 
Booms,  St.  John  s Wood,  Loudon,  on  Friday,  April  25th,  at 
8 p.m.,  a series  of  instantaneous  photographs,  taken  lately 
in  Algeria  and  Morocco,  will  be  shown  by  the  oxy-hydrogen 
light. 


April  18,  1890.] 


297 


/ 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


OX  PHOTOGRAPHY  BY 
ELECTRIC 


THE  LIGHT  OF  THE 
SPARK* 


BY  LORD  RAYLKIOII,  SEC.,  1!.S. 

T have  lonfr  wished  to  illustrate  l>y  instantaneous  photo- 
graphy the  many  curious  phenomena  attending  the 
resolution  of  liquid  jets  into  drops,  and  the  subsequent 
behaviour  of  the  drops  during  collision  ; but  it  is  only 
recently  that  I have  carried  the  desire  into  effect.  In 
order  to  secure  good  definition,  the  exposure  needs  to  be 


large  portrait  combination  by  Dallmeyer,  is  situated  about 
seven  feet  behind  in  the  image  of  the  lantern  condenser  as 
formed  by  the  field-glass,  and  is  just  large  enough  to 
include  it.  The  jet  to  be  photographed  is  placed  parallel 
to  the  field-lens,  and  as  near  as  conveniently  may  be  upon 
the  side  next  the  photographic  camera.  The  preliminary 
focussing  of  the  image  upon  the  ground  glass  cannot  Avell 
be  effected  by  the  light  of  the  sparks.  For  this  purpose 
a candle,  which  may  stand  before  the  lantern  condenser, 
is  substituted. 


Fig.  1. 

less  than  l-1000th  second,  and  in  some  cases  l-10000th 
second.  F or  this  purpose  the  light  attending  the  discharge 
of  Leyden  jars  seemed  to  be  the  most  promising. 

There  is  no  difficulty,  of  course,  in  getting  a photo- 
graphic image  of  the  spark  itself,  for  in  this  case  the  light 
is  concentrated  upon  a very  small  area  of  the  films.  But 
in  order  to  photograph  upon  a satisfactory  scale  other 
objects  by  the  light  of  the  spark,  the  Avliole  illumination 
has  to  be  diffused  over  an  area  of  several  square  inches  of 
sensitive  surface.  Under  these  circumstances  it  requires 
special  arrangements  to  secure  a sufficient  chemical  action. 

The  spark  is  taken  between  brass  balls  enclosed  in  a 
magic  lantern.  The  light  issuing  from  the  condenser, 
still  slightly  divergent,  falls  at  a distance  of  sixteen  feet 


Fig.  2a. 

upon  a large  single  lens  of  about  ten  inches  diameter, ! which 
pkays  the  part  of  a field-glass.  The  photographic  lens,  a 

Abstract  of  a paper  read  before  the  Camera  Club  Conference,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Journal  of  the  Club. 


In  the  earlier  experiments,  where  jars  of  small  capacity 
only  Avere  available,  the  images  were  found,  on  develop- 
ment, to  be  under-exposed,  although  the  impression  made 
upon  the  eye  by  the  image  upon  the  ground  glass  was 
sufficiently  startling.  In  later  work  at  the  Royal  Institu- 


Fig.  2b. 

tion,  I have  had  the  use  of  a large  Leyden  battery  charged 
by  a Wimshurst  machine,  and  there  has  been  no  difficulty 
in  securing  sufficient  exposure. 

The  photographs  illustrate  the  behaviour  of  fine,  nearly 
vertical  fountains,  and  the  modifications  which  they 
undergo  under  feeble  electrical  influence.  In  the  normal 
condition  (Fig.  1)  the  drops  on  collision  rebound,  and  are 
thus  scattered  about  over  a considerable  space.  Under 
the  action  of  electricity  the  drops  coalesce  upon  collision, 
and  thus  in  place  of  a large  number  of  small  drops  the 
photograph  shows  (Fig.  2a)  a smaller  number  of  Avidely- 
separated  conglomerates.  It  is  evident  that  the  electrifica- 
tion has  no  effect  upon  the  original  separation  of  the  liquid 
column  into  drops. 

Another  set  of  photographs  shows  the  details  of  the 
resolution  of  a larger  jet  (Fig.  2b).  In  this  regularity  is 
promoted  by  the  operation  of  a tuning-fork. 


The  annual  dinner  of  the  employees  of  Messrs.  Wm.  Watson 
and  Sons,  of  313,  High  Holborn,  took  place  at  the  Holborn 
Town  Hall  on  Saturday  evening,  March  12th.  Mr.  T.  P. 
Watson  occupied  the  chair,  and  in  the  course  of  his  remarks 
mentioned  that  it  was  was  usual  for  that  dinner  to  be  held  at 
the  beginning  of  the  year,  but  owing  to  the  prevalence  of 
influenza,  which  rendered  it  impossible  for  many  to  attend 
whom  they  would  not  like  to  be  absent,  it  had  been  deferred 
till  the  present.  In  proposing  the  toast  of  the  cabinet 
workshop,  the  chairman  spoke  in  warm  praise  of  the  work  it 
turned  out,  although  he  felt  that  the  microscope  shop  this  year 
took  the  palm.  The  toast  of  the  visitors  was  responded  to  by 
Mr.  Traill  Taylor,  who  endorsed  the  chairman’s  remarks. 
During  the  evening  a capital  programme  of  songs  and  recita- 
tions was  gone  lirough. 


298 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  18,  1890. 


iloteg. 


A picture  by  Mr.  Carl  Haag,  iu  the  forthcoming 
exhibition  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Painters  in  Water 
Colours,  will  excite  the  attention  of  the  photographers 
who  gather  there  at  the  meetings  of  the  Photographic 
Society  of  Great  Britain.  It  represents  the  portrait 
of  the  chairman  of  one  of  the  city  companies  in  his 
official  robes,  painted  in  the  full  blaze  of  sunlight — an 
effect,  it  is  said,  which,  as  far  as  the  artist  knows,  has 
never  been  attempted.  This  assertion  is  probably 
correct  so  far  as  portraiture  is  concerned,  but  surely 
artists  have  attempted  the  effect  of  sunlight  on  faces 
before  now.  Photographers  have  gone  beyond  this, 
for  experiments  with  the  face  in  full  sunshine  have 
been  made  many  times  with  more  or  less  success. 
Anyway,  Mr.  Haag’s  picture  will  be  regarded  with 
some  curiosity  by  those  who  know  the  difficulty  of  the 
task. 


It  is  strange  to  find  the  naval  authorities  moving 
with  the  times.  They  have  certainly  done  so  in  a new 
and  unexpected  use  which  they  have  found  for  photo- 
graphy. The  important  question  of  the  salute  has 
been  occupying  their  minds,  and  they  have  decided 
that  for  the  future  there  is  to  be  no  doffing  of  hats, 
but,  from  the  second-class  boy  to  the  post-captain,  the 
salutation  is  to  be  performed  by  raising  the  hand  to 
the  cap,  somewhat  in  the  military  fashion,  but  with  a 
slight  difference.  So  that  there  shall  be  no  mistake 
about  the  matter,  they  have  had  a man  photographed 
in  the  correct  attitude,  and  a copy  has  been  sent  to  all 
the  harbour  ships.  This  is  an  excellent  idea,  and  one 
that  wc  should  not  have  thought  “my  Lords”  would 
have  adopted,  as  it  is  a total  departure  from  the  old 
form  of  issuing  instructions.  But  photography  nowa- 
days finds  its  way  everywhere. 


The  latest  royal  devotee  to  the  art  of  photography 
is  the  Duke  of  Aosta.  Instantaneous  photography  is 
one  of  his  hobbies,  and  we  read  that  his  small  pocket 
camera  is  held  in  horror  by  the  ladies  of  the  household, 
who  know  that  they  might  be  taken  at  any  moment 
without  time  to  arrange  themselves  in  a graceful  pose. 
We  trust  this  is  an  exaggeration ; but  there  is  this 
comfort,  that  the  ladies  who  are  thus  tormented  have 
the  means  of  revenge  within  their  power.  The  domestic 
gimlet  or  bradawl  skilfully  applied  will  at  once  render 
the  efforts  of  the  amateur  abortive,  and  send  him 
distracted. 


The  Chinese  have  a knack  of  anticipating  every 
European  discovery.  It  might  be  supposed  that 
thought-reading  was  exclusively  our  property,  or,  at 
least,  the  property  of  America;  but,  according  to  a 
recent  traveller,  the  Chinese  have  gone  a long  way 
beyond  the  reading  of  thoughts,  as  they  have  succeeded 
in  photographing  them  ! A Mr.  Horace  Jones  tells 
how  he  was  taken  to  a joss  house,  where  prepared  papers 


were  applied  to  his  head.  The  result  was  that  his 
thoughts  appeared  in  pictorial  fashion,  but  unhappily 
faded  in  about  half-an-hour.  Thus,  we  are  told,  though 
the  art  has  been  known  to  the  Chinese  priests  for  some 
3,000  years,  yet  they  have  never  succeeded  in  fixing 
these  thought  pictures.  Travellers  are  credited  with 
telling  very  wonderful  stories,  and  this  certainly  is  one 
of  the  most  wonderful. 


Complaints  are  being  made  in  New  York  that  not 
only  are  prints  from  portrait  negatives  of  attractive 
ladies  being  sold  to  the  general  public,  but  that  the 
detective  camera  is  freely  used  to  obtain  portraits 
surreptitiously.  These  photographs  are  afterwards 
used  for  the  adornment  of  advertisements  or  for  the 
decoration  of  packets  of  cigarettes.  A correspondent 
of  the  New  York  Nation  wrote  recently  in  great  in- 
dignation complaining  of  the  practice,  and  proposing 
that  a short  statute  should  be  passed  prohibiting  the 
publication  of  a photograph  without  the  consent  of  the 
subject.  We  do  not  know  how  the  law  may  be  in 
America,  but  we  should  fancy  that  if  such  a practice 
were  at  all  in  vogue  in  England,  some  means  would  be 
found  to  reach  the  offenders.  An  inj  unction  to  restrain 
the  publication  would  certainly  be  at  once  granted  by 
the  Court  of  Chancery . 


A Mr.  A.  P.  Laurie  claims  that  he  has  solved  the 
difficulty  of  preventing  paints  used  by  artists  from 
fading.  His  experiments  have  been  in  the  direction 
of  obtaining  a medium  which  is  unaffected  by  mois- 
ture, and  he  lias  made  a varnish  out  of  sulphate 
of  copper  which,  after  drying,  remains  perfectly  colour- 
less. No  doubt  damp  is  a great  factor  in  the  fading 
of  paintings,  as  it  is  in  the  fading  of  photographs, 
but  it  is  not  the  only  factor.  Unquestionably  the 
action  of  light  causes  a reaction  between  the  chemical 
constituents  of  the  various  pigments,  which  a colour- 
less, damp-proof  varnish  cannot  arrest.  What  would 
seem  to  require  study  is  the  chemistry  of  pigments, 
so  as  to  know  the  effect  of  light  on  two  or  more 
pigmentary  compounds  when  mingled  together.  In 
this  direction  much  has  to  be  done. 


M.  Leon  Brin,  whose  oxygen-making  process  is  so 
well  known,  and  which  has  proved  of  such  great  use 
to  photographers,  has  for  a few  years  past  been  residing 
in  London,  and  has  been  largely  engaged  in  experi- 
ments relating  to  the  cheapening  of  the  manufacture 
of  alloys  of  aluminium  direct  from  the  ore  of  that 
metal.  In  early  times  he  gave  some  attention  to 
photography,  and  he  made  some  photographic  lenses 
by  specially  devised  machinery ; in  those  times,  also, 
he  was  acquainted  with  Niepce  dc  St.  Victor.  He 
informs  us  that  he  was  the  inventor  of  butterine,  and 
considers  that  compound  to  be  a boon  to  mankind, 
because  in  it  the  poor  man  gets  something  as  good  as 
butter  at  a cheap  rate,  and  the  rich  man  obtains 
genuine  butter  at  a reduced  price. 


April  18,  1890. J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


299 


COLOUR  SENSATION* 

BY  CAPT.  W.  DE  W.  ABNEY,  C.B. 

Though  wo  know  not  the  “ reason  why”  of  colour  sensa- 
tion, we  yet  know  that  there  are  three  distinct  colour 
sensations,  the  existence  of  which  I have  heard  so  eminent 
a physicist  as  Lord  Rayleigh  say  is  as  well  proved  as  the 
law  of  gravitation.  I may  add  that  I am  one  who  boldly 
accepts  the  theory  of  trichromatic  vision  in  a normal  eye, 
and  hold  it  as  being  sound  physiological  physics.  But 
what  has  this  to  do  with  photography ? Just  this,  that 
the  same  theory  that  applies  to  the  sensitive  retina  may 
equally  well  apply  to  the  sensitive  plate.  The  eye,  i.e., 
its  retina,  is  sensitive  to  three  primary  colours,  red,  green, 
and  violet,  and  if  we  take  the  spectrum  we  find  that  any 


Fig.  !. 

intermediate  colours  can  be  compounded  of  two  or  more 
of  these  three  colours.  Thus  the  orange  sensation  is 
caused  by  a combination  of  [the  red  sensation  with  green 
sensation,  and  the  blue  of  violet  and  green.  Further, 
when  we  come  to  show  graphically  on  paper  the  curves  of 
luminosity  of  the  three  different  sensations  to  the  spectrum, 
we  cannot  but  be  struck  with  the  similarity  that  they  bear 
to  the  curves  of  sensitiveness  of  the  different  salts  used  to 
register  the  photographic  image 


Fig.  2. 

There  is  no  difficulty  in  taking  in  the  fact  that  some  one 
particular  wave-length  can  cause  one  sensation  in  the  eye, 
but  it  is  harder  to  understand  that  another  wave-length 
not  differing  much  from  it  can  give  rise  not  only  to  the 
same  sensation,  but  to  one  or  two  others.  The  theory  of 
sound,  however,  helps  us  in  the  first  case.  When  one 
tuning-fork  is  not  quite  in  tune  with  another,  the  one  sound 
from  one  will  reinforce  the  other  to  a certain  extent,  but 
as  the  discordance  increases  the  reinforcement  becomes 
less  and  less,  and  finally  vanishes  altogether.  So  witli 
waves  of  light ; the  waves  which  are  in  exact  accord  witli 

* Abstract  of  a paper  read  before  the  Camera  Club  Conference,  and 
published  in  the  Juurnal  of  the  Club. 


one  part  of  the  machinery  (whatever  it  may  be)  in  the  eye 
will  produce  a maximum  effect,  producing  eventually  a 
motion  which  gives  rise  to  the  impression  of  a primary 
colour.  The  waves  which  are  slightly  longer  or  shorter 
than  this  will  be  only  capable  of  giving  a smaller  amplitude 
of  vibration  to  the  same  part  of  the  apparatus  existing  in 
the  eye,  and  consequently  less  intensity  of  that  particular 
colour  sensation,  till  finally,  as  the  wave-lengths  become 
shorter  and  longer,  the  amplitude  of  vibration  in  that 
machinery  becomes  nil  or  imperceptible.  But  at  the  same 
time  that  part  of  the  machinery  which  is  exactly  in  accord 
with  another  wave-length,  and  is,  consequently,  another 
colour-sensation,  may  also  respond  to  the  same  wave- 
lengths as  those  which  partially  affect  the  machinery 
answering  to  the  first  colour  sensation,  and  for  the  very 
same  cause,  though  it  may  be  to  a greater  or  less  degree. 
Thus  the  same  wave-length,  which  is  not  in  true  accord 
with  either,  may  cause  both  colour-perceptions  to  respond. 

The  same  argument  applies  to  three  colour-perceptions, 
and  would  do  so  to  more  if  they  existed.  Now  a sensitive 
plate  may  be  said  to  take  the  place  of  the  retina,  and  the 
sensitive  salts  used  to  a colour-perceiving  tissue.  The 
simple  salts  have  but  one  colour-perception,  but  where  two 
salts  are  mixed,  we  may  have  two  perceptions,  and  when 
dyed  plates  are  used,  we  may  have  two  or  three  colour- 
perceptions.  Even  where  one  sensitive  salt,  the  silver 
bromide,  has  been  used,  I have  'traced  three  distinct 
colour-perceptions,  or,  to  speak  more  accurately,  radiation- 
perceptions,  one  situated  in  the  violet,  near  G,  another  in 
the  green,  between  F and  E,  and  the  third  in  the  red,  and 
extending  into  the  infra-red.  The  places  of  maximum 
sensitiveness  in  the  three  correspond  to  three  simple 
colour-perceptions,  but  not  situated  in  the  same  place  in 
the  spectrum  as  those  of  the  eye.  These  curves,  however, 
differ  from  those  of  the  eye  colour-perceptions,  in  that 
whilst  the  curve  of  luminosity  of  the  spectrum  arrived  at 
by  compounding  the  latter  is  a smooth  curve,  the  former 
is  not ; but  the  curve  of  photographic  sensitiveness  is  in  a 
series  of  hummocks  or  ridges.  We  can  find  something 
similar  in  some  eyes  ; for  instance,  where  there  is  a slight 
deficiency  in  the  perception  of  green.  Again,  there  is  this 
difference,  that  whilst  in  the  eye  the  luminosity  curves  of  the 
red  and  green  are  the  greatest,  and  the  violet  the  smallest, 
in  the  silver  bromide,  the  violet  is  the  largest,  aud  the  green 
and  red  the  smallest.  In  fact,  when  the  colour-percep- 
tions of  the  eye  are  altered  in  their  proportions,  by  looking 
through  a pale  blue  solution  they  are  very  much  the  same 
as  those  of  the  photographic  film  already  alluded  to.  It 
may  be  asked  how  and  what  am  I driving  at,  aud  my  reply 
is  that  I think  that  the  photographic  spectrum  curves  of 
sensitiveness  arc  analogous  to  the  spectrum  curves  of 
colour-perception  in  the  eye,  or,  in  other  words,  that  a 
photographic  plate  has,  in  reality,  only  one,  two,  or  three 
colour-perceptions,  and  that  all  sensitiveness  to  other 
colours  is  due  to  only  partial  response  of  the  vibrating 
atoms  in  the  molecule  to  wave-lengths  which  differ  slightly 
from  those  with  which  one  or  more  perception  is  in  accord. 
A study  of  the  simple  mixture  of  the  haloid  salts  favours 
this  view,  and  I believe  that  by  using  it  as  a working 
hypothesis,  a better  understanding  of  the  apparent  vagaries 
in  the  extent  of  sensitiveness  will  be  attained. 

I would  here  .add  that  the  generally  adopted  physio- 
logical interpretation  of  colour  perception  is  one  which  is 
very  open  to  discussion.  It  can  scarcely  be  conceived 
that  even  the  delicate  rods  and  cones  of  the  retina  arc  not 
much  too  coarse  to  be  primarily  affected  by  waves  of  light. 


300 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  18,  1890. 


In  the  ear  there  is  an  equally  delicate  mechanism  which 
is  affected  by  vibration  in  the  air ; and  we  can  scarcely 
expect  the  mechanism  in  the  eye  to  be  responsive  to  vibra- 
tions infinitely  more  rapid,  and  in  a medium  infinitely  more 
subtle.  Probably  it  will  eventually  be  found  that  light 
acts  on  matter  to  produce  a chemical  change  in  it,  and 
that  the  change  so  produced  is  capable  by  electrical 
currents  to  set  in  motion  the  mechanism  required  to  give 
the  sense  of  colour.  This,  however,  is  travelling  beyond 
the  limits  I have  set  myself  to  keep,  and  I leave  it  there. 

I have  to  ask  those  of  you  who  are  interested  in  theory 
to  take  this  hypothesis  into  your  consideration.  My  late 
researches  into  the  sensitiveness  of  various  compounds 
recently  published  by  the  Royal  Society  have  made  me 
offer  it  to  this  Conference. 

Quite  recently  we  have  had  an  announcement  that  a 
Herr  Veresczhas  achieved  photography  in  natural  colours, 
and  that  it  is  a printing  process.  In  the  paragraph  which 
appeared  in  the  Standard  the  name  of  Dr.  Eder  appears  as 
supporting  the  discovery.  Were  it  not  that  the  statement 
in  some  degree  has  received  an  imprimatur  by  such  a name 
being  connected  with  it,  one  would  at  once  have  discarded 
it  as  one  of  those  periodical  outbursts  of  journalistic 
credulity  which  are  so  often  rife  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year.  There  is  one  thing  which  is  admitted,  viz.,  that 
although  red  and  orange  have  been  secured,  they  fade  in 
the  light. 

Now,  as  I pointed  out  in  my  address  to  section  A of  the 
British  Association,  photography  in  natural  colours  is  a 
fait  accompli  of  many  years’  standing,  but  the  process  is  so 
long,  and  the  results  so  evanescent  in  light,  that  there  has 
been  no  practical  use  of  the  discovery  so  long  ago  made. 
Before  we  can  hope  to  attain  the  goal  which  so  many 
have  tried  to  reach,  at  least  two  things  have  to  be  accom- 
plished— the  first,  diminution  in  exposure  of  the  sensitive 
surface,  and  the  second,  a means  of  preventing  the  print 
fading  in  white  light,  which  is  commonly  called  fixing  the 
print. 

That  the  first  may  be  done  I will  not  deny,  but  I think 
a glance  into  the  physics  of  the  matter  will  at  once  demon- 
strate that  the  second  desideratum  is  chimerical,  for  the 
following  reasons:  — 

There  is  no  known  element  which  is  capable  of  taking 
on  itself  three  colours,  owing  to  molecular  change,  and 
this  would  be  the  least  number  of  states  in  which  it  must 
exist  to  reproduce  all  the  spectrum  colours.  We  may, 
therefore,  at  once  dismiss  from  the  possibilities  that  a 
printed  image  in  colours  can  be  composed  of  elemental 
matter.  This  makes  the  possible  image  a compound 
which  has  to  be  acted  upon  by  light.  The  action  that 
must  take  place  on  such  a compound  must  be  either  a 
reducing  action  or  an  oxidizing  action  (probably  both),  or 
else  a molecular  re-arrangement.  In  the  case  of  chloride 
of  silver,  which,  after  a preliminary  exposure  to  the  light, 
can  be  impressed  by  the  spectrum  colours,  I have  found 
that  the  blue  end  of  the  spectrum  is  reproduced  by  reduc- 
tion, and  the  red  end  by  oxidation,  there  being  a position 
where  there  is  a combination  of  both.  We  can  conceive 
matter  to  be  so  composed  molecularly,  that  coloured  light 
may  sift  out  certain  molecules,  which  shall  in  the  .aggregate 
reflect  red  light  when  the  rays  acting  on  them  are  red,  or 
when  green  light  acts  on  them,  reflect  the  green  rays,  and 
so  on.  Let  us  fix  our  attention  on  the  molecular 
aggregations  which  reflect  red  light.  Since  red  light  is 
reflected,  it  follows  that  all  the  rays  existing  in  white  light 
are  absorbed  except  the  red  rays,  and  we  know  that  when 


absorption  takes  place  then  internal  work  of  some  kind 
must  be  performed.  In  the  spectrum,  where  these 
colours  are  produced  on  the  sensitive  surface,  it  must  be 
recollected  that  no  blue  light  acts  on  the  part  exposed  to 
the  red  rays,  and  is,  therefore,  during  that  exposure 
incapable  of  doing  any  work  in  the  molecules.  Now,  the 
very  fact  that  the  molecules  are  ready  to  arrange  them- 
selves into  aggregations  reflecting  different  colours,  show 
that  they  are  very  susceptible  of  taking  a new  form  of 
aggregation,  and  those  which  had  aggregated  into  red 
reflecting  masses  by  the  action  of  the  spectrum  would  be 
the  first  to  re-arrange  themselves  into  blue  reflecting 
aggregations  when  acted  upon  by  the  blue  rays  which 
they  absorb.  The  blue  reflecting  aggregations  would 
also  be  the  first  to  re-arrange  themselves  as  red  reflect- 
ing aggregations  under  the  action  of  red  light,  and  so  on. 
lied,  green,  and  blue  reflecting  aggregations — arrived  at 
by  exposure  of  the  matter  to  the  spectrum  colours  on  sub- 
sequent exposure  to  white  light,  which  is  a combination 
of  the  three  colours — must,  therefore,  rapidly  change  to  a 
neutral  tint,  following  out  the  above  reasoning ; and  this 
is  found  to  be  the  case  in  the  photographs  in  natural 
colour  taken  up  to  the  present  time.  We  may  take  it, 
then,  that  no  mere  re-arrangement  of  molecular  groupings 
by  coloured  light  can  remain  stable  in  white  light.  Let 
us  see  if  there  is  a probability  of  fixing  the  colour  by 
chemical  means.  Fixing  would  mean  removal  of  some 
matter  still  sensitive  to  light.  As  from  the  nature  of 
things  such  matter  is  part  of  the  molecular  aggregation 
which  causes  the  colour  to  be  reflected,  it  is  evident  that 
the  removal  of  a part  of  such  aggregation  must  at  once 
change  the  colour.  If  fixing  be  attempted  by  adding  to 
the  molecular  aggregation,  the  same  reasoning  applies. 
We  therefore  are  in  this  quandary  as  to  a printing-out 
process  in  natural  colours  : If  the  colour  be  produced  by 
change  in  composition  of  the  matter  acted  on.  it  must  be 
fixed  by  chemical  agencies,  which  means  destruction  of 
colour.  If  it  be  formed  by  altered  molecular  arrangement, 
white  light  must  of  necessity  alter  its  colour. 

A process  in  natural  colours  which  depends  on  deve- 
lopment is  out  of  the  range  of  probability,  as  I have 
already  stated  in  my  British  Association  address.  An 
embryo  photographic  image  in  natural  colours  might  be 
possible,  but  to  imagine  that  a coloured  image  can  be 
built  up  by  chemical  means,  such  as  by  the  deposition  of 
silver  on  such  image,  is  to  endow  the  depositing  atoms 
with  a discriminative  judgment,  which,  so  far  as  is  known, 
not  one  has  the  slightest  symptom  of  possessing. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  I am  no  believer  in  the 
discovery  of  a really  practicable  process  for  producing 
photographs  in  natural  colours.  We  may  wish  every 
success  to  the  gentleman  who  is  making  these  researches, 
but  the  telegraphic  description  in  the  Standard,  to  my 
mind,  does  not  require  to  be  read  between  the  lines  to  see 
that  there  is  a great  deal  more  of  hoped  for  than  of  accom- 
plished success  in  what  has  been  done. 


Crystal  Palace  Exhibition. — Mr.  J.  Dore  writes  that  in 
the  notice  of  the  above,  in  our  issue  of  the  4 th  inst.,  he  was 
erroneously  described  as  J.  Dove  as  the  winner  of  the  bronze 
medal,  Section  1 (professional),  British  subjects,  in  the  lantern 
section  of  the  Exhibition. 

Croydon  Camera  Club.  — Excursions  will  take  place  on 
April  19th  and  on  Whit  Monday  ; and  on  April  23rd  there  will 
be  an  exhibition  of  bromide  enlargements.  Information  may 
be  had  from  Mr  L.  De  Clercq,  38,  Lansdown  Road  ; or  Mr. 
Alfred  Underhill,  23a,  Clarendon  Road,  Croydon. 


April  18,  1890.“] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


301 


PHOTCK GRAPHIC  APPARATUS. 

The  following  cuts  represent  pieces  of  photographic  appa- 
ratus which  Messrs.  Marion  and  Co.  have  just  introduced 
into  the  English  market.  Fig.  1 represents  a new  shutter 
by  Voigtlander  and  Son.  which  is  one  of  that  class  which 
opens  and  closes  from  the  centre.  Its  peculiarity  is  that, 
after  opening  uniformly  a small  way,  the  aperture  suddenly 
assumes  somewhat  a star-fish  form,  so  in  opening  and 
closing  allows  more  light  to  reach  the  plate  than  would  be 
the  case  had  it  still  an  approximately  circular  form.  This 
shutter  works  between  the  lenses.  Messrs.  Marion  and  Co. 
.also  have  just  introduced  a stereoscope  and  stereoscopic  | 
camera  combined.  The  ground  glass  screen  is  contained  in 
a rectangular  chamber,  and  when  placed  on  the  side  nearest 


to  the  lenses,  serves  forfocussingpurposes,  and  the  chamber 
keeps  it  sufficiently  in  shadow  to  render  a focussing  cloth 
unnecessary  under  ordinary  circumstances.  "When  placed 
on  the  farther  side  of  the  chamber  it  serves  as  a dif- 
fuser ot  light  when  the  camera  is  used  as  a stereoscope.  In 
whichever  character  the  instrument  is  used,  the  same  lenses 
are  employed,  but  eye-cups  are  fitted  into  their  hoods 
when  the  camera  is  employed  for  viewing  stereoscopic 
pictures. 

lig.  2 is  the  camera  invented  by  Mr.  Samuels,  and  the 
cut  shows  one  side  of  its  lever  arrangement  for  focussing  ; 
by  the  lever  motion  the  lens  is  brought  to  focus  expediti- 
ously. 1 he  construction  of  this  camera  is  extremely 
simple,  and  when  it  is  closed  it  forms  a cubical  box, 
which  looks  as  if  it  would  bear  a kick  anywhere 


Fig.  4. 


Fig.  3. 


Fig.  1. 

without  injury  to  its  contents.  Fig.  o might  be  called  a 
“ bipod  ” head-rest ; the  additional  leg  gives  great  firm- 


Levci* 

Fig.  2. 


speaking,  extinguished,  and  the  room  becomes  illuminated 
by  the  exterior  gas  jet. 

Messrs.  Marion  and  Co.  have  also  exhibited  to  us  a 
modified  Kershaw  shutter,  with  a “time”  arrangement 
affixed  thereto.  The  same  firm  is  introducing  a new 
reflector  of  light  for  studio  use.  It  gives  the  power  of 
universal  adjustment,  and  consists  of  an  upright  iron  rod 
fixed  to  a circular  base  ; this  rod  is  4 feet  6 inches  high, 
and  on  it  run  two  junctions,  each  carrying  a reflecting 
screen  measuring  4 feet  by  2 feet,  the  one  covered  with 
white  calico,  and  the  other  with  a brownish  colour. 
These  can  be  turned  at  any  angle,  thus  allowing  of  reflec- 
tion of  light  as  desired.  Another  piece  of  apparatus 
Messrs.  Marion  and  Co.  have  on  view,  is  a portable 
stand  for  four  or  six  or  more  pieces  of  flash  light 
apparatus ; the  stand  will  pack  away  so  compactly  as  to 
be  easily  transported  to  private  houses  for  purposes  of 
portraiture. 


ness ; the  whole  arrangement  rests  upon  castors,  which 
will  roll  in  a forward,  but  not  in  a backward  direction. 

Fig.  4 is  a developing-room  lamp ; when  the  tap  is 
turned  in  one  direction,  the  gas-flame  rises  inside  the  lamp, 
and  there  is  no  light  in  the  room  ; when  it  is  turned  in 
the  opposite  direction  the  aforesaid  flame  is,  practically 


The  California  Camera  Club. — Another  photographic 
society  is  proposed  for  San  Francisco,  to  be  entitled  the  Cali- 
forma  Camera  Club.  The  objects  of  the  promoters  are  said  to 
be  the  formation  of  a social,  scientific,  and  art  centre  for  photo- 
graphers, and  the  establishment,  in  a convenient  locality,  of 
rooms  for  the  use  of  the  Club. 


302 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  18,  1890. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  FRANCE. 

BY  LEON  VIDAL. 

Halation — Magnesium  Flash  - Lamp — Developing  Cap- 
sules— Sulphite  of  Soda — Use  of  Flexible  Films  in 
Egypt— Photographic  Societies  and  Clubs  in  London 
— Negatives  on  Celluloid  Pellicle — Lantern  Pro- 
jections. 

The  French  Photographic  Society  held  its  usual  monthly 
sitting  on  the  11th  inst.  ; the  following  were  the  principal 
questions  discussed. 

The  Commandant  Mbessard  has  occupied  himself  with 
the  question  of  halation  ; as  for  the  causes  of  it,  he  has 
said  nothing  further  than  was  told  us  by  MM.  Cornu 
and  Lumiere,  but  he  has  been  seeking  for  a way  to  provide 
a remedy.  lie  has  not  arrived  at  any  practical  solution,  i 
but  he  thinks  suggestions  ought  to  be  made  to  the  manu- 
facturers of  plates.  In  the  first  place,  he  remarked  that 
if  the  sensitive  film  is  very  transparent,  there  is  no  diffusion 
of  the  luminous  rays;  they  pass  in  a straight  line,  and  con- 
sequently there  are  no  reflections  produced  in  the  nature 
of  halation.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  film  is  absolutely 
opaque,  halation  cannot  exist.  There  is,  then,  a point  of 
relative  translucence  or  opacity  at  which  halation  is 
at  its  maximum.  We  must,  says  the  Commandant, 
endeavour  to  arrest  the  transmission  of  reflected  rays,  or 
use  thin  pellicles. 

It  has  been  already  shown,  lie  says,  that  halation  exists 
to  a much  less  extent  with  pellicles.  As  for  glass  plates,  the  1 
remedy  proposed  by  M.  Cornu  appears  to  be  good ; but, 
further,  could  not  the  sensitive  film  be  stained  with  some 
inert  colouring  material  which  would  give  sufficient  opacity 
to  arrest  the  light  in  the  film  itself?  It  would  appear  that 
in  orthochromatic  plates  halation  is  much  less  pronounced. 
In  short,  these  are  simply  suggestions  of  principles,  and  it 
is  left  to  experimenters  to  try  them,  and  choose  that  which 
succeeds  the  best. 

M.  Vidal  pointed  out  an  objection  to  staining  the  film, 
as  if  the  film  is  so  coloured  as  to  retain  the  whole  of  the  rays 
of  light,  it  would  be  insensitive.  He  thought  that  the  use 
of  a coloured  screen  which  should  greatly  diminish  the 
power  of  the  blues,  the  violets,  and  the  high-lights,  would 
contribute  to  diminish  halation.  In  his  opinion,  the 
introduction  of  anything  into  the  sensitive  compound 
except  substances  capable  of  bestowing  orthochromatic 
properties  upon  it,  should  be  avoided.  In  this  connection, 
he  mentioned  that,  if  a little  too  much  of  the  colouring 
matter  intended  to  orthochromatise  the  sensitive  product 
is  added,  a general  insensitiveness  occurs,  which  must  be 
avoided.  Good  orthochromatic  plates,  whilst  containing 
a sufficient  amount  of  the  colouring  principle,  are,  or 
ought  to  be,  almost  colourless.  In  his  humble  opinion, 
the  best  thing  was  to  follow  the  path  indicated  by  M.  Cornu, 
and  to  seek  for  an  easy  means  both  of  covering  the  back 
of  the  plates  with  a medium  possessing  the  same  refractive 
index  as  glass,  and  to  be  able,  without  trouble,  to  remove 
this  coating  from  the  plate  at  the  moment  of  development. 
As  pellicle  suppresses  halation  almost  completely,  we  have 
again  this  resource,  and  it  is  a question  of  great  interest 
to  be  able  to  produce  images  free  from  this  annoyance,  this  ( 
defect. 

A new  magnesium  flash-lamp  was  shown  in  the 
name  of  M.  Vergeot  by  the  Commandant  Fribourg.  It  | 
consists  simply  of  a metallic  tube  of  the  height  of  about 
ten  centimetres,  and  of  the  diameter  of  an  ordinary  caudle. 
It  may  be  placed  in  a candlestick  or  chandelier.  It  con- 


sists of  two  distinct  parts,  C a spirit  lamp,  D a reservoir 
of  pure  magnesium  powder.  At  E is  seen  a tube  to  which 
to  attach  the  flexible  pipe  from  a pneumatic  ball.  At  the 
top  of  the  lamp  AB  is  a wire 
grating,  and  below  at  C is 
cotton  impregnated  with 
spirit.  The  combustion  lasts 
about  a quarter  of  an  hour. 

The  reservoir  I)  being  filled 
with  magnesium  and  the  spirit 
lighted,  if  a pressure  is  given 
to  the  ball  the  powder  is  blown 
through  C ; it  is  inflamed  and 
the  flash  projected.  In  this 
manner  a series  of  very 
luminous  flashes  may  be  pro- 
duced successively  and  with- 
out danger.  This  lamp  is  one 
of  the  simplest  and  the  best 
which  I have  seen. 

A chemist  of  Niort,  M.  Micheliu,  has  devised  capsules 
containing  each  a dose  of  developer,  which  are  easy  of 
carriage,  and  which  at  the  desired  moment  permit  a deve- 
loping solution  to  be  rapidly  made  up.  These  capsules 
contain,  the  small  one  pyrogallic  acid,  and  the  Large  one 
the  desired  mixture  of  alkaline  salts,  carbonate  and  sul- 
phite of  soda.  The  contents  of  these  two  capsules  are 
placed  in  from  forty  to  fifty  centilitres  of  water.  M. 
Michelin  proposes  to  prepare  other  portable  capsules  for 
different  developers — hydrokinone,  pyrocatechin,  eikono- 
gen,  and  others.  We  have  already  in  this  direction  had 
the  developing  pastilles  of  Ener. 

Another  chemist — M.  Chicandard,  of  Lyons — has  com- 
municated the  results  of  his  interesting  study  of  sulphite 
of  soda.  This  product,  he  tells  us,  is  very  rarely  pure  ; 
it  most  frequently  contains  sulphate  of  soda  in  larger  or 
smaller  quantities,  and  free  carbonate  of  soda.  To  assure 
oneself  whether  there  is  any  sulphate  of  soda,  it  suffices  to 
produce  with  excess  of  chloride  of  barium  a precipitate 
in  a solution  of  sulphite  of  soda.  If  this  precipitate  is  not 
entirely  dissolved  by  hydrochloric  acid  the  sulphite  is 
impure.  To  demonstrate  the  presence  of  free  carbonate, 
we  have  recourse  to  phenol-phthalein.  A drop  of  an 
alcoholic  solution  of  this  product  becomes  red  if  the  sulphite 
contains  free  alkali;  if  on  contact  with  the  sulphite  no 
colouration  takes  place,  it  shows  that  no  free  carbonate  is 
present. 

To  ascertain  the  quantity  of  sulphate  which  impoverishes 
the  sulphite,  M.  Chicandard  advises  the  employment  of  the 
following  process.  In  the  first  place,  a solution  of 
2 -45  grammes  of  the  sulphite  to  be  tested  is  made  in 
100  grammes  of  distilled  water  ; secondly,  a mixture  of 


Iodine  (in  crystals)  2*53  grammes 

Iodide  of  potassium  3-60  ,, 

Distilled  water  ...  100  ,, 


Ten  c.  c.  of  the  first  solution  are  taken,  and  drop  by  drop 
the  second  is  added  from  a burette  graduated  in  tenths  of 
a cubic  centimetre  until  the  liquid  takes  a permanent 
yellow  colouration.  A few  drops  of  thin  starch  paste 
may  be  added,  and  in  this  case  it  is  an  intense  blue  coloura- 
tion which  indicates  the  end  of  the  reaction.  The 
number  of  tenths  of  cubic  centimetres  of  the  iodine 
solution  employed  indicates  the  percentage  of  sulphate 
contained. 

M.  Chicandard  recommends  keeping  bottles  of  sulphite 


April  18,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


303 


and  of  pyrogallic  acid  in  the  light,  contrary  to  the  prejudice 
which  insists  that  light  is  injurious  to  pyrogallic  acid. 

M.  Balagny  showed  a series  of  negatives,  21  by  27  centi- 
metres, on  flexible  films,  obtained  in  Egypt  during  a 
scientific  mission.  They  number  120,  and  are  very 
remarkable.  They  have  undergone  for  more  than  three 
months  a temperature  of  .about  40°  Centigrade.  lie 
considers  this  as  a new  proof  of  the  resistance  of  these 
pellicles  to  very  high  temperature,  and  he  adds  that,  thanks 
to  this  light  and  unbreakable  support,  the  tourist  is  always 
sure  of  obtaining  negatives,  and  is  exempt  from  the  con- 
siderable expense  of  carriage  occasioned  by  the  use  of 
glass  plates. 

Mr.  Stebbing,  on  returning  from  a journey  to  London, 
greatly  interested  the  Society  by  a description  of  the 
photographic  clubs  and  societies  in  London  ; he  also  men- 
tioned numerous  hotels  in  which  amateur  photographers 
will  find  a dark-room  for  their  travelling  work. 

M.  David  claims  to  have  been  among  the  first  to  recom- 
mend celluloid  pellicles  for  photographic  negatives ; he 
showed  some  thus  obtained  by  him  from  1883  down- 
wards. 

Some  interesting  slides  were  shown  in  the  lantern, 
amongst  them  reductions  from  the  negatives  on  flexible 
films  shown  by  M.  Balagny,  and  some  experiments  in 
coloured  work  by  M.  Maurice  Buguet.  The  latter, 
although  as  yet  incomplete,  promise  good  results  with 
perseverance.  A lantern  slide  gains  much  by  being 
coloured,  provided  that  this  supplementary  work  is  done 
with  art  and  sobriety. 

A French  Exhibition  in  London  is  in  course  of  prepara- 
tion for  the  month  of  May.  There  is  room  for  doubt 
whether  photography  will  be  largely  represented  in  it.  A 
committee  is  occupied  in  organizing  this  special  class. 


THE  LATENT  PHOTOGRAPHIC  IMAGE* 

BT  C.  H.  BOTHAMLEY,  F.I.C.,  E.C.S. 

A second  hypothesis,  also  physical  in  its  character,  was 
propounded  by  Mr  H.  S.  Starnes,!  and  was  based  mainly 
on  the  facts  that  an  unexposed  gelatino-bromide  plate  is 
not  affected  by  solutions  which  null  reduce  ordinary  pre- 
cipitated silver  bromide,  and  that  if  a quantity  of  emul- 
sion which  has  been  exposed  to  light  is  melted  up  with  a 
fresh  quantity  of  emulsion  or  gelatine,  or  is  simply 
re-melted  without  any  addition,  the  resulting  emulsion 
shows  only  a trace  of  fog  on  development.  It  was  sug- 
gested that  each  particle  of  silver  bromide  is  enclosed  in  a 
protective  envelope  of  gelatine,  and  that  the  impact  of  light 
waves  ruptures  this  envelope  and  exposes  the  contained 
silver  bromide  to  the  action  of  the  developer.  The 
destruction  of  the  latent  image  by  potassium  bichromate  was 
supposedto  be  due  to  the  hardening  effect  of  the  bichromate 
on  the  gelatine.  It  is  not  easy  to  see,  however,  how 
bichromate  could  heal  up,  so  to  speak,  the  ruptured  en- 
velopes ; nor  why  the  image  should  be  destroyed  by 
bromine,  which  tends  to  destroy  or  alter  the  gelatine  ; nor 
why  silver  bromide  in  gelatine  should  be  more  sensitive 
than  silver  bromide  in  collodion,  the  latter  being  by  far  the 
more  porous  medium  of  the  two. 

All  the  evidence  indicates  that  the  formation  of  the 
latent  image  is  a photo-chemical  operation,  the  composi- 
tion of  the  material  forming  the  image  being  different  from 
that  of  silver  bromide.  The  difference  between  the  forma- 
tion of  a visible  image  and  a latent  image  is,  in  fact,  as  our 


President,  Capt.  Abney,  has  always  insisted,  a difference 
in  degree  and  not  in  kind. 

It  is  well  known  that  bromine,  chlorine,  and  any  sub- 
stance which  will  readily  give  up  bromine  or  chlorine,  will 
destroy  the  latent  image,  the  result  being  independent  of 
the  mode  of  manufacture  of  the  emulsion.  (Examples 
shown.) 

Potassium  dichromate  iu  neutral  or  acid  solution  has 
the  same  effect.  I observed  that  a mixture  of  the  dichro- 
mate and  potassium  bromide  produced  this  result  more 
rapidly  than  the  dichromate  alone,  and,  therefore,  it  seemed 
not  improbable  that  the  effect  is  not  simply  an  oxidising 
action  of  the  dichromate,  but  is  due  to  a simultaneous 
action  of  the  dichromate  and  the  small  quantities  of 
soluble  bromide  which  are  almost  invariably  present  in 
gelatine  plates.*  This  point  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
investigated  before. 

It  is  practically  impossible  to  wash  out  the  last  traces 
of  the  bromide,  and  hence  the  only  course  open  is  to 
convert  all  the  soluble  bromide  into  silver  bromide,  and 
this  was  done  by  immersing  the  plates  for  an  hour  in  a 
2 per  cent,  solution  of  silver  nitrate,  slightly  acidified 
with  nitric  acid.  They  were  then  washed,  first  with 
distilled  water  containing  a little  nitric  acid,  perfectly 
free  from  chlorides,  &c.,  and  finally  with  water  alone. 

I think  it  may  be  taken  that  they  contained  no  soluble 
haloid  salt. 

Potassium  dichromate  solution  (5  per  cent.)  was 
purified  frain  haloids  by  adding  a small  quantity  of  silver 
nitrate  solution  and  filtering  through  glass  wool  previously 
well  washed. 

The  plates  were  exposed  to  light,  and  one  half  was 
immersed  for  five  minutes  in  the  dichromate  solution, 
very  thoroughly  washed,  and  developed  with  ferrous 
oxalate  containing  no  bromide.  Although  there  could 
not  have  been  any  simultaneous  action  of  the  dichromate 
and  a soluble  haloid,  the  latent  image  was  destroyed 
(example  shown)  ; and  therefore  we  may  take  it,  I think, 
as  established  that  the  destruction  of  the  latent  image  is 
due  solely  to  the  action  of  the  dichromate,  which  pro- 
bably exerts  an  oxidising  action,  but  may  .also  be  effective 
because  it  converts  the  material  of  the  latent  image  into  _ 
silver  chromate. 

Nitric  acid  is  also  commonly  said  to  destroy  the  image, 
but  I found  that  the  strongest  acid  that  the  gelatine  would 
stand  after  previous  treatment  with  chrome  alum  cer- 
tainly did  not  destroy  it.  (Examples  shown.)  A washed 
collodion  emulsion  made  with  excess  of  silver  nitrate  and 
washed  with  distilled  water  in  order  to  avoid  introduction 
of  soluble  haloids,  was  exposed  to  fight  and  then  treated 
for  twenty  minutes  with  nitric  acid  containing  25  per  cent, 
of  real  acid.  After  washing  and  development  it  was 
evident  that  the  latent  image  had  not  been  destroyed. 
(Example  shown.)  Other  similar  experiments  gave 
similar  results,  but  in  all  cases  the  action  of  the  acid  on  the 
gelatine  or  pyroxiline  made  it  impossible  to  obtain  density. 

I am  making  further  experiments,  but  the  results  so  far 
obtained  seem  to  indicate  that  the  nitric  acid  does  not 
destroy  the  latent  image,  although  it  may  prevent  its 
development.  In  this  connection  we  may  recall  the  fact 
that  even  the  strongest  nitric  acid  does  not  prevent  the 
darkening  of  silver  chloride  or  bromide  when  exposed  to 
light. 

It  seems  to  me  that  it  has  not  been  clearly  recognised 
that  the  formation  of  a developed  photogr.ipliic  image 
"*  see  for  example,  JSettnow.  Phot.  Correspondent,  1889,  p.  56  et  aeq. 


• Continued  from  page  283.  + Brit.  J.  Phot.,  1883,  p.  6*3,  656,  &c. 


304 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  18,  1890. 


takes  place  in  three  distinct  stages,  which  may  and  pro- 
bably do  differ  considerably  in  the  nature  ol  the  changes 
which  occur.  First  we  have  the  Intent  photo-image  formed 
solely  by  the  action  of  light,  and  therefore  of  photo- 
chemical origin ; secondly,  we  have  what  I propose  to 
call  the  primary  or  fundamental  image  formed  from  the 
latent  image  by  the  action  of  the  developer,  and  there- 
fore partly  of  photo-chemical  and  partly  of  chemical 
original ; and  thirdly,  the  developed  image  formed  by  the 
action  of  the  developer  from  the  primary  image  and  the 
unaltered  silver  bromide  in  the  film.  This  last  process  is 
probably  mainly  electro-chemical 

Potassium  iodide  is  also  said  to  destroy  the  latent 
image,  but  I find  that  after  immersion  in  a 5 or  10  per 
cent,  solution  of  the  iodide  for  a time  sufficient  to  con- 
vert all  the  silver  salts  in  the  film  into  silver  iodide, 
there  is  still  left  an  image  which  can  be  seen  during 
development,  and  can  still  be  seen  after  fixing,  although 
it  is  then  very  faint.  (Examples  shown.)  The  same 
result  is  obtained  with  pure  bromide  or  brom-iodide 
emulsion.  It  might  be  argued  that  the  action  of  the 
iodide  had  not  been  continued  sufficiently  long.  Twenty 
minutes’  immersion  in  a 10  per  cent,  solution  of  the 
iodide  was  the  maximum  given,  but  the  conversion  of 
the  silver  bromide  into  silver  iodide  was  certainly  com- 
plete, and  it  may  be  assumed  that  any  action  on  the 
latent  image  had  reached  its  limit.  It  seems,  then,  that 
potassium  iodide  does  not  destroy  the  latent  image,  nor 
prevent  its  conversion  into  a primary  image  by  the 
developer,  but  does  prevent  the  formation  of  a developed 
image,  doubtless  because  the  silver  salts  in  the  film  are 
converted  into  silver  iodide. 

Hydrobromic  acid  and  hydrochloric  acid  are  also  said 
to  destroy  the  latent  image.  The  action  of  the  first  acid 
I am  investigating.  Hydrochloric  acid  containing  12 
per  cent,  of  real  acid  does  not  destroy  the  image  on  a 
gelatino-chloride  plate  after  twenty  minutes’  immersion. 
(Example  shown.) 

(To  be  continued .) 


LIMITATIONS  IN  THE  TREATMENT  OF  SUBJECTS 
BY  FOCUS.* 

BY  T.  R.  DALLMEYER. 

That  the  combined  chemical  and  mechanical  process 
known  as  “ Photography  ” be  admissible  in  the  sciences 
must  be  determined  by  its  exactness.  So  far  as  a photo- 
graphic lens  can  be  made  perfect  (speaking  technically,  this 
means  that  the  instrument  be  aplanatic),  the  applications  to 
science  are  eminently  satisfactory  in  records  and  investiga- 
tions, in  that  but  one  plane  of  the  object  has  to  be  repre- 
sented by  one  plane  in  the  image,  or  that  the  conjugate 
points  in  the  object  are  so  situated  that  they  are  simul- 
taneously received  to  an  accurate  focus  on  the  plane  of 
the  photographic  plate.  These  conditions  are  practically 
maintained  in  stellar  photography,  micro-photography, 
&c.  Photography  in  many  such  applications  is  not  only 
sufficiently  truthful,  but  records  on  the  sensitive  plate 
more  than  the  most  practised  eye  can  ever  see,  for  physio- 
logical reasons.  Immediately  photography  is  employed  to 
depict  objects  in  different  planes,  where  the  corresponding 
points  in  the  image  are  formed  on  sensibly  different  planes, 
the  representation  by  receiving  them  on  one  plane  is  no 
longer  truthful  nor  exact.  A photographic  instrument  to 

• Abstract  of  a paper  read  before  the  Camera  Club  Conference,  and 
published  in  the  Journal  of  the  Club. 


accomplish  this  theoretically  is  simple  enough,  but  never- 
theless is  a practical  impossibility.  It  would  only  necessi- 
tate the  employment  of  an  imaginary  “pinhole,”  the 
aperture  of  which  shall  be  the  section  of  a mathematical 
straight  line.  In  such  a case,  every  plane  in  the  object 
would  be  equally  and  perfectly  rendered,  mathematically 
true  and  exact  in  position  on  the  plane  upon  which  the 
image  was  received,  the  size  of  the  image  itself  being 
dependent  on  the  distance  of  this  plane  (of  the  plate) 
receiving  the  image  from  the  imaginary  “ pinhole.” 

From  the  fact  that  in  pictorial  photography  it  is  neces- 
sary to  depict  different  planes  at  once,  it  follows  that, 
strictly  speaking,  the  results  are  untrue  in  drawing, 
although  relatively  they  can  be  made  in  so-called  sharp 
photographs  far  truer  than  any  artist  could  ever  expect  or 
would  attempt  to  render  them  in  detailed  drawing.  Such 
approximate  precision  capable  of  being  produced  by  a 
photographic  instrument  might  be  the  envy  of  the  mere 
still-life  painter,  and  is  certainly  acknowledged  by  all 
painter  artists  as  a useful  elementary  means  to  an  end. 

I understand  the  attitude  of  a painter  artist  in  depicting 
a scene  to  be  that  of  a workman  with  an  artistically 
educated  sight  (with  binocular  vision),  anx'ous  to  portray 
or  reproduce  the  individual  feelings  and  emotions  produced 
in  his  mind  by  the  scene  before  him,  and  with  working 
tools  at  his  command  that  he  re'ies  upon  to  help  h’m  in 
giving  a truthful  impression  of  what  he  sees.  This  in- 
dividuality is  not  capable  of  any  exact  definition,  although 
he  may  succeed  in  impressing  others  with  the  very  same 
feel'ngs  that  his  transcript  was  intended  to  convey.  Im- 
pressed by  this  individuality  he  wiU  emphasise  or  subdue, 
according  partly  to  his  own  taste,  and  partly  according  to 
the  principles  of  composition  (the  latter  being  mostly 
negative  principles),  which  are  the  result  of  long  study 
and  practice. 

With  the  photographer  the  attitude  is  very  different. 
Grant  that  he  is  perfect  in  his  technique  ; the  tools  at  his 
disposal  are  self-acting,  recording  the  image  from  one 
point  of  sight  only,  and  the  individuat’ty  of  the  instrument 
is  limited  and  capable  of  exact  definition,  but  here  his  own 
individuality  is  restrained  by  the  latter’s  artistic  capabili- 
ties. The  question  of  the  production  of  effects  is  now  one 
dependent  entirely  on  scientific  laws,  and  is  defined  by  the 
optical  construction  of  the  lens  itself  and  the  law  of  con- 
jugate foci. 

As  the  camera  can  only  depict  what  is  placed  in  front  of 
it,  the  photographer,  to  produce  work  that  can  be  called 
artistic,  has,  or  must  cultivate,  that  artistic  appreciation 
of  nature  in  all  her  moods  which  the  true  artist  observer 
and  admirer  of  her  finds  so  much  pleasure  in.  The  choice 
of  the  subject,  its  charm  or  interest,  and  its  more  or  less 
good  composition  as  seen  from  different  points  of  view, 
will  indicate  the  operator’s  greater  or  less  artistic  apprecia- 
tion and  individuality  ; but  having  only  an  inanimate  and 
unthinking  machine,  he  is  bound  to  look  for  such  phases 
of  nature  as  can  give  that  machine  the  greatest  opportunity 
of  utilising  its  limited  powers.  The  limited  treatment  in 
point  of  definition  lies  in  the  adjustment  of  “ focus  ” ; the 
controversies  that  have  arisen  on  this  point,  on  the  art 
side,  have  certainly  done  much  to  raise  photography  from 
a copying  process  to  that  of  a fine  ait. 

You  have  before  you  a series  of  photographs  that  show 
the  tendencies  by  various  treatments  of  the  focus  towards 
the  destruction  of  the  best  possible  image  as  given  by  a 
perfectly  corrected  lens.  They  are  the  result  of  a series 
of  accurately  performed  experiments,  and  as  a record  may 


April  18,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


305 


prove  of  value  and  impress  the  memory  with  the  tendencies , 
without  resort  to  the  theoretical  study  of  the  principles 
that  guarantee  the  results. 

It  is  probable  that  you  are  all  well  aware  that  the  tsst 
for  a perfectly  aplanatic  lens  is  that  when  a point  of  light 
is  focussed  for  the  image  it  is  seen  sharp,  and  that  on  wheel- 
ing the  plane  of  the  best  focus  in  or  out  the  image  vanishes 
equally  on  either  side : if  positive  spherical  aberration  is 
present  on  the  inside  of  the  focus,  the  image  vanishes  or 
loses  structure  very  rapidly,  but  on  the  outside  lingers  for 
a considerable  distance,  and  its  structure  is  maintained ; 
this  becomes  more  and  more  remarkable  the  more  positive 
spherical  aberration  is  present.  The  converse  of  this 
occurs  when  negative  spherical  aberration  is  present. 

The  reason — and  it  is  easily  shown  mathematically — is, 
that  in  the  former  case  there  is  an  outward  concentration 
of  the  image-forming  rays  inside  the  focus,  and  an  inward 
concentration  of  the  image-forming  rays  outside  the  best 
focus  ; and  the  converse  of  this  occurs  in  the  latter  case. 
Again,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  least  circle  of 
aberration  in  a non-aplanatic  lens  is  not  the  best  focus 
visually,  but  at  the  plane  where  there  is  the  strongest 
inward  concentration  of  the  image-forming  rays.  I have  ' 
intentionally  laid  some  stress  on  this  point  now,  as  objec- 
tion has  been  taken  to  the  fact  that  spherical  aberration 
improves  the  out-of-focus  planes,  simply  from  ignoring  the 
fact  that  the  important  element,  viz.,  the  measurement  of 
the  longitudinal  aberration,  lias  been  lost  sight  of  in  com- 
parisons made  of  the  transversal  measurements  of  the 
circles  of  confusion  as  compared  to  those  of  an  aplanatic  lens. 

With  regard  to  the  illustration,  you  will  note  various 
regular  steps  in  the  alteration  of  the  plane  receiving  the 
image ; if  the  focus  be  shortened,  or  a movement  in  be 
made,  you  know  it  corresponds  to  a more  distant  object, 
and  hence  the  plates  in  which  there  has  been  an  inward 
movement  correspond  to  foreground  tendencies  when  some 
more  distant  object  is  focussed  for ; and,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  the  focus  be  lengthened,  or  a movement  out  be 
made,  the  focus  is  made  for  some  nearer  object,  and 
hence  the  plates  correspond  in  these  cases  to  background. 

It  would  be  an  easy  matter  with  any  lens  to  construct  a 
table  showing  the  limits  of  movement  of  the  camera  back 
permissible,  not  to  exceed  a certain  definite  out-of-focus 
circle  (deemed  consistent  with  sufficient  maintenance  of 
structure),  for  planes  on  either  side  of  the  one  chosen 
that  should  include  such  treatment  for  the  extreme 
distance  and  nearest  foreground  required.  If  these  were 
exceeded  by  a given  lens  with  full  aperture,  the  requisite 
limit  could  be  arrived  at  by  reducing  the  aperture  exactly 
in  the  proportion  you  wish  to  reduce  the  out-of-focus 
circle  produced  to  that  required. 

(To  be  continued). 


CTovresponUcnce. 

THE  CRYSTAL  PALACE  EXHIBITION  AWARDS. 

Sir, — I am  requested  by  the  Manager,  on  behalf  of  the 
Company,  the  Committee  of  Judges,  and  the  Executive,  to 
deny  unequivocally  the  allegations  contained  in  a letter  signed 
by  Mr  Edgar  G.  Lee  and  others,  and  published  in  your  last 
issue,  respecting  the  award  of  the  National  Photo.  Club 
Challenge  Cup,  and  to  add  that  the  company  is  in  a position  to 
prove  that  such  allegations  have  absolutely  no  foundation  in  fact. 

I am  further  desired  to  thank  you  for  your  editorial  note 
at  foot  of  letter,  which  is  as  courteous  as  it  is  strictly  true. 

S.  G.  Buchanan  Wollaston. 

Crystal  Palace  Company,  Crystal  Palace,  S.E.,  April  Hth,  1890. 


patent  EntclUgcnre. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

5,046.  W.  B.  Luce,  321,  High  Holborn,  London,  “ Camera.” 
— April  1st. 

5,075.  G.  Clulow  and  A.  H.  Sale,  55,  Chancery  Lane, 
London,  “ Changing  Boxes.” — April  1st. 

5,158.  C.  H.  Stanbury,  24,  Southampton  Buildings,  London, 
“Apparatus  for  Holding  Photographic  Plates.” — April  2nd. 
5,193.  G.  Dickinson,  144,  Morley  Avenue,  Noel  Park,  London, 
“ Cameras.” — April  3rd. 

5,215.  F.  Beauchamp,  115,  Cannon  Street,  London,  “ In- 
stantaneous Shutters.” — April  3rd. 

5,227.  C.  Whitney,  323,  High  Holborn,  London. 
“ Cameras.” — April  3rd. 

5,436.  J.  Drive,  Hotel  Mctropole,  London,  “ Exhibition  of 
Photographs.” — April  10  th. 

5,439.  D.  Whyte,  87,  St.  Vincent  Street,  Glasgow,  “Vignet- 
ting Appliances.” — April  10th. 

5,458.  H.  R.  Hume  and  E.  W.  Parfitt,  19,  Southampton 
Buildings,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “ Detective  Cameras.” — 
April  10th. 

Specifications  Published. 

7,659.  7th  May,  1889.  “The  Preparation  of  Crude  Glass.’ 
Julius  Quaolio,  25,  Louisenstrasse,  Berlin,  N.W.  Germany, 
Engineer. 

In  the  glass  industry,  the  glass  used  for  treatment  proceeds 
from  compounds  which  are  melted  in  the  pots  or  hearths  of 
furnaces,  serving  likewise  for  working  the  same  throughout. 
Separate  experiments  have  been  undertaken  by  various  experi- 
menters with  a view  to  carry  out  the  melting  process  in  peculiar 
furnaces,  and  to  feed  the  melted  mass  in  a liquid  or  cooled  state 
to  the  working  furnaces  while  endeavouring  to  free  the  mode  of 
proceeding  hitherto  resorted  to  from  a number  of  the  defects 
attending  the  same. 

A series  of  practical  experiments  has  led  to  a new  process  for 
the  manufacture  from  a vitreous  mass  of  a middle  or  inter- 
mediate compound  ; to  this  intermediate  compound  the  inventor 
has  given  the  name  of  calcin  (crude  glass),  which  calcin  can  be 
fed  to  the  working  furnace  without  any  admixture  of  alkalies, 
and  in  a cold  state,  in  order  to  be  heated  therein,  and  used  for  the 
manufacture  of  the  glass  wares  of  commerce.  By  these  means, 
he  says,  an  extraordinary  yielding  manufacturing  mass  can  lie 
continuously  supplied  as  well  in  pot  furnaces  as  in  furnaces  pro- 
vided with  tanks  or  cisterns  (hearths).  Oiviug  to  the  use  of  calcin, 
the  rapid  destruction  of  the  material  constituting  the  furnaces, 
whether  furnished  with  pots  or  cisterns,  which  is  brought  about 
by  the  decomposing  action  of  the  alkalies  when  the  mass  is 
directly  melted,  is,  he  says,  prevented,  and  a better  product 
free  from  threads  or  streaks,  striae,  or  wreaths  is  thus  obtained, 

8,054.  May  1 4th,  1889. — “ Photographic  Cameras.”  John 
Henry  Skinner  and  Edwin  Jackson  Lyth,  trading  as  J.  H. 
Skinner  and  Co.,  East  Dereham,  Norfolk,  Photographic  Appa- 
ratus Manufacturers. 

The  object  of  this  invention  is  to  provide  photographic 
cameras  with  means  whereby  they  can  be  quickly  extended  or 
closed  as  desired. 

The  extension  apparatus  of  photographic  cameras  at  present 
in  use  consists  of  a pinion  gearing  into  a rack,  the  said  pinion 
being  actuated  by  a milled  headed  screw. 

According  to  this  invention  we  dispense  with  the  pinion,  and 
provide  a cog  wheel  of  suitable  size  gearing  into  the  rack  on  the 
frame.  This  cog  wheel  is  provided  with  a handle  or  turn  for 
actuating  the  same. 

Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  diseussion  on  April 
23rd  will  be  “Development  of  Instantaneous  Exposures  ; ” on 
the  30th,  “ Development  of  Unknown  Exposures.” 

The  Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts  announces  that  the 
lectures  on  “Colour  and  Colouring,”  the  last  of  which  was 
given  by  Professor  A.  H.  Church,  M.A.,  F.R.S.,  on  March  31st, 
will  be  printed  in  the  Journal  during  the  summer  recess.  On 
April  30,  Mr.  T.  R.  Dallmeyer  is  to  read  a paper  on  “ Photo 
graphic  Lenses,”  at  the  Society  of  Arts, 


30G 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  18,  1890. 


^roccrtitngs  of  ^octettes. 


Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 

At  the  ordinary  meeting  of  this  Society  held  on  the  1 5th 
inst.,  the  chair  was  taken  by  Mr.  J.  Glaisher,  F.R.S.,  Presi- 
dent. 

A paper  on  “ A Standard  Method  of  Development  ” was 
read  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Bothamley,  F.C.S.,  and  illustrated  by  a 
table  showing  the  sensitometer  numbers  procurable  by  various 
developers  and  times  of  development.  In  the  course  of  his 
observations,  Mr.  Bothamley  said  that  it  would  not  be  pro- 
posed to  fix  one  uniform  system  of  development  for  all  subjects. 
Generally  speaking,  the  nature  of  the  subject  and  the  inten- 
tion of  the  photographer  as  well  as  other  circumstances 
must  be  taken  into  account.  If  all  subjects  were  to  be  de- 
veloped in  the  same  way  photography  would  be  lowered  from 
the  position  of  a fine  art  to  that  of  a merely  mechanical  one. 
There  was,  however,  an  advantage  in  adopting  some  definite 
standard  for  the  purpose  of  comparing  results  in  a scientific 
way.  In  considering  what  it  was  desirable  to  compare,  they 
might  take  either  the  least  amount  of  exposure  that  would 
suffice  to  bring  out  a visible  image,  or  they  might  take  the 
amount  of  gradation  obtainable.  For  the  latter  purpose  he 
thought  no  standard  developer  could  be  found,  as  a 
different  constitution  of  it  would  lie  required  for  different 
makes  of  plates,  and  to  suit  the  tastes  of  different  photo- 
graphers. The  same  developer  would  not  suit  the  photo- 
grapher who  delighted  in  softness  and  the  one  who  desired 
chiefly  to  get  what  was  called  pluck.  We  might  then  look  upon 
the  problem  as  narrowed  to  the  question  of  obtaining  detail,  but 
such  detail  must  be  got  without  fogging.  What  was  wanted 
was  to  utilise  to  the  utmost  the  selective  power  of  the 
developer  in  reducing  silver  where  light  had  acted  on  the  film, 
and  in  not  causing  reduction  independent  of  the  action  of  light. 
One  of  the  things  to  be  considered  was  that  photographers 
were  dependent  upon  dealers  for  the  purity  of  the  chemicals 
they  employed.  Several  conditions  were  required  to  be  ful- 
filled in  a standard  developing  solution.  It  should  be  simple  in 
composition,  and,  if  possible,  should  be  like  what  was  in  general 
use.  Then  only  such  chemicals  should  be  required  as  can  be 
obtained  in  a fairly  pure  state.  Of  the  various  developers 
available,  ferrous  oxalate  was  noticeable  as  failing  to  fulfil 
several  of  the  conditions  that  had  been  laid  down.  Although 
potassium  oxalate  could  be  obtained  tolerably  pure,  this  was  not 
always  the  case  with  ferrous  sulphate,  and  even  when  pure  to 
start  with,  it  rapidly  changed.  The  developing  solution,  too, 
soon  oxidised,  and  ferric  oxalate,  the  product  of  oxidation,  was 
not  only  a retarder,  but  actually  a reducing  agent.  Finally, 
it  was  now  but  little  in  use  for  developing  negatives,  although 
for  positive  work  it  was  still  largely  employed.  He  did  not 
think  that  at  present  eikonogen  could  be  relied  upon  for  purity, 
and,  therefore,  we  were  reduced  to  select  either  pyrogallic  or 
quinol.  Of  these,  the  first-named  is  to  be  preferred.  It  is  the 
developer  most  largely  used  ; in  the  dry  state  it  keeps  w'ell, 
and  its  great  solubility  makes  the  preparation  of  solutions  very 
easy.  With  pyro,  however,  we  must  not  use  caustic  soda,  or 
caustic  potash,  but  must  select  either  liquid  ammonia  or  an 
alkaline  carbonate.  With  liquid  ammonia  a restrainer  is 
generally  used,  and  this  may  take  the  form  of  bromide  either  of 
ammonium  or  potassium,  or  of  a salt  containing  an  organic 
acid.  Bromide  of  ammonium,  on  the  whole,  he  hail 

found  to  be  the  best  restrainer.  With  potassium  bro- 
mide there  was  commonly  present  some  bromate,  and  not 
unfrequently  a little  caustic  potash.  Carbonate  of  potash  is 
not  so  readily  obtained  pure  as  carbonate  of  sodium,  and 
is,  moreover,  objectionable  from  its  hygroscopic  character. 
Carbonate  of  sodium  exists  in  various  forms  as  regards  the 
amount  of  water  and  consequent  value  of  the  salt  and  propor- 
tion of  it  required  to  produce  a given  effect.  The  anhydrous 
variety  is  that  most  likely  to  be  pure  and  definite,  and  may  be 
prepared  by  heating  the  ordinary  carbonate.  When  obtained 
it  should  be  kept  in  a glass  bottle  fitted  urith  an  india-rubber 
stopper  ; a glass  stopper  is  very  bail  both  for  keeping  air  out, 
and,  in  the  case  of  volatile  substances — like  ammonia — for  con- 


fining the  vapour.  When  ammonia  is  used  for  the  standard 
developer  its  strength  should  be  determined  by  titration.  There 
is  no  large  amount  of  apparatus  anil  no  great  deal  of  skill 
required  for  this  process.  A standard  acid  is  required,  and 
oxalic  acid  is  found  to  fulfil  the  necessary  conditions.  A little 
of  a solution  of  auriue,  one  in  500  of  diluted  alcohol,  should 
be  used  with  it  as  an  indicator  of  the  neutral  point.  37  '00 
grammes  of  oxalic  acid  is  dissolved  in  a litre  of  distilled  water, 
and  1 c.c.  of  this  solution  is  sufficient  to  neutralise  a centi- 
gramme of  real  ammonia,  N H,.  The  pyro  for  a standard 
developer  should  be  dissolved  in  distilled  water  just  before 
required.  No  acid  should  be  added.  It  is  not  admissible  to 
use  sulphites  in  standard  solutions.  Not  only  is  it  rare  to 
obtain  sulphites  pure — samples  professing  to  be  sulphite  have, 
indeed,  been  found  to  contain  no  sulphurous  acid  at  all — 
but  the  action  of  sulphite  upon  development  is  not  deter- 
mined. An  approximation  only  to  purity  can  be  obtained 
when  using  the  neutral  or  anhydrous  sulphites.  The  standard 
developer  will  consist,  then,  of  pyro,  with  liquid  ammonia,  and 
bromide  of  ammonium,  or  of  pyro  with  carbonate  of  sodium. 
The  preparation  that  he  had  used  as  a standard  for  a long 
time  was  composed  of — 

Pyro  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  2 grains 

Ammonium  bromide  ...  ...  ...  1 grain 

Liquid  ammonia  ...  ...  ...  ...  3 grains 

As  this  proportion  of  liquid  ammonia  contains  about  one-third 
of  its  weight  of  real  ammonia,  NH3,  the  formula  may  lie  put 
into  parts  of  1,000,  thus — 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  1,000 

Pyrogallol  ...  ...  ...  ...  5 

Ammonia  bromide  ...  ...  ...  2*5 

Real  ammonia  ...  ...  ...  ...  2-5 

It  occurred  to  the  reader  of  the  paper  to  try  various  forms 
of  developers  to  see  whether  anything  better  could  be  got  at  as 
a standard.  To  try  them  he  had  used  a sensitometer  exposed 
to  the  light  coming  through  an  opening  one  centimeter  square, 
placed  close  in  front  of  the  brightest  part  of  the  flame  of  a 
Sugg’s  Argand  burner.  He  had  found  that  all  the  detail  that 
was  obtainable  would  come  up  in  five  minutes,  but  that  the 
action  might  be  continued  up  to  an  hour  without  much  fogging, 
and  with  considerable  accession  of  density.  The  proportion  of 
bromide  might  be  doubled  without  keeping  back  detail,  and 
with  improved  clearness  during  long  development.  With  carbon- 
ate of  sodium  as  the  alkali,  development  was  lengthened  ; it 
[ required  ten  minutes  to  get  out  the  detail,  and  if  the  plate  was 
left  for  an  hour  in  the  solution,  it  was  much  degi-aded  by  a 
general  deposit  or  chemioal  fog.  Whenever  development 
was  continued  for  a period  of  more  than  ten  minutes,  he 
advised  that  it  should  take  place  with  the  air  excluded  as  far 
as  possible,  and  this  he  accomplished  by  using  an  upright 
| vessel  and  covering  it  with  a fitted  top  of  india-rubber.  The 
temperature  at  which  the  experiments  had  been  carried  on  was 
60°  Fahrenheit. 

Captain  Abney  said  that  the  method  of  reckoning  sensito- 
meter numbers  by  the  last  one  that  was  just  discernible  was 
very  misleading  ; it  was  far  better  to  measure  the  density  of 
deposit  of  some  of  the  numbers. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  thought  that  although  the  question 
of  temperature  had  been  touched  upon,  the  difference  of  result 
due  to  differences  in  that  respect  were  not  sufficiently  appre- 
ciated. In  cold  weather  a much  longer  time  was  occupied 
with  developer  of  a given  strength,  and  in  hot  weather  the 
amount  of  alkali  or  time  of  development  might  again  be  con- 
siderably reduced.  He  had  known  even  experienced  photo- 
graphers to  be  misled  by  this  effect  at  the  first  coming  of  cold 
in  winter. 

Mr.  John  Spiller  welcomed  a paper  in  which  scientific 
bases  were  established  for  experiment.  As  for  what  Mr. 
Debenham  had  said  about  the  effect  of  temperature,  he  could 
quite  corroborate  that.  During  the  cold  weather  a few  weeks 
since,  he  was  quite  surprised  to  find  the  immense  difference  that 
variations  of  temi>erature  caused  in  the  action  of  the  develojier. 

Mr  T.  Sebastian  Davis  congratulated  the  reader  of  the 
paper  upon  its  scientific  character.  He  was  pleased  to  find  the 
system  adopted  of  measuring  by  1,000  parts,  which  he  thought 


April  18,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


307 


better  either  than  the  proportions  by  ounces  or  grammes,  or 
than  the  per  centage  method. 

The  Chairman  referred  to  his  own  experience  some  years 
since,  when  more  actively  engaged  in  photography,  and  said 
that  he  had  noted  the  remarkable  difference  of  behaviour  of  the 
developer  due  to  variations  of  temperature. 

Mr.  Fhiese  Green  exhibited  the  cameia  already  described  in 
these  pages,  fitted  with  mechanism  for  producing  a seriesof  photo- 
graphs of  moving  objects  taken  in  rapid  succession.  Hv  turning  a 
handle,  successive  portions  of  a roll  of  sensitive  film  were  placed 
in  position  behind  the  lens,  and  exposed.  It  was  stated  that  the 
cameia  could  be  worked  at  the  rate  of  600  photographs  per 
minute,  or  even  faster. 

Messrs.  E.  G.  Amplett  and  W.  Symon  were  elected  members 
of  the  Society. 


Camera  Cu  n. 

On  Thursday,  April  10th,  there  was  an  exhibition  of  lantern 
slides,  eight  or  nine  members  contributing  towards  the  show. 
Mr.  Gambier  Bolton  exhibited  a new  set  of  animal  slides  ; Mr. 
Elder  some  Dutch  scenery  ; Mr.  Ferrero,  landscape  work  ; and 
Messrs.  Grimshaw,  Howson,  Robertson,  and  Noel-Cox,  pictures 
of  various  kinds.  An  interesting  set  of  Arctic  subjects  lent  by 
Messrs.  Fry  was  also  shown  and  described,  and  a variety  of 
slides  by  the  Woodbury  process. 

During  the  evening,  proofs  of  his  recent  pictures,  “The 
Haysel”  and  “ Breezy  Marshland,”  presented  by  Dr.  Emerson 
to  the  Club,  were  exhibited. 

On  Thursday,  April  24th,  there  will  be  a discussion  upon 
Mr.  Dallmeyer's  paper  read  at  the  Conference  ; the  subject  was 
“The  Treatment  of  Subjects  by  Focus.” 


Hackney  Photographic  Society. 

On  Thursday  last  the  ordinary  meeting  was  held  at  Morley 
Hall ; Mr.  A.  Dean  presided. 

After  confirmation  of  the  minutes,  the  Secretary  drew  the 
members’  attention  to  the  annual  soiree  to  be  held  on  the  24th, 
and  announced  that  the  Society’s  orchestra  would  play  on  that 
occasion.  Messrs.  Cocks  and  Beurle  were  elected  members, 
and  Mr  E.  H.  Jones  was  nominated. 

The  Secretary  handed  round  the  Eclipso  lantern  carrier, 
which  Mr.  Pringle  hail  so  highly  spoken  of. 

Mr.  Gosling  wanted  to  know  what  were  the  disadvantages  of 
a shutter  going  from  side  to  side. 

Mr.  Spratt  thought  it  would  probably  cause  vibration,  and 
he  showed  Crouch’s  detective  camera,  the  spring  of  which  was 
taken  from  a clock.  There  was,  however,  no  vibration  in  this. 

Mr.  J.  Carpenter  then  read  his  papier  on  “ Lantern  Slide 
Making, ” and  finally  concluded  by  a demonstration.  He  generally 
masked  the  margin  of  the  plate,  so  that  if  there  was  any  fog  it 
would  show.  His  favourite  lantern  plate  formula  was  the  fol- 
lowing : — Eikonogen,  Joz.  ; sulphite  soda,  ioz.  ; bromide 
potassium,  3 grains  ; carbonate  of  potash,  joz.  ; making  the 
whole  up  to  10  ounces  of  boiling  water.  For  use  he  diluted 
1 part  with  2 to  4 of  water,  fixing  in  two  baths.  Mr.  Car- 
penter secured  a medal  at  the  recent  exhibition  for  this  work. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  10th  inst.,  Mr.  A.  L.  Henderson 
occupied  the  chair. 

Mr.  F.  York  exhibited  a cover  glass  from  a lantern  slide 
very  much  clouded,  and  read  a letter  he  had  received  in 
reference  to  some  from  Mr.  Pancoast,  of  Waterbury,  Conn. 
At  a recent  meeting  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  Phila- 
delphia, the  subject  of  erosion  on  lantern  slide  cover  glasses 
was  discussed  at  some  length,  and  reported  in  the  American 
Journal  of  Photography,  a copy  of  which  Mr.  York  passed 
round. 

Mr.  A.  Edwards  showed  prints  from  negatives  of  the  Oxford 
and  Cambridge  boat  race  taken  on  isochromatic  plates. 

Mr.  J.  B.  B.  Wellington  used  this  kind  of  plate  on  the 
same  occasion,  and  found  them  very  quick. 

A question  was  asked  how  to  varnish  celluloid  film  negatives. 

The  Chairman  advised  rubbing  them  over  with  bees-wax 
dissolved  in  turpentine. 


The  Hon.  Secretary  recommended  gold  size  and  turpis,  and 
the  films  hung  up  by  one  corner  to  dry. 

Mr.  F.  P.  Cembrano  exhibited  a lantern  slide  of  a “pellicule,” 
showing  sixteen  pages  of  printed  matter.  During  the  siege  of 
Paris,  attached  to  a pigeon's  wing  so  as  not  to  interfere  with 
its  flight,  these  “ piellicules  ” were  used  for  the  transit  of  infor- 
mation from  one  place  to  another. 

Mr.  Davenport  showed  a lantern  carrier,  fitted  in  a perpen- 
dicular position  to  the  lantern  ; the  slides  are  pushed  upwards, 
the  same  action  covering  the  lens  during  the  changing  of  the 
slides. 

Mr.  Edwards  exhibited  a lantern  carrier  he  had  constructed. 
It  consisted  of  a frame  for  holding  two  slides,  which  were  set 
at  an  obtuse  angle.  The  frame  worked  backwards  and  for- 
wards on  a pivot  fixed  to  the  front  of  the  lantern. 

A collection  of  members’  slides  was  then  projected  on  the 
screen,  the  work  of  Messrs.  H.  M.  Hastings,  A.  C.  Pemberton, 
.1.  Atkinson,  R.  P.  Drage,  P.  Kveritt,  Teape,  Edwards,  T.  E. 
Freshwater,  and  F.  P.  Cembrano. 


Leicester  and  Leicestershire  Photographic  Society. 
The  monthly  meeting  was  held  on  April  15th,  when  two  pro- 
positions were  received  for  ballot  at  next  meeting. 

The  prints  sent  in  for  competition  were  placed  on  view,  and 
were  considered  the  best  the  members  have  yet  sent  in.  The 
members  who  sent  prints  were  Messrs.  Bankart,  Pierpoint, 
Woodland,  Leeder,  Wilson,  Joliflie,  Porritt,  Partridge,  Cook, 
and  Squire. 

A number  of  plioto-litho  prints,  sent  by  the  Graphotono 
Company,  Enfield,  was  placed  at  the  disjiosal  of  the  members. 


Newcastle-on-Tyne  and  Northern  Counties  Photographic 
Association. 

An  exhibition  of  photographs,  apparatus,  and  photo-mechanical 
reproductive  processes  will  be  opened  in  the  Central  Exchange 
Art  Gallery  in  Newcastle.  The  Mayor  of  Newcastle  will  open 
the  Exhibition  on  Friday  evening,  after  which  a lecture,  entitled 
“ A Tour  in  Norway,”  illustrated  by  means  of  the oxyhydrogen 
lantern  from  slides  taken  by  the  lecturer,  will  lie  given  by 
Mr.  Paul  Lange,  the  President  of  the  Liverpool  Amateur  Photo- 
graphic Association.  Over  1,200  pictures  will  be  on  exhibi- 
tion, apart  from  the  section  devoted  to  apparatus.  The  number 
of  exhibitors  exceeds  1 00.  To  add  to  the  attractive  character 
of  the  Exhibition,  special  vocal  and  instrumental  concerts  will 
be  held  each  Saturday,  and  on  the  other  evenings  illustrated 
lectures  by  Messrs.  W.  Lang,  of  Glasgow,  W.  D.  Welford,  of 
Birmingham,  J.  P.  Gibson,  of  Hexham,  and  other  persons, 
besides  interesting  evenings  with  the  oxyhydrogen  lantern. 


Dundee  and  East  of  Scotland  Photographic  Association. 

April  8th. — General  meeting  ; Mr.  J.  D.  Cox  in  the  chair. 

Excursions  were  arranged  to  take  place  on  May  21st,  The 
Trossachs  ; June  28th,  Lochearnhead  ; and  the  date  of  a third 
was  left  open. 

The  President  (Dr.  J.  K.  Tulloch)  read  a paper  entitled, 
“Selecting  a Lens”  (seepage  295). 

Specimens  of  “ Kallitype,”  a new  printing  process,  were  on 
exhibition,  and  a demonstration  of  the  process  was  promised 
to  be  given  at  the  May  meeting. 


Croydon  Camera  Club. 

A meeting  was  held  at  the  head-quarters,  Public  Hall,  on 
April  11th,  The  President  (Mr.  H.  Maclean,  F.G.S.)  in  the 
chair. 

The  subject  for  the  evening  was  a demonstration  of  “ Platino- 
type  Printing  ” by  the  Platinotype  Company’s  representative, 
Mr.  Smith,  who  gave  the  history  of  the  platinotype  process  of 
photographic  printing,  describing  the  action  of  the  various 
chemical  substances  used.  He  then  developed  a number  of 
prints  which  had  been  taken  from  members’  negatives  by  the 
Platinotype  Company,  these  being  distributed  among  the 
members.  An  interesting  discussion  followed. 

Four  new  members  were  elected  during  the  evening. 


308 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [April  18,  1890. 


Photographic  Society  of  Ireland. 

An  ordinary  meeting  was  held  in  the  Rooms,  15,  Dawson 
Street,  Dublin,  on  Friday  the  11th  inst.,  Mr.  George  Mans- 
field, J.P.,  in  the  chair.  After  two  new  members  had  been 
elected, 

Prof.  Stewart  gave  a lecture  on  “ The  Stop  and  the 
Optical  Centre,”  and  illustrated  his  remarks  by  numerous 
diagrams  drawn  upon  the  blackboard.  In  the  course  of 
his  lecture  he  said  the  optical  centre  of  a lens  had  impor- 
tant properties,  and  these  properties,  and  how  to  find  the 
position  of  the  optical  centre,  should  be  understood  by  every 
photographer.  In  many  cases  the  optical  centre  was  outside  the 
lens,  and  this  was  an  important  item  to  remember.  In 
referring  to  spherical  aberration,  he  said  that  all  attempts  to 
grind  lenses  so  as  to  get  rid  of  spherical  aberration  had  been 
failures,  but  the  use  of  a stop  not  only  got  rid  of  spherical 
aberration,  but  it  also  cured  the  curvature  of  the  field  of  view. 
The  stop  also  produced  what  was  known  as  “ depth  of  focus.” 
Depth  of  focus  was  not  so  much  a property  of  the  lens  as  a 
property  of  the  stop  ; by  using  a small  stop  depth  of  focus 
was  obtained.  Get  the  nearest  object  in  a picture  well  focussed, 
put  in  a small  stop,  and  everything  else  must  be  in  focus. 
Another  advantage  of  the  stop  was  that  it  produced  an 
approximately  uniform  illumination  all  over  the  plate.  An 
ordinary  lens  was  such  that  if  it  were  used  without  a stop 
it  would  give  unequal  illumination  over  the  different  parts  of 
the  plate. 

A discussion  ensued  in  which  the  following  members  took 
part,  namely  : the  President,  Messrs.  L.  Meldon,  J.  H. 

Hargrave,  J.  H.  Woodworth,  and  J.  V.  Robinson.  A vote  of 
thanks  was  passed  to  Prof.  Stuart  for  his  interesting  and 
practical  paper,  after  which  Dr.  J.  Alfred  Scott  described  what 
he  termed  an  instantaneous  work  formula,  and  explained  how 
it  was  possible  for  a photographer,  by  making  a calculation, 
taking  the  different  factors  governing  instantaneous  work  into 
account,  to  ascertain  beforehand  whether  it  would  be  possible 
to  get  satisfactory  results  on  any  given  day. 

The  meeting  then  became  conversational,  and  praise  of  the 
Society’s  new  dark  room  was  freely  expressed. 


West  London  Photographic  Society. 

A technical  meeting  of  this  Society'  was  held  at  the  Addison 
Hall  on  the  1 7 th  inst.  ; the  President,  Mr.  Charles  Bilton, 
occupied  the  chair  for  the  first  time  since  his  recovery  from 
serious  illness.  There  was  a goodly  attendance  of  members, 
some  of  whom  had  brought  with  them  various  objects  of  inte- 
rest. 

Mr.  Selby  showed  Rouch’s  detective,  which  led  to  a discus- 
sion upon  hand-cameras  in  general.  One  member,  who  worked 
with  a Rouch,  had  found  the  lever  would  not  always  raise  the 
plate  ; this  defect,  however,  he  had  managed  to  set  right. 
Other  speakers  testified  to  the  capabilities  of  the  camera. 

Mr.  Winter  kindly  offered  to  allow  members  to  test  his 
Giah  camera.  He  considered  that  all  instruments  should  be 
practically  tested  before  being  issued  to  the  public. 

A discussion  took  place  as  to  the  comparative  effect  of  printing 
in  platinum  in  the  sun  and  in  the  shade,  in  which  several 
members  took  part. 

Mr.  Whiting  showed  a home-made  view-finder,  and  advo- 
cated the  more  general  use  of  that  instrument.  Whenever  he 
went  for  a walk  he  put  it  in  his  pocket,  so  that  if  he  came 
across  a pretty  bit  he  looked  through  the  finder  and  ascertained 
how  it  would  look  as  a picture,  and  if  he  thought  it  worth 
taking,  he  visited  the  spo„  subsequently  with  a camera. 

Dr.  F.  H.  Low  passed  round  some  blue  prints,  some  of  which 
had  been  toned  by  a process  described  in  a recent  almanack, 
and  the  Secretary  showed  aristotype  prints  from  negatives 
taken  by  flash-light  of  wine  vaults  in  the  Minories. 

Mr.  Rickford  exhibited  negatives,  some  of  which  had  been 
intensified,  and  showed  a number  of  prints  from  the  same  by  a 
variety  of  processes,  illustrating  the  comparative  results  which 
might  be  obtained. 

The  President  then  announced  that  the  Secretary  would 
read  a pajicr  upon  “ Lenses  ” on  the  25th  April,  and  that  the 
Annual  Smoking  Concert  would  be  held  at  the  Richmond  Hotel 
on  May  9 th. 


to  ©orrcgpontieMs* 

All  Communications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Photographic  News,  6,  Furnival 
Sreet,  London,  E.C. 

All  Advertisements  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  News,  Messrs  Piper  ii  Carter,  S,  Furnival  8treet,  London. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.8.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

A.  W.  (Brighton). — Axel  Lagreliut’s  Phototype  Process.  For 
fuller  particulars  you  should  write  to  Herr  Alhin  Roosval, 
Editor  of  the  Fotogransk  Tidskrift,  Stockholm,  who  might 
also  be  able  to  furnish  specimens,  by  small  payment,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  one  issued  with  the  Journal. 

A.  M.  M. — Specification  of  Copying  Apparatus  has  been  sent 
on  to  you.  We  are  always  willing  to  undertake  this  small 
service,  the  Patent  Office  being  so  near  our  head -quarters. 

J.  H.  Ainley. — Zinc  Photo- Block  and  Prints.  We  are  sending 
you  a small  block  which  has  done  duty  in  the  News  ; from 
this  you  will  see  that  yours  is  not  etched  deeply  enough, 
but  we  think  you  have  scarcely  done  justice  to  your  own 
work,  as  the  prints  forwarded  will  show. 

Mrs.  Cherry. — Old  Plates  Illustrating  Styles  of  Engraving. 
After  consulting  several  old  works  in  the  Patent  Office 
Library,  “The  History  and  Art  of  Engraving,”  date  1747, 
Senefelder,  the  Vicomte  Henri  Delaborde,  Thomas  Hodgson, 
1820,  and  others,  we  found  nothing  answering  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  two  plates  referred  to  in  your  letter.  They  may 
be  valuable,  and  we  will  take  an  early  opportunity  of  making 
further  search  in  the  Art  Library,  South  Kensington. 

Argent. — The  Eikonogen  Patent  covers  both  the  alpha  and  beta 
naphthol  compounds.  See  top  of  page  3 of  the  Specification, 
where  it  is  stated  that  the  alpha  naphthol  developers  require 
more  “sulphide,”  misprint  for  sulphite  of  soda,  to  keep  them 
in  solution. 

R.  S. — Plain  Paper  Prints.  An  excellent  suggestion  was 
made  by  Mr.  Valentine  Blanchard,  in  1868,  to  sensitize  and 
print  on  the  wrong  side  of  aibumenised  paper.  By  this 
scheme  one  finds  already  in  commerce  a paper  which  has 
undergone  the  salting  process,  and  the  action  of  light  is 
aided  by  the  presence  of  a small  quantity  of  albumen  which 
soaks  through,  but  not  enough  to  glaze  the  prints. 

I..  E.  N.  — Lime-Light  Apparatus.  Use  coal-gas  in  place  of 
hydrogen,  and  rely  upon  getting  your  supply  of  oxygen  from 
one  of  Brin’s  cylinders,  to  save  the  trouble  of  making  it 
for  yourself.  The  lime  balls  or  cylinders  are  best  preserved 
in  closely  fitting  tin  cases  ; they  shrink  rather  than  expand 
by  use,  in  consequence  of  the  fritting  and  crystallization  of 
the  lime. 

Collodion. — The  Preparation  of  Enamel  Collodion.  Methy- 
lated ether  and  alcohol  will  answer  sufficiently  well.  Details 
are  given  in  Captain  Abney’s  “ Instruction  in  Photography,” 
pp.  255  and  256,  together  with  the  following  formula : — 
Soluble  guncotton  ...  ...  ...  48  grains 

Alcohol  ...  ...  ...  ...  4 ounces 

Ether  ...  ...  ...  ...  4 ,, 

M.  E.  T. — Celluloid  Films.  Although  these  undoubtedly  con- 
tain camphor  as  one  of  the  ingredients  of  their  composition, 
there  is  no  evidence  of  any  prejudicial  action  being  exerted 
upon  the  sensitive  emulsion  with  which  they  are  coated. 

R.  E. — Blue- Black  Ink  for  Transfers.  If  you  find  any 
difficulty  in  procuring  the  Victoria  green  for  mixing  with 
magenta  to  produce  the  blue-black  ink,  it  is  equally  jjossible 
to  employ  the  common  malachite  green,  which  is  cheaper 
and  answers  quite  as  well.  Forviolet  ink,  use  3 B.  Hofmann 
or  extra  methyl  violet. 

YV.  Morgan. — Mr.  \\'.  T.  YY’ilkinson’s  “ Manual  of  Photo- 
Engraving  and  1 ’ho to- Lithography  ” is  not  yet  reprinted. 
Apply  to  Messrs.  England  Brothers,  25,  Charles  Street, 
Notting  Hill,  W. 

Tyro. — Varnish  for  Gelatine  Negatives.  Messrs.  Burton  and 
Pringle  recommend  orange  shellac  1 i ounce  ; methylated 
spirit  1 pint.  When  dissolved  add  a tea-spoonful  of 
powdered  chalk  (whiting) ; shake  up  well,  allow  to  subside, 
and  filter, 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


\'I 


<■  07> 


-t4» 


Vox..  XXXTV.  No.  16St.— ip-,7  25,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


TACK 

The  Newcastle  International  Photographic  Exhibition 309 

Photography  in  Fiction 313 

Detective  Photography.  By  J.  HanDyngton 313 

Limitations  in  the  Treatment  of  Subjects  by  Focus.  By  T.  R. 

Dallmeyer  311 

Employers  and  Employed.  By  C.  Brangwin  Barnes  317 

Notes 318 

The  Mathematical  Calculation  of  Exposures.  By  Alfred 

Watkins  319 

The  Latent  Photographic  Image.  By  C.  II.  Bothamley 320 


PAO* 


Photography  in  Germany.  By  Hermann  E.  Gunther 321 

Botanical  Photography.  By  Julius  F.  Sachse  322 

Photo-Mechanical  Printing  324 

Correspondence 325 

Patent  Intelligence  325 

Proceedings  of  Societies.— Camera  Club— London  and  Pro- 
vincial Photographic  Association— Derby  Photographic 
Society — North  Middlesex  Photographic  Club — Photo- 
graphic Society  of  Japan  327 

Answers  to  Correspondents 328 


THE  NEWCASTLE  INTERNATIONAL  PHOTO- 
GRAPHIC EXHIBITION. 

Last  Friday  night  the  Newcastle  International  Photo- 
graphic Exhibition,  which  is  held  in  the  Central 
Exchange  AH  Gallery,  was  opened  by  the  Mayor  of 
Newcastle,  Mr.  Thomas  Bell.  The  Exhibition  will 
remain  open  until  Saturday,  May  3rd. 

In  the  Exhibition  nearly  a thousand  photographs  are 
upon  view,  and  most  of  them  of  excellent  quality.  As 
at  other  good  exhibitions,  prints  on  albumenised  paper 
are  far  less  numerous  than  would  have  been  the  case 
some  years  ago,  yet  the  proportion  of  warm-toned 
photographs  is  large,  the  idea  being  somewhat  pre- 
valent that  platinum  prints  are,  in  some  instances,  too 
cold  for  artistic  portraitur 3.  Among  the  exhibits  aie 
prints  of  a pleasing  brownish  colour,  obtained  by 
Blanchard’s  platinum-toning  method.  Mr.  Lafayette, 
Mr.  F.  W.  Edwards,  Mr.  J.  P.  Gibson,  and  others, 
exhibit  many  of  the  photographs  which  they  placed  on 
view  at  the  recent  Crystal  Palace  Photographic  Exhi- 
bition. Some  fine  specimens  of  artistic  photography 
produced  by  photo-mechanical  processes  are  placed  on 
view  by  Messrs.  Boussod,  Valadon,  & Co.  (Goupil  & 
Co.),  Messrs.  Braun  and  Co.,  Dr.  P.  H.  Emerson,  Mr. 
W.  L.  Colls,  Messrs.  A i then,  Dott,  & Son,  and  the 
Autotype  Co.  Pictures  by  foreign  exhibitors  are  not 
numerous  ; they  come  almost  exclusively  from  Ameiica, 
and  astliey  arehanging  upon  the  same  screen  as  a number 
of  Rejlander’s  photographs,  they  are  subjected  to  fierce 
competition  so  far  as  attracting  public  attention  is 
concerned,  but  they  are  of  excellent  quality.  One 
photograph  of  a little  girl  drinking  out  of  a large  mug, 
with  her  two  little  black  eyes  shining  over  the  white 
edge  of  the  mug  like  beads,  is  specially  noteworthy  in 
the  American  collection. 

There  are  but  three  or  four  stalls  devoted  to  apparatus 
in  the  Exhibition,  and  they  contain  nothing  particularly 
special  in  the  way  of  novelties.  A little  tin  washing 
trough  for  plates,  invented  by  Mr.  Tylar,  is  on  view 
in  one  of  them  ; it  is  remarkably  simple  in  construc- 
tion, and,  when  placed  under  running  water  from  a 


tap,  is  designed  to  tilt  itself  over,  and  empty  itself  of 
water  every  now  and  then,  resuming,  meanwhile,  its 
normal  position. 

The  Newcastle  and  Northern  Counties  Photographic 
Association,  which  has  opened  the  present  Exhibition, 
was  founded  in  1881,  and  has  now  about  1 10  members. 
Its  president  is  Mr.  A.  S.  Stevenson,  of  Tynemouth, 
who  also  took  an  active  interest  in  the  earliest  New- 
castle Photographic  Society,  founded  a quarter  of  a 
century  ago.  One  of  its  vice-presidents  is  Mr.  J.  P. 
Gibson,  of  Hexham,  a skilled  landscape  photographer, 
who  has  contributed  much  excellent  work,  including 
some  cloud  studies,  to  the  present  Exhibition.  The 
other  vice-president  is  Mr.  H.  R.  Proctor,  F.C.S.,  who 
treats  photography  from  a chemist’s  point  of  view. 
The  secretary  to  the  Association  is  Mr.  Edgar  G.  Lee, 
with  whom,  for  the  purposes  of  the  Exhibition,  Mr. 
James  Brown  has  been  appointed  adjoint  secretary. 
The  Newcastle  Photographic  Association  has  seven 
indoor  and  five  outdoor  meetings  during  the  year,  and 
in  the  winter  months  it  has  three  or  four  lantern 
demonstrations,  open  to  members  and  their  friends,  in 
the  Lecture  Hall  of  the  Newcastle  Literary  and  Philo- 
sophical Society.  These  lantern  meetings  are  found 
to  be  highly  popular,  and  to  contribute  to  the  welfare 
of  the  Association  to  a considerable  extent.  In  New- 
castle it  is  found  that,  as  a general  rule,  professional 
photographers  tan  afford  to  pay  a higher  annual 
subscription  for  membership  than  can  the  amateurs, 
consequently  some  time  ago  the  annual  fee  for  member- 
ship was  reduced  to  oue-half,  to  the  increase  of  the 
number  of  the  last- mentioned  class  of  workers. 

Mr.  A.  S.  Stevenson  is  a model  president,  who  works 
actively,  and  exerts  himself  to  bring  new  members  to 
the  Association.  He  is  a veteran  in  our  ranks,  for  in 
1852  and  1853  he  lectured  on  “ The  New  Art  of  Photo- 
graphy ” in  the  hall  of  the  Literary  and  Philosophical 
Society  at  Newcastle.  A preliminary  meeting  to  form  a 
“ Northumberland  and  Durham  Photographic  Society  ” 
was  held  in  the  rooms  of  the  Literary  and  Philosophical 
Society  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne  cn  the  21st  April,  1854. 


310 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  25,  1890. 


Mr.  Robert  S.  Newall  was  in  the  chair,  and  amongst 
those  present  were  W.  B.  Scott,  Alex.  S.  Stevenson, 
J.  W.  Swan,  Geo.  S.  Brady,  John  Mawson,  W.  S. 
Parry,  Dr.  Embleton,  J.  W.  Swinburne,  John  Storey, 
G.  C.  Warren,  A.  G.  Gray,  and  J.  Brown.  At  an 
adjourned  meeting  Mr.  Newall  was  elected  President, 
and  Messrs.  Stevenson  and  Brady,  Secretaries,  Mr. 
Stevenson  to  act  also  as  Treasurer.  The  Committee 
consisted  of  J.  W.  Swinburne,  W.  B.  Scott,  A.  G. 
Gray,  Jun.,  John  Mawson,  J.  W.  Swan,  John  Brown, 
and  W.  S.  Parry.  At  subsequent  meetings  various  papers 
were  read ; one  of  them  was  by  Mr.  G.  S.  Brady,  on 
“ The  Application  of  Photography  to  the  Delineation 
of  Microscopic  Objects”;  Mr.  J.  W.  Swan  read  a 
paper  on  “ The  Province  of  Photography  ” ; and  in 
February,  1855,  the  Society  held  an  exhibition  of 
photographs,  in  conjunction  with  a cotiversazione  of 
the  Literary  and  Philosophic  Society.  From  the 
removal  of  members  and  other  causes  the  Photographic 
Society  after  a time  ceased  to  exist. 

Last  Friday  evening,  before  the  formal  opening  of 
the  Exhibition,  a dinner  of  the  members  of  the  Society 
and  their  invited  guests  took  place  at  the  Moseley 
Street  Cafe,  with  the  President  of  the  Society,  Mr. 
A.  S.  Stevenson,  in  the  chair.  Upon  his  right  was  the 
Mayor  of  Newcastle. 

The  Chairman  read  the  following  letter  from  an  artist,  Mr. 
Arthur  H.  Marsh  : — 

“lam  interested  in  photography  for  its  own  sake  and  for 
the  sake  of  art  generally.  I wish  your  exhibition  every  success. 
My  excuse  for  writing  to  you  on  this  subject  is  that  having 
done  a little  in  photography  myself  during  the  last  four  years, 
I have  become  convinced  that  for  the  artist  the  ‘ detective  ’ is 
the  camera  of  the  future.  I know  to  my  cost  the  utter  impos- 
sibility of  successfully  catching  groups  of  figures  in  the  field 
and  on  the  seashore,  boats,  animals,  &c. , that  are  constantly 
moving,  and  many  of  which  have  disappeared  altogether  before 
the  operator  emerges  from  under  the  focussing  cloth.  But  a 
‘ detective  ’ camera  does  away  with  all  this  by  being  always  in 
focus  beyond  a given  distance,  and  wasting  no  time  in  changing 
slides,  &c.  When  so  many  distinguished  photographers  are 
gathered  in  the  neighbourhood  I think  it  would  be  interesting 
and  useful  certainly  to  members  of  my  profession  if  they  w'ould 
give  the  benefit  of  their  experience,  and  tell  them  which  is  the 
most  serviceable  instrument  of  this  class  for  taking  instan- 
taneous studies  out  of  doors.  The  American  Kodak  has  one 
great  advantage  in  containing  the  means  for  taking  so  large  a 
a number  of  pictures.  I need  not  say  that  for  this  purpose 
the  more  inexpensive  the  camera  the  better.”  [The  letter  was 
handed  to  Mr.  Lange  for  future  consideration.] 

The  Mayor  of  Newcastle,  in  response  to  a toast  from  the 
Chair,  said  that  he  had  much  pleasure  in  being  their  guest 
that  evening  and  as  chief  magistrate  of  the  city  he  had 
pleasure  in  offering  the  visitors  a hearty  welcome.  The 
Society  had  provided,  he  was  told,  an  especially  interesting 
photographic  exhibition  for  the  people  of  Newcastle  and  its 
vicinity,  an  exhibition  which  the  judges  had  told  him  to  be  of 
a high  order.  He  had  not  yet  seen  it  himself,  but  was  informed 
that  it  was  one  worthy  the  position  which  Newcastle  enjoyed 
in  this  country.  He  was  pleased  to  hear  that  representatives 
of  the  art  of  photography  were  there  from  the  whole  country  ; 
some  of  them,  indeed,  had  travelled  long  distances  to  be 
present.  Some  of  the  photographs  also  had  come  from  foreign 
countries,  and  the  pictures  sent  from  America  were  among  the 
best  the  art  could  produce,  so  he  felt  sure  that  the  Newcastle 
Photographic  Exhibition  would  have  all  the  success  it  merited. 
Newcastle,  indeed,  always  rose  equal  to  the  occasion.  Exhibi- 
tions of  late  years,  now  that  art  and  science  are  making  such 
great  strides  in  all  directions,  have  become  almost  a national 


necessity,  and  he  hoped  that  the  present  one  in  Newcastle  would 
prove  satisfactory  to  its  promoters  and  friends.  He  had  much 
pleasure  in  proposing  the  health  of  the  judges  of  the  pictures 
at  the  exhibition,  Messrs.  Paul  Lange,  William  Lang,  junr., 
and  John  W.  Wade,  who  had  come  long  distances  to  give  the 
benefit  of  their  ability  and  experience. 

Mr.  Paul  Lange  said  that  when  he  came  to  Newcastle  he  was 
not  prepared  to  see  all  that  he  had  seen,  and  he  thought  that 
the  Exhibition  which  would  be  opened  that  evening  was  one  of 
which  Newcastle  might  well  be  proud.  They  had,  in  the 
midst  of  them  at  Newcastle,  workers  in  the  photographic  art 
such  as  were  equalled  at  very  few  places  in  the  United  Kingdom. 
Among  the  professional  members  of  the  Society  were  some  of 
great  ability.  Such  workers  tended  to  raise  photography,  and 
photography  had  a great  future  as  an  art  ; he  believed  that  it 
would  become  capable  of  producing  results  which  would  equal 
the  work  of  any  painter  who  ever  lived.  The  pursuit  of  photo- 
graphy had  an  elevating  power,  and  the  fathers  of  families 
could  have  no  better  desire  than  for  their  sons  to  pick  up 
photography,  not  necessarily  merely  as  a hobby,  for  photography 
will  become  an  art  some  day,  and  it  always  improves  the  mind 
of  the  worker,  and  his  appreciation  of  the  beautiful.  None 
could  portray  the  beauties  of  nature  without  Iseing  influenced 
for  good.  Every  father  who  has  a son  who  picks  up  photo- 
graphy should  encourage  him  to  live  up  to  it.  He  considered 
photography  to  be  still  in  its  infancy,  and  that  in  Newcastle 
that  evening  they  would  show  by  their  Exhibition  that  of  late 
years  it  had  much  advanced.  Their  mayor  had  been  good 
enough  to  undertake  to  open  the  Exhibition,  and  that  would 
give  it  prestige.  The  Society  was  also  greatly  indebted  to  the 
actual  workers  in  the  undertaking,  to  the  general  executive, 
to  the  two  secretaries,  and  to  Mr.  Gibson  (vice-president),  who 
all  deserved  to  receive  gold  medals.  The  only  dilemma  the 
judges  were  in  was  that  of  so  distributing  the  awards  as  to 
please  everybody.  He  did  not  believe  that  such  judges  ever 
existed  ; but  they  had  tried  their  utmost  ; as  far  as  was  in 
their  power  they  had  gone  by  merit  only,  and  their  decisions 
had  been  unanimous. 

Mr.  J.  P.  Gibson,  in  responding  to  the  toast  of  the  execu- 
tive, spoke  highly  of  the  work  done  by  the  two  secretaries,  Mr. 
Lee  and  Mr.  Brown,  and  their  energy  in  getting  the  catalogue 
out  in  time  for  the  opening  of  the  Exhibition. 

The  Chairman  then  proposed  “ The  Press,”  coupled  with  the 
names  of  Messrs.  Harrison,  Hastings,  and  Wei  ford,  who 
briefly  responded  ; after  which  Mr.  William  Lang  proposed  the 
health  of  the  President  of  the  Newcastle  and  Northern 
Counties  Photographic  Association. 

Mr.  Stevenson,  in  response,  said  that  few  things  would  give 
more  pleasure  in  life  than  the  practice  of  the  art  they  followed. 
There  was  no  art,  no  employment,  which  tended  more  to  elevate 
the  character  or  give  healthy  employment  than  photography, 
which  combined  science  and  art  in  a way  no  other  employ- 
ment did,  and  it  always  gave  him  the  greatest  pleasure  to 
meet  photographers.  In  them  he  found  men  of  intelligence — 
men  who  had  an  eye  to  the  beauties  of  nature,  men  who 
saw  with  the  inner  eye  where  the  beauties  of  nature  lay,  and 
had  the  great  pleasure  of  revealing  them  to  their  fellows.  Art 
and  photography  were  immediately  allied.  He  did  not  go  so 
far  as  to  think  that  photography  would  ultimately  annihilate 
the  work  of  the  artist.  He  believed  that  it  would  aid  him  in 
many  ways,  but  would  never  come  up  to  the  transfiguration  of 
the  beauties  of  nature  which  artists  could  depict.  They  had 
been  asked  there  to  meet  the  judges  and  show  kindly  apprecia- 
tion of  the  work  they  had  done. 

Mr.  H.  K.  Proctor  gave  the  health  of  the  Mayor,  a toast 
which  was  received  with  cheers,  after  which  Mr.  Lange  called 
for  “ one  cheer  more  for  all  the  little  Mayors.” 

The  Chairman  : “ Well,  there’s  something  in  that,  for  three 
of  them  are  photographers.” 

The  Mayor  stated  that  they  had  started  with  the  intention 
of  having  but  two  toasts,  and  now  they  were  quadrupling 
them.  (The  Chairman:  “The  mair’  the  merrier!”)  lie 
thanked  them,  and  said  that  he  was  extremely  pleased  to  be 
with  them  .all  that  evening,  especially  iu  connection  with  pho- 
tography, a subject  which  had  taken  hold  of  the  minds  of  the 


April  25,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


311 


people  to  a considerable  extent  of  late  years,  so  that  nobody  now- 
cares  to  go  meandering  in  the  country  w ithout  taking  his  camera 
with  him.  In  this  way  photography  added  a new  charm  and 
interest  to  life. 

The  company  then  adjourned  to  the  Exhibition,  and 
the  following  speeches,  which  we  quote  from  The  New- 
castle Chronicle , were  made  : — 

The  Mayor  said  that  photography  interested  us  and  made  our 
lives  much  more  pleasant  than  they  would  otherwise  be.  In 
opening  that  exhibition,  he  felt  that  he  was  engaged  in  a very 
important  work.  Their  friends,  Messrs  Barkas  and  Son,  gave 
them  a great  many  interesting  entertainments,  but  they  never 
provided  anything  so  engaging  and  at  the  same  time  so  inte- 
resting and  important  as  that  exhibition  was.  It  was  not  of 
local  interest  only  ; it  was  of  national  importance.  He  under- 
stood from  the  judges,  whose  acquaintance  he  had  made  that 
night,  that  it  was  a collection  which  compared  favourably  with, 
and  almost  surpassed  in  quality,  any  exhibition  that  they  had 
had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  during  some  years  past.  The 
photographic  press  in  London  was  also  represented  there.  All 
of  them  who  were  in  the  habit  of  travelling — whether  as 
tourists,  pedestrians,  as  cyclists,  or  in  any  other  capacity — 
must  find  that  their  little  tours  were  much  enhanced  if  they 
could  carry  with  them  a camera,  and  bring  back  with  them 
pictures  of  the  places  they  had  visited.  It  was  an  inexpen- 
sive art,  an  art  that  was  easily  acquired,  and  it  was  an  art  that 
carried  with  it  a great  deal  of  interest.  It  had  entered  into 
our  every-day  life  to  a most  remarkable  extent.  It  had  enabled 
us  to  form  a most  intimate  acquaintance  with  almost  all  peoples 
and  all  countries.  They  seemed  to  know  intimately  the 
Kmperor  of  China,  or  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  or  Prince 
Bismarck,  or  Mr.  Gladstone — just  as  well  as  they  would  recog- 
nise their  friend  the  Sheriff  of  Newcastle.  And  if  they  cared 
to  collect  landscapes  drawn  from  the  centre  of  America  or  the 
centre  of  Africa,  they'  had  no  difficulty  in  doing  so.  Pho- 
tography was  an  art  which  had  made  enormous  progress  during 
the  last  twenty  or  thirty  years.  It  was  an  art  which  was 
resorted  to  by  the  architect,  the  artist,  and  the  engineer  ; and, 
in  fact,  in  pure  science  it  had  become  almost  invaluable.  The 
astronomer,  by'  the  aid  of  photography',  had  been  able  to  map 
the  stars.  They  only  w'auted  now  to  be  able  to  reproduce 
colours.  He  had  very  great  pleasure  in  declaring  the  exhibi- 
tion open,  and  in  doing  so  he  desired  to  mention  that  the 
arranging  of  the  Exhibition  hail  been  largely  carried  out  by  the 
secretaries,  Messrs.  Lee  and  Brown,  aided  by  Mr.  Gibson.  He 
thought  that,  on  behalf  of  the  committee  and  on  behalf  of  the 
visitors,  thanks  were  due  to  those  gentlemen.  He  concluded 
by  proposing  a vote  of  thanks  to  the  judges. 

The  Sheriff  seconded  the  motion,  which  was  carried. 

Mr.  Paul  Lange,  in  responding  on  behalf  of  the  judges,  said 
that  in  coming  to  Newcastle  they  did  not  quite  expect  to  see 
such  a treat  in  the  way  of  an  exhibition  as  they  had  seen  and 
judged  that  day.  He  thought  that  the  Newcastle  people  ought 
to  be  proud  of  the  works  that  had  been  produced  amongst 
them.  They  had  among  them  a contingent  of  photographic 
artists  such  as  very  few  societies  in  this  kingdom  could  boast 
of.  As  president  of  the  Liverpool  Society — a purely  amateur 
society — he  would  be  proud  if  they  had  there  such  talent  ; 
and  he  hoped  that  this  cultivated  and  elevating  hobby,  as 
they  called  it,  amongst  amateurs,  would  take  root  amongst 
more  of  them.  They  saw  around  them  pictures  which  very 
few  towns  could  show,  anl  he  hoped  that  the  people  of  New- 
castle would  appreciate  the  efforts  of  their  townsmen.  He 
wished  every  success  to  the  Newcastle  Exhibition. 

Mr.  Paul  Lange  then  delivered  a lecture  on  “A  Tour  in 
Norway,”  illustrated  by  over  130  slides. 

The  following  arc  the  awards  of  the  judges  : — 
Classes  (A  to  Q)  open  to  Professionals  and  Amateurs. 

The  gold  medal  for  the  best  three  pictures  in  the  ex- 
hibition is  awarded  to  J.  Lafayette,  of  Dublin.  The 
following  were  the  prize-taking  pictures  out  of  twenty- 
three  exhibits  by  this  contributor : — Portrait  of  Mrs. 
Langtry  (211),  portrait  of  Miss  Moody  (213),  portrait  of 


a lady  and  child  (215).  Mr.  Lafayette  thus  secures  the 
highest  award  of  the  exhibition.  The  gold  medal  is 
awarded  by  the  Association  for  the  best  three  pictures 
irrespective  of  class.  The  silver  medal,  together  with  a 
bronze  medal,  is  presented  by  Mr.  J.  P.  Gibson,  of  Hex- 
ham, for  a series  of  three  portraits.  The  winner  of  the 
bronze  medal  is  Mr.  W.  J.  Byrne,  Richmond,  Surrey,  with 
No.  177 — three  portraits  “ direct  and  untouched”;  179, 
six  “At  Home”  panels  representing  the  present  Emperor 
of  Germany  at  Osborne  ; and  180,  ten  “ At  Home  ” panels 
representing  various  people,  taken  by  daylight  at  the 
sitters’  residences. 

The  follov'ing  is  a list  of  prizewinners  according  to 
classification,  excepting,  of  course,  class  D,  which  has  been 
dealt  with  in  the  preceding  paragraph  : — 

Class  A.  — landscape  (above  whole-plate).  Silver 
medal — Green  Brothers,  Grasmere.  Nos.  44,  45,  46. 
Yiewsof  Stybarrow  Crag,  Ullcswater;  BleaTarn,  Langdale; 
and  Derwent  water  and  Skiddaw  from  above  Lodore. 
Bronze  medal — Mr.  >1.  P.  Gibson,  Ilexham,  for  “The 
Thaw”(18),  “Autumn  Haze”  (21),  and  “September”  (22). 

Class  B. — Landscape  (whole-plate  and  under).  Silver 
medal — Mr.  J.  P.  Gibson,  Hexham,  for  three  out  of  a very 
remarkable  exhibit  of  forty-seven  frames,  viz.,  “ Out  for  a 
Holiday”  (65),  “The  Banks  of  Tyne”  (70),  and  “A 
December  Morning”  (77).  Bronze  medal— J.  E.  Austin, 
West  Court,  Detling,  Maidstone,  for  “ The  Last  of  the 
Ebb”  (120),  “ Listening  to  the  Bells”  (121),  and  “ By  the 
Tow  Path  ” (122).  Extra  bronze  medal — J.  G.  Bullock, 
with  “Moosehead  Lake,  from  Kinco”  (132),  “On  the 
Wawasett”  (133),  aud  “Birch  Trees  at  Kinco”  (134). 
Medals  presented  by  Mr.  Auty,  Tynemouth. 

Class  C.  —Silver  medal  (for  best  landscape  printed  on 
gelatino-bromide  paper,  direct  or  enlarged — both  original, 
negative  and  print  to  be  the  work  of  the  exhibitor)  pre- 
sented by  J.  B.  Payne,  Newcastle — awarded  to  Messrs. 
Auty  and  lluddock,  Tynemouth,  for  view  on  the 
Irthing  (175). 

Class  E. — Best  portrait  printed  on  gelatino-bromide 
paper,  direct  or  enlarged.  Silver  medal  presented  by 
J.  Wilson  Swan,  M.A.,  Newcastle — awarded  to  Messrs. 
Auty  & Ruddock,  Tynemouth,  for  “ Miss  Maudlin"  (284). 

Class  F. — Architecture,  interior  or  exterior.  Silver 
medal  (for  series  of  three) — Richard  Keene,  All  Saints’, 
Derby,  for  frame  of  six  interiors  of  Derbyshire  churches 
(318).  Bronze  medal — W.  Parry,  South  Shields,  studies 
of  St.  George’s,  Jesmond  (Nos.  329,  330,  331). 

Class  G. — Series  of  three  instantaneous  pictures.  In 
this  class  a silver  and  a bronze  medal  were  offered,  but  the 
judges  award  a silver  medal  each  to  W.  Parry,  of  Shields, 
and  Lyd.  Sawyer,  Newcastle,  whose  winning  exhibits  are 
considered  equal.  Mr.  Parry’s  pictures  are  numbered 
358,  359,  and  860;  Mr.  Sawyer's,  370,  372,  and  376. 

Class  IF. — Genre.  An  extra  silver  and  an  extra  bronze 
medal  are  awarded  in  this  class.  Silver  medal  awarded 
to  F.  Whaley,  Doncaster,  for  “Your  Turn  Next,  Sir!” 
(389).  Extra  silver  medal — It.  S.  ltedfield,  Philadelphia, 
II. S.  A.,  for  “ Victuals  and  Drink  ” (463).  Bronze  medal 
— W.  W.  Winter,  Derby,  for  “Does  Granny  like 
Butter”  (418).  Extra  bronze  medal — F.  M.  Sutcliffe, 
Whitby,  for  “Excitement”  (381). 

Class  J. — For  best  enlargement  (any  subject  except 
portrait).  Silver  medal — T.  G.  Whaite,  Carlisle,  for  a 
view  of  Dinant  Cathedral  and  Market  Place  (500). 
Bronze  medal — Green  Brothers,  Grasmere,  for  “ Yr  Tryfan 
aud  Llyn  Ogwen,  North  Wales  ” (489), 


312 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  25,  1890. 


Class  K.  — Cattle  studies.  Silver  medal — J.  E.  Austin, 
Detling,  Maidstone,  for  “ Cooling  Waters.”  Bronze 
medal — Ralph  W.  Robinson,  lledhiU,  Surrey,  for  “ Sus- 
picions ” (512). 

Class  L. — A genre  competition  for  the  best  study 
illustrating  verse  17,  Canto  I.,  of  Scott's  “Lady  of  the 
Lake.”  There  were  only  three  entries,  and  the  judges 
made  no  award. 

Class  ^f. — Best  enlargement  upon  Ilford  bromide  paper. 
Cold  and  silver  medals  presented  by  the  Britannia  Works 
Company.  Gold  medal — W.  W.  Fry,  Tynemouth,  for 
view  of  Cullercoats  Bay  (539).  Silver  medal — 11.  Dudley 
Arnott,  Gorleston,  Great  Yarmouth,  for  “ Main  Entrance, 
Somerleyton  Hall"  (538). 

Class  M.M. — Best  series  of  three  prints  on  Alpha  paper. 
Gold  and  silver  medals  presented  by  the  Britannia  Works 
Company.  Gold  medal — F.  W.  Edwards,  Beckham  Rye, 
London,  for  five  bas-reliefs  after  G.  Tinworth,  the  well- 
known  sculptor,  and  a reproduction  of  an  old  engraving, 
‘ ‘ Hector  Rebuking  Paris  ” (554,  555,  558).  Silver  medal 
— J.  E.  Austin,  Detling,  Maidstone,  for  “Rest  and 
Refreshment  ” (550),  “ Waiting  her  Turn  ” (551),  and 
“ Early  Spring  ” (552). 

Lantern  Slide  Section. 

Class  N. — Landscape,  best  series  of  six.  Silver  medal 
— R.  S.  Redfield,  Philadelphia,  U.S.A.,  for  No.  663. 
Bronze  medal — G.  W.  Wilson  and  Co.,  Aberdeen,  for 
No.  669. 

Class  0. — Series  of  six  instantaneous  slides.  Silver 
medal  — Henry  Little,  Twickenham,  London,  for  No. 
681.  Bronze  medal — W.  Parry,  South  Shields,  for  No. 
683. 

Class  P. — Series  of  six  architectural  slides.  Silver 
medal — G.  W.  Wilson  and  Co.,  Aberdeen,  for  No.  696. 
Bronze  medal — Jas.  A.  Sinclair,  Bootle,  Liverpool,  for 
No.  694. 

Class  Q.  — Best  six  slides  on  the  Mawson  lantern  plates. 
Gold  and  silver  medals  presented  by  Messrs.  Mawson  and 
Swan.  Gold  medal — -J.  E.  Austin,  Detling,  Maidstone, 
for  No.  700.  Silver  medal— W.  Parry,  South  Shields,  for 
No.  710.  Extra  silver  medal— Edgar  G.  Lee,  Cullercoats, 
for  No.  708. 

Class  U. — Stereoscopic  slides  on  glass.  Silver  and 
bronze  medals  presented  by  J.  Iledley  Robinson,  Tyne- 
mouth. Silver  medal — II.  G.  Ridgway,  Sunderland. 
Bronze  medal — F.  Howard,  Wallingford,  Berks. 

Classes  Open  to  Amateurs  Oulu. 

Class  II. — Series  of  three  landscapes,  half-plate  or  under. 
Silver  and  bronze  medals  presented  by  Mr.  Alex.  S. 
Stevenson,  J.P.,  Tynemouth.  Silver  medal — C.  Court 
Cole,  Folley  Bridge,  Oxford.  Bronze  medal — J.  W.  Evans, 
Wolverhampton. 

Class  S. — Series  of  three  architectural  studies,  interior 
or  exterior,  half-plate  or  under.  Silver  medal— C.  R. 
Pancoast,  Waterbury,  Conn.,  U.S.A.  Bronze  medal — 
Ernest  Beck,  Sheffield. 

Class  T. — Three  instantaneous  pictures,  half-plate  or 
under.  Silver  medal — Ernest  Beck,  Sheffield.  Bronze 
medal — Martin  J.  Harding,  Shrewsbury. 

Class  V. — For  best  landscape  by  an  amateur  member 
of  the  Association.  Silver  medal — James  Brown,  New- 
casth-on-Tyne.  Bronze  medal — Geo.  Proud,  Newcastle- 
on-Tyne. 

The  judges  were  Messrs.  Paul  Gauge,  William  Lang, 
Jnr.,  and  John  W.  Wade. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  FICTION. 

In  a holograph  letter  preserved  among  the  Cotton  MSS.  in 
the  British  Museum,  written  by  Henry  VIII.  to  his  “owne 
good  Cardinall  Wolsey,”  the  king,  after  thanking  him  for 
his  many  services,  beseeches  him  to  “ take  some  pastime 
and  comfort,  to  the  intent  you  may  the  longer  endure  to 
serve  us,  for  .always  pain  cannot  be  endured.”  This 
somewhat  selfish  application  of  the  old  proverb,  “ All 
work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a dull  boy,”  might  also  be 
used  by  the  general  public  to  the  pains-taking  photo- 
grapher, toiling  continually  in  optical  and  chemical 
research.  This  good,  general  public — “ the  many-headed 
beast,”  as  it  has  been  called  by  poets  without  sufficient 
respect — may  be  conceived  as  addressing  the  photographer 
thus:  “ Do  you  also  take  some  pastime  and  comfort  in 
your  scientific  labours,  to  the  intent  you  may  the  longer 
endure  to  take  our  portraits !”  And  such  photographers  as 
will  not  be  moved  far  away  from  their  camera  and  their 
chemicals  may,  it  is  hoped,  find  a pastime  and  comfort  of 
kin  to  their  photographic  pains  in  the  present  paper. 

A certain  Octavius  Winslow,  D.D.,  the  author  of  many 
pious  homilies,  printed,  many  years  ago,  a sermon  on 
“ The  Coming  of  our  Lord,  the  Hope  and  Consolation  of 
the  Bereaved.”  In  this  sermon,  in  the  course  of  what  he 
calls  a cursory  reply  to  the  interesting  but  obscure  ques- 
tion whether  mutual  recognition  will  form  part  of  the 
rapture  of  the  glorified  saints  in  heaven,  he  tells  us  that 
no  being  and  no  transaction  will  be  forgotten,  and  that  a 
remarkable  discovery,  said  to  have  been  made  recently  in  the 
anatomy  of  the  eye,  supplies  a striking  illustration  of  this 
thought.  “It  has  been  discovered,”  says  Dr.  OctaviusWin- 
slo  w,  “ that  the  last  image  formed  upon  the  retina  of  the  eye  of 
adying  person  remains  impressed  upon  it  asonaDaguerrean 
plate.”  Thus,  if  the  last  object  seen  by  a murdered  per- 
son was  his  murderer,  the  portrait  drawn  upon  the  eye 
will  remain  a fearful  witness  in  death  to  detect  the  guilty 
and  lead  to  his  conviction.  “ If,”  says  the  Reverend 
Octavius,  “ such  be  the  ineffaceable,  indestructible  im- 
pressions of  last  objects  upon  the  eye,  how  much  more 
ineffaceable,  unalterable,  and  indestructible  must  he  the 
impressions  of  the  mind.”  The  fervour  of  the  ecclesiastic 
may  excuse  in  the  above  extraordinary  sentence  the  faults  of 
the  logician. 

More  than  one  fiction  lias  been  founded  on  this 
“ remarkable  discovery  ” in  the  auatomy  of  the  eye. 
Some  thirty  years  ago  an  extraordinary  tale,  depend- 
ing for  its  chief  interest  on  a photographic  experi- 
ment, appeared  in  a periodical  of  the  period.  It  is 
a tale  of  two  lovers,  with  whom  all  proceeds  smoothly 
for  a time.  The  parents  are  favourable  to  the  marriage, 
and  no  obstacle  arises  to  oppose  their  wishes,  until  un- 
fortunately the  expectant  bride  is  one  day  found  strangled 
in  a wood.  The  lover  for  a year  or  more  before  the 
murder  has  taken  a great  interest  in  photography,  and 
while  contemplating  the  corpse  of  his  mistress  an  idea — 
for  perfect  love,  we  are  told,  excludes  every  other  feeling — 
occurs  to  him  that  a photograph  of  the  retina  of  the 
eye  might  be  magnified  so  as  to  present  a distinct  image 
of  the  last  object  depicted  upon  it.  Lpon  this  idea  he 
engages  a surgeon  to  remove  one  of  the  eyes  of  his  late 
beloved  from  its  socket — for  perfect  love  excludes  every 
other  feeling.  Having  taken  a number  of  negatives 
this  eye  on  glass,  it  is  restored  to  its  proper  place.  By  a 
judicious  combination  of  lenses,  and  by  very  slow  degrees, 
he  finally  obtains  an  enlarged  representation  of  the 


April  25,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


313 


features  of  the  murderer.  The  rest  of  the  tale,  which  is 
a long  one,  is  made  up  with  a recital  of  his  adventures 
in  a single-handed  search  for  the  assassin — under  the 
guiding  light  of  his  photographic  polar  star — through 
Paris,  Baden,  Berlin,  Vienna,  and  other  places  till  he 
arrives  at  Venice,  where  he  at  last  discovers  the  object 
of  his  inquiries  by  a chance  encounter  at  a ball.  The 
murderer  turns  out  to  be  the  brother  of  his  late  be- 
trothed, who  has  assassinated  her  with  a Venetian  dagger 
for  the  sake  of  her  money,  and  is  at  the  time  of  his 
detection  married  to  the  amateur  photographer's  sister. 
This  introduces  a complication.  The  sister,  on  hearing 
of  her  husband's  delinquencies,  becomes  insane,  the 
criminal  is  suffered  to  escape,  and  the  author  thus  con- 
cludes his  story:  “ I have  no  hesitation  whatever  in  saying 
that  in  all  cases  where  death  occurs  in  broad  daylight, 
and  especially  when  it  is  caused  by  similar  means,  the 
last  object  on  which  the  eye  rests  will  be  found  depicted 
on  the  retina  after  death,  and  from  darkness  may  be 
brought  into  light.” 

In  all  fictions  of  this  class,  and  they  are  many,  the 
delusion  is  what  Bacon  would  call  an  idol  of  the  market. 
People  not  accustomed  to  inquire  with  the  ancient  Bereans 
whether  these  things  are  so,  not  uncommonly  suppose  that 
impressions  on  the  retina  of  the  human  eye  are  permanent, 
or  that  final  impressions  are  so,  or,  at  least,  that  final 
impressions  endure  some  considerable  time.  And  so,  as 
in  the  tale,  we  read  of  reports  of  the  capture  of  murderers 
through  their  likenesses  being  left  in  the  eye  of  their 
victims,  and  afterwards  transferred  to  paper  by  an  ordinary 
photographic  process,  which  gives  a sort  of  carte-de-visite, 
showing  not  only  the  threatening  aspect  of  the  assassin, 
but  also  his  form  and  clothes,  together  with  pistol,  knife, 
dagger,  or  other  lethal  weapon  which  he  has  employed. 
Now,  a little  consideration  would  soon  expose  the  fallacy 
of  this  conception.  A person  entering  a room  having  a 
plane  mirror  opposite  the  door  of  entrance  is,  of  course, 
reflected  therein,  but  with  that  person’s  disappearance 
the  reflection  also  immediately  disappears.  If  it  were 
possible  to  photograph  from  the  looking  glass  the  reflec- 
tion of  that  person  after  he  has  left  the  room,  then,  indeed, 
it  might  be  a rational  undertaking  to  attempt  to  photo- 
graph the  impression  supposed  to  be  left  on  the  retina  of 
the  dead.  It  may  be  true  that  the  image  on  the  retina 
does  not  subside  and  vanish  for  the  fraction  of  a second, 
but  that  factdoes  not  altogether  justify  the  doctrine  of  the 
country  magistrate  who,  when  consulted  as  to  the  advisa- 
bility of  calling  in  the  aid  of  the  camera  for  the  detection 
of  a culprit,  sagely  observed  that  such  a proceeding  would 
be  useless,  as  the  man  was  already  four  days  murdered, 
and  the  picture  on  the  cornea  of  the  eye  vanished,  as 
scientific  men  were  well  aware,  after  a period  of  forty- 
eight  hours.  The  author  of  the  tale  already  quoted  asserts 
that  the  duration  of  the  image  is  affected  by  the  con- 
dition of  the  humours  contained  in  the  eye,  and  that  when 
death  is  caused  by  strangulation,  the  eye  becomes  charged 
with  a viscous  secretion,  whicli  is  not  withdrawn,  but 
coagulates  and  hardens,  so  to  speak,  as  vitality  is  expelled, 
and  so  the  Last  image  impressed  on  it  is  retained  precisely 
as  the  picture  is  retained  on  the  photograph  which  the  light 
has  printed  on  it  with  the  most  delicate  gradations  of  tone. 

(To  be  continued.) 

Photographic  Society  ok  Great  Britain. — A technical 
meeting  will  lie  held  on  April  29  th,  at  8 p.m.,  at  5a,  Pall 
Mall  hast,  when  the  subject  of  “Celluloid  Films”  will  be 
brought  forward. 


DETECTIVE  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

BY  J.  C.  HANNYNGTON,  MADRAS. 

To  detect  or  identify  the  lad  who  purloins  your  fruit 
whilst  you  are  absent  at  morning  service,  is  simple  work. 

The  camera,  in  some  unobtrusive  form,  is  concealed  in 
a position  which  commands  the  approach  to  the  forbidden 
fruit ; the  shutter  (a  simple  drop)  is  kept  fixed  for  action 
by  a wedge,  which  wedge  is  attached  to  a hair  line  (a 
single  thread  of  woman’s  hair  will  suffice)  which  is 
stretched  across  the  path  along  which  the  approach  to 
the  tree  must  be  made. 

As  the  thief  walks  along  the  path  he  touches  the  line, 
the  shutter  is  released,  and  the  exposure  made.  When 
it  is  desired,  however,  to  secure  a photograph  of  any  per- 
son or  animal  which  may  pass  along  a given  path  by  night 
in  the  dark,  the  procedure  is  more  complicated. 

The  camera  commanding  the  approach  must  be  placed 
as  above  described.  If  it  is  certain  from  which  direction 
the  approach  will  take  place,  one  camera  will  suffice ; but 
if  the  direction  of  approach  is  uncertain,  two  cameras 
may  be  necessary  to  secure  a front  view  of  the  subject. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  secure  the  picture  by  a flash- 
light, and  the  conditions  required  are  that  the  lens  shall 
be  uncapped  at  the  moment  the  flash  takes  place,  and  at 
the  moment  the  subject  reaches  a given  point  within  the 
range  and  focus  of  the  lens.  It  will  not  do  to  leave  the 
lens  open  all  night,  lest  it  should  be  frosted  by  dew  or 
exposed  to  the  morning  light. 

It  is  easy  to  arrange  a line  and  trigger  on  any  path, 


so  that  any  creature  passing  along  the  path  will  pull  or 
release  the  trigger,  and  the  trigger  may  be  made  to  fire 
a gun,  explode  a mine,  or  fire  a flash  light  of  any  kind. 

The  following  method  is  simple  and  effective,  and  may 
be  varied  according  to  the  ingenuity  of  the  operator.  On 
the  top  of  a camera,  K,  or  preferably  detached  from  it.  is 
fixed  a rod  of  wood,  A B,  with  a pivot  at  B,  upon  which 
a lever  DC  carrying  the  lens  cap  at  C,  swings  easily. 
The  lever  CD  is  of  metal,  and  is  placed  in  electric  com- 
munication with  one  pole  of  a battery,  II,  by  the  wire  E. 
The  wooden  rod,  A B,  carries  at  the  end,  A,  a metal  point 
or  bar  which  is  in  electric  communication  with  the  other 
pole  of  the  battery  through  the  wire  AE’.  When  the 
lever,  CD,  is  depressed  so  that  the  metal  thereof  at  D 


314 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  25,  1890. 


touches  the  point  or  bar  A,  the  circuit  of  the  battery  is 
completed,  and  a fine  platinum  wire  at  any  interval,  F,  in 
the  wires  EE',  will  be  made  red  hot. 

There  may  be  any  number  of  intervals,  F,  each  being 
constructed  of  fine  platinum  wire,  and,  if  the  battery  be 
of  sufficient  intensity,  the  wires  at  all  the  intervals  will  be 
simultaneously  and  instantly  heated.  The  lever,  CD,  is 
so  arranged  that  when  in  its  normal  position  the  weight  of 
the  cap  C will  keep  the  c.ap  C'  entirely  over  the  lens  of 
the  camera,  and  so  completely  exclude  all  light  or  damp 
from  the  lens.  GG'  represents  a line  of  hair,  cord,  or 
wire,  having  at  the  end  G'  a loop  which  passes  over  the 
lever,  CD. 

If  the  line,  GG',  is  pulled  back,  it  depresses  the  end  D 
of  the  lever  CD,  and  raises  the  cap,  C,  until  the  lens  is 
wholly  uncovered,  and  finally  the  end  of  the  lever  DC 
will  come  in  contact  with  the  point  A,  the  electric  circuit 
will  be  completed,  and  the  wires  at  the  intervals,  F,  will 
be  heated.  The  line,  GG',  is  extended  round  trees,  or  in 
any  conveniet  manner,  until  it  crosses  the  route  by  which 
the  subject  to  be  photographed  will  pass,  and  is  then  made 
just  taut,  and  fastened  securely. 

It  is  clear  that  any  person  or  animal  passing  along  the 
route  and  coming  in  contact  with  the  line,  must  stretch 
the  line  so  that  the  loop  G'  must  go  back,  carrying  with  it 
the  lever,  CD,  until  the  electric  contact  is  made. 

Immediately  subsequent  to  this,  the  loop,  G’,  is  carried 
over  the  end,  D,  of  the  lever,  and  the  cap,  C,  swings  back 
by  gravity,  and  re-covers  the  lens  securely.  At  the 
intervals,  F,  are  placed,  on  the  platinum  wires,  charges  of 
gun-cotton  and  magnesium  powder,  or  any  other  form  of 
flash-light  which  may  be  preferred,  and,  as  these  charges 
are  fired  whilst  the  lens  is  fully  uncapped,  a photograph 
can  be  taken.  The  height  of  the  line  should  be  adapted 
to  the  subject,  the  height  of  a man’s  knee  being  most 
generally  useful.  The  charges  and  intervals  should  be  so 
arranged  that  the  light  of  the  flashes,  whilst  fully 
illuminating  the  subject,  do  not  strike  on  to  the  lens  of 
the  camera.  The  system  of  laying  the  detector  line  is 
merely  a modification  of  the  method  of  setting  alarm  guns, 
in  every-day  use  for  poachers. 

In  practice,  it  will  be  found  necessary  to  pass  the  line, 
G G',  through  a loop  somewhat  below  the  level  of  the 
wooden  bar,  All,  as  otherwise  the  lever  CD  will  not 
be  sufficiently  depressed. 


Oldham  Photographic  Society.  — The  hon.  secretary  for- 
wards us  a list  of  outdooi  meetings  for  the  coming  season. 
One  page  of  the  programme  contains  tfie  photographs  of  the 
officers  of  the  Society  by  the  Vice-President,  Mr.  W.  Thompson, 
which  are  very  good. 

The  Photophane  Printing  and  Publishing  Company 
send  us  a prospectus  from  which  it  appears  that  the  company 
has  been  formed  to  take  over  and  further  develop  the  business 
now  carried  on  by  Mr.  Andrew  D.  Edward  and  others,  together 
with  the  photographic  business  and  plant  of  Mr.  F.  W. 
Edwards,  of  Peckham  Rye,  the  president  of  the  East  Dulwich 
Photographic  Society,  and  the  recipient  of  twelve  medals  at 
photographic  exhibitions,  the  last  being  a gold  one  awarded  him 
at  the  present  Newcastle  Exhibition.  Photophane  is  described 
in  the  prospectus  as  a “ process  for  mechanically  printing  photo- 
graphic negatives,  and  is  briefly  thus  described  : — “ A negative 
being  taken  in  the  ordinary  way,  instead  of  being  printed  by 
the  action  of  light  on  sensitized  paper — every  copy  taking 
hours  to  print,  and  eventually  fading  by  the  inlluence  of  the 
same  power  which  printed  it— is  printed  on  a sensitized,  i.c.,  a 
photophane,  plate.  The  plate  is  then  placed  on  a machine,  and 
copies  printed  off  at  the  average  speed  of  about  one  thousand 
per  day.  ” 


LIMITATIONS  IN  THE  TREATMENT  OF  SUBJECTS 
BY  FOCUS.* 

BY  T.  It.  DALLMEYEB. 

There  are  only  five  treatments  of  the  subject  by  focus 
possible  : — First,  the  pinhole  ; second,  sharp  photographs 
throughout ; third,  contrasted  definition  between  different 
planes  with  an  aplanatic  lens  ; fourth,  the  introduction  of 
positive  spherical  aberration  ; and  fifth,  the  introduction 
of  negative  spherical  aberration.  The  last  I do  not 
intend  to  speak  of,  as  it  is  of  course  the  converse  of  the 
fourth,  but  is  a treatment  that  is  hardly  ever  required  in 
practice. 

First,  the  pinhole.  I have  spoken  of  the  imaginary 
pinhole  for  mathematical  accuracy,  and  the  practical 
pinhole  is  an  instrument  that  coarsely  imitates  it,  every 
mathematical  point  in  the  object  being  represented  by  a 
cone  of  rays  limited  by  the  aperture  of  the  pinhole  itself, 
and  the  distance  of  the  sensitive  film  from  the  pinhole,  the 
pencils  being  represented  by  a series  of  small  circles, 
becoming  greater  in  diameter  the  greater  the  obliquity,  or 
the  more  the  angle  of  subject  included.  Theoretically, 
the  foreground  is  exaggerated  in  size  in  true  drawing,  and 
the  distance  dwarfed  and  better  defined  ; but  the  pencils 
are  so  small  that  one  would  not  appreciate  it.  The 
general  effect  is  one  of  uniform  softness  through  all  planes ; 
it  is  seldom  art,  for  the  unaided  eye  cannot  receive  the 
same  impression. 

Second,  sharp  photographs  throughout.  It  is  well 
known  that  if  the  nearest  object  in  a picture  to  be  taken  is 
sufficiently  distant  that  the  rays  coming  from  it  to  the  lens 
may  be  considered  practically  parallel,  all  planes  more 
distant  will  be  sharp ; or  there  is  for  every  lens  a plane 
at  some  distance  distant,  beyond  which  everything  may 
be  considered  as  topographically  sharp.  The  nearer 
this  plane  is  desired  to  be  for  a given  lens,  the  more  it 
must  be  stopped  down,  or  the  less  does  its  intensity 
become  ; if  this  is  so  arranged  that  at  the  normal  distance 
of  vision  the  out-of-focus  circles  of  indistinctness  through- 
out the  picture  do  not  exceed  one-hundredth  or  less  part 
of  an  inch,  or  the  circles  subtend  an  angle  of  less  than 
two  minutes  of  a degree  at  whatever  distance  the  picture 
be  viewed,  such  a picture,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  is 
a truthful  record  in  drawing,  granting  that  the  angle 
included  be  no  more  than  the  eye  is  capable  of  taking  in  ; 
or,  on  the  other  hand,  that  it  be  viewed  at  a distance  of 
the  focus  of  the  lens  itself. 

This  rigid  exactitude,  and  the  brilliant  results  obtained, 
are  pleasing  and  popular  mementoes,  but  can  hardly  be 
termed  art.  It  is  the  simplest  form  of  all  photography,  for 
the  instrument  gives  an  exact  copy  of  what  is  placed  in 
front  of  it,  and  no  personal  judgment  is  wanted  to 
produce  any  truthful  effect,  such  as  the  scene  in  reality 
conveyed  to  the  brain  by  the  eye  itself.  I will  dwell  on 
this  later,  and  prove  the  contention. 

Under  the  same  heading  as  universal  sharpness  naturally 
comes  the  uniform  out  of  best  focus  treatment  with  the 
aplanatic  lens.  This  effect  is  easily  produced  by  the 
instrument  under  conditions  precisely  the  same  as  those 
just  mentioned,  and  then  to  slightly  wheel  out  the  camera 
back.  The  evil  in  such  a case  to  be  guarded  against  is 
that  this  process  should  not  include  a foreground  nearer 
than  the  first  plane  to  be  depicted,  or  it  will  have  a better 
focus,  and  probably  attract  undue  attention.  The  distance 
at  which  the  picture  is  eventually  to  be  viewed  will,  of 


* Continued  from  page  605. 


April  25,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


315 


necessity,  have  a great  influence  on  the  amount  of  out-of" 
focus  effect  allowable.  It  is  a parallel  with  the  pinhole 
and  (in  one  way)  the  uniform  sharp  treatment,  and  I 
therefore  place  ii  under  the  same  category,  pro  tem.  The 
process  tends  from  original  definiteness  to  pass  uniformly 
to  indefiniteness  and  weakness,  from  structure  to  destruc- 
tion of  structure.  The  points  in  the  object,  instead  of 
being  concentrated  to  points  in  the  image,  have  passed 
their  best  focus,  and  are  diffused  into  uniformly  illuminated 
circles  of  a weaker  character.  It  may  be  said  to  give  a 
uniformly  broader  treatment  of  a subject,  but  as  it  rests 
somewhere  between  perfect  concentration  and  brilliancy, 
and  destruction  of  structure  and  consequent  weakness,  it 
must  tend,  as  a process,  to  uniformly  weaken.  It  is  defined 
and  determined  by  the  size  of  the  out-of-focus  circle  of 
uniform  indistinctness  chosen,  or  ascribed  to  the  pencil, 
after  having  passed  the  plane  of  best  definition. 

Third,  contrasted  definition  with  an  aplanatic  lens. 
That  this  may  occur  in  any  photograph,  the  lens  employed 
must  be  of  such  a focus  and  intensity  (or  ratio  of  aperture 
to  focus)  that  the  plane  in  the  object  that  is  most  favoured 
by  definition  is  so  situated  that  planes  nearer  to  or  further 
from  it  have  conjugate  planes  distinctly  and  appreciably 
different  from  that  on  which  the  chosen  plane  is  received 
by  the  plane  of  the  plate. 

As  the  plate  is  a fixture,  points  in  these  out-of-focus 
planes  will  be  represented  by  circles  of  indistinctness, 
varying  in  size  according  to  their  distances  from  the  chosen 
plane  of  finest  definition. 

It  follows  then  that,  strictly  speaking,  for  mathematical 
measurement  on  the  one  plane  of  the  plate,  the  drawing  is 
untrue  as  regards  the  out-of-focus  planes,  and  increases 
in  this  inexactitude,  and,  in  weakness,  the  more  they  arc 
removed  from  the  plane  of  chief  interest.  I refer  you  to 
the  first  seven  plates  as  showing  the  tendencies,  but  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  equal  movements  of  the 
camera  back  inside  the  focus  lose  definition  more  rapidly 
for  the  foreground  than  the  same  distances  outward  would 
affect  the  background. 

Under  this  heading  I also  include  contrast  in  definition 
when  the  chief  feature  of  interest  is  not  at  the  best  focus 
given  by  the  lens,  or  when  this  feature  is  once  focussed 
for  as  best,  the  camera  back  is  slightly  wheeled  out,  as  in 
the  second  part  of  the  previous  head.  This  treatment 
requires  very  careful  .adjustment  and  choice  of  subject,  for 
if  any  portion  of  the  picture  intervene  between  the  subject 
of  chief  interest  and  the  camera,  it  must  be  better  defined 
than  that  intended  to  be  of  chief  interest,  and  detract 
from  its  value  as  a work  of  art  by  diverting  the  attention 
to  objects  practically  out  of  the  picture. 

The  difficulties  of  adjustment  between  the  limits  of  out- 
of -focus  effect,  so  as  to  subdue  certain  unimportant  planes 
without  carrying  the  tendency  to  destruction  of  structure 
too  far,  has  made  this  process  capable  of  engaging  the  skill 
and  judgment  of  the  artist  to  a much  greater  extent  than 
the  more  limited  methods  previously  described.  This 
treatment  is  undoubtedly  far  truer  in  its  rendering  of  what 
the  eye  actually  sees,  if  the  treatment  of  the  limiting  out- 
of-focus  planes  is  not  carried  to  a too  extravagant  degree. 
For  truth,  as  the  eye  sees,  the  palm  rests  with  this  treatment, 
or  with — 

Fourth,  the  introduction  of  spherical  aberration.  Here 
the  individuality  of  the  treatment  by  the  instrument  is 
again  different.  As  stated  before,  slightly  beyond  the 
least  circle  of  aberration  a focus,  still  more  or  less  definite 
but  softened,  is  formed  by  the  inward  concentration  of  the 


image-forming  rays  more  pronounced  and  powerful  than 
the  weaker  marginal  rays.  The  latter,  not  coming  to  the 
same  focus,  produces  a faint  halo  that  tends  to  soften  the 
image,  but  still  structure  is  maintained  here.  This  halo 
becomes  more  and  more  pronounced  the  greater  the 
amount  of  spherical  aberration  introduced ; but,  at  the 
same  time,  the  greater  become  the  limits  between  the 
planes  (or  the  measure  of  longitudinal  aberration)  through 
which  the  plate  can  be  moved  still  consistent  with  partial 
definition  maintaining  the  structure  of  the  image.  But  as 
there  is  an  inward  tendency  on  the  further  side  of  the 
least  circle  of  aberration  when  positive  spherical  aberration 
is  present,  there  is  also  an  outward  concentration  of  rays 
on  the  nearer  side,  tending  toward  a more  rapid  destruc- 
tion of  the  image  than  is  the  case  with  an  aplanatic  lens. 
However,  this  detriment  is  not  an  important  factor : first, 
because  the  best  focus  with  a lens  in  which  spherical 
aberration  is  outstanding  is  beyond  the  least  circle  of 
aberration,  the  definition  at  the  least  circle  of  aberration 
itself  comparing  very  favourably  with  an  out-of-focus 
circle  of  the  same  transversal  measurement  by  an  aplanatic 
lens;  and  secondly,  this  outward  concentration  corres- 
ponds in  the  image  to  foreground,  or  to  objects  nearer 
than  that  of  chief  interest,  and  this,  as  a rule,  is  a negligible 
quantity  compared  with  the  better  maintenance  of  structure 
ia  the  background  or  receding  planes.  By  spherical 
aberration,  then,  there  certainly  is  depth  of  definition,  and 
in  portraiture  no  artist  denies  the  advantages  of  the  result- 
ing softness,  and  blending  into  background  as  compared 
to  the  contrasted  definition  by  an  aplanatic  lens  through 
such  small  limiting  planes ; the  eye  certainly  never  saw 
such  contrasts  in  a single  figure  as  the  aplanatic  lens  of 
great  intensity  and  long  focus  gives  in  a parallel  case. 

We  have  now  discussed  the  various  treatments  possi- 
ble, and  it  now  remains  to  select  that  or  those  that  most 
nearly  represent  what  the  eye  sees. 

I have  several  times  come  across  the  expression  that  to 
produce  an  artistic  photograph  we  have  not  to  consider 
only  what  the  eye  can  see  so  much  as  what  we  wish  it  to 
see.  This  is  undoubtedly  true,  but  I am  not  content  that 
the  question  of  the  scientific  bearing  of  vision  on  this  sub- 
ject should  be  waived.  I have  not  read  up  all  the  focus 
controversies,  but  propose  to  discuss  and  analyse  a few 
vital  points  in  the  most  recent  contribution  on  the  subject 
to  the  Camera  Club  by  Mr.  Burton.  1.  One  of  the  tenets 
of  the  naturalistic  school  is  that  no  part  of  a photographic 
picture  should  be  as  sharp  as  modern  photographic  lenses 
(aplanatic)  are  capable  of  making  it.  Mr.  Burton  con- 
tends that  the  eye  can  define  equally  as  well  as  such  a 
photographic  lens  when  focussed  as  sharply  as  possible, 
and  says  were  this  not  the  case  the  eye  would  be  equally 
incapable  of  defining  the  reproduction.  This  is  an  un- 
doubted error.  The  use  of  small  stops  in  aplanatic  lenses, 
even  for  one  plane  alone,  certainly  gives  a definition  far 
finer  than  the  eye  ever  can  reach,  cp.,  the  reproduction  of 
print  in  a photograph  beyond  the  distance  of  distinct  vision 
(explanation  on  blackboard).  “Mr.  Burton  says  the 
oft-repeated  statement  that  the  eye,  having  certain  opti- 
cal defects,  does  not  define  as  well  as  a photographic  lens, 
is  a thing  simply  not  true,  and  recently  disproved.  ” He 
does  not  quote  his  authority,  but  Helmholtz  distinctly 
contradicts  this  in  facetious  and  no  measured  terms.  To 
make  the  comparison  above  referred  to  fair,  both  object 
and  the  photographic  image  must  be  viewed  under  the 
same  angle.  The  conclusion  1 have  come  to  in  cases  of 
normal  good  vision  is,  that  the  image  can  be  seen  much 


316 


TI1E  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  23,  1890. 


sharper  than  the  object  would  appear  to  the  most  perfect 
eye.  2.  Mr.  Burton  says  that  another  tenet  of  the  natu- 
ralistic school  is  that  only  the  principal  object,  or  the  ob- 
ject of  greatest  interest,  should  be  nearly  as  sharp  as  the 
lens  can  make  it,  and  contends  that  “if  an  attempt  be 
made  to  support  it  on  scientific  grounds,  that  attempt 
must  of  necessity  fail,  for  there  is  no  optical  defence  for 
it.” 

This  is  another  error.  It  can  be  proved  by  trying 
artificial  means  to  make  the  eye  see  what  the  lens  can  see. 
The  same  process  must  be  applied  to  both  eye  and  lens  to 
place  them  on  an  equality  in  this  respect : — Stop  them 
down ! The  eye  unaided  has  a continually  varying  focus 
that  adjusts  itself  to  plane  after  plane  as  occasion  may 
require.  By  giving  it  a so-called  fixed  focus,  the  same 
effect  of  sharpness  through  all  planes  is  arrived  at  as  with 
the  stopped-down  photographic  lens.  To  prove  this  to 
oneself,  look  through  a pinhole  close  to  the  eye — a pretty 
large  pinhole  will  do— and  hold  some  object  quite  near  the 
eye,  with  a distant  distinct  background,  and  look  at  the 
near  object.  The  background  and  intermediate  planes 
will  be  equally  well  defined.  Now  remove  the  artificial 
iris,  and  the  near  object  alone  is  distinctly  visible.  The 
reverse  of  the  effect  is,  of  course,  the  case  if  the  eye  be 
focussed  for  the  distant  plane,  the  near  one  then  being  out 
of  focus.  An  artificial  diaphragm  to  the  eye  of  course 
enables  one  to  see  very  much  nearer  than  would  otherwise 
be  possible,  and  also  enables  a short-sighted  person  to  see 
to  a distance.  The  eyelids,  with  a short-sighted  person, 
often  almost  unconsciously  serve  the  purpose  of  the 
artificial  diaphragm  when  their  glasses  are  not  in  use. 
Binocular  vision  in  sight,  too,  of  course  has  an  important 
bearing  on  this  head,  particularly  in  the  representation  of 
near  planes.  The  axes  of  the  eyes  are  directed  con- 
vergently  towards  one  particular  point  in  binocular  vision, 
every  other  point  in  the  scene  producing  different  images 
on  each  eye,  causing  indistinct  double  images.  The  more 
the  eyes  are  directed  to  distant  objects  the  less  noticeable 
does  this  become,  the  angle  subtended  by  their  separation 
becoming  less  and  less.  The  treatment  of  planes  parallel 
to  the  axis,  or  marginal  definition,  is  more  difficult  to 
attempt  on  scientific  grounds ; but  as  the  eye  sees 
distinctly  only  through  a small  angle,  it  seems  feasible  (and 
it  certainly  is  noticeable  in  nature)  that  there  should  be  a 
slight  marginal  falling  off  of  definition  in  the  lens.  If  the 
lens  of  the  eye  gave  a flat  field  throughout  the  one  plane 
focussed  upon,  sharpness  through  this  would  undoubtedly 
be  the  desideratum.  Mr.  Burton  is  the  only  writer  I have 
found  who  speaks  as  an  authority  against  the  scientific 
aspect  of  the  tenets  of  the  school  of  naturalists,  and  I 
regret  that  he  is  not  here  to  argue  on  his  side  for,  or 
concede  the  points  in,  the  question. 

The  single  eye  then,  in  a fixed  position,  and  more 
remarkably  in  binocular  vision,  undoubtedly  sees  nature 
under  conditions  of  contrasted  definition,  and  hence  any 
method  that  rigidly  gives  uniform  definition  throughout 
all  planes  must  fail  to  be  artistic. 

As  to  how  the  method  of  contrasted  definition  is  carried 
out  by  the  lens  employed  must  be  a matter  of  individual 
impression,  and  the  focus  and  aperture  of  the  lens  so 
adjusted  that  the  image  is  in  effect  the  nearest  possible  to 
that  the  artist  feels  and  wishes  to  convey.  In  this  con- 
nection the  broader  treatments,  by  slightly  out-of-focus 
effect,  or  introduction  of  spherical  aberration,  produce 
results  that  artists  alone  can  decide  whether  or  no  they 
compare  favourably  or  not  with  the  broader  treatments 


by  the  pencil  or  brush.  The  answer  to  this  question  must 
decide  how  far  photography  may  progress  as  a fine  art. 

The  naturalistic  school  have  shown  results  that  cannot 
be  denied  to  be  eminently  artistic,  and  there  is  without 
doubt  the  qualification  of  greater  scope  in  their  rendering. 
I)r.  Emerson  has  produced  work  ranging  from  the 
beautiful  in  bright  results  to  the  sublime  in  the  dreamy 
impressions  of  twilight  and  the  impressionists'  school.  As 
the  subject  has  appealed  to  the  students  of  this  school,  so 
have  they  rendered  it,  within  the  limits  of  the  definite 
powers  of  their  instruments.  There  is  no  hard-and-fast 
line  of  one  particular  treatment,  and  my  object  has  been  to 
indicate  the  ground  entered  upon  by  leaving  the  limited 
and  narrow  treatment  of  universal  sharpness,  a treatment 
that  is  a triumph  as  an  instrumental  record,  but,  if  takeu 
alone  into  consideration,  is  detrimental  to  that  art  progress 
which  all  of  us,  anxious  for  the  higher  development  of 
photography,  have  so  earnestly  and  sincerely  at  heart. 


Books  Received. — Photographic  Aeriennc,  Photogravure  tur 
Vcrrc,  Traiti  L'ncyclopidii/uc  dc  Photographic,  Sun  Artists  for 
April,  and  some  new  numbers  of  the  Amateur  Photographer  s 
Library , all  of  which  we  hope  to  notice  next  week. 

The  American  Druggist  says  that  a paste  made  of  rice  flour 
and  water,  slowly  heated  to  the  boiling  point  until  the  proper 
consistency  is  obtained,  will  not  discolour  articles  pasted  to- 
gether, and  will  stick  tighter  than  a poor  relation. 

The  Birmingham  Photographic  Society. — The  presentation 
of  the  Crystal  Palace  Challenge  Cup  to  the  Birmingham  Photo- 
graphic Society  took  place  on  Monday  last  at  a dinner  held  at 
the  Colonnade  Hotel,  New  Street.  The  cup  was  officially 
presented  by  Mr.  Henshaw  Russell,  who  was  accompanied  by 
Messrs.  S.  G.  Wollaston,  J.  F.  Peasgood,  and  W.  Brooks. 
Mr.  J.  B.  Stone  presided. 

Messrs.  Thomas’s  Prize  Competition. — The  prize  com- 
petition inaugurated  by  Messrs.  R.  W.  Thomas  and  Co.  for 
the  best  photographs  taken  on  their  plates  was  held  at  Gloucester 
Mansions,  Cambridge  Circus,  London,  on  April  15th,  16th, 
17th,  and  18th.  The  judges  were  Messrs.  Valentine  Blanchard, 
F.  de  P.  Cembrano,  J.  Gale,  Philip  H.  Newman,  and  Andrew 
Pringle.  The  following  prizes  were  awarded  : — Class  I. — 
(10)  “The  Brent,  Kingsbury,”  silver  medal,  F.  D’Arcis ; 
(10)  “ Newlyn,  Cornwall,”  bronze  medal,  J.  B.  B.  Wellington. 
Class  II. — (51)  “The  Pedlar,”  special  genre  class  gold  medal, 
Ralph  W.  Robinson  ; (55)  “ An  Idle  Moment,”  bronze  medal, 
B.  H.  Lord  ; (60)  “The  Latest  News,”  silver  medal,  J.  B.  B. 
Wellington.  Class  III. — (80)  “ St.  Anne's  Gate,  Salisbury,” 
silver  medal,  J.  B.  B.  Wellington.  Sub-Class. — (66)  “ Reredos, 
Salisbury  Cathedral,”  bronze  medal,  J.  B.  B.  Wellington  ; 
(71)  Frame,  three  prints,  “ Norwich  Cathedral,”  silver  medal, 
H.  Dudley  Aruott  ; (72)  “The  Great  Pillar,  Clapham  Cave,” 
(73)  “Eldon  Hall,”  do.,  (74)  “Beehive,”  do.,  (75)  “Pillar 
Hall,”  do.,  (76)  “Reflections,”  do.,  (77)  “ Inverted  Forest,”  do., 
special  silver  medal,  G.  Towler.  Class  IV. — (89)  “ Try  again,” 
special  genre  class  silver  medal,  R.  H.  Lord  ; (91)  “ Granny 
and  her  Spinning  Wheel,”  special  genre  class  bionze  medal, 
W.  H.  Geddes  and  Sou.  Class  V. — (100)  “ Ready  to  Start,” 
(101)  “Leap  Frog,”  silver  medal,  W.  Jerome  Harrison; 
(107)  Hand-camera  shots,  “North  Wales  Coast,”  bronze  medal, 
M.  J.  Harding.  Class  VI. — (113)  “Large  Marine  Engine,” 
bronze  medal,  W.  H.  Geddes  and  Son.  Class  VII. — (118) 
“ Smack  at  Sea,  Towing  out  a Screw  Steamer,”  bronze  medal, 
H.  Dudley  Arnott : (120)  “The  Land's  End,”  silver  medal, 
J.  B.  B.  Wellington.  Class  VIII. — (125)  Set  of  twelve  slides, 
certificate  of  merit,  Lieut. -General  Dawson,  C.B.  ; (136)  Set 
of  twelve  slides,  gold  medal,  Edgar  G.  Lee  ; (139)  Set  of  twelve 
slides,  bronze  medal,  G.  E.  Thompson  ; (141)  Set  of  nine  slides, 
silver  medal,  J.  B.  B.  Wellington.  Sub-Class  I. — (151)  Set  of 
six  slides,  silver  medal,  A.  A.  Carnell.  Sub-Class  II. — None. 
Class  IX. — (152)  Eight  transparencies,  silver  medal,  Auty  and 
Ruddock  ; (153)  Eight  stereoscopic  slides,  bronze  medal, 
H.  G.  Brierley. 


April  25,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


17 


EMPLOYERS  AND  EMPLOYED. 

BY  C.  BRANGWIN  BARNES. 

An  attempt  lias  recently  been  made  to  start  a trades 
union  .amongst  photographers,  and  T cannot  but  think  the 
proceeding  an  ill-advised  one,  because  since  the  early  days 
of  the  art-science,  there  has  up  till  now  been  a thorough 
entente  cordiale  between  photographers  and  their  assistants, 
and  until  the  issue  of  the  trades  union  manifesto  I had 
heard  of  but  little,  if  any,  dissatisfaction  amongst  photo- 
graphic employees.  Truly,  here  and  there  might  be  found 
a stray  grumbler,  and,  for  the  matter  of  that,  so  thei-c 
might  amongst  the  ranks  of  the  employers.  I have  heard 
a photographer  express  an  opinion  that  there  is  not  a tho- 
roughly good  and  efficient  printer  to  be  found  in  the 
United  Kingdom,  and  I have  also  heard  a printer  state 
that  there  are  no  employers  capable  of  appreciating  a good 
man  when  they  have  found  him.  Some  employers  have  an 
idea  that  all  their  assistants  think  about  is  to  leave  off  work 
at  a certain  hour,  and  to  draw  their  salaries  as  pay-day 
comes  round:  but  I opine  that  most  photographic  assistants 
have  far  higher  notions  of  business  and  honour  than  that. 
One  of  the  most  vexed  questions  between  the  employer 
and  his  assistants  has  for  some  time  been  that  relating  to 
specimens,  and  I should  personally  like  to  sec  the  matter 
thoroughly  threshed  out  in  the  light  of  day — i.e.,  in  the 
columns  of  the  Photographic  News — to  hear  what  both 
sides  have  to  say.  When  a photographer  advertises  for 
an  assistant,  he  usually  requires  to  see  specimens  of  his 
work,  and  therefrom  arises  the  question,  Whence  arc 
those  specimens  to  come  ? 

Tn  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  all  the  specimens  an  operator, 
a printer,  or  a retoucher  can  obtain  are  spoiled  prints, 
which  are  hardly  the  sort  of  thing  required.  There  has 
never  been  an  understanding  as  to  whether  an  assistant  is 
entitled  to  specimens,  or  if  so,  to  what  extent.  There  are 
employers  who  strictly  prohibit  their  hands  from  taking 
prints,  whether  spoiled  or  not,  for  use  as  specimens  : there 
are  also  a few  who,  when  an  assistant  is  leaving,  offer  to 
provide  him  with  any  he  may  require.  Is  not  the  whole 
question  of  specimens  a farce?  If  an  operator  is  seeking 
a situation,  what  is  easier  than  to  send  specimens  taken  by 
someone  else,  and  purchased  by  him  purely  for  that  pur- 
pose ? That  this  is  done  every  day  of  the  week  I quite 
believe,  and  must  at  the  same  time  admit  that,  though  the 
action  is  reprehensible  in  the  extreme,  yet  the  employer 
who  advertises  for  specimens  is  himself  to  blame.  Where 
is  the  need  of  specimens  at  all,  if  the  reference  from  the 
last  employer  be  satisfactory,  and  that  employer  be  known 
to  turn  out  good  work?  Surely  those  are  sufficient 
grounds  for  giving  a man  a trial,  without  expecting  him  to 
send  specimens  of  work,  which  may  be  his  own  or  not. 

( )ne  photographer  of  standing  told  me  that  he  never  looked 
upon  specimens  he  received  from  applicants  for  a berth  as 
samples  of  what  they  could  do,  but  merely  as  samples  of 
their  taste  ; if  they  sent  him  good  and  artistic  pictures,  he 
judged  that  they  were  artistic  themselves,  or  they  would 
not  have  selected  them. 

If  an  assistant  has  no  right  to  specimens  of  his  work.  1 
hold  that  an  employer  has  no  right  to  ask  for  them  : added 
to  which,  they  are  perfectly  unnecessary,  and  cause  con- 
siderable trouble.  Suppose  an  operator  out  of  a situation 
answers  some  four  advertisements,  where  are  the  specimens 
to  come  from  to  enclose  with  all  his  four  applications? 
At  the  most  he  would  have  only  one  set,  and  they  would 
probably  be  sent  to  the  advertiser  he  would  be  least  likely 


to  suit,  and  retained  by  him  three  or  four  days,  by  which 
time  the  other  situations  would  be  filled  up,  and  very 
likely  a berth  lost  simply  because  the  operator  was  an  honest 
man,  and  did  not  pilfer  from  his  former  employer  a suf- 
ficient number  of  prints  to  send  to  several  persons  at  one 
time.  The  foregoing  is  merely  my  opinion.  I am  in 
hopes  that  others  may  speak  out  on  the  matter,  and  that 
some  arrangement  may  be  definitely  arrived  at  between 
employers  and  employed. 

Another  point  which  I wish  to  advocate  is  the  paymentof 
operators  by  results,  in  such  a way  that  the  best  worker  may 
obtain  the  best  income.  An  operator  may  receive  a stated 
salary  every  week  of  the  year,  whether  business  be  good 
or  bad,  and  it  is  contended  that  he  has  a right  so  to  do, 
as  it  is  not  in  his  power  to  influence  business.  My  idea 
is  that  it  is  vastly  in  his  power  so  to  do,  and  it  will  be 
found  that  the  operator  who  is  paid  by  results — that  is,  a 
salary  and  commission — will  not  only  increase  his  own 
weekly  earnings,  but  will  make  business  to  do  so.  A 
word  in  season,  spoken  by  the  operator,  will  often  induce 
a sitter  who  has  visited  the  studio  wuth  the  intention  of 
taking,  say,  half-a-dozen  cartes,  to  increase  the  order  to 
a dozen,  or  to  have  cabinets  in  preference  to  the  smaller 
size,  and  now  and  then  an  order  for  an  enlargement  may 
be  obtained  in  the  studio.  I would  also  respectfully  in- 
cline to  the  opinion  that  the  operator  who  pushes  his 
employer's  business  in  this  manner  deserves  a percent- 
age on  that  business,  and  that  the  employer  will  find 
it  materially  to  his  interest  to  allow  him  one.  There 
are  times  when  the  operator  may  fail  to  obtain 
an  increased  order  in  the  studio,  but  his  trial 
will  only  serve  to  clear  the  way  for  the  reception-room 
attendant,  who  may  now  succeed  where  he  has  failed. 
This  same  reception-room  attendant,  if  a man  or  woman 
of  business,  has  many  opportunities  of  pushing  trade,  and 
suggestions  as  to  enamelling,  tinting,  and  so  on,  often  have 
the  effect  of  adding  to  the  amount  of  cash  taken  from  each 
sitter.  Then  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  him,  or  her, 
from  introducing  novelticsin  the  way  of  frames  or  albums, 
and  here,  as  in  the  case  of  the  operator,  a small  commission 
on  sales  would  be  found  to  have  a stimulating  effect.  The 
mention  of  the  fact  that  old  or  faded  photographs  may  be 
copied,  often  reminds  a sitter  that  he  has  an  old  portrait 
of  some  deceased  relative  or  friend,  of  which  copies  have 
been  asked  for,  and,  perchance,  an  enlargement  may 
follow.  It  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  one 
enlargement  pays  better  than  two  or  three  ordinary  sitters 
for  small  work. 

In  conclusion.  1 would  express  my  opinion  that  a general 
introduction  of  the  system  of  payment  by  salary  and  com- 
mission w ould  effectively  and  surely  cut  the  ground  from 
under  the  feet  of  would-be  trades  unionists,  and  by  so 
doing  further  strengthen  the  bond  of  good  will  which,  l 
maintain,  has  always  existed  between  photographic 
employers  and  employed. 

On  Thursday  evening,  May  1st,  Capt,  Abney  will  read  a 
paper  at  the  Camera  Club. 

Number  611  of  the  Photograph inches  Arehiv  is  accompanied 
by  an  illustration — a woman’s  portrait — issuing  from  the  studio 
of  Herr  J.  Schmidt,  of  Fraukfurt-on-M.  The  extremely  care- 
ful and  exact  reproduction  of  the  negative  has  been  furnished 
by  the  Phototype  Office  of  Johannes  Beyer,  in  Zittau.  Herr 
Beyer,  who  some  years  ago  purchased  the  interest  of  the  firm 
of  Alphons  Adolph  & Co.,  has  enlarged  this  concern,  and  fitted 
it  with  all  necessary  new  appliances.  Of  the  phototypie  ability 
of  the  firm  a proof  is  given  in  the  illustration. 


L Of.\ 

318  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [April  25,  1890. 

iaotcs. 


The  full  text  of  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  International  Congress  in  con- 
nection with  the  Paris  Exhibition  appears  in  the  Bulletin 
<le  la  Societe  Franeaise  for  March,  so  may  be  now  more 
readily  accessible  in  this  country  than  the  Government 
report  itself,  published  some  weeks  ago.  A summary  of 
the  conclusions  arrived  at  with  regard  to  the  various 
questions  submitted  has  already  appeared  in  these  pages, 
and  we  need  not  go  over  the  ground  again.  It  is  worth 
while  noting,  however,  thatthe  philological  studiesof  the 
Committee  appear  to  have  caused  them  some  anxiety. 
As  will  be  remembered,  one  of  the  questions  to  be  dis- 
cussed and  settled  was  a system  of  photographic  nomen- 
clature, and  if  it  is  an  absolute  necessity  that  the  rough 
and  ready  and  familiar — though,  possibly,  inaccurate — 
terms  in  daily  use  should  be  discarded,  then  no  doubt 
the  Committee  have  devised  the  very  best  scientific 
substitutes  possible.  Put  even  science  is  sometimes 
battled,  and  the  word  “ photo-collographic  ” has  been 
too  hard  a nut  to  crack. 


This  word  has  the  drawback  of  being  intractable  to 
all  efforts  to  shorten  it.  The  consequence  is  that  its  obsti- 
nacy has  forced  a series  of  kindred  subjects  to  be  termed 
“photo-plastographie,”  “photo-glyptographie,”  “photo- 
typographie,”  and  “ photo- chromographie,”  whereas 
could  an  abbreviated  equivalent  have  been  found,  we 
should  have  got  photo-plastic, photo-glyphic,  photo-typie, 
and  photo-chromie.  One  would  have  thought  that 
“ photo-collie”  wouldhavcgotoverthedifficulty,  butthis 
does  not  seem  to  have  occurred  to  the  Committee,  and 
so  the  polysyllabic  burden  has  been  borne. 


The  report  of  the  lecture  given  at  the  Anthropo- 
logical Institute  last  Tuesday,  by  M.  Jacques  Bertillon, 
on  the  method  now  practised  in  France  of  identify- 
ing criminals  by  comparing  their  measures  with  those 
of  convicted  persons  in  the  prison  registers,  will  be 
looked  forward  to  with  much  curiosity  by  those  inte- 
rested in  the  subject.  The  registers  contain  the 
measures  of  tens  of  thousands  of  persons  together  with 
their  photographs,  yet  M.  Bertillon’s  method  enables 
the  reference  to  be  rapidly  effected.  It  is  now  pretty 
well  acknowledged  that  a photograph  alone  is  not  to 
be  depended  upon  as  a means  of  identification,  but  we 
are  not  quite  sure  whether  a measurement  is  a safer 
guide.  What  guarantee  is  there  that  the  measurer 
will  not  make  a mistake?  Professional  measurers  who 
make  clothes  frequently  fall  into  an  error,  and  there 
is  no  reason  for  believing  that  a police  measurer  will 
be  any  more  accurate  than  a tailor.  Everybody  is 
familiar  with  the  curious  fact  that  while  the  memory 
sometimes  plays  tricks  in  regard  to  recollection  of 
faces,  it  rarely  does  so  in  the  case  of  sounds.  The 
face  alters  with  age,  but  the  voice  remains  pretty  much 
the  same.  This  seems  to  indicate  that  a system  of 


identification  will  not  be  complete  until  the  phonograph 
is  made  use  of.  Let  the  sound  of  every  prisoner’s 
voice,  and  his  pronunciation  of  certain  words,  be  pre- 
served, and  additional  testimony  of  identification  will 
be  always  at  hand. 


We  have  on  more  than  one  occasion  drawn  attention 
to  the  difficulties  under  which  artists  labour  when  a 
retouched  photograph  is  sent  to  them  to  copy.  The 
grievance  is  not  confined  to  this  country,  and  we  find  the 
Inland  Printer,  an  American  journal,  and  one  especially 
noteworthy  for  the  excellence  of  its  photo-mechanical 
reproductions,  following  on  the  same  lines.  It  is  quite 
true  that  the  retouched  photograph  is  an  abomination 
to  the  artist  who  has  to  copy  it  for  newspaper 
purposes.  When  all  the  salient  lines  of  the  face  are  so 
softened  as  to  be  almost  obliterated,  when  an  artificial 
sparkle  is  given  to  the  eye,  and  a line  of  light  intro- 
duced on  the  nose,  so  as  to  effectually  put  that  feature 
out  of  diawing  so  far  as  correctness  is  concerned  ; then 
the  artist’s  task  of  translation  is  difficult  indeed.  It 
is,  in  fact,  impossible  to  convey  much  of  whatever 
resemblance  the  photograph  may  have  to  the  original, 
because  everything  is  so  hazy,  so  nebulous.  The  best 
likenesses  are  those  which  seize  the  characteristic 
expression  of  a face,  often  conveyed  by  some  little  lines 
near  the  mouth  or  eyes,  which  the  retoucher  does 
his  best  to  destroy,  because  he  thinks  they  are  not 
flattering. 


And,  unfortunately,  this  is  not  the  worst.  During 
the  last  two  or  three  years  a craze  has  sprung  up  for 
photographs  in  so-called  “natural  colours,”  ranging 
from  the  crystoleum  process  to  Mr.  Mayall’s  latest 
“ discovery.”  These  coloured  portraits  are  terribly 
misleading,  for  not  only  is  the  expression  altered,  but 
often  a totally  false  idea  conveyed.  In  fact,  to  use  the 
words  of  the  Inland  Printer,  “they  are  to  the  artists 
like  so  many  portraits  of  the  figures  in  Madame 
Tussaud’s.” 


The  utilisation  of  one’s  features  as  an  advertisement 
is  quite  a sign  of  the  times.  Nothing,  in  fact,  is  sacred 
to  the  enterprising  advertiser.  We  have  seen  in 
England  portraits  of  well-known  professional  ladies 
figuring  in  connection  with  certain  advertisements,  but 
in  these  cases,  so  far  as  we  know,  the  ladies  in  question 
have  derived  no  benefit  from  the  exhibition  of  their 
features,  though  it  is  quite  possible  that  in  return  for 
their  testimonials  the  advertiser  may  have  shown  bis 
gratitude  in  a substantial  form.  They  manage  these 
things  better  in  America,  as  the  face  has  now  a distinct 
advertising  value.  As  a case  in  point,  we  may  cite  the 
fact  that  the  features  of  Miss  Nellie  Bly,  who  achieved 
notoriety  by  her  race  round  the  world,  will  soon  be 
known  to  every  smoker  of  cigarettes  in  the  States, 
since  a firm  of  cigarette  makers  has  arranged  to  pay 
h er  a very  large  sum  for  permission  to  use  her  photo- 
graph as  the  trade  mark  of  a new  brand  of  cigarettes. 


April  25,  1890."] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


319 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  CALCULATION  OF 
EXPOSURES* 

BV  ALFRED  WATKINS. 

In  spite  of  the  imperfections  and  the  jokes  levelled  at 
exposure  tables,  they  have  proved  an  aid  to  many  who 
feel  the  want  of  certainty,  and  the  weakness  of  the  older 
methods.  Five  axioms  maybe  laid  down  as  the  “ Grammar 
of  Photographic  Exposure  ” : — 

Axiom  I. — Five  primary  factors,  each  quite  independent 
of  the  others,  govern  a photographic  exposure.  They 
are: — (A)  The  actinie  force  of  the  light  falling  upon  the 
worst-lighted  part  of  the  subject.  (P)  The  sensitiveness 
of  the  plate  used.  (S)  The  capacity  of  the  subject,  or 
its  most  non-actinic  part,  for  reflecting  sufficient  actinic 
light  to  the  lens  to  form  a photographic  image  of  suitable 
intensity.  (I))  The  size  of  diaphragm  in  relation  to  the 
focal  length  of  the  lens.  (5)  The  distance  of  the  subject 
from  the  lens. 

Axiom  II. — The  value  of  each  of  the  factors,  as  affect- 
ing the  exposure,  may  be  expressed  in  numerical  terms. 

Axiom  III. — The  proper  exposure  for  any  given  con- 
ditions being  ascertained,  the  correct  exposure  for  every 
other  possible  combination  of  conditions  or  factors  may 
be  calculated  by  mathematical  means. 

Axiom  IV. — The  quantity  of  actinie  light  reaching  the 
plate,  reflected  from  all  parts  of  the  subject,  or  even 
one  part  of  the  subject,  is  no  guide  to  the  duration  of 
the  exposure. 

Axiom  Y. — Two  ultimate  factors  determine  the  duration 
of  a photographic  exposure  on  any  plate,  viz.  : — (A)  The 
quantity  of  actinic  light  reaching  the  plate,  reflected  from 
that  part  of  the  subject  which  reflects  least  actinic  light, 
and  in  which  detail  is  required  to  be  rendered.  (S)  The 
duration  of  this  light  necessary  to  impress  upon  the  plate 
an  image,  approximating  as  nearly  as  possible,  in  inverse 
intensity,  to  the  visual  image  of  the  object  in  question,  is 
the  correct  exposure. 

For  factor  A a chemical  actinometer  is  best,  a photo- 
meter in  which  the  eye  is  used  for  the  estimation,  the  light 
being  unsatisfactory  for  this  purpose.  The  bromide  of 
silver  actinometer,  as  advised  by  Captain  Abney,  is  simple 
and  effective,  the  number  of  seconds  taken  to  discolour 
it  to  tint  giving  the  A value. 

The  only  proper  way  to  test  the  light  is  just  where  it 
falls  upon  the  subject.  An  actinometer  will  soon  become 
as  indispensable  to  a photographer  as  a thermometer  is  to 
a chemist,  and  the  usual  advice  to  test  the  light  in  the 
open,  and  if  you  are  about  to  bike  an  interior,  to  calculate 
what  proportion  of  the  light  reaches  the  subject,  is  just  as 
absurd  as  for  a chemist  wishing  to  ascertain  the  temperature 
of  a mixture  he  is  heating  to  put  a pyrometer  in  the  heat- 
ing flame,  and  then  estimate  how  much  of  the  heat  is 
absorbed,  instead  of  trying  the  actual  heat  of  the  mixture. 

Factor  S deals  with  the  error  into  which  all  com- 
pilers of  exposure  tables  have  fallen  into  in  mixing  up  the 
quite  independent  factors  of  lighting  and  subject. 

In  practice,  it  is  necessary  to  give  a shorter  exposure 
for  white  objects  in  which  detail  is  required  than  for 
objects  of  average  colour,  and  a longer  exposure  for  dark- 
coloured  objects ; hence  the  need  for  a table  of  subject 
values. 

The  factor  of  distance  affects  the  exposure  : over  dis- 
tant objects  the  atmosphere  adds  reflected  light  to  the 
image  and  shortens  the  exposure.  In  the  case  of  very 

Suuimury  of  u paper  road  before  tbe  Hereford  I’hotograpliie  Society. 


near  objects  the  camera  has  to  be  racked  out,  and  the 
exposure  is  increased.  It  is  found  convenient  to  draw  up 
a scale  of  subject  numbers  for  all  coloured  objects  and 
varying  distances,  thus  combining  the  last  two  factors. 

A set  of  six  prints  from  negatives  of  widely  varying 
subjects,  the  exposures  calculated  by  the  new  exposure- 
meter,  and  all  developed  together  in  one  dish,  were 
handed  round  by  me.  They  varied  in  character  from  a 
cloud  picture  to  a copy  of  a dark  terra-cotta  bust  in  a 
room. 

My  new  exposure  meter  is  a small,  circular,  brass  box, 
having  at  one  end  the  actinometer,  at  the  other  a chain 
pendulum  for  timing  both  actinometer  and  camera  ex- 
posures, while  round  the  circumference  are  four  movable 
rings,  each  bearing  a pointer  for  the  factors  A,  1’,  S,  and 
1) ; when  these  are  moved  opposite  their  correct  values, 
a fifth  pointer,  E,  gives  the  correct  exposure. 

The  average  time  taken  to  test  the  light,  and  to  find  out 
the  correct  exposure,  does  not  exceed  thirty  seconds. 
The  approximate  plate  numbers  for  different  makers  of 
plates  will  be  given  in  the  instructions,  but  photographers 
are  advised  to  make  a test  to  ascertain  for  themselves 
what  plate  number  gives  a negative  of  the  kind  they  re- 
quire with  the  developer  they  are  in  the  habit  of  using. 

A rather  subtle  point  is  touched  upon  in  axioms  IV  and 
V.  More  than  one  photometer  is  made  based  upon  the 
idea  that  the  quantity  of  light  reflected  from  the  object 
and  reaching  the  plate  is  an  exact  guide  to  the  exposure. 
This  is  quite  a mistake,  and  three  different  pictures  were 
thrown  by  me  on  the  screen,  one  with  a large  quantity  of 
white  in  it,  another  with  a large  quantity  of  black,  and  a 
third  with  an  average  amount;  the  part  of  the  picture  in 
each  case  which  determined  the  proper  exposure  was  a 
patch  of  dark  detail,  and  the  exposure  for  all  three  would 
be  the  same.  Any  photometer,  however,  estimating  the 
light  reflected  from  these  subjects,  would  give  different 
and  misleading  results.  Again,  if  three  different  shades  of 
grey  paper  be  copied  on  three  plates,  with  three  exposures 
varying  in  inverse  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  light  re- 
flected from  the  papers,  the  three  resulting  negatives 
would  be  all  of  exactly  the  same  intensity,  which  would 
not  be  the  result  required. 


Mu.  W.  I.  Chadwick,  who  has  been  Hon.  Sec.  of  the  Man- 
chester Photographic  Society  for  fifteen  years,  is,  we  are  in- 
formed, resigning  his  office. 

Exeter  Photographic  Society'.  — President,  Dr.  Cheese  j 
Vice-President,  Major  Dowdall  ; Hon.  Sec.,  Rev.  J.  Sparshatt, 
of  Fairfield  College,  Alphington  Road,  Exeter  ; Treasurer,  Mr. 
Lake,  High  Street.  Meetings,  first  Tuesday  in  each  month. 
Next  excursion,  May  10th,  to  Silverton.  Headquarters,  the 
College  Hall,  South  Street.  Notices  posted  at  Mr.  Lake’s. 
Visitors  to  Exeter  requiring  use  of  dark  room  are  requested  to 
write  to  secretary  or  treasurer. 

Number  16  of  the  Deutsche  Photographen  Zcituwj  for  the 
present  year  contains  a notice  of  a memorial  tablet  of  the  late 
Herr  J.  B.  Obernetter.  The  memorial  has  been  executed  at 
the  cost  of  the  German  Photographic  Union.  Herr  Obernetter 
died  on  the  13th  April,  1887.  The  memorial  is  somewhat  late, 
indeed,  but  yet  better  late  than  never.  The  principal  movers 
in  this  affair  are  Herr  Fr.  Muller,  Herr  Werner,  and  Herr 
Zschokke.  The  memorial  was  presented  by  these  gentlemen 
to  the  deceased’s  widow  with  a suitable  verbal  accompaniment 
in  his  praise.  A laurel  crow  u was  also  given  on  the  same  occa- 
sion by  Herr  Werner.  The  tablet  bears  the  following  inscrip- 
tion suitably  displayed  : — “ To  Herr  J.  B.  Obernetter,  Photo- 
graphic Chemist,  in  grateful  memory  of  his  services  in  the  fur- 
therance of  Photography,  this  memorial  tablet  is  dedicated  by 
the  German  Photographic  Union,  1890.” 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Arrm.  25,  1890. 


:120 


THE  LATENT  PHOTOGRAPHIC  IMAGE* * 

1!V  c.  U.  BOT1IAMLEY,  I'.I.C.,  F.C.S. 


Very  contradictory  statements  iiave  been  made  respect- 
ing the  action  of  alkaline  bromides.  Many  writers  have 
stated  that  they  destroy  the  latent  image,  whilst  others 
assert  that  they  merely  retard  development.  I immersed 
exposed  plates  of  - various  kinds  in  a 10  per  cent,  solution 
of  potassium  bromide  for  periods  varying  from  five  to 
twenty  minutes.  They  were  then  thoroughly  washed 
and  developed.  Potassium  bromide  does  not  destroy  the 
latent  image.  Of  course  if  the  soluble  bromide  were 
not  thoroughly  washed  out  of  the  film,  development 
might  be  retarded  to  such  an  extent  that  no  image  would 
appear  until  after  a long  time,  and  possibly  this  is  the 
explanation  of  the  erroneous  statements  referred  to. 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  latent  image  is  destroyed 
by  halogenising  agents,  and  also  by  potassium  dichro- 
mate, even  in  complete  absence  of  soluble  haloid  salts  or 
of  free  acids.  It  is  not  destroyed  by  alkaline  bromides, 
and  apparently  not  by  nitric  acid,  hydrobromic  acid,  or 
hydrochloric  acid,  but  the  effect  of  these  substances,  as 
well  as  of  potassium  iodide — which  seems  to  prevent  the 
production  of  a developed  image  without  actually  destroy- 
ing the  latent  image — requires  further  investigation. f 
Ozone  and  hydrogen  peroxide  are  also  stated  to  destroy 
the  latent  image  ; but  the  published  experiments  are  very 
meagre  in  details,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  any 
special  precautions  were  taken  to  avoid  secondary  actions, 
or  to  eliminate  the  possible  influence  of  minute  traces 
of  impurities.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that,  according  to 
Ilodgkinson,  silver  chloride  darkens  readily  when  exposed 
to  light  in  presence  of  hydrogen  peroxide.t  I am  of 
opinion,  therefore,  that  the  action  of  these  re-agents  also 
requires  further  investigation ; but  until  the  chemistry  of 
hydrogen  peroxide  and  ozone  is  better  understood,  no 
very  conclusive  results  are  likely  to  be  obtained  from 
their  effects  on  photographic  plates. 

In  all  previous  experiments  in  this  connection  it  is 
very  doubtful  whether  sufficient  attention  has  been  paid 
to  the  possible  influence  of  minute  quantities  of  impuri- 
ties. Probably  in  some  cases  all  the  re-agents  or 
materials  were  pure  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  term,  but 
latterly  chemists  have  been  learning  that  substances  which 
they  commonly  regard  as  pure  still  contain  sufficient 
foreign  matter  to  exert  a most  powerful  influence  on 
their  behaviour,  and  in  the  particular  investigations  under 
discussion  the  very  highest  attainable  degree  of  purity 
must  be  aimed  at.  The  quantity  of  matter  composing 
the  latent  image  is  very  minute  ; hence  the  relative  (‘fleet 
of  minute  quantites  of  foreign  substances  may  be  very 
considerable. 

All  the  decisive  evidence  at  present  in  our  possession 
points  to  the  fact  that  the  formation  of  the  latent  photo- 
image is  a process  of  photo-chemical  reduction,  the  effect 
of  which  can  be  undone  by  treatment  with  halogenising 
agents,  or  with  certain  substances  generally  believed  to 
exert  an  oxidising  action. 

About  three  years  § ago  Carey  Lea  showed  that  latent 
images,  capable  of  development  and  reversal  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  latent  photo-image,  can  be  obtained  by 


* Continued  from  paico  3U4. 

i I may  add  that  I am  engaged  with  experiments  in  this  direction. 

$ Photo'jrdphic  Jietcs.  xxxi.  370. 

Journal  of  Science , 1887,  and  Englnli  photographic  journals 
of  the  same  year. 


treating  sensitive  films  of  silver  salts  with  a solution  of 
a hypophosphite,  or  an  alkaline  solution  of  grape  sugar  or 
milk  sugar.  Nitric  acid  and  solutions  of  the  haloid  salts 
of  the  alkalies  had  the  same  effect  as  on  latent  photo- 
images. Carey  Lea’s  experiments  were  made  with  the 
silver  salts  on  paper.  I have  repeated  them  with  ordinary 
gelatine  plates  with  precisely  similar  results.  The 
reducing  agent  (sodium  hypophosphite  or  a solution  of 
milk  sugar  made  alkaline  by  caustic  potash)  when 
bru-hed  on  the  plate,  produces  no  visible  effect;  but  a 
dense  deposit  can  be  developed.  These  latent  images 
thus  formed  are  destroyed  by  potassium  dichromate,  but 
not  by  dilute  nitric  acid  or  by  alkaline  bromides.  Potas- 
sium iodide  affects  them  in  the  same  way  as  the  latent 
photo-image.  (Examples  shown). 

Latent  images,  capable  of  development,  are  also  formed 
as  a result  of  a shearing  stress  applied  to  the  sensitive 
film.  This  was  observed  bv  Carey  Lea*  in  the  case  of 
wet  plates,  but  was  first  carefully  investigated  by  Abney. f 
The  effect  is  easily  observed  by  writing  on  the  surface  of 
an  ordinary  plate  with  a clean  glass  rod,  using  moderate 
pressure,  and  then  placing  it  in  a developer.  Abney 
found  that  the  material  of  the  rod  used  for  writing  has 
no  influence  on  the  result;  the  effect,  if  sufficient 
pressure  is  used,  is  transmitted  through  paper.  Sensitive 
and  less  sensitive  forms  of  silver  bromide  behave 
similarly ; the  latent  image  formed  is  destroyed  by 
potassium  dichromate ; the  effect  is  not  so  much  on  the 
surface  on  the  film  as  lower  down  or  near  to  the  glass, 
for  if  the  film  is  moistened,  superficially  melted,  allowed 
to  set  and  then  developed,  the  sharpness  of  the  image  is 
scarcely  affected  ; but  if  the  film  is  completely  melted  the 
developed  markings  are  blurred.  He  also  was  unable  to 
observe  anything  of  the  nature  of  phosphorescence 
when  the  writing  was  done. 

Several  points  in  connection  with  these  phenomena 
seemed  worthy  of  further  investigation.  Details  of  the 
experiments  I shall  describe  in  another  place.  I found 
that  with  one  and  the  same  plate  the  effect  gradually  in- 
creases with  the  pressure,  but  that  there  is  no  connection, 
as  might  have  been  supposed,  between  the  sensitiveness 
of  the  plates  to  light,  and  the  minimum  pressure  required 
to  produce  a developable  image  upon  them.  (Examples 
shown.)  At  present,  I have  not  been  able  to  trace  any 
connection  between  the  minimum  effective  pressure  and 
the  hardness  of  the  film.  1 confirmed  Abney's  statements 
that  the  material  with  which  the  writing  or  “shearing” is 
done  is  without  influence  on  the  result,  provided  that  it 
is  a sufficiently  hard  substance  : that  no  phosphorescence 
can  be  observed  wliqn  the  film  is  scratched  ; and  that  the 
latent  image  is  destroyed  by  potassium  dichromate.  I 
also  examined  the  action  of  various  other  re-agents,  such 
as  bromine  and  potassium  bromide  and  iodide,  and  found 
the  results  to  be  identical  with  those  given  by  the  photo- 
image. Independent  confirmation  of  Abney’s  statement 
that  the  effect  is  greatest  in  the  lower  part  of  the  film, 
was  obtained  by  a method  quite  different  from  that  which 
he  used.  After  some  plates  had  been  subjected  to 
various  degrees  of  shearing  stress,  they  were  exposed  to 
light  for  a very  short  time.  One  half  of  each  plate  was 
then  dipped  in  a very  dilute  solution  of  potassium  dichro- 
mate for  a short  time,  washed,  and  developed.  It  was 
found  that  the  superficial  latent  image  produced  by  light 

* American  Journal  of  Science  [2]  xlii.  I9S. 

* / 'holographic.  Journal,  1883  and  1884  ; British  Journal  of  Photography, 
xxx.  418 ; xxxi.  167. 


April  25,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


321 


had  been  completely  destroyed,  whilst  the  deeper-seated 
effect  of  stress  was  only  slightly  affected. 

Latent  images,  which  behave  in  a precisely  similar 
manner  with  various  re-agents,  and  are  therefore  presum- 
ably of  very  similar,  if  not  identical  composition,  can  be 
produced  in  at  least  three  ways: — (1)  by  the  action  of 
light ; (2)  by  the  action  of  chemical  reducing  agents  in 
the  dark  ; and  (3)  by  shearing  stress.  The  second  mode 
of  production  is  easily  intelligible  ; the  production  of 
chemical  change  by  shearing  stress  at  first  sight  seems 
difficult  to  understand.  The  researches  of  Spring  have 
shown,  however,  that  many  chemical  changes  in  solid 
substances  can  be  produced  by  the  application  of  great 
pressure.  As  a rule,  pressure  promotes  combination,  but 
there  are  certain  cases  where  a compound  is  decomposed 
when  strongly  compressed.  According  to  Spring,  if  the 
volume  of  the  compound  is  less  than  the  sum  of  the 
volumes  of  its  nncombined  constituents,  pressure  tends 
to  produce  combination ; if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  sum 
of  the  volumes  of  the  uncombined  constituents  is  less 
than  the  volume  of  the  compound  which  they  form,  pres- 
sure will  tend  to  decompose  it.  The  effect  of  pressure 
on  chemical  changes  is,  in  fact,  strictly  analogous  to  its 
effect  on  the  melting  point  of  solids.  At  present  we  do 
not  know  the  relation  between  the  space  occupied  by  the 
materials  of  the  latent  image,  and  that  occupied  by  the 
original  gelatino-bromide.  If  the  former  is  less  than  the 
latter,  the  formation  of  a latent  image  by  stress  is  only  a 
special  example  of  Spring’s  second  law,  and  the  apparent 
difficulty  disappears.* 

(To  be  continued.) 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  GERMANY. 

BY  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

Comparison  of  Developers— Toning  and  Fixing  Bath. 

Comparison  of  Various  Developers.  — Much  has  been 
written  of  late  in  German  periodicals  about  developers 
and  developing,  the  question  as  to  the  best  method  of 
bringing  out  the  latent  picture,  and  to  the  most  efficient 
reducing  agent,  seeming  to  interest  at  present  more  than 
ever.  There  is  a German  proverb,  that  a good  thing  can- 
not be  told  too  often,  and  so  I shall  complete  my  previous 
communications  by  giving  an  abstract  from  a very  interest- 
ing paper  read  before  a small  circle  of  Berlin  professional 
photographers  by  Mr.  F.  Gaedicke,  whose  name  is 
sufficiently  well-known  in  the  photographic  world. 

The  four  developers  now  most  commonly  in  use- 
ferrous  oxalate,  pyro,  hydroquinone,  and  eikonogen — 
were  compared  with  each  other,  and  the  plates  to  be 
treated  with  the  solutions  were  divided,  for  experiment, 
into  three  series ; the  first  of  them  having  received  only 
one-fifth  of  the  normal  exposure,  the  second  the  normal 
exposure,  and  the  third  four  times  the  normal  exposure. 
Eacli  series  and  eacli  developer  was  treated  under  its  most 
favourable  conditions,  so  to  the  ferrous  oxalate  developer 
two  drops  of  an  accelerator  consisting  of  hypo  and 
potassium  bromide  were  added ; to  the  hydroquinone 
developer,  four  drops  of  a 40  per  cent,  potassium- 
lye  ; and  the  eikonogen  developer  was  used  as  is 
recommended  for  instantaneous  exposures,  together  with 
the  preliminary  bath  consisting  of  hypo  and  bichloride 

* I gave  this  explanation  of  the  effect  of  shearing  stress  in  a lecture 
before  the  Leeds  Photographic  Society  early  in  1888,  but  did  not  publish  it 
Professor  Meldola  refers  to  Spring’s  researches  in  the  tame  connection, 
but  less  specifically,  in  his  “ Chemistry  of  Photogiapby,”  p.  l'J2. 


of  mercury.  The  plates  were  developed  until  a slight 
greyish  appearance  indicated  the  first  signs  of  the 
approaching  fog.  The  sensitometer  consisted  of  one  to 
sixteen  layers  of  tissue-paper,  and,  as  source  of  light,  a 
flat  gas-burner  was  used,  which  was  turned  down  until 
there  was  no  more  roaring  of  the  flame.  The  results  of 
the  experiments  are  shown  by  the  following  table  : — 

.1.  Under-exposed  plates. — Exposure  1 second  at  a dis- 
tance of  28  inches  from  the  plate,  i.e.,  one-fifth  of  the 
normal  exposure. 


No. 

Uevelopment. 

The  linage 
appears 
wit*  in 

Time  of 
development 

SenMto- 

meter 

No. 

Character  of 
th“  image,  and 
notes. 

1 

Ferrous-oxalate, 
with  addition 

9 seconds 

5 minutes 

14 

Yellow  fog  ; 
1 and  2 are 
but  slightly 
different. 

2 

Pyro-potash 

12  „ 

3 

14 

Red  fog. 

3 

Hydroquinone 
with  potash 

20  „ 

3 

15 

Clear. 

4 

Eikonogen  with 
potash  and  pre- 
liminary bath 

0 >> 

3 

14 

Yellow  fog. 

B.  Normal-exposed  plates.  — Exposure  1 second  at  a dis- 
tance of  12|  inches  from  the  flame. 


Ferrous-oxalate, 

plain 

12  seconds 

3 minutes 

16  ‘ 

The  nega- 
tives were 
all  good  and 
liarmoniou  s. 
By  trans- 
parent light, 

Pyro-potash 

8 „ 

n 

16 

the  pyro- 
negative  was 
brownish- 
» black,  the 
others 

bluish-black, 

Hydroquinone 

25  „ 

3g  >> 

16 

therefore  of 
better  print- 
ing quality. 
The  iron 
negative  was 
the  least 

Eikonogen  - soda 

12  „ 

3 

16 

clear  one. 

C.  Over-exposed  plates.  —Exposure  4 seconds  at  a distance 
of  124  inches  from  the  flame,  i.e. , four  times  the  normal 
exposure. 


F errous-oxalate, 
with  4 drops 
potass,  brom. , 
1 : 10 

18  seconds 

3t  minutes 

16 

1 to  8 but 
little  gradu- 
ated ; flat 
and  useless. 

Pj’ro-potash, 
with  8 drops 
pot.  brom. 

20  „ 

ii 

16 

Better  grad- 
uated than 
No.  9;  a little 
too  hard,  but 
usable. 

Hydroquinone, 
only  old  solu- 
tion. with  8 
drops  potass, 
brom. 

60  „ 

5 » 

16 

Normal 
negative,  the 
best  of  this 
series. 

Eikonogen.  soda, 
with  8 drops 
potass,  brom. 

30  „ 

OV  yy 

16 

Flat  and 
useless. 

All  the  developing  solutions,  of  which,  in  all  cases,  40  c.c. 
were  taken,  had  been  allowed  to  stand  for  24  hours  after 
the  preparation,  because  pyro  acts  much  more  energeti- 
cally if  freshly  prepared,  but  always  older  solutions  are  to 
be  taken  into  consideration.  To  the  ferrous-oxalate  deve- 
loper, in  the  case  of  the  under-exposed  plates,  2 drops  of  a 


322 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  25,  1890. 


solution  of  1 gramme  of  hypo  and  6 grammes  of  potassium 
bromide  in  60  c.c.  of  water  were  added ; in  the  case  of  the 
over-exposed  plates,  4 drops  of  potassium  bromide,  1 : 10; 
in  the  case  of  normal  exposures  no  addition  was  made. 
In  the  case  of  hjdroquinone  development , 20  c.c.  of  an  old 
solution,  20  c.c.  of  a fresh  one,  and  4 drops  of  a 40  per 
cent,  potassium-lye  were  used  for  the  under-exposed  plates ; 
for  the  normal  exposures,  two-thirds  of  an  old  solution, 
one-third  of  a fresh  one,  and  4 drops  of  the  potassium 
lye ; for  the  over-exposed  plates  only  old  developer,  with 
8 drops  of  potassium  bromide,  1 : 10.  In  the  case  of 
eikonogen  development,  the  preparation  with  potash  and  with 
the  preliminary  bath  (hypo  and  bichloride  of  mercury) 
was  used  for  the  under-exposed  plates,  the  preparation 
with  soda  in  two  solutions  for  the  normal  exposed  plates, 
and  the  same  preparation,  with  8 drops  of  potassium 
bromide,  1 : 10,  for  the  over-exposed  plates. 

As  the  table  shows,  all  the  developers  gave  good  results 
in  the  case  of  normal  exposure ; but  as  normal 
exposures  in  practice  do  not  form  the  rule,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  the  exception,  the  results  of  over  and  under 
exposure  are  more  important.  For  over-exposure  the 
eikonogcn  developer  was  the  worst,  hydroquinone  the 
best.  In  the  case  of  under-exposure  only  the  hydro- 
quinone developer  gave  a clear  negative  ; all  the  others 
were  yellow  or  red  fogged,  and  inferior  for  one  sensito- 
meter  number.  It  follows  therefrom  that  the  hydro- 
quinone developer  is  decidedly  the  best  one,  as  it  is  also 
the  cheapest  one,  because  in  most  cases  an  old  solution 
may  be  used.  1‘yro  solution  does  not  keep  well,  and 
it  is  necessary  to  work  with  separate  solutions.  Also 
eikonogen  solutions  do  not  keep  as  well  as  hydroquinone 
solutions,  and  arc  liable  to  fog  the  plates  after  a few  days. 
In  all,  the  results  are  the  following: — 1.  Ferrous  oxalate. 
Good,  bluish-black  negatives,  which,  however,  if  no  pre- 
liminary bath  is  used,  are  harder  than  those  obtained  with 
the  alkaline  developers.  The  developer  is  very  poisonous. 
For  the  case  of  heavy  over-exposures  it  is  little  suitable. 
2.  Pyro-potash  developer.  The  most  energetic  developer ; 
givesagood,  soft,  brownish-black  negative.  Two  separate 
solutions.  In  the  case  of  over-exposures  it  may  be  used 
with  potassium  bromide.  The  negatives  dry  more 
readily  than  all  others.  3.  Hydroquinone.  The  image 
appears  later  than  with  the  other  developers,  but  it  is 
developed  out  in  the  same  time.  The  negative  is  mostly 
denser  than  with  pyro  and  eikonogen.  It  is  bluish- 
black,  and  prints  well.  If  the  solution  is  cold,  it  develops 
very  slowly ; it  should  therefore  have  an  average  tempera- 
ture. 4.  Eikonogen.  In  the  beginning  it  develops 
quickest,  but  in  order  to  obtain  vigour,  it  requires  as 
much  time  as  iron  and  hydroquinone.  The  keeping 
qualites  of  the  mixed  solutions  are  very  doubtful,  and 
even  with  the  separated  solutions  fog  sets  in  after  a j 
short  time.  The  developer  is  about  live  times  as  dear  as  , 
the  others.  In  the  case  of  over-exposure  it  is  less  useful  I 
than  pyro  and  hydroquinone.  It  is  a great  disadvantage  ; 
that  the  eikonogen  is  highly  sensitive  to  the  influence  of 
ammonia.  The  final  result  of  these  experiments  is  there- 
fore : that  at  present  the  hydroquinone  developer  is  to  he  pre-  | 
/erred  to  all  others  as  decidedly  the  best  one. 

The  Best  Combined  Toning  and  Fixing  Bath  for  Oelatino-  | 
Chloride  Paper. — Mr.  R.  E.  Licsegaug,  a young,  but  very 
serious  investigator,  has  made  careful  experiments  in  order 
to  find  out  the  most  efficient  combined  toning  and  fixing 
bath  for  prints  on  gelatiuo-chloride  paper.  lie  recom-  j 
mends  the  following  one  : — 


Solution  No.  1. 
Hyposulphite  of  soda 
Alum 

Nitrate  of  lead  (pulverised)... 
Boiling  water 


200  grammes 


80 

2 

400  c.c. 


>> 

a 


The  solution  is  allowed  to  stand  for  two  days ; then  once 
more  400  c.c.  of  boiling  water  arc  added,  and  the  solution 
is  filtered.  Meantime,  the  following  solution  is  prepared 
in  a bottle  : — 


Solution  No.  2. 

Sulphocyanide  of  ammonia  ...  ...  160  grammes 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  1,200  c.c. 


Solution  No.  1 is  mixed  with  solution  No.  2,  and  then 
added : — 

Solution  of  gold  chloride  (1  per  cent.)  10  to  20  c.c. 

With  this  bath  the  prints  hike  any  desired  tone  within 
three  to  five  minutes. 


BOTANICAL  PHOTOGRAPHY. 


BY  JULIUS  F.  SACIISE. 

The  first  three  months  of  the  year  arc  in  this  latitude 
generally  supposed  to  be  the  least  favourable  for  the 
1 amateur  photographer,  and  the  exercise  of  his  hobby.  The 
fields  and  pastures  are  black ; hillsides  and  ravines,  so 
inviting  in  summer,  are  now  bleak  and  desolate  ; and  the 
1 trees,  under  whose  grateful  shade  we  rested  during  our 
summer  outings,  are  now  leafless  and  bare.  Christmas- 
tide,  with  its  joys,  is  past  and  gone  ; the  various  Christmas 
trees,  with  their  gaudy  dressings,  our  presents,  groups,  and 
visitors,  have  been  “ taken  ” by  Blitz  or  Sun,  and  most 
amateurs  count  their  winter's  work  completed.  Some 
enthusiastic  votaries  have  kept  their  practice  alive  by 
copying  pictures,  old  documents,  maps,  seals,  or  objects 
of  vertu  or  antiquity,  and  other  subjects,  not  forgetting 
sundry  interiors.  Still,  as  such  work  partakes  more  of  the 
dull  routine  of  labour  than  pleasure,  the  interest  in  photo- 
graphy has  naturally  more  or  less  flagged,  while  the 
amateur  sets  aside  his  outfit  until  spring  shall  come,  when 
he  can  again  strike  out  in  pastures  new,  and  find  food  for 
his  camera. 

To  the  “photographic  studiosis,”  as  a German  con- 
temporary designates  the  enthusiastic  amateur,  there  is  no 
need  of  waiting  until  the  country  is  again  clothed  in 
pristine  verdure.  Our  suggestions  will  apply  to  the  whole 
guild  of  camera  carriers. 

There  are  but  few  persons,  if  we  except  the  arborist, 
who  have  any  idea  of  the  difference  existing  in  tree 
structure,  or  the  diversity  in  shape  and  growth  of  the 
limbs  of  the  various  species. 

Nothing  will  surprise  the  intelligent  observer  more  than 
the  marked  difference  between  our  common  trees,  which 
we  have  known  since  childhood,  without  taking  special 
notice  of  their  peculiarities,  as  can  be  seen  by  a comparison 
of  eight  or  ten  photographs  of  as  many  different  varieties, 
the  negatives  being  made  at  the  present  season,  while  the 
subject  is  bare  and  leafless. 

The  wide  divergence  in  characteristics  of  growth,  such 
as  shape  and  bark,  as  shown  by  such  comparison,  will 
prove  a revelation  to  many  a well-informed  person,  and 
opens  a wide  and  interesting  field  to  the  amateur  photo- 
grapher and  student. 

In  our  suggestion  of  this  study  we  would  advise  a 
selection  of  marked,  well-grown  specimens,  that  can  be 
taken  on  the  plate  so  as  to  preserve  all  the  features  of  the 


April  25,  1890. J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


323 


tree  without  being  secondary  to  any  surroundings.  It 
makes  no  matter  whether  the  subject  be  a monarch  of  our 
primitive  forest,  or  some  favorite  specimen  of  ornamental 
growth,  introduced  from  foreign  climes ; each  individual 
variety  has  its  peculiar  characteristics.  Photograph  the 
tree  in  a strong  light,  so  as  to  bring  out  the  detail  of  the 
surface.  It  would  be  well  to  carefully  note  the  distance 
from  the  butt  of  the  tree,  or  the  point  of  the  compass,  if 
there  is  no  other  way  of  locating  the  spot  where  the  tripod 
was  set ; this  note  is  for  reference  in  the  future,  so  that 
after  the  spring  has  opened,  and  the  trees  are  once  more 
clad  in  their  verdure,  another  trip  can  be  made  to  the 
same  spot,  and  a plate  made  of  the  same  tree  in  its  glory. 
This  study  can  be  further  supplemented  by  photographing 
the  tree  while  the  buds  are  bursting,  when  the  leaves  are 
out,  and  then  again  in  the  fall,  when  the  leaves  are  either 
in  their  autumn  glory  or  after  they  are  brown  and  falling, 
using  orthochromatic  plates;  further,  if  the  above  sugges- 
tion be  carried  out,  after  the  leaves  have  again  fallen,  a fifth 
plate  can  be  taken  of  the  same  subject,  and  then  compared 
with  the  first  plate  ; it  will  show  the  marked  changes  and 
growth  which  have  taken  place  within  the  year,  and  which 
are  not  perceptible  to  the  eye. 

It  will  be  seen  that  for  these  comparative  plates  to  be 
of  value  great  care  should  be  taken  to  set  the  camera  at 
the  same  point  for  the  different  exposures. 

To  any  amateur  having  a taste  for  such  research  and 
experiment,  we  would  point  out  the  interesting  groups  of 
flowering  trees,  where  not  alone  the  tree  structure,  but 
the  flowers,  the  leaves,  and  the  fruit  all  tend  to  form  an 
interesting  group  of  subjects  for  the  camera. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  common  Horse  Chestnut  (.  Esculus 
Hippocastanum),  a large  symmetrical  tree.  In  a photo- 
graph taken  at  the  present  time,  we  would  have  the 
structure  or  framework  of  the  tree ; the  next  plate  we 
would  suggest  when  the  tree  is  in  blossom,  covered  with 
a wealth  of  erect  spikes  or  panicles  of  flowers,  which 
stand  out  in  bold  contrast  with  the  bright  green  foliage  ; 
then  for  a third  plate,  the  same  subject  after  the  fruit  is 
well  formed,  and  the  foliage  has  reached  its  fullest  deve- 
lopment. 

Any  one  who  takes  up  the  study  of  this  subject  will 
also  find  the  bursting  leaf-bud,  the  young  leaf,  the 
flowers  separate  and  in  panicle,  the  developed  leaf,  the 
green  fruit  burr,  as  well  as  the  burr  when  opened  by  the 
frost,  exposing  the  ripened  fruit,  all  picturesque  subjects 
for  the  camera.*  A series  of  photographic  studies  of 
this  kind,  carefully  executed,  would  form  an  album  far 
more  interesting  and  instructive  than  the  ordinary  view 
or  poi’trit  album,  so  common  and  so  listlessly  gone  over  by 
the  visitor  to  whom  it  is  shown,  and  who,  for  politeness' 
sake,  goes  over  page  after  page  without  noticing  what  the 
pictures  represent. 

In  the  same  group  of  trees  with  the  example  mentioned, 
we  would  call  attention  to  the  Gatalpa  (C.  SyringceJ'olia), 
with  its  large,  heart-shaped  leaves,  and  large  pyramidal 
clusters,  a foot  long,  of  white  and  purple  flowers ; the 
Paulownia  (P.  Itnperialis ),  a magnificent  tropical  look- 
ing tree,  with  leaves  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  in  diameter, 
and  large  clusters  of  lilac  flowers  ; the  magnificent  native 

lulip  l’oplar,  so  called  ( Liriodendron  Tulipifera),  with 
its  erect  growth,  broad,  glossy,  fiddle-shaped  leaves,  and 
beautiful  tulip-shaped  flowers  and  curious  seed-pods  ; not 

• 1 he  leaves,  buds,  flowers,  and  other  detail  are  pinned  against  a white 
or  neutral  lint  background,  and  focussed  on  the  plate  as  large  as  possible 
■without  crowding  the  plate. 


forgetting  the  Magnolias,  Conspicua,  Acuminata,  but 
especially  the  “ Macrophylla,”  or  large-leaved,  with  leaves 
two  feet  in  length,  and  a profusion  of  dull  white  flowers, 
of  the  size  of  a man’s  hat.  These  specimens  will  suffice 
for  one  group. 

Then  we  have  the  various  native  forest  trees,  such  as 
the  Oak  ( Quercus ),  the  Maples  (Acer),  Ash  (Fraxinus), 
Locust  (Robinid),  Elm  (Ulmus),  Linden  (Tilia),  Poplar 
(Popidus),  Gum  (Liquidamher  Styraciflua),  and  many  others, 
all  having  characteristics  which  may  be  plainly  shown  with 
the  camera. 

The  various  fruit  trees,  Cherry,  Peach,  Plum,  and 
Apple,  all  form  beautiful  subjects.  In  connection  with 
this  group  of  subjects,  we  will  state  that  on  one  occasion 
when  we  asked  a gentleman,  who  has  one  of  the  largest 
collections  of  lantern  slides  in  the  country,  the  question, 
which  he  considered  the  finest  slide  in  his  collection,  he 
unhesitatingly  answered,  “An  apple  tree  in  full  blossom.-’ 
lie  further  volunteered  the  information  that  he  had  eight 
slides  of  this  subject  made  from  as  many  different 
negatives. 

Our  field  of  study  can  be  extended  to  the  large  family 
of  flowering  shrubs,  or  minor  trees,  as  the  Dogwood 
(Cornus);  the  weeping  trees,  as  the  Ash,  Beech,  Birch 
(Pemluld),  &c. , the  Rose  of  Sharon  (Hibiscus  Syriacus), 
Hydrangea  (If.  Paniculatn  (Irandijioru),  Lilac  (Syringia), 
Purple  Fringe  (Rhus  Cotinus),  and  many  others. 

It  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  above  list  (although  not 
a hundredth  part  of  what  we  might  have  made  it)  how 
great  this  field  is  for  study  and  development,  and  well 
worthy  of  the  attention  of  all  intelligent  amateurs, 
especially  the  lady  votaries  of  our  art ; and  this  in- 
dependent from  the  fact  that  it  would  be  the  means  of 
leading  many  persons  to  a closer  study  of  the  secrets  and 
beauty  of  nature. 

At  the  same  time  we  cannot  refrain  from  cautioning 
the  neophyte,  if  he  wishes  to  take  up  this  study  as  above 
suggested,  from  attempting  too  much  at  the  start ; it  is 
better  to  complete  two  or  three  sets  thoroughly  and 
correct,  than  undertake  a dozen  or  more  subjects,  and 
complete  none. 

The  plan  pursued  by  the  writer  is  first  to  select  the 
specimen  tree  ; then  after  a satisfactory  position  for  the 
camera  has  been  obtained,  plumb  the  camera  with  apluinb- 
line,  the  same  as  a surveyor's  level,  then  drive  a large  peg 
directly  under  the  centre,— this  securely  marks  the 
location  for  any  subsequent  exposures — then  level  the 
camera,  pointing  as  near  the  centre  of  the  tree  as 
possible  ; the  centre  can  also  be  marked  by  tacking  a small 
piece  of  white  fabric  on  the  tree  on  a level  with  the 
lens. 

A matter  of  value,  in  connection  with  the  subject  of 
photographing  leafless  trees,  is  the  preservation  of  the 
outlines  of  historic  trees— once  landmarks  in  the  history 
of  our  country  or  of  its  progress— guide  posts,  which 
are  getting  less  and  less  every  year,  as  they  succumb  to 
the  ravages  of  time,  or  fall  prey  to  the  rapacity  of  man. 
As  yet  there  is  still  a number  of  such  trees  throughout 
this  country,  and  the  searching  out  and  tracing  the 
traditions  clinging  to  these  silent  monitors  by  the  road- 
side, or  as  they  stand  alone  in  the  field  like  a grim  sentinel, 
will  be  found  an  enjoyable  divertisement. 

I should  be  pleased  to  receive  and  note  any  results  from 
our  readers  who  may  take  up  this  special  line  of  photo- 
graphic study,  as  outlined  in  above  suggestions. — American 
Journal  of  Photogrophy. 


324 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  25,  1890. 


PHOTO-MECHANICAL  PRINTING. 

Ir  has  loug  been  a hobby  of  ours  to  speculate  on  and 
wish  for  the  coming  of  the  “ good  time  ” when  the  making 
of  the  negative  and  the  production  of  prints  therefrom 
shall  be  divorced  from  each  other,  as  much  as  at  the  pre- 
sent time  are  the  work  of  the  engraver  and  the  plate 
printer.  We  say  advisedly  “ the  good  time,”  as  we  fully 
believe  it  will  be  equally  good  for  the  photographer,  the 
public,  and  true  art  itself. 

Silver  printing  has  served  its  purpose,  and  done  more 
than  anything  else  in  connection  with  the  art  to  bring 
about  the  great  popularity  which  it  has  enjoyed  during 
the  last  thirty  years.  It  came  at  a time  when  art  culture 
was  at  a low  ebb,  at  least  amongst  the  great  mass  of  the 
people ; and  by  its  beauty  and  delicacy  of  detail  fasci- 
nated, where  breadth  and  true  artistic  effect  would  have 
fallen  flat  and  remained  unheeded. 

Now,  however,  there  is  a gradually  increasing  evidence 
of  a higher  degree  of  art  culture,  and  a daily  increasing 
appreciation  of  the  more  truly  artistic  qualities  of  several 
at  least  of  the  numerous  processes  of  mechanical  printing, 
some  of  which  have  been  already  brought  to  a high  degree 
of  perfection. 

The  “good  time  coining,”  and  which  we  hope  will 
come  soon,  will  be  one  in  which  the  photographer  will  be 
relieved  from  all  the  drudgery  and  cost  of  printing,  and 
the  constant  worry  incident  to  blisters,  tears,  mealiness, 
and  the  thousand-and-one  cares  and  troubles  of  the  print- 
ing and  finishing  departments  ; and,  free  to  give  his  whole 
heart  to  the  production  of  the  negative,  with  the  handing 
over  thereof  to  the  sitter,  and  the  receiving  of  a handsome 
fee  therefore,  his  responsibility  will  end. 

The  sitter,  in  possession  of  a negative,  will,  on  examin- 
ing the  results  of  the  various  mechanical  processes,  select 
that  which  pleases  him  best,  or  is  most  suitable  for  some 
special  purpose,  and  hand  it  to  the  printer  with  an  order 
for  such  a number  of  copies  as  he  may  require.  It  is 
true  that  the  processes  suitable  for  this  kind  of  work  are, 
as  yet,  too  expensive ; but  those  who  have  watched  the 
development  of  mechanical  printing,  from  Talbot’s  earliest 
efforts  through  all  its  various  stages  to,  say,  the  “ tree 
study  ” by  Ives’  process  in  the  March  number  of  the 
American  Journal  of  Photography,  or  the  prints  in  the 
Gutekunst  souvenir  noticed  in  our  last  issue,  cannot 
doubt  but  that  something  equally  good  and  suitably  cheap 
is  but  a matter  of  time,  and  in  the  near  future. 

Of  course,  we  are  quite  prepared  to  hear  the  “ craft  in 
danger  ” cry.  No  new  development  or  great  improve- 
ment in  mechanical  process  has  escaped  that.  When  it 
was  proposed  to  supersede  stage  coaches  by  railroads,  it 
was  declared  that  horses  and  men  would  both  find  their 
occupation  gone,  but  the  railroads  employ  hundreds  of 
both,  where  tens  only  were  required.  In  the  town  in 
which  our  early  years  were  spent,  we  remember,  when  it 
was  proposed  to  substitute  power  for  handloom  wearing, 
that  five  hundred  weavers  saw  nothing  but  starvation  or 
the  poor-house  before  them ; and  yet,  within  a very  short 
time  after  their  introduction,  they  gave  constant  and 
better  paid  employment  to  fully  five  thousand  hands  ; and 
so  it  has  always  been ; wherever  a suitable  division  of 
labour  has  been  made  and  suitable  machinery  introduced, 
the  result  has  been  a large  increase  in  the  numbers  em- 
ployed, and  better  payment  for  the  work. 

We  have  said  that  the  change  would  benefit  the  photo- 
grapher, the  photographed,  and  art  itself.  It  would  bene- 


fit the  photographer  by  enabling  him  to  give  his  undivided 
attention  to  the  production  of  the  negative,  and  by  saving 
the  expense  of  a staff  of  assistants  and  the  heavy  outlay 
for  stock,  &c.  Like  his  brother  artists  of  the  brush  and 
modelling  tool,  his  work  would  be  done  by  his  own  hands, 
and  imbued  with  his  own  individuality,  and  would  be  paid 
for  in  at  least  something  like  a relation  to  its  artistic  value. 
The  picture-loving  public — not  the  mere  photograph- 
loving,  but  the  picture-loving  public — of  the  near  future 
will  be  able  to  appreciate  the  difference  between  negatives 
that  are  the  outcome  of  genius,  either  inborn  or  acquired, 
and  the  work  of  those  who  do  not  possess  the  one  and  are 
too  lazy  to  study  till  they  obtain  the  other,  and  the  latter 
will  deservedly  go  to  the  wall. 

If  the  photographer,  with  no  wages  to  pay  and  no  stock 
to  buy,  who  makes  even  half-a-dozen  negatives  a day  and 
gets  a minimum  price  of  five  dollars  for  each,  does  not 
think  he  will  be  better  off  then  than  now,  he  need  not 
read  any  farther,  as  this  is  not  written  for  him,  but  for  his 
more  reasonable  brethren. 

Then,  as  for  the  general  public,  the  patrons  of  the 
photographer,  the  “ good  time  coming  ” will  benefit  it  by 
enabling  it  to  secure  pictures  impressed  by  the  style  and 
individuality  of  those  whom  it  most  admires,  and  printed 
in  style  and  colour  according  to  its  fancy,  and  with  the 
assurance  that  such  prints  shall  be  as  permanent  as  the 
paper  on  which  they  are  made.  Nor  need  they  be  con- 
fined to  one  particular  style.  From  the  one  negative  they 
may  have  made,  at  so  much  an  inch,  photogravure  plates, 
tye-priuting  blocks,  &c.,  to  be  kept  on  hand  for  such 
purposes  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  required. 

Nor  will  true  art  itself  be  less  a gainer  by  the  change. 
An  educated  and  cultured  public  will  cease  to  regard  a 
photograph  as  an  article  of  manufacture,  like  a pair  of 
boots  or  a spring  overcoat,  and  worth  only  a tradesman’s 
profit  over  the  cost  of  material  and  labour ; but  will  look 
upon  the  negative  as  a valuable  family  possession,  the 
outcome  of  a combination  of  artistic  ability  and  technical 
skill  of  their  favourite  artist  photographers. 

Under  such  circumstances  it  must  be  that  certain  men 
will  make  their  mark  as  head  and  shoulders  above  their 
fellows,  and  although  we  may  not  five  to  see  it,  we  believe 
the  time  will  come  when  their  productions  will  increase 
in  value  like  the  works  of  the  old  masters,  or  the  fiddles 
of  the  Cremona  makers,  and,  like  the  “Strides”  and 
“Amaties,”  be  worth  much  more  than  their  weight  in 
gold. 


Photographic  Club. — Subject  for  discussion  on  April  30th, 
“The  Development  of  Unknown  Exposures  ” ; May  7th, 
“ Lenses  for  Instantaneous  Work.”  Saturday  outing,  April 
26th,  Buckhurst  Hill  ; train  from  Liverpool  Street  at  2.8. 

Anhydrous  Sulphite  of  Potassium. — The  crystalline  sul- 
phite of  potassium  (K2S03.7H20)  contains  seven  molecules  of 
water,  and  is  rapidly  altered  on  exposure  to  air,  losing  water, 
and  becoming  gradually  oxidized  to  sulphate  of  potassium. 
The  well-kuown  firm  of  Kahlbaum  (Berlin)  now  puts  the  salt 
on  the  market  in  an  anhydrous  condition.  In  this  form  it  is 
perfectly  stable.  It  would  be  of  advantage  to  have  sulphite 
of  sodium  in  the  same  anhydrous  form. — American  Druyyist. 

Clearing  Collodion. — A correspondent  of  the  DrwjyisU’ 
Bulletin  says  that  a transparent  collodion  is  in  use  in  Paris 
which  is  not  only  perfectly  clear,  but  remains  limpid  for  an 
indefinite  time.  It  is  prepared  by  shaking  an  officinal  collodion 
with  quartz  sand  which  has  previously  been  washed  and  care- 
fully calcined.  The  action  is  purely  mechanical,  the  suspended 
particles  adhering  to  the  grains  of  sand,  and  settling  to  the 
bottom  of  the  container  in  a gelatinous  mass. 


Aprii,  2 5,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


025 


(tfomgpontJcnce. 


THE  PROPOSED  ILFORD  SCHOLARSHIP. 

Sin, — I atn  sure  you  will  join  with  me  in  deploring  the  con- 
clusion reached  in  this  matter,  as  shown  in  subjoined  letters, 
and  will  allow  me  to  say,  through  your  next  issue,  that  I can 
only  look  forward  with  hope  to  the  good  time  to  come  when 
we  shall  have  more  cohesion  between  the  various  societies, 
more  unanimity  of  purpose  in  the  endeavour  to  add  to  the 
dignity  of  photography,  and  less  airing  of  presumed  personal 
grievances  and  idiosyncrasies.  Then  the  amateur  and  profes- 
sional, as  such,  will  exist  no  longer,  but  all  will  !>e  photo- 
graphers without  any  invidious  distinction,  other  than  merit, 
ami  all  will  form  a race,  by  training  and  education,  infinitely 
superior  to  their  fellows  of  to-day.  The  Britannia  Works 
Company  hoped  that  their  offer  of  a scholarship  would  have 
been  the  foundation  stone  of  such  a Utopia  ; but  it  seems  we 
are  ahead  of  our  times  ; no  one  seems  equal  to  the  task  of 
laying  that  foundation  stone  aright. 

When  any  society  or  committee  of  leading  men  see  their 
way  to  fitly  use  the  gift,  it  will  be  ready  for  them. 

John  Howson. 

Britannia  Worles  Company , Ilford,  E.,  April  21.it. 


Dear  Sir, — With  reference  to  your  letter  of  the  29th  ult., 
I am  directed  by  the  Council  of  this  Society  to  send  you  a 
copy  of  the  following  resolution  which,  was  passed  yesterday 
evening  : — “ That  the  Council  of  the  Photographic  Society  of 
Great  Britain,  while  thanking  the  Britannia  Works  Company 
for  their  offer,  regret  that,  after  the  due  consideration,  they 
are  unable  to  accept  it.” 

Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain.  A.  M.  Manteli.,  Sec. 
To  J.  Howson,  Esq.,  Ilford. 


Dear  Sir, — I thank  you  for  your  letter  of  yesterday,  and 
share  the  regret  of  the  Committee  at  the  non-acceptance  of 
the  proposed  scholarship.  If  I may  be  permitted  to  express  an 
opinion  on  the  matter,  I feel  that  there  is  a great  want  of  due 
regard  to  the  interests  of  photography  when  a free  and  abso- 
lutely unfettered  gift  of  £100  per  annum  to  benefit  the  art 
science  cannot  find  a recipient.  John  Howson. 

To  Captain  Manteli,  Secretary  P.S.G.  B. 


DEVELOPMENT  IN  TWO  SOLUTIONS. 


Sir, — At  page  152  of  the  last  Year-Book  ok  Photography 
is  an  interesting  article,  by  B.  J.  Edwards,  on  “ Development.” 
This  article,  however,  contains  one  small  paragraph  which  might 
be  expressed  more  clearly,  and  I venture  to  hope  that  he  will 
publish  his  exact  meaning  for  the  benefit  of  amateurs  anxious 
to  learn.  I refer  to  the  last  paragraph  but  one,  on  page  154, 
beginning,  “It  will  be  obvious,”  &c. 

Would  Mr.  Edwards  kindly  explain  what  he  means  by  a 
“similar  solution,”  and  how  in  particular  would  he  recom- 
mend “Beach’s  Developer”  to  be  used  so  as  to  carry  out  the 
same  principle  ? 

Beach's  Two- Solution  Developer. 


Water 

Sulphurous  acid 
Sodium  sulphite 
Pyro 


No.  1. 

2 ounces 
9 

^ > J 

2 „ 
218  grains 


i 


1 ounce  = 437i  grs. 


No.  2. 

Carbonate  of  potash  3 ounces 
Sodium  sulphite  ...  2 ,, 

Water  ...  ...  7 ,, 

The  above  solutions  are  recommended  to  be  used  for  normal 
exposures,  thus  : — -Soak  the  plate  for  one  minute  in  a mixture 
of  30  minims  of  No.  1 with  2 ounces  of  water.  Pour  off  the 
mixture,  add  40  minims  of  No.  2,  and  continue  development. 

How  should  the  “ second  developer  or  intensifier  ” be  made  ? 
Does  the  “ full  dose  of  pyro  ” mean  that  mentioned  at  top  of 
page  154,  viz.,  16  grains  to  the  ounce  ? How  much  ammonium 
bromide  or  potassium  bromide  to  the  ounce,  and  what  increase 
(if  any)  of  carbonate  of  potash  to  the  ounce?  X. 


THE  CRYSTAL  PALACE  CHALLENGE  CUP  COMPE- 
TITION. 

Sir, — We  should  think  that  your  readers  will  1*  with  us  in 
feeling  very  much  surprised  at  the  trifling  evasions  of  the 
Crystal  Palace  Executive.  It  is  usually  considered  that  in  dis- 
putes there  are  two  sides  to  a question,  but  here  we  have  appa- 
rently an  exception  to  this  rule.  Spile  of  the  amount  of  repu- 
tation which  the  management  must  know  they  have  at  stake  in 
this  matter,  they  have  never  from  the  beginning  of  the  corres- 
pondence replied  with  proof  to  any  one  of  our  charges. 

They  say  in  their  last  communication  that  they  “deny 
unequivocally  the  allegations,”  and  “ that  the  Company  is  in  a 
position  to  prove  that  such  allegations  have  absolutely  no  foun- 
dation in  fact.”  Then  their  course  is  clear  : let  them  briny 
forward  this  proof,  and  we  shall  feel  satisfied.  This  is  what 
we  have  all  along  fruitlessly  asked  for. 

At  the  same  time  we  are  anxious  to  know  what  they  will 
prove.  Our  last  letter  is  not  an  allegation,  but  a string  of  plain 
facts,  laid  before  your  readers  with  no  unnecessary  comment. 

Perhaps  they  will  prove  that  we  sent  no  pictures  at  all. 
Will  they  deny  that  we  wrote  asking  them  to  lay  aside  the 
four  pictures  which  they — but  not  their  rules — objected  to  ? 
Will  they  deny  the  letter  from  one  of  their  own  judges,  stating 
that  only  part  of  our  pictures  were  judged  ? Will  they  deny 
their  own  letters  accepting  our  pictures  as  in  form  ? These 
are  our  “ allegations,"  and  unless  Messrs.  Wollaston  and 
Peasgood  are  prepared  to  bring  forward  some  of  this  proof 
which  they  profess  to  have,  it  is  useless  to  reply  further  to 
their  present  valueless  statements. 

Auty  & Ruddock,  W.  Parry, 

T.  Galloway,  J.  Pike, 

J.  P.  Gibson,  H.  R.  Proctor, 

J.  E.  Goold,  H.  G.  Ridgwat, 

Edgar  G.  Lee,  Lyd.  Sawyer. 

Mosley  Street  Cafe,  Newcastle-on- Tyne,  April  21st,  1890. 


patent  EnteUtgnue. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

5,613.  C.  Guttmann,  21,  Cornhill,  London,  “ Developing- 
Room  Lamp.” — April  14th. 

5,681.  C.  R.  Shill,  67,  Oakhurst  Grove,  East  Dulwich  Green, 
“ Portable  Frames  and  Suspenders  for  Mounting  and  Sus- 
pending Pictures.” — April  15th. 

5,742.  E.  Fairweather,  218,  Devonshire  Road,  Forest  Hill, 
London,  “ Developing  Photographs.” — April  16th. 

5,815.  S.  Raudnitz,  82,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Substitute 
for  Glass.” — April  17th. 

5,860.  Harry  Ransom,  4,  South  Street,  Finsbury,  London, 
“Cameras.” — April  17  th. 

5,863.  A.  S.  L.  Abraham,  34,  Southampton  Buildings,  Lon- 
don, “ Photographic  Shutters.”— April  17th. 

Specifications  Published. 

7,071. — April  27th,  1889.  “Spreading  Gum,  Paste, and  like 
Liquids,  and  Stoppering  the  Bottles  containing  such  Liquids.  ” 
Adolph  Buhi.er,  Reiehenhall,  Bavaria,  late  Captain  in  the 
Bavarian  Army. 

My  invention  relates  to  an  improved  device  for  enabling  gum, 
paste,  and  similar  liquids  to  be  evenly  spread,  the  said  device 
serving  also  the  purpose  of  an  efficient  stopper  for  the  bottles 
containing  such  liquids. 

It  is  well  known  that  when  spreading  gum  or  similar  liquids 
by  the  use  of  a brush  in  the  ordinary  manner,  the  brush  at 
first  usually  contains  too  much  of  the  liquid,  and  therefore  lays 
it  on  too  thickly  and  unevenly,  and  if  the  brush  be  wiped 
against  the  bottle  neck  to  free  it  from  a superfluity  of  liquid, 
the  cork  of  the  bottle  is  liable  to  stick  fast  in  the  neck  thereof. 
To  avoid  the  latter  difficulty,  loose  covers,  such  as  metallic  cap- 
sules, are  used,  which  have  the  objection  that  the  liquid  in  the 
bottle,  through  exposure  to  the  air,  thickens  in  a very  short 
time.  Even  the  recently  proposed  elastic  gum  bottles  which 
terminate  in  a slit  conical  tube,  and  which  are  used  directly  for 
I spreading  the  gum  by  giving  the  bottles  a slight  pressure,  do 


326 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  25,  1890. 


not  well  answer  the  purpose,  as  the  gum  soon  hardens  at  the 
outlet  and  clogs  it  up. 

By  my  invention  the  hereinbefore  described  objections  arc 
overcome. 

My  improved  device  comprises  a tube  which  is  so  fitted  in 
the  corks  of  the  bottle  that  it  can  be  easily  removed  therefrom 
and  replaced. 

The  tube  is  advantageously  of  cylindrical  form,  pointed  at  its 
lower  end,  where  it  is  provided  with  several  small  perforations. 
The  tube  is  preferably  fitted  with  a collar  at  the  upper  end,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  point  from  coming  into  contact  with  the 
bottom  of  the  bottle. 

The  upper  end  of  the  tube,  which  is  open,  has  an  india- 
rubber  cap  which  serves,  firstly,  to  suck  a quantity  of  the 
liquid  into  the  tube  ; and  secondly,  when  softly  pressed, 
to  cause  the  liquid  to  issue  through  the  perforations  in  the  tube 
and  become  evenly  and  slowly  spread. 

Instead  of  employing  an  india-rubber  cap  the  tube  may  be 
constructed  with  a piston  similarly  to  a syringe,  or  the  tube 
itself  may  be  made  in  the  shape  of  a plunging-syphon.  As  the 
hole  in  the  cork  is  made  to  just  fit  the  tube,  all  the  gum  which 
may  be  on  the  outside  of  the  tube  is  removed  by  the  cork  when 
drawing  the  tube  out  for  use.  The  tube  can,  however,  be 
fastened  to  the  cork,  and  as  it  is  not  necessary  to  scrape  or 
wipe  the  tube  against  the  bottle  neck,  the  cork  will  not  be 
liable  to  stick. 

After  the  tube  has  been  used  for  spreading  the  liquid,  it  is 
pushed  down  again  through  the  cork  inio  the  bottle,  until  the 
collar  rests  tightty  on  the  cork,  thus  forming  a secure  stopper 
and  preventing  the  drying  up  and  thickening  of  the  liquid.  If 
the  india-rubber  cap  of  the  tube,  when  pushing  the  latter  back 
into  the  bottle,  be  compressed  by  the  fingers,  the  liquid  will 
enter  the  tube  as  soon  as  the  pressure  of  the  fingers  is  removed, 
and  the  tube  will  thus  be  always  ready  for  use. 

Instead  of  using  the  conical  point  of  the  tube  for  spreading 
the  liquid,  this  may  be  more  evenly  affected  by  adapting  special 
spreading  devices  to  the  latter,  such  as  a brush,  a piece  of 
elastic  attached  to  a spring  wire,  a piece  of  sponge  or  a rubber 
roller,  it  being  necessary  for  this  purpose  to  soraew'hat  modify 
the  shape  of  the  end  of  the  tube. 

7,759.  May  9th,  1889. — “A  Combined  Umbrella  Walking- 

Stick.”  Gwendoline  Peyman,  South  Bank,  Milverton, 

Leamington,  Warwickshire. 

We  print  this  patent  because  umbrella  walking-stick  camera 
stands  have  been  found  useful  in  photography.  The  inventor 
says 

This  invention  consists  in  combining  an  umbrella  with  a 
walking-stick  ‘ 1 such  a manner  that  the  combined  article  can 
be  used  for  an  umbrella  or  for  a walking-stick. 

In  carrying  out  my  invention,  in  some  cases  I form  the 
umbrella  on  a tube,  such  umbrella-tube  sliding  over  a tubular 
or  solid  core. 

I form  the  walking-stick  hollow,  and  place  the  umbrella  and 
core  inside  the  walking-stick  in  such  a manner  that  the  walking- 
stick  can  be  used  for  ordinary  purposes. 

When  I wish  to  use  the  umbrella,  I push  the  sliding  tube 
and  umbrella  out  at  the  end  of  the  walking-stick  until  the 
umbrella  shade  is  entirely  outside  the  walking-stick  ; I then 
draw  back  the  umbrella  tube  over  its  core,  and  push  the 
walking-stick  concentrically  up  or  inside  the  shade,  and  expand 
the  said  shade  over  the  extreme  end  of  the  walking-stick, 
and  then  use  the  walking-stick  as  a handle  for  the  expanded 
shade  or  umbrella. 

The  hollow  walking-stick  must  be  of  a suitable  transverse 
section  to  receive  a collapsed  umbrella  ; the  umbrella  would, 
of  course,  be  made  of  the  thinnest  material  so  as  to  collapse 
into  the  smallest  possible  dimensions. 

8,603.  23rd  May,  1889. — “The  Production  of  Phototypes.” 

Johannes  Adalbert  Fischer,  Merchant,  Leipzig,  Saxony. 

In  the  art  of  printing,  the  usual  method  of  producing  images 
in  imitation  of  photographs  has  been  to  print  the  image*  on 
specially  prepared  sheets — chalk  or  chromo-paper  sheets — the 
said  sheets  being  prepared  with  a suitable  mass  on  their  entire 
surface,  which  could  only  be  done  at  considerable  cost.  On 


the  other  hand,  in  attempting  to  transfer  the  images  on 
ordinary  printing  paper,  there  arose  the  difficulty  that,  owing 
to  the  absence  of  the  so-called  chalk  base,  the  sheets  could  not 
be  sufficient  lj-  polished  or  glossed  to  obtain  the  desired  effect. 

In  order  to  simplify  and  cheapen  the  said  printing  process, 
I proceed  as  follows  : — Any  ordinary  priuting  paper  is  coated 
with  a suitable  ground  glass — or  the  latter  is  pressed  on — but 
only  within  the  outline  of  the  images,  after  which  the  images 
are  printed,  and  then  the  surface  is  polished  or  glossed. 

The  images  or  phototypes  thus  produced  are  similar  to  photo- 
graphs or  heliotypes,  but  can  be  produced  more  cheaply  than 
those  which  were  made  by  preparing  the  entire  surface  of  the 
paper. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

An  improvement  in  the  production  of  phototypes,  which  con- 
sists in  providing  the  paper  with  a base  of  a suitably  prepared 
mass  within  the  outlines  of  the  images  only,  then  printing  the 
image,  and  subsequently  polishing  or  glossing  the  surface  by  a 
polishing  or  glossing  machine. 

2,776.  February  20th,  1890. — “ Photographic  Lens  Shutters.” 

Frank  Bishop,  of  the  firm  of  Marion  and  Co.,  22  and  23, 

Soho  Square,  London,  Dealers  in  Photographic  Materials. 

A communication  to  him  from  abroad  by  the  firm  of  Voigt- 

liinder  and  Son,  of  Brunswick,  Germany. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1.  In  a photographic  lens  shutter  composed  of  segments  or 
plates  pivoted  to  an  annular  frame,  and  simultaneously  moved 
about  their  pivots,  the  construction  of  the  said  plates  of  such 
form  as  to  opeu  or  separate  from  each  other  at  the  centre,  and 
at  practically  the  same  instant  or  immediately  afterwards,  in 
the  direction  of  the  circumference  in  the  form  of  curvilinear, 
ray-like  extensions  of  the  central  aperture. 

2.  The  combination,  with  thehereiu-describedshutter,  audits 
spring-actuated  crank  motion  provided  with  a shouldered  discs, 
of  the  spring-actuated  detent  adapted  to  engage  with  either 
shoulder  of  the  said  disc,  and  arrest  the  shutter  in  either  of 
two  positions  for  the  purpose  specified. 

3.  The  combination,  with  the  herein-described  shutter,  and 
its  spring-actuated  crank  motion,  of  the  spring-actuated  detent 
adapted  to  engage  with  the  spring  motor,  and  arrest  the 
shutter  in  either  of  two  positions,  and  of  the  trigger  lever 
provided  with  an  adjustable  escapement  piece  adapted  to  act 
on  the  detent,  and  disengage  it  from  the  spring  motor  with 
whichever  shoulder  it  may  be  in  engagement,  and  capable  of 
being  so  set  as  to  keep  the  detent  out  of  engagement  with  the 
spring  motor  during  the  whole  motion  of  the  shutter,  or  allow 
the  detent  to  immediately  fall  back  into  engagement  with  the 
spring  motor,  so  as  to  arrest  the  shutter  when  it  reaches  the 
fully-open  position. 

4.  In  the  herein -described  shutter-actuating  and  releasing 
mechanism,  the  combination,  with  the  trigger  and  escapement 
piece,  of  the  cam  or  eccentric  for  adjusting  said  escapement 
piece  in  either  of  its  two  positions. 

2,781.  February  21st,  1890. — “Cramp  for  Glueing  Picture 

Frames.”  Georoe  Ott,  of  Ulm,  on  the  Danube,  Germany, 

Manufacturer. 

This  invention  is  a device  intended  to  facilitate  the  glueing 
of  frames  for  pictures  and  such  like,  and  the  compression  of 
mitred  quoins. 

The  inventor  claims  a mitre  cramp  for  picture  frames  or  the 
like  consisting  of  a frame  with  an  open  space  furnished  with 
rabbets,  a slide  provided  with  two  movable  cheeks  having  dents 
arranged  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  a spring,  screw, 
cheeks,  for  the  purpose  of  joining  quoins  of  bands  or  frame 
bars  to  be  glued  or  otherwise  secured  together,  the  whole  com- 
bined and  operating  substantially  ns  set  forth  in  the  specifica- 
tion. 


Camera  Club  Notices. — Saturday,  April  26th,  first  excur- 
sion of  the  season,  Nutfield — leader,  ltev.  C.  F.  Fison  ; Thurs- 
day, May  1st,  8 p.m.,  Captain  Abney  will  read  a paper — sub- 
ject to  be  announced  later  ; Monday,  May  5th,  8 p.m.,  opening 
of  exhibition  of  Mrs.  Cameron’s  photographs  ; Monday,  May 
5th,  8.30  p.m.,  smoking  concert — last  of  the  season, 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


327 


April  25,  1890.] 


Procee&tnga:  of  ^oncttfg. 


Camera  Club. 

Tkursdiy  April  1 7 tit ; Mr.  A.  Stkoh  in  the  chair. 

A L*e  noir  on  “Amateur  and  Professional  Photographers,” 
by  Mr.  \V.  Adcock,  was  read  by  die  Secretary  in  consequence 
of  the  absence  of  the  author  through  illuess.  In  the  paper 
Mr.  Adcock  stated  that  he  was  dealing  with  a delicate  subject. 
He  was  an  amateur  himself,  and  he  had  never  received  a 
penny  for  anything  he  had  done  in  photography.  Amateur 
photography  was  said  to  reduce  the  trade  of  the  professional 
worker ; also  to  exercise  an  influence  adverse  to  him  by 
conveying  an  idea  to  the  public  of  the  low  cost  to  him  of 
the  articles  he  produces  ; it  was  likewise  said  that  amateurs 
injured  him  by  giving  photographs  for  sale  for  charitable  pur- 
poses. It  was  said  that  these  influences,  in  addition  to  the 
rent,  rates,  taxes,  and  wages  which  the  professional  photo- 
grapher had  to  pay,  had  rendered  it  difficult  for  him  at  the 
present  time  to  keep  a special  staff  for  special  work.  His 
(Mr.  Adcock’s)  sympathies  in  this  matter  were  with  the  trader, 
whose  difficulties  he  believed  to  be  increasing  year  by  year.  As 
to  the  charge  of  injuring  private  trade  by  giving  prints  for 
sale  at  bazaars  in  aid  of  charities,  the  end  seemed  to  justify 
the  means.  In  such  cases  he  employed  a trader  to  produce 
from  his  negatives  all  the  prints  he  required  for  the  purpose. 
He  thought  that  amateur  photographers  should  buy  as  many 
photographs  from  traders  as  if  they  had  never  taken  up  the  sub- 
ject. He  also  thought  that  when  the  friendsof  an  amateur  wan  ted 
prints  from  negatives  he  had  taken  of  them,  the  amateur  should 
give  the  negatives  out  to  a trader  and  let  him  supply,  on 
reasonable  fixed  terms,  whatever  prints  might  be  required. 
Amateurs  should  try  to  give  professionals  all  the  support  they 
could,  and  obey  the  golden  rule  of  doing  unto  others  as  they 
wished  others  to  do  unto  them. 

Mr.  Pringle  and  Mr.  Webber  expressed  approval  of  much 
that  had  been  said  by  the  author  of  the  paper,  after  which  the 
discussion  drifted  into  the  minor  question  of  the  separation  of 
amateurs  and  professionals  at  competitive  exhibitions  ; a vote 
was  taken  on  the  point,  and  ihe  meeting  was  unanimous  in  the 
opinion  that  no  such  separation  should  be  made. 

The  Chairman  held  that  if  any  injury  were  done  by  the 
amateur  to  the  professional,  it  was  very  slight,  and  in  por- 
traiture, the  most  profitable  branch  of  photography,  the  pro- 
fessional has  every  advantage,  for  he  has  a studio  and  means  of 
lighting  such  as  an  amateur  never  dreams  of  possessing.  He 
himself  had  been  started  in  amateur  photography  by  a pro- 
fessional. He  was  at  the  seaside  at  the  time,  and  went  to  get 
his  portrait  taken.  In  time  the  prints  were  sent  to  his  hotel, 
and  when  he  looked  at  them  he  could  not  recognise  himself  in 
the  least ; it  looked  like  a portrait  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and 
he  had  been  given  somewhat  of  a Roman  nose  ; all  his  friends 
laughed  at  the  picture.  He  went  to  the  photographer  and 
asked  him  what  he  meant.  This  time  he  saw  the  proprietor, 
who  said,  “ Oh  ! I suppose  you  want  a likeness.  If  so,  you 
must  give  me  another  sitting.  ” He  then  sat  again,  and  the 
result  was  worse  than  before  ; consequently,  when  he  returned 
to  town  he  thought  that  he  would  try  what  he  could  do  him- 
self, so  he  bought  a little  apparatus  and  started  as  an  amateur. 
He  did  not  think  that  he  had  ever  done  any  harm  to  a pro- 
fessional photographer,  and  he  did  not  believe  that  amateurs  as 
a class  did  any  harm  to  professionals.  He  thought  that  were 
it  not  for  amateurs,  photography  would  not  be  at  its  present 
state  of  perfection.  If  they  slightly  injured  those  of  the 
professionals  who  turned  out  inferior  work,  where  would  be 
the  manufacturers  of  apparatus  and  photographic  goods  were 
there  no  amateurs  ? Altogether,  he  thought  that  they  did  the 
photographic  industry  more  good  than  harm. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  17th  inst.,  Mr.  C.  H.  Cooke  occupied 
the  chair. 

A question  was  asked  in  reference  to  the  price  of  aluminium. 
Mr.  A.  Haddon  said  that  at  a previous  meeting  he  stated  that 
he  believed  it  could  be  bought  at  about  6s.  pel  lb.  ; this  price, 


he  had  since  ascertained,  was  below  its  present  market  value. 
In  ingot  it  could  be  bought  for  15s. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater,  referring  to  the  permanency  of  silver 
prints,  said  he  had  recently  opened  a tin  case  received  from 
Naples  in  which  some  silver  prints  had  been  packed  since  1880  ; 
the  image  had  quite  faded. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  said  he  had  a batch  of  silver  prints 
that  had  been  lying  by  since  1882  ; they  had  been  kept  flat, 
but  up  to  the  present  time  they  showed  no  trace  whatever  of 
fading  except  that  the  paper  had  turned  a little  yellow. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Teape  showed  a changing  bag  which  could  lie 
easily  made.  It  consisted  of  two  thicknesses  of  black  satteen 
cloth  folded  and  sewn  ; the  ends  were  left  open,  through  which 
the  hands  were  inserted,  the  changing  being  done  entirely  by 
feeling.  He  had  used  it  frequently  in  the  field  for  changing 
plates,  and  had  found  it  perfectly  safe. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  had  used  a similar  bag  for  changing 
plates  out  of  doors.  To  insure  the  plates  being  put  into  the  dark 
slides  film  side  down,  he  attached  a small  strip  of  gummed 
paper  to  the  back  and  over-lapping  one  of  the  sides  of  each 
plate  ; when  putting  the  plate  into  the  slide  this  strip  of  paper 
was  torn  off. 

Mr.  Everett  suggested  backing  the  plate.  The  rough  side 
would  be  a guide  in  changing  entirely  by  the  feel,  and  would 
also  act  as  a protection. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater  showed  several  bromide  prints  of  sun- 
set pictures.  The  negatives  w'ere  taken  on  Easter  Monday  at 
six  o’clock  in  the  evening.  In  exposing,  the  cap  was  taken 
quickly  off  and  on  the  lens,  using  fj 22  stop.  He  also  showed 
some  prints  from  negatives  of  the  landslip  at  Walton-on-the- 
Naze.  Referring  to  the  newspaper  reports  of  this  matter, 
Mr.  Freshwater  drew  attention  to  Burnt  House  Farm  shown  in 
one  of  the  pictures  as  still  standing,  whereas  the  reports  stated 
that  this  place  had  been  destroyed  by  the  catastrophe. 

The  Chairman  asked  whether  paper  packed  between  plates 
would  be  likely  to  cause  abrasion  of  film. 

Mr.  Debenham  thought  not,  unless  a great  weight  was  put 
upon  them. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  said  that  this  method  of  packing  had  advantages 
over  the  paper  clips  at  the  edges  of  plates  ; packed  in  the  latter 
way  plates  were  more  easily  broken. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Teape  said  that  in  grooved  boxes  it  was  sometimes 
very  difficult  to  get  the  side  plates  out  of  the  box  ; to  obviate 
this  he  simply  cut  the  corners  off  the  box. 

Mr.  Draoe  said  that  when  in  New  York  he  bought  some  plates 
which  were  packed  with  a strip  of  cardboard  at  the  edges  ; 
when  developed  the  film  that  had  been  in  contact  with  the 
cardboard  was  found  to  be  full  of  holes. 

Mr.  A.  Haddon  remarked  that  at  the  last  meeting  a lantern- 
slide  cover-glass,  showing  a deposit,  was  exhibited  by  Mr. 
York,  but  as  the  crystals  were  rubbed  off  before  passing  round, 
the  members  had  no  opportunity  of  examining  it.  Heshowed 
two  glass  globes  blown  by  him  some  time  ago  ; on  the  inside  of 
each  an  arborescent  growth  had  commenced.  Mr.  Haddon 
said  that  he  hail  found  this  growth  sometimes  commence  within 
twenty-four  hours,  but  only  with  soda-glass.  He  remarked  on 
the  absence  of  any  crystalline  formation  in  incandescent  lamps. 
From  this  he  inferred  that  a certain  amount  of  moisture  must 
be  present  to  form  the  deposit.  In  the  case  of  the  globes 
passed  round,  this  would  be  supplied  by  the  breath  in  blowing 
them. 


Derby  Photographic  Society. 

The  monthly  meeting  was  held  in  its  Rooms,  Derwent  Street, 
on  Thursday,  the  17th  inst.;  Mr.  Thomas  Scotton  presided. 

Mr.  R.  Keene  read  a paper,  in  the  course  of  which  he  said 
that  he  had  no  new  theories  to  propound,  no  new  cranks  in 
development,  as  we  were  so  well  provided  with  photographic 
literature  that  everything  new  was  published  as  soon  as  it  left 
the  hands  of  the  inventor  ; but  he  would  give  a short  sketch 
of  the  troubles  and  trials  of  a photographer  who  practised  the 
art  some  thirty  or  forty  years  ago.  He  dwelt  upon  the  trouble 
and  time  of  cleaning  and  coating  glass,  and  keeping  in  order 
the  silver  bath,  as  compared  with  the  dry  plate  process. 
He  exhibited  a 15  by  15  camera  of  some  twenty  years  or  so 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[April  25,  1890. 


328 


back,  aud  compared  it  with  the  beautifully  made  instruments 
now  in  use,  stating  that  a kit  of  that  period  would  weigh  about 
three  cwt.,  and  now  we  can  get  the  same  result  with  only  a 
weight  of  ten  pounds.  The  paper  was  interspersed  with  lively 
anecdotes,  and  was  both  interesting  and  instructive.  He  advo- 
cated a system  in  the  exposure  of  plates,  and  not  to  take  every- 
thing indiscriminately,  but  to  study  the  locality  well  before 
taking  the  camera  out. 

A discussion  followed.  A number  of  prints  by  the  Grapho- 
tone  Company  was  exhibited. 


North  Middlesex  Photographic  Ci.ub. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  above  Society  on  the  14th  April,  Mr.  H. 
M.  Smith,  of  the  Eastman  Company,  attended  to  show  some 
Kodak  cameras,  which  have  already  been  described  in  these 
pages. 

Mr.  Walker  spoke  of  the  difficulty  in  obtaining  a supply  of 
the  reliable  celluloid  film  with  promptitude. 

Mr.  Smith  said  that  in  future  the  Company  hoped  to  be  able 
to  meet  the  demand,  as  they  were  entitled  to  one-third  of  all 
that  manufactured  in  America,  and  were  completing  the  en- 
largement of  their  English  works. 

In  answer  to  questions,  Mr.  Smith  said  that  the  shutter  of 
the  Kodaks  worked  at  about  one-fortieth  of  a second,  and  that 
its  speed  may  be  altered  by  releasing  the  spring  ; this  the  East- 
man Company  are  always  willing  to  do  free  of  charge. 

The  Secretary  said  that  there  had  been  complaints  of  mark- 
ings said  to  arise  from  electrical  causes. 

Mr.  Smith  responded  that  there  has  only  been  one  batch 
yielding  such  markings,  aud  it  was  from  this,  unfortunately, 
that  Mr.  Walker  took  those  negatives  wdiich  he  exhibited  at  the 
Camera  Club.  The  defect  was  due  to  coating  the  celluloid 
under  as  high  tension  as  if  it  had  been  paper.  Recently  the 
machinery  has  been  altered,  so  that  there  is  little  probability  of 
any  films  being  defective  from  that  cause. 

On  April  28th  Mr.  F.  L.  Pither  will  lecture  on  “ Art  in 
Photography.” 


Photographic  Society  op  Japan. 

A meeting  of  the  above-mentioned  society  was  held  in  the 
Public  Hall,  Yokohama,  on  the  evening  of  Saturday.  22ik1  inst., 
Mr.  J.  Johnstone  in  the  chair. 

After  the  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting  had  been  read, 
the  following  candidates  were  unanimously  elected  members  of 
the  Society  : — H.  E.  Watauabe,  Hiromoto  (President  of  the 
Imperial  University),  Professors  B.  Koto,  J.  Milne,  and  Aug. 
Revilliod,  Mountjoy  Squire  (Commander,  R.N.),  and  Messrs.  J. 
Fraser,  G.  Scott,  A.  Futami,  T.  Tanaka,  T.  Enami,  S.  Nihara, 
A.  R.  Lamb,  and  W.  Willett. 

A lantern  exhibition  was  then  given.  Prof.  Milne  opened 
the  proceedings  by  a lecture  on  earthquakes,  illustrated  with 
maps  showing  the  distribution  of  volcanoes  and  of  districts  sub- 
ject to  seismic  phenomena  throughout  the  world,  and  more  par- 
ticularly through  Japan,  and  by  a set  of  slides  from  photo- 
graphs of  the  destructive  effects  of  earthquakes  in  all  parts  of 
the  world.  Some  of  these  showed  the  danger  of  arched  struc- 
tures where  earthquakes  prevail,  others  how  fractures  follow 
vertical  lines  of  apertures  in  buildings,  and  one  how  the  end 
house  of  a row  may  be,  so  to  speak,  heaved  away  by  the 
momentum  of  the  others,  which  themselves  remain  intact. 

After  thus  there  was  an  exhibition  of  a popular  nature.  There 
was  a large  attendance  of  members  and  visitors  who  seemed  to 
thoroughly  appreciate  the  pictures,  but,  unfortunately,  the  pro- 
ceedings were  considerably  curtailed  by  a mistake  of  the  exhi- 
bitor, who  threw  the  words  “good  night”  on  the  screen 
while  there  were  still  many  slides  to  be  shown.  The  audience 
rose  and  were  out  of  the  hall  before  there  was  time  to  explain 
the  matter.  The  lantern  was  (with  the  trifling  exception  men- 
tioned above)  ably  handled  by  Mr  Takashima  Matsuchi. 

Messrs.  Neoretti  and  Zambra  request  us  to  publish  that 
they  pay  a large  sum  for  the  exclusive  right  of  taking  photo- 
graphs in  the  Crystal  Palace  aud  grounds,  as  certain  enquiries 
have  recently  tbeen  made  about  this  matter. 


3nstocrs  to  (jToncspontJcnt*. 


All  A Ivirtissments  and  cinnnunriations  relating  to  money  matters,  and 

to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  shiuld  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 

Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 

Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.8.,  2,  St.  M ary’s  Roal,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

E.  C.  (Burslem). — Elastic  Collodion,  Probably  the  best  way 
of  tempering  collodion,  and  conferring  upon  it  a superior 
degree  of  elasticity,  is  to  add  a very  small  proportion  of 
castor  oil,  which  is  freely  soluble  in  .alcohol.  This  does  not 
wash  out  when  subsequently  immersed  in  water,  but  remains 
permanently  in  the  film.  Only  by  trial — using,  of  course,  a 
minimum — can  you  find  out  what  quantity  to  add  to  the 
normal  collodion  to  modify  the  film  in  accordance  with  your 
requirements.  We  should  not  be  inclined  to  recommend 
camphor  for  this  purpose,  because  of  its  volatility  leading  to 
alteration  by  atmospheric  exposure. 

Photophane.— We  really  cannot  undertake  to  advise  about 
investments.  You  have  the  Prospectus,  and  this  gives  you 
ample  means  of  pushing  your  own  enquiries. 

Ledbury. — Grains  and  Grammes.  Our  Correspondent  points 
out  the  disadvantage  of  adopting  the  contracted  mode  of 
spelling  the  word  “grain,”  for  with  many  writers  who  do 
not  take  the  trouble  of  dotting  the  “ i,”  there  will  often  be 
a doubt  about  the  manuscript  as  to  whether  grain  or  gram 
is  intended.  For  this  reason  we  have  always  advocated  the 
retention  of  the  French  method  of  spelling  the  word 
“gramme,”  so  as  to  avoid  error  from  tliis  cause,  aud  give 
the  printer  specific  guidance. 

M.  P.  G. — Oxalate  of  Silver,  when  ex  posed  to  light,  undoubtedly 
gives  off  carbonic  acid,  and  leaves  residual  silver  in  the 
blackened  product.  From  this  decomposition  you  cannot 
very  well  argue  against  the  oxychloride  theory,  there  Iteing 
so  little  analogy  between  the  two  cases  ; the  oxalate  carrying 
its  own  reducing  agent,  whilst  none  is  present  when  the 
white  chloride  of  silver  is  exposed  to  light,  unless  water 
takes  part  in  the  reaction,  as  has  been  asserted. 

F.  C.  S. — Impure  Sulphites.  You  are,  doubtless,  alluding  to 
Mr.  Bothamley’s  statement  on  this  head.  If  so,  you  have 
only  to  test  for  sulphates , which  may  creep  in  from  atmo- 
spheric oxidation,  by  adding  to  the  aqueous  solution  of  the 
sulphite  a considerable  excess  of  hydrochloric  acid,  and  then 
testing  with  cliloride  of  barium.  Be  careful,  to  use  pure 
water  and  HC1,  and  do  not  leave  the  sulphurous  acid  liquor 
exposed  to  the  air,  for  it  is  certain  to  absorb  oxygen,  and  so 
pass  on  to  sulphate. 

Old  Hand.— Change  of  name.  You  are  never  likely  to  hear 
again  of  Mr.  Russell  Manners  Gordon  under  his  old  name, 
for  the  distinguished  amateur  bears  now  the  Portuguese 
title  of  the  Marquis  de  Torrebello,  and  resides  in  Madeira. 

T.  A.  B. — Citro-Chloride  Paper.  The  following  proportions 
for  a plain  paper  are  given  by  Herr  A.  Ost,  of  Vienna,  in 
Ernst  Lietze’s  Manual  of  1888.  Salting  solution,  one  part  of 
common  salt  in  thirty  parts  of  water.  Sensitizing  bath — 
Nitrate  of  silver...  ...  ...  ...  1 part 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  12  parts 

Citric  acid  ...  ...  ...  ...  1 part 

Alcohol  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  1 ,, 

Mr.  Bedford  described  his  mode  of  working  albumenised 
paper  with  separate  baths  at  the  March  technical  meeting  of 
the  Photographic  Society.  See  also  page  274  of  the  News 
for  April  1 1th. 

W.  H.  B.  (Cambridge). — Reduction  of  Over- Intensified  Nega- 
tives. 1.  Those  which  have  been  made  too  dense  by  treat- 
ment with  bichloride  of  mercury  and  ammonia  may  be  reduced 
again  with  weak  hypo,  or  even  with  very  dilute  hydrochloric 
acid.  2.  Negatives  originally  under-develojied,  and  there- 
fore hard,  may  be  improved  by  Mr.  Farmer’s  process,  which 
consists  in  soaking  them  in  hyposulphite  to  which  a small 
quantity  of  a lemon-yellow  solution  of  potassium  ferrieyanide 
has  been  added.  Furthermore,  in  printing  from  hard  nega- 
tives, try  Mr.  Cowan’s  method  of  sunning  from  t he  back  as  a 
mode  of  toning  down  the  violent  contrasts, 

J.  D.  and  Amateur  received, 


NEWS 


THE 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1652. — May  2,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


P AO  K 


Improvements  in  the  Mounts  of  Lenses 329 

Mr.  Eiffel  a Photographer 3S0 

The  German  Photographic  Union  330 

The  Founding  of  the  Lantern  Society  332 

The  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester 333 

Lantern  Slide  Work.  Ry  Godfrey  Ringley 333 

Photographic  Exhibitions  in  India 83 3 

Crossing  National  Frontiers  with  Dry  Plates 33C 

Photography  in  Fiction 337 

Notes  338 


PA8«in»; 


The  Photographic  Club  339 

The  Latent  Photographic  Image.  By  C.  II.  Bothamley 339 

A Meeting  About  Lens  Standards  341 

The  Permanence  of  Photographic  Prints.  By  Prof.  H.  Fol ...  343 

Photographic  Lenses.  By  T.  R.  Dallmeyer  344 

The  Society  of  Arts 345 

Patent  Intelligence  340 

Correspondence 346 

Proceedings  of  Societies 347 

Answers  to  Correspondents  348 


IMPROVEMENTS  IN  THE  MOUNTS  OF 
LENSES. 

A meeting,  the  results  of  which  are  likely  to  be  of 
considerable  benefit  to  photographers  in  this  and  in 
some  other  countries,  was  held  last  week  in  London 
under  the  auspices  of  a committee  of  the  Photographic 
Convention,  and  a long  report  thereof  is  given  in  these 
pages  to-day.  A fair  number  of  representative 
opticians  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  committee  to 
be  present  at  the  meeting,  the  object  of  which  was  to 
consider  the  subject  of  standards  for  photographic 
lenses.  From  the  general  drift  of  the  conference,  it 
seemed  that  there  was  little  chance  of  the  opticians 
being  likely  to  agree  to  issue  diaphragms  with  apertures 
made  in  accordance  with  one  particular  standard,  but 
when  it  came  to  the  question  of  establishing  a system 
of  uniform  standard  flanges,  there  seemed  to  be  a fair 
chance  of  agreement,  and  some  practical  steps  are  about 
to  be  taken  to  achieve  the  desired  result.  To  the 
photographer  this  means  that  hereafter  he  may  be 
relieved  from  the  necessity  of  carrying  an  unnecessary 
weight  of  wood  and  brass,  in  the  form  of  adapters  or 
extra  camera  fronts,  and  that  one  of  his  objections  to 
adding  to  his  stock  of  lenses  will  be  removed.  Another 
blessing  which  may  result  from  the  meeting  of  last 
Friday  will  be  the  general  introduction  of  camera 
screws  of  uniform  dimensions. 

The  consideration  of  the  subject  of  standard  bayonet 
joints  for  lens  mounts,  in  place  of  the  ordinary  screws, 
was  considered  by  some  of  those  present  to  be  too  large 
a question  to  take  up  now,  but  it  is  evident  that  the 
time  lost  by  a photographer  in  screwing  and  uuscrewiug 
lenses,  especially  when  they  have  fine  threads,  is  a 
grievance,  and  sometimes  causes  the  loss  of  a picture. 
Mr.  G.  L.  Addenbrooke  once  exhibited  at  the  Photo- 
graphic Society  some  lenses  specially  mounted,  so  as 
not  to  be  open  to  the  objection  just  mentioned,  and  he 
has  stated  that  he  never  knew  what  comfort  in  land- 


scape photography  was  before  he  had  those  lenses  made. 
If  they  were  to  be  examined  at  the  adjourned  meeting 
of  the  opticians  next  week,  their  criticisms  of  them 
would  be  of  public  interest.  Mr.  Dallmeyer  expressed 
the  opinion  last  Friday  that  screw  bayonet  joints  were 
better  than  pin  bayonet  joints  for  lenses. 

Various  opticians  are  feeling  their  way  in  the 
direction  of  adopting  aluminium  mounts  for  lenses,  and 
some  lenses  so  mounted  are  in  the  market,  as  already 
published  in  these  pages.  Some  opticians  are  hesitating 
in  the  matter  because  they  think  aluminium  to  have  an 
uncertain  character,  for  opera-glasses  are  often  returned 
for  repairs  because  their  aluminium  mounts  get  out  of 
order.  Cases  are  known  in  private  life  of  such  mounts 
oxidizing  somewhat  suddenly  into  white  clay,  when 
accidentally  subjected  to  unfavourable  conditions. 
Defects  of  this  kind  are  more  likely  to  become  evident 
! when  the  mounts  are  made  of  bad  aluminium,  and  as 
| good  aluminium  is  twice  the  price  of  bad,  it  is  evident 
that  the  latter  may  often  find  its  way  into  cheap  opera- 
glass  mounts,  which  are  largely  made  in  France.  In 
fairly  trying  aluminium  for  lenses,  the  best  only 
should  be  used.  Pure  aluminium  has  much  the  same 
physical  characteristics  as  pure  copper,  but  differs  from 
copper  strongly  in  its  chemical  characteristics.  This  is 
especially  noticeable  in  its  electro-chemical  relations. 
To  favour  the  use  of  aluminium  in  lens  mounts,  only 
the  best  metal  should  be  employed,  and  the  user  of  the 
lens  should  take  reasonable  care  not  to  store  it  in  a 
damp  place. 

Perhaps  an  alloy  of  aluminium  may  be  found  which 
will  be  better  for  lens  mounts  than  the  pure  metal ; 
but  it  must  consist  almost  entirely  of  aluminium,  or 
the  saving  in  weight  as  compared  with  the  weight  of 
brass  will  be  insufficient.  A firm  in  the  North  once 
made  harness  of  an  alloy  of  aluminium  and  bismuth, 
which  alloy  was  subject  to  slow  oxidation,  so  that  the 
harness  could  be  polished  simply  by  rubbing  off  with 
leather  the  thin  coating  of  white  clay  formed, 


330 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  2,  1890. 


HR.  EIFFEL  A PHOTOGRAPHER. 

An  exhibition  of  competitive  designs  for  the  “ Great 
Tower  ” in  London  has  been  opened  at  the  Hall  of  the 
Drapers’  Company  in  Throgmorton  Street,  the  place  in 
which  the  coming  City  Photographic  Exhibition  is  to 
be  held.  The  promoters,  “The  Tower  Company, 
Limited,”  of  whom  Sir  Edward  Watkin  is  said  to  he 
the  leading  spirit,  have  offered  prizes  of  five  hundred 
guineas  for  the  best,  and  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  guineas 
for  the  second  best  design  and  estimate  for  a tower  of  not 
less  than  1,200  feet  in  height.  The  curious  show  of 
designs  is  well  worth  seeing,  and  will  be  open  from 
Monday  until  Friday  next  week,  between  midday  and 
five  o’clock  in  the  evening,  admission  free.  On  Wed- 
nesday next  the  doors  will  not  he  closed  until  ten 
o’clock  at  night. 

Mr.  Eiffel  has  thus  found  his  imitators.  It  may  not 
he  generally  known  to  the  followers  of  the  art-science 
that  Mr.  Eiffel  is  an  amateur  photographer,  and  that  a 
photo-mechanical  print  from  one  of  his  negatives  was 
issued  some  months  ago  in  the  Revue  Suisse  de  la  Photo- 
graphie.  The  scene  represented  was  a “ Festival  of 
the  Grape  Growers,”  in  which  the  peasantry  were 
represented  enjoying  high  jinks  at  what  may  be  called 
a harvest  home  in  the  wine  districts. 

The  most  remarkable  specimen  of  retouching — if  so 
it  may  be  called — which  we  have  ever  seen,  came  from 
Mr.  Eiffel,  and  was  the  work  of  a professional  photo- 
grapher in  Paris.  When  the  Eiffel  Tower  was  three 
parts  finished,  we  spent  some  weeks  in  studying  the 
details  of  its  construction,  and  after  returning  to 
England,  received  a large  photograph  of  the  tower 
from  Mr.  Eiffel.  The  photograph  was  not  quite  up  to 
date,  having  been  taken  a fortnight  previously.  On 
representing  this  to  Mr.  Eiffel,  he  asked  for  its  return, 
and  it  was  sent  to  him. 

A few  days  later  the  same  photograph  came  back  to 
us  in  a case  by  express  passenger  train,  with  the  tower 
represented  as  it  stood  the  night  before  the  photograph 
last  left  Paris.  By  the  skill  of  the  hand-artist,  so 
much  of  the  tower  had  been  added  to  the  original 
photograph,  that  the  picture  extended  off  the  albumen- 
ized  paper,  and  some  one  or  two  inches  of  the  picture 
were  thus  up  an  the  mount  itself.  The  work  had  been 
beautifully  done ; the  top  of  the  tower  matched  the 
lower  part  in  colour  and  photographic  appearance  with 
surprising  fidelity.  Those  photographers  who  do  not 
like  to  call  this  an  instance  of  retouching  are  at  liberty 
to  call  it  an  example  of  the  lateral  extension  of  the 
photographic  image. 


Photographic  Club. — Subject  for  discussion  on  May  7th, 
“ Lenses  for  Instantaneous  Work  ; ” May  14  th,  “ Photographic 
Definition.” 

Mr.  Stanley. — In  a graphic  description  of  the  explorer’s 
arrival  at  Dover,  a daily  contemporary  says  : — “Just  before 
the  company  on  deck  made  a movement  for  the  shore,  an  enter- 
prising photographer  succeeded  in  taking  a picture  of  the  group. 
He  was  in  the  nick  of  time.  He  seemed  to  be  quite  satisfied. 
Hut  if  the  photographer  got  all  he  wanted  from  Mr.  Stanley, 
it  was  more  than  anybody  else  got.  The  interviewers  got 
nothing  from  him,  except  that  he  felt  well  enough,  but  that  he 
wanted  rest.  They  bored  him,” 


THE  GERMAN  PHOTOGRAPHIC  UNION. 

The  following  notice  has  been  sent  to  us  of  a meeting  of 
German  photographers  and  an  exhibition  at  Eisenach, 
under  the  presidency  of  K.  Schwier,  a photographer  of 
world-wide  celebrity.  The  nineteenth  travelling  meeting 
of  the  German  Photographic  Union  will  take  place  from 
the  27th  to  the  29th  of  August,  1890,  in  Eisenach. 

An  exhibition  is  again,  as  formerly,  connected  with  this 
meeting,  in  which  both  members  and  non-members  are 
allowed  to  take  part.  To  this  the  members  of  the  German 
Photographic  Union  are  hereby  kindly  invited.  Non- 
members  will  be  gladly  welcomed  as  guests,  but  they  must 
present  themselves  personally  to  the  directorate.  Notices 
should  be  sent  to  the  Court  photographer,  C.  llemde, 
Eisenach,  or  to  the  president,  K.  Schwier,  Weimar. 

THE  ORDERING  OF  THE  ENTERTAINMENT. 

Tuesday,  August  2G th. — In  the  afternoon  at  1 o’clock,  a 
reception  of  the  guests  at  the  railway  station ; members 
of  the  local  committee  will  attend  to  meet  the  train  ; their 
mark  of  distinction  will  be  a dark  green  and  yellow  ribbon. 
In  the  evening  at  8 o'clock,  issue  of  entertainment  tickets 
in  Groblers  Restaurant  (Zimmermann).  For  members  and 
those  belonging  to  them,  the  price  of  these  tickets  will  be 
ten  marks,  for  non-members  thirteen  marks. 

Wednesday,  August  27th. — In  the  forenoon  at  8.30,  open- 
ing of  the  nineteenth  Travelling  Meeting  in  the  hall  of  the 
Clemda. 

Commencement  of  the  Order  of  the  Day. 

At  one  o'clock,  the  opening  and  official  inspection 
of  the  exhibition  in  the  manufactory ; at  2 o’clock,  a 
general  departure  for  the  Wartburg;  official  inspection  of 
the  Wartburg.  Taking  of  groups.  Evening  concert  in 
the  Wartburg. 

Thursday,  August  28th. — In  the  forenoon  at  8.30,  contin- 
uation and  conclusion  of  the  Order  of  the  Day.  At  12 
o'clock,  a breakfast  at  the  Tivoli.  At  1 o’clock,  a 
promenade  in  the  environs  of  Eisenach.  In  the  afternoon 
at  G o’clock,  a general  entertainment  at  dinner,  and  a 
sociable  meeting  in  the  hall  of  the  Clemda. 

Friday,  August  29 th. — In  the  forenoon,  at  10  o'clock, 
meeting  and  breakfast  at  Grobler’s  Restaurant  (Zimmer- 
mann). At  11  o’clock,  a general  excursion  bv  carriages 
to  Wilhelmsthal.  At  2 o’clock,  a general  lunch  at  the 
same  place  at  1.50  marks  a head.  At  3 o’clock,  a farther 
expedition  to  Ruhla,  and  thence  back  again  to  Eisenach. 
At  8 o’clock  in  the  evening,  a meeting  in  the  Clemda,  and 
announcement  of  the  decisions  of  the  committee  appointed 
for  the  distribution  of  the  prizes.  Conclusion  of  the 
nineteenth  Travelling  Meeting. 

the  order  of  the  day. 

August  27th,  at  8.30  in  the  forenoon : — (a)  Transaction 
of  necessary  business,  (h)  The  inquiry  box  ; every  mem- 
ber of  the  directorate  is  willing  to  receive  inquiries,  (c) 
Opening  and  inspection  of  the  Exhibition.  At  1 o'clock 
the  Exhibition  will  be  opened  for  those  who  take  part 
in  it. 

Wednesday,  Aug.  27 th,  from  1 o’clock  to  2.30. 

Thursday,  Aug.  '28th,  from  1 o’clock  to  G o’clock. 

Friday,  Aug.  29 th,  from  1 o’clock. 

On  Friday,  Aug.  29th,  from  1 o'clock  at  noon  ; on 
Saturday,  Aug.  30th,  from  the  same  hour  ; and  on  Sunday, 
Aug.  31st,  the  Exhibition  will  be  also  open  to  the  public. 

The  Exhibition  will  be  divided  into  three  principal 
groups,  containing  fourteen  divisions,  having  relation  to 
the  following  prizes  of  honour,  medals,  and  diplomas  : — 


Mav  ‘2,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


831 


Tic  Fir.*t  Group. — Particular  announcements  and  insti- 
tutions:— (a)  Constant. — (1)  A gold,  a silver,  and  a bronze 
medal,  given  by  the  Festge  Institution,  for  the  three  best 
collections  of  picture  groups  of  two  persons  in  cabinet 
form  ; open  to  members  and  non-members  of  the  German 
Photographic  Union* ; (2)  The  gold  medal  of  the 
Kindermann  Institution,  for  the  best  collection  of  single 
portraits  of  the  size  above  mentioned,  open  to  members 
and  non-members  of  the  German  Photographic  Union*. 
( l> ) Occasional. — (3)  A prize  of  honour  given  by  Herr 
F.  Brandseph,  Sen.,  and  Herr  II.  Brandseph,  dun.,  of 
Stuttgart,  consisting  of  a silver  cup  (of  the  value  of  200 
marks),  for  the  best  collection  of  landscapes  in  cabinet 
form,  open  to  members  and  non-members  of  the  German 
Photographic  Union*;  (4)  The  Eisenach  Institution  of 
Herr  C.  Kindermann  Hamburg,  consisting  of  a complete 
travelling  apparatus,  13  by  1.8  c.m..  of  the  value  of  200 
marks,  for  the  best  collection  of  a day's  work  (24  cabinet 
portraits),  from  smaller  studios,  open  only  to  members  of 
the  German  Photographic  Union*  ; (5)  A prize  of  honour 
given  by  llerr  Fr.  Ritter  v.  Voigtliinder,  of  Brunswick, 
consisting  of  300  marks,  and  another  of  200  marks, 
for  the  best  biking  of  a group ; open  to  members 
and  non-members  of  the  German  Photographic  Union.* 

The  Second  Group. — General  Union  Announcements  : — 
These  are  intended  for  members  and  non-members  of  the 
German  Photographic  Union ; professionals,  amateurs, 
and  manufacturers  may  take  part  in  them,  (a)  Constant ; 
(G)  A silver  medal  for  a new  rapid  copying  process.  The 
successful  inventor  will  not  be  bound  to  communicate 
any  of  the  mysteries  of  his  invention  ;*  (l)  Occasional. 
Here  are  announced  as  first  prizes,  silver  and  gold  medals 
with  diplomas  attached  ; as  second  prizes,  bronze  medals  : 
as  third  prizes,  diplomas.  The  number  of  these  distinc- 
tions will  be  left  to  the  sole  direction  of  the  awarders 
of  the  prizes.  These  prizes  will  be  conferred : — 
In  Section  A (for  pure  photographic  work)  ; (7)  For 
the  best  photographs  in  the  portrait  department,  either 
enlargements  or  direct  pictures.  The  enlargements  must, 
however,  be  executed  in  the  studio  of  the  exhibitor  ; (8) 
For  the  best  specimens  in  the  landscape  department, 
among  which  are  to  be  included  studies  of  architecture 
and  instantaneous  takings  of  movable  objects ; (9)  For 
distinguished  performances  by  amateurs ; (10)  For  dis- 
tinguished scientific  work,  whether  of  a photographic  or 
literary  character.  In  Section  B (for  photographic  work 
and  reproduction)  ; (11)  For  the  best  photograph  in  the 
department  of  reproduction  ; (12)  For  the  best  specimens 
in  the  field  of  new  mechanical  printing  processes.  In 
Section  C (13)  for  special  works,  improvements,  meritorious 
manufacture  of  photographic  utensils  (backgrounds,  deco- 
rations, furniture,  cameras,  &c.).  praiseworthy  exhibitions 
of  raw  materials  (chemicals,  papers,  cartoons,  &c.)  With 
these  last  a judgment  of  the  Examining  Committee  of  the 
German  Photographic  Union  must  be  sent  in,  upon  which 
the  awarders  of  the  prizes  can  rely  in  their  decision. 

To  the  Exhibition  under  the  first  and  second  groups 
every  kind  of  photograph  is  admitted,  also  all  appliances 
necessary  or  useful  to  the  photographic  art — such  as 
chemicals,  apparatus,  backgrounds,  &c. 

According  to  No.  G of  the  regulations,  to  the  prize  com- 
petition in  group  A7 — 10,  as  also  to  the  institutions  1 — 5 
(so  far  as  the  contrary  is  not  expressed),  only  such  photo- 
graphs are  admitted  as  have  never  been  before  shown  in 

All  particulars  may  beobtained  on  application  to  the  President. 


any  exhibition,  and  have  been  prepared  since  the  last 
travelling  meeting  of  the  German  Photographic  Union  at 
Weimar.  It  is  requisite  for  competitors  to  declare  that 
these  regulations  have  been  complied  with.  There  can 
be  no  exception  to  them  under  any  pretext  whatsoever. 

All  photographic  pictures  must  be  sent  in  a condition 
suitable  for  exhibition,  that  is  to  say,  in  frames  or  as  collec- 
tions in  a portfolio.  It  is  preferable  for  pictures  to  be 
framed  without  glass,  that  they  may  be  more  conveniently 
judged. 

Pictures  will,  in  the  Exhibition,  be  divided  into  groups, 
&c.  For  this  reason,  landscapes,  portraits.  &c.,  should 
not  be  mounted  in  a single  frame,  but  they  should 
be  framed  separately,  every  kind  by  itself. 

The  Third  Group. — Exhibition  for  foreigners  : — (14)  To 
satisfy  numerous  requests,  and  to  maintain  the  friendly 
relation  of  the  German  Photographic  Union  with  foreign 
photographers,  the  committee  has  decided  upon  making 
a special  department  of  the  Exhibition  for  their  interests. 
To  this  all  foreigners  (non-members  of  the  German  Photo- 
graphic Union),  especially  our  American  and  English 
colleagues,  are  hereby  invited.  In  the  conditions  of 
competition  in  this  group,  No.  G of  the  above-mentioned 
regulations  must  be  carefully  attended  to.  Photographs 
exhibited  in  this  group  may  have  been  exhibited  else- 
where, but  it  is  desirable  that  in  this  group  also  no  older 
work  than  that  of  last  year  should  be  represented.  Con- 
tributors to  the  third  group  are  not  bound  to  pay 
anything  for  space,  but  it  is  earnestly  desired  that 
the  objects  sent  in  should  be  left  to  the  travelling 
care  of  the  German  Photographic  Union,  in  order  that  they 
may  be  seen  by  those  members  of  the  Society  who  have 
not  been  able  to  visit  the  Exhibition. 

In  this  group  also  gold,  silver,  and  bronze  medals,  as 
well  as  diplomas,  will  be  offered  for  prizes  (as  above). 

For  works,  &c.,  in  all  the  groups  which  are  not  success- 
ful enough  to  win  a prize,  honourable  mention  may  be 
obtained. 

In  addition  to  this,  especially  deserving  performances 
in  any  part  of  photography  which  are  not  included  under 
any  of  the  above-mentioned  numbers  may  be  especially 
rewarded  by  the  consent  of  the  directorate. 

The  prizes  offered  by  the  Union  will  only  be  given  in 
cases  where  the  exhibits  reach  the  highest  (and  not  the 
relatively  highest)  degree  of  excellence  in  their  respective 
divisions. 

The  awarders  of  the  prizes  will  consider  in  the  first 
place  the  knowledge  of  technique,  and  artistically  good 
execution.  These  features  will  be  of  the  first  impor- 
tance in  all  the  prize  distributions. 

Preliminary  applications  with  respect  to  the  exhibition 
are  to  be  addressed  to  the  President  of  the  German  Pho- 
tographic Union,  Herr  lv.  Schwier,  Weimar.  Appli- 
cants included  in  the  provisions  of  the  second  group  (7  to 
13)  will  receive  thereupon  application  tickets,  which  are 
to  be  sent,  after  being  filled  up,  to  Herr  C.  Remde, 
Eisenach,  up  to  the  15th  of  August.  Exhibitors  in- 
cluded in  the  third  group  may  apply  without  any  form. 

The  delivery  of  the  exhibits  must  be  made  between  the 
20th  and  25th  of  August,  at  the  exhibitors’  own  cost  and 
risk,  to  I lerr  ( )tto  Yolpel,  in  Eisenach.  Works  intended  for 
the  Sections  1 to  5 of  the  first  group,  as  well  as  of 
Number  6 of  the  second  group,  are  to  be  sent  to  I lerr 
(’.  Remde,  Eisenach,  without  any  previous  application. 
Upon  each  package  is  to  be  marked  clearly,  “For  the 
German  Photographic  Union.”  Every  exhibit  and  every 


332 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Mat  2,  1890. 


frame — with  the  exception  of  pictures  belonging  to  the 
Institutions  1 to  5 —must  bear  upon  their  backs  the  address 
of  the  exhibitor.  Exery  box  .and  every  cover  must  bear 
the  same  address  on  its  inside.  The  exhibitions  will, 
according  to  their  estimated  worth,  be  insured  on  the  part 
of  the  German  Photographic  Union  against  danger  of  fire 
and  water.  Xo  further  accountability  will  be  admitted. 
It  is  better,  when  possible,  to  send  amount  for  the  space 
required  with  the  application.  The  charge  for  space  to 
members  of  the  Union  is  three  marks  for  every  square 
metre : to  non -members  five  marks  for  every  square  metre 
of  table,  wall,  or  ground  superficies.  Every  commence- 
ment of  a square  metre  will  be  reckoned  as  a full  square 
metre.  Applications  for  space  over  ten  square  metres 
will  be  entitled  to  ten  per  cent,  discount. 

For  members  of  the  German  Photographic  Union 
included  under  the  second  group,  Division  A,  Xos.  7 and 
10,  as  also  Division  B,  Xos.  11  and  12,  the  two  first  square 
metres  will  not  be  reckoned.  From  foreign  exhibitors, 
so  far  as  they  come  under  the  third  group,  no  space  hire 
will  be  exacted.  Candidates  coming  under  the  six 
institutions  (Nos.  1-6),  will  pay  no  space  hire.  The 
reckoning  of  the  space  hire  is  regulated  (except  in  the 
case  of  unusual  claims)  after  the  actual  space  occupied 
by  the  pictures  or  frames.  Applications  or  deliveries 
arriving  too  late  can  only  be  furnished  with  spaces  remain- 
ing unoccupied. 

The  return  of  the  goods  will  be  at  the  cost  of  the 
exhibitor,  after  reimbursement  of  charges  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  exhibition,  by  Herr  Otto  Volpel,  in  Eisenach. 

Remittances  of  money  must  be  directed  to  Herr  L. 
Frank,  in  Eisenach. 

From  the  afternoon  of  the  29th  August,  till  Sunday  the 
31st  August  inclusive,  the  exhibition  will  be  open  to  the 
public.  The  exhibitors  are  therefore  required  to  allow 
their  exhibits  to  remain  on  view  until  the  exhibition  has 
closed. 

The  awarders  of  prizes,  who  are  chosen  according  to 
the  statutes  regulating  the  Exhibition,  consist  of  nine 
persons ; of  these,  three  are  chosen  by  the  directorate.  The 
Travelling  Association  then  announces  a list  of  eighteen 
persons  chosen  by  acclamation,  and  of  these  the  remaining 
six  persons  are  chosen  by  the  exhibitors  present.  These 
nine  officials  are  the  awarders  of  all  the  prizes.  They 
must,  according  to  Xos.  2 and  3 of  the  business  regula- 
tions, form  three  groups,  each  group  consisting  of  three 
persons. 

The  first  of  these  groups  has  to  judge  about  the  Sec- 
tions— I.;  the  second  about  the  objects  exhibited  in  II. 
A and  B ; and  the  third  group  has  to  judge  about  the 
objects  exhibited  in  II.  C.  and  III.  The  resulting  judg- 
ments of  these  three  groups  will  be  afterwards  proved 
and  confirmed  by  the  Collective  Jury.  The  Collective 
Jury  may  substitute  a gold  for  a silver  medal,  as  an  award 
of  the  highest  distinction. 

The  critical  meetings  of  the  Exhibition  will  relate 
to — 

(a)  Lectures  and  Discussions. 

An  Entertainment  Lecture  will  be  delivered  by . 

There  will  also  be  introduced  to  the  assembly . 

( h ) Communications  respecting  the  adjudicated  awards 
and  prizes  for  all  objects  exhibited  will  be  announced  on 
Friday,  the  28th  August,  at  eight  o’clock  in  the  evening. 

The  Directory  of  the  German  Photographic  Union — 
K.  Schwier,  Weimar,  President.  The  Local  Committee 
— C.  Remde,  Eisenach,  Court  Photographer. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE  LANTERN  SOCIETY. 

The  inaugural  meeting  of  the  new  Society  bearing  this  title, 
and  having  for  its  chief  objects  the  development  and  popularisa- 
tion of  the  optical  lantern,  took  place  in  the  Theatre  of 
the  Society  of  Arts  on  Friday  last,  when  some  200  visitors 
attended. 

The  chairman  of  the  council,  the  Hon.  Slingsby  Bethell, 
prefaced  the  demonstration  by  an  apology  for  the  impromptu 
nature  of  the  programme,  which,  he  said,  was  due  less  to  a 
lack  of  resources  than  to  an  earnest  desire  to  make  an  early 
beginning,  with  the  view  to  placing  the  claims  of  the  new  body 
well  in  the  foreground.  Having  explained  that  the  session 
proper  would  commence  on  the  1st  of  October  next,  and  that 
all  applications  for  membership  received  in  the  interval  would 
be  treated  as  belonging  to  the  year  then  to  be  entered  upon, 
he  appealed  to  all  present  who  were  interested  in  the  optical 
lantern  to  bring  the  claims  of  the  Society  before  their  friends 
at  the  first  fitting  opportunity,  and  continuing,  said  it  had 
been  agreed  that  the  programme  of  the  Society  might  l*st  be 
carried  out  : 

1.  By  the  engaging  of  premises  in  some  central  position  in 
London,  at  which  the  meetings  of  the  council  and  of  the 
Society  might  be  held. 

2.  By  acquiring  suitable  apparatus  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
exhibitions  of  general  and  scientific  interest  to  both  members 
and  their  friends. 

3.  By  obtaining  the  services  of  specialists  in  every  branch  of 
art  or  science  suited  to  optical  demonstration. 

4.  By  offering — as  far  as  the  funds  of  the  Society  will 
permit — remuneration  or  awards  for  the  development  of  the 
optical  lantern,  and  of  all  apparatus  pertaining  thereto. 

5.  By  imparting  instruction  to  those  who  are  desirous  of 
learning  how  to  effectively  manipulate  the  optical  lantern,  to 
produce  slides  an  1 apparatus,  and  to  efficiently  employ  the 

; same  both  in  private  and  in  public. 

t>.  By  assuring  for  the  members  of  the  Society  special  and 
1 advantageous  terms  from  manufacturers  and  others  for  the  pur- 
chase or  loan  of  apparatus  and  slides. 

7.  By  forming  a large  and  comprehensive  loan  collection  of 
lantern  transparencies  pertaining  to  art,  science,  and  kindred 
subjects  ; such  loan  collection  to  be  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  every  member,  upon  conditions  to  be  laid  down  by  the 
council. 

8.  By  providing  a means  of  inter-communication  l>etween 
the  members  of  the  Society,  whereby  each  member  may  be 
made  acquainted  with  the  private  collections  of  his  fellow- 
memliers,  and  may  be  able  to  negotiate  a mutual  loan  if  so 
desired. 

9.  By  arranging  an  interchange  of  demonstration  Itetween 
photographic,  microscopical,  and  other  societies  interested  in 
optical  lantern  work. 

The  Chairman  further  remarked  : — 

“The  marvellous  powers  of  photography  to  illustrate  and 
bring  home  to  the  mind  in  the  most  striking  and  faithful 
manner,  especially  by  means  of  the  optical  lantern,  the  glories 
and  beauties  of  nature,  the  treasures  of  art,  and  the  wonders 
of  science,  induced  us  to  hope  that,  by  drawing  together  [ar- 
sons thus  interested,  a jowerful  society  may  be  formed  on  an 
intellectual,  educational,  and  scientific  basis,  with  a recreative 
and  social  side,  and  of  which  our  present  meeting  is  but  a crude 
and  incomplete  example. 

“ Although  not  a club  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  word,  still 
we  hope  soon  to  have  a suitable  habitation,  where  meetings  of 
members  will  be  held,  pajiers  read,  discussions  encouraged,  and 
some  photographic  work  carried  on. 

“Composed,  as  I believe  we  shall  be,  of  scientific  and  prac- 
tical men,  of  professional  as  well  as  of  amateur  photographers, 
of  those  learned  in  chemical,  microscopical,  and  optical  science 
i generally,  constructers  and  designers  of  every  description  of 
apparatus,  we  shall  endeavour  at  least  to  benefit  and  instruct  each 
other,  if  not  those  unconnected  with  us,  and  bring  to  greater  per- 
fection in  all  its  phases  and  aspects — technical  as  well  as  artistic 
— this  particular  branch  of  the  art  and  science  which  we  have 
adopted  for  study. 

, “ Another  aim  that  the  Society  has  in  view  is  the  formation 


May  2,  1890. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC 


wS; 


333 


INTERN  SLIDE  WORK. 

^ ^ dv  Aambbi  niWT  rv 


BY  GODFREY  BINGLEY. 


of  a large  loan  collection  of  lantern  slides,  complete  in  its  classi- 
fication, arrangement,  and  method  of  illustration. 

“ As  we  advance,  scientific  and  photographic  societies,  educa- 
tional bodies,  schools,  and  institutions  will  have  facilities  of 
affiliating  themselves  to  us,  and  thus  obtaining  much  ass:stanee 
from  our  extensive  photographic  library,  so  to  speak.  Mem- 
bers will,  of  course,  receive  this  privilege  to  a larger  extent, 
and  many  more,  for  eventually  we  hope  to  offer  them  additional 
advantages,  viz.,  the  use  of  dark  rooms  and  laboratories  for  all 
photographic  operations,  the  production  of  lantern  slides  in 
particular. 

“America  has  already  made  great  strides  with  the  optical 
lantern,  so  we  shall  endeavour  to  put  ourselves  en  rapport  with 
our  cousins  across  the  Atlantic,  and  to  interchange  with  them 
for  photographic  illustrations  of  their  grandest  wonders  of 
nature  representations  of  some  of  our  homely  but  lovely  scenery. 

“ Welcoming,  as  members  of  the  Lantern  Society,  all  thus 
interested,  we  shall  develop,  I trust,  into  a large  and  influential 
tody,  competent  and  willing  to  place  any  fresh  knowledge  and 
experience  that  we  may  acquire  within  the  reach  of  others  of 
like  tastes. 

“ Finally,  growing  in  strength,  we  may  number  amongst  our 
body  members,  practically  and  scientifically,  more  learned  in 
particular  branches  of  science,  who  will  come  forward  and 
initiate  us  into  the  meaning,  mysteries,  and  beauties  of  many 
of  our  unappreciated  photographic  illustrations.” 

Following  the  address  of  the  Chairman,  which  was  cordially 
received,  there  were  projected  upon  the  screen  about  130  fine 
slides  divided  into  three  different  lots,  and  comprising — Views 
by  Ferrier  and  Soulier,  of  Italian  and  Swiss  scenery,  ice  scenes 
in  Swiss  mountains  and  at  Niagara  ; astronomical  photographs 
of  the  moon  and  of  the  eclipse  of  the  sun,  taken  with  the  Lick 
telescope  ; views  of  the  Forth  Bridge  and  of  the  engine  room 
of  the  City  of  Paris  after  the  accident  to  her  machinery  ; 
representations  of  old  lace  from  the  South  Kensington  Museum  ; 
a large  collection  of  Woodbury  slides  of  Indian  and  Syrian 
Temples  ; types  of  heads  ; views  of  English  Cathedrals,  both 
iuterior  and  exterior  ; insects  mounted  direct  on  glass  ; views 
of  the  Paris  Exhibition  ; and  a large  collection  of  landscapes 
from  all  parts. 

In  the  interval  that  elapses  before  the  programme  of  the 
Society  is  entered  upon  in  earnest,  the  Council  will  be  busily 
engaged  in  drafting  bye-laws,  selecting  suitable  accommodation 
for  the  future  home  of  the  Society,  and  the  Honorary  Secre- 
tary, Lieutenant  C.  E.  Gladstone,  R.N.,  will  be  pleased  to 
forward  full  particulars  and  applications  for  membership,  upon 
receipt  of  a post-card  at  6,  Bolton  Street,  Piccadilly,  Lou- 
don, W. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CONVENTION  AT 
CHESTER. 

This  Photographic  Convention  for  1890,  under  the  pre- 
sidency of  Mr.  C.  II.  Bothamley,  will  be  held  at  the  Town 
Hall,  Chester,  on  June  23rd  to  28th,  1890,  inclusive. 

The  Council  consists  of  Messrs.  Conrad  Beck,  IV.  Bed- 
lord,  C.  II.  Bothamley,  F.  A.  Bridge,  J.  J.  Briginshaw 
(Hon.  Secretary  and  Treasurer),  F.  P.  Cembrano,  E. 
Clifton,  E.  IV.  Cowan,  A,  Cowan,  T.  R.  Dallmeyer,  G. 
Davison,  A.  R.  Dresser,  F.  Evans  (Local  Hon.  Secretary, 
Eastgate  Buildings,  Chester),  AV.  P.  J.  Fawcus,  S.  II.  Fry, 
Friese  Greene,  A.  Haddon,  F.  Haes,  II.  M.  Hastings, 
Adolph  Levy,  A.  Mackie,  E.  W.  Parnell,  A.  Pringle 
(Chairman),  T.  Samuels,  J.  Traill  Taylor,  G.  AA'atmough 
A\  ebster.  and  J.  B.  B.  AA’ellington. 


Suppression  ok  Halos  in  Photographic  Proofs.  Paul 
Henry  and  Prosper  Henry. — The  authors  succeed  in  avoiding 
these  halos  by  covering  the  back  of  the  plate  with  a layer  of 
normal  collodion  holding  in  solution  a small  quantity  of  chry- 
soidine.  This  varnish  having  an  index  of  refraction  little  differ- 
ent from  that  of  glass,  completely  suppresses  the  halos. — Chen i- 

<cal  At ics. 


What  1 have  to  say  this  evening  will,  in  a great  measure, 
be  based  on  my  owrn  short  experience,  and  though  what  I 
may  bring  forward  may  be  “ stale,  flat,  and  unprofitable  ” 
to  many  of  the  older  members  of  this  Society,  I trust  that  it 
may  be  of  some  little  assistance  to  any  who  have  not  yet 
attempted  to  make  lantern  slides.  For  some  reason  or 
other,  only  a small  proportion  of  the  members  of  this 
Society  sends  in  lantern  slides  to  our  annual  lantern  ex- 
hibition. Certainly  there  is  no  better  or  more  pleasing 
way  of  showing  photographs  than  by  exhibiting  them  on  a 
screen  with  the  aid  of  the  optical  lantern  ; the  fact  that  so 
many  people  go  to  our  lantern  exhibitions  is  in  itself  a 
proof  that  this  branch  of  photographic  work  is  appreciated, 
and  to  the  photographer  the  artistic  qualities  and  failings 
of  his  work  become  more  manifest  when  seen  enlarged  on 
the  screen,  than  when  viewed  on  a small  print.  Before 
proceeding  farther,  it  may  be  well  to  allude  to  the  best 
size  of  camera  to  work  with,  as  some  amateurs  do  not  care 
to  make  anything  but  lantern  slides.  Small  cameras  arc 
made  to  take  a plate  3£  square,  and  although  this  small- 
sized camera  may  do  for  ordinary  landscape  work,  it  is 
practically  useless  for  instantaneous  photography,  such  as 
marine  and  seaside  studies,  cattle  pieces,  and  other  moving 
objects.  Many  of  you,  no  doubt,  who  work  quarter-plate 
cameras,  have  found  them  too  small  for  this  class  of  work, 
and  have  been  considerably  disappointed,  when  the  plate 
has  been  developed,  to  find  nothing  but  a barren  waste  of 
water,  or  a field  with  the  surrounding  fence  the  only  sub- 
ject on  the  plate.  I would  therefore  advise  nothing  less 
than  quarter-plate,  or  5 by  4. 

Lantern  slides  are  made  either  by  “ direct  contact,”  or 
by  “ reduction’’ from  the  negative  by  re -photographing 
from  the  negative  by  means  of  the  camera  and  a reducing 
frame. 

Slide  making  by  “direct  contact”  is  the  plan  most 
generally  adopted  by  amateurs,  because  of  the  ease  with 
which  it  can  be  done  by  artificial  light ; but  I very  much 
prefer,  however,  making  slides  by  “reduction,”  especially 
if  working  from  a half -plate,  or  larger  negative.  No  doubt 
very  good  slides  are  made  from  quarter-plate  negatives  by 
“ contact,”  but  how  few  pleasing  ones  are  made  from  the 
larger  sized  negatives  in  this  way,  for  when  taking  a view 
with  the  camera,  you  study  the  proportions  and  composi- 
tion of  the  picture  in  relation  to  the  size  of  the  plate  you 
are  working,  and  not  simply  with  the  idea  of  printing  out 
a picture  3}  square ; it  is  only  by  “ reduction  ” you  can 
get  the  full  value  of  your  negative  on  the  lantern  plate. 
Another  advantage  obtained  by  “ reducing”  is  that  a soft 
slide  may  be  made  from  a hard  negative,  and  also  good 
slides  from  poor  and  faulty  negatives,  negatives  from 
which  it  would  be  impossible  to  make  a slide  by  “con- 
tact,” or  even  to  get  a passable  silver  print  from.  In 
“ contact  ” printing,  the  length  of  exposure  required  of 
course  varies  according  to  the  make  of  plate  used  and  the 
density  of  the  negative.  I think  it  is  best  to  have  one 
fixed  distance  from  the  light  for  exposing  the  slide,  and  to 
vary  the  time  of  exposure  according  to  the  density  of  the 
negative,  rather  than  vary  the  distance.  If  the  distance 
the  frame  is  held  from  the  light  be  varied,  always  remem- 
ber that  the  length  of  exposure  will  increase  as  the  squares 
of  the  distances  the  frame  is  held  from  the  illuminant,  and 
not  in  a numerical  ratio  ; for  example,  if  an  exposure  of 

* A paper  read  before  the  Leeds  Phot 'graphic  Society. 


oo  4 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  2,  1890. 


10  seconds  at  one  foot  distance  is  sufficient,  and  the  distance 
is  increased  to  3 feet,  an  exposure  of  90  seconds  will  be 
needful. 

For  making  slides  by  “reduction”  some  sort  of  re- 
ducing frame  is  required  to  hold  the  camera  and  negative  : 
the  apparatus  is,  however,  very  simple.  It  consists  of  a 
baseboard  on  which  there  is  a sliding  block  to  carry  the 
camera  at  one  end,  and  at  the  opposite  end  a deep  box 
about  ten  or  twelve  inches  square,  open  at  the  end  next 
the  camera,  the  other  end  holding  a sliding  carrier  in  which 
to  place  the  negative. 

“ Reductions  ” are  best  made  by  daylight.  The  plan  1 
adopt  is  as  follows : Having  placed  my  reducing  frame, 
on  which  I have  fixed  a quarter-plate  camera,  in  front  of 
an  upper  window  (in  the  lower  square  of  which  I have 
inserted  a sheet  of  ground  glass  for  the  purpose  of  diffus- 
ing the  light),  I place  the  negative  in  the  sliding  carrier 
and  carefully  focus  it,  then  stop  down  the  lenses  to  U.N. 
16,  and  expose  the  plate  in  the  usual  way.  The  exposure, 
of  course,  varies  according  to  the  light  and  density  of 
the  negative  as  in  “contact”  printing;  at  this  time  of 
the  year  the  exposure  will  vary  from  30  seconds  to  a 
minute  with  a fair  average  negative.  A long  exposure 
and  retarded  development  will  give  warm  tones ; a short 
exposure  and  active  development  will  give  black  tones, 
and  I find  the  tones  are  always  warmer  if  the  exposures 
are  made  on  a bright,  sunny  day,  than  even  with  a long 
exposure  on  a dull  day.  I advise,  however,  that  workers 
should  adhere  to  one  standard  strength  of  developer  ; and 
for  “ contact  ” printing  one  fixed  distance  from  the  light  for 
exposure,  and  produce  the  tone  desired  solely  by  the  time 
of  exposure.  If  this  plan  is  adopted  I am  sure  much 
more  satisfactory  results  will  be  obtained  than  by  con- 
tinually altering  the  strength  of  the  developer,  and  vary- 
ing the  distance  the  plate  is  held  from  the  light. 

Most  of  the  slides  prepared  by  professionals  are  made 
by  the  collodion  or  wet  plate  process  ; very  fine  slides  are 
also  made  by  collodio-albumen. 

It  is  generally  considered  that  there  are  no  lantern 
slides  at  all  equal  to  those  made  by  one  or  other  of 
the  collodion  processes.  No  doubt  for  brightness  and 
“ sparkle  ” collodion  slides  are  difficult  to  surpass,  but 
there  is  often  a want  of  half-tone  about  them,  consequently 
little  gradation  between  the  high -lights  and  shadows. 
The  gelatine  plate  is  running  the  collodion  process  a very 
hard  race ; and  I venture  to  think — though  it  may  be 
considered  somewhat  heterodox  to  even  throw  out  the  mere 
suggestion — that  for  softness  and  half-tone  the  gelatine 
plate  holds  the  field.  I do  not  propose  to  enter  into  any 
details  of  the  working  of  the  collodion  processes,  neither 
do  I intend  to  say  anything  about  preparing  gelatine  plates, 
as  I have  had  no  experience  in  any  of  these  branches  of 
photographic  work.  I know  there  are  several  of  our 
members  present  who  prepare  their  own  plates,  and  who 
have  in  the  past  given  us  the  results  of  their  experience. 
There  are  many  good  makes  of  plates  on  the  market,  and 
for  those  who  do  not  care  to  make  their  own,  I would 
say  try  several  makes,  and  then  stick  to  those  you  find 
give  you  the  best  results.  I may  say  in  passing  that 
gelatiuo-chloride  plates  are  of  no  use  for  reducing,  as 
they  are  far  too  slow. 

Lantern  plates  are  usually  developed  either  by  ferrous 
oxalate,  pyro  and  ammonia,  pyro  and  washing  soda,  or 
hydroquinone.  Formerly  ferrous  oxalate  was  the  favourite 
developer  for  lantern  plate  work,  but  it  is  not  so  much 
used  now.  The  tones  produced  by  it  are  always  of  a cold 


grey,  and  considerable  care  is  required  when  working  with 
it,  for  the  slightest  contact  of  hypo  will  cause  a fog  to 
spread  over  the  plate.  Pyro  and  ammonia  is  a favourite 
developer  with  many  workers ; some  add  a little  carbonate 
of  ammonia  to  obtain  red  tones.  A very  good  developer, 
and  one  easy  to  work  with,  is  washing  soda  and  pyro.  It 
gives  pleasing  tones,  but  it  has,  however,  the  disadvantage 
of  often  leaving  a yellow  fog  on  the  plate,  which  must  be 
removed  by  a clearing  solution,  and,  unless  considerable 
care  is  used  in  clearing,  many  of  the  finer  details  may  be 
entirely  removed  ; and  if  allowed  to  remain  in  the  solution 
too  long,  the  plate  loses  its  sharpness,  and  looks  fiat 
when  shown  on  the  screen. 

Hydroquinone  has  now  come  into  great  favour  as  a 
developer  for  lantern  plate  work,  and  is  the  one  I prefer 
to  all  others.  It  gives  absolutely  clear  glass,  and  the 
slides  require  no  clearing  after  development,  unless  they 
have  been  token  from  thin  or  faulty  negatives,  when  a 
little  local  clearing  by  means  of  a camel's  hair  brush  may 
be  required. 

The  formula  that  I like  the  best  is  one  given  by  Thomas 
and  Co.  with  their  plates,  viz. : — 


No.  1. — Hydroquinone 

...  160  grs. 

Sulphite  of  soda 

2 ounces 

Brom.  amm.... 

...  20  grs. 

Citric  acid  ... 

...  60  „ 

Water 

to  20  ounces 

No.  2. — Carbonate  of  potash... 

...  2 ounces 

Carbonate  of  soda  (crystallized) 

0 

...  - ff 

Water 

to  20  „ 

Use  an  equal  quantity  of  each. 

I generally  develop  four  plates  with  2y  ounces  of  solu- 
tion. I have  developed  as  many  as  ten,  but  four  are  quite 
sufficient,  for  after  that  number  the  developer  becomes 
very  slow,  and  has  a tendency  to  “ block  ” the  shadows. 

Eikonogen  is  said  to  produce  similar  results  to  hydro- 
quinone, but  I have  never  tried  it. 

Tt  is  better  to  develop  slides  by  artificial  light  rather 
than  by  daylight  passing  through  some  non-actinic  medium ; 
for  daylight  is  so  variable  in  its  intensity  that  it  renders  it 
difficult  to  judge  the  proper  density  of  the  slide  in  con- 
sequence ; whereas,  by  artificial  light,  you  can  have  one 
fixed  standard,  and  develop  the  slides  to  pretty  nearly  an 
equal  density.  It  is  desirable  to  develop  a little  denser 
than  required,  as  the  slide  loses  a little  of  its  density  in  the 
fixing  bath.  Immediately  after  placing  the  plate  in  the 
developing  solution,  pass  a camel’s  hair  brush  (kept  in  a 
cup  of  water  near  the  developing  dish)  rapidly  over  the 
plate,  to  remove  any  small  air-bubbles  which  may  be  on 
the  surface  of  the  film.  After  development,  the  plate 
requires  a good  wash  under  the  top,  and  should  then  be 
placed  in  the  fixing  bath  : — 

Hypo  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  4 ounces 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  20  ,, 

And  allowed  to  remain  there  for  a few  minutes  after  all 
whiteness  has  disappeared,  so  as  to  ensure  thorough 
fixation.  Wash  again  after  removal  from  the  fixing  solu- 
tion, and  place  it  for  a short  time  in  a saturated  solution  of 
alum  to  harden  the  film.  If  working  with  hydroquinone, 
on  no  account  place  the  plate  in  the  alum  solution  before 
fixing,  or  you  may  obtain  a result  not  to  be  desired. 

If  from  any  error  in  exposure,  or  if  the  slide  is  taken  from 
a thin  negative,  causing  it  to  be  opaque  when  there  ought 
to  be  clear  glass,  this  opacity  may  be  removed  with  a 


May  2,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


335 


little  care  and  patience  by  the  aid  of  the  following  clearing 
solution : — 


Sulphate  of  iron . . . 
Alum 

Sulphuric  acid  ... 
Water. 


3 ounces 
1 ounce 
1 „ 

20  ounces 


Pour  a little  of  this  solution  into  a small  dish,  and  place  a 
basin  containing  clean  water  near ; then,  holding  the 
plate  in  the  left  hand,  with  the  sky  or  fogged  part  slanting 
downwards,  so  as  to  prevent  the  clearing  solution  running 
into  the  details  of  the  picture,  paint  with  a small  brush 
the  clearing  solution  over  the  fogged  part  of  the  plate 
until  it  becomes  quite  clear,  frequently  dipping  the  plate 
into  the  water  during  the  process  to  prevent  the  clearing 
solution  spreading  over  the  plate.  Any  over-dense 
shadow  may  also  be  reduced  in  this  way.  Before  doing 
this,  take  care  that  the  slide  has  been  in  the  alum  bath. 
Lantern  slides  must  be  quite  free  from  fog  or  veil ; the 
above  method  will  quite  remove  this  defect,  and,  if  care  is 
used,  the  details  of  the  picture  will  not  be  injured.  After 
fixing  and  clearing  as  above-mentioned,  the  slide  should 
be  washed  for  a few  hours  in  the  same  way  as  an  ordinary 
negative.  On  taking  the  plates  out  of  the  washing  trough, 
it  is  advisable  to  give  each  a good  rinse  under  the  tap,  so 
as  to  remove  any  particles  of  grit  that  may  have  been  1 
deposited  on  the  film  from  the  washing  water,  and  then 
place  them  on  edge  to  dry — not  in  a rack — where  they 
will  be  kept  quite  free  from  dust. 

There  arc  several  methods  of  toning  slides,  but  I have 
not  tried  any  of  them,  for  I much  prefer  the  rich  brown, 
or  even  the  black  tone  of  the  ordinary  photograph,  to 
the  red  or  other  tints  that  may  be  obtained  by  toning, 
and  I believe  there  is  considerable  risk  of  a toned  slide 
fading  away. 

When  the  film  is  thoroughly  dry,  it  is  ready  for 
mounting  for  the  lantern.  I am  sorry  to  say  there  is 
often  but  little  care  exercised  with  this  part  of  the 
work,  and  many  an  otherwise  good  slide  is  completely 
spoiled  by  the  careless  and  slovenly  way  in  which  it  is  > 
mounted.  The  photograph  and  cover  glasses  should  be 
absolutely  clean,  and  free  from  all  dust  and  finger  j 
marks ; and  here  I would  say  a word  as  to  the  thick- 
ness of  the  cover  glasses.  Very  thick  glass  adds  much 
to  the  weight  of  the  slides,  as  you  will  find  to  your 
cost  if  you  have  them  to  carry  far.  The  extra  thin  covers 
are  the  nicest,  but,  unfortunately,  they  soon  break  when 
using  the  slides;  even  the  pressure  of  the  fiugers  will 
do  this ; therefore,  I would  say,  use  a medium  thick- 
ness of  glass,  and  take  care  to  have  it  free  from 
scratches  and  air-bubbles.  The  paper  mask  to  be  placed 
between  the  photograph  and  the  cover  glass  should  be 
of  suitable  shape,  and  carefully  adjusted  to  the  size  of  the 
photograph ; on  no  account  use  the  circular  masks,  as 
this  shape  is  most  inartistic,  and  frequently  quite  spoils 
the  picture.  The  masks  having  one  white  side  and  the 
other  coloured  are  the  best,  as  the  white  side  is  an  indi- 
cation to  the  lantern  operator  as  to  the  side  of  the  photo- 
graph to  be  placed  next  the  light,  and  it  also  enables  the 
name  of  the  slide  to  be  written  upon  it.  The  binding 
strips  should  be  neatly  put  round  the  edges  of  the  slide, 
and  two  white  or  coloured  discs  placed  on  the  two  top 
corners  of  the  front  of  the  slide,  to  show  at  a glance  which 
is  the  top  of  the  view ; then  carefully  remove  all  finger  and 
gum  marks,  and  the  slide  is  complete. 


k have  to  thank  Mr.  Walter  Colls  for  an  excellent  print  of 
Dr.  Kuiersou’s  “Breezy  Marshland.” 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITIONS  IN  INDIA* 

In  photographic  circles,  both  at  home  and  in  India,  there 
exists  much  divided  opinion  on  the  subject  of  exhibitions 
and  awards.  One  section  is  totally  averse  to  both,  another 
would  hold  the  one  and  withhold  the  other,  a third  is 
strongly  convinced  that  both  exhibitions  and  medals  are 
as  the  breath  of  our  nostrils,  whilst  a large  and  growing 
section  believes  that  the  present  system  of  awards  must  be 
purified  and  elevated.  Without  expressing  a decided 
opinion  on  the  question  one  way  or  the  other,  it  will  afford 
food  for  reflection  if  the  system  on  which  the  Society  has 
hitherto  held  its  exhibitions  is  examined.  Those  dili- 
gent members  who  study  the  rules  are  doubtless  aware 
that  one  of  the  objects  of  our  Association,  as  laid  down 
in  the  constitution,  is  to  hold  exhibitions  of  photographs 
and  photographic  apparatus.  It  is  not  stated  how  often  ; 
but  they  are  to  be  held  in  Calcutta.  As  a matter  of  fact, 
these  exhibitions  have  been  held  regularly  every  year  since 
the  resuscitation  of  the  parent  society  in  1887,  and  since 
then  no  little  money — let  alone  time  and  energy — has  been 
spent  in  carrying  out  this  object.  For  instance,  at  the 
late  exhibition,  no  less  than  six  gold  and  eighteen  silver 
medals  were  awarded  ; and,  as  there  were  only  sixty-four 
competitors  in  all,  no  one  is  likely  to  turn  round  and  accuse 
the  committee  of  dealing  them  out  with  a niggard  hand. 
Of  this  number  of  competitors  nineteen  only  were  of  the 
so-called  professional  class,  whilst  forty-five  were 
amateurs.  With  this  preponderance  of  the  amateur  over 
the  professional,  it  might  naturally  be  supposed  that  the 
amateurs  would  have  carried  off  at  least  half  the  medals, 
but  this  was  not  the  case.  No  less  than  five  gold  and 
nine  silver  medals  went  to  the  nineteen  professionals,  and 
only  one  gold  and  nine  silver  to  the  forty-five  amateurs. 
But  the  members  of  the  Society  come  out  of  the  analysis 
even  worse  than  this,  for  only  six  medals  rewarded  them 
for  all  they  contributed,  and  not  one  of  these  was  in  gold. 
With  such  a result  staring  us  in  the  face,  it  may  well  be 
asked  if  the  proportion  of  medals  offered  to  Anglo-Indian 
amateur  photographers  was  generous  enough  to  foster  that 
emulation  which,  some  say,  only  medals  can  impart. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a strong  feeling  amongst 
those  who  say  they  know  that,  if  medals  are  not  freely 
offered  to  outsiders  of  both  classes  of  workers,  our 
exhibition  walls  will  be  covered  with  silver  prints  of  that 
respectable  mediocrity  which  they  suppose  is  the 
supremest  effort  of  the  Anglo-Indian  amateur  photo- 
grapher. Now  this  contention  is  not  unreasonable  if 
the  only  way  of  alluring  the  best  pictures  to  our  walls 
is  by  a liberal  offer  of  medals.  But  is  this  the  case  ? 
If  the  best  pictures  arc  necessary  for  educational  pur- 
poses — and  this  may  be  granted— every  one  of  the  pictures 
sent  by  the  home  professionals  might  have  been  pur- 
chased and  sent  out  to  us  at  probably  less  cost  than  we 
actually  paid  under  the  present  system.  And  as  regards 
the  local  professional  photographers,  who  contributed  not 
a little  to  the  embellishment  of  our  show,  I have  been 
told  by  one  of  the  largest  winners  amongst  them  that 
they  are  not  likely  to  feel  aggrieved,  should  the  Society 
decide  to  exclude  them  from  medal-winning,  so  long  as 
they  are  all  placed  on  the  same  footing.  It  is  sufficient 
inducement  to  them,  I am  assured,  to  be  allowed  to 
exhibit  their  works  in  an  attractive  form,  with  the  name 
of  the  firm  displayed  over  them.  There  should  be  no 
difficulty  in  arranging  to  have  this  done.  And  the 

* From  the  Journal  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  India,  April. 


33G 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  2,  1890. 


amateurs  at  home  and  in  America  whose  works  contri- 
buted so  much  to  our  pleasure  and  profit,  how  are  they 
to  be  rewarded,  if  not  with  medals?  This  is  the  real 
difficulty ; and,  if  it  is  wished  that  the  best  works  shall 
grace  the  walls  of  our  exhibition,  the  .Society  must  be 
careful  how  they  treat  their  brethren  who  have  become 
masters  of  photography.  In  this  matter  it  may  be  sub- 
mitted that  there  is  a discreet  middle  course  in  which  to 
steer.  We  should  welcome  the  works  of  every  well- 
known  amateur,  no  matter  what  his  particular  school  is, 
because  there  is  good  to  be  got  from  the  study  of  all  good 
pictures,  and  be  prepared  to  offer  inducements  to  amateurs 
to  exhibit  such  as  are  acceptable  and  fitting  in  the  circum- 
stances of  each  case.  So  competition  should  be  optional. 
To  all  who  care  to  compete,  let  medals  be  given ; and  to 
those  who  do  not,  let  the  Society  engage  to  pay  all 
expenses  of  the  exhibits  to  and  from  Calcutta.  If  this  is 
done,  promising  every  care  and  attention  to  prevent 
damage  or  loss,  and  engaging  that  these  honourable 
exhibits  shall  be  well  mounted  and  hung,  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  the  applications  for  space  will  be  as 
great,  if  not  greater,  than  they  have  ever  been  before. 

In  arranging  an  exhibition  on  these  lines,  precautions 
would  have  to  be  taken  to  divide  off  the  exhibits  so  that 
no  invidious  comparisons  could  be  made  between  the 
medalled  pictures — presumably  second-rate — of,  let  us 
say,  the  writer,  and  a greatly  superior  one  of  the  same 
class  of,  say,  Dr.  Emerson  sent  hors  concours. 

This  is  a matter  in  which  the  members  themselves  are 
directly  interested — one,  if  I may  say  so,  of  almost  vital 
importance  to  the  Society — so  that  its  discussion  in  the 
columns  of  the  Journal  is  earnestly  invited,  seeing  it  is 
likely  to  be  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  Committee  when 
they  next  meet  to  settle  the  prospectus  of  the  next  annual 
exhibition. 


CROSSING  NATIONAL  FRONTIERS  WITH  DRY 
PLATES. 

Photographic  Scraps  for  May  contains  some  useful 
information  for  Continental  tourists,  and  states  that  in 
Sweden  and  Norway  the  photographer  will  have  no 
difficulty  at  the  Custom  House,  provided  the  photographic 
baggage  is  not  too  large  ; but  as  good  stocks  are  kept  in 
the  country,  it  is  not  necessary  or  advisable  for  a traveller 
to  burden  himself  with  large  quantities.  There  is  no 
restriction  on  the  taking  of  photographs  in  the  streets  or 
country,  but,  naturally,  for  church  or  museum  interiors, 
one  requires  to  obtain  permission,  not  difficult  to  obtain 
as  a rule.  In  Russia,  things  do  not  go  so  smoothly  with 
the  tourist.  Photographic  apparatus  for  tourists’  own  use 
is  charged  with  a duty  equal  to  about  8d.  per  English 
pound,  and  plates  with  one  of  about  3 Id.  per  pound. 
Photography  on  its  amateur  side  is  so  little  known  to  the 
Russian  Custom  House  officials  that  they  have  not  the 
faintest  idea  of  the  sensitiveness  of  plates  or  papers  to  the 
light ; consequently  the  poor  traveller  has  a rough  time  of 
it,  unless  forewarned.  To  take  views  almost  anywhere, 
one  requires  the  permission  of  the  authorities,  and,  to 
obtain  this  permission,  tourists  should  obtain  before 
leaving  home  a certificate  from  the  Russian  Consulate  in 
England,  that  the  bearer  desires  to  take  photographs,  is 
an  amateur,  and  proposes  to  use  such  photographs  only 
for  his  own  pleasure.  In  Holland  and  Belgium,  plates 
carried  by  tourists  are  liable  to  pay  ten  per  cent.  duty. 
As  a rule,  the  Customs  do  not  insist  upon  opening  the 


boxes ; but,  as  the  revenue  officers  are  apt  to  suspec  t 
smuggling  in  every  form,  they  may  at  times  examine  the 
plate  boxes;  still,  it  will  be  done  politely,  and  in  a properly 
appointed  dark  room.  In  France,  plates,  on  entry, 
whether  for  the  traveller’s  own  use  or  as  merchandise,  are 
dutiable  to  the  extent  of  18  ’50  francs  per  100  kilos, 
equivalent  to  about  3s.  per  pound  English.  Apparatus, 
if  well  worn,  and  clearly  for  personal  use,  is  passed  free  of 
duty ; if  new,  ten  per  cent,  is  levied.  Usually  the  Customs 
officials  are  most  easy  about  the  enforcement  of  these 
duties,  and  about  the  examination  generally,  when  it  is 
plain  that  one  is  not  other  than  an  amateur ; but  the 
tourist  who  goes  loaded  with  heavy  photographic  impedi- 
menta may  find  he  has  to  pay  these  legal,  but  seldom 
imposed,  duties.  Most  officials  have  by  this  time  learnt 
the  disaster  which  follows  the  opening  of  plate-boxes  in 
an  ordinary  room,  and  are  daily  becoming  more  com- 
plaisant with  amateur  photographers,  and  seldom  or  ever 
does  any  trouble  arise.  As  to  the  taking  of  photographs, 
but  little  restriction  is  imposed,  as  long  as  fortifications 
are  avoided.  In  Italy,  plates  are  dutiable  to  the  extent  of 
Is.  per  kilo,  or,  if  accompanied  by  a certificate  of  origin 
from  the  Italian  Consulate  in  London,  of  3d.  per  kilo. 
Apparatus  for  personal  use  is  not  charged  for.  If  the 
camera  is  new,  the  Customs  may  insist  on  a duty  being 
paid,  but  will,  if  requested,  give  a certificate,  on  the  pro- 
duction of  which  the  duty  will  be  remitted  on  leaving  the 
country.  The  officials  are  very  tender  with  amateur 
photographers,  and  a few  boxes  of  plates,  and  any 
apparatus,  may  be  readily  passed  without  cither  trouble  or 
payment  of  duty.  Photography  may  be  freely  practised 
in  any  and  every  town  the  informant  thinks,  with  the 
restriction  not  to  approach  too  near  fortifications.  He 
recommends  the  use  of  hand  cameras,  which  the  populace 
have  not  yet  learnt  to  recognise  as  such,  as  a tripod  and 
large  camera  always  collect  a crowd  of  ever-present  idlers. 
In  Germany,  the  actual  imposition  of  duty  leviable  on  all 
plates  is  more  honoured  in  the  breach  than  in  the 
observance,  whilst  apparatus  enters  free.  The  Customs 
are  well  used  to  tourists  carrying  cameras,  and  no  diffi- 
culty is  met  with.  If  the  traveller  should  be  asked,  as  a 
matter  of  form,  to  open  a box  of  plates,  he  is  taken 
courteously  to  the  dark  room ; the  examination  is  made 
promptly,  and,  with  many  apologies,  he  is  speedily 
released.  If  fortifications  are  avoided,  there  is  practically 
no  limit  to  the  opportunity  for  taking  photographs,  unless 
it  is  in  some  of  the  watering-places,  where  permission 
must  be  asked  for,  and  is  readily  obtained.  In  Switzer- 
land, the  favourite  hunting  ground  of  tourists,  photographic 
and  otherwise,  the  greatest  attention  is  given  to  the  needs 
of  photographers,  and  the  Customs  allow  both  apparatus 
and  plates  carried  by  tourists  for  their  own  use  to  pass 
free  of  duty,  l’hotographing  seems  .absolutely  free  from 
restriction  throughout  the  country.  Greece  offers  a wide 
and  interesting  field,  and  the  Custom  House  people  offer 
no  difficulty  in  the  way  of  free  import  of  tourists’  apparatus 
and  plates.  Visitors  should  not  carry  too  many  of  the 
latter.  There  is  no  restriction  on  the  taking  of  photo- 
graphs, and  it  is  needless  almost  to  say  that  Athens  and  its 
neighbourhood  offer  sufficient  scope  for  weeks  of  pleasant 
labour.  The  ruins  of  Olympia  in  Western  Peloponessus, 
the  Yale  of  Tempe,  and  the  monasteries  of  Kalembak  in 
Thessaly,  the  Islands  of  Corfu  and  Zante,  with  Eleusis 
and  Dafue,  are  all  easily  reached.  Travelling  in  Greece, 
even  in  districts  remote  from  the  beaten  track,  is  quite 
safe.  For  farther  information  see  Photographic  Scraps. 


May  2,  1890. J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


337 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  FICTION.* 

Another  interesting  story  of  an  equally  speculative 
character,  though  of  a totally  different  kind,  is  told  in  an 
American  magazine.  A photographer,  who  calls  himself 
a photographic  artist — explaining  that  this  title  costs 
nothing,  and  affects  people  with  much  the  same  sort  of 
respect  as  those  well  known  combinations  of  letters  15.  A., 
F.S.A.,  M.A.,  F.R.G.S.,  D.D.,  with  many  others — is  invited 
down  to  a small  country  village  to  photograph  a Church 
inside  and  out.  The  lady,  the  deceased  incumbent’s 
daughter,  a certain  .Miss  .Tones,  who  has  invited  him.  is 
taken  suddenly  ill  on  the  day  of  his  arrival,  and  is  unable 
to  see  him.  Not  to  waste  his  precious  time,  the  photo- 
grapher takes  portraits  of  the  present  incumbent — to  be 
sold  after  to  his  flock  for  money  to  be  spent  in  repairing 
the  church — of  two  children,  and  a pair  of  lovers.  Every 
professional  knows  both  these  last  to  be  among  the  worst  of 
subjects.  The  lovers  insist  on  arranging  each  other  ; the 
children  cannot  be  arranged  at  all.  The  result  is  com- 
monly disastrous.  Even  if  a good  picture  be  obtained, 
people  paying  for  the  work  are  mostly  dissatisfied.  The 
mother  finds  the  true  image  of  her  spoilt  brat  different 
from  her  ideal.  The  face  of  the  beloved  is  not,  for  the 
lover,  sufficiently  heavenly ; but  the  eye  of  the  camera 
is  not  like  that  of  the  mother  or  the  lover— it  is  not  blind. 
If.  on  the  other  hand,  a bad  picture  is  the  reward  of  the 
photographer’s  toil,  then  is  the  wrath  of  Romeo  a terrible 
and  awful  thing,  while  Juliet  weeps  silently  as  she  gazes  in 
disgust  upon  her  distorted  image.  As  for  the  spoilt  child, 
after  spoiling  in  its  turn  some  half-dozen  plates,  seven 
devils  enter  into  it,  causing  its  last  state  to  be  worse  than 
its  first ; and,  in  the  end,  with  some  twenty  eyes — a very 
Argus — and  about  ten  times  that  amount  of  fingers — a very  j 
llriareus — it  reflects,  collectively,  the  portrait  of  a j 
Catherine  wheel  in  mid-effervescence.  To  return,  how- 
ever, to  the  story.  The  lady  recovers.  The  photographer 
is  placed  outside  the  church  in  the  very  worst  position. 
That  ecclesiastical  building  is  sacrificed  to  an  elaborate 
stucco  tomb,  with  a narrative  of  the  many  virtues  of  the 
lady's  father,  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Jones,  M.A.  In  the  inside 
of  the  church,  the  operator,  placed  once  more  in  the  worst 
position,  is  instructed  to  make  a picture  including  the 
pulpit,  the  vicarage  pew,  and  the  communion  table, 
adorned  on  either  side  with  the  commandments  blazing 
in  gold  on  an  amethyst  ground.  In  vain  the 
unhappy  photographer  explains  that  the  amethyst  will 
turn  to  opal,  and  inky  sable  occupy  the  place  of  gold. 
The  lady  is  not  to  be  moved  by  what  she  doubtless  con- 
siders baseless  representations  to  defraud  her  of  her 
stipulated  right.  Difficult,  indeed,  is  it  to  persuade  her 
that  it  is  impossible  to  include  in  the  same  picture  the  font, 
which  lies  at  the  other  end  of  the  sacred  edifice.  Rut  this 
being  at  last  accomplished  by  the  rhetoric  of  the  photo- 
grapher, he  setsat  once  to  work.  The  windows  of  this  church 
are  filled  with  wondrous  creations  in  green  and  yellow  glass, 
not  altogether  the  best  light  for  photography,  but  bravely 
the  artist  struggles  on.  During  some  twenty  minutes' 
exposure,  lie  beguiles  the  time  by  reading  the  names  of  the 
pew  occupiers  printed  on  their  respective  pews,  the 
gorgeous  decalogue,  one  or  two  commemorative  tablets, 
and  a neatly  written  placard  attached  to  a pillar  conveying 
the  information  that  a man  may  not  marry  his  grandmother. 
Marvelling  much  at  this,  he  moves  to  put  on  the  cap.  when 
suddenly  the  “church-going”  bell,  as  Cowper  calls  it, 

* Continued  from  page  313. 


begins  to  toll.  Though  a lion  be  in  the  path  between  the 
artist  and  his  instrument  when  the  time  is  come  to  affix 
the  cap,  yet  will  he  affix  it.  The  inhabitants  of  the  hamlet 
cluster  together  at  the  church  door  to  learn  the  meaning 
of  this  unwonted  bell-ringing.  Among  them  appears  Miss 
Jones  herself,  majestic  but  angry.  “ What  irreverent 
action  is  this?"  asks  the  lady.  “How  should  I know, 
madam  ? ” replies  the  astounded  photographer ; adding  in  an 
injured  tone,  “and,  as  for  irreverence,  have  I not  been 
standing  here  for  half-an-hour  with  my  hat  off  in  a draught 
as  bad  as  that  of  a blacksmith's  bellows?  ” It  is  afterwards 
found  that  some  of  the  village  fry  have  rung  the  bell,  but  the 
photographer  has  gone  in  a pet  to  develop  his  picture.  It 
grows,  considering  the  difficulties  he  has  had  to  meet, 
well.  The  carefully  worked  cover  of  the  communion 
table — the  long  loving  labour  of  some  pious  Dorcas — com- 
mences its  second  birth;  the  carved  oak  rails  emerge  one 
after  the  other  in  satisfactory  sequence,  the  decalogue 
appears — alas ! no  longer  aglow  with  its  original  glory — 
the  vicarage  pew,  and  the  pulpit.  Yes.  the  pulpit ; but  what 
is  this  spectral  figure  which  rises  out  of  it  ? An  old  gentle- 
man with  a black  mole,  in  a black  gown,  with  white  hair  and 
in  white  bands.  The  photographer  marvels,  but  presents 
in  due  course,  the  photograph  to  Miss  Jones.  “Ah!" 
shrieks  that  lady,  “ it  is — it  is  papa  ! " and  faints  forthwith. 
“ I keep.’-  says  the  photographic  artist  at  the  conclusion  of 
this  little  American  tale.  “ I keep  that  negative  among 
my  curiosities." 

This  paper  might  perhaps,  in  the  reader's  estimation,  be 
called  “ Fiction  in  Photography’’  with  a nearer  approach  to 
descriptive  truth  than  is  made  by  its  present  title,  “ Photo- 
graphy in  Fiction.”  Several  other  tales  may  be  found  by 
any  who  care  to  search  for  them,  which  in  no  degree  lessen 
or  detract  from  the  fitness  of  the  former  heading.  One,  for 
instance,  tells  of  a young  girl  about  to  become  a bride,  who, 
chancing  to  take  refuge  under  a poplar  during  a storm, 
received  an  image  of  that  tree  through  her  petticoats  on  her 
left  leg,  leading  afterwards  to  a remarkable  identification. 
Tales  of  the  photographic  effects  of  lightning  are  indeed  fre- 
quent. Resides  the  well-known  anecdote  of  the  boy  who 
climbed  a beech  on  a Sunday  for  the  sake  of  robbing  a 
bird’s  nest,  and  was  punished  with  a distinct  view  of  a bough 
and  a bird’s  nest  on  his  right  cheek — a gruesome  spectacle, 
and  a warning  to  all  who  chanced  to  meet  him — we  have 
the  story  of  the  sailor  who  went  through  life  with  the  lec- 
ture of  a horse-shoe  affixed  to  the  mast-head  on  his  back  ; 
of  the  respectable  tradesman  who  bore  the  device  of  a 
couple  of  sovereigns  on  his  side,  supposed  to  be  taken 
from  these  two  pieces  of  metal  in  his  purse  ; and — though 
this  last  story  seems,  as  regards  its  genuineness,  open  to 
doubt— the  story  of  the  unhappy  lover  who  died  of  love, 
and  bore,  as  the  doctor  who  anatomised  him  after  death 
discovered,  the  portrait  of  his  lady’s  face  distinctly  photo- 
graphed on  his  heart. 

Number  6 of  The  Photographer,  published  at  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  issues  as  its  supplement  a specimen  of  engraving  by  the 
Photo- Engraving  Company,  of  New  York,  the  subject  being  an 
unacknowledged  reproduction  of  Mr.  H.  P.  Robinson’s  picture, 

“ He  never  told  his  Love,”  here  entitled — perhaps  more  appro- 
priately— “ A Morning  Chat.” 

Dixuler’s  Polytechnucher  Journal  says  that  to  persons 
unaccustomed  to  it,  ammonia  in  the  atmosphere  becomes  mis- 
chievous when  present  in  the  proportion  of  O'Oo  per  cent.  ; 

O' 0t>  percent,  will  kill  most  animals  in  an  hour  and  a half.  Up 
to  0'03  to  O'Oo  per  cent,  the  system  can  become  accustomed 
to  ammonia  ; but  beyond  that  proportion  the  ill  effects  very 
rapidly  come  on. 


338 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


jftOt  C0. 


It  would  be  interesting  to  have  a little  more 
information  concerning  a process  of  photographic 
reproduction  invented  by  Mr.  Henry  Sutton,  of 
Ballarat,  Victoria.  It  has  been  stated  that  “The 
inventor  follows  a method  essentially  different  from 
those  hitherto  used.  He  makes  his  prints  on  gela- 
tine, hut  not  by  means  of  dots  or  lines,  nor  even 
by  the  process  for  printing  with  fatty  inks.  He 
utilizes  the  ordinary  gelatino-bromide  plates,  and 
impressions  them  in  front  of  the  object  to  be  repro- 
duced. The  surface  of  the  image  is  simply  covered 
with  a piece  of  gauze,  and  afterwards  developed  and 
fixed  in  the  ordinary  manner.  The  plate  is  then 
placed  for  five  minutes  in  a bath  of  water  heated  from 
79°  to  80w  F.  The  excess  of  water  is  removed  by  a 
sojourn  of  ten  seconds  in  alcohol.  After  drying,  the 
plate  is  placed  in  a copper  planclietj  heated  to  212v  F. 
over  a Bunsen  burner.  This  degree  of  heat  is  main- 
tained for  about  two  minutes.  The  plate  is  then  ready 
for  the  printing  press.” 


Professor  C.  Michie  Smith,  at  the  last  meeting  of 
the  Royal  Society,  described  a curious  application  of 
photography  to  scientific  research.  The  object  desired 
was  a method  of  determining  surface  tensions  by  mea- 
surement of  ripples.  Ripples  are  set  up  on  the  surface 
of  the  liquid  by  means  of  a tuning  fork,  and  the  sur- 
face is  then  photographed  along  with  a suitable  scale. 
The  lengths  of  the  ripples  can  thus  be  obtained  by 
micrometic  measurement  of  the  negative.  This,  we 
fancy,  represents  the  latest  instance  of  the  long  list 
of  instances  in  which  photography  has  been  utilised 
to  solve  some  problem  of  science. 


It  is  stated  that  the  great  and  unprecedented  rise  in 
the  price  of  platinum  is  causing  much  anxiety.  The 
various  platinum  printing  processes  have  been  received 
with  such  favour  by  the  photographic  public  that  the 
demand  for  the  metal  has,  during  the  past  four  months, 
much  exceeded  the  possibilities  of  supply.  As  we 
mentioned  some  time  ago,  there  was  for  a few  days 
literally  a famine  in  platiuuin,  the  manufacturing 
chemists  being  unable  to  make  the  photographic  salts 
in  sufficient  quantities  to  meet  the  orders  of  their 
customers.  They  have  now  got  over  this  difficulty, 
which  of  course  was  only  a temporary  one,  but  the 
inevitable  has  come  about— a great  rise  in  the  price, 
the  quotations  now  being  about  forty  per  cent,  higher 
than  they  were  a year  ago. 


The  awkward  point  in  the  matter  is  that  platinum, 
unlike  a chemical  product,  cannot  be  cheapened  by  the 
increased  demand.  It  must  be  sought  for,  and  dug 
from  the  mines,  and  up  to  the  present  moment  the  uses 
have  been  so  limited  that  it  has  not  been  worth  while 
for  anybody  to  “ prospect  ” likely  sources  for  its 
discovery.  No  doubt  this  will  be  done  now  that  photo- 


[May  2,  1890. 

graphy  promises  to  be  an  outlet  for  its  utilization,  but 
meanwhile  the  supply,  to  use  commercial  phrase,  is 
“short,”  and  likely  to  be  so.  A financial  paper 
suggests  that  some  of  the  active  minds  engaged  in 
mining  matters  might  do  worse  than  embark  in  the 
search  for  platinum.  If  so,  perhaps  platinum  may  be 
discovered  in  “paying  quantities” — at  least,  this  is 
what  the  prospectus  of  any  platinum  company  is  sure 
to  say. 


Artists  are  less  fortunate  in  their  actions  at  law  when 
the  point  at  issue  turns  upon  the  faithfulness  of  a por- 
trait than  photogiaphers.  It  is  a curious  fact  that  in 
the  disputes  as  to  the  fidelity  of  a photjgraph  which 
have  found  their  way  into  the  English  County  Courts, 
not  one  case  in  twenty  has  been  decided  against  the 
photographer.  It  may,  of  course,  be  that  the  photo- 
grapher starts  with  the  advantage  of  the  generally 
received  dictum  that  photography  cannot  lie,  but  too 
much  stress  must  not  be  laid  on  this,  as  we  may  pre- 
sume a judge  is  uot  to  be  biassed  by  outside  opinion, 
but  will  decide  every  case  on  its  merits.  However 
this  may  be,  the  fact  remains  as  stated. 


Nor  do  we  think  that  if  English  County  Court  judges 
imitate  the  example  set  them  recently  by  a Berlin  legal 
authority,  the  result  would  be  any  different.  In  this 
case  the  fidelity  of  a portrait  in  oils  was  in  dispute, 
and  the  judge  in  question  adopted  the  course  of  direct- 
ing the  lady  to  array  herself  in  the  dress  in  which  she 
sat  to  the  artist.  The  plaintiff  obeyed,  with  the  con- 
sequence that  the  judge  gave  a verdict  in  her  favour. 
It  is  a common  thing,  as  most  photographers  know,  for 
a lady  to  find  fault  with  her  photograph,  not  because 
the  face  does  not  please  her,  but  because  the  dress  does 
not  “come  out  ” as  she  expected.  Hence,  if  an  order 
similar  to  that  of  the  Berlin  j udge  were  enforced,  the 
chances  of  a victory  would  be  still  more  problematical 
than  they  are  at  present.  On  the  whole,  photographers 
need  not  fear  the  consequences  of  the  Berlin  episode. 


A good  deal  of  complaint  is  being  heard  as  to  the 
way  the  frames  of  the  pictures  sent  in  to  the  Royal 
Academy  are  treated.  An  artist  frieud  the  other  day 
had  his  picture  returned,  which  he  did  not  mind  so 
much,  as  it  was  within  the  right  of  the  immaculate 
Forty  to  reject  it ; but  what  he  did  object  to  was  that 
the  frame — an  expensive  one — was  irreparably  damaged. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  pictures  are  stacked  one 
against  the  other,  and  that,  to  get  some  particular 
picture,  the  carpenters  will  not  hesitate  to  walk  over 
the  stacks,  much  as  a cat  walks  the  tiles,  but  scarcely 
so  lightly.  If  they  wore  slippers  not  so  much  harm 
would  be  done,  but,  in  the  case  of  hob-nails,  the  frames 
suffer.  When  complaints  were  made  two  or  three 
years  ago  to  the  Photographic  Society  that  the  frames 
were  damaged,  we  believe  the  Council  compensated  the 
owners.  The  Royal  Academy"  is  above  this  con- 
sideration, and  all  the  artist  can  do  is  to  suffer  in 
silence,  or  write  to  the  newspapers. 


May  2,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


339 


TIIE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CLUB. 

The  annual  report,  list  of  members,  rules,  and  proceedings 
of  the  Photographic  Club,  for  the  year  1889,  has  just  been 
issued.  This  popular  Club  was  established  in  1879.  On 
the  title  page  its  honorary  ollicers  are  stated  to  be : — 
Trustees — William  Bedford  and  Frank  Haes;  Committee — i 
W.  Benham,  F.  P.  Cembrano,  II.  E.  Davis,  K.  W.  Foxlee, 
A.  Mackie,  E.  A.  Newell,  J.  B.  B.  Wellington,  and 
.1.  W.  Zaehnsdorf ; Curator — II.  M.  Hastings,  F.I.C.  ; 
Recorder — E.  Clifton  ; Librarian — C.  E.  Hesse;  Secretary 
and  Treasurer — F.  A.  Bridge,  East  Lodge,  Dalston  Lane,  E. 
The  meetings  of  the  Club  are  held  every  Wednesday 
evening  at  Aiulerton’s  Hotel,  F'leet  Street,  London.  The 
treasurer's  report  sets  forth  that  the  year  ends  with  a 
balance  in  hand  of  £129  17s.  fid. , and  that  it  has  other 
funds  and  property. 

The  longer  papers  read  at  the  meetings  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Club  have  for  the  most  part  been  published  in 
these  pages,  but  a variety  of  useful  information  will  be 
found  in  the  ollieial  reports  of  its  meetings. 

In  the  discussion  on  “ Purifying  Water  for  Photo- 
graphic Purposes,”  Mr.  A.  M.  Levy  said  that,  roughly 
speaking,  there  were  three  kinds  of  impurities  in  water — 
insoluble  substances,  which  might  be  removed  by  filtration ; 
soluble  substances,  such  as  chlorides  of  sodium  and  mag- 
nesium ; and  gaseous  matters.  The  latter  might  be 
ammonia  or  carbonic  acid,  aud  might  be  got  rid  of  by 
boiling  the  water  for  about  half-au-hour.  The  addition  of 
a little  carbonate  of  soda  would  precipitate  the  chlorides. 
The  usual  amount  of  solid  matter  in  the  water  supplied  by 
the  London  water  companies  was  about  two  grains  to  a 
gallon.  The  impurities  in  water  varied  considerably 
according  to  the  local  conditions  of  supply ; sometimes 
water  contained  as  much  as  twenty-five  to  thirty  grains  per 
gallon  of  calcium  or  magnesium  salt.  A ready  method  of 
estimating  the  quantity  of  magnesium  or  lime  salt  was  by 
means  of  Clark's  test.  A solution  of  definite  strength  was 
made  of  Castile  soap  in  spirit ; this  was  added,  drop  by 
drop,  to  a measured  quantity  of  the  water  to  be  tested 
until  the  froth  formed  on  shaking  was  permanent.  The 
amount  of  the  salts  present  was  arrived  at  by  the  amount 
of  soap  solution  used.  He  considered  the  most  con- 
venient method  of  purifying  water  for  photographic 
purposes  was  boiling  it  for  half-an-hour  and  then  leaving 
it  to  cool.  It  was  an  advantage  to  boil  the  water  in  a 
kettle  that  was  already  encrusted  witli  scale.  In  reply  to 
questions,  he  said  that  the  addition  of  a small  quantity  of 
alum  would  precipitate  organic  matters,  as  also  would  iron 
chloride ; but  such  treatment  was  more  suitable  for 
ordinary  purposes  than  for  photographic  ones.  Perman- 
ganate of  potash  would  also  get  rid  of  organic  matter. 
The  hon.  secretary  stated  that  solutions  were  sold  to 
prevent  the  incrustation  of  boilers.  He  had  seen  some 
dark  fluid  which  was  reported  to  have  been  very  effectual. 
Mr.  Levy  said  that  there  were  scores  of  such  in  the 
market.  The  acting  ingredient  in  all  was  carbonate  of 
soda  ; they  were  coloured  to  fancy. 

In  the  discussion  on  “ Copying  Engravings  aud  Wood- 
cuts  for  Lantern  Slides,”  Mr.  A.  Cowan  said  that  if  the 
originals  were  faulty,  as  many  woodcuts  were,  it  was  im- 
possible to  get  a good  solid  picture  from  them.  The  little 
ink  on  the  dark  parts  allowed  the  white  paper  to  show 
through.  This,  when  magnified,  became  much  more 
apparent.  If  the  lines  in  the  original  were  continuous  the 
copy  would  be  all  right.  Mr.  T.  C.  White  thought  it 


probable  that  a negative  made  from  a tracing  in  ink  would 
be  better  than  from  the  original.  Mr.  E.  W.  Foxlee 
stated  that  some  years  ago  he  had  made  some  10  by  8 
transparencies  from  pictures  in  Punch  for  showing  on  the 
30  foot  screen  at  the  Polytechnic  Institution.  As  the 
lenses  used  in  the  lantern  were  not  achromatic,  it  was 
possible  one  fault  hid  the  other.  He  did  not  think  there 
would  be  any  difficulty  in  copying  a well-printed  engrav- 
ing or  woodcut.  Mr.  Woods  said  that  there  was  no  fault 
of  this  kind  in  copies  of  copper-plate  engravings.  He 
thought  the  texture  of  the  boxwood  on  which  the  wood- 
cuts  were  made  might  influence  the  result.  Mr.  A. 
Mackie  thought  that  much  depended  on  the  paper  on  which 
a woodcut  was  printed.  If  a rough  paper  were  used,  the 
ink  did  not  reach  the  hollows  in  the  grain.  The  American 
illustrated  periodicals  were  printed  on  very  smooth,  hot- 
pressed  paper,  and  the  impressions  were  very  perfect. 
Mr.  J.  Nesbit  found  that  Mawson’s  photo-mechanical 
plates  were  excellent  for  work  of  this  kind.  For  making 
drawings  for  copying  there  was  nothing  better  than 
Stevens’  ebony  stain ; it  left  a splendid  solid  black,  and 
dried  very  quickly.  Mr.  Foxlee  thought  wet  collodion 
the  best  for  this  class  of  work.  Mr.  Richmond  said  that 
he  obtained  good  results  on  ordinary  Ilford  plates  deve- 
loped with  ferrous  oxalate  and  intensified  with  mercury. 
He  had  also  found  that  Air.  Wellington's  method  of 
intensifying  answered  well.  He  had  somewhat  modified 
and,  at  the  same  time,  he  thought,  simplified  the  formula. 
His  modified  formula  was — 


A.  — Silver  nitrate 

Water 

B.  — -Ammonium  sulphocyanide 

Water 

C.  — Hypo.  

AVater 


...  100  grs. 
...  7 ozs. 

...  240  grs. 
...  7 ozs. 

...  240  grs. 
...  7 ozs. 


For  use,  take  one  drachm  of  each  of  the  three  solutions  in 
the  order  named,  and  apply  to  the  plate.  He  preferred  a 
fairly  long  exposure. 


THE  LATENT  PHOTOGRAPHIC  IMAGE.* 


BY  C.  H.  BOTHAMLEY,  F.I.C.,  F.C.S. 

The  composition  of  the  material  composing  the  latent 
image  isas  yet  an  unsolved  problem.  It  is  generally  regarded 
as  being  identical  with  the  dark  products  obtained  by  the 
more  prolonged  action  of.  light,  and  this  view  is  supported 
by  the  fact  that  they  are  affected  in  the  same  way  by  many 
re-agents.  Carey  Lea’s  observations  (loc.  cit.)  that  a brief 
action  of  reducing  agents  on  silver  compounds  produces 
invisible  but  developable  images,  whilst  prolonged  action 
produces  visible  images,  and  that  in  both  cases  the 
images  are  identical  in  behaviour  respectively  with  the 
invisible  and  visible  latent  images  produced  by  light,  is 
also  very  strong  evidence  in  favour  of  the  same  conclu- 
sion, but  their  identity  is  not  yet  proved.  The  resistance 
of  the  latent  image  and  of  the  darkened  products  to  the 
action  of  nitric  acid  render  it  highly  improbable  that  they 
consist  of  metallic  silver  ; and  it  was  for  a long  time  sup- 
posed that  they  were  sub-salts  of  silver  corresponding 
with  a sub-oxide  Agt(),  described  by  the  chemist  Wohler. 
According  to  this  view,  the  latent  image  consisted  of  a 
minute  quantity  of  silver  sub-chloride  Ag2C,  or  sub- 
bromide Ag2Br,  or  sub-iodide  Ag-J,  containing  half  the 
quantity  of  halogen  present  in  the  ordinary  salts. 
Attempts  to  obtain  Wohler’s  sub-oxide  have  been  made 

* Concluded  from  page  321. 


340 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  2,  1890. 


without  success  by  Newbury,  Muthmanu,  von  Pfordten, 
and  Bailey  and  Fowler,  and,  of  course,  attempts  to  make 
the  sub-chloride  from  it  have  failed  also.  The  methods 
used  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  sub-oxide  were, 
however,  not  such  as,  reasoning  from  analogy,  were  likely 
to  be  successful.  They  all  depended  on  the  possibility  of 
stopping  the  reduction  of  an  ordinary  silver  salt  when 
half  the  radicle  had  been  removed,  without  at  the  same 
time  producing  any  metallic  silver.  Even  in  the  case  of 
well-known  and  stable  compounds  this  is  a matter  of 
much  difficulty,  and  when  dealing  with  a substance  such 
as  ordinary  silver  oxide,  itself  extremely  easily  reduced 
to  the  metallic  state,  the  difficulty  of  definite  partial  reduc- 
tion becomes  enormously  greater.  Moreover,  chemists 
are  acquainted  with  many  cases  in  which  the  haloid  salts 
of  an  element  are  much  more  stable  than  the  correspond- 
ing oxide — the  mercurous  salts  which  are  analogous  to 
the  silver  salts  afford  an  excellent  example — and,  there- 
fore, the  non-existence  of  a silver  sub-oxide  is  no  proof 
of  the  non-existence  of  silver  sub-chloride,  sub-bromide, 
or  sub-iodide.  This  question  remains  for  further  investi- 
gation. 

Carey  Lea  found  (foe.  cil.)  that  by  the  action  of  re- 
ducing agents,  such  as  ferrous  hydroxide,  alkaline  milk  or 
grape  sugar,  &c. , on  silver  salts,  he  obtained  products 
very  similar  in  properties  and  composition  to  the  dark 
products  produced  by  the  action  of  light.  They  are  very 
slowly  attacked  even  by  strong  nitric  acid,  but  more 
rapidly  by  potassium  iodide,  and  are  decomposed  by 
ammonia,  sodium  thio-sulphate,  &c.,  with  separation  of 
metallic  silver.  He  regards  the  two  sets  of  compounds 
as  identical  in  character,  and  considers  them  to  belong  to 
the  indefinite  class  of  compounds  known  as  “ lakes,”  or, 
in  other  words,  as  compounds  of  silver  sub-salts  with 
varying  proportions  of  the  ordinary  salts,  the  compounds 
having  a much  higher  stability  than  the  sub-salts  them- 
selves. In  order  to  recall  the  mode  of  formation  of  the 
dark  products,  which  vary  in  composition  according  to 
the  conditions  of  their  preparation,  but  always  contain 
less  halogen  than  the  normal  silver  salts,  Carey  Lea 
proposes  to  call  them  photo-salts  of  silver ; thus,  photo- 
chloride, photo -bromide,  photo-iodide,  &c.  We  do  not 
know,  however,  that  these  bodies  are  really  “salts”  in 
the  usual  acceptation  of  the  term ; and  although  the 
names  are  very  good,  it  would  be  better  to  speak  of  them 
more  generally  as  photo-compounds  or  photo-products. 

Hunt  stated*  that  when  silver  chloride  darkens  in  pre- 
sence of  air  and  moisture,  half  the  chlorine  is  replaced 
by  oxygen,  and  researches  by  Idodgkinson,t  the 
details  of  which  are  not  yet  published,  led  him  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  darkened  silver  chloride  is 
an  oxychloride  of  the  formula  Ag4Cl2(),  formed  from 
four  molecules  of  silver  chloride  AgOl.  AgCl.  AgCl. 
AgCl.,  by  the  substitution  of  an  atom  of  oxygen  for  two 
atoms  of  chlorine,  thus  AgCl.  Ag.  O.  Ag.  AgCl.  Experi- 
ments, the  details  of  which  have  not  been  published,  can- 
not of  course  be  criticised  or  properly  appreciated ; but 
it  is  very  difficult  to  believe  that  a silver  oxychloride 
could  form  in  presence  of  strong  nitric  or  hydrochloric 
acid.  It  is  also  important  to  observe  that  the  supposed 
oxychloride  is  not  a reduction  product  of  silver  chloride, 
but  a substitution  product,  the  quantity  of  chlorine  and 
oxygen  in  the  formula  given  being  sufficient  to  neutralise 
all  the  combining  power  of  the  silver.  Silver  oxide  is 

* “ Researches  on  Light,'’  2nd  ed.  p.  80. 
t Photoob Armc  Nkws,  xxxi  , 371. 


known  to  be  readily  reduced  to  the  metallic  state  by 
developers  : and  if  we  assume  that  this  rcducibility  of  the 
oxide  is  transferred  to  the  oxychloride,  which  would  be 
the  case  if  the  compound  had  the  constitution  represented 
by  the  formula  given,  the  formation  of  the  oxychloride 
would  certainly  explain  the  production  of  an  image  on 
development  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally  well 
known  that  silver  oxide  is  very  readily  attacked  by  acids, 
and  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how  an  oxychloride  could  retain 
the  instability  of  the  oxide  in  presence  of  reducing  agents, 
and  yet  offer  so  great  a resistance  to  the  action  of  acids. 
If  further  experiments  prove  that  the  darkened  products 
are  really  an  oxychloride  and  an  oxybromide  respectively, 
it  is  not  at  all  probable  that  they  will  have  the  constitution 
which  has  been  suggested.* 

It  seems  quite  certain  that  the  presence  of  oxygen  is 
not  essential  to  the  formation  of  a dark  photo-product 
from  a haloid  silver  salt.  Dry  silver  chloride  darkens 
readily  when  exposed  to  light  under  benzenef  or  in  hydro - 
gen.J  or  apparently  in  presence  of  any  substance  which 
can  bike  up  chlorine,  whether  the  particular  substance 
contain  oxygen  or  not.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  we 
are  not  entitled  to  assume  that  the  products  formed  are 
identical,  and  the  behaviour  of  a substance  out  of  con- 
tact with  air  and  moisture  gives  no  direct  evidence  as  to 
its  behaviour  when  oxygen  and  water  are  present. 

It  has  not  yet  been  definitely  proved — indeed,  from  the 
nature  of  the  case,  absolute  proof  is  almost,  if  not  quite, 
impossible — that  the  material  composing  the  latent  image 
is  identical  in  composition  with  the  visible  products  found 
by  the  more  prolonged  action  of  light,  although  the  various 
facts  previously  referred  to  furnish  very  strong  evidence 
that  this  is  the  case. 

The  exact  point  which  we  seem  to  have  reached  is 
this,  that  the  latent  image  is  a photo-chemical  reduction 
product  containing  a lower  proportion  of  halogen  than 
normal  silver  chloride,  or  bromide,  or  iodide,  and  much 
more  easily  reduced  to  the  metallic  state  : but  the  problem 
of  its  composition  and  constitution  still  remains  to  be 
solved. 

Thf.  Photographic  Society  of  India. — The  steady  progress  of 
this  Society,  as  recorded  in  its  journal,  is  evidenced  by  the 
accession  of  thirty-six  new  members  since  Januarj\ 

Thf.  Camera  Club. — The  fifth  of  the  series  of  photographic 
exhibitions  at  the  Camera  Club  will  be  open  on  and  after  Tues- 
day, May  6th,  to  visitors  on  presentation  of  their  cards.  The 
exhibition  will  consist  of  photographs  by  the  late  Mrs.  Julia 
Cameron,  and  by  the  kind  co-ojieration  of  Mr.  H.  H.  Cameron 
the  Club  is  able  to  exhibit  a fully  representative  collection. 
Amongst  other  pictures  will  be  the  portraits  of  Sir  John  Her- 
schell,  Lord  Tennyson,  and  Robert  Browning,  produced  by  Mrs. 
Cameron  more  than  twenty  years  ago.  The  pictures  will  be  on 
view  for  about  two  months. 

A New  Reagent  for  Pyrocallol  — At  a recent  sugar  meet- 
ing of  the  Mulhouse  Industry  Society,  M.  Matthieu-l’lessy 
described  a new  reagent  for  cane  sugar,  grape  sugar,  and  pyro- 
gallic  acid,  consisting  of  a solution  of  lead  paranitrate  (PbHNOJ 
in  an  excess  of  melted  ammonium  nitrate  (Mon.  Sc i cut. , Decem- 
ber, page  1,446).  It  is  prepared  by  melting  54  parts  of  am- 
monium nitrate,  and  adding  to  it  84  parts  of  lead  nitrate  and 
21  parts  of  lead  hydrate.  The  reagent  melts  at  about  1 1 5 Q C., 
and  in  contact  with  glucose  it  gives  a cherry-red  colour  ; with 
cane  sugar  the  colour  of  cafi-au-lait ; and  with  pvrogallic  acid 
a chrome-green  colour. — l harm.  Journ. 

• Ilodgkinson  ( >oc . cil.)  and  llelJola’s  “Chemistry  of  Photography,” 
p 5G. 

+ Guthrie,  B'itith  Journal  of  Photography,  xxxii  , 393  ; Carey  Lea, 
American  Journal  of  Science  [8]  .38. 

} Hitchcock,  Amer.  ('hem . Journal,  xi.  474  ; British  Journal  of  Photo- 
graphy. 1890,  p.  8. 


May  2,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS, 


341 


A MEETING  ABOUT  LENS  STANDARDS. 


The  Lens  Standard  Committee  of  the  Photographic  Convention 
having  publicly  asked  all  photographic  opticians  interested,  to 
meet  it  at  the  Mona  Hotel,  London,  to  consider  the  subject  of 
standard  diaphragms  and  flanges,  the  meeting  took  place  last 
Friday  night.  Mr.  A.  Haddon  occupied  the  chair,  and  among 
the  opticians  present  were  Mr.  T.  R.  Dallmeyer,  Mr.  Conrad 
Beck,  Mr.  J.  Turnbull  (Wray  and  Son),  Mr.  W.  Taylor,  Mr. 
H.  W.  Hobson,  Mr.  'I'.  P.  Watson,  Mr.  A.  Payment,  and 
Mr.  M.  J.  Swift. 

The  Chairman  stated  that  the  committee  had  been  appointed 
at  the  Birmingham  meeting  of  the  Photographic  Convention  in 
1 888,  to  consider  the  lens  standards  of  the  Photographic  Society, 
and  what  improvements  might  be  made  therein.  It  had 
previously  done  a certain  amount  of  work.  The  results  of 
their  deliberations  that  evening  would- be  brought  before  the 
Convention  at  its  meeting  this  year  in  Chester.  He  hoped 
that  the  opticians  present  would  be  led  by  the  voice  of  the 
majority.  He  could  not  see  why  photographers  should  have 
to  carry  about  in  their  apparatus  a greater  weight  than  is 
necessary  of  wood  and  brass. 

The  Chairman  then  distributed  some  printed  copies  of  the 
original  report  of  the  Lens  Standard  Committee  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Society,  as  follows  : — 


“We,  the  Members  of  the  Committee  appointed  by  the 
Council  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain  to  con- 
sider and  report  upon  the  best  means  of  attaining  uniformity 
in  the  construction  of  apertures  in  the  ‘ diaphragms  of 
lenses,’  ‘flanges,’  and  ‘camera  screws,’ have  now  the  honour 
of  communicating  the  result  of  our  investigations.  Our  aim 
has  been,  as  far  as  possible,  to  combine  the  nearest  approach  to 
scientific  accuracy  with  practical  utility.  Had  either  consi- 
deration exclusively  engrossed  our  attention,  modified  recom- 
mendations might  have  resulted.  Dividing  our  Report  into 
three  divisions,  the  first  section  has  reference  to  ‘ Lens 
Diaphragms,’ the  second  to  ‘ Flanges  and  Adapters,’ and  the 
third  to  ‘Camera  Screws.’ 

“Lens  Diaphragms. — With  regard  to  Diaphragms,  we 
recommend — 1st.  That  the  aperture  of  the  standard-unit 
diaphragm  should  have  a diameter  equal  to  one-fourth  the 
equivalent  focus  of  the  lens,  and  be  marked  ‘ 1,’  the  approxi- 
mate equivalent  focal  length  of  the  lens  itself  being  engraved 
on  the  mount.  2nd.  That  diaphragms  with  smaller  openings 
should  have  apertures  diminishing  in  area  to  the  extent  of  one- 
half  from  the  unit  standard  downwards,  and  be  marked 
successively  2,  4,  8,  16,  32,  64,  &c.  These  numbers  would 
indicate  to  the  practical  photographer  that  if  a given  sensitive 
film  requires  with  the  unit  stop  an  exposure  of  one  second, 
the  introduction  of  a smaller  one  would  necessitate  an 
exposure  of  as  many  seconds  as  the  numbers  marked  on  it  ; 
in  other  words,  each  stop  would  require  double  the  exposure 
of  the  preceding  one.  Should  a lens  not  admit  of  a 
diaphragm  with  an  aperture  as  large  in  diameter  as  one- 
fourth  its  focal  length,  nor  exactly  any  one  of  the  above- 
mentioned  sizes,  we  still  recommend  that  all  the  apertures  be 
made  in  uniformity  with  the  above  scale,  with  the  exception 
of  the  largest,  which  should  be  marked  with  the  number  its 
area  requires  in  relation  to  the  unit  diaphragm.  In  the  case 
of  a lens  having  a working  aperture  exceeding  in  diameter 
one-fourth  its  focal  length,  the  diaphragm  should  be  marked  in 
fractions  (as  ‘5,  ’25,  Ac. ),  in  uniformity  with  the  standard 
apertures,  according  to  the  sizes  of  their  relative  apertures. 
We  further  advise  that  diaphragms  required  to  l>e  made  with 
apertures  intermediate  to  the  standard  sizes  should  invariably 
be  marked  with  numbers  corresponding  to  the  ratio  of  their 
area  to  the  aperture  of  the  unit  diaphragm. 

“Flanges. — We  advise  the  construction  of  flanges  with 
internal  and  external  screw  threads  of  a standard  series,  for 
attachment  to  cameras  having  screw  threads  adapted  for  screws, 
li  in.,  2 in.,  2 j in.,  3 in.,  in  external  diameter,  and  made  with 
twenty-four  threads  to  the  inch  3|  in.  The  3i  inch  to  have 
twenty-four  threads  to  the  inch  on  the  inside,  and  twelve 
threads  to  the  inch  on  the  outside.  If  larger  ones  are  required, 
we  recommend  that  they  increase  in  size  one  inch  in  diameter, 


from  four  inches  upwards,  with  twelve  threads  to  the  incln 
both  internal  and  external.  We  also  recommend  the  manu' 
facture  of  a series  of  adapters,  with  inner  screws  made  to 
carry  any  existing  lens,  and  with  outer  ones  corresponding  to 
the  next  or  other  larger  size  of  the  standard  flanges  above 
described.  Hereafter,  whenever  practicable,  the  screws  cut 
on  the  mounts  of  all  newly-manufactured  lenses  should  be 
suited  to  one  of  the  above-sized  standard  flanges. 

“ Camera  Ferews. — With  regard  to  camera-screw  connections, 
we  recommend  that  henceforth  all  screws  fitted  to  cameras 
either  for  attachment  to  the  stand,  for  fixing  rising  fronts,  or 
for  other  movable  part-,  should  be  either  \,  | of  an 

inch  in  external  diameter,  and  in  pitch  of  thread  and  other 
details  in  accordance  with  the  generally  recognised  Whitworth 
standards  for  the  above-mentioned  sizes. 

“ The  Council  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain 
having  accepted  this  Report,  have  directed  that  a series  of 
standard  flanges  and  camera-screws  be  constructed  and  kept  in 
the  custody  of  the  Society,  and  be  called  “The  Photographic 
Society’s  Standards.”  Upon  application  to  the  Secretary,  these 
standard  flanges  and  screws  will  bo  shown,  and  printed  copies 
of  this  Report  be  given  to  those  manufacturers  of  lenses, 
flanges,  and  camera-screws  who  may  be  desirous  of  adopting  the 
above  standards. 

“ The  Gallery,  5a,  Pal!  Mall,  3.  W.,  July,  1883.” 

Mr.  W.  Taylor  said  that  he  thought  the  fixing  of  lens  stan- 
dards to  rest  entirely  with  the  public.  To  make  a change 
would  involve  each  optician  in  much  expense,  so  any  change 
must  come  by  the  optician  feeling  that  if  he  is  not  up  to  the 
times,  the  times  will  leave  him  behind.  His  firm  used  the 
standards  of  the  Photographic  Society,  and  did  not  see  that 
there  was  any  advantage  in  making  a change,  for  to  change  a 
system  of  lens  fittings  meant  a change  of  all  patterns,  the 
‘ abandonment  of  old  stock,  and  involved  other  losses,  which 
few  opticians  would  voluntarily  agree  to  make.  Interchange- 
able screws  on  gas-pipes  are  one  thing,  and  lens  screws  are 
another  ; the  latter  are  far  more  difficult  to  make,  and  many  of 
the  standard  microscope  screws  in  the  market  are  not  so  well 
made  as  would  please  a good  mechanic.  They  exceed  the  proper 
limits  of  error.  In  some  of  them  he  had  found  an  error  of  , 
of  an  inch,  and  that  was  a serious  thing.  If  any  society 
wished  to  alter  the  present  system  relating  to  photographic 
lenses,  steps  would  have  to  be  taken  to  provide  members  with 
standard  gauges,  and  the  means  of  correcting  those  gauges 
when  they  began  to  wear.  He  thought  the  Whitworth  thread 
to  be  good  and  suitable  for  lenses.  Some  photographers 
wished  bayonet  fittings  for  their  lenses  ; such  fittings  were 
liable  to  become  unsteady  ; the  turning  of  them  out  was  not 
convenient  to  the  lens  maker,  and  they  were  far  more  diffi- 
cult to  make  interchangeable.  The  lens  screws  adopted  in  the 
system  of  the  Photographic  Society  are  coarse,  and  this  to 
some  extent  meets  the  requirements  of  the  man  who  wants  a 
bayonet  joint  to  save  time.  His  firm  so  made  their  lenses 
that  any  number  of  them  would  screw  into  the  same  flange 
upright,  and  this  was  a subject  which  should  be  considered 
when  dealing  with  interchangeable  fittings.  The  gauges  for 
making  the  screws  should  be  true  to  of  an  inch. 

Mr.  Conrad  Beck  remarked  that  in  the  cutting  of  standard 
screw  threads  for  the  microscojie,  the  point  of  the  tool  wears,  so 
causes  an  inaccuracy  at  the  bottom  of  the  thread,  which  in 
other  parts  is  of  the  right  size  ; therefore  special  means  have 
been  devised  for  afterwards  cutting  out  the  surplus  metal  at 
the  bottom  of  the  thread. 

Mi-.  M.  J.  Swift  did  not  think  a little  shake  in  the  screw  of 
a lens  mount  to  be  worth  considering  at  all  ; the  mount  is  not 
particularly  faulty  if  it  holds  tight. 

Mr.  T.  R.  Dallmeyer  did  not  think  that  any  optician 
individually  would  go  to  the  unnecessary  expense  of  altering 
the  whole  of  his  system.  He  thought  that  any  standard 
adopted  should  be  universal,  and  not  confined  to  England  alone. 
The  French  Photographic  Conference  had  done  well  to  invite 
persons  from  other  countries  to  meet  and  discuss  this  question 
of  lens  standards,  for  diaphragm  apertures  are  not  wanted  only 
for  England,  but  for  every’  country.  He  had  first  suggested 
the  decimal  system  for  lens  apertures,  and  the  decimal  standard 


342 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  2,  1890. 


seemed  to  have  been  taken  up  by  the  French  ; indeed,  he 
thought  that  it  would  be  taken  up  universally.  The  Conference 
did  not  take  up  exactly  his  standard,  but  Dr.  C.  Fabre,  who 
was  a great  authority,  considered  his  (Mr.  Dallmeyer’s)  standard 
to  be  better  than  that  adopted  by  the  French.  Hail  he  been 
at  the  meeting,  he  should  have  suggested  the  ratio  for  apertures 
of  one  over  the  root  of  ten,  instead  of  one  over  ten.  The 
tendency  of  the  times  at  home  and  abroad  is  towards  the  deci- 
mal system,  and  he  thought  that  that  system  should  be 
employed  for  lens  stops.  He  thought  that  a bayonet  guage 
would  be  convenient  and  valuable,  but  that  they  should  have  a 
screw  bayonet  catch,  and  not  a pin  bayonet  catch.  He  also 
thought  that  they  should  follow  up  what  had  been  done  by 
Continental  scientific  men,  and  that  a system  based  upon  the 
English  inch  would  not  be  likely  to  become  universal. 

Mr.  \V.  E.  Debenham  hoped  that  the  Committee  had  had 
the  French  report,  from  which  it  appeared  that  the  English 
Society’s  standard  had  never  been  mentioned  at  the  Paris  Con- 
ference. That  Conference  had  considered  and  rejected  Mr. 

1 tallineyer’s  standard  of  / over  ten,  but  had  adopted  the 
decimal  standard.  Lens  mounts  made  according  to  the 
standard  / over  four  of  the  Photographic  Society  are  now  largely 
made  and  sold,  so  the  fact  should  have  been  brought  under 
the  notice  of  the  Conference.  He  did  not  see  why  a good 
and  exceedingly  convenient  standard,  once  made  and  adopted, 
should  be  thrown  aside  without  very  strong  reasons.  Very 
likely  the  decisions  at  the  last  International  Conference 
might  be  throw'll  aside  when  the  Conference  meets  at  Brussels. 

Mr.  Dallmeyer  said  that  one  over  the  root  of  ten  was 
“the”  decimal  standard,  and  that  one  over  ten  was  “a” 
decimal  standard. 

Mr.  Arthur  Payment  was  then  invited  to  speak  by  the 
Chairman,  and  replied  that  he  came  to  listen,  and  not  to  talk. 

Mr.  T.  P.  Watson  said  the  same. 

The  Chairman  then  read  the  following  letters  : — 

Dear  Sir, — We,  as  manufacturers  and  dealers,  find  that  the 
standard  flanges  1 i,  2,  2j,  3,  &c.,  with  the  Whitworth  threads, 
are  generally  approved  of,  and  almost  the  first  question  buyers 
put  now  is,  “ Are  these  standards  ?” 

Charles  Reynolds  k Co. 

72  and  73,  Fore  Street,  London,  E.C.,  Ap,  •il  25th. 

Dear  Sir, — I regret  very  much  that  a very  important 
engagement,  of  which  I was  unaware  when  you  honoured  me 
with  a call,  will  not  allow  me  to  attend  the  discussion  this 
evening. 

If  I had  been  able  to  attend,  the  points  I should  have 
pressed  would  have  been  these : — 

1.  That  all  flanges  should  be  made  in  progressive  sizes  of 
4 inches,  as  1,  lj-,  li,  and  so  on. 

2.  That  a universal  pitch  of  thread  be  used  for  ttauges 
having  an  aperture  up  to  2i  inches,  viz.,  a pitch  of  18  threads 
per  inch. 

My  reasons  for  the  above  propositions  are  : — 

In  regard  to  No.  1. — That  as  many  makers  have  issued  a 
large  number  of  lenses  having  flanges  of  varying  apertures, 
and  threads  of  varying  pitches,  it  would  become  quite  easy 
for  any  maker  to  manufacture  adapters  that  would  screw'  on 
to  all  existing  lens  mounts,  so  as  to  make  them  fit  a standard 
flange. 

In  regard  to  No.  2. — The  screw  pitch  I have  chosen  is 
technically  known  as  Whitworth,  or  f gas.  The  screw 
chasers  for  working  these  threads  can  be  obtained  at  almost  any 
decent  tool  shop,  and  being  a Whitworth  pitch,  is  almost 
universally  used.  The  depth  of  the  thread  being  only  3V  of 
an  inch,  it  also  admits  of  fairly  light  flanges  being  used  with- 
out the  danger  of  the  bottom  of  the  threads  being  cut  right 
through  the  body  of  the  tlauge. 

Again  regretting  my  inability  to  attend,  I am,  yours  truly, 

David  W.  Noakes. 

HUlimjtyatc  Street,  Greenwich,  Jeondon,  S. E. , April  24,  1890. 

Mr.  Conrad  Beck  thought  the  questions  before  the  Committee 
to  depend  largely  upon  an  arrangement  between  manufacturers. 
Could  they,  by  meeting,  arrange  any  system  mutually  satis- 
factory ! In  the  matter  of  aperture  dimensions  he  did  nut 


think  that  they  should  agree.  As  regarded  lens-screws,  he  did 
not  think  that  so  much  accuracy  as  in  microscopic  apparatus 
was  necessary,  especially  with  the  majority  of  cameras  at  pre- 
sent in  use.  The  great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  adopting 
standard  flanges  is,  that  at  present  there  arc  a great  number 
of  flanges  in  the  market  which  they  would  still  have  to  make 
lenses  to  fit  after  new  flanges  had  been  adopted.  In  any  new 
system  the  flanges  now  employed  should  be  utilised  as  much 
as  possible,  rather  than  that  fresh  ones  should  be  stamped  ; 
therefore  it  seemed  desirable  to  ascertain  what  flanges  are  now 
mostly  in  use.  After  a time  the  tendency  would  be  for  the 
public  to  come  gradually  to  the  standard  sizes. 

Mr.  William  Bedford  remarked  that  before  the  Photographic 
Society  framed  its  system  of  standard  apertures,  the  late  Mr. 
Dallmeyer  had  a standard  system  of  his  own  ’ butwhen  theCom- 
mittec  of  the  Photographic  Society  met  it  obtained  littleassistance 
from  professional  opticians,  who  were  not  represented  as  they 
should  have  been.  The  Committee  fixed  on  the  standard  of/ 
over  four.  He  thought  that  too  much  might  be  made  of  the 
decimal  system,  because  when  the  sizes  of  stops  are  once  fixed, 
the  practical  photographer  does  not  want  to  know'  what  their 
dimensions  are  ; indeed,  the  change  to  / over  the  root  of  ten 
would  be  of  no  value  whatever  to  the  professional  photographer. 
As  regarded  flanges,  the  Committee  of  the  Photographic  Society 
did  not  consist  of  first-rate  mechanics,  but  it  satisfied  itself 
what  the  diameters  should  be.  He  agreed  with  Mr.  Taylor, 
that  this  part  of  its  report  might  be  improved  by  additional 
definitions.  If  the  Convention  had  standards  made,  opticians, 
perhaps,  would  have  no  difficulty  in  getting  similar  standards 
made  by  the  same  firm.  He  believed  that  Mr.  1 lallmeyer  would 
find  that  this  system  has  come  too  late,  liecause  the  system 
recommended  by  the  Photographic  Society  has  spread,  not  alone 
in  this  country,  but  throughout  America  and  largely  in  Conti- 
nental Europe. 

Mr.  Dallmeyer  thought  that  in  selling  lenses  it  would  be 
well  to  state  the  intensity  ratio  evciy  stop  represents  ; such 
information  ought  to  be  conveyed. 

Mr.  F.  A.  Bridge  remarked  that  stops  were  not  always  made 
accurately'. 

Mr.  Taylor  said  that  some  opticians  took  into  consideration 
the  fact  that  the  light  is  condensed  by  the  front  lens  of  a 
doublet.  He  bail  not  suggested  that  lens  screws  should  be 
accurate  to  ,ouo5  part  of  an  inch,  but  that  the  standard  gauges 
should  be  so  made. 

Mr.  Beck  said  that  if  the  committee  would  decide  upon  the 
sizes,  the  matter  of  making  the  lenses  interchangeable  might 
be  left  to  opticians,  because  the  Whitworth  standards  in  ordi- 
nary use  are  available. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  stated  that  when  Whitworth  made  the 
standard  gauges  for  the  Photographic  Society,  it  was  under- 
stood that  he  was  also  ready  to  make  them  at  any  time  for 
opticians. 

Mr.  Dallmeyer  then  moved  the  following  resolution 

“ That  this  meeting  recommends  that  a meeting  be  called  of 
as  influential  a body  as  possible  of  manufacturing  opticians,  to 
decide  upon  the  most  convenient  series  of  sizes  for  standard 
flanges  and  camera  screws  that  shall  be  most  suited  to  meet 
existing  conditions  of  their  manufacture.  These  standard 
flanges  at  present  to  be  limited  in  number,  and,  when  decided, 
to  report  to  the  Committee  of  the  Photographic  Convention  of 
the  United  Kingdom.  It  is  also  suggested  that  the  question 
of  means  for  their  adoption  be  decided  upon.  That 
this  meeting  be  called  for  the  9th  of  May,  at  this  hotel  at 
seven  o’clock.” 

Mr.  Conrad  Beck  seconded  the  motion. 

The  Chairman  remarked  that  the  question  of  standard 
diaphragms  was  of  much  less  interest  to  photographers  than 
that  of  standard  flanges.  He  should  be  glad  if  opticians  would 
bring  their  lenses,  and  compare  dimensions. 

Mr.  Conrad  Beck  thought  that  all  the  lens  makers  in  this 
country  might  be  invited  to  state  on  what  system  they  graduated 
their  stops. 

Mr.  Dallmeyer’s  motion  was  then  carried  unanimously. 

The  Chairman  then  successively  took  the  votes  of  the  meet- 
ing as  to  whether  it  preferred  for  lens  apertures  the  ratio  of  J 


May  2,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


343 


over  the  root  of  ten,  / over  ten,  or  / over  four,  and  those 
present  voted  almost  unanimously  in  favour  of  / over  four. 

The  meeting  was  then  adjourned  for  a fortnight. 

Last  Tuesday,  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  sent  the 
following  circular  letter,  on  behalf  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Convention,  to  a number  of  opticians  : — 

“ Dear  Sik, — 1 am  directed  to  forward  to  you  the  enclosed 
resolution  passed  at  a meeting  held  on  the  25th  inst.,  at  the 
Mona  Hotel,  Henrietta  Street,  Covent  Garden,  and  to  solicit 
your  co-operation.  The  next  meeting  will  consist  almost  ex- 
clusively of  opticians,  and,  in  order  to  facilitate  matters,  it  is 
desirable  that  you  should  bring  details  of  internal  diameters  of 
Hanges,  number  of  threads  to  the  inch,  and  any  other  details 
you  can  furnish  in  connection  with  the  attachment  of  all  classes 
of  photographic  lenses  to  cameras  as  now  issued  by  your  firm. 

A.  H addon,  Chairman  of  the  Lens  Standard  Committee. 
Jioyal  Naval  College,  Greenwich,  S.E.,  April  29th,  1890.” 

TIIE  PERMANENCE  OF  PHOTOGRAPH  IC 
PRINTS. 

BY  PROFESSOR  H.  l'OI.. 

Prints  on  albumenised  paper  are  so  well  known,  and  have 
been  so  often  spoken  of,  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  revert 
to  this  subject.  Those  who  buy,  and  those  who  sell  such 
prints,  know  well  enough  how  long  they  last ; the  prefer- 
ence given  to  this  process,  therefore — a preference  espe- 
cially remarked  in  the  smaller  towns,  and  among  the  lower 
classes — can  only  be  attributed  to  the  force  of  habit,  or 
the  absence  of  taste.  It  is  different  in  the  case  of  those 
photographs  called  permanent,  which  are  now  made  by 
very  different  processes.  This  assertion  of  permanence 
is  as  admirable  as  it  is  in  the  case  of  the  reproduction  ob- 
tained by  means  of  fatty  ink  in  the  press,  as  well  as  of 
those  produced  by  photo-engraving,  collotypy.  and  photo- 
typy.  There  remain,  therefore,  but  three  principal 
methods  to  be  investigated : the  bichromatized  gelatine 
(carbon)  process,  the  platinum  process,  and  the  gelatino- 
bromide  and  gelatino-chloride  of  silver  process. 

An  image  may  change  in  three  ways  : — 

1.  The  dark  portions  may  fade. 

2.  The  background  may  become  darker, 
o.  The  print  may  leave  the  support. 

It  is  well  known  that  albumenised  paper  combines 
these  three  objectionable  features. 

The  carbon  process  suffers  from  the  third  of  these 
troubles.  The  image  is  simply  stuck  to  the  support,  and 
although  a separation  is  not  of  frequent  occurrence,  it  is 
not  possible,  however,  to  guarantee  that  it  will  not  occur. 
This  same  trouble  is  again  found  in  Woodburytypy,  or  in 
the  collodio-chloride  of  silver  process.  In  platinotypy, 
neither  separation  of  the  film  nor  weakening  of  the  image 
is  to  be  feared,  but  rather  a darkening  of  the  background, 
as  it  is  impossible  to  entirely  prevent  the  penetration,  into 
the  body  of  the  paper,  of  the  solutions  containing  iron  and 
platinum.  In  truth,  the  iron  salts  may,  however,  be 
entirely  removed  by  careful  washings  with  water  con- 
taining a little  chlorhydric  acid  : in  this  connection  there 
can  be  no  danger,  except  for  want  of  care.  It  is  not  the 
same  thing  with  the  platinum  salt.  This  last  possesses 
the  disagreeable  property  of  entering  into  a combination 
so  resistant  with  the  gelatine  or  the  resins  with  which  most 
of  the  papers  are  sized,  that  no  acid  washings  can  remove 
this  combination.  Such  papers  containing  platinum  acquire 
in  time  a yellowish-green  tone,  which  completely  spoils 
the  primitive  image.  It  is  not  necessary,  however,  to 
wait  several  years  to  ascertain  if  platinum  prints  will  yield 
to  this  danger.  To  make  sure  of  this,  place  the  image  in 


water  containing  sulphuric  acid,  and  allow  it  to  remain 
twenty-four  hours,  as  Pringle  has  recommended ; if  the 
paper  contain  chloride  of  platinum,  it  will  then  show  a 
rather  dark  yellow  tone.  It  is  rather  difficult  to  find, 
among  dealers,  papers  free  from  this  objection.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  insist  on  the  fact  that  all  platinum  paper 
should  be  prepared  with  arrowroot,  and  not  with  gelatine. 

Among  the  numerous  photographers  who  use  this 
process,  there  are  but  few  who  take  this  precaution,  and 
who,  consequently,  can  attach  much  importance  to  the 
permanence  of  the  platinotypes  found  in  the  trade  ? How 
can  it  be  otherwise,  since  the  Platinotype  Company,  of 
England,  founded  by  Willis,  exclusively  uses  paper  pre- 
pared with  gelatine  ?*  The  public  is  ignorant  of  the  tech- 
nical side  of  the  question,  and  judges  the  whole  process 
from  some  specimens  that  have  already  become  green. 
It  would  be  very  desirable  if  photographers  and  amateurs 
were  able  to  prepare  by  their  own  hands  the  true 
platinum  paper.  The  magnificent  labours  of  Pizzighelli 
and  of  Hubl  would  enable  them  to  do  this  without 
difficulty,  if  Pizzighelli  would  only  complete  his  informa- 
tion on  the  preparation  and  the  quantitative  analysis  of 
iron  solution,  so  that  a professor  of  chemistry  were  not 
the  only  one  able  to  understand  them. 

As  regards  the  gelatino-bromide  and  the  gelatino- 
chloride  of  silver  processes,  they  seem  to  fill,  or  to  be 
able  to  fill,  the  three  conditions  of  permanence — pro- 
vided, however — 

1.  That  the  gelatine  film  is  solidly  attached  to  the 
paper. 

2.  That  the  iron  contained  in  the  developer  has  been 
completely  eliminated  by  the  acid  washings. 

3.  That  the  image  has  been  sufficiently  fixed  in  the 
hyposulphite. 

4.  That  the  hyposulphite  has  been  completely  removed 
by  a thorough  washing. 

These  four  conditions  met,  the  developed  silver  salt 
prints  may  offer  the  best  assurance  of  permanence.  The 
thing  presents  itself  rather  differently  with  the  gelatino- 
chloro-citrate  of  silver  prints  (aristotypes)  that  have  not 
been  developed.  Most  of  the  prints  that  have  been 
made  within  a few  years  have,  doubtless,  kept  well,  even 
in  their  fine  details,  but  some  of  them  show,  here  and 
there,  yellow  spots.  It  would  be  necessary  to  make 
more  extended  investigations  to  determine  if  the  trouble 
comes  from  an  insufficient  elimination  of  the  hyposulphite, 
or  if  the  prints,  without  defects  in  their  preparation, 
would  still  be  liable  to  the  reproach  of  want  of  per- 
manence.— Revue  Suisse  de  la  Photograpliie. 

The  Leeos  Photographic  Society. — The  president  of  the 
Leeds  Photographic  Society  is  Mr.  Thomas  W.  Thornton  ; vice- 
presidents,  Messrs.  Thomas  Dawson  and  C.  H.  Bothamley  ; 
librarian,  Mr.  T.  Butterworth  ; lion,  treasurer,  Mr.  O.  H. 
Bod  well ; the  hon.  secretary,  Mr.  S.  A.  Warburtou,  9, 
Banstead  Terrace,  Roundliay  Road,  Leeds  ; and  the  committee, 
Messrs.  Godfrey  Bingley,  F.  W.  Branson,  W.  Denham,  E.  H. 
Jacob,  and  the  officers  of  the  Society.  The  following  are  its 
arrangements  for  the  remainder  of  the  year : — June  5, 
“ Sources  of  Pleasure  in  Landscape,”  Mr.  Thomas  Dawson  ; 
July  3,  technical  exhibition  ; Aug.  7,  outdoor  excursion  ; 
Sep.  4,  “ Demonstration  on  Alpha  Printing,”  The  Ilford  Com- 
pany ; Oct.  2,  “ Watchwords  for  Workers”  (picture  choosing 
and  picture  making),  Mr.  Atkinson  Grimshaw  ; Nov.  6,  open 
lantern  exhibition  in  the  Albert  Hall  ; Dec,  4,  “ Some  Photo- 
graphic Art-Notes,”  Mr.  Frank  Kidson,  and  annual  meeting. 

* The  Platinotype  Co.  carefully  avt ids  the  use  if  paper  containing 
gelatine. — Ed. 


344 


HIC  NEWS 


HO 


[May  2,  1890. 


-'3 


PHOTOGRAPH IC  LENSES. * 

BY  THOMAS  R.  DALLMEYER. 


;r 


Photographic  lenses  in  general  are  optical  systems  for  the 
formation  of  real  images.  The  perfection  of  the  image, 
its  exact  resemblance  to  the  object,  and  its  distinctness, 
will  depend  on  the  exact  conveyance  of  all  the  rays  of 
pencils  emanating  from  every  point  in  the  object  into 
strict  mathematical  points  in  the  image,  or  the  nearest 
approximation  to  such  points  as  may  be.  If  aberration 
is  present,  due  to  improperly  chosen  curvatures,  or 
improperly  combined  materials,  the  resulting  image  will 
lose  in  its  distinctness,  and  may  become  useless.  The 
object,  then,  in  constructing  lens  systems  is  the  best 
possible  destruction  of  aberrations,  both  chromatic  and 
spherical.  With  this  in  view,  we  have  to  consider : first, 
the  proper  selection  and  perfect  homogeneity  of  the 
materials  employed ; secondly,  the  best  selection  of  curves 
ascribed  to  the  material  ; and  thirdly,  mechanically,  a 
strict  maintenance  of  the  “figure”  (as  it  is  technically 
termed)  of  the  curves  when  the  material  is  properly 
polished.  As  it  will  not  be  possible  in  the  time  allotted 
to  this  paper  to  touch  on  the  mechanical  processes 
employed,  I will  mention  here  that  this,  of  course,  is  a very 
important  consideration. 

Glass  is  a very  perfectly  elastic  substance,  and  if  in  the 
processes  of  sticking  the  glass  on  to  polishers  the  material 
becomes  ‘‘biassed,”  however  perfectly  the  curve  may  then 
be  polished,  the  glass,  on  being  released  from  the  polisher,  ; 
will  spring  back,  and  the  true  curve  will  no  longer  be  | 
maintained,  and  will  give  rise  to  an  unexpected  appearance 
in  the  image  technically  termed  “ unnatural  ” aberration. 
Similar  effects  occur  from  bad  workmanship  in  polishing, 
the  polish  not  being  distributed  equally.  Such  defects 
are  quite  inadmissible,  for  although  not  visible  by  ordinary 
reflection,  the  polish  appearing  very  good,  a critical 
examination  of  the  image  will  show  the  deleterious  effect. 

In  the  application  of  photographic  lenses  for  ordinary 
purposes,  we  ask  the  instrument  to  do  practically  what  is 
theoretically  an  impossibility.  An  imaginary  perfect  lens 
can  only  truthfully  depict  one  plane  at  a time,  every  other 
plane  being  out  of  focus;  when,  however,  the  lens  is  used 
under  conditions  that  all  rays  coming  from  points  in  the 
object  are  so  situated  that  they  are  practically  parallel ; 
or  the  circles  of  confusion  in  the  plane  of  the  image, 
when  removed  from  the  plane  for  parallel  rays,  are  so 
small  that  they  are  undistinguishable  from  points  visually, 
the  general  appearance  is  one  of  uniform  sharpness.  In 
ordinary  lens  construction  the  rays  are  usually  considered 
as  parallel ; but  in  large  portrait  lenses  the  means  should 
be  given,  if  sharp  images  are  the  theoretical  desideratum 
of  correcting  the  spherical  aberration  introduced  for 
nearer  planes. 

There  are  great  advantages,  you  will  be  aware,  from 
rapid  lenses  or  brilliant  images.  Herschell  points  out  that 
the  brightness  of  an  image  is  proportional  to  the  quantity 
of  fight  which  is  concentrated  in  each  point  of  it ; and, 
therefore,  supposing  no  aberration,  as  the  apparent  magni- 
tude of  the  lens  which  forms  it,  seen  from  the  object 

area  of  object  „ . , „ , 

X . . . Or,  since  the  area  of  the  object : that 

area  ot  image 

of  the  image  : : (distance) 3 of  object  from  lens  : (distance)  3 
of  image  ; and  since  the  apparent  magnitude  of  the  lens 

seen  from  the  object  is  as  its  ( — jjajpe^er \ * 

\ distance  of  object  / > 

• A paper  read  at  the  8ociety  Ari'  lit  w.  In  lay  night. 


the  brightness  or  degree  of  illumination  of  the  image  is  as 
the  magnitude  of  the  lens  seen  from  the  image  alone, 
whatever  be  the  distance  of  the  object.  Now  the 
apparent  magnitude  of  the  lens  seen  from  the  image  is 
always  much  less  than  a hemisphere.  Therefore  (leaving 
out  the  loss  of  fight  by  reflection  and  refraction),  the 
illumination  of  the  image  is  always  much  less  than  that  of 
the  object. 

I mention  these  facts  at  the  outset  for  the  reason  that 
you  may  clearly  understand  that  it  is  quite  impossible  for 
the  lens  with  a large  ratio  of  aperture  to  focus,  or  one 
that  aims  at  attaining  a maximum  brightness  of  image 
(such  as  are  used  in  portraiture),  also  to  maintain,  at  the 
same  time,  the  uniform  qualities  above  referred  to  in  a 
lens,  the  ultimate  employment  of  which  is  to  depict,  with 
sufficient  exactitude  or  definiteness,  objects  in  different 
planes.  With  the  decrease  of  brightness,  or  aperture, 
conies  a reduction  of  the  angle  at  which  the  extreme  rays 
cross,  increasing  thereby  the  limits  through  which  the 
plane  of  the  plate  may  be  moved  for  similar  diameters  of 
out-of -focus  circles ; but,  as  the  depth  increases  by  the 
proportion,  the  diameter  of  the  lens  is  diminished  or 
stopped  down,  the  brightness  decreases  as  the  square  of 
the  intensity  ratio,  or  the  ratio  or  aperture  to  focus.  As 
the  ultimate  applications  of  various  optical  systems  are  at 
the  outset  understood,  a knowledge  of  geometry  and 
analysis  will  enable  the  optician  to  construct  different 
forms  that  shall  be  particularly  suited  to  the  end  to  be 
attained. 

I take  it  for  granted  that  you  are  all  acquainted  with 
first  principles  and  first  approximations  in  the  refraction 
of  fight  at  plane  and  spherical  surfaces,  and  are  familiar 
with  the  fact  that  the  different  coloured  rays  of  which 
white  fight  is  composed  are  unequally  refracted  in  their 
passage  through  a refracting  medium,  giving  rise  to 
chromatic  aberration. 

As  stated  before,  our  effort  is,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
destroy  in  the  final  image  of  every  system  the  aberrations 
arising  from  spherical  forms  of  the  lenses  and  chromatic 
aberration.  The  process  necessary  to  destroy  the  latter 
being  the  easier  defined,  we  will  approach  it  first,  and 
return  to  the  headings. 

I. — The  Proper  Selection  of  Materials. 

It  is  well  known  and  easily  demonstrated  that  a single 
lens  cannot  be  made  free  from  either  spherical  or  chro- 
matic aberration  for  parallel  rays.  (A  study  of  the  diffe- 
rent forms  of  single  lenses  and  their  adaptability  to 
different  photographic  purposes  is  very  interesting  and 
instructive,  and  we  will  run  through  them  briefly  when  on 
the  subject  of  spherical  aberration.)  If,  however,  we 
combine  two  or  more  lenses  of  different  media,  we  have 
the  means  of  annihilating  both  aberrations  simultaneously. 
The  elimination  of  chromatic  aberration  is  rendered  pos- 
sible by  the  property  of  refracting  substances  of  dis- 
persing colours  in  a very  unequal  degree,  though  the 
difference  in  the  refractive  power  is  comparatively  slight. 

Taking  the  D line  of  the  spectrum  as  brightest  visually, 
and  the  G or  II  line  as  that  of  the  most  chemically  active 
rays,  in  order  that  a lens  may  be  of  value  in  photography 
— or  be  actinic — it  is  most  essential  that  these  fines  be 
combined,  whatever  may  become  of  the  rest.  Thus,  two 
lines  can  be  combined  with  two  different  kinds  of  glass, 
and  n fines  may  be  of  course  combined  by  employing  n 
different  kinds  of  glass. 

For  example,  take  Chance’s  ordinary  hard  crown  glass, 
the  refractive  index  for  liue  1)  = 1517116,  and  for  the 


Mat  2,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


line  G,  1 ‘528348;  for  dense  flint,  for  line  D,  1 ‘622411, 
and  for  line  G,  1 ‘646071.  The  difference,  then,  between 
these  lines  is,  for  the  crown  glass,  ‘011232,  and  for  the 
flint,  ^fleOO.  The  dispersive  power  of  the  flint  between 
these  particular  lines  is  more  than  twice  as  great  as  that  of 
the  crown. 

Now,  you  know  that  if  a number  of  lenses  are  placed  in 
contact  (supposed  infinitely  thin),  the  focus  or  conver- 
gence of  system  is  equivalent  to  the  algebraical  sum  of 
the  components  of  the  system.  It  can  be  shown  for  two 
kinds  of  glass,  such  as  the  above ; the  chromatic  aberra- 
tion can  be  destroyed,  or  actinism  (the  coincidence  of 
chemical  and  visual  foci)  be  maintained  : the  glasses  must 
be  unequally  dispersive,  one  convergent  or  positive,  and 
the  other  divergent  or  negative.  The  system  can  be  made 
free  from  chromatic  aberration,  and  convergent  if  the 
lens  formed  of  the  less  dispersive  power  is  positive,  and 
is  divergent  if  the  lens  formed  of  the  less  dispersive 
power  is  negative.  In  every  case  the  ultimate  rays  from 
the  lens  converge  to  form  a real  image,  so  that  (unless  in 
the  lens-system  a negative  element  is  introduced  as  a 
corrector)  it  will  be  found  the  positive  element  is  always 
composed  of  the  less  dispersive  medium. 

Recent  improvements  in  glass  manufacture  necessitate 
the  expressions  of  “positive  ” and  “ negative  ” elements  in 
lens  systems,  instead  of  the  flint  and  crown,  and  to  these 
I am  about  to  refei.  My  late  grandfather,  in  a paper  con- 
tributed to  this  Society  on  “ Practical  Illustrations  of  the 
Achromatic  Telescope,'’  says  of  glass  then  known  : “ The 
flint  is  easily  distinguished  from  the  crown  by  its  superior 
specific  gravity,  arising  from  the  quantity  of  lead  which 
enters  into  its  composition.  Thus,  the  glass  which  is 
called  flint  glass  has,  in  fact,  a smaller  proportion  of  silica 
than  crown.  It  obtained  this  title  from  the  care  employed 
in  selecting  the  flint  with  a view  to  the  purity  of  the  glass, 
and  the  term  has  since  become  so  extensively  adopted  as 
to  be  now  almost  European.-’  Again,  “discs  of  homo- 
geneous flint  glass,  more  than  four  or  five  inches  in 
diameter,  are  exceedingly  rare,  and  very  costly.”  The 
advances  in  the  art  of  glass-making  have  been  very  great 
since  that  time.  By  the  skill  and  enterprise  of  Messrs. 
Chance,  of  Birmingham.  Pfeil,  of  Paris,  and  most  recently 
the  elaborate  work  of  Professor  Abbe,  assisted  by  Messrs. 
Schott  and  Gen.  of  .Jena,  the  means  at  the  optician's 
disposal  is  now  placed  in  a much  more  satisfactory  posi- 
tion. 

(To  be  continued.) 

Photographic  Society  ok  Philadelphia. — At  the  meeting 
of  the  Society  on  April  1st,  the  chairman  announced  the  sud- 
den death  of  their  President,  Mr.  Frederick  (iraff,  which 
occurred  on  Sunday  morning,  March  30th.  For  nearly  thirty 
years  his  official  connection  with  the  Society  had  been  contin- 
uous— as  chairman  of  the  meeting  called  to  organise  the  same, 
then  as  vice-president,  and  serving  two  terms  as  president.  He 
was  indeed  regarded  as  its  father.  To  his  untiring  zeal  for  its 
welfare  the  Society  is  in  a great  measure  indebted  for  the  high 
position  it  holds  in  the  photographic  world.  At  the  meeting 
on  April  2nd,  the  following  minute  was  adopted  and  ordered  to  be 
published,  after  which,  out  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  their 
deceased  president,  the  Society  adjourned  : — “ The  members 
of  the  Photographic  Society  of  Philadelphia  desire  to  testify  to 
t heir  sense  of  the  great  loss  they  have  sustained  in  the  death  of 
their  President.  Frederick  Graff.  They  feel  that  by  his  death 
not  only  have  they  lost  a most  efficient  presiding  officer,  but 
that  each  one  has  been  bereft  of  a dear  friend,  a sage  counsellor, 
and  one  who  gave  of  his  very  best  to  promote  the  interests  and 
well-being  of  the  Association,” 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  ARTS. 

Last  Wednesday  night,  at  a meeting  of  the  Society  of  Arts, 
under  the  presidency  of  Capt.  W.  de  W.  Abney,  F.R.S.,  Mr. 
T.  R.  Dali meyer  read  a paper  on  “Photographic  Lenses”  (see 
page  344).  In  the  course  of  the  lecture,  he  exhibited  a 
cemented  double-concave  lens,  which  gave  a positive  focus, 
because  of  the  optical  properties  of  the  three  glass  elements  of 
which  it  was  composed. 

Mr.  J.  Traill  Taylor,  upon  being  invited  to  speak  by  the 
Chairman,  said  that  he  would  rather  see  the  discussion  taken 
up  by  members  of  the  Society  of  Arts  who  did  not  make  optics 
a special  point,  as  the  meeting  might  then  be  of  more  interest 
to  them. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  was  glad  of  the  tribute  which  Mr. 
Dallmeyer  had  paid  to  Professor  I’etzval,  whose  optical 
achievements  had  enabled  photography  to  make  great  advances 
in  the  days  of  slow  processes,  and  he  was  sorry  that  Steinheil’s 
name  had  not  been  mentioned,  for  the  lens  Steinheil  invented 
had  been  more  adopted  by  photographic  opticians  than  any 
other.  He  did  not  think  that  any  improvement  had  been  made 
in  the  portrait  lens  by  the  late  Mr.  Dallmeyer’s  modification  ; 
the  Dallmeyer  lens  had  certain  advantages,  but,  balancing  one 
thing  against  the  other,  his  admiration  of  the  work  of  the  late 
Professor  Petzval  was  as  great  as  ever. 

Mr.  J.  T.  Taylor  asked,  in  connection  with  the  nodal  points 
of  Gauss,  and  in  the  case  of  a rapid  rectilinear  lens,  from  what 
point  in  that  lens  should  distant  rays  be  measured  ? He  asked 
the  question  because  he  thought  that  theory  and  practice  did 
not  quite  agree  in  the  matter.  Carey  Lea  placed  the  point 
between  the  combinations,  but  nearer  to  the  back  lens  than  the 
central  position.  Could  Mr.  Dallmeyer  tell  them  how  to  cure 
the  sweating  of  glass  1 He  had  a lens  which  was  in  the  con- 
stant habit  of  getting  damp.  Someone  had  recommended 
boiling  it  to  remove  the  hygroscopic  constituent  from  the  sur- 
face. 

Mr.  Conrad  Beck  said  that  the  focus  of  a doublet  should  be 
measured  from  a point  slightly  nearer  to  the  back  than  the  front 
lens.  The  focal  length  could  be  ascertained  by  the  use  of  a 
very  thin  single  lens  placed  so  as  to  throw  an  image  of  a distant 
object  so  that  it  shall  be  of  the  same  size  as  the  image  thrown 
by  the  double  lens.  Most  of  the  Jena  glasses  useful  to  photo- 
graphic opticians  will  not  stand  the  action  of  air,  but  the  new 
glasses  open  up  an  enormous  field  of  optical  research,  and  their 
poperties  require  a vast  amount  of  investigation  before  their 
utilitarian  value  can  be  known. 

Mr.  L.  Scott  said  that  paragraphs  hail  been  published  in 
newspapers  about  Jena  glass  giving  the  power  of  making  lenses 
with  both  surfaces  flat  or  nearly  so,  yet  with  the  power  of  con- 
verging or  diverging  rays  of  light.  Was  that  true  ? He  had 
found  that  he  could  make  more  rapid  exposures,  sometimes  to 
the  extent  of  twenty-five  percent,  quicker,  by  cutting  off  the 
yellow  rays  from  his  lens  by  means  of  a glass  trough  containing 
a dilute  solution  of  ammonio-sulphate  of  copper. 

Mr.  Dallmeyer  remarked  that  he  had  not  much  to  which  to 
reply.  Mr.  Traill  Taylor  knew  the  answer  to  his  own  question 
about  measuring  the  focus  of  doublets,  and  had  published  two 
methods  in  his  own  paper,  whilst  he  (Mr.  Dallmeyer)  had  pub- 
lished therein  a third.  Dr.  Hopkinson  had  done  something  to 
get  rid  of  the  sweating  of  glass.  The  only  effectual  way  was 
to  sandwich  such  glass  by  cementing  it  between  pieces  of  other 
glass  which  did  not  sweat.  By  using  only  blue  light  with 
lenses,  the  screen  cut  off  the  green  and  other  rays  in  white 
light  which  otherwise  would  act  upon  the  plate  ; he  thought  it 
best  to  use  the  whole  of  the  light  available,  and  not  a part 
thereof.  In  reply  to  Mr.  Debenham,  he  was  proud  of  the 
advances  his  (Mr.  Dallmeyer’s)  father  had  made  in  optics,  what- 
ever opinion  others  might  have  about  them. 

The  Chairman,  w hen  measuring  the  focal  length  of  a double 
lens,  preferred  to  employ  a pinhole  rather  than  a thin  single 
lens  ; the  pinhole  must  be  so  placed  as  to  give  an  image  of  the 
same  size  as  that  thrown  by  the  doublet.  The  distance  varies 
when  the  focussing  has  to  be  done  over  a near  instead  of  a 
distant  object.  He  had  had  some  little  experience  with  Jena 
glass,  and  had  found  that  it  would  not  bear  the  atmosphere  at 
all.  Some  time  ago  he  required  for  a special  purpose  a lens 


346 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


(May  2.  1890. 


in  which  rocksalt  should  form  a part,  and  a friend  made  him 
such  a lens  sandwiched  ; that  lens  was  made  five  years  ago, 
yet  is  perfect  at  this  day,  notwithstanding  the  hygroscopic  pro- 
perties of  rock-salt.  Ammonio-sulpliate  of  copper  solution 
cut  off  many  of  the  rays  which  are  active  photographically, 
so  he  was  surprised  to  hear  that  it  shortened  the  exposure. 
He  could  understand  it  if  the  operator  were  using  iodide  of 
silver,  because  the  red  and  yellow  rays  have  a reversing  action, 
and  the  plate  would  be  protected  therefrom  by  the  blue  screen  ; 
without  such  protection  they  might  undo  some  of  the  work  done. 
An  increase  in  exposure  might,  perhaps,  with  iodide  of  silver,  be 
obtained  to  the  extent  of  one  or  one-and-a-half  per  cent,  but 
not  twenty-five  per  cent.  He  should  not  like  to  recommend 
anyone  to  try  the  blue  screen  method,  except  for  experimental 
purposes. 


Patent  Entelltgenre. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

6,028.  P.  Rudolph,  4",  Lincoln’s  Inn  Fields,  London,  “ Photo- 
graphic Objectives.” — April  21st. 

0,029.  K.  Abbf.  and  P.  Rudolph,  47,  Lincoln’s  Inn  Fields, 
London,  “ Photographic  Objectives.” — April  21st. 

6,066.  B.  Jumeaux,  17,  St.  Ann’s  Square,  Manchester,  “Pho- 
tographic Developers.” — April  22nd. 

6,081.  W.  Weir,  Miligaire,  Stirlingshire,  “Invention  for  Re- 
flecting Objects  in  the  Background,”  to  be  known  as  “The 
Detective.” — April  22nd. 

6,093.  J.  Merritt  and  W.  E.  Spencer,  77,  Chancery  Lane, 
London,  “Cameras.” — April  22nd. 

6,101.  G.  Castagnino,  76,  Chancery  Lane,  Loudon,  “Appa- 
ratus for  Distributing,  Diffusing,  or  Reflecting  Light.” — 
April  22nd. 

6,143.  S.  P.  Read,  Ivy  Bank,  Etherow  Road,  East  Dulwich, 
London,  “ Postal  Case  for  the  Preservation  of  Drawings 
during  Transmission.” — April  22nd. 

6,147.  A.  Drummond,  70,  Wellington  Street,  Glasgow,  “Glaz- 
ing Structures.” — April  23rd. 

6,173.  W.  P.  Thompson,  6,  Lord  Street,  Liverpool,  “The 
Reproduction  of  Drawings  or  the  like.”  (Raoul,  Sanson, 
anil  Amedee  Wilbaux,  Belgium). — April  23nl. 

6,221.  J.  W.  Lovibond,  53,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Instru- 
ments for  Estimating,  Measuring,  or  Comparing  the  Colours  of 
Transparent  or  Opaque  Bodies,  and  for  Testing  Colour- 
Vision  and  Light -Perceptive  Power.” — April  23rd. 

6,233.  A.  Pumphrey,  128,  Colmore  Row,  Birmingham, 
“ Stereoscopes.” — April  24th. 

6,239.  H.  M.  Hastings,  54,  Edith  Road,  West  Kensington, 
London,  “Apparatus  for  Ascertaining  the  Distance  of  any 
Object  for  Photographic  Purposes.” — April  24th. 

6,247.  C.  R.  Bonne,  41,  Eastcheap,  London,  “Apparatus  to 
be  used  in  the  Development  of  Photographic  Negatives.” 
(Eduardo  Casal,  France). — April  24th. 

6,259.  J.  Makepeace,  37,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “ Glazing 
Roofs.”— April  24th. 

6,294.  W.  H.  Stacey,  18,  York  Street,  Sheffield,  “ Dark 
Slides  for  Cameras.” — April  25th. 

Specifications  Published. 

3,403.  March  4 th,  1890. — “ Machines  for  Applying  a Coating 
of  Mucilaginous  Substance.”  Charles  Hudson  and  Joseph 
Spoor  Hudson,  3,  Langdale  Terrace,  Stockton-on-Tees, 
Cardboard  Box  Makers. 

This  invention  relates  to  a machine  to  be  used  for  spreading 
a coating  of  gum,  paste,  glue,  or  other  mucilaginous  substance 
to  the  underneath  side  of  paper,  cardboard,  and  the  like,  and  to 
the  delivery  and  transit  of  the  said  coated  article  to  some 
place  where  it  is  required  for  use  or  placement,  and  also  for 
cutting  the  said  paper  when  such  cutting  is  necessary,  as  in 
the  case  of  wall  papers,  or  for  narrow  strips  for  cardboard  box 
makers. 

The  inventors  claim  : — 

1.  The  use  of  endless  strings  in  grooves  around  the  coating 
roller,  for  the  purposes  described. 


2.  The  combination  of  a pasting  roller  for  coating  paper  at 
the  underneath  side,  with  endless  carrying  bands. 

3.  The  combination  of  a coating  roller  for  coating  paper  at 
its  underneath  side,  with  means  for  turning  the  paper  the 
coated  side  uppermost. 

4.  The  combination  of  a mucilage  roller  for  coating  paper  at 
its  underneath  side,  with  endless  take  off  strings,  and  means 
for  turning  the  paper  the  coated  side  uppermost. 

5.  The  combination  of  a coating  roller  for  coating  i>aper  at 
its  underneath  side,  with  means  for  turning  the  paper  the 
coated  side  uppermost,  with  carrying  apparatus. 

6.  The  combination  of  cutting  apparatus  with  coating  roller. 

7.  An  apparatus  for  cutting  strips  of  paper,  and  roller  for 
coating  the  same,  with  means  for  taking  the  paper  off  the 
finishing  roller,  and  carrying  it  away  ; also  for  turning  it  the 
coated  side  uppermost,  substantially  as  described  and  shown. 


(fTorrcsponticttce. 


THE  CRYSTAL  PALACE  CHALLENGE  CUP  COMPETI- 

TION. 

Sir, — -The  Newcastle  exhibitors  complained  that  some  of 
their  pictures  were  excluded  from  the  Challenge  Cup  Competi- 
tion, and  I thereupon  immediately  checked  off,  by  their  list 
and  the  catalogue,  every  picture  as  hung  in  the  three  alcoves 
set  apart  for  them.  Not  one  was  missing,  but,  in  addition,  two 
of  those  which  had  been  previously  shown  at  the  Crystal 
Palace  were  included.  As,  however,  no  mention  of  the  dis- 
qualification of  those  two,  or  of  any  others,  was  made  to  a 
single  judge,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how  the  presence  of  two 
additional  pictures  was  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  New- 
castle Society. 

The  entire  number  of  the  Newcastle  pictures — Mr.  Sawyer 
having  substituted  two  new  for  two  old  ones — was  submitted 
to  the  judges  for  their  consideration,  and  the  responsibility  of 
the  Executive  was  then  and  there  brought  to  an  end. 

J.  F.  Peasgood. 

Crystal  Palace  Company,  Crystal  Palace,  .S'. £. , April  '26th. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CONVENTION. 

Sir,— The  fifth  annual  Photographic  Convention  will  l>e  held 
at  the  Town  Hall,  Chester,  on  June  23rd  to  28th  inclusive. 
The  proceedings  will  be  opened  by  a conversazione.  During  the 
week,  papers  by  eminent  authorities  will  lie  read,  and  an  exhibi- 
tion of  novelties  in  photographic' apparatus  will  beheld.  Sub- 
committees appointed  to  consider  the  questions  of  lens  standards, 
and  weights,  measures,  and  formulae  will  present  reports. 

Excursions  to  various  places  in  the  neighbourhood  have  been 
arranged.  The  scenery  around  Chester  is  universally  acknow- 
ledged to  lie  exceedingly  picturesque  and  beautiful,  and  replete 
with  historical  interest,  and  it  therefore  presents  unusual  attrac- 
tions to  the  photographer. 

The  annual  subscription  is  5s.,  and  admits  to  all  the  privi- 
leges of  membership.  Members  who  desire  to  read  papers  or 
give  demonstrations  are  requested  to  forward  their  names  at 
an  early  date.  A detailed  programme  will  be  forwarded  as 
soon  as  final  arrangements  are  complete. 

The  council  trust  that  the  good  work  already  done  by  the 
Convention  will  commend  it  to  your  support,  and  they  hope  to 
have  your  assistance  in  increasing  the  number  of  its  members. 

J.  J.  BriginsHaw,  I/on.  Sec.  and  Treas. 


On  Thursday,  May  8th,  there  will  bean  exhibition  of  lantern 
slides  at  the  Camera  Club,  from  negatives  recently  taken  by 
Mr.  J.  R.  Rodgers  and  Major  Nott  in  Egypt,  and  by  Mr.  H. 
M.  Elder  in  Madeira. 

Photo- Mechanical  Printing. — An  article  published  in  this 
journal  last  week  about  photo-mechanical  processes  was  quoted 
from  The  Beacon,  of  Chicago,  the  mention  of  which  circumstance 
was  omitted  in  error.  Shortly,  a series  of  articles  on  the  same 
subject,  by  a writer  experienced  in  photo-mechanical  processes, 
will  appear  in  these  pages. 


Mat  2,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


347 


^rocee&tngs  of  ^octettes. 


Photographic  Society  op  Great  Britain. 

The  technical  meeting  of  this  Society  was  held  on  Tuesday 
evening  last,  the  29th  ult.,  Mr.  T.  Sebastian  Davis  in  the  chair. 

A kodak  of  larger  size  than  those  previously  exhibited  was 
shown  by  Mr.  Jackson.  The  camera  was  made  to  take  a roll- 
holder  having  forty-eight  films  of  size  7 by  5,  and  when  fitted 
for  use  weighed  five  pounds  and  a quarter.  The  diaphragm 
plate  was  in  the  form  of  a quadrant  pivoted  at  the  angle. 
Many  film  negatives  that  had  l>een  taken  with  the  apparatus  were 
handed  round,  and  the  chairman  enquired  what  method  of 
development  had  l>eeu  employed. 

Mr.  Jackson  said  that  he  had  used  pyro  and  ammonia  for 
some,  but  for  the  most  part  the  negatives  had  been  developed 
with  pyro  and  a mixture  of  potash  and  soda. 

The  Chairman  asked  whether  Mr.  Jackson  had  used  quinol. 

Mr.  Jackson  replied  that  the  action  of  quinol  was  too  slow. 
Great  density  could  be  got  with  it  if  it  was  desired.  In 
developing  these  films  it  was  necessary  to  carry  on  the  action 
until  the  image  was  almost  gone,  as  it  lost  so  much  in  the 
fixing  bath. 

Mr.  Arnold  Spii.ler  enquired  whether  Mr.  Jackson  had 
found  any  method  of  varnishing  satisfactory. 

Mr.  Jackson  had  not  succeeded  with  varnish.  For  drying 
the  films  he  used  in  the  first  place  a bath  of  methylated 
spirit,  glycerine,  and  water.  After  a short  stay  in  this  solu- 
tion the  films  were  pinned  up  by  a corner  to  dry,  and  when 
dry  were  rolled  with  the  films  outwards  and  kept  so  for  about  a 
couple  of  hours. 

Mr.  Spili.er  thought  the  use  of  glycerine  introduced  the 
danger  of  taking  up  silver  from  the  paper  used  to  print  on. 

Mr.  Jackson  said  that  the  glycerine  could  be  removed  from 
the  surface  of  the  films  by  wiping  them  when  dry  with 
cotton  wool.  The  films  were  made  in  various  speeds  ; those 
used  for  the  negatives  now  shown  were  of  about  twice  the 
rapidity  of  the  stripping  films. 

Mr.  Friese  Greene  showed  a film  about  20ft.  long,  with  a 
series  of  negatives  on  it.  For  developing  such  long  strips  he  used 
a dish  in  which  several  glass  rods  were  fixed  horizontally  at  a 
little  distance  from  the  bottom  of  the  dish.  The  film  was 
wound  in  and  out  of  these  rods,  and  the  dish  waved  during 
development. 

Mr.  Spiller  had  been  able  to  get  very  dense  negatives  on 
celluloid  films  by  using  eikonogen  in  conjunction  with  caustic 
potash  or  soda.  The  films  being  very  hard,  would  stand  strong 
alkali  better  than  most  emulsions. 

Mr.  \V.  England  showed  some  negatives  taken  on  thick 
celluloid  films. 

Mr.  T.  Samuels  thought  films  of  this  substance  much  better 
than  the  thin  ones  previously  shown,  which  were  very  difficult 
to  develop. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  pointed  out  the  advantage  of  thin 
films  when  collotype  or  other  mechanical  processes  were  to  be 
employed. 

Mr.  Spiller  had  found  no  difficulty  in  developing  thin 

films. 

Mr.  Jackson  said  that  the  method  he  used  was  to  place 
about  a dozen  films,  one  on  the  top  of  the  other,  in  the  deve- 
loping dish.  They  were  kept  face  downwards,  and  moved,  as 
in  toning  prints,  by  taking  up  the  bottom  one,  and  laying  it  on 
to  the  top. 

Mr.  \V.  England  showed  an  arrangement  for  holding  a 
celluloid  film  in  a dark  slide  of  larger  size  than  the  film  itself. 
Three  strips  of  thin  card  were  glued  on  to  a thick  card  in  such 
a way  as  to  go  round  three  sides  of  the  film  to  be  used.  On 
these  strips  were  other  strips,  overhanging  the  film  for  a 
distance  sufficient  to  ensure  holding  it  in.  He  also  showed  a 
sheath  made  with  a card  back,  and  furnished  with  edges 
of  ferrotype  plate,  under  which  the  edge  of  the  film  was 
slipped. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  showed  some  plates  illustrating  the  effect  of 
orthochromatising  ordinary  plates.  He  first  showed  a pair  of 
plates,  one  of  which  had  been  orthochromatised  and  exposed  for 


a minute  under  a negative  at  a window  covered  with  four  thick- 
nesses of  yellow  material.  There  was  found  to  be  a fully 
printed  transparency  on  development.  The  companion  ordinary 
plate  similarly  exposed  showed  but  a very  faint  image.  The 
sensitiveness  of  the  orthochromatised  plate  for  ordinary  daylight 
was,  however,  much  diminished,  as  was  shown  by  a pair  of 
negatives  and  by  plates  exposed  under  a sensitometer  screen. 
The  action  of  the  yellow  had  been  much  exalted,  whilst  the 
general  sensitiveness  was  lowered.  It  had  been  said  that  there 
was  great  difference  of  orthochromatic  effect  as  the  daylight 
was  bright,  or  inclined  to  be  yellow.  In  exposures,  however, 
that  he  had  made  at  12  o’clock  in  the  day  and  at  7 in  the 
evening,  he  had  not  been  able  to  discover  any  relative  difference 
in  the  sensitiveness  of  the  orthochromatic  and  ordinary 
plates. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  considered  that  Mr.  Cowan’s  experi- 
ments showed  conclusively  the  efficacy  of  the  orthochromatising 
solution  that  he  had  employed.  He  noticed  a strong  pink 
colour  still  left  in  the  plates,  much  stronger,  he  thought,  than 
would  be  the  case  with  any  commercial  plates. 

It  was  mentioned  that  the  subject  of  stereoscopic  pictures 
and  apparatus  would  be  brought  forward  at  the  next  technical 
meeting,  to  be  held  on  the  27th  of  May. 


Camera  Club. 

April  24 tli. — Capt.  W.  de  W.  Abney  in  the  chair. 

Mr.  T.  R.  Dallmeyer,  in  continuation  of  his  paper  on 
“Limitations  in  the  Treatment  of  Subjects  by  Focus,”  said 
that  he  did  not  pretend  to  any  more  knowledge  of  art  than  was 
included  in  any  educated  man’s  curriculum  with  a taste  for  the 
fine  arts.  He  had  been  criticised  for  entering  upon  points  outside 
the  limits  of  the  province  of  an  optician.  He  had,  however, 
endeavoured  to  show  the  tendencies  of  the  focal  treatment  of 
subjects,  starting  with  that  of  sharp  focus,  which  of  itself  was 
a mathematical  triumph,  and  had  then  indicated  the  instru- 
mental possibilities  outside  this  treatment  to  produce  results 
more  in  accord  with  the  artist’s  taste.  “Sharp  all  over” 
photographs  are  truer  in  <1  rawing  than  those  of  contrasted 
definition.  Major  Nott  had  taken  up  the  opposite  position  to 
Mr.  Davison,  perhaps  rather  extremely.  He  (Mr.  Dallmeyer) 
did  not  agree  with  the  general  statement  of  Captain  Abney,  that 
a photograph  sharp  all  over  is  seen  in  parts  with  thesame  amount 
of  “ fuzziness  ” as  in  nature,  when  the  eye  is  directed  chiefly 
to  the  principal  object,  and  when  the  photograph  is  of  large 
size,  say  20  by  15,  with  a focal  length  of  lens  of  30  inches. 
In  fact,  this  must  entirely  depend  upon  the  distance  of  the 
nearest  plane  included.  Binocular  vision  will  make  this  distance 
greater  than  monocular  vision,  as  portrayed  by  the  photo- 
graphic lens.  The  artist,  Mr.  Davis  Cooper,  had  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  lose  the  sight  of  one  eye,  and  had  arrived  at  the 
definite  conclusion  that,  within  a distance  approximating  closely 
to  sixty  yards,  there  is  an  alteration  in  the  focus  of  the  eye  for 
different  planes,  becoming  more  striking  the  nearer  the  planes 
approach  to  the  eye  ; beyond  that,  no  appreciable  difference 
exists  ; this,  of  course,  may  vary  with  different  eyes.  In  Capt. 
Abney’s  case,  if  the  nearest  plane  were  2,000  inches  distant, 
uniform  definition  through  all  planes  must  obtain,  and  to  get 
uniform  sharpness  in  nearer  planes,  the  lens  must  be  more  and 
more  stopped  down.  If  the  eye  were  focussed  in  the  nearer 
plane  chosen,  it  would  have  a different  focus  than  for  those 
most  distant,  and  this  does  not  so  nearly  approach  to  the  hand- 
ling by  an  artist.  He  (the  speaker)  thought  knowledge  of  the 
“ sight-stop  ” for  extreme  distance  to  be  of  value  to  the  artist, 
as  the  largest  stop  he  should  employ.  More  stopping  down 
introduces  “local  colouring,”  making  the  photograph  too  topo- 
graphical to  be  called  artistic  ; the  focus  of  the  lens  should  rest 
where  the  eye  wishes  to  rest,  and  give  the  picture  desired  by 
the  individual.  Mr.  Davison  was  surprised  at  his  statement 
of  what  was  and  what  was  not  art,  but  mere  mechanical 
excellence,  he  (the  speaker)  fully  admitted,  will  pall  upon 
people,  and  those  who  too  much  advocate  it  will  be  left 
“ hoist  with  their  own  petard.”  Although  his  views  might  not 
be  serviceable  to  him  commercially,  and  might  be  misinterpreted 
as  departing  from  a scientific  and  mechanical  height,  he,  for 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS, 


[May  2,  1890. 


348 


^ngtoerg  to  (ftomgponticntjs. 


oue,  elected  to  go  forward,  in  order  that  a still  wider  applica- 
tion of  lenses  per  se,  jierfect  mathematically,  might,  by  intelli- 
gent use,  serve  the  double  purposes  of  the  two  extremes  of 
artistic  and  scientific  requirements. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  24th  mst.,  Mr.  W.  H.  Prestwich 
occupied  the  chair. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater  exhibited  a book  of  silver  prints  of 
Chester  and  neighbourhood  by  Mr.  G.  W.  Wilson,  of  Aberdeen. 
Mr.  Freshwater  thought  it  might  be  interesting  to  the  members 
of  the  Photographic  Convention  visiting  the  next  meeting  at 
Chester. 

The  Hon.  Sec.  showed  a lantern  slide  of  Burnt  House  Farm. 
The  negative  was  taken  last  September,  previous  to  the  land- 
slip. He  also  passed  round  a case  of  photographic  enamels  by 
Lafon  de  Camarsac  and  Joubert,  the  property  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Club,  presented  by  Messrs.  F.  Haes  and  A.  Cowan. 

The  exhibit  gave  rise  to  a discussion  as  to  the  relative  merits 
of  the  powder  and  substitution  processes. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  said  the  powder  process  had  the  advantage  of 
simplicity,  and  the  results,  in  his  opinion,  were  certainly  equal. 

Mr.  \Y.  H.  Harrison  remarked  upon  the  condition  of  the 
ancient  enamels  at  the  British  Museum,  the  enamel  of  many 
of  these  being  cracked  in  several  places.  He  considered  this 
might  be  due  to  the  unequal  expansion  and  conti  action  of  the 
metal  support  and  the  enamel  under  the  influence  of  changes 
of  temperature. 

Mi-.  T.  K.  Freshwater  showed  the  silver  prints  referred  to 
at  the  previous  meeting  that  had  been  packed  for  several  years 
in  a tin  case.  It  was  found  that  some  of  the  prints  were  quite 
perfect,  others  having  faded. 

The  Chairman  said  that  from  his  experience,  he  believed  silver 
prints  made  on  ready-sensitised  paper  were  more  permanent 
than  those  made  on  freshly-prepared  paper.  It  was  difficult  to 
understand  why  a batch  of  prints  produced  under  the  same 
conditions  were  not  always  all  equal  in  permanency. 

The  Hon.  Sec.  exhibited  some  results  in  copying  pictures 
with  ordinary  and  isochromatic  plates.  In  one  case  there  was 
a marked  difference  in  favour  of  the  isochromatic  plate.  In 
the  other  instance — the  subject  being  a water  colour  with 
purple  sky,  and  same  colour  reflection  in  the  water — it  was 
generally  considered  that  the  ordinary  plate  gave  the  best  result. 
In  one  of  the  prints  there  was  a vast  difference  in  the  render- 
ing of  a small  cloud  in  the  picture. 

Mr.  4Y.  E.  Debenham  said  he  had  used  collodion  on  his  lens 
and  an  eosine  bath  with  excellent  results  ; with  one  maker’s 
ordinary  plate  he  had  used  a yellow  screen  with  good  effect. 


Photographic  Society  of  Ireland. 

A technical  meeting  of  this  Society  was  held  on  Thursday 
evening,  24th  inst.,  at  15,  Dawson  Street,  Dublin,  Mr. 
Greenwood  Pim  in  the  chair. 

A joint  paper  on  “The  Utility  of  Hand-cameras  on  Tour,” 
by  Mr.  M.  Hedley  and  Dr.  J.  Alfred  Scott,  was  read  by  the 
latter,  and  slides  of  pictures  taken  in  Scotland  last  year  by  the 
authors  were  exhibited  by  means  of  the  lantern,  and  were 
much  admired.  After  the  paper, 

The  Chairman  asked  Dr.  Scott  what  proportion  of  exposures, 
time  or  instantaneous,  were  the  best  1 

Dr.  Scott,  in  reply,  said  that  only  18  out  of  169  plates 
exposed  were  time  exposures,  and  that  they  invariably  turned 
out  very  good.  In  reply  to  Dr.  Cosgrave,  Dr.  Scott  said  that 
his  lens  was  a cheap  French  H.K.,  with  full  aperture  of  //6  : 
but  he  found  that /G  2 gave  a general  “all-round”  focus,  and 
told  better  for  transparencies. 

In  reply  to  Mr.  Strangways, 

Mr.  Hedley  said  that  he  used  one  of  Lancaster’s  “ Instanto- 
graphs,”  placed  in  a common  pine  box,  with  Lancaster’s 
ordinary  revolving  shutter. 

The  Chairman  then  exhibited  Ferrero’s  film  carrier  ; Fallow- 
field’s  detective  camera  was  shown  by  the  Rev.  Canon  Bagot  ; 
Shew’s  “Eclipse”  camera  by  the  hon.  sec.  ; and  Dr.  J.  A. 
Scott  exhibited  a hand  camera  of  hjs  own  manufacture,  Iwsed 
on  Rouch’s  model, 


All  A Ivjrtissments  and  cimmunuations  relating  to  money  matters,  and 

to  the  sale  of  the  papir  should  b9  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 

Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 

Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.8.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

Amateur. — Inside  Painting  of  Studio  and  Park  Room.  Pro- 
vided you  select  a light  tint  it  is  almost  a matter  of  indif- 
ference what  shade  of  colour  you  adopt  ; probably  pale  blue 
or  stone  colour  would  be  most  suitable  for  the  studio,  and  in 
certain  cases  one  might  be  disposed  to  give  a top  coating  of 
luminous  paint  to  show  a light  throughout  the  night.  The 
dark  room  should  be  painted  No.  1 chrome  yellow. 

J.  D.  (Glasgow^. — Truncated  Bellows  for  Camera.  Following 
the  directions  in  the  Year-Book  for  1889,  pages  173  to  180, 
it  would  be  quite  easy  to  make  a pattern  first  in  cartridge 
paper,  and  settle  the  measurements  for  a 12  by  12  bellows 
in  this  way  lief  ore  cutting  out  your  material.  4Ve  admit 
the  figures  in  the  plates  and  explanatory  drawings  are  not 
very  intelligible,  but  most  of  them  can  be  read  by  a lens. 

J.  D.  (South  Shields). — Your  Ligroine  lamp  ought  to  find  a 
reaily  sale  at  cost  price.  Offer  it  by  advertisement.  A 
second  letter  duly  received  this  week. 

Antiquary. — Roman  Baths  in  the  City  of  Bath.  Enquire  of 
Mr.  A.  F.  Perren,  Milsom  Street,  who  took  several  photo- 
graphs, both  of  the  square  and  round  baths,  when  they  were 
first  opened. 

B.  C. — Botanical  Photography.  Your  question  is  answ’ered, 
and  other  points  of  detail  referred  to,  in  Julius  Sachse’s 
admirable  article  in  last  week’s  News,  page  322.  Begin  at 
once,  or  you  will  lose  the  earlier  phases  of  development. 

K.  Kohwtkr  (Weimar). — Is  thanked  for  sending  iurther  details 
of  the  Voigtlander,  Festge,  and  Kindermann  competitions, 
medals  and  money  prizes  to  be  given  at  the  forthcoming 
(August)  meeting,  in  Eisenach,  of  the  German  Photographic 
Convention.  The  general  particulars  are  incorporated  in  the 
prospectus  appearing  in  our  pages  this  week. 

F.  C.  S. — Chlorine.  Water  Aetinometcr.  Professor  Alexander 
Pedler,  of  Calcutta,  has  investigated  the  action  of  sunlight 
upon  chlorine  water,  with  the  result  that  he  found  oxygen 
escaping  with  effervescence  ; but  he  does  not  go  to  the  length 
of  asserting  that  the  measure  of  the  oxygen  collected  is  a 
true  photometric  indication  of  the  intensity  of  the  solar 
radiations.  The  equation  2H.0  4-  2CL  = 02  + 4HC1  was 
established  in  the  main,  but  there  are  secondary  changes 
resulting  in  the  production  of  hypochlorous  and  chloric 
acids,  which  detract  from  the  amount  of  free  oxygen  disen- 
gaged during  this  reaction.  The  ultimate  change  is,  how- 
ever, more  complete  when  dilute  solutions  of  chlorine  are 
employed,  so  that  further  experiments  are  required  for  the 
purpose  of  fixing  the  limit  at  which  the  chemical  decomposi- 
tion of  water  by  chlorine  becomes  a reliable  measure  of  the 
actinic  force. 

A.  L.  (Otago,  N.Z.) — Benzoline  Saturator.  Having  read  the 
account  to  which  you  referred  us,  we  cannot  suggest  any 
cause  for  the  failure  of  the  apparatus,  but  should  lie  inclined 
to  blame  the  benzoline.  It  would  be  well  to  inter] >ose  a 
Maugham  jet,  or  cylinder  plugged  with  copper  wires,  and 
capjied  at  both  ends  with  copper  or  brass  gauze,  to  overcome 
the  risk  you  encountered  by  the  flame  passing  l»ack.  You 
might  then  find  it  advantageous  to  warm  the  benzoline  satu- 
rator, for  it  is  evident  that  you  had  an  excess  of  oxygen. 
Having  already  an  ether  vajiourizer,  you  might  try  the  etho- 
lienzene  light,  which  is  highly  recommended  in  the  same 
account. 

H.  T.  L.  (Westport,  N.Z.) — Staining  of  Negatives  whilst  Print- 
ing. Gelatine  negatives  are  much  more  difficult  to  protect 
than  collodion,  on  account  of  their  greater  prominence.  In 
a damp  climate  you  should  print  them  with  a plate  of  talc 
between,  as  is  often  done  with  valuable  negatives  here  in 
England, 


MI  1C  NEWS. 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1653.— J%  9,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PADS 

An  International  Photomicrographic  Exhibition  in  Antwerp...  349 

Photographers  and  Crowds  360 

The  Royal  Academy  of  Arts.  1890.  By  the  Rer.  F.  C.  Lambert  360 
Photography  in  France.— Death  of  M.  Peligot— Bridal  Medal 
— Photograt  hs  in  Colours — Exposure  Shutters  and  Chromo- 
Photographic  Apparatus — Pellicular  Films  or.  Celluloid — 
Photo-Collographic  Process — Halation— Coloured  Screens 


—Instantaneous  Photography.  By  Leon  Vidal 352 

The  Royal  Institution— Captain  Abney  on  Colour 333 

An  Exhibition  of  Mrs.  Cameron’s  Photographs 354 

Stereo  Photography.  By  Q.  F.  Powell  355 


A Standard  Method  of  Development.  By  C.  II.  Bothamley  ...  36fi 


PAOS 


Photography  in  Germany.— Heliochromic  Experiments — New 

Collodion  Emulsion  Paper.  By  Hermann  E.  Gunther 357 

Notes. — Weights  and  Measures  — Stanley’s  Photographs  — 

Costume  Album— Process  Work— Building  Records 358 

How  Anschutz  Photographs  the  Larger  Wild  Beasts 359 

Photography  in  Natural  Colours,  as  effected  by  Herr  Franz 

Veress,  of  Klausenbnrg.  By  Dr.  J.  M.  Eder  360 

Photography  of  the  More  Refrangible  Rays.  By  V.  Schumann  361 

Photographic  Lenses.  By  T.  R.  Dallmeyer  361 

Patent  Intelligence  363 

Proceedings  of  Societies 364 

Answers  to  Correspondents  368 


AX  INTERNATIONAL  PHOTOMICROGRARHIC 
EXHIBITION  IN  ANTWERP. 

A Committee  has  been  formed  to  organise  an  Interna- 
tional Exhibition  in  Antwerp,  devoted  to  microscopical 
science  in  all  its  branches,  on  the  occasion  of  the  third 
centenary  of  the  invention  of  the  microscope.  The 
Exhibition  will  be  divided  into  two  sections,  the  one 
retrospective,  the  other  a display  of  microscopes  by 
actual  makers,  also  accessory  apparatus  and  photo- 
micrographs. During  the  Exhibition  lectures  will  be 
delivered,  illustrated  by  means  of  the  photo-electric 
microscope,  and  among  the  subjects  included  will  be  : — 
“The  History  of  the  Microscope,”  “The  Use  of  the 
Microscope,”  “ The  Projection  Microscope  and  Photo- 
micrography,” “ The  Microscopic  Structure  of  Vege- 
tables,” “The  Microscopic  Structure  of  Men  and 
Animals,”  “ Microbes,”  “ The  Adulteration  of  Food 
and  other  Substances.” 

The  Executive  Committee  consists  of  M.  Charles  de 
Bosschere,  President ; Dr.  Henri  Van  Heurck,  Director 
of  the  Botanical  Garden  of  Antwerp,  Vice-President ; 
M.  Charles  Van  Geert,  jun.,  Vice-President  of  the 
Floral  Circle  of  Antwerp,  Secretary- General ; and  M. 
Edmond  Grandgaignage,  Director  of  the  Superior  Insti- 
tute of  Commerce,  Antwerp,  also  M.  Gustave  Royers, 
Chief  Engineer  of  the  City  of  Antwerp,  Members. 

The  Executive  Committee  says  that  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  state  the  importance  of  the  microscope,  for 
without  it  none  of  the  natural  and  medical  sciences 
could  have  reached  the  altitude  at  which  they  stand 
to-day ; without  it  we  should  not  know  the  structure 
of  plants,  of  men,  or  of  animals,  and  the  modifications 
which  take  place  in  our  tissues  under  the  influence  of 
certain  diseases  would  be  unknown.  Several  diseases 
which  the  presence  of  microbes  enables  us  to  detect  at 
an  early  stage,  would  otherwise  he  mistaken  for  unim- 
portant maladies  of  another  character.  Without  the 
microscope  forms  of  life  innumerable  would  remain 
unknown  to  us ; take,  for  instance,  the  infusoria,  the 
diatoms,  and  the  bacteria.  Numerous  adulterations  of 
articles  of  commerce,  which  are  now  detected  with 


j ease  by  means  of  the  microscope,  would  otherwise 
J remain  undiscovered.  Rut  why  continue  this  long 
enumeration  ? Suffice  it  to  say  that  without  the  micro- 
scope we  should  not  now  he  better  instructed  in  the 
natural  and  medical  sciences  than  were  our  fathers  one 
or  two  hundred  years  ago. 

The  Committee  adds  that  the  compound  microscope 
was  invented  by  Hans  and  Zaeharias  Janssen,  of 
Middelburg,  and  the  researches  of  Professor  Hurting 
result  in  assigoing  the  date  of  1590  to  the  invention, 
which  date  is  admitted  by  competent  authorities.  For 
a long  time  the  inherent  defects  of  the  compound 
microscope  forced  students  to  make  general  use  of  the 
simple  microscope,  until  about  1824,  when  Charles 
Chevalier  finally  established  the  compound  microscope 
by  the  union  of  two  brilliant  ideas,  the  combination  of 
isolated  achromatic  lenses  in  a compound  objective, 
and  turning  their  plane  faces  towards  the  object.  In 
the  previous  year,  1823,  Chevalier  conceived  the  happy 
idea  of  superposing  achromatic  lenses  in  the  microscope 
of  Selligue.  The  Committee  concludes  by  saying  that 
the  project  of  celebrating  in  1890  the  third  centenary 
of  an  invention  which  has  produced  a veritable  revolu- 
tion in  the  scientific  domain  will  receive,  without 
doubt,  the  sympathetic  approbation  of  all  men  of 
science,  as  well  as  of  the  great  army  of  amateurs  now 
“passionately”  engaged  in  research  earned  on  with 
the  aid  of  the  microscope. 

Such  is  the  original  scheme  of  the  Committee;  but  a 
few  days  ago,  Dr.  Van  Heurck  told  us  that  its  carrying 
out  is  postponed  until  next  year.  The  City  of  Antwerp 
has  promised  to  subscribe  fifty  thousand  francs 
towards  the  Exhibition,  and  to  give  the  use  of  a 
buildiug  for  its  purposes,  in  which  building  four 
thousand  square  metres  of  space  will  be  available. 
The  Government  of  Relgium  was  fully  expected  to 
subscribe  fifteen  thousand  francs  towards  the  under- 
taking, but  at  the  last  moment  it  declined,  and  as 
the  Committee  wants  another  fifteen  or  twenty 
thousand  francs  to  carry  out  its  plans,  the  Exhibition 
is  postponed  until  1891.  The  idea  is  to  keep  the 
| Exhibition  open  for  three  months,  July,  August,  and 


nr>o 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  9,  1890. 


September,  we  presume  for  the  benefit  of  tourists 
who  pass  backwards  and  forwards  through  Antwerp  in 
such  numbers  in  the  autumn.  Antwerp  is  one  of  the 
favourite  landing-places  in  Europe  of  American 
tourists,  many  of  whom  book  there  direct  from  New 
York,  and  year  by  year  the  number  of  English  passing 
through  Antwerp  is  increasing,  by  reason  of  the 
good  accommodation  provided  of  late  years  on  the 
Harwich  route,  combined  with  moderate  fares.  The 
general  public  cannot  be  expected  to  wax  enthu- 
siastic over  photo-micrography,  although  brilliantly 
illustrated  lectures  may  help  to  rouse  them  from 
their  torpor ; neither  can  it  be  expected  that  skilled 
microscopists  could  make  it  convenient  to  be  in 
Antwerp  on  or  about  a particular  fixed  date,  hence 
the  keeping  of  the  Exhibition  open  for  a long  time 
is  more  likely  to  meet  their  requirements.  Zeiss 
has  expressed  his  interest  in  the  Exhibition  and 
willingness  to  exhibit  therein. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  opening  of  public  exhibitions, 
the  reception  of  visitors  by  the  city  of  Antwerp  is 
usually  of  the  most  hospitable  character.  Some  of  us 
will  not  soon  forget  the  receptions  given  by  the 
venerable  Burgomaster  and  others  at  the  inauguration 
of  the  Antwerp  International  Exhibition  several 
years  ago. 

THOTOGRAPHERS  AND  CROWDS. 
Crowds,  especially  of  street  boys  and  street  girls,  have 
been  the  deadly  enemies  of  architectural  photographers 
for  all  time,  and  many  have  been  the  devices  for 
clearing  an  open  space  in  front  of  the  camera.  One 
of  the  most  time-honoured  is  that  of  mounting  a large 
lens  at  the  back  of  the  camera  to  draw  the  crowd  in 
that  direction,  whilst  the  view  really  desired  is  taken 
by  the  small  lens  in  front. 

A few  days  ago  two  English  photographers  planted 
their  cameras  on  opposite  sides  a deserted  space  in 
Ghent  to  take  an  adjacent  church  ; instantly,  of  course, 
children  dropped  from  the  clouds,  emerged  from  the 
earth,  concentrated  from  all  possible  directions,  and 
each  operator  had  his  crowd  around  him.  One  of  them 
folded  his  arms,  leant  against  a wall,  and  gazed  stead- 
fastly at  his  friend  in  the  distance  ; the  children  soon 
grew  tired  of  gazing  at  an  operator  doing  nothing,  then 
cleared  off  to  watch  the  more  active  manipulator;  the 
first  one,  thus  relieved,  then  made  his  exposure. 

The  same  day,  when  taking  another  view,  one  of 
these  photographers  discovered  that  a boy  in  the  crowd 
prided  himself  on  his  dancing ; that  boy  was  immedi- 
ately otfered  the  sum  of  one  penny  to  dance  several 
yards  behind  the  camera.  The  delighted  boy  entered 
into  the  contract,  and  executed  akind  of  Belgian  “fling” 
which  drew  the  crowd  to  the  back  of  the  camera. 
The  view  was  then  taken. 

In  the  old  cities  in  Belgium  and  Holland  archi- 
tectural photographic  work  is  somewhat  more  easy  than 
in  towns  in  England,  because  there  are  so  many  canals 
and  rivers  about.  For  this  reason  numerous  picturesque 
views  are  obtainable  when  the  lens  is  pointed  over  the 
parapet  of  one  or  other  of  the  bridges. 


THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  OF  ARTS,  1890. 

BY  THE  REV.  F.  LAMBERT,  M.A. 

We  have  been  so  long  accustomed  to  be  told  that  “the 
Academy  this  year  is  certainly  not  up  to  the  average,” 
that  it  will  be  quite  refreshing,  for  once  in  a way,  to  omit 
that  time-honoured  enigma,  for  it  is  by  no  means  an  easy 
thing  to  reply  to  the  obviously  pertinent  question.  What 
do  you  mean  by  the  average  V 

It  is  not  an  unnatural  presumption  that  the  readers  of 
these  notesare  for  the  most  part  interested  in  the  making 
of  pictures  by  some  of  the  various  photographic  processes 
of  the  day,  and  their  interest  in  the  pictures  now  on 
view  in  Burlington  House  will  concern  them  chiefly  for 
such  degree  of  sympathy  as  the  aforesaid  paintings  will 
conjure  up  in  the  photographic  eye. 

The  writer  has  little  or  no  sympathy  with  that  type  of 
cynic  who  is  blind  to  all  aspects  of  criticism  save  that  of 
fault-seeking — finding  or  inventing  which  has  but  little 
benefit  in  it  beyond  flattering  the  vanity  of  the  defect 
discoverer ; but,  on  the  other  hand,  rather  with  him  who 
“ Finds  tongues  in  trees  ; books  in  ruoning  brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything.” 

There  arc  but  few.  if  any,  pictures  in  this  vast  gathering 
from  which  nothing  may  be  learned,  if  even  it  be  what  to 
avoid,  what  not  to  do,  or  how  not  to  do  it,  although  there 
are  vast  differences  in  the  lessons,  as  in  the  long  scale  of 
tones  and  subjects  of  nature  herself ; yet  it  is  always  a 
lasting  and  solid  consolation  to  the  humblest  follower  of 
Art  in  nature  that  she  has  yet  secrets  which  he  has  just 
as  good  a chance  of  discovering  as  any  other  user  of 
human  eyes,  and  be  his  nugget  small,  yet  so  long  .as  it  has 
the  ring  of  truth,  he  may  take  to  himself  the  consciousness 
of  having  added  to  the  wealth  of  the  world. 

The  number  of  works  included  in  the  catalogue  is,  per- 
haps, somewhat  less  than  in  some  recent  years : but  proba- 
bly, if  the  cream  be  less  in  quantity,  it  may  be  compen- 
sated for  by  its  quality. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  as  well  at  the  outset  to  state  that  the 
following  remarks  are  not  an  attempt  at  what  is  usually 
termed  art-criticism — which  is  too  often  but  an  ill-matched 
patchwork  of  ignorance,  flattery,  smartness,  and  art  cant — 
but  rather  an  attempt  to  suggest  to  my  photographic 
friends  what  is  worth  while  their  seeing  for  themselves,  so 
that  they  may  think  for  themselves  also. 

G/alien / No.  1. — No.  4 (“The  Loving  flip,”  Seymour 
Lucas,  A.),  is  rather  of  the  sharp-all-over  sort,  a crisp 
picture,  and  suggestive  in  its  arrangement  of  secondary 
detail.  No.  (by  G.  A.  Storey,  A.R.A.),  “The  Hungry 
Messenger”  is  its  title,  and  the  hero  of  the  act  the  mes- 
senger himself,  a half-starved  Puritan,  having  delivered 
his  missive  to  a Roundhead  commander,  accommodates 
his  appetite  from  his  neighbour's  plate,  an  incident  of  a 
somewhat  comic  nature,  which  is  enhanced  by  the  earnest 
look  on  the  reader's  face. 

Simple  and  natural  incidents  are  such  as,  perhaps,  best 
lend  themselves  to  photography,  and  thus  this  picture  may 
suggest  a new  direction  to  some  one  for  a subject-picture 
through  the  camera. 

At  this  end  of  the  room,  rather  high  up,  are  two  studies 
of  lions'  heads  (No.  7,  “The  King  of  Beasts,”  P.  II.  Fisher, 
and  94,  “Duke,”P.  G.  Cooper)  which  strongly  remind 
us  of  some  shutter  pictures  taken  in  the  Zoo.  not  long 
ago  ; also  No.  8 (“Bosom  Friends,”  a couple  of  dogs,  by 
C.  P.  Garland),  all  show  what  important  part  photography 
is  destined  to  play  in  pictures  of  “objects  in  motion,” 


May  9,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


551 


No.  66  (■•  A Florentine  Fruit  Shop,"  1’.  W.  Adam)  is  an 


“lively”  subjects  generally.  In  No.  9 (‘‘The  Broken 
Pitcher,”  C.  G.  Hards)  we  have  a favourite  incident  which 
is  becoming  classical ; it  would  seem  as  though  no  exhibi- 
tion is  complete  without  it.  No.  18  (“  Dinah  Morris 
Preaching,”  C.  Gregory)  is  an  admirable  subject  for  the 
study  of  pose  and  grouping;  note  the  man  in  background, 
the  critical  semi-defensive  angle  of  his  legs.  No.  19 
(“The  Cast  Shoe,”  K.  W.  Macbeth,  A.)  purchased  by  the 
Chantry  Bequest,  reminds  one  strongly  of  some  place  not 
a hundred  miles  from  Cambridge  : the  inn  sign  “ five  miles 
from  anywhere  and  no  hurry,”  has  a familiar  sound.  Note 
how  the  man  holding  the  horse  connects  the  two  groups  of 
figures  and  leads  up  to  the  theme,  and  how  the  one  second- 
ary small  figure  at  the  side  looking  at  the  spectator  carries 
one's  eye  into  the  picture  at  once. 

Somehow  we  do  not  take  kindly  to  No.  29  (“A 
Daughter  of  the  Ghetto,”  Luke  Fildos,  R.A.);  it  seems 
to  bring  to  our  mind  the  word  “retouching.”  Before 
leaving  this  corner,  take  a glance  at  No.  14  (“Lilies.” 
Blanch  Jenkins),  a child's  head  lighted  from  the  back,  and 
note  the  luminosity  of  the  face  in  shade.  Try  this  light- 
ing at  various  angles  in  the  studio  : verb.  sap.  Passing 
on  to  No.  25  (“  The  Moon  is  up,  and  yet  it  is  not  Night,” 
Sir  J.  E.  Millais,  R.A.),  wc  have  a masterly  hand,  familiar 
to  all  in  portraiture  figure,  giving  us  a landscape  well 
worth  careful  study.  The  photographic  eye  says,  “ no- 
thing is  in  focus  except  the  stag's  head,  and  that  isn't  very 
sharp ; ” but  stand  back  a yard  or  two,  and  if  there  isn't 
“ focus,”  there  is  air,  breadth,  simplicity,  quietness  ; a ground 
fog  just  creeping  up  in  the  distance.  Perhaps  the  some- 
what regular  band  of  undergrowth,  arranged  somewhat 
like  an  arc  of  a circle  of  which  the  spectator  imagines 
himself  the  centre,  is  not  quite  satisfactory — nevertheless, 
a picture  ; a lesson  in  tone  and  the  power  of  simplicity. 
Close  by,  No.  20  (“  La  pia  de  Tolomei,”  Edwin  Long, 
1*.  A.)  is  one  of  the  figure  studies  which  this  artist  has 
taught  us  to  expect.  The  various  ornaments,  decorations, 
designs,  symbols,  &c.,  on  the  breast  seem  to  rather  dis- 
tract one  from  their  number  and  sparkle.  The  hands 
are  worth  studying.  Just  at  first  No.  30  (“  The  Revenge,” 
dames  Kay)  calls  to  mind  Turner’s  “Fighting  Temeraire” 
— a vigorous  conception,  and  boldly  carried  out,  if,  per- 
haps, with  a somewhat  lavish  hand  in  strong  colour. 

No.  31  (“Homewards,”  E.  A.  Waterlow,  A.)  must 
surely  bring  to  mind  many  a spoilt  plate — many  an  attempt 
(and  failure)  to  catch  the  bright  gleam.  In  looking  at 
No.  36  (“By  Quiet  Waters,”  J.  E.  Grace)  one  is  tempted 
to  say,  “ Try  another  cloud  negative.”  The  sky  seems  too 
fiery  for  the  title,  or  the  subject,  and  gives  one  an  impres- 
sion that  it  does  not  belong  to  the  rest  of  the  picture. 
No.  40  (“His  Playthings,”  K.  Earle)  reminds  us  of  many 
a photograph  where  an  attempt  is  made  to  “ make  a pic- 
ture ” by  just  collecting  a few  odd  “properties”  and 
“ getting  them  all  in.”  The  clouds,  again,  in  No.  43 
(“The  White  Mill,”  David  Murray)  seem  to  come  too 
forward — seem  much  nearer  than  the  mill  sails,  in  fact. 
And  again  in  No.  57  (“Moorland,”  C.  II.  II.  Macartney) 
the  clouds  don’t  seem  “to  belong.” 

No.  59  (“The  Young  Duchess,”  II.  Schraalz).  It  seems 
a pity  to  have  put  “ patches”  on  such  a sweet  face,  and 
given  such  a twist  to  the  neck,  that  one’s  admiration  melts 
into  sympathy  for  the  sitter’s  discomfort — “ Eh  ! surely  ? ” 
And,  again,  the  English  face  in  the  Japanesque  get-up  in 
No.  65  (“  A la  Japonaise,”  Mary  Groves)  seems  to  appeal 
chiefly  to  our  consciousness  ot  the  general  m/fitness  of 
things  generally. 


apt  illustration  of  another  kind  of  unfitness  of  things. 
We  like  softness,  even  “ out  of  focus,”  at  the  proper  time 
and  place  ; but  the  accepted  definition  of  that  ugly  word, 
“ Dirt,”  shows  us  that  there  is  “a  place  for  everything ” ; 
and  we  don’t  somehow  feel  thoroughly  satisfied  in  our 
minds  as  to  whether  those  yellow  objects  are  oranges  or 
balls  of  wool. 

In  No.  67  (“  First  Words  of  Love,”  C.  E.  Perugini)  we 
think  that  it  would  have  been  better  if  one  of  the  two  were 
a little  more  like  speaking,  and  not  both  apparently  in 
considerable  doubt  as  to  “what  to  say  next.”  The 
Romeo-and- Juliet  theme  seems  a never-failing  one ; 
perhaps  such  ideal  themes  may  justify  idealisation  of 
treatment. 

No.  68  (“A  Placid  Morning,”  II.  W.  B.  Davis,  H.A.), 
takes  us  to  open  air  again.  What  wc  like  best  is  the 
transparency  and  luminosity  of  the  shadows  on  the  cattle, 
and  one  bit  of  the  foreground  water  : but  the  sky  and 
distance  do  not  make  us  feel  the  “ palpitating  air  of  early 
dawn.” 

No.  69  (“  Polo,"  J.  C.  Dollman)  brings  to  mind  the 
question  as  to  whether  it  is  desirable  to  represent  violent 
action  in  works  of  art,  and  again,  if  so,  whether  the 
“ critical  moment  ” is  the  best  one  to  select.  We  do  not 
affect  a knowledge  of  horse-flesh  or  anatomy,  and  therefore 
will  be  content  with  saying  that  some  of  the  animals  seem 
in  “funny”  positions;  but  here  we  must  call  in  Mr. 
Muybridge  as  our  court  of  final  appeal  as  to  the  possi- 
bilities. 

Nos.  74  and  80  (“Augustus  Holden,”  and  “Sir  D.  A. 
Smith,”  by  W.  W Ouless,  R.A.),  we  have  two  very 
suggestive  portraits,  both  well  worth  study.  The  fur  in 
No.  74  is  particularly  “ furry,”  although  every  hair  is  not 
painted  singly  as  some  would  insist  upon. 

No.  73  (“  Good  Luck,”  Lyell  Carr)  certainly  does  make 
one  feel  cold,  although  the  sun-cast  shadows  on  the  snow 
cheer  one  somewhat. 

No.  76  (“All  Hands  Shorten  Sail,"  F.  Brangwyn). 
This  is  a picture  to  be  well  looked  at,  but  we  will  defer 
saying  more  until  we  come  to  others  by  the  same  artist. 

No.  81  (“Davy  Jones’s  Locker,”  W.  L.  Wyllie,  A. ) 
certainly  upholds  the  view  that  there  are  “as  good  fish 
in  the  sea,  &c.,”  and  at  this  particular  point  they  seem  to 
be  more  than  plentiful. 

No.  75  (“Last  Night’s  Disaster,”  J.  C.  Hook,  R.A.) 
must  not  be  passed  over.  The  figures  at  work  digging 
out  the  sand  from  the  tide-cast  boat  certainly  strike  us  as 
the  best  part.  The  sky  and  sea  both  seem  hard,  and  not 
inviting  of  attention. 

No.  82  (“  A Foretaste  of  Summer,”  L.  C.  Nightingale) 
comes  as  a note  of  warning ; too  many  horizontal  and 
vertical  lines  are  not  often  pleasing,  and  we  could  have 
imagined  the  swans  a bit  more  feathery.  No.  86  (“  The 
Fringe  of  the  Forest,”  F.  S.  Richardson)  is  fuzzy  enough 
to  satisfy  the  pin-holiest  of  pin-hole  advocates  ; and  No.  88 
(“Across  the  Common,”  Claude  Hayes)  is  also,  as  Mrs. 
Gamp  would  put  it,  “likewise  so  dispoged." 

No.  89  (“Snakes,”  Estelle  d’Avigdor).  There  are 
several  of  these  weird  semi-mysterious  dark  pictures  this 
year.  "We  should  have  liked  this  one  better  had  we  been 
more  satisfied  about  the  bit  we  took  to  represent  a patch 
of  open  sky,  up  in  one  corner. 

No.  91  (Portrait,  by  W.  Carter)  is  well  worth  careful 
looking  at ; excepting  the  colouring,  we  like  it.  The  pose 
is  easy  and  natural,  balance  of  the  head  is  good,  and  the 


352 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


hands  are  easy ; generally,  the  treatment  is  broad  and 
simple,  and  its  simplicity  gives  it  weight. 

No.  96  (“Among  the  Brambles,”  Val.  C.  Priuceps,  A.). 
We  don't  quite  know  whether  to  look  at  the  brambles,  or 
the  young  ladies,  or  the  small  boy  who  is  staring  at  us,  and 
so  we  feel  constrained  to  pass  on  into  the  next  gallery. 

PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  FRANCE. 

BY  LEON  VIDAL. 

Death  of  M.  Peligot— Bridal  Medal— Photographs 
in  Colours  — Exposure  Shutters  and  Chromo- 
Photographic  Apparatus  — Pellicular  Films  ox 
Celluloid  — Piioto-Collographic  Process  — Hala- 
tion — Coloured  Screens  — Instantaneous  Photo- 
graphy. 

At  the  opening  of  the  meeting  the  Chairman  announced 
the  death  of  M.  Peligot,  president  of  the  Society,  and  read 
the  discourse  which  had  been  pronounced  over  his  tomb 
at  the  funeral.  Peligot  was  a great  chemist.  Although 
he  had  never  devoted  himself  especially  to  photography, 
he  not  the  less  rendered  service  to  this  science,  in  which 
he  was  greatly  interested.  It  is  not  yet  known  who  is 
to  succeed  M.  Peligot  as  president  of  the  Society,  but  we 
have  some  reason  to  believe  that  it  will  be  M.  Janssen, 
who  is  a member  of  the  Institute,  as  were  Messrs.  Reg- 
nault,  Balard,  and  Peligot.  It  is  a tradition  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Society  to  place  itself  under  the  highest  possible 
scientific  patronage  by  calling  to  the  presidency  a member 
of  the  Institute.  No  choice,  moreover,  could  be  more 
acceptable  than  that  of  M.  Janssen,  whose  work  in  astro- 
nomical photography  has  been  of  such  great  importance. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  the  daughter  of 
the  grand  nephew  of  Nicephore  Niepce,  the  Bureau  of  the 
Photographic  Society  made  an  offer  of  one  of  the  medals 
struck  on  the  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  photography.  The  medal  bears  the  effigies 
of  Nicephore  Niepce  and  of  Daguerre. 

Photographs  in  colours,  by  M.  Yeresz,  of  Kolos/.var. 
were  shown  at  the  meeting.  Much  has  recently  been  said 
and  published  concerning  these  productions  ; notably  in 
the  Photographic  News  interesting  articles  have  appeared, 
especially  that  by  Capt.  Abhey  in  the  last  number.  We 
had  expected  to  see  something  better  than  those  examples 
which  were  exhibited,  which  add  nothing  new  to  what  is 
already  known  on  the  question,  except  that  they  are  on 
glass,  and  obtained  with  gelatine  emulsion.  AVe  are  cer- 
tainly not  amongst  those  who  absolutely  deny  the  possi- 
bility of  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  photography  in 
natural  colours,  no  one  having  the  right  to  say  to  science, 
“Thou  shalt  go  no  farther,”  but  we  may  certainly  affirm 
that  the  interesting  researches  of  M.  A'eresz  have  not  yet 
led  to  this  solution  so  ardently  desired. 

General  Sebert  has  made  two  very  interesting  communi- 
cations. One  relates  to  a method  of  studying  the  action 
of  photographic  exposure  shutters.  The  apparatus  em- 
ployed for  the  purpose  was  shown.  In  this  apparatus  the 
effective  work  of  the  shutter  registers  itself.  It  is  the 
application  in  practice  of  a method  indicated  by  M.  De 
Labaume  Pluvinal  at  the  time  of  the  Congress.  The 
apparat  us  consists  of  a kind  of  dark  slide  forming  a camera, 
in  the  interior  of  which  slides  a light  board  worked  by 
two  springs.  In  front  there  is  a circular  opening  closed 
by  a metallic  plate,  across  which  is  a very  thin  slit.  If  a 
piece  of  sensitive  paper  is  placed  on  the  thin  board,  and 
the  whole  is  exposed  to  a powerful  light  whilst  the  board 


[May  9.  1890 

is  moved  by  the  springs,  the  various  zones  of  the  sensitive 
paper  passed  behind  the  slit,  and  if  the  light  is  equal 
throughout,  its  action  is  translated  on  the  sensitive  film 
by  a continuous  tint.  On  the  contrary,  if  during  the 
passage  of  the  paper  there  are  irregularities  in  the  source 
of  light,  these  irregularities  will  show  themselves  by 
inequalities  in  the  zones  on  the  paper.  If  it  is  desired  to 
try  an  exposure  shutter,  it  is  placed  in  front  of  the  opening, 
and  by  using  a bifurcated  tube  we  act  simultaneously  on 
the  release  of  the  board  bearing  the  sensitive  surface  and 
on  that  of  the  shutter.  At  the  same  time  a tuning  fork  is 
released,  vibrating  100  to  the  second,  and  carrying  a small 
hole  at  the  upper  end  to  allow  light  to  pass.  On  the  cor- 
responding part  of  the  sensitive  paper  a sinuous  line  is 
produced,  each  bend  of  which  indicates  the  one-hundredth 
part  of  a second.  AVe  have  thus  simultaneously  a graphic 
delineation  of  the  work  produced  by  the  shutter,  and  of 
the  time  occupied.  The  line  varies,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  shutter.  Those  with  vanes  opening  from 
the  centre  to  the  circumference,  and  closing  from  the 
circumference  to  the  centre,  without  stopping,  give  an  im- 
pression in  the  form  of  a lozenge  with  curved  sides.  But 

if  there  is  a stoppage — that 
is  to  say,  an  instant  when  the 
objective  is  left  fully  open — 
the  figure  takes  the  form 
shown — that  of  the  preceding 
one,  plus  the  rectangle  ABCD 
inserted  in  the  centre  portion 
of  the  curvilinear  lozenge. 
AC,  BD,  have  a length  corresponding  to  the  duration  of 
the  full  opening  of  the  lens.  AA'ith  other  shutters  the 
forms  are  different,  but  analogous  to  the  one  described, 
the  work  with  full  aperture  being  always  indicated  by  a 
rectangle  in  the  centre  of  the  field.  On  comparing 
various  shutters  with  this  apparatus,  we  find  which  is  the 
one  that,  with  the  same  duration  of  total  action,  gives  the 
largest  amount  of  work  with  full  opening,  and  this  is 
evidently  the  one  which  should  be  preferred.  The  suiu- 
oidal  trace  gives  the  exact  duration  of  each  part  of  the 
exposure,  and  we  have  thus  automatically  registered  the 
various  phases  of  action.  The  idea  of  the  registering 
tuning  fork  attached  to  this  apparatus  was  given  by  M. 
Cornu. 

The  other  communication,  by  the  same  author,  relates  to 
an  apparatus  for  reproducing  an  object  in  movement  at 
equal  intervals  regulated  in  advance  ; these  intervals  may 
be  varied  according  to  the  requirements  of  the  case.  It 
is  composed  of  six  cameras  furnished  with  shutters,  which 
are  acted  upon  successively  by  two  needles  carried  on  a 
rotating  disc  ; the  first  needle  opens  each  shutter,  and  the 
second  closes  it.  The  operation  is  performed  in  the 
fraction  of  a second,  so  that  we  can  obtain  the  photographic 
registration  of  the  various  phases  of  the  movement  of  a 
projectile,  a torpedo,  &c.  The  spring  movement  is 
supported  independently  of  the  cameras,  in  order  to  avoid 
shaking. 

M.  Grieshober  showed  some  new  pellicles  of  gelatino- 
bromide  of  silver  ou  celluloid.  The  sheet  of  celluloid 
bears  two  coats  of  gelatino-bromide — one  on  the  front, 
and  one  on  the  back  ; by  this  means  halation  is  avoided, 
and,  if  the  impression  is  divided  between  the  two  surfaces, 
the  negative  may  be  used  on  either  side.  Some  of  these 
pellicles  were  distributed  among  the  members  for  experi- 
ment. 

M.  Balaguy  summed  up  his  process  of  photo-collography 


May  9,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


353 


on  pellicle  covered  with  gelatiuo-bromide  of  silver. 
The  coating  of  gelatine  is  attached  to  its  pellicular  support 
by  a silicated  solution.  It  is  sensitized  by  bichromate  of 
potash,  and  printing  is  carried  out  in  the  customary  way. 

It  is  washed  in  the  usual  manner,  and  placed  on  a Hat 
surface,  where  adhesion  takes  place  by  vacuum.  The 
printing  with  fatty  ink  is  effected  in  the  usual  manner. 
In  short,  the  characteristic  of  this  process  is  the  use  of 
flexible  supports,  gelatinized  beforehand,  and  photo- 
lithography allows  us  to  pull  a certain  number  of  impres- 
sions from  each  plate.  We  do  not  see  the  use  of  the 
bromide  of  silver,  and  we  believe  that  an  identical — or. 
perhaps,  better — result  would  be  obtained  on  gelatine  alone. 
M.  llalagny  thinks  that  the  silver  increases  the  sensitive- 
ness of  the  film.  We  have  made  the  following  experiment : 
A piece  of  Eastman's  paper  was  freed  from  bromide 
of  silver  at  one  end  by  immersion  in  hyposulphite  of  soda  ; 
it  was  then  washed,  and  the  whole  sensitized  with  bichro- 
mate of  potash.  After  exposure  to  light,  we  could  find 
no  difference  in  the  sensitiveness  of  the  two  halves.  The 
use  of  bromide  of  silver  appears  to  us  so  far  to  be  a simple 
luxury  without  any  advantage.  M.  llalagny  proposed  to 
practically  demonstrate  his  very  interesting  process  at  a 
technical  meeting  of  the  Society. 

The  question  of  halation  has  been  stirred  up  anew. 
We  have  observed  that  the  remedy  proposed  by  M.  Cornu 
is  uot  practicable  on  account  of  the  non-drying  nature  of 
the  essences  he  mentioned.  Collodion  with  chrysoidine 
alone  is  not  sufficient,  a negative  showing  halo  obtained 
when  using  this  method  having  been  shown  by  us. 
Finally,  we  have  shown  a negative  without  the  slightest 
halation  obtained  on  a plate  the  back  of  which  was  covered 
with  collodion  containing  chrysoidine,  to  which  was  added 
another  tinctorial  substance  in  order  to  absorb  almost  all 
rays,  methyl  violet  Further,  as  our  experiments  were 
made  on  Monekhoven  orthochromatic  plates,  and  through 
powerfully  coloured  screens,  it  is  shown  that  neither 
orthochromatism  nor  the  use  of  screens  is  a remedy 
against  halation.  The  best  remedy  is  a collodion  which 
dries  quickly,  and  is  so  coloured  that  all  rays  are  absorbed. 
Apropos  of  coloured  screens,  we  mentioned  our  experience 
with  a conti  nuating  screen.  An  orthochromatic  plate  is 
exposed  in  the  camera  in  the  usual  way  with  a suitable 
yellow  screen ; it  is  then  exposed  to  light  under  a com- 
bination which  only  allows  red  and  orange  light  to  pass. 
The  supplementary  exposure  is  about  four  or  five  times 
as  long  as  the  camera  exposure,  but  will  vary  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  continuating  screen.  On  develop- 
ment, the  red  is  found  to  have  acquired  its  proper  value. 
With  plates  sensitised  for  red,  the  use  of  the  continuating 
screen  is  still  necessary,  but  for  a shorter  time.  In 
connection  with  this  subject,  we  also  showed  our  sen  si  to  - 
colorimeter : but  it  would  take  too  long  to  describe  it 
now.  and  we  shall  return  to  it  later. 

M.  Joseph  Vallot  indicated  a process  of  photographing 
grottos  by  the  aid  of  magnesium,  lie  uses  a lamp  which 
allows  two  grammes  of  magnesium  powder  to  be  blown 
through  at  once.  A good  flash  of  about  two  metres  in 
height  is  produced,  aud  in  this  way  he  has  been  able  to 
reproduce  very  successfully  details  of  certain  interesting 
grottos  in  Le  Herault.  M.  Vallot  showed  conclusively  by 
lantern  projections  the  success  he  had  obtained  in  the  way 
indicated. 

The  Newcastle  Photographic  Exhibition  will  close  to-morrow 
(Saturday)  evening.  At  7.30  p.m.  there  will  be  a vocal  and 
instrumental  concert  in  the  building. 


THE  ROYAL  INSTITUTION. 

CAPTAIN  ABNEY  ON  COLOUR. 

Last  Saturday  afternoon,  Captain  W.  de  IV.  Abney 
delivered  a lecture  on  the  above  subject,  aud  began  by 
remarking  that  he  had  previously  explained  to  them  how 
he  measured  the  amount  of  blackness  of  a silver  or 
platinum  deposit  by  means  of  a rotating  disc,  and  that  the 
amount  of  blackness  of  deposit  can  be  shown  to  scale. 
From  any  particular  blackness  the  intensity  of  the  light 
which  produced  it  can  be  ascertained ; when  he  had  a 
variety  of  blacknesses  he  could  compare  them,  and  say  that 
such  and  such  an  intensity  of  light  produced  each,  so  that 
it  was  really  a quantitative  process  of  measuring  the 
chemical  action  of  light.  He  had  discovered  that  the 
deposit  followed  the  curve  of  the  law  of  error. 

The  law  applies  not  only  to  platinum  deposits,  but  to 
anything  whatever  reduced  by  the  action  of  light ; for 
instance,  the  fading  of  indigo  follows  the  same  law,  but  is 
so  long  in  fading  that  a longer  unit  of  time  has  to  be 
selected.  In  the  case  of  the  fading  of  carmine,  a con- 
venient unit  of  time  is  one  hour,  and  in  the  case  of  indigo 
six  hours.  In  ordinary  photography  the  units  of  time  are 
changed,  for  when  the  light  is  feeble  aud  the  lens  stopped 
down,  they  do  not  count  by  seconds,  but  by  hours.  For 
each  pigment  there  are  certain  rays  which  are  chemically 
active.  Experiment  shows  that  the  intensity  of  light  is 
interchangeable  with  length  of  exposure,  yet  a very  small 
change  can  be  measured  by  the  spectrum  method  he  had 
brought  under  their  notice ; for  instance,  it  had  been 
ascertained  that  the  first  change  in  carmine  is  the  fading 
of  tin  blue  element  it  contains.  The  phosphorous  oxide 
recently  discussed  at  the  Royal  Institution  by  Professor 
Thorpe  changes  in  the  light  first  to  yellow  and  then  to  red. 
People  have  taken  it  that  the  amount  of  apparent  change 
shows  the  exact  sensitiveness  to  light,  but  this  is  not  the 
case  ; the  observations  had  to  be  referred  to  the  curve  in 
the  diagram  before  them,  to  lear  n the  absolute  sensitiveness 
to  any  part  of  the  spectrum. 

Captain  Abney  here  exhibited  some  colours  which  he 
aud  another  had  exposed  for  eighteen  months  to  the  action 
of  light,  and  said  that  month  by  month  they  had  taken 
portions  of  those  bands  of  colour,  and  measured  them  one 
after  another  by  the  method  he  had  described.  There 
are,  however,  some  pigments  with  which  it  is  impossible  to 
deal  in  this  way,  because  they  take  so  long  to  fade  ; rose 
madder  only  begins  to  fade  after  the  lapse  of  eighteen 
months,  and  medical  men  have  not  yet  found  out  how  to 
prolong  life  sufficiently  to  finish  the  experiment  with  that 
substance. 

The  sum  of  the  effects  produced  by  the  different  rays  is 
the  same,  whether  the  same  rays  act  together  or  at  a 
different  time.  This  is  perfectly  true  as  a rule,  but  there 
are  exceptions.  There  are  rays  of  the  spectrum  which 
tend  to  undo,  or  mask,  the  effect  of  the  other  rays  ; the 
red  will  mask  the  work  done  by  the  blue  ray,  so  that  if  the 
red  is  made  to  act  upon  a sensitive  surface  before  the 
violet,  the  result  is  uot  the  same  as  if  they  acted  together, 
because,  in  the  first  case  cited,  the  red  has  nothing  to 
undo.  In  ordinary  photographic  work,  the  rays  which 
undo  the  effect  produced  by  the  other  rays  may  be 
neglected,  as  the  influence  is  so  feeble  under  the  condi- 
tions. An  image  in  red  light  may  be  projected  upon  a 
screen  illuminated  by  white  light,  and  a photograph  of  the 
red  image  be  obtained,  because  the  red  rays  undo  some  of 
the  effects  of  white  light  by  oxidising  the  film. 


3,14 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  9,  1890. 


Captain  Abney  then  photographed  an  image  of  the 
spectrum  after  passing  the  rays  through  green  glass  ; he 
used  bromide  of  silver  paper,  and  developed  by  means  of  a 
brush.  On  the  same  sheet  he  also  photographed  the 
spectrum  without  green  glass  interposed.  The  result  was 
that,  the  green  glass  was  seen  to  have  cut  off  both  ends  of 
the  photographic  spectrum ; the  image  produced  subject 
to  its  intervention  was  shorter  and  feebler  than  that  pro- 
duced by  the  spectrum  of  white  light.  The  lecturer  said 
that  if  the  effect  of  blue  light  upon  a bromide  of  silver  film 
be  taken  as  one  hundred,  that  of  green  light  will  be  about 
twelve.  On  these  principles  the  photographic  intensities 
of  light  passing  through  coloured  glasses  could  be 
measured. 

The  spectrum  value  of  a sensitive  salt  can  be  increased. 
If  a salt  of  silver  be  stained  with  certain  fugitive  dyes,  the 
salt  is  increased  in  sensitiveness  to  those  particular  parts 
of  the  spectrum  which  the  dye  absorbs  ; a lake  is  formed 
in  the  first  instance,  and  this  gives  nuclei  upon  which 
development  can  take  jdace.  He  then  showed  the  results 
of  photographing  a colour  sensitoineter  by  means  of  an 
ordinary  plate  and  by  means  of  an  orthochromatised  plate  ; 
he  also  exhibited  photographs  of  a doll  dressed  in  various 
colours,  to  show  the  results  obtainable  by  different 
methods.  The  best  result  was  obtained  by  illuminating 
the  doll  with  mixed  green  and  yellow  light,  then  photo- 
graphing it  on  a plate  which  had  been  treated  with  erythro- 
sine  and  cyanine  ; in  this  experiment,  the  blue  of  the 
spectrum  was,  it  will  be  noticed,  eliminated. 

He  exhibited  two  photographs,  upon  silver  plates,  of 
the  spectrum  in  natural  colours,  and  remarked  that  the 
colours,  though  not  strong,  were  clearly  discernible. 
Such  photographs,  he  said,  were  not  new,  but  had  been 
taken  for  forty  years. 

If  three  colours  be  taken,  which,  together,  make  white 
light,  it  is  perfectly  possible,  by  superposing  them,  to  get 
what,  to  the  eye,  appear  to  be  all  the  colours  of  the  spec- 
trum. He  then,  by  mixing  red,  green,  and  violet  rays, 
produced  white  light,  and  afterwards,  by  mixing  them  in 
another  way,  obtained  a good  representation  of  a complete 
spectrum  upon  the  screen. 

A photograph  in  natural  colours,  he  said,  was  not  due 
to  the  colours  of  thin  plates.  At  present  it  appears  to  be 
highly  improbable  that  photography  in  natural  colours  will 
ever  be  of  commercial  value.  Colour  is  mostly  produced 
under  red  light  by  an  oxidation  process,  and  by  oxidising, 
the  molecule  becomes  of  such  a shape  as  to  reflect  red 
light.  Violet  light  has  a reducing  action ; in  fact,  he  had 
sometimes  produced  white,  by  red  and  blue  undoing  the 
action  of  each  other.  Thus  one  end  of  the  spectrum  tends 
to  undo  the  work  of  the  other  end.  The  investigator  on 
photography  in  natural  colours,  whose  work  is  now 
attracting  attention,  is  simply  repeating  the  experiments 
made  years  ago  by  Mr.  George  Wharton  Simpson.  If 
once  a man  succeeds  in  completely  solving  the  problem  of 
photography  in  natural  colours,  lie  ought  to  make  a 
fortune  first,  and  be  hanged  afterwards,  for  the  discovery 
will  be  the  destruction  of  all  art  feeling. 

Thk  Photographic  Club.— Subject  for  May  14,  “Photo- 
graphic Definitions”  ; May  21,  “Photo-Mechanical  Pi  •ocesses.” 

Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. — Ordinary  Meet- 
ing at  5a,  Pall  Mall  East,  on  Tuesday,  May  13th,  at  8 p.m., 
when  papers  will  be  read  on  “ Reflected  Images  in  Optical 
Combinations,  and  their  Effect  on  the  Brilliancy  of  the  Final 
Image,  ’ by  T.  R.  Dallmeyer  ; and  on  “Photography  with  a 
Flash-Light,”  by  W.  England. 


AN  EXHIBITION  OF  MRS.  CAMERON’S 
PHOTOGRAPHS. 

An  Exhibition  of  -Mrs.  Cameron’s  photographs  was  opened 
at  the  Camera  Club  last  Monday,  and  highly  deserves  a 
visit  from  those  who  have  been  brought  into  photographic 
existence  by  the  case  of  the  modern  dry  plate  processes. 
To  the  older  photographers  the  pictures  are  not  new. 
The  portraits  by  Mrs.  Cameron  are  a powerful  argument 
in  the  mouths  of  those  who  are  adverse  to  excessive  sharp- 
ness of  focus  in  photographs:  they  are  artistically  beauti- 
ful in  the  highest  sense,  and  some  of  them  so  resemble  in 
style  portraits  by  the  old  masters,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
realise  that  they  arc  not  orthochromatic  photographs  of 
ancient  paintings.  < hie  of  the  most  striking  portraits  is 
that  of  the  late  Sir  John  llerschel,  a pioneer  in  scientific 
photography,  and  a former  contributor  to  these  pages. 
Another  is  a likeness  of  Mrs.  Cameron  herself,  with 
square-cut  features,  and  an  expression  of  spirituality  and 
kindliness. 

On  Monday  evening,  Mr.  Davison,  in  drawing  the 
attention  of  the  members  to  the  pictures  upon  the  walls 
of  the  Club,  said  that  the  task  was  a pleasant  one,  and  that 
Mrs.  Cameron  was  an  enthusiastic  worker ; in  putting  up 
the  pictures  he  felt  that  it  would  be  easy  to  wax  enthusi- 
astic about  them  himself.  Some  of  them  contained 
eccentricities  which  had  better  have  been  left  out,  but  in 
the  main  they  must  recognise  the  wondrous  force  of  her 
portraits ; she  had  seized  the  leading  characteristics  of  each 
face,  and  had  delineated  them  as  could  have  been  done 
better  in  any  other  way.  She  had  advantages,  for  she  mixed 
with  artists,  and  she  had  models  whose  heads  lent  themselves 
to  pictorial  effect.  The  disadvantages  of  the  time  in  which 
she  worked  were  very  great.  She  lived  in  the  wet  collodion 
days  ; her  studio  was  a fowl-house  converted  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  in  that  way  she  obtained  her  magnificent  dark 
backgrounds  for  portraits.  Sir  John  llerschel  was  an 
astronomer,  and  in  his  portrait  there  is  appropriately  some- 
thing star-like  in  the  disposition  of  the  hair.  Some  female 
heads,  from  life,  in  the  collection  show  wonderfully  the 
characteristics  of  the  pre-llaphaelite  school.  He  felt  it  to 
be  scarcely  possible  that  the  character  of  Thomas  Carlyle 
could  have  been  rendered  with  more  force  than  in  his 
portrait  before  them.  The  public  are  only  now  learning  to 
appreciate  the  work  of  Mrs.  Cameron,  and  he  ventured  to 
predict  that  they  would  see  much  more  work  of  the  same 
kind  before  many  years  had  passed  away.  She  publicly 
exhibited  her  works  but  rarely,  and  then,  as  is  often  the 
case,  was  not  satisfied  with  the  judges’  awards.  Among 
those  who  wrote  to  her  about  her  photographs,  sent  to 
some  exhibition,  was  a German,  who  sent  to  her  the 
following  letter,  evidently  aided  in  his  literary  work  by  a 
dictionary : — 

“Mr.  announces  to  Miss  Cameron  that  lie  received  the 

first  half  a pound  note,  and  took  the  photograpliies  as  Miss 
Cameron  wishes.  He  will  take  the  utmost  sorrow*  to  place 
the  pictures  were  good. 

“Mr.  and  the  Cmitic  regret  heavily t that  it  is  now 

impossible  to  take  the  portfolio,  the  rooms  are  filled  till  the 
least  winkle.  | The  English  Ambassade  takes  the  greatest 
interest  of  the  placement  of  the  photographies  of  Miss  Cameron, 
and  Mr.  seut  his  extra  ordinarest  respects  to  the  cele- 

brated and  famous  female  photographs. 

“ Your  most  obedient.” 

* Care,  which  was  the  word  needed,  is  expressed  by  11  Sorgen”  as  well 
as  sorrow  We  invert  the  sentence,  and  we  read,  to  have  the  picture  well 
placed  where  the  light  is  good. 

♦ Regret  heavily,  severely,  seiiously. 

I Winkle  is  corner  in  German. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


355 


May  9,  1890.] 


partition  to  prevent  blurring,  or  over-lapping  of  the  two 
pictures  in  the  centre.  A single  lens  may  be  used  if  a 
sufficiently  long  sliding  front  is  adapted,  which  will  allow 
the  lens  to  be  moved  laterally  from  centre  to  centre  of  the 
halved  plate  ; but  this  will  only  do  for  still  life,  or  possibly 
for  portraiture.  But  if  this  branch  of  photography  is  to 
be  carried  out  satisfactorily,  twin  lenses  are  absolutely 
necessary,  inasmuch  as  it  is  impossible  to  take  moving 
objects  for  the  stereoscope  with  one  lens,  and  sea  pieces 
lose  all  their  value  if  a wave,  for  instance,  is  not  taken  by 
both  lenses  at  the  same  instant. 

The  base  of  our  triangle,  or  distance  between  the  lenses, 
will  vary  slightly  in  ordinary  land  or  sea  scapes,  according 
to  the  distance  from  the  camera  of  some  of  the  near  as 
well  as  distant  objects.  And  here  I would  remark  that 
near  objects  are  necessary  to  the  success  of  the  pictures, 
the  principle  of  the  stereoscope  being  what  I call  relative 
displacement  of  objects  one  to  another  when  viewed  by 
Mrs.  Cameron's  pictures,  and  thatintime,  following  on  the  eitilcr  eye  or  either  lens  separately.  Hold  up  your  finger 
lines  of  such  work  as  had  been  occasionally  done  by  Mr.  or  (jtjler  smap  object  before  any  other  object,  look  with 


.She  also  once  received  the  following  communication  : — 

“ Miss  Lydia  Louisa  Summerhouse  Donkins  informs  Mrs. 
Cameron  that  she  wishes  to  sit  to  iier  for  her  photograph. 
Miss  Lydia  Louisa  Summerhouse  Donkins  is  a carriage  person, 
and  therefore  could  assure  Mrs.  Cameron  that  she  would  arrive 
with  her  dress  uucrumpled. 

“Should  Miss  Lydia  Louisa  Summerhouse  Donkins  be  satisfied 
witli  her  picture,  Miss  Lydia  Louisa  Summerhouse  Donkins  has 
a friend  who  is  also  a carriage  person,  who  would  also  wish  to 
have  her  likeness  taken.” 

About  this  letter  Mrs.  Cameron  records  : — “1  answered 
Miss  Lydia  Louisa  Summerhouse  Donkins  that  Mrs. 
Cameron,  not  being  a professional  photographer,  regretted 
she  was  not  able  to  ‘ take  her  likeness,  but  that  had  Mrs. 
Cameron  been  able  to  do  so,  she  would  have  very  much 
preferred  to  have  her  dress  crumpled." 

Mr.  Davison  continued  that  he  hoped  that  the  Club 
would  make  use  of  all  the  instruction  it  could  gain  from 


Faulkner,  Mr.  Lvouel  ( lark,  and  others,  they  would  sec 
them  not  only  equalled,  but  eclipsed 


one  eye  and  then  with  the  other,  and  in  turn  different 
parts  of  the  background  will  be  covered  by  what  is  held 
up,  so  that  with  both  eyes  you,  as  it  were,  look  round  the 
near  object  or  objects.  This,  though  crudely  explained, 
will  possibly  illustrate  the  principle  of  the  stereoscope, 
and  show  that  two  separately  taken  pictures  are  necessary. 
When  well  placed  or  selected  foreground  objects  are  se- 
cured in  a picture,  the  result  in  the  stereoscope  is  that 
other  objects  and  parts  of  the  composition  will  fall  back 
or  assume  their  relative  positions,  and  the  effect  desired  is 
obtained.  For  some  subjects  (principally  scientific)  the 
base  of  the  triangle  or  distance  apart  of  the  points  for 
taking  the  two  pictures  is  considerable,  some  thirty  or 
forty  yards  for  the  Pyramids,  to  many  hundreds  of  miles 
for  the  moon  ; and  this  reminds  me  that  stereo  work  can 
be  accomplished  by  a quarter  or  5 by  4 camera,  and  taking 
parencies  which  many  remember  with  keen  pleasure,  but  twQ  pjctures  by  placing  the  camera  at  the  different  points 
to  the  absurd  and  vulgar  groups,  which  must  have  ag  r*quired,  for  ordinary  work  at  the  opposite  ends  of  a 


NTK11KOSCOPIC  PHOTOGRAPH Y* 

BY  O.  F.  POWELL. 

First  of  all  I begin  with  a lament  that  this  branch  of 
photography  is  not  as  popular  as  it  deserves  to  be,  and 
surprise  that  it  has  so  long  remained  so.  Secondly,  I will 
try  to  account  for  its  unpopularity. 

1st.  Fashion;  it  was  once  very  popular,  but  fashion 
changes,  and  the  pendulum  has  swung  to  the  opposite 
side. 

2nd.  The  degeneration  of  the  subject  and  style.  Of 
course  I do  not  refer  to  the  very  beautiful  glass  trans- 


gone  far  to  discredit  the  stereoscope  in  some  minds. 

3rd.  I think  many  admirers  of  the  stereoscopic  picture 
must  have  been  sadly  disappointed  by  the  slides  sold,  for 
doubtless  many  have  been  taken  in  by  the  fraud  of  making 
a so-called  stereo  slide  without  the  double  negative.  Such, 
it  is  almost  needless  to  say,  are  fiat  as  a single  picture, 
and  to  this  we  shall  again  refer. 

These  three  causes  have,  let  us  hope,  worked  their  own 
cure.  The  pendulum  of  fashion  is  on  its  return,  the  vulgar 
style  is  ignoininiously  dismissed,  and,  as  a rule,  photography 
is  too  much  to  the  fore  for  unscrupulous  dealers  to  pass 
off  bad  work  on  the  public. 

This  brings  us  to  what  a stereo  slide  is,  or  rather  should 
be,  namely,  two  pictures  taken  separately  from  the 
opposite  angles  at  the  base  of  a triangle,  the  sides  of 
which  should  converge  to  a point  as  nearly  as  possible  the 
most  distant  in  the  view  to  which  the  camera  is  directed  ; 
the  length  of  the  base  of  the  triangle  varies  considerably 
with  the  subject.  A good  rule  is,  for  ordinary  work,  to 
have  the  lenses  (if  a pair  are  used  in  a rigid  front)  two  and 
three-quarter  inches  apart,  centre  to  centre,  this  being 
about  the  distance  apart,  centre  to  centre,  of  the  eyes.  A 
better  plan  is  to  have  a special  front  with  double  rack-and- 
pinion,  by  which  the  lenses  can  be  brought  nearer  or  set 
farther  apart  as  required.  Of  course  when  the  two 
pictures  are  taken  upon  the  same  plate  (any  landscape 


graduated  board  fastened  to  the  top  of  the  tripod. 

Any  process  for  negative  taking  or  printing  will  do  for 
the  work,  but  I consider  that  the  transparency  for  the 
stereoscope  is  the  perfection  of  photography the 
roundness  of  life  is  given  by  the  stereoscope  to  a friend's 
likeness,  to  a bit  of  lovely  scenery,  snow,  hoar  frost,  or 
ice,  which  might  pass  unnoticed  in  the  fiat  photograph, 
but  which  is  absolutely  charming  in  this  instrument.  Too 
much  contrast  is  undesirable,  and  what  looks  flat  and 
wanting  in  pluck  and  crispness  outside  the  instrument  may 
be  exactly  right  inside.  I he  stereo-photographer  can 
often  choose  charming  bits,  which,  as  single  pictures, 
would  be  passed  over.  To  return  to  the  negative; 
presuming  it  is  double,  on  the  single  plate  being  taken,  as 
usual,  upside  down,  on  placing  it  picture  wise,  the  light 
and  left  pictures  are  reversed,  and  must  be  cut  asunder 
for  mounting,  or  the  effect  is  the  reverse  of  what  is 
desired,  or  pscudoscopic.  There  is  a way  of  folding  a 
double-length  strip  of  paper,  and  printing  two  copies,  by 
which  means  the  paper  can  be  cut  in  the  middle,  and  save 
the  double  mounting  ; but  this  requires  calculation  and 
care  hardly  worth  an  amateur's  while,  though  valuable 
where  many  prints  are  required  off  the  same  negative. 
Glass  transparencies,  too,  require  great  nicety  and  care, 
but  which  amply  repay  him.  A word  as  to  subject ; choose 
such  as  are  likely  to  please  generally,  and  not  one’s  self 


slope  will  do,  say  by  5),  the  camera  must  have  a central  ai0UC)  anj  suci,  a3  will,  as  far  as  possible,  explain  them 
Abstract  of  ,i  pager  read  at  the  Bath  Photographic  Society.  I Selves. 


35G 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [May  9,  1890. 


A STANDARD  METHOD  OF  DEVELOPMENT* 

BY  C.  H.  BOTHAM  LEY,  F.I.C.,  l'.C.S. 

No  one,  1 imagine,  would  venture  to  propose  a uniform 
method  of  development  for  all  the  varied  subjects  with 
which  a photographer  meets  in  ordinary  practice.  The 
nature  of  the  subject,  the  conditions  under  which  it  was 
photographed,  and  the  intention  of  the  photographer,  or, 
in  other  words,  the  character  of  the  result  which  he  desires 
to  obtain,  must  all  be  taken  into  account  in  the  subsequent 
treatment  of  the  plate  ; and  to  develop  all  plates  in  the 
same  way  would  reduce  photography  from  the  level  of  a 
method  of  fine  art,  which  most  of  us  hold  it  to  be,  to  the 
level  of  a mechanical  process,  which  some  critics  tell  us 
it  is. 

There  are,  however,  many  cases,  chiefly  of  a scientific 
character,  in  which  a uniform  method  of  development  is 
desirable,  if  not  indispensable.  Stellar  photography  is 
probably  the  best  example  which  can  be  cited.  V hen 
testing  plates,  too,  it  is  essential  to  operate  under  strictly 
comparable  conditions.  The  necessity  for  adopting  some 
constant  method  of  development  in  the  work  on  ortho- 
chromatic  photography  with  which  I am  at  present  en- 
gaged, led  me  to  give  some  attention  to  the  matter,  and 
this  paper  is  mainly  a statement  of  the  chief  points  which 
seem  to  require  careful  consideration  in  this  connection. 

When  attempting  to  select  a standard  method  of 
development,  we  may  direct  our  attention  to  : (1)  The 
sensitiveness,  as  measured  by  the  intensity  of  illumination 
or  time  of  exposure  required  to  produce  an  impression 
which  can  be  developed ; or  (2)  the  gradation  of  the 
resulting  image. 

I may  say  at  once  that,  in  my  opinion,  it  is  not 
practicable  to  frame  or  adopt  any  standard  developer 
which  shall  be  generally  applicable  when  gradation  is  the 
chief  consideration.  A developer  which  would  be 
perfectly  satisfactory  for  line  subjects  would  be  unsuitable 
for  subjects  in  half-tone  ; a standard  which  would  satisfy 
an  operator  who  desires  to  produce  soft  negatives  would 
not  meet  with  the  approval  of  au  operator  who  delights  in 
“ pluck.”  Gradation  depends  not  only  on  the  mode  of 
development,  but  also  on  the  manner  in  which  the  emul- 
sion has  been  prepared,  and  the  physical  character  of  the 
gelatine  which  has  been  used.  Moreover,  the  relation 
between  the  gradations  given  by  two  different  kinds  of 
plates  does  not  remain  constant,  but  varies  with  variations 
in  the  composition  of  the  developer.  The  most,  therefore, 
that  seems  possible  is  to  devise  some  standard  method  (or 
methods)  from  the  point  of  view  of  sensitiveness,  and  then 
learn  to  deduce  from  the  results  obtained  with  it  as  much 
information  as  it  cau  be  made  to  give  concerning  the 
gradation-quality  of  the  plates. 

The  problem  consequently  becomes  narrowed  to  a 
method  of  development  which  will  enable  us  to  compare 
the  sensitiveness  of  different  plates,  and  to  obtain  from 
any  plate  the  maximum  amount  of  detail  which  it  can  be 
made  to  yield  without  fogging.  Our  object  is  to  obtain  a 
visible  and  printable  deposit  of  metallic  silver  from  every 
part  of  the  emulsion  which  has  been  acted  upon  by  light, 
without  reducing  those  portions  on  which  light  has  not 
acted.  Development  is  a process  of  selective  reduction, 
and  this  fact  it  is  very  important  to  keep  in  mind.  \\  e 
have  likewise  to  bear  in  mind  that  many  photographers, 
even  scientific  photographers,  are  not  chemists,  and  have 
very  little  skill  in  chemical  manipulations ; they  also  have 


to  rely  upon  the  dealers  in  chemicals  for  the  purity  of 
their  preparations. 

A standard  method  of  development,  if  it  is  to  be  really 
useful,  and  gain  general  adoption,  must  fulfil  several  con- 
ditions : — 

1.  It  must  be  simple  in  execution. 

2.  It  must  resemble,  as  closely  as  possible,  the  methods 
used  in  ordinary  practice. 

3.  It  must  involve  the  use  of  only  such  chemicals  as  can 
be  purchased  in  a state  of  purity,  and  are  not  hygroscopic, 
or  liable  to  undergo  other  alteration  when  stored  with 
ordinary  care. 

4.  The  solutions  required  must  be  easily  prepared,  and 
not  liable  to  alteration. 

Ferrous  oxalate  dissolved  in  a solution  of  potassium 
oxalate  fails  to  fulfil  several  of  these  conditions.  Potassium 
oxalate  and  ferrous  oxalate  can,  it  is  true,  readily  be 
obtained  in  a state  of  purity,  but  the  preparation  of  a 
solution  from  these  materials  is  a somewhat  tedious  opera- 
tion. Ferrous  sulphate  is  a more  convenient  iron  salt  in 
practice,  but  both  the  solid  and  its  solution  readily  oxidise. 
This  difficulty  is  removed  to  a considerable  extent  by  the 
use  of  ferrous  ammonium  sulphate,  but  even  this  salt 
alters  somewhat  rapidly  after  being  dissolved.  1 he  ferrous 
oxalate  solution  itself  oxidises  very  rapidly,  and  the  ferric 
oxalate  which  is  formed  is  not  only  a vigorous  retarder  of 
development,  but  is  also  a reducing  agent  of  considerable 
power.  lastly,  we  have  to  take  into  account  the  fact 
that  this  developer  is  rarely  used  for  ordinary  negative 
work,  and  even  its  use  for  positives  is  becoming  less 
frequent. 

F.ikonogen  is  also  unsuitable,  because : (1)  Its  purity 
at  present  is  a very  variable  quantity ; and  (2)  Its 
behaviour  with  various  accelerators,  and  under  different 
conditions,  is  not  yet  fully  understood. 

There  remain  pyrogallol  and  quinol,  and  of  these  the 
former  seems  decidedly  preferable,  because,  in  the  first 
place,  it  is  the  developer  most  largely  used  in  actual 
practice  ; and,  in  the  second  place,  its  much  greater 
solubility  makes  the  preparation  of  solutions  an  easier  and 
more  rapid  operation  than  when  quinol  is  used. 

Pyroijallol  is  readily  obtained  pure,  and  remains  unchanged 
for  a very  long  time  in  well  closed  bottles  if  kept  out  of 
contact  with  ammonia  vapour. 

The  alkali  employed  as  an  accelerator  may  be  ammonia, 
ammonium  carbonate,  sodium  carbonate,  or  potassium 
carbonate. 

The  restrainer  may  be  au  alkaline  bromide,  or  au  alkaline 
salt  of  an  organic  acid. 

Ammonium  bromide  is  the  most  suitable  restrainer 
when  ammonia  is  the  accelerator.  It  is  readily  obtained 
pure,  and,  although  slightly  hygroscopic,  it  is  easily  dried 
in  an  air  bath,  or  by  placing  it  on  a clean  plate  on  the  top 
of  a moderately  warm  oven.  Potassium  bromide,  on  the 
other  hand,  usually  contains  small  quantities  of  bromate, 
and,  not  unfrequently,  small  quantities  of  caustic  potash. 
If.  however,  sodium  or  potassium  carbonate  is  used  as  the 
accelerator,  and  a restrainer  is  required,  potassium  bromide 
must  be  used,  since  ammonium  bromide  would  be  decom- 
posed with  formation  of  ammonium  carbonate  and  free 
ammonia.  Alkaline  salts  of  organic  acids  are  unsuitable 
for  the  purpose  under  discussion,  because  of  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  them  in  a state  of  purity. 

The  French  Exhibition  in  London  will  be  opened  early  this 
month  by  the  Lord  Mayor.  Its  president  is  M.  Gustave 
Sandoz,  and  its  Director-General  Mr,  J.  R.  Whitley. 


* Read  at  the  Photographic  Society. 


May  9,  1890.1 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


357 


PHOTOGRAPHY  TNT  GERMANY. 

BY  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

Hkliochromic  Experiments— New  Collodion  Emulsion 

Paper. 

Since  the  results  of  Mr.  Fr.  Veress's  attempts  to  produce 
photographs  in  natural  colours  have  been  published,  the  j 
interest  of  the  profession  as  well  as  of  the  public  has  been 
again  directed  to  this  mysterious  branch  of  our  art-science  | 
which,  in  1839,  Sir  John  Herschel  pointed  out  as  “ only  a 
question  of  time.”  Half  a century  has  elapsed  since  then, 
and  the  problem  is  still  unsolved.  It  is  well  known 
that  by  the  investigations  of  Becquerel  and  other  pioneers 
of  our  art-science,  the  possibility  of  reproducing  colour 
by  means  of  photography  has  been  proved,  but  that  they 
only  partially  succeeded  in  fixing  their  prints.  Of  late, 
Mr.  V cress  has,  as  the  tests  of  Professor  Yogel  are  show- 
ing, not  yet  obtained  results  which  can  be  regarded  as 
permanent,  but  Mr.  Yeress,  whom  I know  very  well,  and 
who  is  as  assiduous  and  as  talented  as  he  is  modest,  has 
never  claimed  to  have  solved  the  problem  of  heliochromy. 
On  the  contrary,  he  describes  his  labours  as  simple  expe- 
riments, about  which  people  make  “ too  great  a bustle,” 
as  lie  expresses  himself  in  a letter.  The  partial  success 
of  these  labours  has  incited  other  investigators  to  repeat 
the  experiments  of  Niepce  de  Saint  Yictor  and  of  Poitevin. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Practical  Photo- 
graphers of  Berlin,  Mr.  Gaedicke  presented  prints,  pro- 
duced by  himself  by  means  of  the  older  methods,  which 
exhibited  a number  of  beautiful,  brilliant  colours.  He; 
said  that  they  were  produced  on  gelatino-chloride  paper, 
which  was  previously  exposed  to  light  until  it  turned  dark 
reddish  brown,  in  order  to  obtain  the  sub-chloride  forming 
the  basis  of  these  experiments.  The  paper  was  next, 
according  to  Poitevin,  bathed  for  about  two  minutes  by 
lamplight  in  a mixture  of  equal  parts  of  a concentrated 
solution  of  sulphate  of  copper  and  of  a five  per  cent,  solu- 
tion of  bichromate  of  potash,  then  dried  in  the  dark,  and 
exposed  to  sunlight  beneath  coloured  sheets  of  glass.  In 
order  to  shut  out  the  invisible  ultra-violet  rays,  which  in 
printing  act  injuriously,  Mr.  Gaedicke  used  a glass  plate 
coated  with  a gelatine  solution  to  which  a trace  of  uranine 
or  aesculinc  had  been  added.  After  drying,  this  glass 
is  almost  colourless  by  transmitted  light ; if,  however,  it 
is  held  in  an  inclined  position  and  looked  at  from  above,  it 
appears,  in  the  one  case,  beautifully  green,  in  the  other  blue. 

Dr.  A.  Miethe  recommended,  in  order  to  conserve  moi-c 
fully  the  fluorescent  qualities  of  the  plates  after  drying, 
the  addition  to  the  gelatine  solution  of  a small  quantity  of 
glycerine.  He  gave  the  following  formula  : — 

Gelatine  ...  ...  ...  ...  2 grammes 

Glycerine  ...  ...  ...  ...  2 ,, 

Water...  ...  ...  ...  ...  25  c.c. 

Aesculine  ...  ...  ...  ...  0-05  gramme 

The  gelatine  is  dissolved  at  a low  temperature  in  15  c.c. 
of  the  water,  then  the  glycerine  and  the  aesculine,  the 
latter  dissolved  in  10  c.c.  of  water,  are  added,  and  the 
whole  is  filtered  through  sheep's  wool.  With  this  solution 
the  glass  plates  ai’e  coated  rather  thickly,  allowed  to 
set.  and  dried  in  a place  free  from  dust.  Through 
plates  of  this  kind  the  ultra-violet  rays  still  partially  pass  ; 
in  order  to  shut  them  out  completely,  it  is  necessary  to 
combine  with  this  aesculine  plate  another  one.  which  con- 
tains 0-02  gramme  of  fluoresceiue  instead  of  the  above 
given  quantity  of  aesculine.  The  two  plates  with  the 
film  sides  placed  together,  and  the  edges  cemented  with 
black  paper,  which  may  be  coated  with  asphalt  varnish, 


in  order  to  protect  the  films  against  the  influence  of  the 
air.  If  after  some  time  the  aesculine  plate  turns  brown, 
it  must  be  replaced  by  a fresh  one.  The  pure  aesculine 
as  well  as  the  fluoresceiue  may  be  procured  from  I)r. 
Schuchardt,  of  Gorlitz.  A combined  plate  of  this  kind 
may  be  placed  over  the  printing  frame,  which  contains 
the  above  described  dark  brownish  silver  sub-chloride 
paper  together  with  the  coloured  sheets  of  glass,  and  the 
whole  is  then  exposed  to  diffused  daylight.  Beneath  a 
yellow  sheet  of  glass  the  paper  soon  turns  lighter,  and 
after  about  half-an-hour  it  will  be  printed  out,  showing, 
if  watched  by  lamp-light,  a rather  brilliant  yellow  tone. 
Beneath  a ruby  glass  the  paper  acquires  a brilliant  ver- 
milion colour  ; beneath  a green  glass  a slightly  brilliant 
olive-green  ; beneath  a blue  cobalt  glass  a darkish  brown. 
The  coloured  prints  keep  for  some  time,  provided  that 
they  are  not  exposed  to  direct  sunlight,  and  if  after 
printing  they  are  washed  several  times  in  water  which  has 
been  slightly  acidulated  with  sulphuric  acid.  Dr.  Miethe 
remarked  that  in  his  own  experiments  he  used  an 
ordinary  collodio-chloride  solution  with  silver  in  excess. 
He  exposed  it  in  a light  coloured  bottle  to  sunlight  for 
several  hours,  shaking  it  from  time  to  time  ; and  then 
decanted  it  from  the  brownish  sediment  which  was 
formed.  Paper  prepared  with  this  collodion  gives  with 
rapidity  bright  colours  beneath  coloured  gelatine  films. 
Dr.  Miethe  tried  to  fix  his  prints  with  a solution  of 
magnesium  chloride,  which  has  recently  been  recom- 
mended for  this  purpose  by  Mr.  It.  Liesegang,  and  to 
which  he  added  alum  up  to  three  per  cent.  This  fixing 
agent  seems,  however,  not  to  fulfil  the  hopes  which  it 
afforded ; in  the  case  of  Dr.  Miethe's  experiments,  at  all 
I events,  the  vivid  colours  of  the  prints  faded  even  in  the 
dark,  and  after  some  days  nothing  but  faint  tints  were 
visible,  which,  however,  did  not  become  weaker  even 
after  they  had  been  exposed  to  sunlight  for  some  hours. 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  experiments  that  we  at 
present  have  not  advanced  beyond  the  position  of  forty  or 
fifty  years  ago.  The  possibility  of  reproducing  natural 
colours  by  photography  to  a certain  degree  has  been 
proved,  but  we  are  waiting  for  somebody  who  can  invent 
the  means  of  fixing  the  colours  obtained. 

A new  collodion  emulsion  paper  has  been  introduced 
by  Mr.  Y.  Angerer,  of  Vienna,  which,  as  far  as  can  be 
judged  from  a few  experiments  I have  made  with  it, 
answers  well.  Collodion  emulsion  paper,  in  general,  does 
not  enjoy  so  much  favour  in  this  countiy  as  its  mighty 
rival,  the  gelatino-chloride  paper,  probably  because  the 
treatment  of  the  latter  is  more  convenient.  The  collodion 
emulsion  paper,  during  the  different  manipulations  after  it 
has  become  wet,  is  rather  tender,  and  has  a decided  in- 
clination to  curl,  particularly  when  the  paper  is  somewhat 
thick.  It  should  be  carefully  treated  while  in  a wet  con- 
dition, the  collodion  film  being  easily  damaged,  particularly 
around  the  edges.  These  insignificant  defects  of  the 
chloride  of  silver  collodion  paper  are,  however,  sufficiently 
compensated  by  the  extreme  sharpness  of  the  pictures 
on  the  same,  particularly  in  comparison  with  albumen 
paper,  where  the  details  in  the  deepest  shadows  are  hardly 
visible.  For  toning,  T use  the  sulphocyanide  of  ammonium 
bath,  which  is  convenient  in  its  handling.  The  prints 
tone  extremely  quickly,  even  in  comparison  with  those 
upon  gelatine  paper,  if  toned  in  the  combined  toning  and 
fixing  bath.  Enough  care  cannot  be  taken  not  to  lose  the 
beautiful  purple  tone  of  the  collodion  paper  by  the  rapidly- 
following  bluish-black. 


358 


Oa>  the  photographic  news. 


[May  9,  1890. 


% 


mm.  .*$■ 

\Vr^p/ 

Photographers  are  not  alone  in  the  difficulty  of 
deciding  upon  one  uniform  system  of  weights  and 
measures.  The  subject  is  continually  being  alluded  to, 
and  it  cropped  up  incidentally  at  the  last  meeting  of 
the  Photographic  Society,  when  the  much- abused 
English  system  found  a champion  in  some  respects  in 
Mr.  C.  H.  Bothamley.  The  American  pharmacists  are 
about  to  take  the  matter  iu  hand,  and  it  will  shortly 
be  discussed  by  the  Revision  Committee  of  the  U.  S. 
Pharmacopoeia.  Mr.  J.  W.  England,  writing  on  the 
subject  in  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy , advises 
the  abolition  of  the  “parts  by  weight”  system,  and 
the  adoption  of  the  French  metric  method.  The 
metric  system  is  supposed  to  be  in  use  in  America,  but 
it  is  only  so  in  name,  for  Mr.  England  says,  that  of 
nearly  500,000  prescriptions  over  which  he  has  had 
supervision  in  preparation  during  the  last  five  years, 
there  have  been  but  two  metric  prescriptions,  and  from 
enquiries  he  has  reason  to  believe  that  the  general 
experience  differs  but  little  from  his.  He  points  out 
that  if  the  physicians  do  not  lead  the  way,  it  cannot 
be  expected  that  pharmacists,  or  chemists  and  druggists 
as  we  should  call  them,  will  trouble  about  the  metric 
system.  Photographers  are  much  in  the  same  position 
here;  they  are  waiting  for  the  dealers  to  initiate  a 
simpler  method.  The  French  arc  in  the  happy  position 
of  having  settled  the  question.  Were  they  not,  it 
certainly  would  have  been  one  of  the  first  things 
discussed  at  the  International  Photographic  Congress 
of  last  year. 


A fine  set  of  illustrations  from  photographs  are 
promised  with  Mr.  Stanley’s  forthcoming  article  in 
Scribner.  These  photographs  are  of  scenery  upon 
which  the  eye  of  a white  man  never  gazed  previous 
to  Mr.  Stanley’s  visit.  It  would  be  interesting  to 
know  Mr.  Stanley’s  photographic  experience — whether 
he  developed  his  plates  on  the  spot,  or  whether  he 
brought  them  away  under  lock  and  key  to  be  developed 
at  home.  A word  or  two  also  as  to  how  the  natives 
regarded  the  camera  would  not  be  amiss. 


The  latest  of  American  photographic  notions — the 
costume  album — has  been  ridiculed,  but  how  valuable 
for  the  student  of  social  philosophy,  if  the  term  may 
be  used,  would  such  a record  of  a quarter  of  a century’s 
fashions  be.  The  costume  album,  it  may  be  as  well  to 
explain,  is  thus  constituted.  On  the  left  hand  page  is 
the  photograph ; on  the  right  is  an  artistic  arrange- 
ment of  the  materials  composing  the  costume  which 
the  photograph  represents.  The  collector  usually 
begins  her  album  with  her  wedding  dress,  and  proceeds 
with  the  various  “confections”  of  the  dressmaking  art 
in  which  she  indulges  from  time  to  time.  Such  an 
album  would,  we  fancy,  be  productive  of  rather  mixed 
feelings  on  the  part  of  the  persons  concerned.  To  the 


lady  it  would  afford,  on  the  whole,  a pleasant  reminis- 
cence, dashed  slightly  with  a little  bitterness,  because 
dressmakers  do  occasionally  make  misfits;  but  to 
her  husband,  it  can  only  revive  recollections  of  the 
many  cheques  which  the  dresses  represent.  The 
student  of  whom  we  have  already  made  mention  would 
probably  be  the  person  who  would  gaze  upon  a 
“ costume  album”  with  unalloyed  delight. 


The  fate  of  the  New  York  Illustrated  Daily  is  not 
encouraging  to  enterprises  of  a similar  nature.  It  has 
died  out,  never,  so  we  are  told,  to  be  revived.  For  a 
few  weeks  after  it  stopped  there  was  a project  to  carry 
it  on,  but  this  was  abandoned,  and  everything  has 
been  sold.  Nearly  a million  of  dollars  was  sunk  in  the 
paper,  but  it  did  not  succeed  because  of  the  inferior 
quality  of  its  illustrations.  Photography  has  done 
much  since  the  New  York  Daily  was  started  to  make 
sucli  an  undertaking  possible,  but  the  problem  of 
combining  very  rapid  printing  with  artistic  results  has 
not  yet  been  solved,  and  this  problem  is  at  the  present 
moment  the  stumbling  block  in  the  way  of  success. 
Given  the  necessary  time,  “ process  ” work  in  the 
hands  of  those  who  know  how  to  draw  for  its 
requirements  has  a chance  of  its  own.  The  latest 
illustrated  weekly  paper  started  in  New  York  is  of  a 
large  size,  and  entirely  illustrated  by  process  cuts 
of  a high  class. 


A photographic  record  is  being  kept  of  the  progress  of 
building  the  new  library,  Washington.  A camera  is 
planted  on  the  roof  of  the  building  occupied  by  the 
architect,  and  a record  of  every  detail  of  the  condition  of 
the  work,  the  height  of  the  walls,  the  piles  of  material,  is 
thus  preserved.  The  photographs  are  afterwards  classi- 
fied, are  properly  labelled,  and  can  be  produced  for 
reference  if  any  question  arises  as  to  what  was  done,  or 
what  was  not  done,  at  any  stage  of  the  work.  Thus  the 
camera  acts  as  a check  upon  the  contractor  ; but  this  is 
not  the  sole  purpose  for  which  the  photographs  are  taken, 
as  they  are  found  to  be  a valuable  supplement  to  the 
written  records  of  the  operations. 


It  is  a pity  this  plan  was  not  adopted  when  the 
foundations  of  the  Board  Schools  about  which  so  much 
has  been  said,  were  put  in.  Though  the  camera  is  not 
yet  able  to  distinguish  between  good  and  faulty  bricks, 
or  real  mortar  and  the  “ mic-mac  ” imitation,  it  would 
probably  record  not  only  the  depths  of  the  foundations, 
but  the  kind  of  soil  upon  which  the  bricks  were  laid. 
Contractors  have  a wholesome  dread  of  the  photographer. 
W e knew  a case  where,  on  the  roof  of  a new  building 
falling,  a photographer  was  called  in  to  photograph  the 
place,  so  as  to  produce  evidence  of  faulty  construction 
in  case  the  contractor  repudiated  any  liability.  When 
the  photographer  appeared  on  the  ground,  the  con- 
tractor’s men,  acting  under  orders,  surrounded  him, 
and  effectually  prevented  anything  being  done,  by 
upsetting  his  dark  tent. 


May  9,  1890.J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


359 


HOW  ANSCHUTZ  PHOTOGRAPHS  THE  LARGER 
WILD  BEASTS. 

About  a quarter  of  a century  ago  an  interesting  article  on 
the  photography  of  brutes,  written  by  Frank  IIaes,and  read 
before  the  then  North  London  Photographic  Association, 
appeared  in  the  Photographic  News.  The  experiments 
of  Mr.  Haes  seem  to  have  been  attended  with  no  little 
difficulty  and  danger.  In  the  first  place,  he  complains  that 
the  prevailing  colours,  red  and  yellow,  are  not  favourable 
for  photography,  Next,  he  was  more  or  less  unsuccess- 
ful, generally  more,  with  the  zebra  and  the  ratel,  the  hyrax 
(the  Biblical  coney),  and  the  kiwi-kiwi,  the  leucoryx  and 
the  Syrian  wild  ass,  the  dingo,  and  the  Tasmanian  devil. 
The  chimpanzee  was  too  ill-tempered  to  allow  his  por- 
trait to  be  taken,  and  the  innate  modesty  of  the  monkey 
possibly  lay  in  the  way  of  a successful  picture.  One 
variety  of  the  simiaj,  when  everything  was  ready,  would 
turn  suddenly  round  and  present  a view  which  the  artist 
by  no  means  desired.  Another  variety  would  insist  on 
looking  steadily  into  the  camera.  The  goats  had  to  be 
held  by  the  beard,  the  weak  point  of  the  goat,  and  the 
iguanas  by  the  tail.  The  African  python  chose  to  tie  him- 
self in. a very  complicated  knot,  and  the  confusion  of  the 
armadillo  was  such  that  it  was  difficult  to  determine  which 
was  his  worthier  end.  The  clouded  tiger  could  not  well 
be  taken  inside  his  cage  because  of  the  bars,  and  the  space 
he  occupied  was,  says  the  author  of  the  article,  too  small 
to  admit  of  my  introduction.  There  may  have  been  other 
reasons  for  his  not  entering  the  clouded  tiger's  den,  but 
he  has  omitted  to  declare  them.  'Hie  modesty  of  the 
monkeys  has  already  been  mentioned,  but  they  appear  to 
have  been  inferior  in  this  virtue  to  the  aye  aye.  'Phis  sin- 
gular nocturnal  quadruped,  the  cheiromys  Madagasca- 
riensis,  which  Cuvier  placed  among  rodents,  but  was  re- 
ferred by  Sonnerat  to  the  family  of  makis  or  lemurs,  gave 
especial  anxiety  to  the  photographer.  Its  diffidence, 
whether  natural  or  acquired,  was  extreme.  When  the 
camera  was  in  readiness,  and  the  door  of  its  cage  was 
opened,  it  immediately  covered  itself  completely  with  its 
tail. 

Brute  photography  is  better  managed  now  than  then. 
In  the  Zoological  Garden  of  Breslau,  and  elsewhere,  many 
excellent  portraits  have  been  token.  Of  the  method 
adopted  in  taking  a bear  in  Breslau,  the  following  descrip- 
tion is  given  in  a German  paper. 

The  present  month’s  number — number  15 — of  the 
German  Photographic  News,  presents  its  readers  with  two 
illustrated  supplements : the  one  an  instantaneous  pho- 
tograph of  a bear  by  the  well-known  Ottomar  Anschutz  of 
Lissa,  the  Polish  Leszno  in  Russia,  some  forty  miles  south 
of  Posen,  signed  on  a portion  of  rock  which  the  animal  is 
mounting,  “ Ottomar  Anschutz,  Lissa  (Posen),  1888.”  Of 
this  a photogravure  has  been  printed  by  II.  Riffarth,  of 
Berlin.  The  other  is  a portrait,  an  original  negative  of  Er. 
Muller,  of  Munich.  This  is  extremely  well  represented 
as  a photogravure  by  the  Art  Publication  Institute  of  I)r. 
E.  Albert  & Co.,  of  Munich,  and  shows,  says  the  German 
paper,  what  the  treatment  of  Dr.  Albert  is  able  to  effect  in 
the  ordinary  taking  of  portraits.  The  treatment  is  even 
better  adapted  for  this  kind  of  photography,  as  we  shall 
demonstrate,  says  the  German  Photographic  News,  in  our 
next  number,  which  will  contain  a group  by  Brokeseh,  of 
Leipsic. 

With  regard  to  the  portrait  of  a bear,  the  reader  is  in- 
formed that  the  original  sitter,  or  rather  climber,  is  to  be 


found  at  his  present  residence  in  the  Zoological  Garden  of 
Breslau,  which  has  been  often  visited  by  Herr  Anschutz, 
as  is  well  known,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  portraits  of  its 
inhabitants.  We  will,  says  the  above  quoted  journal,  give 
our  readers  some  little  insight  into  the  plan  adopted  by 
Herr  Anschutz  of  taking  wild  animals,  which  he  has  him- 
self kindly  communicated  to  us. 

The  usual  method  of  taking  savage  beasts  in  their  cages 
has  a good  result  only  exceptionally,  for  the  three  following 
reasons.  The  first  reason  is  that  the  lighting  arrange- 
ments are  not  generally  of  the  most  convenient  character  ; 
the  second,  that  the  narrow  space  in  which  the  animal  is 
confined  hinders  its  free  and  natural  motion  ; the  third, 
that  the  iron  bars  of  the  cage  are  altogether  out  of  place 
iu  the  picture.  Herr  Anschutz  therefore  constructed  for 
himself  in  Lissa  a large  enclosure  or  keep,  in  which  he  was 
able  to  take  the  smaller  animals  in  various  ways  to  his  com- 
plete satisfaction.  Foxes,  wolves,  and  apes  were  also  well 
photographed  in  this  improvised  animal  studio. 

But  for  the  larger  ravenous  inmates  of  the  Breslau  Zoo- 
logical Garden  this  enclosure  was  clearly  not  suitable,  and 
these  inmates  could  scarcely  be  transferred  from  Breslau 
to  Lissa.  Herr  Anschutz  then  conceived  the  idea  of 
building  a larger  and  stronger  kind  of  keep  in  the  Zoologi- 
cal Garden.  Through  the  courtesy  of  the  directors  of 
the  Garden  in  Breslau,  Herr  Anschutz  was  able  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  year  1888  to  erect  a firmly  constructed 
keep  of  strong  planks  of  a superficial  area  of  some  140 
square  metres.  This  enclosure  was  open  above,  but  the 
walls  had  a height  of  six  metres,  which  fulfilled  all 
necessary  requisites. 

In  an  additional  wing  on  one  side  of  the  enclosure  there 
are  placed  three  cages  serving  for  the  sleeping  apart- 
ments of  the  wild  animals ; on  the  longer  side  several 
underground  passages  lead  into  the  enclosure  itself.  These 
are  fastened  with  folding  iron  gates,  and  serve  to  facilitate 
the  business  of  portraiture. 

On  the  other  side  is  an  oblong  aperture,  furnished  witli 
an  iron  shutter.  Here  the  apparatus  is  placed  command- 
ing a view  of  the  enclosure.  As  soon  as  the  animal  comes 
into  the  space  commanded  by  the  camera,  the  portrait  may 
be  secured.  The  background  of  the  enclosure  is  a painted 
landscape,  which  is  varied  according  to  the  habit  of  life, 
colour,  and  size  of  the  animal  to  be  token.  Such  varia- 
tions harmonise  naturally  with  the  foreground,  consisting 
of  rock  or  stone. 

When  their  photographs  are  to  be  token,  the  beasts  are 
caught  and  brought  in  a transport  cage  into  the  enclosure. 
After  some  time,  and  after  they  have  become  accustomed 
to  their  new  apartment,  they  are  photographed.  The  ori- 
ginal pictures,  .as  all  of  Herr  Anschutz’s  studies,  are  of 
smallest  size,  and  are  afterwards  enlarged. 

A great  difficulty  often  occurs  in  bringing  the  animals 
into  the  proper  spot  for  their  portraiture — that  is,  into  the 
full  sunshine.  In  this  case  hunger  and  thirst  seem  the 
only  available  roads  to  success.  Living  food  is  commonly 
distributed  to  the  beasts  on  such  occasions,  whereby  a 
more  exact  representation  of  nature,  and  an  increased 
effect  is  secured.  The  photographing  of  bears,  says  Herr 
Anschiitz,  isan  especially  difficult  undertaking,  since  these 
animals  manifest  great  unwillingness  to  enter  the  photo- 
graphic studio.  Eight  days  were  required  to  bring  these 
refractory  subjects  before  the  photographic  lens.  Even 
fasting  was  unable  to  move  their  stubborn  minds,  and  it 
needed  an  extreme  degree  of  artifice  to  induce  them  to 
enter  their  respective  cages.  But  en  revanche,  these  bears 


3 iJO 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  9,  1890. 


behaved  themselves,  after  they  had  once  got  into  the 
studio,  in  a manner  which  was  morally  beautiful.  Their 
general  deportment  was  far  more  decent  than  that  of 
other  beasts.  And  so  Herr  Anschutz  was  enabled  to  take 
over  three  hundred  distinct  likenesses  of  these  regenerated 
brutes.  Although,  he  says,  I had  on  many  occasions  and 
with  much  zeal  studied  the  characters  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bruin — or,  as  the  Germans  say,  Herr  Petz  and  Gemahlin — 
I was  nevertheless  much  astonished  with  the  variety  of 
their  gestures  and  the  general  many-sidedness  of  their  de- 
meanour. The  different  sentiments  of  the  mind  are  in  no 
other  animal  so  clearly  expressed  as  in  the  bear.  On 
several  occasions  I have  been  much  surprised  by  their 
power  of  observation,  and  I have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  bear  is  the  wisest  of  the  beasts. 

The  German  Photographic  News  promises  a description  at 
a later  date  of  the  instantaneous  apparatus  employed  by 
Herr  Anschutz,  an  apparatus  which  was  shown  lately  at 
the  exhibition  at  Weimar.  The  manufacturer  has,  it 
seems,  some  additions  to  make,  which  will  considerably 
change  the  character  of  the  instrument. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  NATURAL  COLOURS  AS 
EFFECTED  BY  HERR  FRANZ  VERESS,  OF 
KLAUSENBUIIG. 

BY  DR.  J.  M.  EDICR.* 

Through  the  kind  mediation  of  Herr  E.  Von  Gothard, 
of  Ilereny  in  Hungary,  I have  received  some  photographs 
in  natural  colours  by  Herr  Franz  Veress,  of  Klausenburg  ; 
some  of  these  photographs  are  on  glass,  and  are  to  be 
viewed  as  transparencies,  whilst  others  are  on  paper,  and 
• show  by  reflected  light. 

The  glass  pictures  show  a beautiful  ruby  red  colour ; 
this  indeed  predominates  for  the  most  part  in  the  diaposi- 
tives  as  the  ground  colour.  On  this  is  seen  a vividly 
coloured  brilliant  picture,  in  which  especially,  deep  ruby 
and  bright  yellow  are  conspicuous,  and  contrasting  with 
them  are  distinct  blue-violet,  and  blue ; green,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  not  represented  in  these  pictures.  The 
outlines  of  the  photographic  picture  are  perfectly  sharp, 
and  the  different  portions  of  the  glass  picture  show  with 
complete  distinctness  from  each  other. 

The  paper  pictures  have  a greyish  brown  ground  colour, 
on  which  the  photograph  in  natural  colours  stands  out ; 
in  this  case  also  the  colours  from  ruby  red  to  orange 
yellow  predominate,  but  in  one  of  them  there  is  also  a 
decided  violet  blue.  The  photographs  in  question  are 
to  a certain  extent  fixed,  since  after  a stay  of  some  hours 
in  a light  apartment  they  did  not  show  the  smallest  change. 
In  addition  to  this,  they  had  been  examined  by  many 
persons  in  daylight  without  any  special  care  being 
exercised,  and  were  not  injured  thereby.  I did  not 
apply  any  more  stringent  test  to  ascertain  their  permanence 
under  the  influence  of  light,  as  I wished  not  to  risk 
injury  before  showing  them  at  the  March  meeting  of  the 
Vienna  Photographic  Society. 

On  the  preparation  of  the  sensitive  surface,  Ilerr  E. 
von  Gothard  communicated  briefly  to  me  a few  data.  The 
sensitive  compound  is  a silver  chloride  collodion,  or  gela- 
tine emulsion  of  special  preparation,  spread  upon  glass  or 
paper.  The  plates  are  exposed  in  a printing  frame — the 
glass  ones  for  two  or  three  hours,  and  the  paper  ones  for 
three  days — under  a transparent  coloured  drawing.  The 

* Translated  fur  the  Phut  >or  wuic  Nkws  /ruin  the  Photoyraphische 
Correspondent* 


colour  of  the  emulsion  film  is  brownish  red  ; the  picture 
appears  in  a few  minutes  in  a negative  form,  the  dark 
places  showing  as  white.  The  colours  come  out  slowly, 
and  then  they  are  fixed  in  an  alkaline  bath,  which  makes 
the  colours  still  more  intense.  In  the  camera,  weeks  of 
exposure  are  required. 

Herr  Veress  has,  however,  found  a sensitizer  by  means 
of  which  the  exposure  may  be  notably  shortened. 

It  appears  to  me  that  this  process  of  photo-chromy  is  a 
happy  application  of  the  photo-chloride  of  silver  described 
two  years  since  by  Carey  Lea,  the  same  substance  probably 
as  that  described  fifty  years  ago  by  John  llcrschel  (1840), 
Ed.  Becquerel  (1847,  1848,  and  1855),  Niepce  de  St. 
Victor  (1851-1860),  and  which  Zenker  has  dealt  with  in 
his  “ Photo-Chromie.” 

As  far  as  1 am  aware,  the  application  of  colour-sensitive 
chloride  of  silver  in  the  form  of  an  emulsion  has  hitherto 
been  but  little  if  at  all  practised,  and  the  skilful  experi- 
mentalist Ilerr  Veress  owes  the  noteworthy  success  of  his 
photographs  in  natural  colours  to  this  combination. 

In  view  of  the  circumstance  that  Herr  Veress,  after  a 
year  and  a half  of  experiment,  can  already  show  such 
results,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  continuation  of  his  re- 
searches will  hasten  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  photo- 
graphing in  natural  colours  in  an  important  degree. 

It  is  at  present  to  be  noted,  that  in  spite  of  the  imper- 
fection of  these  first  specimens,  Herr  Veress’s experiments 
have  met  with  success,  especially  in  the  ability  to  fix 
photographs  showing  the  natural  colours.  Against  this 
gain,  the  circumstance  that  all  colours  do  not  show  with 
the  same  vividness  is  a consideration  of  less  importance. 

A New  Photographic  Society. — It  is  proposed  to  form 
a photographic  society  in  Baling,  and  it  is  probable  that 
suitable  accommodation  for  meetings  may  lie  obtained  at 
the  Local  Board  Offices,  and  a convenient  dark  room  be 
fitted  up  for  the  use  of  members.  Those  wishing  to 
join  should  communicate  with  Mr.  H.  \Y.  Peal,  2,  Craven 
Terrace,  Baling. 

Royal  Institution. — At  the  general  monthly  meeting  held 
last  Monday,  with  Sir  James  Crichton  Browne  in  the  chair, 
the  following  vice-presidents  for  the  ensuing  year  were 
announced  Sir  Frederick  Abel,  C.B.,  D.C.L.,  F.R.S.,  Mr. 
William  Crookes,  F.R.S.,  Dr.  Edward  Frankland,  F.R.S., 
Mr.  William  Huggins,  D.C.L.,  Earl  Percy,  Mr.  Basil  Woodd 
Smith,  Sir  James  Crichton  Browne,  M.  I). , treasurer,  and 
Sir  Frederick  Bramwell,  Bart.,  F.R.S.,  lion,  secretary.  Pro- 
fessor Tyndall  was  elected  honorary  professor  of  natural 
philosophy,  and  Lord  Rayleigh  was  elected  professor  of  natural 
philosophy.  At  the  annual  meeting  held  on  Thursday,  May  1st, 
the  annual  report  of  the  committee  of  visitors  for  the  year 
1889  testified  to  the  continued  prosperity  and  efficient 
management  of  the  Institution.  The  real  and  funded  property 
now  amounts  to  above  £82,000.  entirely  derived  from  the 
contributions  and  donations  of  the  members.  Fifty-one  new 
members  were  elected  in  1889.  Sixty-three  lectures  and 
nineteen  evening  discourses  were  delivered  in  1889.  The 
books  and  pamphlets  presented  in  1889  amounted  to  about 
283  volumes,  making,  with  539  volumes  (including  jwriodicals 
bound)  purchased  by  the  managers,  a total  of  822  volumes 
added  to  the  library  in  the  year.  The  Duke  of  Northumberland 
was  elected  president,  Sir  James  Crichton  Browne  treasurer, 
and  Sir  Frederick  Bramwell,  Bart.,  secretary.  Mr.  Louis 
Fagan,  assistant  keeper  of  the  department  of  prints  and 
drawings  at  the  British  Museum  began  a course  of  three 
lectures  on  “The  Art  of  Engraving”  on  Tuesday,  May  6th. 
Professor  Dewar,  F.  R.S.,  commenced  a course  of  six  lect  ures  on 
“Flame  and  Kxplosives  ” on  Thursday,  May  8th;  and  Dr. 
Charles  Waldstein,  director  of  the  American  School  of  Classical 
Studies,  Athens,  will  begin  a course  of  three  lectures  on  “ Recent 
Excavations  in  Greece  ” to-morrow. 


Mav  9,  1890.| 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


301 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHY  OF  THE  MORE  REFRAN- 
GIBLE RAYS* 

BY  V.  SCHUMANN. 

In  all  the  domains  of  science  the  method  of  taking  photo- 
graphic observations  has  of  late  years  grown  apace,  and 
supplants  more  and  more  the  ocular  method.  Of  all  the 
students  of  science,  however,  who  bring  photography  into 
their  service,  there  are  none  who  can  derive  so  much 
advantage  from  the  photographic  registration  of  observa- 
tion as  those  who  deal  with  the  spectrum.  The  rays 
thought  to  be  alone  photographically  active — those  from 
the  region  of  the  blue  and  violet — have  now,  for  some 
decades  past,  been  fixed  by  the  “never  forgetting  retina  of 
the  camera  ” for  the  observation  of  future  generations. 
The  red  and  yellow,  on  the  other  hand,  first  came  into 
importance  photographically  since  II.  W.  Vogel  has 
shown  that  by  treating  photographic  plates  with  suitable 
dyes — optical  sensitisers — they  may  be  rendered  sensitive 
for  the  optically  bright  rays.  Spectroscope  workers, 
like  Ilasselberg,  Rowland,  and  others,  have  made  good 
use  of  the  important  discovery,  and  especially  since  the 
voluminous  researches  of  Dr.  J.  M.  Eder  on  optical 
sensitisers  have  been  given  to  photographers,  they  having 
succeeded  in  photographing  that  part  of  the  spectrum 
which  was  thought  to  be  beyond  their  grasp. 

Yet  further.  By  the  help  of  optical  sensitisers  (cyanin), 
Burbank  has  so  far  succeeded  in  securing  the  infra-red 
spectrum  on  gelatine  plates,  that  his  results  show  twice 
as  many  lines  as  those  in  the  spectrograph  taken  some 
years  earlier  by  Capt.  Abney,  which  had  so  much  enlarged 
the  borders  of  the  knowledge  of  the  spectrum  attainable 
by  our  science.  We  may  well  believe  that  photography, 
since  in  recent  years  it  has  made  so  much  advance  in  this 
direction,  may  yet  be  made  to  work  as  far  into  the  infra 
red  as  Langley,  by  means  of  his  bolometer,  has  opened  it 
out  to  us. 

Invisible  as  is  the  infra-red  in  general,  so  on  the  other 
side  of  the  spectrum  is  the  ultra-violet.  Invisible, 
however,  only  for  our  human  eyes,  by  no  means  so  for 
the  photographic  plate.  On  the  contrary,  there  is  a not 
inconsiderable  array  of  sources  of  light  that  have  their 
most  powerful  photographic  action,  not  in  the  visible 
spectrum,  but  in  that  portion  where,  to  our  retina,  total 
darkness  reigns.  To  this  class  belongs  particularly  the 
light  of  the  electric  spark.  Sunlight  comes  very  near  to 
it  in  this  respect.  It  must,  however,  be  well  understood 
that  the  rays  of  the  latter  are  very  strongly  influenced  by 
the  properties  of  the  atmosphere  through  which  they  have 
to  pass  before  they  reach  us.  Of  even  greater  influence 
than  the  atmosphere  may  be  the  nature  of  the  media  of 
which  the  optical  part  of  the  photographic  apparatus  is 
composed.  This  applies  not  only  to  photographic  apparatus 
for  spectrum  work,  but  to  photographic  objectives  in 
general. 

All  glass,  optical  glass  not  excepted,  however  colourless 
and  however  transparent  to  our  eyes,  absorbs,  neverthe- 
less, a considerable  amount  of  the  ultra-violet  light. 
Many  kinds  of  optical  glass  are  so  opaque  to  this  kind  of 
light  that  they  obstruct  almost  the  whole  of  the  ultra- 
violet rays.  To  quote  only  one  case,  when  the  sun’s 
spectrum  is  photographed  with  11.  W.  Vogel's  small 
spectrograph,  itis  found  that  the  spectrum  picture  ends  at 
the  same  place  as  it  ceases  to  be  visible  to  our  eyes.  Such 
a spectrum  picture,  especially  if  taken  to  judge  of  the 

Translated  for  the  Pboiooeai’UIC  News  from  the  Special  Supplement 
to  the  Photographiache  Rundschau. 


qualities  of  a colour-sensitive  plate,  has,  on  account  of  the 
partial  suppression  of  the  blue,  violet,  and  ultra-violet  rays 
which  result  from  the  use  of  the  heavy  flint  glass  of  the 
prism  and  the  apparatus,  but  a relative  value.  Only  to 
the  eye  of  one  accustomed  to  working  with  the  spectrum 
is  there  evidence  in  it  which  is  understood.  When,  on 
the  other  hand,  a person  unpractised  in  spectrum  photo- 
graphy uses  apparatus  of  this  kind  for  studying  ortho- 
chromatic  plates,  he  will  be  sure  to  read  a degree  of 
sensitiveness  for  the  yellow  and  red  rays  which  the  plate 
does  not  at  all  possess.  In  this  case  it  is  nut  the  sensitizing 
<lye  which  makes  the  plate  sensitive  to  colour,  hut  the  heavy  Jlint 
glass  of  the  Amici  prism  which  reduces  the  blue  and  violet  rays 
so  far  that  they  may  only  produce  about  half  their  proper 
action  on  the  plate,  whilst  the  red  and  yellow  rays  fall 
upon  the  coloured  gelatine  film  almost  unchanged.  In 
such  circumstances,  it  is  easy  to  prepare  plates  that 
shall  appear  to  possess  enormous  sensitiveness  for  the 
yellow  rays.  A photograph  taken  with  Vogel’s  small 
spectrograph  shows  certain  rays  to  be  as  much  restrained 
as  in  a photograph  taken  with  a lens,  and  through  a 
strongly-tinted  yellow  screen. 

When  the  prisms  and  lenses  of  a photographic  spec- 
trum apparatus  consist  of  glass  of  the  same  amount  of 
transparency  for  all  rays  as  our  photographic  objectives, 
the  photograph  of  the  solar  spectrum  shows,  with  short 
exposure,  a larger  portion  of  the  ultra  violet  rays  inactive 
force.  From  such  a spectrum  photograph  the  colour 
sensitiveness  of  orthochromatic  plates,  such  as  are  pre- 
pared for  our  use,  can  be  safely  estimated. 

The  fewer  rays  that  are  withheld  by  the  lens,  the  shorter 
may  be  the  exposure  of  the  plate.  If  the  same  subject  is 
photographed  with  a lens  made  of  glass  and  again  with 
one  of  quartz,  it  is  found  that  the  last-named  works  con- 
siderably quicker  than  the  other.  Quartz  allows  the 
ultra  violet  rays  to  pass  almost  entirely.  If  a glass  can 
be  made  which  permits  nearly  the  same  amount  of  rays  to 
pass  as  quartz  does,  the  exposure  required  for  taking  a 
photograph  will  be  considerably  reduced  from  what  it  is 
at  present. 

( To  be  continued). 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  LENSES.* 

BY  THOMAS  K.  DALLMEYER. 

In  this  country  much  valuable  work  has  been  accomplished 
by  Dr.  John  Hopkinson  and  Professor  Stokes,  in  obtain- 
ing convenient  methods  of  expressing  the  measure  of  the 
irrationality  of  combinations  of  various  glasses  made  by 
Messrs.  Chance,  of  Birmingham.  Dr.  Hopkinson  con- 
tributed a very  important  paper,  especially  to  opticians,  on 
this  subject  to  the  Royal  Society  in  1877,  and  in  conjunc- 
tion with  my  late  father,  worked  out  some  important  and 
valuable  improvements  in  glasses  for  special  photographic 
purposes,  and  succeed  in  practically  curing  several  of  the 
glasses  then  made  from  “sweating.”  Professor  Stokes, 
too,  suggested  a titano -silicic  crown  that  should  be  per- 
fectly achromatic  with  a flint ; this  glass,  however,  was 
not  found  to  be  of  much  practical  value.  To  express 
the  irrationality,  Dr.  Hopkinson  found  a convenient 
formula  that  more  accurately  represented  the  facts  from 
observations  than  the  direct  method  of  curve  drawing,  as 
the  errors  in  this  case  would  be  greater  than  in  those  of 
observation.  1 refer  those  interested  to  the  paper,  but 
give  you  the  results  of  that  formula,  which  serve  to  show 

* Continued  from  page  315. 


3 62 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [May  9,  1890. 


how  little  there  was  to  choose  between  the  ordinary  glasses 
made  by  Messrs.  Chance.  The  figures  show  the  measure 
of  irrationality  in  a combination  of  each  combined  with  a 
standard : — 


Hard  Soft  Titanic  Light  Dense  Extra  Double 
crown.  crown.  crown.  liint.  flint.  dense  flint,  extra  flint. 

—11-7  — 10  7 —9-4  -94  —11-8  —119  —13-2 


It  will  be  interesting  to  compare  some  of  the  new  glasses 
from  Jena  with  these  ; and  although  they  are  presented 
in  a less  elegant  form,  the  prospectus  is  a very  practical 
representation  of  the  qualities  of  the  glasses,  so  1 give 
the  data  of  Chance's  glasses  in  a similar  form  to  those  of 
Jena  ; but  we  will  first  make  a preliminary  investigation 
as  to  the  conditions  to  be  arrived  at. 

The  dispersion,  then,  of  colour  produced  by  a positive 
or  convex  lens,  may  be  neutralised  by  the  addition  of  a 
negative  or  concave  one,  without  cancelling  the  deviation 
of  the  rays,  as  the  positive  and  negative  lenses  act  with 
opposite  effect.  In  other  words,  a compound  lens  may, 
by  the  proper  adjustment  of  the  powers  of  the  separate 
lenses,  be  made  achromatic  or  actinic,  although  if  irration- 
ality in  the  dispersion  exists,  only  the  union  of  a definite 
number  of  species  can  be  combined,  according  to  the 
number  of  different  media  forming  the  compound  lens. 

If  the  radii  of  a lens  are  r and  s,  in  general  approximation, 


V = -<  .-i  1 ji  + 1 1- 

J ( ) ( r X 1 


Herschel  terms  the  reciprocal  of  the  focal  length  the 
power  of  a lens,  and  this  is  seen  to  depend  on  (p—l),  which 
we  may  take  as  the  measure  of  the  refracting  power  of  the 
substance  of  which  the  lens  is  composed,  and  the  second 


+ *s  ( the  simplest  measure  of  the  joint  curvature. 

To  determine  the  relation  between  the  focal  lengths  of 
two  lenses  that  shall  be  achromatic  or  actinic  when  in 
contact : — 


Let  represent 


+ — J-  and  Mi  m-2  the  indices  of 


\ 

r r 

P ( r * j 

refraction  for  the  two  lenses  for  one  species  of  rays. 

Then  if  « be  the  distance  from  which  the  pencil 
originally  diverged, 


1 --  Ml-1  + 4*2— 1 _ 1 
v.,  pi  p,  u 

and  similarly,  if  p represent  the  index  of  refraction  for 
another  species  of  rays, 

_1  _ M'l-l  + f'H  _ 1 
vt  pl  Pi  u 

As  v,  is  to  be  the  same  for  both  species,  we  get  by  sub- 
traction, term  by  term,  and  representing  p — p by  Ap,  we 
have 


yr  + V1  = o,o.-/,  =/it*t. 
J 1 Jt  A yul 


Now,  in  general,  / = - , ; 

m—  1 

V -A  = A • 


A /q 
M~ — 1 


A p 1 
A p' — 1* 


Therefore  the  focal  length  of  lenses  are  directly,  or  their 
powers  inversely,  as  the  dispersive  powers  of  the  media 
of  which  they  consist. 


Again,  since  - . 

"J 


t 


1_1 

t >• 


1 > 
s \ 


P-  1 
1 > 

‘ 1 + 1 , 

( r s j 

A u 1 

M~ 1 • /' 

That  is  to  say,  the  chromatic  variation  of  the  power  of  a 


lens  is  obtained  by  multiplying  it  by  the  dispersive  power 
of  the  medium, 


°r  -A*-  : 

Mi—1  Mi—  1 


0)* 


In  like  manner,  by  adding  a third  species  of  glass,  we  can 
satisfy  a third  condition,  viz.,  that  the  third  species  should 
be  united  to  the  two  former.  And  in  general 


Am 


1 


Au 

= n 


1 


fift-fn  M—  1 fift-Jn 
The  prospectus  published  by  the  laboratory  at  Jena  is 
presented  in  a very  practical  form  to  opticians ; the  re- 
fractive index  for  the  brightest  line  I)  being  given,  and  the 
differences  of  the  refractive  indices  for  the  four  intervals, 
CF,  A'D,  DF,  and  FG'.  The  interval  CF,  containing  the 
brightest  portion,  is  sufficient  to  characterise  the  medium 
dispersion,  and  from  the  proportion  of  this  to  the 
value  p„ — 1 there  is  given  in  a separate  column  the  re- 
. . • (a 

ciprocal  of  the  relative  dispersions  or  of  (^_j  j- 


The 


proportion  of  partial  dispersions  in  the  intervals  AM), 
DF,  FG',  are  a sufficient  guide  to  judge  of  the  possibilities 
of  successful  combinations  for  achromatism.  There  are 
also  given  the  numbers  obtained  by  dividing  these  intervals 
of  partial  dispersion  by  the  amount  of  medium  dispersion 
for  the  interval  CF,  and  a comparison  of  these  quotients 
will  show  the  tendency  and  amount  of  the  residual 
secondary  spectrum.  The  identity  of  corresponding 
quotients  proves  the  possibility  of  achromatising  without 
secondary  colour. 


go  . 

u_i  Partial  Dispersion 

£1? 

Kinds  of  Glass. 

2 *3 

iS  S 2 

A'  to  D.  D 

to  F. 

§ 5 

Chance’s. 

a>  a 

t o.— 

a -v 

A p.  F to  G'. 

G0  Q 

Hard  crown 

..  1 5179 

00860 

60  2 00553  00605 

•00487 

2.49 

•643  -7f3 

•566 

Soft  crown 

.1  5151 

00910 

56-6  00577  00642 

•00521 

2-55 

•634  -705 

•572 

Titanic  crown  ... 

..1  5432 

•01021 

53  2 * 00491  00722 

00634 

2-55 

•400  707 

■622 

Light  flint 

..1  5738 

•01385 

4T4  00  853  -00987 

■00831 

3 22 

■615  713 

600 

Dense  flint 

..1-6202 

•01709 

36  2 * 00670  -01220 

•01122 

365 

•399  714 

•656 

Extra  dense  flint 

..1-6489 

01919 

33  8 -01152  -01372 

•01180 

3 87 

■600  -714 

615 

Double  dense  flint 

..1-7174 

02434 

29  5 -01419  ’01749 

•01521 

449 

•591  ’718 

•625 

Jena. 

Silicate  crown  of  high 

) 1-5258 

00872 

60  2 1 -00560  00614 

•00494 

2-53 

refractive  power 

•642  -704 

•566 

2 24+ 

Light  borate  crown 

1 1 5047 

■00840 

60  0 ) 00560  -00587 

•00466 

■667  -700 

•555 

Silicate  gla's 

) 1 6368 

■01049 

51  2 ) 00659  00743 

•00610 

276 

[ -628  -708 

•582 

Borate  Flint  ... 

' 1 -5736 

•01129 

50  8 ) -00728  00795 

•00644 

2 82+ 

•645  -704 

•571 

Medium  phosphate 
crown  

A 1 6590 

•00835 

66  9 00546  (10587 

•654  -702 

•00166 

•557 

3 07 

Borate  flint 

j 1 5503 

•00996 

55-2  -00654  -00669 

•00561 

2-56 

•656  -702 

•563 

Dense  barium  phos- 

1-5760 

•00881 

65  2 00570  - 00622 

•00500 

3 35t 

phate  crown 

644  703 

•565 

2-49 

Calcium  silicate 

) 15179 
j 1-5303 

00860 

60-2  -00553  -00605 

•00487 

crown  

•643  -7u3 

•566 

2 81 

Boro-silicate  Hint  ... 

•01114 

49-4  -00710  00786 

•00644 

•637  -706 

■578 

* These  intervals  arc  taken  from  B to  D,  D to  F,  and  F to  G. 
t These  glasses  are  very  soft  or  unstable  when  exposed  to  the  air,  and 
should  be  protected  in  use. 


In  the  older  products  of  glass  factories  it  was  quite 
sufficient  to  take  the  specific  gravity  of  the  various  glasses, 
as  a near  approximation  to  any  alteration  in  the  optical 
properties  of  different  meltings  : a greater  density  indicat- 
ing an  increase  of  refractive  index  and  dispersive  power. 

The  figures  in  the  list  taken  from  the  prospectus  from 
Jena  show  that  glasses  are  made  of  nearly  equal  relative 
dispersion,  with  considerable  differences  in  partial  dis- 
persion ; and,  again,  others  in  which  the  partial  dispersion 


May  9,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


s'l'  O fv> 

<3? 


363 


is  almost  identical,  with  considerable  variation  in  the 
relative  dispersion.  In  those  instances  it  is  evident  that 
the  secondary  spectrum  can  be  abolished.  There  is, 
however,  a residual  tertiary  spectrum  in  the  couples 
referred  to,  but  it  is  quite  unimportant  compared  to  the 
secondary  spectrum  left  in  a combination  of  ordinary 
silicate  “crown”  and  “flint”  glasses.  In  photographic 
lenses  the  object  is  to  get  all  the  chemically  and  visually 
active  rays  possible  together,  and  with  certain  of  the 
glasses  of  lower  dispersion  improvements  may  yet  be  made 
by  a better  correction,  both  in  the  chromatic  and  spherical 
aberrations  of  the  eccentrical  pencils  in  lens  systems. 

The  first  approximations  in  theory,  both  for  aplanatism 
and  actinism,  are  simple  enough  when  the  lenses  of  the 
systems  are  considered  thin,  and  second  approximations, 
for  the  central  pencils,  are  given  in  most  of  the  text-books 
in  which  thickness  is  taken  into  account,  and  are  easily  in- 
telligible. In  lenses  required  to  be  both  aplanatic  and 
actinic,  we  are  not  limited  only  to  the  central  pencils,  and 
it  is  of  the  highest  importance  that  all  incidences  for  the 
lens  should  give  the  same  results  as  the  central  pencils, 
and  it  is  the  inquiry  into  the  forms  best  suited  to  accom- 
plish this  that  constitutes  the  optician’s  great  difficulty. 

As  a matter  of  fact,  it  is  impossible  to  construct  an 
aplanatic  lens  that  is  free  from  chromatic  aberration  for 
a central  pencil  that  shall  be  so  when  a pencil  of  rays  meet 
the  lens  obliquely.  Lenses  may  be  considered  as  made 
up  of  an  infinite  number  of  prisms,  and,  as  you  are  aware, 
achromatism  is  ouly  possible  with  combined  prisms  for 
one  particular  incidence.  Now.  a parallel  ray  and  an 
oblique  ray  must  of  necessity  have  different  incidences  on 
the  surface  of  a system,  and  hence,  if  it  is  actinic  for  the 
parallel  ray,  it  cannot  be  for  the  oblique  ray,  strictly 
speaking. 

Forms  of  lenses  than  that  most  nearly  approximate 
to  the  conditions  throughout  of  equal  incidences  and 
refractions  at  emergence,  will  conform  to  the  best  con- 
ditions for  actinism  as  well  as  aplanatism,  as  we  shall  see 
presently. 

AVe  have  found,  then,  from  first  principles  alone,  that 
the  main  condition  for  actinism  is  only  one  of  focal  length 
to  be  ascribed  to  the  various  lenses  of  the  system,  and,  for 
the  best  results,  the  powers  of  these  components  must  be 
rigidly  maintained,  whatever  may  be  the  ultimate  form  or 
selection  of  curvatures  adopted  to  best  suit  particular 
applications. 

(To  be  continued.) 


patent  $ntcUt(*nuc. 


Specifications  Published. 

5,418.  March  29th,  1 88 9.  1 \Triviisj iaren t Printed  Paper.” 

William  Li.oyd  Wise,  48,  Lincoln’s  Inn  Fields,  London, 
Consulting  Engineer  and  Patent  Agent.  Communicated 
from  abroad  by  Joseph  Mathieu  Badon,  of  59,  Hue  de  Suede, 
ii  Saint-Gilles  Lez,  Brussels. 

This  invention  relates  to  the  production  of  transparent 
tinted  paper  having  the  appearance  of  stained  glass,  and  to 
means  or  apparatus  for  its  manufacture.  Transparent  tinted 
paper,  according  to  this  invention,  is  printed  in  a continuous 
form,  after  the  manner  of  wall-paper,  and  by  similar  methods 
of  printing.  Like  the  latter  paper,  it  may  conveniently  be 
made  in  rolls  of  eight  metres  length  and  fifty  centimetres 
breadth. 

The  impressions  which,  as  in  lithographic  printing,  form  a 
glaze — that  is  to  say,  do  not  run — may  be  made  by  various 
means,  including  blocks  or  cylinders,  of  which  the  printing  or 
relief  portions  are  formed  of  caoutchouc,  or  gutta-percha, 
covered  with  a thin  coating  of  gelatine,  applied  either  by 
immersion  in  a weak  solution  of  gelatine  mixed  with  a variable 
proportion  of  treacle,  or  of  glycerine,  or  else  by  a brush. 
These  printing  portions  can  be  supported  and  surrounded  by 
sheets  of  copper,  or  fixed  by  one  of  the  means  indicated  above. 
The  coating  of  gelatine  is  intended  to  prevent  the  caoutchouc 
or  the  gutta-percha  from  being  affected  by  direct  contact  with 
colours  or  inks  made  with  oil  or  turpentine  ; further,  the 
impressions  obtained  by  this  means  are  sharper  and  more 
regular  than  those  obtained  by  caoutchouc  or  gutta-percha 
when  employed  alone. 

Colours  and  inks  made  with  turpentine  or  oil  are  employed 
for  blocks  and  cylinders  which  are  faced  with  caoutchouc  or 
gutta-percha,  and  for  blocks  and  cylinders  of  wood,  or  metal, 
covered  with  a coating  of  gelatine.  Colours  and  inks  made 
with  water,  to  which  gum,  gelatine,  glycerine,  or  like  substance, 
is  added,  are  employed  for  blocks  and  cylinders  faced  with 
caoutchouc  or  gutta-percha.  Colours  and  inks  made  with  oil, 
or  made  with  water,  serve  equally  well  for  blocks  or  cylinders 
which  are  faced  with  zinc. 

For  transparent  paper  printing,  it  is  advantageous  to  employ 
the  paper  known  as  pelure.  This  paper,  after  having  received 
the  impressions  to  form  the  design,  and  the  prints  to  imitate 
the  lead  and  joints  (of  the  stained  glass),  receives  one  coat  of 
oil  varnish  on  each  face.  When  this  preparation  is  dry,  it  is 
re-coated,  also  on  both  faces,  with  an  adhesive  medium  com- 
posed of  gelatine,  which  serves  to  fix  it  in  place  on  the  glass. 

In  applying  the  paper  thus  prepared,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
moisten  it  with  hot  water  ; apply  it  to  the  glass  which  is  to  be 
decorated,  and,  to  remove  any  bubbles  of  air,  by  passing  over 
the  paper  a brush,  a cloth,  or  any  suitable  body,  in  order  to 
ensure  complete  adhesion  without  the  necessity  for  using  any 
other  medium  than  that  which  is  already  on  the  product 
itself. 


Camera  Club  Notices. — Thursday,  May  15th,  8 p.m. — 
Informal  meeting.  Saturday,  May  17th. — Excursion  to  Wrot- 
ham,  for  Igtham  and  district.  Leader,  Mr.  I).  Howards. 
Train  from  Victoria  at  8.50;  Holborn  Viaduct,  8.45;  St. 
Paul’s,  8.48;  Bromley,  9.20;  arriving  at  Wrotham  at  10.8, 
where  a conveyance  will  be  in  readiness  to  convey  the  party  to 
lgtliam.  A later  train  leaves  Victoria  at  11.35,  Holborn  Via- 
duct at  11.30,  and  St.  Paul’s  at  11.33.  Very  beautiful  country, 
and  picturesque  and  interesting  subjects.  Dinner  at  the 
“ George  and  Dragon,"  lgtliam,  at  5. 45  p.m.  It  is  probable 
that  some  members  may  go  down  on  the  Friday  evening. 
Those  intending  to  join  in  this  arrangement  should  notify  the 
same  on  the  list  posted  in  the  Club.  Monday,  May  19th, 
8.30  p.m. — Lantern  in  operation.  Evening  for  testing  slides. 
Notice  to  be  given  to  Mr.  F.  J.  Roberts.  Thursday,  May  22nd, 
8 p.m. — Mr.  E.  R.  Shipton,  “ Cyclo- Photography.” — Some 
recent  developments,  including  an  ideal  cycle.  Thursday,  May 
29th,  8 p.m. — Informal  meeting.  Saturday,  May  31st. — 
Excursion  to  Pulborough  and  Fittlcworth.  Leader,  Mr.  Gale. 
Particulars  will  be  posted  in  the  Club. 


7,897.  May  llt.t,  1889. — “ Illusions  Produced  by  Persistence 
of  Vision.”  Eitic  Stuart  Bruce,  Gentleman,  10,  Observa- 
tory Avenue,  Kensington,  London,  W. 

A narrow  lathe  of  wood  or  other  suitable  material  about  an 
inch  wide  is  made  to  revolve  rapidly  by  hand  power,  an  electric 
motor,  or  other  suitable  power,  the  effect  being  an  almost 
invisible  haze.  But  when  the  revolving  lathe  is  placed  in  the 
path  of  the  rays  of  light  proceeding  from  an  optical  projection 
lantern  in  which  there  is  placed  a transparent  picture,  the 
image  is  apparently  cast  upon  the  air.  In  reality,  portions  ouly 
of  the  image  are  cast  upon  the  revolving  lathe  in  such  rapid 
succession  that  they  are  united  into  the  perfect  whole  by  the 
retentive  action  of  the  retina  of  the  eye. 

In  some  cases  of  exhibition  it  may  be  desirable  to  obliterate 
the  second  image  which,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  is  cast  upon 
the  wall  or  other  receiving  surface  behind  the  revolving  lathe. 
This  can  be  conveniently  done  by  placing  two  sheets  of  ribbed 
glass,  of  which  the  exterior  surfaces  are  covered  with  crumpled 
sheets  of  gelatine,  preferably  of  a blue  colour,  behind  the  centre 
of  the  lathe  at  a suitable  angle.  The  sheets  of  glass  are  sup- 


364 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  9,  1890. 


ported  on  a stand  which  is  capable  of  adjusting  the  angle.  The 
second  image  then  falls  upon  the  sheets  of  glass,  and  is  so  dis-  i 
torted  bv  the  angular  position  of  the  glass,  and  broken  up  by 
the  crumpled  surface  of  gelatine,  that  it  is  practically  annihi-  i 
lated.  ' 

^roceetftngg  of  ^octettes. 

The  Camera  (j/ub. 

May  1st. — Bedford  Street,  Strand,  London.  Mr.  T.  It.  Dall- 
meyeh  in  the  chair. 

Captain  W.  ue  \V.  Abney,  F.R.S.,  president  of  the  Club, 
then  read  a paper  on  “ Pinhole  Photography,”  a subject  which 
he  stated  to  be  interesting  at  the  present  time,  especially  as 
one  of  the  members  of  the  Club  is  now  taking  pictures  by  the 
use  of  pinholes  instead  of  lenses.  He  then  set  forth  in  detail 
how  he  had  mathematically  calculated  the  best  size  of  pinhole 
to  give  the  best  picture  when  placed  at  a given  distance  from 
the  plate,  with  the  result  that  if  that  distance  be  ten  inches, 
the  diameter  of  the  pinhole  should  be  ‘026  inch,  or,  roughly, 
a little  over  a fiftieth  of  an  inch.  Mr.  Davison  had  pointed 
out  to  him  a pinhole  photograph  in  which  near  objects  seemed 
to  him  more  sharply  rendered  than  those  at  a distance. 
When  the  objects  are  near  to  the  lens,  the  best  diameter 
of  the  piuhole  differs  a little  from  that  just  stated. 
Suppose  the  plate  to  be  ten  inches  from  the  hole,  and  the 
object  one  hundred  inches,  then  the  best  diameter  of  the  hole 
is  ’0246  inch.  When  the  plate  is  fourteen  inches  from  the 
hole,  the  best  diameter  of  the  latter  is  ‘03  inch.  In  times 
past  he  had  found  the  utility  of  pinholes  for  photographic 
purposes.  Once  at  Zermatt  he  made  a three  hours’  journey 
over  a glacier  with  some  ladies  for  the  purpose  of  taking  photo- 
graphs, and,  at  the  end  of  the  journey,  discovered  that  the 
lenses  had  been  left  behind.  They  lunched  heavily,  and  some 
tins  which  had  contained  pate  dc  foie  yras  were  lying  about. 
One  of  the  ladies  lent  him  a hair-pin,  with  which  he  pierced  a 
hole  in  a flat  disc  cut  out  of  the  top  of  one  of  the  tins  ; that 
hole,  when  measured  long  afterwards,  turned  out  to  be  -04 
inch.  They  then  took  three  or  four  photographs,  and  he  had 
brought  one  of  them  to  show  to  the  Club.  A large  pinhole 
gives  most  gradation,  a small  one  gives  a “lumpy”  image,  so 
that  the  photographs  decrease  in  quality  when  the  pinhole  is 
too  large  or  too  small.  He  did  not  like  the  pinhole  photo- 
graphs ; but  if  anyone  wanted  fuzzy  pictures,  why  not  at  once 
use  a lens  out  of  focus,  and  so  avoid  all  trouble  about  pinholes  l 

The  Chairman,  after  inviting  any  member  to  speak,  said 
that  as  no  one  had  risen  in  response,  he  would  make  a few 
remarks  first.  Capt.  Abney  had  treated  in  an  analytical  way 
what  could  be  arrived  at  geometrically  ; he  (Mr.  Dallmeyer)  had 
tried  the  latter  method,  and  arrived  at  the  same  results.  The 
apertures  mentioned  by  Lord  Rayleigh  at  the  British  Asso- 
ciation had  twice  the  diameter  just  given  by  Capt.  Abney. 

Captain  Abney  responded  that  Lord  Rayleigh  said  nothing 
about  what  size  of  aperture  would  give  the  best  image  ; he 
had  merely  maintained  that  a pinhole  picture  of  suitable 
dimensions  must  be  viewed  at  the  distance  at  which  the  plate 
stood  from  the  pinhole,  to  get  rid  of  the  appearance  of  fuzzi- 
ness ; thus,  with  a plate  at  nine  feet  distance,  Lord  Rayleigh 
used  an  aperture  of  oue-sixteentli  of  an  inch,  and  said  that 
the  resulting  photograph  should  be  viewed  from  the  distance  of 
nine  feet.  He  had  been  searching  for  the  greatest  diffusion 
allowable. 

Mr.  Elder  asked  how  it  was  that  there  was  not  a greater 
falling  off  of  the  illumination  at  the  margins  of  pinhole  pic- 
tures. A ray  passing  obliquely  through  the  hole  practically 
passes  through  a smaller  aperture  than  does  the  central  raj’. 

Captain  Abney  responded  that  the  mathematics  of  rays  of 
light  passiug  through  ellipses  was  a complicated  subject,  which 
the  Camera  Club  would  not  thank  him  for  putting  before  them. 
With  an  iucluded  angle  of  sixtj’  degrees,  little  was  lost  in  bril- 
liancy or  definition  at  the  edge  of  the  plate. 

Mr.  W.  Willis  asked  what  would  be  the  result  of  the  use  of 
monochromatic  light  in  piuhole  photograph}’,  instead  of  light 
of  all  degrees  of  refraugibilitj’. 


Captain  Abney  responded  that  with  monochromatic  light 
improved  definition  would  be  obtained,  and  that  the  aperture 
would  probably  have  to  be  diminished  by  about  one-twenty- 
fiftli.  In  connection  with  stellar  photography  he  used  mono- 
chromatic light,  and  a distinct  difference  in  the  diameter  of 
the  disc  resulted  ; for  such  purposes  he  used  light  half  way 
between  G and  F ; it  was  just  over  the  blue  lithium  line. 

Mr.  Willis  asked  what  medium  he  would  recommend  for 
getting  monochromatic  light  by  means  of  interposed  glass. 

Captain  Abney  used  suitable  true  monochromatic  light  from 
the  spectrum  ; he  did  not  believe  in  using  media.  Ammonio- 
sulphate  of  copper  solution  gives  a band,  not  a line,  and  with 
it  interposed,  he  did  not  think  that  the  pictures  would  be  either 
better  or  worse.  Sodium  light  is  not  monochromatic  ; it  gives 
red,  blue,  green  also,  but  yellow  in  overpowering  proportion. 
Lithium  w’as  the  only  substance  he  knew  which  would  give  a 
light  approaching  that  which  Mr.  Willis  wanted  ; it  could  be 
obtained  by  using  a fairly  strong  source  of  heat,  just  strong 
enough  with  chloride  of  lithium  to  bring  out  onlj’  the  red  and 
blue  lines,  and  in  photographic  work  the  red  could  be  neglected. 
With  care  the  oxyhydrogen  flame  would  bring  only  the  red  and 
blue  lines  out  with  chloride  of  lithium,  and  the  blue  was 
perfectly  monochromatic.  Another  way  of  getting  pictures  by 
means  of  small  apertures  was  by  using  a fairly  minute  ring  or 
zone  in  place  of  a pinhole,  that  is  to  say,  something  like  a large 
pinhole  with  an  opaque  disc  in  its  centre.  This  plan  gives  fairly 
good  results  ; they  are  as  good  as  with  a pinhole  of  the  best 
aperture,  and  the  time  of  exposure  is  shorter  under  the  same 
conditions  of  lighting. 

Mr.  L.  E.  Clift  asked  how  Captain  Abney  made  the  pinholes 
of  the  dimensions  he  required. 

Captain  Abney  did  it  by  means  of  needles  made  into  punches  ; 
he  clipped  the  needles,  and  measured  them  micrometrically. 

Mr.  Lyonel  Clark  had  experimented  in  pinhole  photograph}’, 
and  found  that,  generally  speaking,  his  apertures  had  double 
the  diameters  of  those  used  by  Captain  Abney,  but  the  varia- 
tion in  the  pictorial  results  was  not  very  great.  He  usually 
gave  about  twelve  minutes’  exposure  in  the  winter.  He  had 
found  that  special  punches  were  of  no  particular  use.  Wills 
sold  his  tobacco  in  thin  tinned  sheet  iron  ; the  top  of  one  of 
these  tins  could  lie  taken,  a hole  “ jabbed  ” through  it  with  a 
needle,  and  the  blurred  end  of  the  hole  turned  to  the  object. 
At  first  he  made  his  punches  properly  from  an  engineering  point 
of  view,  with  the  largest  diameter  of  each  at  the  cutting  edge, 
but  afterwards  he  found  that  “ jabbing  ” a needle  through  the 
top  of  a tobacco  box  answered  equally  well. 

Captain  Abney  had  found  that  plan  to  sometimes  cut  off 
light  from  the  side  of  the  picture. 

Mr.  William  England  hail  found  a piece  of  celluloid  dyed 
black  to  be  an  excellent  medium  for  piercing  to  get  aper- 
tures for  pinhole  photography. 

Mr.  George  Davison  said  that  there  was  an  advantage  in 
giving  long  exposures  in  pinhole  photography.  Sometimes,  with 
a large  pinhole  and  bright  light,  the  view  included  can  be  seen 
on  the  focussing  screen.  Captain  Abney  held  that  the  pictures 
of  Alma  Tadema  were  “nearly”  as  sharp  as  photographs  ; 
that  word  “ nearly  ” made  all  the  difference.  Nine-tenths  of 
our  artists  can  paint  sharper  than  they  really  do.  but  omit 
to  do  so  on  purpose  ; they  invariably  leave  much  detail  out, 
which  an  ordinary  photographer  tries  to  get  in.  He  thought 
uniform  out-of -focus  to  be  sometimes  exceedingly  desirable  in 
landscape  work,  and  better  than  a plane  of  sharpness  across 
the  picture  at  a particular  distance.  The  object  of  relieving  any 
one  portion  of  a picture  is  to  draw  special  attention  to  it,  but 
that  is  not  necessary  in  many  cases.  As  to  the  advice  of 
using  a lens  out  of  focus,  he  had  tried  that  plan  sometimes, 
and  thought  the  results  not  to  be  so  good  as  if  he  had  used 
a pinhole,  but  he  should  prefer  a lens  if  it  would  do  the  same 
work  in  a shorter  time  ; the  pinhole  had,  however,  some  advan- 
tages. It  was  neither  costly  nor  heavy.  Lenses  were 
wanted  into  which  spherical  aberration  could  be  introduced  at 
will. 

Mr.  Rodgers  remarked  that  Mr.  Davison  aimed  at  breadth,  and 
had  argued  that  it  could  only  be  obtained  by  sacrifice  of  detail. 
He  (the  speaker)  thought  that  artists  might  give  minute  detail 
accurately  without  interfering  with  the  general  broad  effect. 


May  9,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


365 


Mr.  Davison  replied  that  artists  were  the  best  judges  iu  this 
matter,  and  they  disliked  photographs  because  they  gave  too 
much  detail. 

Mr.  Willis  was  recently  in  the  studio  of  a celebrated  painter 
who  had  before  him  a picture  with  its  foreground  magnificently 
painted,  but  he  ran  his  brush,  charged  with  some  transparent 
colour,  all  over  that  foreground  ; this  had  the  effect  of  sub- 
duing it.  Could  not  something  of  the  same  kind  be  done  in 
photography  ? The  eye  is  satisfied  with  the  first  glance  at  a 
picture  in  which  the  principal  object  is  sharp,  afterwards,  as  in 
looking  at  nature,  it  searches  for  detail,  and  is  disappointed 
when  it  is  not  there. 

Mr.  Rodgers  said  that  in  the  paintings  of  birds  by  Mr. 
Stacey  Marks  the  amount  of  detail  was  extraordinary. 

Mr.  Hcmphkry  stated  that  paintings  usually  have  to  be  viewed 
at  a greater  distance  than  photographs,  and  that  the  former 
are  painted  so  as  to  give  to  those  at  a distance  the  appearance 
of  great  detail. 

Mr.  Davison  exhibited  a pinhole  photograph  which  he  said 
that  he  considered  to  be  the  best  he  had  ever  been  able  to 
turn  out  by  any  method. 

The  Revd.  F.  C.  Lambert  remarked  that  the  whole  point 
seemed  to  turn  upon  the  words  “correct  detail.”  Artists  do  not 
want  to  destroy  what  is  present,  but  photography  in  their  eyes 
emphasises  detail.  He  thought  that  detail  should  be  subdued, 
and  that  a picture  taken  with  a small  stop  gave  an  impression 
to  the  observer  not  conveyed  by  the  scene  itself.  That  some- 
thing should  be  left  upon  which  the  imagination  could  play, 
was  necessary  in  every  work  of  art. 

Captain  Abney  advised  all  tourists  who  went  out  to  lunch, 
an<l  to  take  pinhole  photographs,  to  begin  the  exposure  before 
lunch,  and  to  finish  it  afterwards,  to  save  time.  About  the 
year  1865  he  travelled  a few  hundreds  of  miles  in  India  to 
photograph  some  cave  temples,  and  when  he  arrived  found  that 
he  had  left  his  lenses  behind  him,  so  happening  to  know  about 
pinholes  as  lenses,  he  made  a pinhole  of  about  a tenth  of  an  inch, 
with  which  he  took  some  10  by  12  inch  photographs;  that 
was  in  the  wet-plate  days.  When  he  mentioned  this  at  the 
Photographic  Society  it  was  hardly  believed  by  one  or  two  of 
the  members,  and  some  comments  appeared  in  the  Photo- 
craphic  News  throwing  doubt  upon  his  statement ; upon 
reading  those  comments  he  felt  “corked.” 

Mr.  W.  H.  Harrison  : How  long  ago  was  that 

Captain  Abney  replied  that  it  was  about  the  year  1881, 
and  the  comments  had  been  made  by  a mutual  friend  of  theirs. 
He  hail  forgiven,  but  hail  not  forgotten.  Some  of  those  at  the 
meeting  were  not  sufficiently  credulous  to  accept  his  statement. 
However,  just  afterwards,  a photographer — Mr.  Henderson- 
found  that  he  could  take  pinhole  photographs,  and  that  settled 
the  matter.  Although  science  and  art  have  to  be  combined 
sometimes,  they  did  not  seem  to  get  on  very  well  together, 
and  he  did  not  profess  to  be  more  than  a humble  student  of 
art  ; his  work  was  in  another  direction.  Perhaps,  however, 
scientific  workers  might  help  artists  to  obtain  any  amount  of 
fuzziness  in  their  pictures.  Whenever,  at  exhibitions,  painters 
turned  out  fuzzy  pictures,  he  always  looked  at  the  frames,  and 
not  at  the  pictures. 

Mr.  Dallmeyf.r  said  that  the  sole  object  of  Lord  Rayleigh, 
in  his  paper  read  before  the  British  Association,  and  published 
in  the  Photographic  News,  was  to  show  where  lenses  became 
unnecessary.  Iu  a picture  containing  no  leading  feature  or 
group  in  one  plane,  uniform  softness  all  over  is  admissible  ; 
but  all  views  are  not  of  that  description,  ami  where  there  is 
some  object  present  of  particular  interest,  he  thought  that 
emphasis  should  be  laid  thereupon.  As  regards  lenses  for  the 
purpose,  when  the  apertures  are  small,  there  is  a difficulty  in 
introducing  spherical  aberration.  A transparent  diffraction 
plate  placed  across  the  aperture  of  the  diaphragm  will  do 
something  in  the  direction  of  yielding  the  desired  result.  A 
simple  way  of  making  such  gratings  is  to  draw  a multitude 
of  lines,  and  then  photograph  them. 

Captain  Abney  remarked  that  Mr.  Dallmeyer’s  father  had 
made  him  a grating  containing  only  one  hundred  lines  to  the 
inch,  for  use  in  the  photo-heliograph  at  Greenwich  ; it  certainly 
gave  marked  fuzziness. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  1st  inst.,  Mr.  J.  Traill  Taylor  occu- 
pied the  chair. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Hastings  exhibited  a series  of  silver  prints  of  the 
exterior  and  interior  of  Salisbury  Cathedral,  recently  taken  by 
him. 

The  question  was  asked  whether  varnishing  a plate  with  a 
coloured  substratum,  previous  to  coating,  would  be  a preventa- 
tive of  halation. 

The  Chairman  thought  there  would  be  a risk  of  the  colour- 
ing matter  in  the  substratum  being  communicated  to  the  sensi- 
tive film  ; for  this  reason  he  would  prefer  backing  the  plate. 

The  Hon.  Sec.,  in  developing  some  ordinary  and  isochro- 
matic  plates,  backed,  using  yellow  light,  omitted  to  screen  the 
light  during  the  development  of  the  isochromatic  plates  ; the 
result  was  an  excellent  image  of  the  backing  of  the  film.  He 
had  been  able,  with  certain  makes  of  plates,  to  dispense  with 
both  yellow  screen  and  back  iu  copying  paintings  successfully. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  preferred,  when  copying  pictures,  to 
illuminate  the  room  with  yellow  light ; he  considered  it  better 
than  the  methods  usually  adopted,  as  no  optical  difficulty  was 
introduced.  The  exposure,  of  course,  v as  prolonged. 

Mr.  A.  L.  Henderson  exhibited  a stereoscopic  negative  of  an 
out-door  view  taken  during  his  stay  in  the  West  Indies.  Across 
the  plate  was  the  figure  of  a hand  with  outstretched  fingers. 
He  said  he  had  several  more  negatives  taken  at  the  same  time, 
all  showing  this  curious  phenomenon  ; he  was  unable  to  account 
for  it  in  any  way.  He  had  tried  to  produce  the  same  effect 
since  by  placing  his  hand  in  front  of  the  lens  during  an  expo- 
sure, but  had  failed. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan,  commenting  upon  solutions  of  eikonogen 
frequently  becoming  discoloured,  showed  a bottle  about  one- 
third  full  of  a solution  of  eikonogen  that  had  turned  quite 
black  ; he  also  showed  another  bottle  quite  full  that  was  per- 
fectly bright  and  colourless.  He  stated  that  the  same  solution 
had  been  poured  into  each  bottle,  and  the  bottles  had  stood 
side  by  side  for  a month.  The  bottle  containing  the  dark  solu- 
tion had,  during  that  time,  been  occasional!)'  opened  to  take 
out  some  of  the  solution  ; whereas  the  other  had  remained 
corked  and  quite  full  the  whole  time.  He  thought  this  con- 
clusively proved  that  the  darkening  action  was  due  to  the  action 
of  the  atmosphere. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Hastings  showed  two  lantern  slides  developed 
with  the  new  developer  graphol ; also  some  bromide  prints 
developed  with  an  acid  eikonogen  developer,  recommended  by 
Mr.  J.  H.  Voight,  Chairman  of  the  Photographic  Society  of 
Frankfort-on-Maine.  It  is  claimed  for  this  developer  that, 
it  is  rendered  more  energetic,  and  its  keeping  qualities  much 
improved,  in  an  acid  condition.  This  is  effected  by  the  addi- 
tion of  hydrochloric  acid.  Mr.  Hastings  said  he  had  developed 
eight  plates  in  the  same  solution,  which  remained  perfectly  clear 
to  the  end  ; the  last  plate,  however,  took  half  an  hour  to  com- 
plete development. 


Newcasti.e-ox-Tyne  and  Northern  Counties  Photographic 
Association. 

At  the  Central  Exchange  Art  Gallery  last  Friday  evening,  a 
lecture  was  given  by  Mr.  J.  P.  Gibson,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  International  Photographic  Exhibition,  upon  “Northumber- 
land : Its  Antiquities  and  River  Scenery.”  Mr.  Gibson,  who 
showed  a splendid  collection  of  over  150  of  his  own  lantern 
slides,  at  the  outset  dealt  with  the  pre-liistoric  races  who  dwelt 
in  Northumberland,  and  he  exhibited  a slide  illustrative  of 
a hut  circle.  He  proceeded  to  describe  the  customs  of  the 
people  in  the  earl)'  ages,  giving  a pictorial  reproduction  of  a 
human  skull  found  in  Tarset  Burn.  Next  he  dealt  with  the 
period  of  the  Roman  occupation,  which  he  followed  with  views 
of  the  present  day  of  the  camps  of  Cilurnum,  Housesteads,  and 
Birdoswald.  The  Saxon  age  then  formed  the  subject  of  his 
lecture,  and  Mr.  Gibson  illustrated  his  discourse  with  photo- 
graphs of  crosses  and  other  antiquities  found  in  the  Hexham 
district.  Mediaeval  antiquities  were  touched  upon.  Typical 
castles  were  shown,  such  as  Seaton  Delaval,  Morpeth,  Wark- 
worth,  Alnwick,  Bamburgh,  and  Etal.  Modern  topics  came 


36G 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  0,  1890. 


next,  and  the  lecturer,  working  westward  from  Newcastle, 
found  opportunity  to  give  views  of  the  birthplace  of  George 
Stephenson  at  Wylam,  and  Bewick  at  Cherry  Burn.  Bywell 
Church  and  Castle  Aydon  Castle,  and  Dilston  were  also  treated 
upon.  A brief  sketch  of  the  Derwentwater  family  was  given. 
The  scenery  of  the  River  Tyne  and  its  tributaries  was  finally 
shown,  beginning  below  Hexham,  up  the  North  Tyne  to 
Bellingham,  and  on  the  shores  of  the  South  Tyne  to  Thirlwell 
Castle.  There  was  a large  attendance. 


Photographers’  Benevolent  Association. 
Adjourned  annual  general  meeting,  Friday,  May  2,  at  181, 
Aldersgate  Street,  London,  the  president,  Mr.  J.  Traill 
Taylor,  in  the  chair. 

The  Chairman  said  that  the  business  of  the  evening  was 
the  election  of  officers  for  the  ensuing  year.  The  new  rules 
which  had  been  passed  by  the  meeting  held  on  February  14 
had  just  received  the  sanction  of  the  Registrar-General  of 
Friendly  Societies,  and  the  Association  would  in  future  be  bound 
by  them. 

The  following  officers  were  then  elected  : — 

President — Mr.  J.  Traill  Taylor.  Trustees — Captain  AV.  de 

\Y.  Abney,  C.B.,  F.R.S.,  and  Mr.  IV.  S.  Bird.  Treasurer — 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.  Committee — Messrs.  H.  D.  Atkinson, 
AA'illiam  Bedford,  William  Benham,  E.  Clifton.  T.  J.  Collins, 
F.  W.  Cox,  T.  K.  Freshwater,  G.  T.  Harris,  A.  Mackie,  J.  D. 
O'Connor,  J.  S.  Rolfe,  and  E.  A.  AYhittemore.  Auditors — 
Messrs.  \V.  Holt,  E.  AY.  Parfitt,  H.  J.  White,  and  J.  W. 
Zaehnsdorf.  The  lion,  solicitor,  Mr.  William  Benham,  was  also 
reappointed,  and  the  election  of  Mr.  H.  J.  Beasley  to  the  post  of 
lion,  secretary  confirmed. 

The  meeting  passed  votes  of  thanks  to  the  officers  for  the  past 
year,  and  to  the  hon.  solicitor  for  his  special  services. 

Twelve  new  subscribers  were  enrolled. 

All  communications  should  be  addressed  to  the  hon. 
secretary,  Mr.  H.  J.  Beasley,  65  and  66,  Chancery  Lane, 
London. 


The  Hackney  Photographic  Society. 

This  Society  held  its  annual  soiree  on  Thursday,  May  1st,  at 
Morley  Hall,  and  about  400  visitors  were  present.  Various 
friends  contributed  to  the  entertainment  of  the  company,  and 
the  evening  was  brought  to  a close  by  an  exhibition  of  mem- 
bers’ lantern  slides.  The  prize  winners  were  Messrs.  Fred 
Evans  and  Carpenter.  The  room  was  tastefully  decorated 
with  plants  and  flags.  This  concludes  the  first  year  of  the 
Society’s  existence. 


Bath  Photographic  Society. 

April  24</i. — Excursion  to  Box  and  district. 

April  30th. — Ordinary  meeting,  Sir.  Pdmphrey,  president,  in 
the  chair. 

Mr.  J.  A.  Howe  was  elected  a member  of  the  Society. 

The  Hon.  Secretary  announced  the  receipt  of  a specially 
prepared  copy  of  “ East.  Anglian  Life,”  presented  by  the  author, 
Dr.  P.  It.  Emerson.  Some  early  volumes  of  (he  Photographic 
Society’s  Journal  were  also  presented  by  Mr.  Wheatcroft. 
Circulars  relating  to  forthcoming  exhibitions  at  Amsterdam 
and  in  the  City  of  London,  and  other  matters  of  interest, 
were  drawn  attention  to. 

Mr.  G.  F.  Powell  then  gave  a paper  on  “Stereoscopic  Pho- 
tography ” (see  page  355). 

The  Chairman,  in  thanking  Air.  Powell  for  his  paper,  said  it 
was  true  stereoscopes  had  goue  out  of  fashion,  but  pictures 
when  suitably  prepared  to  be  viewed  in  them  appeared  more 
realistic  than  photographs  generally.  He  thought  the  angle  of 
base  should  be  kept  small,  not  exceeding  the  distance  between 
the  eyes.  AN  hether  the  stereoscope  would  lie  resuscitated  he 
could  not  say,  but  it  was  possible  to  purchase  a cheap  form, 
with  half-a-dozen  stereoscopic  pictures,  fora  shilling. 

Air.  Ducdale  thought  the  reason  stereoscopic  photographs 
fell  into  disuse  was  largely  due  to  the  pictures  lieing  too  wide 
— 2i  inches  was  a convenient  size. 


Air.  Austin  J.  King,  vice-president,  thought  stereoscopic 
photography  might  come  again  to  the  front  if  more  perfect 
instruments  were  provided.  The  difficulty  of  adjusting  one’s 
sight  to  a particular  form  of  instrument  was  an  obstacle,  for 
the  two  eyes  do  not  focus  quite  the  same.  If  both  eyes  do 
not  adjust  themselves,  then  the  effect  of  rotundity  does  not 
become  evident.  Another  difficulty,  into  which  he  would  not 
then  enter,  was  astigmatism. 


Dundee  and  East  of  Scotland  Photographic  Association. 
A meeting  was  held  on  Alay  1st,  with  Air.  G.  G.  AIaclaren  in 
the  chair. 

The  manipulations  of  the  new  printing  process,  “ Kallitype,” 
were  demonstrated.  The  process  was  said  to  be  exceedingly 
simple,  presenting  few  difficulties,  to  print  very  fast,  and  to  be 
moderate  in  price. 

A negative  of  the  font  in  St.  Mary’s,  Broughty  Ferry,  was 
shown.  A small  portion  of  two  stained  glass  windows  was 
included  in  the  upper  corners  of  the  negative,  and  on  the  left 
side  of  the  font  near  the  foot  there  was  a reflection  of  a panel 
of  the  window  to  the  right.  No  explanation  could  lie  given 
as  to  the  cause  of  the  reflected  image. 

The  following  office-bearers  were  elected  for  the  session 
1890  and  1891  : — President,  Air.  John  Alathewson  ; A'ice-Pre- 
sidents,  Messrs.  J.  1).  Cox  and  AA".  AI.  Alartin  ; Council,  Messrs. 
AV.  Bertie,  A\\  F.  Hill,  P.  Kerr,  G.  1).  Alaedougald,  G.  G. 
AIaclaren,  \V.  Salmond,  A.  Stewart,  A\'.  D.  A'alentine,  J.  AA’elsh, 
and  T.  L.  AVynd  ; Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Air.  A'.  C.  Baird, 
Broughty  Ferry,  N.B. 


Photographic  Society  of  Philadelphia. 

An  adjourned  stated  meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  on  AA’ed- 
nesday  evening,  April  9th,  Air.  John  G.  Bullock,  viee-presi- 
dent,  in  the  chair. 

A communication  was  read  by  the  Secretary  from  the  editor 
of  the  Photographic  Times,  presenting  a copy  of  “Practical 
Photo-micrography,”  by  Andrew  Pringle.  The  Secretary  also 
reported  that,  owing  to  the  removal  of  the  Society  of  Amateur 
Photographers  of  New  York  to  new  quarters,  which  would  fully 
engross  the  attention  of  both  officers  and  members  for  some 
months,  it  had  been  agreed  to  postpone  the  exhibition  until  the 
spring  of  1891. 

Air.  Browne  spoke  of  the  loss  the  Society  had  sustained  in 
the  death  of  its  President,  Air.  Frederic  ( Ira  ft',  and  said  that  it 
had  seemed  to  certain  of  the  members  desirable  that  the  posi- 
tion of  ^resident  should  lie  filled  at  once ; he  therefore  nominated 
Air.  John  G.  Bullock  for  the  office.  The  nomination  was 
seconded  by  Air.  F.  T.  Fassitt,  and  Air.  Bullock  was  unani- 
mously elected  President. 

Dr.  Mitchell,  of  the  Executive  Committee,  read  a com- 
munication from  Air.  Frank  H.  Rosengarten,  entitled  “ The 
“ AATorking  Department  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  Phila- 
delphia.” The  paper  was  a lengthy  plea  for  enlarging  the  scope 
and  usefulness  of  the  Society,  gave  a history  of  previous 
efforts  which  had  been  made  in  this  direction,  and  was  accom- 
panied by  circulars  and  other  data  illustrative  of  the  working 
of  the  Camera  Club,  of  London. 

Considerable  discussion  followed  the  communication,  during 
which  Air.  Browne  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  liefore  the 
end  of  the  year  the  Society  would  have  to  consider  the  import- 
ant question  of  a change  of  quarters.  He  thought  a special 
committee  might  be  appointed  to  consider  all  propositions  made 
to  it,  and  in  this  way  relieve  the  Society  from  a great  deal  of 
discussion. 

Dr.  AIitchei.l  moved  that  the  chairman  appoint  a special 
committee,  to  consist  of  the  president,  vice-president,  secre- 
tary, and  treasurer,  and  six  other  members,  to  consider  and 
report  to  the  Society  the  advisability  of  procuring  other  and 
more  convenient  quarters,  and  the  institution  and  development 
of  a suitable  working  department  for  the  instruction  and  im- 
provement of  members  in  photographic  work.  This  was  carried. 

Air.  Carbutt,  alluding  to  a letter  he  had  read  at  a pre- 
vious meeting,  from  Air.  Pancoast,  in  regard  to  keeping  quali- 
ties of  plates,  showed  a negative  sent  him  by  Air.  Pancoast, 


May  9,.  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


taken  recently  on  a Carbutt  A plate  which  had  been  coated 
about  1884  or  1885.  The  negative  showed  no  signs  of  de- 
terioration on  account  of  age  of  the  plate. 

Mr.  Brownb,  referring  to  the  appointment  of  a committee 
to  ascertain  the  cause  of  certain  deterioration  in  lantern  slides, 
said  that  within  the  last  two  weeks  he  had  examined  a large 
number  of  slides  with  a table  microscope  having  a two-inch 
objective.  With  a glass  of  this  power,  he  noticed  that  in 
many  cases  the  crystallization  or  cloudiness  is  formed  on  the 
cover  glass,  but  not  invariably  so.  It  has  been  said  that  much 
of  this  difficulty  arises  from  the  quality  or  composition  of 
the  glass — that  from  the  thin  glass  now  used  both  for  picture 
and  cover  emanates  some  chemical  injurious  to  the  slide.  This 
might  be  so,  but  in  his  experience,  which  hail  been  almost 
entirely  with  the  quality  known  as  “15.  P.  C.,”  he  could  not 
lay  this  fault  to  the  glass.  In  examining  the  slides  he  found 
much  matter  evidently  deposited  from  impure  washing  water, 
which  seemed  to  consist  of  particles  of  vegetable  matter, 
mud  and  sediment  of  various  kinds  which  had  not  been  per- 
fectly washed  off.  He  also  thought  that  the  central  spots 
from  which  the  crystallization  started  were  sometimes  due  to 
hyposulphite  of  soda  in  the  gelatine  film.  Years  ago,  having 
trouble  of  this  kind,  he  had  commenced  using  diluted  cyanide 
of  potassium  instead  of  hypo  for  fixing  slides.  Slides  so  fixed 
did  not  show  any  of  the  faults  in  question.  Much  of  the 
trouble,  he  thought,  arose  from  intensification.  The  pur- 
chasers of  commercially-prepared  slides  demand  dense  posi- 
tives, which  makes  it  desirable  to  use  some  form  of  intensifi- 
cation. Among  the  chemicals  used  for  this  purpose  is  sulphide 
of  potassium,  which  to  his  mind  is  most  objectionable.  He 
hail  found  the  treatment  with  bichloride  of  mercury,  followed 
by  a bath  of  bichloride  of  platinum,  to  make  a permanent  and 
safe  intensifier. 

Mr.  Fassitt  had  found  the  treatment  with  mercury  invariably 
fatal  to  a gelatine  slide. 

Dr.  Wallace  thought  the  question  of  fading  depended  not 
so  much  on  the  use  of  mercury  as  upon  what  the  mercury 
was  followed  by.  If  ammonia  were  used,  the  result  would  lie 
disastrous  ; but  with  cyanide  of  silver  the  picture  would  not 
fade. 

Mr.  Carbutt,  speaking  of  the  use  of  cyanide  of  potassium 
for  fixing  gelatine  slides,  said  it  could  be  used  if  perfectly  pure. 
The  ordinary  commercial  cyanide  contained  caustic  potash, 
which  had  a deleterious  effect  on  the  film.  He  recommended 
a solution  of  eight  or  ten  grains  to  the  ounce  as  suitable  for 
fixing  an  ordinary  gelatine  plate  with  safety. 

Mr.  Rosencarten  said  that  most  of  the  hypo  used  contained 
large  quantities  of  foreign  matter  and  impurities.  In  his  own 
practice  he  used  only  the  pure  article. 

Mr.  Belt,  endorsed  the  remarks  of  Dr.  Wallace  relative  to 
the  use  of  mercury. 

Mr.  Carbi'tt,  claimed  that  there  was  no  need  to  intensify 
lantern  slides.  He  hail  been  making  some  positives  requiring 
great  density  ; it  was  simply  done  with  pyro,  soda,  and  bromide. 

I he  action  should  lie  well  restrained,  and  the  exposure  as  full  as 
subject  and  condition  will  allow.  In  the  instance  referred  to 
nearly  a minute  elapsed  before  the  image  began  to  show,  ft 
was  a positive  made  by  contact.  For  the  purpose  of  those  using 
his  process  plates,  the  developer  consisted  of  : 


Water 

Carbonate  of  soda  crystals 
Sulphite  of  soda  crystal 
Bromide  of  soda  or  potash  . . . 


60  ounces 
2 

" J » 

1 99 

60  grains 


To  each  ounce  o.  the  above,  2i  to  3 grains  of  dry  pyro  are 
added.  By  this  means  perfectly  clear  glass  in  the  transparent 
parts  of  thenegative,  and  dense  blacks,  can  readily  Ire  obtained. 


The  Gloucestershire  Photographic  Society. 

Annual  meeting,  April  28th,  1890  ; the  president,  Mr.  W.  B. 
Wood,  in  the  chair. 

lhe  president,  vice-president,  treasurer,  and  committee  of 
last  jear  were  re-elected.  Mr.  A.  H.  Church  was  elected 
lion,  secretary.  The  retiring  secretary,  Mr.  F.  H.  Burr,  and 
the  Rev.  Mowbray  Ti  otter  were  added  to  the  committee.  A 


807 


warm  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  Dr.  Emerson  for  his  valuable 
and  useful  gift,  “ Pictures  of  East  Anglian  Life.” 

The  presentation  print  for  1890  was  selected,  the  voting 
being  in  favour  of  a 1 5 by  1 2 platinum  priut  of  a view  by 
W.  C.  Beetham.  A lantern  outfit,  consisting  of  a pair  of 
mahogany  lanterns,  with  cylinders,  regulators,  and  jets,  was 
on  view,  and  it  was  decided  to  purchase  the  same  for  the  use 
of  members. 

The  triennial  exhibition  (open)  will  be  held  in  October  and 
November,  and  prospectuses  in  accordance  with  recently 
expressed  ideas  will  shortly  be  issued. 


Photographic  Society  ok  Japan. 

A MEETING  of  the  above-mentioned  Society  was  held  in  the  rooms 
of  the  Geographical  Society,  Kyo-bashi,  Tokyo,  on  Monday, 
March  24th,  at  4.30  p.m.,  Mr.  Edmond  Holmes  in  the  chair. 

The  following  new  members  were  elected  : — Messrs.  11.  W. 
Borthwick,  H.  Deakin,  .1.  McDonald,  C.  Pope,  T.  P.  Solomon, 
and  A.  C.  Stern. 

Mr.  C.  D.  West  showed  a number  of  prints  toned  by 
Clark’s  new  platinum  toning  process.  In  many  cases  there 
were,  alongside  of  the  platinum-toned  prints,  others  from  the 
same  negatives  toned  with  gold  in  the  ordinary  way.  The 
platinum  tones  were  blacker  than  the  gold.  There  was  some 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  which  were  the  pleasanter,  but  on 
the  whole  the  verdict  was  in  favour  of  the  platinum.  Mr. 
West  explained  that  there  was  reason  to  believe  the  platinum- 
toned  prints  to  be  more  permanent  than  the  others.  He  found 
it  inadvisable  to  use  nitric  acid  in  the  bath,  as  recommended  by 
Mr.  Clark,  at  least  with  albumenized  paper,  as  it  gave  yellow 
high  lights.  He  preferred  citric  acid,  and  a bath  comparatively 
weak  in  the  platinum  salt.  The  following  formula  was  given  ; 
To  each  ounce  of  water  add  one  half  grain  of  chloroplatinite 
of  potassium  and  four  or  five  grains  of  citric  acid.  This  bath 
keeps  well. 

Mr.  A.  J.  Hare  showed  a number  of  prints  toned  after 
dissolving  a quantity  of  common  salt  in  any  ordinary  toning 
bath.  The  prints  then  went  direct  from  the  printing  frames 
to  the  toning  bath,  and  from  the  toning  to  the  fixing  bath, 
there  being  no  intermediate  washing.  The  following  advan- 
tages were  claimed  for  the  modified  process.  Less  over-print- 
ing is  necessary  ; there  is  considerable  saving  of  time  ; the 
tones  are  richer  than  when  the  paper  is  washed  before  reaching 
the  toning  bath,  and  there  is  much  less  tendency  to  run  to 
“ mealiness  ” in  the  shadows  in  the  case  of  toning  to  a deep 
purple  or  black.  The  prints  shown  were  done  on  the  ready 
sensitized  paper  of  the  Japan  Dry  Plate  Co.,  and  the  tones 
were  pronounced  exceedingly  fine. 

Mr.  W.  K.  Burton  showed  a sample  of  the  more  recently 
manufactured  eikonogen.  He  hail  received  a dozen  or  two  of 
bottles  of  the  substance,  and  in  every  case  but  one  the  colour 
of  the  chemical  was  nearly  white ; in  the  case  of  one  single 
bottle,  however,  the  eikonogen  had  turned  quite  black, 
although  this  particular  bottle  appeared  to  be  as  securely  luted 
as  the  others.  Mr.  Burton  hail  found  this  new  eikonogen  dis- 
tinctly superior  to  the  old,  and  considered  that  it  had  clear 
advantages  over  pyro  for  some  kinds  of  photographic  work. 

A demonstration  of  “ Photo  zincography  ” was  then  given 
by  Messrs.  AY.  K.  Burton  and  Y.  Isawa.  This  is  a process 
whereby  blocks  to  print  type-high  can  be  photographically 
produced  from  any  line  drawing  or  sketch.  A very  light  print 
is  taken  from  the  negative  on  common  photographic  paper,  but 
is  neither  toned  nor  fixed.  The  outline  is  gone  over  with  a 
pen  and  the  best  quality  of  Chinese  ink,  and  as  much  line 
J shading  is  put  in  as  may  seem  desirable,  after  which  the  print 
is  put  in  a bath  of  a solution  of  bi-chloride  of  mercury.  This 
quickly  makes  the  photograph  entirely  disappear,  the  line 
sketch  only  remaining.  If  a photograph  is  not  to  be  used  the 
artist  sketches  directly  with  black  ink  on  pure  white  paper. 
In  either  case  the  result  is  the  same,  a line  sketch  that  is  copied 
in  the  camera,  the  wet  process  being  used  by  preference.  The 
negative  must  be  reversed,  and  the  reversal  is  secured  either 
by  using  a reversing  mirror  in  copying,  or  by  stripping  the  film 
of  the  negative  from  the  glass  and  turning  it  over.  A polished 
zinc  plate  is  next  coated  with  a mixture  of  albumen,  water, 


368  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  (May  9,  1890. 


aiul  bichromate  of  either  ammonium  or  potassium,  and  when 
dry,  is  exposed  under  the  negative,  a faintly  visible  image 
resulting.  The  plate  is  then  covered  with  a very  thin  uniform 
coating  of  a greasy  ink  applied  by  a roller,  and  is  dipped  in  water. 
In  a minute  or  two  the  ink  begins  to  leave  all  the  plate  but 
those  parts  representing  the  lines,  and,  the  action  being  helped 
by  rubbing  gently  with  a piece  of  cotton  wool,  there  is  soon 
an  image  in  printer’s  ink  on  the  zinc  plate.  The  plate  is  dried, 
and  a quantity  of  powdered  resin  is  dusted  over  it ; this  sticks 
to  the  greasy  lines,  but  not  to  the  rest  of  the  surface,  and  a 
slight  heating  is  enough  to  incorporate  it  with  the  ink.  There 
is  now  a sufficient  “ resist  ” to  make  it  possible  to  etch  away 
some  of  the  metal  between  the  lines,  and  the  plate  accordingly 
goes  into  a bath  of  weak  nitric  acid.  There  is  only  one  reason 
why  the  etching  should  not  be  continued  till  the  whole  of  the 
necessary  relief  is  got  at  one  operation,  and  that  is  that  the  acid 
has  a tendency  to  “ under-cut  ” the  lines.  It  is,  therefore, 
necessary  to  protect  the  edges  as  well  as  the  tops  of  the  lines. 
To  effect  this  protection,  the  plate  is  taken  from  the  bath  after 
a very  little  relief  has  been  got,  is  dried,  and  is  heater!  just 
to  that  point  at  which  powered  resin  will  stick  to  the  lines,  but 
not  to  the  rest  of  the  plate.  The  plate  is  then  again  powdered 
with  resin,  and  when  the  lines  have  taken  all  that  they  will,  it 
is  heated  enough  to  melt  the  resin  and  make  it  run  down  the 
sides  of  the  lines.  The  plate  then  stands  an  etching  in  a 
somewhat  stronger  bath,  and  the  process  is  repeated  five  to  ten 
times,  according  to  the  coarseness  or  fineness  of  the  work. 
The  lines  thus  obtained  are  firm  and  solid,  but  there  are 
generally  slight  ridges  running  along  the  sides  of  them  pro- 
duced by  the  different  etchings.  To  get  rid  of  these  the  plate 
is  cleansed  of  all  resin,  and  is  inked  up  with  a smooth  roller 
which  touches  only  the  tops  of  the  lines.  The  operation  of 
dusting  with  resin  and  heating  is  once  more  gone  through,  and 
the  plate  has  its  last  etching,  or  last  but  one — for  it  is  some- 
times advisable  to  repeat  this  etching  twice — when  it  is  ready 
to  be  trimmed  and  mounted  type-high  for  the  printer. 
Samples  of  every  stage  of  the  process,  from  the  original 
negative  to  a block  that  had  been  printed  in  a machine,  and 
prints  from  them,  were  shown,  and  the  process  of  developing 
the  image  on  the  zinc  and  of  etching  was  demonstrated. 
The  demonstrators  explained  that  it  was  claimed  that  the 
whole  process,  from  the  taking  of  a photograph  to  the  produc- 
tion of  a finished  block,  could  be  gone  through  in  two  hours  in 
England.  They  doubted  this,  but  could  easily  do  the  work  in 
from  six  to  eight  hours.  The  block  really  could  be  produced  in 
two  hours  from  the  time  of  taking  the  exposed  zinc  plate  from 
the  printing  frame.  They  farther  explained  that  the  advantage 
of  the  process  was  that  an  exact  copy  of  any  line  subject, 
no  matter  how  complicated,  could  be  made  in  a few  hours, 
either  of  the  same  size  as  the  original,  or  smaller  or  larger. 
♦ 

The  publication  of  several  pages  of  news  is  postponed  until 
next  week,  because  it  has  been  found  impossible  to  find  space 
for  them  in  this  issue. 

The  London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 
— First  Saturday  outing,  May  10th,  to  Waltham  ; trains  from 
Liverpool  Street,  2.5  and  2.50. 

The  offices  of  l' Amateur  Photog  raphe  and  of  the  Bulletin  dcs 
SocieUs  Photographigues  de  France  have  been  removed  to 
24,  Boulevard  Saint-Germain,  Paris. 

The  British  Museum  (South  Kensington)  authorities  have 
this  week  ordered  a large  number  of  Mr.  Gambier  Bolton’s 
animal  studies  from  life  and  skeleton  series,  to  be  framed  and 
hung  in  the  galleries  of  the  Geological  section  ; this  is  one 
of  the  first  instances  of  the  kind  on  record. 

Sheffield  Camera  Club.— The  usual  monthly  meeting  was 
held  on  the  25th  April,  when  a students’  night  was  given. 
Members  were  invited  to  bring  objects  of  interest  to  be  dis- 
cussed by  those  present.  A number  of  negatives  were  de- 
veloped by  several  of  the  members. 

The  formula  of  the  acid  eikonogen  developer  mentioned  by 
that  able  experimenter,  Mr.  H.  M.  Hastings,  at  the  meeting  of 
the  London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association,  was  pub- 
lished some  weeks  ago  in  these  pages  in  one  of  Dr.  Gunther’s 
articles,  and  seems  to  deserve  practical  attention, 


^nsfoerg  to  erorrcspontJentg* 

All  Alvirtis»aients  and  coaimuuijations  relating  to  money  matters,  and 

to  the  sale  of  the  paper  should  bs  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 

Photographic  Nkws,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5, 1'urnival  8treet,  London. 
All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 

Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Roal,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

E.  H.  M.  (Plymouth). — Combined  Fixing  ami  Toning  Bath. 
With  reference  to  Mr.  R.  E.  Liesegang’s  toning  bath,  described 
in  the  News  of  25th  ult.,  page  322,  we  should  not  be 
inclined  to  say  that  it  would  be  permanent,  for  one  cannot 
have  hypo  and  gold  together  in  the  same  solution  without 
some  of  the  gold  separating  out  as  a black  deposit  on  stand- 
ing, even  in  the  presence  of  the  sulpho-cyanide.  lTsed  im- 
mediately, as  directed,  it  would  tone  quickly  and  fix  the 
prints  at  the  same  time.  See  the  first  answer  to  an  Irish 
correspondent  in  the  News  of  April  11th  for  a good  toning 
bath  for  Aristotype,  which  could  be  used  until  exhausted,  and 
lie  content  to  fix  in  a separate  bath. 

A.  B.  (Bishops  Stortford). — Portable  Developing  Tent.  The 
lightest  and  best  material  is  a thin  black  mackintosh,  such 
as  used  for  overcoats,  but  this  does  not  bear  sun  exposure 
very  well  or  hard  usage.  A top  covering  of  canary  fabric 
would  help  to  protect  it.  We  are  not  acquainted  with  any 
paint  or  varnish  that  can  be  relied  upon  to  keep  out  the 
actinic  rays,  when  the  material  has  to  lie  constantly  folded. 
A double  fabric  of  black  and  yellow  calico,  or  ml  union,  is 
sometimes  employed. 

T.  S.  (Carlisle). — Collodio-Chlorirlc  Prints.  1.  In  the  absence 
of  details  we  can  only  say  that  the  prints  are  excellent,  and 
the  process  seems  capable  of  giving  vigorous  impressions, 
like  albumenised  paper.  One  of  the  prints  is  iridescent  ; is 
this  intentional,  or  the  result  of  employing  too  thin  a film 
of  collodion  ? 2.  The  process  would  appear  to  be  capable  of 

professional  employment  like  the  Alpha  paper. 

L.  T.- — Thermometer  Beales. — Your  doubts  are  resolved  by 
looking  at  the  thermometer  table  at  the  end  of  the  Year- 
Book.  The  18  degrees  evidently  mean  Centigrade,  and  are 
equivalent  to  64|  degrees  Fahrenheit,  which  is  a manage- 
able temperature  at  this  season  of  the  year. 

S.  M.  (Brighton). — Ammonia  in  the  Camera.  Without  trying 
the  experiment,  we  cannot  say  whether  the  diffusion  of 
ammonia  fumes  in  the  camera  would  have  the  effect  of 
expediting  the  exposure  with  gelatine  plates.  It  should  be 
easy  to  test  the  point  for  yourself  with  brown  paper,  or  an 
old  blackened  sponge,  slightly  moistened  with  -880  ammonia, 
and  placed  within  the  camera.  When  ascertained,  we  should 
like  to  know  the  result. 

Mounter. — Chocolate  Cards.  The  colour  may  very  possibly 
bleed  out  if  you  use  oil  of  cassia  in  your  starch  paste,  for 
the  essential  oils  are  powerful  solvents  of  organic  colouring 
matters.  Encaustic  paste,  alt  hough  containing  these  aromatic 
bodies,  does  not  act  in  the  same  way,  because  of  the  pro- 
tection afforded  by  the  wax. 

M.  S.  T. — Operators’  Specimens.  The  question  was  threshed 
out  a few  weeks  ago  in  the  News.  There  is  no  alternative 
but  to  accept  the  statement  that  they  are  the  bond  fide  work 
of  the  applicant.  We  have  known  instances  of  high-cla  s 
professional  work  ) icing  openly  shown  in  specimen  cases  other 
than  those  of  the  real  producer  ; the  prints  of  an  eminent 
Dublin  firm  being  sometimes  shown  in  London  to  attract 
customers. 

Received  : — Notices  of  the  Chester  Meeting  of  the  Photographic 
Convention,  June  23rd  to  28th  inclusive,  C.  H.  Bothamley, 
F.C.S.,  President ; and  Camera  Club  exhibition  of  Photo- 
graphic pictures  by  the  late  Mrs.  Julia  Cameron,  now  on 
view  ; of  the  lecture  on  ,:The  Photographic  Image,”  to  lie 
delivered  by  Professor  Meldola,  at  the  Royal  Institution,  on 
Friday,  16th  inst. ; also  copy  of  “ A Proposed  Photographic 
Survey  of  Warwickshire,”  by  W.  Jerome  Harrison,  F.G.S., 
which  has  already  appeared  in  our  pages. 

Adelphi. — The  Lantern  Society's  Display  last  Friday  week  was 
chiefly  remarkable  for  the  excellence  of  the  electric  lighting 
employed  in  the  lantern,  which  gave  a steady  and  brilliant 
image  upon  the  screen.  The  high  quality  of  most  of  the 
slides  likewise  contributed  to  the  success  of  the  exhibition. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC 





Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1654.-3%  16,  1890. 


s . 


<1  /. 


CONTENTS. 


PAOX 

Some  Optical  Causes  of  Defective  Photographs  360 

Direct  Platinum  Printing 870 

Moessard’s  Cylindrograph' 370 

Conversazione  of  the  Royal  8ociety 371 

Photographic  Lenses.  By  T.  R.  Dallmeyer 872 

The  Royal  Academy  of  Arts,  1890.  By  the  Rev.  F.  C.  Lambert  374 
A Standard  Method  of  Development.  By  C.  H.  Bothamley  ...  374 

Photography  in  Milan 376 

The  Glasgow  Photographic  Exhibition 377 

Notes 378 


PAQK 

Celluloid  as  a Drawing  and  Printing  Material.  By  Colonel  J. 


Waterhouse 370 

Carbon  Printing.  By  E.  Brightman *80 

The  City  Photographic  Exhibition  381 

A Meeting  of  Opticians  about  Lens  Mounts  381 

Photography  of  the  More  Refrangible  Rays.  By  V.  Schumann  381 

Patent  Intelligence  382 

Correspondence 38S 

Proceedings  of  Societies 385 

Answers  to  Correspondent*  388 


SOME  OPTICAL  CAUSES  OF  DEFECTIVE 
PHOTOGRAPHS. 

The  optical  cause  of  a curious  defect  which  on  rare 
occasions  is  found  in  negatives,  was  stated  by  Mr. 
Dallmeyer  at  a meeting  of  the  Photographic  Society 
last  Tuesday  Dight,  and  the  information  seemed  to  be 
new  to  most  of  those  present.  He  said  that  each  con- 
cave surface  in  the  elements  of  any  lens,  which  surface 
faces  the  sensitive  plate,  acts  as  a concave  mirror  throw- 
ing back  some  light  upon  the  plate,  and  occasionally  even 
a definite  image.  Mr.  William  Bedford  remarked 
that  he  had  sometimes  been  troubled  by  this  defect, 
especially  when  taking  interiors,  a window  in  one  part 
of  the  picture  being  sometimes  faintly  reproduced  upon 
another  part  of  the  picture  where  it  was  not  required, 
and  he  thought  that  Mr.  Dallmeyer  had  satisfactorily 
explained  the  cause  of  the  mystery. 

One  thing  escaped  the  notice  of  the  meeting,  and 
that  was  the  influence  which  the  sensitive  plate  itself  has 
upon  the  phenomenon,  for  it  is  evident  that  under  the 
same  circumstances  a better  negative  should  be  obtained 
upon  a matt-surfaced  gelatine  film  than  upon  a bright 
surfaced  gelatine  film.  The  latter  would  tend  to  act 
as  a polished  plane  mirror,  and  to  increase  the  defect, 
besides  wasting  useful  light  which  ought  to  be  doing 
work  inside  the  film.  The  matt-surfaced  film  would 
absorb  more  light,  and  that  which  it  reflected  would  be 
more  scattered  in  all  directions  inside  the  camera,  than 
in  the  instance  of  a film  with  a better  reflecting  surface. 
The  influence  of  the  surface  of  the  sensitive  film  upon 
the  phenomenon,  therefore,  deserves  experimental 
investigation. 

Another  cause  of  imperfections  in  photographs,  to 
which  too  little  attention  is  paid  at  present,  then 
occupied  the  attention  of  the  meeting,  namely,  the 
want  of  care  commonly  exercised  in  not  screening  the 
front  of  the  lens  from  light  not  required  to  form  the 
picture.  Mr.  William  England  called  special  attention 
to  this  in  the  wet-plate  days  when  he  was  photographing 
in  Paris,  as  we  remember  from  having  been  so  struck 
at  the  time  by  his  advice  as  to  have  at  once  had  one  of 


the  old-fashioned  stereoscopic  box-cameras  in  our 
possession  fitted  with  an  adjunct  to  comply,  as  far  as 
possible,  with  the  recommendations  which  he  laid 
down. 

What  is  desirable  is,  that  the  lens  of  a camera  shall 
look  through  a rectangular  aperture  or  “ window  ” in 
front,  which  aperture  shall  cut  off  all  light  but  that 
required  to  form  the  picture,  and  to  get  the  best  results 
in  this  way  it  is  evident  that  the  aperture  should  not 
be  too  close  to  the  lens  ; it  should  be  at  that  distance 
at  which  the  straight  edge  of  an  opaque  object  would 
not  photograph  with  too  large  a penumbra  from  its 
out-of-focus  position.  The  screening  of  the  lens  from 
unnecessary  light  from  the  sky  is  of  more  importance 
than  screening  it  from  light  coming  from  any  other 
direction,  and  the  plan  is  as  useful  in  the  studio  as  in 
the  field.  A little  tunnel  formed  in  front  of  the  studio 
camera  by  black  curtains  also  fulfils  the  function,  as 
pointed  out  by  Mr.  Debenham,  of  reducing  the  number 
of  brightly  illuminated  floating  particles  in  the  air 
between  the  camera  and  sitter.  These  particles 
reflect  light  into  the  lens,  so  the  shorter  the  length  of 
illuminated  dirty  air  between  the  sitter  and  the  lens, 
the  better. 

To  one  point  of  this  subject,  again,  attention  was  not 
given  by  the  meeting.  It  is  not  alone  necessary  that 
the  rectangular  aperture  should  be  far  enough  from 
the  lens  to  work  with  reasonable  efficiency,  but  the 
power  must  exist  of  being  able  to  shift  the  position  of 
the  aperture  in  a plane  parallel  with  that  of  the  camera 
front,  in  order  that  when  the  rising  or  falliug  front  is 
brought  into  play,  the  whole  system,  including  plate, 
len«,  and  rectangular  aperture  shall  be  properly  centred. 

We  have  often  thought  that  the  flat,  vertical  platform 
formed  by  the  wooden  face  of  the  shutters  of  the 
Kershaw  type,  might  be  utilised  by  affixing  thereto  a 
suitable  arrangement  for  giving  a rectangular  aperture 
well  in  front  of  the  lens.  The  platform  itself  is 
already  a little  distance  in  front  of  the  lens-hood,  and 
more  distance  might  be  gained  by  suitable  construction 
of  the  adjunct,  which  adjunct  should  be  made  of 
aluminium  or  other  light  material. 


370 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  10,  1890. 


DIRECT  PLATINUM  PRINTING. 

Mr.  Otto  Sonoma  lias  sent  us  some  specimens  of  Dr. 
Jacoby’s  direct  printing  platinum  paper,  which  has  the 
usual  characteristics  of  papers  in  which  platinum  black 
is  thrown  down  by  the  agency  of  a ferric  salt  when 
acted  upon  by  light,  a class  of  papers  in  the  preparation 
of  which  we  have  done  a considerable  amount  of  ex- 
perimenting. We  find  that  Dr.  Jacoby’s  paper,  like 
the  others,  requires  a good  light  if  fair  rapidity  be 
required  in  the  printing,  that  vigorous  negatives  suit  it 
best,  and  that  excellent  pictorial  results  can  be  obtained 
with  it  if  attention  be  paid  to  the  necessary  conditions. 

Dr.  Jacoby  recommends  operators  to  keep  the  paper 
tightly  pressed  in  a very  dry  and  cool  place,  excluding 
air  as  much  as  possible ; chloride  of  calcium  tins  are  the 
best  receptacles  for  this  paper.  Clear  negatives  with 
plenty  of  contrast  and  detail  give  the  best  results.  He 
also  says  that  in  very  dry  weather  the  paper  should  be 
slowly  passed  over  the  steam  of  boiling  water  before 
putting  in  the  printing  frame,  as  the  paper,  when  dry, 
will  not  print  out  to  the  full  depth  without  the  assist- 
ance of  some  slight  moisture.  If  the  paper  be  put  in 
the  frame  quite  dry,  only  a faint  image  will  be  obtained, 
which,  after  all  details  are  faintly  discernable,  can 
afterwards  be  developed  to  the  required  depth  by  hold- 
in  git  over  steam.  In  a damp  atmosphere  the  paper  will 
contain  sufficient  moisture,  without  steaming,  to  obtain 
the  desired  depth  in  the  printing  frame,  and  it  is  by 
fully  printing-out  in  the  frame  and  in  good  light  that 
the  best  black  tones  are  obtained.  The  pad  of  the 
printing-frame  should  be  of  india-rubber  or  other  water- 
proof material  to  prevent  irregularity  in  the  depth  of 
the  picture.  Prints  of  sufficient  depth  obtained  either 
by  direct  printing  in  the  frame,  or  by  intensifying  by 
steam,  are  to  be  put  into  two  baths  of  diluted  hydro- 
chloric acid.  The  first,  1 part  acid  to  75  of  water,  five 
minutes ; the  second,  1 part  acid  to  50  of  water,  five 
minutes ; then  wash  in  water  for  fifteen  minutes,  till 
all  traces  of  yellowness  in  the  high  lights  have  dis- 
appeared. Printing  as  well  as  fixing  should  be  done 
on  the  same  day. 

A word  of  caution  may  be  added  about  the  steaming 
of  the  paper,  when  it  is  necessary.  If  this  be  overdone, 
and  the  paper  made  too  damp,  it  is  liable  to  stick  to  the 
negative  at  places,  and  to  cause  stains;  hence  it  is 
safest  to  give  too  little  rather  than  too  much  steaming, 
and  to  use  varnished  negatives. 

The  advent  of  all  direct  printing  platinum  papers  is 
to  be  welcomed,  for  it  is  high  time  that  all  photo- 
graphic work  should  be  as  durable  as  that  executed  by 
means  of  printing  ink,  and  that  photographs  liable 
to  fade  should  be  things  of  the  past. 


MOESSARD'S  C Y LINl) ROGRAPH. 

Messrs.  George  Houghton  and  Son  invited  us  to  inspect 
Moessard  a Cylindrograph,  a French  panoramic  camera, 
which  was  introduced  a month  or  more  ago  into  the 
Lnited  States,  and  is  now  obtainable  in  London.  The 
instrument  has  certain  points  of  resemblance  to  Johnson's 
pantascopic  camera,  but  the  motion  is  given  by  hand, 
and  the  image  is  thrown  upon  a curved  surface,  con- 


sisting of  an  Eastman  flexible  film  in  a flexible  dark 
slide  ; the  slide,  with  the  film  inside,  bends  like  a long 
sheet  of  thick  cardboard.  In  reply  to  our  inquiry 
whether  different  parts  of  the  plate  received  the  same 
exposure  when  the  latter  was  given  by  hand-power,  the 
answer  was  that  best  method  of  exposure  for  uniformity 
is  to  move  the  handle  backwards  and  forwards  two  or 
three  times,  with  a short  quick  motion. 


If  it  be  desired  to  give  more  exposure  to  one  end  of  the 
film  than  to  the  other — which  may  be  the  case  with  some 
subjects — it  can  be  done,  and  this  power  the  pantascopic 


camera  did  not  possess.  Moessard's  instrument  is  exceed- 
ingly light  for  a camera  of  the  class,  and  it  will  give  the 
complete  circle  of  the  horizon  upon  21  films,  which  means 
the  use  of  three  films  in  so  doing.  A doublet  lens  of 
eight  inches  focal  length  is  employed,  and  the  best  parts  of 
the  lens  arc  chiefly  engaged  in  forming  the  whole  picture 
in  cameras  of  this  class.  Lightness  for  this  class  of 
camera,  and  simplicity,  are  the  chief  features  of  the  instru- 
ment, illustrations  of  which  are  given  herewith. 

♦ — 

The  London  Chamber  of  Commerce. — Mr.  Kenric  B. 
Murray,  secretary  to  the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce,  sends 
us  an  advance  proof  of  the  invitation  card  for  the  owning 
soiree  of  the  City  Photographic  Exhibition.  Its  size  is  9 by  ti 
inches,  and  represents  a lady  not  dressed  for  the  soiree  standing 
by  the  river  side  arranging  her  back  hair  under  cool  conditions, 
whilst  a number  of  little  Cupids  on  the  other  side  of  the  river 
are  photographing  her  with  a big  camera  which  hampers  them 
sorely  ; indeed  one  has  to  stand  upon  the  back  of  the  other 
to  reach  the  focussing  screen.  The  original  of  the  clever 
design,  as  we  happen  to  know,  was  scratched  off-hand  on  blot- 
ting paper  by  one  of  the  rising  geniuses  of  the  photographic 
world,  whilst  another  genius  present  aided  with  his  remarks  ; 
but  we  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  give  names  without  previous 
sanction. 


May  in,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


871 


CONVERSAZIONE  OF  THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY. 

Photographs  at  thf.  Rate  of  One  Hundred  per  Second 
— The  Apparatus  Employed — Falling  Water  Drops 
Photographed  at  the  Rate  of  Twenty  per  Second — 
Photography  an  Aid  to  Forestry — New  Apparatus 
Connected  with  Polarised  Light— A New  Direct- 
Vision  Prism  suitable  for  the  Lantern — Photographs 
of  the  Spectrum  of  the  Nebula  in  Orion — Stellar 
Photographs — Clusters  in  the  Sword-Handle  of 
Perseus — Aluminium  and  its  Alloys — Photographs 
of  the  Eggs  of  the  Great  Auk. 

Last  Wednesday  night,  at  a Conversazione  of  the  Royal 
Society,  Burlington  House,  Sir  George  Gabriel  Stokes, 
Bart.,  M.P.,  President  of  the  Society,  received  the  members 
and  the  invited  guests.  Many  of  the  objects  of  scientific 
interest,  displayed  in  rooms  of  the  Society,  indicated  the 
great  utility  of  photography  in  various  branches  of  science. 

Mr.  C.  V.  Boys  exhibited  some  apparatus  of  consider- 
able interest  to  photographers,  by  which  he  had  taken 
negatives  of  an  electric  spark  at  the  rate  of  from  80  to  100 
per  second,  which  is  found  to  be  the  most  convenient 
speed  in  practice,  although  the  apparatus  will  make  2,000 
or  more  exposures  per  second  if  need  be.  This  is  a 
modification  of  the  method  employed  by  Dr.  Oliver  Lodge 
to  show  the  oscillatory  nature  of  an  electric  spark  formed 
under  proper  conditions.  Six  lenses  are  mounted  on  a 
disc,  and  are  made  to  rotate ; each  forms  upon  a screen 
an  image  of  the  spark,  which  is  drawn  out  by  the  move- 
ment of  the  lens  into  a broken  band  of  light.  The  lenses 
are  not  at  exactly  the  same  distance  from  the  axis,  so  that 
the  band  formed  by  one  is  not  overlapped  by  the  band 
formed  by  the  next.  Thus,  the  whole  duration  of  the 
spark,  from  the  first  to  the  last  oscillation,  is  observed  or 
photographed.  Single  achromatic  lenses  are  used  in  the 
revolving  wheel,  in  fact  they  are  the  front  lenses  of 
opera-glasses;  the  small  wheel  carrying  them  is  driven 
by  multiplying  gear,  and  can  be  made  to  turn  with  such 
velocity  as  to  emit  a musical  note. 

He  also  exhibited  some  photographs  showing  the  forma- 
tion of  water-drops,  taken,  some  at  the  rate  of  14,  and 
others  at  the  rate  of  20  exposures  per  second ; the  rate 
of  14  per  second  was  rather  too  slow. 

Water  drops,  half-au-inch  or  more  in  diameter,  were 
allowed  to  slowly  form  and  break  away  in  a liquid  of 
slightly  lower  specific  gravity,  namely,  a mixture  of 
paraffin  and  bisulphide  of  carbon.  Photographs  of  these 
were  taken  as  follows : they  were  illuminated  by  an  elec- 
tric arc  and  large  condensing  lenses,  a camera  was  placed 
in  front,  and  the  view  was  rendered  intermittent  by  a card 
disc  with  one  hole  near  the  edge  made  to  rotate  at  from 
14  to  20  turns  a second.  The  exposure  was  about  one 
eight-hundredth  of  a second.  Forty  inches  of  photo- 
graphic plate  were  arranged  in  a long  slide  which  could  be 
drawn  past  by  hand.  Three  of  these  multiple  photo- 
graphs were  exhibited  last  Wednesday.  The  thaumatrope 
was  made  by  sticking  the  separate  parts  of  the  last  series 
round  a card  disc,  and  afterwards  painting  the  surface 
black  and  white,  following  the  outlines  of  the  photographs 
exactly. 

The  thaumatrope,  anciently  so-called,  clearly  shows  the 
gradual  formation  of  the  drop  and  the  spherule,  the  oscil- 
lation of  the  pendant  drop  immediately  afterwards,  the 
rebound  of  the  spherule  from  the  pendant  drop,  the 
oscillation  of  the  large  drop  as  it  falls,  and  its  rebound 
from  the  water  below  into  which  it  fell. 


Other  photographs  exhibited  were  shadows  of  water  jets 
cast  upon  a photographic  plate  by  the  action  of  a small 
distant  spark,  a method  invented  by  Mr.  Chichester  Bell. 

The  remainder  were  photographic  shadows  cast  by  a 
water  jet  upon  a rapidly  moving  plate  by  the  intermittent 
light  of  an  oscillating  spark.  These  clearly  show  the 
movement  of  the  separate  water  drops. 

Mr.  Boys,  who  is  a Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  and 
demonstrator  to  the  Physical  Society,  always  has  something 
especially  attractive  to  show  at  these  Burlington  House 
gatherings. 

The  Royal  Meteorological  Society  exhibited  the  collec- 
tion of  photographs  of  meteorological  phenomena  described 
in  these  pages  a month  or  two  ago. 

Professor  II.  Marshall  Ward,  of  the  Forestry  School, 
Cooper’s  Hill,  near  Windsor,  exibited  a selection  of  lantern 
slides  enlarged  from  photomicrographic  negatives,  remark- 
able for  their  freedom  from  defects  under  the  difficult 
conditions  of  production.  The  transparencies  showed  (1) 
the  habits,  and  other  peculiarities,  of  various  trees  from 
different  parts  of  the  world  ; (2)  the  comparative  structure 
and  anatomy  of  several  European  timbers  ; and  (3)  some 
of  the  more  prominent  features  of  diseases  of  wood,  and 
fungi  causing  them. 

Professor  Sylvanus  P.  Thompson  exhibited  an  optical 
rotator.  This  apparatus  is  for  rotating  the  plane  of 
polarization  of  light,  and  is  intended  to  be  used  in  conjunc- 
tion with  polarizing  reflectors  (black-glass  mirrors  and  the 
like),  which  do  not  admit  of  being  bodily  rotated  around  the 
axis  of  the  beam  of  light.  The  principle  of  the  new  rotator 
consists  in  the  employment  of  two  quarter-wave  plates  of 
mica,  one  of  which  is  fixed  at  45®  across  the  plane-polar- 
ised beam  of  light,  which  it  thus  converts  into  circularly- 
polarised  light.  The  second  quarter-wave  plate,  which 
can  be  rotated  by  a simple  gear,  reconverts  the  circularly- 
polarised  beam  into  the  plane-polarised  light,  vibrating 
in  any  desired  azimuth. 

He  also  exhibited  a new  and  simple  straight- vision  prism 
of  value  for  use  with  the  optical  lantern  and  for  other 
purposes  ; it  is  partly  liquid  and  partly  solid,  and  so  con- 
structed that  much  less  light  is  lost  by  reflection  from 
surfaces  than  in  the  case  of  direct-vision  glass  prisms.  It 
consists  of  a single  prism  of  Jena  glass,  of  very  wide  angle, 
immersed  in  cinnamic  ether.  The  materials  having 
identical  mean  refractive  index,  rays  of  mean  refrangibility 
pass  straight  through,  but  others  do  not,  consequently  a 
spectrum  is  obtained. 

He  also  exhibited  a natural  diffraction-grating  of  quartz. 
This  specimen  of  iridescent  quartz  exhibits  diffraction- 
spectra  corresponding  to  those  of  a grating  ruled  to 
12,000  lines  to  the  inch.  A micro-photograph  taken  by 
Mr.  C.  L.  Curteis,  with  a Reichert’s  apochromatic  (3  mm.) 
lens,  shows  the  nature  of  the  minute  structures  of  the 
specimen.  For  the  sake  of  comparison,  a diffraction 
grating  of  6,000  lines  to  the  inch,  photographed  on  glass, 
was  exhibited  beside  the  piece  of  quartz. 

Professor  Sylvanus  Thompson  also  exhibited  a number 
of  flat  bottles,  each  containing  two  liquids,  incapable  of 
mixing,  placed  over  one  another.  They  were  chosen  so 
that  each  liquid  absorbs  all  the  rays  that  the  other  one 
can  transmit.  Though  each  was  transparent,  they  were 
jointly  absolutely  opaque ; they  were  also  opaque  when 
shaken  up  together. 

Mr.  J.  Norman  Lockyer  exhibited  photographs  of  the 
spectrum  of  the  nebula  in  Orion.  These  photographs  were 
taken  in  February  with  the  30-inch  reflector  at  Westgate- 


372 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  16.  1890. 


<>n-Sea ; the  exposures  varied  from  two  to  three  hours. 
The  one  token  with  three  hours’  exposure  (February  10th) 
shows  abont  fifty  lines  between  4 500  and  n 373,  but  many 
of  them  are  only  visible  with  difficulty,  especially  in  arti- 
ficial light.  The  Henry  Draper  Memorial  photograph  of 
the  spectrum  of  P Cygni  was  shown  for  comparison,  and 
it  was  seen  that  all  the  bright  lines  are  amongst  the 
brightest  in  the  nebula.  This  argues  in  favour  of  the 
view  that  stars  with  bright-line  spectra  are  of  a nebulous 
character. 

He  also  exhibited  a photograph  of  the  arc  spectrum  of 
manganese,  showing  the  use  of  silver  poles  in  eliminating 
impurities.  This  was  one  of  a new  series  of  photographs 
used  in  the  preparation  of  a new  map  of  metallic  spectra 
with  relation  to  the  sun,  Rowlands’  photographic  map  of 
the  solar  spectrum  forming  the  basis.  The  purest  salts 
obtainable  are  volatilised  in  the  electric  arc  between  silver 
poles,  and  in  this  way  the  impurities  contained  in  the  ordi- 
nary carbon  poles  are  eliminated.  The  silver  poles  were 
kindly  prepared  by  Prof.  Roberts-Austen,  of  the  Royal 
Mint. 

Mr.  Lockyer  lastly  exhibited  photographic  comparison 
spectra  of  sun  and  arc,  in  the  region  b to  B.  These  com- 
parison photographs  form  part  of  a new  series  intended  to 
cover  the  region  which  has  hitherto  been  mapped  by  eye 
observations  alone.  The  plates  used  were  ordinary  gela- 
tine dry  plates,  treated  with  cyanine  and  erythrosine. 

Professor  W.  Grylls  Adams  exhibited  a new  measuring 
polariscope,  for  measuring  the  angles  between  the  optic 
axes  of  biaxal  crystals. 

Mr.  Isaac  Roberts  exhibited  some  stellar  photographs, 
one  of  which  was  a photograph  with  two  exposures  of  the 
plate — the  first  of  two  hours’  duration  on  the  29th  January, 
and  the  second  of  two  and  a-half  hours’  duration  on  the 
3rd  February,  1889,  the  interval  between  the  exposures 
being  five  days.  The  photograph  is  intended  to  illustrate 
a method  for  detecting  variability  in  stars  during  short 
periods,  and  it  indicates  that  ten  faint  stars  in  the  region 
of  the  great  nebula  in  Orion  have  changed  in  magnitude  to 
the  extent  of  from  one-fourth  to  two-fifths  the  measured 
photographic  diameters  of  the  stellar  images  during  the 
interval  between  the  dual  exposures. 

We  asked  Mr.  Roberts  how  he  knew  that  the  differences 
were  not  caused  by  minute  local  areas  of  lower  sensitive- 
ness of  the  gelatine  plate,  lie  admitted  that  more  experi- 
ments were  necessary  to  remove  photographic  doubts,  and 
will  hereafter  have  to  be  made,  but  a difficulty  is  that  the 
opportunities  for  taking  such  photographs  are  of  rare 
occurrence. 

Mr.  Roberts  also  exhibited  a photograph  of  the  two 
clusters  in  the  sword-handle  of  Perseus,  showing  remark- 
able coronal  and  festoon-like  groupings  amongst  the  stars 
on  several  parts  of  the  photograph.  These  clusters  are 
quite  free  from  nebulosity,  and  in  this  respect  they  differ 
from  other  clusters  which  he  has  photographed ; for  those 
clusters  are  involved  in  faint  but  distinct  nebulosity. 

Sir  Henry  Roscoe  exhibited  some  specimens  of 
aluminium  and  alloys  manufactured  by  the  Aluminium 
Company.  They  included — pigs  of  alumiuium,  99  per 
cent,  pure ; castings  in  aluminium,  rough  and  finished  ; 
specimens  of  aluminium,  soldered  ; aluminium  wire,  sheet 
and  drawn  rod ; aluminium  medals,  plain  and  gilt ; cast 
aluminium  bronze  and  brass,  showing  (a)  tensile  strength 
and  elastic  limit,  (5)  twisting  stress,  (c)  thrusting  stress, 
long  specimens,  (d)  thrusting  stress,  short  specimens ; 
stamping  in  aluminium  bronze,  rough ; 10  per  cent. 


aluminium  bronze,  twisted  cold ; 5 per  cent,  aluminium 
bronze,  worked  hot  and  cold  ; aluminium  brass,  worked 
hot  and  cold ; aluminium  bronze  and  brass  sheet. 

Lord  Rayleigh  exhibited  the  polarisation  of  light  by 
chlorate  of  potash  crystals,  also  an  instrument  for  testing 
colour  vision. 

Mr.  Edward  Bidwell  exhibited  106  photographs  of  the 
eggs  of  the  great  auk.  There  are  67  recorded  eggs  of 
this  extinct  bird,  of  which  45  are  in  Great  Britain,  and 
11  in  France.  The  collection  of  photographs  exhibited 
consisted  of  two  views  each  of  53  of  these  eggs,  photo- 
graphed to  scale  by  professional  photographers  under  the 
personal  supervision  of  Mr.  Bidwell. 

Dr.  II.  C.  Sorby  exhibited  Chietopodae,  Medusae, 
Ascidians,  Nudibranchs,  and  other  Invertebrate,  pre- 
pared as  lantern  slides,  showing  not  only  the  general 
form,  but  also  much  of  their  anatomy.  He  says  that  some 
details  may  be  brought  out  to  greater  advantage  by  means 
of  a properly  developed  photograph. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  LENSES* 

BY  THOMAS  I!.  DALLMEYER. 

II. — The  Best  Selection  ok  Curves  Ascribed  to  the 
Material. 

In  photographic  lenses  the  curves  ascribed  to  the  lenses 
are  spherical,  and  this  form  of  curve  gives  rise  to  what  is 
known  as  spherical  aberration  or  error,  and  its  effects  in 
single  (uncombined  or  uncorrected)  lenses  are  (a)  indis- 
tinctness of  the  image  formed  for  the  axial  pencil,  (5) 
curvature  of  field,  (c)  astigmatism,  (</)  distortion.  A per- 
fect photographic  lens  would  be  corrected  for  all  these 
errors  ; the  corrections  are  approximated  by  combinations 
of  lenses,  and  we  will  proceed  to  examine  the  conditions 
best  suited  to  accomplish  each. 

(«)  We  have  seen  that  no  single  lens  can  be  made  free 
from  chromatic  aberration,  nor  can  it  be  free  from  spherical 
aberration.  For  a given  material  of  definite  refractive 
index  the  transversal  and  longitudinal  measurements  of 
the  aberration  vary  with  the  shape  of  the  lens,  and,  again, 
the  spherical  aberration  varies  with  the  aperture  and  the 
index  of  refraction  of  the  glass. 

For  convenience  in  arriving  at  accurate  results,  it  is 
best  to  separate  the  smaller  errors,  shown  by  a second 
approximation,  from  the  main  or  first  approximation. 
Thus,  to  arrive  at  a first  approximation,  we  have  the  well- 
known  formula  connecting  the  radii  and  refractive  index 
of  the  material  with  the  focal  length  : — 


■!  L+ 1 ’ 
( r s ) 


Then,  in  a second  approximation,  we  have  two  additional 
corrections  to  consider,  viz.,  the  thickness  of  the  lens  and 
the  measure  of  aberration,  / being  the  thickness,  and  >j  the 
semi -aperture  — 


(m-1F/<8 

H r- 


M — 1 


the  negative  signs  indicating  a diminution  of  the  first 
approximate  value. 

The  third  term  cannot  be  made  nothing  for  any  known 
material,  but  it  is  interesting  to  make  this  quantity  a 
minimum  with  definite  media  of  different  refractive  indices. 


* Continued  from  page  363. 


May  16,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS, 


373 


Iii  most  text-books  this  is  done  for  glass  of  the  nominal 
refractive  index  v = 1-5.  Taking  a definite  focal  length 
and  aperture  for  parallel  rays,  we  have  to  decide  what 
values  to  ascribe  to  the  radii  r and  s,  to  satisfy  the  con- 
dition. 

Calling  the  reciprocals  of  the  focal  length  and  the 
radii  F,  R,  and  S,  we  have 

R = — S + JL, 

ft— 1 

and  using  this  notation, 

R3  + [S  + [n  + 1)  F]  (S  + F)'-’  = minimum. 

Differentiating,  and  substituting 

, , d R 

— 1,or7s' 

- 3R>  + 2 [S  + Ij,  + 1)  F]  (S  + F)  + (S  + F)  - = 0 
and  substituting  again 

- S + F - for  R 
M — 1 

we  get 

{^+2,  + 6}s={j-4ip-2,-3}F 
here  if  h=.  1*5,  21S  = 6F,  and  hence 


or  r : s 


1 : 6 ; 


1 _ 2 1 _ 12 
s if  r 7/ 

commonly  known  as  the  crossed  lens. 

Supposing  the  refractive  index  were  higher,  say  1*6, 
here  r : s : : 1 : 15  to  satisfy  the  above  condition,  and  the 
lens  assumes  a shape  nearer  the  convexo-plane  lens. 

For  a given  glass  of  known  index  of  refraction,  and 
assuming  various  ratios  between  the  radii  of  curvatures, 
we  can  from  equation  (2)  find  at  once  expressions  that 
show  the  amount  of  aberration  in  any  chosen  form.  In 
speaking  of  lenses  it  is  essential  that  the  term  used  to 
describe  the  lens  should  define  the  surface  on  which  the 
pencil  of  rays  is  incident ; thus,  a plano-convex  lens  means 
that  the  rays  are  incident  upon  the  plane  side,  and  a 
convexo-plane  lens  that  the  rays  are  incident  upon  the 
convex  side. 

Now  taking  the  usual  table  thus  calculated  for  ordinary 
forms  of  single  lenses  (for  parallel  rays),  in  which  the 
refractive  index  m = 1 ’5,  and  including  the  correction  for 
thickness,  let  us  see  what  we  can  learn  here. 


Distance  of  least 

Diameter 

circle  of  aberration 
from 

of  least 
circle  of 

• 

approximate 

focus. 

aDerration. 

Plano-convex  lens  ... 

27 

y- 

9 J,3 

8 

f "* 

4 

Equi- convex  lens 

...  It  + 1 

yf 

5 y 3 

6 4 

f 

■"  ~S  7 1 

Convexo-plane  lens  ... 

...  p + 4 

y* 

7 y1 

3 8 

f 

- 12  /* 

Crossed  lens  

...2-4f+  l5 

y- 

15  y3 

29  56 

f 

'"28  /* 

We  see  that  in  each  change  of  form  the  position  and 
diameter  of  the  least  circle  of  aberration  differs ; the 
longitudinal  aberration  increases  or  diminishes  as  the  square 
of  the  diameter  of  the  aperture,  and  inversely  as  the  focal 
length,  and  the  least  circle  of  aberration  is  proportional 
to  the  cube  of  the  aperture,  and  inversely  as  the  square  of 
the  focal  length.  Thus,  for  two  similar  lenses,  in  radii 
and  glass,  but  one  having  twice  the  diameter  of  the  other, 
the  larger  lens  will  havt  a longitudinal  aberration  four 
times  as  great,  and  the  least  circle  of  aberration  will  be 
■eight  times  as  great ; and  again,  of  two  lenses  of  the  same 


aperture,  but  one  double  the  focal  length  of  the  other,  the 
longitudinal  aberration  will  here  be  the  half  (or  inversely 
as  the  focus),  and  the  diameter  of  the  least  circle  of  aber- 
ration the  quarter  (or  inversely  as  the  square  of  the  focus). 

Thus,  to  diminish  aberration  in  a single  lens,  the  only 
remedy  is  to  stop  it  down,  but  this  can  never  entirely  cure 
it.  Now,  with  a given  material  we  have  fora  definite  focal 
length  the  best  form  to  ascribe  to  the  lens  to  reduce  the 
aberration  of  the  central  or  axial  pencil  to  a minimum,  and 
we  can  further  improve  this  by  stopping  the  lens  down. 
For  photographic  purposes  we  have  now  to  consider  the 
best  form  to  ascribe  to  this  lens  to  fulfil  the  other  condi- 
tions that  are  also  required  for  the  formation  of  a distinct 
image.  These  investigations  with  a single  lens  are  fully 
dealt  with  in  Sir  G.  Airy's  paper,  “ On  the  Spherical  Aber- 
ration of  Lenses,”  and  for  a fuller  investigation  I must 
refer  you.  The  steps  necessary  are  (1)  to  find  proportion 
of  the  tangents  of  the  angles  made  by  the  axis  of  a pencil 
with  the  axis  of  a lens  before  and  after  refraction;  (2) 
the  distance  from  the  lens  of  the  plane  perpendicular  to 
the  axis  of  the  lens  at  which  the  convergence  of  the  rays, 
in  a perpendicular  or  vertical  plane,  takes  place  ; and  (3) 
the  distance  from  the  lens  of  the  plane  perpendicular  to 
the  axis,  and  in  a horizontal  plane  at  which  the  converg- 
ence of  the  rays  takes  place.  The  difference  of  the  posi- 
tions of  these  planes  of  the  primary  and  secondary  foci 
gives  rise  to  the  effect  of  astigmatism.  A geometrical 
illustration  will  probably  exjjlain  the  matter  more  clearly, 
and  I think  you  will  find  these  preliminary  investigations 
of  considerable  use  in  the  more  complicated  ones  of  com- 
binations and  systems  of  lenses  to  be  dealt  with  later. 

The  effect  of  astigmatism  in  lenses  appears  to  be  little 
understood,  so  I offer  you  the  following  practical  in- 
terpretation of  the  theoretical  deductions  above  referred 
to  in  connection  with  Sir  George  Airy’s  admirable  analy- 
tical treatise. 

It  has  been  frequently  asked  what  coma  and  astigmation 
are.  Coma  is  astigmatism,  the  vertical  focal  plane  being 
corrected  pretty  accurately  throughout  the  plane  of  the 
image,  but  the  horizontal  focal  points  being  situated,  off 
the  axis,  in  very  widely-different  planes. 

Take  the  plano-convex  lens  and  the  convexo-plane  lens 
with  a plate  having  a narrow  slit  cut  across  it  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  lens. 

Now,  in  either  case  the  vertical  plane  off  the  axis  will 
have  a certain  curvature  of  the  field,  but  the  image  for  the 
oblique  pencils  will  be  distinct  (in  a sense).  Now,  if  the 
plate  be  turned  so  as  to  take  the  horizontal  focal  plane  at 
positions  where  the  image  was  distinct  for  the  vertical 
focal  plane,  it  is  no  longer  so  for  the  horizontal  plane,  but 
a very  strong  coma  is  visible  ; with  the  plano-convex  lens 
coma-oaf,  and  with  the  convexo-plane  coma -/a.  Now, 
the  vertical  plane  has  less  curvature  of  field  than  the 
horizontal,  so  that  by  cutting  off  the  horizontal  and  using 
the  vertical,  coma  ceases. 

I may  mention  here  that  if  astigmatism  in  a single  com- 
bination or  any  system  of  lenses  were  entirely  cured,  there 
should  be  the  same  focus  for  both  planes. 

In  testing  lenses  for  astigmatism,  this  is  a very  powerful 
method  of  finding  the  amount.  The  effects  of  observing 
a point  of  light  are  very  interesting,  as  is  also  the  use,  in 
double  combinations,  of  an  astigmatic  stop. 

( To  be  continued). 

^ 

London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association.— 
May  22,  Mr.  J.  Traill  Taylor  will  give  a paper  on  “The  Ethics 
of  Photography.” 


374 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [May  16,  1890. 


THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  OF  ARTS,  1890. 

BY  THE  REV.  F.  C.  LAMBERT,  M.A. 

Gallery  No.  2. — On  entering  the  second  room  we  soon  find 
a small  picture  from  which  to  take  a hint,  No.  106  (“This 
Little  Pig  went  to  Market,”  J.  T.  Ross)  ; note  the  unity  of 
the  group,  and  not  one  of  them  staring  at  the  camera ; 
i.e.,  spectator — one  face,  or  rather  a part,  is  only  seen. 
The  subject  is  not  one  of  any  great  rarity. 

No.  109  (“  May  Day  Morning,”  E.  A.  Abbey).  We 
wonder  if  that  “ cock  o’  the  walk  ” is  only  just  waking  up ; 
it  seems  “too  quite  too”  early,  and  something  like  general 
fog  all  over  the  pla canvas. 

No.  110  (“The  Abyss,”  J.  T.  Nettleship),  “a  quick! 
plate  and  shutter.”  We  only  hope  we  may  never  see 
“ the  likes  o’  you  ” in  nature  : too  suggestive  of  an  after- 
a-lobster-supper-  dream. 

No.  115  (“  Luxor,”  J.  Farquharson).  Note  the  j 
strong  values  and  sharp  shadow — contour  of  strong  sun- 
light. 

No.  117  (“  Bp.  S.  Alban’s,”  W.  W.  Ouless,  R.  A.)  is  a 
vigorous  portrait,  but  brings  to  mind  the  expression  “asj 
fresh  as  paint.”  Time  will  improve  this  painting. 

No.  123  (“After  Waterloo,”  A.  C.  Gow,  A).  As  a 
general  rule,  we  do  not  care  for  the  usual  gaudy  glare  of 
so-called  military  pictures,  but  this  certainly  is  well  worth 
careful  study.  The  feeling  of  the  general  hurry-along,  ' 
“the  rush”  under  subdued  excitement,  is  skilfully 
expressed.  Note  the  general  unity  of  the  sub-groups,  | 
the  diversity  of  expression  under  a common  stimulus — j 
the  “ order  in  disorder” — the  general  “go  ” of  the  whole  I 
picture,  and  yet  all  in  a subdued  key. 

Nos.  124  and  666  (“Bp.  of  Durham,  Dr.  Westcott,” 
“ Late  Bp.  Durham,  Dr.  Lightfoot,”  both  by  W.  B. 
Richmond,  A).  It  is  a melancholy  and  striking  coinci- 
dence that  within  the  same  building,  and  from  the  same 
brush,  we  should  have  two  bishops  of  the  same  see,  and 
that  these  should  be  the  two  mostjustly-renowned  scholars 
that  the  world  has  known.  It  is  difficult  to  say  which  is 
the  better  likeness,  for  both  are  most  masterly,  and  both 
very  fine  examples  of  the  portraitist’s  art. 

No.  131  (“  .Sandy  Margin  of  the  Sea,”  B.  W.  Leader,  A). 
We  like  the  sandy  foreground  much  the  best,  for  the 
distance  is  not  distant  enough  to  please  ; note  that  some 
of  the  foreground  blades  of  grass  and  bits  of  “ sea  holly  ” 
nre  painted  in  detail,  and  others  suggested  only. 

No.  143  (“  Our  Village,”  H.  Ilerkomer,  A.)  ; and  every- 
one of  course  asks,  “Is  it  bushy?”  Anyhow,  it  contains 
plenty  to  look  at ; at  first  one  feels  the  groups  are  rather 
scattered  about,  disconnected,  a village  divided  against 
itself.  Note  the  kindly  old  grandfather  and  child ; the 
boys  enjoying  the  pleasures  of  imagination  at  “ the”  shop, 
and  the  prosperous  buxom  dame  at  the  door.  The  red- 
haired  girl  in  foreground  seems  a bit  above  her  station  in 
life,  but  is  a fine  study  all  the  same.  AVe  don’t  quite 
realize  “that  house,”  at  least  not  the  hind  part  thereof, 
but  suppose  it's  all  right.  Of  the  three  sons  of  toil,  the 
middle  figure  seems  the  nearest  to  our  experience  and  idea 
of  the  working  man.  The  foreground — and  here  we  do 
really  mean  the  foreground — might  have  been  cut  up 
a bit,  wheel  marks,  &c. , with  possible  advantage. 

No.  150  (“  A March  Gloaming,”  J.  L.  Pickering)  is  a 
pleasant  study — sombre  in  tone,  quiet,  broad,  and  simple, 
and  we  imagine  might  have  been  still  more  pleasing  witli  a 
less  noisy  sky. 

* Cuntinued  from  page  332. 


No.  151  (“  How  the  Gossip  Grew,”  F.  D.  Millet)  con- 
tains much  good  still  life  painting,  and  yet,  on  the  whole, 
is  not  satisfactory,  possibly  a case  of  “too  much  focus;” 
too  much  to  carry  away  the  eye  from  the  leading  theme  ; 
hence  a note  of  warning  ! 

No.  156  (“Cloud  Chariots,”  W.  A Mackworth).  The 
artist  here  gives  a free  lesson  to  some  of  his  not  very 
distant  neighbours  on  the  walls ; although  there  is  still 
wanting  that  feeling  of  the  “ arching  vaults  of  canopied 
heaven.” 

No.  160  (“E.  A.  AVaterlow,  A.R.A”  by  L.  Alma- 
Tadema,  R.A.),  interesting  chiefly  as  being  a portrait  of 
one  well-known  painter  by  another  equally  “if  not  more 
so.” 

No.  166  (“  Solitude,”  by  the  President)  we  reserve  for 
the  present. 

No.  168(“  Evening,”  F.  AV.  Jackson).  The  effect  is  quite 
in  agreement  with  its  title — quiet,  calm,  restful,  and  the 
sky  pleases  us  well. 

No.  175  (“Moonlight,”  &c.,  II.  J.  Stock).  The  poetic 
title  prepares  us  for  something  rather  weird,  uncanny,  and 
makes  us  repeat  that  we  do  not  often  see  a picture  lighted 
by  sunlight  which  conveys  the  effect  of  moonlight. 

No.  177  (“  Karnac,”  J.  Farquharson);  see  note  on 
No.  115.  These  wonderful  temple  remains,  all  leaning 
over  to  the  left,  make  us  think  about  swing-backs,  spirit 
levels,  &c.,  and  .altogether  leave  an  uncomfortable  feeling 
of  something  wrong.  Before  leaving  this  room  there  is 
yet  another  picture,  No.  129  (“  If,”  Theodore  Cook),  which 
may  be  well  seen  from  some  little  distance.  The  interior 
of  a work  room,  with  a lonely  toil-burdened  occupant  at  a 
sewing  machine ; the  broken  chair,  and  care-worn  face, 
general  surroundings,  tell  a tale,  without  words,  of  priva- 
tion— gloom,  doubt,  if? 

(To  be  continued.) 


A STANDARD  METHOD  OF  DEVELOPMENT* 

BY  C.  H.  BOTHAMLEY,  F.I.C.,  K.C.S. 

Comimg  now  to  a consideration  of  the  alkali  to  be  used, 
ammonium  carbonate  may  at  once  be  rejected  because  of 
its  great  instability.  Potassium  carbonate  has  certain 
advantages  over  the  sodium  salt,  but  is  less  easily  obtained 
pure,  and  is  very  hygroscopic.  This  last  property  renders 
its  use  impracticable  to  anyone  but  a chemist.  Our  choice 
therefore  lies  between  sodium  carbonate  and  ammonia. 
The  former  has  the  advantage  of  much  greater  stability,  is 
readily  obtained  pure,  and  can  be  kept  in  well  closed 
bottles  without  undergoing  chauge.  Sodium  carbonate 
is  commonly  met  with  in  three  forms : the  ordinary 
crystals,  or  decahydrate,  NaA'03,  10ILO ; the  crystalline 
monohydrate  NaX'03,  1LO,  formed  when  the  preceding 
hydrate  is  exposed  to  air  until  it  crumbles  to  fine  powder, 
and  ceases  to  lose  weight ; and  the  anhydrous  salt,  Na^CO;,. 
The  molecular  weights  of  the  three  compounds  are 
respectively  286,  124,  and  106,  and  hence  one  part  of  the 
anhydrous  sodium  carbonate  is  equivalent  to  IT 68  part  of 
the  inonohydrate,  and  to  2 ’698  parts  of  the  decahydrate. 
It  is  difficult  to  obtain  either  of  the  hydrates  of  absolutely 
definite  composition,  and  consequently  the  anhydrous  salt 
should  be  used. 

Anhydrous  sodium  carbonate  can  be  purchased  of  a 
high  degree  of  purity,  but,  as  a rule,  will  require  drying 
at  150°  C.  or  300Q  F.  It  is  best  made  by  heating  pure 

* Continued  from  page  336. 


May  16,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


375 


sodium  bicarbonate  (sodium  hydrogen  carbonate)  at 
150Q  C.,  which  expels  all  water  and  excess  of  carbonic 
acid,  but  does  not  produce  any  sodium  oxide.  The 
anhydrous  salt  should  be  kept  in  a bottle  closed,  preferably, 
with  an  india-rubber  cork.  It  will  absorb  water  again  if 
exposed  to  air. 

Ammonia,  although  much  less  stable  than  sodium  car- 
bonate, has  much  less  action  on  the  glass  of  the  bottles  in 
which  its  solution  is  kept.  Moreover,  it  is  very  largely 
employed  in  practice,  and  the  possibility  of  using  it  in  a 
standard  developer  deserves  careful  consideration.  The 
concentration  of  even  moderately  dilute  ammonia  solution 
is  liable  to  variation,  in  consequence  of  the  volatilisation 
of  the  gas.  A determination  of  its  strength  is  made  either 
by  taking  the  specific  gravity — a tedious  operation  if  done 
accurately,  and  of  no  value  if  done  inaccurately — or  by 
titrating  with  a standard  acid,  as  in  the  ordinary  process 
of  acidimetry.  The  latter  operation  is  very  simple,  and 
requires  very  little  special  apparatus,  and  no  unusual 
manipulative  skill. 

Trituration  of  Ammonia. — We  require  a burette  holding 
50  c.c.,  and  graduated  in  fifths  or  tenths  of  a c.c.  (or 

I, 000  grains  graduated  in  half-grains)  ; a pipette  with  one 
mark  holding  10  c.c.  (or  100  grains)  ; a measuring  flask 
with  one  mark  holding  1,000  c.c.  (or  10,000  grains)  ; a 
standard  acid  ; and  an  indicator  consisting  of  a solution  of 
aitrin,  made  by  dissolving  one  part  of  the  dye  in  500  parts 
of  dilute  alcohol. 

Oxalic  acid  is  the  most  convenient  acid  to  employ. 
The  purest  oxalic  acid  obtained  from  a first-class  dealer  in 
fine  chemicals*  should  be  used.  It  has  the  composition 

II, 0/),,  2H20,  and  126  parts  are  equivalent  to  34  parts  of 
real  ammonia,  NII3. 

Dissolve  "37 '06  grammes  of  the  pure  acid  in  1,000  c.c. 
of  water;  1 c.c.  of  this  solution  is  equivalent  to  0.01 
gramme  of  ammonia,  Nil,.  The  solution  should  be  kept 
in  a cool  place  in  the  dark. 

Dilute  strong  ammonia  with  fifteen  times  its  bulk  of 
water  ; measure  off  10  c.c.  by  means  of  a pipette,  and  run 
it  into  a beaker  or  dish,  in  which  you  have  previously 
placed  about  50  c.c.  of  water.  Add  two  or  three  drops  of 
the  aurin  solution,  and  then,  having  previously  filled  the 
burette  to  zero  with  the  acid  solution,  run  the  acid  very 
carefully  into  the  ammonia,  with  constant  stirring,  until 
the  pink  colour  is  just,  and  only  just,  discharged.  Now 
read  off  the  amount  of  acid  which  has  been  run  from  the 
burette  ; the  number  of  cubic  centimetres  of  acid  required 
gives  the  number  of  centigrammes  of  ammonia,  NII3,  in 
the  10  c.c.  of  dilute  ammonia  solution  taken.  Label  this 
solution  “ Diluted  Ammonia,  No.  1,”  and  put  the  strength 
on  the  label.  From  this  it  is  easy  to  make  up  an  ammonia 
solution  of  definite  strength.  It  is  desirable  to  repeat  the 
trituration,  and  take  the  mean  of  the  two  results.  If  they 
do  not  .agree,  a third  experiment  must  be  made.  Before 
the  burette  is  filled  with  the  acid  solution,  it  should  be 
rinsed  out  with  a small  quantity  of  the  solution,  which  is 
then  thrown  away,  and  the  burette  is  filled.  The  pipette 
should  likewise  be  rinsed  out  with  a little  of  the  ammonia 
solution. 

Pyrogallol  should  be  dissolved  in  distilled  water  im- 
mediately before  it  is  wanted,  but  the  solution  will  keep 
well  enough  for  a day  or  two  in  a well-closed  bottle  if  it 
is  kept  out  of  contact  with  ammonia  fumes.  No  acid 
should  be  added ; there  is  no  evidence  that  the  acid  is 

* Becker  and  Co.;  Burgoyne,  Burbidges  and  Co.;  or  Hopkin  and 
■Williams. 


without  decomposing  action  on  the  pyrogallol,  and  it 
neutralises  part  of  the  alkali  used  as  an  accelerator. 

Sulphites  are  inadmissible  in  a standard  developer.  It 
is  almost  impossible  to  obtain  them  in  a state  of  purity, 
and  they  are  subject  to  continual  alteration.  Analysis  of 
a large  number  of  samples  of  commercial  sulphites  has 
taught  me  that  even  approximate  purity  and  constancy  of 
composition  are  only  to  be  found  in  well-crystallised  samples 
of  the  so-called  metasulphites  or  metabisulphites,  which 
are  more  properly  called  anhydrosulphites.  Even  in  these 
cases  the  salt  was  never  quite  pure,  and  it  altered  continu- 
ously, though  slowly.  Variations  in  the  composition  of 
the  anhydrosulphites  affect  the  quantity  of  alkali  which 
they  neutralise,  and  hence,  of  course,  affect  the  active 
strength  of  the  developer.  We  are  also,  at  present,  with- 
out definite  information  as  to  the  exact  part  which  a sul- 
phite plays  in  development,  and  the  influence  of  different 
proportions  of  it. 

Consideration  of  these  points  led  me  to  the  conclusion 
that  a standard  developer  should  contain — 

A.  Pyrogallol,  ammonia,  ammonium  bromide  ; or 

B.  Pyrogallol,  sodium  carbonate,  potassium  bromide, 
or  no  restrainer. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  action  of  a developer  depends 
upon  (1)  its  concentration  ; (2)  the  relative  proportion  of 
the  constituents ; (3)  the  duration  of  its  action ; and  (4) 
the  temperature. 

A standard  developer  must  be  so  compounded  that  it 
will  reduce  all  silver  bromide  which  has  been  acted  upon 
by  light,  without  reducing  the  bromide  which  the  light 
has  not  altered,  or,  in  other  words,  without  producing 
chemical  fog. 

Messrs.  Clark  and  Ferrero  have  calculated  the  relative 
proportions  of  the  constituents  of  the  more  important  of 
the  various  unnecessarily  complicated  developing  formulas 
which  have  been  proposed.  Examination  of  these  num- 
bers shows  that  a developer  which  contains  in  each  fluid 
ounce  2 grains  of  pyrogallol,  1 grain  of  ammonium  bro- 
mide, and  3 minims  of  ammonia  solution  ’880,  may  be 
taken  as  an  approximate  average.  The  use  of  such  a 
solution  as  a normal  developer  has  frequently  been  recom- 
mended by  Mr.  Andrew  Pringle.  If  these  quantities  are 
calculated  to  parts  in  1,000,  and  the  proportion  of  real 
ammonia,  NII3,  is  substituted  for  that  of  the  strong  solu- 
tion, we  find  that  they  agree  approximately  with  a deve- 
loper which  contains  in  1,000  parts  by  measure,  5 parts  of 
pyrogallol,  2 5 parts  of  ammonium  bromide,  and  2-5  parts 
of  real  ammonia. 

In  accordance  with  one  of  the  conditions  previously 
laid  down,  that  the  standard  developer  should  correspond 
as  closely  as  possible  with  the  developers  used  in  ordinary 
practice,  I adopted  these  proportions  as  a preliminary 
standard,  and  made  a number  of  experiments  with  a view 
to  determine  how  far  this  developer  was  applicable  to  plates 
of  various  kinds,  and  how  far  the  results  were  modified  by 
the  conditions  under  which  the  developer  was  allowed 
to  act. 

Before  describing  the  experiments  and  their  results,  it 
may  be  as  well  to  point  out  that  the  methods  in  common 
use  for  measuring  sensitiveness  are  not  particularly  accu- 
rate. Iu  the  Warnerke  sensitometer  screen,  or  the  Spurge 
sensitometer,  the  difference  between  a sensitiveness  of  1 
and  a sensitiveness  of  2 is  represented  by  three  numbers  or 
holes  ; in  other  words,  they  do  not  measure  sensitiveness 
to  less  than  about  33  per  cent,  of  its  value.  NewalTs 
sensitometer  is  capable  of  giving  much  greater  accuracy, 


376 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  16,  1890. 


but  is  not  iu  general  use.  There  is,  however,  no  reason 
why  we  should  not  have  a standard  method  of  development 
in  readiness  for  the  improved  methods  of  sensitometry 
which  will  some  day  be  invented. 

(To  be  continued.) 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  MILAN. 

A new  photographic  journal  has  just  appeared  in  Milan. 
It  is  called  the  Photographic  Dilettante , and  is  published 
with  illustrations  monthly,  under  the  direction  of  Signor 
Dott.  Luigi  Gioppi.  The  editor,  iu  presenting  this  journal 
to  the  public,  speaks  of  it  as  an  aspirant  “ desiring  to 
become  a direct  emanation  of  the  great  art  of  light  and 
shade.”  Without  seeking  to  diminish  in  any  degree  the 
importance  of  the  already  existent  photographic  publica- 
tions in  Italy,  the  design  of  the  present  journal  is,  says 
Signor  Gioppi,  to  provide,  at  a cheap  price,  a popular 
paper  with  essentially  practical  ideas  for  all  who  are  inte- 
rested in  photography. 

The  title  of  the  journal  shows  that  it  is  chiefly  intended 
for  beginners  and  amateurs ; but  it  will  also  have  an  interest 
for  more  advanced  students  and  professionals  who  are 
desirous  to  increase  their  scientific  knowledge  or  amplify 
their  business  gain.  The  variety  and  clearness  of  the  illus- 
trations will,  it  is  hoped,  says  the  editor,  not  only  embelish, 
but  assist  the  comprehension  of  the  matter  contained  in  the 
printed  pages.  Special  attention  will  also  be  paid  to  all 
inquirers,  in  order  to  establish  between  this  journal  and  the 
public  a “ moral  chain  of  sympathy  and  affection  ” in  an 
art  which,  says  the  editor,  we  love  above  any  other. 

At  present  the  Photographic  Dilettante  is  a “ direct  emana- 
tion ” from  the  celebrated  Annales  Photographiques,  an  able 
and  successful  journal  numbering  amongst  its  contributors 
some  of  the  chief  scientific,  practical,  and  amateur 
votaries  of  photography.  But  it  is  the  purpose  of  the 
editor  to  add  a large  quantity  of  original  matter  suited  to 
the  tastes  and  wants  of  its  community  of  readers. 

The  present  number  of  the  Photographic  Dilettante  for 
the  month  of  May  contains  several  interesting  articles, 
such  as  “ For  Beginners,”  “An  Historic  Account  of  the 
Art,”  “ Photographic  Failures,  .and  Means  to  Avoid 
Them,”  “Apparatus  for  Enlargements,”  “Instantaneous 
Photography,”  and  “Photography  with  the  Magnesium 
Light.” 

In  “ Photography  for  Beginners  ” is  given  an  interesting 
anecdote  communicated  by  Signor  E.  Beleurgey  de  Ray- 
mond. One  of  this  writer’s  friends,  an  excellent  musician, 
used  to  utter  loud  and  continuous  complaints  about  the 
rejection  of  his  pictures.  Every  year  several  were 
returned  to  him  with  the  fatal  word  rijiutato — declined — 
marked  iu  momumental  characters  on  their  backs.  Ilis 
fellow-citizens,  in  consequence  of  this  decree,  were 
unable  to  admire  liis  landscapes  of  a cauliflower  green, 
and  his  horses  of  a pronounced  jaundice  yellow  which 
caused  astonishment  to  his  cook.  The  musician  could 
endure  with  patience  abuse  of  his  music,  which  was  good, 
but  the  slightest  disesteem  of  his  pictures,  which  were 
bad,  offended  him  beyond  forgiveness.  One  day,  as  he  was 
inflicting  on  Signor  dc  Raymond  his  complaints  against 
the  obliquity  of  the  judges  of  his  productions,  and  the 
general  degradation  of  taste  of  the  people  of  his  time, 
the  latter  asked  him  why  he  did  not  busy  himself 
with  photography  : “ With  your  artistic  taste  you  would 
certainly  obtain  most  praiseworthy  results.” 


“You  thiuk  so,”  replied  the  musician;  “well,  it 
might  be,  but  photography  is  not  art.” 

“It  is  at  least  very  near  it.  Look  at  these  photo- 
graphs, for  instance,”  and  Signor  de  Raymond  produced 
several  views  taken  from  the  Valle  d’ Aosta  in  a masterly 
manner.  “There,”  said  Signor  de  Raymond,  “is  true 
feeling,  and  so  true  art.” 

“That  is  so,”  replied  the  musician  ; “ but,  for  my  own 
part,  I aspire  to  something  beyond  that.  ” 

“ Several  months  afterwards,”  says  the  narrator  of  the 
story,  “ I met  my  musiciau  again  with  his  whole  being 
trausfigured.  He  had  set  himself  seriously  to  the  practice 
of  photography,  and  had  already  attained  a fair  modicum 
of  success.  This  success  was  the  death-knell  of  his 
pictorial  daubs ; no  more  cauliflower  greens  or  jaundice 
yellows  were  declined  by  judges  of  deteriorated  taste  in 
art,  and  our  musiciau  became  an  amateur  photographer  of 
no  small  repute.” 

“I  narrate  this  story,”  says  Signor  de  Raymond,  “to 
show  that  the  learning  of  photography  is  neither  long  nor 
difficult;  and,  whilst  to  become  a painter  certain  natural 
gifts  are  requisite,  in  addition  to  years  of  labour,  to  become 
a photographer  is  within  the  reach  of  almost  everybody.” 

In  the  “ Historic  Account  of  Fhotography,”  M.  Rizzardi 
recalls  the  observation  of  the  astronomer,  Arago,  on  the 
10th  August,  1839,  that  photography  was  the  most 
marvellous  conquest  of  the  human  mind ; and  that  of 
Lamartine,  who  spoke  of  it,  not  as  a trade,  but  a high  art 
and  phenomenon  in  which  the  artist  has  the  sun  for  his 
fellow-worker.  According  to  M.  Rizzardi,  the  “ first  idea 
of  the  camera-obscura  was  incontestably  that  of  the 
Neapolitan,  Giovanni  Battista  Porta  ” — a name  since 
ingeniously  converted  by  some  person  better  acquainted 
with  biblical  than  Italian  history  into  St.  John  the  Baptist. 

In  the  article  entitled  “Apparatus  for  Enlargements,” 
the  reader  is  informed  that  the  ever  extended  use  of 
papers  of  gelatino-bromide  and  chloride  has  determined 
the  editor  to  produce  a series  of  articles  showing  how 
these  may  be  employed  in  printing  by  contact,  and  how 
they  may  be  especially  utilized  for  enlargements.  “ The 
press  of  space  in  our  present  number,”  writes  the  editor, 
“ compels  us  to  defer  our  first  article  on  this  subject 
to  our  next  number  in  June  ; but  an  illustration  accom- 
panies the  letter-press  of  a machine  for  enlargements,  of 
which  a detailed  account  will  be  given  hereafter.” 

♦ 

Proeessok  Mbldola’s  lecture  on  “ The  Invisible  Photographic 
Image  ” will  be  delivered  at  the  Royal  Institution  to-uight. 

Photography  at  Eton. — Last  Saturday  night,  Mr.  Andrew 
Pringle  delivered  an  address  on  “The  Pleasures,  Advantages, 
and  Various  Branches  of  Photography  ” to  a goodly  number  of 
Eton  boys,  iu  the  new  lecture  room  at  the  College.  The 
lecture  was  illustrated  with  lantern  pictures  projected  upon  a 
specially  prepared  wall  ; such  white  walls  for  the  purpose  are 
now  becoming  common  in  scientific  and  other  public  establish- 
ments, showing  the  growing  popularity  and  utility  of  the 
optical  lantern.  Mr.  Pringle  spoke  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Volunteer  Corps  of  the  College,  so  he  dealt  more  particularly 
with  military  photography,  and  the  biunial  lantern  employed 
was  skilfully  worked  by  the  sergeant  of  the  corps.  The 
speaker  stated  that  he  was  a Harrow  boy,  and  gloried  in  the 
generous  rivalry  between  Harrow  and  Eton.  Mr.  Pringle 
ended  by  urging  the  formation  of  an  Eton  photographic  society. 
The  science  master,  Mr.  Porter,  then  expressed  his  willingness 
to  receive  the  names  of  intending  members,  and  perhaps  the 
suggestion  will  bear  practical  fruit,  because  about  a hundred  of 
the  scholars  possess  cameras.  The  lecture  was  of  a lively 
nature,  and  well  received. 


May  16,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


377 


THE  GLASGOW  PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITION. 
The  Seventh  Annual  Exhibition  of  the  Glasgow  and  West 
of  Scotland  Amateur  Photographic  Association,  just  closed, 
was  held  in  their  own  rooms,  207,  West  Regent  Street. 
To  call  it  an  average  exhibition  would,  perhaps,  be  over- 
stating actual  facts,  for  taking  into  consideration  the 
membership,  the  exhibits  in  no  way  correspond  to  the 
continued  growth  of  the  Association.  Perhaps  it  is  almost 
too  much  to  expect  that  pictures  can  be  obtained  annually 
in  sufficient  number  and  of  sufficient  merit  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  an  exhibition  which  is  confined  to  mem- 
bers solely.  These  remarks  are  suggested  by  the  con- 
spicuous absence  of  work  from  those  members  who  were 
the  prize  takers  of  former  years.  The  works  are  missing 
of  Snell,  Anderson,  Rennie,  Coulson,  Goodwin,  and  many 
others.  It  might  be  a judicious  step  to  refrain  from 
having  an  exhibition  next  year,  or,  if  the  members  should 
still  desire  to  continue  the  yearly  show,  let  some  classes 
be  arranged  for  outsiders,  so  that  additional  interest 
might  be  imparted  and  a collection  gathered  that  would 
attract  the  general  public. 

Taking  the  classes  in  the  order  in  which  they  appear  in 
the  catalogue,  first  of  all  conies  that  of  Landscapes.  This 
is  divided  into  two  sections : Section  A,  for  pictures  whole- 
plate  size  and  over  ; and  Section  B,  sizes  under  whole  plate. 
There  are  eight  competitors  in  the  former  section,  and 
David  II.  Clark,  M.A.,  carried  off  the  honours  with  his 
three  pictures — “Summer  Morning,  St.  Monance,”  “The 
Trysting  Tree,”  and  “ Pittenweern.”  In  addition, 
Mr.  Clark  has  secured  a medal  for  the  most  artistic 
picture  in  the  exhibition,  which  has  been  awarded  to 
“ The  Trysting  Tree."  The  judges,  perhaps,  had  little 
difficulty  in  arriving  at  their  verdict  in  the  case  of  the 
picture  specified ; it  would  hold  its  own  iii  a much 
more  strongly  competed  exhibition  than  the  present. 
Mr.  Charles  -1.  Shaw  secures  second  prize  with  his  ‘•Cot- 
tages in  Landash,  near  Rothesay,”  “ Old  Pier,  Landash;” 
while  the  third  prize  goes  to  Mr.  George  Sheriff,  for  his 
“ Fisherfolk,  Pittenweern."  “ Fishing  Boats,  Anstruther,” 
“ Willows  on  the  Carron these  have  been  printed  by 
Blanchard's  toning  process.  In  Section  B,  ex-President 
Ralph  II.  Elder  has  been  placed  first  and  third  for  his 
“ Views  in  Brittany,”  while  Mr.  John  Morrison,  Jun.,  is 
ranked  second  in  order  of  merit,  lie  has  several  sets  of 
pictures  in  the  class,  all  of  a high  order  of  merit,  and  all 
taken  by  the  hand-camera.  The  successful  three,  how- 
ever, are  “Fishers,”  “Lake  of  Menteith,”  “Ploughing, 
near  Kelvingrove  Park.” 

Class  2 — that  of  Figure  Studies — is,  as  far  as  competitors 
are  concerned,  decidedly  weak,  there  being  only  two 
entries.  Mr.  Clark  scores  here  again  with  his  “Two 
a Penny,”  “The  Army  of  the  Future,”  and  “A  Funny 
Story.” 

Class  ?>.  Instantaneous. — As  usually  to  be  found  in  this 
class,  there  are  one  or  two  pictures  which,  strictly  speak- 
ing, do  not  answer  to  the  term  instantaneous.  George 
Sheriff  has  been  awarded  first  place  for  “S.S.  Pioneer 
leaving  Oban,”  “Before  the  Wind,”  “Sound  of  Mull;" 
“S.S.  Mountaineer  leaving  Oban;”  and  “The  Thistle,'' 
“The  Ariel,"  “The  Cruiser,"  and  “ Marguerite"  of  Mr.  T. 
Steven,  Jun..  arc  placed  second.  Yacht  pictures  and 
steamer  pictures  seem  to  be  more  or  less  played  out, 
and  it  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  a series  of  hand- 
camera  pictures  by  Mr.  John  Morrison,  Jun.,  has  not 
been  recognised  by  those  judging  as  worthy  a place. 


Either  of  the  frames  shown  by  Mr.  Morrison  was  worthy 
of  recognition,  the  subjects  chosen  being  in  no  sense 
hackneyed. 

Class  4.  Portraits. — As  necessarily  with  amateurs,  wo 
must  not  look  for  a very  high  standard  in  this  class, 
j Although  five  entries,  only  one  prize  has  been  awarded, 
and  this  goes  to  Mr.  Thomas  Taylor,  certainly  the  best 
shown. 

Class  5.  Groups.  — Victor  L.  Alexander. 

Class  0.  Animals. — It  is  difficult  to  say  why  this  class 
should  not  be  a more  strongly  competed  for  class  than  it 
is.  Mr.  James  Fleming  takes  first  place  with  his  Dog, 
Chickens,  Pony. 

Class  7.  Still  Life  awl  Interior. — David  R.  Clark  is  again 
to  the  front.  He  shows  three  interiors  of  the  Municipal 
Buildings,  Glasgow,  all  15  by  12  pictures.  Second  prize 
goes  to  T.  Stephen,  Jun.,  for  his  interiors  of  St.  John’s, 
Malta. 

Class  8.  Enlargements. — Generally  one  of  the  strongest 
classes  in  an  amateur  exhibition.  The  judges  have  decided 
to  make  only  one  award,  and  it  goes  to  Mr.  Archibald 
Watson,  President,  for  Marble  Staircase,  Municipal  Build- 
ings, Glasgow;  Faleide,  Norway;  and  Corridor,  Municipal 
Buildings,  Glasgow.  Some  of  the  portraits  enlarged 
would  require  to  be  hung  very  high  indeed  in  order  to 
minimise  defects  of  original  negatives. 

Class  9.  Transparencies. — Mr.  Archibald  Watson,  Presi- 
dent, is  the  sole  prize  taker  in  this  class,  there  being  only 
himself  and  Mr.  John  Morrison,  Jun.,  competing.  These 
exhibitors  have  made  their  transparencies  on  Mawson  and 
Swan's  plates,  and  very  creditable  productions  they  are. 
Lantern  plate  work  being  so  much  in  the  ascendant  at 
present,  it  was  a matter  of  astonishment  to  find  this  class 
of  picture  so  poorly  represented.  Perhaps  it  would  have 
been  a little  ridiculous  to  have  given  two  prizes  when  only 
two  men  had  entered  the  lists,  but  Mr.  Morrison's  three 
pictures  have,  owing  to  a lack  of  interest  on  the  part  of 
his  fellow  members,  been  somewhat  shelved.  They  run 
Mr.  Watson  very  closely,  and  had  more  entries  been  forth- 
coming, Mr.  Morrison  would  have  been  pretty  sure  of 
second  place. 

Class  10.  Developed  Prints. — In  this  class  the  bromide 
print  is  predominant,  although  one  or  two  specimens  of 
platinotype  are  to  be  found.  Mr.  John  Ure  Primrose — 
or,  to  be  more  accurate,  Councillor  Primrose — is  here  at 
his  best.  He  takes  both  first  and  second  prizes.  The 
pictures  ranked  first  arc  those  of  “The  Staircase,  Muni- 
cipal Buildings,  Glasgow,"  and  a “ Drawing-room  while 
those  second  include  “Coming  into  Rothesay,”  “Off 
Dunoon,”  “At  Hunter's  Quay.”  The  picture,  “Off  Dun- 
oon,” is  particularly  fine.  On  either  side  of  a river 
steamer  are  grouped  several  yachts  evidently  becalmed, 
but  most  picturesque  in  their  erect  bearing  with  all  sails 
set,  the  whole  forming  a most  effective  and  telling  piece 
of  composition.  About  a dozen  of  frames  have  been  sent 
in  containing  pictures  which  are  not  for  competition,  and 
among  them  Mr.  Clark’s  exhibit  is  the  most  important. 
The  picture  entitled  “ Fisherman  and  his  Wife”  gained  a 
medal  at  the  exhibition  held  some  little  time  ago  at  Castle 
Wemyss. 

In  conclusion,  it  should  be  mentioned  that  the  judging 
was  entrusted  to  Mr.  Paton  of  Greenock,  Mr.  Allan  of 
Ayr,  and  Mr.  William  Young,  artist,  all  of  whom  have 
already  officiated  in  a similar  capacity  at  previous  exhibi- 
tions of  the  Glasgow  amateurs. 


378 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  16,  1890. 


i&otts. 


The  proprietor  of  a Transvaal  paper,  having  offended 
the  Government  by  an  article  vigorously  attacking  its 
policy,  discovered  himself  in  hot  water.  The  autho- 
rities swooped  down  upon  the  printer,  placed  an  inter- 
dict on  the  paper,  and  prevented  a second  edition 
appearing.  The  proprietor,  howevei’,  was  equal  to  the 
occasion,  and  had  a copy  of  the  first  edition  photo- 
graphed. Proofs  to  the  number  of  eight  hundred  were 
printed,  and  such  was  the  demand  for  this  journalistic 
curiosity  that  the  Transvaal  Truth  in  its  photographic 
form  was  largely  bought  up  at  half  a guinea  a copy. 


The  “ Automatic  Photograph  Company,”  which  has, 
during  the  past  few  days,  appealed  to  the  public  for 
£100,000  to  enable  it  to  start  in  business,  has  no  doubt 
a very  elever  idea  to  work  upon,  but  the  pecuniary 
success  does  not  appear  to  be  so  certain  as  the  prospectus 
would  have  one  to  believe.  It  is,  of  course,  easy 
enough  to  say  that  1,000  machines  producing  half-a- 
crown  a day  will  yield  £45,625,  because  this  is  equiva- 
lent to  two  and  two  making  four.  What  is  not  so  easy 
to  determine  is  the  absolute  certainty  that  30,000 
people  daily,  or  nearly  nine  millions  and  a-half 
yearly,  will  stand  in  front  of  these  automatic 
machines  and  be  photographed.  We  fully  admit  that 
the  novelty  of  the  operation  will  attract  the  multitude 
at  first,  and  that  in  favourable  spots,  and  under  favour- 
able circumstances,  the  machines  will  be  kept  going ; 
but  that  anything  like  the  numbers  will  patronise  them 
which  the  promoter  of  the  Company  confidently  expects 
remains  to  be  seen. 


It  may  be  doubted  also  whether  £15,000 — the  sum 
estimated  as  covering  “ cost  of  collection,  rentals  of 
machines,  depreciation,  repairs,  and  management  ” — 
will  be  anything  like  an  adequate  amount.  Nothing  is 
said  definitely  as  to  the  second  item.  The  experience 
of  other  automatic  machine  companies  goes  o show 
that  the  rents  charged  by  railway  companies  and  others 
form  a large  proportion  of  the  annual  outlay,  and  we 
suspect  that  if  £10  per  machine  per  annum  were  put 
down  as  a yearly  rent,  it  would  not  be  under  the  mark. 
So  far  as  can  be  learnt  from  the  prospectus,  the  appara- 
tus has  not  had  the  test  which  can  alone  be  considered 
reliable — a lengthened  public  usage.  The  machine 
may  be  of  an  extremely  hardy  nature,  and  not  at  all 
likely  to  depreciate,  or  it  may  require  frequent  repairs, 
but  on  these  points  evidence  is  wanting. 


What  may  be  termed  the  photographic  side  of  the 
prospectus  appears  to  be  equally  open  to  criticism. 
Hoes  it  not  seem  strange  that  out  of  the  score  or  so  of 
press  notices  advertised,  not  a single  photographic  paper 
figures  in  the  list  ? The  inventor  has  carefully  avoided 
experts,  and  he  may  have  been  prudent  in  so  doing, 
but  as  we  have  not  examined  the  apparatus,  we  offer 
no  opinion  on  this  point,  and  simply  record  the  fact. 


It  is  comforting  to  know  that  “ it  is  not  pretended  that 
the  invention  will  materially  interfere  with  high-class 
photography,”  but  people  are  likely  to  have  some 
curiosity  as  to  “ the  secret  of  preparing  the  chemicals.” 
“ Hitherto,”  the  prospectus  gravely  sets  forth,  “ it  has 
been  necessary  to  use  expensive  materials,  which  has 
made  it  impossible  to  produce  photographs  at  anything 
approaching  the  figure  named.  It  will,  therefore,  be 
seen  that  the  revenues  of  the  Company  can  be  largely 
increased  by  selling  the  chemicals  for  ordinary 
photographic  purposes.”  Until  one  has  had  an 
opportunity  of  testing  these  mysterious  “ chemicals,” 
the  photographic  public  will  not  “ see  ” this  at  all. 
But  no  doubt  photographers  will  be  glad  to  be  con- 
vinced. The  omission  to  mention  the  exact  position  of 
Mr.  Ladislas  Nievski,  the  “technical  adviser  to  the 
Board”  (and  who  is  also  a director  and  one  of  the 
parties  to  the  contract)  with  regard  to  the  Stereoscopic 
Company  seems  to  be  slightly  misleading.  Mr.  Nievski 
is  paraded  as  ‘ ‘ chief  photographer,  London  Stereoscopic 
and  Photographic  Company,  Limited,”  and  this  has 
led  the  Stereoscopic  Company  to  advertise  that  their 
name  having  been  published  in  the  prospectus  of  the 
Automatic  Photographic  Company  “ in  connection  with 
an  operator  who  is  no  longer  in  their  employ,”  it  is 
necessary  to  state  that  neither  directly  nor  indirectly 
have  they  any  interest  in  or  connection  with  the  Auto- 
matic Company.  No  one  will  be  surprised  at  this 
denial,  and  so  far  as  the  particular  point  is  concerned, 
it  would  surely  have  been  more  ingenuous  on  the  part 
of  the  Automatic  Company  to  have  prefixed  “ chief 
photographer  ” by  the  word  “ late.” 


A question  as  to  the  patent.  The  prospectus  states 
“a  case  has  been  laid  by  the  Company  before  Mr. 
Moulton,  Q.C.,  and  Mr.  Goodeve,  the  well-known 
authorities  on  patent  law,  as  to  the  validity  of  the 
patent,  and  they  have  given  as  their  opinion  that  the 
patent  is  good  and  valid.”  No  doubt ; at  the  same  time, 
it  may  be  as  well  to  remember  that  there  is  another 
automatic  photograph  machine  in  the  field.  This  is  the 
apparatus  of  M.  Enjalbert,  which  was  at  work  for  some 
time  in  the  Paris  Exhibition. 


The  detective  camera  may  be  the  forerunner  of  novel 
forms  of  art.  We  read  in  a fashion  journal  that  there 
is  a necessity  for  a new  individual — one  who  might  be 
aptly  termed  a lightning  artist — who  could  paint  with 
rapidity,  and  show  immediately  on  large  canvasses  the 
very  remarkable  town-events  which  are  occurring. 
The  detective  camera,  it  is  discovered,  is  expressive 
and  real  in  its  results,  but  they  are  diminutive. 
With  the  assistance  of  a few  pounds  of  bright  colours, 
large  cartoons  might  be  accurately  painted  in  by  u 
lightning  artist.  This  is  all  very  well,  but  when  the 
cartoons  are  painted,  what  then  i Hoes  it  mean  that  a 
panorama  or  diorama  of  scenes  in  London  streets  is  in 
contemplation  ? 


Mat  16,  1890.]  y^;THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 

^ ^VV  . - — 


379 


CELLULOID  AS  A DRAWING  AND  PRINTING 
MATERIAL. 

BY  COLONEL,  J.  WATERHOUSE,  U.S.C.,  ASSISTANT  SURVEYOR- 
GENERAL  OF  INDIA. 

I have  lately  been  trying  some  experiments  with 
celluloid  films  as  a material  for  drawing  and  printing 
upon  in  connection  with  photographic  processes  of  repro- 
duction, and  a brief  account  of  the  results  may  not  be 
uninteresting.  The  advantages  celluloid  possseses  as  a 
drawing  material  are  : — 

1.  Its  great  translucency,  which  enables  tracings  to  be 
very  easily  made  upon  it,  and  also  renders  it  an  excellent 
material  for  being  used  as  a transparency  or  transmitted 
positive  or  negative  for  photographic  printing.  The 
absence  of  all  grain  makes  it  much  better  for  these  pur- 
poses than  paper  or  cloth. 

2.  Its  impermeability  to  and  uuabsorptiveness  of  water  or 
moisture,  which  make  it  quite  free  from  any  tendency  to 
be  affected  like  paper  by  hygrometric  changes,  or  to  be  , 
attacked  by  mildew  and  damp. 

3.  The  fine  matt  surface,  which  takes  pencil,  chalk,  or 
ink  very  readily,  and  can  easily  be  renewed,  if  necessary, 
by  graining  with  fine  sand  or  emery  powder. 

4.  The  facility  witli  which  drawings  can  be  washed  off 
and  renewed  for  purposes  of  correction  or  for  making  new 
drawings.  The  surface  can  easily  be  kept  clean  and  free 
from  dirt. 

I have  tried  the  films  as  obtained  from  America,  in 
three  thicknesses,  the  -n>Vo>  i»«o  and  jjj  J,,  of  an  inch 
The  first  is  about  the  thickness  of  thin  paper,  and  is  al- 
most free  from  colour ; the  second,  which  seems  to  be  1 
the  kind  in  ordinary  use  for  negatives,  &c.,  is  about  the  j 
thickness  of  a sheet  of  stout  writing  paper,  and  shows  a ! 
light  buff  colour  if  laid  on  white  paper ; the  third  is 
about  the  thickness  of  an  ordinary  playing  card,  and  shows 
a strong  buff  colour  over  white  paper. 

On  account  of  its  freedom  from  colour  and  great 
flexibility,  which  would  permit  of  its  being  rolled  without 
damage,  the  thinnest  kind  would  probably  be  found  the 
most  suitable  for  drawing  upon  ; but  as  the  surface  of  the 
thin  sample  sent  me  was  not  so  evenly  grained  as  the 
others,  I used  the  medium  kind  for  the  trials.  It  was 
found  that  a soft  black  lead  pencil  worked  very  pleasantly 
on  the  matt  surface,  and  gave  a fair  opacity  of  line  when 
viewed  through  the  film,  so  that  pencil  drawings  on  this 
material  might  be  copied  in  facsimile  very  easily  by  various 
photographic  processes.  Rlack  chalk  also  works  very 
well,  aud  gives  more  opacity  in  the  lines  than  lead  pencil 
does.  The  softer  kinds  work  better  than  the  hard.  With 
the  latter,  as  with  hard  lead  pencils,  there  is  a tendency 
to  make  lines  which  polish  the  surface  and  render  it  trans- 
parent when  viewed  through  the  film. 

Indian  ink  drawings  in  line  can  be  made  with  perfect 
fineness  and  delicacy,  either  on  the  matt  or  polished  films, 
with  pen  or  brush  ; but,  so  far  as  I have  tried,  it  is  not 
easy  to  produce  shaded  or  coloured  tints  in  washes  ; the 
surface  of  the  material  is  too  unabsorbsnt,  and  cut-shades 
are  produced  oh  drying.  Stippling  or  work  with  the  air- 
brush would  probably  answer  better  for  shaded  drawings 
in  Indian  ink  or  colour. 

Our  trials  have  already  shown  that  drawings  in  pen  and 
ink  and  in  chalk  on  celluloid  can  be  reproduced  very 
effectively  by  the  photo-etching  processes  on  copper, 
either  by  the  direct  methods,  in  which  asphalt um  or 
bichromated  albumen  is  used  as  the  sensitive  surface,  or  in 


the  manner  used  for  ordinary  half-tone  heliogravure  work 
with  carbon  tissue.  In  the  latter  case,  the  drawing  must 
be  reversed,  uidess  the  film  of  celluloid  is  thin  enough  to 
allow  the  drawing  to  be  printed  with  sufficient  sharpness 
through  the  film.  The  drawings  would  also  be  suitable 
for  reproduction  by  certain  of  the  block  processes  now  in 
use,  and  blocks  could  be  produced  directly  from  the 
artists’  drawings.  For  all  facsimile  work,  negatives  could 
easily  be  obtained,  if  necessary,  by  contact  printing  on  dry 
plates. 

The  drawings  can,  in  fact,  be  reproduced  by  any  of  the 
photographic  processes  now  used  for  reproducing  tracings; 
aud  as  the  material  is  perfectly  free  from  all  inequality  of 
grains,  is  sold  in  large  sheets,  and  will  soon  be  available  in 
continuous  rolls,  it  seems  likely  that  it  might  well  replace 
tracing  cloth  or  paper,  for  all  copying  or  tracing  purposes, 
and  especially  for  tracings  to  be  copied  by  photography. 

The  cost  of  the  celluloid  sheets  in  any  case  is  not  great, 
and  if  not  required  to  be  kept,  the  drawings  can  be  washed 
off,  and  the  same  materials  used  over  and  over  again. 
For  sketching  purposes  the  celluloid  would  be  very  useful, 
and  could  be  made  up  into  blocks,  like  paper.  It  would 
keep  much  better  than  the  latter  in  a damp  climate.  For 
drawings  for  decorative  purposes,  the  material  could  no 
doubt  be  also  usefully  employed. 

For  preparing  factitious  negatives  celluloid  also  offers 
great  advantages  and  facilities.  In  this  way  a drawing  in 
Indian  ink  or  other  pigment  can  at  once  be  turned  into  a 
reversed  negative  suitable  for  photo-mechanical  printing 
by  the  collotype  processes,  or  by  any  of  the  block 
processes  depending  on  a direct  photographic  impression 
from  the  negative  on  a zinc  plate,  coated  with  asphaltum 
or  chromated  colloid.  For  this  style  of  work,  lamp  or 
ivory  black,  with  a little  gum,  is  the  best  ink  to  draw  with, 
Indian  ink  being  rather  inclined  to  become  insoluble  by 
keeping.  As  soon  as  the  drawing  is  completed,  it  is  evenly 
coated  with  a mixture  of  lamp-black  and  gold  size,  as 
recommended  by  Major  Gore,  R.E.,  or  with  printing  iuk 
aud  turpentine  with  a little  gold  size,  so  that  it  may  dry 
quickly.  As  soou  as  this  is  the  case,  but  not  before,  the 
film  is  placed  in  water,  which  will  at  once  clear  the  ink  off 
the  lines  of  the  drawing,  leaving  them  quite  transparent 
against  the  opaque  ground.  F or  fine  work  a little  clear- 
ing of  the  lines  with  a soft  sponge  maybe  necessary. 

The  new  films  have  been  tried  as  a printing  surface,  in 
place  of  stone  or  zinc  plates,  aud  have  been  found  to 
answer  fairly  well,  excepting  that  it  is  very  difficult  to 
keep  the  ground  clear  and  white,  and  free  from  a slight 
dirty  tint.  Gum  and  gelatine  with  various  acids  and  with 
bichromate  of  potash  have  been  tried  as  “ etching  ” pre- 
parations, but  so  far  without  effect.  If  with  further  trial 
this  defect  can  be  overcome,  the  films  might  be  very 
valuable  as  a substitute  for  stone  or  zinc  in  printiug. 
With  the  delicate  cream  colour  of  the  stone,  which  is  so 
much  pleasanter  for  draughtsmen’s  work  than  the  dark 
grey  colour  of  the  zinc  plates,  they  possess  all  the  lightness, 
portability,  and  infrangibility  of  the  latter,  without  their 
liability  to  corrosion.  Their  ready  flexibility  would  be  of 
value  in  printing  from  curved  surfaces. 

1 have  not  yet  had  an  opportunity  of  trying  the  films  as 
a support  for  the  gelatine  printing  surface  in  collotype 
work,  but  it  seems  most  probable  that  the  thicker  kind  of 
celluloid  ( of  an  inch  thick),  would  be  suitable  for  this 
( purpose,  aud  would  have  the  great  advantage  over  glass 
| plates  of  not  being  liable  to  break.  The  transparency  of 
I the  films  would  admit  of  the  sunning  of  the  gelatine  coat- 


380 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  16,  1890. 


ing  from  the  back,  in  exactly  the  same  way  as  with  glass 
plates. 

The  celluloid  films  can  be  printed  on  from  stone  or 
zinc  fairly  well,  though  the  ink  takes  some  time  to  become 
thoroughly  dry.  Printing  from  copper  plates  was  not 
found  to  answer.  Type  can  also  be  printed  from,  but  the 
impressions  obtained  were  somewhat  weak,  and  the  type 
indents  the  films  very  much  ; but  further  trial  might  give 
better  results.  Such  prints  from  type  would  be  useful  in 
a variety  of  ways,  for  typing  names  and  titles,  &c.,  on 
heliogravure  plates,  and  for  many  other  miscellaneous 
purposes.  The  impressions  from  type  seem  rather  too 
weak  to  use  at  once  for  photographic  printing,  but  they 
can  easily  be  strengthened  by  brushing  over  them  some 
red  bronze  powder  or  black  lead. 

The  acquisition  of  a material  like  celluloid,  obtainable 
in  sheets  of  large  size  and  fine  surface,  which  is  practically 
transparent,  inextensible,  and  unabsorbent  of  moisture, 
nor  readily  acted  on  by  most  acids  (acetic  acid  attacks 
and  dissolves  it),  is  a great  advance  for  all  work  connected 
with  photography  and  printing,  and  it  seems  probable  that 
we  may  sec  a very  largo  extension  of  its  use  in  these 
directions  before  long. 


CARBON  PRINTING. 

BY  K.  BRIGHTMAN. 

Carbon  printing  appears  to  receive  less  attention  from 
amateurs  than  any  other  method  of  reproduction.  The 
reason  why  this  beautiful  process  is  so  neglected  is,  I 
think,  because  an  impression  prevails  that  the  process  is 
complicated,  troublesome,  and  uncertain.  To  read  a des- 
cription of  the  method  of  working  certainly  might  give 
one  this  impression  ; but  the  operations  are  all  extremely 
simple,  and  with  the  introduction  of  the  stripping  and 
celluloid  films,  giving  negatives  that  can  be  printed  from 
either  side,  a second  transfer  is  unnecessary : thus  the 
process  is  greatly  simplified. 

The  advantages  of  the  carbon  process  are  many:  — 

1 . It  is  undoubtedly  permanent. 

2.  Prints  may  be  made  in  any  desired  colour. 

Absolute  uniformity  of  tone. 

1.  It  can  be  adapted  to  all  classes  of  negatives  by  varia- 
tion in  the  strength  of  the  sensitising  solution.  A thin 
and  feeble  negative  will  give  a brilliant  and  rich  print  by 
using  a weak  bath  for  sensitising ; and  a hard,  dense  nega- 
tive will  yield  a soft  and  delicate  print  bv  increasing  the 
strength  of  the  solution. 

">.  The  results  obtained  by  this  process  arc  equal,  if 
not  superior,  to  those  obtained  by  any  other  method. 

Against  all  these  advantages  we  can  only  set  down  two 
drawbacks.  The  first  is  that  the  sensitised  tissue  will  not 
keep  in  a ready  prepared  state  for  many  days  ; in  keeping, 
a decomposition  takes  place,  which  renders  the  tissue 
partly  or  entirely  insoluble.  Secondly,  the  action  of  light 
on  the  tissue  is  invisible,  so  that  examination  will  not  ena- 
ble us  to  ascertain  the  progress  of  depth  of  printing;  but 
by  means  of  the  actinomcter  we  are  enabled  to  guage 
accurately  the  time  required  to  form  the  image,  so  that 
this  cannot  be  considered  to  be  a serious  objection. 

I'he  carbon  process  is  based  upon  the  property  of  gela- 
tine, gum,  and  similar  substances,  when  mixed  with  bi- 
chromate of  potassium,  of  becoming  insoluble  under  the 
action  of  light. 

* A paper  read  before  the  Bristol  and  West  of  England  Amateur  Photo- 
graphic Association. 


Briefly  described,  the  carbon  process  consists  in  adding 
carbon  in  the  form  of  lampblack,  or  other  finely-divided 
colouring  matter,  to  a mixture  of  gelatine,  which  is  evenly 
spread  upon  paper.  This  forms  what  is  technically 
termed  carbon  tissue,  which  is  rendered  sensitive  to  light 
by  immersion  in  a solution  of  bichromate  of  potassium. 
After  exposure  under  a negative,  this  paper  is  soaked  in 
warm  water ; the  portion  of  the  gelatine  unaffected  by 
light  dissolves  in  the  water,  while  the  insoluble  portion,  or 
that  which  has  been  acted  upon  by  light,  together  with 
the  imprisoned  colouring  matter,  remains  attached  to  the 
paper,  forming  the  varied  gradations  of  light  and  shade  in 
the  picture. 

To  obviate  defects  experienced  by  Poitevin  and  L'Abbe 
Laborde,  Swan  introduced  his  patent  process  of  double 
transfer. 

The  gelatine  tissue,  after  exposure,  was  cemented  by 
means  of  an  india-rubber  solution  to  stout  paper.  After 
the  rubber  cement  was  thoroughly  dry,  the  print  was  im- 
mersed in  hot  water,  and  the  paper  which  formed  the 
original  support  of  the  gelatine  film  was  washed  away  with 
the  soluble  gelatine,  leaving  the  reversed  picture  attached 
by  means  of  the  rubber  solution  to  the  second  sheet  of 
paper.  It  is,  of  course,  obvious  that  this  gave  a reversed 
image,  requiring  a re-reversal,  which  was  effected  by 
sticking  the  paper  face  downward  to  another  sheet  of 
paper  by  means  of  gelatine.  When  thoroughly  dry,  the 
upper  sheet  of  paper  was  removed  by  softening  the  rubber 
cement  with  benzole,  leaving  the  image  or  picture  now 
properly  reversed  on  a sheet  of  paper. 

This  method,  though  yielding  fine  results,  was  trouble- 
some, slow,  and  costly  ; and  it  remained  for  Johnson,  by 
his  more  simple  method  of  double  transfer,  to  bring  the 
process  to  perfection. 

Lewes  Photographic  Society. — This  Society  has  issued  the 
following  notices: — June  3rd — Paper  on  “Twelve  Months’ 
Experiences  as  an  Amateur  Photographer,”  by  Mr.  (}.  .1.  AYight- 
inan.  June  21st — Excursion  to  Newiek.  July  1st — Paper 
on  “Composition,  Light,  and  Shade,”  by  Mr.  E.  .1.  Bedford. 
July  19th — Excursion  to  ISuxted.  August  5th — Paper  on 
“ Printing  Processes,”  by  Mr.  A.  H.  C.  Corder.  August  30th — 
Excursion  to  Hayward’s  Heath  for  llalcombe.  September  2nd 
— -Annual  Meeting.  September  18th — Excursion  to  Hail- 
sham. 

Ai.UMiNiu.vr. — According  to  the  Tribune,  of  Rome,  Georgia, 
as  quoted  by  /mention,  a rather  important  discovery  has 
recently  been  made  in  Floyd  County,  in  the  shape,  apparently, 
of  a vein  of  bauxite,  or  cryolite,  suitable  for  use  in  making 
aluminium.  The  Tribune  appears  to  think  that  the  vein  con- 
tains pure  aluminium,  but  even  Georgia  could  hardly  furnish 
such  a wonder,  and  it  will  be  quite  sufficient  glory  for  Floyd 
County  to  supply  an  ore  capable  of  easy  conversion  into  metal. 
The  same  journal  speaks  of  a baton  of  aluminium,  with  regard 
to  which  il  makes  the  following  observations  : “ Lightness  is 
a very  desirable  quality  in  a musical  director’s  baton,  as  well  as 
the  metallic  brilliancy  of  surface  that  shall  easily  catch  and 
hold  the  eye  of  the  performer.  Aluminium  is,  therefore,  a 
good  material  for  the  purpose,  as  is  soon  to  be  demonstrated. 
A baton  of  this  metal,  recently  cast  at  the  Pittsburgh 
Reduction  Company’s  works,  bears  the  inscription  ; “ Pre- 
sented to  Mr.  Richard  Teckwer,  February  24th,  1890,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  XXth  Anniversary  of  the  Philadelphia  Musical 
Academy,  by  the  Counterpoint  Class  of  1890.”  The  baton  is 
1 7in.  long,  and  tapers  from  iin  to  5-16in.  in  diameter,  and 
though  solid  throughout,  weighs  only  3w  oz.  It  is  beautifully 
engraved  along  its  whole  length,  except  about  two  inches  in  the 
centre,  where  the  inscription  is  placed.  It  has  bands  of  an 
alloy  of  gold  and  aluminium,  and  the  whole  surface  is  finely 
burnished.” 


May  16,  1890.] 


The  photographic  news. 


381 


THE  CITY  PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITION. 

A prospectus  has  just  been  issued  about  “The  City 
Summer  Photographic  Exhibition,”  to  be  held  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Photographic  Trade  Section  of  the  London 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  Among  other  matters,  the 
circular  gives  the  names  of  the  members  of  the  committee 
of  the  Photographic  Trades’  Section,  as  follows : — Messrs. 
Walter  S.  Bird  (Chairman),  Frank  Bishop  (Deputy  Chair- 
man), Thomas  R.  Dallmeyer,  J.  .1.  Elliott,  Friese  Greene, 
William  Grove,  F.  W.  Hindley,  Bulmer  Howell,  Payne 
Jennings,  II.  S.  Mendelssohn,  J.  Lillie  Mitchell,  L. 
Warnerke,  Waterlow  and  Sons  (Limited),  Thomas  P. 
Watson,  and  S.  G.  Buchanan  Wollaston. 

Mr.  W.  S.  Bird  states  that  the  members  oi  the  com- 
mittee have  no  interest  in  the  coming  photographic  exhi- 
bition other  than  the  general  welfare  of  the  trade  and 
profession. 

The  executive  committee  of  the  exhibition  consists  of 
Messrs.  W.  S.  Bird,  Chairman  (the  Autotype  Company), 
T.  Watson  (IV.  Watson  and  Sons),  Payne  Jennings,  Frank 
Bishop  (Messrs.  Marion  and  Co.),  and  Conrad  Beck 
(II.  and  J.  Beck),  and  they  state  that  the  Photographic 
Section  of  the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce  has  received, 
through  the  medium  of  the  Chamber,  an  offer  from  the 
Drapers’  Company  of  the  use  of  their  Hall  in  Throgmorton 
Avenue  for  the  purpose  of  an  exhibition.  They  add  that 
a photographic  exhibition  held  in  the  centre  of  the  City 
under  such  auspices  cannot  but  be  advantageous  to  the 
trade.  The  Banqueting  Hall,  a palatial  apartment,  will 
be  reserved  exclusively  for  apparatus,  permitting  a larger 
display  than  has  yet  been  seen  in  London,  while  the 
Drawing  Room,  Square  Room,  Court  Room,  and  the 
Corridor  will  be  devoted  to  photographs  by  all  processes. 
A soiree  will  be  held  on  Friday  evening,  30th  May,  at  which 
the  committee  state  that  the  presence  of  the  Lord  Mayor 
and  many  city  and  parliamentary  dignitaries  is  expected. 
The  exhibition  will  open  on  Saturday,  May  31st,  and  close 
on  the  10th  of  June ; hours,  10  to  6 ; admission  free. 
The  Section  will  have  to  provide  a large  number  of  single 
and  double  screens,  covered  in  cloth,  giving  some  2,000  ft. 
of  space,  and  so  arranged  as  not  to  impair  the  splendour 
of  the  apartments.  The  cost  of  picture  hanging,  soiree, 
advertising,  paid  assistants,  and  so  on,  it  is  calculated  will 
be  covered  by  a charge  to  exhibitors  of  two  shillings  per 
square  foot,  the  minimum  charge  for  any  exhibit  being  ten 
shillings.  It  is  anticipated,  however,  that  the  expense 
may  be  covered  by  about  one  shilling  and  sixpence  per 
foot,  and,  if  so,  a due  proportion  of  the  fee  paid  will  be 
returned  to  the  exhibitor.  Should  the  expenses  exceed 
two  shillings  per  foot,  the  excess  will  be  met  by  a guarantee 
fund  already  subscribed  by  members  of  the  Section. 

Provision  will  be  made,  if  possible,  to  accommodate 
Bhow  cases  for  apparatus.  Sketch  and  measurements 
should  be  promptly  forwarded.  Applications  for  space, 
and  for  detailed  particulars,  should  be  made  to  Mr.  E. 
Cocking,  Photographic  Section,  London  Chamber  of 
Commerce.  Mr.  Cocking  has  been  appointed  secretary, 
and,  by  the  courtesy  of  the  Chamber,  accommodated  with 
office  facilities  at  Botolph  House.  There  will  be  no 
medals  or  awards  ; the  display  is  not  competitive,  but  to 
illustrate  the  best  work — optical,  mechanical,  and  artistic 
— of  the  photographic  trade.  There  will  be  no  catalogue. 
Exhibitors  will  be  supplied  with  two  sizes  of  cards  to  fill 
iu  title  or  brief  description,  with  name  and  address,  so  that 
visitors  can  at  a glance  see  the  desired  particulars. 


Exhibitors  contracting  for  fifty  feet  of  screen  can  direct  the 
hanging,  and  have  their  names  and  addresses  at  the  foot  of 
the  screen.  As  far  as  possible  the  works  of  each  exhibitor 
will  be  kept  together.  Invitations  to  the  soiree  will  be 
sent  to  each  exhibitor  and  friends. 

Mr.  Frank  Bishop  wishes  photographers  who  have  not 
already  done  so  to  make  their  applications  for  space  before 
all  is  allotted,  and  informs  us  that  Messrs.  Waterlow  have 
prepared  a fine  invitation  card,  five  thousand  of  which  will 
be  issued  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  to  the  leading 
merchants  and  traders  of  the  city  of  London,  for  the  open- 
ing soiree  on  the  30th  inst. 


A MEETING  OF  OPTICIANS  ABOUT  LENS 
MOUNTS. 

Last  Friday  the  adjourned  meeting  of  opticians  and  of 
some  members  of  the  Photographic  Convention  Com- 
mittee was  held  at  the  Mona  Hotel,  Covent  Garden, 
London,  with  Mr.  A.  Iladdon  in  the  chair.  Those  present 
were  Mr.  T.  R.  Dallmeyer,  Mr.  William  Beck,  Mr.  Conrad 
Beck,  Mr.  W.  Taylor,  Mr.  II.  R.  Fairbanks,  Mr.  llees 
Curtis,  Mr.  M.  J.  Swift,  Mr.  Hobson,  Mr.  Turnbull  (Wray 
& Sons),  Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater,  Mr.  F.  A.  Bridge,  and 
Mr.  J.  J.  Briginshaw. 

The  opticians  decided  unanimously  as  to  the  most  suit- 
able size  of  flange  and  character  of  threads  for  lenses  of 
the  smallest  sizes ; a second  sized  larger  flange  was  then 
recommended  for  adoption  by  a majority,  and  certain 
dimensions  for  standard  camera  screws  were  unanimously 
recommended.  What  the  various  dimensions  are  we  are 
not  at  liberty  to  state,  because  the  meeting  thought  that 
publication  now  would  be  anticipating  the  report  of  the 
Committee.  Mr.  Dallmeyer  stated  at  the  meeting  that 
Mr.  Walker,  of  the  Eastman  Co.,  thought  that  America 
would  adopt  the  flanges  recommended  by  the  Convention, 
and  that  he  would  recommend  American  firms  to  do  so. 

The  meeting  was  adjourned  for  the  consideration  of 
suitable  dimensions  for  flanges  of  larger  size. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHY  OF  THE  MORE  REFRAN- 
GIBLE RAYS* 

BY  V.  SCHUMANN. 

Spectroscopy  is  fortunately  not  exclusively  dependent 
upon  the  employment  of  glass.  Much  better  service  is 
rendered  by  a section  of  quartz.  Since  the  year  1852, 
in  which  Stokes  discovered  the  remarkable  transparency 
of  this  mineral,  it  has  been  much  more  used  for  spectro- 
scopic researches.  Its  transparency  for  the  ultra  violet 
rays  is  indeed  astonishing.  A few  seconds’  exposure 
suffices  to  take  a photograph  containing  perhaps  four 
times  as  much  as  would  be  obtained  with  a glass  having 
a similar  dispersive  power.  When  the  limit  of  action  of 
such  a photograph  is  ascertained,  it  is  found  to  be  about  at 
the  wave-length  2,195  ; that  is,  as  indicated  by  the  cadmium 
spectrum,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  line  No.  25.  We 
have  not  then,  however,  reached  the  limits  of  the  action 
of  light.  All  the  rays  which  lie  on  the  other  side  of  line 
25  work  sensibly  siower.  This  is  the  case  with  the 
cadmium  fine  26,  still  more  for  the  zinc  lines  27,  28,  and 
29,  and  to  a yet  further  degree  with  the  8 further  lines  of 
the  same  element,  which  required  a protracted  exposure 
iu  order  to  obtain  them. 

* Continued  from  page  361. 


382 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  16,  1890. 


If  the  lenses  of  the  spectrographic  apparatus  have  a 
long  focus  (from  f to  1 metre)  then  there  does  not 
appear  to  be  a trace  of  light  existing  beyond  the  zinc 
line  No.  29.  Unless  extraordinary  precautions  are  taken, 
one  may  give  exposures  even  of  several  hours’  duration 
without  obtaining  any  result.  When,  however,  the 
absorption  by  the  air  is  taken  into  account  and  dealt 
with,  then,  with  the  aid  of  the  aluminium  spark,  we  may 
succeed  in  obtaining  a range  of  lines  more  refrangible 
than  the  zinc  line  No.  29.  Of  the  lines  thus  obtained, 
five  in  number,  indications  are  obtained  in  the  region  of 
No.  30,  81,  and  32.  In  my  experience  this  is  the  most 
refrangible  ray  that  had  as  yet  been  photographed. 

The  photography  of  these  lines  offers  extraordinary 
difficulties.  For  years  I laboured  in  vain  to  obtain  the 
action  of  them  upon  my  plates,  and  only  in  the  spring  of 
1889  were  my  efforts  crowned  with  any  success.  I had 
then  at  last  before  me  in  the  photograph  the  long  tried- 
for  lines,  but  so  weak  in  parts,  and  of  so  little  intensity, 
that  to  insure  their  visibility  required  special  care.  The 
portion  of  the  spectrum  in  which  they  appeared  showed 
with  diffused  light  no  trace  whatever  of  a line. 

Are  the  aluminium  lines  above  mentioned  the  only  ones 
that  exist  on  the  other  side  of  the  wave  length  2024  (zinc 
line  No.  29),  or  is  that  region  richer  than  researches  up  to 
that  time  had  been  able  to  prove?  This  question  exer- 
cised me  considerably,  since  I had  made  the  last  five  lines 
of  aluminium  obedient  to  the  rule  of  photography.  I 
found  myself  led,  by  particular  circumstances,  to  take  up 
again  my  researches  in  this  direction.  A newly  fitted  up 
spectrographic  apparatus,  furnished  with  all  the  appliances 
that  my  experience  of  over  ten  years  with  the  quartz 
apparatus  could  suggest — I will  return  to  the  arrangement 
of  this  instrument  later  on — yielded  me  at  last,  although 
after  many  disappointments,  an  unexpectedly  happy 
result. 

Whilst  feeling  my  way  photographically  step  by  step 
along  the  limited  region  referred  to,  I came  at  last  upon  a 
newline.  This  showed  between  the  pair  of  lines  A1  No.  32. 
Soon  after  I found  a second,  and  later  on  a third  and  a 
fourth  line  emerge,  and  finally  these  were  followed  by  a 
widely  extended  group  of  lines  going  far  beyond  A1  No.  32, 
which,  to  the  eye,  appeared  to  contain  considerably  over 
100  lines.  Unfortunately  this  last-named  group  is  extra- 
ordinarily feeble  in  its  action.  To  photograph  it 
requires  an  exposure  of  several  hours’  duration.  Moreover, 
they  only  showed  with  clearness  where  I had  suppressed, 
as  much  as  possible,  all  diffused  light  in  the  interior  of  the 
apparatus.  Whether  these  lines  belong  to  aluminium 
itself  T am  not  able  at  present  to  decide.  Since  they  are 
so  far  removed  in  activity  from  the  other  lines,  it  may  be 
supposed  that  these  are  due  rather  to  the  air  than  the 
electrodes.  For  me,  however,  this  question  came  less  into 
consideration.  It  sufficed  me  provisionally  to  ascertain 
that  my  source  of  light  gave  an  almost  contiuous  spectrum 
extending  far  beyond  A1  No.  32,  and  not  ceasing  till  the 
wave  length  1820.  Hereby,  then,  proof  was  obtained  that 
there  are  rays  which  are  much  more  refrangible  than  A1 
No.  32. 

The  unlooked-for  happy  success  with  aluminium  induced 
me  to  carry  on  researches  on  the  more  refrangible  rays 
with  a number  of  other  elements.  I have  now  made 
experiments  with  many  photographs  of  the  spectra  of 
silver,  arsenic,  gold,  bismuth,  calcium,  cadmium,  cobalt, 
chromium,  copper,  iron,  potassium,  magnesium,  molyb- 
dium,  sodium,  nitrogen,  lead,  palladium,  platinum, 


antimony,  silicon,  tin,  tellurium,  and  tungsten.  The 
wealth  of  lines  of  most  of  these  spectra  has  far  exceeded 
my  expectations  ; at  the  same  time,  amongst  the  new  lines 
are  many  which  possess  great  power  of  light,  and  not  a 
few  which  are  of  decidedly  shorter  wave  length  than  that 
of  A1  No.  32.  To  the  more  powerful  in  light  of 
these  last-named  spectra  belong  those  of  bismuth,  calcium, 
and  tellurium.  The  number  of  lines  in  many  photo- 
graphs is  extraordinarily  large.  Tungsten,  for  instance, 
has  sixty,  and  iron  not  less.  Approaching  this  are 
the  spectra  of  platinum,  palladium,  molybdium,  and 
copper.  Some  elements  give  very  sharply  defined  lines. 
Tn  this  particular  tellurium  stands  forth  prominently  with 
a very  characteristic  group  of  lines  close  to  A1  No.  32. 
Some  other  photographic  spectra,  on  account  of  the 
cloudy  character  of  their  lines,  leave,  for  the  present, 
much  to  be  desired.  Spectra  of  this  kind  require  the 
utmost  care  if  they  are  not  to  remain  as  quite  useless  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  measurements. 

Although  my  photographs  show  a large  number  of  lines 
beyond  A1  No.  32,  yet  I have  never  succeeded  in  obtaining 
any  action  beyond  the  wave  length  1820. 

It  is  known  that  even  quartz  keeps  back  a portion  of 
the  ultra-violet  rays,  and  according  to  the  paper  by  Soret 
on  this  subject,  the  most  highly  refrangible  rays  are  par- 
ticularly affected.  Whether  they  are  completely  absorbed, 
or  only  in  part,  is  a question  which  can  only  be  decided  by 
a medium  which  surpasses  quartz  in  freedom  of  trans- 
mission. Such  a medium  we  possess  in  fluorite.  With 
the  help  of  a prism  and  two  lenses  of  fluorite,  photographs 
might  be  obtained  which,  on  account  of  the  absorption  of 
the  quartz  apparatus,  were  not  with  it  practicable. 

( To  be  continued). 


patent  EntdUgciuf. 

Specifications  Published. 

1,098.  January  21s<,  1890. — “Photographic  Apparatus.” 
Communicated  from  abroad  by  Emil  Kipper,  361,  Broadway, 
President  of  a Company,  and  Enoch  Wood  Perry,  juur. 
of  24,  Easth  14th  Street,  Artist,  both  in  the  City  and  State  of 
New  York.  Henry  Harris  Lake,  of  the  firm  of  Hazeltine, 
Lake,  and  Co.,  Patent  Agents,  Southampton  Buildings, 
London. 

This  invention  relates  to  that  type  of  photographic  apparatus 
wherein  a series  of  superimposed  sensitised  plates  is  successively 
exposed,  and  transferred  from  the  camera-box  or  plate-holder 
into  a suitable  receiving  chamber  or  box  through  the  medium  of 
externally  operated  mechanism. 

The  objects  of  this  invention  are  to  improve  the  construction 
and  operation  of  such  apparatus  ; to  provide  new  and  improved 
means  for  transferring  the  exposed  plates  or  films  into  the  plate- 
receiving chamber  ; to  provide  a novel  and  efficient  envelope  or 
carrier  for  each  sensitised  plate  which  will  cut  off  or  interrupt 
the  transmission  of  the  chemical  or  actinic  rays  of  light  to  the 
plate  or  plates  in  rear  thereof ; and  finally,  to  generally  im- 
prove photographic  apparatus  of  the  type  referred  to. 

The  inventors  make  twenty-two  claims,  and  their  specifica- 
tion is  accompanied  by  drawings. 

19,896.  Dec.  10th,  1889. — “Apparatus  for  the  Manufacture 
of  Photographic  Films.”  A communication  from  George 
Eastman,  of  Rochester,  in  the  County  of  Monroe,  and  State 
of  New  York,  United  States  of  America.  Alfred  Julius 
Boult,  323,  High  Holborn,  Loudon,  M.I.M.E. 

This  invention  relates  to  the  production  of  flexible  photo- 
graphic films  from  a fluid  solution  of  nitro-cellulose  and  cam- 
phor, and  in  apparatus  therefor  ; the  said  apparatus  being  also 
capable  of  use  in  forming  thin,  uniform  coatings  or  layers  of 
other  materials  ; and  the  said  invention  consists  in  the  novel 
construction,  arrangement,  and  combination  of  parts. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


383 


May  16,  1890.] 


The  principal  elements  of  the  complete  machine,  apart  from 
the  frame  work,  are  a bed-plate  having  a rigid  and  substantially 
level,  smooth,  and  perhaps  polished  surface  ; a spreading 
mechanism  adapted  and  arranged  to  be  moved  longitudinally 
over  the  bed  plate,  and  deposit  and  spread  a thin,  uniform  layer 
of  the  fluid  coating  m vterial  ; a removable  casing  for  enclosing 
the  surface  of  the  bed-plate,  with  exhaust  apparatus  for  draw- 
ing off  and  collecting  the  volatile  solvents,  and  stripping  and 
reeling  devices  capable  of  being  moved  over  the  bed-plate,  for 
removing  therefrom  and  winding  up  the  dried  film  or  films. 

The  bed-plate,  through  preferably  constructed  of  sheets  of 
plate  glass,  may  be  constructed  of  other  suitable  material  having 
either  a polished  or  dead  surface,  and  is  properly  supported  and 
levelled,  the  abutting  ends  or  edges  of  contiguous  sections  being 
accurately  fitted  to  form  close  joints.  The  interstices,  if  any, 
are  filled  in  level  with  the  surface  of  the  glass  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  a suitable  material  or  composition,  such  as  cement, 
plaster-of-paris,  wax,  readily  fusible  metal,  &e.,  with  a view  to 
removing  all  crevices  and  depressions  into  which  the  fluid  solu- 
tion might  enter  and  thus  produce  ridges  or  other  irregularities 
on  the  surface  and  in  the  thickness  of  the  film. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1.  In  a machine,  such  as  is  described,  the  combination  of  a 
bed-plate  having  a substantially  flat  surface  and  a travelling 
coating  apparatus  mounted  and  reciprocating  upon  guides 
parallel  with  the  surface  of  the  bed-plate. 

2.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with  the 
depositing  and  spreading  apparatus  mounted  upon  guides,  of  a 
sectional  bed-plate  composed  of  sheets  of  glass,  with  the  inter- 
stices between  the  abutting  edges  filled  with  plaster-of-paris  or 
equivalent  material  level  with  the  surface  of  the  sheets,  to 
form  a bed-plate  having  a continuous  surface. 

3.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  to  form 
the  bed-plate  for  the  reception  of  the  film,  of  the  frame,  the 
vertically  adjustable  cross  bars,  sheets  of  glass  resting  upon 
said  beds,  and  a filling  of  plastic  material  between  the  edges  of 
adjacent  sheets  to  form  a continuation  of  the  surface  thereof. 

4.  In  amachiue,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with  the 
bed-plate  of  a travelling  coating  device,  provided  with  a 
receptacle  for  the  fluid,  having  a discharge  orifice,  and  a 
spreading  blade  supported  in  rear  of  said  discharge  orifice,  and 
extending  transversely  across,  and  parallel  with,  the  surface  of 
the  bed-plate. 

5.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  of  the 
bed-plate,  a travelling  hopper,  or  receptacle  for  the  fluid,  having 
a discharge  orifice  and  spreader,  and  guides  travelling  with  the 
hopper,  and  engaging  the  surface  of  the  bed-plate  to  prevent 
the  fluid  from  spreading  laterally. 

6.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with 
the  bed-plate,  of  the  travelling  hopper  supported  on  guides 
eugaR*ng  the  surface  of  the  bed-plate,  said  hopper  having  a 
discharge  orifice,  and  a spreader  in  rear  thereof. 

7.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with 
the  bed-plate,  and  travelling  carriage  supported  upon  guides 
parallel  with  the  bed-plate,  of  a depositing  and  spreading  device 
mounted  and  guided  upon  the  surface  of  the  bed-plate,  and  con- 
nected to  the  carriage. 

8.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with 
the  bed-plate,  the  carriage  supported  upon  guides,  and  traver- 
sing longitudinally  of  the  bed-plate  and  mechanism  for  actuat- 
ing said  carriage,  of  a coating  device  connected  to  said  carriage, 
mounted  directly  upon  the  surface  of  the  bed-plate  ; and  pro- 
vided with  a receptacle  for  the  reception  and  discharge  of  the 
fluid  upon  the  bed-plate  and  a spreader  blade. 

9.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with 
the  stationary  bed-plate  and  movable  carriage,  of  the  hopper 
detachably  secure  to  said  carnage,  and  provided  with  guides 
eugagiug  the  face  of  the  bed-plate,  said  hopper  being  provided 
with  a regulated  discharge  and  a spreading  blade. 

10.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with 
the  surface  upon  which  the  film  is  formed,  and  a receptacle  for 
containing  and  discharging  the  solution  upon  said  surface  of  a 
flexible  spreading  blade,  and  a series  of  guages  interposed 
between  said  blade  and  the  surface  designed  to  receive  the 
solution  for  automatically  adjusting  the  edge  of  said  blade. 


11.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  wherein  the  fluid  is 
deposited  and  spread  upon  a retaining  surface,  and  in  combi- 
nation with  the  devices  for  depositing  such  fluid,  and  the  sur- 
face upon  which  it  is  deposited,  an  automatically  adjusting 
spreading  blade,  the  same  consisting  of  a series  of  independent 
sections  supported  upon  gauges  interposed  between  the  blade 
sections  and  the  surface  upon  which  the  solution  is  deposited, 
substantially  as  described. 

12.  In  combination  with  the  sectional  spreader  blade,  and 
independent  pressure  devices  applied  to  the  sections  thereof, 
the  gauges  interposed  between  the  ends  of  the  adjacent  blade 
sections  and  the  surface  upon  which  the  film  is  formed  or  spread 
by  the  blade. 

13.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  and  in  combination 
with  the. bed-plate  and  a hopper  movable  longitudinally  of,  and 
parallel  with,  the  surface  of  the  bed-plate,  and  provided  with  a 
discharge  orifice  for  the  fluid,  a sectional  spreader  blade,  sup- 
ported in  rear  of  the  hopper,  each  blade  section  being  provided 
with  an  independent  pressure,  device,  and  gauges  engaging  the 
surface  of  the  bed-plate. 

14.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  and  in  combination  with 
the  sectional  spreader  blade  supported  in  rear  of  the  hopper,  a 
pressure  spring  applied  to  each  blade-section  to  force  it  towards 
the  bed-plate,  and  two  gauges  interposed  between  each  blade- 
section  and  the  bed-plate  to  adjust  and  sustain  said  blade- 
sections  with  their  edges  removed  from,  and  substantially 
parallel  with,  the  surface  of  the  bed-plate. 

15.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with 
the  bed-plate  and  sectional  blade  co-operating  therewith  to  form 
a film,  or  layer  of  the  fluid  ; a series  of  gauges  or  supports 
for  the  blade-sections  resting  in  contact  with  the  surface  of 
the  bed-plate,  and  provided  with  converging  or  bevelled 
sides. 

16.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  and  in  combination 
with  the  sectional  spreader  blades,  a series  of  trailing  strips 
pivotally  supported  at  one  end,  and  extending  beneath  the 
blade  sections,  and  resting  in  contact  with  the  surface  of  the 
bed-plate,  or  supporting  surface  for  the  film. 

17.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with 
the  sectional  spreader  blade  and  supports,  engaging  the  bed- 
plate to  hold  said  blade-sections  removed  from  the  latter,  the 
bow  springs  engaging  said  blade-sections  to  press  them  towards 
the  bed-plate. 

18.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  and  in  combination 
with  a blade-section,  a bow  spring  attached  to  a bracket  at  or 
near  its  centre,  with  its  ends  engaging  the  blade-section. 

19.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with 
the  rear  and  end  walls  of  the  hopper,  of  the  pivotted  front 
wall  and  adjusting  devices,  such  as  cams,  operating  to  adjust 
the  discharged  orifice. 

20.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  of  the 
bed-plate,  the  carriage  travelling  on  guides  parallel  with  the 
bed-plate,  the  chains  or  belts  on  opposite  sides  of  the  bed-plate 
driven  in  unison  and  provided  with  devices  engaging  the 
carriage. 

21.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  of  the 
bed-plate,  the  travelling  carriage,  the  hopper  attached  to  the 
carriage,  and  provided  with  a regulated  discharge  orifice,  and 
the  sectional  spreader  blade  mounted  in  rear  of  the  hopper,  and 
provided  with  pressure  devices  and  gauges  for  sustaining  the 
edge  of  the  blade  substantially  parallel  with  the  surface  of  the 
bed -plate. 

22.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with 
the  bed-plate,  upon  the  surface  of  which  the  film  is  formed, 
of  a removable  casing  for  covering  the  film  while  drying,  and 
an  exhaust  apparatus  in  communication  with  the  interior  of  said 
casing. 

23.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with 
the  frame,  bed-plate,  and  the  trunk  or  conduit  communicating 
with  an  exhaust  apparatus  or  device,  of  the  removable  casing 
provided  with  an  inlet  orifice  at  one  end  of  the  plate,  and  an 
outlet  at  the  other  end  opening  into  the  exhaust  conduit. 

24.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  and  in  combination 
with  the  bed  or  plate  upon  which  the  film  is  formed  and  to 
which  it  adheres,  a carriage  traversing  said  bed  and  provided 


384 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  16,  1890. 


with  one  or  more  cutters  for  dividing  the  film  into  strips  while 
attached  to  the  bed. 

25.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with 
the  supporting  surface  to  which  the  film  adheres,  of  a traver- 
sing winding  reel. 

26.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  of  a 
supporting  surface  on  which  the  film  is  formed,  a carriage 
mounted  on  guides,  and  traversing  longitudinally  of  said  sup- 
porting surface,  and  two  or  more  winding  reels  mounted  upon 
said  carriage  in  different  planes. 

27.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with 
the  supporting  surface,  or  bed-plate,  upon  which  the  film  is 
formed,  a travelling  carriage,  and  rollers  mounted  upon  said 
carriage  in  different  planes,  to  support  the  strips,  and  draw 
adjacent  strips  at  different  angles  from  the  surface. 

28.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  of  the 
bed-plate,  the  traversing  carriage,  and  two  series  of  winding 
rollers  or  reels  mounted  upon  separate  shafts  on  said  carriage. 

29.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  of  the 
bed  plate,  the  traversing  carriage,  and  two  shafts  mounted 
upon  said  carriage  and  geared  together,  each  of  said  shafts 
being  provided  with  a winding  roll  or  reel. 

30.  In  a machine,  such  as  described,  the  combination  with 
the  bed-plate,  or  surface  upon  which  the  film  is  formed,  and 
separated  into  strips  while  adhering  thereto,  of  a travelling 
carriage,  winding  rolls  or  reels,  and  driving  mechanism  therefor, 
mounted  upon  said  carriage,  and  yielding  tension  devices,  such 
as  springs,  intermediate  the  reels  and  theii  driving  mechanism. 

31.  The  general  combination  and  arrangement  of  parts  con- 
stituting the  complete  film-spreading  device,  substantially  as 
described  and  illustrated. 

32.  The  general  combination  and  arrangement  of  parts  con- 
stituting the  complete  film  detaching  and  winding  device, 
substantially  as  described  and  illustrated. 

33.  The  general  combination  and  arrangement  of  parts  con- 
stituting the  complete  machine,  substantially  as  described  and 
illustrated  in  the  drawings  accompanying  the  specification. 

7,667.  May  8th,  1889. — “Obtaining  Aluminium  or  its 

Alloys.”  Godfrey  Bamberg,  7,  Holly  Village,  Highgate, 

Gentleman. 

My  invention  relates  to  the  production  of  aluminium  from 
its  chloride,  or  from  the  double  chloride  of  aluminium  and 
sodium,  by  means  of  zinc.  It  has  heretofore  been  proposed 
to  bring  these  bodies  together  in  the  solid  or  liquid  form 
under  heating  whereby  zinc  chloride  is  formed  and  aluminium 
set  free.  Difficulties  arise,  however,  in  this  process  which  have 
prevented  its  practical  adoption.  According  to  my  present 
invention  I avoid  such  difficulties  by  volatising  the  zinc  in  the 
first  instance,  and  then  bringing  the  zinc  vapour  together  with 
the  vapour  of  aluminium  chloride  or  of  the  double  chloride  of 
aluminium  and  sodium  at  the  temperature  of  a white  heat 
under  the  exclusion  of  air,  whereby  the  chemical  affinity  of  the 
zinc  for  the  chlorine  of  the  chlorides  is  increased,  and  both  the 
zinc  and  the  chloride  or  chlorides  are  brought  into  intimate 
contact  in  the  finest  possible  state  of  subdivision,  so  that  a 
most  effective  reaction  of  the  particles  is  established,  resulting 
in  the  ready  production  of  chloride  of  zinc,  and  the  setting 
free  of  the  aluminium,  which  condenses  to  metallic  form. 

I prefer  in  this  process  to  employ  an  excess  of  zinc  over  and 
above  that  required  for  effecting  the  said  decomposition,  so 
that  the  liberated  aluminium  in  condensing  shall  at  once  mix 
with  the  excess  of  zinc. 

The  proportions  of  the  materials  required  for  the  above 
described  reaction  are,  theoretically,  195  parts  by  weight  of 
zinc  to  213  parts  of  chloride  of  aluminium,  but  as  above 
stated,  I prefer  to  use  an  excess  of  zinc. 

The  proportion  of  zinc  which  combines  mechanically  with 
the  aluminium  is  afterwards  separated  therefrom  by  subjecting 
the  alloy  to  a temperature  above  a clear  red  heat,  or  about 
1,040°  Cent.,  when  the  zinc  will  distil  off,  while  the 
aluminium,  not  being  volatile  at  that  temperature,  is  left 
behind. 

The  zinc  vapour  given  off  can  either  be  directly  used  again 
in  the  process,  or  it  can  be  condensed  into  the  metallic  form. 

The  zinc  chloride  can  be  converted  into  zinc  oxide  by  the  addi- 


tion of  caustic  soda,  and  the  zinc  oxide  can  be  reduced  to  zinc 
by  mixing  it  with  fine  carbon  in  any  suitable  manner  and  raising 
it  to  white  heat  in  the  usual  way  of  smelting  zinc,  and 
this  zinc  can  be  used  over  again.  It  will  probably  be 
advantageous  to  use  the  same  zinc  over  again,  as  it  will  contain 
less  impurities  than  the  original  zinc,  namely,  iron,  arsenic, 
silicon,  &c. 

In  practically  carrying  out  my  said  invention  I proceed  as 
follows  : — 

A suitable  retort  is  nearly  filled  with  zinc  previously  melted, 
and  of  as  pure  a quality  as  practicable,  and  another  retort  is 
partially  filled  with  the  chloride  of  aluminium,  or  the  double 
chloride,  or  materials  such  as  would  produce  the  vapours  of 
the  chloride  upon  being  raised  above  clear  red  heat  (1,040°  C.). 
These  retorts  are  connected  with  a third  retort,  or  suitable 
mixing  chamber,  by  pipes  or  channels  preferably  covered  with 
a suitable  non-conducting  material,  so  that  no  sublimation  of 
the  chloride,  or  condensation  of  the  zinc,  should  take  place  in 
them.  The  mixing  chamber  is  maintained,  under  exclusion  of 
air,  as  nearly  as  possible  at  a white  heat  towards  that  part 
thereof  where  the  pipes  from  the  retorts  enter,  while  the 
further  end  should  be  at  a lower  temperature  so  as  to  allow 
the  particles  of  aluminium  and  zinc  to  run  together  thcrin  in 
the  form  of  a liquid  to  be  drawn  off  to  cool.  The  zinc 
chloride  will  escape  at  the  furthest  least  heated  end  as  a vapour, 
and  it  can  then  be  condensed  to  a liquid  state  by  meaus  of 
any  of  the  usual  cooling  apparatus.  The  mixed  zinc  and 
aluminium  is  distilled,  the  zinc  going  off  as  a vapour  which 
may  be  injected  directly  into  the  above  mixing  chamber  again, 
to  economise  fuel,  or  it  can  be  cooled  down  to  solid  form  ; the 
less  volatile  aluminium  remaining  behind  in  fluid  metallic  form, 
is  run  off  and  solidified. 

What  I claim  is  : — 

The  process  for  the  production  of  aluminium,  or  an  alloy  of 
aluminium  and  zinc,  from  aluminium  chloride,  or  double 
chloride,  wherein  metallic  zince  and  the  chloride  of  aluminium, 
or  double  chloride  of  aluminium  and  sodium,  are  respectively 
heated  in  separate  vessels  or  chambers  to  the  point  of  vola- 
tilisation, the  resulting  vapours  of  zinc  and  of  aluminium 
chloride,  or  double  chloride,  being  then  brought  together  in  a 
third  highly  heated  vessel,  under  exclusion  of  air,  whereby 
zincic  chloride  and  metallic  aluminium  will  be  produced,  sub- 
stantially as  herein  described. 


The  Royal  Society. — The  Royal  Society  was  instituted  in 
December,  1660,  and  is  the  oldest  society  of  the  kind  in  the 
world  with  the  exception  of  one  at  Rome.  From  the  period  of 
the  Restoration  to  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  the  Royal  Society 
stood  alone  in  this  country,  in  which  it  has  always  been  the 
chief  scientific  organization.  Among  its  former  presidents  was 
Sir  Isaac  Newton,  who  occupied  the  chair  from  1703  until  his 
death  in  1727.  Many  objects  of  interest,  which  once  belonged 
to  Newton,  were  on  view  in  a glass  case  at  the  conversazione  last 
Wednesday.  Among  those  present  at  the  conversazione  were — 
Dr.  John  Evans  (treasurer  of  the  Royal  Society),  Dr.  Michael 
Foster  and  Lord  Rayleigh  (secretaries),  and  Dr.  A.  Geikie 
(foreign  secretary),  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Sir  Joseph 
Hooker,  Sir  Charles  Nicholson,  the  Swiss  Consul-General,  Lord 
Ashbourne,  Sir  Patrick  Colquhoun,  the  Earl  of  llosse,  Lord 
Sudeley,  Sir  Henry  ltoscoe,  Mr.  Justice  Wills,  Lord  Arthur 
Russell,  Sir  Edward  Reed,  Sir  D.  Salomons,  Lord  Alfred 
Churchill,  Lord  Justice  Fry,  the  Earl  of  Crawford,  the  Earl  of 
Mouut-Edgcumbe,  Sir  William  Thomson,  General  Brackenbury, 
General  Strachey,  Sir  Alfred  Lyall,  Sir  D.  Galton,  Sir  Low- 
thiau  Bell,  Sir  F.  Abel,  Mr.  Wemyss  Reid,  Mr.  A.  J.  Balfour, 
Sir  Charles  Wilson,  the  Astronomer-Royal,  the  Master  of  St. 
John’s,  Cambridge,  Admiral  Sir  John  Hay,  the  Bishop  of  Lich- 
field, Earl  Stanhope,  Sir  Trevor  Lawrence,  the  Aust  rian  Consul- 
General,  Sir  Frederick  Pollock,  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  Sir 
Frederic  Leighton,  the  Provost  of  Oriel,  the  Master  of  Christ’s, 
and  Sir  F.  Bramwell.  The  members  and  visitors  were  received 
by  the  President  of  the  Royal  Society,  Sir  G.  G.  Stokes,  Bart. , 
more  familiarly  publicly  known  under  the  time-honoured  name 
of  Professor  Stokes,  whose  discoveries  in  relation  to  fluorescence 
are  so  well  known  among  photographers. 


Mat  16,  1890.J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


385 


©omgpon&ettct. 


DEVELOPMENT  IN  TWO  SOLUTIONS. 

Sir,— In  reply  to  the  letter  of  your  correspondent  “X.” 
which  appears  in  the  last  number  but  one  of  the  News,  I regret 
that  there  should  be  any  difficulty  in  understanding  the  para- 
graph in  my  article  in  the  Year-Book  to  which  he  refers. 
The  words  in  italics  which  I now  insert  may  perhaps  help  to 
express  my  meaning  more  clearly.  “The  second  developer  or 
intensifier  need  only  consist  of  a similar  solution  (to  the  first), 
with  the  full  dose  of  pj’ro  (and  alkali  in  proportion),  and  the 
addition  of  a soluble  bromide.”  The  quantity  of  pyro  would 
be  the  same  as  recommended  for  the  ammonia  formula — viz., 
8 grains  to  the  ounce  of  developer,  not  1 6 grains  (as  “X.  ” puts  it), 
which  is  the  quantity  contained  in  the  No.  1 solution,  the  latter 
being  mixed  for  use  with  an  equal  bulk  of  No.  2,  which  contains 
no  pyro.  The  amount  of  bromide  necessary  would  vary  accord- 
ing to  the  alkali  used  ; soda  requires  less  than  potash,  while 
some  samples  of  the  latter  require  more  than  others.  In  either 
case,  very  much  less  bromide  is  needed  than  with  ammonia  ; 
probably  3 to  4 grains  potassium  bromide  to  the  ounce  of 
developer  will  give  all  the  restiaining  power  necessary. 

With  regard  to  “ Beach's  developer,”  I confess  I do  not 
understand  the  formula  as  given  by  your  correspondent,  nor  do 
I see  how  it  can  be  utilized  as  it  stands,  inasmuch  as  the  various 
ingredients  are  not  soluble  in  anything  like  the  proportions 
given  ; also  the  method  reoommended  for  using  the  compound 
is  diametrically  opposed  to  the  principle  I have  advocated  of 
obtaining  detail  first  and  density  afterwards. 

B.  J.  Edwards. 

The  Grove,  Hackney,  London,  N.E. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITIONS. 

Sir, — It  is  interesting  to  find  by  your  extract  from  the 
Journal  of  t.ie  Photographic  Society  of  India  that  the  subject  of 
reform  in  the  conduct  of  photographic  exhibitions  has  travelled 
as  far  as  Calcutta,  and  that  our  Indian  brothers  are  already 
beginning  to  discuss  the  question  whether  present  regulations 
are  the  best  possible.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks  the  writer 
tells  us  that  in  the  late  Calcutta  Exhibition,  out  of  nineteen  pro- 
fessionals exhibiting,  only  five  were  undecorated  by  the  judges. 
This  clearly  shows  that  the  medal  craze  is  as  bad  abroad  as  at 
home.  The  question  arises,  is  it  possible  or  desirable,  now  that 
the  use  of  medals  has  been  so  degraded,  that  they  should  be 
abolished  altogether  ? If  it  were  possible  in  art  to  decide  what 
is  absolutely  good,  better,  or  best,  and  any  definite  standard 
of  excellence  could  be  fixed,  then  some  reasonable  arrangements 
might  be  made  for  awarding  to  the  best  photographs  in  the 
show  some  honourable  distinction.  But  it  is  quite  impossible. 
There  is  no  absolute  standard  of  excellence  in  art.  The  best 
to  one  school — a very  masterpiece — to  another  school  may  be 
an  abomination,  and  so  everything  depends  on  the  judges, 
generally  honest,  but  seldom  competent  to  appreciate  the  subtle 
beauties  of  a truly  artistic  production.  They  are  thus  often 
overpowered  by  the  aggressiveness  of  size,  subject,  or  quantity, 
and  frequently  pass  over  the  finest  work  from  its  refined  un- 
obtrusiveness. 

The  exhibition  promoters  appear  afraid  to  abolish  medals, 
fearing  that  so  doing  would  take  away  all  inducement  to  exhibit. 
Well,  perhaps  it  would  act  in  this  way  to  a great  extent  if 
nothing  were  put  in  their  place,  but  it  seems  to  me  there  is 
a satisfactory  way  out  of  the  difficulty.  First  let  me  ask, 
why  do  photographers  exhibit  ? For  fame,  for  advertising, 
or  to  sell  their  exhibits,  or  for  a combination  of  all  these,  and 
the  raison  d’etre  of  an  exhibition  we  may  assume  to  be  educa- 
tional, or  to  demonstrate  the  best  possibilities  of  the  art.  Now 
if  societies  holding  exhibitions  would  start  on  a scale  according 
to  their  means,  a sort  of  Social  Photographic  National 
Galleries,  a collection  of  the  best  work  sent  to  their  shows, 
they  would  meet  the  best  interests  of  ali  concerned,  and 
attain  the  objects  of  exhibitors  and  promoters  alike,  beside 
performing  valuable  historical  work,  preserving  many  beauti- 
ful productions  which  would  otherwise  in  all  probability  drop 
away  in  a short  time  into  obscurity.  Ralph  W.  Robinson, 


proceedings!  of  Jrorietfes, 

Photographic  Society  op  Great  Britain. 

The  ordinary  meeting  of  this  Society  was  held  on  Tuesday 
last,  the  13th  iust.,  the  President,  Mr.  James  Glaisher,  F.R.S., 
in  the  chair. 

A paper  by  Mr.  T.  R.  Dallmeyer  on  “ Reflected  Images  in 
Optical  Combinations,  and  their  Effect  on  the  Brilliancy  of  the 
Image,”  was  read,  accompanied  by  diagrams  on  the  black  board. 
In  the  course  of  the  paper  Mr.  Dallmeyer  referred  to  the  first 
demonstration  on  the  subject  by  his  father,  which  had  teen 
made  in  conjunction  with  Sir  John  Herscliel,  and  given  to  the 
Society  in  the  year  1867.  The  subject  of  the  flare  spot  was 
then  particularly  gone  into,  but  there  were  other  considera- 
tions which  might  advantageously  be  dealt  with.  Flare  spot 
was  due  to  the  formation  of  the  diaphragm,  and  could  in  most 
lenses  be  modified  or  dispersed  by  changing  the  position  of  the 
diaphragm.  For  the  causes  of  want  of  brilliancy  now  to  be 
discussed  the  following  deductions  would  apply.  1.  The  fewer 
the  number  of  reflecting  surfaces,  the  greater  the  brillancy  of 
the  image.  2.  The  fewer  of  these  surfaces  that  were  concave 
to  the  plate,  the  greater  was  the  brilliancy  of  the  image. 
3.  The  fewer  of  these  surfaces  that  were  behind  the  diaphragm, 
the  greater  the  brilliancy.  Flare  spots  and  what  were  called 
ghosts  had  been  dealt  with,  but  a point  which  he  believed  had 
not  been  previously  treated  was  the  reflection  of  light  by  the 
plate  itself  on  to  the  lens,  and  the  consequent  reflection  back 
from  the  lens  on  to  the  plate  of  some  of  this  light.  A camera 
was  shown  on  which,  in  place  of  lens,  was  a front  pierced  with 
a pattern  of  holes  at  one  corner.  The  back  of  the  camera 
was  fitted  in  the  place  of  the  plate  with  a concave  reflector 
having  the  same  focus  as  the  distance  from  the  front,  and 
images  of  the  holes  were  then  seen  to  be  thrown  on  to  the 
corner  of  the  inside  of  the  camera  front  opposite  to  that  at 
which  the  holes  existed.  Included  in  the  drawings  on  the 
black  board  were  representations  of  the  following  lenses — a 
rapid  rectilinear,  a Petzval  portrait  lens,  a Dallmeyer  portrait 
lens,  and  a Dallmeyer  single  rapid  rectilinear  lens.  The  latter 
was  introduced  particularly  because  there  had  been  a contro- 
versy between  Mr.  \V.  K.  Burton,  of  Japan,  and  himself  about 
it  in  the  pages  of  the  Photographic  News.  Mr.  Burton  had, 
however,  since  then,  in  a communication  to  a photographic 
newspaper,  admitted  him  (Mr.  Dallmeyer)  to  be  in  the  right. 
When  with  this  lens  it  was  desired  to  obtain  particularly  bril- 
liancy, and  other  considerations  were  of  less  importance,  it 
would  be  tetter  to  use  the  stop  behind  the  lens. 

Capt.  Abney  congratulated  Mr.  Dallmeyer  upon  bringing 
forward  a new  phase  of  the  question.  One  cause  of  want  of 
brilliancy  that  had  not  been  touched  on  was  the  fact  that  glass 
was  not  perfectly  transparent,  but  acted  as  a source  of  light  to 
the  extent,  indeed,  of  4 per  cent. 

Mr.  W.  England  thought  that  more  care  ought  to  be  taken 
to  shield  the  front  of  the  camera  from  light.  In  his  practice 
he  never  went  out  to  photograph  without  a hood  attached  to 
the  camera,  and  he  thought  camera  makers  generally  ought  to 
furnish  their  cameras  with  such  an  appliance. 

Mr.  L.  Warnerke  was  of  Mr.  England’s  opinion,  that  hoods 
should  be  furnished  with  cameras. 

Mr.  V.  Blanchard  thought  that  the  credit  of  using  a hood 
to  shade  the  lens  was  due  to  Mr.  England,  and  that  he  had 
suggested  it  to  the  late  Mr.  J.  H.  Dallmeyer. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  remembered  seeing  and  using  a sliding 
box  hood,  called  a front  camera,  as  long  ago  as  1 857.  It  could  be 
drawn  forward  so  as  to  exclude  light  from  the  lens,  except  that 
coming  from  the  picture  to  be  represented.  Such  an  arrange- 
ment was  far  more  effective  than  a small  hood  attached  to  the 
lens  itself. 

Mr.  T.  Samuels  had  noticed,  when  photographing  with  John- 
son’s pantascopic  camera  many  years  since,  that  the  image  was 
more  brilliant  than  that  which  he  could  obtain  in  other  cameras, 
and  found  that  this  brilliancy  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
camera  was  supplied  with  a front  or  hood  to  keep  stray  light 
from  the  lens. 

Dr.  G.  Lindsay  Johnson  thought  a shade  for  the  lens  very 


38(3 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


important.  He  used  simply  a tube  which  just  fitted  freely 
enough  on  to  the  lens  jacket  to  enable  it  to  be  drawn  forward, 
as  much  as  might  be  desired,  for  the  purpose  of  shading  the 
lens.  He  did  not  see  the  advantage  over  this  plan  of  having  a 
large  hood.  He  would  like  to  be  informed  whether  the  superior 
brilliancy  noticed  in  photographs  taken  with  a single  lens  was 
not  due  to  the  fact  that  the  tube  of  such  a lens  acted  itself  as 
a hood. 

Captain  Abney  could  not  see  the  advantage  or  difference  in 
principle  of  a large  hood  attached  to  the  camera  over  a small 
one  attached  to  the  lens.  In  illustration  of  his  remarks,  he 
drew  a diagram  upon  the  black  board  showing  the  sun  and  a 
lens,  and,  drawing  a line  from  the  one  to  the  other,  said  that 
it  did  not  matter  where  the  hood  was  placed  so  long  as  it  cut 
that  line. 

Mr.  Debenham  thought  that  Captain  Abney  would  admit 
that  the  last  proposition  would  be  correct  only  in  the  case  of  a 
lens  of  infinitely  small  magnitude,  or  of  a pinhole  photographic 
apparatus.  Where  the  hood  was  small  and  close  to  the  lens,  if 
the  bottom  of  the  lens  were  to  be  shielded  from  the  sun,  the 
hood  might  have  to  be  drawn  down  so  low  that  the  upper 
part  of  the  picture  which  it  was  desired  to  include  would  only 
fall  upon  the  lower  portion  of  the  lens,  and  so  either  act  only 
with  a reduced  amount  of  light,  or  be  altogether  cut  off,  if,  as 
is  the  case  with  doublets,  the  stop  is  behind  the  front  lens. 

Mr.  Dallmeyeu  said  that  he  agreed  with  Captain  Abney 
that  it  did  not  matter  where  the  hood  was  placed,  and 
disagreed  with  Mr.  Debenham  in  the  matter.  An  optician 
was  required  to  place  a hood  where  light  from  any  required 
angle,  say,  from  where  the  sun  was,  should  not  pass  through 
the  diaphragm  of  the  lens.  He  drew  on  the  black  board  a cone 
extending  from  the  front  of  a doublet  lens,  and  represented 
a hood  first,  close  to  the  lens,  and  then  at  some  distance  from 
it,  and  said  that  it  was  of  no  importance  at  what  part  of  that 
cone  the  hood  was  placed.  With  regard  to  the  desirability  of 
allowing  some  reflection,  he  added  that  it  gave  what  was  called 
the  effect  of  atmosphere,  but  whatever  there  might  be  in  its 
favour  from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  from  a scientific  point 
of  view  any  loss  of  brilliancy  should  be  avoided. 

Mr.  Warnerke  showed  some  strips  of  gelatine  film  such  as 
is  used  for  emulsion.  These  strips  hail  darkened  at  the  edges, 
and  he  thought  this  circumstance  might  help  to  explain  the 
fogging  of  the  edges  of  gelatine  emulsion  plates  which  was  so 
often  found  to  occur  when  they  were  kept  for  any  length  of 
time. 

Dr.  Lindsay  Johnson  showed  a photograph  which  he 
characterised  in  no  very  flattering  terms,  but  which  was  an 
object  of  curiosity  as  having  been  taken  by  an  automatic  photo- 
graphic apparatus,  of  which  the  members  had  doubtless  heard. 
It  was  of  the  ferrotype  kind,  and  measured  about  two  inches 
in  length. 

Mr.  Debenham  said  that  according  to  the  prospectus  of  the 
company  formed  to  introduce  this  machine,  the  chemicals 
used  were  cheaper  than  those  at  present  employed  in  photo- 
graphy, and  as  it  was  proposed  as  part  of  the  business  to 
supply  such  chemicals  to  photographers,  they  might  be  led  to 
hope  for  some  reduction  of  expense  from  this  cause.  On  the 
other  hand,  as  it  was  stated  the  chemicals  and  materials  for 
the  photograph  had  been  contracted  for  at  the  rate  of  a half- 
penny each,  and  as  the  cost  of  either  collodion  and  bath,  or  of 
gelatine  emulsion,  for  such  a plate,  would  probably  not  exceed 
the  twentieth  of  a penny,  there  might  be  some  mistake  as  to 
the  cheapness  of  the  chemicals.  The  cost  of  ferrotype  plate 
itself  he  did  not  know,  hut  did  not  suppose  that  it  could 
amount  to  the  difference. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Beaufort  was  elected  a member. 


The  Camera  Club. 

On  Thursday,  May  8th,  a special  lantern  slide  exhibition  took 
place  at  the  Camera  Club,  and  photographs  taken  during 
recent  tours  in  Egypt  were  shown  by  Messrs.  Rodgers,  A. 
Collins,  and  Major  Nott. 

Amongst  the  transparencies  were  some  of  excellent  quality, 
and  the  collection  contained  a variety  of  interesting  illustra- 
tions of  present  life  and  manners  in  Egypt,  with  original  views 


[May  1C>,  1890. 

of  the  pyramids  and  other  remains  and  public  buildings.  Mr. 
Elder  exhibited  a number  of  photographs  recently  taken  in 
Madeira  and  Teneriffe  ; Mr.  Andreae  some  interesting  views  of 
volcanoes  in  action  and  other  subjects  ; Mr.  Ferrero  some 
landscapes  taken  on  club  excursions  ; and  Mr.  Crookes  some 
charming  pictures  of  Ightham  Moat-house.  Other  slides  by 
Messrs.  Fitz  Payne,  Carnell,  and  Sands  were  exhibited. 

On  Thursday,  May  22nd,  Mr.  Shipton  will  read  a paper  on 
“ Cyclo- Photography — some  recent  developments,  including  an 
ideal  bicycle.” 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

The  usual  weekly  meeting  was  held  on  Thursday,  May  8th, 
Mr.  J.  S.  Tbape  in  the  chair. 

The  Hon.  Sec.  announced,  as  a result  of  the  committee 
meeting  held  last  week,  that  it  had  been  arranged  to  have  an 
outing  once  a month  on  the  second  Saturday  in  the  month  ; 
also  that  papers  and  demonstrations  had  been  promised  by 
Messrs.  J.  Traill  Taylor,  W.  E.  Debenham,  and  A.  Haddon. 

Messrs.  H.  M.  Smith,  A.  Haddon,  and  T.  E.  Freshwater 
were  elected  delegates  to  represent  the  Association  at  the 
forthcoming  meeting  of  the  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Hastings  passed  round  some  prints  on  the  new 
Parisian  paper,  prepared  with  chloride  of  iridium.  He  said  it 
printed  in  about  half  the  time  of  silver,  toned  very  quickly, 
but  lost  considerably  in  the  fixing.  The  general  opinion  was 
that,  judging  by  the  directions  enclosed  with  the  paper,  and  the 
results  shown,  the  proportion  of  iridium  used  was  exceedingly 
small,  and  that  the  process  bore  a strong  family  likeness  to 
silver  prints  on  plain  paper. 

Mr.  Hastings  also  exhibited  a series  of  twelve  quarter-plate 
negatives  developed  with  various  developers — from  eikonogen 
I to  pyro  and  ammonia.  They  had  all  received  the  same  exposure, 
and  were  all  developed  for  seven  minutes.  He  considered  the 
best  result  obtained  with  the  No.  1.  eikonogen  developer,  as 
prepared  in  the  directions  issued  by  Messrs.  Marion  and  Co. 

A circular  letter  was  read  from  the  Photographic  Convention 
of  the  United  Kingdom,  asking  that  delegates  might  lie  sent 
from  the  Association  to  the  Chester  meeting. 

Mr.  P.  Everett  moved  that  “ the  circular  lie  placed  under 
the  table,  and  that  delegates  l>e  not  sent there  was  no  seconder, 
and  Mr.  Everett  withdrew  the  motion. 


The  Hackney  Photographic  Society. 

This  Society  held  its  annual  meeting,  on  May  8th,  at  Morley 
Hall,  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Roland  Smith. 

The  Society  has  just  terminated  the  first  year  of  its  exist- 
ence, and  lias  a roll  of  nearly  100  members,  included  in  which 
are  several  well-known  amateurs,  prize  takers  at  various  exhi- 
bitions. 

The  following  were  elected  officers  for  ensuing  twelve 
months  : — President,  Dr.  Gerard  Smith  ; Vice-Presidents,  Dr. 
Ambrose  Kibbler,  Dr.  Roland  Smith,  and  Mr.  J.  Hubert  ; 
Treasurer,  Frank  Jolly  ; Curator,  A.  Dean  ; Secretary,  Mr. 

' Fenton  Jones,  1 2,  King  Edward’s  Road,  N.E. ; Council,  Messrs. 

I H.  Burton,  W.  L.  Barker,  H.  J.  Beasley,  J.  O.  Grant,  F, 
Houghton,  Dr  White. 


Birmingham  Photographic  Society. 

May  8th. — Alderman  J.  B.  Stone,  J.P.,  in  the  chair.  Eight 
new  members  were  elected. 

The  curator  of  the  Municipal  Art  Gallery  (Mr.  Whitworth 
Wallis)  sent  a communication  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the 
National  Challenge  Cup  (won  by  the  Birmingham  Society  at 
the  Crystal  Palace  Exhibition  in  March  last),  and  asking  for 
examples  of  the  pictures  which  won  the  cup  to  be  exhibited 
with  it  in  the  Art  Gallerj’. 

At  the  closeof  the  ordinary  business  Mr.  Stone  announced  that 
the  present  meeting  had  been  called  specially  to  discuss  the 
proposed  photographic  survey  of  Warwickshire.  In  the  course 
of  his  remarks,  he  said: — “There  are  two  distinct  ways  in 
which  you  can  deal  with  the  matter ; one  is  by  taking  it  in 
hand  yourselves  anil  deciding  to  work  out  the  whole  problem, 

| taking  credit  for  the  result  of  your  labours,  keeping  tlje  con- 


May  1G,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


387 


trol  of  the  whole  undertaking,  and  carrying  it  out  within  your 
own  limits.  If  you  take  this  view  it  will  be  your  duty  to  set 
about  a scheme  within  your  own  means  aud  within  your  own 
numbers.  If  you  take  a good  lead,  you  will  be  followed  by 
others,  and  if  you  take  a narrow  view,  and  you  permit 
jealousies  to  exist  amongst  yourselves,  or  in  respect  to  other 
people,  you  will  damage  the  whole  thing.  If  you  can  decide 
upon  broader  lines,  which  I recommend,  you  will  at  once  offer 
to  the  whole  world  a good  idea,  aud  appeal  to  the  co-operat  ion 
of  every  one  interested  in  it  to  contribute  towards  its  success. 
For  this  you  must  go  outside  your  own  Society.  It  appears 
to  me  if  you  do  (aud  I hope  you  will)  you  will  obtain  consider- 
able support — pecuniary  and  otherwise — from  the  county 
generally.  You  must  present  to  the  public  a broader  scheme, 
that  will  invite  confidence  and  that  will  attract  support.  You 
cannot  propose  any  kind  of  council  or  committee  limited  to 
yourselves ; you  must  begin  by  proposing  a representative 
council  for  the  photographic  survey,  and  must  state  frankly 
that  you  are  prepared  to  send  representative  members  and 
render  every  assistance.  There  would  be,  of  course,  elected 
representatives  from  other  districts  and  other  societies,  and  1 
suggest,  also,  co-optative  members  useful  to  you  in  many  ways, 
and  men  sufficiently  known  to  ensure  the  confidence  of  the 
city  of  Birmingham  and  the  county  generally.  Then,  depend 
upon  it,  your  prospect  will  succeed,  and  you  may  almost  be- 
lieve that  j’our  scheme  is  an  accomplished  fact.” 

Mr.  Jerome  Harrison,  F.G.S.  (Vice-President)  said  that  their 
President  advocated  the  establishment  of  a County  Council  or 
Committee,  by  which  the  photographic  survey  of  Warwickshire 
should  be  directed  ; and,  considering  that  there  were  several 
photographic,  as  well  as  many  scientific,  artistic,  and  literary 
societies  in  the  county,  he  agreed  that  such  a guiding  body  was 
desirable.  Such  a council  should  consist  of  representatives  of 
all  the  societies  willing  to  promote  the  work  of  the  photographic 
survey.  But  he  (Mr.  Harrison)  did  not  think  it  was  necessary 
that  their  own  Birmingham  Society  should  sink  their  own  iden- 
tity with  the  task  which  they  hail  resolved  to  undertake.  The 
Council  of  the  Birmingham  Photographic  Society  had  been  care- 
fully considering  the  question,  and  they  had  unanimously  passed 
the  following  resolution: — “That  it  is  desirable  to  form  a 
photographic  survey  section  of  the  Birmingham  Photographic 
Society,  with  separate  officers  and  separate  subscription,  to  com- 
mence and  carry  out  a photographic  survey  of  Warwickshire.” 
He  trusted  that  the  meeting  would  endorse  that  resolution. 
The  section  could  then  invite  the  co-operation  of  other  workers 
in  the  county  and  form  the  “ County  Council  ” to  which  Mr. 
Stone  had  alluded,  by  which  the  work  done  by  each  Society 
should  be  pointed  out.  As  there  would  necessarily  be  certain 
expenses  incurred,  it  would  be  needful  to  charge  a small  extra 
subscription  to  the  section.  He  hoped  they  would  also  invite 
gentlemen  to  join  the  survey  section  who,  although  not  photo- 
graphers, felt  an  interest  in  the  work  ; and  for  them  the  sub- 
scription should  be  somewhat  higher.  Such  persons  could 
thus  join  the  survey  and  assist  in  its  work  without  becoming 
members  of  the  Photographic  Society. 

The  resolution  was  carried  unanimously. 

It  was  then  resolved,  “ That  the  subscription  to  the  Photo- 
graphic Survey  Section  shall  be  half-a-crown  per  annum  for 
members  of  the  Birmingham  Photographic  Society,  and  half-a- 
guinea  per  annum  for  all  others.” 

Thirty-eight  gentlemen  then  gave  in  their  names  as  members 
of  the  new  section. 

The  officers  of  the  section  were  elected  as  follows  : — 

Chairman — Mr.  J.  B.  Stone.  Vice-Chairman — Mr.  Jethro 

A.  Cossins.  Curator — Mr.  B.  Karleese.  Treasurer — Mr.  S.  G. 
Mason.  Hon.  Secretaries — Messrs.  J.  H.  Pickard  and  W.  J. 
Harrison. 

The  question  of  a governing  body  to  direct  the  general  work 
of  the  survey  was  next  considered.  The  following  resolutions 
were  then  passed  : — 1.  “ That  the  Council  should  consist  of 
representatives  elected  by  the  various  photographic  aud  scientific 
societies  of  Warwickshire,  with  co-optative  members  who  may 
be  of  service  in  developing  or  aiding  the  work  of  the  survey.” 
“That  the  photographic,  artistic,  and  literary  societies  of 
\\  arwickshire  be  invited  to  send  representatives  to  a general 


meeting  on  May  22nd,  at  St.  Edmund’s  College,  Edmund  Street, 
Birmingham,  for  the  purpose  of  electing  a council  to  direct  the 
photographic  survey  of  Warwickshire.” 


Sheffield  Photographic  Society. 

The  monthly  meeting  was  held  at  the  Masonic  Hall  on  Tuesday 
evening,  when,  after  the  routine  business  of  the  meeting,  and 
1 the  election  of  Mr.  W.  Y.  Davy  as  a new  member,  Mr.  J.  W. 
Charlesworth  gave  a paper  on  “ Hand  Camera  Work.”  He 
began  by  describing  one  made  by  himself,  and  showed  the 
most  minute  details  of  the  same.  There  were  also  laid  on  the 
table  hand  cameras  by  Swinden  and  Earp,  the  Griffith’s 
guinea  camera,  the  quarter-plate  Kodak  and  the  original 
Kodak,  two  by  T.  G.  Hibbert,  viz.,  Turnbull  and  Rouch’s  ; 
also  the  Demon,  a toy. 

It  was  announced  that  Mr.  Chadwick,  of  Manchester,  had 
promised  to  give  a paper  at  an  early  date  ; also  that  the 
Britannia  Company,  Ilford,  would  give  a demonstration,  “How 
to  Work  Alpha  Paper,”  at  the  September  meeting.  A copy  of 
Dr.  Emerson’s  book  “Pictures  in  East  Anglia,”  given  by  the 
author  to  the  library,  was  produced,  and  arrangements  were 
made  for  the  loan  of  the  same  amongst  the  members. 

I 

Photographic  Society  of  Ireland. 

\ An  ordinary  meeting  was  held  on  May  9th,  when  the  President 
Mr.  George  Mansfield,  J.P.,  occupied  the  chair,  and  Mr.  L. 

! R.  StRANGWAYS,  M.  A., read  a paper  on  “Stereoscopic Work.”  The 
subject  was  a resume  of  the  past,  an  insight  into  the  present, 

! and  a prophecy  of  the  future  of  the  stereoscope  as  it  relates 
j to  photography. 

There  was  a discussion  which  brought  forth  experiences  of 
some  of  the  older  members  of  the  Society.  Mr.  Strangways 
exhibited  a number  of  cameras  which  he  owned,  as  well  as  some 
which  he  obtained  from  the  trade,  to  illustrate  the  various 
points  he  put  forth. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  paper  and  discussion  Mr. 
Hedlky  exhibited  a hand  camera  made  by  Messrs.  Swindon 
and  Earp,  of  Liverpool,  which  has  a capacity  for  carrying 
twenty  plates  in  the  smallest  space,  and  possesses  many  well- 
thought-out  devices. 

The  first  excursion  of  the  season  took  place  on  May  10th  to 
| the  Dargles.  The  morning  was  wet  and  the  day  very'  dull, 
whicn  resulted  in  a small  attendance  of  members. 

The  session  is  to  close  for  indoor  meetings  by  an  exhibition 
of  members'  work  in  lantern  slides  on  the  22nd  inst.  This 
meeting  is  to  take  place  in  the  large  theatre  of  the  Royal 
College  of  Science  instead  of  the  Society’s  rooms. 


The  West  Surrey  Amateur  Photographic  Society. 

On  Wednesday,  May  7 th,  Mr.  Davison  gave  an  address  on 
“ Platinotype  Printing  Processes,”  accompanied  by  a demon- 
stration. Mr.  Winsford  occupied  the  chair.  Several  new 
members  were  nominated. 

Mr.  Davison,  having  recited  the  advantages  of  the  processes, 
and  given  briefly  the  theory  of  the  formation  of  the  platinum 
image,  explained  the  distinction  between  the  hot  bath,  cold 
bath,  and  printlng-out  methods  respectively’,  and  proceeded  to 
develop  a large  number  of  proofs  showing  the  ordinary  details 
J of  practice  as  well  as  the  variations  in  colour  obtainable  by  the 
I use  of  the  sepia  papers,  and  by  the  addition  of  mercuric 
| chloride  (half  dram  to  one  dram  per  ounce  of  hot  oxalate  solu- 
tion) to  the  developer.  Cold  bath  prints  were  also  developed  ; 
specimens  of  all  the  variations  were  handed  round  upon  glass 
plates,  as  also  mounted  examples  of  platinum  prints  on  fabrics 
and  rough  papers. 

It  was  decided  that  the  next  out-door  meeting  of  the 
Society  should  be  to  Carshalton  and  district,  and  that  the  sub- 
ject for  the  first  Wednesday  in  May,  evening  meeting,  be 
“ Gelatino-Chloride  Emulsion  Papers.”  Mr.  James  is  to  treat 
this  subject. 


The  Lewes  Photographic  Society. 

A paper  on  “ Cloud  Photography  ” was  read  by  Mr  J.  J.  Holl- 
| way  at  the  usual  monthly  meeting  of  the  Lewes  Photographic 


388 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  16,  1890. 


Society,  held  on  Tuesday  evening.  The  chair  was  occupied  by 
the  president,  Mr.  J . G.  Braden.  A vote  of  thanks  was  passed 
to  Dr.  P.  H.  Emerson  for  the  gift  to  the  society  of  a 
copy  of  his  work  on  “East  Anglian  Life.” 

Mr.  J.  J.  Hollway  read  his  paper,  and  described  the  many 
beauties  of  cloud  form  and  sky  effects,  illustrated  by 
examples  from  the  works  of  Constable  and  Gainsborough, 
showing  the  proper  relation  cloud  forms  should  bear  to  the 
other  part  of  the  pictures.  While  recommending  photo- 
graphers to  use  cloud  negatives  to  complete  their  pictures — for 
he  considered  nothing  so  offensive  to  the  artistic  eye  as  the 
broad  patch  of  white  for  the  sky  generally  seen  in  photographs — 
he  cautioned  them  about  using  them  in  an  inartistic  manner,  as 
it  was  quite  probable  that  unless  clouds  were  inserted  with 
taste  and  after  careful  consideration  of  their  appropriateness 
to  the  general  effect  of  light  and  shade  and  general  composi- 
tion of  the  picture,  they  would  rather  detract  from  what 
beauty  might  have  existed  before  their  introduction,  than 
bring  about  the  desired  improvement.  Mr.  Hollway  exhibited 
specimens  of  his  own  cloud  photographs,  and  by  this  means 
showed  how  greatly  the  general  effect  of  a photograph  could  be 
improved  by  the  judicious  introduction  of  clouds. 

At  this  meeting  it  was  arranged  to  meet  the  Hastings 
Photographic  Society  on  Wednesday,  June  4th. 


The  Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  discussion  on 
May  21  will  be  “Photo-Mechanical  Processes”;  May  28, 
“ Photographic  Fog.” 

Colouring  Matter  from  Chlorophyll A.  Hansen  ( Bot . 

Cen&ralil. 38,  632)  prepares  the  yellow  and  the  green  constitu- 
ents of  chlorophyll  in  what  he  believes  to  be  a pure  condition 
by  the  following  process  : Some  leaves  of  grass  are  boiled  in 
water  from  fifteen  to  thirty  minutes,  then  washed  many  times 
with  water,  and  dried  in  the  dark.  The  dry  matter  is  extracted 
with  boiling  alcohol,  and  the  solution  saponified  by  boiling  for 
three  hours  with  a slight  excess  of  aqueous  soda  ; a current 
of  carbonic  anhydride  is  then  passed  through  the  solution,  which 
is  afterwards  evaporated  to  dryness  on  the  water-bath.  Ether 
extracts  from  this  soap  the  yellow  colouring  matter  only,  which 
is  purified  by  evaporating  down  and  crystallizing  from  a mixture 
of  equal  parts  of  ether  and  light  petroleum.  The  soap,  after 
extraction  with  ether,  is  extracted  with  a mixture  of  alcohol 
and  ether,  which  dissolves  only  traces  of  the  combination  of  the 
green  colouring  matter  with  soda.  On  adding  another  quantity 
of  alcohol-ether  and  also  phosphoric  acid,  the  green  matter  is 
liberated  and  passes  at  once  into  solution,  from  which  it  is 
obtained  by  evaporation  in  the  form  of  a brilliant,  fragile, 
greenish-black  solid,  insoluble  in  water,  benzene,  aud  carbon 
bisulphide,  sparingly  soluble  in  pure  ether,  very  soluble  in 
alcohol  with  strong  red  fluorescence.  The  crystals  of  yellow 
colouring  matter  form  orange-red  plates  insoluble  in  water, 
soluble  in  alcohol,  ether,  chloroform,  and  benzene  to  a deep 
yellow  colour,  and  in  carbon  bisulphide  to  a brick  red.  These 
crystals  are  transformed  in  the  light  into  cholesterin.  The  author 
considers  this  yellow  substance  to  be  identical  with  the  yellow 
colouring  matter  of  flowers  and  fruits  in  general,  including  that 
of  the  carrot. — J.  Chem.  Soc. 


Received  : — From  Mr.  J.  It.  Gotz,  a bottle  of  special  concen- 
trated toning  solution  for  a new  Obernetter  matt  surfaced 
gelatino-ehloride  paper.  The  specimen  prints  accompanying 
this  were  free  from  objectionable  gloss,  yet  contained  plenty  of 
detail.  The  sulphoeyanide  toning  solution  we  tried  upon 
Alpha  paper  which  happened  to  be  handy,  and  found  it  to  give 
rich  blacks  exceedingly  quickly,  so  that  it  had  to  be  diluted 

more  than  recommended  by  the  vendor. Fallowfield’s  well- 

known  Photographic  Annual  for  1890  has  also  been  received. 
It  is  now  a goodly  volume  of  432  pages,  and  contains  a consider- 
able quantity  of  literary  matter,  giving  useful  practical 
information,  in  addition  to  the  trade  particulars  relating  to 
photographic  appliances.  Mr.  Fallowfield  also  sends  one  of  the 
sheaths  which  he  now  fits  to  his  “ Facile  ” hand-camera,  to 
overcome  the  difficulty  of  the  varying  thicknesses  of  dry  plates. 
Some  notices  of  books  and  some  patent  intelligence  we  are 
again  obliged  to  postpone  because  of  press  of  other  matter. 


to  ©omgpontrentg. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 

Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Roal,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

S.  B. — Merge? a Mercury  Process.  The  details  of  this  process 
were  never  made  perfectly  clear,  but  you  will  find  an  account 
in  the  journals  of  April  1872.  Paper  was  treated  with 
ammonio-nitrate  of  silver,  or  with  a gold  salt,  then  the 
negative,  exposed  to  mercury  vapour,  was  laid  down  upon  it, 
and  there  left,  so  that  the  mercurial  fumes  escaping  there- 
from should  effect  the  reduction  of  the  silver  (or  gold)  salt, 
forming  an  amalgam  on  the  principle  of  the  A rim-  Dianne.  The 
image  so  produced  in  the  paper  was  toned  and  fixed  in  the 
ordinary  way,  and  was  said  to  be  permanent. 

M.  E.  P. — Gum  Elemi  in  Photo- Lithographic  Ink.  We  find 
some  particulars  in  the  Photo.  Corresponds  relating  to  the 
employment  of  gum  elemi  in  the  somewhat  complex  mix- 
ture which  is  used  for  ink,  both  on  stone  and  zinc,  for  the 
photo-mechanical  processes.  It  is  combined  with  suet,  bees- 
wax, asphalt,  resin,  and  turpentine,  linseed  oil  varnish  and 
lamp-black  constituting,  indeed,  the  chief  ingredient  in  the 
ink  specified  in  a long  formula  therein  given. 

Amateur  (Sandgate). — New  American  Printing-Out  Process. 
Give  it  a trial  by  all  means,  and  compare  with  your  ordinary 
method  for  rapidity.  No  chloride  is  used,  but  equal  parts 
of  ferric  oxalate,  silver  nitrate,  and  gelatine  dissolved 
together  in  warm  water  with  a small  quantity  of  tartaric 
acid. 

T.  L. — Photography  in  Natural  Colours.  Since  you  wrote  last 
week,  the  letters  of  Dr.  Eder,  Dr.  Gunther,  and  M.  Leon 
Vidal,  have  all  appeared  in  the  News,  and  give  as  much 
information  as  seems  likely  to  be  forthcoming  ; but  from 
these  you  will  be  able  to  glean  further  details. 

Assayer  (Llanelly). — Chlorine  in  Hydrochloric  Acid.  The 
best  way  of  testing  for  free  chlorine  is  to  dissolve  a small 
quantity  of  diphenylamine  in  the  suspected  hydrochloric  acid, 
and  look  for  a blue  colouration.  Or,  the  diphenylamine  may 
be  dissolved  in  alcohol,  and  poured  gently  upon  the  surface 
of  the  acid,  when  the  production  of  a blue  halo  at  the  line 
of  junction  makes  itself  apparent. 

Technic. — The  Britannia  Works  Premium.  It  is  very  easy  to 
criticise,  but  if  prepared  with  a formulated  scheme,  the  way 
is  still  open  for  you  to  submit  a proposal,  together  with  the 
names  of  those  who  agree  to  assist  you  in  giving  effect  to 
your  plans. 

F.  H. — Zinc  Alloys.  Unless  you  put  in  some  tin,  it  is  not 
possible  to  make  zinc  alloy  with  lead. 

Gothic  Art. — Albert  Diirer.  The  current  number  of  the 
English  Illustrated  Magazine  devotes  twenty-one  pages  to  a 
notice  of  his  works,  by  Albert  Fleming,  with  some  very  fine 
engravings. 

C.  H.  (Walsall). — Dr.  W.  J.  Nicol’s  patent  for  “ Improvements 
in  and  connection  with  Photographic  Printing,”  is  dated 
March  29th,  1889,  No.  5,374. 

F.  C.  S. — New  Gaseous  Elememt,  Yes,  if  confirmed,  the  new 
element  damarium  will  quite  revolutionise  the  present  system 
of  chemical  formula  according  to  the  ruling  atomic  theory. 
Hydrogen,  being  no  longer  the  lightest  known  element,  can- 
not be  taken  as  unity,  but  will  have  to  give  place  to 
Damarium  (D)  at  the  bottom  of  our  atomic  series,  and  all 
the  former  weights  will  have  to  be  doubled.  Thus,  hydrogen 
becomes  2,  chlorine  71,  oxygen  32,  sulphur  64,  &c.  It  is 
said  to  be  the  most  powerful  reducing  agent  known,  instantly 
throwing  out  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  lead  from  their 
metallic  solutions,  and  reducing  sulphurous  acid  to  free 
sulphur,  with  production  of  the  new  oxide,  1)4  0.  Truly 
this  will  necessite  great  changes,  but  we  must  wait  for  con* 
firmation  of  this  astounding  discovery. 

Col.  Waterhouse. — Your  interesting  communication  received 
and  forwarded.  Your  experiments  certainly  indicate  quite 
an  original  departure. 

Received  : — Report  of  the  Newcastle-upon-Tyne  Meeting  of 
British  Association,  and  Prospectus  of  the  Automatic  Photo- 
graph Company,  Limited, 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC 


' •<»' 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1655. — May  23,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PAOK 


A Damp  Process 389 

A Meeting  i f Opticians  about  Lens  Mounts  390 

An  International  Photographic  Exhibition  in  Vienna 390 

Astronomical  Photography.  By  'William  E.  Plummer,  M. A.  390 
Photography  of  the  More  Refrangible  Rays.  By  V.  Schumann  392 
A Standard  Method  of  Development.  By  C.  H.  Bothamley  ...  393 

Groups  and  Grouping.  By  C.  Brangwin  Barnes  39G 

The  Progress  of  ilie  Photo-Mechanical  Printing  Processes.  By 
Hermann  E.  Gunther  396 


PAOt 

Notes 39* 

The  Royal  Academy  of  Arts.  1890.  By  the  Rev.  F.  C.  Lambert  399 

Photoeraphic  Lenses.  By  T.  R.  Dallmeyer 400 

The  Royal  Institution 402 

Fiction  in  Photography  403 

Photographic  Mounts  404 

Patent  Intelligence  405 

Proceedings  of  Societies 40T 

Answers  to  Correspondents  408 


A DAMP  PROCESS. 

Much  is  said  now-a-days  about  the  ease  of  the  gelatino- 
bromide  and  other  dry  plate  processes  for  landscape 
photographic  work,  as  compared  with  the  wet  plate 
method  of  early  times,  with  its  developing  tent  or  box, 
and  the  other  heavy  encumbrances  it  was  necessary  to 
take  into  the  field.  Perhaps  the  newly  fledged  race 
of  photographers  may  be  unaware  that  so  far  back  as 
1863  an  excellent  “ damp  ” process  was  in  use,  cheaper 
than  the  present  dry-plate  process,  whereby  plates 
which  would  keep  good  for  a day  could  be  taken  into 
the  field  just  as  dry  plates  are  carried,  and  be  brought 
home  for  development  the  same  evening.  Home 
practical  advantages  might  perhaps  be  gained  by 
experimentally  examining  the  artistic  and  other  merits 
of  some  of  the  best  processes  of  the  past,  especially  as 
it  is  well  known  that  wet-plate  methods  tend  to  favour 
high  quality  in  certain  photomechanical  and  orthochro- 
matic  results. 

The  glycerine  process  was  devised  by  Mr.  Fysh,  one 
of  Mr.  Valentine  Blanchard’s  friends,  and  Mr.  Blan- 
chard published  it  in  the  Year-Book  for  1863.  A plate 
is  coated  with  bromo-iodised  collodion,  then  immersed 
in  a thirty-grain  nitrate  of  silver  bath  made  faintly 
acid  with  acetic  acid,  for  it  is  said  that  in  this  process 
no  trace  of  nitric  acid  must  be  present  in  the  solutions. 
The  next  step  in  the  treatment  is  made  by  the  use  of 
the  following  solution  : — Take  of  English  honey,  old 
and  crystallized,  four  ounces;  Price’s  glycerine,  two 
ounces ; nitrate  of  silver,  thirty-grain  bath,  new  and 
iodised,  six  ounces.  When  thoroughly  mixed,  add 
kaolin  half  an  ounce  and  shake  well,  and  repeat  the 
shaking  occasionally  for  an  hour  ; then  place  the  mix- 
ture in  a light  place,  but  not  in  sunshine,  for  two  days. 
The  solution  above  the  kaolin  deposit  improves  by 
keeping,  and  when  required  for  use  some  of  it  is  fil- 
tered into  a measuring-glass  for  the  purpose.  When 


the  plate  is  taken  from  the  sensitising  bath  some  of  the 
glycerine  mixture  is  poured  over  it,  and  kept  moving 
until  all  oily  appearances  cease.  The  plate  is  then 
drained  into  the  bottle,  and  some  more  of  the  glycerine 
mixture  is  poured  over  it ; again  the  surplus  is  poured 
from  the  plate  into  the  stock  bottle,  after  which  the 
plate  is  placed  on  edge  on  blotting  paper  to  drain ; 
when  sufficiently  drained  it  is  placed  in  the  dark  slide 
for  use.  Mr.  Blanchard’s  experience  was  that  these 
plates  would  keep  in  good  condition  four  hours  in  sum- 
mer, and  a day  in  winter.  We  used  the  process  ex- 
tensively, and  about  1865  published  in  contemporary 
photographic  literature  some  experiments  made  with 
it.  By  reducing  the  proportion  of  nitrate  of  silver  in 
the  glycerine  solution,  it  was  found  that  the  plates 
could  be  made  to  keep  good  for  a day  in  summer.  The 
old  protosulphate  of  iron  developer  was  used  to  bring 
out  the  image. 

The  glycerine  and  honey  mixture  recommended  above 
seems  highly  empirical  from  a scientific  point  of  view, 
and  no  doubt  the  solution  will  bear  simplification,  but 
in  general  it  yielded  excellent  results  in  the  hands  of 
those  who  gave  it  a trial.  Mr.  Carey  Lea  tried  it  on 
our  recommendation,  as  mentioned  in  his  book  on 
photography,  and  spoke  favourably  of  his  experiences 
therewith.  Those  who  found  it  a failure  perhaps  used 
impure  materials,  for  honey  is  one  of  the  most  easily 
adulterated  articles  known,  as  the  Swiss — who  produce 
it  in  large  quantities — are  aware;  then  again,  some 
samples  of  glycerine  contain  lead,  and  even  high-class 
varieties  sometimes  contain  chloride  of  sodium,  and 
will  not  stand  the  nitrate  of  silver  test.  Not  a bad 
method  of  applying  the  glycerine  “ preservative  ” is  by 
means  of  a dipping  bath.  To  those  who  understand 
the  precautions  necessary  in  working  the  wet-plate 
process  successfully,  the  glycerine  process  for  outdoor 
work  within  a moderate  distance  of  home  is  easy, 
rapid,  and  inexpensive. 


390 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  23,  1890. 


A MEETING  OF  OPTICIANS  ABOUT  LENS 
MOUNTS. 

Perhaps  the  most  influential  meeting  of  photographic 
opticians  ever  held  was  that  which  took  place  last  Wednes- 
day night  at  the  Mona  Hotel,  London,  to  make  recommen- 
dations to  the  committee  of  the  Photographic  Convention 
about  standard  mounts  for  lenses.  Mr.  A.  Iladdon 
presided.  Those  present  were  Mr.  T.  It.  Dallmeyer,  Dr. 
James  Edmunds,  Mr.  John  Stuart  (Boss  and  Co.),  Mr. 
II.  G.  lleyburn  (Ross  and  Co.),  Mr.  L.  Cohen,  Mr.  A. 
Staley  (Charles  Reynolds  and  Co.),  Mr.  II.  J.  Anderson 
(Messrs.  II.  Anderson  and  Son),  Mr.  M.  J.  Swift,  Mr.  E. 
Clifton  (the  Stereoscopic  Company),  Mr.  W.  Taylor,  Mr. 
Conrad  Beck,  Mr.  II.  Crouch,  Mr.  Turnbull  (Messrs. 
Wray  and  Sons),  Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater  (Messrs.  Newton 
and  Son),  Mr.  II.  IV.  Hobson,  Mr.  T.  P.  Watson,  and  Mr. 
II.  It.  Fairbanks. 

As  we  have  been  requested  not  to  publish  the  decisions 
at  this  series  of  meetings,  because  such  publication  would 
anticipate  the  report  of  the  Committee,  it  would  be  of  no 
use  to  publish  the  discussions  which  led  thereto.  Last 
Wednesday,  Dr.  Edmunds  gave  the  meeting  some  of  the 
benefit  of  his  large  experience  relating  to  the  construction 
of  standard  screws  for  scientific  purposes.  The  resolu- 
tions about  two  standard  flanges  passed  at  the  previous 
meeting  were  rescinded  to  clear  the  ground,  because  of  the 
much  larger  attendance  last  Wednesday.  Certain  other 
resolutions  as  to  the  standards  to  be  recommended  for 
adoption  for  the  flanges  of  lenses  of  all  sizes  were  then 
passed,  but  not  unanimously,  for  some  of  the  larger 
opticians  objected;  the  chief  point  of  difference  of  opinion 
was  as  to  the  exact  size  of  a standard  flange  approximating 
to  lj  inch  in  diameter.  In  the  course  of  the  meeting 
Mr.  Taylor  remarked  that  the  opticians  had  but  power  to 
make  recommendations  to  the  Convention  Committee, 
upon  which  Mr.  Watson  opined  that  if  those  present 
agreed  to  make  certain  standard  flanges,  those  flanges  would 
become  the  standards  for  the  whole  world  ; whereupon  Dr. 
Edmunds  remarked  that  those  who  would  exercise  most 
authority  in  the  matter  would  be  the  public. 

The  Chairman  announced  that  if  the  Committee  desired 
to  consult  the  opticians  again,  it  would  invite  them  to 
meet  in  London  shortly  before  the  opening  of  the  Con- 
vention. 

AN  INTERNATIONAL  PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBI- 
TION IN  VIENNA. 

An  influential  International  Photographic  Exhibition,  or 
“ Photographic  Salon,”  will  be  held  in  Vienna  in  April 
next  year,  under  the  management  of  the  Vienna  Club  of 
Photographic  Amateurs.  The  regulations  have  not  yet 
been  formulated,  but  the  general  idea  is  to  exhibit  only 
first-class  and  comparatively  recent  work,  and  to  make 
quality  rather  than  quantity  the  predominant  feature.  A 
jury  of  artists  and  photographers  will  decide  as  to  the 
admission,  or  otherwise,  of  each  picture.  The  exhibition 
will  be  held  in  the  Imperial  Austrian  Museum  of  Art  and 
Industry.  Mr.  Carl  Ulrich,  vice-president  of  the  Club, 
who  is  now  in  London,  has  furnished  us  the  above 
particulars.  The  president  is  Mr.  Carl  Srna,  the  Club  of 

Amateur  Photographers,  Wallfischgasse  4,  Vienna. 



In  the  course  of  his  lecture  last  Friday  at  the  Royal  Institu- 
tion, Professor  Meldola  said  that  cuprous  chloride  is  as  sensitive 
to  light  as  chloride  of  silver,  and  he  performed  an  experiment 
in  proof  thereof. 


ASTRONOMICAL  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

BY  WILLIAM  E.  PLUMMER,  M.A.,  K.B.A.S. 

On  a very  superficial  survey  of  the  history  of  astronomy, 
we  may  easily  perceive  distinct  epochs  at  which  its  further 
progress  as  an  observational  science  is  apparently  barred, 
and  as  easily  recognise  the  improved  mechanical  means 
whereby  those  barriers  have  been  removed  and  a new  and 
wider  field  of  research  opened  up  to  patient  investigation. 
The  discovery  of  the  telescope,  coming  as  it  did  when 
naked  eye  records  had  accomplished  their  utmost  accuracy, 
marks  such  an  epoch ; the  discovery  of  the  principle  of 
the  achromatic  telescope,  which  happily  surmounted  the 
inconvenient  difficulty  presented  by  the  enormous  focal 
length  necessary  for  the  due  performance  of  a single  lens, 
marks  another.  And  now,  when  we  see  this  principle 
carried  to  such  an  extent  in  the  manufacture  of  huge 
object  glasses  as  to  tax  alike  the  powers  of  the  optician  to 
fashion,  and  of  the  engineer  to  mount,  we  have,  in  the 
application  of  photography,  a possible  means  for  the 
prosecution  of  astronomical  science  into  regions  of  un- 
expected interest.  We  may,  therefore,  hope  that  astronomy 
as  a science  has  not  yet  culminated,  and  that,  so  far  from 
being  effete,  there  are  still  awaiting  solution,  problems 
which  will  only  be  suggested  by  further  developments  in 
mechanics  and  optics. 

We  have  alluded  to  the  application  of  photography  as 
marking  an  era  of  increased  activity  and  further  progress 
in  astronomy.  It  would  have  perhaps  been  more  correct 
to  have  insisted  on  the  employment  of  the  gelatine  dry 
plate,  as  the  date  from  which  this  new  departure  is  to  be 
reckoned  ; for  the  peculiar  principle  which  gives  im- 
portance to  this  method  of  research  is  its  capacity  for 
rendering  available  the  accumulative  effects  of  feeble 
light  when  exercised  over  considerable  intervals  of  time. 
In  the  days  of  the  wet  collodion  plate  this  valuable  result 
could  not  be  made  effective,  and  consequently  its  applica- 
tion, though  valuable  for  accuracy  of  delineation,  secured 
what  would  have  remained  little  more  than  scientific 
curiosities.  It  is  not  intended  here  to  suggest  that  the 
early  photographs  of  the  moon  taken  by  De  la  Rue, 
Rutherford,  and  others  possess  no  value  ; but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  they  show  no  more  detail  than  do  our 
telescopes  of  moderate  power  and  excellence.  They  do 
not  mark  any  material  advance  in  astronomical  science. 
They  exhibit  the  potentiality  of  advancement  which  the 
further  progress  of  photography  has  converted  into  a 
reality.  The  negatives  taken  thirty  years  ago,  when 
De  la  Rue  and  Berkowski  photographed  the  coronal 
appendages  of  the  sun  during  a total  eclipse,  taught  us  no 
more  than  that  their  shape  and  position  could  be  accu- 
rately depicted  for  all  time  on  a sensitised  plate.  It  was 
undoubtedly  in  this  respect  a great  advance  over  sensa- 
tional hand-drawn  pictures ; but  if  the  sensitiveness  of 
the  plate  had  not  improved,  and  especially  if  the  film  had 
still  to  be  used  in  a wet  condition,  photography  would 
never  have  advanced  to  such  a point  as  to  be  considered 
an  engine,  and  a powerful  engine,  in  astronomical  re- 
search. The  same  remark  applies  to  Bond,  of  Harvard, 
laboriously  photographing  a few  of  the  brighter  double 
stars  in  the  heavens,  the  discussion  of  the  measures  of 
which  showed  no  improvement  on  the  micrometrical 
measurements  of  ordinary  telescopes.  The  practical  con- 
finement of  photography  to  such  bright  objects  as  the 
sun  and  moon,  for  years  after  the  early  and  praiseworthy 
attempts  of  De  la  Rue  and  Bond,  proves  how  little,  in  its 


May  23,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


391 


earlier  stages,  it  was  thought  to  be  a serious  competitor  as 
an  instrument  of  research  with  the  largest  made  tele- 
scopes. 

Rut  as  soon  as  the  dry  plate  enabled  us  to  stoic  up 
the  accumulated  effects  of  the  minutest  points  of  light 
till  they  could  be  rendered  visible  on  the  negative,  it 
was  evident  that  we  possessed  a method  of  recording  the 
aspect  of  the  heavens  with  a delicacy  and  minuteness 
that  were  only  limited  by  the  mechanical  difficulties  of 
the  operator.  The  exertions  and  experiments  of  photo- 
graphic chemists,  at  first  undertaken  with  a view  of 
shortening  the  exposure,  and  rendering  permanent  very 
transient  effects,  have  supplied  astronomers  the  means  of 
operating  in  a very  different  direction,  who,  by  enor- 
mously increasing  the  exposure,  have  been  able  to  per- 
ceive the  traces  and  register  the  effects  of  constant  but 
very  minute  sources  of  light. 

In  one  sense  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  photo- 
graphs taken  by  the  astronomer  are  pictures  of  very 
transient  duration,  and  they  are  taken  under  exceptional 
difficulties  which  do  not  affect  the  ordinary  operator. 
Ilis  instrument  and  his  camera  are  being  carried  on  the 
earth's  surface  with  a velocity  of  several  hundred  miles 
an  hour,  while  the  object  he  is  photographing  does  not 
partake  of  this  motion.  Consequently,  he  is  often 
several  thousand  miles  distant  at  the  end  of  his  exposure 
from  the  spot  where  it  was  commenced.  This  is 
ordinarily  expressed  by  the  motion  of  the  heavens,  and 
except  the  astronomer  has  some  effectual  means  of  over- 
coming the  difficulty  arising  from  this  source,  and  main- 
taining the  direction  of  his  lens  and  camera  unaltered  in 
space,  it  is  evident  that  he  will  not  be  able  to  ensure  the 
light  from  a star  constantly  falling  on  the  same  spot  of 
his  sensitised  plate.  Two  defects  would  therefore 
exhibit  themselves  on  the  development  of  the  latent 
image : the  bright  stars  or  objects  that  arc  easily  and 
at  once  photographed  would  trace  lines  on  the  plate  in- 
dicating the  direction  of  the  earth’s  motion  on  its  axis, 
while  the  fainter  stars  requiring  long  exposure  to  impress 
their  images  on  the  film  would  not  be  visible  at  all.  The 
greater  part  of  the  motion  necessary  to  counteract  this 
difficulty  is  given  to  the  instrument  by  means  of  clock- 
work, whose  rate  is  so  regulated  as  to  carry  the  telescope 
with  the  same  velocity  as  the  earth  revolves,  but  in  an 
opposite  direction.  Consequently,  if  the  telescope  be 
pointed  to  a star  and  the  clockwork  be  put  into  action, 
the  instrument  would  theoretically  remain  pointed  towards 
that  star,  however  long  the  exposure  was  continued.  But 
clockwork,  however  carefully  made,  and  however  inge- 
niously controlled  by  mechanical  appliances,  will  never 
move  with  the  perfect  uniformity  of  the  earth’s  rotation. 
Therefore  it  is  necessary  for  the  observer  to  attach  a 
telescope  to  his  photographic  apparatus,  and  to  keep  a star 
seen  through  it  accurately  bisected  by  a wire,  by  slight 
correcting  motions  given  to  the  telescope,  when  lie  per- 
ceives that  the  star  has  moved  away  from  the  wire  by  the 
smallest  perceptible  quantity.  Xor  is  this  his  only  diffi- 
culty; for  owing  to  atmospheric  refraction,  which 
depends  upon  the  star’s  altitude,  and  which,  of  course, 
changes  during  the  exposure,  a star  will  move  slowly,  but 
perceptibly,  in  a manner  that  no  clockwork  can  adequately 
follow,  and  the  continual  adjustment  or  removal  of  this 
source  of  error  can  only  be  effectually  remedied  by  minute 
alterations  of  the  direction  of  the  telescope  in  space.  When, 
therefore,  a plate  is  taken  of  two,  three,  or  four  hours' 
exposure,  it  means  that  an  observer  is  all  the  time  watch- 


ing the  behaviour  and  motion  of  a star  in  a connected 
telescope,  with  the  view  of  removing  or  nullifying  such 
slight  deviations  from  regularity  as  the  imperfections 
of  mechanism  or  the  physical  circumstances  of  refraction 
necessarily  introduce.  For,  without  such  precautions,  and 
without  a very  considerable  amount  of  care  and  attention, 
it  is  impossible  to  produce  that  kind  of  picture  in  which 
the  stars  are  shown  on  development  as  perfectly  round, 
hard,  and  small  discs,  various  in  size  according  to  their 
magnitudes,  the  brighter  the  star  the  larger  the  photo- 
graphic image. 

The  method  of  development  is  at  the  choice  of  the 
operator ; but  since  accurate  measurement  of  the  dis- 
tances between  these  minute  discs  is  generally  required, 
it  is  prudent  to  obtain  as  fine  a granulation  as  possible. 
Ilvdrokinonc  gives  generally  very  good  results,  but  those 
who  wish  to  force  the  utmost  from  their  plates  are  rather  in 
favour  of  a ferrous  oxalate  development. 

Either  of  the  two  kinds  of  telescopes  in  use  among 
astronomers,  namely,  the  reflector  and  the  refractor,  is  or 
can  be  made,  available  for  photography.  But  there  is  this 
difference.  In  the  former  case,  the  reflector,  all  the  rays, 
whatever  be  their  colour  or  wave  length,  are  brought  to 
one  and  the  same  focus,  and  therefore  such  an  instrument 
is  immediately  available.  In  the  achromatic  refractor  as 
hitherto  applied,  the  rays  have  necessarily  suffered  disper- 
sion in  passing  through  the  object  glass,  and  the  labour  of 
the  optician  is  devoted  to  bringing  the  brighter  rays  of 
the  visible  spectrum  to  a common  focus,  while  the  rays 
about  (!,  in  the  solar  spectrum,  the  most  sensitive  for 
bromide  of  silver  plates,  are  brought  to  a focus,  or  at  least 
converge  to  a focus,  at  a point  necessarily  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  most  suitable  for  visual  rays.  Hence  in  a 
refractor  the  plate  is  not  exposed  at  the  visual  focus,  and 
a particular  form  of  object  glass  has  to  be  selected  in  order 
to  secure  rapidity  of  action  and  precision  of  image. 

The  advantage  appears,  therefore,  to  lie  on  the  side  of 
the  reflector,  and  it  was,  accordingly, with  those  instruments 
that  the  earliest  attempts  at  astronomical  photography  on 
an  extended  scale  were  conducted.  When  we  consider 
that  a reflector  is  a simpler  optical  arrangement,  that  it  is 
less  costly  in  construction,  that  it  is  available  alike  for  all 
rays  of  the  spectrum,  and  can,  therefore,  accommodate 
itself  to  any  prepared  film,  it  is  not  a little  surprising  that 
most  energetic  efforts,  finally  crowned  with  success,  have 
been  made  to  adapt  the  refracting  form  to  the  purposes  of 
this  method  of  research.  It  is,  however,  a fact  that,  in 
the  past,  nearly  all  the  serious  astronomical  observations 
have  been  made  with  refractors.  The  explanation  of  this 
rather  curious  fact  is  not  hard  to  seek,  but  it  would  lead 
us  too  far  astray  to  discuss  the  point  here.  The  reason 
for  noticing  it  is,  that  it  was  probably  felt  that  if  photo- 
graphy was  to  reap  a wide  and  abundant  harvest  in  the 
future,  refractors  must  be  constructed  to  play  the  same 
conspicuous  part  in  the  new  astronomy  as  they  have  done 
in  the  old.  And,  undoubtedly,  the  credit  for  the  due 
appreciation  of  this  fact,  and  for  taking  the  steps  neces- 
sary' to  secure  its  accomplishment,  belongs  to  French 
ingenuity,  the  ablest  exponents  of  which,  in  this  branch, 
are  the  brothers  Henry,  of  the  Paris  Observatory.  Of 
the  permanent  success  which  has  attended  their  exertions 
it  is  too  early  to  speak  with  confidence,  but  it  must  be 
admitted  on  all  hands  that  they  have  fully  appreciated  the 
advantages  to  be  gained,  and  manfully  coped  with  the 
great  difficulties  that  barred  further  progress. 

Jt  would  extend  this  article  to  an  interminable  length  to 


392 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  23,  1890. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHY  OF  THE  MORE  REFRAN- 
GIBLE RAYS* 


attempt  to  give  even  a catalogue  of  the  various  purposes 
to  which  photography  has  been,  and  is  being,  applied  in 
the  region  of  astronomical  research.  To  some  of  the 
more  important  and  more  interesting  we  shall  hope  to 
refer  on  a future  occasion,  and  show  how  objects  of  which 
the  largest  telescopes  had  not  revealed  the  presence,  have 
accurately  depicted  themselves  on  a sensitised  film  ; how 
variations  which  the  eye  cannot  appreciate  have  been 
made  easily  visible  ; how  labour  has  been  saved,  and  time 
has  been  shortened.  The  success  has  been  so  rapid  and 
so  marvellous  in  the  past,  that  it  woidd  be  bold  to  forecast 
for  it  any  ultimate  failure  in  any  direction,  but  there  are 
difficulties  which  have  not  yet  been  wholly  overcome,  and 
of  which  it  is  not  easy  to  see  the  solution. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  point  out  some  of  these  apparently 
unavoidable  drawbacks.  It  is  evident  that  if  a plate  be 
exposed  for  some  hours  in  order  to  secure  the  record  of 
the  position  of  the  faintest  stars  in  a given  district,  it  is 
inevitable  but  that  the  brighter  stars  must  be  over-exposed. 
Indeed,  it  not  infrequently  happens  that  a reversion  of 
the  negative  image  supervenes,  and  this  long  exposure  is 
attended  with  this  inconvenience,  that  the  size  of  the 
image  of  the  brighter  stars  becomes  so  large,  that  they  are 
extremely  difficult  to  bisect  with  the  necessary  precision, 
or  to  determine  the  centre  of  action  whereat  the  photo- 
graphic image  commenced  which  would  correspond  with 
the  position  of  the  star  in  the  sky.  The  periphery  of  the 
image  is  generally  of  so  loose  a texture  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  determine  this  point  from  measures  made  at  the 
circumference.  And  further,  considered  as  a picture  it 
is  a failure,  because  the  brightest  stars  appear  as  points  in 
the  sky  without  any  sensible  area,  and  for  accuracy  of 
reproduction  the  negative  should  reveal  them  equally 
minute.  The  effect  of  brightness  in  the  sky  is  translated 
on  the  negative  by  increased  area. 

This  defect  of  over-exposure  is  still  more  strikingly 
shown  in  the  photographs  of  bright  nebula?,  where  it  fre- 
quently happens  that  when  a plate  has  been  exposed  long 
enough  to  secure  the  detail  in  the  fainter  parts,  the 
brighter  portions  show  a mass  of  uniform  density.  This 
difficulty  is  partially  removed  by  taking  exposures  of  vary- 
ing length,  in  some  of  which  all  the  details  will  have 
received  the  proper  exposure,  and  then  constructing  a 
picture  of  the  whole,  from  the  study  of  its  several  parts. 
And  lastly,  it  may  fairly  be  urged  that  a photograph  has 
no  power  of  discrimination  to  seize  the  momentary  and 
best  view  of  a celestial  object.  If  the  exposure  be  carried 
on  through  a short  but  perceptible  interval,  the  effect 
registered  on  the  sensitised  film  is  the  sum  of  all  the  vary- 
ing aspects,  which,  owing  to  atmospheric  tremor  and  mauy 
other  causes,  the  object  successively  presents  during  that 
interval.  The  final  result  may  be  compared  to  the  effect 
which  would  be  produced  by  overlaying  many  images  of 
the  same  object  taken  with  a camera  in  minute  but  rapid 
vibration. 

West  Loxdox  Photographic  Association. — On  the  9th  the 
annual  smoking  concert  took  place  at  the  Richmond  Hotel, 
Shepherd’s  Bush  Road,  under  the  chairmanship  of  Dr.  Low. 
The  programme  was  in  itself  a work  of  art,  having  been 
photo-etched  by  Mr.  Walter  L.  Colls  from  a design  by  J.  Martin 
Dickens.  On  the  3rd  about  thirty  members  of  the  Society  met 
at  “ Jack  Straw's  Castle,”  Hampstead,  and  spent  an  afternoon 
in  seeking  “ bits  ” in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  heath.  On 
the  17th,  twenty-eight  members  sought  out  some  of  the 
charming  scenery  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  George’s  Hill.  While 
the  members  were  waiting  for  their  evening  repast,  Mr.  J.  D. 
England  exposed  two  whole-plate  celluloid  films  upon  them. 


BY  V.  SCHUMANN. 

Fluorite  in  perfect  white  crystals  is  now-a-days  such  a 
rare  miueral  that  it  is  hardly  to  be  got,  even  in  small 
paltry  pieces,  and  not  at  all  in  large  ones.  My  optical 
installation  certainly  contains  a fluorite  prism,  but  it  is,  in 
consequence  of  mauy  faults,  so  defective  that  its  appli- 
cation to  the  end  I had  in  view  was  not  to  be  thought  of. 
After  having  for  years  vainly  endeavoured  to  obtain 
such  a prism  as  I desired,  my  researches  on  the  ultra- 
violet rays  would  have  remained  completely  blocked,  but 
that  I fortunately  was  able  to  obtain,  though  only  as  a 
loan,  a fluorite  prism  and  lenses,  both  of  unusual  size  and 
purity. 

With  this  fluorite  apparatus  I renewed  my  researches, 
and  was.  thanks  to  its  excellent  definition,  immediately 
enabled  to  go  somewhat  more  closely  into  the  question 
of  the  absorption  of  light  by  quartz. 

In  the  first  instance  T confined  myself  to  observation 
of  the  fluorescent  spectrum  as  shown  when  a plate  of 
uranium  glass  is  brought  into  the  path  of  the  rays.  When 
I,  during  the  observation,  introduced  a plate  of  quartz 
between  the  source  of  lights  and  the  slit,  I found,  at  all 
events  with  the  thicker  plates,  that  the  brightness  of  the 
image  was  visibly  diminished,  and  by  so  much  more  to 
the  eye  as  the  quartz  plate  was  thicker.  The  largest 
quartz  plate,  which  was  5 c.m.  in  thickness,  stopped  the 
more  refrangible  rays  entirely.  The  less  refrangible  rays, 
on  the  other  hand,  were  but  slightly  similarly  affected. 

I am  far  from  arguing  that  the  total  disappearance  of  the 
particular  spectrum  region  proves  the  total  absorption  of 
the  rays.  The  physiological  effect  stands  on  a different 
ground  from  the  photographic  effect.  The  whole  fluor- 
escence spectrum  is,  however,  so  badly  defined  in  com- 
parison with  the  photographic  image,  that  I must  give 
the  preference  to  the  latter,  even  when  its  sharpness  leaves 
much  to  be  desired.  After  the  somewhat  crude  earlier 
experiment  the  registration  of  the  absorption  by  the  rays 
was  taken  in  hand.  On  account  of  its  energetic  action  I 
chose  for  this  purpose  the  aluminium  line  No.  32.  Although 
the  photographs — about  100  in  number — that  I made  for 
the  purpose  do  not  enable  me  to  give  an  exact  numerical 
table  of  absorption,  yet  I can  state  with  tolerable  certainty 
that  films  of  quartz  up  to  a few  millimetres  in  thickness 
keep  back  the  ultra-violet  rays  but  very  little  ; but  on  the 
other  hand,  if  of  10  m.m.,  and  still  more  of  20  or  30  m.m. 
in  thickness,  the  quartz  retards  the  exposure  of  the  rays 
at  the  end  of  the  ultra-violet  in  a very  pronounced  degree. 
Whether  the  yet  more  refrangible  rays  behave  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  aluminium  line  No.  32,  I am  unable  to  say. 
A circumstance  to  be  mentioned  later  on  led  me  to  the 
conclusion  that  if  there  is  any  difference  it  cannot  be 
a very  considerable  one. 

Following  these  results  I was  able,  without  much  diffi- 
culty, to  increase  the  permeability  to  light  of  my  spectro- 
graph, which  was  fitted  up  with  a quartz  prism  and  quartz 
lenses.  I reduced  the  thickness  of  the  quartz  through 
which  the  light  had  to  pass  by  replacing  the  lenses  hitherto 
used  by  thinner  ones  (2 ’2  m.m.)  and  by  shifting  the 
prism  so  that  its  edge  approached  more  nearly  the  centre 
of  the  field  of  light  of  the  collimator  lens.  In  this  way 
the  thinnest  portion  of  the  prism — that  is,  the  margin  at 
the  refracting  angle — was  made  much  more  use  of  than 

* Continued  from  page  382. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


393 


May  23,  1890.1 

when  the  prism,  as  is  customary,  stands  in  the  middle  o* 
the  field  of  light.  With  the  spectrographic  apparatus 
thus  remounted  I was  able  to  photograph  all  the  rays,  even 
to  the  most  refrangible,  as  with  fluorite.  It  only  requires 
longer  exposure,  in  order  to  attain  to  the  performance  of 
the  latter.  These  photographs  yielded  the  noteworthy 
result  that,  with  a sufficient  lengthening  of  the  exposure, 
quartz  is  not  less  well  suited  to  the  photography  of  the 
less  refrangible  rays  than  is  fluorite. 

When  I was  in  the  fortunate  position  of  being  able  to 
farther  prosecute  my  researches  by  means  of  a fluorite 
apparatus,  I hoped  to  find  a quantity  of  new  lines  beyond 
those  which  my  earlier  researches  had  discovered.  The 
first  experiments,  having  this  end  in  view,  undeceived  me 
completely,  the  following  ones  not  less,  and  even  the  last 
of  several  hundred,  carried  on  with  increased  power  of  the 
electric  spark,  gave  no  more  evidence  of  a fulfilment  of 
my  desire  for  more  light  in  this  direction. 

Beyond  the  wave-length  1820  there  reigned  with  the 
fluorite  apparatus  the  same  absolute  darkness  for  the 
gelatine  plate  as  in  the  spectra  obtained  with  quartz. 
Whether  there  is  really  no  action  of  light  in  this  dark 
region,  or  whether  the  bodies  analysed  did  not  yield  any 
rays  in  that  place,  or  whether  the  silver  molecule  on  the 
plate  so  obstinately  refuses  to  yield  to  rays  of  shorter  wave- 
length any  image  that  can  be  developed,  must  provision- 
ally be  left  undetermined.  Of  great  influence  upon  the 
sensitiveness  of  the  plate  appears  to  be — as  my  earlier 
researches  taught  me — the  enormous  impermeability  of  gela- 
tine to  light  of  all  rays  more  refrangible  than  the  cadmium-line 
No.  18.  In  my  experiences  of  later  date  I found  that,  for 
example,  a gelatine  film  of  only  a few  thousandths  of  a 
millimetre  in  thickness  sufficed  to  preveut  the  passage  of 
the  whole  of  the  spectrum  beyond  the  cadmium  line 
No.  24,  and  that  for  the  absorption  of  the  last  of  the 
aluminium  lines  a yet  thinner  film  suffices.  Like  gelatine, 
also  behave  collodion  and  gum  arabic.  There  now  remains 
to  me  the  hope  that  experiments  with  other  elements — I 
have  it  in  view  to  search  for  the  more  refrangible  rays  in 
the  spectra  of  the  elements  that  I have  not  yet  tried — 
may  enable  me  to  discover  lines  of  shorter  wave-lengths. 
With  the  electrodes  of  the  aforementioned  metals  that  I 
have  already  employed,  further  success  may  be  obtained  by 
the  use  of  an  electric  spark  of  greater  energy  than  that  of 
the  apparatus  I have  hitherto  applied  to  the  purpose. 
Having  this  in  view,  I propose  to  repeat  the  whole  of  my 
experiments. 

Hitherto,  my  electrical  apparatus  has  consisted  of  a 
chromic  acid  battery  of  four  large  elements,  a Ruhmkorf 
indicator  coil  for  a spark  of  25  cm.,  and  twenty  Leyden  jars 
40  cm.  in  height.  F or  my  future  work  I have  prepared 
ten  Grove  cells  of  unusual  size  (the  platinum  electrode 
measures  10  by  19  cm.),  a Ruhmkorf  induction  coil  for 
50  cm.  spark  (secondary  coil  75,585  windings  of  about 
54,000  metres  in  length,  and  68,000  resistance)  and  a Ries 
battery  of  nine  Leyden  jars  of  40  cm.  in  height.  Perhaps 
with  this  more  powerful  apparatus  I may  find  more  lines, 
as  well  as  more  refrangible  ones,  than  in  my  former 
observations. 

I refrain,  as  before  stated,  for  the  present  from  a more 
detailed  description  of  my  photographic  apparatus.  I 
propose  to  furnish  a complete  account  as  soon  as  I have 
by  further  experiments  thoroughly  proved  its  capability. 

1 will  now  conclude  with  some  details  of  the  power  on 
light  of  my  apparatus.  My  old  spectrograph,  even  with 
long  continued  exposure,  and  with  the  slit  opened  wide, 


about  £ m.in.,  only  once  gave  me  the  aluminium  line 
mentioned,  and  then  only  in  weak  discontinuous  streaks. 
With  the  fluorite  instrument  an  exposure  of  two  seconds 
sufficed  to  obtain  a photograph  of  the  before  mentioned 
aluminium,  and  that  with  a slit  of  0‘080  m.m.  opening. 
We  need  go  no  further  to  discover  the  extraordinary 
power  of  light  of  the  later  instrument. 

The  energy  of  the  less  refrangible  rays  of  the  ultra 
violet  part  of  the  spectrum  with  this  instrument  is 
so  overpowering  that  I had  never  known  the  like.  A few 
minutes’  exposure  sufficed  to  solarise  many  of  the  lines  of 
this  position  of  the  region.  Such  lines  are  washed  out  in  a 
completely  exposed  spectrum.  Of  all  the  spectra  that  I 
have  photographed,  those  of  sodium,  bismuth,  and 
chromium  give  the  most  powerful  solarization ; with 
chromium  the  solarisation  goes  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
whole  spectrum  appears  as  light  stripes,  strewed  with  lines 
of  slight  intensity.  The  uncommon  light  power  of  my 
spectrograph  has  been  of  special  service  to  me  in  making 
the  extensive  set  of  photographs  of  the  region  of  the 
spectrum  that  was  undertaken. 


A STANDARD  METHOD  OF  DEVELOPMENT.* 

BY  C.  H.  BOTHAMLEY,  F.I.C.,  F.C.S. 

Method  of  Experiment. — Four  well-known  commercial 
brands  of  plates  were  selected,  of  as  widely  different  and 
as  representative  characters  as  possible,  viz.,  Wratten  and 
Wain wright’s  Ordinary,  Ilford  White  Label,  Mawson  and 
Swan’s  Castle,  and  Thomas’s  Thickly  Coated  Landscape. 
They  were  exposed  for  30  seconds  behind  a Warnerke 
screen  at  a distance  of  1 metre  from  a standard  light  con- 
sisting of  one  square  centimetre  of  the  brightest  part  of  a 
Silber  Argand  working  at  full  power.  It  was  believed 
that  a Warnerke  screen  would  give  results  sufficiently  ac- 
curate and  concordant  for  the  purpose  in  hand,  and  the 
concordance  between  the  results,  and  the  fact  that  there 
was  rarely  any  doubt  as  to  which  was  the  correct  number, 
justify  this  belief. 

Development  was  conducted  in  a room  which  had  a 
practically  constant  temperature  of  16°  C.  (62°  F.),  and 
when  finished  the  plates  were  rapidly  rinsed,  immersed 
in  acidified  alum  to  arrest  development,  well  washed,  and 
fixed  in  the  usual  way. 

The  sensitometer  numbers  were  read  off  both  before 
and  after  fixing.  The  practice  of  different  experi- 
menters differs  in  this  respect.  Whether  a number  which 
is  just  visible  by  reflected  light  before  fixing  will  be  visible 
by  transmitted  light  after  fixing  depends,  of  course,  upon 
the  density  which  the  deposit  has  acquired,  and  since  from 
a practical  point  of  view  it  is  efficient  or  printable  sensi- 
tiveness that  we  wish  to  measure,  to  read  alter  fixing  is 
perhaps  the  better  plan.  In  the  course  of  numerous  and 
extended  series  of  comparative  experiments  in  another 
connection,  I have  found  that  more  concordant  results  are 
obtained  by  reading  after  fixing. 

In  order  to  eliminate  as  far  as  practicable  the  iutiuencc 
of  air  on  the  developer,  development  was  in  several  cases 
conducted  in  dipping  baths  of  the  old  pattern,  the 
tops  of  which  were  closed  by  thick,  flat  pieces  of  india- 
rubber,  cut  to  shape,  and  fastened  down  by  india-rubber 
bands  which  passed  round  the  bath.  The  bath  was  com- 
pletely filled  with  developing  solution. 

* Continued  from  page  370, 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


3 91 


[May  23,  1890. 


The  results  are  given  in  the  table;  15  F = before  lixing; 
AF  = after  fixing. 

In  (a)  all  the  plates  showed  slight  chemical  fog, and  in  (A), 
with  a longer  time  of  action,  the  amount  of  fog  was  very 
considerable. 

Diluting  the  developer  with  an  equal  volume  of  water, 
the  proportions  of  the  constituents  remaining  the  same, 
practically  prevented  chemical  fog  when  development  was 
not  prolonged  (<•),  but  the  density*  in  all  four  cases  was 
slightly  less  than  in  (a).  With  prolonged  development 
all  the  plates  were  badly  fogged  (d). 

Double  the  amount  of  bromide  also  practically  prevents 
chemical  fog  with  short  development  (e)  and  (/),  although 
the  density  in  (<  ) was  slightly  less  in  all  four  cases  than 
in  (a).  With  long  development,  however,  there  was 
considerable  fog  ( <j  and  A),  though  in  all  cases  decidedly 
less  than  in  (A). 

Continual  rocking  of  the  dishes  during  development  as 
opposed  to  occasional  rocking  (e  and  /),  has  no  effect 
on  the  final  result  as  regards  degree  of  sensitiveness.  In 
all  cases  the  density  was  slightly  greater  with  continual 
rocking  (/),  but  the  gradations  were  distinctly  better 
when  the  dishes  were  only  rocked  three  or  four  times  in 
the  course  of  five  minutes. 


Development  in  open  dishes  with  occasional  rocking 
gave  the  same  numbers  (<j  and  A)  as  development  in  closed 
vessels,  but  the  amount  of  staining  was  greater  under  the 
former  conditions. 

The  discolouration  of  the  developer  is  due  mainly  to 
the  action  of  the  air  upon  it,  and  only  in  a very  slight 
degree  to  its  own  action  on  the  plate.  Even  after  devel- 
opment for  an  hour  in  closed  vessels  the  liquid  has  only  a 
pale  sherry  colour. 

With  regard  to  time,  five  minutes  is  not  quite  long 
enough  to  obtain  the  maximum  effect  with  certainty.  Pro- 
longed development,  however,  tends  to  chemical  fog, 
which  was  strongly  marked  in  all  cases  where  development 
was  continued  for  an  hour.  The  fact  that  the  chemical 
fog  was  greater  in  (</ ) than  in  any  other  case  where 
ammonia  was  used  indicates  that  the  amount  of  fog  is  a 
question  of  time  quite  as  much  as  of  the  concentration  of 
the  developer. 

Sodium  carbonate,  even  in  large  quantity  (i),  acts  more 
slowly  than  ammonia,  the  density  being  lower  in  all  four 
cases  than  in  the  corresponding  cases  in  (o)  or  (e).  These 
plates  were  free  from  chemical  fog,  but  in  (A),  after  pro- 
longed development,  the  fog  was  very  dense.  Reduction 
of  the  proportion  of  sodium  carbonate  to  10  parts  in  1,000 


Pa'  ts  Dy  weight  in  1,000  parts  by  msasure. 

Time  and  condi' ions 
of  development. 

T.C.L. 

Castle. 

W.W  O. 

Ilford  R. 

(«)  Pyro  5 ; am.  brom.  2 '5  ; ammonia, 

n f 

A F 

n F 

A F 

B F 

A F 

B F 

A F 

NH  ,.  

5 minutes  : open  dish 

10-11 

10 

15 

14 

10-11 

10 

15 

13-14 

(A)  Ditto  ditto 

(r)  Pyro  2*5 ; am.  brom.  1 •25  ; ammonia 

1 hour  : closed  vessel 

10 

10 

15 

15 

10-11 

10 

17-18 

15 

1-25  • 

5 minutes  : open  dish 

10 

10 

15 

14-15 

11 

10 

15 

14 

(</)  Ditto  ditto 

(e)  Pyro  5 ; am.  brom.  5 ; ammonia  2'5 

2 hours  : closed  vessel 
5 minutes : open  dish  : 

10 

10 

15 

15 

10 

9 

18-19 

15 

(/)  Ditto  ditto 

occasional  shaking 
5 minutes  : open  dish : 

10 

10 

14 

13-14 

10 

10 

14 

13 

constant  shaking 

10 

10 

14-15 

14 

10 

10 

14 

13-14 

( >j ) Ditto  ditto 

1 hour  : open  dish 

10 

10 

15 

15 

11 

10 

17-18 

15 

(A)  Ditto  ditto 

1 hour  : closed  vessel 

10 

10 

15 

15 

11 

10 

17-18 

15 

(t)  Pyro  5 ; sodium  carbonate  25 

5 minutes:  open  dish 

— 

8 

— 

14 

10 

— 

14 

(k)  Ditto  ditto 

(■i»)  Pyro  5 ; sod.  carb.  10  ; potass. 

1 hour  : closed  vessel 

— 

10 

15 

— 

10 

, 

15 

brom.  2 ‘5 

j-hour : closed  vessel 

— 

— 

15-16 

15-16 

10-11 

10 

15 

15 

failed  to  prevent  fog  with  long  development.  Addition 
of  potassium  bromide  in  quantity  equal  to  2-5  parts  in 
1,000  prevented  chemical  fog,  even  when  the  plates 
were  developed  for  half  an  hour ; but  the  action  of  the 
developer  was  slower  and  the  density  less. 

In  presence  of  sodium  cardonate  and  absence  of  sul- 
phite, pyrogallol  solution  so  rapidly  becomes  of  a v<  ry 
dark  colour,  and  stains  the  film  so  badly,  that  if  this  alkali 
is  used  in  the  standard  developer  development  must 
always  be  done  in  closed  vessels.  It  is  also  well  to  bear 
in  mind  that  sodium  carbonate  has  a considerable  tendency 
to  produce  frilling. 

Temperature  is  well  known  to  exert  great  influence  on 
the  rate  of  development.  If  the  solutions  are  much  be- 
low 15w  C.  (60WF.),  it  is  with  most  plates  almost  impos- 
sible to  get  density.  According  to  Eder's  experiments,! 
however,  brom-iodide  plates  which  gave  14°  when 
developed  for  three  minutes  with  sulpho-pyrogallol  and 
ammonia  at  2®  (35*6®  F.)  only  gave  lf>°  when  develop- 

ment was  conducted  at  2Ga  (79°  F. ).  It  seems,  there- 

* “Density,”  here  and  in  the  following  paragraphs,  refers  to  the  density 
generally,  but  more  especially  to  the  density  of  the  highest  numbers. 

t Photo  Corr.,  1S8J  p.  87. 


fore,  that  temperature  has  a much  greater  effect  on  the 
density  of  the  image  than  on  the  degree  of  sensitiveness 
indicated  by  the  sensitometer  number.  It  is,  however, 
important  to  fix  a standard  temperature  at  which  develop- 
ment shall  be  conducted. 

It  is  important  to  note  that  whatever  the  composition  of 
the  developer,  if  sufficient  time  was  given,  the  maximum 
sensitometer  number  obtained  was  constant  for  each  brand 
of  plates.  It  follows  that,  provided  that  the  developer  is 
allowed  to  act  so  long  that  it  produces  its  maximum  effect, 
variations  in  its  composition  are  without  influence 
on  the  degree  of  sensitiveness  registered,  but  affect  the 
gradations  by  determining  the  rate  at  which  development 
bakes  place.  Mr.  I.yonel  Clark,  as  a result  of  his 
elaborate  experiments  with  developers  of  all  kinds,  has 
previously  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  “the  action  of 
light  is  absolute  : that  is  to  say,  a certain  quantity  will 
effect  a change  in  the  haloid  salts,  and  any  substance 
capable  of  developing  will,  in  a greater  or  less  time,  make 
this  change  apparent”  (Phot.  News,  1889,  p.  832). 

My  own  experiments  afford  independent  confirmation  of 
Mr  Clark's  conclusion.  In  this  result  we  have  further 
evidence  of  the  necessity  for  distinguishing  clearly  be- 


May  23,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


395 


tween  the  three  different  stages  of  development,  on  which 
I insisted  in  my  recent  paper  at  the  Camera  Club  Confer- 
ence ( Camera  Club  Journal.  Con/.  Xo.).  Variations  in  the 
composition  of  the  developer  do  not  limit  the  formation  of 
the  primary  image,  but  only  affect  the  rate  .at  which  it  is 
formed. 

Upon  the  basis  of  these  results,  combined  with  general 
experience,  I recommend  the  following  standard  deve- 
lopers and  methods:  — 

I . — Standa rd  Pyro-A mmonia . 

5 parts  pyrogallol,  5 parts  ammonium-bromide,  2-5  parts 
of  real  ammonia,  NHJt  in  1,000  parts  by  measure  of  the 
solution. 

Develop  for  10  minutes  in  an  open  dish  or  closed 
vessel,  with  occasional  rocking,  at  a temperature  of  15w  C. 
(60°  F.). 

II. — Standard  Pyro-Soda. 

5 parts  of  pyrogallol,  10  parts  anhydrous  sodium- 
carbonate,  NajCO.,,  2 -5  parts  potassium  bromide  in  1,000 
parts  by  measure  of  the  solution. 

Develop  for  half-an-hour  in  a closed  vessel  at  a tem- 
perature of  15°  C.  (60’  F.). 

Of  the  two  I decidedly  prefer  pyro-ammonia.  It  acts 
more  rapidly,  and  gives  more  uniform  results  with  plates 
of  various  kinds.  The  only  drawback  is  the  necessity  for 
determining  the  strength  of  the  ammonia  solution  ; but 
this  operation  takes  very  little  time,  and  demands  no  more 
manipulative  skill  than  will  be  possessed  by  any  pho- 
tographer whose  work  necessitates  the  use  of  a standard 
developer  at  all.  Titration  of  the  ammonia  is  little,  if  any, 
more  trouble  than  the  drying  of  sodium  carbonate.  A 
large  quantity  of  ammonia  solution  can  be  made  up  at 
once,  for  at  this  degree  of  dilution  its  strength  does  not 
alter  even  in  summer,  provided  that  the  bottle  containing 
it  is  kept  in  a moderately  cool  place. 

Some  brands  of  plates  will  not  stand  the  quantities  of 
alkali  (ammonia  or  sodium  carbonate)  recommended  with- 
out giving  more  or  less  chemical  fog,  but  it  may  safely 
be  said  that  the  quality  of  such  plates  is  not  of  the  highest 
desirable  standard.  All  the  plates  of  best  repute  are 
not  fogged  by  the  proposed  standard  developers. 

Preparation  and  keeping  of  the  Solutions. — The  developer  in 
either  case  must  be  made  up  in  two  solutions,  which  are 
mixed  immediately  before  use.  The  pyrogallol  should  be 
dissolved  in  distilled  water,  and  although  it  may  be  kept 
for  two  or  three  days  in  a well  closed  bottle  out  of  contact 
with  all  traces  of  ammonia  fumes,  it  is  much  better  that  it 
should  be  dissolved  when  it  is  wanted.  This  plan  involves 
very  little  trouble,  and  occupies  only  a short  time. 


Standard  Pyro-A  mmonia. 

A.  — Ammonia,  NH, ... 

Ammonium  bromide  ... 

Water  up  to 

B.  — Pyrogallol 

Water  up  to 


5 parts 


10 

1,000 

10 

1,000 


} ) 
) ) 
y y 
yy 


Mix  in  equal  volumes  immediately  before  use.  It  is  obvi- 
ous that  the  mixed  solution  will  have  the  composition 
proposed  for  the  standard  developer. 

The  ammonia  and  ammonium  bromide  solution  will 
remain  unaltered  for  a long  time  if  not  kept  in  a very 
warm  place,  and  may  therefore  conveniently  be  made  up 
in  large  quantity.  It  is  better  to  keep  it  in  several  bottles 
of  moderate  size  than  in  one  large  bottle,  partly  on  the 
score  of  convenience,  partly  because  any  accident  happen- 
ing to  one  of  the  bottles  does  not  spoil  the  whole  stock  of 
solution. 


In  making  the  ammonia  solution  we  have  first  to  calcu- 
late how  much  of  the  “ Diluted  Ammonia  Xo.  1 ” will  be 
required.  The  titration  with  standard  oxalic  acid  has 
given  the  number  of  centigrammes  of  real  ammonia  in 
10  c.c.  of  the  solution,  or  in  general  terms,  the  parts  of 
ammonia  by  weight  in  1,000  parts  by  measure  of  the  solution. 
Suppose  that  10  c.c.  of  the  ammonia  solution  required  15'4 
c.c.  of  standard  acid,  then  the  10  c.c.  contain  15 ‘4  centi- 
grammes of  real  ammonia,  or  15-4  parts  by  weight  in  1,000 
parts  of  the  solution  by  measure.  We  require  to  know 
how  much  of  the  solution  will  be  required  to  give  us 
5 parts  of  ammonia,  the  quantity  contained  in  the  standard 
solution.  Obviously — 

5X1,000 
15-4 

or  in  general  terms — 

5 X 1,000 


— volume  required, 


parts  of  ammonia  in  1,000 


— volume  required. 


or 


centigiammes  in  10  c.c. 

Weigh  out  10  parts  of  ammonium  bromide  into  a flask 
holding  1,000  parts  by  measure,  add  a small  quantity  of 
water,  and  when  the  bromide  has  dissolved,  add  the  volume 
of  “ Diluted  Solution  Xo.  1,”  given  by  the  calculation,  and 
dilute  up  to  1,000  parts. 

An  operator  accustomed  to  the  use  of  the  metric  system 
will  find  no  difficulty  in  making  up  the  solutions.  Any 
one  who  uses  English  measures  will  find  it  convenient  to 
make  up  16  ounces,  i.e.,  7,000  fluid  grains,  or  10,000 
fluid  grains.  The  former  quantity  requires  70  grains  of 
ammonium  bromide  and  35  grains  of  real  ammonia,  the 
latter  100  grains  of  bromide  and  50  grains  of  ammonia. 
Measuring  flasks  graduated  to  1,000  or  10,000  fluid  grains 
can  readily  be  purchased.  Grains  and  fluid  grains  only 
should  be  used,  and  minims  should  be  avoided. 


Standard  Pyro-Soda. 

A.  — Anhydrous  sodium-carbonate 

Potassium  bromide 
Water  up  to 

B.  — Pyrogallol 

Water  up  to 


20  parts 
5 ,, 


...  1,000 
10 

...  1,000 


yy 

yy 

yy 


Mix  in  equal  volumes  immediately  before  use. 

The  sodium  carbonate  solution  is  made  by  dissolving 
the  weighed  quantities  of  the  solids  in  water  and  diluting 
up  to  1,000  parts.  It  may  be  kept  for  a considerable  time, 
but  the  solution  is  very  liable  to  attack  and  dissolve  certain 
kinds  of  glass. 

Of  the  proposed  standards  it  may  be  said — 

(1)  That  they  agree  very  closely  in  composition  with 
the  developers  used  in  ordinary  practice. 

(2)  That  they  do  not  produce  chemical  fog  on  plates  of 
good  quality  when  allowed  to  act  for  a time  sufficient  to 
develop  the  maximum  sensitometer  number  which  they 
will  give. 

(3)  That  the  proportions  of  the  constituents  are  simple, 
the  materials  are  easily  obtained  in  a state  of  purity,  and 
the  solutions  are  readily  prepared. 

It  seems,  therefore,  not  too  much  to  hope  that  they  will 
meet  with  the  favour  of  those  whose  work  requires  the  use 
of  a standard  developer  of  general  applicability. 


The  Photogk.vphic  Club. — Subject  for  discussion  May  28, 
“Photographic  Fog”;  June  4th,  “Photo-Mechanical  Pro- 
cesses.’! Bank  Holiday  outing  at  Uxbridge ; train  from 
Paddington  10.55,  Westbourne  Park  10.58. 


396 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  23,  1890. 


GROUPS  AND  GROUPING. 

BY  C.  BRANGWIN  BARNES. 

The  photography  of  groups,  either  family,  wedding,  pic- 
nic, scholastic,  regimental  or  otherwise,  is  a branch 
business  in  itself,  and  is  treated  as  such  by  some  firms, 
who  manage  to  make  a remunerative  branch  of  it. 
It  is  a great  pity  that  the  military  group  business  should 
be  mainly  in  the  hands  of  a foreigner ; were  his  business 
premises  in  England  T should  not  grumble,  but  the  facts 
of  the  matter  seem  to  be  that  up  till  now  no  English 
photographer  has  been  found  enterprising  enough  to  travel 
round  the  various  military  centres  and  photograph  the  men 
of  the  regiments  there  stationed  in  companies,  purely  “ on 
spec.” 

It  has  been  left  to  a Frenchman  to  take  the  necessary 
risk,  and  from  all  appearances  he  seems  to  make  a 
good  thing  of  it ; his  operator  in  this  country  takes  the 
negatives  and  the  work  is  finished  in  Paris.  Although 
T personally  have  strong  objections  to  a foreigner 
monopolising  this  branch  of  the  business,  I am  not  pre- 
judiced as  to  his  work,  which  I must  unequivocally  state 
is  uniformly  good ; the  pictures  are  whole-plate  size,  well 
grouped  and  lighted,  properly  exposed,  nicely  retouched 
and  printed,  enamelled,  and  supplied  in  cut  mounts  at,  I 
believe,  two  shillings  per  copy.  As  the  average  number 
of  copies  sold  from  each  negative  would  be  about  fifty, 
this  should  be  well  worth  doing,  and  I would  here  remark 
that  the  old  proverb,  “Anything  worth  doing,  is  worth 
doing  well,”  applies  strongly  to  taking  photographic 
groups.  If  a group  be  well  taken,  every  individual  com- 
posing the  same  will  purchase  at  least  one  copy,  so  that 
the  better  the  picture,  the  more  remunerative  will  it  be  to 
the  photographer. 

The  great  question  in  taking  a group  out  of  doors  is  to 
select  a good  light — direct  front  light  is  far  too  often  used, 
with  the  result  that  the  pictures  are  much  too  flat  and 
poor ; a side  light  should  always  be  chosen,  the  space  to 
be  occupied  by  the  group  apportioned  and  focussed  before 
the  subjects  are  grouped. 

This  latter  operation  can  be  performed  with  the  aid  of 
one  or  two  persons  placed  at  the  edges  and  centre  of  the 
space  selected,  and  care  should  be  takeu  in  selecting  just 
the  necessary  diaphragm ; too  large  a stop  will  of  course 
give  the  edges  out  of  focus,  and  at  the  same  time  should 
too  small  a one  be  used  it  will  unnecessarily  lengthen  the 
exposure,  which  is  an  important  question  when  the 
steadiness  of  some  thirty  or  forty  persons  has  to  be  con- 
sidered. When  this  part  of  the  process  has  been 
completed,  the  figures  should  he  grouped  as  rapidly  and 
carefully  as  possible,  due  note  being  takeu  as  to  the 
colours  of  costumes,  light  and  dark  portions  being  so 
arranged  as  to  balance  properly  and  make  a harmonious 
whole. 

Grouping  completed,  a glance  should  be  given  at  the 
composition  from  the  front  of  the  lens,  to  ensure  that  no 
one  is  hidden  behind  another,  the  word  should  be  given 
and  the  exposure  made,  immediately  followed  by  a second 
and  perhaps  a third.  Nervousness  and  fussiness  on  the 
part  of  the  operator  should  be  avoided,  as  it  is  sure  to 
create  a lack  of  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  sitters  if 
exhibited.  In  a group  of  any  large  number,  there  are 
sure  to  be  one  or  two  amateurs  who  will  be  free  with 
suggestions  as  to  what  you  might  or  ought  to  do;  these 
must  be  quietly  and  at  the  same  time  politely  ignored  ; if 
you  let  them  see  that  you  thoroughly  understand  what  you 


are  about,  and  are  yourself  confident  of  a good  result, 
they  will  usually,  in  vulgar  parlance,  “dry  up,”  and  leave 
the  arrangement  in  your  own  hands.  Where  the  group  is 
composed  of  a large  number  of  persons,  I would  recom- 
mend that  the  size  of  picture  taken  should  be  at  least 
12  by  10,  and  whenever  it  can  be  managed,  15  by  12  ; the 
larger  the  picture  the  more  imposing  it  looks,  and  the 
better  the  orders. 

Groups  look  elegant  when  vignetted  and  mounted 
in  contact  with  bevelled  glass,  so-called  opalines;  the  only 
objection  to  this  style  of  finish  being  that  they  look  some- 
what smaller  than  when  mounted  on  card  with  a three  or 
four  inch  margin,  but  the  increased  delicacy  is  an  advan- 
tage which  should  outweigh  the  disadvantage  of  size. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  PHOTO-MECHANICAL 
PRINTING  PROCESSES. 

BY  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

I. 

Many  air  improvement  has  been  made  in  connection  with 
photo-mechanical  printing  processes  since  my  last  reports  on 
this  special  branch  of  photography  were  published  in  these 
pages,*  so  that  I think  it  desirable  to  take  a brief  survey 
of  the  most  important  advances  and  successes  which 
deserve  to  be  recorded. 

Photo-zincography  and  Photo-lithography. — For  taking  prints 
from  a prepared  zinc  plate  in  the  lithographic  press  the 
bichromated  albumen  process  is  still  much  used  in  Ger- 
many, because  it  is  about  twelve  times  as  sensitive  as  the 
asphalt  method,  though  the  latter  gives  finer  and  sharper 
lines.  In  this  process  the  zinc  plate,  previously  poured 
over  with  warm  water,  is  coated  with  a thin  film  of  bichro- 
mated albumen,  and,  after  drying,  exposed  beneath  a nega- 
tive. The  zinc  plate  is  then  rolled  up  with  transfer  ink, 
and  placed  in  water,  until  it  can  be  developed  by  means 
of  a pad  of  cotton  wool.  In  developing,  the  sensitive 
albumen  film  is  sometimes  rubbed  rather  briskly,  to  re- 
move tone  ;t  this,  however,  causes  the  lines  of  the 
image  to  be  damaged,  though  only  to  a slight 
degree.  But  afterwards,  in  etching  the  picture, 
the  etching  fluid  enters  into  the  channel  thus  produced, 
and  quickly  enlarges  it,  so  that  the  lines  damaged  during 
development  are  soon  entirely  broken  up.  This  defect 
may  be  almost  entirely  avoided  by  the  following  method, 
recommended  some  time  ago  by  F.  O.  Moerch.  An 
asphalt  solution  is  prepared  in  the  well-known  manner, 
and,  after  filtering,  is  poured  over  the  exposed  bichro- 
mated albumen  film.  A slight  degree  of  heat  accelerates 
the  drying  of  the  coating  of  varnish.  After  drying  the 
plate  is  immersed  in  a dish  of  luke-warm  water  from 
half  an  hour  to  two  hours,  according  to  the  amount  of 
exposure  which  the  albumen  film  has  had  beneath  the 
negative.  During  this  operation  the  albumen  film  becomes 
hygroscopic,  but  only  at  the  parts  which  have  been  pro- 
tected from  the  action  of  light,  and  the  asphalt  coating  is 
loosened  by  this  reaction.  If  now  the  film  be  slightly 
rubbed  by  means  of  a fine  pad  of  cotton,  the  lines  will 
come  out  sharply  and  completely.  They  can  hardly  be 
damaged,  because  the  asphalt  coating,  if  once  dry,  becomes 
exceedingly  hard  where  it  rests  on  a dry  ground,  whilst  it 
becomes  brittle  and  friable  where  the  base  is  damp. 

• Sea  Photographic  Nkws,  xxxii.,  page  98,  155,  197. 

t It  may  be  remembered  that  by  the  ‘‘  terminus  tcchnicus  ” tone  or  false 
tone,  that  action  ot  light  is  understood  which  extends  over  the  parts  of  the 
film  that  were  entirely  covered  by  the  negative,  and  which  imparts  to  the 
imfression  a flat  appearance. 


May  23,  1890.J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


397 


A useful  invention  has  been  made  by  the  firm  of  Wezel 
and  Nauraann,  of  Leipzic,  who  prepare  zinc  plates  as  a 
substitute  for  lithographic  stones.  This  is  done  in  the 
following  manner:  lithographic  stone  is  dissolved  in  a 
mixture  of  sulphuric  and  hydrochloric  acid,  and  to  the 
solution  is  added  a mixture  of  an  asphalt  solution  and 
resin  with  some  good  oil-soap,  such  as  sebacylic  lime. 
After  removing  the  superfluous  acid  by  evaporation,  the 
residue  is  dried  to  powder,  which  is  now  a combination 
of  sebacylic  lime  and  sulphate  of  lime.  The  dry  powder 
is  then  mixed  with  a weak  solution  of  soda,  and  by  a 
steam  injector  sintered  on  the  hot  zinc  plate,  which 
thereby  receives  a coating  equal  to  that  of  the  natural 
lithographic  stone.  These  prepared  zinc  plates  are 
treated  in  the  same  manner  during  the  transfer  process  as 
lithographic  stones,  only  the  etching  is  somewhat 
modified,  inasmuch  as  phosphoric  acid  with  diluted  gum 
arabic  is  used  instead  of  hydrochloric  acid  or  aqua 
fortis.  More  than  6,000  prints  may  be  obtained  from  one 
transfer,  and  the  zinc  plates  are  suitable  for  any  kind  of 
transfer,  as  well  as  for  any  lithographic  pen  and  ink  or 
chalk  work. 

An  original  method  of  photo-zincography  has  been 
adopted  by  a well-known  German  establishment.  As  I 
am  told,  it  is  the  same  process  which  is  in  use  in  the  photo- 
graphic department  of  the  Belgian  School  of  Civil  Engineer- 
ing for  the  reproduction  of  plans  and  maps.  In  this 
^process,  zinc  of  the  factory  of  the  “ Yieille  Montagne,”  in 
Belgium,  is  used,  which  bears  the  numbers  8 to  10,  accord- 
ing to  the  surface  of  the  sheets.  The  plate  is  at  first 
cleaned  in  a solution  of  nitric  acid  of  8 percent.,  and  then 
polished  and  washed  in  plenty  of  water.  The  plate  is  then 
again  placed  in  the  nitric  acid  bath  until  it  has  acquired  a 
uniform  silver-grey  appearance,  when  it  is  removed,  again 
rubbed  and  thoroughly  cleaned,  and  finally  coated  with  a 
gallic  solution.  In  the  above-mentioned  establishment 
this  solution  is  prepared  as  follows  : 75  grammes  of  nut- 
galls  are  broken  and  dissolved  in  1,500  c.  c.  of  water. 
The  solution  is  reduced  to  one-third  its  volume  bv  boiling'; 
next  it  is  mixed  with  125  grammes  of  gum  arabic,  25  c.c. 
of  hydrochloric  acid,  and  12  c.c.  of  nitric  acid,  and  then 
filtered.  The  zinc  plate  is  coated  with  this  solution  by 
means  of  a flat  brush.  When  the  coating  is  dry,  the  plate 
is  washed,  dried,  and  coated  with  the  following  sensitive 
solution : — 

Asphalt  ...  ...  ...  ...  20  grammes 

Oil  of  lemon  ...  ...  ...  ...  15  „ 

Benzine  500  c.c. 

which  should  be  filtered  after  solution.  The  exposure 
necessary  is  from  30  to  40  minutes  in  the  sun,  and  2 to  3 
hours  in  diffused  light.  The  development  of  the  plate  is 
effected  with  essence  of  turpentine,  or,  if  this  does  not 
exercise  the  necessary  dissolving  power,  with  a mixture  of 
this  essence  with  benzine.  After  development,  the  plate 
is  immersed  in  a bath  of  diluted  acetic  acid  (5  per  cent.) 
to  remove  the  nut-gall  and  to  uncover  the  lines  of  the 
image.  In  order  to  transform  the  image  into  one  which 
can  be  machined  like  a lithographic  stone,  it  is  coated  with 
a solution  of  100  grammes  of  absolute  alcohol  and 
5 grammes  of  gum-lac,  by  means  of  a brush,  dried,  and 
treated  with  essence  of  turpentine,  by  which  the  asphalt 
is  dissolved.  By  this  treatment  the  portions  of  the  zinc 
plate  beneath  the  lines  of  the  image  are  uncovered,  and 
the  plate  can  then  be  rolled  up  by  the  use  of  an  aqueous 
gallic  solution,  and  printed  in  the  well-known  manner. 

A rapid  photo-lithographic  process  has  of  late  been 


| invented  by  M.  Balagny.  A gelatino-bromide  plate  is 
I placed  for  a few  minutes  in  a solution  of  bichromate  of 
potash,  when  it  is  removed,  dried,  and  exposed  beneath  a 
photographic  negative.  It  is  then  exposed  for  a few 
seconds  to  light  at  its  back,  and  then  thoroughly  washed. 
The  plate  is  now  fixed  on  the  table  of  a photo -lithographic 
press,  rolled  up  with  fatty  ink,  and  printed  in  the  customary 
way.  Balagny  uses  gelatino-bromide  films,  specially  pre- 
pared for  this  purpose  by  M.  Lumiere,  the  gelatine  coating 
of  which  is  attached  to  its  pellicular  support  by  a silicated 
solution.  In  using  ordinary  gelatine  plates,  the  film 
would  probably  be  pulled  off  in  rolling  up  the  plate.  By 
this  process  a number  of  photo-lithographic  prints  can  be 
procured  an  hour  after  the  negative  to  lie  reproduced  has 
been  made. 

The  same  process  has  been  for  several  years  in  practical 
use  in  the  Imperial  Printing  Establishment  at  Berlin, 
with  the  difference  that  the  prints  are  not  taken  directly 
from  the  negative,  but  that  after  rolling  up  the  negative, 
a transfer  is  made  from  it  on  to  a zinc  plate. 

An  excellent  method  of  preserving  drawings  and  photo- 
engravings on  lithographic  stones,  so  that  they  may  be 
reproduced  after  a lapse  of  many  years,  has  quite  recently 
been  published  by  Fr.  Sandtner,  of  Copenhagen.  From 
a stone  bearing  an  engraving,  or  a photographic  transfer, 
a print  is  taken,  with  a solid  black  ink,  on  transfer  paper, 
and  this  print  is  at  once  transferred  to  a sheet  of  white 
gelatine,  or  to  parchment  paper,  which  has  been  coated 
with  a gelatine  solution.  This  transfer  is  mounted  on  a 
drawing  board,  and  by  the  aid  of  a flat  and  soft  brush 
covered  with  a solution  of  aniline  brown,  taking  care  that 
no  streaks  are  produced.  After  drying,  it  is  coated  once 
more,  and,  when  dry,  again ; the  printing  ink  is  washed 
off  with  a few  drops  of  turpentine  by  means  of  a small  pad 
of  cotton.  The  gelatine  transfer  is  then  removed  from 
the  drawing  board,  when  it  shows  a beautifully  clear  nega- 
tive, which  is  perfect  to  the  smallest  details.  Imperfect 
transfers  can  be  at  once  washed  off  gelatine  sheets  by 
means  of  essence  of  turpentine,  and  the  sheets  may  be  used 
again.  Negatives  of  this  kind  can  be  preserved  for  many 
years  if  they  are  varnished  with  a white  turpentine 
varnish  to  which  some  siccative  has  been  added.  The 
picture  side  is  varnished  first ; then  the  back  of  the  sheet. 
This  coating  of  varnish  not  only  protects  the  negative  from 
moisture,  but  it  prevents  folds  and  wrinkles  Prints  from 
such  negatives  are  taken  on  transfer  paper  which  has  been 
prepared,  in  the  well-known  manner,  with  a solution  of 
bichromate  of  potash,  and  the  impressions  are  then  trans- 
ferred to  the  stone. 


Photography  Int  Colours. — In  the  Photographic  Globe's 
editorial  notes,  the  writer  says  : — “ To  express  an  opinion 
that  photography  in  colours  is  impossible,  or  to  discredit 
the  announcement  that  somebody  has  succeeded  in  it,  is 
something  photographers  ought  not  do.  The  French  did  not 
believe  in  Daguerre’s  success  until  a famous  savant  introduced 
his  discovery  for  him,  and  if  anybody  claims  to  have  succeeded 
in  colour  photography,  give  him  a chance  and  listen  to  his 
statement.  It  is  bound  to  come,  but  whether  in  the  form  now 
agitated  in  Austria,  Germany,  or  on  the  lines  of  Mr.  Bierstadt 
of  New  York,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  Mr.  Bierstadt  evidently 
knows  more  about  the  subject  as  connected  with  process  work 
than  any  other  photographer,  and  an  examination  of  some  of 
his  work  in  coloured  prints,  the  plates  of  which  were  made 
with  chromatic  screens,  equivalent  to  the  coloured  prints, 
would  lead  one  to  believe  that  chromophotography  is  not  far 
off. 


398 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  23,  1890. 


i^otcs. 

The  Court  Journal  is  well  advanced  with  its  photo- 
graphic intelligence.  It  gravely  announced  in  a recent 
issue  that  the  Photographic  Exhibition  now  being 
organized  by  the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce  was 
opened  on  the  previous  Wednesday  week.  Our 
contemporary  evidently  has  got  a little  mixed  between 
photographs  and  the  plans  of  the  Watkin  tower 
which  have  been  on  view  in  the  hall  of  the 
Drapers’  Company,  where,  also,  the  Photographic 
Exhibition  will  be  held.  Apropos  of  the  Drapers’  Hall, 
it  may  be  said  that  no  such  gorgeous  surroundings 
have  ever  accompanied  an  exhibition  of  photographs. 
Probably  the  hanging  committee  will  have  some 
trouble  in  arranging  the  pictures  so  that  all  shall  be 
equally  well  lighted,  as  most  of  the  four  or  five  halls 
are  illuminated  only  from  the  sides. 

The  enterprising  people  who  have  been  offering  a 
confiding  public  a “ two-pound  pastel  portrait  free  ” on 
the  condition  that  it  shall  be  “framed  suitably  so  that 
the  work  shall  show  to  advantage,”  have  not  thought 
it  worth  while  to  take  any  notice  of  the  rather 
damaging  correspondence  which  has  been  published, 
and  which  throws  a light  on  their  curious  method  of 
doing  business.  Two  persons  have  related  their 
experience  in  the  Globe.  This  experience  is  identical. 
Each  sent  a photograph,  and  received  an  answer  request- 
ing the  remittance  of  ten  shillings  for  a frame,  as  it 
was  to  their  “mutual  interest  to  have  the  picture 
framed  by  a first-class  house.”  If,  the  writer  went  on 
to  say,  the  purchaser  was  not  perfectly  satisfied  in  every 
respect  with  the  pastel  and  frame,  the  remaining  nine 
shillings  need  not  be  sent.  In  the  two  cases  mentioned, 
neither  thought  it  worth  while  to  send  ten  shillings  for 
a frame  which  had  not  been  seen,  and  declined  the 
tempting  offer,  and  the  coincidence  concludes  by  the 
inability  of  both  to  get  back  their  photographs  from  the 
advertisers.  What  is  wanted  now  to  make  the  story 
complete  is  the  experience  of  some  person  who  has 
complied  with  the  conditions  of  the  advertisers. 

Lady  William  Lennox,  who  is  doing  a good  business 
as  a milliner,  doubtless  writes  from  experience  when 
she  says,  “ some  women  invariably  hate  a new  gown 
or  bonnet  the  instant  it  has  been  sent  home.  ‘ I wish 
I hadn’t  bought  it ; so  stupid  of  me  not  to  remember 
that  I look  hideous  in  that  colour  always  ’ ; or,  1 of 
course,  I ought  to  have  known  that  these  sleeves 
would  make  me  too  frightful  for  words.’  ” This  is  the 
experience  all  over  of  the  photographer.  Some  ladies 
invariably  hate  their  new  photographs.  Perhaps  they 
discover  (a  discovery,  by  the  way,  not  always  made 
known  to  the  photographer)  that  the  dress  they  were 
photographed  in  does  not  suit  them,  or  that  some  little 
peculiarity  in  the  gown  has  been  made  manifest  by  the 
camera,  and  so  they  do  not  like  the  photograph.  Not 
a few  regard  being  photographed  as  they  regard 
shopping — an  occupation  which  demands  a great  variety 
to  be  shown  them  before  they  can  make  up  their  minds. 


The  idea  of  having  but  a single  photograph  to  approve, 
or  the  reverse,  is  a species  of  Hobson’s  choice  which 
is  almost  repulsive.  All  this  makes  the  photographing 
of  some  ladies  a nervous  undertaking,  not  to  be 
regarded  lightly  by  the  photographer. 

Quite  an  unique  collection  of  photographs  is  in 
progress  of  arrangement  at  Moscow.  The  idea  has 
originated  with  the  Baroness  Klara  von  der  Decklei', 
of  Tiflis,  who  has  sent  a circular  letter  to  the  beautiful 
women  of  the  world,  asking  them  to  forward  their 
photographs  to  her.  These  photographs  will  be 
examined  by  a committee  of  artists,  and  those  approved 
of  will  be  placed  in  an  album  to  be  entitled,  “ Types  of 
Female  Beauty  of  the  last  years  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century,”  and  deposited  in  a museum  at  Moscow  for 
preservation.  All  this  is  interesting,  but  one  would 
like  to  know  what  plan  the  Baroness  has  adopted  to 
find  out  the  beautiful  women.  She  must  have  names 
and  addresses,  because  a letter  simply  addressed,  for 
instance,  to  the  most  beautiful  woman  in  London, 
would  have  sufficient  claimants  to  puzzle  the  Post  Office. 


The  ltoyal  Geographical  Society  has  taken  a step 
in  the  right  direction.  It  is  now  alive  to  the  fact 
that  there  are  not  only  such  persons  in  the  world  as 
amateur  photographers,  but  that  now-a-days  there  is 
scarcely  a man  who  travels  who  has  not  a photographic 
kit  stowed  away  somewhere  in  his  luggage.  The 
Council  of  the  Society  has  therefore  issued  a request 
to  all  the  Fellows  to  forward  copies  of  any  photographs 
they  may  have  taken  during  their  travels*  to  the  map 
curator  of  the  Society.  Should  the  donor  have 
purchased  the  photographs,  lie  is  desired  to  give  the 
name  and  address  of  the  photographer  for  reference. 
If  this  idea  be  well  supported  by  the  numerous 
travellers  who  belong  to  the  Society,  a valuable 
collection  will  be  accumulated. 


Eppiug  Forest  is  becoming  one  of  the  happy  hunting 
grounds  of  the  amateur  photographer.  A stroll  through 
its  woodland  glades  the  other  day  revealed  the  fact 
that  not  one,  but  dozens,  had  selected  the  place  for 
photographic  study.  Somebody  recently  complained 
that  when  setting  up  his  camera  he  was  stopped  by  one 
of  the  keepers,  but  surely  this  must  be  a mistake.  The 
only  explanation  possible  is  that  the  amateur  intended 
to  photograph  a group  of  friends,  and  that  the  keeper 
mistook  him  for  one  of  the  peripatetic  professionals 
who,  we  presume,  either  pay  for  the  privilege  of 
making  a living  out  of  the  visitors,  or  have  a licence 
from  the  Common  Council. 


The  occupation  of  the  peripatetic  photographer,  by 
the  way.  must  have  been  seriously  interfered  with  by 
the  amateur.  Save  on  such  places  as  Hampstead 
Heath,  Epping  Forest,  and  Clapham  Common  on 
popular  holidays,  he  cannot  have  much  to  do.  Even 
among  the  working  classes  cameras  arc  becoming 
common  enough,  and  in  hosts  of  little  suburban  back 
gardens  on  Sundays  they  may  be  seen  at  work. 


May  23,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


399 


THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  OF  ARTS,  1890. 

BY  THE  REV.  F.  C.  LAMBERT,  M.A. 

Gallery  No.  3. — No.  186  (“  Onwards,”  Sir  John  Gilbert, 
R.A).  Our  first  feeling  is  that  the  frame  is  too  small  for 
the  picture,  and  that  the  horse  will  shatter  the  whole  thing 
to  atoms,  and  dash  out  the  brains  of  the  unfortunate  rider. 
No  one  cau  say  that  there  is  not  plenty  of  “go  ” here. 

In  No.  190  (“Departing  Day,”  Peter  Graham,  R.A.) 
we  miss  the  cattle,  and  feel  the  rose-red  mountain  crowns 
are  what  the  street-hawkers  describe  as  “ ’ighly  coloured”  ; 
but,  in  spite  of  the  vivid  tint,  the  scene  is  a beautiful  one. 

No.  195  (“A  Smithy,"  W.  C.  Symons).  This  is 
coming  nearer  home — i.e.,  nearer  the  photographer’s 
pasturage — and  is  well  worth  careful  examination,  both  for 
pose,  arrangement,  tint,  and  tone.  The  realities  of  life  are 
the  natural  food  for  the  camera. 

Two  pictures  by  Walter  .T.  Shaw,  No.  200  (“  Off  Bolt 
Head”),  and  206  (“A  November  Day”),  are  such  grey 
and  green  seas  as  have  been  seen  (and  tried  for)  on  many 
a focussing  screen. 

The  large  and  central  picture  of  this  end,  No.  203 
(“  Redemption  of  Tannhiiuser,”  Frank  Dicksee,  A.),  the 
work  of  an  Associate,  put  in  this  place  of  honour  for  the 
first  time,  speaks  for  itself.  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  say 
that  it  is  altogether  a masterpiece.  Note  the  earnest 
expressions  of  the  youthful  acolytes  ; the  central  massing 
and  grouping  of  the  “ whites,”  and  of  the  “ blacks,”  at  side  ; 
the  sacerdotal,  inflexible  dignity  of  the  priest — movement 
of  the  messenger  briuging  the  symbol  of  .absolution ; 
sympathy  of  the  pilgrim  band ; the  emotion  in  that  one 
hand  of  the  utterly  broken  Tannhiiuser ; the  unity  through- 
out, and  general  convergence  towards  the  leading  theme  ; 
breadth  of  treatment,  and  warm  glow  of  declining  day. 
All  go  to  befit  it  for  its  place  of  honour. 

There  are  two  portrait  studies  near  here,  pointing  a 
lesson  to  the  portrait  photographer— Nos.  204  (by  James 
Saut,  R.  A.)  and  211  (by  H.  T.  Wells,  R.A).  Note  care- 
fully the  open  lips.  There  are  very  few  people  who  can 
keep  their  mouth  shut,  either  literally  or  metaphorically ; 
fewer. still  who  can  do  this  gracefully  ; and  still  fewer  when 
before  the  lens,  especially  when  told  to  “ close  the  lips  and 
look  cheerful.”  Therefore,  do  not  make  everyone  close 
his  lips  when  before  the  lens,  if  he  seldom  or  ever  closes 
them  away  from  that  cannon’s  mouth. 

In  portraiture,  note  again  No.  212  (by  E.  J.  l’oynter, 
R.A.),  how  a lovely  face  may  be  detracted  from  by  a 
distressing  background. 

No.  215  (“Low  Tide,”  Peter  Graham,  R.A.)  pleases 
one  more  by  his  figures  and  the  bit  of  rock  they  are  on, 
than  the  rest  of  that  picture. 

In  No.  224  (“  Rus  in  Urbe,”  Briton  Riviere,  I!. A.)  we 
take  to  the  “ collie  ” rather  than  to  the  boy  ; and  again,  in 
No.  225  (“The  Anxious  Look-Out,”  Thomas  Faed,  R.A.), 
the  faces  are  not  to  our  liking — quite. 

No.  234  (“Thames,  Dorchester,”  Vicat  Cole,  R.A). 
Here  is  some  fine  cloud  drawing,  and  the  “swirl”  of  the 
eddying  waters  is  good  to  look  upon,  but  the  trees — a 
larger  stop  . . . ! 

No.  235 (“ Portraits,"  W.  O. Orcliardson,  R.A.)  contains 
many  a hint  to  the  taker  of  groups. 

Let  us  now  consider  together:  No.  241  (“Outward 
Bound”),  No.  248  (“Stand  by”),  and  No.  76  (“All 
hands  shorten  sail,”  in  room  1,  all  by  Frank  Brangwyu). 
No  need  to  refer  to  catalogue  to  know  that  these  three  are 

* Continued  from  page  371. 


off  the  same  palette ; almost  monochrome — in  cool  tint 
and  low  in  tone — broad,  and  simply,  relying  on  drawing 
with  true  values,  and  lo  ! the  picture  grows.  In  No.  76, 
that  unruly  bucket,  rolling  from  the  lurch  of  the 
ship,  seems  somewhat  “too  sharp”  to  give  a satisfactory 
idea  of  its  erratic  motion ; possibly  its  entire  omission 
might  have  been  an  advantage.  This  is  a debatable 
point,  of  course  : but,  anyhow,  the  residuum  of  success 
goes  far  to  support  the  dictum  frequently  attributed 
to  Turner,  viz.,  “ it  is  the  greys  which  make  the  picture.” 

Now  look  below  at  No.  243  (“  Bath  of  Psyche,”  by 
Sir  F.  Leighton,  P.R. A.),  call  to  mind  No.  166,  and 
see  opposite,  No.  310  (“The  Tragic  Poetess”),  by  the 
same  master,  and  each  in  their  severe,  yet  befitting  classic 
frame-surroundings.  Psyche,  the  beloved  of  Eros  (Cupid), 
and  rival  of  Aphrodite  (Venus),  the  personification  of  the 
human  soul  purified  by  passion  and  misfortune,  and  so 
prepared  for  perfect  purity  and  happiness ; the  Dawn  in 
search  of  the  life-giving  sun,  &c.  One  needs  such 
exquisitely  beautiful  manifestations  as  these  to  enable  the 
ordinary  mind  to  participate  in  the  rich,  boundless  imagery 
of  ancient  Greece.  Such  creatures — i.e.,  creations  as  these 
— we  at  once  feel  are  not  made  of  ordinary  human  clay. 
Nor  are  they,  I take  it,  ever  intended  to  be  looked  upon 
in  that  light.  Art  is  as  manifold,  not  only  as  nature 
herself,  but  also  as  many  sided  as  the  creatures  which  a 
cultured  imagination  can  conceive,  or  create,  upon  a basis 
of  idealised  nature.  And,  although  just  for  the  moment 
it  is  not  easy  to  fully  grasp  the  foreshortening  of  the  left 
arm  of  the  Tragic  Poetess,  nevertheless  the  creation, 
idealisation  of  her  care-burdened  beauty,  the  inexorable 
sweetness  of  the  face,  gives  one  a fuller  meaning  to  the 
conception,  Nemesis.  The  deities  of  classic  times  were  a 
reality  then,  such  as  but  few  can  now  realise,  and  those 
few  alone  can  reveal  them  to  us.  Each  of  the  three 
pictures  helps  one  to  realise  that  poetry  is  not  for  the  car 
alone.  That  they  are  not  "to  be  thought  of  as  made  of 
human  clay,  one  has  but  to  glance  to  the  next  frame,  No. 
249  (“A  Jib  for  the  New  Smack,”  J.  C.  Hook,  R.A.), 
where  the  hardy  toilers  of  the  deep  are  further  hardened 
by  their  toil. 

In  No.  258  (“The  Terrace,”  (4.  D.  Leslie,  R.A.),  one's 
sympathy  goes  out  towards  the  young  lady,  who,  ■with 
justice,  might  repudiate  being  so  utterly  ignored  in  the 
title,  and,  as  a matter  of  arrangement,  we  should  have 
preferred  the  basket  of  flowers  being  almost  anywhere  else 
rather  than  where  it  is 

No.  266  (“Brixham  Trawlers,”  C.  Stoney)  is  an  old 
and  familiar,  beloved  and  valued,  photographic  friend. 

No.  270  (“  The  Sculptor,”  J.  B.  Burgess,  R.A.)  is  a fine 
work.  The  sculptor  is  the  sort  of  man  who  lives  for  his 
art,  and  yet  is  not  unworthy  of  the  loving  adoration  of  his 
wife.  The  “Church  militant"  called  in  to  pass  opinion 
on  “ the  clay  ” evidently  feels  his  responsibility  concerning 
Pia  Mater,  Alma  Mater.  Note  the  echo  of  the  theme,  the 
repetition,  re-duplication  of  the  mother  and  child  “ in  the 
flesh,”  as  well  as  “ in  the  clay,”  the  picture  on  the  wall, 
the  subdued  background  and  surroundings,  contrast  of 
the  old  and  the  young,  the  relief  of  contrast  in  darks  and 
lights,  general  unity  throughout,  and  the  harmony  of  tint 
and  tone.  Altogether,  a picture  to  study  and  learn  much 
from. 

No.  271  (“  Loch  Katrine,”  J.  MacWhirter,  A).  An 
instructive  study  for  the  camera-man ; shows  the  value  of 
a subordinate  figure.  Note  its  position,  relative  size,  and 
balance,  the  simple  scale,  and  soft  warmth  of  colour. 


400 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  23,  1890. 


Also,  in  No.  279  (“  Old  Sherwood  ”)  by  the  same  artist. 
Again,  note  the  broad  and  simple  treatment,  true  in  tone 
and  warmth  of  the  after-glow  ; how  the  grouping  of  the 
bits  of  “ life"  all  lead  up  to  “that  bob!  captain  of  a fear- 
less band.” 

In  No.  285  (“  Highland  Tramp  Crossing  a Headland,” 
Thomas  Faed,  11. A.),  although  there  is  a feeling  of  the 
frame  being  too  small  for  the  si/.e  of  the  figures,  and 
rather  cramping  their  space  to  move  in,  yet  the  man's  face 
is  just  simply  grand — a bit  of  real  life — a face  with  a history 
behind  it,  and  worth  all  the  rest  of  the  picture  put 
together. 

No.  296  (Portrait,  F.  Goodall,  R.A.),  with  a plain  back- 
ground of  a rather  unusual  tint,  which  tells  well  against 
the  face,  and  also  the  black  and  rose-coloured  silk ; and 
yet,  possibly,  it  might  have  been  still  better  had  the  green 
been  of  a somewhat  lower  tone  ; perhaps  the  hands  are  not 
quite  satisfactory,  but  certainly  the  balance  of  the  head  is 
admirable. 

No.  294  (“By  the  Committee  Boat,”  W.  II.  Bartlett). 
Boys  about  to  shirt  for  swimming  race.  The  variation  of 
pose  is  noteworthy,  but  we  do  not  ever  remember  seeing 
boys  (or  men)  racing  in  bathing  caps. 

No.  311  (“  Grey  Day  at  Newlyn,"  Anna  Nordgren). 
We  should  very  much  like  to  have  seen  this  picture  put  in 
a more  see-able  position.  It  is  undoubtedly  a carefully 
wrought  work,  in  cool,  low  tone,  nothing  “painty”  or 
shrill,  but  ably  carrying  out  the  feeling  of  a grey  day ; 
calm,  sombre,  quiet. 

In  No.  318  (Portrait),  Professor  Herkomer  shows  us  his 
well-known  skill  in  portraiture,  and,  in  No.  319  (“  Poverty 
and  Progress,”  A.  11.  Y.  Titcomb),  shows  the  power  of 
“reality”  treated  with  simplicity,  truth,  and  breadth,  the 
“common-place”  conveying  true  pathos.  The  world  is 
full  enough  of  subject ; it  only  wants  seeing. 

No.  324  (“  Frigidarium,”  L.  Alma-Tadema.  II.  A).  The 
interior  of  a Roman  bath,  where,  at  the  time  represented, 
it  was  customary  to  begin  with  a Calidarium  (hot  bath)  or 
Tepidarium  (tepid),  and  take  the  Frigidarium  (cold) 
afterwards.  The  cold  bath  was  in  great  x-epute  after 
Antonius  Musa  recovered  Augustus  from  a dangerous 
disease  by  the  use  of  it,  but  fell  into  discredit  after  the 
death  of  Marcellus,  which  was  attributed  to  the  injudicious 
use  of  this  remedy.  Of  course  the  marble  and  draperies 
are  all  that  this  painter  has  taught  us  to  expect,  yet, 
nevertheless,  we  have  seen  several  of  his  larger  works 
which  have  pleased  us  much  more. 

Of  the  two  diploma  pictures,  No.  337  (“Freedom  of 
the  Press,”  J.  B.  Burgess,  R.A.),  and  No.  338  (“On  the 
North  Foreland,  W.  O.  Orchardson,  R.  A.),  the  “ censors  of 
the  press”  will  probably  appeal  most  strongly  to  the  photo- 
graphic instinct.  Several  notes  may  here  be  made — in 
pose,  general  arrangement  of  subject,  and  chiax-oscuro. 

In  No.  328  (“  Garden  Flowers,”  Marcus  Stone,  R.A.), 
the  garden  steps  and  girlish  beauty  call  to  mind 
similar  pictures  (and  backgrounds),  yet  the  youthful  grace 
of  the  figure,  the  flower  of  the  “posie,”  is  restful  for  the 
eye  to  dwell  upon.  The  title,  “The  world  went  very 
well”  (No.  302,  by  John  Pettie,  R.A.)  calls  up  “All  in  a 
garden  fair.” 

While  at  this  end  of  the  room,  take  a distant  view  of 
two  large  portrait  studies — No.  269  (C.  Calthrop),  and 
No.  292  (P.  R.  Morris,  A.R.A).  Both  bx-ing  to  mind  the 
effect  produced  by  using  a too  short  focus  lens — not 
“ (wide-angle>wisely,  but  too  well"— (revised  edition). 
Is  this  effect  contributed  to  by  being  hung  aloft? 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  LENSES.* 

BY  THOMAS  I!.  DAI.I.MF.YEIt. 

From  the  general  formula  deduced  from  the  three  investi- 
gations above,  applied  to  a case  to  find  the  distance  of  the 
diaphragm  and  the  radii  of  the  surfaces  most  favourable 
to  the  formation  of  a distinct  image,  it  is  found  that  it  is 


not  possible  to  form  an  image  perfectly  distinct  on  a plane, 
although  a distinct  image  can  be  formed  on  a curved 
spherical  surface,  the  curvature  of  which  is  dependent  on 
the  refractive  index  and  the  focal  length ; in  fact,  its  radius 
is  n F. 

In  these  two  cases  (shown  on  black  board),  the  diaphragm 
in  one  case  is  situated  behind  the  lens  at  a distance 

g--1  - /. 

+ M + 1 

Radius  R = M~1  /.  Radius  S L_  / 

li-  n — l 

The  other  case  is  in  the  plano-convex  lens,  where  the 
distance  of  the  diaphragm 


r = oo 


« = (g  - 1)/. 

And  as  the  curvature  of  field  is  dependent  on  the 
higher  the  refractive  index,  the  less  curved  will  the  field 
become.  The  effect  of  the  diaphragm  has  a most  im- 
portant bearing  on  astigmatism,  curvature  of  field,  and 
distortion.  In  connection  with  astigmatism,  the  use  of 
the  diaphragm  is  the  only  means,  in  a single  lens  or  system 
of  lenses,  of  diminishing  it  if  it  should  exist.  On  curva- 
ture of  field  and  distortion  it  acts  in  exactly  opposite 
directions  in  single  lenses  or  single  cemented  combina- 
tions of  more  than  one  lens. 

Take  the  case  of  the  plano-convex  lens  above  with  a 
small  diaphragm  in  contact.  The  curvature  of  field  here 
will  be  very  considerable,  but  the  distortion  practically 
nil.  Now  the  further  the  diaphragm  is  removed  from  the 
lens  the  greater  becomes  the  distortion,  but  the  less  the 
curvature. 

It  will  be  seen  that  by  limiting  the  aperture  the  image- 
forming  rays  for  each  small  pencil  are  closer  together,  and 
are  not  interfered  with  by  those  that  have  shorter  foci,  and 
would  meet  the  lens  at  far  greater  refracting  angles 
if  the  full  apei-ture  were  enxployed.  The  further  the 
diaphragm  is  removed,  the  flatter  does  the  field  become, 
but  more  distortion  is  introduced. 

(</.)  Distortion.  The  usual  and  simplest  manner  to 
describe  this  is  to  find  the  appearance  after  refraction  of 
a square  grating  when  the  diaphragm,  supposed  small,  is 
placed  in  front  of  the  lens,  and  the  field  “ flat  ” or  cured  of 
curvature.  Where  the  refracting  angle  is  greatest,  viz., 
furthest  away  from  the  axis,  the  pencils  are  more  refracted 
towards  the  axis  than  they  are  as  they  approach  the  axis, 
the  axis  itself  suffering  no  displacement.  The  single 
rays  of  course  may  be  taken  as  the  axes  of  pencils.  You 

* Continued  from  p.  372. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


401 


1890.] 

that  the  pencils  representing  the  lines  be- 
come convergent  towards  the  axis.  This  distortion  is 
known  as  “barrel-shape"  distortion.  The  opposite  dis- 
tortion, called  pin-cushion,  occurs  if  the  diaphragm  be 
placed  behind  the  lens.  The  “barrel-shape”  distortion  is 
generally  considered  the  less  disagreeable  of  the  two,  and 
hence  the  diaphragm  is  usually  placed  in  front  of  the  single 
lenses. 

Being  now  familiar  with  the  effects  of  spherical  aberra- 
tion as  produced  by  single  lenses,  and  the  general  principles 
adopted  to  eliminate  these  errors,  we  will  proceed  to  inves- 
tigate how  combinations  of  lenses  may  still  further  and 
better  tend  to  annihilate  the  errors  of  form. 

The  various  applications  of  lenses  to  different  purposes 
will  indicate  the  most  appropriate  directions  in  which  to 
work  to  accomplish  this.  For  very  rapid  lenses,  such  as 
are  used  in  portraiture,  it  is  necessary  to  pay  strict  atten- 
tion to  the  aplanatism  of  the  central  pencil,  and  choosing 
such  forms  as  are  best  suited  to  eliminate  curvature  of 
field,  astigmatism,  and  distortion,  but  these  latter  are 
made  subservient,  in  the  main,  to  those  of  rapidity.  When, 
however,  aperture  may  be  sacrificed,  we  are  enabled  to 
lay  greater  stress  on  the  three  latter  considerations,  but  in 
every  case  the  skill  of  the  optician  consists  in  the  best 
compromise  among  the  effects  of  aberration. 

We  have  seen  that  a single  glass  lens  can  neither  be 
achromatic  nor  aplanatic  for  parallel  rays,  but  we  have 
found  that  a single  lens  can  be  made  achromatic  by  com- 
bining it  with  another  lens  of  different  dispersive  power ; 
the  condition  for  axial  achromatism  being  merely  one  of 
the  correct  relation  between  the  focal  length  of  the  lenses 
or  their  powers.  Let  us  now  examine  the  condition  for 
aplanatism  by  combination  with  another  lens. 

In  the  first  approximation  combining  two  lenses  we 
have — 


1 1 1 


‘’i 

v2 


J i « 

1 +-L 


ft 

T + 


r, 

1 

ft 


2 

» 


so  that  if  the  lenses  are  in  contact,  the  effect  is  the  same 
as  one  lens  equal  to  the  algebraical  sum  of  the  powers  of 
each ; if  the  second  lens  was  negative,  for  example,  we 
should  get — 


1 _ 2 _ ! 1 

*2  /.  h « 5 

and  with  any  number  lenses — 


We  have  found  a second  approximation  for  a single  lens 
showing  the  aberration,  and  for  our  purposes  here  this 
may  be  put  under  a more  convenient  form. 


Since 

1 

+ 1 

— 

1 

and  * 

+ 

i 

i 

i 

u 

V 

f 

r 

8 

x — 

i /’ 

Let 

1 

u 

1 

~ V 

(1 

+ “)> 

1 __ 
r 

2(m 

l 

i)7 

(i 

+ *)» 

If  we 

1 

V 

1 

2/ 

(1 

— «), 

i 

s 

-V 

l 

i»7 

(i 

— *)» 

then  find  the  values  of 

a 

+ -Y  and 

a + 

_L\ 

2 

l r 

w 1 

i * 

v J 

we  obtain  the  second  approximation  in  a more  convenient 
form  after  the  necessary  reductions,  viz. : 


We  have  at  the  first  lens, 

I = ].  — A + — l — | it±-2  *2  + 4 (m  + 1) 
f,  J U 1)  ( M — 1 

+ «>,  + 20  0.—  1) 

This  may  be  written 

1 1 ! 1 , 

— = -f 1-  “i  r. 

vi  J i « 

and  on  passing  to  the  second  lens 

1 1 1 , 

= y 

V2  f u 


ax 


1,1  1 , / , \ , 

= _+  — + (<*>,+  a>2)y- 


7.  ft 


and  in  general- 


i=I+4+i+ 


A ft  ft 

((■),+  01.,  -j-  ....  ain)  y-. 
The  object  then  for  aplanatism  is  to  make 

H a>  = O. 


1 _ 1 + 

fn  u 


Now  this  can  always  be  done  by  assuming  a definite  ratio 
between  the  radii  of  one  lens  and  finding  the  ratio  between 
the  radii  of  the  second  that  shall  destroy  the  first  aberra- 
tion. 

Now  if  we  call  r, the  radii  of  the  first  lens,  and  r2  s2  the 
radii  of  the  second  lens,  and  bike  a form  of  aplanatic  com- 
bination, such  as  the  rapid  rectilinear,  in  which  both  front 
and  back  combinations  are  identical  with  cemented  and 
identical  contracts. 

Here  Si  and  r2  are  identical  except  in  sigu,  and  if  the 
glasses  chosen  are  suited,  there  is  only  one  form  for  the 
best  correction  for  spherical  aberration.  The  ratio  of  the 
powers  is  a constant,  and  therefore  by  a proper  substitu- 
tion in  the  above  equations,  this  construction  becomes  a 
simple  matter.  The  question  evolves  itself  into  a simple 
quadratic,  one  root  of  which  is  usually  imaginary.  Should 
both  be  imaginary,  the  glasses  are  unsuited  to  the  purpose, 
and  a symmetrical  system  cannot  obtain. 

The  front  combination  alone,  with  its  convexity  towards 
the  object  for  the  oblique  pencils,  has  a powerful  coma-m, 
and  the  back  combination  alone,  with  its  concavity  out- 
ward, a powerful  coma -out.  The  two  in  the  combination 

have  the  effect  of  counterbalancing  one  another,  more  or 
less,  according  to  the  selection  of  suitable  material ; the 
residuum  effect  of  aberration  for  the  oblique  pencils  being 
visible  as  astigmatism  or  curvature  of  field,  but  distortion 
is  destroyed.  A proper  selection  of  the  new  glasses 
certainly  enables  improvements  in  both  these  respects  with 
larger  apertures  than  was  formerly  possible. 

For  the  elucidation  of  the  possibilities  of  producing 
combinations  of  large  aperture  suited  to  portrait  work,  at 
a period,  too,  when  rapidity  was  of  the  utmost  importance, 
we  owe  a great  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  prince  of  mathe- 
matical opticians,  Professor  Petzval.  His  portrait  combi- 
nation, known  to  you  all,  was  a triumph,  and  the  result  of 
pure  analytical  investigation.  He  proved  to  working 
opticians  the  possibilities  of  vast  improvements  in  the 
instruments  then  made,  and  also  confirmed  them  in  many 
of  their  geometrical  and  practical  deductions. 

For  your  interest  I have  made  a drawing,  tracing  the 
course  of  the  rays  through  a Petzval  combination  for 
the  oblique  as  well  as  the  central  pencil,  and  it  serves  to 
show  how  perfectly  the  mathematical  elegance — perhaps  I 
should  say  labour — brought  to  bear  on  this  subject  cor- 
responds with  the  general  principles  then  known  and 


402 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  23,  1890. 


worked  upon  for  the  best  relation  to  exist  between  the 
incidence  and  emergence  of  the  various  pencils  to  form  a 
distinct  image. 

I think  I may  be  allowed  to  mention  here,  with  pardon- 
able pride,  my  late  father’s  improvements  in  lenses 
generally  since  that  period,  and  particularly  with  respect 
to  his  portrait  combination.  It  was  a great  advance 
on  that  of  Petzval,  not  only  for  greater  covering  power, 
but  for  strict  mathematical  capabilities.  You  are  well 
aware  that  a lens  that  is  free  from  spherical  aberration  for 
parallel  rays  is  not  so  for  nearer  objects,  but  becomes 
what  is  called  over-corrected  for  spherical  aberration. 
Now,  in  addition  to  better  optical  perfection,  the  form  of 
the  back  combination,  by  a mechanical  contrivance  of 
separating  the  back  flint  from  the  crown,  will  correct 
or  counterbalance  the  over-correction  for  nearer  objects 
if  neecssary,  or  may,  on  the  other  hand,  be  so  far  removed 
as  to  introduce,  according  to  taste,  a considerable  amount 
of  positive  spherical  .aberration,  that  was  first  asked 
for  by  the  late  Mr.  T.  11.  Williams,  to  soften  the  biting 
sharpness  of  lenses  when  required  to  produce  more  artistic 
results. 

In  slower  lenses,  where  rapidity  is  sacrificed,  a judi- 
cious selection  of  the  powers  of  the  elements  in  the 
combination  or  combinations,  and  arranging  their  curva- 
ture so  that,  as  in  the  case  of  achromatism,  the  pencils 
at  incidence  and  emergence  are  similarly  treated  for  every 
part  of  the  lens,  so  do  we  arrive  at  better  perfection 
of  the  image,  until  the  maintenance  is  so  perfect  that 
it  becomes  a parallel  with  an  imaginary  pinhole  (without 
diffraction),  the  aperture  or  intensity  being  as  great  as 
possible  consistent  with  this  perfection. 

To  conclude,  as  photography  for  utilitarian  purposes  in 
the  sciences  and  commerce  require  our  lenses  to  attain 
the  highest  mathematical  precision,  no  less  does  art — and 
photography  is  rapidly  gaining  ground  as  an  art — require 
the  optician  to  handle  the  subject  in  an  equally  intelligent 
manner,  to  give  to  those  instruments  wider  capabilities. 


Photographic  Society  ok  Great  Britain. — Technical  meet- 
ing, Tuesday,  May  27th,  at  8 p.tn.,  5a,  Pall  Mall  East,  when 
“ Stereoscopic  Work  ” will  be  discussed. 

Colonel  Stuart  Wortley. — We  regret  to  have  to  announce 
the  death  of  Colonel  Stuart  Wortley,  who  occupied  a leading 
place  in  London  photographic  circles  some  years  ago.  His  large 
landscape  photographs  and  his  sea  views,  in  which  the  camera 
often  faced  the  sun,  were  many  of  them  of  a highly  artistic 
character.  Not  long  since  he  went  on  a voyage  round  the 
world  for  the  benefit  of  his  health. 

A Varnish  Vehicle  in  Painting. — In  a circular  issued  by  the 
Aston  Chemical  Company  of  Birmingham,  it  is  stated  that  an 
article  in  the  Daily  Teleyraph  lias  said  : — “ The  late  Frank 
Holl  used  as  a vehicle,  amber  varnish,  diluted  may  be  with  a 
little  nut  or  purified  linseed  oil,  to  make  it  run  more  freely, 
and  though  amber  varnish  is  found  difficult  to  work  with,  it  has 
proved  to  be  the  only  durable  preparation  of  its  kind  extant. 
Mr.  Hcrkomer,  Mr.  Sant,  Mr.  William  Hughes,  and  other  promi- 
nent painters  ‘swear  by  amber  varnish,’  and  the  freshness  of 
their  productions  of  several  years  ago  sufficiently  testifies  to  the 
merits  of  that  valuable  vehicle.”  The  circular  adds  that  the 
one  great  drawback  to  the  use  of  a varnish  vehicle  in  painting  is 
its  rapid  drying  quality,  causing  the  brush  to  drag,  and  pre- 
venting its  being  worked  freely ; and  again,  if  an  oil  be  mixed 
with  amber  varnish,  the  incorporation  of  the  two  is  not  com- 
plete enough  to  form  a reliable  stable  mixture.  Mr.  Standage 
has  overcome  both  these  drawbacks  ; his  medium  is  neither  a 
varnish  nor  a simple  oil,  but  a peculiar  combination  of  the  purest 
linseed  oil  with  the  finest  quality  of  carefully  hand-picked 
amber.  No  other  ingredient  whatever  enters  into  its  composi- 
tion. 


THE  ROYAL  INSTITUTION. 

Professor  Meldola  on  “The  Invisible  Piiotograi’hic 

Image.” 

Last  Friday  night  Professor  I>.  Meldola  delivered  a lec- 
ture at  the  Royal  Institution  upon  “The  Invisible  Photo- 
graphic Image.”  Dr.  Edward  Frankland,  F.R.S.,  pre- 
sided. Among  those  present  were  Captain  W.  de  W. 
Abney,  Professor  Alexander  Ilerschel,  Mr.  Paul  Water- 
low,  Air.  Geddes,  Mr.  J.  W.  Swan,  Mr.  II.  Trueman 
Wood,  Lord  Rayleigh,  Mr.  C.  Y.  Boys,  Mr.  AValtcr 
Coffin,  Professor  Dewar,  Professor  Hughes,  Mr.  F.  Gold- 
by,  Dr.  J.  II.  Gladstone,  Mr.  Shelford  Bidwell,  and  Dr. 
James  Edmunds. 

Professor  Meldola  began  by  giving  an  outline  of  the 
history  of  photography,  beginning  with  the  photographic 
design  produced  by  Schultze  in  1727.  The  next  step  was 
the  considerable  advance  made  by  Wedgwood,  and  first 
made  known  at  the  Royal  Institution,  of  spreading  the 
sensitive  compound  over  a surface  instead  of  using  it  in 
mass ; this  was  done  in  1802.  He  told  how  Fox  Talbot,  in 
1835,  produced  photographs  on  paper  by  means  of  chloride 
of  silver,  and  how  later  on  some  of  these  photographs  were 
brought  under  the  notice  of  the  Institution  by  Faraday. 
Sir  John  Ilerschel  coated  glass  with  chloride  of  silver  by 
subsidence,  and  one  of  his  early  photographs  produced  in 
that  way  was  exhibited.  The  discoveries  of  Niepce  de 
Chalons  and  Daguerre  were  described,  and  their  like- 
nesses, together  with  that  of  Fox  Talbot,  were  projected 
on  the  screen  by  means  of  the  electric  lantern.  As  to 
Dr.  Thomas  Young’s  photograph  of  Newton's  rings,  taken 
in  1803,  Professor  Dewar  by  search  had  found  on  the 
premises  what  was  believed  to  be  the  appliance  made  by 
him  for  producing  the  rings,  and,  as  they  could  see,  some 
of  the  rings  were  distinctly  visible.  The  lecturer  spoke  of 
the  discovery  of  the  action  of  light  on  bichromate  of 
potash  by  Mungo  Ponton,  then  entered  into  historical 
details  of  later  date. 

The  speaker  pointed  out  how  silver  chloride  becomes 
discoloured  under  the  action  of  light  and  at  the  same  time 
gives  off  chlorine,  or,  under  some  circumstances,  hypo- 
chlorous  acid.  Bromine  acts  in  analagous  manner  under 
the  action  of  light,  and  silver  iodide  does  so  only  when  a 
halogen  absorbent  is  present.  The  amount  of  darkening 
produced  has  no  relation  to  the  relative  sensitiveness  of 
the  three  haloids ; it  only  means  that  some  of  the  products 
are  more  highly  coloured  than  others.  Evidently  the 
action  is  one  of  photo-chemical  decomposition,  and  is  not 
a mechanical  change.  Substances  which  absorb  the 
liberated  halogen  accelerate  the  decomposition ; oxidising 
substances  act  as  retarding  agents.  Captain  Abney  has 
made  this  his  own  special  subject,  and  it  is  evident  that  a 
ray  of  light  falling  on  a silver  haloid  is  doing  chemical 
work.  The  chemical  nature  of  the  coloured  product 
resulting  from  decomposition  by  light  is  still  shrouded  in 
mystery  ; all  that  is  known  is,  that  it  contains  less  of  the 
halogen  ; it  is  never  formed  except  as  a mere  trace,  mixed 
with  a relatively  vast  mass  of  unaltered  haloid.  Carey 
Lea  has  called  such  products  photo-salts,  meaning  thereby 
a combination  of  each  dark  product  with  unchanged 
haloid.  He  (Professor  Meldola)  thought  that  the  free 
metal  theory  of  the  deposit  hardly  holds  good,  because 
chloride  of  silver  will  darken  in  the  light  under  strong 
nitric  acid,  and  the  latter  acid  would  dissolve  the  dark 
product  if  it  were  silver.  The  sub-haloid  theory  may  be 
true,  but  still  it  has  not  been  established  in  such  a way 
as  the  chemist  has  the  right  to  demand. 


403 


May  23,  1890.1  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


The  oxychoride  theory  is  also  without  vigorous  proof. 
He  had  put  most  carefully  dried  silver  chloride  under 
dried  liquid  hydrocarbons,  and  in  every  instance  it  had 
darkened  under  the  action  of  light ; sucli  results,  however, 
merely  raise  the  question,  what  are  the  kinds  of  products 
due  to  the  medium  in  which  the  decomposition  takes  place  ? 
When  chloride  of  silver  darkens  under  water,  an  oxy- 
chloride may  be  formed. 

Mr.  Carey  Lea  has  recently  formed  some  beautifully 
coloured  compounds  of  silver,  which  he  thinks  to  be 
identical  with  those  which  form  the  photographic  image. 
In  18f>9,  a committee  of  the  British  Association  described 
something  of  the  same  kind,  and  how  to  form  red  silver 
chloride. 

The  invisible  photographic  image  is  now  formed  in  a 
minute  fraction  of  a second,  but  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that  it  is  analagous  in  composition  to  the  photo- 
salt, although  it  would  be  premature  to  say  that  it  is 
the  same.  It  was  at  one  time  held  that  the  invisible  image 
is  due  to  a molecular  and  not  a chemical  change,  an  idea 
which  he  believed  to  still  survive.  Reducing  and  oxidising 
agents  act  in  the  same  way  upon  the  visible  and  upon  the 
invisible  image,  and  halogen  absorbents  make  modern 
films  more  sensitive  still,  which  facts  tend  to  show  that 
the  image  is  of  the  same  nature  in  both  cases. 

Carey  Lea,  Eder,  and  Abney  have  shown  that 
mechanical  pressure  will  produce  the  same  effect  upon 
a sensitive  film  as  that  which  is  produced  by  light,  but  a 
halogen  absorbent  must  be  present ; and,  if  the  result  of 
the  action  of  stress  or  light  were  merely  mechanical,  he 
could  not  see  the  necessity  for  the  presence  of  the  halogen 
absorbent.  That  this  absorbent  must  be  present  is  a fact 
strongly  in  favour  of  the  chemical  theory  of  the  invisible 
image.  The  experiments  of  Mr.  Spring,  of  Liege,  show 
that  in  some  instances  when  great  pressure  is  brought 
to  bear  upon  certain  dry  salts,  chemical  reactions  are 
set  up;  something  of  the  same  kind  seems  to  take 
place  when  light  acts  upon  a silver  haloid.  In  conclu- 
sion, he  thought  that  the  scientific  foundations  of  the 
problem  of  the  nature  of  the  invisible  image  must  be  laid 
by  the  chemist ; but  the  problem  is  a difficult  one,  because 
the  photo-salts  of  Lea  are  not  of  such  a definite  nature  as 
those  with  which  the  chemist  is  in  the  habit  of  dealing. 

We  postpone  a criticism  of  this  lecture  until  the  full 
text  has  been  published. 

Nouth  Middlesex  Photographic  Club. — An  outing  of  this 
Club  will  take  place  on  Monday,  May  26th  ; the  members  will 
meet  at  Paddington  Station  at  10  a.m.,  and  proceed  to  Cook- 
ham  and  work  to  Maidenhead.  Friends  and  visitors  are  invited 
to  join. 

The  Late  Mr.  W.  H.  Geddes.  — In  the  course  of  an 
obituary  notice  the  Arbroath  Guide  says: — “ Mr  Geddes  is  best 
known  from  his  connection  with  photography  in  Arbroath,  and 
in  that  connection  he  is  known  far  and  wide.  He  was  the 
oldest  photographer  in  the  town,  and  indeed  it  was  his 
brother  Thomas  who  introduced  the  art  into  Arbroath.  Mr. 
Thomas  Geddes  had  his  joinery  shop  in  North  Grimsby,  and 
somewhere  about  the  year  1848,  while  continuing  to  carry  on 
that  business,  he  opened  a photographic  studio  in  High  Street. 
At  that  time  the  Daguerrotype  was  the  common  form  of  pho- 
tography, but  shortly  after  starting  the  business  Mr.  Geddes 
began  to  take  portraits  on  glass,  and  he  continued  long  enough 
in  practice  in  Arbroath  to  introduce  also  the  taking  of  photo- 
graphs on  prepared  paper  as  at  present.  In  1851  Mr.  Thomas 
( Jeddes  emigrated  to  Australia,  and  his  brother  William  took 
up  the  photographer’s  business,  doing  good  work.  Since  then 
the  business  has  been  much  developed  by  his  sou,  who  will 
carry  it  on  under  the  same  title  as  before. 


FICTION  IN  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

The  story  of  a Strange  Sitter,  also  told  by  an  American  of 
Americans,  lias  a wholly  unexpected  finale,  and  so  pos- 
sesses one  of  the  most  interesting  features  in  historical 
narrative — that,  namely,  of  surprise.  It  is  Christmas  Eve  ; 
the  hour  is  within  a few  minutes  of  midnight  ; outside  the 
closely-fastened  shutters  the  wind  is  howling,  driving  the 
blinding  snow  into  the  eyes  of  a few  solitary  wayfarers 
who  are  luckless  enough  to  be  out  of  doors  at  such  a sea- 
son and  at  such  a time.  The  photographer’s  little  parlour 
is  rendered  still  more  cosy  by  the  charms  of  contrast.  All 
is  comfortable  here.  Cigars  are  lighted,  fresh  glasses  of 
toddy,  with  the  due  quantum  of  lemon  peel,  are  supplied  ; 
chairs  are  drawn  closer  round  the  roaring  fire — the  matter 
of  drawing  closer  of  chairs  is  de  ritpieur — and  the  American 
artist  and  host  begins  his  tale,  a long  one,  of  which  the 
following  is  a short  summary. 

I lived  at  that  time,  says  the  narrator,  next  door  to  a 
boarding  house,  which  supplied  me  with  frequent  cus- 
tomers. One  afternoon,  about  a week  before  Christmas, 
a certain  Captain  Adolphus  Smith  called  to  have  his  por- 
trait taken.  He  was  a remarkably  handsome  man,  “cluster- 
ing curls  waved  round  his  chiselled  brow,”  and  so  on.  lie 
was  also  very  particular  about  the  appearance  of  his  neck- 
tie. Two  days  after  his  visit,  while  I was  working  at  his 
portrait,  I was  started  by  a voice  immediately  behind  my 
chair.  I turned  and  saw  a young  girl  of  a pale 
ghastly  appearance,  dressed  entirely  in  white,  with  a single 
red  rose  in  her  bosom.  “ I wish,”  she  said,  “ for  a carte-de- 
visite,  to  be  given,  when  finished,  to  Captain  Smith.”  In 
a state  of  extreme  excitement,  I took  the  necessary  nega- 
tive without  the  slightest  trouble.  The  girl  remained 
motionless,  and  in  a good  position.  AVhen  I returned  with 
the  plate  she  was  gone,  and  I should  have  thought  the 
whole  matter  a dream,  had  there  not  been  a material 
greenback,  which  was  not  there  before,  lying  on  my  table. 
In  due  time  I gave  the  Captain  his  own  portrait  and  that 
of  the  mysterious  young  woman.  “What ! ” he  cried,  in  a 
voice  hoarse  and  almost  inarticulate  with  rage,  “ what  is 
this?”  and  fell  to  the  floor  in  a faintingfit.  It  was  after- 
wards explained  to  me  that  the  portrait  Avas  that  of 
a Miss  Susan  Robinson,  who  had  fallen  in  love  Avith  the 
Captain,  had  been  treated  by  him  Avith  much  unkiudness 
after  kindness ; had  received,  in  short,  her  coup  <le  grace 
from  the  Captain’s  cruelty,  and  had  died  some  twelve 
months  before  she  appeared  in  my  studio.  So  far,  says 
the  photographer,  it  seems  evident  that  I had  taken  the 
photograph  of  a ghost ; but  there  is  more  to  come.  Some 
mouths  afterwards,  a lady  from  the  boarding-house 
chanced,  in  looking  at  my  scrap-book,  to  light  upon  the 
portrait  of  my  strange  sitter.  “Ah! ’’she  said,  “I  see 
you  have  taken  Miss  Sarah  Robinson.”  “ Pardon  me,” 
said  I,  “Susan.”  “No,  no,  Sarah,”  replied  the  lady ; 
“ Susan  died  over  a year  ago.  This  is  the  portrait  of  her 
twin  sister,  Avho  Avas  staying  in  our  boarding-house  last 
Christmas.”  I then  learnt,  says  the  photographer, 
that  Miss  Sarah  Avas  subject  to  epilepsy,  and  had  been 
treated  Avith  nitrate  of  silver,  which,  lodging  in  the  tissues 
of  her  skin,  had  imparted  to  it  a permanent  livid  colour, 
fully  accounting  for  my  spectral  sitter's  ghastly  appearance. 
She  had  probably  seen  the  Captain  enter  my  studio,  and 
being  acquainted  Avith  the  whole  story  of  her  sister's  un- 
happy love,  had  determined  to  give  that  gay  soldier  a 
lesson.  Not,  I fear,  to  any  good  purpose,  concludes 

* Continued  from  page  337. 


404 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  23,  1890. 


the  story  teller,  since  the  last  I heard  of  him  was  that  he 
was  one  of  the  most  notorious  male  flirts  in  New  York. 

Another  story  of  several  pages  professes  to  show  what 
may  be  done  by  a photograph.  “ Only  a Photograph,”  is 
the  title,  but  from  a photograph  arises — not  probably  for 
the  first  or  the  last  time — a wedding.  The  reader  is  in- 
troduced to  the  Picture  Gallery  at  Antwerp,  where  a 
visitor,  Mr.  Brown,  has  received  another  man’s  hat  in 
exchange  for  his  own,  which  he  had  left  in  the  charge  of 
the  proper  official.  Now,  Mr.  Brown’s  hat  had  the 
distinction  of  holding  a lady’s  photograph  fastened  to  the 
top  lining.  The  gentleman  who  has  received  this  hat  for 
his  own  sees  the  picture,  becomes  enamoured  of  the  shadow, 
and  seeks  the  substance.  For  some  time  his  efforts  are 
fruitless.  The  tale  gives  an  amusing  description  of  his 
obtaining,  after  much  toil,  an  introduction  to  a lady  who, 
alas ! though  similar  to  his  ideal,  differs  from  it  on  a nearer 
view  in  some  important  particulars.  After  numerous 
difficulties,  upon  which  the  story  dilates  at  large,  he  meets 
with  the  object  of  his  aspiration,  tells  her  all  about  the 
photograph,  without  showing  it  to  her,  and  asks  her  advice 
on  the  subject.  The  lady,  who  loves  him  at  first  sight, 
finds  her  position  a hard  one.  She  is  unwilling  to  assist 
him  in  discovering  the  girl  who,  she  naturally  supposes,  is 
her  rival.  That,  indeed,  would  be  in  her  opinion,  crowd- 
ing the  mourners.  No : she  declines  to  advise  him. 
“Will  you,  then,  see  the  picture?”  asks  the  lover. 
“That  would  not  be  right,”  replies  the  unconscious 
beloved.  However,  being  a woman — and  so  not  entirely 
devoid  of  curiosity — she  at  last  consents  to  look  at  it.  A 
handsome  case  is  handed  to  her,  which  she  opens,  and  dis- 
covers her  own  portrait.  The  conclusion,  so  far  as  these 
two  are  concerned,  may  be  confidently  left  to  the  reader’s 
imagination.  Only  one  difficulty  remains  for  after- 
consideration.  How  did  this  lady's  photograph  find  its 
way  to  the  hat  of  the  gentleman  who  visited  the  Picture 
Gallery  at  Antwerp  ? Mr.  Brown  had  a sister,  a friend 
of  this  lady,  and  the  owner  of  her  photograph.  When  Mr. 
Brown  left  his  sister  for  Antwerp,  she,  wishing  to  remind 
him  of  her,  pinned,  on  the  night  he  left,  what  she  thought 
was  her  own  picture,  in  his  hat.  The  picture  was  really 
that  of  her  friend.  And  this  little  mistake  of  Miss  Brown’s 
was  the  cause  of  the  marriage.  Nor  must  the  photo- 
grapher be  forgotten,  for  had  the  portrait  been  a bad  one, 
that  marriage  would  probably  never  have  taken  place. 

In  the  next  tale,  a photograph,  so  far  from  producing  a 
marriage,  nearly  produces  a divorce.  The  interest  of  this 
story  of  a tragi-comic  character  turns  on  an  error  in  a 
number  affixed  to  a negative.  It  is  told  by  a rising  photo- 
grapher. who  begins  by  numbering  his  negatives  as  people 
sometimes  number  their  cheques — with  thousands  for  units. 
The  dramatis  persona;  arc  a young  man  with  an  old  and 
jealous  wife,  and  a middle-aged  friend  who  has  formerly 
been  a suitor  for  her  hand.  The  old  lady,  of  course,  has 
money.  One  day  this  former  suitor  comes  to  bid  her 
farewell.  He  is  compelled,  he  says,  in  a sad  and  mysterious 
tone,  to  leave  England  for  ever.  The  old  lady  receives 
this  intimation  with  calm  composure.  “ You  are  one  of 
my  husband’s  most  intimate  friends,”  she  observes  ; “ can 
you  tell  me  anything  about  him — I mean  as  to  what  he 
does  when  away  from  me— before  you  go?  ” “ Notliing,” 

he  replies;  “yet  stay!  last  Wednesday  he  visited  a photo- 
grapher’s with  me.  Go  to  that  photographer’s  and  ask 
for  No.  99,999.  When  you  obtain  the  unfortunate's  por-  1 
trait,  it  will  explain  all  ” ; and  without  a word  more  he  was  , 
gone.  The  unfortunate ! Horror-struck,  the  wife,  | 


already  in  her  imagination  abandoned,  visits  the  photo- 
grapher who  tells  the  story — the  photographer  indicated 
by  her  former  suitor — and  asks  for  the  fatal  number.  She 
receives  it,  utters  a shriek,  and  faints.  The  husband 
returns  home  unsuspicious  to  his  meat  tea.  The  kettle  is 
boiling  on  the  hob,  the  cat  lies  in  her  accustomed  place  on 
the  hearth-rug,  but  his  wife — ah!  his  wife — has  become  a 
fury.  “Look,”  she  cries  with  vindictive  emphasis,  “at 
this,”  and  thrusts  No.  99,999  before  his  astonished  eyes. 
“ Well,”  says  her  husband,  “ what  of  it  ? ” It  is  a pretty 
face,  in  a dress  very  fashionable  and  very  low  cut.  “ It 
is,”  says  the  wife,  “ a brazen  hussy,  and  you  ought  to  be 
ashamed  of  yourself.”  “Why  on  earth  should  I?  asks 
the  innocent  husband  ; “I  never  saw  the  woman  in  my 
life.”  * ‘ Oh,  the  perfidy  of  mankind  ! ” she  groans  in  reply, 
and  threatens  the  divorce  court.  At  this  juncture  the 
former  suitor  comes  in  radiant.  He  learns  what  is  the 
matter,  and  asks  to  see  No.  99,999.  “ Good  gracious ! 

he  exclaims,  “ here  is  some  mistake.  No.  99,999  is  the 
number  of  my  own  portrait,  and  it  has  been  affixed  to  the 
portrait  of — well,  somebody  else.”  “Your  sister,  he 
continues,  turning  to  the  lady,  “had  refused  me,  I had 
determined  to  leave  for  America,  and  I was  anxious  to  let 
you  have  my  own  portrait  which  I had  taken  for  her. 
However,  she  and  I have  made  it  all  up  now,  and  you 
must  do  the  same.”  “The  mistake,”  says  the  photo- 
grapher, “was  owing  to  the  negligence  of  a careless  boy, 
whom  I was  unwise  enough  to  employ  as  a clerk.  It  very 
nearly  made  me  a witness  in  proceedings  in  the  Divorce 
Court, 

(To  be  continued). 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  MOUNTS. 

The  Liverpool  Daily  Courier  of  Saturday  and  Monday  last 
contains  a report  of  a case  which  came  before  Mr.  Justice 
Lawrence  and  a social  jury  at  the  Nisi  I’rius  Court,  Liverpool 
spring  assizes. 

The  Courier  of  Monday  last  says  : — “ This  was  a part  heard 
action  by  Aaron  Vandyke,  photographer,  Bold  Street,  to 
recover  damages  for  breach  of  contract  from  Marion  and  Co., 
wholesale  dealers  in  fancy  and  photographic  goods,  London 
and  Paris.  Mr.  J.  C.  Bigham,  Q.C.,  with  Mr.  T.  S.  Little 
(instructed  by  Mr.  Walter  H.  Cowl),  appeared  for  the  plaintiff  ; 
and  Mr.  W.  R.  Kennedy,  Q.C.,  with  Mr.  Pickford  (instructed 
by  Mr.  Henry  White,  of  Loudon),  for  the  defendants.  The 
plaintiff  purchased  from  the  defendants,  about  the 
end  of  1886,  50,000  enamelled  cabinet  mounts, 

which  were  alleged  to  be  defective,  photograplis 
mounted  on  them  exhibiting  signs  of  streakiness  after  the 
lapse  of  a few  months.  This,  the  plaintiff  contended,  was  due 
to  the  presence  in  the  mounts  of  hyposulphites,  caused  by 
insufficient  washing  during  the  process  of  manufacture.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  defence  was  that  the  streaks  in  the  photo- 
graphs were  to  be  attributed  to  lactic  acid,  produced  by  fer- 
mentation of  the  germs  in  the  solution  of  starch  used  by  the 
plaintiff  in  mounting  the  photographs.  Further  evidence  was 
given  for  the  defendants,  among  the  witnesses  examined  being 
Mr.  Thomas  Bolas,  F.C.S.,  Mr.  Frank  Bishop,  a partner  in  the 
firm  of  Marion  and  Co.,  Mr.  Cowan,  photographic  specialist, 
Mr.  George  Taylor,  Mr.  W.  Downey,  and  Mr.  Mowll,  photo- 
graphers. After  considering  their  verdict  for  three-quarters 
I of  an  hour,  the  jury  returned  into  court,  the  foreman  announcing 
1 that  there  was  no  posssibility  of  their  agreeing.  His  Lordship, 
however,  said  they  must  make  another  effort  to  arrive  at  a 
definite  decision.  In  reply  to  the  jury  the  plaintiff  expressed 
his  willingness  to  take  the  verdict  of  the  majority,  but  to  this 
the  defendants  refused  to  assent.  The  jury  again  retired,  but 
as  after  two  hours’  further  deliberation  they  were  unable  to 
agree,  they  were  discharged.” 


May  23,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


405 


patent  Intelligence. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

6,607.  F.  Taylor,  4,  Corporation  Street,  Manchester.  “ I’hoto- 
f?  graphic  Printing  Frames.” — April  30. 

6,825.  J.  Parkinson,  S.  Fawcett,  and  C.  F.  Parkinson,  South 
^ Regent  Street,  Lancaster.  “ Registering  Apparatus  for 
Photographic  Exposures.” — May  3. 

6,861.  G.  Prescott,  99,  Hatton  Garden,  London.  “Stereo- 
scopic Slides.” — May  3. 

6,984.  H.  Silberglbit,  4,  Corporation  Street,  Manchester. 
“Apparatus  for  Developing  and  Fixing  Photographic  Nega- 
tives.”— May  6. 

7,010.  B.  J.  B.  Mills,  23,  Southampton  Buildings,  London. 

“Cameras.”  (Louis  Lumiere,  Montplaisir.) — May  6. 

7,066.  W.  G.  Tweedy,  8,  Athenaeum  Terrace,  Plymouth. 

“Actuating  Photographic  Shutters.” — May  7. 

7,150.  J.  B.  Brooks,  6,  Livery  Street,  Birmingham.  “Camera 
Stands,” — May  8. 

7,159.  R.  Mercer  and  A.  J.  Mercer,  128,  Colmore  Row, 
Birmingham.  “Hand  Cameras." — May  8. 

7,248.  H.  R.  Home,  40,  Rowan  Road,  Hammersmith,  London. 

“Photographic  Shutters.” — May  9. 

7,296.  C.  D.  Ahrens,  Tudor  Road,  Norbiton,  Surrey. 

“ Apparatus  for  the  Polarisation  of  Light.”- — May  10. 

7,411.  H.  M.  Hastings,  54,  Edith  Road,  West  Kensington, 
London.  “Light-tight  Developing  Dish.” — May  13. 

7,420.  A.  Coke,  2,  Guldnev  Road,  Clifton.  “Photometer.” 
—May  13. 

7,453.  A.  G.  Green,  C.  F.  Cross  and  E.  .1.  Bf.van.  “A 
Process  for  Photographing  bv  means  of  Organic  Compounds.” 
—May  13. 

7,489.  C.  C.  Veters,  12,  Market  Street,  Leeds.  “Cameras.” 
— May  14. 

7,578.  \V.  G.  Thomson,  8,  Quality  Court,  London.  “ Photo- 
graphic Roller  Holders.” — May  15. 

7,589.  W.  E.  Gibb,  35  Southampton  Buildings,  London. 

“Apparatus  for  Producing  Photographic  Pictures.” — May  15. 
7,650.  J.  R.  Gotz,  433,  Strand,  London.  “ Photographic 
Shutters.” — May  16. 

Specifications  Published. 

9,358.  June  5th,  1889.-— “The  Production  of  Alloys  of 
Aluminium.”  Robert  Ellis  Green,  late  of  No.  41,  Sand- 
ringham Road,  Hackney,  now  of  No.  5,  St.  John's  Terrace, 
Southall,  Merchant. 

This  invention  relates  to  the  production  of  alloys  of 
aluminium  with  any  other  alloy-forming  metal  ; its  object  is 
to  produce  such  alloys,  not  by  combining  metallic  aluminium, 
which  has  already  been  produced,  with  a metal,  but  directly 
by  decomposing  the  fluorides  of  aluminium  or  the  double 
fluorides  of  aluminium  and  potassium  or  sodium  in  the 
presence  of  the  metal  with  which  it  is  desired  to  form  an  alloy. 

To  illustrate  the  manner  of  carrying  out  the  invention,  I 
proceed  to  describe  the  details  of  the  process  when  the  object 
is  to  form  an  alloy  of  aluminium  and  iron. 

I use  a crucible  or  retort  or  any  suitable  furnace  which  will 
1 >ear  the  heat  at  which  iron  becomes  fused  ; at  the  lower  part 
of  the  crucible  or  furnace  I fix  a tuyfsre  or  inlet  pipe,  con- 
nected to  a supply  of  carburetted  hydrogen  or  hydrogen  gas. 

I place  in  the  crucible  or  furnace  iron,  and  fluoride  of  aluminium, 
or  the  double  fluoride  of  aluminium,  and  sodium  or  potassium, 
and  sometimes  white  sand  (silica)  or  silicate  of  soda,  or  potash, 
or  other  compound  of  silicon  if  it  be  necessary  ; that  is  to  say, 
that  inasmuch  as  man}’  qualities  of  iron  contain  silicon,  I am 
guided  by  the  amount  of  it  that  is  contained  in  the  iron  which 
I am  about  to  use.  Thus,  if  the  iron  be  free  from  silicon, 
and  when  desiring  to  produce  an  alloy  of  aluminium  and  iron 
which  shall  contain  one  per  cent,  of  the  former,  to  every 
100  lbs.  of  such  iron  which  I put  into  the  crucible  or  furnace, 

I add  8 lbs.  cryolite  (double  fluoride  of  aluminium  and  sodium), 
and  35  ounces  silicate  of  soda,  or  40  ounces  silicate  of  potash,  or 
32  ounces  silicon  disulphide,  or  26  ounces  of  white  sand,  and 
I lessen  the  quantity  of  silicon  compound  which  must  be  placed 
in  the  crucible  or  furnace  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of , 


silicon  contained  in  the  iron  in  accordance  with  the  chemical 
combining  proportion. 

Having  made  these  calculations  and  put  the  necessary  quali- 
ties of  each  material  into  the  crucible  or  furnace,  and  turned 
on  the  supply  of  gas  through  the  tuyere,  I gradually  raise  the 
temperature  of  the  crucible  or  furnace  till  the  whole  contents 
have  become  fused.  I keep  up  this  heat  for  about  thirty 
minutes,  when  the  fluoride  having  decomposed,  its  aluminium 
is  absorbed  by  the  iron  and  the  alloy  formed,  and  is  ready  to 
be  drawn  off  into  moulds. 

When  forming  alloys  of  aluminium  with  other  metals  I 
proceed  in  the  same  manner,  and  use  the  same  materials, 
except  that  I substitute  the  other  metal  with  which  I wish  to 
alloy  the  aluminium  in  place  of  the  iron  as  above. 

What  I claim  is  : — 

1st.  The  production  of  alloys  of  aluminium  in  the  manner 
described. 

2nd.  The  production  of  alloys  of  aluminium  direct  from 
the  fluorides  of  aluminium,  or  the  double  fluorides  of 
aluminium,  aud  sodium  or  potassium,  and  silica,  or  compounds 
of  silicon  reacting  upon  each  other  in  the  presence  of  a metal. 

10,594.  July  1st,  1889.  — “Shutters  for  Photographic 

Cameras.”  John  Kershaw,  47,  Spring  Gardens,  Buxton, 

Derbyshire,  Photographer. 

The  improvements  which  are  the  subject  of  this  invention 
relate  to  the  means  employed  for  closing  the  spring  blind  in 
the  shutter  of  a photographic  camera,  and  the  object  of  this 
invention  is  to  construct  a shutter  that  may  be  used  either  as 
an  instantaneous  shutter  or  as  a time  shutter,  when  an  interval 
of  time  for  exposure  is  required  in  lieu  of  instantaneous  expo- 
sure. 

I construct  a shutter  in  which  is  a spring  blind  with  an  aper- 
ture for  exposure  of  light  to  the  sensitive  plate.  By  means  of  a 
gravitation  lever  in  combination  with  a ratchet  wheel  on  the  end 
of  liberating  roller  of  spring  blind,  as  described  in  the  specifi- 
cation of  my  invention,  for  which  letters  patent  for  Great 
Britain  were  granted  to  me  bearing  date  the  21st  day  of  April, 
A.D.  1885,  and  numbered  5,014,  the  spring  blind  in  the  shutter 
may  be  closed  instantaneously. 

For  the  purpose  of  obtaining  an  interval  of  time  for  expo- 
sure when  instantaneous  exposure  is  not  required,  I employ  a 
secondary  lever  of  an  angular  shape  in  combination  with  the 
aforesaid  gravitation  lever.  I suspend  this  secondary  lever  to 
a stud  formed  on  a spring  plate,  which  I attach  to  the  side  of 
the  shutter  in  proximity  to  the  gravitation  lever.  I form  an 
angular  slot  or  cam  groove  in  this  secondary  lever,  through 
which  I pass  a stud  which  is  attached  to  the  gravitation  lever. 
On  the  end  of  the  liberating  roller  of  spring  blind  I attach  a worm 
which,  when  the  said  liberating  roller  is  revolved  by  the  opera- 
tor in  order  to  wind  the  blind  on,  the  said  roller,  preparatory 
to  exposure,  actuates  a worm  wheel  affixed  to  the  side  of  the 
shutter.  1 form  this  worm  wheel  with  a hole  in  the  face 
thereof,  into  which  a stud  attached  to  the  aforesaid  spring 
plate  is  caused  to  enter  by  the  action  of  the  spring  plate,  when 
the  ratchet  wheel  is  revolved  and  the  before-mentioned  hole 
comes  opposite  the  stud  in  spring  plate.  I attach  a pawl  to 
the  aforesaid  spring  plate,  which  engages  with  and  prevents 
rotation  of  the  ratchet  wheel  affixed  to  the  end  of  the  blind 
roller  immediately  the  said  stud  enters  the  hole  in  the  face 
of  the  worm  wheel,  but  not  at  any  other  time. 

When  it  is  required  to  close  the  spring  blind  instantaneously, 
the  herein-above-described  secondary  lever  remains  inactive, 
and  the  spring  blind  in  the  shutter  is  instantaneously  closed 
by  one  compression  of  the  air  bulb  which  is  attached  to  the 
pneumatic  tube  acting  on  the  gravitation  lever  ; but  when  it  is 
preferred  to  obtain  an  interval  of  time  for  exposure,  the  said 
secondary  lever,  in  which  is  a cam  groove,  is  set  at  an  angle 
which  necessitates  a second  compression  of  the  air  bulb  in  order 
to  close  the  blind  or  shutter,  the  first  compression  causing  the 
blind  to  open  and  remain  open  until  the  second  compression  of 
the  air  bulb,  which  releases  the  pawl  from  the  ratchet  wheel 
by  the  return  of  secondary  lever  to  its  original  position,  and 
thus  permits  the  spring  blind  to  close. 

To  obviate  concussion  in  checking  the  blind  when  the  said 
blind  is  required  to  be  kept  open  to  obtain  a longer  exposure, 


400 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  23,  1890. 


I place  in  the  liberating  roller  a coil  spring  with  a resistance 
which  is  insufficient  to  neutralise  the  action  of  the  spring  con- 
tained in  the  bottom  or  receiving  roller  for  the  blind,  but  is 
sufficient  to  prevent  concussion. 

When  it  is  required  to  give  more  exposure  to  the  foreground 
than  to  the  sky,  I cause  the  aperture  in  the  blind  to  open  from 
the  bottom  of  the  shutter  by  placing  the  coil  spring  in  the 
receiving  roller  in  the  upper  part  of  the  shutter,  by  which  means 
the  blind  is  caused  to  pass  from  the  liberating  roller  contained 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  shutter,  over  the  tension  roller  at  the 
bottom  of  the  shutter,  and,  returning  upwards,  is  wound  on  the 
receiving  roller. 

10,504.  June  28th,  1889. — “Deciding  the  Correct  Exposure 
in  Platinotype  Printing.”  Charles  Robert  Crawford,  40, 
Monmouth  Road,  Bayswater,  London,  Gentleman. 

I take  a negative  of  a number  or  series  of  letters,  or  figures, 
or  signs,  and  when  this  negative  has  been  duly  developed  and 
properly  treated  for  printing,  I cover  the  first  letter,  or  figure, 
or  sign  with  one  layer  of  fine  tracing  paper  or  other  suitable 
material,  and  the  second  letter,  or  figure,  or  sign  with  two  layers 
of  paper  or  material,  and  the  third  letter,  or  figure,  or  sign 
with  three  layers  of  paper  or  material,  and  so  on,  providing  as 
many  letters,  or  figures,  or  signs  as  may  be  desired,  and  cover- 
ing the  same,  if  necessary,  with  glass,  and  under  this  negative 
so  treated  I place  a piece  of  ordinary  sensitised  paper,  enclosing 
the  whole  in  a suitable  printing  frame.  In  the  same  frame,  or 
in  another  by  its  side,  I place  the  platinotype  paper  under  its 
negative,  which  has  also  been  properly  treated,  and  I give  these 
two  prints  the  same  exposure  until  the  platinotype  print  has 
been  correctly  exposed,  when  I note  the  letter,  or  figure,  or 
sign  that  is  just  visible  in  the  first  mentioned  or  deciding  print. 
The  next  prints  are  arranged  for  and  from  both  the  negatives 
in  the  same  way,  and  when  the  letter,  or  figure,  or  sign  noted 
as  above  is  again  just  visible  in  the  deciding  print,  the  correct 
exposure  has  again  been  given  to  the  platinotype  print,  and  in 
this  manner  all  these  platinotype  prints  will  be  exactly  alike 
when  they  are  finished  off  in  the  usual  manner,  care  being 
taken  that  the  bath  is  kept  at  about  the  same  temperature. 
When  the  trial  exposure  has  not  been  quite  exactly  correct,  it 
will  be  easy  to  make  a due  allowance  therefor,  and  note  a 
letter,  or  figure,  or  sign  before  or  behind  that  which  is  just 
visible  as  aforesaid. 

9,408  June  6th,  1889. — “Apparatus  for  Copying  by  Photo- 
graphy.” Archibald  Barr,  Professor  of  Engineering,  and 
William  Stroud,  Professor  of  Physics,  both  of  the  York- 
shire College,  Leeds. 

Our  invention  has  reference  to  the  copying  by  means  of 
photography  of  pictures,  drawings,  book  illustrations,  and  the 
like,  more  especially  for  cases  in  which  it  is  desirable  to  have 
the  reproductions  or  negatives  of  all  one  size,  or  restricted 
to  a very  few  definite  sizes.  Now  the  object  of  our  invention 
is  to  provide  an  apparatus  by  means  of  which  such  copying  may 
be  effected  with  ease,  rapidity,  and  accuracy. 

Such  an  apparatus  should  provide  or  consist  of  means,  (1) 
for  properly  supporting  the  book  or  picture ; and  (2)  for  sup- 
porting the  camera,  and  adjusting  the  same  at  the  proper 
height  and  distance,  and  in  the  proper  position  with  reference 
to  the  picture,  and  also  for  focussing  the  same.  One  of  the 
most  useful  cases  to  which  our  invention  may  be  applied  is 
the  production  for  lecture  use  of  lantern  slides  of  illustrations 
from  books,  and  we  shall  describe  our  invention  with 
reference  to  such  use,  as  this,  perhaps,  best  illustrates  and 
ascertains  the  nature  of  our  invention. 

An  apparatus  constructed  in  accordance  with  our  invention 
consists  in  the  first  place,  of  a holder  or  support  for  the  book. 
Such  holder  may  conveniently  consist  of  a box-shaped  frame, 
open  at  the  front,  and  provided  at  the  back  with  two  sliding 
boards  arranged  so  thatthey  can  be  simultaneously  and  to  an 
equal  extent  moved  towards  or  from  a central  vertical  line. 
The  upper  edges  of  the  boards  may  be  arranged  to  move  in  a 
narrow  groove  in  the  under  side  of  the  top  board  of  the  frame 
close  to  the  back  edge  thereof.  The  lower  edges  of  the  sliding 
boards  may  be  similarly  fitted  to  slide  in  grooves  in  the  bottom 
of  the  frame,  or  provided  with  lugs  or  bosses  fitting  on  a 


tubular  or  plain  slide  or  guide  bar.  The  two  sliding  boards 
arc  so  connected  together  that  they  are  constrained  to  move 
simultaneously  and  to  an  equal  extent  towards  or  from  the 
centre  vertical  line  (in  which  their  inner  edges  would  meet  if 
closed  up).  This  may  be  effected  by  suitable  link  mechanism, 
but  is  perhaps  most  conveniently  carried  out  by  providing 
each  sliding  board  at  its  lower  end  with  a tapped  or  screwed 
boss  or  socket,  fitting  respectively  on  opposte  (i.e.,  the  right 
and  left  hand)  side  portions  of  a quick  pitched  right  and  left 
handed  screw.  In  this  case  a guide  for  the  lower  edges  of  the 
sliding  boards  as  above  mentioned  is  unnecessary.  The  book, 
opened  to  the  page  containing  the  illustration  to  be  copied, 
is  placed  with  this  page  against  the  back  sliding  boards,  which 
have  been  opened  the  necessary  distance  so  as  to  expose  the 
illustration  to  be  copied.  The  opposite  page  of  the  book  is 
i laid  on  the  top  board  of  the  frame  at  the  back  thereof,  and 
a pointer  or  index  attached  to  one  or  other  of  the  sliding  boards 
facilitates  the  adjustment  of  the  boards  to  give  the  proper 
opening,  the  size  of  which  may  have  been  previously  ascer- 
tained by  measurement  from  the  illustration.  A couple  of 
Argand  gas  burners,  or  other  source  of  light,  placed  one  to- 
wards each  side,  and  towards  the  front  of  the  frame,  supply 
j the  necessary  illumination  for  the  picture  ; the  front  of  the 
frame  being,  of  course,  covered  in  so  much  at  each  side,  as  to 
exclude  the  direct  light  from  the  lens  of  the  camera.  Instead 
of  using  artificial  light,  the  frame  may  be  arranged  and  placed 
so  as  to  expose  the  illustration  to  be  copied  in  daylight. 

The  second  part  of  our  invention  relates  to  the  means  for 
supporting,  adjusting,  and  focussing  the  camera.  The  camera 
is  supported  by  mechanism  for  adjusting  it  to  the  proper 
height  (to  be  afterwards  described)  from  a frame  or  carriage 
capable  of  being  moved  on  a railway  or  longitudinal  guide,  so 
that  the  centre  line  of  the  camera  may  be  moved  to  and  fro 
in  a direction  at  right  angles  to  the  back  of  the  frame  or  book- 
holder,  i.e.,  to  the  illustration  to  be  copied.  An  index  or 
pointer  attached  to  the  carriage  or  frame,  and  a scale  of  equal 
parts  fixed  on  the  side  of  the  railway  or  longitudinal  guide, 
enables  the  camera  to  be  at  once  adjusted  at  the  proper  dis- 
tance from  the  book  holder  to  produce  a negative  of  the 
desired  size. 

The  scale  is  most  conveniently  graduated  and  marked 
according  to  the  longest  dimension  of  the  picture  to  be  copied, 
so  that  when  the  camera  is  placed  with  the  index  opposite  this 
division,  the  image  of  the  picture  in  the  camera  will  be  of  the 
desired  effect. 

The  camera  is  supported  from  the  carriage  or  frame  by  means 
of  a parallel  motion,  so  constructed  as  to  keep  the  camera  in  a 
perfectly  horizontal  position  both  longitudinally  and  trans- 
versely, and  preferably  so  as  to  constrain  the  camera  to  move 
in  a vertical  line,  so  that  its  up  and  down  motion  may  not  affect 
its  distance  from  the  book-holder.  Such  a parallel  motion 
may  consist  of  two  pairs  of  hinged  boards  (or  equivalent  link 
connections),  the  angular  or  radial  movement  of  the  one  pair 
being  at  right  angles  to  the  angular  or  radial  movement  of  the 
other  pair.  Or  the  two  pairs  may  be  arranged  with  their 
angular  or  radial  movements  in  the  same  sense  or  direction,  in 
which  case  a vertical  guide  and  a connecting  board  or  rods 
joining  the  middle  hinge  is  required  in  order  to  keep  the 
camera  perfectly  horizontal  in  a longitudinal  direction.  The 
lower  boards  hinged  to  the  carriage  or  frame  may  further  be 
prolonged  below  the  point  or  axes  at  which  they  are  hinged 
to  the  frame  or  carriage,  and  carry  a balance  weight  or  weights 
to  facilitate  the  raising  and  lowering  of  the  camera  ; or  a 
spring  may  lie  introduced  so  as  to  balance  or  partially  balance 
the  weight  of  the  camera.  Such  spring  may  be  conveniently 
introduced  at  the  hinge  connecting  a pair  of  radial  boards  or 
frames.  A pointer  attached  to  the  camera,  and  a vertical  scale 
of  equal  parts  fixed  to  the  carriage  or  frame,  facilitate  the 
adjustment  of  the  camera  to  the  proper  height,  a scale  of 
equal  parts  lieing  also  attached  to  the  inner  edge  of  one  or  both 
of  the  sliding  boards  of  the  book-holder,  for  reading  off  the 
requisite  height  of  the  camera.  The  movable  or  negative  end 
of  the  camera  is  provided  with  a pointer  or  index,  and  the 
base  of  the  camera  with  a scale  of  reciprocals  for  facilitating 
the  focussing  of  the  camera  ; the  graduations  and  markings  of 


May  23,  1890.] 


407 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


this  scale  being  made  to  correspond  with  those  of  the  scale 
indicating  the  distance  of  the  camera  from  the  book-holder. 
By  the  arrangement  of  scales  described,  if  a picture,  for 
example,  having  twelve  inches  as  its  longest  dirneusious  is  to  be 
reproduced,  the  camera  is  to  be  removed  to  the  mark  twelve  on 
the  railway,  and  the  back  end  of  the  camera  to  the  mark  twelve 
on  the  base  board  of  the  camera. 

• Provision  may  be  made  for  securing  the  camera  in  any  posi- 
tion in  which  it  may  have  been  adjusted. 

In  order  to  facilitate  the  use  of  the  apparatus  for  the  pro- 
duction of  positives  from  negatives,  provision  may  be  made 
for  supporting  the  negative  in  the  same  position  as  that 
described  for  the  book-holder  ; or  provision  may  be  made  to 
alter  the  position,  anil  a second  pointer  or  index  attached  to 
the  camera  carriage  at  a distance  from  the  other  equal  to  the 
distance  between  the  front  and  back  of  the  book-holder. 

To  support  loose  drawings,  photographs,  pictures,  we  may 
provide  a board  to  which  they  may  be  fixed,  such  board  being 
furnished  with  a ledge  or  brackets  at  right  angles  thereto,  so 
as  to  rest  upon  the  top  board  of  the  frame. 

7,983.  May  14 th,  1889. — “Making  Lantern  Slides  for  Copy- 
ing.” Walter  Griffiths,  Highgate  Square,  Mosley  Hoad, 

Birmingham,  Manufacturer. 

My  invention  consists  of  a new  and  more  convenient  arrange- 
ment for  holding  photographic  negatives  or  positives — lenses 
and  sensitive  plates  for  the  production  of  lantern  slides,  trans- 
parencies, or  other  copies  of  the  aforesaid  photographic  nega- 
tives or  positives — in  such  a way  that  the  instrument  is  always 
ready  fixed  as  regards  the  required  sine,  the  required  position, 
and  the  required  focus  of  the  said  photographic  picture,  and 
without  the  necessity  of  any  preparing  whatever,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  ordinary  methods  and  necessities  in  producing 
lantern  slides  and  transparencies. 

1 carry  out  my  invention  as  follows  : — 

The  focus  of  the  lens  to  be  used  having  been  discovered  or 
determined,  I prepare  a tube,  preferably  square,  and  of  the 
length  to  suit  the  said  focus.  This  tube  may  be  of  any  suit- 
able material,  such  as  wood,  metal,  mill-board,  or  straw-board, 
&e.,  or  a combination  of  these  materials  ; as  an  instance  I use 
wood,  straw-board,  and  cloth  combined.  Into  one  end  of  this 
tube,  which  I will  call  the  “front,”  I fix  a grooved  frame,  into 
which  to  slide  the  photographic  negative  or  other  plate,  and 
which  is  thereby  held  in  the  required  position. 

These  grooves  are  made  to  fit  any  one  size  of  plate,  such  as 
the  standard  photographic  sizes — t>i  by  4|  inch,  8 1 by  Cl 
inch,  &e. 

Immediately  in  front  of  this  groove  I place,  if  required,  a 
second  groove,  into  which  may  be  inserted  a ground  glass,  for 
the  better  diffusion  of  the  light  passing  through  the  negative 
or  photographic  plate,  this  being  often  desirable. 

At  the  opposite  end  of  the  tube,  or  at  any  required  distance 
up  it,  I fix  a frame  with  an  aperture  in  the  centre,  in  which 
aperture  is  to  be  placed  the  sensitive  plate,  before-mentioned, 
and  which  may  be  held  in  position  by  a spring,  or  any  of  the 
usual  devices.  Between  these  arrangements,  at  each  end,  I 
insert  a third  frame  in  the  aforesaid  tube,  this  third  frame 
carrying  the  lens,  which  is  to  project  the  picture  upon  the 
sensitive  plate  mentioned,  and  placed  in  the  aperture  men- 
tioned. 

I provide  a double  cap  or  lid,  wdiich  fits  over  what  I call  the 
back  end  of  the  tube,  its  function  being  to  protect  the  afore- 
said sensitive  plate  from  all  light  except  that  passing  through 
the  lens  mentioned,  and  which  light  contains  the  image  from 
the  negative  or  photographic  plate  situated  in  the  grooves  at 
the  front  end  of  the  tube.  Small  handles,  or  such  like,  may 
be  placed  on  the  lid  or  cap  or  other  parts,  for  convenience  in 
handling. 

I complete  the  apparatus  ready  for  use  by  setting  the  afore- 
mentioned frames  in  such  relative  positions  that  an  image  of 
the  negative  or  photographic  plate  is  projected  upon  any  sensi-  ' 
tive  plate  in  the  back  end  of  the  tube,  with  all  the  requisite 
sharpness  of  focus,  and  correct  size  and  position,  that  once 
being  fixed,  all  further  setting  may  be  dispensed  with,  and  the 
instrument  rendered  always  ready  for  immediate  use. 


10,092.  June  20 th,  1889. — “ Improvements  in  the  Construc- 
tion of  Lanterns.”  John  Farmer  Chapman,  of  the  firm  of 
Farmer  and  Chapman,  of  Caledonian  Works,  Bilston, 
Staffordshire.  Tin-plate  Workers,  and  Japanners  and 
Wrought  Iron  Hollow-ware  Manufacturers. 

The  object  of  this  invention  is  to  so  construct  the  articles 
that  the  tops  and  bottoms  may  readily  be  packed  as  detached 
from  the  bodies,  and  the  bodies  themselves  be  opened  out,  so 
that  they  may  be  packed  flat-wise,  or  approximately  so,  one 
upon  the  other,  and  the  parts  be  readily  put  together  and  fixed 
in  place  on  arrival  at  their  destination. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1.  A lantern,  or  lamp,  or  lamp  head,  which  is  similar  in 
character  to  a lantern,  having  the  top  and  bottom  made 
separately  from  the  other  portion  of  the  body,  so  that  they 
may  be  packed  detached  therefrom,  and  the  sides,  including 
the  door  (or  vertically  divided  portions  of  the  cylindrical  part 
of  a round  lantern,  lamp,  or  lamp  head,  of  the  character 
described),  hinged  together  with  hinges  of  which  the  pins  may 
be  used  also  to  fix  the  top  and  bottom  to  the  sides. 

2.  A lantern,  or  lamp,  or  lamp  head,  which  is  similar  in 
character  to  a lantern,  having  the  top  and  bottom  made 
separately  from  the  other  portion  of  the  body,  so  that  they 
may  be  packed  detached  therefrom,  and  the  sides,  including 
the  door,  (or  vertically  divided  portions  of  the  cylindrical  part 
of  a round  lantern,  lamp,  or  lamp  head,  of  the  character 
described),  hinged  together  with  hinges  of  which  the  pins  may 
be  used  also  to  fix  the  top  and  bottom  to  the  sides,  said  top 
and  bottom  being  provided  respectively  with  turned-down  and 
turned-up  edges  (or,  in  the  case  of  a round  lantern,  lamp,  or 
lamp  head,  of  the  character  described,  with  a turned-down  and 
turned-up  portion  respectively  of  its  edge). 

3.  A lantern,  or  lamp,  or  lamp  head,  which  is  similar  in 
character  to  a lantern,  constructed  substantially  as  described 
with  reference  to  drawings. 

IJroccc&tngs  of  ^orietteg. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 
At  the  weekly  meeting  on  the  15th  inst.,  Mr.  P.  Everitt 
occupied  the  chair. 

Mr.  Pask  passed  round  some  silver  prints  showing  red 
patches.  The  prints  were  on  paper  sensitised  by  himself  ; he  had 
not  experienced  markings  of  this  kind  before. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Dedenham  thought  it  arose  from  weakness  of  the 
silver  bath. 

The  Hon.  Secretary  believed  the  markings  to  be  due  to  the 
paper  having  been  kept  in  a damp  place. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Prestwich  said  that  he  had  several  reams  of  albu- 
menised  paper  toned  a blue  colour  which  he  wished  to 
decolourise  ; he  found  that  a little  nitrate  of  potash  added 
to  the  fixing  bath  had  the  desired  effect.  He  enquired  if  the 
use  of  the  fixing  bath  was  likely  to  prove  detrimental  to  prints. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  suggested  the  use  of  a chloride  of 
lime  toning  bath  in  preference. 

The  Chairman  showed  some  sheets  of  blotting  paper  made 
from  cotton  waste  ; it  was  smooth,  tough,  and  absorbent,  and 
well  adapted  for  blotting  off  sensitised  paper. 

A question  from  the  box — “ Is  the  stability  of  a print 
increased  by  using  an  alum  bath  after  fixing  ? ” 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  believed  that,  it  was.  The  results  of  his 
experiments  in  this  direction  had  been  published. 

The  Chairman  said  that  he  had  noticed  that  the  tone  of  prints 
turned  more  purple  a few'  days  after  toning,  fixing,  and  drying. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Teape  said  that  he  had  noticed  the  same  thing. 


Bristol  and  West  of  England  Amateur  Photographic 
Association. 

The  monthly  meeting  for  May  was  held  in  the  Queen's  Hotel 
on  the  2nd  inst.,  Colonel  Playfair  in  the  chair,  when  an 
exhibition  of  slides  entered  b}’  members  for  the  Society’s  lantern 
competition  took  place.  The  slides  entered  were  few’,  com- 
paratively, but  made  up  for  the  most  part  in  quality  what 


408 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [May  23,  1890 


£> 


&tt$toerg  to  (ftomtfpontrcntg. 


was  lacking  in  quantity.  They  were  entered  in  three  classes, 
under  the  heads  of  landscape,  architecture,  and  figure  subjects, 
and  in  sets  of  six  or  more,  numbered.  Members  present 
voted  during  the  exhibition  of  the  several  lots,  and  the  result 
was  declared  later,  Mr.  E.  Brightman  being  found  ahead  in  all 
three  classes. 

A special  feature  of  the  evening  was  the  use  with  the  lime- 
light apparatus  of  the  patent  saturator,  invented  by  A.  W. 
Scott,  of  Weston-super-Mare.  For  the  purpose  of  comparison, 
the  ordinary  mixture  of  oxygen  and  coal  gas  was  first  employed, 
some  slides  outside  the  competition  being  passed  through.  On 
the  employment  of  the  saturator,  however,  so  marked  a 
superiority  in  the  illumination  was  at  once  perceptible,  that 
all  present  were  of  opinion  that  the  light  was  more  than 
doubled.  The  saturator  consists  of  a spiral  worm  or  perforated 
tube,  coiling  through  a cylinder  packed  with  asbestos,  or  some 
similar  material,  and  soaked  in  gasoline  previous  to  use.  This 
arrangement  is  encased  in  an  outer  cylindrical  body  of  tin  or 
brass,  having  a small  box  in  conjunction  with  one  of  its  sides, 
in  which  burns  a wax  night-light,  which  gives  off  just  enough 
heat  to  vaporise  the  gasoline  about  as  fast  as  is  necessary.  The 
tube  from  the  oxygen  cylinder  being  connected  with  the  lower 
end  of  the  spiral  worm,  a current  of  oxygen  gas  is  allowed  to 
pass  through,  and  it  “saturates”  itself  on  its  way  with  the 
gasoline  vapour  liberated  by  the  warmth  in  the  interior  cylinder. 
Thence  passing  directly  to  the  jet,  it  is  employed  precisely  as 
the  mixed  gases  are  in  the  oxyhydrogen  limelight,  and  the 
result  is  probably  as  good. 

Professor  Scott,  the  father  of  the  inventor,  conducted  the 
demonstration,  and  shortly  recounted  the  various  advantages  of 
the  saturator. 


Leicester  and  Leicestershire  Photographic  Society. 

A meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  in  the  Mayor’s  Parlour, 
Old  Town  Hall,  on  the  14th  inst.,  Mr.  Geo.  Bankart  in 
the  chair.  Two  members  were  elected.  The  report  of  the 
excursions  committee  was  brought  up,  and  the  following 
recommendations  as  to  excursions  were  accepted  : — June  19 — 
To  Stratford-on-Avon  ; July  17 — Forest  District;  August  14 — 
Miller’s  Dale,  half-day;  September  11— Maxstoke  Priory. 

The  medals  were  then  presented  to  the  successful  competitors 
in  the  print  competition,  held  April  1 5,  as  follows  : — Society’s 
medals  (for  prints  over  whole-plate) — Silver  medal,  Mr.  Geo. 
Bankart  ; bronze  medal,  Mr.  F.  Pierpoint.  Past  President’s 
medals,  presented  by  Mr.  Geo.  Bankart  (for  prints  under  whole- 
plate) — Silver  medal,  Mr.  A.  W.  Wilson  ; bronze  medal,  Mr. 
W.  Jolliffe. 

Mr.  Sculthorp  having  resigned  his  position  as  treasurer  to 
the  Society,  the  hon.  sec.  was  requested  to  convey  the  hearty 
thanks  of  the  Society  to  him  for  his  past  services,  and  Mr. 
A.  W.  Wilson  was  unanimously  elected  to  the  post. 

♦ 

The  Society  of  Arts  conversazione  will  take  place  at  the 
Natural  History  Museum,  Cromwell  Road,  S.W.,  by  permission 
of  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum,  on  Friday,  27th  June. 
The  reception  by  the  Duke  of  Abercorn  (Chairman)  and  the 
members  of  the  Council  of  the  Society  will  commence  at 
9.0  p.m.  The  bands  of  the  Grenadier  Guards  and  the  Scots 
Guards  will  perform  during  the  evening. 

Received. — From  Mr.  Alfred  Jubb,  Huddersfield,  “The 
Art  and  Practice  of  Interior  Photography,”  by  F.  W.  Mills. 
The  book  is  divided  into  two  parts,  the  first  comprising 
apparatus,  exposure,  orthoehromatic  photography,  the  dark 
room,  and  various  matters  involved  in  making  the  negative. 
Part  II.  treats  of  the  various  printing  processes  ; and  this  is 
followed  by  appendices  giving  the  tables  usually  inserted  in 
photographic  manuals.  The  negatives  from  which  the  illus- 
trations are  produced  were  specially  prepared,  the  author  states, 

to  illustrate  the  text  by  examples  of  different  styles  of  work. 

From  Wilhelm  Knapp,  HalleA.S.,  the  third  edition  of  “Anleitung 
zur  Photographie  fur  Anfanger,”  edited  by  G.  Pizzighelli.  This 
book  for  beginners  consists  of  200  pages, and  has  101  illustra- 
tions.  From  Messrs.  F.  E.  Becker  and  Co.,  illustrated  and 

descriptive  cata-logue  of  photographic  apparatus  and  material  ; 
a book  of  nearly  200  pages,  with  a comprehensive  index. 


All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 

Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

Ad  Air  irtis  meats  and  c immunisations  relating  to  money  matters,  and 

to  the  site  of  the  paper  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 

Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  4 Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London* 

“Apples.” — Discolouration.  The  yellow  marks  on  your  print 
seem  to  be  caused  by  atmospheric  sulphuration  or  an  escape 
of  gas  getting  into  the  frame,  for  you  notice  that  the 
margin,  where  pressure  is  applied,  is  free  from  yellow  stain. 
The  mount  is  not  at  fault,  for  all  the  covered  parts  are  per- 
fect ; neither  is  the  starch  wrong.  In  short,  unless  you 
have  recently  been  throwing  down  your  silver  residues,  or 
working  with  sulphuretted  hydrogen  too  near  the  house,  we 
should  be  inclined  to  suppose  that  a leakage  of  coal  gas,  or  of 
foul  air,  had  tinged  the  whites  of  your  print.  Try  a paper 
smeared  with  acetate  of  lead  to  discover  the  origin  of  these 
foul  gases,  which  are  evidently  doing  you  some  damage  at  the 
present  time. 

.1.  W.  M.  (Stroud  Green). — Wants  to  hear  of  a good  white  light 
for  copying  purpose  without  resorting  to  electric  illumina- 
tion. Mr  James  Downey,  of  Eldon  Street,  South  Shields, 
will  give  you  an  account  of  the  Ligroine  lamp  ; or,  you 
might  enquire  of  Messrs.  T.  Fletcher  and  Co.,  of  Warrington. 

Lane. — Back-  Numbers.  If  complete,  or  nearly  so,  you  might 

offer  them  for  sale  by  advertisement.  Otherwise  they  are 
only  valued  as  waste  paper. 

A.  W.  L.  (Finsbury  Park). — Slow  Toning  of  Albumen  Prints. 
The  method  of  ammonia  fuming  ought  to  meet  your  case, 
and  this  would  neutralise  the  excess  of  acid  which  causes 
you  so  much  trouble.  Lens  for  Groups  and  Buildings.  A 
rapid  rectilinear  for  12  by  10  would  be  suitable,  or  a wide 
angle  if  you  are  often  required  to  work  in  cramped  positions. 

.1.  A.  D.— The  hearing  lasted  three  days,  and  many  interesting 
points  were  touched  upon.  The  jury  were  unable  to  agree, 
but  we  were  told  that  the  majority  was  in  favour  of  a ver- 
dict for  the  defendants. 

Col.  Waterhouse. — Owing  to  a full  programme  for  the  May 
meeting,  your  valued  communication  could  not  be  read.  The 
date  will  secure  priority,  although  it  may  have  to  stand 
over  until  June  ; or,  very  likely,  it  may  lie  published  in  the 
Journal,  if  taken  as  read. 

J.  E.  B. — Bromide  Prints  and  Platinotypes.  1.  You  may 
readily  distinguish  between  them  by  touching  the  prints 
with  a drop  of  corrosive  sublimate  solution,  HgClj,  which 
has  no  power  of  acting  upon  platinum,  whilst  silver  prints 
of  any  kind  would  lie  instantly  bleached.  2.  Quite  true, 
the  price  of  platinum  has  been  very  considerably  advanced, 
being  now  about  54s.  per  ounce. 

Pat. — Leather  Photographs.  Why  select  leather  as  the  basis, 
when  you  can  so  readily  obtain  more  uniform  materials  or 
layers  on  which  to  work  ? This  is  going  back  to  the  earliest 
and  crudest  phases  of  photography,  such  as  practised  by 
Davy  and  Wedgwood. 

Chemic.  — Boride  of  Silver.  There  need  be  no  fear  of 
carbon  reducing  boracic  acid  or  borax  in  the  presence  of 
silver  ; the  experiment  refen  ed  to  necessitates  the  employ- 
ment of  magnesium  along  with  the  borate  of  silver. 

W.  L.  P. — We  have  not  heard  of  any  such  forthcoming  exhibi- 
tion. Let  us  hear  further  particulars,  if  you  have  any 
definite  information. 

R.  B.  B.  (Glasgow). — Photo-Engraving.  A very  good  account 
of  the  photogravure  process  was  recently  given,  with  a 
practical  demonstration,  at  the  Camera  Club  Conference  by 
Mr.  W.  T.  Wilkinson.  See  the  News  of  March  28th,  p.  237. 

Photo-Litho. — New  Albert  Transfer  Paper.  This  was  not 
procurable  a few  weeks  ago,  when  we  had  occasion  to  enquire 
on  behalf  of  another  correspondent. 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1656. — May  30,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


FAOB 

Painters  as  Judges  of  Photographs 409 

Glass  Screens  for  Developing-Room  Lamps 410 

Curious  Experiments  with  Light 411 

Ethics  of  Photography  and  Photographers.  ByJ.  T.  Taylor  412 

High  Art  413 

Developers  Used  by  Gorman  Professional  Photographers.  By 

Julius  F.  Sacbse  414 

The  Liverpool  Photographic  Exhibition 415 

The  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester 415 

Retouching  in  the  Near  Future.  By  Rev.  F.  C.  Lambert 41G 


r asx 

The  Royal  Academy  of  Arts,  1890.  By  the  Rev.  F.  C.  Lambert  417 


Notes 418 

Fiction  in  Photography  420 

Remarkable  Novelties  in  Photographic  Instruments  421 

The  Photographic  8urvey  of  Warwickshire 422 

Notices  of  Books  422 

Patent  Intelligence  424 

Correspondence 426 

Proceedings  of  Societies 428 

Answers  to  Correspondents  428 


PAINTERS  AS  JUDGES  OF  PHOTOGRAPHS. 
It  has  for  a long  time  been  the  custom  at  photographic 
exhibitions  to  invite  an  artist  or  two — sometimes  more 
than  two — to  join  with  photographic  experts  as  judges 
of  the  works  sent  in  for  competition,  their  province 
being  to  examine  the  pictures,  and  to  award  medals  or 
other  prizes  to  those  which,  in  their  opinion,  are  best 
entitled  to  distinction.  That  they  exercise  this  power 
with  honesty  of  purpose  and  with  great  good  nature — 
for  time  with  them  means  money — no  one  can  for  a 
moment  deny,  and  it  would,  indeed,  seem  ungrateful 
and  unnecessary  for  anyone  to  raise  an  enquiry  as  to 
that  phase  of  the  question.  But  it  has  more  than  once 
been  asked — not,  we  may  say,  in  parenthesis,  by  dis- 
appointed exhibitors —whether  painters  are  qualified 
judges  of  what  a photograph  should  be. 

At  first  sight,  it  would  perhaps  appear  to  many  that 
the  question  can  be  dismissed  in  a very  easy  manner. 
An  artist’s  business  is  to  make  pictures,  and  surely  no 
one  else  can  be  a better  judge  of  what  a picture  ought 
to  be.  This  would  certainly  be  a correct  way  of 
regarding  the  subject  if  all  pictures  were  produced  by 
the  same  process  and  in  the  same  medium  ; but  we 
know  that  this  is  not  the  case,  and  that  the  means  by 
which  a photograph  is  rendered  possible  are  very  dif- 
ferent to  those  adopted  by  the  artist,  who  causes 
his  very  thoughts  to  grow  upon  the  canvas. 

By  a long  course  of  study,  involving  intense  applica- 
tion and  observation  of  things  around  him,  he  has 
mastered  the  art  of  creating,  with  a few  apparently 
magical  strokes  of  his  brush,  images  which  have  either 
been  first  impressed  upon  his  retina,  or  which  he  has 
evolved  out  of  his  inner  consciousness.  The  roughest 
sketch  of  a skilled  artist  is  often  a masterpiece,  and 
will  afford  more  pleasure  to  the  earnest  student  than 
will  the  most  fiuished  picture.  It  may  be  a landscape, 
a seascape,  or  perhaps  a rapidly  executed  study  of  the 
human  face.  It  is  quite  rough  in  texture,  and  the 
lines  of  the  brush  are  evident ; perhaps  even  the  paint 
stands  up  in  ridges  where  the  palette  knife  has  been. 


It  is  not  intended  for,  nor  will  it  bear,  the  closest 
examination,  but  we  must  retire  from  it  a short  dis- 
tance, and  then  we  shall  see  how  excellent  it  is.  Now 
let  us  try  an  experiment  with  this  rough  sketch  in  oil. 
Cut  a hole  the  size  of  a penny  piece  in  a square  of 
cardboard,  and  cover  it  over  the  canvas  so  that  only 
part  of  the  picture  enclosed  within  that  little  circle  is 
visible.  It  is  meaningless ; it  is  a patch  of  paint,  and 
nothing  more.  The  painting,  we  at  once  acknowledge, 
must  be  studied  as  a whole,  and  at  a certain  distance, 
or  its  beauties  will  never  unfold  themselves ; but,  seen 
thus,  we  cannot  fail  to  admire  the  skill  of  the  artist, 
and  wonder  how  it  is  that  he  is  able  to  express  so  much 
by  so  little. 

But  how  different  is  this  picture  to  a photograph. 
Its  very  roughness,  which  constitutes  one  of  its  chief 
charms,  exhibiting  as  it  docs  the  power  of  mind  over 
matter,  would  not  be  even  tolerable  in  a photograph. 
Its  want  of  detail,  its  lack  of  sharpness,  would  at  once 
condemn  it  in  the  eyes  of  a man  whose  art  education 
had  been  confined  to  photography.  Such  a man  would, 
however,  be  able  to  tell  us  that  by  certain  devices  he 
could  mimic  these  effects  which  are  so  dear  to  the 
artist.  He  would  say  that  by  purposely  throwing  his 
lens  a little  out  of  focus,  so  as  to  soften  the  outlines  of 
his  picture,  and  by  other  little  devices  during  the 
printing  operation,  he  could  make  his  photograph 
appear  not  unlike  a painting  in  monochrome.  He 
might  also  truly  say,  that  sometimes  by  accident — by 
an  error  in  development,  for  instance — a negative  will 
give  a peculiarly  soft  misty  effect  when  printed,  which 
will  at  once  attract  the  eye  of  a painter.  Let  us 
suppose  that  such  a picture  finds  its  way  to  an  exhibi- 
tion where  an  artist  is  among  the  judges.  The  painter 
at  once  recognises  an  effect  that  he  would  fain  produce 
on  canvas  with  his  brush.  His  practised  eye  insensibly 
clothes  it  with  colour,  and  he  admires  it  as  something 
which  he  has  never  before  seen  in  a photograph.  To 
his  mind,  therefore,  it  stands  out  distinguished  by  an 
indefinable  beauty  from  its  fellows.  It  more  nearly 
approaches  in  its  nature  a painting  than  anything  else 


410 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Mat  30,  1890. 


on  the  walls  around  him,  and  to  it,  in  his  honest  opinion 
the  medal  ought  to  go.  If  this  view  be  supported  by 
the  other  j udges  present,  who  will  perhaps  hardly  like 
to  set  up  their  opinion  agaiust  that  of  an  R.  A.,  the  prize 
will  go,  not  to  the  best  photograph,  but  to  the  one  which 
most  resembles  in  appearance  and  general  treatment 
a painting. 

It  is  a recognised  canon  of  art  that  a worker  dealing 
with  a particular  material  shall  not  hide  its  identity, 
and  attempt  to  make  it  imitate  something  else.  The 
sesthetic  craze  of  a year  or  two  back — laughed  at  as  it 
rightly  was  for  many  of  its  extravagances — at  least  did 
good  in  teaching  people  that  a plain  coating  of  honest 
paint  was  better  than  graining  to  badly  imitate  some- 
thing else,  and  that  red  brick  is  not  improved  by  stucco 
to  make  it  appear  like  stone.  The  woodcarver  must 
remember  that  he  is  working  with  wood  which  by  its 
nature  lends  itself  to  a certain  treatment,  and  that  he 
must  not  produce  from  it  the  solid  ornament  more  fitted 
for  stone.  The  worker  in  iron  must  follow  the  path 
laid  down  for  him  by  Quentin  Matsys  and  others,  and 
must  not  trespass  upon  the  domain  of  Grinling  Gibbons, 
or  attempt  to  reproduce  the  delicate  filagree  work  of 
those  who  work  in  gold,  silver,  or  ivory.  A painter  in 
oils  would  at  once  acknowledge  the  foolishness  of 
attempting  to  imitate  the  work  of  his  brother  in  water- 
colours, and  the  pastellist  will,  if  he  be  wise,  steer  clear 
of  both,  knowing  that  his  coloured  chalks  have  a field 
all  their  own.  We  consider  that  the  same  thing  should 
hold  good  with  photography.  It  has  its  own  particular 
merits  and  demerits,  and  it  should  not  be  bent  and 
tortured  to  resemble  that  which  it  is  not,  and  with 
which  it  has  little  in  common.  Those  who  juggle  with 
it,  and  try  to  get  certain  effects  from  it  by  purposely 
putting  lenses  out  of  focus,  and  otherwise  abusing  their 
apparatus,  would  do  well  to  throw  up  photography 
altogether,  and  take  to  some  branch  of  art  where  the 
hand  can  be  made  obedient  to  the  eye,  and  where  the 
will  rules  both. 

But  to  return  to  our  question,  “ Are  painters  qualified 
judges  of  a photograph  ? ” We  humbly  think  not,  and 
have  set  forth  our  reasons  for  this  opinion.  At  the 
same  time  we  trust  that  we  have  also  made  plain  our 
high  admiration  for  an  artist’s  work.  His  opinion  would 
be  invaluable  were  it  confined  to  pointing  out  errors  of 
composition,  or  indicating  faults  which  might  have  been 
remedied  by  a more  judicious  position  of  the  camera. 
But  if  he  be  ignorant  of  the  many  difficulties  with 
which  a photographer  has  to  contend — and  has  not  had 
himself  some  practice  with  the  camera — he  is  hardly 
qualified  to  pronounce  judgment  upon  a photograph 
placed  before  him.  He  is,  indeed,  in  much  the 
same  position  as  a photographer  would  be  if  called  to 
pass  judgment  upon  a number  of  paintings.  The 
photographer,  like  the  artist,  would  be  trammelled  by 
preconceived  notions  of  nature  which  he  had  gathered 
from  his  own  daily  practice.  He  would  at  once  discard 
all  excellencies  due  to  subtle  contrasts  of  colour,  for 
they  would  be  beyond  his  ken,  and  if  he  were  called 
upon  to  pass  an  opinion  upon,  say,  one  of  Turner’s 
pictures,  he  would  probably  assert  that  it  was  most 


outrageously  out  of  focus,  and  would  suggest  that  the 
artist  would  do  well  to  insert  in  the  picture  the  details 
which  were  lacking. 


GLASS  SCREENS  FOR  DEVELOPING-ROOM 
LAMl’S. 

Fkom  current  literature  it  appears  that  some  confusion 
prevails  in  the  minds  of  a considerable  number  of  photo- 
graphers as  to  the  best  kind  of  light  to  use  in  the 
developing-room,  and  its  relative  amount  of  safety. 
The  only  way  out  of  this  maze  is  to  consider  each  item 
upon  scientific  principles,  and  the  one  selected  for  con- 
sideration now  is  that  of  the  glass  screens  of  developing- 
room  lamps. 

Sometimes  it  is  said  that  such-and-such  a sample  of 
red  or  other  glass  is  not  safe,  and  it  is  condemned 
accordingly,  after  being  tested  somehow,  either  by  means 
of  photographic  plates  or  by  the  spectroscope.  The 
circumstance  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  thut 
all  transparent  coloured  glasses  are  white,  or,  rather, 
practically  colourless,  if  made  in  sufficiently  thin  films, 
and  that  only  as  the  thickness  of  the  glass  increases, 
does  its  power  of  selective  absorption  of  particular  rays 
of  the  spectrum  become  apparent.  Hence,  a sheet  of 
ruby  or  other  glass  which  has  been  condemned,  might 
have  been  accepted  by  the  person  who  rejected  it  had 
he  tried  two  thicknesses  instead  of  one.  The  second 
sheet  of  the  same  average  ruby  glass  scarcely  reduces 
the  light  visually  more  than  if  it  had  it  been  a sheet 
of  common  window  glass,  because  the  first  piece  cuts  off 
nearly  all  the  rays  it  naturally  absorbs,  and  the  small 
fraction  remaining  has  alone  to  be  cut  off  by  the  second 
sheet  of  glass.  If,  however,  the  simple  of  glass  be 
really  bad  for  the  purpose,  because  it  naturally  freely 
transmits  a band  of  rays  injurious  in  developing,  such 
rays  may  more  or  less  pass  through  the  second  sheet  as 
well  as  the  first.  Once,  in  an  instance  in  which  a 
photographer  had,  after  employing  his  mode  of  testing, 
rejected  one  sheet  of  red  glass  in  favour  of  another,  we 
recommended  him  to  try  two  thicknesses  of  the  first 
glass,  and  it  proved  to  he  better  for  his  purpose  than 
the  single  sheet  of  glass  which  he  had  originallv 
accepted. 

In  all  experiments  of  this  kind  the  light  should  be 
practically  constant ; that  given  by  any  particular 
make  of  candles — which  candles  are  turned  out  com- 
mercially in  tolerable  uniformity — is  near  enough  for 
utilitarian  purposes.  The  flame  should  always  be  at 
exactly  the  same  distance  behind  the  screen.  The  man 
who  uses  variable  daylight  as  his  source  of  illumination, 
and  then  arranges  his  screen  to  make  the  light  inside 
the  room  fairly  safe  under  all  circumstances,  is  acting 
against  first  principles,  and  straining  his  eyesight  con- 
siderably and  unnecessarily,  taking  the  average  of  a 
whole  year’s  work. 

Why  is  an  ordinary  sheet  of  ruby  glass  transparent, 
and  a sheet  of  iron  opaque  ? The  theory  is  that  the 
molecules  of  the  glass  are  all  in  a state  of  vibration, 
and  that  waves  of  light  of  different  wave-lengths  beat 
upon  the  vibrating  molecules.  Those  waves  of  light 


May  30,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


Ill 


which  coincide  in  time  of  vibration  with  the  period  of 
swing  of  the  molecules,  arc  absorbed  by  the  latter,  and 
increase  the  motion  of  the  molecules ; such  increased 
motion  is  made  evident  in  the  form  of  heat.  The  glass 
grows  warmer  by  cancelling  such  rays,  for  power  is 
never  lost ; it  can  only  be  transformed.  The  waves 
not  of  the  same  period  as  the  molecules  have  not  their 
energy  taken  up  by  the  latter,  so  pass  round  them,  and 
come  out  at  the  other  side  of  the  sheet  of  glass.  A 
sheet  of  iron  contains  atoms  or  molecules  which 
respond  to  all  the  waves  of  the  luminous  spectrum, 
hence  none  of  them  pass  through.  Ice  absorbs  the 
invisible  rays  of  the  sun  freely,  but  trjnsmits  the  visible 
rays,  so  whilst  the  former  rays  will  gradually  melt  a 
lens  made  of  ice,  the  visible  rays  will  pass  through  the 
ice  lens  freely,  and  can  then  be  made  to  ignite  gun- 
powder. 


CURIOUS  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  LIGHT. 

The  following  is  an  .abbreviation  of  a letter  from 
Mr.  G.  M.  Minchin,  of  the  Itoyal  Engineering  College, 
Cooper's  Hill,  which  appeared  in  last  week’s  Nature:  — 

Before  publishing  in  detail  the  results  of  many  experi- 
ments on  the  generation  of  electricity  by  the  action  of 
light  falling  on  certain  sensitive  substances,  I wish  to 
make  known  a result  which  seems  to  be  of  a most  remark- 
able character. 

The  photo-electric  cell  which  I employ  consists  of  a 
small  glass  tube,  filled  with  an  alcohol;  two  metallic  plates 
are  immersed  in  the  liquid  ; each  plate  is  connected  with 
a platinum  wire  which  may  either  be  soldered  to  the  plate  or 
passed  through  a small  hole  in  the  plate  and  pinched  tightly 
to  it ; these  wires  pass  through  the  ends  of  the  glass  tube 
and  are  sealed  into  it.  The  poles  of  the  cell  are  con- 
nected with  the  poles  of  a quadrant  electrometer. 

The  plate  is  sensitised  by  a peculiar  process,  the  mere 
publication  of  the  details  of  which  would  not  enable  a 
reader  to  make  it  successfully.  The  publication  of  the 
process  is  therefore  reserved  for  a future  occasion.  One 
plate  is  quite  clean — not  sensitive  to  light.  The  cell 
is  fixed  vertically  in  a clamp.  When  the  cell  is 
of  the  “impulsion”  kind,  what  happens  is  as  fol- 
lows: Daylight  being  allowed  to  fall  on  the  sensitive 
plate,  the  spot  on  the  scale  of  the  electrometer 
moves,  and  after  a few  seconds  comes  to  rest,  indicating 
an  electromotive  force  varying  with  the  intensity  of  the 
light,  its  amount  for  such  diffused  daylight  as  we  have  at 
present  (May  10)  at  noon  being  between  J a volt  aud  J of 
a volt — which  is,  I submit,  a surprisingly  great  magnitude. 
On  the  withdrawal  of  the  light,  the  deflection  falls,  and 
there  are  means  of  rapidly  getting  rid  of  the  deflection 
without  injury  to  the  cell.  Either  before  or  after  this 
deflection  caused  by  light  ceases,  let  a slight  tap  (some- 
times inaudible)  be  given  to  the  base  or  clamp  in  which 
the  cell  rests,  and  then  results  a remarkable  change  in  the 
cell.  It  is  no  longer  sensitive  to  light.  The  insensitive  state 
is  indicated  by  a rapid  return  motion  of  the  spot  on  the 
scale  ; it  is  merely  indicated  by  this  motion,  there  being  no 
necessary  connection  between  this  motion  and  the  insen- 
sitive state,  for  if  the  cell  were  now  left  for  some  time 
(perhaps  an  hour  or  so)  in  the  dark,  the  disturbing  E.  M.  F. 
of  the  cell  would  vanish,  and  there  would  be  nothing  to 
tell  us  that  the  cell  remains  insensitive ; but  that  it  is 
really  still  in  the  insensitive  state  we  find  at  once  on  again 


exposing  it  to  light.  Another  gentle  tap  given  to  the 
clamp,  or  the  stone  table  on  which  the  whole  apparatus 
rests,  will  restore  the  sensitive  state ; and  so  on  indefinitely, 
the  sensitive  and  insensitive  states  following  each  other 
aud  being  produced,  in  the  case  of  many  such  cells,  with 
great  ease. 

These  results  I found  a long  time  ago,  and  they  have 
been  seen  by,  or  communicated  to,  several  scientific  friends. 
From  the  first,  I maintained  that  the  results  are  due  to  an 
alteration  of  the  molecular  state  of  the  sensitive  surface, 
or  of  the  layer  of  contact  of  this  surface  with  the  liquid, 
and  that  in  one  arrangement  of  the  molecules  the  light 
energy  can  be  taken  up  electrically,  while  it  cannot  be  so 
taken  up  in  the  other. 

I now  come  to  the  special  point  which  is  the  occasion 
of  this  communication.  A few  days  ago  I was  investi- 
gating the  effect  of  static  charges  communicated  to  the 
plates  on  the  sensitive  and  insensitive  states,  and  in  the 
course  of  these  experiments  I found  that  if  a Voss 
machine,  not  in  any  way  connected  with  the  cell  or  the 
electrometer,  was  worked  in  the  room  while  the  cell  was  in 
the  insensitive  state,  the  moment  a spark  passed  between  the 
poles  of  the  l oss,  the  insensitive  state  was  altered  to  the  sensitive, 
whether  the  cell  was  connected  with  the  electrometer  or 
not.  Finally,  I found  that  the  best  method  of  showing 
the  inductive  effect  of  the  spark  is  to  connect  an  insulated 
wire,  apparently  of  any  length,  to  either  pole  of  the  cell, 
and  to  place  the  poles  of  the  Voss  near  the  wire  ( a dis- 
tance of  several  feet  will  do  with  a spark  about  half-an- 
inch  long). 

If  the  cause  to  which  I have  assigned  the  change  from 
the  photo-electrically  insensitive  to  the  photo-electrically 
sensitive  state  of  the  cell  is  the  true  one,  it  is  impossible 
to  avoid  the  speculation  that  impulsion  results  of  this  kind 
may  be  very  common  in  the  economy  of  nature ; and  that 
the  mode  in  which  solar  energy  is  taken  up  by  plants  may 
be  effected,  and  even  altered  in  kind,  by  sudden  electro- 
magnetic disturbances.  The  effect  of  a Hertz  oscillation 
is,  indeed,  not  confined  to  an  alteration  of  a plate  from 
the  insensitive  to  the  sensitive  state ; for  I have  cells  in 
which  if  the  sensitive  plate  is,  on  exposure  to  light, 
electrically  negative  to  the  back  plate,  a Hertz  oscillator 
at  a distance  will  reverse  the  relation  when  the  plate  is 
again  exposed  to  light. 

While  the  above  communication  was  going  through  the 
press,  I made  an  experiment  which  renders  it  almost 
certain  that  in  the  impulsion  cells  the  results  are  due  to 
the  formation  of  some  oscillating  layer  at  the  surface 
of  the  sensitive  plate.  Being  anxious  to  keep  the  alcohol 
in  the  cell  (which  in  this  instance  was  closed  by  a ground- 
glass  cap),  I sealed  the  cell  into  a glass  tube  through  the 
extremities  of  which  the  wires  of  the  cell  passed.  The 
effect  of  the  disturbance  thus  resulting  was  that  no  amount 
of  tapping  the  support  of  the  cell  would  change  it  from 
the  sensitive  to  the  insensitive  state,  although  before 
being  thus  treated  it  was  sensitive  to  the  most  minute 
disturbance.  I suspected,  however,  that  after  some  hours 
the  liquid  and  the  plate  would  again  enter  into  the  peculiar 
relation  on  which  the  impulsion  results  depend,  and  so  it 
turned  out ; after  three  hours  the  cell  could  be  rendered 
insensitive  by  taps,  and  sensitive  by  the  inductive  effect  of 
a Voss  machine. 

♦ 

Eikonogen. — It  will  be  seen,  from  an  article  by  Julius  F. 
Sachse,  quoted  on  page  414  of  our  present  issue,  that  eikonogen 
is  the  favourite  developer  with  professional  photographers  of 
Germany,  whose  opinions  were  recently  asked  by  circular. 


412 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Mat  30,  1890. 


ETHICS  OF  PHOTOGRAPHY  AND  PHOTO- 
GRAPHERS* 

BY  J.  TRAILL  TAYLOR. 

Some  are  unkind  enough  to  allege  that  there  is  no  system 
of  ethics  applicable  to  photographers  and  photography, 
unless  in  the  inverse  application  of  the  term,  and  they 
adduce  examples  in  favour  of  this  negation,  to  some  of 
which  I shall  have  occasion  to  allude. 

Can  photography  lie  ? it  lias  been  asked.  Can  photo- 
graphers lie  ? or,  to  put  it  more  plainly,  Do  photographers 
lie,  and  why,  or  under  what  circumstances,  do  they  lie  ? 
Is  it  necessary  they  should,  and  is  it  expedient  that  the 
strict  and  severe  Temple  of  Truth  be  erected  in  its 
midst?  In  the  social  world  strict  ethics  are  largely 
ostracised  ; ethics  and  politeness,  popularly  so  called  and 
practised,  are  not  invariably  in  harmony. 

In  what  I say,  I am  not  supposed  to  have  reference  to 
photographers  as  social,  private  individuals,  but  merely  to 
them  as  photographers.  In  itself  photography  is  but  a 
plastic  tool  in  the  hands  of  those  who  know  how  to  employ 
it,  and  it  may  be  made  to  subserve  good  or  evil.  My 
present  purpose  will  be  served  by  pointing  out  certain 
directions  in  which  deviations  from  pure  ethics  are 
occasionally  made  by  those  who  handle  the  camera.  In 
doing  so,  I take  no  cognisance  of  departures  from  accuracy 
of  statement  made  to  serve  the  exigencies  of  trade  or 
commerce.  Deliberately  false  or  misleading  representa- 
tions do  not  enter  into  the  topic  before  me,  this  being 
simply  falsehood  open  and  palpable.  Neither  do  the 
tradesman’s  arguments  to  his  innocent  purchaser  that 
such  and  such  a piece  of  apparatus  is  the  thing  for  him  to 
have,  because  such  an  one  uses  none  else,  and  he  has 
obtained  a plethora  of  medals  at  exhibitions ; this  is 
humbug.  Nor  does  my  category  include  the  one  who 
assures  me  a lens  is  ten  inches  in  focus,  while,  measured 
properly,  instead  of  from  the  posterior  end  of  the  brass 
work,  it  is  twelve  ; this  is  ignorance.  Nor  the  tramp  who, 
pointing  his  camera  at  a house  under  pretence  of  photo- 
graphing it,  secures  the  money  in  advance,  without  having 
any  intention  of  developing  his  plate,  if  plate  there  was  in 
his  camera ; this  is  fraud.  Nor  the  young  Daguerreo- 
typist  who,  having  succeeded  in  taking  one  or  two  fairly 
good  Daguerreotypes,  handed  his  camera  over  to  a more 
experienced  man,  after  having,  unseen,  smeared  iodine  on 
the  shutter  of  the  dark  slide,  by  which  his  rival  failed  in 
toto  in  producing  a picture ; this  is  trickery,  and,  under 
some  circumstances,  pardonable.  Nor  the  one  who  rubs 
powdered  nitrate  of  silver  inside  the  front  of  the  dude’s 
hat  at  a picnic  with  ladies  when  the  thermometer  is  in  the 
nineties;  this  is  mischief.  These,  and  numerous  examples 
of  like  nature  of  departure  from  the  straight  path  which 
might  be  adduced,  scarcely  come  under  the  heading  of  mal 
ethics,  although  they  are  not  ethical.  And  yet  the  line  of 
demarcation  is  hard  to  draw. 

Nice  distinctions  may  even  be  drawn  between  artifice, 
deception,  fraud,  charlatanry,  empiricism,  delusion,  white 
lies,  and  black  lies,  but  they  all  belong  to  the  same  family. 

Photography  is  in  itself  so  absolutely  truthful  that  it  is 
accepted  as  evidence  of  realism.  The  camera  merely 
depicts  what  is  placed  before  it.  But  realism  is  not  neces- 
sarily, and  does  not  necessarily  convey,  truth.  The  large 
lump  of  coal  placed  on  a cloth-covered  table  with  a few 
miniature  shrubs  and  twigs  around  its  base,  and  then  photo- 
graphed on  a large  scale  to  do  duty  as  a scene  in  the  Rocky 

* A lesturette  at  the  London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 


Mountains,  or  anywhere  else,  cannot  be  said  to  be  in 
accord  with  ethics  if  such  be  done  with  intent  to  deceive, 
even  although  the  trick  cannot  be  discovered  by  the 
experienced  geologist  who  examines  the  perfect  strata 
through  his  magnifying  glass. 

A point  of  sight  may  be  selected  for  a view  which,  when 
aided  by  a lens  of  short  focus,  shall  give  as  a result  a photo- 
graph true  as  a piece  of  realism,  but  conveying  the  false 
idea  that  the  duck-pond  in  the  foreground  is  a large  lake, 
and  that  the  shrubs  or  trees  of  six  foot  height  almost  rival 
the  giants  in  the  Maraposa  Grove  in  California.  A realistic 
photograph,  while  thus  geometrically  true,  may  not  only 
fail  in  conveying  a truthful  expression,  but  one  the  every 
reverse. 

Stepping  from  nature  outside  to  inside  the  studio,  who 
has  not  heard  of  the  two  sets  of  solid  furniture — one  being 
in  miniature,  to  be  had  in  use  solely  when  men  of  Zaccheus- 
like  stature  desire  that  their  circumscribed  longitude  should 
be  elevated  into  that  of  mid-stature  by  contrast  with  the 
surrounding  tables  and  chairs.  I touch  only  lightly  upon 
one  of  the  most  prevalent  of  mal  ethics  in  the  studio, 
because  it  is  the  outcome  of  the  ignorance  of  the  photo- 
grapher ; I refer  to  the  two  entirely  different  kinds  of 
perspective  to  be  so  often  found  in  one  picture — that  of 
the  background  and  side  scenes  on  the  one  hand,  and  that 
of  the  figure  on  the  other.  In  a portrait — a standing 
figure  of  a lady  full  length— which  was  seemingly  much 
admired  at  a recent  exhibition,  the  point  of  view  of  the 
background  was  below  the  knee,  that  of  the  figure  itself 
was  .about  opposite  her  eyes.  But  some  background 
painters  and  photographic  artists  so-called  do  not  appear 
to  think  that  perspective  has  anything  to  do  with  their  art. 
The  amateur  who  takes  his  portraits  out  of  doors  with 
natural  surroundings  never  encounters  this  anomaly ; the 
perspective  of  his  figure  and  background  necessarily  har- 
monise, and  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  if  the  educated  artist 
or  observer  of  nature  is  found  to  give  preference  to  one 
over  the  other  ? 

Artists  seem  to  arrogate  to  themselves  a prescriptive 
right  to  improve  upon  nature.  1 have  heard  the  late  Sir 
George  Harvey,  President  Royal  Scottish  Society 
Academy,  speak  in  approving  terms  of  a local  artist  who 
always  enlarged  the  eyes  of  his  subjects  when  working 
them  up  by  the  brush  or  pencil ; photographs,  in  the 
estimation  of  this  gentleman,  always  made  the  eyes  too 
small — for  artistic  taste,  I presume.  But  {esthetic  truth 
and  ethical  truth  are  not  the  same  tiling,  although  there 
are  cases  in  which  one  may  with  advantage  be  made  sub- 
servient to  the  other.  I heard  a famous  New  York  photo- 
grapher giving  directions  to  his  managing  printer,  who 
was  one  morning  submitting  to  him  rough  proofs  from  the 
negatives  of  the  preceding  day.  4 4 Take  a big  slice  oft  that 
lady’s  belly  (indicating  with  a pencil)  and  place  it  on 
behind.  It  will  much  improve  her  appearance.”  And  it 

did  so.  “ But  that  is  not  like ,”  I remarked  of  a 

new  portrait  of  a famous  actress,  since  extensively  pub- 
lished ; 44  she  is  rather  sour  and  scraggy,  while  this  one  is 
amiable  and  somewhat  fleshy.”  “Oh,”  remarked  the 
photographer,  “a  retoucher  has  been  working  a whole 
day  on  that  face  in  order  to  obtain  this  effect.  She  doesn’t 
care  whether  it  is  a good  likeness  or  not,  so  long  as  we 
make  her  good  looking. 

Retouchers!  O,  what  ethical  sins  have  you  not  to 
answer  for ! You  supply  all  the  crudities  and  deficiencies 
of  nature.  At  your  magic  touch  strabismus  vanishes. 
Where  nature  has  been  unkind  in  the  matter  of  eyes,  ’tis 


May  30,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


413 


yours  to  supply  the  required  number,  and  convert  miner 
cular  into  binocular  vision  ; to  round  the  sharp  angles  of 
the  features  by  the  transference  of  adipose  tissue  from 
where  it  is  not  wanted  to  where  it  is  needed  ; to  fill  up  the 
furrows  dug  by  time  ; to  enact  the  chiropodist  upon  facial 
excrescences ; and  the  dentist,  in  case  the  taker  of  the 
negative  has  forgotten  to  stuff  cotton  wadding  pads  inside 
the  mouth  to  ensure  a pleasant  rotundity  to  the  wan 
cheeks — a thing  a New  York  photographer  never  omits. 
You  do  not  believe  that  the  man  or  woman  exists  who,  in 
his  or  her  heart,  endorses  the  sentiment  of  Oliver  Crom- 
well about  being  painted  with  his  wrinkles  and  warts. 
And  you  are  right.  They  may  assert  as  much  as  they 
like,  but  you  well  know  such  phrase  and  fact  do  not  coin- 
cide, and  accordingly  you  dress  your  ewe  in  lamb  fashion, 
taking  shelter  behind  Luther’s  dictum,  that  a great  artist 
portrays  a man  as  he  should  be,  and  not  necessarily  as  he  is. 

Perhaps  it  is  in  the  West  States  of  America  where  re- 
touching has  its  highest  development.  A reporter  in 
California  interviewed  a photographer  and  conversed  on 
retouching. 

“What  do  you  think  of  that?  ” said  the  artist,  showing 
a cabinet  portrait.  It  was  simply  the  likeness  of  a mild, 
motherly,  middle-aged  lady,  and  the  reporter  said  he 
could  see  nothing  remarkable  about  it. 

“ I suppose  not.  How  do  you  like  this  ? ” 

“Good  Lord,  what  a fury  ! ” exclaimed  the  reporter, 
as  he  looked  on  the  deeply  seamed  face  of  an  old  woman, 
with  lowering  brows,  thick,  cruel  lips,  .and  a brutal  chin. 

“ Same  subject,”  explained  the  photographer,  putting 
the  two  pictures  side  by  side.  “ Shows  what  retouching 
can  do.” 

“ But  the  retouched  one  does  not  look  a bit  like  the 
woman  who  sat  for  it.” 

‘ ‘ Of  course  not ; that's  the  beauty  of  it.  The  old 
woman  wouldn't  have  taken  the  picture  if  it  did.  A 
photographer  these  days  has  to  be  barber,  surgeon,  and 
dentist.  Look  at  this.” 

It  presented  a man  with  a bald  head  and  a twisted  eye. 
In  the  finished  picture  the  eye  was  straight  and  the  bald- 
ness gone. 

“For  friends  of  his  youth  in  the  West,  you  know. 
Here’s  another.” 

This  time  a young  man  with  two  of  his  upper  teeth 
protruding  repulsively  was  shown.  The  tusks  had  been 
extracted  by  the  artist's  brush. 

“ Corresponding  with  a Boston  girl  he  had  never  seen, 
but  that  he  wanted  to  come  out  and  marry  him.” 

The  reporter  looked  over  piles  of  negatives,  and  com- 
pared them  with  the  pictures  made  up  from  them,  and 
sent  out  unblushingly  by  the  sitters  as  likenesses.  Plain 
women  were  made  pretty,  pretty  ones  given  beauty,  and 
in  all  cases  the  looks  had  been  vastly  improved.  No 
woman  seems  to  want  to  have  herself  shown  just  as  she  is, 
and  the  men  are  quite  as  vain.  Very  young  men  are 
frequently  amazed  at  finding  how  much  heavier  their 
moustaches  and  downy  siders  are  when  photographed, 
rhe  camera  makes  lean  women  plump  and  fat  ones  slimmer, 
knocks  off  ten  years  at  least  from  the  age  of  the  mature, 
and  in  ninety  cases  out  of  a hundred  lies  shamelessly. 
Of  course,  it  is  the  camera,  not  the  photographer,  who  is 
to  blame. 

(To  be  continued.) 


The  Photographic  Clcb. — The  subject  for  discussion  on 
June  4th  will  be  “ rhoto- Mechanical  Processes.” 


HIGH  ART. 

The  following,  from  last  week’s  Referee,  is  not  altogether  com- 
plimentary to  the  photographic  profession  : — 

They  coaxed  me  up  a hundred  stairs, 

They  lured  me  to  their  den, 

For  me  they  laid  their  artful  snares — 

Those  photographing  men. 

They  dragged  me  to  a room  of  glass 
Beneath  a blazing  sun, 

1 thought  I should  have  died.  Alas  ! 

I’m  nearly  fourteen  stone  ! 

They  saw  their  victim  pant  and  blow, 

They  heard  him  cry,  “ I melt  ! ” 

But  ne’er  a one  for  all  my  woe 
One  grain  of  pity  felt. 

They  seized  my  head  and  screwed  it  round, 

And  fixed  it  in  a vice, 

And  simpered  when  they  had  me  bound, 

‘ ‘ That  pose  is  very  nice  ! 

“ Look  up— look  up,  and  wear  a smile, 

Look  pleasant,  if  you  please. 

You  must  keep  still  a little  while  ; 

Just  straighten  up  your  knees.” 

Tis  thus  they  jeer  and  jibe  at  me 
As,  faint  and  hot,  I try 
An  inch  before  my  nose  to  see 
With  sunstroke  in  my  eye. 

I think  of  all  the  bitter  wrongs 
My  later  life  has  known  ; 

I writhe  beneath  Fate’s  cruel  thongs, 

I knit  my  brow  and  groan. 

And  still,  with  many  a smile  and  smirk, 

The  artist  trips  about, 

And  gives  my  chin  a little  jerk 
And  sticks  my  elbows  out. 

Ye  gods,  am  I a grinning  ape 
To  pose  and  posture  thus  ? 

Am  I a man  in  human  shape, 

Or  turkey  that  they  truss  ? 

My  head  is  free  ; with  fiendish  mirth 
I raise  a vengeful  hand, 

And  dash  the  camera  to  earth, 

And  fell  the  iron  stand. 

I take  the  artist  by  the  throat 
And  pin  him  to  the  wall, 

And  jerk  his  chin  and  tear  his  coat, 

And  hold  his  head  in  thrall. 

I bid  the  trembling  victim  smile, 

I cry,  “ Be  gay  and  laugh, 

And  in  the  very  latest  style 
I'll  take  your  photograph  ! ” 

I twisted  tili  I broke  his  neck, 

I baked  him  in  the  sun  ; 

I left  the  room  an  awful  wreck, 

And  then  the  deed  was  done. 

They  held  an  inquest  on  the  bits  ; 

Ye  photographing  crew, 

Before  to  you  the  writer  sits 
Just  read  that  inquest  through. 


The  opening  soiree  of  the  City  Photographic  Exhibition, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Photographic  Trades  Section  of  the 
London  Chamber  of  Commerce,  will  take  place  in  the  Drapers’ 
Hall,  Throgmorton  Street,  this  evening,  at  nine  o’clock. 

One  of  Mr.  W.  M.  Ashman’s  photographs — which  he  showed 
us  yesterday — of  the  interior  of  Bath  Abbey,  has  a large  stained- 
glass  window  in  front  of  the  lens  rendered  in  all  its  details  with 
unusual  perfection  and  sharpness,  and  this  without  under- 
exposing the  interior  of  the  building  ; it  forms  a good  sample 
of  this  difficult  class  of  work. 


414 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  30,  1890. 


DEVELOPERS  USED  BY  GERMAN  PROFESSIONAL 
PHOTOGRAPHERS* 

BY  JULIUS  F.  SACHSE. 

Early  in  the  present  year  the  publishers  of  Liesegang's 
Photograpliischcs  Archiv,  in  Dusseldorf,  Germany,  prepared 
a circular  to  be  sent  to  the  most  celebrated  professional 
photographers  within  the  German  realm,  for  the  purpose 
of  thoroughly  settling  the  question  as  to  what  special 
developer,  formulated  for  gelatine  dry  plates,  was  in  most 
general  use  with  professional  artists  who  make  portraiture 
their  speciality,  further  asking  information  how  their 
special  formula  works  in  every-day  practice.  As  a test 
whether  the  scheme  would  meet  with  a favourable  recep- 
tion, and  bring  forth  free  responses,  it  was  concluded  to 
send  out  at  first  but  half  a hundred  of  these  circulars  as  a 
feeler.  To  the  surprise  of  the  projectors  of  the  scheme, 
twenty-eight  replies  were  received  within  a few  days. 

The  editor  of  the  Archiv  prefixes  the  list  with  the 
explanation  that  they  do  not  wish  it  to  appear  as  if  they 
believed  the  success  of  photographic  portraiture  to  depend 
solely  upon  the  composition  of  the  developer.  AVe  repro- 
duce the  list  entire  for  the  benefit  of  our  readers,  both 
amateur  and  professional,  that  they  may  gather  such  facts 
and  hints  as  have  proved  of  value  in  the  practice  and 
experience  of  the  most  successful  artists  in  the  far-off 
Fatherland. 

The  circular  contained  the  following  four  leading 
questions,  viz. : — (1)  AY  hat  developer  do  you  use  in  your 
portrait  studio?  (2)  AVhat  special  properties  or  quali- 
fications do  you  claim  for  your  developer?  (3)  Give 
combination  of  solutions  used  in  cases  of  normal  ex- 
posure ? (4)  Do  you  use  a preliminary  bath  (Vorbad), 

and  what  of  ? 

Herr  von  Ayx,  Mainz.  — Developer — Eikonogen.  Pro- 
perties— The  brilliant  action  on  the  half-tones  and  high- 
fights  during  reduction,  with  proper  manipulation.  Com- 
position (No.  1).  — Sulphite  of  soda,  200  g. ; distilled 
water,  3,000  g.  ; eikonogen,  50  g.  First  pulverize  the 
sulphite,  then  dissolve  in  the  water ; to  this  solution  add 
the  eikonogen  in  crystals  ; place  the  whole  in  a water  bath 
until  the  latter  is  wholly  dissolved.  (No.  2). — Carbonate 
of  soda,  150  g.  ; distilled  water,  1,000  g.  For  use,  3 parts 
No.  1,  2 parts  No.  2.  No  preliminary  bath. 

Carl  Borntrager,  Hofphotograph  Wiesbaden.  — Developer 
— Eikonogen.  Properties — It  permits  of  a shorter  ex- 

posure than  any  other  developer  known  to  me ; works  out 
fine  detail,  neither  monotone  nor  too  hard,  with  great 
rapidity.  Composition  (A) — Distilled  water,  1,500  c.crn. ; 
sulphite  of  soda,  c.p.,  100  g. ; eikonogen,  50  g.  Dissolve 
the  sulphite  and  eikonogen  in  hot  water.  Keep  this 
solution  in  a dark  bottle  with  ground-glass  stopper,  in 
dark  closet  away  from  all  contact  with  ammonia  or  acids. 
(B) — Distilled  water,  500  c.cm.  ; carbonate  of  potassium, 
c.p.,  75  g.  For  use,  three  parts  A to  one  part  B 
immediately  before  using.  AArhen  plates  are  developed 
far  enough,  wash  well  under  tap,  then  place  in  5 per  cent, 
alum  bath  for  one  minute,  again  wash  thoroughly,  and  fix 
in  bath : AVater,  800  c.cm.  ; hypo,  200  g.  ; bicarbonate 
of  soda,  c.p.,  40  g.  No  accelerator. 

Heinrich  Fritz,  IIofphotograph-Greiz. — Developer  — 
Eikonogen.  Properties — Advantages  over  the  oxalate 
developer  formerly  in  exclusive  use  : 1.  Shortening  time 

• A digest  of  the  useful  information  about  developers,  collected  by  the 
Dusseldorf  publishers,  appeared  recently  in  these  pages  in  a letter  from  our 
German  correspondent.  The  present  article  of  Mr.  Sachse,  from  the 
American  Journal  of  Photography,  contains  the  details. — Ed. 


of  exposure  by  one-half,  so  that  slower  and  better  plates 
can  be  used  ; 2.  Use  of  developer  until  exhausted,  there- 
fore much  cheaper  and  convenient.  Composition  — 
Sulphite  of  soda,  100  g. ; carbonate  of  potassium,  40  g. ; 
eikonogen,  20  g.  ; to  which  is  added  a few  drops  of  hypo, 

1 : 50.  (Note  in  the  original  the  volume  of  water  is  not 
given.)  By  addition  of  water  and  bromide  of  potassium, 
over-exposed  plates  may  be  easily  corrected.  Accelerator 
— Unnecessary  with  above  developer. 

Arno  Cersten,  Hofphotograph,  Altenburg  1 S. — Deve- 
loper— At  present  only  eikonogen  (since  six  months), 
prior  to  that,  oxalate  and  iron  exclusively.  Properties 
— The  local  water  supply  is  strongly  impregnated  with 
limestone,  and  great  difficulty  was  experienced  in  clean- 
ing the  hands  and  utensils  while  iron  was  used  ; therefore, 
eikonogen  is  now  exclusively  used.  In  addition,  I value 
the  rapidity  of  development,  the  softness  and  clearness 
of  the  shadows,  in  spite  of  which  they  still  have  enough 
strength.  I use  my  own  dry  plates,  made  after  Ober- 
netter’s  modified  formula.  Composition — 1 rub  12  g. 

eikonogen  crystals  to  powder  in  a small  wedgewood 
mortar ; pour  this  into  a funnel ; after  closing  the 
opening  with  cotton,  1 then  add  50  g.  pulverized  sulphite 
of  soda,  then  fill  the  funnel  with  750  c.cm.  distilled  water; 
stir  with  glass  rod  until  filtered.  To  this  add  8-10  c.cm. 
concentrated  solution  of  bisulphite  of  soda,  at  38°  I?., 
which  almost  destroys  the  colour  of  the  filtered  solution. 
Then  pour  38  g.  of  calcined  soda  (c.  p.)  in  the  same 
funnel  with  250  c.cm.  of  distilled  water ; filter  when 
dissolved ; then  pour  both  solutions  together,  and  shake 
well.  Thus  I make  1 litre  of  developer  in  15  minutes 
without  using  boiling  water.  Accelerator — Not  necessary 
in  normal  cases ; when  necessary,  take  1 part  hypo  to 
3-10,000  parts  of  water ; soak  the  plate  a minute,  then 
develop  without  washing.  Fixing  Bath — 1 part  hypo  to 
5 parts  water ; to  3 litres  of  this  solution  add  50  c.cm.  of 
concentrated  solution  of  bisulphite  of  soda. 

■Julius  Schaar,  Dusseldorf. — Developer — Eikonogen. 
Properties — Quick  and  strong  action  ; the  negative  being 
very  soft  yet  strong,  without  having  to  resort  to  intensifica- 
tion ; with  attentive  manipulation  the  picture  appears  in 
three  to  four  minutes  beautifully  modulated.  Composi- 
tion (A) — Distilled  water,  1 litre  ; sulphite  of  soda,  10  g. ; 
eikonogen,  10  g.  (B)  Carbonate  of  potasssium,  150  g. ; 
distilled  water,  1 litre  ; hypo,  4 g.  Take  equal  parts. 

L.  Springer,  Hirshberg  in  Schlesien. — Developer — Dur- 
ing the  past  six  months  eikonogen,  with  great  advantage, 
in  place  of  all  others.  Properties — Magnificent,  clear, 
yet  strong  negatives,  when  developed  until  the  deepest 
shadows  show  through ; results  not  to  be  obtained  with 
any  other  developer.  Composition  (A) — Sulphite  of  soda, 
200  g. ; distilled  water.  3,000  g. ; eikonogen,  50  g.  (B) 
Carbonate  of  soda  (cr.),  150  g. ; distilled  water,  1,000  g. 
For  use,  A,  1 part;  B,  2 parts.  Fixing  bath — Hypo, 
250  g.  ; sulphite  of  soda,  50  g. ; water,  l,000g. ; sulphuric 
acid,  8-10  g.  In  developing  a plate,  old  developer  is  first 
used  until  the  image  appears ; this  is  then  poured  off  and 
completed  with  fresh  developer  until  the  negative  is  very 
strong,  as  the  negative  is  apt  to  reduce  in  the  fixiug  bath. 
In  copying  poor  photographs  t lie  oxalate  developer  is  used, 
as  the  eikonogen  brings  out  the  grain  of  the  paper  in  too 
great  relief.  This  fact  in  itself  is  a proof  that  greater 
results  are  obtained  with  eikonogen  than  any  other 
developer. 

I.  II.  Voight,  Hofphotograph  Homburg,  v.d.  Ilbhe. — 
Developer — Eikonogen  for  negatives  as  well  as  contact 


May  30,  1890.1 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


415 


prints  .and  enlargements  on  chloride  and  bromide  paper. 
Properties — the  image  appears  rapidly,  and  develops 
gradually  until  the  required  density  is  reached,  when  it 
may  be  immediately  checked.  If  proper  attention  is  paid 
to  the  work,  neither  intensification  nor  reduction  is  neces- 
sary with  my  developer.  A clear  picture  is  obtained,  per- 
fect in  all  detail.  Water,  500  g. ; sulphite  of  soda,  25  g. ; 
carbonate  of  potassa,  5 g.  ; carbonate  of  soda,  15  g. ; 
eikonogen,  5 g.  Eikouogen  must  be  pulverised  in  a 
mortar  to  thoroughly  dissolve. 

P.  Barth,  in  Elberfeld. — Developer — Iron  oxalate. 
Properties — Simplicity,  greater  capabilities  of  development, 
especially  in  the  case  where  a large  number  of  plates  are 
to  be  developed  consecutively.  Composition — Saturated 
solution,  .lust  so  much  iron  is  to  be  added  to  the  oxalate 
as  the  latter  will  stand  without  becoming  turbid.  1 wish 
to  mention  it  is,  on  the  whole,  immaterial  what  developer 
is  used.  The  whole  difficulty  in  portrait  photography 
consists  in  properly  lighting  the  subject. 

Emil  Becher  Dillenburg. — Developer — Iron  oxalate. 
Properties — With  this  developer  I always  obtain  the  same  ! 
results.  It  is  easy  and  simple  in  its  manipulation,  and  j 
gives  negatives  such  as  are  only  obtained  with  hydro - 
quinone  or  eikonogen  under  extraordinary  favourable 
circumstances.  It  also  allows,  in  my  experience,  shorter 
exposure.  Composition — Sulphate  of  iron  and  oxalate  of 
potash  are  dissolved  in  distilled  water.  For  cabinet  plates 
I take  12  g.  iron  to  40  g.  oxalate,  by  normal  exposure. 
When  the  light  was  weak,  increase  the  volume  of  developer 
one-half.  In  over-exposure,  reduce  the  volume  of  deve- 
loper and  add  water.  The  chemicals  must  be  pure. 
[Note. — I prepare  my  own  dry  plates.] 

A.  Blankhorn,  Ilofphotograph  Offenbach  a.  in. — Deve- 
loper— Iron  oxalate;  tried  hydrochinon ; plates  fogged, 
time  too  long,  preparation  too  complicated,  also  too  dear. 
Properties — Simplicity  of  manipulation,  absolute  safety, 
and  cheapness.  Composition  (A)— Sulphate  of  iron, 

1 part;  distilled  water,  3 parts.  (B) — Oxalate  of  potash, 

1 part ; distilled  water,  3£  parts.  Dissolve  warm.  Just 
before  using,  mix  1 part  A to  2 parts  B.  For  under- 
exposure add  1 drop  soda  (to  -15-45  solution)  when  partly 
developed.  In  case  of  over-exposure  2-3  drops  bromide 
potassium.  Accelerator — For  short  exposures  1-2  minutes 
in  hypo  bath,  1-1,000  for  instantaneous  pictures  of  children 
invaluable. 

(To  be  continued.) 


THE  LIVERPOOL  PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITION. 

The  Liverpool  Amateur  Photographic  Association  will  next 
year  hold  an  International  Photographic  Exhibition,  and  by 
permission  of  the  Liverpool  Corporation,  in  the  Walker  Art 
Gallery  there. 

The  Exhibition  will  open  on  Friday,  6th  of  March,  1891, 
and  close  on  Saturday,  4th  of  April,  1891.  The  intention  is 
to  keep  the  Exhibition  open  for  four  weeks  only,  but  no  frames 
can  be  removed  until  the  “ final  close  ” of  the  Exhibition. 

The  Executive,  being  anxious  to  elevate  the  standard  of 
public  competitions  in  every  way,  intends  to  restrict  its  efforts 
to  triennial  public  exhibitions  ; also,  as  far  as  practicable,  to  i 
reduce  the  number  of  awards,  the  intrinsic  value  of  a medal 
being,  of  course,  a secondary  consideration.  It  trusts  that  other 
associations  and  photographers  will  assist  its  efforts  to  limit 
public  exhibitions,  their  frequency  being  somewhat  fatal  to 
originality  and  good  work,  as  well  as  a severe  tax  on  exhibitors. 

Among  the  numerous  conditions  are  the  following : — 
Pictures  from  exhibitors  abroad — i.e.,  outside  the  United 
Kingdom — may  be  sent  unframed,  packed  in  boards.  They 
will  receive  every  care,  and  be  framed  temporarily,  free  ol'  cost. 


The  executive  undertakes,  free  of  cost  to  exhibitors,  to  unpack, 
repack,  and  deliver  to  the  carriers  at  the  close  of  the  exhibi- 
tion all  exhibits,  but  will  not  hold  itself  responsible  for  any 
accidents.  The  best  professional  assistance  will  be  engaged, 
and  every  possible  care  exercised. 

The  names  of  the  judges  will  be  announced  in  January,  1891, 
prior  to  the  date  fixed  for  entry  of  exhibits.  The  board  of 
judges  will  consist  of  men  of  recognised  artistic  and  technical 
ability,  with  whom  the  executive  is  satisfied  that  merit,  and 
merit  only,  will  be  their  guide  in  giving  the  awards.  The 
name  of  the  exhibitor  and  title  of  the  picture  must  appear 
plainly  on  the  front  of  the  picture,  mount,  or  frame. 

The  number  of  awards  will  be  practically  left  to  the  judges, 
they  having  discretion  to  withhold  entirely  awards  in  any  of  the 
classes  where  more  than  ordinary  merit  does  not  exist,  or  the 
number  of  competitors  is  not  considered  sufficient.  The 
judges  have  also  power  to  award  extra  medals  for  work  of 
special  merit.  The  award  of  the  judges  shall  in  all  cases  be 
final.  No  medals  will  be  awarded  except  those  struck  off  the 
dies  of  the  Liverpool  Amateur  Photographic  Association,  and 
no  prizes  or  awards  will  be  accepted  from  any  other  source. 
Except  in  the  champion  clase,  no  picture  of  any  description 
shall  be  entered  or  allowed  to  compete  which  has  been  pre- 
viously exhibited  at  any  public  competition  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  an  exception  being  made  in  favour  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Society  of  Great  Britain  as  regards  its  1890  Pall  Mall 
Exhibition.  Private  exhibitions  confined  to  members  of  photo- 
graphic associations  not  to  count  as  public  competitions  or 
exhibitions. 

Properly  printed,  unmounted,  duplicate  copies  of  the  win- 
ning pictures  are  to  be  supplied  to  the  Liverpool  Amateur 
Photographic  Association,  which  will  be  preserved  in  a suitable 
album,  to  remain  on  view  in  the  Club  Rooms  of  the  Association, 
as  a memorial,  and  record  of  the  prizewinners  of  the  1891 
Exhibition. 


♦ 

THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CONVENTION  AT  CHESTER. 
The  excursions  connected  with  the  Photographic  Convention 
have  been  arranged  as  follows 

Excursion  A.— Conway  Valley,  Tuesday,  24th  June,  Conway 
and  Bettws-y-Coed  ; leaders,  Messrs.  C.  H.  Bothamley  and 
W.  Tomkinson  ; leave  Chester  by  tiain  for  Llandudno  Junction. 
Two  parties  will  be  formed — one  for  Conway,  the  other  will 
proceed  by  train  to  Bettws-y-coed.  (1)  Conway. — Leader, 
Mr.  C.  H.  Bothamley.  Conway  Castle,  exterior  and  interior 
— Plas  Mawr,  an  old  Elizabethan  Mansion — Town  Wall  and 
Gates — Beach — Shipping.  A return  journey  to  Llandudno 
can  be  made  from  the  Junction  at  various  times  during  the 
day.  Tal-y-Cefn,  a very  picturesque  village  up  the  valley, 
can  also  be  reached  by  rail,  leaving  by  Llandudno  Junction, 
and  returning  from  Tal-y  Cafn.  (2)  Bettws-y-coed. — Leader, 
Mr.  W.  Tomkinson  ; by  train  from  Llandudno  Junction. 
Swallow  Falls — Miners’  Bridge — Fairy  Glen — Conway  Mill  and 
Falls — if  time,  Ponty  Pant  and  Ledr  Valley.  Those  who 
intend  to  go  on  to  Bettws,  and  wish  to  break  the  journey  at 
Conway,  must  take  return  tickets  for  Bettws. 

Excursion  B. — Moreton  Old  Hall.  Train  via  Crewe,  to 
Mow  Cop.  Members  must  obtain  of  the  local  Secretary  tickets 
of  admission  to  the  Hall  and  its  surroundings.  Only  twenty 
can  be  issued  for  each  day.  This  also  applies  to  Thursday’s 
excursion. 

Excursion  C. — Eaton  Hall,  Wednesday,  25th  June  ; leader, 
Mr.  G.  Watmough  Webster  ; by  steamer  from  the  Groves  at 
1.15  ; return  fare,  6d.  A Convention  Group  will  be  taken. 

Excursion  D. — Vale  of  Llangollen,  Thursday,  26th  June  ; 
leader,  Mr.  J.  L.  Mackrell.  (1)  On  arriving  at  Llangollen  the 
party  will  make  for  the  Vale  Crusis  Abbey — Morning  Light ; 
(2)  Cross  over  mountains  to  Chain  Bridge  and  Berwyn,  then 
down  the  Canal  ; (3)  The  Old  Maid’s  residence. 

Excursion  E. — Moreton  Old  Hall  ; leader,  Mr.  F.  Evans  ; 
train  via  Crewe,  to  Mow  Cop.  (1)  The  Royal  Mersey  Yacht 
Regatta,  Friday,  27th  June  ; leader,  Mr.  Paul  Lange  ; (2) 
Hawarden.  Train  from  Northgate  Station.  The  Old  and 
New  Castle — The  Park — Church  and  Village. 


416 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  30,  1890. 


For  the  convenience  of  members  wishing  to  visit  Eaton  Hall 
during  the  week,  time  tables  will  be  published  of  the  sailings 
of  the  s.s.  Ormonde,  the  new  twin-screw  steamer  specially 
designed  and  constructed  for  passenger  traffic  on  the  River 
Dee  (under  Board  of  Trade  supervision),  for  the  safety  and 
comfort  of  passengers.  Eaton  Hall  is  six  minutes  walk  from 
Eccleston  Ferry.  The  return  fare  to  Iron  Bridge  or  Eccleston, 
upon  production  of  membership  ticket.  The  best  view  of  the 
Hall  is  to  be  obtained  from  the  river  bank,  near  the  Iron 
Bridge,  in  the  morning  before  10.30. 

Permission  has  been  given  to  photograph  the  following  places, 
at  any  time  during  the  week,  upon  production  of  a membership 
ticket — By  the  Dean,  for  Cathedral  and  precincts  ; by  the  Rev. 
S.  Cooper  Scott,  for  St.  John’s  Church  and  Ruins  ; by  the  Duke 
of  Westminster,  for  interior  and  exterior  of  Eaton  Hall  and 
Park  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Gladstone,  for  Hawarden  Castle  and 
Park. 


RETOUCHING  IN  TIIE  NEAR  FUTURE. 

BY  REV.  F.  C.  LAMBERT. 

The  question,  “ Is  retouching  moral  ? ” is  one  which 
certainly  presents  one  aspect  of  the  question,  but  the  old 
adage,  “ Any  fool  can  ask  a question  which  may  puzzle  a 
wise  man  to  answer,”  comes  to  my  mind.  For  I may  at 
once  confess  that  this  question  is  not  altogether  unlike  the 
older  one,  “ Is  it  permissible  to  use  poison?  ” And  like 
many  such  questions,  can  only  be  answered  by  asking 
other  questions. 

There  is  more  similarity  than  may  appear  at  first  sight 
between  the  retouching  and  poison  problems.  We  may 
reply  that  a poison  in  the  hands  of  a competent  person, 
familiar  with  its  limits  and  uses,  ceases  to  become  a poison 
in  the  ordinary  sense,  and  becomes  an  invaluable  means 
of  producing  a much  desired  result.  Everyone  now-a- 
days  knows  that  many  of  our  most  valuable  medicinal 
remedies  were  for  a time  regarded  simply  as  poisons,  and 
marked  “dangerous”  in  mental  capitals.  The  reckless 
and  ignorant  use  of  them  would  have  kept  them  on  that 
formidable  platform,  had  not  kindly  science  turned  these 
tyrants  into  faithful  servants. 

The  liberal  abuse  and  abundant  contempt  with  which  it 
seems  just  now  in  certain  quarters  a matter  of  habit  to 
besprinkle  the  art  of  retouching,  is  certainly  a matter  for 
some  consideration. 

The  question  I would  place  before  the  consideration  of 
practical  workers  is  this:  Is  retouching  being  used  with 
that  care  with  which  we  should  handle  a most  powerful 
drug,  or  with  the  freehanded  lavishness  with  which  our  fore- 
elders administered  the  cure-all  black  draught  ? 

It  is  worse  than  foolish  on  the  part  of  the  professional 
worker  to  nurture  ill-will  against  that  part  of  the  younger 
generation  which  is  being  told  and  taught  by  its  artistic 
friends  that  professional  portraiture  is  a burlesque  on  art, 
and  reply  that  the  public  “will  have  it;”  that  they  pay 
for  the  “glass-marble”  surface,  and  expect  to  get  it ; for 
the  question  remains  : Who  taught  them  to  expect  them  ? 

History  repeats  itself  often  enough,  as  we  all  well 
enougli  know.  The  introduction  of  this  new  power  of 
course  was  followed  by  its  liberal  abuse.  There  is  some 
connection,  too,  between  the  sharpness  of  detail  and 
characterless  smoothness  of  surface. 

But  the  pressure  of  cultivated  taste  is  slowly  but  surely 
making  itself  felt  in  a growing  demand  for  a general 
softness  of  outline — less  glitter  and  polish — and  a not 
altogether  unreasonable  demand  that  a portrait  should 
contain  some,  if  small,  resemblance  to  the  original. 

Therefore  a word  of  friendly  warningand  suggestion  may 
be  offered  to  the  professional  worker — viz.,  “Progress 


reform,  change  is  in  the  air.  The  novelty  of  the  egg- 
shell or  billiard-ball  surface  is  fading.  The  time- 
honoured  glassy  stare,  with  the  two  catch  lights  in  the 
eyes,  is  losing  its  mesmeric  effect.  The  discriminative 
sitter  does  not  value  sharpness-all-over  (or  anywhere,  for 
matter  of  that)  so  much  as  many  a negative  maker 
would  suppose.  With  less  of  this  sharpness  there  is 
less  need  for  retouching.  Broad  and  simple  lighting 
again  will  render  that  little  still  less.  A characteristic 
pose,  well  caught,  will  make  the  sitter  and  his  friends 
prefer  that  particular  print  with  possibly  faulty  technique, 
to  a more  ‘ highly  finished  ’ show  case  specimen.” 

Voluntary  reform  from  within  is  surely  better  than 
enforced  reform  from  without. 

The  motto  is  “ less  and  better ; ” less  of  indiscriminate 
smoothing  this  and  sharpening  that  ; and  what  little  is 
wanted,  let  it  be  in  the  right  place. 

We  may  for  convenience  of  expression  say  that  so- 
called  retouching  of  negatives  is  of  two  kinds. 

1.  Remedial. — /.<?.,  endeavouring  to  remove  those  results 
produced  on  the  print  which  are  not,  under  normal  condi- 
tions, observed  in  the  sitter — freckles,  colour  blotches, 
deep-seated  scars,  and  all  such  differences  which  the  plate 
emphasises  in  a way  not  usually  observable. 

2.  Constructive  (and  often  Destructive). — Removing 
wrinkles,  straightening  noses,  and  “improving!”  nature 
generally. 

It  is  with  this  latter  sort  that  I would  say,  with 
the  coming  generation,  “ We’ll  have  none  of  it.” 

That  a certain  amount— but  not  so  much  as  many  think 
— of  No.  1 is  not  only  legitimate,  but  necessary  in  our 
present  state  of  knowledge,  it  is  altogether  idle  to  deny. 

But  the  best  doctor  is  the  one  who  cures  us  with  the 
least  physic,  and  so  the  best  retoucher  is  he  who  can  do 
the  most  with  the  least.  Quality,  and  not  quantity.  To 
retouch  without  some  knowledge  of  drawing,  &c.,  is  to 
prescribe  without  knowing  the  symptoms  of  the  case  or 
the  properties  of  the  drugs. 

As  the  chemical  and  optical  side  of  our  art  grows,  the 
need  for  the  retoucher  will  decrease  in  inverse  ratio  ; but 
meanwhile,  the  man  who  hopes  to  gather  approval  and 
support  must  assuredly,  in  the  very  near  future,  diminish 
the  quantity  and  increase  the  quality  of  the  retouching 
part  of  his  work.  As  to  the  education  of  the  retoucher, 
and  the  duration  of  his  work  in  the  future,  I must  defer 
my  remarks ; concluding  with  one  most  significant 
fact — viz.,  the  phenomenal  growth  of  matt-surface — black 
and  white  printing  processes,  which  very  considerably 
reduce  the  quantity  of  remedial  retouching  required  to 
produce  prints,  which  commend  themselves  more  to 
trained  artists  than  any  other,  be  they  never  so  highly 
finished  specimens. 

Mr.  Gladstone  and  the  Amateur  Photographer.—  Says 
the  Daily  News  : — “ A story  told  at  Hawarden  about  the 
amateur  photographer  stopping  Mr.  Gladstone  in  the  village, 
and  appealing  to  him  just  to  stand  one  second  till  ‘ a snap 
picture  ’ of  him  was  taken,  is  quite  correct  ; but  our  Chester 
correspondent  says  there  is  a sequel  which  has  not  been  recorded. 
Mr.  Gladstone  shook  his  head,  smiled  pleasantly,  and  walked 
on  to  wants  the  new  station.  Returning  later,  he  found  the 
enthusiastic  amateur  still  standing  near  the  same  spot,  and 
looking  extremely  unhappy  at  his  failure.  To  a second  appeal 
in  these  circumstances,  Mr.  Gladstone,  good-humouredly  enter- 
ing into  the  situation,  yielded,  and  stood  in  the  village  street 
until  the  camera  was  adjusted  and  he  had  been  ‘ taken  ’ by  the 
now  delighted  artist,  who,  after  profuse  thanks,  went  on  his 
way  rejoicing.” 


May  30,  1890.J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


417 


THE  IlOYAL  ACADEMY  OF  ARTS,  1890. 

BY  REV.  F.  C.  LAMBERT,  M.A. 

Gallery  No.  4. — As  no  photographic  exhibition  is  com- 
plete without  a vieYv  of  Conway  or  Windsor  Castle,  so, 
also,  is  it  almost  axiomatic  that  no  collection  of  portraits 
is  complete  without  Mr.  W.  E.  Gladstone,  No.  361  (by 
Sir  J.  E.  Millais,  R.A.).  The  monotony,  however,  is 
relieved  in  this  case  by  a grandson  being  added.  “ Grand- 
pa’’ has  his  eye  on  the  speaker,  or  rather  the  spectator, 
“as  usual.”  Monotony  is  again  relieved  by  having  a 
view  from  Windsor  Castle,  366  (F.  Goodall,  lt.A.;  for  a 
view  of  the  Castle  vide  484),  and  certainly  the  bit  of 
foreground  wall  is  not  the  least  attractive  part  of  the  can- 
vas. The  general  light  seems  somewhat  cold,  and  not 
inviting  of  prolonged  study.  Nor  is  our  old  friend  the 
( 'onway  utterly  forgotten,  vide  353  (1).  Watson).  No.  396 
(“Puritans’  First  Winter,”  G.  II.  Houghton,  A.)  has 
all  the  subject  and  sentiment  for  a strong  picture,  but 
somehow,  the  distant  figures  do  not  look  as  distant  from 
the  foreground  figures  as  their  relative  size  would  imply. 
No.  405  (“A  Difficult  Passage,”  E.  W.  Grier)  presents  an 
elderly'  gentleman — with  a ruby  nose — deliberating  how  he 
may  best  “shift”  so  as  to  “ bow”  a difficult  passage  of 
“crotchets  and  quavers”  on  his  “cello” — a simple, 
homely  subject,  without  the  usual  superfluous  studio 
properties  (N.B.,  an  unobtrusive  background),  and, 
taken  altogether,  a picture  well  worth  a few  mental 
notes. 

No.  420  (“The  Haven  under  the  Hill,"  Sidney  S.  Morish) 
makes  one  think  of  the  delightful  fresh  air  of  our  coast 
line — say  Luccombe  Chine,  or  some  of  the  Denes  in 
Yorkshire.  Study  this  picture  carefully.  The  portrait 
study,  No.  444  (“Lady  Betty,”  P.  II.  Calderon,  R.A.),  is 
interesting,  inasmuch  as  it  presents  a by  no  means  unpleas- 
ing rendering  of  a tint  of  hair  not  generally  admired. 
Poets  have  sting  of  tresses  and  locks  of  tints  without 
number,  almost  without  name,  but  one  fails  to  recall  any 
poetic  epithet  for  this  tint  except  Yve  have  licence  to  call 
it  “golden.”  However  that  problem  may  find  issue,  it  is 
a most  admirable  and  masterly  piece  of  painting.  Note 
the  graceful  pose  of  the  head,  disposal  of  the  hands,  and 
simple  lines  of  drapery — some  valuable  hints  here.  Before 
quitting  this  room,  observe  No.  398  (“An  episode  of  the 
Deluge,”  C.  E.  Butler).  No.  386  (Ditto,  Mr.  W.  Blackden), 
and  last,  but  not  least,  No.  499  (Ditto,  ditto,  II.  J.  Draper) 
in  the  next  room  (Gallery  V.).  These  three  would  have 
gained  rather  than  lost  in  the  public  eye  had  they  been 
placed  side  by  side. 

Gallery  No.  V.  — The  first  thing  which  catches  our 
eye  on  entering  Gallery  V.  is  No.  449  (Portrait,  W.  B. 
Richmond,  A.),  and  almost  involuntarily  we  say,  Oh,  what 
a splendid  frame  ! and  then  pass  on  to  No.  457  (“Harvest 
Festival  in  Cornish  Fishing  Village,”  W.  B.  Fortescue),  a 
natural  realistic  gathering  “ of  the  people,”  who  have 
brought  their  offering  of  fish  and  fruit.  Note  the  effect  of 
the  back  lighting  of  figures  in  the  gallery'.  Is  it  a desirable 
or  satisfactory  thing  to  represent  people  with  their  mouths 
open  as  though  singing?  (On  this  point  compare  No.  774.) 
Close  by  is  No.  458  (“  Where  Sea  and  River  meet,”  B.  W. 
Leader,  A.) ; perhaps  somewhat  gaudy'  in  foreground, 
nevertheless  full  of  sunlight.  Observe  there  is  abundant 
definition  without  great  extremes  of  small  detail. 

No.  462  (“A  pound  a leg,”  Leghe  Suthers).  An  even- 
ing effect  admirably  rendered  in  subdued  and  harmonious 
tones  and  tints.  The  itinerant  horse  dealer  offering  “ a 
pound  a leg”  for  a doubtful  nag  from  a still  more  doubtful 


gipsy  owner.  The  arrangement  of  the  parts  is  instructive 
and  note  worth. 

No.  470  (“Conversion  of  St.  Hubert,  A.  Lemon), 
showing  Hubert,  who,  engaged  in  the  pleasures  of  the 
chase  to  the  exclusion  of  his  religions  duties,  until  a stag 
with  a spectral  crucifix  presented  itself  and  converted  this 
merry  huntsman  from  the  chase  to  the  cloister,  where  he 
“lived  happy'  ever  after,”  finally  becoming  Bishop  of  Liege, 
and  bequeathing  to  all  members  of  his  race  the  power 
of  curing  the  bite  of  mad  dogs  (query  M.  Pasteur). 
Altogether  a dramatic  composition,  yet  not  unpleasing, 
excepting  in  the  rawness  of  its  sky,  perhaps. 

No.  473  (“Echoes  of  a far-off  Storm,”  -T.  Brett,  A.R.A.), 
a “ stormy  ” letter  to  the  plate  maker  demanding  an  explana- 
tion of  that  streak  of  thin  emulsion  or  fog  mark  across  the 
plate? 

No.  485  (“The  only  Survivor,”  F.  Bourdillon).  The 
pose  of  kneeling  figure  is  admirable,  full  of  suggested 
strength  and  pathos. 

No.  487  (“A  Summer  Night,”  A.  Moore)  calls  to  mind 
the  word  “ stipple.”  The  formal  interlacing  of  the  flowers 
is  rather  distressing.  Some  of  the  figures  are  avell  worth 
study  as  regards  pose  and  balance. 

No.  501  (“  Yarmouth,  LAY.,”  Henry  Moore,  A.).  Note 
the  “echo”  of  the  two  foreground  cows  “in  focus,”  and 
the  more  distant  ones  less  so,  and  how  it  gives  depth  of 
planes,  gradation  of  distance,  the  simplicity  of  the  lines 
of  composition,  general  treatment  and  handling,  full  of 
light  and  air. 

No.  507  (“  Oliver  Twist,”  James  Sant,  R.A.).  A scene 
from  the  boundless  store-house  of  Dickens.  Who  can 
forget  his  first  impressions  and  sympathy  avith  Oliver? 
“ He  had  a crust  of  bread,  a coarse  shirt,  and  two  pair  of 
stockings  in  his  bundle.  lie  had  a penny  too — a gift  of 
Sowerberry’s  after  some  funeral  in  which  lie  had  acquitted 
himself  more  than  ordinarily  well— in  his  pocket.  ‘A 
clean  shirt,’  thought  Oliver,  ‘is  a very  comfortable  thing; 
and  so  are  two  pair  of  darned  stockings;  and  so  is  a penny; 
but  they  are  small  helps  to  a sixty- five  mile  walk  in  winter 
time.’  ...  So  after  a good  deal  of  thinking  to  no  parti- 
cular purpose,  he  changed  his  little  bundle  over  to  the 
other  shoulder  and  trudged  on.  (Ch.  viii.)  Oliver  before 
us  seems  a bit  too  fresh,  may-be  ? Are  the  dog  and  sheep 
an  artistic  license?  The  shepherd  in  distance  is  not  the 
least  interesting  part  of  the  picture. 

No.  519  (“  Paris  and  (Euone,”  G.  A.  Storey).  The  red 
cap  worn  by'  Paris  does  not  seem  to  quite  harmonise  with 
the  red  parts  of  Mrs.  Paris’  garments,  nor  does  the  youth- 
ful figure  of  Paris  give  one  an  idea  of  the  sort  of  person 
to  carry  off  Helen  of  I roy.  AV  as  it  a case  of  I roy,  Troy 
agin? 

The  question  proposed  by  C.  Seton,  No.  512  (“A  doubt- 
ful Strad.”),  seems  to  find  some  sort  of  answer  in 
No.  1050  (“A  genuine  Stradivarius,"  W.  Gay).  A pity 
these  two  frames  are  so  far  apart. 


Sir  H.  Trueman  Wood. — Sir  Frederick  Brainwell  announced 
last  week  at  the  Society  of  Arts  that  Mr.  H.  Trueman  Wood 
is  about  to  be  knighted,  and  added  that  this  was  “a  mark  of 
honour  from  our  Sovereign  which  I am  sure  no  man  has  more 
thoroughly  deserved  than  he  has.  The  way  in  which  he  has 
carried  out  the  duties  of  secretary  since  the  death  of  Mr. 
Le  Neve  Foster  must,  I am  sure,  have  been  appreciated  by  our 
thousands  of  members,  and  the  way  in  which  he  carried  on 
those  duties  which  he  undertook  of  looking  after  British 
industries  at  the  late  Paris  Exhibition  deserves  praise  at  all 
hands.” 


418 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  30,  1890. 


jaotesL 


Military  authorities  seem  to  be  suspicious  of  plioto- 
graphy.  On  no  other  ground  can  the  curious  fact 
of  the  entire  absence  of  photographs  of  the  interior 
of  the  Tower  of  London  be  explained.  A few  days 
ago  we  strolled  through  the  interesting  building,  and 
on  arriving  at  the  Beauchamp  Tower  enquired  whether 
any  photographs  could  be  obtained.  The  answer  was 
in  the  negative.  In  justice  to  the  sturdy  yeoman  of 
the  guard  who  was  in  charge,  we  are  bound  to  say 
that  he  was  rather  hazy  on  the  subject,  as  he  seemed 
to  think  that  the  etchings  he  had  on  sale  would  answer 
our  purpose  as  well  as  photographs.  But  this  was 
excusable,  as  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  express 
an  opinion  on  what  he  had  never  seen,  and,  so  far 
as  we  could  discover,  the  interior  of  the  room  in  the 
Tower  so  full  of  pathetic  records  has  never  been  photo- 
graphed. 


matter.  If  the  public  must  speculate,  they  may  as 
well  speculate  in  photography  as  in  anything  else. 

The  highest  price  ever  offered  for  a photograph  was 
probably  that  which  was  mentioned  in  vain  some  weeks 
ago  for  the  photograph  of  the  plaintiff  in  a certain 
action.  The  theory  of  the  defendant  was  that  the 
plaintiff  was  the  same  person  who  achieved  notoriety 
on  the  Continent  some  time  since,  but  to  sustain  the 
theory,  proof  of  identification  was  necessary.  A hun- 
dred pounds  was  offered  for  a photograph,  but  the 
person  who  had  one  in  possession  refused  to  sell.  An 
artist  was  then  employed,  and  attended  the  court  dur- 
ing the  hearing  of  an  appeal  on  some  point  of  law. 
Unfortunately,  he  could  only  catch  a glimpse  of  the 
plaintiff,  and  his  sketch  was  a failure.  Up  to  now 
sensitive  plates  are  not  equal  to  the  subdued  light  of 
our  law  courts,  or  a detective  camera  would  have  been 
called  into  requisition. 


This  seems  a strange  piece  of  indifference  or  neglect. 
On  the  walls,  carved  by  their  own  hands,  are  the  names 
of  prisoners  whose  lives — or,  to  put  the  matter  correctly, 
whose  deaths — are  part  of  the  history  of  England. 
Surely  no  more  interesting  memento  could  a visitor  carry 
away  than  such  a fac  simile  as  photography  could  give. 
Even  as  a question  of  profit,  the  walls  arc  worth 
photographing.  If  a description  of  the  writings  on  the 
walls  can  be  sold,  why  not  also  photographs  ? There 
is  not  an  American  visitor — and  they  can  be  numbered 
by  scores — who  would  not  purchase  a photogx-aph  of 
the  word  “ Jane,”  so  deeply  indented  by  the  unfortu- 
nate ten  days  Queen  of  England.  As  for  the  other 
objects  of  historical  interest  in  the  various  parts  of  the 
Tower,  their  name  is  legion,  and  yet  not  a photograph 
is  purchasable.  It  sounds  incredible,  yet  it  is  the  fact. 
We  do  not  know  who  is  the  responsible  authority,  but 
if  it  rests  with  the  Constable,  perhaps  the  newly 
appointed  official,  Sir  Daniel  Lysons,  will  take  the 
matter  into  consideration. 


Whatever  the  result  may  be,  what  is  known  as  a 
“ boom”  has  set  in  with  regard  to  penny  photographs. 
The  parent  Automatic  Photograph  Company  has 
the  capital  it  asked  for,  and  on  the  strength  of  its 
success  has  floated  a more  extended  scheme  for  the 
purchase  of  its  foreign  patents,  for  which  it  modestly 
asks  a quarter  of  a million.  Meanwhile  one  of  those 
ingenious  persons  always  ready  to  follow  somebody 
else’s  lead,  has  spotted  a weak  point  in  the  original 
undertaking — the  omission  to  make  any  mention  of  arti- 
ficial light,  without  which  the  use  of  the  machine  is  re- 
stricted to  the  daytime — and  has  brought  out  a rival  com- 
pany, one  of  the  features  of  which  is  that  provision  has 
been  made  under  the  patents  to  apply  the  electric  light 
automatically.  This  company  estimates  the  number  of 
its  customers  at  fifty  per  day,  whereas  the  other  one  put 
the  possible  number  at  thirty.  No  doubt  one  estimate 
is  as  trustworthy  as  the  other,  but  as  both  companies 
have  taken  great  care  not  to  invite  photographers  to  give 
an  opinion  on  the  merits  of  the  rival  schemes,  we  do 


The  Americans  are  extremely  fertile  in  their  inven- 
tion of  photographic  “notions.”  The  latest  freak  of 
fashion  is  for  a gentleman  to  send  to  the  lady  he 
admires  a handsome  box,  which,  when  opened,  shows  a 
photograph  of  an  aristocratic  pair  of  ears,  the  back 
button-hole  of  an  abnormally  high  collar  suppoiting  a 
closely  cropped  head,  and  a view  from  behind  of  a 
well-cut  coat.  Indignation  is,  of  course,  the  first 
emotion  raised  by  the  receipt  of  such  a portrait,  and 
the  young  lady  naturally  seizes  a piece  of  ribbon 
attached  to  the  box  with  the  intention  of  rending  the 
unwelcome  gift  to  pieces,  when,  at  the  first  tug,  the 
picture  slides  out  of  the  box,  disclosing  another  which 
shows  the  proper  features  of  the  young  man,  smiling, 
after  the  manner  of  his  kind,  at  his  mollified  sweet- 
heart. 


It  is  not  every  sitter  who  is  so  indifferent  to  his  per- 
sonal appearance  as  represented  in  a picture  as  is  the 
King  of  the  Belgians.  He  was  recently  sitting  to  an 
artist,  and,  getting  somewhat  tired,  expressed  a hope 
that  the  work  would  be  speedily  completed.  The 
artist  replied  that  he  was  afraid  he  should  be  obliged 
to  detain  him  a little  longer.  The  King  sighed  and 
remarked,  “You  might  finish  me  off  in  a couple  of 
seconds  or  so.”  “How?”  exclaimed  the  amazed  artist.” 
“ By  just  drawing  a large  man  with  a big  nose.”  This 
was  undoubtedly  au  abbreviated  way  of  describing  his 
appearance,  yet,  judging  by  the  Belgian  postage  stamps 
and  the  Belgian  coins,  it  was  sufficiently  accurate. 


But  monarchs  must,  after  a long  course  of  photo- 
graphers and  artists,  grow  somewhat  callous  as  to  how 
they  look.  As  each  photographer  and  each  painter 
gives  a different  rendering  of  the  royal  features,  the 
only  interest  the  sitter  must  have  in  the  subject  is  how 
he  or  she  will  be  turned  out  at  the  hands  of  the  new 
man.  In  fact,  crowned  heads  at  times  must  get  a little 
mixed  as  to  what  is  their  exact  appearance  and 
expression. 


May  30,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


419 


The  West-End  photographers  have  been  exception- 
ally busy  on  the  occasion  of  the  recent  Drawing-Rooms 
in  photographing  the  debutantes.  It  would  be  exceed- 
ingly convenient  if  the  Queen  would  have  a studio 
fitted  up  at  Buckingham  Palace,  so  that  ladies  could  be 
photographed  in  all  their  freshness  as  they  arrive.  To 
array  oneself  for  the  ceremony,  and  to  put  on  one’s 
dress,  train,  and  feathers  for  the  photographer  the  next 
day,  is  not  quite  the  same  thing.  Somehow,  all  the 
spirit  and  “ go  ” of  the  affair  evaporate.  Her  Majesty 
is  a great  collector  of  photographs,  and  why  not  add  to 
her  interminable  list  of  albums  a “ Drawing-Room 
Album,”  to  contain  such  portraits  of  the  ladies 
presented  to  her  as  might  be  available  ? It  would 
probably  mean  an  extensive  studio  and  a large  staff  of 
artists,  but  it  need  not  cost  the  Queen  a single  farthing. 
There  are  plenty  of  enterprising  firms  who  would 
undertake  the  task,  provided  they  were  not  hampered  by 
Court  routine  or  restrictions. 


In  more  than  one  instance  we  have  recently  noticed 
with  satisfaction  that  ethnographical  science  is 
finding  out  the  value  of  photography.  At  the  Stanley 
Exhibition  are  several  pictures  which  give  a good 
idea  of  the  natives  of  different  tribes — what  manner 
of  men  they  are,  and  how  they  occupy  themselves. 
We  have  all  read  much  about  Africa  and  its  inhabitants 
of  late  months,  but  these  photographs  tell  us  at  a 
glance  much  more  than  we  can  glean  from  any  written 
description.  One  photograph,  showing  how  the  huge 
tusks  of  ivory  are  carried  from  the  interior  of  the 
country  to  the  coast,  is  especially  interesting.  The 
poor  natives  have  evidently  yet  to  learn  how  to  keep 
still  and  look  pleasant,  for  they  have  done  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other,  some  of  the  figures  being  very  indis- 
tinct in  outline ; but  as  they  are  somewhat  deficient  in 
clothing,  a little  fuzziness  is  not  a matter  for  regret. 

But  at  our  more  permanent  ethnographical  collection 
at  the  British  Museum  the  value  of  photography  is 
also  recognized,  for  several  fine  enlargements  from  pic- 
tures taken  at  New  Guinea  by  Lindt,  of  Melbourne, 
have  recently  been  hung  on  screens.  These  pictures 
measure  about  42  by  36  inches,  and  if  we  remember 
rightly  the  originals  of  some  of  them  were  shown  a few 
years  back  at  one  of  the  Pall  Mall  exhibitions.  One 
picture  of  a chief’s  house,  supported  on  rough  piles 
above  water,  is  most  interesting,  as  showing  a lake 
dwelling  of  to-day,  resembling  those  of  ancient  times, 
the  remains  of  which  have  been  so  often  found  in 
Europe.  A group  of  children — little  black  imps — is 
huddled  together  on  a platform  in  front  of  the  house, 
just  as  we  cce  the  small  monkeys  at  the  Zoo  crowding 
together  on  a cold  day. 

•Some  other  photographs  in  the  same  gallery  seem, 
by  their  yellow  tint,  to  be  of  older  date.  These  are 
portraits  of  Kaffirs,  some  of  which  exhibit  a remarkable 
form  of  head-dress,  which  looks  like  a tall  cap  covered 
with  astrachan  and  with  a plate  on  the  top.  But  this 
is,  in  reality,  no  cap  at  all,  but  is  formed  by  the  natu- 


ral growth  of  the  hair,  or  rather  wool,  which  is  clipped 
all  round  like  a well-kept  hedge,  and  is  crowned  by  a 
ring  made  of  palm  leaves,  which  is  covered  with  vege- 
table wax  and  polished  up  with  charcoal  until  it  rivals 
in  the  splendour  of  its  shine  the  domestic  fireplace  of 
civilisation.  There  is  an  old  saying  that  “ one  half 
the  world  does  not  know  how  the  other  half  lives.” 
It  would  seem  that  photography  is  destined  to  be  of 
great  service  in  supplying  part  of  the  required  infor- 
mation . 


Those  who  still  make  oxygen  gas — and  their  number 
must  have  been  greatly  reduced  since  the  Brin  Com- 
pany hive  supplied  it  in  cylinders  at  such  a cheap  rate 
— will  be  interested  in  a letter  which  appears  in  the 
Scientific  American , in  which  the  writer  asserts  that 
he  has  for  some  time  discarded  the  use  of  manganese 
for  admixture  with  the  potassic  chlorate,  and  has  sub- 
stituted for  it  carbonate  of  iron.  There  is  probably 
some  confusion  here,  for  carbonate  of  iron  is  the  crude 
iron  ore,  occurring  either  as  spathose,  or,  in  a more 
impure  form,  as  clay  ironstone.  This,  under  the  action 
of  heat,  is  changed  to  ferric  oxide.  The  red  oxide  has 
long  been  used  in  association  with  potassic  chlorate  for 
oxygen  making,  and  if  this  substance  is  intended, 
there  is  nothing  new  in  the  suggestion.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  clay  ironstone  is  meant,  impurities 
would  be  likely  to  be  introduced  into  the  retort,  which 
might  lead  to  serious  accident. 


It  is  evident,  from  reports  reaching  us  from  many 
sources,  that  eikonogen  as  a developer  is  fast  find- 
ing friends  among  both  professional  and  amateur 
workers.  From  our  own  trials  of  it  we  believe  it  to 
be  more  valuable  for  portraiture  than  for  any  other 
branch  of  photography,  and  for  the  reasons  that  the 
contrasts  which  it  affords  are  soft,  and  that  the  colour 
of  the  deposit  lends  itself  admirably  to  the  inevitable 
retouching  pencil.  Amateur  workers  who  have  been 
used  to  obtaining  vigorous  landscape  negatives  with 
pyro  and  ammonia  generally  fail  in  their  first  attempts 
at  portraiture,  because  they  aim  at  a density  which 
blots  out  all  the  finer  lines  and  expressive  markings  of 
the  face.  With  eikonogen  they  can  hardly  fall  into  this 
error.  It  gives  an  image  like  a ferrous  oxalate  deve- 
loped plate  at  its  best,  and  works  with  far  greater 
certainty  of  result.  We  all  know  that  on  the  Con- 
tinent almost  exclusively,  and  in  some  of  the  principal 
studios  in  this  country,  the  ferrous  oxalate  method  has 
for  a long  time  been  the  standard  system  of  development 
for  portraiture.  Eikonogen  seems  likely  to  usurp  its 
place. 


The  French  Exhibition,  like  most  other  large  exhi- 
bitions now-a-days,  was  far  from  complete  on  the 
onening  day,  and  half  consisted  of  packing  cases.  In 
about  another  week  it  will  be  in  a fairly  advanced  state. 
The  Exhibition  consists  largely  of  fancy  articles,  in 
which  the  French  display  their  acknowledged  high 
level  of  artistic  excellence  and  refined  taste. 


420 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  30,  1890. 


FICTION  IX  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

A pretty  and  pathetic  story  was  told  many  years  ago — 
at  a time,  indeed,  when  photography  was  a mere  infant — 
in  the  Family  Herald.  A certain  honest  peasant  woman, 
known  as  “ La  Veuve  Yvonne,”  living  in  a little  secluded 
village  in  Brittany,  having  heard  of  the  marvellous  powers 
of  photography,  determined  to  visit  Paris  to  test  its  merits 
after  a fashion  of  her  own.  Arriving  at  the  capital,  she 
inquired  for  a photographer,  and  visited  his  studio.  “ I 
wish,”  she  said,  “ for  a portrait  of  my  child.”  “Certainly, 
madam  ; have  you  brought  the  child  with  you,  or  shall  1 
call  upon  you?  ” “ Neither,”  replied  La  Veuve  Yvonne  : 
“ they  tell  me  you  are  very  clever  in  making  children's 
portraits.”  “ I succeed  pretty  well,”  said  the  photo- 
grapher ; “ but  when  they  are  exceptionally  restless,” — 
“My  child  will  not  trouble  you  with  his  restlessness.” 
“Ah!  then,”  replied  the  photographer  smiling,  “I  am 
pretty  6ure  to  do  well.”  “My  child,”  she  continued,  “is 
dead.”  The  photographer  ceased  to  smile.  “ You  want 
a picture  of  him  before  he  is  buried.”  “lie  has  been 
dead  and  buried  for  five  years.”  “What!”  said  the 
surprised  artist;  “you  have,  then,  a picture  of  him.” 
“If  I had,”  replied  the  widow,  “I  should  not  be  here.” 
The  photographer  told  her  kindly  that  what  she  requested 
was  impossible.  “ Impossible  ! ” — and  the  widow’s  coun- 
tenance fell — “ they  told  me  that  photography  could  work 
miracles."  A sudden  thought  sprung  from  the  kind  heart 
of  the  photographer,  and  illuminated  his  brow.  “ You 
have  still  your  child's  clothes,  madam?"  “ Yes,  I made 
them  for  him  myself.”  “How  old  was  he?  " “ Six  years.” 
“The  colour  of  his  hair?”  “Golden.”  “He  was  a 
good  boy? — you  will  forgive  my  inquiries.”  “lie  said 
his  prayers  every  night  at  my  knee."  “ Pardon  me  for 
asking  all  this,”  said  the  photographer  to  the  weeping 
mother.  “ You  shall — yes,  by  the  help  of  heaven— you 
shall  have  his  portrait.  In  a couple  of  days  come  to  me 
again.”  The  widow  came,  and  received  the  first  proof. 
“ It  is  he  ! ” she  cried  with  a mother's  happy  love,  “ it  is 
my  son.  He  wears  the  little  boots  I got  for  him  from 
neighbour  Dubois.  This  is  his  little  coat  with  the  pearl 
buttons,  which  I sewed  on  with  my  own  hand.  Ah ! and 
that  is  his  long,  bright,  golden  hair.  Oh!  monsieur, 
what  shall  I pay  you  for  this?  ” “ Madame,”  replied  the 

photographer,  “photography,  you  have  been  told,  can 
work  miracles,  and  miracles  are  never  paid  for.” 

Dame  Yvonne  returned  to  Brittany,  and  remained  till 
the  day  of  her  death  convinced  that  the  portrait  she  had 
placed  over  her  cottage  bedstead  was  the  portrait  of  her 
dead  child. 

The  good  photographer  had  dressed  a small  child  of  his 
own  in  the  boy’s  Breton  costume,  and  had  represented 
him  in  a kneeling  attitude,  his  head  bent,  and  his  face 
hidden  by  his  hands,  clasped  together  in  the  humble  .atti- 
tude of  prayer.  On  a deceit  of  this  kind,  as  on  the  cele- 
brated oath  of  Uncle  Toby,  the  recording  angel,  while 
inscribing  it  in  the  book  of  human  actions,  surely  dropped 
a tear,  blotting  it  out  for  ever.  That  celestial  being, 
indeed,  seems  to  have  inspired  the  mother  with  a reply  to 
all  the  doubts  and  cavils  of  inquisitive  neighbours. 
“ Why,”  said  one  of  these,  “ docs  your  son  hide  his  face 
thus  in  his  hands  ? ” “ Ah  !”  replied  La  Veuve  Yvonne, 

“you  must  be  a bad  Christian  indeed  to  ask  that.  The 
little  angel  in  heaven  is  praying  for  me,  his  poor  old 
mother,  who  is  left  in  the  world  alone.” 

Even  religious  stories  have  been  suggested  by  photo- 


graphy. But  they  seem  not  to  have  been  a commercial 
success.  A little  volume  containing  them,  entitled  the 
“ Photographer,”  was  discontinued  after  the  second  num- 
ber. These  stories  present  a melancholy  reflection  of 
Bunyan.  The  camera  appears  not  to  lend  itself  kindly  to 
the  purposes  of  conversion.  In  one  tale  we  arc  told  that 
the  three  brightest  features  in  the  Christian’s  countenance 
are  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity.  So  far,  indeed,  as  faith  is 
the  evidence  of  things  not  seen,  the  photographic  com- 
parison is  happy.  The  protagonist  of  another  tale  is  asked, 
“ Do  you  perceive  your  faithful  likeness?  Does  your 
countenance  appear  hopeful  V Is  your  charity  sufficiently 
in  shadow?  Is  your  body  full  of  light?  Is  the  light 
which  falls  on  you  unsteady  ? Are  you  endeavouring  to 
look  cheerful,  or  are  your  features  rigid  and  harsh  ?” 
Dismayed  by  these  enquiries  the  protagonist  endeavours 
to  escape,  but  the  photographer  adjures  him  not  to  run 
away,  to  let  him  look  again  at  his  general  appearance,  and 
finally  adjourns  the  sitting  to  a time  of  increased  light. 

The  preceding  stories  were  all  told  in  prose.  The  follow- 
ing was  originally  composed  in  rhyme.  A young  officer, 
cornet  Fitz  Sparrow,  in  the  Aldershot  Blues,  “ stood  four 
feet  six  in  his  shoes,”  and  his  diminutive  stature  was  to  him 
a source  of  enduring  shame  and  sorrow.  He  forgot,  or 
never  knew,  apparently,  the  moderate  statures  of  those 
military  heroes,  those  thunderbolts  of  war,  Nelson  and 
Napoleon.  It  was  in  vain  that  he  mixed  raw  eggs  and 
brandy  and  drank  the  compound  ; it  was  in  vain  that  he 
wore  the  tallest  top  hats  he  could  find  ; it  was  in  vain  that 
his  bootmaker,  by  the  aid  of  cork  heels  carefully  concealed 
in  his  boots,  thought  to  accomplish  the  unaccomplishable. 
No  man.  we  have  it  on  the  best  authority,  can  by  taking 
thought  add  a cubit  to  his  stature,  and  that  was  exactly 
what  cornet  Fitz  Sparrow  attempted  to  do.  The  brandy 
gave  colour  to  his  nose  instead  of  length  to  his  legs  ; the 
tall  hat  made  him  look  top  heavy  ; the  high  heels  went  be- 
fore a fall.  And  cornet  Fitz  Sparrow  was  so  anxious  to 
marry,  but  every  maiden  said  him  nay.  At  last  he  resolved 
to  advertise,  “ Wanted,  a Wife.  ” 

A dozen  answers  were  sent  to  his  advertisement,  but 
every  one  of  the  applicants  desired  his  c arte -de-vi site. 
This  request,  which  would  betray  the  smallness  of  his 
stature,  lie  felt  to  be  a death-blow  to  his  hopes.  However, 
lie  went  to  a photographer — a cunning  artist —who  assured 
him  he  could  give  him  the  appearance  of  a giant. 
Fitz  Sparrow  was  in  raptures  when  the  photographer,  by  the 
aid  of  a child’s  table  and  chair  placed  close  to  the  cornet, 
gave  him  the  size  of  a modern  Goliath,  lie  immediately 
forwarded  a dozen  copies  of  his  carte  to  the  dozen 
applicants,  and  they  appointed  a dozen  meetings  at  a 
dozen  different  times  and  places.  Alas ! one  by  one  they 
came,  saw,  and,  disgusted  by  the  lowness  of  his  bodily 
frame,  left  him ; all  save  one,  the  twelfth,  a little  fairy, 
who  whispered  in  his  ear,  “ Oh,  I am  so  glad;  I was  so 
afraid  you  were  too  tall.”  It  is  needless  to  give  much 
more  of  this  rhymed  story.  They  married,  and,  being 
botli  short,  kept  each  other  in  countenance  in  more 
senses  than  one,  and  were  happy ; and  ever  afterwards, 
Cornet  Fitz  Sparrow,  though  he  only  “ stood  four  feet  six 
in  his  shoes,”  stood,  in  his  own  estimation,  five  feet  ten 
at  the  very  least. 


Mu.  F.  P.  Cembbano  and  Mr.  J.  B.  B.  Wellington  are  now 
in  Stockholm,  after  a hand-camera  excursion  up  the  Rhine,  down 
the  Danube  to  Vienna,  then  to  Oberammergau  and  the  Passion 
Play,  thence  to  Copenhagen. 


Mat  SO,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


421 


REMARKABLE  NOVELTIES  IN  PHOTOGRAPHIC 
INSTRUMENTS. 

Last  Wednesday  night,  Mr.  J.  A.  Rudge,  a scientific 
instrument  maker  of  Bath,  exhibited  to  the  Batli  Photo- 
graphic Society  a new  optical  lantern,  with  mechanism 
attached,  to  represent,  by  means  of  a series  of  photographic 
slides,  men  and  other  animals  moving  as  in  life.  The  first 
instrument  of  this  kind  was  exhibited  a few  years  ago  to 
the  Photographic  Society  in  London  by  Mr.  Friese 
Greene,  who  informed  the  meeting  that  it  was  invented 
by  Mr  Rudge,  of  Bath.  It  consisted  of  a lantern  with  one 
condenser,  and  four  small  projection  lenses,  each  receiving 
light  from  the  lamp  through  a separate  part  of  the  con- 
denser. A rotating  opaque  disc  was  so  shaped  that 
before  one  image — say  of  a face — was  entirely  cut  off  from 
the  white  screen,  the  next  image  was  imposed  upon  it,  so 
that  the  one  gradually  melted  into  the  other.  In  this 
way  the  face  could  be  seen  changing  from  grave  to  gay, 
and  so  on,  and  the  very  twitching  of  the  skin  of  the  face 
could  be  seen.  Mr.  Greene  heightened  the  effect  by 
painting  the  gelatine  negative  with  cobaltic  and  other  salts, 
so  that,  as  the  slide  grew  warm  from  the  heat  of  the  lantern, 
colour  gradually  appeared  in  the  face  and  dress.  The 
effects  were,  from  an  entertainment  point  of  view,  vastly 
superior  to  those  produced  by  Mr.  Muybridge  and  others 
by  application  of  the  thaumatrope  principle,  the  un- 
pleasant jerkiness  of  which  is  well  known.  Mr.  Rudge’s 
lantern  was  defective  in  several  ways,  .and,  among  others, 
in  the  small  sizes  and  numbers  of  photographs  it  could  take 
in  one  series. 

Later  on  Mr.  Greene  brought  out  an  invention  upon 
the  same  lines,  and  had  an  instrument  constructed  con- 
sisting of  three  lanterns,  by  which  means  he  was  able  to 
bring  the  full  power  of  one  condenser  to  bear  upon  each 
slide  exhibited ; the  instrument  also  included  some  costly 
mechanism  for  automatically  bringing  a long  series  of 
twenty  or  more  slides  into  play.  Practically,  like  most 
new  inventions,  it  was  defective,  and,  for  want  of  sufficient 
adjustment  beforehand,  was  far  from  doing  its  best  work 
when  exhibited  before  the  Photographic  Society.  Since 
then  considerable  improvements  have  been  made  in  the 
instrument,  but  at  present  they  are  not  for  publication. 
Mr.  Chang,  the  Secretary  to  the  Chinese  Embassy,  had  a 
private  view  of  the  whole  machine  at  work  a few  days  ago, 
and  was  much  interested  therein. 

lanterns  of  this  class  necessitated  the  taking  of  photo- 
graphs in  rapid  succession— that  is  to  say,  several  in  the 
course  of  one  second  of  time — and  that  led  to  the  inven- 
tion by  Mr.  Greene  and  Mr.  Mortimer  Evans  of  the 
camera  for  giving  ten  or  even  more  exposures  a second. 

Quite  recently,  as  published  in  these  pages,  Mr.  C.  V. 
Boys  has  invented  and  used  a machine  for  taking  one 
hundred  or  less  of  photographs  per  second,  when  the 
object  is  sufficiently  self-luminous,  or  illuminated. 

The  next  public  step  in  this  eventful  history  took  place 
last  Wednesday  night  at  Bath,  when  Mr.  Rudge  exhibited 
to  the  Photographic  Society  there  a new  instrument, 
which  may  be  explained  by  the  aid  of  the  accompanying 
diagram. 

In  this  diagram  A B is  the  lantern,  pivoted  at  C to  per- 
mit a small  front  motion,  of  which  C is  the  centre ; I) 
represents  the  position  of  the  lamp  and  chimney  ; E E are 
rollers  to  facilitate  a little  right  and  left  motion  of  the 
front  of  the  body  of  the  lantern,  from  which  the  parts  in 
front  of  the  condenser  F F are  detached  ; H II  are  two 


discs,  on  each  of  which  six  photographic  portraits  of  the 
same  person  are  printed ; the  discs  rotate  upon  their 
respective  pivots  KK.  The  large  tube  M carries  two 
smaller  tubes  NN,  in  which  are  mounted  lenses  which 


swivel  in  any  direction,  and  can  then  be  clamped.  PP  is 
a moving  shutter. 

When  this  machine  is  in  action,  the  front  of  the  lamp, 
and  the  condenser  thereupon,  are  constantly  moving 
either  to  the  right  or  to  the  left ; this  enables  a smaller 
condenser  to  be  used  than  would  otherwise  be  necessary, 
and  tends  to  equalise  the  illumination  on  the  screen  during 
the  changes  in  the  image.  The  discs  and  photographs 
resemble  those  obtained  with  Stirn's  camera,  but  are  of 
larger  size  ; the  apparatus  used  with  the  lantern  is  also 
employed  when  taking  the  negatives,  so  that  when  the 
latter  are  printed  as  positives  on  another  circular  sheet  of 
glass,  they  are  certain  to  be  in  true  register.  The  greatest 
difficulty  in  making  this  class  of  instruments  consists  in 
obtaining  perfect  registration  everywhere,  so  the 
mechanism  must  be  perfect.  The  next  greatest  difficulty 
is  in  obtaining  equal  illumination  of  the  projected  images 
during  their  changes.  The  machine  exhibited  by  Mr. 
Rudge  last  Wednesday  night  was  not  quite  finished,  and 
as  the  positives  were  not  ready,  he  had  to  employ 
negatives  instead ; it  served,  however,  to  explain  the 
principles  involved.  He  is  making  this  machine  for  Mr. 
Greene. 

The  instruments  already  mentioned  are  probably  the 
heralds  of  the  dawn  of  a new  branch  of  photography,  the 
ramifications  of  which  no  one  can  foresee.  We  once  pub- 
lished that  the  power  of  taking  and  of  printing  negatives 
with  immense  rapidity  brings  us  several  steps  nearer  the 
greater  use  of  photography  as  a meaus  of  publishing  news 
and  of  bringing  out  of  books.  Mr.  Boys  has  already 
found  such  appliances  necessary  in  one  branch  of  scientific 
research.  Mr.  P.  Braham  told  the  meeting  on  Wednesday 
night  that  crystals  in  the  incipient  stage  of  their  formation 
do  not  grow  slowly,  but  shoot  out  all  at  once,  consequently 
such  instruments  may  possibly  reveal  the  details  of  this 
scientific  phenomenon,  and  show  how  crystals  grow  in 
their  primary  stages.  Of  the  value  for  historical  pur- 
poses of  such  instruments,  when  perfected,  Mr.  Friese 
Greene  wrote  in  the  last  Year-Book. 

Yesterday  morning  we  called,  with  .Mr.  Friese  Greene, 
upon  Mr.  W.  M.  Ashman,  whose  skill  in  practical  photo- 
graphic work  is  well  known.  His  studio  faces  the  south, 
so  is  glazed  with  ground-glass,  and  in  hot  weather,  by 
turning  a tap,  he  can  let  a thin  sheet  of  water  flow  down 
the  whole  surface  of  the  roof ; this,  he  says,  makes  the 
whole  studio  beautifully  cool  in  about  ten  minutes.  Of 
course  the  evaporation  of  water  has  a powerful  cooling 
effect.  He  uses  homely  furniture  as  accessories  in  pho- 
tographic work,  and  has  striped  tinted  blinds,  instead  of 
white  ones,  so  that  the  whole  studio  has  a little  more  than 
usual  the  appearance  of  an  ordinary  room. 


422 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SURVEY  OF  WARWICKSHIRE. 
A meeting  of  those  interested  in  the  Warwickshire  Survey  was 
held  at  St.  Edmund’s  College,  Birmingham,  on  Thursday, 
May  22nd,  the  Mayor  of  Sutton  Coldfield,  with  Mr.  J.  B. 
Stone,  F.G.S.,  in  the  chair.  There  was  a numerous  attendance 
of  the  members  of  the  Birmingham  Photographic  Society, 
together  with  representatives  from  the  Vesey  Club,  the  Muni- 
cipal School  of  Art,  the  Coventry  Photographic  Society  (Mr.  F. 
W.  Dew),  the  Philosophical  Society,  and  others.  Letters  of 
apology  were  read  from  Messrs.  S.  Timmins,  Richard  Tangye, 
Surgeon-General  Ranking  (President  of  the  Leamington  Photo- 
graphic Society),  H.  W.  Jones,  F.C.S.  (Vice-President  of  the 
Coventry  Photographic  Society),  A.  E.  Donkin  (Rugby  School), 
H.  R.  Lloyd  (Birmingham  Archaeological  Society),  Professor 
Poynting  (Mason  Lodge),  and  others,  all  giving  their  approval 
to  the  survey,  and  promising  to  help  in  the  work. 

Mr.  Stone  said  that  the  object  of  the  meeting  was  to  organise 
a County  Survey  Council  which  should  take  charge  of,  organise, 
and  carry  out  a survey  of  every  object  of  public  interest  in  the 
county  of  Warwickshire.  The  survey  would  include  photo- 
graphs of  buildings — ancient  and  modern — of  ancient  manu- 
scripts, of  paintings,  of  objects  of  geological  and  botanical  inte- 
rest ; it  would,  in  fact,  form  a record  which  would  enable 
future  generations  to  have  some  idea  of  the  state  of  the  county 
as  it  existed  in  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  He 
referred  to  a letter  which  had  beeu  received  from  the  secretary 
of  the  Birkenhead  Photographic  Association,  claiming  origi- 
nality for  the  idea  of  making  a photographic  survey.  There 

could  be  no  originality  in  the  idea,  for  it  had  beeu  carried  out 

after  a fashiou — many  times.  He  had  himself  made  what  he 
supposed  the  Birkenhead  Society  would  call  a photographic 
survey,  by  photographing  all  the  old  buildings  in  the  hundred 
of  Hemlingford,  quite  a quarter  of  a century  ago.  But  the 
survey  which  Mr.  Jerome  Harrison  had  proposed,  and  which 
they  were  prepared  to  carry  out,  was  something  of  an  alto- 
gether different  nature.  He  proposed  “ That  a County  Photo- 
Survey  Council  be  created  for  the  purpose  of  organising  a 
complete  photographic  survey  of  Warwickshire ; such  council 
to  consist  of  elected  representatives  from  the  various  photo- 
graphic societies  in  the  county,  in  the  proportion  of  five  per 
cent,  of  the  members  of  each  society,  together  with  two  repre- 
sentatives from  each  of  the  scientific,  literary,  and  artistic 
societies  in  the  county  ; that  the  council  shall  have  power  to 
elect  co-optative  members,  and  shall  appoint  public  trustees  for 
taking  charge  of  the  records  obtained.” 

The  motion  was  seconded  by  Mr.  W.  Jerome  Harrison, 
F.O.S.,  who  said  that  he  heartily  welcomed  the  presence  on 
the  survey  of  the  scientific  and  artistic  workers  whom  he  saw 
present.  They  could  lend  great  aid  in  drawing  up  lists  of 
noteworthy  objects  to  be  photographed.  He  trusted  that  Mr. 
Baguall,  whose  “ Flora  of  Warwickshire”  was  on  the  eve  of 
publication,  would  at  once  supply  them,  for  example,  with  a 
list  of  famous  trees  within  the  county.  Mr.  Jethro  Cossins, 
the  eminent  architect,  had  promised  help  with  the  churches. 

It  would  be  part  of  their  first  work  to  obtain  information  as  to 
the  thousands  of  valuable  negatives  which  were  already  in 
existence. 

Mr.  W.  Buucher  (School  of  Art)  hoped  the  council  would 
take  into  early  consideration  the  question  of  publication  of  a 
selection  of  the  results  obtained.  He  thought  that  a thousand 
subscribers  to  such  a work  could  be  obtained  with  ease. 

Mr.  F.  W.  Dew  (Coventry)  promised  hearty  co-operation  in 
the  work,  and  spoke  of  the  great  alterations  which  had  been 
made  within  the  last  few  years  in  the  churches  of  Coventry. 
He  had  many  valuable  negatives  of  those  churches  before  their 
restoration. 

The  motion  was  carried  unanimously. 

The  Chairman  proposed,  Mr.  S.  G.  Mason  seconded,  and  it 
was  carried  unanimously,  “ That  the  first  co-operative  members 
should  be  appointed  at  that  meeting  ; that  they  should  retire 
at  the  end  of  the  current  year,  when  the  council  shall  proceed 
to  elect  other  members  to  fill  the  vacancies,  the  retiring 
members  to  be  eligible  for  re-election.” 

The  last  resolution,  which  was  put  from  the  chair,  seconded 
by  Mr.  Jctlno  Cossins,  aud  carried  unanimously,  was  “That 


[Mat  30,  1890. 

the  photographic  and  other  societies  of  the  county  be  requested 
to  at  once  elect  their  representatives,  aud  that  the  first  meeting 
of  the  new  council  be  called  for  June  12th.” 

Xottces  of  iSoofes, 


The  Amateur  Photographer’s  Library,  Nos.  2,  3,  and 
4.  (Hazell,  Watson,  and  Viney,  London , 1890.) 

These  are  three  recently  issued  little  volumes,  each  deal- 
ing with  special  subjects  of  interest  and  use  to  photo- 
graphers, especially  to  beginners. 

Cameras,  Lenses,  and  Shutters. 

“Cameras,  Lenses,  Shutters,  &c.”  is  the  title  of  No.  2 
of  the  series,  and  consists  of  a number  of  articles  by 
different  authors  who  have  given  special  attention  to  the 
subject.  The  first  article  in  the  book  is  on  1 ‘ Cameras,” 
by  Mr.  IV.  Y.  Corbet,  who,  after  a few  practically  useful 
remarks  about  tripods,  says : — “ A plain  screw  and  a flat 
camera  bottom  offer  a ready  means  of  revolving  instru- 
ment, at  same  time  abolishing  horizontal  front,  and  lessen- 
ing weight  and  complication.  It  will  now  be  seen  that 
revolving  heads  and  horizontal  fronts  are  not  wanted.” 
This  is  an  example  of  the  slipshod  composition  pervading 
the  article  of  often  leaving  out  the  word  “the  ” where  it 
ought  to  have  been  inserted,  and  contains  error  as  to  a 
matter  of  fact.  No  revolution  of  the  camera  on  its  axis 
will  bring  an  imaginary  line,  passing  through  the  centre  of 
the  lens,  away  from  the  centre  of  the  plate  and  nearer  to 
one  or  other  of  its  edges ; the  horizontal  front  enables 
this  to  be  done,  aud  with  certain  subjects,  and  when  using 
lenses  with  a not  very  flat  field,  gives  optical  advantages 
not  otherwise  obtainable.  When  using  a portrait  lens,  to 
Lake  instantaneous  photographs  in  places  where  the  light 
is  not  good  enough  to  permit  the  use  of  a doublet,  some- 
times the  view  may  be  such  as  to  cause  a horizontal  front 
to  become  a welcome  appliance.  The  rest  of  the  article 
contains  some  useful  suggestions. 

Another  article  on  the  same  subject  is  by  Air.  John 
Powell,  who  deals  with  the  subject  of  camera-legs  with  con- 
siderable critical  ability,  showing  that  the  legs  of  cameras 
deserve  more  scientific  attention  than  they  have  hitherto 
received.  At  present  they  are  made  too  much  by  rule  of 
thumb,  so  far  as  obtaining  the  maximum  rigidity  with  the 
minimum  weight  of  wood  is  concerned,  so  that  the  photo- 
grapher is  often  carrying  more  wood  than  is  necessary  to 
obtain  the  same  amount  of  rigidity.  Some  of  Air.  Powell’s 
valuable  utterances  on  this  subject  are  here  quoted  : — 

There  is  one  important  factor  which  seems  to  have  beeu 
entire  overlooked,  viz. , that  with  the  same  cubical  dimensions 
— in  other  words,  the  same  weight  of  timber — we  can  obtain 
greater  rigidity.  Viewing  the  ends  of  most  tripods,  we  note 
that  the  pieces  are  approximately  square,  that  the  breadth  and 
depth  are  nearly  similar,  instead  of  being  long  rectangles.  let 
us  take  two  examples,  one  of  the  former  and  one  of  the  latter, 
and  consider  their  respective  comparative  strengths  : — 

Breadth.  Depth.  Content. 

No.  1.  Approximately  square  sec- 
tion, in  eighths  of  an  inch  = 5 x 6 = 30 

No.  2.  Long  rectangular  section,  do.  = 3 x 10  = 30 

In  the  first  case,  the  breadth  is  assumed  as  §in.,  and  iu 
the  second  case  as  j)  in.  Now,  under  a cross  strain  the 
strength  is  proportional  to  the  breadth,  so  that  No.  1 : No  2 : : 

5 : 3,  that  is,  No.  2 is  only  | of  the  strength  of  No.  1.  Next, 
in  the  first  case  we  have  taken  § as  the  depth,  and  in  the  second 
case  xf.  Now  the  depth  is  most  important.  The  strength 
varies  as  the  square  of  the  depth,  so  that  iu  this  respect 
No.  1 : No.  2 : : 36  : 100,  or  in  other  words,  No.  2 is  nearly 


May  30,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


423 


three  times  as  strong.  Lastly,  combining  the  former  and 
latter  calculations,  it  will  be  found  that  No.  1 : No.  2 : : 180  : 
300,  or  that  No.  2 is  nearly  double  the  strength. 

Further,  as  already  stated,  the  ratio  of  length  to  depth  in 
No.  1 would  be  64  to  1,  whereas  in  No.  2 it  would  be  38 ’4 
to  1,  a considerable  advantage. 

Again,  the  clear  space  between  the  joints  would  be,  say,  15  ins. 
Hence  the  ratio  of  length  to  breadth,  that  is,  15  to  jj  in., 
would  be  40  to  1.  Further,  as  this  only  applies  to  one  part, 
and  that  part  could  not  buckle  under  ordinary  circumstances 
without  the  pair  being  similarly  affected,  it  is  manifest  that  it 
is  fully  equal  to  the  other  proportions,  the  only  disadvantage 
being  the  formation  of  a rectangle  with  the  joint  pins,  which 
would  be  somewhat  dependent  on  a sound,  well-finished  joint. 
To  this,  however,  both  are  comparatively  dependent  for  rigidity. 

Mr.  Powell  also  considers  the  first  principles  of  con- 
struction to  secure  the  rigidity  in  the  camera,  which  in 
theory  should  be  so  affixed  to  the  tripod  that  the  centre  of 
gravity  of  the  camera  is  below  its  support.  He  suggests 
a camera  constructed  upon  these  principles,  and  describes 
it  by  means  of  diagrams,  but  as  the  diagrams  do  not  appear 
in  the  book,  having  been  omitted  apparently  by  accident, 
readers  are  not  in  a position  to  criticise  the  details.  Appa- 
rently the  camera  is  fixed  below  the  head  of  the  stand. 
The  author  says : — 

The  advantages,  briefly,  may  be  summed  up  as  follows  : — 

1.  The  legs  practically  meet  at  a point. 

1.  The  camera  is  in  stable  equilibrium. 

3.  It  dispenses  with  the  use  of  a level. 

4.  The  line  of  sight  is  always  normal  to  the  plate. 

5.  It  presents  the  least  equivalent  area  of  pressure  to  the 
wind,  which,  other  things  being  equal,  is  a decided  advantage 
in  form  over  the  pyramidal,  as  the  latter  is  over  the  square  or 
rectangular  form. 

Air.  Powell,  in  dealing  with  the  subject  of  conical  versus 
square  bellows  for  cameras,  gives  his  verdict  absolutely  in 
favour  of  conical  bellows,  chiefly  because,  when  open, 
they  present  less  wind  surface.  This  is  the  most  question- 
able part  of  his  excellent  article.  When  the  camera  is  of 
long  range,  which  is  the  case  with  the  most  serviceable 
instruments,  conical  bellows  are  apt,  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances, to  cut  off  a part  of  the  image  when  the 
operator  is  using  the  rising  or  falling  front  ; various 
devices  exist  for  overcoming  this  defect  by  gathering 
together  and  fixing  some  of  the  folds  of  the  bellows,  but 
it  would  be  more  convenient  were  no  such  devices  neces- 
sary. 

A third  article  on  “ Cameras  ” is  by  Mr.  J.  II.  Taylor, 
who  says  that  he  prefers  plumb  levels  to  spirit  levels  for 
cameras : the  former,  however,  are  more  in  the  way  of  the 
operator.  A level  of  any  kind  is  scarcely  necessary,  where 
buildings  are  in  the  field  of  view,  to  give  truly  perpen- 
dicular lines  as  a guide  in  focussing,  but  in  some  mountain- 
ous regions,  with  no  vertical  straight  line  in  view,  and  the 
legs  of  the  camera  erected  on  a bank  sloping  like  the  roof 
of  a house,  the  photographer  soon  discovers  the  value  of 
levels  for  special  purposes.  A fault  in  many  of  the  levels 
now  sold  for  photographic  purposes  is  that  they  are  too 
sensitive ; were  they  less  so,  within  certain  limits,  they 
would  be  easier  to  use,  and  no  practical  disadvantage  would 
creep  in.  Mr.  Taylor  speaks  of  the  large  per  centage  of 
defective  photographs  obtained  from  one  cause  or  another 
in  the  use  of  hand-cameras,  and  recommends  that  when- 
ever possible  they  should  be  used  on  the  top  of  a light 
stand.  This  advice  is  good  for  those  who  care  for  quality 
rather  than  quantity. 

Next  come  some  papers  on  lenses.  The  first,  by  the 
llev.  T.  Perkins,  gives  some  of  the  optical  principles  at  the 


root  of  the  construction  of  lenses.  Towards  the  close  the 
author  says  : — 

Half  a doublet  forms  a Landscape  lens  which  will  work  with 
about  // 23  or  // 32  ; in  many  of  Ross’s  rapid  symmetricals, 
the  two  combinations  are  of  different  foci,  and  as  either  will 
screw  on  the  back  of  the  lens  tube,  two  different  singles  may 
be  obtained.  A doublet  of  intermediate  focus  may  be 
obtained  by  removing  the  back  combination,  and  replacing 
it  by  the  back  combination  of  a doublet  of  longer  focus.  Ross’s 
portables  may  be  thus  used.  It  is  well  to  have  a cap  to  fit 
each  end  of  the  lens  tube.  Dust  is  thus  excluded,  and  the 
lens  protected  from  injury.  But,  despite  all  care,  dust  will 
find  its  way  to  the  glasses  ; to  remove  it,  dust  with  a camel’s 
hair  brush,  then  wipe  with  chamois  leather,  or  a soft  silk 
handkerchief  kept,  when  not  in  use,  in  a broad-mouthed  stop- 
pered bottle.  A little  pure  alcohol  may  be  used  to  remove 
stains  that  the  dry  leather  will  not  remove.  The  lenses, 
when  not  in  use,  should  be  kept  in  a case  with  a division  for 
each,  or  put  away  in  a box,  each  lens  being  placed  in  a bag 
of  chamois  leather. 

Mr.  J.  II.  Hargrave  gives  a paper  on  the  same  subject, 
so  also  does  Mr.  J.  H.  Taylor.  The  latter,  on  page  31, 
gives  an  elaborate  description  of  a diagram,  which  diagram 
is  not  in  the  book.  It  is  a good  memoir. 

The  next  article  is  by  Mr.  W.  Groves  on  “ Shutters.” 
The  roller  blind  shutter  next  the  plate  is  theoretically  the 
best  forgiving  the  largest  amount  of  light  in  a given  time. 
Mr.  Groves  says  that  its  bulk  is  objectionable.  This 
would  not  matter  so  much,  especially  as  it  forms  part  of 
the  camera  ; but  its  weight,  as  at  present  generally  made, 
is  against  its  general  use.  A remedy  would  be  to  substi- 
tute aluminium  for  brass  in  some  of  its  parts.  Mr.  Groves 
says  of  this  shutter  : — 

Shutters  used  immediately  in  front  of  the  plate  permit  the 
full  power  of  the  lens  to  act  on  each  portion  of  the  plate 
during  the  whole  time  the  said  portion  is  uncovered.  By 
using  a drop  shutter  or  roller-blind  shutter  with  a narrow 
aperture  the  width  of  the  plate,  it  is  probably  possible  to 
give  shorter  exposures  and  obtain  sharper  images  of  objects 
than  with  shutters  in  other  positions.  In  the  case  of  rapidly- 
moving  objects  the  images  obtained  by  these  shutters  are 
slightly  bent  or  distorted,  as  will  readily  be  seen  when  it  is 
considered  that  the  image  is  exposed  bit  by  bit  as  it  travels 
along  the  plate.  This  distortion  may  be  reduced  to  a mini- 
mum by  causing  the  shutter  to  travel  in  a direction  opposed 
to  that  of  the  image.  Variation  in  the  exposure  given  to  the 
foreground  and  sky  may  be  affected  as  in  shutters  imme- 
diately behind  the  lens.  Shutters  in  this  position  become 
very  bulky  for  the  larger  sizes  of  cameras  ; their  exposure 
apertures  have  to  travel  over  a large  amount  of  space,  and, 
as  in  the  case  of  shutters  immediately  behind  the  lens,  they 
require  to  be  especially  fitted  to  the  camera.  Shutters  behind 
the  lens  are  particularly  adapted  for  hand  or  detective 
cameras. 

The  next  article  on  “ Shutters”  is  by  Mr.  J.  II.  Taylor, 
and  the  third  by  Mr.  Louis  Meldon,  whose  objection  to 
the  roller  blind  shutter  next  the  plate  we  think  to  be 
stated  in  too  strong  terms,  and  that  its  utility  is  far  above 
his  estimate.  Mr.  Meldon  gives  the  following  table  of  the 
rapidities  of  different  shutters,  but  does  not  state  who 
made  the  exjjeriments,  nor  how  the  measurements  were 
made,  and  the  latter  is  a point  of  vital  importance  : — 

The  following  is  a list  of  the  rapidities  shown  by  certain 
shutters,  which  may  be  of  some  little  use  in  affording  an 
approximate  idea  of  what  may  be  expected  from  them  : — 


Drop  Shutter 

Second. 

i 

• ••  i j 

Aperture,  2J  sec. 

»> 

t* 

... 

i 

••• 

„ I sec. 

Newman’s  ... 

... 

1 

•••  T5 

Whole- plate. 

The  Plunge  ... 

l 

...  o 

Quarter-plate 

ft 

... 

...  If 

» » 

424 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


Watson’s  Double  Snap 

1 

7o 

Whole -plate. 

Phantom  ...  ... 

rV  t°  x's 

» sky  

tio 

Quarter-plate,  double 

,,  foreground 

Jo 

bands. 

Cadett’s  Lightning  : sky  ... 

A 

Whole- plate. 

,,  „ foreground  ... 

A 

Wollaston’s  Diaphragmatic.. 

A 

Whole -plate. 

Robinson  and  Son’s  (go  and 
return)  foreground 

h 

Half-plate. 

..  sky 

A 

Lancaster  Instantograph  ... 

i 

IT 

Half-plate  medium 

Kershaw  

rV  to  os 

band. 

Whole-plate. 

Grimston  up  to 

A 

Aperture  1 £ ins. 

Meldon(asmadebyl’erken)  „ 

Tibs 

1 1 

at  » 

Caldwell  (as  made  by  Wray)  „ 

IBS 

>>  » >> 

Thurey  and  Amev  ...  ,, 

3 So 

»>  >»  M 

Mr.  P.  Lange’s  

1 

77 

» H » 

The  next  article  is  by  Mr.  L.  A.  Burrow  on  “ The 
Sensitive  Medium,”  in  which  the  author  deals  with  emul- 
sion making,  lie  says  that  with  iodide  of  silver  alone  iii 
emulsion  the  image  is  dense,  but  there  is  little  detail  in  the 
shadows  or  high-lights.  But  has  the  best  method  of 
preparation,  or  vehicle,  or  mode  of  development  for  iodide 
emulsions  yet  been  discovered  ? It  may  be  remembered 
that  Sutton  and  a few  others  stated  that  iodide  of  silver  is 
more  sensitive  than  the  bromide  in  the  wet  collodion 
process,  but  necessitates  greater  attention  to  the  purity 
aud  condition  of  the  nitrate  bath. 

Mr.  W.  P.  H.  Foster  contributes  an  article  on  the  same 
subject,  so  also  does  Mr.  J.  A.  Randall.  The  latter  puts 
forward  the  following  pleas  for  the  use  of  slow  plates, 
except  where  quick  ones  are  a necessity  : — 

Before  preparing  an  emulsion,  it  must  be  decided  whether  it 
is  to  give  rapid  or  slow  plates.  The  difficulty  of  making  a 
good  emulsion  increases  as  means  are  taken  to  gain  rapidity  ; 
whereas  to  prepare  a slow  emulsion  is  a certain  and  compara- 
tively easy  matter.  The  film  of  a plate  coated  with  a slow 
emulsion  is  of  an  orange  colour,  and  much  denser  than  the 
film  of  a quick  plate  ; for  this  reason  halation  is  not  so  likely 
to  impair  the  quality  of  the  finished  negative.  With  a slow 
plate  a degree  of  richness  can  be  obtained  thaf  is  not  so  often 
seen  in  a rapid  plate.  There  is  a certainty  connected  with 
slow  plates,  and  an  amount  of  comfort  in  working,  which 
cannot  be  equalled  with  rapid  plates.  They  can  be  developed 
in  a light  which  adds  considerably  to  this  comfort  and  cer- 
tainty of  result  ; the  plates  being  more  manageable,  whilst 
developing  the  latitude  of  exposure  is  much  greater.  For 
fleeting  effects  in  landscapes,  instantaneous  views,  and  moving 
subjects,  a rapid  plate  is,  of  course,  necessary,  but  when  it  is 
not  a matter  of  time  in  exposure,  no  advantage  can  be  gained 
by  using  an  extra  rapid  plate. 

The  Rev.  T.  Perkins,  M.A.,  contributes  an  article  on 
“ Exposure,”  at  the  close  of  which  he  says : — 

Many  photographers  find  a difficulty  in  timing  exposures. 
Wishing  to  keep  their  eyes  on  the  subject  during  the  exposure, 
in  order  that  they  may  re-cap  the  lens  even  before  the  full  in- 
tended exposure  lias  been  given  should  anything  suddenly  move 
and  so  irretrievably  ruin  the  picture,  they  cannot  keep  their 
eyes  on  the  second  hand  of  their  watches  ; but  I always  count 
seconds  in  the  following  manner,  and  by  it  I can  count  even  a 
minute  with  an  error  of  not  more  than  one  or  two  seconds  : I 
repeat  as  fast  as  I can  as  many  letters  of  the  alphabet  as  I find 
from  experience  I can  say  in  a second,  thus,  “a  b c d e f, 
one  ; ” “abedef,  two  ; ’’  and  so  on  up  to  ten  seconds  ; then 
I begin  a second  set  until  the  requisite  number  of  seconds  is 
completed.  A little  practice  is  all  that  is  required  to  gain 
great  accuracy  by  this  method,  the  first  idea  of  which  I gained 
from  Professor  A.  S.  Herschell,  who  used  a somewhat  similar 
plan  to  couut  the  time  of  the  flight  of  meteors  across  the  sky  ; 


[May  30,  1890. 

and  I should  advise  its  use  for  exposures  not  exceeding  twenty 
or  thirty  seconds — for  longer  exposures  a watch  is  more  con- 
venient. 

i 

Mr.  W.  A.  Watts,  M.A.,  also  contributes  an  article  on 
“ Exposure.” 

Finally,  the  book  closes  with  three  articles  on  “ Deve- 
lopment,” by  Messrs.  H.  E.  Murchison,  F.  T.  Bennett,  and 
W.  A.  Watts.  Subjects  which  should  meet  with  more 
attention  in  a future  edition  of  this  useful  little  work  are 
finders,  focussing-glasses,  focussing  screens,  and  some- 
thing about  eikonogen,  for,  although  the  book  is  dated 
1890,  there  is  nothing  in  it  about  the  latter  developer. 

For  the  notices  of  the  other  two  books  of  the  series, 
space  cannot  be  found  this  week. 


Anleitung  zur  Piiotographie  fur  Anfanger.  Von 
G.  Pi/.zighelli.  (1890.  Knapp , Ilalle  a S.) 

This  work,  which  is  not  bulky,  although  containing  200 
pages  illustrated  with  over  100  woodcuts,  professes 
modestly  enough  to  be  an  introduction  to  photography 
for  the  use  of  beginners.  It  will  certainly  serve  this  pur- 
pose, as  each  subject  is  taken  from  the  beginning,  and 
explained  in  a way  that  is  calculated  to  make  it  understood 
by  those  who  have  not  had  previous  instruction  in  photo- 
graphy. It  is,  however,  so  thorough  in  the  treatment  of 
the  subjects  included  in  its  scope  that  it  may  well  take 
place  as  a manual  not  for  beginners  merely,  but  for  refer- 
ence on  the  part  of  the  amateur,  and  even  of  the  professional 
photographer.  We  have  seldom  met  with  such  a trust- 
worthy and,  so  far  as  it  goes,  complete  handbook  in  so 
small  a compass  as  is  presented  in  the  present  volume  by 
the  well-known  writer  aud  experimentalist,  Captain 
Pizzighelli. 


patent  EntcUtgctuc. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

7,764.  D.  J.  Playfair,  87,  St.  Vincent  Street,  Glasgow. 

“Obtaining  Cyanides  and  Ferricyanides.” — May  19th. 

7,842.  J.  Hines,  E.  Howell,  and  H.  Howell,  96,  Buchanan 
Street,  Glasgow.  “ Automatic  Photographic  Machines.” — 
May  20th. 

7,850.  J.  B.  Birkbeck,  12,  Primrose  Hill,  Loudon.  “ Produc- 
ing Optical  Illusions.” — May  20th. 

8,099.  S.  H.  Burcheli.,  37,  Chancery  Lane,  London. 
“ Cameras.” — May  23rd. 

8,139.  J.  Ralfh,  Prince’s  Chambers,  Wolverhampton.  “Pho- 
tographic Albums.” — May  24th. 

8,151.  W.  P.  Thompson,  5,  Lord  Street,  Liverpool.  “Cameras.” 
May  24th. 

8,160.  J.  P.  Bayley,  18,  Fulham  Place,  Paddington,  Loudon. 
“Photographic  Burnishing  Machine.” — May  24th. 

Specifications  Published. 

9,312.  June  5th,  1889. — “ Photographic  Box  Cameras.” 
Georoe  Charles  Inkpf.n,  Architect  and  Surveyor,  12,  Have- 
lock Road,  Southsea. 

The  construction  of  box  cameras,  the  means  of  releasing  the 
exposed  plates,  bringing  forward  fresh  plates  and  storing  them 
after  being  exposed,  also  the  construction  of  the  lens  shutter 
and  means  for  opening  and  closing  same. 

The  camera  consists  of  an  oblong  box  with  raised  platform 
each  end.  On  the  back  platform  the  plates  are  placed  in  vul- 
canite sheaths  and  held  in  position  by  india-rubber  bands, 
and  are  pressed  up  to  the  front  by  means  of  a coil  spring.  The 
lower  edge  of  the  sheath  is  caught  iu  a catch  and  the  upper 
part  by  a lever  worked  from  the  outside  of  the  box,  which,  on 
being  moved  alternately  to  the  left  or  right,  correspondingly 
passes  over  notches  in  the  vulcanite  sheaths,  and  releases  the 


May  30,  1890.1 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


425 


plates,  which  fall  upon  a roller  covered  with  india-rubber, 
and  are  afterwards  passed  and  collected  together  beneath  the 
platforms  at  each  end  of  camera.  The  front  platform  carries 
the  lens  of  the  ordinary  type,  and  the  focus  can  be  regulated  I 
from  the  outside.  The  shutter  consists  of  two  vulcanite  discs, 
fixed  on  a centre,  attached  to  a base  board,  and  having  a drum 
with  two  cords  wound  upon  it.  The  pulling  of  the  cords 
alternately  causes  a corresponding  movement  of  the  discs, 
which,  in  passing  over  the  lens  aperture,  opens  and  closes  the 
lens. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1st.  The  means  by  which  a plurality  of  plates,  films,  or 
other  sensitised  media,  arranged  one  behind  the  other  in  a 
camera,  are  released  in  succession,  removed  from  the  field  of 
the  lens,  passed  into  a depository  chamber,  and  retained  there 
in  such  a manner  as  to  prevent  them  falling  forward  so  as  to 
obstruct  the  field  of  the  lens,  as  substantially  set  forth. 

2nd.  In  providing  a back  of  thin  vulcanite,  or  other 
suitable  material,  with  projecting  edges,  as  a carrier  behind 
the  plates  or  films,  and  securing  the  two  together  by  means  of 
elastic  bands,  preferably  placed  towards  the  ends  of  the  carrier, 
which  also  prevents  the  sensitised  surfaces  being  damaged,  as 
substantially  set  forth. 

3rd.  In  cutting  notches  in  the  projecting  edges  of  the 
carriers  above-mentioned  in  such  a manner  as  to  be  alter- 
nately placed  when  a number  of  carriers  are  arranged  in  suc- 
cession one  behind  the  other,  and  a sliding  bolt  or  other  similar 
means  which,  by  engaging  with  the  projecting  edges  of  the  car- 
riers, causes  the  catch  or  catches  of  the  bolt  to  release  its 
hold  on  passing  the  notches  or  slots  in  the  upper  edge  of  the 
carrier,  and  allows  one  carrier  with  the  plate  or  film  to  be 
expelled  from  the  platform,  whilst  the  plate  immediately 
behind  it  is  secured  by  the  bolt  and  carrier,  as  substantially 
set  forth. 

4th.  The  arrangement  of  the  sliding  bolt  and  the  lever 
which  imparts  a movement  to  it  actuated  from  the  external 
case  of  camera  : also  the  capability  of  the  lever  being  connected 
to  the  mechanism  of  a lens  shutter  so  as  to  set  it  and  reset  it, 
as  substantially  set  forth. 

5th.  One  movement  alone  is  required  to  reset  the  shutter 
and  release  a carrier  with  plate  ; the  action  being  simultaneous, 
it  follows  that  it  is  impossible  to  take  two  views  on  one  plate, 
as  substantially  set  forth. 

6th.  Exhibiting  the  number  of  the  carrier  by  a sliding 
register  visible  from  the  outside  of  camera  of  a corresponding 
number  to  that  placed  on  carrier,  as  substantially  set  forth. 

7th.  In  providing  a platform  in  the  body  of  the  camera, 
on  which  are  placed  one  or  more  rollers,  covered  with  india- 
rubber,  to  break  the  fall  of  the  carrier  with  glass  plate  or  film 
when  expelled  from  the  plat  form,  protect  the  sensitised  surface, 
and  conduct  the  carrier  to  the  depository  chamber,  as  sub- 
stantially set  forth. 

7,522.  November  4 th,  1889. — “ Photographic  Apparatus.’  ’ 

Victor  Jules  Emile  Damoizeau,  17,  Rue  St.  Ambroise, 

Paris,  Gentleman. 

This  invention  relates  to  the  construction  of  photographic 
apparatus  which  is  capable  of  taking  in  any  desired  angle  or 
even  the  entire  horizon,  for  producing  panoramic  views  for  plans, 
landscapes,  and  the  like. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1.  The  construction  of  a carriage  with  two  racks  worked  by 
a common  pinion,  which  permits  the  use  of  a lens  of  any  focus, 
and  insures  an  equal  and  simultaneous  displacement  of  the 
camera  and  of  the  front. 

2.  The  general  arrangement  and  construction  of  the  camera 
forming  a magazine  containing  folded  bellows,  and  capable  of 
being  taken  off  in  one  piece. 

3.  In  the  camera  proper,  the  arrangement  and  use  of  cylinders 
and  rollers  and  lever  which  secure  the  regular  rolling  up  and 
unrolling  of  the  sensitive  material,  as  well  as  the  means  for 
driving  them  from  the  motor  which  actuates  the  carriage  at 
the  same  time. 

4.  In  the  camera  described,  the  employment  of  two  quad- 
rants for  determining  the  aperture  of  the  diaphragm  and 
regulating  the  time  of  exposure. 


5.  The  combination  with  the  camera  described  of  a spring 
pricker  for  making  the  register- marks  on  the  sensitive  material, 
and  of  the  counter  constantly  indicating  the  amount  of  the 
sensitive  material  that  has  been  used. 

6.  The  means  for  working  the  shutter  simultaneously  with 
the  other  parts,  and  for  closing  the  same  automatically  when 
the  carriage  stops. 

7.  The  construction  of  the  front  with  slides  for  obtaining  a 
horizontal  and  vertical  displacement  with  a wide  range  of 
motion. 

8.  The  special  construction  of  the  lens  mounting,  which 
forms  one  with  the  sliding  front,  and  which  is  furnished  with  an 
opening  to  permit  the  lenses  to  be  changed. 

9.  The  synchionous  moving  of  the  optical  centre  of  the  lens, 
and  the  roll  of  sensitive  material  which  is  unwound  at  the  back 
of  the  lens. 

10.  The  addition  to  the  extremities  of  the  sensitive  roll 
of  black  paper  or  fabric,  or  the  like,  which  covers  the  sensi- 
tive material  when  rolled  up,  so  that  it  may  be  withdrawn 
from  the  camera  or  placed  in  position  therein  in  open  daylight. 

11.  The  general  arrangements  and  combinations  of  parts 
constituting  the  improvements  in  photographic  apparatus,  sub- 
stantially as  described  and  illustrated  by  drawings  accompany- 
ing the  specification. 

7,347.  May  2nd,  1889. — “ Photographic  Cameras.”  Richard 
Williams  Thomas,  121,  Cheapside,  London,  Artist. 

My  invention  is  principally  designed  for  cameras  for  taking 
instantaneous  photographs.  I construct  my  improved  camera 
with  two  lenses,  and  preferably  in  the  shape  of  an  ordinary 
field  or  opera  glass — one  side  being  fitted  with  a lens  and  focus- 
sing glass,  and  the  other  side  being  provided  with  a lens  and 
also  suitable  arrangements  for  the  dark  slide  and  shutter.  The 
two  sides  are  joined  together  and  worked  backwards  and  for- 
wards by  means  of  a screw,  as  in  an  ordinary  field  glass,  and 
the  lenses  in  each  side  are  so  arranged  that  by  movement  of 
the  screw  both  are  focussed  at  the  same  time  ; the  shutter  is 
connected  with  a catch  or  spring  fixed  or  projecting  to  or  near 
the  wheel  or  thumbscrew,  by  which  the  screw  is  worked.  By 
means  of  my  invention  the  operator  is  able  to  see  the  object  at 
the  time  he  takes  the  photograph,  and  the  risk  of  failure  is 
thereby  minimised. 

10,319.  June  25th,  1889. — “Supports  for  Photographs.” 

Henry  John  Mansell,  57  and  59,  Golden  Lane,  London, 
Wholesale  Stationer,  and  Eustace  Frith,  of  the  firm  of  Frith 
and  Co.,  Wray  Park,  Reigate,  Surrey,  Wholesale  Photographic 
Publisher. 

The  object  of  the  invention  is  to  provide  a cheap  and  readily 
applicable  stand  for  photographs,  cards,  and  other  articles. 
The  stand  consists  of  a back-board  to  which  is  attached  a 
shorter  or  lesser  front-board,  the  two  being  hinged  together. 
The  extent  of  movement  Of  the  shorter  board  or  limb  is  con- 
trolled by  means  of  a band,  cord,  or  attachment,  which  may 
conveniently  consist  of  a doubled  ribbon,  the  fold  enclosing  a 
ring  at  one  end,  which  ring  rests  against  a hole  in  the  back  of 
the  board  whilst  the  ribbon  passes  through  it,  but  the  ring 
cannot  pass,  on  account  of  its  greater  size.  The  other  end  of 
the  ribbon  passes  through  a hole  in,  and  is  attached  to,  the 
shorter  hinged  portion.  The  photograph,  card,  or  other  article 
to  be  exhibited  is  cemented  or  otherwise  secured  to  the  short 
limb,  and  the  back-board  serves  with  the  photograph  or  other 
article — such  as  opaline  cabinet  or  other  sized  photograph — to 
which  the  shorter  leaf  may  be  attached,  to  form  a steady  sup- 
port for  the  whole,  and  serving  to  hold  the  photograph  up  in 
a convenient  position  for  exhibition. 

19,897.  December  10th,  1890. — “The  Manufacture  of  Photo- 
graphic Films.”  A communication  from  George  Eastman, 
of  Rochester,  in  the  County  of  Monroe,  and  State  of  New 
York,  United  States.  Alfred  Julius  Boui.t,  323,  High 
Holborn,  London,  M.I.M.  E. 

Specification  in  our  next. 


Thf.  June  number  of  Scribner's  Magazine  contains  an  article 
on  the  “ Emin  Pasha  Relief  Expedition,”  w'hich  is  illustrated 
with  reproductions  from  photographs  taken  by  members  of  the 

expedition. 


420 


©omsponticnce. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[May  30,  1890. 


— 


Ishoccctitngs  of  jcoctctics. 


“UNHAPPY  COLONIALS.” 

Sik, — Though  I spent  a good  many  years  in  England  Jn 
graduating  at  Cambridge,  and  going  to  the  Bar,  I am  a native 
of  Tasmania.  In  my  early  days,  I well  remember  the  quality 
of  wares  imported  into  several  of  our  Australian  colonies. 
Anything  was  good  enough  for  us,  and  if  the  articles  imported 
were  not  up  to  the  mark — well,  the  diameter  of  the  world 
separated  the  English  manufacturer  from  our  wrath.  In 
later  times  we  have  been  better  treated  ; but  I want  to  tell 

you  of  a recent  experience  of  mine  with  a box  of  whole- 

plates.  As  I cannot  blame  the  local  vendor,  I may  say  that 
I got  them  from  a well-known  Melbourne  firm — Messrs.  J.  W. 
Small  and  Co.  I have  long  confined  myself  to  this  one  make 
of  plates  ; but  in  one  of  the  boxes  no  less  than  five  plates  had 
a line  clearly  and  cleanly  cut  through  the  film,  which  ran  a 
photographic  telegraph  wire  across  my  picture.  I would 
enclose  a print,  did  not  the  description  appear  plain  enough. 
After  two  plates  in  succession  treating  me  in  this  way,  I 
expended  the  rest  on  views  of  the  magnificent  Derwent  River 
at  Hobart,  taken  from  the  garden  of  my  brother,  the  Chief 
Justice  of  that  colony. 

Now,  how  about  the  next  box  of  this  make,  which  I place 
in  my  slides  ? As  I take  in  and  read,  not  only  your  paper, 
but  another  English  one,  as  well  as  American,  French,  and 
German,  and  occasionally  an  Italian  book,  such  as  “ Bettini’s 
Fotographia  Moderna,”  I deem  it  prudent  to  place  my  plates 
in  their  slides  in  absolute  darkness.  If  it  does  no  good,  it  can 
do  no  harm,  and  you  can  dust  and  insert  without  much  trouble 

in  the  dark.  But  then  these “lines  ” cannot  be  detected. 

I am  familiar  with  the  “ D ” line  in  the  solar  spectrum,  but  I 
felt  seriously  inclined  to  designate  these  happily  unfamiliar 
ones  as  “ D — d.” 

Now,  I simply  ask  you,  would  this  box  of  plates  have  been 
placed  on  the  market  in  England  1 And  was  it  not  sold  out 
here  simply  because  we  are  helpless  in  the  matter  ? 

I would  not  have  mentioned  the  name  of  the  firm  were  not 
its  wares  so  well  established  in  the  market  that  my  complaints 
are  necessarily  and  intentionally  harmless.  Moreover,  the 

managers  of  the  Company  are  probably  unaware  that 

defective  plates  left  their  establishment  ; nor  do  I want  that 
company  to  forward  me  a box  of  their  best  manufacture  to 

replace  the  defective  box.  I imported  some  of films  from 

America  ; they  developed  with  many  spots.  On  writing  to 
them  to  ask  how  to  get  rid  of  them,  that  firm  admitted  that 
many  complaints  had  been  received  of  a similar  nature,  and 
said  that  they  were  anxious  to  replace  the  faulty  sample  with 
others.  I wrote  thanking  them,  but  declining  the  replace- 
ment. All  I ask  for  is  a little  more  care  in  exporting  goods  to 
the  Antipodes. 

F.  Stanley  Dobson,  LL.D.,  M.L.C. 

Melbourne,  5th  M arch,  1890. 

[We  have  omitted  names  of  firms  in  this  letter,  to  deal 
only  with  general  principles.  Mr.  Dobson’s  remedy  over  one 
box  of  bad  plates  is  not  through  newspaper  channels. — Ed.] 


THE  HACKNEY  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY. 

Sir, — Below  is  our  programme  for  June,  1890,  at  the  Morley 
Hall,  Hackney,  Room  No.  4 : — 

Wednesday,  4 th — Excursion  to  Loughton  ; trains  leave 
Liverpool  Street  for  Loughton  at  10.6  and  from  Fenchurch 
Street  at  10.13.  Dine  at  “ King’s  Head,”  Loughton,  at  7 ; 
social  evening.  Saturday,  7 th — Excursion  to  Wan  stead  Park  ; 
meet  at  Leytonstone  Station  at  3.8.  Thursday,  12th — “ Hand 
Cameras,”  Mr.  A.  R.  Dresser.  Thursday,  26th — “Selection 
and  use  of  Lenses,”  Mr.  H.  Crouch.  “ Selection,  use  of 
Camera,  parts,  and  apparatus  advisable,”  Mr.  J.  0.  Grant. 

W.  Fenton  Jones,  Hon.  Sec. 

12,  King  Ed  ward  Road,  llacknty,  London. 

It  is  really  astonishing  what  immense  progress  the  art  of 
photography  has  made  these  last  few  years.  Why,  you  don’t 
really  know  your  friends’  likenesses  when  you  see  them. — Flic- 
yendc  Blatter. 


The  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 

t 

At  the  technical  meeting  of  this  Society  held  on  Tuesday 
evening  last,  the  27th  inst.,  Mr.  G.  L.  Addenbuookk  occupied 
the  chair. 

The  subject  of  stereoscopic  photographs  and  apparatus 
having  been  previously  announced  as  matter  for  the  evening’s 
discussion, 

Mr.  T.  Sebastian  Davis  showed  a stereoscopic  camera  fitted 
with  a sliding  shutter  resembling  a drop  shutter,  with  two 
openings,  but  working  laterally  by  pushing  with  the  finger,  or 
by  an  elastic  band  instead  of  falling  by  gravity.  The  openings 
in  the  moving  board  were  made  as  long  as  practicable,  and  by 
this  means  it  was  not  necessary  to  adjust  it  to  a great  nicety 
when  used  for  time  exposures.  As  to  the  distance  at  which 
the  two  halves  of  slides  should  be  mounted,  they  ought  not  to 
be  more  than  about  2$  inches,  which  might  be  considered  as 
a full  average  of  the  distance  of  the  human  eye  from  centre  to 
centre  ; otherwise  the  pictures  did  not  properly  coalesce  in  the 
stereoscope.  He  thought,  too,  that  the  size  and  proportion 
generally  chosen  were  not  the  best.  He  believed  that  many 
amateurs  had  given  up  stereoscopic  photography  on  account  of 
the  smallness  of  the  angle  of  view  included  in  the  pictures. 
He  would  get  over  this  by  the  use  of  a lens  of  short  focus — 
3 inches.  The  picture  should  be  2 J inches  in  length  ; but, 
for  landscapes,  he  thought  a more  artistic  and  satisfactory  pro- 
portion would  be  to  have  them  only  2|  inches  in  height.  The 
surface  for  printing  on  should,  he  thought,  be  as  fine  and  free 
from  grain  as  possible.  Albumen  paper  he  did  not  consider 
fine  enough,  and  glass  transparencies  were  not  suitable  for  all 
subjects. 

Mr.  Arnold  Spiller  considered  that  paper  prepared  with 
chloride  of  silver  in  gelatine  was  better  than  albumen  paper 
for  the  purpose.  There  was  a fine  enamel  as  a basis  for  the 
emulsion,  and  there  was  more  detail  in  the  shadows  than  with 
albumen  paper. 

Mr.  Friese  Greene  said  that  it  was  his  impression  that 
celluloid  was  better  than  paper  as  a basis  for  stereoscopic 
prints. 

Mr.  Atkinson  showed  a stereoscopic  print  upon  gelatino- 
chloride  of  silver  paper,  which  supported  Mr.  Spiller’s  view. 
He  also  showed  a stereoscope  fitted  with  achromatic  lenses. 

Mr.  Valentine  Blanchard  thought  it  was  an  objection  to 
the  dimensions  proposed  by  Mr.  Davis,  that  the  foreground 
would  be  so  much  cut  off.  It  was  just  the  foreground  in 
landscape  pictures  generally  that  gave  such  value  to  the  stereo- 
scopic effect  of  the  photograph.  In  order  to  utilise  the 
foreground  to  a greater  extent  than  would  otherwise  be  the 
case,  Mr.  Wilson,  of  Aberdeen,  would  frequently  place  his 
camera  within  two  feet  of  the  ground. 

Mr.  \Y.  E.  Debenham  said  that  the  necessity  for  limiting 
the  distance  at  which  the  two  halves  of  a stereoscopic  photo- 
graph should  be  mounted,  depended  upon  the  eyepieces  used. 
These  might  besoarrauged  as  to  unite  two  photographs  of,  say, 
whole-plate  size.  In  any  case  it  was  desirable  to  have  the 
eyepieces  so  mouuted  that  they  could  be  separated  more  or 
less.  By  this  means  they  could  be  ad  justed  for  eyes  that  were 
either  farther  apart  or  nearer  than  the  average,  and  adjustment 
could  also  be  made  for  photographs  that  were  mouuted  at  a 
greater  or  less  distance  apart  than  ordinary. 

Mr.  T.  Samuels  thought  that  it  was  more  correct  in 
principle  to  use  a single  lens  in  a Latimer  Clark  camera  rather 
than  a pair  of  lenses.  The  axis  could  then  be  directed  to  the 
centre  of  the  pictures. 

Other  members  did  not  hold  the  same  view. 

Mr.  W.  England  had  sometimes,  when  photographing 
statuary,  used  a lens  of  twenty  inches  focus.  This  was  to  prevent 
exaggerated  perspective  caused  by  coming  too  near  to  the 
subject.  He  also  showed  photographs  of  large  size,  mounted 
as  stereoscopic  pictures.  They  required  a special  stereoscope 
in  which  the  pictures  were  necessarily  farther  apart,  and  farther 
from  the  eyepieces  than  in  the  usual  form  of  instrument. 

Mr.  L.  Warner  ke  showed  some  specimens  of  a gelatine  film 


May  30,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


427 


which  had  been  prepared  as  a basis  for  a second  coating  with 
silver  emulsion.  It  never  had  been  coated,  but  was  nevertheless 
covered  along  the  exposed  edges  with  a stain  like  that  seen  on 
plates  that  have  been  kept  for  some  time.  He  thought,  there- 
fore, that  this  stain,  which  has  been  so  often  noticed,  does  not 
belong  to  the  silver  emulsion,  but  to  the  gelatine  itself. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  said  that  the  edges,  which  looked  dark 
on  the  plates,  came  out  clear  in  the  developed  picture. 

Mr.  Arnold  Spieler  said  that  the  films  shown  were  not 
comparable  with  the  gelatine  in  an  emulsion,  as  in  these  films 
there  was  a large  quantity  of  carbolic  acid,  the  action  of  which 
must  be  taken  into  account. 

Mr.  L.  Warnerke  showed  a block  that  had  been  made  upon 
a zinc  plate  previously  coated  with  copper.  The  plate  was  so 
hard,  that  five  thousand  impressions  might  be  worked  off  it. 


The  Camera  Club. 

May  22 ml. — Sir  George  K.  Prescott  in  the  chair. 

The  Chairman  exhibited  a hand  camera  which  he  said  that 
he  considered  to  be  the  simplest  that  he  had  ever  seen  ; the 
plates  were  mounted  in  sheaths  in  a kind  of  a book,  and  each 
plate,  after  exposure,  fell  down  on  hinge,  leaving  the  next  to 
be  exposed  after  it  was  moved  into  true  focus  ; and  this  was 
done  by  one  movement. 

The  Hon.  Sec.  exhibited  a Watkins  exposure  meter  and  one 
of  Fallowfield’s  sheaths  for  plates. 

Mr.  E.  R.  Shipton  read  a paper  entitled  “Cycle  Photo- 
graphy and  its  Recent  Developments,  including  an  Ideal  Cycle,” 
and  said  that  by  means  of  a tricycle  the  photographer  rolled  his 
kit  instead  of  walking  with  it,  so  economised  energy  and  gained 
the  pow’er  of  going  farther  afield  ; in  fact,  on  a tricycle  he  could 
conveniently  carry  a 15  by  12  inch  camera  and  appurtenances. 
He  exhibited  a tricycle  with  wheels  fitted  with  the  new  pneu- 
matic tyre,  and  described  various  spring  carriers  for  attach- 
ment to  any  tricycle  to  protect  the  photographic  apparatus 
from  vibration.  The  pneumatic  tyre  had  given  him  an  average 
of  two  miles  per  hour  increase  in  speed,  and  had  proved  most 
luxurious  in  use,  but  added  £6,  or  thereabouts,  to  the  cost  of 
the  vehicle  ; he  could  go  eight  or  ten  miles  an  hour  with  it, 
carrying  100  lbs.  weight  of  luggage  ; the  weight  of  his  machine 
was  about  95  lbs.  He  could  go  over  every  kind  of  road, 
including  sharp  flints.  For  the  first  few'  days  he  was  nervous 
about  going  over  stones  with  the  new  tyre,  but  gradually 
gained  confidence,  until  he  took  every  kind  of  road  which  came 
in  his  way,  and  altogether  he  had  been  about  300  miles  with 
the  new  tyre.  The  tyre  must  not  be  allowed  to  get  flabby,  but 
must  be  kept  blown  out ; he  had  had  to  blow  out  his  tyres 
three  times,  and  lapse  of  time,  more  than  of  work,  seemed  to 
render  this  necessary.*  He  described  the  construction  of  the 
pneumatic  tyre,  how  to  blow  it  out  writh  a little  forciug  syringe, 
and  how  to  repair  it  should  it  get  accidental!}'  or  wantonly 
punctured.  So  far,  his  tyre  had  not  become  even  marked,  and 
seemed  as  good  as  at  first. 

Mr.  H.  Stdrmet  remarked  that  one  objection  to  the  pneu- 
matic tyre  was,  that  if  it  were  driven  at  a large  obstacle,  such 
as  a brick,  it  gave  a rebound,  and  “up  went  the  w'hole  lot.” 
The  great  bugbear  in  cycling  with  photographic  apparatus  was 
dust,  especially  that  caused  by  the  jolting  of  the  plates  in  the 
slides.  Sometimes  with  the  new  tyre  he  had  driven  two  miles 
an  hour  faster,  but  on  the  average  had  not  gained  much  in 
speed  over  that  obtainable  with  the  old  one  ; with  the  new 
tyre,  going  down  hill,  the  machine  went  flying. 

Dr.  Patterson  had  found  the  resistance  of  the  air  to  be 
of  more  importance  than  weight  when  tricycling,  and  liked 
the  baggage  to  be  so  packed  as  to  present  as  narrow  a surface 
as  possible  towards  the  front  of  the  machine. 

Mr.  Enrico  Ferrero  had  been  a cyclist  for  twelve  years,  and 
‘lid  not  believe  in  carrying  so  great  a weight  of  luggage.  An 
expert  like  Mr.  Shipton  could  do  more  in  the  carrying  of 
luggage  than  could  an  ordinary  cyclist.  He  (the  speaker)  ' 
did  not  lielieve  in  tricycles  in  photography  ; they  were 
always  an  encumbrance  ; with  them  the  photo- 

Certain  ga«es  will  slowly  pass  through  india-rubber,  and  the  oxygen 
of  common  air  passes  more  rapidly  than  the  nitrogen. — Ed. 


grapher  had  chiefly  to  keep  to  the  road,  and  not  to 
enter  paths  and  fields  to  get  views  he  frequently  required. 
A safety  bicycle  and  half-plate  apparatus  would  be  found  to 
be  as  convenient  as  anything.  The  best  place  for  carrying 
photographic  luggage  was  on  the  back  of  the  cyclist. 

Mr.  George  Davison  had  also  found  a tricycle  to  be  always 
in  the  way  when  used  on  a photographic  expedition. 

Mr.  Shipton,  in  the  course  of  his  reply,  said  that  he  wished 
that  opticians  would  make  casket  lenses  with  a shutter  forming 
part  of  the  lens  tube,  and  not  burden  purchasers  with  so 
great  a weight  of  brass  as  at  present,  when  lenses  of  different 
kinds  are  carried. 


The  Hackney  Photographic  Society. 

The  ordinary  meeting  of  this  Society  was  held  on  Thursday, 
Dr.  Roland  Smith  (vice-president)  in  the  chair.  Mr.  E.  J. 
Wall’s  paper  on  “Photographic  Chemistry”  was  read.  Mr. 
Wall  preferred  giving  an  elementary  paper,  as  there  were 
many  amateurs  who  only  took  up  photography  for  the  pur- 
pose of  getting  pictures  without  the  particular  study  and  value 
of  each  of  the  chemicals  used.  He  described  the  manufac- 
turing of  plates  and  the  compounds  used,  and  gave  the  uses 
of  chemicals  in  other  photographic  operations.  In  the  dis- 
cussion which  followed,  Messrs.  Dean,  Grant,  Reynolds,  and 
others  took  part.  Mr.  Dean  showed  a simple  stereoscope  made 
by  Pumphrey.  He  had  found  it  effective.  Various  books 
were  given  to  the  Society  by  Messrs.  Dean,  Reynolds,  Grant, 
and  the  Secretary. 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  Reynolds,  a vote  of  thanks  was 
passed  to  the  officers  of  the  Society  for  their  efforts  during 
the  past  year,  and  he  complimented  the  Secretary  for  the 
manner  in  which  he  had  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  Society, 

Mr.  Bruce  Capel  was  elected  a member. 

The  excursion  on  June  4th  will  be  to  Loughton,  and  on  the 
7th  to  Wanstead. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  22nd  inst.,  Mr.  A.  Cowan  occupied  the 
chair. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Hastings  exhibited  some  prints  on  the  new  chloride 
of  iridium  paper.  Some  pieces  also  of  this  paper  were  dis- 
tributed among  the  members  for  trial. 

Mr.  J.  Traill  Taylor  read  a paper  on  the  “ Ethics  of  Pho- 
tography” (see  page  412). 

In  the  course  of  the  discussion  that  followed  the  reading  of 
the  paper — 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  disagreed  with  the  idea  that  amateurs 
interfered  detrimentally  with  professionals.  The  great  strides 
that  photography  had  made  were  due,  in  a great  measure,  to 
amateur  workers. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater  spoke  of  the  anomalies  that  were 
sometimes  seen  in  photographs  on  the  market.  He  referred,  as 
an  instance,  to  a photograph  of  a brook,  which  had  a very  large 
sale.  A stork  had  been  printed -in  not  in  proportion  to  the 
surroundings  ; the  stork  was  about  three  times  the  size  it  ought 
to  be.  He  knew  a case  where  a gentleman  sent  some  negatives 
of  Florence  to  have  some  prints  made  ; when  he  received  the 
prints  he  found  some  clouds  had  been  introduced  into  the  pic- 
tures. The  prints  were  all  returned  with  the  remark,  that 
clouds  w'ere  not  usually  seen  in  Florence. 

The  Chairman  said  that  it  was  sometimes  not  borne  in  mind, 
when  printing-inolouds,that  theyshould  be  reversed  in  thewater ; 
he  had  seen  photographs  with  clouds  printed  in  the  sky  which 
were  conspicuous  by  their  absence  in  the  water.  The  reflection 
of  clouds  in  water  was  easily  done  by  printing  through  the 
glass. 

Mr.  W.E.  Debenham, speaking  of  stereoscopic  vision, said  that, in 
addition  to  the  microscopeandstereoscope,  there  wasau  instrument 
which,  he  thought,  might  prove  useful  in  warfare  ; he  referred  to 
the  telestereoscope,  by  which  the  solidity  of  an  object  at  a distance 
could  be  judged.  Some  years  ago  he  constructed  a telestereo- 
scope, using  a pair  of  field  glasses  for  the  purpose.  To  one  of  the 
object  glasses  a mirror  was  fixed,  which  received  the  reflection 
from  a second  mirror  fastened  at  the  end  of  a rod  fixed  at  right 


428 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Mat  30,  1890. 


angles  to  the  field  glass  ; by  this  means  distant  objects  could 
be  viewed  stereoscopically.  Mr.  Debenham  explained  the  con- 
struction of  the  telestereoscope  by  diagrams  on  the  blackboard. 

Mr.  T.  Waltenberg  asked  whether  he  could  restrain  anyone 
from  copying  a photograph  he  had  taken  some  years  ago  ; he 
had  been  paid  in  the  usual  way  of  business  by  the  sitter,  who 
was  now  dead.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the  members  that,  having 
been  paid  for  the  negative  at  the  time  of  sitting,  he  had  no 
publishing  rights  whatever  in  the  possession  of  the  negative. 


The  Photographic  Society  of  Ireland. 

The  last  meeting  for  the  season  of  this  Society  was  held  on 
Thursday  evening,  22nd  inst.,  by  permission,  in  the  Lecture 
Theatre  of  the  Royal  College  of  Science,  Stephen’s  Green, 
Dublin,  and  took  the  form  of  a pul  die  exhibition  of  lantern 
slides.  There  was  a large  attendance  of  members  and  their 
friends,  and  upwards  of  200  slides,  principally  contributed  by 
members,  were  passed  through  the  lanterns.  In  the  absence  of 
Dr.  J.  Alfred  Scott  (vice-president)  the  slides  were  described  by 
the  lion,  sec.,  Mr.  J.  H.  Hargrave,  C.E.  The  lanterns  were 
worked  efficiently  by  Mr.  James  Carson,  C.E.  Amongst  the 
slides  deserving  special  notice  were  those  of  Miss  White,  the 
only  lady  member  of  the  Society,  and  the  “slumming”  hand- 
camera  work  of  Mr.  C.  R.  Strangways,  Dr.  J.  A.  Scott,  and 
Dr.  Cosgrave. 

Eye-Piece  for  the  Lick  Telescope. — It  is  said  that  the 
Lick  Telescope  will,  in  a few  weeks,  be  supplemented 
by  a remarkable  piece  of  mechanism.  This  is  an  eye-piece 
which  has  just  been  completed  at  Rochester,  N.Y.  No 
other  eye-piece  of  anything  like  equal  dimensions  has  ever 
been  made.  The  largest  now  in  use  is  not  over  two  inches  in 
diameter,  while  the  new  piece  measures  over  three  inches. 
The  eye-piece  is  constructed  on  a perfect  theory.  There  are 
two  lenses,  six  inches  apart.  The  larger  one  is  called  the  field 
lens,  and  is  six  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter.  The  other  lens 
is  the  eye-glass  proper.  It  is  composed  of  three  lenses,  a 
double  concave,  double  convex  and  meniscus,  cemented  together. 
The  field  lens  is  of  crown  glass.  The  meniscus,  or  correcting 
lens,  is  of  flint  glass.  The  light  from  the  heavenly  bodies,  seen 
through  the  Lick  Telescope  and  this  new  eye-piece,  will  he  2,000 
times  as  bright  as  that  seen  with  the  naked  eye. 

Artificial  Illumination. — Prof.  Langley,  says  the  Detroit 
Free  Press,  read  a paper  at  Washington  on  the  subject  of 
artificial  illumination,  in  which  he  advanced  a novel  idea.  He 
says  that  all  existing  systems  in  a varying  degree  sacrifice 
economy,  because  a very  large  per  centage  of  the  energy  used  is 
diverted  from  the  production  of  light  to  the  useless  generation 
of  heat.  This  is  not  only  a direct  waste,  but  the  production 
of  heat  is  a positive  disadvantage.  He  shows  how  much  better 
nature  does  this  work  in  the  case  of  the  firefly,  and  of  the 
luminous  infusoria  which  are  seen  upon  the  surface  of  the  sea, 
and  are  so  numerous  especially  in  the  British  Channel,  as  to 
have  a practical  effect  in  lighting  the  course  of  the  vessels. 
He  says  that  the  light  which  distinguishes  these  insects  is 
produced  by  a chemical,  not  by  a physical  process,  and  is 
unattended  by  any  perceptible  development  of  heat.  He 
expresses  the  belief  that  a careful  scientific  study  of  these 
insects  may  lead  to  the  discovery  of  a means  by  which  the  same 
effect  can  be  artificially  produced  upon  such  a scale  as  to  have 
an  industrial  value. 


Received. — The  monthly  part  for  May,  of  “ Traite  Encyclo- 
p&lique  de  Photographic,”  by  Charles  Fabre,  published  in  Paris 
by  Gauthier- Yillars  and  Son.  The  present  issue  embraces, 
among  other  subjects  of  interest,  a chapter  on  platinotype,  and 

is,  like  its  predecessors,  freely  illustrated. From  Ed. 

Liesegang,  Dusseldorf,  “ I’hotographischer  Zeitvertreib,”  by 
J.  Schnauss.  It  contains  a number  of  interesting  applications 
of  photography,  old  and  new,  collated  from  various  sources,  and 
is  freely  illustrated.  A more  extended  notice  will  be  given  of 
the  book  in  due  course. Watson’s  exposure  meter,  a criti- 

cism of  which  is  postponed. 


Ungfoers  to  ©orrcgpon&entg. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 

Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  3t.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

All  Alr-rtisj-nents  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 

to  the  sale  of  the  paper  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 

Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  4 Carter,  5,Pumival  8treet,  London. 

L.  E. — Horny  Dryness  of  Sensitized  Albumen  Paper,  During 
the  prevalence  of  unusually  hot  or  dry  weather  you  may 
find  it  advantageous  to  add  nitrate  of  soda  to  the  silver  loath. 
The  addition  of  ten  or  fifteen  grains  to  each  ounce  of  sensi- 
tizing bath  makes  a considerable  difference,  but  be  careful 
not  to  exceed  this  amount,  for  there  may  loe  danger  of  stain- 
ing your  gelatine  negatives.  Sugar  is  sometimes  employed 
for  the  same  purpose. 

M.  P.  S. — Photo-Chemical  Investigations.  An  extremely  impor- 
tant paper,  embodying  the  results  of  many  years  of  research, 
was  read  by  Dr.  Ferdinand  Hunter,  at  the  recent  meeting  of 
the  Liverpool  Section  of  the  Society  of  Chemical  Industry. 
The  subjects  treated  of  were  the  density  or  opacity  of  the 
negative,  modes  of  measurements,  development  of  plates 
under  varying  conditions,  gradation  secured  by  different 
developers,  the  intensification  and  reduction  of  negatives, 
unit  of  exposure,  rapidity  of  sensitive  plates,  and  instru- 
ments for  actinometry.  The  whole  matter  is  treated  in  a 
thoroughly  scientific  spirit,  and  we  hope  to  give  you  shortly 
a r<5sum<5  or  the  author’s  valuable  communication.  At  the 
same  meeting  Mr.  E.  G.  Ballard  exhibited  a new  actino- 
rneter,  in  which  Balmain’s  luminous  paint  is  employed,  but 
in  a different  way  to  that  suggested  by  Mr.  Warnerke. 

Tyro. — Action  of  Chromic  Acid  upon  Alcohol.  The  sub- 
stance you  obtained  was  aldehyde,  which  is  always  formed 
when  alcohol  is  heated  with  sulphuric  acid  and  a bichromate, 
or  with  chromic  acid  itself.  Chrome  alum  could  not  give 
rise  to  its  formation.  Aldehyde  has  a very  peculiar 
aromatic  odour,  and  in  composition  stands  midway  between 
alcohol  and  acetic  acid. 

W.  M. — Baching  for  Drying  Plates.  The  common  method  is 
to  paint  with  a mixture  of  raw  sienna  and  dilute  gum  water 
or  dextrine,  but  Dr.  Fol’s  plan  is  better.  It  is  to  moisten  a 
piece  of  carbon  tissue  cut  to  the  size  of  the  plate  with  equal 
parts  of  glycerine  and  water,  and  apply  it  like  a sticking 
plaster  to  the  back  surface,  pulling  it  off  l>efore  developing 
the  negative.  The  same  piece  of  black  tissue  may  lie  used 
many  times.  Photo- Engraving.  See  Answers  to  R.  B.  B., 

of  Glasgow,  last  week.  Mr.  W.  T.  Wilkinson’s  book  is  not 
yet  reprinted,  but  it  contains  much  useful  information. 

A.  Smithson  (Dublin). — Magnesium  Chloride  as  a Fixing  Agent. 
Dr.  Liesegang  proposes  the  use  of  this  salt  as  a solvent  for 
chloride  of  silver,  and  urges  its  superiority  over  hyposulphite 
on  the  ground  of  its  being  more  readily  got  rid  of  by 
washing.  It  is  equally  applicable  to  plates  and  prints. 

T.  F. — Lime  Light.  Your  letters  received.  The  hand-bellows 
would  be  considered  a disadvantage,  and  probably  lead  to 
inequality  in  the  lighting.  A powerful  Bunsen  burner, 
surmounted  by  a ball  of  platinized  asbestos,  or  zirconia  lime, 
might  possibly  give  a steady  light  of  sufficient  intensity  for 
copying  purposes. 

R.  S.  L. — Cyanide  Fixing  of  Gelatine  Plates.  As  a ready  means 
of  getting  rid  of  free  caustic  potash  in  the  cyanide,  you 
might  mix  with  it  a certain  quantity  of  sal-ammoniac,  which 
would  have  the  effect  of  turning  this  impurity  into  the 
harmless  free  ammonia,  and  then  it  could  not  soften  the 
gelatine. 

Enquirer. — The  Opera-Glass  Camera.  The  statement  is 
probably  true.  A very  similar,  if  not  identical,  arrangement 
was  brought  out  many  years  ago  by  MM.  Geymet  and  Alker. 

A.  M.  M.  — The  Journal  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  India 
contains,  as  you  say,  amongst  other  matters  of  great  interest, 
the  identical  paper  which  formed  the  subject  of  our  corre- 
spondence. No  injustice  will  be  done  by  taking  the  proposed 
course,  as  the  communication  bears  date  April  22nd. 

Received  : Clapham  and  W ,H.  S.  ; Wm.  Harbutt,  replied  by 
post. 


NEWS. 


THE 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1657 .—June  6,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PAOX 

Translucent  Screens  for  Developing-Room  Lamps 429 

Photographs  of  London j 430 

Guaiacol  as  a Developer  for  Dry  Plates.  By  Colonel  J. 

Waterhouse 431 

The  City  Photographic  Exhibition 432 

Photographs  on  View  at  the  Drapers’  Hall,  Throgmorton 

Street.  By  Rev.  F.  C.  Lambert,  M.A 433 

Photography  in  Rome 434 


The  Royal  Academy  of  Arts,  1890.  By  the  Rev.  F.  C.  Lambert  434 
Ethics  of  Photography  and  Photographers.  By  J.  T.  Taylor  436 


PAOI 

Notes 438 

Photographic  Exhibitions.  By  George  Davison  440 

Photography  in  Florence  441 

A Photographic  Exhibition  at  Hexham.  By  James  Brown 

and  Edgar  G.  Lee 442 

Notices  of  Books  442 

Patent  Intelligence 443 

Correspondence 446 

Proceedings  of  Societies 44a 

Answers  to  Correspondents  448 


TRANSLUCENT  SCREENS  FOR  DEVELOPING- 
ROOM  LAMPS. 

Last  week  the  subject  of  transparent  coloured  screens 
for  developing-room  lamps  was  considered.  Next  in 
order  come  translucent  screens,  such  as  those  of  opal 
or  ground  glass,  or  fabrics  like  paper  or  cloth. 

A translucent  screen  may  act  in  two  ways,  namely, 
by  its  colour,  if  it  have  any,  and  by  its  translucency. 
By  means  of  its  latter  function  it  diffuses  the  light  from 
the  flame,  preventing  the  rays  from  the  latter  falling 
direct  upon  the  plate;  it  also,  to  a limited  extent, 
quenches  some  of  the  blue  and  violet  rays.  Particles 
in  suspension,  such  as  mist  or  dirt  in  the  air,  or  solid 
particles  in  translucent  screens,  tend  to  cut  off  the  blue 
and  violet  rays  more  than  the  yellow  and  red  ; this  is 
why  street  gas  flames,  seen  through  a fog,  appear 
redder  and  redder  the  farther  they  are  from  the  eye  of 
the  spectator,  and  why  most  samples  of  opal  glass  have 
a yellowish  hue  when  viewed  by  transmitted  daylight. 
For  this  reason  a sheet  of  opal  glass,  used  with  a sheet 
of  unsafe  ruby  glass  in  a developing-room  lamp,  will 
probably  at  once  make  the  light  practically  safe,  not 
alone  by  lowering  the  intensity  of  the  light  by  diffu- 
sion, but  by  cutting  off  more  or  less  of  the  feeble  band 
of  blue  rays  which  found  its  way  through  the  imperfect 
sheet  of  ruby  glass.  As,  however,  two  sheets  of  ruby 
glass  scarcely  reduce  the  amount  of  light  in  the  room 
more  than  does  one  sheet,  two  sheets  of  ruby  glass  and 
one  of  opal  glass  in  each  window  of  the  lantern  tend  to 
give  an  exceedingly  safe  light,  all  other  conditions  being 
equal.  Opal  glass  has  such  power  of  quenching  and 
diffusing  any  feeble  blue  radiations  which  may  find 
their  way  through  an  imperfect  sample  of  ruby  glass, 
that  any  spectroscopic  testing  of  the  triple  screen  des- 
cribed is  practically  unnecessary.  Opal  glass  is  the 
best  diffuser  of  white  light  known  obtainable  in  mass, 
but  it  quenches  such  a large  per  centage  of  the  light 
that  gas  globes  made  of  it  prove  excessively  costly  in 
use,  unless  the  light  required  to  be  utilised  falls  where 
it  is  wanted  through  a large  orifice  in  the  bottom  of 
the  globe.  Ground  glass,  which  consists  of  plain  glass 


with  a surface  of  minute  abrasions,  cracks,  and  scratches 
produced  by  grinding,  is  not  so  good  a diffuser  as  opal 
glass. 

For  the  perfect  diffusion  of  white  light,  it  is  necessary 
that  the  particles  producing  the  diffusion  should  be 
exceedingly  clean.  One  more  perfect  means  of  diffusing 
light  than  by  opal  glass  is  kuown,  but  cannot  be  util- 
ised in  photography,  namely,  by  means  of  smoke  con- 
sisting of  particles  of  phosphoric  acid.  Phosphorus 
burnt  in  oxygen  gas  throws  off  this  smoke,  and  when 
the  smoke  gets  thick  enough  to  hide  the  flame  of  the 
burning  phosphorus,  a light  is  obtained  surrounded  by 
the  best  and  cleanest  diffusing  medium  known. 

Cloth,  paper,  and  such  like  fabrics  for  developing- 
room  lamps  now  demand  attention,  and  at  first  sight  it 
seems  strange  that  such  coarse  substances  should  be 
so  useful  when  dealing  with  such  minute  agencies  as 
waves  of  light.  Put  a piece  of  coloured  cloth  or  tissue 
paper  under  the  microscope,  and,  with  a strong  white 
light  on  the  other  side  of  the  fabric,  it  will  be  seen  to 
be  full  of  minute  holes,  letting  through  white  light  in 
abundance,  and  brighter  light  will  be  seen  coming 
through  some  parts  of  the  fibres  themselves  than 
through  other  parts.  If,  now,  two  thicknesses  of  the 
fabric  be  used,  almost  all  the  white  light  is  cut  off, 
because  a hole  in  one  thickness  will  rarely  so  come  before 
a hole  in  the  next  thickness  that  a ray  of  white 
light  can  pass  through  both.  Three  thicknesses  of  red 
cloth  make  an  excellent  screen,  the  total  amount  of 
colour  and  translucency  being  large,  and  all  pure  white 
light  cut  off.  Telegraph  cables  are  made  on  the  same 
principle  ; there  might  be  a fault  in  one  layer  of  gutta- 
percha, but  if  the  cable  have  a second  layer,  it  is 
hardly  likely  that  a fault  will  occur  in  both  at  the 
same  place ; three  layers  of  gutta-percha  make  every- 
thing practically  safe. 

Sometimes  it  is  recommended  in  print  to  make  a 
developing-lamp  window  with  one  large  sheet  of  red 
cloth,  and  those  who  make  the  recommendation  have 
doubtless  found  it  to  answer  in  their  own  experience ; 
yet  this  single  screen  lets  some  white  light  pass  through 


430 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jdnf.  6,  1890. 


its  numerous  minute  holes.  The  explanation  is,  that 
the  exposure  of  the  plates  of  such  operators  has  been 
long  enough  to  enable  a good  image  to  be  developed 
before  the  fogging  power  of  their  light  has  had  time 
to  act  injuriously.  On  the  same  principle,  by  suitable 
manipulations,  an  instantaneous  exposure  on  one  scene 
may  be  given  to  a plate  by  means  of  a shutter,  and 
afterwards  a longer  exposure  of  the  same  plate  to 
another  scene,  and  in  the  developing  bath  the  latter 
will  come  up  all  right,  with  no  trace  of  the  former. 
As  regards  dcveloping-room  lamps,  it  is  as  easy  to 
make  good  as  bad  screens,  so  it  is  as  well  not  to  employ 
imperfect  means,  which  have  to  be  compensated  in 
other  ways,  when  good  results  have  to  be  obtained 
therewith. 

There  is  reason  to  suppose  that  dead  white  bodies, 
such  as  opal  glass,  are  entirely  built  up  of  transparent 
particles.  The  foam  of  the  sea  is  white,  yet  it  is 
formed  entirely  of  transparent  drops  of  water ; the 
light  getting  into  the  midst  of  the  myriads  of  drops  is 
refracted  and  reflected  in  all  directions,  and  becomes  so 
scattered  as  to  produce  the  effect  which  is  called 
“white.”  The  something  occurs  with  ground  glass. 
The  glass  is  as  transparent  as  ever  it  was,  but  the  number- 
less minute  cracks,  scratches,  peaks,  and  valleys  upon  its 
surface  scatter  the  incident  light  and  produce  the  deac 
white  effect  to  the  eye.  The  whiteness  of  paper  is  due 
to  the  way  in  which  it  scatters  light,  but  let  its  inter- 
stices be  filled  up  with  varnish,  it  scatters  the  light 
less,  and  the  transparency  of  the  cellulose  fibres 
becomes  more  manifest. 


PHOTOGRAPHS  OF  LONDON. 

The  day  is  approaching  when  the  man  who  does  not 
use  a camera  will  be  looked  upon  as  quite  a remark- 
able character,  and  his  biography  and  portrait  will 
appear  in  those  publications  which  keep  the  memory 
green  of  those  who  have  deserved  well  of  their  country. 
Rut  before  that  day  comes  the  Continent,  and  places 
generally  where  holiday  seekers  most  do  congregate, 
will  photographically  be  used  up.  There  will  be  then 
no  spot  which  has  not  been  haunted  by  the  photo- 
graphic worker,  and  “ taken  ” by  everybody.  Perhaps, 
however,  London  itself  will  escape  this  general  photo- 
graphic scourge,  for  it  is  a remarkable  circumstance 
that  every7  dweller  therein  runs  away  from  the  “ big 
village  ” before  he  deigns  to  unlimber  his  camera  anc 
tripod.  Why  this  should  be  so  we  cannot  guess,  unless 
it  be  a kind  of  perversion  of  the  text  which  tells  us 
that  no  man  is  a prophet  in  his  own  country.  Certain 
it  is  that  most  photographers  do  not  see  in  their  own 
city  anything  worth  photographing;  otherwise  they 
would  not  be  in  such  a hurry  to  turn  their  backs  upon 
it  in  favour  of  places  not  possessing  one  tithe  of  its 
beauty  or  interest. 

Although  we  hold  that  in  London  can  be  found  a 
wealth  of  pictures  by  those  who  have  eyes  to  see  and 
minds  to  appreciate,  we  must  confess  that  London 
people  are  far  from  picturesque.  To  begin  with,  we 
have  no  distinctive  national  costume.  Next  we  have 


the  influence  of  fashion,  which  plays  mad  tricks  with 
the  human  form  divine,  and  which  does  its  best  to 
correct  or  destroy  the  graceful  design  upon  which  our 
first  parents  were  built.  If  we  turn  to  western 
London,  and  stray  into  Kensington  Gardens,  we  are 
among  these  fashionable  folk.  They  are  what  is  called 
well  dressed  ; but  they  are  all  alike  to  the  photographer, 
who  must  perforce  neglect  the  charms  of  colour.  One 
' ady  is  to  him  adorned  very  much  like  another,  the 
tailor-made  girl  being  predominant ; and  as  to  the  men, 
there  is  still  less  variety,  for  the  coats  are  all  of  one 
pattern,  and  the  chimney-pot  hat  docs  not  lend  itselt 
to  artistic  treatment.  If  we  go  east  we  have  a differ- 
ence, but  little  variation.  The  starched  collar  is  re- 
placed by  the  dirty  spotted  neckerchic-f;  the  black  coat 
by  one  which  was  once  black,  but  which,  like  the 
average  lodging  house  keeper,  “ has  seen  better  days  ; ” 
and  the  shiny  hat  of  respectability  is  deposed  in  favour 
of  the  “billycock.”  But  look  at  them  as  we  may,  no 
one  is  picturesque.  One  class  is  trim,  clean,  and  neat, 
and  the  other  slovenly  and  dirty,  but  they  do  not  make 
good  pictures. 

The  streets  themselves  are,  some  of  them,  in  spite 
of  the  march  of  improvement,  full  of  beauty.  Of 
course  there  are  miles  and  miles  of  ugly  thoroughfares, 
with  rows  of  houses  exactly  alike.  There  is  the 
Belgravia  pattern,  the  Bloomsbury  pattern,  the  Pimlico 
pattern,  and  any  number  of  other  patterns  peculiar  to 
the  districts  in  which  they  occur,  and  which  owe  their 
design  to  the  fertile  imagination  of  some  jobbing  builder, 
who  has  often  been,  more  successfully,  the  architect 
of  his  own  fortune.  Then  there  is  the  suburban  villa, 
which  can  only  be  described  by  that  truly  dreadful 
word,  “ genteel.”  All  these  the  searcher  after  the 
picturesque  will  studiously  avoid.  He  can,  if  he  will 
only  seek  them  out,  find  plenty  of  old  world  nooks  in 
and  about  the  city.  Crooked  lanes,  containing  rickety 
houses,  and  ending  often  with  a peep  at  some  old 
church  tower,  or  spire,  which  completes  a perfect 
little  picture.  Then  there  is  the  noble  river  Thames, 
which  affords  an  endless  field  for  pictorial  possibilities. 
The  river  has  plenty  of  photographic  worshippers,  but 
they  all  confine  themselves  to  its  upper  reaches,  and 
everyone  takes  the  same  views.  There  is,  for  instance, 
that  eternal  cottage  on  the  bank  near  Cookham,  Boul- 
ter’s Lock,  and  many  other  spots  which  have  been  so 
often  photographed  that,  if  the  wet  process  had 
continued  to  hold  its  own,  the  taking  of  these  pictures 
would  have  run  the  Thames  dry.  But  it  is  in  the  city 
part  of  the  river  that  the  real  pictures  are  to  be  had, 
and  one  artist — Wyllie — has  been  quick  to  see  this,  as 
his  noble  masterpiece,  now  hung  at  South  Kensington, 
and  many  of  his  other  works,  declare.  Photographs  of 
barge  life,  of  merchantmen,  and  of  the  Dutch-built 
boats  which  still  find  their  way  to  London  Bridge, 
form  in  themselves  materials  for  much  study. 

The  extreme  ugliness  of  the  London  houses  is  in  many 
places  relieved  by  the  beauty  of  the  trees.  It  is  too 
much  the  fashion  to  talk  of  the  smoke,  the  dirt,  and 
the  noise  of  London  streets,  as  if  there  were  no 
beauty,  no  cleanliness,  and  no  quiet  to  be  had  anywhere 


June  6,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


431 


within  its  walls.  All  lovers  of  the  metropolis  will 
resent  this  as  a gross  libel,  for  there  are  not  only  many 
quiet  spots,  but  there  are  plenty  of  beautiful  trees. 
And  especially  beautiful  are  these  trees  just  now  in 
the  early  summer,  when  they  have  but  lately  unfolded 
their  leaves.  Some  of  our  suburban  streets,  too,  just 
lately  have  been  brilliant  with  laburnum,  lilac,  and 
white  and  red  may,  the  colours  of  which  have  delighted 
the  eyes  of  those  who  seldom  see  a country  lane,  while 
thiir  scent  has  reminded  them — as  only  a scent  can — of 
long-forgotten  days  among  fields  and  hedgerows. 

But  what  may  bo  called  the  permanent  trees  of 
London  are  full  of  beauty,  and  especially  is  this  true 
of  the  noble  plane  tree,  which  flourishes  with  such 
unwonted  luxuriance  that  it  would  almost  seem  as  if 
it  preferred  to  suck  in  the  carbonaceous  matter  neces- 
sary to  all  vegetable  growth  in  the  form  of  soot  and  fog. 
Walk  by  the  side  of  some  of  those  old  squares  in  Blooms- 
bury, from  which  fashion  has  long  ago  fled,  and  where 
many  of  the  houses  are  let  out  in  apartments,  or  are 
filled  with  boarders.  The  trees  there  are  above  the 
dictates  of  fashion,  and  continue  to  thrive  and  afford  a 
grateful  shade  to  those  who  pass  by.  In  Bedford 
Square,  Mecklenburg  Square,  and  many  other  similar 
localities  these  plane  trees  are  in  lovely  condition,  and 
throw  out  their  twenty-five  or  thirty  foot  branches, 
crowded  with  graceful  foliage,  over  the  footpaths, 
and  they  wave  lazily  in  the  gentle  breeze  as  the  after- 
noon sun  steals  through  their  leaves.  But  even  in  the 
city  itself  trees  are  not  unknown.  In  one  or  two 
of  the  old  city  churchyards  there  are  fine  specimens. 
Note  those,  for  instance,  hard  by  Billingsgate,  just 
opposite  the  Custom  House,  where  thousands  of 
sparrows  congregate  in  the  evening,  and  make  a 
veritable  Babel  with  their  ceaseless  twittering.  Nor 
must  we  forget  that  famous  tree  in  Cheapside  which 
has  been  immortalised  by  Wordsworth.  It  is  now, 
unfortunately,  walled-in  in  such  a manner  that  its 
top  only  is  visible  from  the  main  thoroughfare,  and 
it  is  a matter  for  wonder  that  it  continues  to  live 
under  such  conditions.  But  we  believe  that  it  is 
a fact  that,  within  the  past  twenty  years,  rooks 
have  been  known  to  build  in  that  tree,  until,  per- 
haps, the  long  journey  necessary  to  them  before  they 
could  obtain  their  natural  food,  made  them  give  up 
the  struggle. 

If  proof  were  wanted  that  London  is  capable  of 
affording  fine  opportunities  for  the  picture  maker, 
we  might  refer  to  an  exhibition  of  water-colour 
drawings,  by  Mr.  Herbert  Marshall,  R.W.S.,  which 
was  lately  opened  in  Bond  Street.  Here  we  had  no 
fewer  than  one  hundred  sketches  in  colour  by  one 
artist,  many  of  them  being  perfect  little  gems.  If 
one  painter  can  do  so  much,  surely  there  is  much  to 
he  done  with  a camera. 


The  Devon  and  Cornwall  Camera  Club  forwards  a programme 
of  summer  outings  ; among  them  we  notice  the  Royal 
Plymouth  \ acht  Club  Regatta,  to  which  the  Photographic  Club 
will  be  conveyed  by  its  aquatic  confreres  in  the  s.s.  Sir 
Francis  Drake, 


CrUAIACOL  AS  a DEVELOrER  FOR  DRY 
PLATES* 

BY  COI.ONF.L  J.  WATERHOUSE,  B.S.C.,  ASSIST.-SURVF/YOR 
GENERAL  OF  INDIA. 

In  connection  with  the  use  of  the  pyrocatechin,  or  catechol, 
as  a developer  for  dry  plates,  it  struck  me  that  guaiacol,or 
methycatechol,  which  is  a very  much  cheaper  product, 
being  only  about  Is.  6d.  an  ounce,  instead  of  4s.  a drachm, 
might  possibly  be  of  use  in  the  same  way.  On  trial  I find 
it  is  so,  and  it  may,  therefore,  be  interesting  to  the  Photo- 
graphic Society  to  know  of  it,  in  order  that  further  trials 
may  be  made  by  anyone  interested  in  the  matter.  I can- 
not find  any  record  of  its  having  been  tried  before. 

Guaiacol  is  a colourless,  oily  liquid,  with  a rather  pun- 
gent smell.  It  is  obtained  by  dry  distillation  of  guaiac 
resin,  and  in  other  ways.  It  is  only  slightly  soluble  in 
water,  but  readily  so  in  alcohol,  ether,  acetic  acid,  and 
alkalies.  I find  it  dissolves  easily  in  solutions  of  caustic 
soda  or  the  carbonate  of  soda,  the  solution  having  a slight 
green  tint. 

I have  not  yet  had  time  to  ascertain  the  best  proportions 
for  developing  purposes,  but  20  minims  of  it  in  2 ounces 
of  a solution  of  carbonate  of  soda  crystals  at  4 per  cent., 
well  stirred  till  dissolved,  gave  a solution  which,  though 
somewhat  slow  in  action,  possessed  very  fair  developing 
powers.  A similar  solution  of  30  minims  of  it  in  2 ounces 
of  a solution  of  caustic  soda  (1  part  solution  used  with 
Thomas’  hydroquinone  developer,  diluted  with  3 of  water) 
developed  rather  quicker,  but  otherwise  seemed  no  better. 
The  negatives  are  not  nearly  so  dense  as  those  obtained 
with  a similar  solution  of  pyrocatechin,  but  .are  more  har- 
monious. The  deposit  is  even  and  fine  grained,  and  of  a 
yellowish-brown  tint,  which  seems  to  have  fairly  good 
printing  powers.  I enclose  some  film  negatives,  with 
prints.  There  is  no  tendency  to  stain  or  fog,  nor  to  the 
superficial  veil  common  with  hydroquinone.  The  develop- 
ing solution,  after  use,  takes  a much  stronger  colour,  and 
also  has  a strong  empyreumatic  smell,  which  is  somewhat 
persistent,  and  sticks  to  the  hands  for  some  time  after- 
wards. 

So  far  as  I can  see  at  present,  guaiacol  is  not  likely  to 
supplant  ferrous  oxalate,  pyrogallol,  or  other  recognised 
and  well-tried  developers,  but  the  use  of  a liquid  develop- 
ing agent  is  new  and  interesting ; and,  if  the  material  itself 
can  be  kept  indefinitely  without  decomposition,  it  might 
be  useful  for  travellers  in  place  of  the  more  readily  decom- 
posable dry  developers,  like  pyrogallic  acid  and  hydro- 
quinone, which  easily  spoil  by  exposure  in  corked  bottles. 
The  smell  will  be  somewhat  against  the  new  developer, 
though  it  is  really  not  unpleasant,  and  is  probably  whole- 
some, as  guaiacol  has  recently  been  recommended  as  a 
remedy  for  consumption. 

According  to  Watts,  f guaiacol  forms  crystalline  salts 
with  the  alkalies  and  alkaline  earths,  which  appear,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  to  be  readily  decomposed  and  turned 
black  by  exposure  to  air  and  moisture.  Otherwise  they 
might  form  very  efficient  developing  salts,  and  be  more 
convenient  to  use  than  the  guaiacol  itself.  To  have  the 
alkali  and  developing  agent  together  in  a single  crystal- 
line salt  would  be  most  useful  for  travellers.  The  further 
development  of  this  phase  of  the  question  I must  leave  to 
more  experienced  chemists. 

* The  above  paper  was  received  too  late  to  be  read  at  “ the  May  meeting 
of  the  Photographic  Society.”  Any  discussion  that  may  arise  on  its  pub- 
lication will  be  taken  at  the  June  meeting. 

f Victionary  of  Chemistry,  Vol.  II  ,p.  94Q. 


432 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jcne  6,  1890. 


THE  CITY  PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITION. 
The  above  exhibition  was  opened  to  the  public  last  Satur- 
day at  the  Drapers’  Hall,  Throgmorton  Street,  London, 
and  on  the  preceding  evening  its  promoters,  the  Photo- 
graphic Section  of  the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
invited  a number  of  their  friends  to  a conversazione  in  the 
hall.  Among  those  present  were  Alderman  Sir  II.  and 
Lady  Knight,  Sir  Charles  Clifford,  Sir  Frederick  Young, 
Mr.  Carl  Ulrich,  Vice-President  of  the  Amateur  Photo- 
graphic Association  of  Vienna,  Mr.  John  Spiller,  Mr.  Leon 
Warnerke,  Miss  Warnerke,  Sir  Charles  Mills,  Mr.  Alderman 
and  Sheriff  Stuart  Knill  and  Mrs.  Knill,  Mr.  Under-Sheriff 
Beard,  Mr.  Alderman  Cowan,  Mr.  J.  S.  Balfour,  M.P., 
Mr.  Howard.  M.P.,  Mr.  W.  F.  Lawrence,  M.P.,  Mr.  D.W. 
Coates-IIardlcy,  Mr.  Benjamin  Scott  (City  Chamberlain), 
Mr.  J.  S.  C.  Ileywood  (Master  of  the  Drapers’ Company) 
and  Mrs.  Heywood,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  Hope  Morley,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  T.  Tyrer,  Mr.  W.  S.  Bird  (Chairman  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Section),  Mr.  F.  Bishop  (Deputy-Chairman),  Mr.  K. 
B.  Murray  (Secretary),  Sir  G.  Chambers,  Mr.  E.  N.  C. 
Braddon,  Sir  James  Garrick,  Senor  de  Olano,  Mr.  A.  S. 
Pollard,  M.A,  Mr.  J.  A.  Brand  (City  Comptroller),  and 
Mr.  W.  Leaf. 

In  formally  declaring  the  exhibition  open,  Sir  Albert 
K.  Rollit,  M.P.  (Chairman  of  the  Council  of  the  London 
Chamber  of  Commerce),  delivered  a short  address,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  spoke  of  the  great  development  of 
photographic  art,  as  shown  in  the  exhibition,  and  empha- 
sised the  wisdom  of  making  the  art  familiar  to  as  many 
minds  as  possible,  thus  leading  the  public  to  appreciate 
and  cultivate  it.  Looking  at  it  from  another  point  of  view, 
he  said  that  they  must  not  forget  what  photography  had 
done  for  cognate  sciences.  The  recording  and  measur- 
ing instruments  connected  with  photography  gave  the 
opportunity  of  fixing  questions  of  time  and  space  beyond 
the  possibility  of  human  error,  and  in  connection  with 
astronomy  and  physical  science  the  assistance  of  photo- 
graphy had  been  invaluable.  They  were  deeply  indebted 
to  those  who  had  taken  so  much  trouble  to  - bring  this 
exhibition  about,  and  he  felt  it  a personal  privilege  to  be 
able  to  declare  it  formally  open.  A vote  of  thanks  having 
been  accorded  to  the  Drapers’  Company  for  the  use  of 
their  hall,  Mr.  Alderman  and  Sheriff  Knill  briefly  apolo- 
gised for  the  absence  of  the  Lord  Mayor,  who  had  only 
that  evening  returned  from  Yorkshire,  in,  he  was  glad  to 
say,  much  better  health. 

The  exhibition  included  a fine  show  of  apparatus  and 
photographs,  but  in  the  collection  were  few  things  of 
novelty ; the  object  of  the  exhibition  was  to  show  the 
public  something  of  the  present  position  of  photography 
and  its  appliances,  and  in  this  it  succeeded  well.  Day  by 
day  the  attendance  of  the  general  public  increased,  proba- 
bly because  the  rumour  spread  from  mouth  to  mouth  that 
in  the  Drapers’  Hall  was  a photographic  picture  gallery 
worth  seeing,  and  should  the  exhibition  become  an  annual 
institution,  the  benefit  will  be  felt  of  having  broken  the  ice 
of  public  apathy  this  week. 

Mr.  Walter  Tyler,  of  London,  exhibited  lanterns  and 
cameras;  Mr.  W.  F.  Slater,  frame  mouldings  and  appa- 
ratus ; Mr.  Gotz,  apparatus  and  lenses ; Mr.  Abrahams, 
apparatus;  Messrs.  Houghton  and  Co.,  the  French  panta- 
scopic  camera,  already  described  in  these  pages ; Mr.  F. 
W.  Hart,  varieties  of  apparatus  and  a portable  stand  of 
bamboo,  which,  when  disjointed,  can  be  readily  carried 
under  the  arm,  and  can  be  fixed  so  as  to  hold  backgrounds 


and  reflectors  for  use  in  private  houses  with  the  flash- 
light; it  can  also  be  used  to  hold  a magic  lantern 
screen  ; at  the  exhibition  it  was  used  with  curtains,  so  as 
to  form  a kind  of  canopy  over  Mr.  Hart's  stall ; this  por- 
table stand  is  a new  invention.  Mr.  Dallmeyer  exhibited 
lenses ; the  Stereoscopic  Company,  apparatus ; Messrs. 
Sands  and  Hunter,  apparatus  ; Messrs.  11.  and  J.  Beck, 
apparatus ; Mr.  Schblzig,  albumenised  papers,  and  a 
few  German  cameras  and  stands ; Mr.  Morley,  apparatus ; 
Mr.  Crouch,  apparatus;  Messrs.  Marion  and  Co., 
appparatus,  and  an  illustrated  book  issued  this  week  by 
Mr.  Bobert  Slingsby,  on  photography  by  the  flash  light. 
Mr.  1>.  J.  Edwards,  specimens  of  work  in  orthochromatic 
photography ; Messrs.  Watson  and  Son,  apparatus ; 
they  exhibited  one  of  their  “ Acme  ” cameras  fitted  with 
an  extra-wide  front  for  stereoscopic  work,  and  it  is  useful 
to  be  able  to  apply  a light  modern  camera  in 
this  way.  Messrs.  Wray  and  Sons  exhibited  lenses; 
Messrs.  Newton  and  Co.,  elaborate  oxyhydrogen  and 
electric  microscopes;  Messrs.  J.  Lewis  and  Co., 
apparatus ; Messrs,  l’earson  and  Denham,  apparatus ; 
Mr.  E.  G.  Platt,  brass  work  for  photographic  apparatus ; 
Mr.  J.  D.  England,  celluloid  negatives  and  films ; Mr. 
England  says: — “The  instantaneous  views  were  taken 
by  my  father  and  myself  on  a trip  to  Bushey  Park  on 
Whit  Monday,  and  although  the  apparatus  was  jolted  on 
a tricycle  over  a dusty  road,  there  is  scarcely  a single  pin- 
hole on  any  of  the  negatives.”  Messrs.  Perken,  Son,  and 
Payment  exhibit  apparatus.  Mrs.  George  Smith  exhibited 
some  transparencies  mounted  as  table  lamp  screens  and 
fire  screens ; Mr.  George  Smith  exhibited  his  sciopticon 
camera  and  other  apparatus ; Messrs.  Mawson  and  Swan, 
apparatus. 


“Walks  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Luxemrurg,”  will  form 
a new  illustrated  section  to  the  forthcoming  issue  of  Mr.  Percy 
Lindley’s  “ Walks  in  the  Ardennes.” 

Hydroxylamine  Developers. — There  is  a new  reducing 
salt,  .also  a reducing  solution  sold  by  the  Badischen  Aniline  and 
Soda  Fabric  Company,  which  contain  hydroxylamine.  The 
former  compound  is  a white  substance  with  an  acid  reaction, 
soluble  in  ten  parts  of  water.  It  contains  sulphate  of  hydroxy- 
lamine and  some  organic  substance.  Analysis  showed  that  100 
grammes  of  it  contained  an  amount  of  hydroxylamine  corres- 
ponding to  16 ‘5  grammes  of  the  hydrochloride,  while  100 
grammes  of  the  solution  contained  a quantity  equivalent  to 
10  grammes.  Hydroxylamine  is  a very  suitable  develojier  for 
gelatino-chloride  plates, — A.  Lainer,  in  Phot.  Mitt. 

Dourly  Albumenised  Papers. — M.  L.  Van  Neck  gives  the 
following  formula)  for  sensitizing  and  toning  doubly  albumen- 
ised and  very  brilliant  papers.  1.  Add  magnesium  carbonate 
to  the  silver  bath  in  the  proportion  of  two  grammes  to  a litre 
of  the  bath  ; this  will  prevent  the  formation  of  a red  colour 
in  die  bath.  2.  The  strength  of  the  sensitising  bath  should 
not  be  more  concentrated  than  from  8 to  10  per  cent.  It  may 
be  strengthened  from  time  to  time  by  the  addition  of  a 12  per 
cent,  solution  of  silver  nitrate.  3.  The  washing  before  fixing 
should  be  done  with  tap  water,  rain  water  beiug  frequently  very 
impure.  4.  Toning  bath  : — 

1. — Sodium  acetate,  pure  fused  ...  15  grammes 


crystallised 


,,  biborate 
Distilled  water 
2. — Gold  chloride  (brown) 
Distilled  water  ... 


15 
8 „ 

2 litres 
1 gramme 
50  c.c. 


An  hour  before  use  mix  the  two  solutions,  shake  well,  and  place 
in  the  flask  in  a strong  light.  The  toning  action  is  very  rapid. 
In  winter  the  solutions  must  be  kept  at  a temperature  of  20 J C. 
— Bulletin  Beige. 


June  6,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


433 


PHOTOGRAPHS  ON  VIEW  AT  TIIE  DRAPERS’ 
IIALL,  THROGMORTON  STREET. 

BY  REV.  F.  C.  LAMBERT,  M.A. 

The  number  of  pictorial  exhibits  is  not  so  large  as  one 
would  expect,  for,  although  most  of  the  well-known  large 
firms  are  represented,  yet  one  rather  expected  to  see  a 
stronger  contingent  of  the  less  known  workers  sending 
one  or  two  frames  of  their  best  work. 

Passing  up  the  spiral  staircase,  and  entering  the  room 
nearest  the  top  of  the  stairs,  the  visitor  finds  himself  in 
what,  for  convenience  sake,  may  be  called  Gallery  I.  As 
there  are  no  numbers  on  the  frames,  it  may  stive  time  by 
saying  at  the  outset  that  the  order  of  these  notes  runs  from 
right  to  left  round  the  walls,  and  then  the  screens  are 
taken  in  order. 

Close  to  the  left  of  the  door  on  entering  are  several 
frames  sent  by  Messrs.  Waterlow  and  Son,  illustrating 
those  processes  of  reproduction  for  which  this  firm  is  so 
well  known.  It  is  instructive  to  notice,  not  only  the 
various  effects  produced  by  different  methods,  but  also 
how  both  surface  and  tint  bear  influence  in  the  general 
effect.  Messrs.  Frith  come  next  with  two  frames — one 
chiefly  landscape,  executed  in  the  manner  familiar  to  all 
who  know  their  name,  and  a second,  devoted  to  archi- 
tectural studies;  some  of  the  interiors  are  remarkably 
fine.  Then  come  Messrs.  Lambert  Weston  and  Sons 
with  several  frames ; that  at  the  bottom  in  the  left-hand 
corner,  seems  to  outstrip  the  others — at  any  rate,  for  pose 
and  ease  of  expression,  and  unconsciousness  of  the  operator. 
Above  is  “ Our  Village,”  produced  by  Mr.  Thurston. 
Perhaps  one  might  venture  to  say  that  this  is  not  llushey ; 
the  clouds  seem  rather  heavy  for  the  lighting  of  the  road- 
way. To  the  right  of  this  is  “ A Misty  Morning,”  and 
very  misty  it  looks — a picture  well  worth  careful  study. 

The  inevitable  “ Eiffel  Tower,”  with  Wray’s  rapid  rect., 
is  not  far  off,  and  in  company  with  several  yacht  studies 
by  Messrs.  West  and  Son,  all  of  which  are  admirable 
specimens  of  that  well-known  firm’s  work.  At  the  other 
end  of  the  room,  and  near  the  door,  are  found  several  of 
Mr.  Payne  Jennings’  pictures,  many  of  them  so  well 
known  to  travellers  over  the  Great  Eastern  Railway.  A 
very  small  one  in  the  middle  of  the  frame  nearest  to  the 
doorway  should  be  noticed. 

Passing  to  the  screens,  the  first  frame  likely  to  interest 
is  that  containing  the  two  poets,  Tennyson  and  Browning, 
by  Cameron  and  Smith.  Messrs.  Elliot  and  Fry  send  a 
large  show  in  various  styles,  the  most  pleasing,  as  a study, 
being  a portrait  of  a little  lady  in  red  carbon — the 
smooth,  bright,  clear,  surface  of  the  so-called  opal  being 
fitted  for  the  rendering  of  such  young  and  tender  skin, 
the  bloom  of  maidenhood.  Mr.  F.  Dower  sends  a collec- 
tion of  very  interesting  studies,  chiefly  of  Professor  Her- 
komer,  R.A.,  as  “Filippo,”  in  the  poetic  comedy 
performed  at  the  llushey  Theatre  in  April  last.  These 
admirable  studies  would  have  been  still  more  interesting 
had  a little  care  been  given  to  the  background ; or 
at  least,  to  avoiding  the  dark  band  behind  the  legs.  Near 
here  is  an  instructive  photogravure,  after  Blair  Leighton, 
by  the  Typo  Etching  Company ; also,  close  by,  are  several 
flash-light  productions,  which  will  interest  experimentalists 
in  this  direction.  Messrs.  Window  and  Grove,  and  also 
Morgan  and  Kidd,  are  fully  represented  on  the  screens  in 
this  room. 

On  entering  Gallery  II.  the  Stereoscopic  Company 
demand  attention  by  their  numerous  productions  in  various 


styles,  and  here  may  be  seen  several  portraits  of  well- 
known  public  characters.  Then  comes  an  admirable  por- 
trait of  Professor  Huxley,  and  also  another,  nearly  as  good, 
of  Dr.  Joachim ; both  are  well  worth  careful  study,  and 
reflect  great  credit  on  Messrs.  Downey.  Messrs.  Fry 
(Brighton)  show  a frame  of  camp  life  studies  which  will 
be  of  interest  to  the  Volunteer  “camper.”  The  Auto- 
type Company  exhibit  a large  screen  of  carbon  pictures  in 
various  styles  of  frame  and  shade  of  tint.  Many  old 
friends  turn  up  again,  but  are  none  the  less  worth  re-study. 
The  Parthenon  Frieze  must  on  no  account  be  passed 
withou  due  attention. 

On  the  other  side  may  be  seen  a collection  of  curious 
and  deeply  interesting  early  fans,  produced  at  a time  when 
it  was  not  necessary  to  say,  as  it  seems  now-a-days, 
“ painted  by  hand  ” (as  though  it  was  more  general  to  use 
the  feet  for  that  purpose).  The  antiquary  will  be  inte- 
rested in  seeing  a reproduction  of  a page  of  the  Magna 
Charta.  Messrs.  Bedford  Lemere  and  .also  Mayall  send 
numerous  examples  of  their  portrait  and  other  work. 

The  third  gallery  (or  exit  passage)  is  not  very  happily 
lighted,  there  being  rather  too  much  glare  and  glint  on 
the  glass  to  enable  seeing  the  pictures  to  full  advantage. 
Mr.  Flather  sends  specimens  of  the  “ dry  point  or  needle 
finished”  enlargements,  which  produce  an  effect  somewhat 
out  of  the  usual  enlargement  groove.  Next  come  two 
fine  portraits  by  Robt.  Faulkner,  and  various  specimens 
of  his  proverbial  skill  with  children.  High  up — too  high 
up,  in  fact,  for  comfortable  survey — are  two  large  opal 
studies  of  “ Sun  and  Cloud,”  by  Friese  Greene,  interest- 
ing in  more  ways  than  one,  and  decidedly  reflecting  credit 
on  their  producer. 

Several  portraits  of  Mr.  Thomson  recall  the  Gains- 
borough style  of  backgrountl,  and  are  suggestive  of  various 
hints  in  that  respect.  Three  or  four  portrait  studies  by 
II.  S.  Mendelsohn,  and  Messrs.  Doulton  & Co.,  repro- 
ductions of  those  never-to-be-forgotten  Tinworth  bas- 
reliefs,  bring  our  survey  to  an  end. 

A small  gathering  of  lantern-slides  by  Messrs.  Fincham, 
York,  & Son,  and  “ last  but  not  least,”  Mr.  G.  Smith 
(trading  as  the  Scioptican  Co.),  also  a collection  of 
coloured  ones  by  Newton  & Co.,  are  to  be  seen  in  some 
of  the  windows. 

On  the  whole,  although  not  being  particularly  impressed 
with  any  great  proportion  of  new  work,  there  are  several 
pictures  worth  study,  even  if  seen  before.  It  is  not  a 
very  rash  prophecy  to  prognosticate  that  if  an  exhibition 
be  held  on  similar  lines,  say  in  ten  years’  time,  there  will 
be  seen  a decided  change  in  some  respects  at  least — the 
direction  will  be,  perhaps,  rougher  surfaces  and  less  re- 
touching. 


On  Monday  next,  June  9th,  Mr.  G.  J.  Clarke  will  give  a 
lecture  on  “ Photographic  Optics  ” before  the  North  Middlesex 
Photographic  Club,  Jubilee  House,  Hornsey  Road. 

Can  it  be  true  that  the  historically  interesting  initials, 
devices,  and  mottoes  on  the  walls  of  the  old  prisons  in  the 
Tower  of  London  have  never  been  photographed  ? A writer 
in  the  Photographic  News  assures  us  that  he  made  inquiry  on 
the  spot,  and  received  a negative  answer.  This  of  course  does 
not  mean  that  the  “ beefeater  ” produced  a “ negative,”  but, 
on  the  contrary,  that  this  simple  and  only  trustworthy  mode 
of  reproducing  these  pathetic  records  of  captivity  had  not  been 
adopted.  In  their  place  some  etchings  were  offered  ; but  these 
are  obviously  very  different  things.  The  camera  should  at 
once  be  brought  to  tear  upon  the  inner  walls  of  the  Beauchamp 
Tower. — Daily  News. 


434 


tH£  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  6,  1890. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  ROME. 

The  Bollettino , a journal  published  every  two  months  in 
Rome,  and  the  chief  organ  of  those  interested  in  photo- 
graphy in  that  city,  gives  the  result  of  the  last  election  of 
members  of  its  Photographic  Society  as  follows : Adler, 
Dottor  Yittoria  ; Intrigilo,  Avv.  Benedetto;  Teneraui,  Cav. 
Carlo  ; and  of  the  correspondent  members—  Calvaria,  Cav. 
Avv.  Giuseppe,  of  Castellamare  di  Stabia  ; Daniele,  Oreste, 
of  Catania  ; Garzia,  Oronzo,  of  Maglie ; Hermans,  Charles, 
of  Brussels ; and  Orsini,  Marchese  Antonio,  of  Solmona. 

The  opening  of  the  Second  Annual  Exhibition  of  Pho- 
tography took  place  in  the  Palazzo  di  Belle  Arti  on  the 
2nd  of  May,  when  a large  number  of  members  took  part. 

The  display  included  landscapes  and  interiors,  portraits, 
instantaneous  views,  film  negatives,  photo-micrographs, 
enlargements,  flash-light  pictures,  architectural  views,  and 
representations  of  costumes  taken  in  Morocco  and  in  Sweden. 

An  excellent  article  on  “The  Duration  of  the  Pose” 
begins  thus: — “Formerly,  when  collodion  occupied  the 
whole  field  of  photography,  the  first  difficulty  in  the  art 
was  the  preparation  of  the  sensitive  surface.  Now  that 
the  preparation  has  undergone  a radical  change, 
passing  into  a branch  of  industry,  that  first  diffi- 
culty has  vanished,  aud  there  has  succeeded  to  its  place 
the  duration  of  the  pose,  the  exact  determination  of  which 
has  over  the  resulting  picture  an  influence  as  great,  and 
possibly  greater  than  formerly,  seeing  that  in  the  very 
short  poses  of  the  present  time  even  a little  error  has  a 
value  of  relatively  greater  importance.  ” The  article  goes 
on  to  say  that  the  duration  depends  (1)  on  the  sensitive 
preparation,  (2)  on  the  actinic  power  of  the  light,  (3)  on 
the  object,  (4)  on  the  diaphragm,  and  (5)  on  the  distance. 
Thus,  if  it  were  required  to  represent  by  an  algebraic 
formula  the  conditions  governing  the  pose  l",  we  should 
have — 

t"  = k.  P.  L.  O.  d.  D. 
where  k is  the  invariable  constant. 

The  article,  which  is  too  long  to  translate,  is  written  by 
A.  Roncalli.  It  is  succeeded  by  a short  notice  of  the 
effects  of  the  Schippang  varnish  upon  collodion  enlarge- 
ments. This  article,  written  by  Ab.  F.  Castracane, 
makes  mention  of  some  unhappy  results  of  the  use  of 
this  varnish  on  some  of  his  own  pictures.  After  this 
comes  a letter  from  Sac.  D.  Ratti,  on  halation,  or 
aureole , as  the  Italians  call  it.  Then  a paper  on  the 
development  of  instantaneous  negatives  and  on  the  toning 
of  aristotype  paper,  by  Bne.  T.  Melazzo.  Various  notes 
and  receipts,  with  a bibliography  and  a short  notice  of  the 
illustrated  supplement,  complete  this  interesting  number. 
The  illustration  is  that  of  a moonlight  effect,  the  negative 
by  A.  Ducros,  the  phototype  by  Danesi,  of  Rome.  “To  obtain 
this  picture,”  says  the  letter-press  note,  “ it  was  sufficient  to 
set  the  machine  against  the  setting  ” — pardon  the  indis- 
cretion ; I was  about  to  add  sun — “ and  to  remove  the 
cap.  But,  before  this  is  done,  that  certain  fifth*  sense 
has  to  be  taken  into  account,”  without  which, 

‘ Non  licet  adire  Coriutum  ! ’f 

and  Signor  Ducros,  profound  aud  advanced  artist  aud 
photographer  as  he  is,  possesses  this  fifth  sense,  and  uses 
it  in  a masterly  manner.” 

Prof.  O.  N.  Rood  says  that  the  retina  of  the  human  eye  is  so 
sensitive  to  the  action  of  light  that  a flash  lasting  only  one  forty- 
billionth  of  a second  is  sufficient  to  make  an  impression  upon  it. 


THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  OF  ARTS,  1890. 

BY  THE  HEW  F.  C.  LAMBERT,  M.A. 

G allery  No.  VI.  — Close  to  the  doorway  is  No.  523  (“  When 
the  Flowing  Tide  comes  in,”  W.  Rainey) ; a jolly  lot  of  little 
sandboys  dabbling  their  feet  in  the  tide-water,  calling  to 
mind  some  of  friend  Sutcliffe’s  delightful  Whitby  studies, 
and  opens  the  question  of  how  he  would  have  arranged  a 
row  of  “little  lads ” just  like  that?  Many  a photographer, 
on  seeing  such  a scene  as  No.  539  (“The  History  of  many  a 
Winter's  Storm,”  F.  Walton),  would  have  said,  “there’s 
nothing  in  it,”  but  Mr.  Walton  has  contrived  to  “knock  a 
picture  out  of  it.”  N.B.,  No.  540  (“Viaticum,”  J.  M. 
Price)  just  at  first  glance  reminds  one  of  the  photographs 
one  sees  of  the  much-talked-of  “Angelus,”  by  J.  F.Millet. 
The  picture  before  us  represents  some  two  or  three  pea- 
sants, presumably  French,  kneeling  and  watching  the 
“ Priest  ” passing  in  the  distance  on  some  errand  of  mercy 
— perhaps  conveying  the  last  sacrament  to  some  departing 
member  of  his  flock.  It  is  a work  in  a low  key,  cool  in 
grey,  subdued  tint,  and  worthy  of  careful  study. 

No.  543  (“A  Stranger,”  N.  Garstin).  Pose  of  the  two 
children  is  note-worthy,  but  the  picture  reminds  one  some- 
what of  the  “ two-negatives’”  effect. 

No.  551  (“The  Death  of  Cleopatra,”  lion.  John  Collier) 
is  quite  the  big  thing  of  the  gallery  —should  be  seen  from 
a considerable  distance — in  fact,  is  best  seen  from  just 
without  the  opposite  doorway.  The  texture  and  cold 
surface  polish  of  the  two  colossal  gods  of  dark  green 
granite  or  syenite,  is  admirably  rendered ; perhaps  the 
colouring  of  the  pillars  is  somewhat  raw,  the  general 
parallel  trend  of  the  seated  figure,  and  the  dead  one  on  the 
floor  catches  the  eye ; also  the  elevation  of  sternum  of  the 
dead  Cleopatra,  over  whom  is  spread  a delicate  diapha- 
nous drapery,  showing  the  modelling  of  the  figure  in  a 
very  masterly  way;  altogether  a fine  picture,  and  one  from 
which  much  may  be  learned. 

Close  by  the  door  (and  also  near  the  floor)  are  three 
small  pictures,  well  worth  looking  at,  viz.,  No.  583  (“The 
Edge  of  the  Quarry,"  T.  T.  Rowe)  ; No.  584  (“  Windsor 
Castle,”  W.  Fitz)  ; No.  585  (“A  quiet  pool,”  A.  Lawson). 

No.  582  (“  Thunder  Clouds,”  A.  W.  Williams)  is  also  a 
very  creditable  rendering  of  a by  no  means  easy  subject. 

No.  604  (“A  Grey  l)ay,”A.  Hulk),  might  well  have  been 
greyer  still. 

No.  632  (“  In  old  Kent,”  R.  W.  A.  Rouse),  is  well  worth 
the  attention  of  the  photographic  eye.  Note  the  admirable 
rendering  of  that  bit  of  chalk  or  clunch  quarry. 

No.  646  (“A  Lantern  Manufacturer,”  E.  Docker);  a 
clean  faced  urchin  manufacturing  that  ever-favourite  ghost 
producer — a turnip  lantern.  A picture  showing  good, 
honest,  straightforward  painting,  and  of  which,  perhaps, 
the  too  clean  face  of  the  “ manufacturer  ” is  the  least 
satisfactory.  Before  leaving  this  room,  Nos.  524, 542, 553, 
560,  562,  571,  599  may  be  looked  at,  and  several  hints 
gathered, aud,  as  Captain  Cuttle  would  advise,  “when  found 
make  a note  on.” 

Gallery  VII. — No.  658  (“Resurgam,”  II.  Swanwick). 
A lone  dead  body  of  a toiler  of  the  sea,  washed  up  by  the 
tide.  Truly  a gruesome  subject,  not  the  sort  of  picture 
many  people  would  select  as  a daily  companion  at  the 
dining-table ; yet,  withal,  not  without  some  charm  in  its 
rendering  of  air  and  soft  morning  dawn-glow. 

No.  672  (“The  Silent  Evening  Hour,”  B.  W.  Leader,  A.). 
Here  is  an  answer  to  the  familiar  question,  “ What’s  in  a 
name?”  Who  can  deny  that  a first  impression  is  often 


* “ Sixth,  or  do  the  Italians  reckon  only  lour  senses  1 Pr.  Dev. 
r Corinthum. 


June  6,  1890.") 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


435 


(though,  perhaps,  unjustly  and  unconsciously)  influenced 
by  a name?  The  title  (often  enough  very  misleading) 
tempts  many  a one  to  buy  a book.  Here  is  a poetical  title 
of  a poetry-yielding  subject.  The  old  homestead  of  red 
brick  and  thatch,  surrounded  by  uncultured  patches  of 
gorse,  affording  glorious  shelter  for  the  rabbits  out  to  feed 
at  the  “ evening  hour,-’  the  crows  returning  home,  the  sky 
all  a-glosv  with  warm,  rich  golden  light ; all  put  together 
with  “ Leader-esque  ” skill,  and  conveying  much  in  the 
way  of  hint  and  suggestion. 

Above  is  an  utter  contrast,  No.  671  (“The  Dock  Strike,” 
D.  Hardy).  A vivid  reality  of  life,  and  a creditable  ren- 
dering. 

No.  695  (“  Highlands  and  Islands,”  Keeley  Halswelle). 
The  title  reminds  one  of  “ spelling-bees”  and  Peter  Piper 
of  pepper-corn  fame.  The  rainbow  seems  much  nearer 
than  is  usually  seen,  and  so  also  do  the  clouds.  This  pic- 
ture comes  rather  as  a puzzle,  and  bewilders  one  in  trying 
to  find  a satisfactory  place  to  start  from. 

No.  699  (“A  Gem  worth  polishing,”  C.  Calthrop).  The 
gem  is  a country  lad  with  a turn  for  “fiddling,”  discovered 
by  “The  Squire”  in  a humble  cottage.  There  are  several 
points  worth  observing  and  remembering,  both  in  the  matter 
of  pose  and  lighting,  although  the  four  figures  placed  at 
the  four  corners  of  a “ lozenge  ” is  somewhat  formal ; and 
there  is,  perhaps,  a more  than  pleasant  scattering  of  the 
lights  and  darks. 

No.  701  (“Golden  Autumn,”  G.  N.  Langlands),  No.  706 
(“  Pulling  Turnips,  &c.,”  M.  11.  Jones),  and  No.  723 
(“  Turnip  Field,”  J.  II.  Inskip),  are  all  most  suggestive  to 
the  camera-artist,  well  worth  careful  study  for  hints  in 
the  general  arrangement  of  subject  and  tone,  wncreby 
homely  subjects  are  made  attractive  by  the  way  in  which 
they  are  treated. 

No.  726  (“  Undine,”  R.  Lehmann).  This  calls  to  mind 
81,  and  if,  after  seeing  that  picture,  there  lingered  any 
doubt,  this  (726)  is  quite  conclusive  that  there  are  “ many 
more  fish  in  the  sea,  &c.” 

No.  708  (“Mount  Etna  from  Taormina,”  John  Mac 
Whirter,  A.)  must  not  be  passed  by  without  careful  study. 
Stand  back  a couple  of  yards  or  so  and  observe  how  the 
feeling  of  distance  is  given  by  the  gradual  suppression  of 
minute  “f-64  detail” — how  the  contrast  of  values  is  sub- 
dued in  the  receding  distance,  as  the  shadows  are  filled 
more  and  more  with  diffused  light,  and  observe,  too,  how 
certain  parts  (planes)  in  the  midtile  distance  are  more 
sharply  defined  than  some  of  the  nearer  or  more  distant 
ones.  Note  the  high  key  in  which  the  scale  of  tones  is 
pitched,  and  how  the  azure  waters  melt  into  the  prismatic 
purples  and  greys  of  distance.  All  of  which  go  to  show 
that  there  are  “ many  ways  to  choke  a dog” — pardon — to 
paint  a picture  without  tying  the  mill-stone-like  tenets  of 
anil  school  about  one’s  neck.  Before  quitting  this  room, 
No.  719  (“Dawn,”  S.  E.  Waller)  must  be  inspected, 
although  lying  somewhat  out  of  the  photographer’s  range, 
yet  it  is  most  desirable  that  he  should  contemplate  good 
work  of  any  and  every  kind.  The  picture  carries  us  back 
a century  or  so  to  a country  garden  at  early  dawn,  and  the 
guests, who  have  “kept  it  up”  till  “daylight  doth  appear,” 
are  departing  in  the  combined  light  of  carriage -lamps  and 
dawn.  A couple  of  lovers  in  the  foreground  “linger  in 
sweet  moments.”  There  is  much  admirable  work  to  repay 
careful  study,  even  to  the  delicate  gossamer,  “as  fresh  as 
morning  dew  distilled.” 

Gallery  VIII. — The  first  picture  on  entering  Gallery  viii. 
is  No.  758  (“The  last  Blessing,”  C.  Tayler).  Stricken 


unto  death  lies  a wasted  form,  tendered  by  a trouble-worn 
mother,  a hardy-handed,  tender-hearted  father,  and  the 
priest  in  absolution  conveying  the  last  blessing  of  Mother 
Church,  conjuring  up  a fearfully,  awfully  real  scene  of 
love  and  sorrow ; the  whole,  painted  in  a low  key,  in 
harmony  throughout  both  in  tint  and  tone  with  the  senti- 
ment, producing  a picture  of  great  power.  The  face  of 
the  father — honest  fellow — is  a fine  study. 

No.  775  (“How  Lisa  loved  the  King,”  E.  B.  Leighton). 
See  previous  note  on  open  mouths,  as  though  to  represent 
singing  without  the  sound.  The  pose  of  the  listeners  is 
more  listener-like.  The  texture  of  the  marble  is  not  quite 
satisfactory. 

No.  781  (“The  Angry  Sunset,  &c.,"  II.  Jobling)  is  a nice, 
simple,  airy  picture,  broadly  painted  in  pleasing  harmony 
— sunny  yet  not  gaudy,  conveying  the  feeling  of  open 
space  rather  than  specific  detail. 

No.  792  (“Tired  Out,”  P.  E.  Strettou).  It  is  not  often, 
perhaps  not  often  enough,  that  one  sees  pictures  of  this 
“interior  dimly  lighted”  kind,  and  this  one  comes  as  a 
relief,  inviting  and  also  repaying  careful  examination.  An 
anxious  mother  watching  beside  the  bed  of  a fever-worn, 
tired-out  sleeping  child,  in  a room  but  dimly  lighted  by  a 
glowing  fire  and  candle,  in  the  small  hours  of  dark  night. 
There  is  no  oppressive  detail,  but  everything  is  seen  when 
looked  for,  yet  nothing  catching  the  eye  to  carry  it  away 
from  the  leading  theme. 

No.  794  (“  Rifle  Match,”  E.  Crowe,  R.),  brings  to  mind 
the  hand-camera-out-for-a-bank-holiday ; at  first  sight  a 
little  anxiety  arises  as  to  whether  the  “ shootist”  is  aiming 
at  a blade  of  grass  about  six  feet  away. 

No.  821  (“First  Snow,”  F.  IV.  Meyer).  A town  dweller 
might  be  disposed  to  condemn  this  picture  as  too  raw,  but 
it  is  not  by  any  means  an  out  of  the  way  effect  as  seen  by 
those  who  live  in  the  country  all  the  winter  round. 

No.  744  (“Seeking  Sanctuary,”  R.  Hedley)  must  be 
seen  from  a distance — across  the  room — and  all  diffused 
light  shaded  off  from  the  eyes,  when  the  moon-lit  Norman 
doorway  and  iron  work  of  later  period  comes  up  well,  but 
the  man’s  face  seems  somewhat  over  lighted. 

Gallery  No.  IX. — No. 830 (“River Camel,”  W.  Llewellyn) 
points  the  moral  of  the  too  great  squareness  of  a 10  by  8 
plate,  and  the  patch  of  thin  emulsion  towards  the  middle 
is  an  unpleasant  reminder,  but  the  clouds  are  nice  and 
soft,  not  painty,  but  airy  as  clouds  should  be. 

No.  842  (“  Bathers,”  E.  Stott),  brings  up  again  to  mind 
the  old  conundrum  “ How  big  should  the  wafer  be  on  the 
negative  to  represent  the  size  of  the  sun  ?” 

No.  846  (“Frosty  Morning,”  F.  Whitehead).  A 
capital  version  of  what  is  seen  (and  felt)  often  enough  in 
the  fens. 

No.  857.  (“Net  barking,”  F.  S.  Richardson).  Except- 
ing the  sky,  this  picture  is  one  to  please  and  instruct. 

No.  866  (“On  the  Temple  steps,”  E.  J.  Poynter,  R.A.), 
This,  at  first  glance,  suggests  the  question,  Was  the 
painter  here  trying  to  see  how  many  different  patches  of 
differing  colours  it  would  be  possible  to  work  in  together? 
Pink,  red,  lake,  crimson,  yellow,  greens,  blues,  purples, 
&c.,  and  flesh  tints.  The  part  which  seems  to  come  out 
of  the  encounter  best  is  the  legs  below  the  knee,  and  the 
inscription-bearing  marble  slab  behind  them. 

No.  888  (“Twilight,”  C.  W.  Wyllie)  is  a nice,  quiet, 
cool,  grey  moonrise,  with  the  “blue  band”  of  a distant 
fog,  with  which  the  fire-smoke  and  fire-lights  blend  plea- 
santly. 

No.  895  (“Washing  Day,  Newlyn,”  II.  L.  Norris) 


436 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  6,  1890. 


seems  to  run  somewhat  too  far  into  the  low-toned  end  of 
the  colour  octave.  It  does  not  require  any  great  effort 
of  the  imagination  to  fancy  a brighter,  whiter,  and  lighter 
froth  of  soap -lather,  for  instance. 

No.  890  (“Lava  mea  ab  iniquitate  mea,”  A.  Lonza)  is  a 
jolly  picture,  a “tale  well  told.”  An  old  monk  drawing  an 
obstinate  cork  from  a wine  flask.  The  expression  on  his 
feature-drawn  face  may  suggest  more  than  one  “ wrinkle.” 

The  “hangmen”  were,  perhaps,  “ cruel  to  be  kind ” in 
hanging  No.  913  (“  Water  Meadows,”  .T.  L.  Bernard) 
and  No.  914  (“Malvern,”  J.  Ehrke)  one  above  the  other. 
We  have  here  and  almost  “ in  a nutshell”  the  “ focus  versus 
fuzzy”  question.  It  is  well  worth  while  for  photographers 
of  both  or  any  “school”  to  look  at  these  two  from  a little 
distance,  and  also  as  near  as  he  can  get,  and  then  think  a 
bit  for  himself  and  see  if  he  cannot  see  some  recom- 
mendation in  the  writer’s  favourite  motto,  * ‘ via  media,  via 
tuta.” 

No.  972 (“Fresh  from  the  Altar,”  J.  Hayllar).  A very 
remarkable  piece  of  fine  detail  painting,  representing  more 
painstaking  skill  than  some  of  the  big  brush  school  would 
credit,  and  instances  admirably  the  lesson  that  one  subject 
may  find  fitting  expression  in  a method  which  would  be 
utterly  fatal  to  one  partially  similar. 

Gallery  X. — In  this  room  the  pictures  which  are  most 
likely  to  repay  the  observant  visitor  are  No.  996  (“Por- 
trait,” M.  C.  W.  Flower),  vide  also  No.  635  by  same  artist; 
No.  1,016  (“  Waiting  for  the  Train,”  J.  II.  F.  Bacon),  a 
sweet,  thoughtful  face  painted  with  great  sympathy ; | 
No.  1,009  (“Bunswick,”  V.  P.  Yglesias),  a quiet  bit  of  N. 
Yorkshire ; No.  1,042 (“Three  miles  to  the  Fair,”C.  Ilayes), 
perhaps  the  most  truthful  rendering  of  snow  in  this  year's 
collection;  and  No.  1,028  (“The  9th  of  November,” 
W.  Logsdail),  a picture  which  makes  one  say  Oh  ! 

Gallery  XI. — No.  1,090  (“The  Young  Wheat,”  David 
Murray)  will  certainly  repay  careful  study,  and  is  the 
kind  of  subject  open  to  the  country  photographer. 
Observe  how  perspective  of  the  parallel  lines  gives  feeling 
of  distance,  and  how  the  lines  of  the  clouds  assist  in 
giving  also  the  feeling  of  space — the  open  air  effect  so 
seldom  sufficiently  conveyed. 

No.  1,146  (“By  order  of  the  Court,”  S.  A.  Forbes). 
One  of  the  leading  pictures  of  the  year;  contains  many 
hints  which  space  does  not  permit  being  given  at  length, 
but  must  not  be  passed  over  without  careful  study.  There 
are  also  several  other  pictures  to  be  carefully  examined, 
viz.,  No.  1,076  (“Perseus  and  Andromeda,”  II.  S.  Tuke), 
No.  1,104  (“October  Glow,”  A.  East),  No.  1,111  (“Last 
Load,”  B.  Gast),  No.  1,112  (“Chip  of  the  old  block,” 
W.  B.  Fortescue),  No.  1,113  (“The  Ferry,”  W.  Osborne), 
and  No.  1,140  (“  Roman  Holiday,”  F.  M.  Skipworth). 

The  Architectural  Room  calls  up  numerous  interesting 
questions  both  as  to  interior  and  exterior  work,  and  there- 
fore will  repay  a visit.  The  “ Black  and  White”  and  also 
Water-colour  galleries  are  obviously  abounding  with 
lessons  and  hints,  which  space  does  not  permit  one  to  enter 
upon ; and  the  question  of  the  bearing  of  photography 
towards  the  revival  of  miniature  painting  and  growing 
attention  recently  given  to  “burnt-in  enamels,"  must  all 
be  reserved ; but  most  reluctantly  do  we  relinquish  our 
study  of,  perhaps,  the  most  difficult  branch  of  art,  viz., 
sculpture,  but  a branch  which  no  real  serious  and  truth- 
seeking  art  student  can  afford  to  neglect. 

Herr  H.  F.  R.  Voigtlander,  of  the  firm  of  Voigtlander 
aud  Sou,  has,  it  is  reported,  been  knighted  by  the  Emperor 
of  Austria. 


ETHICS  OF  PHOTOGRAPHY  AND  PHOTO- 
GRAPHERS* 

BY  J.  TRAILI.  TAYLOR. 

A funny  instance  of  slightly  unethical  behaviour  comes  to 
my  recollection.  The  once  well-known  Marcus  Sparling 
was  intent  upon  taking  a stereoscopic  view  of  an  old  house 
in  the  Edinburgh  Cowgate,  but,  when  the  light  suited,  the 
street  was  usually  full  of  boys  just  out  of  school,  who 
invariably  persisted  in  standing  in  front  of  his  camera. 
In  this  dilemma  he  applied  to  me  for  advice,  and,  as  a 
consequence,  the  next  day  found  him  with  a huge,  highly- 
polished  French  portrait  lens  attached  to  the  back  of  his 
camera,  and  pointing  in  the  direction  opposite  to  that 
where  stood  the  coveted  old  house.  1 his  time  the  boys, 
true  to  their  instincts,  posed  in  front  of  the  showy  lens  in 
the  rear,  and  stood  still  patiently  during  the  three  or  four 
minutes  (these  were  the  days  of  long  exposures)  required 
to  get  the  building  photographed.  This  may  be  off-colour 
from  the  ethical  standard,  but  what  was  one  to  do  under 
the  circumstances? 

Here  is  a view,  fully  exposed,  taken  of  a railway  carriage 
when  the  train  is  certified  by  the  engineer  as  having  been 
going  at  thirty-five  miles  an  hour,  and  yet  every  one  of  the 
occupants  of  the  compartment  is  sharp  and  distinct.  As 
the  story  stands  it  is  simply  a marvel,  but  “seeing  is 
believing.”  Where  the  ethics  come  in  is  the  withholding 
the  explanation  that  it  was  taken  from  the  window  of  a 
carriage  iu  another  train,  which,  on  a parallel  track,  was 
moving  at  the  same  rate  of  speed,  and  when,  consequently, 
one  was  motionless  as  regards  the  other — a phenomenon 
that  can  be  witnessed  every  morning,  about  nine  o clock, 
between  Finsbury  Park  and  Holloway  Stations,  on  the 
Great  Northern  Railway. 

Double  printing,  when  practised  by  one  imperfectly 
skilled,  may  prove  a fertile  cause  of  departure  from  truth. 
Clouds  of  a nature  totally  inadequate  to  the  character  of 
the  scene  may  be  introduced.  The  foreground  of  a pic- 
i ture  may  be  Indian,  and  in  the  distance  may  be  seen  the 
Crystal  Palace  with  its  Sydenham  surroundings.  One  of 
our  members  has,  by  way  of  joke,  introduced  in  a view  in 
Epping  Forest  an  alligator  disporting  himself  by  the  bank 
of  one  of  its  pools ; but  many  things  equally  non-natural  are 
semetimes  to  be  discovered  in  a combination  photograph. 
Thus,  we  have  the  incongruities  arising  from  the  attempts 
to  combine,  in  one  picture,  pieces  of  landscape  or  inci- 
dents taken  with  lenses  the  foci  of  which  are  widely 
different.  Not  only  so,  but  we  have  iu  one  inharmonious 
whole  parts  of  views  lighted  differently  from  each  other, 
and  as  many  kinds  of  perspective  as  there  are  elementary 
parts  in  the  finished  result.  I have  seen  in  a pseudo- 
moonlight photograph  the  orb  of  night  printed  the  size  of 
a threepenny  piece,  when  that  of  even  a split  pea  would 
have  proved  too  great.  Nay,  I have,  and  you  all  have, 
seen  moonlight  photographs  in  which  the  dominant  light 
fell  upon  the  objects  from  a point  thirty  or  forty  degrees 
to  one  side  of  the  position  of  the  full  moon  by  which  the 
, scene  was  supposed  to  be  illumined. 

The  mere  mention  of  photography  in  the  law  courts 
will  recall  an  incident  narrated  by  one  of  our  members  a 
few  years  ago.  It  was  a case  of  ancient  lights,  and  in  the 
morning  he,  as  a well-known  professional,  undertook  the 
task,  in  the  interests  of  the  plaintiff,  to  show  by  truthful 
photography  that  the  erection  of  a building  then  in  pro- 
gress would  most  certainly  cause  a serious  obstruction  of 

• Continued  from  page  376. 


June  6,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


437 


the  light.  He  did  his  work  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  solici- 
tor, and  received  his  well-earned  fee.  But  next  morning 
the  solicitor  for  the  defendant  employed  him  to  establish 
the  fact  by  truthful  photography  that  by  the  erection  of 
the  building  in  question  no  light  whatever  would  be 
obstructed.  lie  effected  this,  as  in  the  previous  case,  in 
a satisfactory  manner,  and  received  his  fee.  He.  doubt- 
less, reasons  that  there  is  no  more  immorality  in  this  than 
is  reputed  to  be  found  in  the  daily  practice  of  legal  or 
patent  experts,  and  other  counsel,  who  give  “opinions” 
usually  favourable  to  those  by  whom  their  advice  is  sought. 
Nor  is  there. 

A humorous  application  of  mal  ethics  in  photography 
is  to  be  found  in  the  photographer  in  an  agricultural  dis- 
trict, who  had  often  occasion  to  take  negatives  of  cattle 
and  horses.  He  overcame  the  difficulty  so  often  expe- 
rienced of  the  animals  whisking  their  tails  and  spoiling  the 
exposure,  by  the  ingenious  expedient  of  keeping  a large 
and  various  assortment  of  negatives  of  cows’  and  horses' 
tails,  from  which  lie  selected  one  that  matched  that  of  any 
given  specimen,  and  printed  it  in,  having  previously 
stopped  out  the  original  that  was  blurred  by  motion.  This 
suggests  the  practice  of  the  photographer  in  the  military 
town,  who  kept  a stock  of  well-taken  figures  in  uniforms, 
but  minus  the  heads,  which  he  supplied  from  those  of  the 
gallant  patrons  of  his  studio.  And  this  in  turn  suggests 
mention  of  a practice,  horrible  in  its  abomination,  which, 
more  than  twenty  years  ago,  was — happily  not  frequently 
— adopted  by  some  foreign  photographers,  of  printing  the 
heads  of  respectable  ladies  on  the  undraped  bodies  of 
some  of  the  same  sex  to  whom  this  qualifying  term  could 
not  possibly  be  applied.  Of  all  ethical  sins  in  photography 
this  one  was  the  vilest,  as  the  junction  of  head  and  figure 
was  so  perfectly  effected  as  to  deceive  even  photographers 
themselves. 

And  dry-plate  manufacturers,  what  of  them  ? Are  they 
ever  guilty  of  practices  contrary  to  ethics  ? 1 lonestly  I 

believe  they  are  not.  The  day  has  long  gone  by  since 
any  manufacturer  sought  to  utilise  his  waste  or  “shady” 
plates  by  inserting  two  or  three  of  them  in  every  dozen 
package  of  good  plates.  Happily,  this  system,  being 
suicidal,  quickly  effected  its  own  cure,  so  it  no  longer 
exists. 

“Borrowed  plumes”  is  a term  which  covers  several 
departures  from  the  strict  ethical  path.  I allude  parti- 
cularly under  this  heading  to  professional  photographers 
who  display  in  their  show  cases  as  their  own  work  that 
which  has  been  executed  by  others  ; and  also  to  amateurs 
who,  buying  their  plates  ready  prepared,  get  their  deve- 
loping, printing,  mounting,  and  finishing  done  by  others 
more  skilled,  and  then  exhibit,  and  possibly  obtain  medals 
for  it,  as  their  own  work.  A case  is  on  record  in  which 
this  was  carried  to  an  extreme,  for  not  only  was  all  the 
foregoing  done,  but  it  was  done  with  a borrowed  camera, 
and  an  artist  present  had  indicated  the  spot  on  which  to 
erect  it,  and  the  exposure  to  be  given.  Well  might  the 
narrator  ask  who  of  all  these  should  have  got  the  medal 
that  was  awarded  the  picture  made  under  these  circum- 
stances? 

I have  mentioned  an  amateur  of  one  type  ; there  is 
another,  viz.,  the  one  who,  posing  as  an  amateur,  yet 
enters  in  some  respects  into  pecuniary  competition  with 
the  professional,  doing  work  for  his  friends  and  such  of  the 
public  as  apply,  at  so-called  prime  cost — that  is,  cost  of 
material — thereby  in  many  cases  depriving  the  man  who 
has  to  subsist  by  the  exercise  of  his  profession  of  his  means 


of  living.  On  the  unfairness  of  such  a proceeding  it  is 
not  necessary  I should  dilate,  especially  as  it  is  not  un- 
ethical, and  does  not  come  properly  within  the  scope  of 
my  subject. 

Photographic  authors  and  writers  do  not  usually  lend 
themselves  to  the  encouragement  of  departures  from  ethics, 
but  Elbert  Anderson,  in  his  book,  “ The  Skylight  and  the 
Dark  Boom,”  is  not  so  fastidious.  He  advises  that,  even 
“ if  your  sitter  sits  still  and  has  a good  expression,  but 
upon  developing  the  negative  you  find  you  have  com- 
mitted a blunder,  rush  out  of  the  dark  room,  and  tell  him 
with  a bold  face  that  he  moral!  You  must  never  be  in  the 
wrong  ; it  must  always  be  his  fault.” 

Over  a month  ago  I was  discoursing  on  stereoscopic 
photography  at  another  Metropolitan  society,  and  after 
speaking  of  the  expedient  that  had  to  be  resorted  to 
when  photographing  the  moon,  namely,  taking  advan- 
tage of  her  librations,  and  thus  increasing  the  stereo- 
scopic base  from  the  two  and  a half  inches  between  the 
eyes  to  many  thousands  of  miles  in  order  to  show  her  in 
the  stereoscope  as  the  spherical  ball  we  know  her  to  be, 
and  by  parity  of  reasoning  I adduced  my  own  experience 
in  photographing  a coastline  from  the  deck  of  a yacht, 
allowing  a space  of  a few  hundred  yards  between 
the  shots  in  order  by  such  abnormal  displacement  to 
show  every  creek  and  jutting  headland  as  they  existed  in 
nature,  although  undecipherable  in  the  monotonously 
straight  coast  line  as  seen  by  the  eye.  It  was  objected 
that  this  was  not  truth.  Not,  perhaps,  as  a representa- 
tion of  what  the  eye  saw  at  the  moment,  but  literal  truth 
all  the  same.  This  expedient  is  an  aid  to  vision  on  the 
same  principle  as  looking  through  a telescope  to  see  an 
object  at  a range  too  great  for  normal  vision,  or  photo 
graphing  by  microscopic  aid  an  object  otherwise 
altogether  invisible. 

But  mention  of  the  stereoscope  suggests  malpractices 
with  it  which  are  altogether  contrary  to  ethics.  For 
instance,  trimming  pictures  so  as  to  impart  a fictitious 
acclivity  to  a railway  ascending  a mountain  which  is  already 
fairly  steep  in  itself,  as  practised  by  a well-known  photo- 
grapher; or  making  a stereoscopic  pair  of  pictures  from 
one  and  the  same  negative,  by  which  they  undoubtedly 
coalesce  when  viewed  in  the  stereoscope,  but  which  are 
devoid  of  relief. 

“ Dodges  ” are  not  necessarily  antagonistic  to  ethics. 
They  are  generally  expedients  for  expediting  the  means  to 
the  end.  Many  of  them  could  be  mentioned  were  it 
desirable  or  necessary. 

Do  not  look  upon  me  as  hypercritical  in  regard  to  the 
latitude  permissible  to  photographers.  All  things  are  or 
may  be  lawful ; the  expediency  thereof  must  be  deter- 
mined by  circumstances.  Let  photographers  practise 
every  conceivable  dodge  that  they  can  think  of,  and  no 
offence  against  the  strictest  code  of  ethics  will  be  perpe- 
trated, so  long  as  it  is  not  done,  to  quote  Truthful  James, 
“The  same  with  intent  to  deceive.” 


Developing  Flash-Light  Negatives. — A word  as  to  the 
developing  of  flash-light  pictures.  As  nine  out  of  ten  are  hard, 
the  best  method,  in  my  experience,  is  to  give  them  as  little 
pyro  or  eikonogen  as  possible,  so  that  the  detail  will  have  time 
to  appear,  and  after  detail  comes  up,  and  the  high-lights  are 
thin  and  translucent,  apply  full  strength  developer  until  the 
negative  is  strong.  In  this  respect  a flash-light  picture  is 
like  a snow  scene,  easy  to  take,  but  difficult  to  develop. — C.  M. 
Cohen. 


438 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  6,  1890. 


iaotes. 


The  Prencli  police  are  nothing  if  not  methodical. 
When  the  M ay- Day  demonstrations  were  feared  in  Paris, 
several  of  the  leading  capitalists  and  financiers  received 
threatening  letters.  These  letters  were  all  photo- 
graphed carefully,  and  submitted  to  experts  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining  if  they  had  been  all  forwarded 
by  the  same  person,  or  “ group  ’’  of  agitators.  Why 
these  letters  should  have  been  photographed,  instead  of 
the  originals  being  submitted  to  the  experts,  we  do 
not  understand  ; but  doubtless  the  police  know  why. 
Perhaps  it  was  necessary  that  the  official  photographer 
should  be  kept  employed. 


Our  reference  to  the  absence  of  photographs  of  the 
interior  of  the  Tower,  and  especially  the  Beauchamp 
Tower,  has  attracted  the  notice  of  the  daily  press.  The 
Daily  News  quotes  with  approval ; the  Globe  with  a 
reservation.  The  Globe  agrees  with  us  that  the  cause 
is  partly  due  to  the  “ array  of  ceremonial  ” with  which 
the  Tower  is  hedged  round,  but  urges  also  that  “in 
the  first  place  the  light  in  such  places  is  very  bad,  and 
the  position  of  prisoners’  inscriptions  is  often  very 
awkward.”  But  the  badness  of  the  light  is,  in  these 
days  of  magnesium  powder  and  sensitive  dry  plates,  no 
obstacle  at  all,  while  there  are  no  inscriptions  save 
those  in  the  passage — the  most  interesting  of  which  is 
that  of  Robert  Dudley,  Earl  of  Guildford — which  present 
any  difficulty.  “It  is,  besides,”  adds  our  contemporary, 
“ possible  to  attach  too  much  importance  to  such  relics 
of  old  days.  Some  of  the  inscriptions  are,  beyond 
doubt,  genuine,  and  arc  often  deeply  pathetic.  But  it 
is  not  quite  ceitain  that  imaginative  custodians  have 
not  fathered  them  upon  imaginary  authors.”  This 
may  or  may  not  be,  but  the  question  of  authenticity 
is  not  one  which  the  photographer  is  called  upon  to  decide. 
Meanwhile  it  is  pleasant  to  see  that  the  subject  is 
deemed  of  sufficient  importance  to  draw  comments  from 
two  of  the  leading  London  papers. 

It  is  now,  we  read,  the  fashion  for  barristers’ 
chambers  in  the  Temple  to  be  ornamented  with  pictures 
of  various  “bits”  of  the  Inn,  both  interior  and  exterior ; 
while  it  is  almost  de  rigueur  that  on  the  walls  should 
be  hung  portraits  of  judges  and  other  legal  celebrities. 
This  possibly  explains  why  the  photographs  of  the 
luminaries  of  the  bench  and  bar  can  be  so  readily 
purchased ; otherwise,  one  would  think  the  sale  of 
such  pictures  was  so  small,  it  would  hardly  pay  for 
the  trouble  of  keeping  a variety.  In  regard  to  the 
pictures  of  the  buildings,  these,  it  appears,  are  mostly 
water-colour  sketches  and  etchings,  a series  of  the 
latter  being  now  in  process  of  completion.  It  is 
curious  that  photography  has  been  made  use  of  to  such 
a small  extent  as  it  has  in  regard  to  photographing  the 
Inns  of  Court.  The  briefless  barrister — and  his  name 
is  legion — might  do  worse  than  employ  his  idle  hours 
in  photography.  Yet,  so  far  as  we  know,  few  of 
them  have  taken  up  the  art. 


Even  those  who  have,  appear  to  have  done  so  in  a 
perfunctory  spirit.  Witness  Mr.  Stavely  Hill’s  ex- 
perience. Mr.  Hill  paid  a visit  to  Canada  some 
time  ago,  and  took  with  him  a camera  and  a number 
of  double  backs.  In  crossing  the  Atlantic,  the  ship 
encountered  some  icebergs,  and  Mr.  Hill  promptly 
brought  out  his  camera  and  made  six  exposures  on  the 
frigid  monsters.  On  his  return  home,  the  backs,  with 
their  contents,  were  handed  over  for  treatment  to  a 
professional  photographer,  who,  on  opening  the  slides 
which  it  was  supposed  contained  the  precious  negatives 
of  the  icebergs,  made  the  unpleasant  discovery  that 
the  whole  six  were  empty.  Instead  of  filling  the 
slides  himself,  as  a genuine  amateur  would  have  done, 
Mr.  Hill  trusted  to  the  dealer  of  whom  he  had  bought 
his  apparatus,  and,  by  some  carelessness,  the  assistant 
had  omitted  to  fill  some  of  the  slides.  It  was  ex- 
ceedingly unfortunate  that  Mr.  Hill  should  have  picked 
out  the  empty  slides,  because  he  was  particularly 
anxious  to  obtain  a picture  of  an  iceberg;  but  in 
photography  ’twas  ever  thus.  It  is  always  the  cherished 
picture  which  comes  to  grief. 

Not  enough  notice  has  been  taken  of  the  phenomena 
which  found  publicity,  not  in  the  photographic  but  in 
the  daily  press,  of  the  efficacy,  photographically  speak- 
ing, of  thunderstorms.  We  were  told  of  two  instances 
of  photographs  in  natural  colours.  One  occurred  during 
a photographic  lecture  at  the  Polytechnic,  when  a 
violent  thunderstorm  arose,  with  the  result  that  a 
coloured  image  was  imprinted,  not  upon  the  plate,  but 
upon  the  lens.  In  the  other  case,  a lady  clothed  in  a 
black  dress  checked  with  green,  red,  and  a narrow 
yellow  stripe,  was  sitting  for  her  portrait.  When  the 
thunderclap  had  burst,  and  the  lady  had  scampered 
away  in  fright,  the  operator  developed,  and  found,  to 
his  astonishment,  “ a beautifully  delicate,  naturally- 
coloured  Daguerreotype.”  We  do  not  like  to 
doubt  the  veracity  of  anyone,  and  least  of  all  the 
veracity  of  a photographer  ; therefore,  although  we  have 
not  seen  either  the  “ lens  ” or  the  “Daguerreotype,” 
we  would  not  say  such  things  have  not  been. 

The  point  we  would  like  to  enforce  upon  photo- 
graphers is  the  desirability  of  not  allowing  a thunder- 
storm to  slip  without  trying  to  utilize  it.  Warm 
weather  has  now  been  with  us  for  some  time,  and  the 
probability  is  that  thunderstorms  will  follow.  The 
proper  thing,  therefore,  to  do  is,  directly  thunder  and 
lightning  make  their  appearance,  to  rush  to  the  studio 
with  a sitter  who  is  not  nervous,  and  begin  Liking 
photographs  one  after  the  other.  Benjamin  Franklin 
got  a good  deal  out  of  a flash  of  lightning  with  a homely 
umbrella,  and  we  do  not  sec  why  the  photographer 
should  be  less  successful  with  a camera. 


Architects’  drawings  look  very  pretty,  but  do  not 
gain  by  being  photographed.  Photography  has  a 
knack  of  exposing  their  weak  points,  and,  as  a rule, 
make  them  ridiculous.  An  American  paper  having 
published  the  photograph  of  the  architect’s  drawing  of 


Junk  6,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


439 


an  hotel  to  be  erected  in  Mexico,  a Mexican  journal 
favours  its  readers  with  the  report  of  its  special  artist 
upon  the  photograph  in  question.  The  expert,  after 
severely  criticising  the  building,  says  : — “ The  only 
redeeming  feature  I was  able  to  discover  in  the  photo- 
graph are  three  mops  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the 
building,  and  two  on  the  left-hand  side.  I suspect 
they  are  meant  to  signify  palm  trees,  as  a homage  to 
the  tropical  character  of  Mexico.”  Severe,  but,  we 
doubt  not,  truthful  criticism. 

Now  that  the  optical  lantern  is  taking  such  a 
prominent  place  in  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  work, 
it  will  not  be  out  of  place  if  we  refer  to  a possible 
application  of  it  which  may  not  have  occurred  to  those 
chielly  concerned.  We  refer  to  the  aid  which  it  might 
render  to  the  theatrical  scene  painter.  The  usual 
course  in  painting  a scene  is  to  first  of  all  make  a small 
sketch  of  the  composition,  and  then  to  rule  lines  across 
it  so  as  to  divide  it  into  squares.  Similar  squares 
are  then  “struck”  by  charcoaled  string  on  the  large 
primed  canvas  as  a guide  to  the  artist,  who  then 
reproduces  the  sketch  in  its  enlarged  form.  Now,  of 
course,  all  this  work  would  be  greatly  hastened  and 
simplified  by  photographing  the  original  sketch,  and 
throwing  the  image  of  the  negative  on  the  whitened 
canvas,  so  that  the  scene  painter  could  follow  the 
outlines  with  charcoal  or  brush.  With  a lens  of  good 
definition,  and  with  a simple  form  of  lime  light — 
always  available  in  a theatre — the  thing  could  thus  be 
easily  done.  In  painting-rooms  of  limited  area,  there 
might  be  a difficulty  in  finding  sufficient  space  for  the 
lantern  ; but  there  would  even  then  be  the  alternative 
of  making  the  enlarged  sketch  on  the  stage  itself. 

In  the  old  wet-plate  days,  developing  dishes  were 
unknown.  The  liquid  was  thrown  over  the  glass  as  it 
was  held  by  one  corner  between  the  fingers,  and  the 
image  showed  itself  almost  immediately.  But  now  a dish 
is  necessary,  and,  with  many  developers,  rocking  that 
dish  becomes  a necessity  if  we  wish  to  avoid  unequal 
action  on  the  film.  We  can  of  course  rock  the  dish 
by  simple  manipulation ; but  those  good  people,  the 
dealers,  whose  province  it  is  to  save  us  all  trouble,  and 
who  will,  if  we  wish,  do  everything  for  us  save  exposing 
the  plate  to  the  action  of  the  lens,  have  devised  several 
ingenious  rockers.  The  pendulum  has  until  now  been 
the  usual  principle  of  this  arrangement ; but  Mr.  Hinton 
showed  us  the  other  day  an  extremely  neat  contrivance, 
by  which  the  rocking  is  done  by  clockwork.  The 
apparatus  consists  of  a neat  box,  with  the  clockwork 
inside,  acting,  like  a watch,  by  means  of  a coiled  spring. 
It  gives  movement  to  a metal  platform  above,  upon 
which  a developing  dish  may  be  placed.  After  being 
wound  up,  the  platform  will  execute  a see-saw  move- 
ment for  about  five  and  twenty  minutes. 

Although  the  season  for  fiash-light  photographs  is 
now  past  for  the  present,  we  may  call  attention  to  a 
new  form  of  light  of  this  description  which  lately 
formed  the  subject  of  a communication  to  the  Washing- 


ton Chemical  Society.  Dr.  Thomas  Taylor,  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  was  the 
originator  and  exhibitor  of  this  new  aid  to  photographic 
work.  The  magnesium  powder  is  associated  with 
charcoal  made  from  the  silky  down  of  the  milk  weed 
— a form  of  carbon  so  pure,  that  it  leaves  no  ash.  A 
little  of  this  composition  placed  on  tissue  paper,  and 
fired,  produced  a flash  which  was  so  instantaneous, 
that  enough  heat  was  not  developed  to  scorch  the 
paper  upon  which  the  powder  rested.  We  well  know 
that  this  is  not  the  case  with  several  of  the  more  or 
less  dangerous  mixtures  which  have  been  recommended 
for  flash-light  purposes.  Many  of  these  not  only  set 
fire  to  the  surface  upon  which  they  rest,  but  scatter 
burning  particles  around,  and  behave  generally  like  a 
small  volcano. 


If  there  be  such  a man  as  a photographer  who  is 
puffed  up  with  an  inordinate  opinion  of  himself,  he  can 
very  easily  get  the  conceit  taken  out  of  him  by  study- 
ing one  of  the  boards  placed  by  the  London  County 
Council  at  the  entrance  to  all  parks  and  open  spaces 
under  their  control.  Inspection  of  one  of  the  regula- 
tions will  speedily  convince  the  reader  that  the  L.C.C. 
docs  not  think  much  of  camera-bearers  in  general,  for 
they  are  classed  with  itinerant  showmen,  gypsies,  and 
other  hangers-on  of  open  air  existence.  The  particular 
regulation  to  which  we  refer  prohibits  all  kinds  of 
amusements  dear  to  holiday  folk,  and  numbers  among 
them  the  innocent  tripod  stand  and  its  belongings. 
The  section  is  thus  worded  : — “ Erecting  or  placing  in 
the  Park  any  post,  rail,  fence,  photographic  apparatus, 
cocoanut , stand,  swing,  or  any  building,  erection,  or 
obstruction  of  any  kind  whatsoever.” 

Shades  of  Daguerre,  Niepce,  and  other  departed  ones, 
who  laid  the  foundations  of  our  art  science,  hear  how 
your  followers  are  treated  by  officialism  in  this  year  of 
grace  1890  ! They  are  classed  with  cocoanut  throwers 
at  “ three  shies  a penny,”  with  Aunt  Sally,  with 
round-abouts,  with  erectors  of  swings,  and  with  all 
that  wandering  class  of  irresponsible  persons  who,  in 
the  old  days  of  fairs,  used  to  live  in  an  atmosphere  of 
gilt  gingerbread  and  flaming  naphtha  lamps.  But  per- 
haps, after  all,  this  is  a little  joke  on  the  part  of  the 
newly  elected  Council,  for  certain  it  is  that  if  proper 
application  be  made  to  their  Secretary,  he  will 
recognize  the  claims  of  the  ubiquitous  photographer, 
and  will  grant  him  the  necessary  “ open  sesame.” 

A single  permit  to  photograph,  issued  by  the  County 
Council,  holds  good  for  all  the  parks  and  open  spaces 
under  its  control.  In  Battersea  Park  will  be  found  a 
few  scenes  which  make  excellent  photographic  pictures, 
since  there  the  authorities  have  been  to  some  little 
expense  in  the  production  of  artificial  rockwork  and 
waterfalls ; the  rocks  are  now  so  mellowed  with  age, 
and  covered  with  vegetation,  that  nature  unadorned 
seems  to  rule  throughout.  Some  of  the  trees  in  the 
park  are  sub-tropical ; they  are  moved  and  kept  under 
glass  during  the  winter  months. 


440 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  6,  1890. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITIONS.— No.  I. 

BY  GEORGE  DAVISON. 

Exhibitions  arc  taking  a prominent  place  in  photographic 
history.  The  causes  of  this  growth  and  extension  are 
not  far  to  seek,  and  their  influence  may  be  readily  traced. 
Just  at  present  there  is  a revolt  against  the  greater  part  of 
the  system  in  vogue,  and  what  were  a few  years  ago 
regarded  as  unpopular  and  fanciful  reforms  now  promise 
to  be  taken  up  and  generally  adopted.  This  ready  sur- 
render is  probably  attributable  to  the  vast  increase  in  the 
number  of  exhibitions  and  to  the  frequent  absurdities  and 
inequalities  which  have  resulted  from  the  application  of  an 
unsuitable  code  of  regulations. 

Recently  I happened  to  hear  a photographer  of  long 
standing  complain  that  there  was  nothing  but  exhibitions 
talked  about  and  reported,  so  much  so  that  he  did  not 
care  to  read  the  journals.  He  was  a worker  of  the  older 
school ; one  whose  delight  was  in  processes  and  the 
mechanical  practices  of  photography,  and,  probably,  it 
would  be  impossible  for  such  an  one  to  appreciate  the 
highest  objects  of  such  exhibitions,  or  the  motives  which 
actuate  those  whose  anxiety  to  place  the  whole  system  on 
a higher  level  finds  such  frequent  and  earnest  expression. 
The  chief  interest  which  has  been  taken  from  the  first  by 
photographers  in  the  work  of  these  exhibitions  has  been  as 
to  what  new  wonder  or  scientific  excellence  they  brought 
before  the  public.  The  whole  was  looked  upon  and 
judged  by  scientific  standards  and  conventions.  It  has 
taken  a considerable  time  and  experience  to  teach  the 
lesson  that  there  must  be  a wide  separation  of  artistic  and 
scientific  applications  and  results  by  photography.  An 
understanding  of  this  distinction  is  essential  as  a founda- 
tion for  the  framing  of  what  will  probably  be  the  future 
regulations  for  photographic  exhibitions. 

Photographers  have  been  misled  by  the  conventions,  or 
absorbed  and  distracted  by  the  business  of  photography. 
They  have  been  faithless  and  disloyal  to  their  art,  and  have 
distrusted  its  power  for  anything  beyond  what  they  had 
themselves  done.  But  there  has  been  growing  a belief  in 
higher  art  possibilities  for  photography,  and,  in  spite  of 
some  strenuous  attempts  to  impose  unnecessary  limitations, 
there  are  a good  many  photographers  who  are  enthusiastic 
in  assisting  whatever  may  prove  or  extend  the  capabilities  of 
photography  as  a means  of  artistic  expression.  It  is  this 
latter  influence  which  is  responsible  for  much  of  the  desire 
for  exhibition  reform  which  is  now  so  prominent. 

The  question  to  be  considered  is  what  regulations  and 
conditions  are  required  for  an  art  exhibition.  The  general 
characteristics  and  requirements  of  pictorial  art  must  be 
considered  and  made  the  test.  If  this  be  done  without 
prejudice,  the  difficulties  concerning  regulations  very 
greatly  vanish.  The  way  is  clear.  Where  struggles  con- 
cerning detail  arise,  they  may  be  traced  to  an  attempt  to 
compromise  with  old  prejudices,  the  domination  of 
standards,  or  the  exigencies  of  popular  vulgar  taste  and 
craving  for  excitement.  So  far  in  general  terms.  In 
subsequent  articles  this  test  will  be  applied  to  some  of  the 
difficulties  which  arise  and  are  very  generally  discussed. 

' There  are  some  interesting  points  in  connection  with 
early  exhibitions  which  may  well  be  referred  to,  as  naturally 
leading  up  to  a consideration  of  affairs  as  we  find  them 
to-day.  Exhibitions  are  responsible  for  the  pros- 
perity and  even  for  the  existence  of  some  photographic 
societies.  The  foundation  of  the  Photographic  Society  in 
1853  is  greatly  attributed  to  the  influence  of  the  Great 


Exhibition  of  1851,  for  the  Athenaeum  of  March  13th,  1852, 
refers  to  a proposal  which  was  before  them  for  the  forma- 
tion of  a Photographical  Society,  which,  they  state,  originated 
in  the  “ meeting  of  the  professional  and  amateur  photo- 
graphers from  various  countries  whose  pictures  were 
shown  at  the  Great  Industrial  Exhibition  of  1851.”  This 
proposition  had  for  some  time  been  “ hung  up  ” on  account 
of  the  difficulties  attending  Fox  Talbot’s  patent  rights. 
More  directly,  too,  the  exhibition  of  photographs  “ by  the 
most  notable  professionals  and  amateurs  ” at  the  Society 
of  Arts,  in  December,  in  1852,  as  described  in  “ Notes 
and  Queries  ” of  that  year,  had  an  influence  in  stimu- 
lating the  enthusiasm  and  warming  up  the  sympathy  which 
pressed  forward  the  movement,  which  had  in  1851 
received  so  much  impetus  by  the  showing  of  Dr.  Diamond’s 
specimens  at  Lord  Rosse's  soirees.  At  the  exhibition 
held  at  the  Society  of  Arts,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  ad- 
mittance was  fid.  each,  and  that  certain  ladies  greatly  dis- 
tinguished themselves  by  their  exhibits. 

From  the  first  the  Exhibition  of  the  Photographic 
Society  took  leading  place.  Some  of  the  early  regula- 
tions of  the  exhibition  of  January,  1854,  are  given  in  that 
Society’s  Journal.  These  were  very  simple  and  general, 
the  most  interesting  being  a grandmotherly  restriction  as 
to  amount  of  margin  desirable  and  allowable  for  the 
photographs,  and  a rule  that  “ prints  from  touched  or 
painted  negatives  must  be  described  accordingly.”  These 
exhibitions  were  well  supported.  It  was  announced  that 
1,000  pictures  were  included,  and  this  is  about  as  many 
as  are  received  to-day.  Further,  the  gallery  was  open  to  ' 
the  working  classes  in  the  evening  at  a charge  of  3d.  each. 
In  February,  1854,  the  Devon  and  Cornwall  Photographic 
Society  had  its  first  meeting  at  St  George's  Hall,  Stone- 
house,  in  connection  with  a small  exhibition  and  soiree, 
which  was  “attended  by  all  the  most  distinguished  people 
in  the  neighbourhood,”  and  at  which  “ photographs  were 
taken  by  artificial  light  in  the  presence  of  the  company.” 
This  may  be  taken  as  typical  of  the  frequent  local 
societies’  inaugurations  of  recent  days,  though  more  pros- 
perous sounding  than  the  reports  of  these  latter  meetings. 

As  the  societies  multiplied,  so  did  exhibitions  increase. 
There  was  mut  ual  action  and  reaction.  A writer  at  the  date 
remarks  that  the  exhibitions  mostly  take  place  at  the  same 
time,  and  the  bewildered  exhibitor  scarcely  knows  where 
to  astonish  the  public  gaze  with  his  “ pet  productions” — 
a very  exact  anticipation  of  the  remarks  which  have  been 
so  freely  heard  of  late.  Manchester  had  its  first  annual 
exhibition  in  May,  1856.  The  Bombay  Society,  with  over 
one  hundred  members  prior  to  April,  1855,  had  its  exhi- 
bition and  Journal,  and  a class  in  the  Elphinstone  Institu- 
tion for  instruction  in  photography.  Brussels,  also,  had 
an  exhibition  in  185C,  and  we  find  the  International  Photo- 
graphic Society  at  Amsterdam  giving  medals  about  the 
same  period.  With  the  institution  of  such  societies  as 
Liverpool,  Dublin,  Birmingham,  Norwich,  Brighton  and 
Sussex,  Maulmaiu,  Bengal,  the  Societe  Franeaise,  and  the 
Photographic  Society  of  Scotland,  exhibitions  very 
naturally  grew  and  extended.  As  might  be  expected,  it 
it  was  not,  however,  until  the  dry  plate  became  established, 
that  the  multiplication  of  societies  and  exhibitions  became 
phenomenal.  These  exhibitions  are  found  to  popularize 
photography,  and  to  advertise  and  give  a stimulus  to  the 
societies  organizing  them.  Sympathy,  emulation,  and 
business  enterprise,  all  combine  to  ensure  large  and 
prosperous  shows.  In  the  multitude  of  rival  exhibitions, 
those  responsible  for  their  management  have  thought  it 


June  6,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


411 


necessary  to  devise  fresh  allurements  every  time  to  attract 
a large  body  of  exhibitors.  The  result  of  this  has  been, 
in  this  age  of  absurd  competitions,  a multiplication  of  prizes 
and  an  exclusive  consideration  of  what  would  ensure  a 
Large  crop  of  frames  and  a commercial  success.  The 
spirit  of  competition  has  for  a time  affected  photographic 
exlubitions  in  an  astonishing  manner.  Exhibitors  have 
been  led  to  give  themselves  entirely  away  in  the  scramble 
after  prizes  which  could  carry  no  real  honour.  Even  the 
judges  have  been  too  anxious  to  accept  what  seemed  to  be 
the  superior  distinction  of  deciding  upon  the  respective 
merits  of  well-known  competitors.  Now,  however,  there 
is  a strong  tendency  to  scrutinize  regulations  before  con- 
senting to  be  associated  therewith,  and  there  is  also  a fair 
prospect  of  exhibitors,  judges,  and  exhibition  authorities 
combining  to  better  the  present  state  of  tilings.  There 
are  already  satisfactory  signs  in  the  announced  regulations 
or  proposals  for  forthcoming  exhibitions  at  home  and 
abroad,  to  which  reference  will  be  made  in  further  dis- 
cussion of  this  subject. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  FLORENCE. 

The  Camera  Obscura,  a monthly  review  connected  with 
the  progress  of  the  art  of  photography,  and  published 
under  the  able  direction  of  Professor  L.  Borlinetto,  with 
Germauo  Salvi  as  editor,  and  an  efficient  staff  of  collabo- 
rators, contains,  besides  articles  on  the  development  of 
the  latent  image,  and  on  the  formation  of  composite  pic- 
tures, a notice  of  the  Italian  Photographic  Society,  which 
holds  its  meetings  in  Florence. 

The  last  general  meeting,  on  the  11th  of  May,  was 
presided  over  by  Professor  Golfarelli,  on  account  of  the 
lamented  indisposition  of  the  president.  Thirty  new 
associates  were  admitted.  After  the  transaction  of  the 
usual  necessary  business, 

The  President  gave  a demonstration  of  the  perfection 
gained  by  Italian  makers  of  gelatino-bromide  plates, 
such  as  Melazzo,  of  Naples,  Cappelli,  of  Milan,  and  the 
recently  established  house  of  Semplicini,  in  Florence. 

Signor  Paganori  then  spoke,  in  a few  moving  periods, 
of  the  death  of  the  late  able  and  well-known  member  of 
the  Society,  Giuseppe  Alinari.  The  great  loss  experienced 
by  the  photographic  world  iu  the  decease  of  this  accom- 
plished artist  is  further  touched  upon  in  the  necrology  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  Camera.  It  is  there  stated  that 
Alinari,  who  gained  for  the  establishment  over  which  he 
was  the  technical  director  numerous  national  and 
international  prizes,  was  born  on  the  29th  April,  1836. 
He  was  a pupil  in  the  Infant  Asylum  founded  by  Guicciar- 
dini, and  entered  while  yet  extremely  young  the  house  of 
Falcini  to  study  the  art  of  inlaying  and  mosaic.  His 
brother  Leopoldo,  having  taken  it  into  his  head  to  become 
a photographer,  made  some  successful  early  attempts,  and 
was  encouraged  by  Giuseppe  Bardi,  who  had  chanced  to 
see  his  work,  to  continue  his  labour,  and  ultimately  opened 
a small  establishment  on  the  ground  floor  of  a house  in 
the  A ia  Cornina,  taking  as  his  assistant  his  brother 
Giuseppe.  Phis  happened  iu  1853.  By  degrees  he  was 
induced,  through  his  increasing  business,  and  by  the  advice 
of  his  friendo,  to  add  to  his  little  shop  a chamber  for  tak- 
ing portraits.  But  this  was  in  its  turn  found  insufficient, 
and  Leopoldo  having  acquired  some  ground  in  what  is 
now  called  the  Via  Nazionale,  there  erected  a large  and 
imposing  building,  which  was  not  completed  till  1862. 


The  photographic  labours  of  the  brothers  Alinari  were 
soon  so  highly  appreciated,  not  only  in  Italy  but  in  other 
countries,  that  amongst  the  many  important  commissions 
with  which  they  were  entrusted  about  this  time,  must  be 
reckoned  that  of  the  Archduke  Alberto,  who,  iu  addition 
to  requiring  a reproduction  of  a part  of  the  designs  in  the 
Royal  Gallery  of  the  Uflizi,  also  desired  that  the  brothers 
Alinari  should  betake  themselves  to  Venice,  and  after  that 
to  Vienna,  in  order  to  execute  some  designs  which  he  had 
chosen  there  for  photographic  representation. 

On  the  9th  November,  1865,  little  more  than  two  years 
after  the  inauguaration  of  his  new  establishment,  Leopoldo 
ceased  to  occupy  himself  therewith,  leaving  the  care  of  his 
two  infant  orphans  to  his  brothers  Romualdo  and 
Giuseppe,  giving  the  former  the  general  administration, 
and  the  latter  the  technical  direction  of  his  well-established 
house.  It  was  then  that  the  earnest  activity,  the  noble 
unselfishness,  and  the  artistic  intelligence  of  Giuseppe 
Alinari  made  themselves  chiefly  conspicuous. 

Ever  ready  to  work,  always  at  his  post  at  the  proper 
time,  apparently  unwearied  by  labour’s  fatigue,  he  effected 
in  a few  years  by  his  own  unassisted  endeavour  more  than 
the  result  of  the  united  forces  of  many  excellent  photo- 
graphers in  Italy  and  elsewhere. 

The  frescoes  of  Santa  Croce,  executed  for  the  Duca  di 
Luynes,  those  of  San  Miniato,  executed  for  the  same 
patron,  the  chapel  of  Brancacci  al  Carmine,  the  frescoes 
of  S.  M.  Novella,  and  those  of  the  Palazzo  Riccardi,  of 
the  Sistine  Chapel  at  Rome,  and  a thousand  other  works, 
all  of  extreme  difficulty,  were  undertaken  and  com- 
pleted by  Giuseppe  Alinari  by  means  relatively  weak  and 
poor,  seeing  that  at  that  epoch  the  great  universal  panacea, 
the  gelatino-bromide  of  silver,  which  has  transformed  count- 
less “fools”  into  photographers,  was  not  known,  but  recourse 
must  then  have  been  had  to  wet  collodion,  in  the  use  of 
which  so  many  modern  photographers  have  encountered 
almost  insuperable  difficulties. 

Being  such  a man  as  has  been  described,  Alinari  was  at 
the  same  time  excessively  modest,  and  i-ather  sought  to 
avoid  than  to  encounter  all  that  might  produce  for  him 
honour  and  prizes ; nay,  he  went  so  far  on  several  occa- 
sions as  to  refuse  both  when  they  had  been  offered  to  him. 
It  was  with  no  little  difficulty  that  he  was  at  last  induced 
to  become  a member  of  the  committee  for  the  promotion 
of  the  photographic  exhibition  held  in  Florence,  and  of 
the  photographic  society,  in  which  he  would  never  accept 
any  mark  of  exceptional  honour  or  any  post  of  unusual 
distinction. 

The  later  years  of  his  life  were  spent  on  the  illustra- 
tions of  a work  on  architecture,  published  by  Professor 
Steigmann.  To  this  work  he  brought  so  much  passion  and 
so  great  intelligence  that  Steigmann,  in  the  letter  of  con- 
dolence which  he  sent  to  his  nephew  Vittorio,  thus  ex- 
presses himself : — 

“I  have  just  heard  of  the  death  of  Signor  Giuseppe 
Alinari.  What  a grief  for  me  ! What  a loss  for  art ! 

“ In  him  I miss  a fr'end,  not  only  to  myself,  but  to  my 
work. 

“ But  all  the  world  may  mourn  for  one  who  has  brought 
into  the  hearts  of  so  many  a love  for  the  photographic 
art.” 

Giuseppe  Alinari  died  the  24th  April,  1890. 

♦ 

The  Photogkahic  Club. — The  subject  for  discussion  on 
June  11th  will  be  “ Paintings  as  Art  Examples  to  Photo- 
graphers”; June  18th,  “ Mounting  aud  Finishing  Photographs.” 


442 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


A PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITION  AT  HEXHAM. 

BV  JAMES  BROWN  AND  EDGAR  G.  LEE. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  “one  man”  exhibition  ever 
held  is  now  on  view  in  the  Town  Hall  of  the  quaint  old  market 
town  of  Hexham,  commonly  known  as  “ the  heart  of  all 
England.”  The  show  consists  of  over  400  photographs  by 
Mr.  J.  P.  Gibson,  of  Northumbrian  scenery  and  antiquities, 
ranging  from  whole- plate  to  15  by  12,  and  mostly  by  the 
platinum  toning  process,  which,  in  Mr.  Gibson’s  hands,  lends 
itself  admirably  to  artistic  effect. 

Mr.  Gibson  is  an  ardent  antiquarian,  whilst  as  a landscape 
photographer  he  has  stood  in  the  front  rank  for  many  years. 
The  standard  of  the  exhibition  is  high,  and  the  work  shows 
evidence  of  thought  and  tender  care  throughout.  The 
technique,  as  might  be  expected  from  such  a careful  worker,  is 
good,  except  in  a few  of  the  architectural  subjects,  in  which 
the  effect  of  the  “harmless”  yet  necessary  wide-angle  lens  is 
somewhat  unpleasantly  manifest. 

Whilst  some  of  the  subjects  possess  only  a local  and 
arch;cological  interest,  they  are  treated  in  the  same  careful 
artistic  manner  as  his  well-known  landscapes.  Entering  the 
Town  Hall,  we  find  photographs  illustrating  Northumbrian 
architecture  from  pre  historic  down  to  modern  times,  instan- 
taneous street  scenes,  views  of  bleak  moorlands,  and  of  the 
sylvan  and  romantic  scenery  of  the  Tyne  and  its  tributaries, 
which  Mr.  Gibson  has  made  peculiarly  his  own.  With  so 
many  pictures  on  view,  it  would  be  difficult  to  attempt  a 
lengthened  criticism,  but  we  propose  to  single  out  a few  for 
special  comment. 

The  15  by  12  first  claim  our  attention,  and  a long  way 
ahead  stands  No.  269,  “Autumn  Haze,”  a charming  view  on 
the  South  Tyne,  with  the  distance  beautifully  softened  by  a 
perfectly  rendered  haze.  Another  feature  of  this  picture  is  a 
choice  bit  of  reeds  and  rocks,  with  figure  judiciously  intro- 
duced. Next  is  No.  267,  “ Under  the  Haycock  Fast  Asleep,” 
in  which  the  foliage  in  the  middle  distance  is  exceptionally 
fine,  and  the  figures  from  which  the  picture  takes  its  title  are 
placed  naturally  without  any  straining  after  effect.  In  No. 
268,  “September,”  we  have  a reach  on  the  South  Tyne,  a 
piece  of  pure  landscape  art,  with  gleams  of  sunshine  playing 
over  the  water  at  the  bend  of  the  stream,  and  a gnarled  old 
oak  standing  out  in  bold  relief.  Coming  to  the  whole-plate 
series,  the  task  of  selection  becomes  more  difficult.  Our  own 
feeling  is  that  No.  82,  “ At  Ladle  Wells,”  is  the  choicest  and 
most  artistic  pure  landscape  in  the  whole  exhibition.  It 
represents  with  startling  realism  a desolate,  barren  moorland ; 
rushes  and  burnt  heather  make  up  the  foreground  ; two  trees, 
bare  and  bleak  as  the  surrounding  heather,  stand  out  weird 
against  the  wintry  sky  ; the  whole  forming  one  of  the  finest 
and  withal  simplest  pictures  we  have  ever  seen.  No.  36,  “ By 
the  Brooklet,”  is  of  its  kind  a gem,  which  shows  how  a simple 
subject  may  be  aided  by  artistic  feeling  in  placing  figures  as 
aids  to  the  composition.  In  No.  65,  “Out  for  a Holiday,” 
an  otherwise  fine  work  is  slightly  marred  by  too  much  white 
road,  which  exercises  a disturbing  effect.  In  No.  69,  “ The 
Beautiful  River,”  the  subject  does  not  belie  the  title  ; a 
splendidly  balanced  picture,  with  an  artistic  foreground.  No. 
159,  “The  Wind  that  Stirs  the  Mere,”  is  another  scene  of 
loveliness— a small  Northumbrian  lake.  Here,  again,  the 
materials  are  simple — a crag  and  a sunlit  expanse  of  water 
broken  up  into  ripples  by  the  wind,  with  the  foreground  and 
sky — two  of  Mr.  Gibson’s  strong  points — alike  admirably 
treated,  so  treated,  indeed,  as  to  make  the  picture. 

Space  does  not  admit  of  further  individual  notice,  although 
many  pictures  merit  it.  In  this  catagory  may  be  included 
No.  39,  “Old  ltidlcy  Bridge”;  No.  55,  “ Coast  ley  Burn- 
foot  ; No.  " The  Lonely  Moor  ” ; No.  76,  “ Hindley  Bum 
No.  99,  “Tickling  the  Trout”;  No.  342,  “Waiting,”  and 
No.  222,  “The  Thief’sTyke.”  This  last  is  a vigorous  subject 
vigorously  treated,  larch  trees  against  the  sky  with  a finely- 
broken  up  foreground. 

The  architectural  subjects,  as  subjects,  do  not  call  for  special 
comment,  but  locally,  of  course,  are  interesting.  The  salient 
feature  of  the  series  is  the  fact  that  by  proper  handling,  the 


[June  6,  1890. 

careful  study  of  lighting,  and  judicious  selection  of  clouds, 
what -in  many  cases  would  have  been  ordinary  photographs  are 
transformed  into  works  of  art. 

Summing  up,  the  effect  produced  upon  our  minds  by  this 
unique  show  is  one  of  unmixed  pleasure,  and  admiration  of  the 
thoughtful  adaptation  of  means  towards  ends  displayed  in 
many  of  the  works.  We  suggest  that  the  Camera  Club  authori- 
ties should  at  an  early  date  endeavour  to  secure  some  of  the 
gems  of  this  collection  for  one  of  their  “one  man”  exhibitions. 

• -• 

Xotkcs  of 


The  Amateur  Photographer's  Library,  Nos.  3 and  4. 

( UazeU , Watson , and  Viney,  London,  1890.) 

Experimental  Photography. 

This  little  book,  Number  3 of  the  series,  is  written  by 
Mr.  C.  J.  Reaper,  a Fellow  of  the  Chemical  Society,  and 
contains  much  elementary  information  about  photographic 
chemistry  likely  to  be  of  use  to  those  beginners  who 
have  not  studied  the  latter  subject.  As  regards  develop- 
ing room  illumination,  he  is  right  in  recommending  a large 
window,  eighteen  inches  square,  for  the  lantern,  but  says 
that  it  should  be  of  one  thickness  of  ruby  cloth ; if  he 
examines  such  cloth  under  the  microscope  by  means  of  a 
strong  light  on  the  other  side  of  the  fabric,  as  recom- 
mended in  another  column,  he  will  see  reason  to  alter 
this  advice,  and  to  advocate  the  use  of  at  least  two  thick- 
nesses. 

Much  of  the  book  deals  so  much  with  elementary  pho- 
tography, that  any  criticism  of  it  would  be  of  little  inte- 
rest to  our  readers ; suffice  it  say,  the  instructions  given 
to  learners  are,  generally  speaking,  sound. 

Mr.  Reaper  gives  the  following  instructions  for  the 
production  of  prints  of  different  colours  by  iron  pro- 
cesses:— 

If  we  do  not  admire  the  blue  colour  of  these  prints,  we  can 
readily  change  it  to  a very  beautiful  green  by  immersing  the 
finished  print  for  a few  minutes  in  very  dilute  sulphuric  acid, 
about  two  drops  of  the  strong  acid  to  the  ounce  of  water. 
Views  of  breaking  waves  printed  in  this  manner  make  striking 
pictures. 

A dark-brown  tint  can  be  secured  by  making  use  of  the 
well-known  reaction  between  the  salts  of  iron  and  tannin,  a 
reaction  to  which  the  colour  of  ordinary  writing  ink  is  due. 
To  obtain  such  a brown  colour  we  float  the  blue  print  for  five 
minutes  on  a solution  of  tannin  containing  10  grs.  of  the 
substance  in  an  ounce  of  water,  then  transfer  it  to  a solution 
of  ordinary  washing  soda  of  the  same  strength,  and  lastly 
retransfer  it  to  the  original  tannin  solution,  after  having  washed 
the  print  for  ten  minutes  in  running  water. 

A black  print  can,  lastly,  be  obtained  from  a blue  one  by 
floating  the  blue  print  on  a solution  of  silver  nitrate  containing 
one  grain  of  the  salt  to  the  ounce  of  distilled  water,  leaving  it 
there  for  five  minutes,  washing  the  print  for  about  half-an- 
hour  to  get  rid  of  every  trace  of  free  silver  nitrate,  and  then 
immersing  it  in  the  usual  ferrous-oxalate  developer,  the  same, 
in  fact,  as  we  employed  with  the  Eastman  paper. 

In  the  preceding  processes  we  have  produced  blue  prints  on 
a white  ground,  t. «.,  the  unexposed  parts  remain  white,  and 
the  exposed  portions  become  blue.  The  salts  of  iron  can,  how- 
ever, be  also  made  to  yield  prints  of  the  reverse  character, 
viz.,  ones  in  which  the  exposed  portions  remain  white  and  the 
unexposed  portions  become  blue.  To  understand  how  this  is 
brought  about,  we  .again  take  some  ferrous  sulphate  and  ferric 
chloride,  and  add  to  each  a small  quantity  of  a solution  of 
potassium  ferrocyauide  or  yellow  prussiate  of  potash.  AVe 
shall  find  that  the  ferrous  salt  will  yield  a light-blue  precipitate, 
changing  rapidly  to  dark  blue,  whilst  the  ferric  salt  will  yield 
an  immediate  dark-blue  precipitate. 

If  we  could  exclude  from  the  ferrous  salt  every  trace  of  the 


June  6,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


413 


ferric  compound,  we  should  obtain  a white  precipitate.  AVe 
can  now  understand  how,  by  employing  potassium  ferrocyanide 
as  a developer,  we  can  obtain  a print  in  which  the  exposed 
(ferrous)  portions  remain  white,  whilst  the  unexposed  (ferric) 
portions  become  blue.  The  solution  previously  used  is  not  very 
suitable  for  this  purpose,  but  the  following  will  yield  good 
prints  : — 

Citric  acid  ...  ...  ...  ...  40  grs. 

Ferric  chloride  ...  ...  ...  ...  48  ,, 

Gum  arabic  ...  ...  ...  ...  42  ,, 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  11  ounces 

Soak  the  gum  arabic  for  a couple  of  hours  in  half  the  quantity 
of  water,  and  then  dissolve  it  by  placing  the  vessel  in  a warm 
place.  Meanwhile,  dissolve  the  citric  acid  and  ferric  chloride 
in  the  other  half,  and  mix  the  two  solutions.  The  paper  is 
floated  on  the  solution  for  a couple  of  minutes,  then  dried  and 
exposed,  and  the  prints  developed  by  floating  them  on  a solu- 
tion of  potassium  ferrocyanide  containing  twenty  grains  of  the 
salt  in  an  ounce  of  water.  Development  completed,  the  prints 
are  immersed  in  weak  sulphuric  acid  (six  drops  to  the  ounce  of 
water),  and  finally  washed  for  ten  minutes  or  so. 

The  “ cyanotype  ” in  this  form  is  only,  of  course,  a curiosity 
when  employed  with  negatives,  but  it  is  a very  valuable 
process  indeed  when  the  object  is  to  reproduce  engineers’  draw- 
ings on  tracing  paper.  Evidently  in  such  a case  the  black 
lines  will,  if  the  paper  is  exposed  under  the  drawing,  be 
rendered  as  blue  ones,  whilst  the  ground  through  which  the 
light  has  passed  will  remain  white,  the  sensitive  substance 
having  been  changed  there  from  the  ferric  to  the  ferrous  con- 
dition. 


Ordinary  note-paper  is  good  enough  for  experimenting  upon 
with  these  processes,  but  some  of  our  readers  might  wish  to 
secure  blue  prints  possessing  the  brilliancy  which  characterises 
those  made  on  sensitised  silver  paper.  To  do  this,  ordinarv 
albumenised  ( not  sensitised)  paper  is  first  washed  in  running 
water  for  half-au-hour  to  free  it  from  the  ammonium  chloride 
with  which  it  is  impregnated,  then  dried,  and  treated  with  the 
sensitising  solution,  making  use  of  a pledget  of  cotton  wool  to 
brush  the  solution  on  the  surface,  instead  of  floating  the  paper. 
And  if  a still  greater  amount  of  brilliancy  be  desired,  the 
albumenised  paper  can  be  first  of  all  floated  on  boiling  water 
to  coagulate  the  albumen,  then  washed  and  sensitised  as  before. 
Washing  the  paper  in  cold  water  removes  the  greater  part  of 
the  albumen  as  well  as  the  ammonium  chloride,  but  this  is 
avoided  by  coagulating  it  by  heat. 

The  action  of  light  upon  ferric  oxalate  is  the  basis  of  the 
deservedly  popular  platinotype  process,  in  which  the  image 
consists  of  metallic  platinum,  one  of  the  most  unalterable 
substances  known. 


The  author  gives  information  about  the  wet  collodion 
process,  and  how  to  make  lantern  slides  thereby  by  super- 
position.  This  may  prove  useful  to  some  of  the  new  race 
of  photographers  not  versed  in  the  processes  of  the  past. 
The  wet  plate  process  is  still  somewhat  extensively  used 
by  professional  photographers  for  special  purposes. 

Art  Photography. 

Number  4 of  the  series,  “ Art  Photography,”  is  written 
by  Mr.  II.  P.  llobinson,  and  contains  several  engravings, 
all  of  which  have  been  carefully  printed.  The  work  is 
readable,  and  is  written  in  Mr.  Robinson’s  usual  analytical 
and  interesting  manner.  On  page  37  the  author  says  : — 

Although  I have  said  I should  prefer  a beautiful  untruth  to 
an  ugly  fact,  I cannot  deny  that  more  truth,  within  its  limits, 
is  exacted  of  photography  than  of  any  other  method  of  repre- 
sentation, and  we  must  give  all  the  truth  we  possibly  can.  If 
we  cannot  give  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but 
the  truth,  then  we  must  lie  like  truth,  which,  after  all,  is  perhaps 
as  good  a definition  of  art  as  we  have. 

The  little  book  contains  some  practical  instructions 
about  combination  printing,  of  which  art  Mr.  Robinson 
stands  undeniably  at  the  head.  As  the  whole  system  of 
combination  printing  has  been  vigorously  attacked  during 


the  last  year  or  two,  the  following  utterances  of  Mr. 
Robinson  in  its  defence  may  not  be  without  interest: — 

It  was  a maxim  with  the  Spartans  that  if  your  sword  was 
short  you  should  add  a step  to  it.  It  being,  I think,  sufficiently 
proved  that  our  present  optical  resources  do  not  enable  us  to 
represent  properly  some  of  the  simplest  scenes  around  us  which 
we  ought,  as  artists,  to  reasonably  expect  to  be  able  to  obtain, 
we  must  try  some  other  way  that  will  help  us  to  succeed. 
The  obvious  step  that  we  must  add  to  our  short  sword,  until 
something  better  is  invented,  is  combination  printing.  I have 
now  had  more  than  thirty  years’  experience  of  this  method, 
and  still  think  it  not  only  the  best,  but  the  only  way  of  getting 
many  subjects  which  should  not  be  lost  to  our  art.  It  is  of 
all  others  the  process  for  the  amateur  ; it  will  enable  him  to 
spend  many  pleasant  hours,  and  haply  achieve  distinction. 
The  method  takes  time  and  patience,  no  doubt,  but  you  “get 
your  own  out  of  it.” 

patent  Entelligcnre. 


8,913.  W.  S.  Wardle,  290,  Brixton  Road,  Loudon,  “ Im- 
provement in  Photography.”- — May  27th. 

8,210.  H.  R.  Yea  and  F.  J.  Piper,  169,  Union  Street,  Ply- 
mouth, “ Camera  Stands.”— May  27th. 

8,214.  M.  A.  Wier,  3,  Palace  Grove,  Upper  Norwood,  “De- 
veloping Photographic  Films  in  Actinic  Light.” — May  27th. 
8,372.  H.  R.  Dines,  22,  Garrick  Street,  London,  “ Changing 
Plates  in  Hand  Cameras.” — May  30th. 

8,391.  T.  Hudson,  6,  Lord  Street,  Liverpool,  “Photographic 
Apparatus.” — May  30th. 

8,446.  J.  Pitt  and  W.  Hudson,  128,  Colmore  Row,  Birming- 
ham, “ Detective  Cameras.” — May  31st. 

Specifications  Published. 

18,897.  December  lOt/i,  1890. — “The  Manufacture  of  Photo- 
graphic Films.”  A communication  from  George  Eastman, 
of  Rochester,  in  the  County  of  Monroe,  and  State  of  New 
York,  United  States.  Alfred  Julius  Boult,  323,  High 
Holborn,  London,  M.I.M.E. 

This  invention  relates  to  the  manufacture  of  the  improved 
flexible  film  produced  in  the  manner  and  having  the  character- 
istics hereinafter  described. 

In  practising  this  invention,  a clear  fluid  solution  of  nitro- 
cellulose, or  gun-cotton  and  camphor,  is  first  made  by  dissolving 
said  materials  in  one  or  more  of  the  known  liquid  solvents, 
such,  for  example,  as  methyl-alcohol,  which  is  preferably  used 
because  of  its  active  solvent  properties.  To  remove  all  uncon- 
verted or  imperfectly  dissolved  substances  from,  and  to  clarify 
the  solution,  it  is  preferred  to  filter  it  through  fine  cotton  cloth, 
the  object  being  to  obtain  a solution  which  will  be  perfectly 
clear,  and  which  can  be  readily  spread  in  a thin  layer  or  film 
upon  the  surface  of  a level  glass  plate  or  other  rigid  supporting 
surface,  and  which,  when  dry,  will  be  photographically  struc- 
tureless. Such  a fluid  solution  may  be  produced  by  dissolving 
9,000  grains  of  soluble  gun-cotton,  or  nitro-cellulose,  and  5,400 
grains  of  camphor  in  112  ounces  of  methyl-alcohol. 

It  has  been  found  that  when  such  solution  is  spread  out  in 
the  form  of  a film,  and  dried  as  the  process  of  drying  is  accom- 
panied with  the  evaporation  of  the  more  volatile  constituents, 
the  mass  shrinks,  and  its  exposed  surface  is  liable  to  become 
pitted  or  covered  more  or  less  with  small  depressions,  and  that 
it  is  otherwise  liable  to  prove  objectionable.  To  obviate  this  it 
is  preferable  to  add  to  the  solution  made  according  to  the 
above  formula,  say  28  ounces  of  fusil  oil,  and  also  preferably, 
though  not  necessarily,  7 ounces  of  amyl-acetate,  or  any 
equivalent  agent  which  produces  the  same  effect. 

The  proportions  above  given  for  the  solid  and  liquid  con- 
stituents of  the  solution  may  be  varied,  as  well  as  the  propor- 
tions of  fusil  oil  and  amyl-acetate  according  to  circumstances, 
but  those  which  are  above  given  have  been  found  to  give 
satisfactory  results. 

The  dissolving  of  the  solids  may  be  hastened  and  the 
products  rendered  more  uniform  by  the  application  of  gentle 
heat  with  occasional  agitation,  the  process  toeing  conducted  in  a 


441 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS, 


[June  6,  1890. 


closed  vessel  to  prevent  loss  by  the  evaporation  of  the  volatile 
constituents. 

Having  made  the  clear  liquid  solution  mentioned,  the  next 
proceeding  is  to  obtain  a thin  la\'er  or  film  of  the  same  by 
depositing  and  spreading  the  solution  upon  a rigid  supporting 
surface.  For  this  purpose  it  is  preferred  to  use  a flat  table  or 
bed  plate  of  plate-glass  or  other  material  having  either  a 
polished  or  dead  surface,  and  on  the  surface  of  which  the 
solution  may  be  spread  by  means  of  a suitable  spreader  moving 
longitudinally  over  the  said  table. 

It  has,  however,  been  found  that  when  the  fluid  solution  is 
applied  directly  to  and  dried  on  the  clean  surface  of  the  table 
or  bed-plate,  it  adheres  so  firmly  to  the  said  table  that  the 
subsequently  formed  complete  photographic  film  can  be  removed 
only  by  the  application  of  considerable  force,  which  sometimes 
results  in  the  tearing  of  it  or  in  its  being  stretched  unequally 
so  that  it  will  buckle,  and  be  unfitted  for  use  in  roll  holders 
and  for  negative  making.  To  overcome  this  difficulty  the 
surface  of  the  glass  or  other  rigid  supporting  surface,  before 
the  fluid  solution  is  spread  thereon,  is  rubbed  over  or  coated 
with  a weak  solution  of  mineral  wax  in  benzine,  or  other  suit- 
able solvent,  or  a weak  solution  of  beeswax,  or  with  any  other 
equivalent  agent  to  produce  the  same  result.  After  the  bed- 
plate or  table  has  been  so  prepared,  a thin  layer  of  film  of  the 
fluid  solution  of  nitro-cellulose  and  camphor  in  methyl-alcohol 
is  spread  evenly  upon  it. 

The  preliminary  coating  of  wax  solution  should  be  of  a 
character  to  weaken  without  preventing  the  adhesion  to  the 
glass  surface  of  the  supporting  film,  as  it  is  very  desirable  that 
this  supporting  film,  when  dry,  should  adhere  throughout  its 
whole  under  surface  to  the  rigid  supporting  surface  until  the 
photographic  film  is  to  be  removed. 

The  next  operation,  which  must  be  performed  in  a photo- 
graphic dark  room,  is  to  apply  to  the  surface  of  the  supporting 
film  a suitable  sensitised  medium  such  as  fluid  gelatino  argentic 
emulsion  in  the  form  of  a thin  uniform  layer  or  film,  but 
experience  has  shown  that  unless  special  provision  is  made 
against  such  a contingency  this  sensitised  film  will  not  adhere 
at  all  points  to  the  supporting  film,  but  will  be  detached  or 
separated  at  parts,  and  thus  form  blisters  in  the  photographic 
film. 

This,  it  has  been  ascertained,  is  due  in  part  at  least  to  the 
greasy  character  of  the  surface  of  the  supporting  film,  to 
remove  which  such  surface  is  washed  preferably  with  clear 
water,  to  which  has  been  added  from  2 per  cent,  or  3 per  lent,  j 
of  a binding  agent  such  as  silicate  of  potash  or  silicate  of  soda. 
After  the  surface  of  the  film  support  is  again  dry  the  layer  or  ' 
film  of  gelatino  argentic  emulsion  is  spread  evenly  upon  the 
washed  surface,  and  will  be  found  to  adhere  uniformly  The 

spreading  of  the  sensitised  film  may  be  effected  by  the  same 
apparatus  as  is  used  for  spreading  the  supporting  film. 

The  supporting  film  and  sensitised  film  which,  combined 
together,  are  herein  termed  the  photographic  film,  are  retained 
in  place  upon  the  rigid  supporting  surface  until  the  sensitised 
film  has  dried,  when  the  photographic  film  may,  if  desired,  be 
cut  into  strips  of  suitable  width,  and  it  is  then  ready  to  be 
removed  or  stripped  from  the  said  rigid  supporting  surface, 
which  may  be  effected  by  means  of  a traversing  roller. 

The  film  for  supporting  the  sensitised  film  is  necessarily  J 
made  quite  thin,  ordinarily  from  3 to  5 one-thousandths  of  an 
inch  in  thickness,  or  about  the  thickness  of  the  paper  supports 
heretofore  generally  employed  in  ordinary  roll  holders. 

A photographic  film  produced  as  described,  is  of  such  thick- 
ness and  flexibility  that  it  can  readily  be  wound  upon  the 
spools  of  ordinary  roll  holders,  such  as  the  Eastman  Walker 
roll  holders,  and  manipulated  for  exposure  in  the  latter.  The  1 
supporting  film  or  backing  for  the  sensitised  film  is  of  a j 
material  unaffected  by  moisture,  of  uniform  density,  free  from  j 
striae  and  buckles,  and  photographically  structureless,  and  the 
photographic  film  as  a whole  is  capable  of  being  used  for  all ' 
those  photographic  purposes  for  which  can  be  used  glass  plates  | 
with  sensitised  films  in  ordinary  cameras  or  paper,  with  similar 
films  in  roll  holding  cameras. 

Having  now  particularly  described  and  ascertained  the  nature 
of  this  said  invention,  and  in  what  manner  the  same  is  to  be 


performed,  as  communicated  to  me  by  my  foreign  corres- 
pondent, I declare  that  what  I claim  is: — 

1.  The  herein-before  described  improvement  in  the  art  of 
producing  flexible  photographic  films,  which  consists  in  first 
applying  a fluid  solution  of  nitro-cellulose  and  camphor  in  a 
layer  or  film  upon  a rigid  supporting  surface,  then  drying  the 
same,  said  film  being  photographically  structureless  when  dry, 
and  of  sufficient  strength  and  stiffness  to  properly  support  and 
sustain  a suitable  sensitised  film  through  all  the  operations  of 
negative  making  and  printing  positives  therefrom  ; then  spread- 
ing thereon,  while  still  upon  said  rigid  supporting  surface,  a 
thin  layer  or  film  of  gelatino  argeutic  emulsion  ; then  drying 
the  same  while  still  on  said  rigid  supporting  surface ; then 
stripping  the  photographic  film  from  said  support ; such  photo- 
tographic  film  when  dried  and  stripped  being  of  such  a thick- 
ness as  to  be  flexible  enough  to  be  wound  upon  the  rollers  of, 
and  used  in,  ordinary  roll  holders. 

2.  The  herein-before  described  improvement  in  the  art  of  pro- 
ducing flexible  photographic  films,  the  same  consisting  in 
depositing  upon  a rigid  supporting  surface  a fluid  solution  of 
nitro-cellulose  and  camphor,  spreading  the  same  into  a film  of 
substantially  uniform  thickness,  but  having  the  surface  in  a flat 
plane,  drying  said  film  while  still  in  contact  with  said  rigid  sup- 
porting surface,  thereby  producing  its  uniformity  of  surface  and 
causing  it  to  adhere  closely  to  said  rigid  supporting  surface, 
said  supporting  film  being  photographically  structureless  when 
dry  ; applying  a thin  layer  or  film  of  fluid  gelatino  argentic 
emulsion  to  the  said  dried  and  adherent  supporting  film  by 
spreading  said  emulsion  progressively  from  end  to  end  of  the 
previously  dried  supporting  film,  drying  said  film  of  emulsion 
while  the  supporting  film  is  still  adhering  closely  to  the  rigid 
supporting  surface,  and  finally  detaching  or  stripping  the  photo- 
graphic film  from  the  rigid  supporting  surface  preparatory  to 
winding  the  same  upon  spools  ; said  photographic  films  being 
sufficiently  flexible  when  dried  to  be  wound  upon  the  rollers  of 
and  used  in  ordinary  roll  holders,  and  to  be  manipulated  in  the 
latter  for  exposure. 

3.  The  herein-before  described  improvement  in  the  art  of 
forming  flexible  photographic  films,  which  consists  in  first 
making  a fluid  solution  of  nitro-cellulose  and  camphor;  second, 
filtering  such  solution  ; third,  depositing  and  spreading  the 
same  in  a film  upon  a rigid  supporting  surface  and  allowing 
the  volatile  constituents  to  evaporate  while  the  supporting  film 
is  adhering  to  the  said  rigid  supporting  surface,  said  supporting 
film  being  photographically  structureless  when  dry  ; then  apply- 
ing an  even  layer  or  film  of  fluid  sensitised  emulsion  to  the 
surface  of  the  supporting  film,  while  still  adhering  to  the  rigid 
supporting  surface,  and  finally  drying  said  sensitised  film  and 
stripping  the  photographic  film  from  its  support. 

4.  The  herein-before  described  improvement  in  the  art  of 
forming  flexible  photographic  films,  which  consists  in  first 
making  a fluid  solution  of  nitro-cellulose  and  camphor;  second, 
filtering  such  solution  ; third,  depositing  and  spreading  the 
same  in  a film  upon  a rigid  supporting  surface  and  allowing 
the  volatile  constituents  to  evaporate  while  the  supporting  film 
is  adhering  to  the  said  rigid  supporting  surface,  said  supporting 
film  being  photographically  structureless  when  dry ; then  apply- 
ing an  even  layer  or  film  or  fluid  of  sensitised  emulsion  to  the 
surface  of  the  supporting  film  while  still  adhering  to  the  rigid 
supporting  surface,  and  finally  drying  said  sensitised  film  and 
stripping  the  photographic  film  from  its  support  by  means  of  a 
traversing  roller. 

5.  The  herein-before  described  improvement  in  the  art  of 
forming  flexible  film  supports,  which  consists  in  adding  fusil  oil 
to  a fluid  solution  of  nitro-cellulose  and  camphor,  and  subse- 
quently depositing  and  spreading  such  solution  upon  a rigid 
supporting  surface  and  drying  it. 

6.  The  herein-before  described  improvement  in  the  art  of 
formiug  flexible  film  supports,  which  consists  in  combining 
methyl-alcohol,  camphor,  nitro-cellulose,  and  fusil  oil  to  form  a 
fluid  solution,  and  then  depositing  and  spreading  the  latter 
upon  a supporting  surface  and  drying  the  same. 

7.  As  an  improvement  in  the  art  of  producing  flexible  film 
supports,  the  herein-before  described  improved  step  in  the  pro- 
cess, which  consists  in  forming  the  fluid  solution,  of  a mixture 


Jcne  6,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


445 


of  methyl-alcohol,  fusil  oil,  nitro-cellulose,  and  camphor,  to  form 
a fluid  solution  for  spreading  in  a thin  film  upon  a support. 

8.  As  an  improvement  in  the  art  of  producing  flexible  film 
supports,  the  addition  of  amyl-acetate  to  a fluid  solution  of 
nitro-cellulose  and  camphor  in  a liquid  solvent,  and  the  subse- 
quent depositing  and  spreading  of  said  solution  in  a film  upon 
a supporting  surface  and  drying  the  film  upon  the  latter. 

9.  As  an  improvement  in  the  art  of  producing  flesible  film 
supports  with  smooth  surfaces,  the  same  consisting  in  combin- 
ing fusil  oil  and  amyl-acetate  with  nitro-cellulose,  camphor,  and 
and  a fluid  solvent,  and  subsequently  spreading  the  fluid  solu- 
tion in  a thin  layer  or  film  upon  a supporting  surface  and 
drying  the  said  film,  preliminary  to  the  application  of  a film  of 
gelatino-argentic  emulsion. 

10.  The  herein-before  described  improvement  in  the  art 
of  forming  flexible  photographic  films  from  a fluid  solution  of 
nitro-cellulose  and  camphor,  the  same  consisting  in  first  apply- 
ing a solution  of  wax  to  the  supporting  surface  ; depositing 
and  spreading  the  fluid  solution  in  a thin  layer  or  film  upon 
said  surface  ; drying  the  supporting  film  thus  formed  ; spread- 
ing a thin  layer  of  gelatino-argentic  emulsion  upon  the  dried 
supporting  film  and  drying  the  same ; and  finally  stripping  the 
photographic  film  from  the  support  upon  which  it  was 
formed. 

11.  The  herein-before  described  improvement  in  the  art  of 
forming  flexible  photographic  films,  which  consists  in  applying 
an  even  layer  or  film  of  a fluid  solution  of  nitro-cellulose  and 
camphor  to  a flat  surface  by  means  of  a spreader  moving 
longitudinally  of  the  same,  evaporating  the  volatile  constituents 
to  dry  said  layer  or  film,  and  subsequently,  while  said  film  is 
adhering  to  the  flat  surface  upon  which  it  was  first  deposited, 
applying  a fluid  sensitised  emulsion  to  its  exposed  surface  by 
means  of  a travelling  spreader,  drying  said  sensitised  film,  and 
finally  stripping  the  photographic  film  from  the  flat  surface. 

12.  The  herein-before  described  improvement  in  the  art  of 
forming  flexible  photographic  films,  the  same  consisting  in  first 
forming  a layer  or  film  of  a solution  of  nitro-cellulose  and 
camphor  by  spreading  such  solution  upon  the  flat  and  rigid 
supi>ort,  evaporating  the  volatile  constituents  to  dry  said  film 
and  cause  the  same  to  adhere  firmly  to  said  flat  support,  apply- 
ing a film  of  sensitised  emulsion  upon  the  exposed  surface  of 
said  film  support  and  drying  said  film  of  emulsion,  dividing  the 
photographic  film  into  strips  while  still  attached  to  its  flat 
support,  and  then  winding  said  strips  upon  a roller  or  rollers  to 
strip  said  photographic  film  from  its  support. 

13.  The  herein-before  described  improvement  in  the  art  of 
forming  flexible  photographic  films,  the  same  consisting  in 
depositing  and  spreading  a fluid  solution  of  nitro-cellulose  and 
camphor  upon  a supporting  surface  in  the  form  of  a thin  layer 
or  film,  and  drying  the  same ; then  washing  the  face  of  the 
dried  film  support ; then  spreading  upon  the  surface  of  said 
film  support  a film  of  fluid  gelatino-argentic  emulsion  and 
drying  the  same  ; and  finally  stripping  the  photographic  film 
from  its  support. 

14.  The  herein-before  described  improvement  in  the  art  of 
forming  flexible  photographic  films,  the  same  consisting  in 
depositing  and  spreading  a fluid  solution  of  nitro-cellulose  ami 
camphor  in  a thin  layer  or  film  upon  a plate  or  surface  pre- 
viously coated  with  a solution  of  wax ; drying  said  film 
support ; washing  the  exposed  surface  of  said  film  support ; then 
spreading  a thin  layer  or  film  of  fluid  gelatino-argentic  emulsion 
ui>on  said  film  support  and  drying  the  same  ; and  finally  strip- 
ping the  photographic  film  from  its  support. 

15.  The  manufacture  of  photographic  films  substantially  as 
specified. 

30-4.  January  7 t.i,  1890. — “Apparatus  for  Coating  Photo- 
graphic Plates.”  Frank  Bishop,  of  the  firm  of  Marion  and 
Company,  22  and  23,  Soho  Square,  London,  Dealers  in  Photo- 
graphic Materials,  and  Alexander  Cowan,  Chase  Side, 
Southgate,  London,  Manager  of  Marion’s  Photo- Works, 
Southgate,  London. 

This  invention  relates  to  improved  apparatus  for  coating 
photographic  plates  with  sensitive  emulsion. 

The  invention  relates  first,  to  the  construction  and  mode  of 
mounting  of  the  coating  trough,  and  has  for  its  object  to  ensure 


the  even  distribution  of  the  sensitive  emulsion,  and  enable  the 
thickness  of  the  deposit  to  be  easily  regulated. 

The  trough  is  V-shaped  in  cross  section,  and  is  constructed 
of  two  strips  or  plates  of  glass,  or  other  suitable  material,  the 
one,  forming  the  inclined  bottom  side  of  the  trough,  being 
bedded  upon  a hot  water  circulation  chamber,  and  the  other, 
forming  the  upright  side  of  the  trough,  being  clamped  in 
position  with  regard  to  the  first-mentioned  plate,  its  lower 
edge  being  truly  ground  at  a suitable  angle,  and  set  at  such 
a distance  from  the  surface  of  the  bottom  plate  as  to  regulate 
the  escape  of  the  emulsion,  and  allow  it  to  flow  in  an  even 
stream  down  the  lower  projecting  part  of  the  bottom  plate. 
The  ends  of  the  trough  are  closed  by  blocks  which  assist  to 
hold  the  two  plates  or  strips  in  proper  relative  angular  position. 
The  hot  water  chamber  extends  the  whole  length  of  the  trough, 
and  to  it  are  fixed  at  intervals  clamps  having  set  screws 
adapted  to  hold  the  plates  forming  the  two  sides  of  the 
trough  in  their  proper  relative  position  at  all  points  of  their 
length.  The  trough  is  supported  by  the  ends  of  the  hot 
water  chamber  being  seated  on  balanced  levers  mounted  to 
oscillate  at  the  sides  of  the  coatiug  table,  over  which  the 
trough  extends,  the  lower  edge  of  the  inclined  side  of  the 
trough  resting  lightly  on  the  plates  to  be  coated  as  they  are 
carried  beneath  it  upon  the  coating  table. 

In  the  case  of  a long  trough,  a lip  formed  by  a strip  of 
flexible  material  interposed  between  the  bottom  plate  and  the 
hot  water  chamber  would  be  used  to  compensate  for  inequali- 
ties in  the  glass,  and  would  rest  upon  the  plates  to  be  coated 
instead  of  the  lower  side  of  the  trough  itself. 

The  invention  further  relates  to  the  means  of  supporting 
and  guiding  the  plates  whilst  and  after  being  coated,  so  as  to 
avoid  defects  in  the  film  due  to  local  differences  of  temperature 
consequent  on  the  contact  with  the  under  sides  of  the  freshly- 
coated  plates  of  their  carrier-rollers  or  other  supports.  It  also 
relates  to  means  of  receiving  waste  emulsion  from  the  plates, 
so  as  to  avoid  the  soiling  of  the  under  face  of  the  plates  with 
emulsion. 

For  this  purpose,  the  plates  are  supported  at  their  extreme 
edges  only  by  knife-edged  rails,  and  run  between  guiding  rollers 
or  pins  mounted  alongside  the  knife-edged  rails,  the  edges  of 
the  plates  overhauging  gutters  formed  to  receive  superfluous 
emulsion,  the  guttered  rails  being  arranged  above  a hot  water 
tank,  by  which  an  even  temperature  is  maintained. 

5,046.  April  1st,  1890. — “Photographic  Camera.”  William 

Blake  Luce,  Boston,  Suffolk,  State  of  Massachusetts,  United 

States  of  America,  Draughtsman. 

The  inventor  claims  : — 

1.  The  combination  of  a vertically  elongated  camera-box,  having 
upright  grooves  and  an  aperture  in  the  lower  part  of  its  front, 
and  a lens-tube  open  at  its  inner  end,  and  longitudinally  mov- 
able in  the  said  aperture,  the  said  parts  being  so  arranged  that 
when  the  lens-tube  is  within  the  camera-box,  sensitive  plates 
placed  in  the  grooves  of  the  latter  are  supported  by  the  lens- 
tube,  and,  as  it  is  withdrawn,  the  plates  drop  one  by  one  into 
the  field  of  the  lens  carried  by  the  lens-tube. 

2.  A camera-box  having  vertical  grooves  and  apertured  front, 
the  said  aperture  being  circular  and  internally  threaded,  in 
combination  with  a cylindrical,  threaded  lens-tube  removable 
in  the  said  aperture,  substantially  as  set  forth. 


Royal  Institution. — At  the  monthly  meeting  on  June  2nd 
(Sir  James  Crichton  Browne,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  treasurer 
and  vice-president,  in  the  chair),  Messrs.  C.  J.  Cullingworth, 
M.D.,  F.R.C.P.  ; Jonathan  Hutchinson,  F.R.S.,  F.R.C.S.  ; 
Rudolph  Messel,  Ph.D.,  F.C.S.  ; Henry  Charles  Mylne  ; and 
Dan  Rylands,  were  elected  members. 

Aluminium. — Every  common  brick  contains  two  to  three 
pounds  of  metallic  aluminium.  The  raw  material  containing  this 
capricious  metal  forms  one  of  the  chief  constituents  of  the 
earth’s  crust,  so  that,  next  to  oxygen  and  silicon,  and  perhaps 
calcium,  aluminium  may  be  considered  the  most  abundant  of 
the  elements  ; yet  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  extraction  are 
still  so  great  as  to  call  for  a comparatively  high  selling  price, — 
Aluminium,  its  Uses  and  Alloys. 


446 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  6,  1890. 


CTomsponfcfenre. 


THE  KIMBERLEY  CAMERA  CLUB. 

Sir, — I am  pleased  to  inform  you  that  a Camera  Club  has 
been  started  out  here.  The  following  is  a newspaper  report 
dated  May  10  th  : — 

“A meeting  of  the  principal  amateur  photographers  in 
Kimberley  was  held  last  night  at  the  Gresham  Hotel,  there 
being  present  Messrs.  Macfarlane  (in  the  chair),  Trimble, 
Harrison,  Chappell,  Wallace,  Ablett,  Harden,  Pringle,  Skead, 
Moriarty,  Titmas,  Bousfield,  Gassen,  and  the  Rev.  Ogle. 

“The  Chairman,  in  a few  remarks,  explained  the  object  of 
the  meeting,  which  was  to  form  a club  for  the  mutual  improve- 
ment of  members  in  photography.  He  had  much  pleasure  in 
stating  that  eighteen  members  had  already  been  enrolled. 

“The  following  gentlemen  were  elected  office-bearers: — 
President — Rev.  Ogle  ; Vice-President — Mr.  M.  Macfarlane  ; 
Hon.  Secretary — Mr.  F.  0.  Wallace  ; Committee — Messrs.  F. 
Skead,  T.  Titinas,  If.  Moriarty,  and  J.  T.  Harrison. 

“ It  was  resolved  that  another  meeting  be  held  in  a fort- 
night’s time  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  up  a set  of  rules  ; a 
vote  of  thanks  to  the  Chairman  terminated  the  business.” 

F.  O.  Wallace,  Hon.  Secretary. 

Kimberley,  S.  Africa,  May  10th. 


NEW  OBERNF.TTER  PAPER. 

Sir,— I wish  to  call  your  attention  to  the  new  issue  of  Ober- 
netter  gelatino-cliloride  of  silver  paper  for  matt  surface,  exhi- 
bited at  the  Drapers’  Hall  in  two  prints.  The  tones  obtained 
are  beautiful  and  finer  than  platinotype  or  bromide,  and  though 
in  black  and  white,  preserve  just  that  tint  of  half  tones  which 
is  distinctive  of  a photographic  image.  J.  R.  Gotz. 

19,  Buckingham  Street,  Strand,  June  2nd,  1890. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHERS’  BENEVOLENT  ASSOCIA- 
TION.—AN  APPEAL. 

Sir, — Will  you  kindly  afford  me  space  to  appeal  to  your 
readers  on  behalf  of  the  P.B.A.  ? At  the  annual  meeting  the 
functions  of  the  Association  were  so  largely  extended,  by  en- 
abling the  committee  to  deal  with  any  well-authenticated  cases 
of  distress  brought  to  their  notice,  that  we  are  anticipating  a 
considerable  increase  in  the  number  of  calls  on  our  limited 
funds.  In  fact,  the  grants  already  made  this  year  largely  ex- 
ceed the  average.  Under  the  new  rules,  contributions  of  former 
subscribers  to  the  funds  to  the  extent  of  £250  have  been  set 
aside  as  a nucleus  around  which  to  form  an  annuity  fund,  and 
this  sum  cannot  be  drawn  upon  for  the  purpose  of  granting 
temporary  relief.  I wish  to  impress  on  your  readers  the  fact 
that  this  is  the  only  charity  which  exists  with  the  object  of  as- 
sisting persons  connected  with  photography  who  are  in  neces- 
sitous circumstances  arising  from  misfortune  ; and  many  who 
have  been  reduced  to  this  necessity,  including  more  than  one 
name  once  distinguished  in  the  profession,  could  testify  with 
gratitude  to  welcome  aid  received  from  the  P.B.A.  in  the  time 
of  need.  The  minimum  subscription  has  been  fixed  at  2s.  6d., 
and  I appeal  to  the  benevolence  of  your  readers  to  induce  them, 
if  I can,  to  subscribe  to  the  funds  according  to  their  ability,  with 
the  confident  assurance  that  the  committee  will  deal  with  any 
money  entrusted  to  them  with  discretion  and  economy. 

Subscriptions  and  donations  will  be  thankfully  acknowledged, 
and  a copy  of  the  rules  forwarded,  by  the  honorary  secretary, 
Mr.  H.  J.  Beasley,  65  and  66,  Chancery  Lane,  W.C. 

Thanking  you  for  your  kind  support  in  the  past, 

William  Bedford,  Chairman  of  Committee. 


East  Dulwich  Photographic  Society. — The  following  are 
the  excursions  proposed  for  the  dates  named : — June  21, 
Windsor  ; J uly  1 9,  Boxmoor,  Hemel  Hempstead,  and  neigh- 
bourhood ; August  4,  Arundel  ; August  16,  Burnham  Beeches  ; 
September  20,  Chingford  and  Epping  Forest.  The  place  and 
time  of  assembly  are  to  be  arranged  on  the  night  immediately 
preceding  the  excursion. 


Uroccc&tngs  of  J&oriettfg. 


The  London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 
At  the  meeting  on  the  29th  ult.,  Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater  occu- 
pied the  chair. 

Mr.  C.  H.  Cooke  passed  round  three  plates  he  had  exposed 
on  some  flowers.  No.  1 had  been  dipped  in  a bath  of  erythro- 
sin  and  ammonia  ; No.  2 in  erythrosin  without  ammonia ; 
No.  3 was  an  ordinary  plate.  A yellow  screen  had  been  used 
in  all  cases.  No.  2 gave  the  best  results.  The  strength  of  the 
erythrosin  solution  was  1 in  35,000. 

Mr.  P.  Everett  asked  the  particulars  as  to  Tailfer’s  patent, 
and  Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  explained  them  as  far  as  his  memory 
permitted. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Teape  passed  round  some  prints  on  the  iridium 
paper  distributed  at  the  previous  meeting  ; he  corroborated 
the  statement  made  on  that  occasion,  viz.,  that  the  printing 
was  very  rapid,  but  the  loss  in  toning  and  fixing  was  very 
great.  In  answer  to  a question,  he  said  that  he  used  the  toning 
bath  as  soon  as  made,  and  it  was  considered  that  had  he  used 
an  old  toning  bath  the  reduction  would  not  have  been  so  great. 

Mr.  Debenham  said  that  many  years  ago  Messrs.  Hennah 
and  Kent,  of  Brighton,  produced  a number  of  pictures  on  plain 
paper  which  were  much  admired.  When  Mr.  Hennah  pub- 
lished his  formula  it  was  found  that  he  used  a small  quantity 
of  chloride  of  gold  in  the  salting  solution. 

Question — “ In  using  a pinhole  camera,  how’  is  the  distance 
between  the  hole  and  sensitive  plate  determined  ?” 

The  questioner  was  referred  to  the  tables  published  in  the 
Journal,  giving  the  size  of  hole  and  distance  by  which  best 
results  had  been  obtained.  The  image  is  in  focus  at  different 
distances  from  the  pinhole. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  said  if  the  pinhole  were  a suitable  size,  all 
that  had  to  be  determined  was  the  size  of  picture,  roughly 
speaking.  If  a 6-inch  focus  lens  would  give  the  object  the  size 
required,  the  plate  should  be  placed  about  that  distance  from 
the  pinhole. 

The  Saturday  outing  for  June  14th  is  to  Epping  Forest. 
Members  to  meet  at  Hale  End  Station  (G.E.R.)  from  3 to  3.30. 


The  Liverpool  Amateur  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  29th  May  at  3,  Lord  Street,  Mr.  Paul 
Lange  presided. 

The  following  w’ere  elected  members  of  the  Association : 
Messrs.  R.  Rawlinson,  F.  Hope  Jones,  Edgar  Storey,  R.  L. 
Rawlins,  H.  Bebbington,  and  James  Nelson,  jun. 

Mr.  William  Tomkinson  reported  on  the  excursion  to  Burton 
on  3rd  May,  when  a) tout  forty  members  took  part  in  photo- 
graphing this  picturesque  Cheshire  village,  aud  163  pictures 
were  taken. 

Mr.  J.  Macdonald  Bell  exhibited  a patent  plate  rocker, 
wound  up  aud  set  going  with  a clock-work  arrangement. 

The  President  announced  that  the  next  excursion  would  be 
to  liossett  and  Cresford  on  Saturday,  the  7th  June  ; aud  that 
the  next  practical  demonstration  would  take  place  on  the  11th 
June,  the  subject  to  be  “ The  Intensification  and  Reduction  of 
Negatives  demonstrator,  Mr.  T.  L.  Mackrell.  After  this  the 
series  will  be  discontinued  until  September,  when  it  will  recom- 
mence with  “ Lantern  Slide  Makiug.” 

The  Eastman  Company  (representative  Mr.  H.  M.  Smith), 
then  exhibited  and  explained  the  Kodak  No.  4,  5 by  4 camera, 
and  promised  to  come  to  the  next  meeting  on  June  19th,  and 
give  a practical  demonstration  with  the  films. 

The  evening  concluded  with  the  exhibition  of  the  Boston 
(U.S.A.)  new  set,  entitled  “The  White  Mountains  of  New 
Hampshire,”  prepared  by  members  of  the  Boston  Camera  Club, 
and  lent  to  the  Liverpool  Association  in  trust,  for  exhibition 
to  any  photographic  society  in  the  United  Kingdom  on  applica- 
tion to  Mr.  E.  M.  Tunstall,  hon.  sec.  of  the  Liverpool  Asso- 
ciation. 

Mr.  Paul  Lange  read  the  descriptive  lecture  which  accom- 
panies this  set,  mounted  in  type  on  large  cards,  with  the  photo- 


June  6,  1890. J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


447 


graph  of  each  slide  on  the  back,  so  that  the  lecturer  is  able  to 
keep  a check  on  the  lanternist  by  referring  to  the  back  of  his 
card.  The  slides  were  shown  by  the  aid  of  Messrs.  Archer’s 
oxyhydrogen  lime-light  lantern.  It  may  be  interesting  to 
notice  that  our  American  friends  have  had  their  slides  made  by 
the  wet  collodion  process,  and  this  set  is  considered  far  superior 
to  the  former  one  on  “ Boston.” 


The  Bath  Photographic  Society. 

May  28<A. — Mr.  George  F.  Powell  in  the  chair. 

Delegates  were  appointed  to  represent  the  Society  at  Chester. 
Dr.  Preston  King,  Messrs.  E.  J.  Appleby,  and  G.  J.  Turvey, 
were  elected  members. 

Watkins'  exposure  meter,  sent  for  exhibition,  was  shown. 

Mr.  C.  Cloakley  exhibited  a new  tripod  stand,  constructed 
with  double  parts  at  the  bottom  ; also  an  instantaneous  drop 
shutter,  rigged  on  a shifting  platform,  by  which  means  the 
shutter  is  pushed  aside  when  desired  for  focussing  or  other 
purposes.  The  points  referred  to  he  claims  as  new. 

Mr  P.  Biiaham,  F.C.S.,  F.R.M.S.,  then  delivered  an 
address  on  the  subject  of  “ Photo-Micrography,”  which  he 
fully  illustrated.  Mr.  Braham  commenced  by  saying  photo- 
graphy is  a powerful  aid  to  science  and  truth,  and  in  each 
branch  of  investigation  its  uses  are  increasing,  and  also  arts 
and  manufactures  are  benefitted  by  it.  What  its  future  develop- 
ments may  be,  it  is  hardly  competent  for  human  intellect 
more  than  dimly  to  surmise.  In  astronomical  investigation  it 
has  already  done  great  service,  and  objects  unseen  by  the  human 
eye  have  been  developed  by  the  sensitive  film  and,  assisted  by 
spectroscopy,  given  information  concerning  systems  hitherto 
unknown.  In  microscopic  investigations,  permanent  and 
truthful  records  can  be  retained  of  transitory  subjects,  and  suc- 
cessive periods  in  formation  and  development  printed  on  the 
film  for  future  reference.  The  small  bijou  lime  light  was 
shown  to  be,  next  to  sunlight,  the  best  for  producing  sharp 
images,  as  the  rays  emanate  from  a spot  of  light,  while  with 
other  lights  a portion  of  a sheet  of  flame  is  used,  and  cannot 
give  a perfect  image.  The  diminutive  lime  light  is  fitted  on  a 
condenser  stand,  or  on  the  microscope  in  place  of  the  mirror, 
and  has  an  adjustable  lens  in  front  consisting  of  a microscopic 
objective,  a convergent,  divergent,  or  parallel  beam  being  alone 
used  with  no  eye-piece,  as  every  additional  lens  interferes  with 
the  accuracy  of  the  image.  If  different  objectives  are  used, 
with  sufficient  distance  between  them  and  the  sensitive  plate, 
photographs  of  any  required  size  can  be  taken.  There  may  be 
a slight  adjustment  required  from  the  visually  perfect  image  to 
the  photographic  ; this  can  only  be  accurately  ascertained  by 
experiment,  as  this  distance  varies  with  different  objectives. 

Photographs  were  taken  of  a microscopic  photograph  to 
graphically  illustrate  the  difference  between  photo-micrography 
and  micro-photography,  and  also  of  an  opaque  object,  which 
were  very  successful.  With  regard  to  objectives  generally,  the 
lecturer  said  that  in  the  telescope  the  effective  or  useful  area 
should  be  clearly  specified,  and  the  angular  aperture  or  effective 
area  in  microscopic  objectives,  and  in  photographic  lenses  the 
largest  stop  with  which  a sharp  picture  can  be  obtained  should 
be  known. 

A discussion  followed,  in  which  Messrs.  Wheateroft,  Wells, 
Bristow,  Williams,  C.  G.  It.  Wood,  Cloakley,  Dr.  King,  and 
the  Chairman  took  part.  Several  questions  were  put  and 
replied  to,  and  a hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to  the 
lecturer. 

Mr.  J.  A.  Rudge  exhibited  in  action  the  machine  which  he 
has  invented,  and  named  “The  Bi-Phantascope.”  The  object  of 
the  inventor  is  to  take  photographs  which  can,  by  the  same  lens, 
be  reproduced  with  sufficient  exactitude  to  represent  animation. 
Thus,  facial  expressions,  under  any  circumstances,  may  be 
shown  by  means  of  transparencies  from  suitable  negatives,  with 
all  the  muscular  action  noticeable  in  life,  and  free  from  jerki- 
ness  attendent  upon  the  “wheel  of  life”  method  adopted  by 
Muybridge  and  others. 

The  Chairman  showed  a series  of  pictures  made  by  means 
of  the  No.  2 Kodak,  charged  with  a band  of  sensitive  cellu- 
loid. Some  of  the  prints  were  among  the  best  that  have 
been  seen  of  this  class  of  work. 


Mr.  E.  E.  Peacock  handed  round  samples  of  combination 
printing  cf  a creditable  character. 

Two  fine  studies  of  cloudland,  reproduced  on  bromide  opal, 
24  by  18,  were  sent  for  exhibition  by  Mr.  Friese  Greene. 


The  Photographic  Society  ok  Philadelphia. 

A meeting  was  held  on  May  7th,  president  John  G. 
Bullock  in  the  chair. 

The  committee  appointed  to  prepare  a memorial  of  the 
late  president  of  the  Society,  Mr.  Frederick  Graff,  presented 
their  report,  from  which  we  extract  the  following  : — “ Perhaps 
one  of  the  greatest  sources  of  consolation  to  those  who  are 
called, upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  a friend  and  leader,  is  the 
review  of  his  past  life  as  connected  with  themselves  and  the 
interests  over  which  he  presided,  particularly  when  those  recol- 
lections fill  us  with  love,  admiration,  and  respect  for  the  charac- 
ter of  our  lost  friend  ; we  think  this  will  be  found  pre- 
eminently the  case  in  regard  to  our  late  lamented  president, 
Frederick  Graff.  We  have  been  accustomed  to  see  him  in  our 
midst  so  ong  a time,  presiding  over  our  councils,  encouraging 
us  by  his  example  and  advice,  exciting  our  zeal  in  the  race  by 
his  own  untiring  interest  in  our  work,  and  his  great  desire 
that  our  noble  art  should  be  more  than  a casual  amusement  for 
the  passing  hour.  His  own  love  for  it  was  genuine — amongst 
the  very  first  to  take  it  up  as  an  amateur,  and  to  apply  to 
it  all  the  energy  and  resources  of  his  well-trained  mind,  his 
interest  never  flagged,  nor  did  his  enthusiasm  diminish  during 
his  life.  The  social  side  of  his  character  was  not  less  remarkable. 
He  was  always  ready  to  assist  with  his  advice  and  counsel 
those  standing  in  need.” 

Mr.  Frederick  E.  Ives  sent  to  the  meeting  a package  of 
photo-micrographs.  In  a note  accompanying  the  prints  he 
stated  that  they  were  made  with  comparatively  low-priced 
objectives,  which  were  not  intended  for  photographic  work, 
and  not  selected  with  a view  to  such  use.  Some  of  the  plates 
used  were  Carbutt  “ orthochromatic,”  others  Seed  plates 
treated  with  erythrosine,  and  all  exposed  through  yellow 
colour-screens.  A small  pencil  of  light  was  used  for  amplifica- 
tions up  to  forty  times,  a bull’s-eye  condenser  for  medium 
powers,  and  condenser  of  seventy  degrees  for  high  powers. 

Mr.  Cheney,  referring  to  the  matter  of  incrustations  on 
cover  glasses  of  lantern-slides,  stated  that  having  had  occasion 
to  remount  two  old  silver  prints  which  had  been  framed  for 
many  years,  he  found  the  same  incrusation  on  the  glass  which 
had  covered  the  pictures.  In  this  case  the  cause  could  not  be 
looked  for  in  any  chemicals  emanating  from  the  glass  plate. 
He  attributed  the  incrustation  in  some  way  to  acetic  acid. 

Mr.  Stirling  read  a letter  from  Mr.  York,  the  English  slide- 
maker,  stating  that  the  incrustation  was  due  to  the  use  of 
French  or  German  glass,  which  contains  an  excess  of  alkali 
which  is  acted  upon  by  moisture.  With  English  flatted 
crown  glass  the  trouble  could  not  occur. 

Mr.  Coates,  who  had  a large  collection  of  slides  made  by 
Mr.  York,  stated  that  he  had  never  found  the  defect  on  any 
of  these  slides. 

Mr.  Fellows  stated  that  he  hail  experienced  the  trouble 
with  English  flatted  crown,  as  well  as  with  the  French  glass. 

Mr.  Sartain  had  frequently  seen  the  deposit  on  the  inner 
side  of  the  cover  glass  of  Daguerreotypes.  In  this  case  it  was 
thought  that  the  chemicals  used  in  forming  the  picture  caused 
the  deposit  on  the  glass. 

Mr.  Stirling,  referring  to  the  recent  Photographic  Exhibi- 
tion at  Newcastle-on-Tyue,  thought  the  Society  had  reason  to 
congratulate  itself  very  much  on  the  achievements  of  three  of 
its  members,  no  less  than  four  medals  having  been  won  by 
them.  Mr.  Pancoast  won  a silver  medal  for  architectual  sub- 
jects, Mr.  Bullock  a bronze  medal  for  landscape  work,  and 
Mr.  Redfield  a silver  medal  for  figure  subjects,  and  also  one  for 
lantern  slides.  The  best  English  professional  and  amateur 
workers  met  on  equal  ground  in  these  competitions,  making 
the  result  all  the  more  gratifying. 

Mr.  Francis  Burrows  showed  a French  hand -camera,  in  the 
form  of  a pistol.  It  contained  a roll  of  Kodak  films,  making 
a square  picture  the  full  width  of  the  film.  The  exposure 


448 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  6,  1890. 


was  made  by  pulling  a trigger,  as  with  an  ordinary  pistol. 
About  one  hundred  exposures  had  been  made,  but,  owing  to 
some  fault  in  in  the  shutter,  which  was  rather  heavy,  it  had 
not  quite  produced  a sharp  negative,  the  shutter  invariably 
jarring  the  camera  at  the  instant  of  exposure.  A register 
showed  the  number  of  exposures  made,  and  two  short  legs 
could  be  turned  down  in  front,  forming  with  the  pistol  butt  a 
tripod  stand  for  use  with  time  exposures. 

Mr.  Earle  showed  a camera  made  by  R.  and  J.  Beck,  the 
mountings  of  which,  as  well  as  the  lens,  were  of  aluminium. 
The  reduction  in  weight  as  compared  with  brass,  as  usually 
used,  was  about  one  half.  A rack  and  pinion  movement 
operated  the  back  portion  of  the  camera  in  focussing,  enabling 
a short  focus  lens  to  be  used  as  readily  as  one  of  long  focus. 
The  front  board  could  be  extended  by  hand  to  an}’  desired 
point,  within  moderate  limits. 

Mr.  Walmsley  showed  a camera  he  had  devised  for  micro- 
scopic work.  The  box  was  but  about  four  inches  square, 
mounted  on  an  adjustable  rim  stand,  with  bellows  for  attaching 
to  the  microscope  in  any  position.  Anthony’s  Lilliput  plate- 
holders  were  used,  carrying  either  plates  or  films.  He  had 
used  powers  ranging  one  and  one-half  to  one-fifteenth  with 
equally  good  results. 

Mr.  Redfield  showed  a tripod  stand  made  by  Ashford, 
of  Birmingham,  England.  It  was  made  of  teak  wood,  and  so 
constructed  as  to  be  very  strong  and  rigid,  and  at  the  same 
time  quite  light.  The  lower  leg,  by  a convenient  arrangement, 
could  be  drawn  up  between  two  of  the  four  upper  pieces  entirely 
to  the  top,  shortening  the  legs  one-half,  and  making  the  adjust- 
ment for  uneven  ground  or  to  various  heights  very  convenient. 

Mr.  Hanawelt  showed  an  exposing-shutter  of  his  own  in- 
vention, in  which  the  slide  moved  horizontally  in  front  of  the 
lens.  The  opening  being  narrower  at  the  top  than  at  bottom, 
gave  one-half  the  exposure  to  the  sky  as  compared  with  the 
foreground.  By  an  ingenious  mechanism,  a sort  of  crank  motion 
operated  the  slide,  avoiding  any  jar  at  opening  and  closing,  and 
regulating  the  movement  of  the  slide  so  that  its  speed  was  slowest 
at  the  instant  of  full  opening,  and  quickest  at  the  beginning  and 
close  of  its  action. 

♦ 

Mr.  J.  E.  Dawson  writes  that  the  story  quoted  in  our 
last  from  a daily  paper,  about  Mr.  Gladstone  and  the  Photo- 
grapher, is  not  quite  accurate,  and  encloses  us  an  interesting 
extract  from  the  Huddersfield  Examiner,  for  which  there  is 
not  space  this  week. 

Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. — The  last  meeting 
of  the  session  will  be  held  at  5a,  Pall  Mall  East,  on  Tuesday, 
June  10th,  at  8 p.m.,  when  papers  will  be  read  on  “The  Esti- 
mation of  the  Efficacy  of  Plate  Backing,”  by  W.  E.  Debenham  ; 
on  “The  Staining  and  Clearing  of  Gelatine  Films,”  by  Chap- 
man Jones,  F.I.C.,  F.C.S.  ; and  on  “ Photographing  the_I induc- 
tion Spark,”  by  Sir  H.  Trueman  Wood,  M.A. 

He  Knew  His  Boy. — Father  (to  Photo  Artist)  : “I  would 
like  you  to  give  my  son  a chance  in  your  studio.”  Photo  Artist : 
“ What  can  the  lad  do  ? ” Father  : “ Well,  at  first  he  couldn’t 
do  anything  more  than  take  charge  of  all  the  operating, 
retouching,  and  printing  departments  ; but  later  on,  when  he 
has  more  experience,  he  will  be  right  handy  to  do  the  sweeping, 
clean  the  windows,  and  sift  the  ashes.” 

Camera  Club  Notices. — Thursday,  June  12th,  8 p.m. — 
Informal  Meeting.  Friday  to  Monday  or  Tuesday,  June  13th 
to  16th  or  1 7 th. — Excursion  to  Norwich  and  the  Norfolk 
Broads  ; Leader,  Dr.  D.  G.  Thompson.  Members  intending  to 
join  are  requested  to  notify  same,  and  the  time  they  will  remain 
of  the  party.  See  notice  of  particulars  in  Club,  or  write  for 
same.  Thursday,  June  19th,  8 p.m. — Informal  Meeting. 

Thursday,  June  26th,  8 p.m. — Informal  Meeting.  Saturday, 
June  28th. — Excursion  on  River  Thames,  from  Reading  down- 
ward. Ladies  invited.  Leaders,  Mr.  W.  Clarke  and  Mr.  J.  F. 
Collins.  Full  particulars  will  be  sent  to  those  desiring  them. 


H. — The  ladder  by  which  you  are  ascending  to  the  Temple 
of  Fame,  candidly  we  do  not  think  to  be  poetry. 

M. — The  less  said  about  the  matter  the  better. 

Owing  to  the  pressure  on  our  space,  articles  by  Dr.  Morton, 
Hermann  Gunther,  and  others  in  type,  are  held  over  till  our  next. 


^Ingfoerg  to  (tfomgpontfentg. 

All  Communications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Photographic  Nfws,  5,  Fumival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S. , 2,  St.  Mary’s  Roal,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

All  A Ivjrtis ; neats  and  cim-nunications  rel  iting  to  money  matters,  and 
to  tho  site  of  thi  paptr  should  bo  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  Nkws,  Messrs.  Piper  <4  Carter,  5,Furnival  Street,  London. 

W.  M.  (Clapliam). — Odcdand  Crumpled  Paper  Negatives.  The 
best  way  would  be  to  remove  the  oil  or  vaseline  first  by 
repeated  treatment  with  fresh  benzol,  then  dry,  and  iron  the 
negatives  between  leaves  of  blotting  paper.  This  will  make 
them  clean  and  flat  again,  and  then  perhaps  you  can  in- 
tensify ; but  great  care  must  be  taken  first  to  remove  every 
trace  of  fatty  matter.  This  done,  grease  them  again  with 
vaseline  oil  on  the  wrong  side,  bake  them  well  in  the  sun 
until  all  opaque  spots  have  disappeared,  and  finally  remove 
the  superfluous  grease  with  cotton  wool. 

M.  P.  S. — A New  Method  of  Determining  the  Sensitiveness  of 
Photographic  Plates.  The  research  to  which  we  briefly 
referred  last  week  should  have  been  attributed  to  Dr.  F. 
Hurter  and  Mr.  V.  C.  Driffield  conjointly,  instead  of  being 
put  down  as  the  work  of  the  first-named  gentleman  alone. 
Col.  Waterhouse. — Guaiacol  as  a Developer.  Your  paper 
was  received  in  time  to  be  printed  in  the  May  Photographic 
Journal.  All  other  particulars  were  given  in  our  private 
letter  of  the  28th  ult. 

W.  H.  S. — Judges,  1890  Exhibition.  Your  views  have  to  a 
considerable  extent  been  endorsed  by  the  writer  of  the 
leading  article  in  last  week’s  News.  Although  several 
painters  have  been  nominated  to  serve  on  the  jury,  it  is 
hardly  likely  that  more  than  two  or  three  will  be  elected, 
and  these  would  strengthen  the  body  of  judges  on  the  art 
side,  so  that  great  benefit  may  l>e  expected  from  their  asso- 
ciation with  the  photographers  as  in  former  years.  Your 
second  remark  is  answered  by  the  official  notification  that 
the  ballot  was  not  to  close  until  June  4th,  thus  giving 
ample  time  for  the  voting  papers  to  be  returned. 

A.  G.  (Brighton) — The  City  Exhibition  at  Drapers'  Hall 
is  well  worth  a visit,  and  remains  open  a week  longer.  In 
addition  to  the  framed  specimens  and  isochromatic  work, 
there  is  a goodly  show  of  apparatus,  including  the  Moessard 
cylindrograph  camera. 

E.  P.  (Bangor) — Strength  of  Acetic  Acid.  The  hydrometer 
furnishes  no  reliable  indication,  for  the  specific  gravities  are 
altogether  anomalous.  You  may  test  with  standard  alkali 
(dilute  caustic  soda)  added  until  litmus  paper  show's  it  to 
be  exactly  neutralised.  For  the  glacial  acid,  a very  good 
proof  is  to  boil  it  in  a test  tube,  and  see  whether  the  vapour 
is  inflammable. 

A.  M.  M. — We  thank  you  for  your  kind  offices  in  the  Indian 
matter. 

L.  E.  D. — Stereoscopic  Photography.  Of  late  there  is  quite  a 
revival  in  this  branch  of  our  art-science,  several  English 
and  many  foreign  amateurs  having  been  working  with  twin 
lenses  during  the  last  and  present  seasons.  The  Belgian 
Bulletin  has  an  article  on  the  subject,  and  the  last  technical 
meeting  of  the  Photographic  Society  was  devoted  to  it. 
Although  Wheatstone  announced  the  instrument  in  1838,  it 
was  not  until  photography  had  come  to  his  aid  by  furnish- 
ing satisfactory  diagrams,  and  Brewster  hail  popularised  the 
matter  by  the  invention  of  the  lenticular  stereoscope,  that 
much  progress  was  made  ; then  Wheatstone  gave  his 
Bakeriau  lecture  on  January  15th,  1852,  to  put  the  finishing 
touch  to  this  important  brauch  of  scientific  work.  The 
earlier  attempts  failed  by  reason  of  employing  too  wide  an 
angle. 

J.  W.  W.  (Burnley). — Broien  Stains  on  Dry  Plate  Negatives. 
The  plates  seem  to  have  been  kept  too  long  ; try  the  effect 
of  prolonged  immetsion  in  a clearing  bath  of  citric  acid  and 
alum.  See  Year-Book,  p.  197  ; or,  for  fresh  trial,  use 
Bedford's  developer,  p.  195. 

W.  V.  Morris,  H.  F.,  J.  M.,  and  A,  T.,  received. 


THE 


CONTENTS. 


PAGK 


Photography  in  Natural  Colours 449 

About  some  Developers 450 

Keducirg  Halation  451 

Photographic  Exhibitions.  By  George  Davison  452 

The  Effect  upon  Toning  of  Printing  through  Coloured  Glasses. 

By  Edward  A.  Colledge  453 

Photography  in  Germany.  By  Hermann  E.  Gunther 454 

Developers  Used  by  German  Professional  Photographers.  By 

Julius  F.  Sachse  456 

Optical  Lanterns  and  Methods  of  Illumination.  By  Mr. 
Stirling 457 


FAOI 


Japanese  Mulberry-Bark  Paper.  By  A.  Lasenby  Liberty 457 

Notes 458 

On  Reflected  Images  in  Optical  Combinations,  and  their  Effect 
on  the  Brilliancy  of  the  Final  Image.  By  T.  R Dallmeyer  460 

Negatives.  By  Thos.  II.  Morton,  M.D 461 

Notices  of  Books 463 

Four  Faded  Photographs .-. 464 

Patent  Intelligence 465 

Correspondence 466 

Proceedings  of  Societies .T. 467 

Answers  to  Correspondents  468 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  NATURAL  COLOURS. 
Much  stress  has  been  laid  by  Dr.  Eder  and  Dr.  Yogcd 
about  the  amount  of  permanency  of  the  photographs  in 
natural  colours  sent  to  them  by  Herr  Yeress,  unaccom- 
panied by  a description  of  his  process.  As  yet,  there 
is  no  published  evidence  of  any  advance  having  been 
made  by  Herr  Veress  over  those  who  have  preceded 
him  in  the  work,  and  the  testimony  as  to  the  durability 
of  the  results  may  be  founded  upon  incomplete  infor- 
mation as  to  what  has  been  done  previously  in  this 
matter.  The  photographs  in  natural  colours,  in  their 
earliest  days,  faded  rapidly,  but  after  a time  it  was 
found  that  they  could  be  to  some  extent  fixed  by  a 
weak  solution  of  ammonia  of  carefully  regulated 
strength  ; little  or  nothing  is  on  public  record  as  to 
the  time  of  immersion  in  this  bath.  The  fixing  at 
last  arrived  at  such  a degree  of  perfection  that  Mr. 
Traill  Taylor,  who  had  some  of  these  photographs  sent 
to  him  for  delivery  to  Sir  David  Brewster,  found  that 
they  were  not  visibly  affected  by  two  weeks’  exposure  to 
daylight.  To  the  day  of  his  death  Mr.  Warren  De  La 
Rue  had  one  of  Becquerel’s  partially  fixed  silver- 
plate  photographs  in  natural  colours  in  his  possession. 
We  first  saw  it  about  twenty  years  ago  at  his 
private  observatory  at  Cranford,  where  he  photo- 
graphed tho  moon,  and  again  quite  recently,  but  a 
few  months  before  his  death.  In  the  twenty  years 
it  was  practically  unchanged,  so  far  as  memory  can 
be  trusted,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  when  it 
was  not  required  for  inspection  Mr.  De  La  Rue 
kept  it  carefully  protected  from  light  in  a leather 
case. 

Some  of  the  early  photographs  of  this  class  being 
thus  permanent,  what  becomes  of  the  only  testimony 
adduced  that  Herr  Veress  has  made  a new  departure? 
He  candidly  says  that  “ toe  much  bustle  ” has  been 
made  about  his  experiments,  a remark  which  is  amply 
justified  so  far  as  any  information  at  present  before  the 
public  is  concerned.  Dr.  Yogel  has  found  that  twenty 
minutes’  exposure  at  four  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  to 


slightly  veiled  sunlight,  or  seven  minutes’  exposure  to 
an  unspecified  kind  of  electric  light  at  a distance  of 
fifteen  centimetres,  deepens  the  ground  tint  of  the 
photographs  sent  to  him  by  Herr  Veress. 

In  all  photographs  of  this  class  hitherto  produced, 
those  on  paper  have  not  been  so  pronounced  or  so 
pleasing  as  those  upon  glass,  paitly,  perhaps,  because 
the  ground  colour  seems  to  show  up  more  strongly 
upon  paper. 

The  latest  information  upon  photography  in  natural 
colours  relates  to  pictures  on  paper,  and  is  published  in 
the  number  of  Le  Moniteur  de  la  Photographie  just  to 
hand.  The  Moniteur  sets  forth  that  at  the  last  meet- 
ing of  the  General  Photographic  Syndicate  in  Paris, 
M.  E.  Vallot  exhibited  a good  photograph  in  natural 
colours,  printed  directly  from  a coloured  picture  upon 
glass,  and  it  was  produced  in  this  way : — 

Thick  photographic  paper  is  floated  for  three  min- 
utes upon — 

Water 100  grammes 

Chloride  of  sodium  ...  ...  ...  20  ,, 

It  is  essential  that  the  paper  shall  then  be  dried 
quickly. 

Next  it  is  sensitised  for  five  minutes  upon  the  follow- 
ing bath  : — 

Water 100  grammes 

Silver  nitrate  ...  ...  •••  •••  10  ,, 

After  draining  for  a few  moments,  it  is  washed  in  run- 
ning water  for  ten  minutes. 

Then,  to  get  rid  of  all  traces  of  nitrate  of  silver,  it  is 
placed  for  five  minutes  in — 

Water 100  grammes 

Sodium  chloride  ...  ...  •••  20  ,, 

It  is  then  washed  for  several  instants. 

Tho  violet  argentic  chloride  of  silver  is  then  formed 
by  exposing  the  paper  to  light  in  a bath  containing  five 
hundred  centigrammes  of  water  to  which  twenty  centi- 
grammes of  the  following  solution  have  been  added  : — 

Distilled  water  100  grammes 

Protochloride  of  tin  ...  ...  ...  3 ,, 

Sulphuric  acid...  ...  ...  ...  10  drops 


450 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jone  13,  1890. 


When  the  film  has  taken  a deep  violet  colour,  it  is 
washed  for  five  minutes  and  allowed  to  dry. 

When  dry,  it  is  washed  for  two  minutes  in  a mixture 
of  equal  parts  of  the  two  solutions  given  below  : — 
Solution  A. 

Water  100  grammes 

Bichromate  of  potash  ...  ...  5 ,, 

Solution  B. 

Saturated  solution  of  copper  sulphate. 

After  being  dried,  the  paper  is  in  a condition  suitable 
to  give  colours.  Under  a coloured  painting  on  glass, 
an  exposure  to  full  sunlight  for  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  is  necessary. 

When  removed  from  the  printing  frame  the  colours 
are  seen  on  the  paper,  but  as  if  fogged,  but  come  out 
more  brilliantly  after  the  print  is  put  in  the  following 
bath  : — 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  100  grammes 

Sulphuric  acid  ...  ...  ...  20  ,, 

The  prints  must  not  be  left  too  long  in  this  bath, 
because  it  at  first  improves,  and  afterwards  destroys 
the  colours. 

After  abundantly  washing  these  prints,  M.  Vallot 
albumenises  them  to  give  eclat  to  the  different  tones. 
The  Moniteur  says  nothing  about  any  fixing  operation. 

Full  information  as  to  the  production  upon  silver 
plates  of  photographs  in  natural  colours  will  be  found 
in  the  last  Photographic  News  Year-Book,  and  to 
bring  information  on  heliochromy  down  to  the  latest 
date,  we  now  quote  a letter  from  the  American  Journal 
of  Photography  just  to  hand,  which  letter  is  written  by 
Herr  Yeress  himself,  who  therein  also  does  a valiant 
battle  royal  with  the  English  language,  in  which  the 
language  has  come  off  the  victor : — 

Dear  Sir, — Please  accept  my  thanks,  dear  sir,  for  your 
kindness  as  to  continue  sending  your  journal  to  me,  although 
you  knew  that  my  journal,  the  Fenykepiszeti  Lapok,  had  ceased 
to  appear.  I assure  you,  it  has  been  always  an  enjoyment  for 
me  to  receive  your  paper,  so  excellently  edited,  and  I would 
truly  be  very  glad  if  the  little  sortiment  of  my  photos  upon 
paper  and  glass  in  natural  colours,  I send  you  by  the  same 
mail,  would  prove  you  how  much  I esteem  the  favour  you  do 
me.  Please,  dear  sir,  to  select  some  of  the  photos,  and  deliver 
it,  as  well  as  the  enclosure,  to  Mr.  Carey  Lee,  his  lodging  being 
unknown  to  me.  I shall  be  very  thankful  to  you,  because  I 
want  to  say  him  myself,  how  much  I value  his  arduous  labours, 
lie  goes  quite  another  way  than  I do,  but  if  he  be  ready  to 
unite  his  experience  with  mine,  I am  persuaded  we  would 
triumph  in  a very  short  time.  You  see,  dear  sir,  that  I suc- 
ceeded to  fix  the  colours  ; its  for  the  preparation  upon  glass,  it 
is  in  gelatine,  upon  paper  in  collodion.  The  exposure  of  the 
photos  upon  glass  was  of  3-5  hours,  upon  paper  2-3  days. 
Since  I succeeded  to  make  such  photos  upon  smooth  plates  of 
thickened  (condensed)  petroleum  in  10-30  minutes. 

The  plate  is  put  into  a copying-frame,  and  exposed  from  a 
transparent  coloured  drawing.  My  aim  is  now  to  lessen  the 
time  of  exposure  as  much  as  to  enable  me  to  work  with  the 
camera,  to  photograph  moving  objects,  which  I could  not  do 
till  now,  because  for  camera  work  1 wanted  2-3  weeks. 

Francis  de  Veress. 

Kolozsvar  ( Klousenburg ),  Hungary. 


The  London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. — 
Monthly  outing,  June  14th.  Members  to  meet  at  Wood  Street 
Station  (G.E.R.),  at  2.40,  and  walk  through  Cook’s  Folly  to 
Hale  End.  Trains  from  Liverpool  Street  2.2  and  2.16. 


ABOUT  SOME  DEYELOFERS. 

Every  photographer  has  his  pet  method  of  develop- 
ment, and,  as  a natural  consequence,  he  is  apt  to  decry 
everything  but  his  own  particular  formula.  This  is 
as  it  should  be,  for  a man  is  far  more  likely  to 
do  good  work  if  he  believes  in  his  tools  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  does  not  care  to  meddle  with  new 
fangled  ones.  We  have  known  certain  amateur  photo- 
graphers who  have  never  yet  succeeded  in  turning  out 
any  good  work,  simply  and  solely  because  they  have 
had  a superabundance  of  time  and  money  on  their 
hands,  which  have  led  them  into  temptation.  \Ve  all 
know  that  a certain  large  employer  of  labour  is,  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Watts,  always  ready  to  find  “ some  mischief 
still  for  idle  hands  to  do,”  and  the  particular  mischief 
that  commends  itself  to  the  idle  man  of  photographic 
proclivities  is  to  mess  about  with  all  the  different 
brands  of  plates  and  with  the  various  developers 
which  are  placed  from  time  to  time  within  his  reach 
by  enterprising  traders.  Such  a worker,  at  the  end 
of  a few  weeks,  finds  his  dishes,  his  measures,  and 
his  bottles  in  a state  of  topsy-turvydom,  which  is 
only  equalled  by  the  chaos  which  exists  in  his  own 
biain. 

A beginner  is  always  to  some  extent  puzzled  as  to 
the  right  developer  to  use,  and  if  he  can  only  get  hold 
of  something  in  a bottle  which  will  coax  out  some  kind 
of  an  image  when  thrown  upon  an  exposed  plate,  he  is 
satisfied.  The  bottle  must  contain  a ready-mixed 
liquid,  and  so  long  as  it  will  act,  the  aspirant  to  photo- 
graphic fame  is  happy,  and  will  ask  no  questions 
about  its  composition.  It,  of  course,  stands  to  reason 
that  such  a ivorkor  will  never  become  an  expert, 
although  he  may,  by  an  occasional  fluke,  turn  out  a 
good  picture  ; but  still  he  will  be  better  off  by  sticking 
to  his  bottle  of  unknown  liquid  than  he  will  be  if  he 
is  always  ringing  the  changes  upon  every  nostrum  that 
is  brought  forward. 

Within  the  last  few  years  several  new  developers 
have  been  introduced  to  the  notice  of  photographers, 
and  each  has  its  admirers.  Some  will  declare  that 
hydrokinone  gives  them  far  more  certain  results  than 
anything  else  which  they  have  ever  tried.  Otheisgivo 
the  piemicr  place  to  eikonogen,  and  it  is  certain,  as 
one  of  our  notes  stated  the  other  day,  that  several 
photographers  are  taking  to  it  for  ordinary  studio  work. 
A new  developer,  bi-kinol,  has  only  just  been  intro- 
duced into  the  market  by  Mr.  Hinton,  and  this,  too, 
has  already  many  friends.  Then  we  have  a number  of 
old-fashioned  workers  who  say  that  the  pyro  and 
ammonia  “ mixture  as  before  ” is  as  good  a medicine  for 
their  complaints  as  they  can  find,  and  that  they  intend 
to  stick  to  it  through  thick  and  thin. 

Now  it  is  our  duty  to  look  upon  all  things  photo- 
graphic with  a strictly  impartial  eye,  and  to  do  our 
best  to  point  out  as  far  as  we  can  the  excellencies  or 
shortcomings  of  anything  in  the  shape  of  apparatus  or 
formula;  which  come  under  our  notice.  Nor  are  we  in 
the  habit  of  pissing  an  opinion  upon  anything  until  we 
have  submitted  it  to  trial.  With  a view  to  ascertain 


June  13,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


451 


the  relative  merits  of  some  of  the  developers  now  in 
use,  we  put  them  to  a practical  test  in  the  following 
manner:  First  of  all,  we  exposed  a 10  by  8 plate  in 
the  camera,  giving  it  sufficient  time  to  fairly  bring  out 
— as  we  judged — all  possible  detail.  We,  in  fact,  did 
our  best  to  produce  a good  negative  by  means  of  nor- 
mal exposure,  and  without  reiving  upon  any  kind  of 
forcing  during  development.  When  this  plate  was  duly 
exposed,  it  was  removed  to  the  dark  room  and  divided 
with  a diamond  iuto  four  equal  portions.  We  marked 
these  on  the  film  side  with  an  aniline  ink  pencil  res- 
pectively, “bi-quinol,”  “ hydrokinone,”  “eikonogen,” 
and  “ pyro.”  We  then  proceeded  to  develop  each  with 
the  developing  agent  whose  name  it  bore. 

The  first  to  be  treated  was  marked  “ bi-kinol,”  a 
developer  which  is  supplied  in  two  solutions.  We 
mixed  these  in  the  proportions  recommended  for  a 
normal  exposure — i.e.,  forty  minims  of  each  to  the 
ounce  of  water.  Watch  in  hand,  we  looked  for  the 
first  trace  of  the  image,  and  noted  its  appearance  in  one 
minute  and  a-half.  We  judged  development  to  be 
complete  in  four  and  three-quarter  miuutcs.  Result, 
greatly  under-exposed.  Next  came  the  hydrokinone, 
which  brought  out  an  image  in  two  and  three-quarter 
minutes,  but  which  at  the  end  of  seven  minutes 
appeared  far  more  under-exposed  than  its  predecessor. 
Evidently,  we  thought,  we  had  made  a mistake,  and 
should  have  kept  the  cap  off  the  lens  for  another  half 
second  or  so.  But  we  proceeded  with  our  work,  and 
took  up  the  “ eikonogen  ” plate.  In  this  case  the 
sky  portion  appeared  in  one  minute,  and  detail  followed 
in  two  minutes,  all  action  stopping  at  the  end  of  six 
minutes.  This  plate  had  far  more  density  than  the 
other  two,  but  still  we  should  have  preferred  to  see  a 
far  denser  result.  We  now  had  only  one  plate  left  for 
treatment,  and  for  its  development  we  were  to  rely 
upon  pyro  and  ammonia. 

This  old-fashioned  developer  we  mixed  in  the  pro- 
portions which  experience  has  proved  to  be  the  best  for 
bringing  out  the  image  on  a plate  which  has  received 
the  normal  exposure.  Again  we  timed  the  operation, 
and  we  noted  that  the  image  made  its  appearance  in 
twenty-five  seconds,  the  action  being  complete  in  two 
and  a-half  minutes.  There  was  every  indication  that 
the  exposure  had  been  quite  sufficient,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  time  required  for  development  to  become  com- 
plete. No  further  addition  of  the  alkali  was  needed, 
and  we  may  mention  that  the  developer  was  restrained 
at  the  outset  with  bromide,  and  that  the  pyro  used  had 
been  mixed  for  some  weeks  previously  with  a preserva- 
tive in  the  shape  of  potash  meta-bisulphite. 

The  four  portions  of  the  negative  were  duly  placed 
in  the  fixing  bath,  so  that  they  could  be  examined  in  a 
completed  form.  But  the  results  already  noted  during 
development  were  in  no  case  modified.  The  pyro  de- 
veloped portion  was  the  only  one  which  would  be 
capable  of  yielding  a satisfactory  print.  It  was  dense 
in  the  high-lights,  exhibited  clouds  in  the  sky  portion, 
and  was  generally  crisp  and  brilliant.  The  others  all 
suffered,  more  or  less,  as  we  have  said,  from  under- 
exposure. 


Our  experiment  tends  to  show  that  the  old  pyro  and 
ammonia  developer  is  not  yet  displaced  by  any  newer 
agent.  At  the  same  time  we  may  point  out  that  in  the 
latter  the  amateur  has  something  to  fall  back  upon 
when  he  finds  that  his  negatives  are  over-exposed.  It 
is  a common  fault  into  which  the  amateur  falls,  and  he 
subsequently  finds  that  pyro  development  gives  nought 
but  thin  images,  which  are  useless  to  him  Let  him  seek 
the  new  agents  for  a remedy,  and  hold  fast  to  that  one 
which  he  finds  to  be  good.  For  transparency  work, 
where  exposure  often  extends  over  half  a minute  or 
more,  some  of  these  new  developers  are  far  better  than 
pyro  ; and  we  shall  take  an  early  opportunity  of  detail- 
ing some  experiments  we  have  made  in  this  direction. 


REDUCING  HALATION. 

Last  Tuesday  night  Mr.  Debenham  read  a useful  paper 
before  the  Photographic  Society  about  halation.  On 
looking  down  upon  a piece  of  plane  glass  at  a bright 
spot  of  light  reflected  therefrom,  the  interior  reflections 
between  the  two  surfaces  and  some  other  conditions, 
render  it  difficult  to  see  how  much  of  the  light  comes 
from  the  back  and  how  much  from  the  front  surface, 
also  how  much  is  absorbed  by  any  particular  “backing.” 
Mr.  Debenham’s  plan  was  to  paint  various  backings  for 
reducing  halation  side  by  side  upon  one  surface  of  a 
prism,  by  which  method  the  conditions  of  observation 
became  much  easier.  Bitumen  has  long  been  known 
to  form  a good  backing  for  plates,  but  it  is  troublesome 
to  remove,  and  Mr.  Debenham  described  experiments 
by  which  he  had  found  that  a solution  of  caramel  in 
gum  water  acts  even  better  than  bitumen.  The  least 
troublesome  method  of  backing  a plate,  in'our  experi- 
ence— and  the  plan  is  but  moderately  efficient — is  that 
which  we  devised  in  1881,  and  published  in  current 
photographic  literature ; namely,  rubbing  glycerine 
over  black  mackintosh  in  a thin  film,  then  squeegeeing 
the  fabric  upon  the  back  of  the  plate.  This  backing 
can  be  pulled  off  just  before  developing.  Perhaps  the 
substitution  of  a solution  of  caramel  in  glycerine  will 
increase  the  efficiency  of  the  latter  mode  of  working, 
and  give  little  trouble  to  the  operator. 

Why  does  not  some  enterprising  manufacturer  intro- 
duce backed  plates  into  the  market,  wrapped  in  pairs, 
so  that,  if  opened  by  custom-house  officers,  only  two 
plates  are  likely  to  be  spoiled  and  fogged,  instead  of  all 
in  the  box?  Why,  again,  are  not  printed  labels  in 
four  or  five  European  languages  pasted  outside  the 
boxes,  stating  their  contents,  and  that  they  must  not 
be  opened  in  ordinary  light  ? Why,  again,  are  not  the 
developing  formula?  recommended  by  the  particular 
maker  not  always  pasted  on  the  outside  of  his  boxes,  so 
that  the  solutions  can  be  made  up  before  opening  a box 
of  plates?  One  or  two  makers  have  already  adopted 
the  latter  plan.  An  extra  charge  must,  of  course,  bo 

made  for  all  these  conveniences  combined. 

♦ 

Ink  for  Writing  on  Photographs  is  made  of  iodide  of 
potassium,  10  parts  ; water,  30  parte  ; iodine,  1 part ; and 
gum  arabic,  1 part.  It  produces  white  lines  on  the  dark  back- 
ground. 


452 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  13,  1890. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITIONS. 

BY  GEORGE  DAVISON. 

n. 

It  is  matter  of  common  notoriety  that  photography  in 
England  did  not  long  maintain  the  high  and  dignified 
standing  which  it  took  at  the  outset.  No  wonder,  then, 


of  the  simplicity  and  dignity  which  characterised  them 
whilst  they  were  solely  the  outcome  of  pure,  scientific 
enthusiasm.  In  the  facility  of  producing  representations 
of  a kind,  in  the  rapid  extension  of  photography  as  a pop- 
ular pastime,  and  the  development  of  dependent  indus- 
tries, there  seems  to  have  been  generated  the  seeds  of 
disease  or  weakness,  which  naturally  showed  itself  some-  1 
what  in  exhibitions.  Taking  the  state  of  things  at  the 
end  of  the  first  decade  of  such  enterprises,  we  find  medals 
and  prizes,  classification  and  unnecessary  limitations,  intro- 
duced. At  the  tenth  exhibition  of  the  Photographic 
Society  of  London,  held  in  May,  1864,  at  the  galleries  of 
the  Society  of  Female  Artists,  in  Pall  Mall,  five  medals 
were  offered,  with  the  impossible  and  odious  “ besting  ” 
system.  One  was  for  the  “best”  portrait,  another  for 
tne  “ best  ” landscape,  a third  for  what  was  called  a 
“group,”  a fourth  for  architectural  work,  and  a fifth  for 
photo-mechanical  processes.  With,  probably,  the  aim  of 
barring  some  individual  or  individuals  more  mechanically 
skilful  or  painstaking  than  the  rest,  “groups ” were  only 
permitted  from  single  negatives.  Possibly  this  restriction 
was  devised  to  discourage  what  might  have  been  held  to 
be  the  reprehensible  practice  of  combination  printing,  but  it 
hardly  fseems  so.  Amongst  other  conditions,  there  was  the 
sweeping  order  that  no  pictures  from  painted  or  touched 
negatives  would  be  permitted,  a duplicate  to  accompany 
each  picture.  Three  inches  margin  was  allowed  for  large 
pictures,  two  for  smaller,  an  unhappy  recommendation  to 
put  several  small  photographs  in  one  frame  being  appended 
The  character  of  subsequent  exhibitions  was  not  dis- 
similar, simplifications  and  improvements  being  introduced 
from  time  to  time  as  far  as  the  Photographic  Society’s 
exhibition  was  concerned.  Coming  to  the  present  time, 
the  leading  features  of  the  general  run  of  exhibitions  are 
too  well  known  to  require  much  description.  A laudable 
desire  to  please  and  attract  everybody,  and  make  a financial 
success  of  the  undertaking,  minute  classification  and  sub- 
classification, piles  of  metal  medals,  consolation  stakes, 
even  handicaps,  and  all  in  such  profusion  that  the  only 
question  with  each  exhibitor  is,  whether  he  will  obtain  a 
first,  second,  third,  fourth,  or  extra  prize — these  seem  to 
be  the  characteristics  that  circumstances  have  brought  us 
to.  It  has  been  the  rapid  increase  in  such  puerilities  and 
excesses  that  has  at  last  stirred  up  so  large  a section  of 
those  interested  in  photography  to  bike  some  active  steps 
in  the  matter.  The  special  meeting  of  representatives  at 
the  Camera  Club  early  in  1888  was  the  first  sign  of  any 
combined  action,  and  the  influence  of  those  discussions 
and  resolutions  was  seen  in  a gradual  education  of  the 
great  body  of  exhibitors  themselves,  and  in  the  increased 
interest  shown  by  the  press  in  the  subject.  The  more 
definite  pronouncement  made  at  the  Camera  Club 
Conference  this  year  may  be  taken  as  the  expression  of 
the  opinions  and  views  which,  in  the  course  of  the  year 
past,  have  become  rife  amongst  photographers.  The 
adoption  of  most  of  those  conditions,  and  a closer  following 
of  the  regulations  in  force  at  the  Photographic  Society’s 
exhibition,  are  now  fairly  well  ensured.  The  complete 


change  will  not  be  immediate,  as  is  seen  in  the  mixture  of 
reformed  rules  and  deference  to  local  prejudice  displayed 
in  some  of  the  announcements  for  future  provincial 
exhibitions.  However,  the  improvement,  though  gradual, 
is  certain,  and  has  its  greatest  encouragement  in  the  proot 
it  adduces  that  a higher  estimation  is  held  of  the  scope 
and  value  of  photography. 

Turning  to  the  inception  of  the  movement  which  has 
developed  into  the  recent  rage  for  reform,  it  is  found  that, 
as  far  as  any  individual  influence  can  be  distinctly  traced, 
Dr.  Emerson  is  responsible  for  first  laying  down  tht  lines 
upon  which  the  agitation  has  travelled,  just  as,  guided  by 
a severe  culture,  he  has  been  the  first  to  introduce  into 
photography,  by  example  and  precept,  much  else  that  is 
valuable  and  likely  to  bear  good  fruit.  In  October,  1885, 
he  published  in  the  Amateur  Photographer  an  article  giving 
an  outline  of  an  “ Ideal  Exhibition,”  and  it  is  interesting 
to  notice  how  exactly  the  later  outcry  has,  unknowingly, 
taken  its  watchwords  from  those  suggestions.  They  are 
the  conditions  which  any  individual,  moving  under  the 
influence  of  the  most  cultivated  art  of  modern  times, 
would  be  compelled  to  impose,  and  there  is  hardly  more 
than  one  of  the  suggestions  in  that  article  which  anyone 
could  wish  to  alter. 

The  chief  of  these  proposals  were  : — 1.  That  all  the 
judges  be  artists  (certain  names  of  those  capable  of  under- 
standing the  true  scope  of  photographic  art  being 
given).  2.  One  picture,  one  frame.  3.  No  retouching. 
4.  Uniform  framing  (say  all  gilt.)  5.  That  the  judges  be 
the  hanging  committee.  G.  That  there  be  no  classes,  but 
that  the  award  be  made  for  the  so  many  best  pictures. 
7.  Each  exhibitor  limited  to  three  pictures.  Such 
exhibitions,  Dr.  Emerson  added,  he  was  sure,  “ would  do 
more  to  raise  our  art  than  the  most  voluminous  writings.” 
In  proposal  No.  7 I take  it  the  suggestion  conveyed  is 
that  nothing  inferior  should  be  received,  a most  important 
regulation  for  every  public  exhibition,  and  one  more 
often  adopted  in  earlier  days  than  now,  but  chiefly  then  on 
account  of  limited  space.  One  of  the  earliest  announce- 
ments to  this  effect  was  in  connection  with  an  exhibition 
of  the  French  Photographic  Society  in  1861,  where  it  is 
stated  in  the  British  Journal,  February  15th,  1861,  a jury 
was  appointed  “ to  weed  out  ” the  photographs. 

Now  it  is  evident  that  a code  of  rules  such  as  that  just 
indicated  is  framed  for  an  art  exhibition  purely,  and  it  is 
in  that  connection  that  most  of  my  remarks  are  made.  A 
magnificent  photographic  exhibition,  exclusively  historical 
and  scientific,  might,  with  energetic  management,  be 
organized,  hut  certainly  any  system  of  competition  and 
awards  would  be  equally  out  of  place  in  such  an  enter- 
prise. Even  in  a trade  exhibition,  the  objectionable 
results  of  prizes  and  medals  are  now  generally  held  to  be 
greater  than  any  advantages  derived  from  such  competition 
and  lottery. 

Taking  photographic  exhibitions  as  we  find  them,  the 
tendency  is  ever  towards  making  them  art  exhibitions, 
and,  therefore,  the  whole  question  of  regulations  turns 
upon  the  art  capabilities  of  photography.  If  there  are 
no  possibilities  ; if  photography  is  to  be  held  as  a lame, 
limited,  and  mechanical  means  of  aesthetic  representa- 
tion, without  any  power  of  artistic  expression,  as  held  by 
Mr.  Stillman  and  one  or  two  half-hearted  supporters  of 
his  views  in  this  country,  then  most  of  this  agitation  is 
misdirected,  and  it  matters  little  whether  the  dignity  and 
influence  of  photography  be  consulted  in  these  shows,  or 
whether  they  be  promoted  and  regulated  merely  as  a use- 


Jcne  13,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


453 


ful  stimulus  to  trade,  or  as  a small  social  excitement.  My 
remarks  are  entirely  based  upon  the  confident  belief  that 
photography  is  worthy  to  be  wooed  as  a means  of  artistic 
expression,  and  upon  a desire  that  its  proper  claims  in  that 
respect  should  be  recognised.  In  this  view  I hold  that 
the  following  conditions  ought  to  be  observed  in  what 
purport  to  be  photographic  art  exhibitions. 

1.  That  there  should  be  no  classification,  and  no  awards 
whatever  further  than  the  honour  implied  by  acceptance 
for  exhibition. 

2.  That  a strict  and  competent  hanging  committee 
should  reject  all  inferior  exhibits  without  fear  or  favour. 

3.  That  all  distinctions  of  amateur  and  professional 
should  be  entirely  suppressed,  all  pictures  exhibited  being 
for  sale  unless  specially  exempted. 

4.  That  the  number  of  photographs  accepted  from  each 
exhibitor  be  limited. 

5.  That  each  picture  (save  in  application  to  decorative 
art)  be  separately  framed. 

In  my  next  article  I shall  refer  to  these  points,  and  then 
proceed  to  a brief  discussion  of  the  questions  now  prom- 
inent as  to  the  constitution  of  boards  of  judges,  and  as  to 
classification,  opposing  most  strongly  the  hardly  logical 
contentions  against  artists  as  judges  recently  published  in 
the  News,  and  objecting  to  the  pleas  for  classification  put 
forward  by  some  ardent  photographic  exhibitors. 


THE  EFFECT  UPON  TONING  OF  PRINTING 
THROUGH  COLOURED  GLASSES. 

BY  EDWARD  A.  GOLLEDGE. 

A short  time  ago  I had  occasion  to  interview  Mr.  Otto 
Scholzig  with  reference  to  his  now  well-known  sensitised 
paper,  who,  after  having  most  kindly  afforded  me  the 
information  required,  submitted  to  my  notice  some  samples 
of  paper  which  had  been  exposed  to  light  through  some 
coloured  celluloids ; I was  struck  with  the  remarkable 
effect  of  the  various  tints  obtained  by  the  light  acting  upon 
the  silver  paper  after  passing  through  the  various  coloured 
mediums,  more  especially  as  the  toned  specimens  pro- 
duced totally  different  effects  to  that  obtained  when 
printed  in  the  ordinary  manner.  I lost  no  time  in  putting 
the  experiment  to  a severe  test,  and  the  result  of  my 
experiments  in  this  direction  I now  desire  to  place  before 
my  readers. 

I have  tried  printing  through  the  following  colours : 
blue,  ruby,  orange,  yellow,  and  green,  and  it  is  really 
surprising  to  note  the  variety  of  tone  that  may  be  secured 
by  the  various  methods.  I shall  mention  that  my  aim  has 
been  to  obtain  as  pure  a black  as  possible,  and  my  experi- 
ments have  certainly  been  rewarded  with  success  far 
beyond  my  expectations. 

Of  all  the  colours  experimented  with,  I find  green, 
yellow,  and  orange  give  the  best  results. 

Blue  glass  seems  to  have  very  little  effect  unless  it  pos- 
sesses a decided  greenish  tint.  Ruby  glass  I have  dis- 
carded altogether  for  securing  a black  tone  in  the  finished 
print,  and  the  very  best  results  are  obtained  when  employ- 
ing green  glass  of  a somewhat  deep  colour,  and  printing 
in  direct  sunlight,  I have  not  found  any  marked  differ- 
ence in  the  effect  produced  when  printing  in  the  shade, 
and  of  course  the  time  occupied  is  much  prolonged. 

My  experiments  have  been  conducted  solely  with 
Scholzig’s  matt  surface  and  other  papers  of  his  manu- 
facture, and  although  they  have  been  carried  out  in  a very 
hurried  manner,  I feel  convinced  that  many  advantages 
may  be  gained  by  adopting  the  method  referred  to. 


The  appearance  of  the  print  before  toning  is  somewhat 
peculiar,  inasmuch  as  it  is  in  colour  a beautiful  purple 
brown,  a colour  one  is  so  anxious  to  obtain,  as  a print  of 
this  description  (which  I never  secured  by  any  other 
means)  is  in  excellent  condition  for  the  toning  bath.  My 
difficulties  hitherto  have  been  to  get  other  than  the  brown 
tint,  which  colour  will  not  tone  to  the  desired  black.  It 
would  appear  to  me — not  over  well  acquainted  with  the 
chemistry  of  photography — that  the  action  of  the  light 
upon  the  sensitised  paper  is  similar  to  that  of  crystallisa- 
tion. In  order  to  obtain  good  crystals  it  is  necessary  to 
allow  time  for  them  to  form,  and  the  crystals  are  deposited 
in  certain  parts  of  the  vessel  only,  in  bold  form.  Quicken 
the  process  by  violent  evaporation,  and  we  obtain  a shape- 
less mass  of  small  crystals  all  over  the  vessel.  The 
printing  process  appears  to  be  a kind  of  crystallization, 
the  chlorine  of  the  silver  chloride  being  freed,  and  silver 
sub-oxide  being  deposited  in  a crystallised  form.  It  is 
acknowledged,  also,  that  slow  printing  produces  better 
detail  than  quick  printing,  but  it  was  not  until  I had 
experimented  that  I discovered  that  various  coloured 
silver  oxides  or  sub-oxides,  precipitated  under  various 
coloured  lights,  had  each  an  entirely  different  affinity  for  the 
gold  in  the  toning  bath,  and  that  the  one  took  the  deposit  of 
gold  rapidly,  whilst  the  other  refused  to  take  it  altogether. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  tones  obtainable  by  the  method 
I describe  on  matt  surface  paper  are  quite  equal  to  the 
best  results  ever  obtained  by  any  of  the  platinum  pro- 
cesses. . . . Mr.  Scholzig  is  certainly  to  be  congratulated 
on  having  been  the  prime  mover  in  this  most  important 
discovery,  to  improve,  if  not  to  perfect,  the  tones  of 
the  silver  print,  both  matt  as  well  as  albumenised.* 

In  order  to  get  the  best  effect,  it  is  necessary  that  the 
paper  should  be  printed  very  deeply — in  fact,  so  deep  that 
detail  in  the  shadows  is  quite  lost.  I have  found  that  in 
printing  from  a negative  in  which  some  parts  are  dense, 
owing  to  halation  or  some  other  cause,  it  is  necessary  to 
carry  on  the  printing  until  detail  in  the  densest  part, 
appears  ; this  does  not  appear  to  affect  the  other  part  of 
the  picture,  which,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  would 
be  much  over-printed ; also  when  printing  from  a weak 
negative,  much  finer  results  may  be  obtained  by  using 
the  green  glass  than  if  printed  in  direct  light ; in  fact,  I 
am  of  opinion  that  intensification  of  negatives  will  be 
rendered  quite  unnecessary  if,  when  printing,  the  pre- 
caution is  taken  to  print  through  the  green  or  yellow 
glass  ; of  course,  the  time  occupied  in  printing  is  longer, 
but  to  my  mind  this  is  no  drawback  to  the  process.  For 
want  of  time  my  experiments  have  been  somewhat 
limited,  but  perhaps  this  may  come  under  the  notice  of 
some  one  who  may  be  able  to  devote  time  in  experimenting 
with  various  tinted  glasses ; there  is  certainly  a wide  field 
for  research. 

The  after  manipulations  are  much  about  the  same  as 
with  ordinary  printing,  but  when  using  the  matt 
surface  paper,  the  prints  simply  require  a rinse  in  one 
water  before  placing  in  toning  bath.  I recommend  the 
following  bath  for  pure  black  tones  : — 


Borax 

Uranium  nitrate 
Gold 
Water 

Of  course,  if  a qua 


...  ...  ...  1^  drams 

...  ...  ...  4 grains 

3 „ 

...  ...  ...  24  ounces 

tity  of  prints  is  to  be  toned,  more 


* Mr.  Scbolzig  has  shown  us  some  prints  with  exceedingly  rich  black 
i tones  produced  as  stated.— En, 


454 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  13,  1890. 


gold  should  be  added,  but  with  the  bath  above  given  I 
have  toned  from  21  to  3 dozen  whole  plate  prints  on 
the  matt  surface  paper.  It  is  necessary  to  replenish 
the  bath  with  gold  if  it  becomes  weak,  and  the  same 
solution  may  be  used  several  times,  providing  gold  has 
been  added. 

The  tungstate  and  phosphate  bath,  as  recommended  by 
Mr.  Scholzig,  gives  fine  dark  tones  on  the  matt  surface 
paper.  The  time  occupied  in  toning  this  paper  is  but  a 
few  minutes.  I place  the  prints  in  salt  and  water,  and 
fix  in  the  usual  manner. 

The  enamel  and  brilliantly  albuinenised  papers  take 
longer  to  tone,  and  it  is  as  well  to  wash  thoroughly  before 
toning,  and  place  in  the  last  washing  a dram  or  two  of  car- 
bonate of  soda.  Tone  until  all  brown  has  disappeared 
when  viewed  by  transmitted  light,  and  place  in  salt  and 
water  and  fix  in  usual  manner  with  a drachm  or  so  of 
ammonia  added  to  the  bath.  Fine  black  tones  may  be 
obtained  by  this  method,  although  any  range  of  tone  may 
be  had,  according  to  fancy. 

It  is  possible  some  of  my  readers  have  already  tried  the 
experiment  I have  endeavoured  to  describe,  but  to  myself 
it  is  entirely  new. 

While  conducting  my  experiments  I have  found  that, 
when  using  deep  ruby  glass,  the  time  occupied  in  printing 
is  considerably  less  than  when  using  yellow  or  orange ; 
this  fact  is  worth  knowing,  as  it  touches  upon  another 
branch  of  photography,  and  will  encourage  amateurs  to 
use  more  light  in  their  dark  rooms.  For  my  own  part, 
I always  use  twelve  inches  of  orange  glass,  and  have 
developed  the  most  rapid  plates  in  the  market  without  a 
mishap  ; but  I feel  I am  encroaching  upon  another  subject, 
which  is  not  my  intention.  Silver  printing  with  green 
glass  and  gold  toning  is  my  subject,  and  I must  leave  my 
readers  to  experiment  and  judge  for  themselves. 

Since  writing  the  above,  it  occurred  to  me  that  the 
prints  toned  in  the  bath  with  the  uranium  might  not  be 
permanent;  I therefore  placed  several  of  them  (matt  and 
albumenized)  in  a strong  solution  of  nitric  acid  and  water 
for  many  hours  without  the  slightest  change  taking  place, 
proving  beyond  doubt  that  the  tones  obtained  are  the 
result  of  a deposit  of  gold,  and  therefore  permanent 

The  East  Dulwich  Society  has  purchased,  for  loan  to  members, 
a 12  by  10  camera  and  lens,  which  was  on  view  on  June  6th. 

Lack  of  Symmetry  in  the  Eyes. — When  the  average  man 
or  woman  comes  to  be  fitted  with  the  first  pair  of  glasses,  some 
curious  discoveries  are  made.  Seven  out  of  ten  have  stronger 
sight  in  one  eye  than  the  other.  In  two  cases  out  of  five,  one 
eye  is  out  of  line.  Nearly  one-half  the  people  are  colour-blind 
to  some  extent,  and  only  one  pair  of  eyes  out  of  every  fifteen 
are  all  right  in  all  respects. 

A Toning  Bath. — MM.  Detaille  Bros,  say  that  when  equal 
parts  of  a 15  per  cent,  solution  of  sodium  hyposulphite,  and 
of  a 10  per  cent,  solution  of  alum,  are  mixed,  a precipitate  is 
produced,  and  the  formation  is  so  slow  and  continuous  that 
the  authors  found  a precipitate  to  be  forming  three  mouths 
after  the  mixture  of  the  solutions  in  the  cold.  A transparency 
placed  in  this  solution  tones  slowly,  the  colours  of  the  image 
varying  from  a dark  brown  to  a reddish  violet.  An  analysis  is 
given  of  the  precipitate  : it  contained  30  per  cent,  water,  28 
per  cent,  alumina,  and  38  per  cent,  of  sulphur,  consequently 
the  authors  infer  that  the  toning  is  due  to  the  action  of  nascent 
sulphur,  and  a plate  of  silver  immersed  in  the  solution  for 
several  days  became  quite  black.  The  best  results  are 
obtained  with  gelatino-chloride  plates.  If  the  mixture  be 
diluted  with  from  two  or  three  times  its  volume  of  water,  it 
may  be  used  to  tone  paper  prints  (fugitively  ?).  The  Mawson 
chloride  plates  are  said  to  give  very  good  results  with  this 
toning  solution. — Bulletin  Beige. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  GERMANY. 

BY  HERMANN  F„  GUNTHER. 

New  Sensitometer — Development  of  Gelatino-Chlo- 
ride  Papers — Blistering  of  Albumen  Prints — 

Stained  Negatives — Judicial  Photography — Helio- 
chromy— Biblia  Pauperum. 

A Xew  Sensitometer. — A clever  modification  of  the 
Warnerke  sensitometer  has  been  suggested  by  Mr.  R. 
E.  Liesegang.  In  order  to  obtain  a more  even  gradation 
of  the  intensities  of  the  light  on  the  sensitive  plate  to  be 
tested  than  can  be  obtained  by  superimposing  a number 
of  strips  of  paper,  he  makes  use  of  the  well-known  optical 
law  according  to  which  the  intensity  of  the  light  dimi- 
nishes with  the  distance.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in 
Mr.  Warnerke’s  instrument  the  phosphorescent  and  the 
sensitive  plate  are  placed  parallel ; Liesegang,  on  the  con- 
trary, arranges  them  in  a certain  angle — of  45  degrees,  for 
instance.  The  action  of  the  light  on  the  gelatine  plate 
naturally  diminishes  more  and  more  with  the  distance.  If, 
now,  a number  of  threads  be  drawn  in  front  of  the  plate, 
to  keep  off  the  light,  it  can  be  determined  after 
development  how  far  the  light  has  acted,  and  a deduction 
can  be  made,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Warnerke  sensitometer, 
of  the  sensitiveness  of  the  film.  This  method  offers  also 
the  advantage  that  a narrow  strip  of  the  edge  of  the  plate 
is  sufficient  for  the  trial,  and  that  the  plate  tested  may 
afterwards  be  safely  used  for  making  an  exposure.  In- 
stead of  keeping  off  the  light  by  means  of  threads  in 
order  to  produce  the  white  lines  on  the  plate,  it  will  be 
sufficient  to  draw  on  the  plate  parallel  lines  with  a concen- 
trated solution  of  potassium  bromide,  to  render  the  lines 
insensitive,  so  that  in  developing  they  will  remain  white. 

The  Development  of  Gelatino-chloride  Papers. — In  the 
newly  opened  flash-light  studio  of  Professor  Schirm,  of 
Berlin,  the  lighting  arrangements  of  which  I have  des- 
cribed on  a former  occasion,  all  the  prints  are  made  on 
development  paper  exclusively.  For  prints  made  by  con- 
tact, I)r.  Just’s  gelatino-chloride  paper  is  used  with  the  best 
results.  About  the  mode  of  development,  Mr.  AVilh. 
Steiner,  manager  of  this  establishment,  gives  some  prac- 
tical hints  in  the  Miltheilungen.  It  makes  no  difference,  he 
says,  whether  the  ferrous-oxalate,  the  hydroquinone,  or 
the  eikonogen  developer  be  used,  they  all  being  equally 
suitable  for  the  purpose  ; but  the  alkali  developers  are  to 
be  preferred,  on  account  of  their  exceeding  cleanliness,  and 
because  they  may  be  used  repeatedly.  In  order  to  obtain 
a pure  black  gelatino-chloride  print,  equal  to  a platinum 
print,  a relatively  strong  developer  with  a large  quantity 
of  any  alkali — such  as  potassium  or  sodium  carbonate — 
should  be  used,  to  dispense  with  as  much  light  during 
exposure  as  possible,  for  plenty  of  light  gives  brown 
tones,  whilst  they  are  blackened  by  the  alkalies.  As,  how- 
ever, bluish-black  tones  are  obtained  by  too  large  a quan- 
tity of  alkali,  it  is  necessary  to  take  the  golden  mean 
between  light  and  a strong  developer,  and  this  is  effected  by 
the  use  of  a restrainer  of  potassium  bromide  by  prefer- 
ence, which  allows  an  exposure  giving  brown  tones,  and  at 
the  same  time  a strong  alkali  developer  giving  black 
tones.  By  this  means  a beautiful  ricli  mixed  tone  is 
obtained,  in  which  the  brown  appears  only  like  a warm 
sepia-coloured  glazing  upon  a black  image.  Care  should, 
however,  be  taken  not  to  use  too  great  a quantity  of  the 
restrainer,  as  in  this  case  a loamy,  greenish-brown  tone  is 
liable  to  appear. 

Blistering  of  Albumen  Prints  and  its  Prevention. — At  a 


June  13,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


455 


meeting  of  practical  photographers  which  was  held  some 
days  ago,  an  interesting  discussion  took  place  about  the 
blistering  of  albumen  prints.  It  was  rightly  said  by  a 
member  that  the  disease  is  connected  with  the  present 
mode  of  preparation  of  the  albumen  paper,  and  that  the 
paper  of  the  early  days  of  photography  did  not  blister, 
because  then  it  was  albumenized  with  fresh  egg-albumen, 
and  not  mixed,  as  now,  with  blood-albumen,  the  properties 
of  which  are  different  in  some  degree.  It  absorbs,  for 
instance,  the  oxygen  from  the  air  more  rapidly  than  egg- 
albumen,  disengaging  carbonic  acid.  It  was  remarked  that 
this  interesting  phenomenon  of  slow  combustion  would,  per- 
haps, be  a cause  of  alteration  of  the  prints.  Many  a remedy 
for  the  defect  was  then  given,  most  of  them  being 
probably  well  known  to  the  profession,  but  the  following 
one,  which  was  said  to  be  originally  described  in  a Germau 
contemporary  by  Herr  Rudolph,  of  Ilof,  seems  to  me 
especially  certain  in  its  results,  and  therefore  to  be  recom- 
mended. After  toning,  the  prints  are  rinsed  and  piled  up 
one  upon  another,  the  larger  sizes  being  laid  separately, 
also  the  cabinets  and  the  smaller  prints.  They  are  then, 
every  size  separately,  laid  between  smooth  oil-cloth,  and 
the  latter  is  placed  on  a smooth  board  and  pressed  with  a 
squeegee  until  the  prints  become  slightly  transparent, 
which  may  be  seen  best  by  reflected  light,  looking  at  the 
back  of  the  prints.  They  are  then  once  more  rinsed  and 
placed  in  the  fixing  bath.  Prints  treated  in  this  manner, 
it  is  said,  never  blister,  except  perhaps  at  the  edges,  if 
not  correctly  piled  up  ; this  being,  however,  of  no  conse- 
quence, as  the  edges  are  cut  off.  The  whole  manipula- 
tion, which  is  completed  within  two  to  five  minutes,  is 
very  simple  and  effective,  and  besides,  it  is  much  cheaper 
than  many  of  the  other  well-known  remedies. 

Stained  Negatives. — A very  effective  method  of  restoring 
gelatine  negatives  showing  the  well-known  yellow  stain 
has  been  introduced  at  the  Imperial  Institute  for  Photo- 
graphic Researches,  of  Vienna,  by  Mr.  Robischeck.  The 
plate  is  at  first  carefully  freed  from  its  varnish  by  means  of 
alcohol,  washed  with  water,  and  then  placed  in  a dilute 
aqueous  solution  of  bromine,  which  is  obtained  by  adding 
a few  drops  of  bromine  liquid  to  about  half  a pint  of 
ordinary  water,  and  which  is  then,  together  with  the  plate, 
exposed  to  the  direct  sunlight.  The  action  of  the  bromine 
very  soon  becomes  .apparent.  The  yellow  stain  disappears, 
and  it  then  is  well  to  watch  the  further  progress  by  trans- 
mitted light.  After  the  image  has  become  clear,  which 
requires  six  to  eight  minutes,  according  to  the  degree  of 
concentration  of  the  bromine  solution,  the  plate  is  placed 
in  alcohol,  to  remove  the  rest  of  the  bromine,  and  then 
dried.  In  this  way  the  restored  negative  can  be  re-used 
within  a very  short  time.  The  results  are  said  to  be  very 
satisfactory. 

Judicial  Photograph;/.  — Of  the  high  importance  of  photo- 
graphy for  judicial  purposes,  the  following  incident  gives 
evidence.  Some  weeks  ago,  a letter  which  had  been 
written  twenty  years  ago  by  a convict — who  is  still  a 
prisoner — was  presented  to  Professor  Max  Muller,  of 
Brunswick.  On  the  second  page  of  the  letter  there  were 
written  about  five  additional  lines,  apparently  with  a 
colourless  or  slightly  coloured  liquid  ; but  the  writing 
was  undecipherable.  Only  the  existence  of  written 
characters  could  be  seen  if  the  letter-paper  was  held 
against  the  light,  so  that  the  latter  was  reflected  in  the 
well-known  manner  to  the  eye.  According  to  the  declara- 
tion of  the  attorney-general,  urine  had  probably  been 
used  by  the  prisoner  for  writing.  Various  chemists  to 


whom  the  letter  had  been  previously  presented  had  not 
been  able  to  develop  the  writing  by  treatment  with 
chemicals.  Prof.  Muller  at  first  himself  made  experiments 
with  urine  writing,  and  found  that  written  characters  of 
this  kind  may  be  easily  made  readable  if  the  paper  con- 
taining them  is  heated  until  it  begins  to  turn  yellowish. 
The  written  characters  will  then  become  visible  in  a dark 
brown  colour.  When  the  above-mentioned  letter  was 
treated  in  the  same  way,  only  a very  slight  yellowish  tint 
was  imparted  to  the  writing,  so  that,  whilst  the  existence 
of  written  matter  could  undoubtedly  be  stated,  it  was  still 
impossible  to  decipher  it.  Now  it  occurred  to  Prof. 
Midler  to  take  a photograph  of  this  portion  of  the  letter 
— on  an  ordinary  gelatine  plate,  of  course — and  when  the 
latter  was  developed,  it  showed  the  written  characters 
very  distinctly,  so  that  they  could  be  entirely  read 
without  any  difficulty. 

lleliochromg.—  At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Berlin  Society 
for  the  Advancement  of  Photography,  which  took  place  on 
Friday,  the  16th  of  May,  a letter  of  Herr  Eugen  von 
Gothard,  of  Ilereny,  was  read,  which  contained  interest- 
ing information  about  the  progress  made  of  late  by  Ilerr 
Fr.  Veress  in  his  experiments  with  photography  in 
natural  colours.  According  to  this  communication,  Herr 
Veress  has  succeeded  in  increasing  the  sensitiveness  of 
his  emulsion  so  much,  that  it  is  now  possible  to  produce  a 
picture  in  which  the  colours  are  rendered  much  better 
than  formerly  within  fifteen  seconds,  whilst  in  his  former 
experiments  he  required  two  to  three  hours  to  attain  a 
similar  result.  Herr  v.  Gothard,  in  his  letter,  promises  to 
send  shortly  a number  of  the  new  pictures  produced  by 
Veress. 

.4  Photographic  Reproduction  of  the  Biblia  Pauperum. — The 
“Biblia  Pauperum,”  as  it  will  be  known,  is  one  of  the- 
most  eminent  productions  of  the  art  of  printing,  belonging 
to  a time  prior  to  the  great  invention  of  Gutenberg.  The 
pictures,  toge  ther  with  the  descriptions,  were  cut  in 
blocks  of  wood,  and  then  inked  up  with  the  ink-ball. 
Upon  this  inked-up  woodcut  was  placed  the  moistened 
paper,  and  pressed  with  another  ball,  the  so-called  brayer. 
In  consequence  of  this  imperfect  mode  of  printing,  certain 
inequalities  with  regard  to  the  colour,  and  some  unclear 
and  unsharp  portions  were  produced,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  fact  revealed  that  the  back  of  the  paper  could  not 
be  printed  in  consequence  of  the  relief,  resulting  from 
printing  the  front  side.  One  has  repeatedly  tried  to 
reproduce  these  old  block-printings  by  drawing,  but  all 
these  reproductions  are  more  or  less  imperfect  on  account 
of  the  fact  that  one  has  always  anxiously  avoided  repro- 
ducing also  the  defects,  i.e. , the  uneven  printing,  the  partial 
unclearness,  and  broken  lines  which  form  the  characteristic 
sign  of  the  block-printings,  and  an  important  support  to 
the  researches  in  the  arts.  By  the  aid  of  photography 
perfect  duplicates  can  be  produced,  showing  all  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  old  mode  of  printing.  Of  this  fact  the 
beautiful  reproduction  of  the  “ Biblia  Pauperum,”  which  has 
recently  been  issued  by  a Vienna  publisher,  gives  evidence. 
It  has  been  produced  by  means  of  the  photo-mechanical 
processes,  proving  in  this  form  the  immense  value  which 
photography  possesses  in  connection  with  the  investigation 
of  the  arts. 

In  Butgoyne’s  Monthly  Circular  for  this  month,  bichloride  of 
platinum  is  quoted  at  twenty-eight  shillings  an  ounce,  nearly 
double  the  price  it  bore  a few  mouths  ago. 


456 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  13,  1890. 


DEVELOPERS  USED  BY  GERMAN  PROFESSIONAL 
PHOTOGRAPHERS* 

BY  JULIUS  F.  SACHSE. 

Cathakina  Culie,  Frankfurt,  a.  M. — Developer — Iron 
oxalate.  Advautanges — For  portraiture,  when  the  artist 
has  complete  control  of  the  lighting  and  exposure,  I con- 
sider a developer  which  always  works  evenly  as  the  most 
desirable,  and  that  one  is  the  iron  oxalate.  I have  not 
been  able  to  obtain  equal  results  as  to  detail  or  lights  with 
any  other  developer.  It  is  also  cleanly,  and  its  use  is  not 
harmful  to  the  skin.  Composition — Iron,  1-3 ; oxal.  pot., 
1-4.  Developer — 1-4.  Accelerator — Always  30" — 
1-2,000. 

R.  Fath,  Halberstadt. — Developer — Ferrous  oxalate. 
Advantages —In  comparison  with  all  other  developers, 
quicker  action,  with  greater  modulation.  Composition — 
1-3.  Accelerator — Negatives  of  children  and  copies,  a 
bath  of  soda. 

F.  W.  Geldmacher,  Frankfurt,  a.  M. — Developer — 
Oxalate  of  potash  and  iron.  Advantages — That  I rarely 

lose  a plate  by  over  or  under-exposure,  a property  which 
I cannot  reach  with  any  other  developer.  Composition — 
Potash,  1-3J  ; iron,  1-3  ; hereof  3 parts  potash,  1 part 
iron  dissolved  in  hot  water.  Accelerator — Water,  1 litre  ; 
hypo,  piece  as  large  as  a pea,  soak  1 min. ; fix  without 
washing. 

Prof.  E.  Ilanfstaengle,  Frankfurt,  a.  M.  — Developer — 
Exclusively  oxalate.  Advantages  — Absolute  freedom 
from  fog.  Composition — (A)  Oxalate  of  potash,  1 kg. ; 
water,  4 kg.  (B)  Sulphate  of  iron,  4 kg.  ; water,  1£  kg. 
For  use,  1 part  iron  to  3 parts  oxalate.  Accelerator — 
Hypo  for  child  exposure  only,  dissolve  1 4 g-  hypo  in  water 
20  c.cm. ; of  this  solution  take  1£  c.cm.  to  500  c.cm.  water. 

Fr.  Kahlmeyer,  in  Osnabriick. — Developer — Ferrous 
oxalate.  Advantages — Simplicity,  cheapness,  cleanliness. 
Composition— (A)  1,000  V ; (B)  250  g.  Neutral  oxalate 
of  potash  crystals ; 3 parts  A,  1 part  B.  Accelerator — For 
short  exposures  add  to  developer  10  g.  hypo  solution 
1:  200. 

N.  Leyendecker,  in  Berncastel. — Developer — Iron 
oxalate.  Accelerator — None. 

Fr.  E.  Marr,  Zweibriicken. — Developer  — Ferrous 
oxalate.  Advantages — Any  desired  intensity  and  fine 

gradations  can  be  obtained.  Composition — Both  solutions 
are  made  1 : 4,  and  for  use  mixed  1 : 4.  (I  only  use  extra 
heavy  plates.)  Accelerator — Plates  receive  ample  exposure, 
and  are  developed  with  much  bromide,  also  when  hypo 
accelerator  is  used. 

Peter  Risse,  in  Duisburg. — Developer — Ferrous  oxalate. 
Advantages  — Surety.  Composition  — Both  solutions 
saturated.  Iron  added  according  to  circumstances, 
relative  to  lighting,  exposure,  and  plate.  Accelerator — 
Only  occasionally,  and  then  1 part  hypo,  2,000  water. 

Arnold  Overbeck,  in  Diisseldorf. — Developer — Iron  and 
oxalate  of  potash.  Advantages — Simplicity  and  great 

latitude.  Composition' — 1 iron,  3 oxalate.  Accelerator — 
With  short  exposures,  hypo  1 : 5,000. 

A.  Sternitzki,  Braunschweig.  — Developer — In  general 
oxalate,  with  short  exposures  (children),  hydrochinon. 
I miss,  however,  here  the  important  question,  “ What 
plates  V as  in  my  experience,  the  various  developers  do 
not  act  the  same  with  all  makes  of  plates  ; for  instance, 
with  English  and  some  German  plates,  I should  decidedly 
prefer  pyrogallol,  while  in  the  portraiture  of  children  with 
the  “ Schleussuer " plates  I would  use  hydrochinon. 

* Continued  from  page  416. 


Advantages — Oxalate  gives  with  Monckhoven  plates,  which 
I mainly  use,  a clear  picture  with  fine  detail  and  clean 
plates ; but  even  here  it  depends  on  the  different  emulsions, 
and  often  to  obtain  suitable  negatives  I resort  to  hydro- 
chinon. Composition — Oxalate,  both  solutions  saturated, 
and  used  in  proportion  of  1-3  to  1-4.  Hydrochinon  and 
pyrogallol  according  to  the  usual  formula.  Accelerator — 

Only  unwillingly  ; I would  much  rather  add  a little  hypo 
to  the  developer. 

Carl  Bellack,  Leipzig. — Developer — Hydrochinon  ; also 
a mixture  of  hydrochinon  and  eikonogen.  Advantages — 
More  rapid  appearance  of  image  and  completion  of  deve- 
lopment with  nice  contrasts.  Eikonogen  alone  works  to 
monotone,  and  requires  too  much  time  for  intensification. 
For  very  short  exposures,  eikonogen  answers  to  start  the 
development ; hydrochinon  to  complete  the  reduction. 
Composition — (Hydrochinon  No.  1)  Water,  2,000;  sul- 
phite of  soda,  180  ; hydrochinon,  30;  carbonate  of  potash, 
180-200;  for  under-exposures,  warm  developer  to  50°  R. 
(Hydrochinon  No.  2)  Water,  1,000;  sulphite  of  soda,  90; 
carbonate  potash,  120-150;  hydrochinon,  1:  for  extra 
short  exposures,  children,  &c.  Commence  development 
with  No.  2;  after  detail  is  out  finish  with  No.  1. 
(Eikonogen)  Water,  1,000  ; sulphite  of  soda,  90;  carbonate 
of  potash,  40 ; carbonate  of  soda,  10  ; eikonogen,  20.  A 
developer  composed  of  hydrochinon  and  eikonogen  as 
above  will  be  found  advantageous  in  certain  cases. 
Accelerating  bath — Never. 

Theodore  lvlauer,  in  Offenbach  a.  M. — Developer — 
Hydrochinon.  Advantages — Softness  of  shadows,  with 

relative  short  exposure.  Composition — (A)  Water,  500 ; 
sulphite  of  soda,  50;  hydrochinon,  10.  (B)  Water,  400  ; 

soda,  50.  For  use,  3 parts  No.  1 ; 4 parts  No.  2. 
Accelerating  bath — Sulphite  of  soda,  50;  water,  1,000; 
hypo,  2. 

C.  Hertel,  Hofphotograph  in  Mainz. — Developer — 
Pyro-soda.  Advantages — (1)  Clean  work  ; (2)  great 
latitude  of  exposure  ; (3)  black  tone.  Composition — (A) 
Solution  of  sulphite  of  soda,  1-10  ; pyrogallic  acid,  1-5  per 
cent.  (B)  Solution  of  soda,  5-10  per  cent.  Equal  parts 
A and  B.  Accelerating  bath. 

(To  be  continued .) 


The  Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  discussion  on 
June  18th  will  be  “Mounting  and  Finishing  Photographs;” 
June  25th,  “ Matt  Surface  Printing.” 

American  Reproductions. — In  photogravure  reproductions 
on  Japanese  paper  and  satin,  the  Lithotype  Publishing  Com- 
pany, Gardner,  Mass.,  make  a specialty  of  reproducing  proofs 
in  the  shortest  possible  time  after  they  get  to  this  country,  and 
many  times  they  have  their  prints  ready  for  delivery  before 
the  proofs  have  been  shown  out  of  New  York.  The  firm  have 
added  over  one  hundred  subjects  within  the  past  year,  and 
probably  have  the  largest  number  of  new  subjects  of  any 
publisher  in  this  country.  In  the  copyrighted  line,  taken  from 
American  paintings,  the  picture,  “The  Mishap,”  a charming 
bit  of  child-life,  has  had  a large  sale. — Picture  and  Art  Trade. 

Etching  Metals. — The  Berlin  Papier  Zeituiif)  describes  a 
method  of  etching  metals,  such  as  zinc,  from  which  it  is  desired 
subsequently  to  take  prints.  The  image  is  transferred  in  the 
ordinaiy  way  to  the  surface  of  the  zinc  plate,  which  is  backed 
with  asphalt,  and  immersed  in  a bath  of  dilute  acid.  One 
terminal  of  an  electric  current  proceeding  from  a dynamo  is  con- 
nected with  the  liquid,  the  other  with  the  zinc  plate.  As  soon 
as  the  current  passes,  the  metal  commences  to  be  attacked  with 
such  rapidity,  that  in  a few  minutes  the  exposed  portions  are 
eaten  into  the  depth  of  the  thickness  of  a sheet  of  paper.  In 
this  manner  the  zinc  may  be  very  rapidly  etched  to  any  depth 
desired. 


rs  i Of 

-NX  W' 


„ v\  w/'X 

5«"  «. 1890 1 


THE  liOYXt,'  C 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


457 


/POLYTECHNIC 


The  fifty-eighth  amuuil'eshibttfon  of  this  Society  will  open 
at  Falmouth  ou  Tuesday,  26th  August,  and  continue 
open  for  five  days.  Medals  and  prizes  arc  offered  in 
various  departments,  including  photography. 

The  following  are  the  general  regulations : — 

1.  All  exhibits  must  be  forwarded  so  as  to  reach  the  Poly- 
technic Hall,  Falmouth,  not  later  than  Tuesday,  August  19th, 
after  which  no  article  will  be  eligible  for  competition,  and  no 
space  can  be  guaranteed. 

2.  All  pictures  and  photographs  must  be  framed  ; and  if 
left  at  one  of  the  following  places  of  the  Society’s  authorised 
agents  ou  or  before  Tuesday,  August  12th,  will  be  conveyed 
from  these  depots  to  and  from  the  Exhibition  free  of  charge, 
namely  : — Messrs.  Worth  and  Co.,  Cathedral  Yard,  Exeter  ; 
Harris  and  Sons,  197,  Union  Street,  Plymouth  ; J.  Mitchell 
and  Sou,  15,  I5ed  ford  Street,  Plymouth;  and  Thomas  Solomon 
and  Co.,  King  Street,  Truro.  The  agents  will  not  receive  any 
article  unless  delivered  to  them  free  of  conveyance  and  other 
charges. 

3.  The  carriage  of  all  other  articles  must  be  paid  by  the 
exhibitor. 

4.  All  cases  and  packages  sent  to  the  Exhibition  must  be 
addressed  “The  Royal  Cornwall  Polytechnic  Society,  Fal- 
mouth,” and  must  bear  the  name  and  address  of  the  owner  ; 
the  covers  to  be  fastened  with  screws.  The  exhibitor  must 
write  on  the  back  of  each  picture  his  name  and  address,  its 
title,  whether  it  is  an  original  or  a copy,  the  name  of  the 
artist,  and  whether  he  is  a professional  or  an  amateur.  The 
works  of  professional  artists  may  be  sold  from  the  gallery, 
through  the  secretary  of  the  Society,  Mr.  E.  Kitto,  and  a 
commission  of  five  per  cent,  will  be  charged  thereon. 

5.  Exhibitors  must  enter  all  articles  intended  for  exhibition 


be  obtained  from  Mr.  W.  Brooks,  Laurel  Villa,  Wray  Park, 
Reigate  (member  of  the  general  committee). 

The  Art  Union  of  Cornwall  (under  the  sanction  of  the  Board 
of  Trade)  selects  its  prizes  from  the  works  exhibited  by  pro- 
fessional artists.  The  drawing  for  prizes  will  take  place  at  the 
Polytechnic  Hall  during  the  Exhibition,  viz.,  on  Friday,  August 
29th,  1890.  Information  respecting  the  Art  Union  may  be 
obtained  from  the  honorary  secretary,  W.  W.  J.  Sharpe, 
Falmouth. 

All  information  may  be  obtained  personally,  or  by  letter,  on 
application  to  the  secretary,  Edward  Kitto,  F.R.Met.S.,  the 
Observatory,  Falmouth. 


JAPANESE  MULBERRY-BARK  PAPER* 


BV  A.  LASENBY  LIBERTY. 

The  variety  of  purposes  for  which  paper  is  used  in  Japan 
is  not  a little  astonishing,  including  as  it  does  such  widely- 
differing  objects  as  overcoats,  window-panes,  string,  and 
pocket-handkerchiefs.  One  of  the  most  pleasing  sights  I 
ever  witnessed  was  at  the  Government  paper  factory  at 
Shiebu-Ogi,  where  we  watched  hundreds  of  intelligent 
little  Japanese  girls  and  women,  clad  in  spotless  white 
robes,  preparing  the  mitsumata,  the  bark  of  the  paper- 
mulberry,  or  dipping  and  arranging  the  snowy  layers  of 
pulp  on  the  rectangular  straining  sieves.  I have  here  a 
few  samples  of  paper  given  me  on  the  occasion  of  this 
visit.  It  has  the  usual  characteristics,  toughness  and  a 
silk-like  surface.  Very  little  paper  is  exported,  notwith- 
standing its  manifest  excellence,  as  it  is  costly,  and  the 
cultivation  of  the  paper-mulberry  tree  (cuttings  of  which 
are  forbidden  to  be  exported)  is  at  present  confined  within  a 
somewhat  limited  area.  The  present  Government  are 


on  forms  provided  for  that  purpose  by  the  Society,  which  may  , . . , ..  . , , . . 

the  secretary,  or  any  of  the  above-named  ^stow.ng  great  attent.on  to  the  paper  industries,  and  ex 


be  obtained  from 
authorised  agents. 

6.  This  entry  form  must  in  all  cases  be  returned  to  the 
secretary  on  or  before  August  9 th. 

7.  The  Society  will  not  be  answerable  for  loss  of  or  damage 
to  any  article  sent  to  the  Exhibition,  but  every  care  will  be  used 
to  prevent  injury  while  in  the  Society’s  possession. 

8.  After  admission  no  article  may  lie  removed  until  after 
the  close  of  the  Exhibition  (this  regulation  does  not  apply  to 
the  photographic  department  for  this  year), 


perimenting  with  pith,  old  silk  rags,  and  many  kinds  of 
vegetable  products.  At  Shiebu-Ogi  they  manufacture  all 
the  chemicals  used  in  the  different  processes,  and  the 
number  of  workers  employed  is  quite  astonishing.  Paper 
is  also  made  by  hand  labour  in  small  quantities  and  varying 
qualities  in  scores  of  the  towns  and  villages,  and,  for 
fibrous  toughness,  is  far  superior  to  European  paper. 
The  excellence  of  certain  kinds  of  Japanese  paper  for 


9.  Discretionary  power  is  vested  in 
Society  as  to  exhibiting  any  article  sent. 

10.  Board  of  Trade  protection  is  granted  to  all  new  and 
unpatented  inventions. 

The  judging  in  all  departments  of  the  Exhibition  (shoithand 
excepted)  will  take  place  on  Monday,  August  25th. 

The  following  .are  the  regulations  specially  affecting 

photography : — 

In  ail  cases  state  whether  the  work  is  professional 
or  amateur,  and  name  process  of  production.  All  work  sent 
for  competition  must  have  been  executed  within  eighteen 
months  of  the  date  of  this  Exhibition.  Carte-de-visite  por- 
traits are  excluded  from  exhibition,  except  when  illustrating 
some  special  process  or  novelty. 

Professional  Photographers. — Medals  are  offered  by  the 
Society  for  meritorious  productions  in  the  following  subjects  : — 
(1)  Landscapes,  (2)  Portraits,  (3)  Composition  Pictures,  (4) 
Instantaneous  Pictures,  (5)  Interiors,  (6)  Six  Pictures  in 
Platinum,  (7)  Transparencies  for  Window  Decorations,  (8)  Pic- 
tures by  Improved  Processes,  (9)  Enlargements.  All  enlarge- 
ments for  competition  must  be  the  work  of  the  exhibitor. 

Amateur  Photographers. — Medals  are  offered  by  the  Society 
for  meritorious  productions  by  amateurs. 

Photographic  Appliances. — Medals  are  offered  for  improved 
apparatus  and  appliances.  All  exhibits  in  this  department 
must  be  accompanied  by  a written  explanation  of  their  special 
features. 

Information  respecting  the  Photographic  Department  may 


the  officers  of  the  prints  and  etchings  need  not  be  emphasised. 


Aldehydes  in  Photography. — The  well-known  property  of 
the  various  aldehydes  to  reduce  silver  to  the  metallic  state 
from  an  ammoniacal  solution  of  silver  nitrate,  especially  when 
warmed,  has  suggested  their  application  to  photograph}'.  But 
their  use  has  hitherto  been  impracticable  on  account  of  their 
strong  odour,  their  insolubility  or  difficult  solubility  in  water, 
and  the  facility  with  which  they  are  oxidised  on  exposure  to 
the  air.  But  most  of  these  aldehydes,  and  especially  formic 
aldehyde,  are  susceptible  of  combining  with  the  acid  of  the  bi- 
sulphites of  the  alkaline  metals,  and  producing  compounds 
which  are  readily  soluble  in  water,  and  which  appear  capable  of 
being  used  with  advantage  in  many  ways  in  the  various  photo- 
graphic processes.  Already  two  German  chemists  have  patented 
the  use  of  the  compound  produced  by  uniting  formic  aldehyde 
to  bisulphite  of  soda.  No  experience,  to  speak  of,  has  yet  been 
gained  as  regards  the  new  product,  and  it  is  not  certaiu  that  it 
will  present  any  practical  advantage  over  the  reduction  agents 
already  employed.  It  is  asserted,  however,  that  a very  minute 
quantity  of  it  added  to  the  gelatine  emulsion,  either  during  its 
manufacture  or  after  it  is  applied  to  the  glass  plate,  renders  the 
sensitive  film  very  much  more  sensitive  than  it  is  without  this 
addition,  and  that  it  may  also  be  used  in  the  developing  bath 
with  success.  These  aldehyde  compounds  have  a marked  affi- 
nity for  bromine  and  iodine  also. — Burgoync's  Monthly  Maga- 
zine.   

* A portion  of  a paper  read  before  the  Society  of  Arts. 


458 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  13,  1890, 


.poteg. 

The  French,  with  their  love  for  precise  nomenclature, 
have  given  to  photographic  science  a new  term — 
chrono-photography.  Chrono-photography,  expanded 
in  our  somewhat  cumbrous  language,  means  the  art  of 
taking  photographs  in  a series  of  measured  spaces  of 
time,  and  examples  may  be  cited  in  the  experiments  of 
Marey,  Muybridge,  Anschutz,  and  others.  In  an 
article  on  the  subject  which  appeared  recently  in  La 
Nature,  the  writer  glanced  at  the  various  methods  in 
use,  the  principal  of  which  appear  to  be  three  in 
number: — First,  that  employed  by  M.  Marey  in 
photographing  the  flight  of  pigeons,  by  an  arrangement 
which  brought  the  bird  against  a perfectly  black  back- 
ground ; secondly,  the  plan  which  made  the  sensitive 
surface  move  in  a series  of  equal  jerks  across  the  focus 
of  the  lens  ; and  thirdly,  the  use  of  as  many  indepen- 
dent cameras  as  might  be  deemed  necessary.  These 
three  comprise  the  methods  which  have  produced 
results  known  to  the  public. 


But,  as  the  writer  in  La  Nature  remarks,  “ all  has 
not  yet  been  said  on  this  interesting  question,”  and 
inventors  are  still  busy  studying  the  subject.  An 
apparatus  which  was  highly  spoken  of  was  exhibited 
at  the  Paris  International  Exhibition,  and,  in  1888, 
Mr.  W.  G.  Levison  presented  to  the  Photographic 
Academy  of  Brooklyn  a new  apparatus,  holding  the 
sensitive  plates  in  a revolving  drum,  to  bring  them  one 
after  the  other  rapidly  to  the  focus  of  the  lens.  Mr. 
Friese  Greene’s  “ mitrailleuse  ” camera,  and  the  appar- 
atus of  Mr.  C.  V.  Boys,  have  already  been  described  in 
these  pages. 

Photographers  who  lay  themselves  open  to  be 
twitted  for  producing  incongruous  effects — as,  for 
instance,  when  the  landscape  is  lighted  from  one  side 
of  the  picture,  and  the  put-in  “natural  clouds”  from 
the  other — may  now  take  refuge  in  the  defence  that 
painters  are  not  at  all  squeamish  in  regard  to  incon- 
gruities. A case  in  point  may  be  cited  from  the 
Academy.  One  of  the  artists,  it  seems,  has  introduced 
into  a landscape  the  representation  of  a fern  against 
which,  from  a picturesque  point  of  view,  there  is 
nothiug  to  be  said,  but  from  a botanical  aspect,  a good 
deal ; for  a critic  who  is  also  a naturalist  declares  that 
the  fern  in  question  is  of  a rare  sort,  and  grows 
only  iu  two  places,  neither  of  which  is  the  locality 
indicated  in  the  picture.  The  artist  cannot  explain 
satisfactorily  how  he  came  to  contradict  nature  in  this 
way,  and  the  inference  is  that  he  must  have  borrowed 
the  plant  from  a friend’s  conservatory. 

What  with  photography  on  the  one  hand  watching 
over  their  errors,  and  candid  critics  on  the  other  look- 
ing out  for  slips,  the  artist  now-a-days  must  speak  by 
the  card.  Jacob  dreaming  of  the  ladder  to  heaven, 
and  arrayed  in  the  attire  of  a Flemish  peasant  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  as  represented  by  a well-known 


Dutch  painter,  would  not  now  be  tolerated.  It  is  even 
possible  whether  doubts,  in  these  critical  days,  would 
not  be  thrown  upon  the  graceful  silver  birches  which 
Turner  found  so  effective  in  the  composition  of  his 
pictures.  They  were  introduced  with  such  suspicious  fre- 
quency, that  the  chances  are  that  some  careful  inquirer 
might,  if  he  had  cared  to  take  the  trouble  of  comparing 
the  picture  with  the  scene  depicted,  have  discovered 
that  the  silver  birch,  like  the  photographer’s  cloud,  was 
put  in.  To  discuss  the  question  whether,  as  Lord 
Lytton  was  fond  of  declaring  with  the  use  of  capital 
letters,  the  True  and  the  Beautiful  are  one,  or  whether 
each  can  exist  apart,  would  take  too  long  just  now, 
and  we  must  leave  the  problem  where  it  is. 

The  Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Franca  is  e contains  an 
interesting  memoir  of  its  late  president,  M.  Pcligot, 
whose  death  we  announced  recently.  M.  Peligot, 
like  many  other  men  whose  researches  have  done  so 
much  for  the  progress  of  photography,  was  not  a prac- 
tical photographer,  but  his  experiments  in  respect  to 
the  chemistry  of  photography  resulted  in  much  practical 
good.  In  1855  he  brought  before  the  French  Photo- 
graphic Society  the  advantages  of  the  double  chloride 
of  gold.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  to  draw  attention 
to  the  effect  of  light  in  colouring  glass,  and  his  repeated 
cautions  as  to  the  dangers  of  certain  artificial  illumin- 
ants  will  be  well  remembered.  He  succeeded  M. 
Balard  in  the  Presidency  of  the  French  Society,  and 
was  re-elected  annually. 

Photography  is  a source  of  income  little  suspected. 
Most  people  have  noticed  the  photographs  on  cigarette 
boxes,  and  the  attractive-looking  pictures  which  are 
exhibited  iu  tobacconists’  windows,  but  few  imagine 
what  it  costs  to  produce  them.  In  the  United  States 
this  method  of  advertisement  is  carried  on  to  a much 
larger  extent  than  in  England.  The  latest  business 
amalgamation  is  that  of  the  cigarette-making  firms, 
and  one  result  of  this  will  be  that  £17,000  a year  on 
photographs  alone  will  be  saved  on  a “ trust,”  working 
upon  a capital  of  a million.  The  photographic  adorn- 
ments on  cigarette  boxes  may  appeal  to  American 
citizens,  but  the  attraction  is  played  out  in  England, 
and  fortunately  there  is  little  chance  of  this  “ trust  ” 
being  brought  to  the  notice  of  English  investors. 

A graceful  compliment  has  been  paid  to  the  grand- 
daughter of  Nicephore  Niepce  at  the  last  meeting  of  the 
Societe  Franchise  de  la  Photographic.  Some  time  ago 
it  was  decided  by  the  French  Government,  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  Society  that  a Jubilee  medal 
should  be  struck  and  engraved  in  honour  of  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  Daguerre’s  discovery ; and  it  was  decided 
by  the  Societe  that  the  medal  should  be  presented  to 
Mdlle.  Niepce  on  the  occasion  of  her  marriage. 


The  competition  organised  by  the  French  Minister 
of  Public  Instruction  for  a prize  of  £80,  to  be  com- 
peted for  with  the  object  of  providing  apparatus 
especially  suitable  for  the  requirements  of  tourists, 


Junk  13,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


459 


has  just  been  decided.  The  decision  had  been 
postponed  for  some  time  on  account  of  the  lack 
of  competitors;  but  eventually  a respectable  number 
presented  themselves,  and  after  numerous  trials 
made  by  the  committee  appointed,  a conclusion  was 
arrived  at.  The  conditions  were  that  each  com- 
petitor should  send  two  lenses,  one  a panoramic  lens 
of  at  least  100  degrees,  and  the  other  of  a smaller  angle, 
but  possessing  certain  qualities — that  is  to  say,  rec- 
tilinearity  of  the  lines,  flatness  of  field,  sharpness  of 
the  different  planes,  and  equal  illumination. 


In  the  panoramic  competition,  M.  Adolphe  Martin 
has  gained  the  award.  In  the  second  competition  the 
lens  shown  by  M.  Berthiot  fulfils  all  the  conditions 
desired,  in  spite  of  the  weight  being  somewhat  exces- 
sive. It  has  therefore  been  decided  to  divide  the 
prize  offered  by  the  Government  into  two  equal  sums 
of  £40  each,  which  will  be  awarded  to  each  competitor. 


The  photographer  is  a necessity  at  all  public  func- 
tions, and  it  may  not  be  long  before  he  will  be  con- 
sidered equally  necessary  at  private  ones.  We  are 
constantly  reading  of  the  matches  of  the  Australian 
cricketers  being  interrupted  in  order  that  the  teams 
may  be  photographed.  A youthful  foreign  prince  who 
has  achieved  a little  cheap  notoriety  arrives  at  Dover, 
and  the  ubiquitous  photographer  is  seen  on  the  bridge 
of  the  steamer  struggling  to  take  a picture  of  his 
reception.  A deputation  waits  upon  an  eminent 
statesman  in  an  informal  way,  and  the  photographer  is 
on  the  watch  to  secure  a memento  of  the  visit.  By 
and  bye  the  services  of  the  photographer  will  be  as 
commonplace  a thing  as  the  services  of  the  hairdresser. 
A photographer  will  follow  the  monthly  nurse  and  the 
doctor,  and  newly-born  babies  must  look  forward  to 
being  photographed  as  well  as  being  registered.  The 
camera  will  pursue  one  at  every  stage  of  existence,  from 
the  first  tooth  upwards.  Indeed,  if  the  automatic 
photographic  machine  is  going  to  prove  the  gigantic 
success  so  confidently  predicted  for  it,  it  will  be  more 
convenient  and  more  economical  to  have  an  apparatus 
set  up  in  the  hall,  and  consult  it  every  morning  as  one 
does  the  barometer. 


It  will  be  a comfort  to  sober-minded  people  to  know 
that  the  various  idiotic  competitions  which  have  gradu- 
ally been  becoming  a feature  of  modern  journalism  have 
been  declared  illegal,  and  that  they  will  perforce  be 
discontinued.  The  information  which  the  solution  of 
the  questions  proposed  made  known  was  generally  of 
no  use  to  anybody,  except,  perhaps,  the  winner  of  the 
prize,  and  it  probably  did  him  more  harm  than  good. 
If  any  photographers  should  hanker  after  some  similar 
vent  for  the  display  of  their  abilities,  they  can  easily 
find  plenty  of  problems  which  await  solution — for  there 
are  worlds  yet  left  unconquered  for  aspiring  Alexanders 
in  our  art.  One  of  them  occurs  to  us.  Why  should  a 
negative  benefit  by  unlimited  supplies  of  water,  while 
it  remains  wet  and  fresh  from  the  fixing  bath,  and  yet 


be  spoilt  by  an  accidental  splash  which  may  reach  it 
when  dry  ? 


What  we  mean  is  this.  Many  a good  negative  has 
been  ruined  by  a single  drop  of  water  accidentally 
falling  upon  its  film  after  it  has  been  dried.  The  water 
may  be  aqua  pura  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  words.  It 
may  be  rainwater  freshly  distilled  from  cloudland,  tap 
water,  or  any  other  water,  but  where  the  drop  falls  it 
will  act  as  a reducer,  and  a spot — light  by  comparison 
with  the  rest  of  the  negative — remains  upon  the  film 
for  ever.  No  one  has  yet,  so  far  as  we  know,  explained 
why  this  should  be  so,  but  there  is  no  kind  of  doubt 
that  water  acts  in  the  way  described. 


If  the  water  were  contaminated  with  hypo  there 
would  be  nothing  to  be  surprised  about,  for  hypo  has  a 
distinct  reducing  action  in  the  presence  of  air.  This 
fact,  we  believe,  is  not  generally  known,  but  it  can  be 
easily  put  to  the  proof  in  the  following  manner  : Take 
a negative  fresh  from  the  fixing  bath,  give  it  a good 
rinsing  under  the  tap,  and  then  transfer  it  to  a pan  of 
water  deep  enough  to  cover  one-half  of  the  film  as  the 
plate  stands  on  edge.  At  the  end  of  half  an  hour  or  so, 
the  plate  will  be  found,  upon  examination,  to  be  much 
less  dense  on  the  half  exposed  to  the  air  than  it  is  on 
the  other  half  which  has  been  below  water.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  point  out  that  here  we  have  a simple 
and  easy  method  of  reducing  an  over-dense  negative. 


We  have  always  regarded  the  introducer  of  cheap 
apparatus  as  a benefactor  to  the  art  of  photography 
and  its  votaries — provided  that  it  is  so  constructed  that 
it  is  capable  of  taking  some  kind  of  presentable 
picture.  Many  a good  worker  has  begun  with  a cheap 
set,  and  has  thus  acquired  a taste  for  the  art,  and  in 
good  time  has  provided  himself  with  something  better. 
So  far,  so  good.  But  we  have  lately  observed  that 
certain  apparatus  has  been  introduced  which  can  be 
bought  for  a few  shillings — with  chemicals  and  every- 
thing complete.  Boys  at  school  are  commonly  the 
purchasers  of  it,  and  when  they  have  saved  up  their 
pocket  money  for  the  purpose,  they  find  themselves 
in  possession  of  a mere  toy  which  is  next  to  useless. 


A plausible  prospectus  points  out  the  wonders  that 
can  be  achieved  with  the  instrument,  including  instan- 
taneous pictures  within  doors.  We  lately  examined  one 
of  these  contrivances,  and  found  that  its  lens  was  shut 
in  with  a fixed  diaphragm,  which  made  it  work  at //32. 
The  boy  who  handed  us  the  instrument  for  our  opinion 
told  us  that  no  fewer  than  eight  “ other  fellows”  at 
his  school  had  bought  them.  “ Well,”  we  said,  “ have 
you  seen  any  negatives  taken  with  it?”  “No,”  was 
the  reply;  “but  I’ve  seen  a lot  of  plates  of  clear 
glass  taken  with  it.”'  Let  our  readers  caution  their 
young  friends  not  to  waste  their  pocket  money  on  such 
things,  for  clear  glass  can  be  obtained  much  more 
cheaply,  and  without  the  trouble  of  exposui'e  and  de- 
velopment. 


400 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  13,  1890. 


OX  REFLECTED  IMAGES  IN  OPTICAL  COMBI- 
NATIONS. AND  THEIR  EFFECT  ON  THE  BRIL- 
LIANCY OF  THE  FINAL  IMAGE.* 

BV  T.  I?.  DALLMEYEH. 

The  first  practical  demonstration  of  the  deleterious  effects 
of  internal  reflections  in  lenses  on  the  resulting  image  was 
contributed  to  your  Society  in  1867  by  my  late  father, 
who,  in  conjunction  with  Sir  John  Hcrschel,  gave  both  a 
practical  and  theoretical  explanation  of  the  “ Cause  of 
the  Central  Spot  or  Flare  in  Photographic  Lenses,"  and 
they  pointed  out  how,  in  certain  optical  systems,  this 
trouble  might  be  overcome  or  cured.  As  you  are  aware, 
the  “ flare-spot  ” is  due  to  the  formation  of  a real  and 
inverted  image  of  the  diaphragm  by  internal  reflections  in 
the  back  lens  upon  the  plate.  With  certain  forms  on 
alteration  in  the  position  of  the  diaphragm,  either  nearer 
to  or  further  from  the  lens,  may  eliminate  the 
effects  of  flare-spot  should  it  exist.  The  general 
deductions  arrived  at  by  this  investigation  were : 
“ First,  the  fewer  the  number  of  reflecting  sur- 
faces (other  things  being  equal),  the  greater  will  be  the 
brilliancy  of  the  resulting  image ; second,  the  smaller  the 
diameter  of  a lens,  or  combination  of  lenses,  covering  a 
given  sized  plate  or  area  (other  things  being  equal),  the 
greater  will  be  the  brilliancy  of  the  resulting  image.  ” 

The  final  brilliancy  of  the  image  is,  of  course,  not  only 
dependent  on  reflected  images  in  lens  systems,  but  I 
propose  to  confine  my  remarks  to  this  aspect  of  the  sub- 
ject this  evening,  taking  it  for  granted  that  proper  “ flare- 
spot,”  as  introduced  by  the  arrangement  of  the  systems 
and  position  of  the  diaphragm,  does  not  exist. 

The  loss  of  brilliancy,  due  to  reflection,  in  the  resulting 
image  is  due  to  three  main  causes : — («)  The  number  of 
reflecting  surfaces  giving  rise  to  a definite  number  of 
reflected  images;  ( b ) the  disposition  and  curvatures  of 
the  lenses  in  the  system  ; (e)  their  diameter  as  regards 
available  aperture  in  the  formation  of  the  ultimate  image. 

So  far  as  I know,  this  subject  has  only  been  approached 
from  one  point  of  view — viz.,  in  general,  the  number  of 
reflected  images  of  the  object  due  to  the  number  of  open 
reflected  surfaces  ; but  there  is  another,  and,  I am  inclined 
to  think,  more  important  aspect — viz.,  the  interference 
that  the  original  light  on  the  plate  has  upon  the  total  light 
on  the  plate  by  reflection  from  the  lens  surfaces  during 
exposure. 

(«)  By  placing  a number  of  lenses  with  different 
numbers  of  open  surfaces  in  the  separate  systems  side  by 
side  in  a camera  (all  of  the  same  focal  length),  and  direct- 
ing them  simultaneously  to  a distant  bright  object,  one 
can  compare  not  only  the  number  of  images  formed  by 
the  reflecting  surfaces,  but  also  the  relative  positions  and 
brilliancy  of  each  image. 

By  such  a comparison  you  can  estimate  visually  the 
more  or  less  deleterious  effect  likely  to  be  produced  by 
the  position  of  the  images  and  their  brilliancy  on  the 
resulting  image.  Elaborate  drawings  could  certainly  be 
made  to  show  for  any  system  the  exact  positions  along  the 
axis  for  each  image,  but  the  estimate  of  the  relative  bril- 
liancy of  each  is  better  attained  by  the  practical  estimate. 
I have  endeavoured,  by  placing  a small  camera  at  the 
back,  to  get  photographic  images  with  definite  exposures 
to  illustrate  the  comparative  brilliancy  in  a number  of 
instances,  but  the  focus  of  the  lens  employed  to  show 
this  requires  to  be  so  short  to  get  sufficient  depth  with 

* R«ai  before  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 


very  small  stops  to  bring  them  all  out  sharply  that  the 
images  are  so  small  as  to  be  practically  valueless  as  illus- 
trations. 

In  any  case,  the  number  and  brilliancy  of  these  images 
alone  cannot  be  a fair  estimate  of  the  resultant  effect  of 
the  disposition  of  the  components  of  the  system  on 
the  detrimental  effect  of  reflections  as  a whole.  If  the 
plate  were  absolutely  black,  and  no  reflections  froinit  took 
place,  this  consideration  alone  would  suffice,  but  the 
whitish  surface  upon  which  the  image  is  received  (and 
never  uniformly  lighted)  receives  again  reflected  images 
from  the  component  elements  of  the  lens  system  itself. 

In  order  to  exhibit  these  effects  in  a very  pronounced 
degree,  I have  inserted  an  imitation  plate  partly  (drawing) 
illuminated,  and  in  the  position  of  the  lens  various  forms 
of  mirrors,  plane,  convex,  and  concave. 

The  effect  of  these  on  the  non-illumiuated  portions  of 
the  plate  are,  of  course,  very  remarkable,  the  convex 
mirror  having  the  least,  and  the  concave  the  most 
detrimental  and  powerful  effect. 

The  headings  ( b ) and  (c)  are  then  here  of  very  great 
importance.  The  greater  the  number  of  concave  sur- 
faces in  the  lens  system  towards  the  plate,  the  more  will 
the  resulting  images  suffer  in  brilliancy ; and  again,  if  the 
diameters  of  the  lenses  are  large  and  concave  towards  the 
plate  after  the  stop  that  determines  the  intensity,  the  more* 
will  the  brilliancy  diminish. 

The  diaphragm,  then,  you  will  understand,  plays  an 
important  part  on  the  brilliancy  of  the  image  by  its  situa- 
tion. Were  it  not  for  reducing  the  angle  included  in  a 
picture,  there  are  many  eases  in  which  the  addition  of  a 
diaphragm  behind  the  lens  might  prove  of  advantage  for 
brilliancy,  but  in  any  case  these  experiments  show  how 
detrimental  the  effect  of  a small  stop  in  front  of  a combi- 
nation with  concavities  towards  the  image  behind  it  would 
tend  as  regards  brilliancy  in  cases  of  powerful  contrast, 
and  might  give  rise  to  “ghosts”  as  distinguished  from  the 
proper  ‘ 1 flare -spot.  ” 

The  reason  of  this  contribution  arose  originally  from  a 
controversy  with  Mr.  \Y.  Iv.  Burton,  in  the  Photographic 
News,  as  to  the  claims  of  a new  lens  of  my  own,  known 
as  the  rectilinear  landscape  lens,  over  the  ordinary 
symmetrical  combinations  generally  known  as  the  rapid 
rectilinear.  He  has  since  agreed  with  me  on  the  points  at 
issue  in  a letter  to  the  Amateur  Photographer. 

There  were  other  considerations  entered  into  besides 
that  of  reflected  images,  in  number  and  brilliancy,  that 
affect  final  brilliancy  in  the  comparison  of  the  two  lenses 
named ; but  Mr.  Burton,  in  any  case,  had  entirely  over- 
looked the  aspect  brought  to  your  notice  this  evening, 
and  I will  certainly  say  that,  although  the  rectilinear  land- 
scape has  the  advantage  in  the  matter  of  number  and 
brilliancy  of  reflected  images,  as  regards  its  use  in  cases 
of  powerful  contrasts  of  light  and  shade,  the  form  of 
rapid  rectilinear  is  decidedly  the  safer  as,  stop  for  stop,  the 
concave  surface  behind  it  (in  the  case  of  the  rectilinear 
landscape)  would  have  greater  liability  to  produce  ghost, 
although  this  might  be  overcome  by  reversing  the  lens  in 
such  cases. 

The  reflections  of  the  light  on  the  plate  from  the  lens 
back  on  to  the  plate  will  easily  explain  the  reversed  images 
occasionally  met  with,  of  bright  windows  in  interiors,  on 
the  darker  portions  of  the  picture  when  taken  with  double 
combination  lenses  in  which  there  are  concave  surfaces 
towards  the  plate,  even  when  “flare-spot”  does  not  exist. 

The  slight  amount  of  diffused  light  given  by  the  num- 


Jone  13,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


461 


ber  of  reflected  images  and  the  elements  concave  towards 
the  plate,  have  often  been  preferred  hy  artists  as  giving 
more  atmosphere  ! I don't  think  “atmosphere”  is  quite 
the  word,  but  as  the  eye  in  viewing  nature  is  always  filled 
with  a certain  amount  of  diffused  light  by  the  lens  of  the 
eye  itself,  so  also  a lens  system  that  imitates  this,  to  a 
certain  extent,  may  be  more  applicable  to  artistic  pur- 
poses, but  is  certainly  detrimental  for  the  highest  scien- 
tific precision. 


NEGATIVES* 

BY  THOS.  H.  MORTON,  M.D. 

In  all  elementary  books  relating  to  photography  we  soon 
arrive  at  the  terms  “positive”  and  “ negative,”  with  an 
explanation  thereof,  and  I do  not  know  of  a better  than 
that  given  by  T.  F.  Ilardwich  in  his  “Manual  of  Photo- 
graphic Chemistry,”  1857,  who  says,  “A  positive  may  be 
defined  to  be  a photograph  which  gives  a natural  repre- 
sentation of  an  object  as  it  appears  to  the  eye.  A nega- 
tive photograph,  on  the  other  hand,  has  the  light  and 
shadows  reversed,  so  that  the  appearance  of  the  object  is 
changed  or  negatived.”  We  afterwards  learn  that  the 
photographic  image  developed  on  a sensitive  collodion  film 
can  be  made  either  a positive  or  negative.  The  ordinary 
portraits  by  this  collodion  process  taken  on  glass  are  ex- 
amples of  thin  negatives  converted  into  positives  by  back- 
ing with  black  varnish  or  other  dark  material  which  affords 
the  necessary  shadows;  the  white  deposit  of  reduced 
silver,  viewed  by  reflected  light,  being  the  positive  image. 
If  you  made  the  deposit  denser  and  used  no  backing,  a 
negative  would  be  the  result,  and,  of  course,  any  number 
of  positives  on  sensitive  chloride  paper  by  contact  and 
exposure  to  light  can  be  printed. 

With  the  gelatino-bromide  process,  which  is  generally 
in  use  for  making  negatives,  the  photographic  image  is  not 
adapted  to  produce  positives  in  the  way  just  mentioned. 
The  reason  is  that  the  reduction  of  silver  takes  place  in 
the  gelatine  film,  not  on  the  surface,  as  by  the  collodion 
method,  consequently  the  gelatine  masks  the  image,  pre- 
venting the  reflection  which  assists  to  give  a positive  im- 
pression to  the  eye.  We  occasionally  meet  with  a gelatine 
plate,  when  developed  and  wet,  giving  a distinct  positive 
effect,  and  this  does  not  appear  to  alter  the  printing 
quality. 

The  negative  is  to  a photographer  much  the  same  as  type 
and  ink  to  a printer,  or  bears  the  same  relation  an  etched 
plate  has  to  the  finished  engraving;  consequently  it  is 
our  endeavour  to  produce  a negative  being  a faithful  ex- 
position of  the  subject  portrayed  with  the  light  and  sha- 
dow reversed,  and  I shall  confine  my  remarks  principally 
to  the  gelatino-broinide  film  as  usually  manufactured.  I 
presume  there  are  few  amateurs  who  prepare  their  own 
plates.  Fortunately,  that  is  not  essential,  as  a good, 
reliable  sensitive  plate  is  easily  obtained.  Yet  a know- 
ledge of  the  various  emulsion  processes  is  highly  interest- 
ing and  profitable. 

Negatives  may  be  considered  in  reference  to  their 
defects,  good  qualities,  and  also  the  conditions  which  act 
favourably,  or  the  reverse,  in  their  production.  In  the 
first  place,  many  defects  are  due  to  some  error  in  the 
manufacture  ; these  imperfections  arc  less  common  than 
formerly,  owing  to  accurate  methods  adopted  by  the 
makers,  but  we  meet  with  troubles  of  this  kind  yet ; some 

* Read  before  the  Sheffield  Camera  Club. 


are  not  apparent  until  after  the  plate  is  exposed  and  deve- 
loped. (Several  examples  are  on  the  table.)  Insufficient 
emulsion,  too  thin  coating  on  the  glass  plate,  shown  by  the 
image  appearing  through  the  back  of  the  plate  rapidly 
during  development,  and  inability  to  get  density  and 
contrast;  result  in  a thin,  weak  negative. 

Impurities  in  the  emulsion. — Some  particles  find  their 
way  in  during  preparation,  or  settle  upon  the  plate  when 
coating.  Wool  or  cotton  fibres,  or  hair  from  the  head  or 
face.  I have  noticed  dust  uncommonly  like  snuff,  but  I 
should  think  no  well-regulated  factory  would  allow  an 
operative  to  indulge  in  this  luxury.  I believe  special 
provision  is  made  in  the  way  of  clothing  and  surroundings 
to  obviate  contamination  by  dust,  &c.  Finger  markings, 
or  greasiness  of  film,  are  troubles,  likewise  pinholes — 
cup-like  depressions,  due  to  bubbles  in  the  emulsion — 
and  scratches  of  film,  either  by  careless  handling  or  small 
fragments  of  glass  in  cutting.  The  way  in  which  plates 
are  taken  out  and  re-packed  after  exposure  is  a source  of 
anxiety,  and  I question  which  is  the  best  plan — grooved 
boxes,  or  packing  film  to  film,  or  inserting  a narrow  edge 
of  paper  between  at  the  margin.  The  last  plan  appears 
most  sensible,  providing  the  paper  is  chemically  pure,  and 
only  just  sufficient  to  overlap,  say,  a quarter  of  an  inch. 
Grooved  boxes  are  doubtful ; I have  found  plates  impaired 
by  long  keeping  in  this  way ; the  passage  of  air,  even  when 
light  is  perfectly  excluded,  has  a detrimental  action  on 
the  silver  salt.  Also  frequent  unpacking  or  retention 
in  dark  slides  for  any  lengthened  period,  as  air  is  not 
always  pure,  nor  yet  dry.  As  regards  ordinary  paper, 
when  overlapping  the  film,  an  insensitiveness  to  some 
extent  is  noticed  on  development ; quarter-plates  suffer 
most  in  proportion ; we  lose  part  of  the  picture. 
Pressure  on  the  film  has  been  given  as  a cause  of  insensi- 
tiveness, but  hyposulphite  of  soda  is  present  in  many 
papers.  You  can  readily  detect  this  salt  by  the  starch 
and  iodine  test. 

It  is  also  alleged  that  white  paper,  although  quite  pure, 
will  affect  a bromide  film,  by  reason  of  inherent  luminous 
property  ; yet  I have  a number  of  plates  originally  packed 
with  tissue  paper  many  years  old,  which  act  as  quickly  and 
efficiently  as  a new  batch 

Leaving  the  accidental  defects  of  plates,  we  may  now 
consider  the  good  qualities  of  a negative,  and  how 
obtainable.  Assuming  the  bromide  film  to  be  perfect,  and 
properly  exposed  on  a well-lighted  subject — either  portrait 
or  landscape — what  are  the  conditions  required  to  secure 
a first-class  result?  There  really  is  not  much  beyond 
care  and  judgment  during  development ; and  allow  me  to 
remark,  in  passing,  that  a deep  chemical  knowledge  is  by 
no  means  absolutely  essential,  or  how  could  the  tyro  of 
a few  weeks  produce  a negative  from  which  a print  might 
gain  him  a medal  at  some  exhibition  for  technical 
excellence  ? 

As  I before  remarked,  we  have  to  make  a negative 
which  shall  be  a faithful  copy  of  the  subject  portrayed, 
having  the  light  and  shadow  reversed.  Although  the 
theory  of  the  invisible  or  latent  image  caused  by  light,  and 
transformed  into  a visible  one  by  certain  reagents,  is  not 
quite  clear,  we  are  led  to  believe  that  the  action  of  light 
rays  from  a reflecting  object  through  a lens  affects  the 
sensitive  bromide  in  a variable  degree  according  to  its 
intensity,  exerting  a photo-chemical  or  physical  change, 
attended  with  the  liberation  of  a certain  proportion 
of  bromine.  This  disturbance  is  most  in  the  part  struck 
by  brightest  light  rays — say,  in  a landscape,  from  the  sky ; 


r 


462 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  13,  1890. 


and  the  rays  from  clouds  and  other  white  objects  penetrate 
deeper  into  the  film  than  those  from  darker  bodies. 

The  change  so  far  is  an  impression  or  disturbance  of 
the  molecules  invisible  to  the  eye.  It  is  well  known  that 
the  haloid  salts  of  silver  in  emulsion  after  exposure  to  light 
are  readily  acted  on  by  certain  substances  having  great 
affinity  for  oxygen — especially  when  combined  with  an 
alkali— as  pyrogaUol,  hydrokinone,  &c.  ; these  precipitate 
the  silver.  It  follows  that  any  of  these  reducing  agents, 
or  so-called  developers,  act  chemically  most  on  the  parts 
affected  by  strong  light,  and  reduction  of  bromide  of 
silver  to  the  metallic  state  will  be  visible  in  the  gelatine 
film.  This  semi-metallic  or  darkened  material  is  virtually 
the  photographic  image  and  the  basis  of  a negative.  To 
obtain  the  true  value  of  this  impact  of  light,  it  is  necessary 
to  use  judgment  in  developing.  Take  an  ordinary  pyro- 
gallic  formula 

I'yro  

Am.  bro.  ... 

Liquid  am.  (fort.) 

Water 

I don’t  wish  to  be  very  elementary,  but  we  know  that 
pyro  is  the  active  principle,  ammonia  the  accelerator,  and 
the  bromide  of  ammonia  or  potash  acts  as  a retarder. 
When  these  chemicals  are  in  contact  with  exposed  film 
an  action  is  set  up,  first  attacking  the  surface  particles  and 
sinking  or  permeating  the  gelatine  deeper  until  the  limit 
of  light-acted  on  material  is  reached,  as  represented  in 
diagram  fig.  2 — No.  1,  outline  of  latent  image.  With  an 
Section  of  Plate. 


...  2 grains 

l 

4 ,, 

...  1 drop 

to  1 ounce 


Fig.  1. 

1 2 i 4 5 ■«! 

Sky  ► Clouds  House  Trees  Fiqurc  Foreqround 

t v ^ \ M y 


A.- Invisible  or  latent  image.  B.— Film  unaltered.  C — Glass. 


Fig.  2. 


A.— Developed  Image.  B.— Film  unaltered.  C.— Glass. 

accurately  timed  exposure  and  normal  developer  a well 
contrasted  negative  is  generally  produced,  and  after  fixation 
in  hyposulphite  of  soda  solution  there  should  be  found 
a perfect  image  ; but  a negative  is  not  always  a trauscript 
of  nature,  and  we  ask  how  that  is  the  case.  Take  this 
specimen.  Thin  image,  no  contrast,  want  of  vigour,  flat, 
won’t  make  a print  worth  looking  at.  There  are  several 
reasons.  First,  under-development ; we  remove  the  plate 
out  of  the  dish,  thinking  it  is  sufficiently  dense,  and  find 
after  fixing  there  is  scarcely  any  image.  The  developer 
has  not  penetrated  to  the  deeper  stratum  of  bromide 
affected  by  light.  Secondly,  over-exposure  with  the  same 
developer  will  give  a flat  monotonous  result,  as  the  whole 
plate  is  overdone  ; equally  again,  when  under-exposed,  a 
poor  black  and  white  hard  negative,  no  half-tone  or  grada- 
tion ; a chemically  fogged  plate — the  result  sometimes  of 
prolonged  action — also  staining  by  the  yellow  discoloura- 
tion of  pyro,  which  affects  the  film  even  when  uuexposed 
to  light.  I consider  that  gelatine  itself,  as  regards  hardness 
or  impermeability,  has  an  influence  on  the  development. 
When  excessively  dry  it  obstructs  the  chemical  action. 


Possibly  this  may  account  for  the  variable  times  requisite  to 
develop  some  makes  of  plates.  I have  noticed  old  long- 
kept  plates  are  more  tedious.  Occasionally  there  is  a want 
of  sharpness  in  detail  not  attributable  to  defective  lens  or 
error  of  focussing  ; this  may  be  ascribed  to  using  a deve- 
loper which  is  too  energetic.  In  the  collodion  process, 
when  the  reducing  agent  was  abnormally  active,  the 
particles  of  silver  which  built  up  the  image  were  thrown 
into  confusion,  so  to  speak,  and  not  accurately  deposited 
on  the  lines  laid  by  impact  of  light,  hence  a fuzziness. 
Although  the  wet  process  is  not  quite  identical  with 
gelatino -bromide,  it  suggests  the  desirability  of  gradual 
development. 

As  regards  the  colour  of  negatives,  no  one  prefers  a deep 
yellow  stain,  even  if  the  image  is  well  defined  on  .account  of 
slow  printing.  In  using  pyro  or  hydrochinone  we  gene- 
rally get  some  yellowness ; when  too  pronounced  it  can 
be  cleared  by  citric  acid  alum  solution.  If  a negative  is  a 
trifle  thin,  a little  stain  helps  the  shadows  or  clear  glass. 
It  is,  moreover,  reasonable  to  look  upon  the  colouring 
matter  present  in  solution  and  attracted  to  those  parts 
requiring  density  as  a positive  advantage.  Intensification 
of  negatives  rarely  gives  a result  equal  to  a properly 
exposed  and  developed  plate.  The  reduction  of  thick 
unprintable  negatives  is  comparatively  easy,  but  needs 
care.  The  conversion  of  silver  or  silver  oxide  into  a 
chloride  or  iodide,  and  then  dissolving  out  with  hypo- 
sulphite, will  reduce  the  thickest  negative,  lly  experi- 
ence the  photographer  learns  by  sight  the  appearances 
which  indicate  a good  negative,  and  also  when  dealing 
with  uncertain  degrees  of  exposure  he  modifies  the  de- 
veloper; no  one  would  wilfully  apply  a very  strong 
developer  upon  a plate  which  might  be  much  over-exposed, 
knowing  that  the  film  would  be  hopelessly  fogged.  lie 
begins  cautiously  with  little  alkali,  or  less  pyro  or  more 
restrainer.  I cannot  leave  the  subject  of  negatives  without 
allusion  to  the  use  of  isochromatic  plates  and  yellow  screen, 
although  we  are  promised  a paper  by  Professor  Arnold  on 
this  topic  later  on.  It  has  been  recognised  for  some 
time  that  reflection  from  objects  coloured  red  or  yellow 
fail  to  impress  the  sensitive  salts  to  the  same  extent  as 
bodies  coloured  green,  violet,  or  blue ; consequently, 
when  developed,  the  true  values  of  those  colours  are  not 
brought  out  properly.  I apprehend  the  rationale  of 
erythrosin  and  other  dyes  of  eosin  series,  as  also  chloro- 
phyll and  certain  pigments  including  use  of  a yellow 
screen,  subdue — or,  rather,  bring  down — the  less  actinic 
rays  to  the  level  of  those  more  active,  and  on  this  assump- 
tion I should  imagine  that  a blue  screen  might  convert  the 
yellow  to  a green,  and  lessen  the  time  of  exposure. 

The  want  of  perfect  truthfulness,  as  regards  accurate 
light  and  shade  gradations,  is  due,  I am  convinced,  to  the 
cause  mentioned ; for  any  subject  in  monochrome,  a 
neutral  tint,  and  well-lighted,  is  sure  to  be  faithful,  the 
exposure  being  correct.  When  taking  a portrait,  with  the 
countenance  freckled  or  red  patches  present,  a disparity 
of  gradation  is  at  once  noticed,  supposing  puff,  powder, 
or  other  white  substance,  is  not  used  on  the  face  before 
exposure  ; but  a negative  can  be  made  good  by  the 
retoucher’s  pencil ; and,  speaking  of  retouching,  which, 
witli  most  amateurs  is  rather  a weak  point,  how  often  our 
best  negatives  want  just  a little?  All  the  pinhole 
scratches,  thin  shadows,  and  many  defects,  require  the 
useful,  but  much  abused,  artist's  work. 

The  rapidity  of  sensitive  films,  in  respect  to  negative- 
making, affords  a wide  field  for  discussion.  I used  to  take 


June  13,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


463 


instantaneous,  medium,  and  slow,  but  find  it  safer  to  work 
one  class,  at  least,  in  a day’s  excursion  ; and  to  adhere  to  one 
maker  is  a wise  course.  The  very  rapid  are  not  generally 
adapted  for  landscape,  unless  used  with  drop  shutter  or 
short  exposure,  but  for  interiors  I believe  in  them. 

In  concluding  these  fragmentary  notes,  in  which  the 
artistic  or  pictorial  aspect  of  negatives  has  been  purposely 
omitted  as  too  extensive,  I would  merely  say  that  a good 
negative  will  always  produce  a good  print  by  any  process. 
It  can  be  reduced  or  enlarged  without  perceptible  loss, 
and,  if  the  negative  is  kept  dry  and  properly  varnished, 
may  last  for  many  years.  Therefore  the  acquisition  of 
a first-class  negative  as  a means  to  an  end  cannot  be  over- 
rated, and  the  considerations  involved  in  its  production 
are  equally  interesting  as  any  other  branch  of  photo- 
graphy. 


Xottccs  of  iSoofcs. 


Helios,  published  twice  a month.  No.  3,  June  1st,  1890. 

(./.  Theunis,  Antwerp'). 

This  is  a new  Belgian  photographic  periodical.  It  contains 
photographic  news  of  a varied  description,  and  commits 
itself  to  no  programme  or  leading  article  expressing 
editorial  opinions.  Among  other  things  it  states  that  the 
Liege  Section  of  the  Belgian  Association  of  Photographers 
has  fitted  up  an  electric  lantern  for  the  projection  of  pic- 
tures on  photographic  slides,  at  its  meetings,  andilluminating 
a disc  six  metres  in  diameter.  More  than  two  thousand 
persons  responded  to  the  invitation  of  the  Section  to 
be  present  the  first  time  it  was  used  in  public.  The  same 
journal  states  that  M.  Ch.  Puttemans,  Professor  of 
Chemistry,  is  now  giving  a course  of  educational  lectures 
on  “ Photography  ” at  the  Industrial  School,  Palais  du 
Midi,  Brussels.  The  production  of  ceramic  photographs 
is  one  of  the  items  on  which  instruction,  with  experi- 
mental illustrations,  will  be  given. 

Dr.  Wallraff  writes  to  Helios,  asking  what  would  be  the 
good  of  taking  negatives  in  natural  colours  if  the  said 
colours  could  not  be  reproduced  as  positives  upon  paper. 
“ If,”  he  says,  “ I had  the  odd  ( baroque ) idea  of  preserv- 
ing the  features  of  my. mother-in-law,  and  that  my  lens 
did  not  refuse  to  yield  to  this  extravagance,  it  would  not 
be  sufficient  that  the  negative  plate  should  be  kind  enough 
to  let  posterity  know  that  she  has  a greenish  complexion, 
black  teeth,  a red  nose,  and  hair  the  colour  of  the  coat  of 
a she-ass ; it  is  necessary  that  the  positive  print  should  be 
equally  benevolent.  We  may,  therefore,  definitely  rele- 
gate the  problem  of  photography  in  colours  to  the  same 
category  as  those  of  the  philosopher's  stone,  the  squaring  of 
the  circle,  and  perpetual  motion.” 

It  may  be  explained  to  Dr.  Walraff  that  the  photo- 
graphs in  natural  colours  on  silver  plates,  as  produced  by 
Becquerel  and  others,  are  positives  when  first  taken  in  the 
camera.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  his  mother-in-law  will  see 
his  letter  and  give  him  his  deserts. 


Agenda  du  Chimiste.  ( llachette  and  Co.,  Paris,  1890). 
This  work,  which,  in  the  course  of  years,  has  under- 
gone several  editions,  bringing  all  parts  of  it  down  to  the 
latest  date,  is  edited  by  M.  G.  Salet,  of  the  Paris  Faculty 
of  Sciences,  M.  Ch.  Gerard,  Director  of  the  Municipal 
Laboratory  at  Paris,  and  M.  A.  Pabst,  Principal  Chemist 
to  the  Municipal  Laboratory  at  Paris.  Its  value  to  photo- 
graphers is  that  it  is  full  of  tables  of  figures  and  highly 


condensed  valuable  practical  information — and  nothing 
else — likely  to  be  of  use  for  reference  to  those  engaged  in 
practical  and  experimental  work  and  research  ; there  is  no 
“ padding  ” or  wasted  space  in  the  whole  book.  The  first 
edition  of  the  little  book  was  published  in  1877,  by  M. 
Ad.  Wurtz,  whose  dictionary  of  chemistry  is,  in  France, 
equivalent  to  what  that  of  Watts’  is  in  England,  and 
Gmeliu’s  in  Germany.  In  1878  and  1886,  subsequent 
editions  were  brought  out  by  M.  G.  Salet.  M.  Wurtz 
first  compiled  it  for  the  use  of  his  students,  and  per- 
haps to  save  himself  the  trouble  of  continually  giving 
them  the  information ; they  found  it  of  such  value  that 
they  had  to  consult  it  daily  in  their  experimental  work. 
From  these  facts  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  a standard  book. 

The  Agenda  du  Chimiste  has  a small  portion  of  its  space 
specially  devoted  to  photography,  and  other  portions,  as 
in  the  case  of  tables  of  solubilities,  and  so  on,  are  indirectly 
related  thereto. 

The  following  arc  some  of  the  tables  given  in  the 
book  : — 


Corresponding  Quantities  of  Various  Silver  Compounels  used 
in  Photography. 


Silver. 

Nitrate. 

Chloride. 

Brcmidc. 

Iodide. 

1 

1-574 

1-328 

1-741 

2-176 

0-6353 

1 

0-844 

1-106 

1-382 

0-7523 

1-184 

1 

1-310 

1-638 

0-5744 

0-904 

0-763 

1 

1-250 

0-4595 

0-723 

0-610 

0-800 

1 

Corresponding  Quantities  of  Various  Gold  Salts  used  in 
Photography. 


Gold. 

Neutral 
; Chloride. 

Chloride  of  Gold 
and  Potassium. 

Chloride  of  Gold 
and  Sodium. 

1 

1-542 

2-1048 

2-0229 

0-6485 

1 

1-3645 

1-3119 

0-4751 

0-7326 

1 

0-9611 

0-4943 

0-7623 

1-0405 

1 

Corresponding  Quantities  of  Various  Bromides  used  in 
Photography. 


Bromine. 

Ammonium 

Bromide. 

Potassium 

Bromide. 

Sodium 

Bromide. 

Crys.  Cad- 
mium Bro- 
mide (4  A<]). 

Zinc 

Bromide. 

1 

1-225 

1-488 

1-287 

2-150 

1-406 

0-816 

1 

1-214 

1-055 

1-754 

1-147 

0-672 

0-823 

1 

0-865 

1-445 

0-945 

0-777 

0-952 

1-156 

1 

1-671 

1-092 

0-465 

0-570 

0-692 

0-599 

1 

0-654 

0-711 

0-871 

1-058 

0-915 

0-529 

1 

Corresponding  Quantities  of  Various  Iodides  used  in 
Photography. 


Iodine. 

Ammonium 

Iodide. 

Potassium 

Iodide. 

8odium 

Iodide. 

Cadmium 

Iodide. 

Zinc 

Iodide, 

1 

1-142 

1-307 

1-181 

1-441 

1-255 

0-876 

1 

1-145 

1-035 

1-262 

1-099 

0-765 

0-874 

1 

0-903 

1-102 

0-960 

0-847 

0-967 

1-107 

1 

1-220 

0-063 

0-694 

0-793 

0-907 

0-820 

1 

0-871 

0-797 

0-910 

1-042 

0-941 

1-148 

1 

The  work  gives  information  about  the  reduction  of 
silver  residues  of  various  descriptions ; also  about  the 
analysis  of  silver  baths,  and  contains  an  exposure  table  by 
M.  Derval. 


464 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  13,  1890, 


FOUR  FADED  PHOTOGRAPHS. 

“ Only  a woman’s  hair,”  once  upon  a time  Swift  wrote 
upon  a well-known,  an  historic  little  parcel ; and  critics 
yet  differ  and  contest  iu  gentle  periods  whether  the  great 
satirist  worte  it  in  pathos  or  in  irony,  iii  sorrow  or  in 
scorn.  Only  a woman's  hair,  when  there  is  so  much  of 
that  material  in  the  world  of  nature ! Only  four  faded 
photographs,  when  there  are  so  many  of  them  in  the 
world  of  art ; so  many  sick  with  that  sallow  complexion 
which  indicates  incurable  disease  and  approaching  disso- 
lution. But  as  that  hair  had  its  value  worthy  of  a 
distinctive  label,  so  also  have  these  photographs.  In  the 
first  place,  they  are  enclosed  in  what  was  originally  such  a 
dainty  cover,  a skin,  as  it  were,  of  the  colour  and  softness 
of  cream.  Then  the  delicacy  of  their  make  was  so  largely 
insisted  on  ; each  separate  limb  and  member  had  its  own 
peculiar  praise.  Next  was  recorded  their  faithfulness, 
which  would  “assist  the  student  of  art  to  train  both  eye 
and  hand  to  an  accurate  fidelity,  essential  to  the  purity 
and  force  of  the  ideal  creations  of  genius.”  This  sentence 
is  not  that  of  the  present  writer ; he  is  unable  to  weave 
such  splendid  patterns  of  rhetoric  ; he  has,  indeed,  it  may 
be  whisperered,  but  a poor  and  imperfect  conception  of 
what  it  means.  But  it  has  been  copied  literally  out  of  the 
preface  of  the  volume  containing  the  four  photographs, 
and  surely  signifies  something  great  and  splendid,  for  of 
the  mountain  in  labour  it  is  unnatural  to  expect  the  birth 
of  a mouse.  Then  again  these  four  photographs  were  to 
be  the  harbingers,  the  forerunners,  the  ancestors  of  others 
as  fair,  or  even  fairer  than  themselves.  Suggestions  were 
asked  from  the  world  at  large  to  secure  this  end,  to  enable 
the  proprietors  to  add  to  the  usefulness  and  attractiveness 
of  the  pictures  which  were  to  follow.  But  no  suggestions 
came,  or  if  they  came,  they  never  appeared.  No  more 
photographs  followed  these  first  four.  Therefore  are 
they  perhaps  more  distinctly  precious. 

Alas!  Their  pure  creamy  cover  is  now  defiled  with 
dirt,  a laceration  through  the  centre  has  been  patched  up 
with  a bit  of  common  blue  paper.  The  four  photographs, 
each  with  its  allotted  sheet  of  tissue  to  preserve  it  in  its 
pristine  beauty,  are  all  bleached  and  faded ; the  fine  detail 
which  it  is  charitable  to  suppose  once  delighted  the  eyes  of 
their  beholders  has  disappeared,  and  on  the  first  and  last 
number — the  Alpha  and  the  Omega— has  been  written  by 
the  authorities  of  the  British  Museum  Library — the  sole 
copy,  in  all  probability,  which  this  heedless  and  careless 
world  of  ours  contains — the  fatal  word  “Discontinued,” 
which,  being  translated  into  the  language  of  our  own 
mortality,  is  “ Dead.” 

And  now  rising  before  us,  like  pale  ghosts,  our  four 
photographs  seem  to  plead  for  some  little  notice,  before 
they  disappear  for  ever,  to  plead  with  such  mute  eloquence 
of  entreaty  as  a tender-hearted  man  may  with  difficulty 
withstand.  But  a little  while  longer  and  they  will  be 
gone  as  we  shall  be.  Surely  lie  who  chanced  upon  that 
little  packet  with  its  sad  inscription,  “Only  a woman's 
hair,”  and  gazed  upon  what  it  contained,  hesitated  a little 
space  before  he  gave  it  up  to  destruction.  He  might 
bury  it  in  the  earth,  or,  if  approving  of  cremation,  he 
might  burn  it,  but  in  any  case  he  would  treat  it  reverently, 
and  not  scatter  it  on  the  floor  to  be  swept  away  into  the 
common  heap  by  the  housemaid’s  broom.  Our  four  faded 
photographs  demand  a like  reverence  of  treatment.  We 
will  touch  them  tenderly  and  with  care,  will  give  them 
that  sort  of  posthumous  immortality  which  men  seek  for 


in  brass  and  marble,  before  we  return  them  to  their  long 
sleep,  not  probably  soon  again  to  be  disturbed,  in  darkness 
and  in  dust. 

About  two  score  years  ago,  an  elegant  but  thin  volume 
was  published  at,  we  will  say,  Little  Orpington,  called 
“ Photographic  Illustrations.”  Its  contributors  were 
members  of  a Photographic  Society — the  Little  Orping- 
ton Photographic  Society — and  its  preface  stated  the 
object  with  which  the  publication  was  then  “ brought 
forward.”  This  preface  is  chiefly  conspicuous  for  a dig- 
nified modesty.  “It  is  not,”  says  the  mouthpiece  of  the 
members  of  the  Little  Orpington  Society,  “ that  we  sup- 
pose ourselves  to  have  achieved  results  surpassing  those 
already  attained  by  many  artists,  nor  that  we  desire  to 
step  forward  as  teachers  of  the  detail  of  photographic 
manipulation ; but  we  wish  to  test  the  use  of  photography 
as  a help  to  education  in  its  highest  and  widest  forms, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  bring  forward  the  relation  in  which 
this  nascent  art  stands  to  the  work  of  the  poetic  artist.” 
It  was  an  idle  hope,  a fruitless  aspiration ; the  result  of 
the  test  was  adverse.  “Education  in  its  highest  and 
widest  forms”  would  have  none  of  it,  and  the  relation 
between  photography  and  “the  work  of  the  poetic  artist” 
is  in  this  one  number  by  no  means  clearly  defined. 

Illustrations  also  were  promised  in  the  preface  of 
“ objects  interesting  either  in  themselves  or  in  their  asso- 
ciations,” and  these  objects  were  arranged  in  five  classes: 
History,  Antiquities,  Art,  Natural  Objects,  Mechanics. 
These  classes  seem  to  rebel  somewhat  against  the  rules  of 
logical  division,  inasmuch,  for  instance,  as  the  illustrations 
under  history  might  be  placed  under  antiquities,  and  both 
of  them  again  under  art.  The  pictures,  however,  in  this 
first  and  only  number,  the  four  faded  photographs,  are,  or, 
we  should  rather  say,  were,  representations  of  an  East 
view  of  Bramhall  Hall,  a West  view  of  Bramhall  Hall, 
Dr.  Arnold,  of  Rugby,  and  a Steam  Hammer.  The  steam 
hammer,  which  is  placed,  not  perhaps  inadvertently,  in 
close  succession  to  Dr.  Arnold  of  Rugby,  could  only 
come  under  mechanics,  but  the  particular  classes  of 
Dr.  Arnold  of  Rugby,  and  of  Bramhall  Hall,  east  and 
west  views,  are  not  so  easily  determined.  The  latter, 
we  are  told  by  some  letter-press,  has  been  held  by  “the 
family”  for  nearly  four  centuries.  The  picture  would 
therefore,  perhaps,  be  rightly  classed  under  antiquities. 
Copious  quotations  from  Ormerod’s  “ Cheshire”  give  details 
about  the  arms,  and  rooms,  and  fortunes  of  the  house 
which,  however  interesting  to  “the  family,”  affect  the 
photographer  very  lightly,  if  at  all.  That  artist  is 
probably  altogether  careless  of  the  detailed  fact  that  their 
“ arms  were  argent,  a chevron  sable  between  three  cross 
crosslets  fitche  of  the  second  and  crest  on  a wreath,  a 
felon’s  head  couped  haltered  or."  More  interest- 
ing than  these  matters,  which  may  have  contributed  in 
some  measure  to  the  sudden  and  untimely  decease  of  the 
Photographic  Illustrations,  is  a subjoined  so-called  photo- 
graphic memorandum,  giving  the  date  and  the  time  of  day 
on  which  the  photographs  were  taken.  The  conditions 
for  the  taking  of  Bramhall  Hall  were  not  unfavourable. 
It  was  a sunny  summer  noon,  under  a blue  sky  flecked 
with  floating  white  clouds.  The  lens  used  was  a single 
one  of  2£  inches  diameter,  the  focal  length  from  the  back 
surface  was  12J  inches,  and  the  diaphragm  J an  inch.  The 
negative  was  taken  by  a modification  of  Le  Gray's  waxed 
paper  jirocess,  and  the  exposure  was  six  minutes  in  the 
camera  and  1J  hours  in  development. 

Unless  we  rank  the  photograph  of  Dr.  Arnold  of  Rugby 


June  13,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 

_1 — \ 


465 


m 

IJatrnt 


— 


under  the  head  of  art,  a 'division  under  which  all  respect- 
able photographs  might  .be  included,  we  must  place  it 
under  that  of  natural  objects,  fencing  it  off  thereby — 
though  by  a somewhat  strange  party- wall— from  Bramhall 
and  the  Steam  Hammer,  neither  of  which  certainly  can  be 
regarded  as  an’object  of  nature.  The  letter-press  accom- 
panying Dr.  Arnold  of  Rugby’s  photograph  gives  the 
leading  events  in  the  life  of  this  excellent  man,  as  labor- 
iously culled  from  the  newspapers  and  books  of  reference 
of  the  time,  informing  the  reader  that  he  wrote  at  I .ale- 
ham  several  papers  on  Roman  History  for  the  Encyclo- 
pedia Metropolitana,  and  that  lie  traced  the  eternal  truths  of 
Divine  Providence  in  their  varying  application  to  the 
different  states  of  society.  1 lis  photograph  was  taken  from 
a bust  on  a dull,  frosty  day  in  mid-autumn,  by  a doublet 
lens  of  inches  diameter,  with  9 inches  focal  length  from 
the  back  lens,  and  a diaphragm  of  i an  inch.  The 
negative  was  a collodion  one,  developed  slowly  with 
pyrogallic  acid — 

Distilled  water  ...  ...  ...  1 gr.  to  1 oz. 

Glacial  acetic  acid  ...  ...  ...  20  min. 

Exposure  two  minutes. 

The  Steam  Hammer  gives  occasion  for  a diatribe  on 
hammers  generally  from  the  earliest  periods.  Its  negative 
—collodion — was  developed  with  protonitrate  of  iron,  then 
intensified  with  bichloride  of  mercury  and  iodide  of 
potassium.  It  is  the  most  distinct  of  the  four  pictures ; 
but  the  subject  appears  somewhat  infelicitously  selected 
for  a “ nascent”  number  of  a photographic  journal. 
“J.  Nasmyth  & Co.,  Engineers,  Manchester,”  is  still 
distinctly  visible  on  the  right  of  the  machine,  and 
“ J.  Nasmyth’s  Patent,”  is  equally  clear  on  the  left.  Two 
figures  are  introduced,  perhaps  three,  but  it  is  dificult  to 
speak  with  certainty,  as  the  third  may  well  be  intended  for 
a wheel;  and  with  this  the  photographic  illustrations  con- 
clude. A similar  venture,  if  conducted  on  widely  different 
lines,  might  at  the  present  day  be  a success. 

But  this  venture  of  forty  years  ago  was  a failure. 
Whether  it  was  that  the  “descriptive  essay”  which  we 
have  ventured  to  call  letter-press,  embodying,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  writer  of  the  preface,  “the  principal  facts 
which  require  to  be  known  in  connection  with  the  illus- 
trations as  briefly  as  possible,”  was  a trifle  too  long  for 
the  public  patience,  or  whether  the  “ facts  which  require 
to  be  known ’’failed  to  impress  the  reader  as  altogether 
necessary,  or  even  material,  will  now  probably  never  be 
discovered.  It  may  be  that  the  reader,  anxious  for 
promised  “aid  in  the  great  work  of  mutual  education,  by 
giving  strictly  faithful  representations  of  objects  which 
could  not  otherwise  be  laid  before  him,”  was  of  opinion 
that  Dr.  Arnold  of  Rugby  was  not  such  an  object,  or  sup- 
posing that  he  was,  that  his  portrait  might  have  been 
laid  before  him  otherwise.  In  any  case,  our  four  faded 
photographs  are  the  only  pictures  to  be  seen  in  the  fancy- 
built  gallery  of  the  members  of  the  Photographic  Society 
of  Little  Orpington,  and  none,  it  may  be  affirmed  with 
certainty,  will  resort  to  any  process  for  the  purpose  of 
reproducing  them. 


enre. 


Photographers’  Benevolent  Association. — A meeting  of 
the  committee  was  held  on  June  6th  at  Great  James  Street, 
Bedford  Road,  Mr.  W.  Benham  chairman.  The  grants  were 
made,  and  one  new  member  elected.  Any  firm  desirous  of 
assisting  the  Association  can  have  copies  of  rules  on  applica- 
tion to  the  hon.  sec.,  H.  J.  Beasley,  65,  Chancery  Lane, 
• C* 


S3> 


Application  for' Letters  Patent. 

8,558.  \V.  H.  Coulson,  33,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “ Metallic 
Frames  for  Glass  Roofs.” — June  3rd. 

8,647.  J.  C.  Shenstone,  70,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Focus- 
sing  Arrangement  for  Cameras.” — June  4th. 

8,724.  G.  V.  Fosbf.ry,  46,  Southampton  Buildings,  London, 
“Developing  Room  Illumination.” — June  5th. 

8,822.  W.  G.  Thomson  and  W.  Ward,  8,  Quality  Court,  Lou- 
don, “ Roller  Holders  for  Photography.” — June  7th. 

Specifications  Published. 

10,131.  June  21st,  1889. — “Taking  Photographs  in  Rapid 
Series.”  William  Friese  Greene,  Photographer,  92,  Picca- 
dilly, London,  and  Mortimer  Evans,  Civil  Engineer,  of  Savile 
Club,  Piccadilly. 

The  invention  has  for  its  object  the  formation  of  photo- 
graphic pictures,  and  relates  chiefly  to  the  production  of  such 
pictures  as  are  necessary  to  illustrate  and  register  the  move- 
ments of  animals,  insects,  or  moving  objects,  either  taken  singly 
or  in  masses,  as  may  be  desired. 

For  this  purpose  they  construct  an  apparatus  by  which,  with 
a single  camera  and  lens,  a rapid  series  of  such  pictures  may 
be  taken,  and  by  which  a series  of  fresh  photographic  sensitive 
films  or  portions  of  such  photographic  film  may  be  substituted 
for  those  which  have  been  exposed  to  the  action  of  light  with 
sufficient  rapidity  for  the  desired  end. 

This  camera  has  already  been  fully  described  in  the  Photo- 
graphic  News.  The  inventors  make  fourteen  claims. 

9,869.  June  \bth,  1889. — “Instantaneous  Shutters  for 

Cameras.”  A communication  from  George  Eastman, 
of  Rochester,  County  Monroe,  State  of  New  York.  Alfred 
Julius  Boult,  323,  High  Holborn,  London. 

In  carrying  out  this  invention  I provide  a pivotted  plate  or 
shutter  having  a segmental  slot  preferably  considerably  longer 
than  the  lens  opening.  The  edges  of  the  shutter  may  be 
turned  up  or  provided  with  stops,  and  pivotted  at  the  same  point 
as  the  shutter  is  a cover  narrower  than  the  shutter,  having  no 
slot,  and  also  having  one  side  turned  up,  and  provided  with 
one  or  more  stops.  This  cover  is  so  controlled  by  a spring 
or  springs  as  to  have  a tendency  always  to  lie  at  one  side  of  the 
shutter,  and  when  in  this  position  is  entirely  clear  of  the  slot  in 
the  shutter  and  the  lens.  The  shutter  is  also  spring  con- 
trolled with  a tendency  in  the  direction  opposite  to  that  of  the 
cover.  In  its  normal  position  the  shutter  lies  so  that  the  slot 
is  entirely  past  the  lens  opening,  and  a part  of  the  solid 
portion  of  the  shutter,  as  well  as  the  cover,  both  lie  behind  the 
lens  so  that  no  light  passes.  In  setting  the  shutter  prior  to 
making  an  exposure  the  shutter  is  pulled  over  to  its  furthest 
limit  on  one  side  by  any  suitable  means,  such  as  a lever  or  a 
cord  provided  with  an  external  button,  and  secured  around  a 
pulley  on  the  shutter  spindle  ; this  pulley  being  so  arranged  as 
to  carry  the  shutter  with  it  in  one  direction,  but  to  leave  it 
free  in  the  other  direction.  The  shutter  is  provided  with  two 
or  more  peripheral  openings  into  which  falls  the  end  of  a 
spring  controlled  or  spring  lever  pivotted  ; the  cover  also  is 
provided  with  one  or  more  slots. 

The  action  is  as  follows : — 

When  the  shutter  is  drawn  over  by  the  cord  the  cover  remains 
behind  the  lens,  being  retained  in  that  position  by  the  spring 
lever  until  the  opening  in  the  shutter  has  passed  the  lens, 
when  a suitable  projection  upon  the  periphery  of  the  shutter, 
or  special  peripheral  formation,  causes  the  spring  lever  to  rise 
out  of  the  cover  which  then,  under  the  influence  of  its  spring, 
passes  over  to  theside  of  the  shutter  out  of  the  way  of  the  slot  in 
the  shutter.  The  shutter  is  held  in  its  set  position  by  the 
spring  lever  entering  a slot,  suitably  arranged  for  the  purpose, 
and  to  make  the  exposure  a press  button  or  equivalent  on  the 
outside  of  the  case  may  be  pushed  in  against  the  reversed  end 
of  the  spring  lever,  with  the  result  that  the  acting  end  of  ti  e 
lever  is  removed  from  the  slot  in  the  shutter,  which  then,  under 
the  influence  of  a spring,  flies  over,  making  an  exposure  for  the 
length  of  time  during  which  the  slot  passes  the  lens  opening, 


460 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  13,  1890. 


the  shutter  finally  resting  in  the  original  position,  when  both 
shutter  and  cover  are  behind  the  lens. 

The  cover  is  arranged  with  a peripheral  slot  or  projection 
which  takes  on  to  the  spring  lever,  so  as  to  raise  it  clear  of  the 
portion  of  the  shutter  necessary  to  allow  the  slot  to  pass,  the 
lens  opening  during  the  setting  of  the  shutter,  after  which,  as 
already  explained,  the  lever  is  raised  by  the  shutter  itself,  and 
the  cover  flies  clear. 

By  this  means  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  no  occasion  for 
capping  the  lens  during  the  setting  of  the  shutter,  as  the  pre- 
viously described  cover  prevents  the  passage  of  light  through 
the  lens  during  the  setting  of  the  shutter. 

This  shutter  may  of  course  be  arranged  in  front  of  the  lens, 
or  behind  the  lens,  or,  in  the  case  of  double  lenses,  between  the 
two,  according  to  requirements. 

By  providing  suitable  peripheral  slots,  both  shutter  and  cover 
may  beheld  by  aspring  lever  in  a position  to  leave  the  uncovered 
slot  in  the  shutter  opposite  the  lens  opening,  so  that  a prolonged 
exposure  may  thus  be  made. 


(JTomspontJcncc. 


PAINTERS  AS  JUDGES  OF  PHOTOGRAPHS. 

Sir, — Perhaps  you  will  allow  me  to  make  a few  observations 
on  your  article  of  May  30th  on  the  above  subject,  as  I fear  it  will 
not  receive  the  unanimous  approval  of  those  who  are  endeavour- 
ing to  regard  photography  as  something  more  than  a mere 
imitative  process.  I should  have  asked  you  to  grant  me  this 
favour  last  week,  only  I was  in  hopes  that  a more  able  pen  than 
mine  would  have  dealt  with  the  matter.  If  photographs  can 
possess  any  artistic  merit — and  that  this  is  possible  cannot  be 
denied — then  surely  those  merits  can  better  be  guaged  by  per- 
sons who  have  been  trained  in  art.  You  controvert  this  opinion 
by  saying  that  photography  cannot,  or  should  not,  attempt  to 
imitate  painting,  and  because  the  qualities  which  make  a good 
painting  or  drawing  do  not  necessarily  make  a good  photograph, 
and  you  quote  in  support  of  this  the  well-known  canon  of  art 
that  “a  worker  dealing  with  a particular  material  shall  not 
hide  its  identity  and  attempt  to  make  it  imitate  something 
else,”  and  tell  us  with  perfect  accuracy  that  a water-colour 
drawing  should  not  imitate  an  oil  painting,  or  an  oil  painting  a 
water-colour.  But  a painter  in  oils  may  legitimately  endeavour 
to  give  the  softness  of  water-colour,  or  a water-colourist  the 
boldness  of  oils,  without  laying  themselves  open  to  the  charge 
of  imitation.  So,  too,  in  the  case  of  etching  : an  etcher  does 
not  and  cannot  attempt  to  make  his  works  resemble  paintings 
in  monochrome,  but  that  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not  strive 
to  give  painter-like  qualities  to  his  etchings.  In  fact,  “ the 
object  of  the  Society — Painter  Etchers — is  not  merely  the 
restoration  of  original  etching,  but  the  re-infusion  into  all 
forms  of  the  engraver’s  art  of  the  painter-like  qualities  it  has 
lost”  ( Vide  Exhibition  Catalogue.)  These  etchers  do  not 
rest  satisfied  with  drawing  their  subject  on  the  plate  and  then 
sending  it  away  to  be  bitten,  and  the  prints  pulled  from  it  in 
a mechanical  manner.  On  the  contrary,  in  order  to  obtain 
painter-like  qualities,  they  resort  to  what  would  be  called  in 
photography  dodges  of  manipulation,  or,  as  you  'would  say, 
“juggling”  with  the  plate.  In  fact,  the  man  who  does  the 
biting  and  the  pulling  must  himself  be  an  artist,  and  know  how 
to  make  the  best  use  of  the  materials  and  apparatus  with  which 
he  is  working.  Why  should  not  the  same  latitude  be  allowed 
to  photography  ? A lens  used  in  a particular  way  will  give 
microscopic  definition  ; if  used  differently  it  will  subdue  defini- 
tion. Both  these  properties  are  at  the  service  of  the  photo- 
grapher, and  it  is  not  “juggling”  with  a lens  to  make  use  of 
them.  Etching  is  also  capable  of  giving  the  finest  definition, 
but  that  is  no  reason  why  it  should  always  be  shown,  whether 
suitable  to  the  subject  or  not. 

In  the  case  you  mention  of  a certain  photograph  attracting 
the  eye  of  an  artist,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  award  was  cor- 
rectly given,  not  because  it  was  more  like  a pain  ring  than  other 
photographs,  but  because  it  was  more  like  a picture,  and  the 
art  of  photography  does  not  lose  its  identity  by  producing 
pictures. 


But  then  comes  the  disappointed  exhibitor  who  complains 
that  a medal  has  been  awarded  to  a photograph  which  is 
technically  bad,  because  it  shows  errors  in  focussing,  exposure, 
and  development.  That  is  not  so  ; the  focussing,  exposure,  and 
development  are  correct  for  the  result  aimed  at ; and  here 
comes  in  the  art  to  assist  the  science.  You  seem  to  imply  that 
a photograph  which  possesses  painter-like  qualities  may  be  com- 
pared to  a piece  of  grained  wood.  This  is  not  so,  for  the 
latter  is  solely  an  imitation,  and  the  former  is  not.  You  might 
fairly  compare  a photographic  copy  of  an  engraving  with  a 
piece  of  grained  wood,  because  this  is  essentially  an  imitation, 
and  does  not  pretend  to  be  anything  else.  But  an  artistically 
treated  photograph  of  a natural  scene,  although  it  may  have 
(and  must  have  if  photography  is  to  be  carried  to  its  highest 
limits)  painter-like  qualities,  does  not  and  cannot  attempt  to 
imitate  a painting.  To  obtain  the  best  results  the  science  of 
photography  must  be  the  servant  of  the  art.  The  art  teaches 
us  what  we  should  strive  for,  and  the  science  how  to  obtain  it. 
Therefore,  in  judging  a photographic  exhibition,  the  knowledge, 
training,  and  taste  of  an  artist  should  be  supreme,  and  the 
scientist  should  not  be  allowed  to  intrude  his  technicalities 
into  a realm  the  nature  of  which  ( qua  scientist)  he  is  wholly 
ignorant.  You  have  written  strongly  against  artists  judging 
photographs,  but  I am  glad  to  see  that  at  the  conclusion  of 
your  article  you  have  written  still  more  strongly  against  photo- 
graphers doing  so.  If  it  should  ever  again  be  my  fortune 
to  gain  a medal,  I hope  and  pray  that  it  may  not  be  at  the 
hands  of  a man  who  holds  that  “Turner’s  pictures  are  out- 
rageously out  of  focus,  and  who  would  suggest  that  the 
artist  would  do  well  to  insert  in  the  picture  the  details  which 
were  lacking.”  Wilson  Noble. 

52,  Sloane  Street,  S.  IF. , June  7th,  1890. 

P.S. — I am  glad  to  see  that  Mr.  George  Davison  has  com- 
menced a series  of  articles  on  “ Photographic  Exhibitions.”  I 
trust  his  able  pen  will  deal  with  the  question  of  artists  or 
photographers  as  judges. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CONVENTION. 

Sin, — Allow  me,  through  your  columns,  to  announce  that 
the  proceedings  of  the  forthcoming  meeting  at  Chester  will  be 
opened  by  the  Mayor  of  Chester  at  a conversazione  to  be  held 
at  the  Town  Hall  on  the  evening  of  the  23rd  inst. 

Permission  has  been  given  to  photograph  the  following 
places  at  any  time  duriug  Convention  week  upon  the  production 
of  a membership  ticket : — Conway  Castle  (interor  and  exterior), 
by  invitation  of  the  President  and  Council  of  the  Royal  Cam- 
brian Academy  of  Art  ; Chester  Cathedral  and  prccints,  by  the 
Dean  ; St.  John’s  Church  and  ruins,  by  the  Rev.  S.  Cooper 
Scott ; Interior  and  Exterior  of  Eaton  Hall  and  Park,  by  the 
Duke  of  Westminster  ; Hawarden  Castle  and  Park,  by  Mr.  W, 
H.  Gladstone. 

Excursions  have  been  arranged  during  the  week  to  Conway 
Valley,  Bettwsycoed,  Hawarden,  Eaton  Hall,  Vale  of  Llangollen, 
Royal  Mersey  Yacht  Regatta,  and  Old  Moreton  Hall. 

At  the  evening  meetings  papers  will  be  read  as  follows : — 
“The  Records  of  Photo-micrography,”  Mr.  A.  Pringle; 
“ Imagining  and  Imaging,”  Mr.  P.  H.  Newman  ;“  Orthochro- 
matic  Photography  with  Rhodamin,”  Mr.  C.  H.  Bothamley ; 
“ Photography  in  Norway,”  Mr.  Paul  Lange  ; “Astronomical 
Photography,”  Mr.  A.  A.  Common;  “A  Magazine  Camera 
and  Lantern,”  Mr.  Friese  Greene.  Reports  also  will  be 
received  from  the  Lens  Standard  Committee,  and  the  Weights, 
Measures,  and  Formulae  Committee. 

A fully  detailed  programme  will  be  forwarded  on  application. 

J.  J.  Briginshaw,  Hon.  Secretary. 

128,  Southwark  Street,  London,  June  10th. 


PHOTOGRAPHS  OF  THE  TOWER  OF  LONDON. 

Sir, — In  reference  to  the  remarks  made  in  your  last  two 
issues  in  respect  to  not  seeing  any  photographs  of  the  Tower 
for  sale,  and  of  the  inscriptions  in  the  Beauchamp  Tower  in 
particular,  I beg  to  state  that  I have  spent  an  immense  amount 
of  time  in  photographing  inscriptions  and  other  things  in  all 


June  13,  1890. J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


467 


parts  of  the  Tower,  which  to  me  and  a few  others  are  very 
interesting.  For  years  past  I have  given  up  publishing  photo- 
graphic prints,  as  I have  a great  horror  of  the  Bankruptcy 
Court.  1 went  into  publishing,  to  supply  the  middleman, 
who  is  seldom  or  ever  satisfied  at  whatever  price  they  are 
offered  to  him,  and  then  it  is  mostly  “ sale  or  return  ” business. 
I need  not  say  the  return  means  when  the  prints  are  in  such  a 
damaged  condition  as  to  be  unfit  for  sale,  which  again  means 
ruination  to  the  producer.  I have  seen  1 2 by  10  prints  sold 
to  the  shopkeepers  for  a few  pence  each,  and  other  sizes  in 
proportion.  I have  some  two  hundred  negatives  of  the  Tower 
alone,  but  in  the  present  state  of  the  market,  publication  is 
entirely  out  of  the  question.  1 am  still  continuing  my  series 
for  private  circulation  only,  also  photographs  of  many  other 
buildings  of  historical  interest.  The  way  this  state  of  things 
has  been  brought  about  is  that  a few  capitalists  have  put 
many  thousands  of  prints  into  their,  trade,  flooding  the  market 
with  trash,  at  about  five  per  cent,  above  the  cost  of  production, 
and  a little  man  who  endeavours  to  make  an  art  of  photography, 
if  he  attempts  publication,  goes  to  t he  wall.  I myself  have 
been  told  by  the  shopkeepers  it  is  not  a matter  of  quality  so 
long  as  they  are  cheap,  because  Mr.  So-and-so’s  pictures,  which 
arc  supplied  to  them  at  half  the  price,  sell  just  as  well.  So 
what  inducement  is  there  for  any  worker  to  make  a venture  ? 

Jteigate,  June  7 th,  1890.  Wm.  Brooks. 


JJioccctitngs  of  £oricttcj$. 


Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 

The  ordinary  monthly  meeting  of  this  Society  took  place  on 
Tuesday  evening,  the  10th  inst.  Mr.  J.  Glaisher,  F.R.S., 
president,  occupied  the  chair. 

A paper  was  read  by  Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  on  “ Estimating  the 
Efficiency  of  Plate  Backings,”  illustrated  by  a diagram  and  by 
photographs  of  the  reflected  images  from  various  backing 
agents.  A series  of  such  backings,  too,  was  shown  coated  on 
one  side  of  a prism,  and  they  could  thus  be  examined,  and  the 
light  reflected  from  them  compared  by  simple  inspection.  Such 
inspection  would  showcertain  substances  to  reflect  muchlight,  and 
the  sesubstances  could,  therefore,  be  rejected  ; whilst  others  that 
promised  better  could  be  compared  by  photographing  the 
images  reflected  from  them.  The  first  plate  shown  had 
received  twelve  exposures  on  different  parts,  one  when  using  a 
prism  unbacked,  and  the  other  eleven  taken  with  various  back- 
ings applied  to  the  prism.  In  some  cases  no  images,  and  in 
others  only  very  faint  ones,  had  been  given  in  the  photograph, 
and  the  substances  that  thus  appeared  to  answer  the  best 
were  again  used  on  the  prism  with  longer  exposures.  One 
substance  that  he  found  very  effective  was  caramel  or  burnt 
sugar,  used  in  combination  with  an  equal  weight  of  gelatine  or 
gum  arabic.  One  plate  which  had  received  three  exposures — - 
one  of  fifteen  seconds  to  the  uncoated  prism,  one  of  one  hour 
to  the  prism  coated  with  bitumen,  and  one  also  of  one  hour  to  a 
backing  composed  of  gum  caramel  and  China  ink — showed  images 
of  the  first  two  to  be  about  equal  ; the  bitumen  image  receiving 
about  240  times  the  exposure  of  the  unbacked  one  ; whilst 
the  gum  and  caramel  showed  still  less  image.  He  was  not 
aware  that  the  use  of  caramel  as  a plate-backing  agent  had 
been  tried  before  ; it  was  certainly  very  effective.  Another  plate 
had  received  six  exposures  through  a hole  of  about  the  of 
an  inch  diameter.  These  exposures  had  been  of  fifteen  seconds, 
one  minute,  four  minutes,  and  sixteen  minutes  on  the  un- 
backed portion,  and  of  sixteen  minutes  on  the  backed  part. 
The  latter  showed  no  reflections,  whilst  the  former,  even  that 
with  fifteen  seconds  or  ^ of  the  exposure,  showed  the  ring  of 
halation  characteristic  of  total  internal  reflection. 

Mr.  J.  Spiller  said  that  amongst  the  many  substances  that 
might  be  thought  available  for  plate  backing,  the  aniline  dyes 
could  not  practically  be  included,  as  they  would  cause  stain  or 
action  upon  the  film  if  they  crept  on  to  it,  as  they  would  be 
sure  to  do.  Auiline  orange  would  dye  the  film,  and  he  knew 
of  no  chemical  agent  capable  of  remaining  the  stain.  It 
was  a troublesome  job  to  have  to  remove  a backing  of  bitumen, 


and  he  was  glad  to  hear  of  a soluble  substance  like  caramel 
that  was  so  effective. 

Mr.  Id.  Chapman  Jones  thought  the  experiments  shown  very 
interesting  and  valuable,  but  that  backing  plates  was  a step 
that  ought  not  to  be  required.  They  wanted  to  use  in  the 
film  itself  all  the  energy  of  the  light  striking  upon  it,  not  to 
let  any  be  lost,  then  have  to  be  absorbed  by  a backing.  Plates 
were  now  manufactured  on  a commercial  scale  whi;h  did  not 
require  any  backing.  Photographs  of  such  a scene  as  one 
containing  dark  trees  and  light  clouds  showed  no  halation  with 
such  plates.  For  dark  interiors  with  bright  windows  backing 
might  be  required,  but  he  would  prefer  to  alter  the  conditions 
of  the  subject  itself. 

Mr.  W.  Bedford  said  that  plates  which  did  not  show  halation 
owing  to  thickness  of  the  film  owed  their  freedom  from  this 
defect  not.  to  the  light  being  entirely  stopped  in  the  film,  but 
that  development  did  not  with  such  thick  coatings  proceed 
quite  to  the  back  of  the  plate,  where  the  light  from  the  back 
surface  of  the  glass  was  reflected. 

Mr.  T.  Samuels  recommended  the  use  of  collodion  stained 
with  a dye  in  preference  to  other  modes  of  backing  ; but 
backing  he  considered  necessary. 

Mr.  Debenham,  in  replying,  said  that  he  thought  plate 
makers  might  be  induced  to  supply  backed  plates.  A backing 
might  be  used  cither  of  gelatine  and  caramel — the  gelatine  of 
such  a kind  as  to  frill  off  quickly  in  development — or  of  gum 
and  caramel,  with  perhaps  black  pigment  also. 

Mr.  H.  Chapman  Jones  read  a paper  entitled  “The  Stain- 
ing and  Clearing  of  Gelatine  Films.”  He  showed  a great  many 
results  of  experiments  made  upon  gelatine  plates ; some, 
after  the  removal  of  the  silver  compound  by  immersion  in  a 
solution  of  hyposulphite  of  soda,  but  most  of  them  upon  the 
film  containing  gelatino-bromide  of  silver.  The  result  of  his 
experiments  was  to  show  that  the  substances  recommended  as 
clearing  agents  did  not  possess  the  action  claimed  for  them, 
but  that  what  clearing  appeared  to  be  effected  was  really  due  to 
the  extra  washing  received,  and  that  simple  water  would  do  all 
that  any  clearing  would,  whilst  some  of  these  agents  retarded 
or  positively  prevented  the  clearing  action  which  water  alone 
would  have  exercised.  A mixture  that  had  been  recommended 
of  alum,  citric  acid,  and  ferrous  sulphate,  he  had  found  to 
make  a stain  already  existing  still  more  pronounced.  One 
set  of  experiments  showed  eikonogen  as  the  only  agent  not 
producing  stain,  whilst  with  pyro  there  was  a slight  stain,  and 
with  hydrokinone  a more  marked  discolouration,  which,  more- 
over, was  not  even,  but  accentuated  at  the  edge  at  which  the 
solution  had  been  arrested. 

Mr.  T.  Sebastian  Davis  wished  to  know  whether  Mr. 
Chapman  Jones  had  made  comparative  experiments  with 
distilled  water  as  against  ordinary  water  for  the  removal  of  stains. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  had  not  done  this. 

Mr.  Arnold  Spiller  could  not  agree  with  the  author  of 
the  paper.  He  remarked  especially  that  he  had  found  the 
mixture  of  ferrous  sulphate  alone  and  citric  acid  to  be  particu- 
larly useful  in  removing  yellow  discolouration.  Citric  acid 
solution,  also  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  he  had  used  and  found  to 
be  effective. 

Mr.  A.  Mackie  noted  that  ferrous  sulphate  had  an  intensi- 
fying effect,  which  subsequent  application  of  an  acid  removed. 

Mr.  Arnold  Spiller  explained  this  intensifying  action  by 
the  fact  that  pyro  oxidised  in  development  and  combined  with 
the  gelatine.  The  application  of  ferrous  sulphate  then  formed 
a compound  resembling  the  black  in  writing  ink. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  defended  his  conclusions  by  pointing  to 
his  experiments,  to  which  he  had  been  led  by  direct  observa- 
tion. Alum  he  had  always  found  to  be  positively  detrimental. 
The  fixing  bath  that  he  used  was  hypo,  to  which  some  car- 
bonate of  soda  was  added,  and  he  never  used  the  solution  twice. 

A paper  by  Sir  H.  Trueman  Wood  on  “Photographing  the 
Induction  Spark”  was  taken  as  read. 

It  was  announced  that  the  annual  soiree  in  connection  with 
the  society’s  exhibition  would  be  held  on  September  27tli,  and 
that  pictures  for  the  exhibition  must  be  sent  in  by  the  15th 
of  that  mouth. 

Mr.  J.  B.  Stacey  was  elected  a member  of  the  Society. 


68 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  13,  1890. 


The  Lewes  Photographic  Society. 

Monthly  meeting  June  6th.  The  prints  sent  in  to  the 
quarterly  competition  were  on  view.  Mr.  N.  S.  Starnes  acted 
as  judge,  and  attended  the  meeting  specially  to  explain  the 
merits  and  demerits  of  the  various  prints  submitted  to  him. 
The  certificates  in  classes  1 and  2 were  both  awarded  to 
Mr.  G.  J.  Wightman,  who  then  recounted  his  “Twelve 
Months’  Experience  as  an  Amateur  Photographer,”  in  an 
interesting  manner.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks  he  said  he 
owed  his  success  to  the  Society,  and  he  advised  all  who  wanted 
a healthy  and  instructive  hobby  to  take  up  photography. 


The  Sheffield  Photographic  Society. 

The  monthly  meeting  was  held  at  the  Masonic  Hall  on  Tuesday 
evening,  June  3rd,  Mr.  B.  J.  Taylor  in  the  chair. 

The  Secretary  announced  that  he  had  an  invitation  for  the 
Society  to  send  a delegate  to  the  Photographic  Convention  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  to  be  held  from  the  23rd  to  28th  inst., 
at  Chester.  He  then  put  upon  the  table  samples  of  Worm  aid’s 
lantern  slide  masks  of  various  shapes  and  tints,  when  several 
boxes  were  ordered,  to  be  given  to  those  members  who  had 
promised  to  present  slides  to  the  Society,  so  as  to  have  them  all 
somewhat  uniform. 

Mr.  T.  G.  Hibbert  gave  a practical  demonstration  of 
the  Kallitype  printing  process.  The  specimens  he  showed 
were  Payne’s  grey  in  colour.  The  process,  he  said,  was 
claimed  to  be  permanent,  and  required  no  hot  baths,  calcium 
tubes,  or  rubber  bands  ; Kallitype,  he  continued,  being  much 
more  sensitive  than  ordinary  silver  paper,  care  is  required  in 
printing  to  fill  the  frames  in  a yellow  light  or  weak  daylight,  also 
not  to  examine  them  out  of  doors,  as  with  ordinary  sensitive 
paper.  He  found  it  to  print  in  about  one  third  the  time  required 
by  silver  paper.  Having  some  printed,  he  then  proceeded 
to  develop  the  same,  somewhat  after  the  platinotype 
method,  after  which  a general  discussion  followed,  and  it  was 
agreed  that  as  yet  it  was  not  superior,  if  equal,  to  the  platino- 
type process,  but  would,  no  doubt,  be  considerably  improved. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 
At  the  meeting  on  the  5th  inst. , Mr.  W.  Coles  occupied  the  chair. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Hastings  exhibited  negatives  taken  at  Uxbridge 
with  a hand-camera. 

Mr.  J.  B.  B.  Wellington,  who  had  just  returned  from  a 
tour  on  the  Continent,  said  that  his  photographic  luggage  had 
passed  through  eleven  custom-houses,  but  he  had  experienced 
no  difficulty  whatever  with  the  authorities. 

The  results  of  the  competition  Pyro  v.  Eikonogen  were 
passed  round  and  adjudged  ; Mr.  H.  M.  Hastings  being  the 
champion  of  eikonogen,  Mr.  C.  H.  Cooke  using  pyro.  The 
conditions  of  the  contest  were,  that  five  exposed  plates  should 
be  given  by  Mr.  A Cowan  to  each  competitor  for  development, 
the  exposures  being  unknown.  Prints  from  each  set  of  finished 
negatives  were  shown,  each  member  present  marking  the  print 
he  considered  the  best.  The  result  showed  that  in  the  cases  of 
over-exposed  prints  from  negatives,  those  developed  with  pyro 
were  considered  the  best,  but  with  under-exposures  eikonogen 
obtained  the  most  marks. 

The  subject  for  discussion  for  the  evening  was  “The  Print- 
ing Process  that  best  Registers  the  Gradation  of  the  Negative.” 

Mr.  R.  P.  Drage  opened  the  discussion  by  reading  a short 
paper  advocating  the  superiority  of  silver  prints  in  this  respect 
over  all  other  kinds  of  printing. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  was  of  the  same  opinion.  For  range 
of  gradation  he  considered  albumen  and  gelatine  gave  excellent 
results  ; platinotype  did  not  give  the  same  amount  of  gradation. 

The  Chairman  said  that  in  selecting  a printing  process,  it  was 
necessary  to  consider  the  subject  of  the  picture,  whether  general 
effect  or  minute  detail  was  desired. 

Mr.  J.  J.  Briginshaw  said  that  for  printing  from  negatives  of 
microscopic  objects,  hegave  preference  to  gelatine  for  the  render- 
ing of  all  the  fine  details  of  the  negative  so  necessary  for  this 
class  of  work. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  said  that  for  printing  from  thin  negatives  the 
best  gradation  was  obtained  with  albumenised  paper. 

The  outing  on  Saturday  next  will  be  at  Hale  End  ; members 
to  meet  at  Wood  Street  Station  at  2.30. 


to  ©otwpontients* 

All  Communications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication  , 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Photographic  News,  5,  Furnival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.8.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

AU  A IvirtUi  nents  and  c immunisations  reliting  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  Sc  Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London. 

A.  T. — Donkin  Relies.  A photograph  of  Dychtau,  marked  to 
show  the  spot  of  Messrs.  Fox  and  Donkin’s  last  bivouac, 
appeared  in  the  Pall  Mall  Budget  of  15th  ult.  In  the  ice 
cave  on  a rock  ledge  were  found  thermometers  and  other 
apparatus  for  determining  the  boiling  point  of  water  at 
high  elevations,  together  with  an  iron  stewpan,  drinking 
cup,  and  fine  instruments  packed  in  sock  and  glove.  There 
was  no  camera.  Probably  our  friend  had  this  with  him 
strapped  upon  his  shoulders,  but  the  now  useless  revolver  was 
found  hanging  on  the  rocks  at  an  altitude  of  about  14,000 
feet. 

J.  M.  (Norwood) — Nitrate  of  Soda  for  Wet  Plate  Bath.  We 
should  not  recommend  you  to  add  nitrate  of  soda  to  a collo- 
dion sensitising  bath,  because  Dr.  William  Allen  Miller 
proved  many  years  ago  that  it  diminished  the  sensitiveness. 
If  you  must  put  in  something  to  retard  the  evaporation  on 
the  plate  during  warm  weather,  try  the  addition  of  a small 
dose  of  Price’s  purest  glycerine,  using  as  little  as  possible, 
or  it  may  cause  fog.  If  by  chance  you  get  in  too  much, 
sunning  the  bath  and  filtering  is  the  best  way  of  rectify- 
ing it. 

W.  V.  Morris. — Sizes  for  Stereo  Camera  and  Plates.  Either 
the  by  5 camera,  commonly  used  by  amateurs  with  a pair 
of  twin  lenses  of  about  4^  inches  focus,  or  one  for  plates 
7 j by  4£  inches.  The  Holmescope  is  a good  form  of  hand 
stereoscope,  with  large  square  lenses  shaded  by  a hood,  all 
other  parts  being  left  quite  open. 

F.  R.  A.  S. — Solar  Eclipse  of  11  th  instant.  We  thank  you  for 
the  information,  and,  for  the  benefit  of  our  readers,  make 
known  the  following  particulars : — In  the  north  of  Africa 
and  southern  parts  of  Asia,  the  sun  will  present  an  annular 
eclipse,  but  at  Greenwich  it  will,  of  course,  be  only  partial  ; 
beginning  on  Tuesday  next  at  8.20  a.m.  ; maximum  phase 
at  9.23,  when  about  one-tliird  or  0-37  of  the  sun’s  diameter 
will  be  obscured,  and  ending  at  10.30  a.m.  With  landscape 
camera  and  long  focus  lens  provided  with  instantaneous 
shutter,  good  results,  although  small,  ought  to  be  obtained, 
these  permitting  of  being  afterwards  enlarged.  It  would  be 
advisable  to  back  the  plates  with  carbon  tissue,  and  possibly 
two  or  more  exposures  could  lie  received  upon  the  same 
plate,  allowing  time  for  the  disc  to  travel  clear.  By  watching 
the  ground  glass  it  could  easily  be  ascertained  previously 
what  interval  should  be  allowed  to  get  the  images  well  clear, 
and  a few  preliminary  experiments  would  settle  this  point, 
and  likewise  the  adjustment  of  the  time  shutter.  Another 
direction  of  study  should  be  the  registration  of  the  crescent- 
shaped spots  of  light  under  trees,  always  visible  during  the 
progress  of  an  eclipse,  and  a further  set  of  experiments 
might  be  made  with  a pinhole  camera. 

S.  H.  & Co. — Spotted  Prints.  One  unmounted  and  five 
cabinets,  all  showing  the  same  defects,  which  at.  first  sight 
appear  to  owe  their  origin  to  bronze  powder,  magnesium,  or 
other  reducing  particles,  got  in  amongst  the  photographs, 
but  we  are  unable  to  discover  any  trace  of  these,  even  with 
a microscope.  The  fixing  and  washing  have  been  very  care- 
fully performed,  for  there  is  no  evidence  of  hypo,  and 
your  description  indicates  the  best  known  method  of  work- 
ing. Is  it  possible  that  a bad  album  with  sham  gold  edges 
and  margins  is  responsible  for  the  mounted  cabinets  ? 
Otherwise,  the  case  remains,  as  you  say,  a “ mystery.” 

H.  F. — The  City  Exhibition.  The  specimens  were  noticed 
last  week  on  page  433,  and  it  was  unnecessary  to  refer  to 
them  again  in  this  column. 

J.  E.  D.,  A.  W.,  received. 


THE 


CONTENTS. 


P AO  1 


The  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester „_469 

Negatives  for  Photo-mechanical  Work 470 

The  Progress  of  the  Photo-mechanical  Printing  Processes.  By 

Hermann  E.  Gunther 471 

Depth  of  Focus  and  Diffusion  of  Focus.  By  W.  K.  Burton  ...  472 

Photographic  Exhibitions.  By  George  Davison  474 

New  Photographic  Objectives.  By  Dr.  Ernest  Abbe  and  Dr. 

Paul  Kudolph.... 475 

New  Photographic  Lenses.  By  Dr.  Paul  Rudolph  476 

Photography  at  Greenwich  Observatory.  By  the  Astronomer 
Royal 477 


PAOX 


Notes 478 

The  Grosvenor  Gallery.  By  Rev.  F.  C.  Lambert,  M.A 480 

Notices  of  Books 481 

Conversazione  of  the  Royal  Society  482 

The  Costume  Album  * 484 

Mr.  Toole  Among  Photographers  485 

New  Salts  Exhibiting  Optical  Phenomena  486 

Patent  Intelligence 486 

Correspondence 487 

Proceedings  of  Societies 487 

Answers  to  Correspondents  488 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CONVENTION  AT 
CHESTER. 

Next  Monday  the  Photographic  Convention  will  meet 
in  the  ancient  city  of  Chester,  the  most  old-world  look- 
ing place  in  this  couutry,  and  one  which  will  present 
plenty  of  subjects  to  the  photographers  who  attend  the 
gathering.  A disadvantageous  feature  is  that  red  sand- 
stone has  been  so  largely  used  in  the  construction  of 
the  more  interesting  buildings,  and  that  that  colour  is  not 
the  best  for  plates  which  have  not  been  made  red- 
sensitive.  Time  was  when  Chester  rose  boldly  from 
the  plain,  and,  with  its  ancient  walls  and  battlements, 
had  an  exceedingly  picturesque  appearance,  but  for 
many  years  past  houses  have  been  springing  up  close 
outside  its  walls,  and  somewhat  dingy  suburbs  cover 
the  space  once  occupied  by  green  fields.  On  a fine 
day  the  Welsh  mountains  can  sometimes  be  seen  faint 
and  grey  in  the  distance  from  the  city  wall.  The 
“rows”  of  Chester  4 are  unique;  these  consist  of  two 
rows  of  shops — one  row  above  the  other — upon  one  side 
of  the  street,  so  that,  including  both  sides  of  the 
street,  there  are  four  rows  of  shops  in  all.  While 
walking  in  front  of  the  upper  row  of  shops,  the 
pedestrian  treads  a pavement  laid  above  the  ceiling  of 
the  lower  row  of  shops ; the  second  floor  of  the  house 
is  above  his  head,  so  that  he  is  in  a kind  of  arcade,  but 
not  one  of  any  pretensions  to  architectural  beauty. 
These  “rows”  form  a protection  from  the  glare  of  the 
summer’s  sun,  also  from  rain  and  snow  ; but  altogether, 
arcades  in  street  architecture  are  not  usually  found  to 
he  desirable  in  places  north  of  the  Alps.  One  or  two 
of  the  streets  in  Berne  have  arcades  after  Italian  fashion. 
They  are  liked  during  the  few  months  of  summer,  but 
the  tradesmen  who  have  shops  therein  say  that  the 
arcades  make  the  said  shops  too  dark  and  gloomy  the 
greater  part  of  the  year. 

Photographic  excursions  from  Chester  have  been 
planned  for  nearly  every  day  during  the  coming  week, 
and  the  most  attractive  are  those  to  Conway  and 
Bettws-y-Coed,  at  the  former  of  which  places  the 


more  picturesque  part  of  North  Wales  begins.  Great 
Orme’s  Head  is  within  moderate  distance,  and 
from  it  Puffin  Island  and  the  coast  of  Anglesea  can  he 
seen.  Once  we  had  a day  of  the  Robinson  Crusoe  kind 
all  alone  upon  Puffin  Island,  with  not  even  a puffin  for 
company,  because  some  rats  were  wrecked  on  the 
island  several  years  ago,  and  found  puffins’  eggs  to 
agree  with  their  constitution.  The  tide  runs  with 
great  velocity  between  Puffin  Island  and  Anglesea, 
and  any  lonely  sojourner  on  the  former  for  a day  feels 
grateful  that  the  fisherman  does  not  forget  to  return  to 
the  island  to  bike  him  back  to  Beaumaris.  Some 
exceedingly  pretty  photographs  of  the  Welsh,  hills  are 
obtainable  from  the  Anglesea  side  of  the  Menai  Straits, 
because  the  hills  are  at  a suitable  distance,  and  have  a 
good  marine  foreground.  Towards  evening  the  light 
is  best,  because  at  mid-day  the  sun  would  be  behind  the 
hills,  facing  the  camera.  The  mountain  Penmaenmawr 
is  but  two  or  three  miles  from  Conway,  and  has  a 
railway  station  at  its  base,  so  is  available  for  those  who 
wish  to  do  some  climbing.  Conway  Castle  will,  of 
course,  he  largely  photographed  again  next  week,  as  it 
has  been  largely  photographed  before.  Near  the  mouth 
of  tho  Conway  was  a pearl  fishery  once  upon  a time ; 
the  pearls  were  found  in  a coarse  kind  of  mussel.  As 
they  will  be  under  the  guidance  of  a scientific  man,  the 
“ conventionists  ” are  likely  to  make  some  explorations 
in  this  direction,  and  to  return  home  with  their  pockets 
full  of  mussel-shells.  There  is  good  sea-bathing  near 
Great  Orme’s  Head,  and  a lively  species  of  small  shark, 
from  four  to  six  feet  long,  at  times  frequents  the  region 
between  Great  Orme’s  Head  and  Puffin  Island. 

The  excursion  party  for  Bettws-y-Coed  will  plunge 
for  a few  miles  into  the  hilly  part  of  Wales,  but  will 
see  nothing  of  the  higher  mountains  of  the  Snowdon 
range,  unless  it  goes  several  miles  farther  on,  along 
the  Capel  Curig  road,  when  Snowdon  itself  will  come 
into  view.  About  the  finest  view  of  Snowdon  obtain- 
able is  still  faither  on,  near  the  point  where  the  Capel 
Curig  road  meets  that  from  Llanberis  to  Beddgelert  ; 
this  point  is  high  up  the  side  of  the  Vale  of  the  Waters 


470 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  20,  1890. 


— Nant  Gwynant.  A great  lake  covers  the  bottom 
of  the  valley,  and  from  the  other  side  of  the  lake  rises 
the  most  precipitous  side  of  Snowdon,  which  can  here 
be  seen  from  base  to  summit.  A little  inn  is  near  the 
junction  of  the  roads  already  mentioned,  and  many 
years  ago  two  wayfarers  were  imprisoned  therein  by  rain 
for  two  days,  with  but  two  books  in  the  house,  namely, 
a Welsh  Bible  and  “ Thoughts  on  Suicide.” 

The  people  in  Wales  are  usually  hospitable  and  good- 
natured.  We  know  those  of  the  south  better  than 
those  of  the  north,  and  this  is  the  kind  of  talk  one  is 
liable  to  hear  from  Dafydd  Rees  about  Evan  Evans, 
who  went  to  have  his  photograph  taken  : “ Have  you 
heard  that  Evan  Evans  went  to  John  Jones  to  have  his 
shaps  (shapes)  taken,  and  Morgan  Griffiths  says  it  was 
done  bad,  shockin’  bad,  iss  (yes)  indeed,  to  goodness.” 
A Pembrokeshire  literary  man  of  ability  and  a born 
Welshman  once  compiled  the  following  sample  of 
Welsh-English : — 

O,  had  I the  harp  of  King  Dafydd, 

What  a lively  lament  I’d  indite, 

But  the  verse  nowadays  is  so  rabid, 

I’m  almost  ashamed  for  to  write. 

Doubtless  the  Bettws-y-Coed  party  will  bring  back 
with  them  various  specimens  of  the  Welsh-English 
language  of  North  Wales  as  applied  to  photographers 
and  photography. 



NEGATIVES  FOR  PHOTO-MECHANICAL  WORK. 
Of  late  years  the  employment  of  photographic  pro- 
cesses for  the  purpose  of  illustration  in  periodicals  and 
books  has  become  so  general  that  this  kind  of  work 
has  not  only  displaced,  to  a great  extent,  the  art  of 
the  wood  engraver,  but  it  has  called  into  being  a num- 
ber of  publications  which  would  never  have  seen 
the  light  had  not  this  quick  and  convenient  method 
of  producing  wood  blocks  presented  itself.  Photo- 
graphs in  half-tone  can  be  converted  into  blocks  ready 
for  the  printing  press  without  difficulty,  but  their  want 
of  depth  makes  it  difficult  to  obtain  satisfactory  prints 
from  them  unless  they  are  impressed  on  fine  paper  and 
with  very  good  ink.  It  is  different  with  line  blocks, 
as  they  are  called — that  is  to  say,  blocks  which  have 
been  produced  photographically  from  drawings  in  pen 
and  ink,  and  which  consist  wholly  of  line  work. 

There  is  some  little  art  required  in  producing  a 
negative  from  such  a drawing,  for  its  chief  character- 
istic must  be  that  the  lines  upon  it  shall  he  clear  as 
glass,  and  that  the  background  upon  which  they  are 
traced  shall  be  as  opaque  as  possible.  The  negative 
must  be  reversed,  but  in  these  days  of  films  which  can 
be  printed  from  either  side  this  consideration  should 
not  present  any  difficulty.  The  hardest  task  before 
the  worker  has  hitherto  been  to  get  the  strong  contrast 
between  the  lines  and  ground,  to  which  we  have  just 
adverted,  and  this  was,  for  a long  time,  deemed  to  be 
impossible  to  attain  on  a gelatine  plate.  So  the  custom 
among  those  who  undertake  this  class  of  work  has 
been  to  reverse  their  negatives  by  use  of  a surface- 
silvered  mirror  placed  outside  the  lens,  and  to  produce 
those  negatives  by  the  wet  process. 


Many  photographers  might,  with  reason,  object  to 
take  up  the  old  process.  Some  because  they  have  never 
made  pictures  on  wet  plates — and  this  is,  of  course,  true 
of  a number  of  modern  workers — and  others  because 
they  have  not  sufficient  space  at  command  to  keep  the 
old  and  the  new  methods  distinctly  apart.  The 
result  of  this  is  that  the  special  form  of  negative 
required  for  photo-mechanical  processes  is  regarded  as 
something  obtside  the  usual  range  of  business,  and  the 
work  is  left  to  others  to  do. 

But  such  considerations  need  no  longer  stand  in  the 
way,  for  it  is  now  quite  possible  to  obtain  upon  a gela- 
tine plate  a negative  which  shall  rival  in  its  contrasts 
of  black  and  white  that  which  is  produced  by  the  aid 
of  the  silver  bath.  AVe  have  lately  experimented  in 
this  direction  with  two  brands  of  plates,  and  have 
obtained  most  successful  results,  and  we  are  informed 
on  good  authority  that  there  is  at  least  one  other  brand 
in  the  market  which  will  answer  equally  well. 

The  first  we  tried  were  Mawson  and  Swan’s  photo- 
mechanical plates,  which,  as  their  name  implies,  are 
made  for  the  purpose.  The  drawings  which  we  copied 
were  made  in  black  ink  upon  a clay  surface  paper, 
which  is  a recognised  material  for  work  of  this  cha- 
racter, the  mineral  surface  giving  each  line  made  by 
the  pen  a sharp  outline  instead  of  the  ragged  edge 
which  lines  will  often  exhibit  if  made  on  card  of  the 
ordinary  kind.  The  plates  are  very  slow  in  action — 
much  slower  than  those  produced  by  the  wet  process — 
and  the  exposure  with  a small  stop  ran  up  to  two 
minutes  or  more.  We  at  first  tried  for  development  a 
hydroquinone  formula  which  we  found  advocated  in 
print,  but  it  was  useless  in  our  hands.  It  certainly 
gave  an  image  which  was  intensely  white  and  black, 
and  at  first  we  were  pleased  with  its  promising  appear- 
ance ; but  unfortunately  we  found,  subsequently,  that 
the  black  was  by  no  means  of  a non-actinic  character, 
and  that  it  let  the  light  through  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  negatives  had  to  be  rejected. 

We  now  commenced  de  novo , but  this  time  we  took 
good  care  to  depend  upon  pyro  for  development.  The 
change  in  the  result  was  most  marked,  and  there  was 
the  further  advantage  of  increased  speed  of  production. 
Density,  we  found,  could  be  obt  ained  to  any  extent, 
and  in  one  case  where  an  error  had  been  made  in 
exposure,  and  the  film  was  not  quite  dark  enough,  it 
was  brought  up  to  the  level  of  the  others  by  a short 
immersion  in  a mercurial  intensifying  solution.  In 
the  after  operation  of  printing  we  found  that  the  dark 
portions  of  the  negatives  were  so  opaque  that  no  light 
could  pass  through,  and  they  were  in  every  other 
respect  as  good  as  those  produced  by  the  wet  process. 
The  advantage  of  being  able  to  bring  up  a negative  to 
this  pitch  of  density  without  having  recourse  to 
intensification,  which  is  apt  to  clog  the  finer  lines,  and 
often  brings  disaster  in  its  train  in  the  shape  of  dis- 
colouration, is  obvious. 

The  other  brand  of  plates  which  we  found  suitable 
for  this  work  was  Edwards’  isochromatic.  We  were 
employing  one  of  these  plates  for  copying  an  engraving 
simply  because  it  happened  to  be  at  hand,  and  we 


June  20,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


471 


were  altogether  unprepared  to  tiud  such  an  intensely 
black  and  white  image  as  it  afforded.  As  in  the  former 
instance,  the  lines  were  absolutely  clear,  but  on  a dark 
brown,  non-actinic  ground.  We  need  hardly  say  that 
the  exposure  required  was  much  less  than  that  necessary 
for  the  photo-mechanical  plates,  for,  as  is  well-known, 
the  isochromatic  plates  are  well  fitted  for  instantaneous 
exposures.  We  actually  gave  about  one-eighteenth 
of  the  previous  exposure,  with  the  result  just  stated. 
There  was  here  an  immense  saving  of  time,  but  with 
the  disadvantage  of  working  afterwards  in  the  dimmest 
of  red  lights  for  fear  of  fogging  the  plate.  Mawson 
and  Swan’s  plates,  on  the  other  hand,  can  be  worked  in 
a yellow  light  without  fear  of  disaster.  The  other 
brand  of  plates  to  which  we  have  alluded  as  being  suit- 
able for  this  class  of  work  is  made  by  England,  but 
we  have  not  tried  them. 

There  still  remains  the  difficulty  of  reversing  the 
negative,  which  is  necessary  for  photo-mechanical  work. 
Few  photographers  possess  a surface-silvered  mirror, 
and  the  method  which  some  have  advocated  of  putting 
the  plate  in  the  dark  slide  wrong  side  before  does  not 
work  well  in  practice.  The  makers  should,  therefore, 
bring  out  a film  coated  with  suitable  emulsion  for  this 
class  of  work,  and  then  the  last  obstacle  will  be 
removed  for  those  who  wish  to  add  to  their  business  by 
producing  these  negatives  for  process  work. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  PHOTO-MECHANICAL 
PRINTING  PROCESSES. 

BY  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

II. 

An  interesting  comparision  has  been  made  of  late  by  C. 
Kampmann,  of  Vienna,  between  various  chromate  baths 
for  sensitising  photo-lithographic  transfer  paper.  He 
found  that  the  sensitiveness  yielded  is  greatest  in  the 
case  of  those  baths  which  contain  ammonium  bichro- 
mate (1,000  c.c.  water,  43  grammes  ammonium  bichromate, 
and  neutralised  with  ammonia  ; or,  according  to  Professor 
Ilusnik,  1,300  c.c.  of  water,  70  grammes  of  sodium 
bichromate,  30  grammes  of  ammonium  bichromate, 
neutralised  with  caustic  ammonia).  By  using  baths  which 
contain  potassium  bichromate,  the  sensitiveness  is  about 
one-third  less  ; it  is,  however,  practically  increased  by  the 
addition  of  manganous  sulphate,  as  recommended  by  W. 
Weissenberger.  By  this  addition  not  only  the  time  of 
exposure  is  shortened,  but  also  the  impression  becomes 
more  distinctly  visible  on  the  bichromated  paper  during 
printing,  because  its  colour  becomes  then  deeper  brown 
than  usually.  Moreover,  the  addition  of  manganous 
sulphate  causes  the  transfer-ink  to  adhere  more  firmly 
on  the  rolled-up  paper  during  development.  The  bath 
recommended  by  \V.  Weissenberger  consists  of  : — 

Water  1000  c.c. 

Potassium  bichromate  ...  ...  40  grammes 

Manganous  sulphate 5 ,, 

It  may  be  applied  to  any  of  the  various  existing  gelatinised 
transfer  papers,  and  by  its  use  the  same  result  is  obtained 
as  with  an  usual  potassium  chromate  bath  of  a much 
higher  state  of  concentration. 

So  far  I have  spoken  about  the  treatment  of  the 
impression  transferred  to  the  zinc  or  stone  plate,  and  of 


the  preparation  of  the  transfer  paper ; I may  now  be 
allowed  to  add  a few  directions  as  to  the  best  condition 
of  the  negatives  destined  for  photo-lithographic  purposes. 
It  is  generally  supposed  by  inexperienced  operators  that 
a negative  which  is  to  be  reproduced  by  photo-lithography 
should  show  the  lines  quite  clear,  and  the  rest  of  the 
film  absolutely  dense  and  opaque.  The  latter  is,  how- 
ever, not  only  unnecessary,  but  even  unsuitable,  since,  if 
the  negative  is  intensified  until  this  density  is  obtained, 
the  fine  lines  are  liable  to  close,  or  at  least  to  lose 
so  much  of  their  clearness  that  they  will  print  very 
difficultly  and  defectively.  Provided  that  a well  prepared 
transfer  paper  is  used,*  a moderately  dense  negative  is 
quite  sufficient.  AVith  such  a negative,  also,  the  finest 
lines  and  points  are  printing,  whilst  the  so-called  false 
tone  (see  page  396)  which  is  produced  on  account  of  the 
whites  being  not  absolutely  opaque  may  be  easily 
removed  by  rubbing  during  the  development  of  the 
rolled-up  copy. 

In  order  to  obtain  a negative  of  this  kind — i.e.,  of 
moderate  density — a “ hard  ” working  collodion  should  be 
used.  I suppose  that  the  wet  collodion  process  is  used 
because  it  gives  always  the  best  results  in  this  special  case. 
A very  good  formula,  which  I have  tried  with  perfect 
success,  is  the  following  one,  recommended  by  Max  Jaffd, 
an  experienced  photo-lithographer : — 


Alcohol  ... 
Calcium  chloride 
Cadmium  iodide 
Ammonium  iodide 


100  c.c. 

T6  gramme 
7 '8  grammes 


This  iodizing  solution  is  added  to  1,000  c.c.  of  plain 
collodion  of  two  per  cent. 

In  the  case  of  densely  drawn  originals  of  wood-cuts — 
copper  and  steel  engravings,  for  instance — it  will  generally 
be  unnecessary  to  intensify  the  negative  ; if,  however, 
in  other  cases,  an  intensification  is  required,  the  following 
method  may  advantageously  be  used.  The  following  two 
solutions  are  prepared  : — 


No.  1. — A cold  saturated  solution  of  chloride  of  mercury. 

No.  2. — A cold  saturated  solution  of  potassium  iodide. 

To  solution  No.  1 so  much  of  solution  No.  2 is  added  that 
the  red  precipitate,  which  forms  at  first,  is  redissolved. 
The  mixture  must  be  diluted  as  required  for  use,  because 
it  would  otherwise  act  too  strongly.  The  plate  must,  of 
course,  be  thoroughly  washed  before  and  after  intensifi- 
cation. 

The  darkening  of  the  intensified  negative  is  done  with 
hydrosulphide  of  ammonia,  which  is  diluted  with  about 
four  parts  of  water.  The  negative  should  appear  entirely 
darkened  after  this  treatment ; if  it  is  not  yet  sufficiently 
vigorous,  the  operation  may  be  repeated.  Care  should  be 
taken  that  the  hydrosulphide  of  ammonia  is  not  applied 
in  the  same  room  in  which  the  silver  baths  are  placed. 

In  the  case  of  gelatine  plates  being  used  instead  of  wet  ' 
collodion  plates,  I can  recommend  the  following  combined 
eikonogen  and  pyrogallic  acid  developer  as  thoroughly  reli- 
able, with  which  any  desired  density  may  be  obtained.  The 
plate  is  at  first  developed  with  eikonogen,  until  the  details 
of  the  drawing  are  well  out ; then  it  is  rinsed  with  water 
and  re-developed  with  the  ordinary  pyro  developer.  The 
negative  becomes  at  once  denser,  and  its  density  may  be 
increased  to  any  desired  degree. 

• I have  noticed  that  icpeatedly  inquiries  hve  been  directed  to  the 
Editor  cf  this  journal  with  regard  to  the  “ New  Albert  Transf-r  Pape',” 
which  I have  described  in  a previ  us  number.  Since,  as  it  seems,  it  is 
not  yet  procurable  in  England,  I give  here  the  address  of  the  manufac- 
turers : E.  Jaffe  and  A.  Albert,  Wien,  Wabiiug,  Theiei ienga  te  17. 


472 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  20,  1890. 


Photogravure.  — With  regard  to  photogravure,  in  which 
process  great  improvements  have  been  made  within  the 
last  few  years  in  Germany,  two  important  publications  of 
a thoroughly  practical  character,  in  which  the  working 
details  of  the  whole  process  in  its  present  form  are  clearly 
and  extensively  described,  deserve  special  attention.  The 
first  one,  by  E.  Kiewning,  has  been  published  in  the 
Deutsche  Photographer i Zeitung  ; the  other  one,  quite  recently, 
in  the  Photograpliische  Correspondent,  by  Rudolf  Maschek, 
of  Vienna.  Upon  these  two  communications  the  follow- 
ing lines  are  based.  The  two  kinds  of  transfer  paper 
which  are  used  and  recommended  by  Maschek  are  the 
diapositive  paper  of  Braun  and  Co.,  of  Dornach,  for 
transferring  the  positive  image,  and  the  papers  of  the 
Autotype  Company,  of  London,  for  the  production  of  the 
relief-negatives. 

The  correct  and  careful  composition  of  the  etching 
baths  is  of  special  importance.  Maschek  prepares  stock 
solutions,  which  he  keeps  in  labelled  bottles.  For  large 
plates  he  takes  20  pounds  of  chloride  of  iron,  and  dis- 
solves them  completely  in  distilled  water,  until  the  weight 
amounts  to  1,500  grammes  per  1,000  c.c.  of  the  liquid. 
Afterwards  he  graduates  the  etching  liquid,  adding  to  the 
single  baths  so  much  distilled  water  that  the  specific 
weight  amounts  to  : — 

1*420  for  the  first  etching  (41°  Beaumd). 

1*375  for  the  second  etching  (38°  ,,  ). 

1*330  for  the  third  etching  (35"  ,,  ). 

1*285  for  the  fourth  etching  (31°  ,,  ). 

The  dusting-in  of  the  copper-plate  with  very  finely  pulver- 
ised asphalt  is  one  of  those  acts  upon  which  depends 
the  success  of  the  etching  process  to  a high  degree.  For 
this  purpose  the  Syrian  asphalt  must  be  sifted  through  a 
number  of  sieves,  the  openings  of  which  become  finer  in 
succession,  until  it  passes  through  a sieve  of  fifty-four  to 
sixty  meshes  to  each  centimetre  square.  To  prevent  the 
exceedingly  fine  powder  escaping  during  this  procedure, 
the  sieve  should  be  covered  with  a white  cloth  reaching 
down  to  the  table,  and  the  table  covered  with  white 
paper. 


A Good  Mountant. — The  following  mouutant  is  strongly 
recommended  by  Mr.  W.  Willis  for  delicate  prints  : — Weigh 
out  2 ounces  of  the  best  arrowroot  ; mix  it  into  a thick  paste 
with  2 ounces  of  hot  water,  and  then  add  18  ounces  of  boiling 
water,  stirring  briskly.  Soak  half-an-ounce  of  gelatine  in 
water  until  it  is  thoroughly  soft  and  swollen.  Stir  this  swollen 
gelatine  into  the  hot  arrowroot,  with  which  it  will  quickly  in- 
corporate itself.  Add  ten  or  twelve  drops  of  pure  carbolic 
acid.  This  forms  a stiff  jelly  when  cold,  and  it  should  be  used 
cold,  being  brushed  on  to  the  back  of  the  prints  or  applied  to 
them  with  a sponge. 

How  Far  Can  You  See? — According  to  an  American  paper, 
there  has  been  a great  discussion  going  on  in  Europe  concerning 
the  distance  at  which  large  objects  on  the  earth’s  surface  are 
visible.  Emile  Metzger  mentions  that  he  once  saw  Keizerspickt, 
in  Sumatra,  when  separated  from  it  by  a distance  of  110  Eng- 
lish miles  ; he  also  says  that  on  very  favourable  occasions  he 
has  managed  to  see  Guy  Merapi,  in  Java,  when  180  miles  inter- 
vened. E.  Hill,  the  civil  engineer,  says  that  he  has  seen  Mont 
Blanc  from  Piz  Muraun,  near  Dissentis,  a distance  of  almost  120 
miles.  J.  Starkie  Gardner  states  that  Mont  Blanc  is  visible 
from  Piz  Landguard,  though  distant  about  3 degrees.  Wymper, 
the  explorer,  says  that  when  he  was  in  Greenland  he  could 
plainly  see  a mountain  peak  from  which  he  was  separated  by 
150  miles.  The  whole  range  of  the  Swiss  Alps  has  been 
looked  upon  by  J.  Hippisly  while  200  miles  away  ; Sir  W.  Jones 
affirms  that  the  Himalayas  have  appeared  to  his  view  from  the 
great  distance  of  224  miles. — English  Mechanic. 


DEPTH  OF  FOCUS  AND  DIFFUSION  OF  FOCUS. 

BY  W.  K.  BURTON. 

There  has  been  so  much  discussion  about  the  two  subjects 
with  which  I head  this  communication,  that  I think  a 
few  words  supplementary  to  what  I have  recently  written 
on  optics  in  the  Photographic  News  may  not  be  out  of 
place. 

In  one  of  these  communications  I defined,  or  rather 
tried  to  describe,  “ depth  of  focus,”  and  I do  not  consider 
that  it  is  necessary  to  repeat  the  definition  here. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  depth  of  focus  is 
inversely  proportional  to  the  diameter  of  the  aperture,  and 
to  the  focal  length.  From  these  facts  there  may  be 
deduced  others,  a knowledge  of  which  may  be  of  some 
practical  use  to  the  photographer.  Thus,  assuming  a 
certain  maximum  amount  of  want  of  definition  as  per- 
missible, or  not  offensive  in  a photograph,  we  can  work 
out  a very  simple  rule  that  will  tell  us  the  distance  of  the 
nearest  object  that  will  be  in  focus  at  the  same  tune  as  an 
indefinitely  distant  object,  with  a given  focal  length  and  a 
given  aperture.  Or,  on  the  other  hand,  knowing  the 
distance  of  the  nearest  object,  and  the  focal  length  of  the 
lens,  we  can  get  the  size  of  stop  that  it  is  necessary  to  use 
so  as  to  have  the  distance  in  moderate  focus  when  the 
nearest  object  is  focussed  for,  or  vice  versa.  There  is 
always  some  want  of  precision  in  applying  such  rules, 
because  we  have  to  assume  that  a certain  definite  amount 
of  want  of  definition  is  permissible,  and  not  more,  whereas 
it  is  really  a matter  of  artistic  judgment  in  the  case  of  each 
particular  subject  how  much  the  less  important  parts  of 
the  picture  should  be  subordinated  to  the  principal 
subject  by  allowing  them  to  be  out  of  focus.  Moreover, 
as  pointed  out  by  Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham,  the  roundness  of 
the  field  of  lenses  prevents  any  rules  that  can  be  formulated 
from  applying  to  objects  near  the  side  of  the  plate,  except 
when  a very  narrow  angle  is  included,  and  when,  in  conse- 
quence, the  field  is  practically  flat.  The  effect  of  rouud- 
ness  of  field  is,  that  objects  near  the  edge  of  the  plate,  far 
nearer  than  indicated  by  any  rule,  may  be  in  focus  at  the 
same  time  as  the  distance  projected  on  the  middle  of  the 
plate.  Still,  it  is  often  useful  even  to  know  what  is  the 
nearest  object  not  very  far  from  the  centre  of  the  plate 
that  will  be  in  focus  at  the  same  time  as  the  distance,  or 
to  know  what  diameter  of  stop  is  the  largest  that  we  may 
use  with  a foreground  object  at  a certain  distance  focussed 
without  getting  the  distance  much  out  of  focus. 

In  measuring  lack  of  definition,  whether  due  to  lack  of 
depth  of  focus  or  to  spherical  aberration,  the  term  “disc 
of  confusion  ” of  such-and-such  a diameter  is  used.  The 
meaning  of  this  is,  that  if  a mathematical  point  in  the  image 
is  focussed,  that  point  will  be  represented  in  the  image  by 
a blurred  spot  of  a certain  diameter.  Thus,  a fixed  star 
may  be  considered  as  practically  a point.  If  it  be  said 
that  a certain  lens  has  so  much  spherical  aberration  as  to 
“ give  a disc  of  confusion  of  of  an  inch  in  diameter,” 
the  meaning  is  that,  however  we  focus  our  lens,  the  image 
on  the  ground  glass  will  not  be  a point,  but  a spot  of  not 
less  than  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 

It  is  generally  assumed  that  it  is  permissible,  at  least  in 
the  case  of  “ the  distance  ” in  a photograph,  to  allow  a 
point  to  be  represented  by  a disc  of  , J-0  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  the  reason  being  that,  when  looked  at  from  the 
ordinary  distance  that  is  generally  unthinkingly  selected 
by  people  of  normal  sight,  such  want  of  definition  does 
not  amount  to  blurring,  but  amounts  only  to  a barely 


June  20,  1890.J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


473 


appreciable  amount  of  softness.  Indeed,  there  are  many 
who  are  not  even  satisfied  with  the  amount  of  softness  thus 
given  in  the  distance  even  of  landscapes,  much  less  in  the 
case  of  figure  subjects  or  portraits.  Mr.  Debenham 
has  farther  pointed  out  that  a rule  that  allows  the  same 
amount  of  lack  of  definition  due  to  want  of  depth  of  focus 
for  all  sizes  of  pictures  cannot  be  a reliable  one,  as  we 
look — or  ought  to  look — at  large  pictures  from  a greater 
distance  than  we  look  at  smaller  ones  from.  This  is 
correct,  no  doubt,  but  I cannot  agree  that  such  a rule  as  I 
mention  is  without  any  use,  for — always  bearing  certain 
limitations  in  view — I have  used  it  in  practice  for  years, 
and  have  found  it  very  handy. 

In  the  first  place,  as  regards  very  small  work,  we  ought 
to  look  at  such  photographs  from  a very  near  point  of 
view  in  most  cases,  and  there  are  differences  between 
different  people  as  to  the  nearness  from  which  they  will 
look  at  a small  picture.  Thus  the  writer— though  having 
good  sight  for  distant  objects  without  artificial  aid — finds 
that  he  can,  without  excessive  strain,  examine  photographs 


at  a distance  of  only  six  inches  from  the  eye  ; but  he 
believes  he  is  right  in  supposing  this  to  be  uncommon,  and 
that  not  many  will  voluntarily  hold  even  a small  photo- 
graph much  nearer  to  the  eye  than  twelve  inches. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  must  at  once  be  admitted  that  the 
rule  is  useless  for  small  negatives  that  have  to  be  enlarged, 
and  that  it  is  not  correctly  applicable  to  very  large  work, 
in  which  considerably  more  softness  than  is  represented  by 
the  rhs  of  an  inch  disc  of  confusion  is  always  permissible, 
or  even  desirable  for  artistic  effect. 

In  practice,  I consider  that  the  rule  that  takes  a disc  of 
confusion  of  of  an  inch  as  a standard  is  fairly  appli- 
cable to  all  work  that  is  not  to  be  enlarged,  and  that  is  not 
of  a size  (say)  larger  than  15  by  12.  The  rule  was  stated 
by  the  present  writer,  in  the  Photographic  News,  some 
years  ago,  in  a form  that  is  not  absolutely  correct,  but  that 
is  well  within  anything  that  is  needed  in  practice,  and  that 
has  the  advantage  of  great  simplicity.  It  was  stated  in 
words  somewhat  as  follows  : — 

“To  find  the  nearest  object  that  may  be  focussed  for 


FOCUS  TABLE  FOR  DETECTIVE  CAMERAS  AND  OTHER  SPECIAL  WORK 


« * 


Focus 
of  lens 

in 

inches. 

Decimal  Standar 

■d  Stop 

Humber* 

Ratio  Marked  on  Stops 

Focus 
of  le:i 3 
in 

niches 

5 

10 

1 

20 

25 

30 

35 

40 

/ 

7 

l 

A 

/ 

y 

£0 

A 

✓ 

TT 

J 

rs 

'fz 

f 

To 

/ 

TT 

A i A 

L. 

7 >1 

Number  of 

feet  and  inches  after  which  all  in  focus. 

1 

Number  of  feet  and  Inches  af»er  which  a 

11  in  focus. 

4 

19  4 

■38 

ns 

9IO 

»9 

80 

7'5 

70 

• // 

19  4 

I" 

170 

■5* 

>38 

i2«; 

"5 

107 

9 10 

92 

8-8 

82 

/ 

78 

/ // 
7 '4 

7 0 

4 

<1 

2IIO 

154 

I2-IO 

11*1 

910 

90 

84 

7’>o 

21  IO 

19  2 

17  0 

'5'4 

140 

12  10 

1 no 

ill 

104 

9 9 

9'2 

8-8 

83 

7 >o 

■u 

41 

=4'5 

'73 

■45 

125 

hi 

101 

9 4 

89 

245 

2>'5 

>97 

>7  3 

■5  S 

'4-5 

'3  3 

12  5 

117 

IO  I 1 

.03 

9 9 

9 3 

89 

■»! 

4j 

273 

19 '2 

160 

"3  9 

124 

•113 

ID'S 

9 9 

27  3 

23  IO 

213 

19  2 

'7  5 

160 

U'lO 

139 

12  1 I 

12*1 

"5 

10  10 

io'3 

9 9 

4; 

5 

30  2 

21  -3 

179 

>53 

>37 

125 

n6 

10  10 

30  2 

265 

23  -6 

213 

194 

179 

165 

'5  3 

'4  3 

'3'5 

12-8 

"4 

10  10 

5 

33  3 

23-4 

19-6 

1610 

15*0 

139 

12  8 

II  I I 

33  3 

291 

2511 

23  4 

2' '3 

196 

l8l 

l6lO 

>5  9 

'4'9 

rp, 

»3-2 

,26 

i ri  1 

51 

36  5 

258 

215 

.8-5 

• 6-5 

150 

13  10 

>30 

365 

317! 

285 

25  8 

23  4 

21-5 

1910 

>k5 

'73 

162 

>5  3 

>4-5 

>3  8 

13  0 

5* 

51 

39- 10 

28  0 

23 ‘5 

201 

17  11 

165 

152 

.'43 

39' 10 

3411 

3'7 

28-0 

25-6 

235 

21  8 

201 

1810 

17  8 

16S 

'5  9 

14  I 1 

■4  3 

5? 

6 

43  4 

306 

256 

211  1 

196 

178 

166 

156 

43'4 

38  0 

33  10 

306 

27  '9 

256 

236 

2111 

206 

'93 

181 

17  2 

.6-3 

156 

H 

61 

47  0 

330 

277 

239 

2 1 *2 

194 

I7IO 

169 

47  0 

41-2 

36  8 

330 

3°  1 

277 

25  6 

2J  0 

22  2 

20- IO 

I9S 

iS  7 

'77 

'69 

«i 

61 

5010 

35 '9 

2910 

25-8 

22-10 

20’ 1 I 

>93 

l8*I 

50  IO 

IV6 

39  7 

35  9 

32  6 

29  IO 

277 

25  s 

24  O 

22  6 

2I'3 

201 

19  0 

181 

BJ 

6 i 

54  0 

386 

32-2 

278 

24  8 

22  6 

207; 

196 

54  9 

4 So 

42  9 

386 

35'° 

322 

299 

27 '8 

25lOi 

24 '3 

2210 

217 

20  6 

1 9 6 

6? 

1 

5811 

4i  5 

347 

299 

266 

24  3 

22  4 

21  O 

58-11 

5*7 

45  11 

4i  5 

37  8 

34  7 

3... 

299 

27  9 

26 'I  1 

247  j 

23 '3 

22  0 

210 

7 

without  putting  the  distance  more  than  just  perceptibly 
out  of  focus  with  a given  stop,  multiply  the  diameter  of 
the  stop  in  hundredths  of  an  inch  by  the  focal  length  of 
the  lens.” 

Example  : — A lens  12  inches  focus  is  used  with  a stop 
11  inches  in  diameter  (// 8).  The  diameter  of  the  lens  in 
hundredths  of  an  inch  is  150.  150  X 1 foot  = 150  feet. 

What  is  meant,  then,  is  that  we  will  have  the  distance  in 
very  nearly  sharp  focus  when  focussing  for  any  object  at 
the  distance  of  150  feet,  and  not  near  the  edge  of  the 
plate ; but  that  if  we  focus  for  a nearer  object,  the  distance, 
using  a stop  of  1 j inches  diameter,  will  be  very  clearly  out 
of  focus — a thing  that  may  or  may  not  be  desirable. 

If  we  know  the  distance  of  the  object  that  we  intend  to 
focus  for,  and  wish  to  know  what  stop  we  may  use  so  as 
to  get  the  distance  just  nearly  sharp,  the  rule  is  as  follows : — 
Divide  the  distance  of  the  object  by  the  focus  of  the  lens, 
and  the  result  will  be — in  hundredths  of  an  inch — the  size 
of  the  largest  stop  that  will  not  put  the  distance  con- 
spicuously out  of  focus. 


Example  : — A lens  of  16-inch  focus  is  being  used,  and 
the  principal  object  is  at  a distance  of  100  feet.  It  is 
wanted  to  know  what  is  the  largest  stop  that  may  be  used, 
focussing  for  the  principal  object,  without  putting  the 
distance  more  than  a little  out  of  focus.  Divide  100  feet 
by  1-J-  feet  (16  inches).  The  result  is  75  and  75  inch,  or 
|-inch  is  the  largest  stop  that  may  be  used,  unless  it  is 
wished  to  put  the  distance  conspicuously  out  of  focus. 

These  two  rules  may  be  put  in  the  shape  of  formula?, 
eliminating  the  slight  error — equal  to  once  the  focal  length 
— that  there  is  in  them  both,  as  follows : — 

D ==  (100  d X/)  + / 

l = D 

100/+/ 

where — 

D = Distance  in  feet  of  the  nearest  object  that  may  be 
focussed  for  without  putting  the  distance  conspicuously 
out  of  focus. 


474 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Junk  20,  1890. 


d,  — the  diameter  of  the  stop  in  inches. 

f — the  focal  length  of  the  lens  in  feet  (or  the  fraction 
of  a foot). 

This  table  will  be  readily  understood  from  what  goes 
before.  Instead  of  heading  the  columns  of  figures 
“number  of  feet  and  inches  after  which  all  is  in  focus,”  I 
should  prefer  to  head  them  “distance  of  the  nearest 
object  that  may  be  focussed  for  without  putting  1 the 
distance  ’ more  than  just  perceptibly  out  of  focus.”  In 
using  a detective  camera  for  the  kind  of  work  that  it  is 
generally  used  for,  and  when  it  is  not  possible  to  focus  for 
each  subject  separately,  the  camera  should  be  adjusted, 
before  starting,  by  extending  it  till  a distant  object  is  just 
perceptibly  out  of  focus  with  the  stop  most  commonly 
used.  If  this  be  done,  the  distances  in  the  tables  will, 
approximately,  be  the  distances  of  the  objects  that  will  be 
in  sharpest  focus,  and  all  objects  within  half  these  distances 
of  the  camera  will  be  within  nearly  perfect  focus. 

The  table  has  been  constructed  on  the  basis  of  a “ disc 
of  confusion  ” of  tJx,-  of  an  inch.  If  it  is  wished  to  use  the 
table  for  lenses  of  longer  focus  than  any  given  in  it,  still 
on  the  basis  of  a “ disc  of  confusion  ” of  rJ-0-  of  an  inch, 
the  distances  must  be  increased  in  the  ratio  of  the  square 
of  the  focal  lengths.  Thus,  for  focal  lengths  two,  three, 
or  four  times  those  mentioned,  the  distances  must  be 
multiplied  four,  nine,  or  sixteen  times.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  in  the  case  of  long-focus  lenses,  the  figures  be 
increased  directly  as  the  focal  lengths  of  the  lenses — two, 
three,  or  four  times  for  focal  lengths,  two,  three,  or  four 
times  those  given — and  objects  at  the  distances  thus  got 
be  focussed  for,  it  will  be  found  that  “ the  distance  ” 
is,  in  all  cases,  perceptibly  out  of  focus,  but  not  to  an 
extent  that  will  generally  spoil  a picture. 

It  is  true  that,  if  such  a rule  be  adopted,  very  small 
photographs  will,  when  looked  at  from  the  distance  that 
most  people  find  it  comfortable  to  look  from,  will  appear 
“sharp  all  over,”  a thing  which  some  photographers  con- 
sider very  inartistic ; but  then  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  photographs  taken  with  lenses  of  shorter  focal  length 
than  the  shortest  distance  that  they  can  be  comfortably 
looked  at  from,  can  never  give  a true  impression  in  any 
case,  unless  enlarged  or  looked  at  through  a magnifier. 
But  if  enlargement  be  resorted  to  from  these  small  photo- 
graphs, the  amount  of  lack  of  definition  in  the  enlarge- 
ments will  be  the  same  as  if  the  photographs  were  taken 
direct. 

(To  be  continued.) 


Prophetic. — “ I have  a lively  presentiment  that  the  time  will 
come  when  a work  will  be  judged  by  its  merits,  and  not  by  the 
method  of  its  production  ; and  then,  with  some  fostering  care, 
things  can  and  will  be  done  that  scarcely  believers,  and  never 
unbelievers,  yet  dream  of  in  their  philosophy.” — 0.  G.  Rej- 

LANDER. 

Red  Glass. — A new  red  glass  has  been  recently  produced  in 
Germany.  Besides  its  use  for  the  manufacture  of  bottles, 
goblets,  and  vases  of  various  kinds,  it  will  be  found  applicable 
in  photography  and  in  chemists’  and  opticians’  laboratories. 
This  glass  is  produced  by  melting  in  an  open  crucible  the 
following  ingredients:  Fine  sand,  2,000  parts;  red  oxide  of 
lead  (minimum),  400  ; carbonate  of  potash,  600  ; lime,  100  ; 
phosphate  of  lime,  20  ; cream  of  tartar,  20  ; borax,  20  ; red 
oxide  of  copper  (protoxide),  9;  and  bioxide  of  tin,  13  parts. 
By  a single  melting  a transparent  red  glass  is  said  to  be 
obtained  of  a very  line  quality,  of  which  various  objects  can 
be  manufactured  directly,  without  the  necessity  of  a second 
heating  to  iuteusk*-  the  colour.—  Scientific  American. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITIONS. 

BY  GEORGE  DAVISON. 

III.— The  Medal  System. 

There  lias  been  such  a rapid  advance  in  general  opinion 
regarding  reformed  regulations  for  Photographic  Exhibi- 
tions that  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  full  and  essential 
step  of  sweeping  away  the  whole  prize  system  has  not 
been  more  boldly  advised  and  urged.  Several  short  steps 
are,  however,  frequently  safer  than  a rapid  leap,  and,  no 
doubt,  the  majority  will  soon  recognise  that  a system  of 
competition  is  detrimental  to,  and  should  be,  as  far  as 
possible,  kept  away  from  anything  like  a serious  devotion 
to  art.  What  would  be  thought  of  an  argument  which 
recommended  newspaper  or  any  other  poetry  competitions 
as  a good  nursing  system  for  a poet  of  nature  ? It  is  the 
same  with  good  art.  There  is  certainly  much  that  is 
inferior  which  must  be,  and  is  commonly,  classed  as  art, 
and,  just  as  these  versifying  competitions  may  develop  a 
facility  in  “ doggreling,”  so  the  craze  for  prizes  may  tend 
to  multiply  third-rate  efficiency.  But  it  leads  to  imita- 
tion and  sensationalism  in  a matter  where  the  best  can 
only  be  hoped  for  from  subtle  insight,  the  result  of  un- 
disturbed study  and  practice.  These  artificial  classifica- 
tions into  good,  bad,  and  indifferent  never  yet  helped  a 
man  to  do  anything  great.  They  may  possibly  have 
spurred  on  certain  temperaments  in  an  unhealthy  ambi- 
tion to  be  accounted  amongst  the  best  photographers ; 
but  the  lesson  is  soon  learnt-that  it  is  possible,  by  accu- 
mulated distinctions,  to  be  accounted  a “best”  photo- 
grapher, and  yet  to  be  absolutely  innocent  of  originality 
or  artistic  culture.  Competitions  may  serve  the  purposes 
of  modern  enterprising  newspapers,  anxious  for  an 
“advertiser’s  circulation;”  but,  however  directed,  they 
can  never  forward  the  highest  purposes  of  art,  whether 
by  photography  or  any  other  technique.  Perhaps  the 
worst  of  all  such  competitions  are  those  in  which  a “ set 
subject”  is  given,  whether  poetry  in  couplets  or  stanzas 
to  be  illustrated,  or  abstract  ideas  to  be  schemed  in  con- 
crete form  and  pictures  of  this  “machinery  ” taken.  The 
artist  must  work  in  a way  different  from  this.  He  has  to 
arrive  at  such  a state  of  cultivation  that  he  can  under- 
stand what  Nature  in  her  varying  moods  says  to  him 
direct,  and  he  may  not  come  to  her  with  preconceived 
notions  of  finding  what  some  one  else  has  first  seen  and 
expressed. 

The  only  arguments  which  have  been  forthcoming  in 
support  of  a prize  system  in  photographic  exhibitions 
have  been  based  on  love  of  excitement,  on  business  con- 
siderations by  a portion  of  the  exhibitors,  and  on  the 
anxiety  of  the  promoters  for  the  financial  success  of  their 
enterprise.  No  doubt  the  sweeping  away  of  awards 
would  remove  much  of  an  inferior  kind  of  interest  which 
these  and  other  lotteries  excite  ; but  this  would  be  highly 
beneficial.  It  can  hardly  be  believed  that  men  will  not 
exhibit  without  the  inducement  of  these  vainglorious 
competitions.  If  that  be  so,  the  probability  is  their 
exhibits  are  best  not  seen  publicly  at  all.  The  whole 
case  is  fairly  met  by  the  rigid  exclusion  of  all  distinctly 
inferior  exhibits.  The  adoption  and  efficient  carrying 
out  of  this  system  is,  I believe,  the  best  means  of  im- 
proving the  influence  and  effect  of  our  photographic 
exhibitions.  Such  a plan  has  never  yet  been  adopted  in 
any  notable  open  exhibition.  The  element  of  interest 
and  competition,  it  may  be  said,  will  remain,  inasmuch  as 
acceptation  becomes  the  award,  and  this  is,  to  a certain 


Jcne  20,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


475 


extent,  true  ; but  degree  in  these  and  in  most  questions 
is  of  first-rate  importance.  The  separation  is  easy,  and  a 
broad  classification  of  good  and  bad  is  a not  unwhole- 
some corrective,  and  is  free  from  the  evils  which  follow 
in  the  train  of  a system  of  “bests”  and  of  hair-splitting 
and  erratic  judging.  IIow  easy  such  a wholesale  weed- 
ing out  would  be  is  well-known  to  all  who  have  had  any 
experience  in  comparing  and  hanging  the  entiles  at  any 
large  exhibition.  Those  pictures  near  or  upon  the 
border-line  of  acceptability  would  at  times,  appear  to 
receive  unequal  treatment,  but  this  is  but  a small  objec- 
tion. Generally  speaking,  fifty  per  cent,  might  well  be 
spared,  and  no  one  have  any  fair  ground  for  murmuring. 
To  come  to  actual  example,  it  would  be  possible  to  wax 
enthusiastic  over  what  the  Exhibition  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Society  of  Great  Britain  might  become  under 
such  a revised  and  improved  system.  It  would  be  a 
more  impressive  lesson  to  photographers,  and  do  greater 
credit  to  photography  amongst  artists  and  the  cultivated. 
Very  little  of  the  more  harmless  interest  argued  for  the 
medal  system  would  be  lost.  The  question  would  be, 
“ Are  my  pictures  hung,  and  where?”  1 venture  to  think 
there  would  indeed  be  a wider  interest  roused  amongst 
exhibitors  and  the  public,  as  well  as  greater  service  done 
to  the  art.  All  other  considerations  are  small  compared 
with  the  improved  average  of  the  exhibition,  and  the 
higher  estimation  in  which  it  w'ould  be  held  by  those 
whose  valuable  opinion  soon  becomes  the  popular  view. 

It  is  sometimes  argued  that  the  experiment  has  been 
tried,  and  has  proved  a failure.  This  is  not  true.  The 
experiment  has  never  been  made.  Certainly,  medals 
were  dispensed  with  at  the  exhibition  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Society  of  Great  Britain  in  1888,  but  there  the 
thing  began  and  ended.  There  were  too  many  concerned 
in  influencing  the  exhibition  or  its  management  who,  for 
some  personal  or  business  reason,  took  exception  to  any 
reform  in  this  respect,  and  with  these  it  has  been  the 
practice  to  quote  the  experiment  as  an  instance  in  support 
of  their  view.  But  their  contention  is  unjustifiable.  The 
attempt  was  but  a lame  and  disorganized  one,  and  the 
intention  of  the  change  wras  in  no  way  explained  or 
understood.  I lay  great  stress  upon  that  point.  If  the 
aim  of  the  reform  had  been  fully  and  fairly  put  before 
exhibitors,  as  it  ought  to  have  been,  many  would  have 
made  special  effort,  the  credit  deserved  would  have  been 
given,  and  the  exhibition  would  have  retained  its 
supremacy.  Not  only  was  no  intimation  of  the  change 
giveu,  but,  if  anything,  less  energy  than  usual  was  dis- 
played, and  the  few  opponents  of  the  movement  seemed 
to  claim  credit  for  doing  their  utmost  to  spoil  the  exhibi- 
tion, a result  that  was  certainly  not  attained.  After 
doing  their  best  to  ensure  failure,  they  point  to  the 
result  as  a triumph  for  their  foresight ; but  on  very  in- 
sufficient grounds.  The  number  of  photographs  at  that 
exhibition  was  the  same  as  usual,  and  there  was  about 
the  same  proportion  of  amateur  and  professional 
exhibitors;  with  the  exception  of  half-a-dozen  abstentions, 
all  the  customary  men  were  represented,  and  the  average 
was  but  slightly  lower  than  usual.  As  I have  said,  the 
full  reform  was  not  effected  at  all.  The  essential  portion 
of  any  such  scheme — rejection  of  inferior  exhibits — was 
altogether  omitted.  As  is  the  rule,  practically  all  the 
entries  were  accepted.  And  yet  this  is  referred  to  as  a 
fair  test.  If  the  members  and  executive  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Society  of  Great  Britain  were  loyal  to  their 
organization  and  to  photography,  and  applied  definite- 


ness and  energy  in  explaining  and  urging  forward  the 
higher  form  of  exhibition — a rigid  weeding  out,  with  care- 
ful and  tasteful  arrangement  of  the  pictures — then  the 
result  could  not  fail  to  be  superior  to  the  ordinary  annual 
collection.  Other  societies  in  England  have  already 
schemed  out  such  a plan  of  action,  and  in  Vienna  the 
excellent  club  there  established  is  adopting  the  higher 
form  of  regulations  for  its  1891  exhibition. 


NEW  PHOTOGRAPHIC  OBJECTIVES* 

BY  DR.  ERNEST  ABBE  AND  DR.  PAUL  RUDOLPH. 

No.  I. 

Our  invention  relates  to  photographic  objectives,  and  the 
improvement  consists  in  the  construction  of  a system  of 
lenses  in  which  the  function  of  collecting  the  rays  of  light 
forming  the  image,  and  that  of  correcting  the  spherical  and 
chromatic  aberration,  are  allotted  to  distinct  parts  of  the 
system. 

In  constructing  photographic  objective-glasses  in  which 
the  advantage  of  an  extended  image-field  is  to  be  coupled 
with  a large,  effective  aperture,  particular  difficulties  are 
encountered  in  attaining  the  desired  degree  of  absence  of 
spherical  aberration  of  the  pencils  of  light  that  produce 
the  image.  In  view  of  obtaining  the  extended  field  aimed 
at,  objectives  of  the  usual  types  require  to  be  provided 
with  lenses  of  high  curvature,  and  these  always  give  rise 
to  certain  residual  spherical  aberrations  (the  so-called 
‘ ‘ zones  ”)  whereby  the  distinctness  of  the  image  is  impaired 
when  the  aperture  is  fully  open. 

For  the  purpose  of  obviating  this  defect,  and  simulta- 
neously facilitating  an  impioved  correction  of  the  chro- 
matic aberration,  we  compose  the  objective  of  two  uncor- 
rected single  collecting  lenses,  which,  in  view  of  the 
aplanation  of  the  field,  have  their  convex  or  more  convex 
sides  turned  outwardly,  and  a correcting-system  possessing 
an  infinite,  or  a large  positive  or  negative  focal  length, 
so  that  it  does  not  at  all,  or  but  inconsiderably,  alter  the 
focal  length  of  the  two  collecting  lenses  combined  ; the 
said  correcting-system  being  constituted  by  two  or  three 
single  lenses  cemented  together  and  arranged  beween,  and 
separate  from,  the  collecting  lenses.  By  means  of  this 
disposition  it  is  possible  to  considerably  diminish  the  afore- 
said residual  spherical  aberration  or  “zones.”  At  the 
same  time,  it  gives  a wider  scope  in  the  selection  of  the 
glasses  to  be  employed  iii  the  manufacture  of  the  lenses 
composing  the  correcting-system.  In  particular,  it  fur- 
nishes favourable  conditions  for  the  application  of  those 
kinds  of  glass  which  have  the  property  of  almost  com- 
pletely uniting  three  colours  of  the  spectrum,  or,  in 
other  words,  which  neutralise  the  secondary  spectrum,  and 
thus  produce  a superior  degree  of  chromatic  correction. 
The  construction,  therefore,  yields  comparatively  ready 
means  for  the  manufacture  of  such  highly  achromatic 
objectives  as  are  called  “apochromatic,”  according  to  the 
terminology  introduced  by  Professor  Abbe. 


The  Death  of  Mb.  T.  B.  Jordan. — The  death  is  reported 
of  Mr.  Thomas  Brown  Jordan  at  the  age  of  eighty-two. 
Mr.  Jordan,  who  was  born  in  Bristol  in  1807,  began  life  as  an 
artist,  and,  after  turning  his  attention  to  physical  science,  he 
established  himself  in  Falmouth  as  a mathematical  instrument 
maker.  In  1838  Mr.  Jordan  devised  an  instrument  for  record- 
ing by  photography  the  variations  of  the  barometric  column. 
About  the  same  date  he  invented  a declination  magnetograph 
and  a self-recording  actinometer. 

• This  is  a patent  specification  issued  in  England  last  Wednesday. 


476 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  20,  1890. 


— — i 

NEW  PHOTOGRAPHIC  LENSES.* 

BY  DR.  PAUL  Rt’DDI.PlI. 


No.  r 

My  invention  relates  to  photographic  objectives,  and  the 
improvement  consists  in  the  construction  of  the  objective 
of  two  separate  systems  of  lenses,  the  individual  members 
whereof  have,  relatively  to  each  other,  particular  refrac- 
tive properties. 

A main  difficulty  to  be  overcome  in  the  construction  of 
photographic  objectives, besides  realising  the  other  numerous 
conditions  subject  to  the  purpose  which  these  objectives 
have  to  serve,  consists  in  sufficiently  compensating  the 
astigmatism  of  the  obliquely  incident  pencils  of  light,  and 
in  removing  the  indistinctness  of  the  marginal  portions  of 
the  field  resulting  from  such  astigmatism.  And,  in  fact, 
all  the  photographic  objectives  constructed  so  far  possess 
more  or  less  this  deficiency,  that  with  an  approximately  I 
plane  field  the  focus  of  a group  of  rays  within  a primary 
(meridional)  section  of  an  oblique  pencil  of  rays,  remains  at 
a greater  distance  than  the  focus  of  the  group  of  rays  with- 
in a secondary  (sagittal)  section  of  the  same  pencil. 

After  a course  of  investigations  on  the  conditions  whence 
results  this  anomaly,  and  the  means  of  mitigating  its  effects, 
the  photographic  objective  forming  the  subject  of  this 
specification  was  arrived  at.  It  is  mainly  a dissymmetri- 
cal combination  of  lenses  composed  of  two  distinct  systems 
of  single  lenses  cemented  together.  This  combination  of 
lenses  is  characterised  by  the  concurrence  of  the  following 
two  properties : — 

1.  That  in  one  of  the  two  distinct  systems  the  positive 
member  (collecting  lenses)  has  a smaller,  in  the  other 
system,  however,  a greater  refractive  index  than  the  nega- 
tive member  (dispersing  lenses)  cemented  thereto. 

2.  That  each  system  in  itself  is  approximately  achro- 
matised,  i.e. , that  the  chromatic  aberration  of  each  of  the 
systems,  expressed  by  the  difference  of  the  reciprocals  of  its 
focal  lengths  for  two  different  colours,  is  small  as  compared 
with  the  chromatic  aberration  of  a single  crown  glass  lens 
having  the  focal  length  of  the  entire  objective,  the  latter 
chromatic  aberration  being  measured  after  the  same  manner 
as  the  former. 

A combination  of  lenses  realising  both  these  require- 
ments simultaneously  presents  particular  advantages.  On 
the  one  hand,  it  admits  of  the  astigmatic  differences  being 
removed  without  rendering  the  application  of  more  than 
two  distinct  systems  necessary,  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  yields  favourable  conditions  for  satisfying  all  the  other 
requirements  connected  with  the  correction  of  photo- 
graphic objectives. 

The  above  defined  contrariant  combination  of  the  two 
distinct  systems  composing  the  objective  furnishes  the 
simplest  means  for  compensating  the  astigmatic  differences 
of  oblique  pencils.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  a system 
composed  of  lenses  cemented  together,  and  in  which  the 
collecting  lens  has  a greater  refractive  index  than  the 
dispersing  lens,  gives  rise  to  astigmatic  differences  opposite 
to  those  caused  by  a system  of  lenses  the  collecting  lens 
whereof  possesses  a lower  refractive  index  than  the 
dispersing  lens. 

With  the  mode  of  compounding  both  parts  of  the 
objective  as  indicated  above,  it  is,  therefore,  only  necessary 
to  choose  the  ratios  of  the  single  lenses  in  both  these 
parts  in  such  a manner  that  the  opposed  astigmatic 

• This  is  a patent  issued  in  this  country  last  Wednesday  by  Dr.  Paul 
Rudolph,  mathematician,  of  Jena. 


differences  are  of  the  same  magnitude,  in  view  of  attaining 
compensation  of  this  astigmatism,  or  an  astigmatic  cor- 
rection of  the  entire  objective. 

But  in  order  that  the  realisation  of  this  condition  does 
not  enhance  the  difficulty  of  achromatising  the  whole 
objective,  it  is  essential  that  the  objective  possesses  also 
that  second  property  as  defined  at  the  beginning  of  this 
specification,  i.e.,  it  is  necessary  to  effect  the  contrariant 
composition  of  the  two  separate  systems  in  such  a 
manner  that  at  the  same  time  each  system  may  be  in 
itself  achromatised.  It  is,  however,  neither  particularly 
advantageous  nor  in  all  cases  practicable  to  perfectly 
achromatise  the  individual  members  of  a double  objective  ; 
for  the  mere  thicknesses  which  must  be  given  to  the  lenses 
may,  in  each  member  of  the  objective,  necessitate  deviations 
from  achromatism  amounting  to  about  one-fourth  of  the 
chromatic  difference  of  the  reciprocals  of  the  focal 
lengths  of  a single  crown  glass  lens  having  the  focal 
length  of  the  whole  objective.  But  it  is  of  practical 
importance  that  the  mode  of  composing  the  systems  of 
lenses  does  not  in  itself  involve  any  limitations  even  to 
their  approximate  achromatisation,  and  that  it  does  not 
render  inevitable  still  greater  chromatic  differences  than 
are  required  to  meet  other  conditions. 

This  last  requirement  may  be  satisfied  by  a suitable 
choice  of  the  combinations  of  glass  which  are  employed 
to  form  the  two  parts  of  the  objective.  The  following 
observations  may  explain  the  principles  which  govern  the 
selection  of  suitable  glasses. 

Those  pairs  of  glasses  (crown  and  flint)  which  are 
generally  resorted  to  in  the  construction  of  achromatic 
lenses  (and  which  a few  years  ago  constituted  the  sole 
means  of  obtaining  achromatism)  possess  this  charac- 
teristic feature,  that  a higher  refractive  index  invariably 
implies  a greater  relative  dispersive  power.  (Under  the 
term  dispersive  power  is  to  be  understood,  as  usual,  the 

quotient  A n i.e.,  the  difference  between  the  refractive 
n—  1, 

indices  for  two  different  colours  divided  by  one  of  these 
indices,  or  by  the  mean  index  of  refraction  minus  one.) 
A pair  of  glasses  of  this  kind — which  may  be  said  to  be 
of  a normal  character — admits  of  the  application  of 
positive  (collecting)  systems,  if  achromatism  is  to  be 
attained,  only  under  the  condition  that  the  positive 
element  has  a lower  refractive  index  than  the  negative. 

Recent  progress  in  glass  manufacture  has,  however, 
added  to  the  list  of  optical  glasses  other  kinds  of  glasses 
which  admit  of  such  pairs  being  selected,  in  which  the 
relation  of  the  refractive  indices  and  the  relative  disper- 
sive powers  is  just  the  opposite  as  in  the  other  case,  i.e.,  in 
which  the  glass  having  the  higher  refractive  index  does 
not  also  possess  the  greater,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the 
smaller  relative  dispersive  power.  Such  pairs  of  glasses 
maybe  said  to  be  of  an  abnormal  character,  in  contradis- 
tinction to  the  first-named  class. 

The  application  of  pairs  of  glasses  of  the  last-named  or 
abnormal  character  admits  of  the  production  of  systems 
with  positive  focal  lengths  in  which,  without  prejudice  to 
the  attainment  of  achromatism,  the  more  refractory  medium 
acts  as  the  positive  (collecting)  element. 

There  can  be  little  doubt,  Mr.  Lockyer  believes,  that  in  the 
Parthenon  the  greatest  function  was  when  the  chryselephan- 
tine statue  of  Pallas  Athene  was  lighted  up  by  the  rising  sun. 
In  Greece  the  eastern  horizon  was  used,  in  Egypt  both  east  and 
west. 


Jdne  20,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


4/ 


PHOTOGRAPHY  AT  GREENWICH  OBSERVA- 
TORY* 

BY  TIIE  ASTRONOMER  ROYAL. 

The  tube  for  the  28-inch  refractor,  which  is  of  special 
construction,  has  been  made  by  Sir  II.  Grubb  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  object-glass  which  is  now  being  figured.  The 
experimental  4-inch  object-glass  referred  to  in  the  last 
report  was  mounted  on  the  Sheepshanks'  equatorial,  and 
eighteen  photographs  were  taken  with  it  last  summer,  the 
lenses  being  separated  for  photographic  achromatism, 
and  the  crown  lens  reversed  to  correct  for  the  spherical 
aberration  introduced  by  the  separation.  The  best  dis- 
tance of  separation  was  determined,  and  the  photographs 
obtained  were  found  to  be  quite  satisfactory.  The  com- 
pletion of  the  28-inch  object-glass  has  been  delayed, 
presumably  by  the  pressure  of  work  on  the  18-inch 
photographic  telescopes,  which  have  engaged  so  much  of 
Sir  II.  Grubb’s  attention,  but  it  is  hoped  that  the  new 
refractor  will  be  ready  for  mounting  very  shortly. 

The  12|-inch  refractor,  which  will  be  dismounted 
shortly,  would  be  very  useful  for  the  observation  of  comets, 
occultations,  and  phenomena,  for  which  it  is  well 
adapted.  It  might  with  advantage  be  mounted  on  the 
Passed  equatorial  in  substitution  for  the  much  heavier 
tube  and  cradle  of  that  instrument,  the  provision  for 
rotation  of  the  mirror  and  tube  (which  necessarily  adds 
greatly  to  the  weight)  being  dispensed  with.  The  tube 
of  the  refractor  would,  I believe,  provide  a good  attach- 
ment for  a large  mirror,  3m.  48  (llft  8in)  in  focal  length, 
which  Mr.  Common  has  generously  offered  to  make  for 
the  Observatory.  Reference  has  already  been  made  to 
the  expediency  of  mounting  the  Lassell  equatorial  at  a 
greater  elevation  above  the  ground. 

The  13-inch  photographic  refractor,  with  10-inch 
guiding  telescope  by  Sir  II.  Grubb,  has  been  lately 
mounted  in  the  new  18-foot  dome  over  the  computing 
rooms,  and  one  or  two  trial  photographs  have  been  taken 
with  it.  The  definition  appears  to  be  very  good  for  shirs 
near  the  centre  of  the  field,  but  the  marginal  images 
might,  perhaps,  be  improved  by  a slight  readjustment  of 
the  lenses. 

For  determinations  of  motions  of  approacli  or  reces- 
sion of  stars  457  measures  have  been  made  of  the  dis- 
placement of  the  F line  in  the  spectra  of  26  stars,  and 
20  of  the  b line  in  the  spectra  of  5 stars,  besides  com- 
parisons with  the  spectra  of  the  moon,  the  sun,  or  the 
sky  as  a check  on  the  general  accuracy  of  the  results. 
Observations  of  Algol  on  seven  nights  confirm  as  far  as 
they  go  the  previous  results  indicating  orbital  motion. 
The  observations  of  Spica  made  in  past  years  are  found  by 
Professor  Bakhuyzen  to  be  tolerably  well  represented  on 
the  hypothesis  of  orbital  motion  with  a period  of 
41  Ob-  856,  agreeing  well  with  that  recently  discovered  by 
Hr.  Vogel’s  photographic  method.  As  the  series  of 
observations  with  the  12f-inch  refractor  (extending  over 
fifteen  years),  will  be  shortly  brought  to  a conclusion,  it 
is  proposed  to  discuss  them  with  a view  to  the  detec- 
tion of  orbital  motion,  whether  of  long  or  short  period, 
there  being  indications  of  this  in  the  case  of  several 
stars. 

In  the  year  ending  1890,  May  10th,  photographs  of  the 
sun  have  been  taken  at  Greenwich  on  212  days,  and  of 
these  439  have  been  selected  for  preservation,  besides 

* A portion  of  the  official  report  of  the  Astronomer  Royal,  issued  last 

Monday, 


thirteen  photographs  with  double  images  of  the  sun,  for 
determination  of  zero  of  position. 

For  the  year  1889  Greenwich  photographs  have  been 
used  on  173  days,  and  photographs  from  India  and  Mauri- 
tius filling  up  the  gaps  in  the  series  on  187  days,  making 
a total  of  360  out  of  365  on  which  photographs  have 
been  measured  in  this  year. 

The  sun  has  been  free  from  spots  on  211  days  in  the 
year  1889,  the  longest  spotless  period  being  October  23rd 
to  December  11th.  There  were  also  eight  other  spotless 
periods  of  more  than  a fortnight.  The  mean  daily  spotted 
area  in  1889  was  78,  as  compared  with  89  for  1888;  but 
the  mean  daily  area  for  the  latter  half  of  the  year  was 
nearly  twice  as  great  as  for  the  earlier  half,  being  103  as 
compared  with  53.  Again,  the  mean  distance  of  spots 
from  the  equator  was  5°-46  in  the  first  six  months,  and 
14°  72  for  the  last  six  ; and  both  these  facts  thus  point  to 
the  middle  of  the  year  1889  as  a well  defined  date  for  the 
sun-spot  minimum. 

The  photographic  reductions  are  complete  to  1890, 
January  6th,  and  the  copy  for  press  to  1889,  December 
31st,  is  in  the  printer’s  hands. 

Photographs  from  India  and  Mauritius  have  been 
received  from  the  Solar  Physics  Committee,  and  have 
been  measured  as  far  as  1890,  February  17th  and  Febru- 
ary 14th  respectively. 

As  regards  the  further  discussion  of  the  results  of 
former  years : — 

Ledgers  of  the  positions  and  areas  of  spots  for  the 
years  1882,  1883,  and  1884  are  being  formed.  Similar 
ledgers  for  the  years  1878-1881  (including  the  results 
from  the  Indian  photographs,  measured  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Solar  Physics  Committee)  have  been  com- 
pleted, and  the  mean  results  formed. 

Melbourne  photographs,  available  for  filling  up  gaps  in 
the  series  in  the  years  1875  and  1876,  have  been  measured, 
and  the  reduction  attempted;  but  it  appears,  from  an 
examination  of  the  results,  that  the  information  received 
as  to  the  orientation  of  the  plates  is  incorrect,  and  until 
further  particulars  are  obtained  from  Melbourne  the  reduc- 
tions cannot  be  proceeded  with.  All  the  available  photo- 
graphs taken  at  Harvard  College  during  the  same  years 
have  now  been  measured  and  completely  reduced,  64 
having  been  measured  in  the  past  year. 

The  discussion  of  personality  in  measurements  of 
8-inch  photographs  by  9 observers,  and  the  discussion  of 
probable  error  in  measurements  of  4-inch  photographs, 
have  been  completed  and  published  in  the  Photographic 
Results  for  1888. 

Soluble  Saccharate  of  Inox. — Athenstaedt’s  process  is 
given  as  follows  in  the  Moniteur  ScientiJique  : A solution  of  a 
ferric  salt,  1 to  100,  is  precipitated  by  a similar  solution  of 
ammonia  or  fixed  alkali,  taking  care  to  operate  at  a temperature 
of  about  10°  C.,  and  in  all  cases  below  15r  C.  The  precipitate 
must  be  washed  rapidly,  in  the  dark,  with  distilled  water  having 
also  a temperature  between  10°  and  1 5?  C.  The  ferric 
hydrate  thus  produced  is  then  mixed  with  powdered  sugar  in  a 
quantity  so  regulated  that  the  dry  preparation  will  contain 
three  parts  of  metallic  iron  to  one  hundred  parts  of  sugar. 
The  mixture  of  hydrated  ferric  oxide  and  sugar  is  maintained 
at  the  boiling  point  until  the  oxide  of  iron  becomes  dissolved  in 
the  syrup.  The  dry  product  is  obtained  by  drying  in  vacuo  at 
a low  temperature.  This  saccharate  of  iron  (a  most  improper 
name,  as  it  contains  no  saccharic  acid)  may  be  kept  in  solution 
made  by  diluting  the  mixture  when  cold  by  pure  distilled 
water.  We  are  told  that  these  solutions  are  clear,  and  that 
they  remain  so  indefinitely,  without  any  further  addition  or 
any  special  precautions. — Burgoyne't  Monthly  Circular. 


■178 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


i&otcs. 


Au  interesting  article  in  Harper's  on  modern  Erench 
painters  reveals  the  fact  that  there  is  a rival  to  Mr. 
Muybridge  in  the  person  of  M.  Morot,  whose  eye  is  so 
sensitive  and  so  educated  that  ho  can  follow  the 
movements  of  a horse  almost  as  quickly  as  does  an 
instantaneous  camera.  This  faculty  has  led  M.  Morot 
to  be  accused  of  painting  the  movements  of  horses  as 
they  have  been  ascertained  by  instantaneous  photo- 
graphs ; but,  in  point  of  fact,  he  has  never  used 
photography  at  all ; indeed,  he  had  already  made  his 
observations  of  the  movements  of  the  horse  before 
Muybridge  gave  to  the  world  the  result  of  his  remark- 
able experiments.  M.  Morot,  when  a youth,  spent 
nearly  all  his  time  in  the  manege  of  a friend  of  his 
family,  who  was  a horse  trainer.  The  result  of  his 
observations  was  the  discovery  of  much  error  on  the 
part  of  artists  in  drawing  horses  in  motion.  He  dis- 
cussed the  matter  with  the  riding-masters  of  Nancy, 
had  fine  sand  laid  down  in  the  manege  to  catch  the 
foot-prints,  and,  in  order  to  facilitate  his  observations, 
invented  a little  apparatus  composed  of  a cardboard 
tube,  with  two  horizontal  slits  in  it,  one  exactly 
opposite  the  other.  This  tube,  held  before  his  eyes, 
and  turned  sharply  with  the  fingers,  formed  a shutter 
or  “ obturator,”  on  the  same  principle  as  the  shutter 
of  a photographic  camera,  closing  the  field  of  vision  in 
about  the  fortieth  part  of  a second.  By  means  of  this 
apparatus  he  watched  the  movements  of  the  horse  and 
analysed  them,  and  each  element  of  the  movement 
impressed  itself  upon  his  finely-cultivated  retina  so 
sharply  that  he  was  able  to  draw  it  immediately  from 
memory. 


Thus,  thanks  to  the  extraordinary  sensitiveness  of 
his  eye,  aided  by  this  little  cardboard  tube  and  a patient 
pencil,  he  discovered  nearly  the  whole  theory  of  the 
horse’s  movements  while  he  was  still  a boy;  but  M. 
Morot  was  not  such  a pedant  as  to  adhere  to  the 
observations  of  what  might  be  called  abnormal  vision. 
In  painting  horses  in  movement,  some  compromise  has 
to  be  made  between  microscopic  observations  and 
ordinary  eyesight  . He  therefore  gets  over  the  difficulty 
by  avoiding  in  the  principal  figures  all  intermediary 
elements  of  movement ; he  selects  rather  the  beginning 
or  the  end.  In  the  confused  mass  of  a cavalry  charge, 
he  will  paint  one  horse  completely,  and  the  rest  of  the 
troop  will  be  bits  of  horses,  elements,  and  movements, 
all  the  phases  which  scientific  analysis  gives,  and  this 
agglomeration  and  detail  create  the  illusion  of  a vision 
of  rushing  horses. 


Some  sharp-eyed  critics  have  been  discovering  in  the 
pictures  of  the  ltoyal  Academy  further  incongruities, 
one  of  which  was  alluded  to  in  these  pages  a fortnight 
ago.  The  lighting  of  Mr.  Albert  Moore’s  picture  “A 
Summer  ^ight’  has  been  called  in  question  as  not 


[Jcne  20,  1890. 

being  like  anything  yet  seen  in  nature.  Mr.  Chevallier 
Tayler’s  “ The  Last  Blessing  ” is  also  declared  to  be 
inaccurate.  The  priest,  in  this  picture,  is  simply  hold- 
ing up  two  fingers,  whereas  the  whole  hand  should  be 
raised,  as  the  use  of  two  fingers  is  only  permitted  to 
eminent  dignitaries  of  the  Church.  Mr.  Wyllie’s  pic- 
ture of  “Davy  Jones’s  Locker”  displays  a slight 
ignorance  of  chemistry.  The  large  anchor  in  the  fore- 
ground is  painted  a red  rusty  colour,  but  iron  under 
water  does  not  take  a red  rust ; it  is  only  when  exposed 
to  the  air  that  the  red  oxide  is  formed.  It  must  be 
very  disagreeable  to  artists  when  they  find  that 
chemistry  cannot  be  made  to  correspond  with  art.  But 
the  anchor  in  question  makes  an  effective  piece  of 
colour,  and  Mr.  Wyllie’s  defiance  of  chemical  laws  is  to 
be  condoned  on  this  score. 


The  death  of  Count  Ostorog,  better  known  as 
“ Walery,”  is  announced.  The  event  came  as  a shock 
to  a numerous  circle  of  friends,  as  until  recently 
he  was  in  the  prime  of  life  and,  apparently,  in  the 
best  of  health.  Walery  was  a photographer  and  artist 
of  no  ordinary  skill,  and  of  unbounded  energy.  His 
business  was  recently  converted  into  a limited  liability 
company.  It  is  the  brother  of  Walery  who  has  accom- 
panied the  expedition  of  the  Chartered  British  South 
African  Company  on  a special  photographic  mission. 
Some  interesting  pictures  of  Matabeleland,  and  probably 
its  monarch,  Lobenguela,  may  be  expected. 


Until  last  week,  it  was  not  certain  whether  the  Ober- 
Ammergau  Passion  Play  was  a dramatic  performance 
pure  and  simple,  or  in  some  fashion  a religious  ceremony. 
An  incident  which  happened  a few  days  ago  must,  how- 
ever, settle  the  point  once  and  for  all.  A prominent 
journalist  distinguished  himself  by  an  excess  of 
zeal,  which  the  authorities  regarded  as  an  act  of 
piracy.  In  order  to  provide  his  friends  with  repro- 
ductions of  the  scenes,  he  seated  himself  close  to  the 
stage,  at  one  of  the  performances,  with  a photographic 
apparatus.  He  then  went  to  work  ; but  unfortunately, 
Caiaphas  caught  sight  of  him,  and  sent  a messenger  at 
once  to  stop  further  proceedings.  Following  on  the 
heels  of  the  first  came  a second  messenger,  demanding 
that  the  plates  should  be  given  up.  The  journalist 
refused,  and  was  therefore  taken  before  Caiaphas — 
who  happened  to  be  the  Burgomaster  of  Ober- 
Ammergau — and  charged  with  having  trespassed 
upon  the  monopoly,  for  which  certain  concessionaires 
had  paid  a large  sum  of  money.  It  so  happened  that 
the  amateur  was  able  to  prove  that  he  had  communi- 
cated with  the  concessionaires,  and  had  obtained  per- 
mission. The  result  was  a happy  release,  with  an 
abundance  of  apologies. 


Sometime  ago,  attention  was  called  in  the  News  to 
the  experiments  which  have  been  made  on  the  Con- 
tinent, showing  that  out  of  a number  of  married 
couples  photographed,  and  of  an  equal  number  of 


June  20,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


479 


brothers  and  sisters,  it  was  found  that  a much  larger 
proportion  of  married  people  resembled  each  other 
than  did  the  brothers  and  sisters.  The  topic  has  emerged 
from  the  circle  of  photographic  gossip,  and  has  been 
discussed  in  the  daily  papers.  A lively  article 
appeared  in  the  Daily  Telegraph  on  Monday,  in  which 
the  subject  is  treated  in  whimsical  fashion.  In  some 
respects,  however,  the  arguments  of  the  writer  are 
incomplete.  For  instance,  he  asks — “May  a plain 
man  catch  the  infection  of  loveliness  from  his  pretty 
wife  after  ten  years  or  twenty  of  companionship  ? ” 
This  theory,  the  writer  goes  on  to  say,  gives  certainly 
a great  advantage  to  the  owner  of  feminine  loveliness. 
This  is  all  very  well ; but  what  about  the  other  side 
of  the  picture  ? May  not  feminine  loveliness  contract 
a few  of  the  masculine  defects?  We  also  fail  to 
note  any  moral  deduced  by  the  writer  from  his 
speculations.  Obviously,  if  anything  is  to  be  learnt 
from  the  resemblance  between  married  people,  it  is 
the  bearing  which  this  resemblance  or  want  of 
resemblance  may  have  upon  happiness  in  married 
life.  Would  it  not  be  worth  while,  therefore,  for  the 
legislature  to  insist  upon  the  principals  in  divorce  cases 
being  photographed,  so  that  some  kind  of  data  might 
be  arrived  at  on  this  interesting  point  ? 


M.  Gaston  Tissandier,  in  an  article  on  Hash-light 
photography  in  La  Nature,  gives  a hint  which  those 
who  are  fond  of  this  pastime  will  do  well  to 
remember.  He  strongly  urges  the  sitters  not  to  place 
their  eyes  in  the  direction  of  the  light,  as  they  are 
almost  certain  to  shut  their  eyes  at  the  moment  of 
exposure,  and  the  effect  in  the  picture  will  be  that 
they  are  either  blind  or  asleep.  People  to  be  photo- 
graphed ought  to  look  on  one  side,  or  better  still, 
take  an  attitude  of  reading  a book  or  looking  at  an 
album.  The  latter  suggestions  do  not  strike  us  as  par- 
ticularly novel.  The  piquancy  of  flash-light  photo- 
graphs lies  in  their  unconventionality.  It  is  quite 
possible,  with  a little  ingenuity,  to  get  pictures  of 
domestic  life  where  the  figures  shall  not  appear 
asleep,  without  resorting  to  the  very  much  played-out 
book.  In  flash-light  photography  by  means  of 
magnesium  powdor,  as  in  photographing  by  the  electric 
light,  one  of  the  chief  problems  demanding  attention 
is  the  suitable  diffusion  of  the  light. 


The  notes  in  reference  to  photography  and  the  Tower 
of  London  have  done  good.  They  have  made  known 
the  fact  that  the  Tower  has  been  photographed, 
although  not  a single  copy  is  to  be  found  in  the  place 
where  one  would  naturally  expect  it — namely,  within 
Tower  itself.  It  is  to  be  feared  there  is  too  much 
truth  in  Mr.  Brooks’s  complaint  contained  in  his  letter 
of  last  week,  that  the  photographic  print  trade  has 
been  spoilt,  so  far  as  the  producer  is  concerned, 
by  excessive  competition.  But  this  competition 
ought  not  to  affect  the  sale  of  photographs  in  the 
Tower. 


The  application  of  photography  to  household  decora- 
tion is  gradually  making  headway,  and  we  have  lately 
noticed,  with  some  interest,  that  there  are  displayed  in 
many  furniture  shops  tasty  little  screens,  over-mantles, 
&c.,  in  which  are  spaces  for  pictures.  This  is  a far 
more  sensible  way  of  utilising  phot  jgraphs  than  is  the 
custom  of  putting  them  into  albums,  because  visitors 
to  one’s  house  can  look  at  them  or  not  as  they  please. 
They  are  too  often  given  an  album  of  pictures  to 
examine  just  as  if  they  were  children,  and  required 
something  to  keep  them  quiet.  We  have  occasionally 
experienced  the  tortures  of  looking  through  an  amateur’s 
album,  and  have  found  it  very  like,  but  not  so  enjoyable, 
as  the  room  of  horrors  at  Madame  Tussaud’s. 


Now,  if  photographs  are  used  for  decorative  purposes, 
only  the  very  best  are  utilised,  and  if  one  of  them  has 
a premature  attack  of  yellow  jaundice,  it  is  instantly 
removed,  and  a fresh  copy  takes  its  place.  The  owner 
watches  over  them  with  care,  and  they  are  not  suffered 
to  run  to  seed.  But  albums  get  neglected,  and  the 
majority  of  the  pictures  iu  them  are  often  not  fit  to  be 
seen. 


Another  field  for  photographic  decoration  is  found  in 
fanlights  over  doors,  lamp  shades,  or,  indeed,  in  any  place 
where  coloured  glass  interspersed  with  transparencies  is 
admissible.  The  glass  work  is  not  difficult  to  lead 
together,  and  the  metal  grooving  can  be  purchased  at  a 
cheap  rate  at  many  glaziers’.  An  article  in  an  American 
paper  was  lately  devoted  to  this  subject,  and  it  pro- 
fessed to  give  full  directions  whereby  the  amateur 
painter  and  glazier  could  put  this  kind  of  glass  work 
together ; but,  strange  to  say,  it  omitted  to  state  the 
kind  of  flux  to  use  for  soldering  the  lead  work.  The 
best  that  we  have  tried  is  Russian  tallow,  although 
rosin  will  act  nearly  as  well.  The  pattern  to  be  worked 
out  in  the  glass  is  first  of  all  drawn  full  size  on  paper, 
and  while  this  pattern  lies  on  a table  the  glass  is  cut, 
piece  by  piece,  and  fitted  above  it  into  the  lead  work. 
When  one  side  is  soldered,  the  entire  mass  is  turned 
over,  and  the  joints  on  the  other  side  are  joined  up  with 
the  soldering  iron. 


Some  persons  are  very  fond  of  complaining  that 
cameras  and  lenses  are  far  too  expensive,  and  that  one 
often  pays  too  dearly  for  the  privilege  of  having  a lens 
bearing  a well-known  name.  But  they  forget  that  this 
name  is  a guarantee  of  value,  and  that  some  time  hence, 
when,  perchance,  they  are  anxious  to  sell  or  exchange, 
it  will  give  the  article  a far  higher  selling  price  than 
would  be  possible  without  it.  These  grumblers  would 
be  surprised  to  learn  the  cost  of  some  of  the  best 
material  used  in  camera  construction.  One  well-known 
maker  bought  the  other  day  a log  of  very  hand- 
somely figured  mahogany.  It  was  as  hard  as  iron,  and 
a camera  made  with  it  would  be  calculated  to  stand 
the  vagaries  of  climate  in  any  part  of  the  world.  The 
price  paid  for  it  was  at  the  rate  of  three  shillings  and 
four  pence  per  square  inch. 


480 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  20,  1890. 


THE  GROSVENOR  GALLERY. 

BY  REV.  F.  C.  LAMBERT,  M.  A. 

The  visitor  who  inspects  this  collection  of  work 
chiefly  with  a view  to  increasing  his  own  store  of  sugges- 
tions, and  gatherings  hints  for  his  own  work  with  the 
camera,  will  not  find  many  striking  pictures. 

The  first  one  will  probably  be  No.  31  (“Youth  and 
Age,”  E.  E.  Simmons),  an  old  man  nursing  a sleeping 
child  ; the  group,  with  its  appropriate  cottage  surroundings, 
skilfully  treated  and  truthfully  rendered,  with  a back 
lighting  through  the  cottage  window.  Subjects  of  this 
character  are  among  the  most  suggestive  to  the  camera 
man  in  search  for  suitable  subjects. 

No.  36  (Portrait  of  1).  Q.  Orchardson,  R.A.,  by  him- 
self). It  is  most  unfortunate  that  the  nightmare-produc- 
ing expression  “ greenery-yallery  ” should  be  so  inextri- 
cably interwoven  with  the  name  of  the  Grosvenor  Gallery, 
because  it  has  a flavour  on  the  tongue  which  one  would 
gladly  get  rid  of  when  there  is  presented  to  one’s  notice 
such  admirable  workmanship  as  this  portrait  undoubtedly 
contains. 

No.  46  (“  Goodbye,”  E.  Harris),  a clever  treatment  of 
strong  outside  daylight,  and  also  cottage  interior  lighted 
by  a small  window.  The  truth  of  subdued,  light  tones  is 
carefully  worked  out. 

No.  72  (“  Lustra,”  II.  .T.  Hudson)  is  noteworthy  forits 
treatment  of  some  of  the  flesh  parts  in  shade. 

No.  90  (“Study  of  a Head,”  John  da  Costa),  a small 
but  admirable  piece  of  careful,  straightforward  work.  An 
old  woman’s  wrinkled  face  under  a light-tinted  sun  bonnet, 
in  words  does  not  sound  anything  worth  painting;  but  it  is 
not  the  subject,  but  the  truth  of  the  subject,  that  makes  a 
picture  of  what  might  easily  be  a very  ordinary  sketch. 

No.  115.  Here  we  have  another  “painter  painted,” 
palette  and  all— viz.,  J.  C.  Noble,  A.R.S.A. — by  John 
Pettie,  R.A.  The  portrait  is  not  altogether  restful  for 
the  eye ; the  strong  light  on  the  forehead,  on  the  collar, 
and  edge  of  the  aforesaid  palette  all  seem  to  claim  attention 
one  by  one.  The  moral  for  portrait  photographers, 
anyhow,  is,  do  not  have  too  many  high  lights  struggling 
with  each  other  for  the  observer’s  attention. 

No.  127  (“Finished  Sketch  of  the  Traitor,”  by  the 
same  artist  as  No.  115).  The  title  of  this  picture  will 
convey  a new  idea  to  those  who  have  followed  in  the 
ways  of  their  forefathers  in  thinking  that  a study  was  an 
unfinished  whole,  while  a sketch  was  a finished  part ; but 
■with  or  without  a title,  there  is  much  good  work  in  the 
picture,  even  if  the  outlines  of  some  of  the  limbs  of  the 
figures  are  striking. 

No  one  will  think  of  leaving  this  gallery  without  looking 
at  S.  P.  Hall’s  remarkable  little  picture  of  the  royal 
wedding  party  of  July  last  (No.  141).  On  this  party 
Mr.  Stanley  turns  his  back— or,  rather,  someone  has  so 
arranged  the  portrait  of  him  (140)  by  Miss  E.  M.  Merrick. 
On  no  account  must  be  overlooked  a pencil  sketch  of  the 
Marquess  of  Salisbury,  by  the  Marchioness  of  Granby. 
It  is  very  seldom  indeed  that  one  sees  such  a clever 
sketch  as  this — a sketch  truly  it  is,  but  one  which  drives 
home  the  lesson  that  a few  lines  in  the  right  place  are  worth 
infinitely  more  than  a million  of  them  in  the  wrong  place. 
(Retouchers,  please  note  this  in  the  largest  mental  capitals.) 

Passing  into  the  Second  Room,  149  (“The  First  of 
September,”  D.  Sadler)  claims  attention,  and  calls  for 
inspection  all  over  the  canvas.  It  is  a specimen  of  good 
workmanship,  and  too  much  of  it — i.e.,  so  much  detailed 


subject  that  it  becomes  a matter  of  effort  to  concentrate 
one’s  mind  on  the  theme.  Above  this  is  150  (“  Court  of 
Criminal  Appeal,”  Sir  A.  Clay),  portraits  of  some  six 
well-known  “lawyers,”  all  very  fine  and  large.  The 
artist  had  by  no  means  an  easy  task  before  him,  and  when 
all  the  circumstances  of  the  case  are  grasped,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  he  has  produced  a creditable  and  memorable 
piece  of  work.  Note  carefully  how  the  matter  of  variety, 
with  unity  of  pose,  has  been  worked  out — befitting 
expressions  as  portrait  studies,  disposal  of  twelve  hands  ! 

No.  164  (“Washing  Day,”  John  Reid)  brings  up  the 
thought,  “ too  many  figures ; some  are  sure  to  move  and 
spoil  it.” 

No.  165  (“Miss  Maude  Millett,”  C.  W.  Bartlett)  is  an 
instructive  study  of  the  camera -artist.  Note  the  effect 
of  a side  light  on  the  flesh  and  white  drapery  ; parts  of 
the  flesh  seem  almost  too  transparent  for  a portrait. 

No.  174  (“  Oporto,”  C.  N.  Ilemy),  a lot  of  good  work, 
broadly  treated  in  a simple  scale  of  colour,  resulting  in 
good  harmonious  work,  and  not  too  much  focus  either. 

No.  182  (“Striking  a Bargain,”  G.  King)  is  just  the 
thing  for  camera  men  ; many  obvious  hints  may  herefrom 
be  gathered.  Note  and  study  this  picture  well.  Now 
look  at  No.  155,  over  doorway  (“  Portrait”),  and  observe 
the  effect  of  tilting  the  head  the  same  way  as  the  back  of 
the  chair  tilts  over ; one  of  the  arms,  too,  is  more  or  less 
parallel.  Another  obvious  note. 

No.  205  (“A  Moment’s  Rest,”  W.  E.  Norton).  Al- 
though there  is  a general  feeling  of  wishing  for  a bit 
more  focus  somewhere  about  the  picture,  yet,  despite  that 
unsatisfied  longing,  it  is  a painting  of  decided  merit,  and 
well  worth  the  study  of  any  artist.  Of  the  portraits  in 
this  room,  No.  203,  by  Hon.  J.  Collier,  and  No.  187, 
by  F.  M.  Skipworth,  are  especially  deserving  of  useful 
study. 

In  the  Third  Room,  No.  239  (“A  Silver  Mist  Melting 
in  Softest  light,”  R.  H.  Carter),  a group  of  fisher  folk  in 
an  early  morning  mist,  sorting  and  packing  their  catch,  is 
a splendid  picture.  Here  we  have  a reply,  in  part,  to  the 
.advocates  of  the  extreme  fuzzy  school  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  fj 64  school  on  the  other,  showing  that  it  is  not 
impossible  to  reproduce  all  the  feeling  of  softness  and 
distance,  subdued  detail,  apart  from  fuzzy  outline,  and 
also  that  there  may  be  plenty  of  detail,  and  even  bright 
light,  with  a mist,  without  wiry  crispness  everywhere  or 
anywhere.  The  unity  of  the  whole  picture  and  the  melt- 
ing of  one  plane  into  another,  the  gradual  diminution  of 
detail,  are  all  points  to  be  studied  and  remembered. 

No.  248  (“  Room  in  Brussels’  Almshouse,”  11.  Yos)  is 
more  pleasing  as  a collection  of  many  studies  than  as  a 
whole  ; the  long  line  of  figures  introduces  a difficulty  not 
easy  to  overcome.  The  picture  is  in  a low  key,  and 
broadly  treated. 

No.  259  (“Four  Jolly  Sandboys,”  Miss  J.  R.  Taylor). 
This  is  the  sort  of  subject  in  which  a camera-man  can 
get  a long  start,  and  it  is  from  photographs  (of  the  right 
sort)  that  artists  might  now  and  again  take  a hint  in  this 
kind  of  work. 

Among  the  studies  of  the  nude,  we  should  select 
No.  288  (“A  Water  Baby,”  Hon.  J.  Collier),  and  No.  185 
(“  Boy  and  Dryad,”  C.  N.  Kennedy),  as  being  worthy  of 
considerable  study, 

No.  320  (“  Portrait,”  L.  Ward)  prodneesa curious  effect, 
and  for  the  moment  gives  one  the  idea  that  the  man  is 
“standing  on  nothing”  against  a rather  strongly  tinted 
background. 


June  20,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


481 


No.  327  (“The  Ramesum,  ” J.  Varley)  shows  .admirably 
the  effect  of  strong  sunlight  and  sharp-edged  shadow, 
without  the  soot  and  whitewash  effect  usually  produced  by 
the  shutter  maniac. 

No.  341  (“  Javanaise  Dancers,”  A.  Melville)  gives  one 
rather  a shock.  The  exclamation,  “ What  a splendid 
frame ! ” is  almost  irresistible. 

No.  350  (“An  Interior,”  Miss  C.  F.  Jones),  a skilful 
piece  of  work.  Observe  that  the  darker  parts  are  not 
without  a due  share  of  detail.  (Expose  your  next  interior 
/«%•) 

Nos.  337  and  360  (Landscapes,  R.  B.  Nisbet,  R.S.W.), 
pictures  of  “almost  nothing  at  all,”  and  yet  pictures. 
Why  ? Because  there  is  truth  of  tone,  true  values,  with- 
out which  a painting  is  diagrammatic  (if  that),  and  lacking 
in  the  true  essential  element  of  every  art,  viz.,  truth  of 
proportion , not  only  of  drawing,  but  also  of  detail , of  lone 
(light  power),  and  tint  (colour  power). 

One  more  picture,  and  one  to  linger  over — viz.,  No.  371 
(“The  Missing  Boat,”  David  Green).  It  is  not  easy,  nor 
is  it  pleasant,  work  seeking  for  a fault  in  a picture  like 
this,  which  demands,  and  is  entitled  to,  much  in  the  way 
of  praise.  Some  may  say  part  of  the  immediate  foreground 
is  “to  let”;  and  yet  even  its  simplicity  by  no  means 
detracts  from  the  point  of  interest.  Note  the  simple  lines 
of  the  general  scheme — harmony  of  figure-group  of  fisher 
folk,  simplicity  of  their  belongings,  boat  huts,  and  cloud 
drawing ; the  feeling  of  air,  space,  and  largeness  in 
the  distance — all  contribute  in  producing  a picture  of 
considerable  power,  and  one  which  owes  much  to  its  parts 
being  kept  in  true  proportion  throughout. 

Xottcts:  of  JJoofcs. 


Magnesium  Flash-Light  Photography,  by  Robert  Slings- 

by.  ( London , Marion  and  Co.,  1890.) 

This  book  is  written  for  those  who  intend  to  take  up  Hash- 
light  photography  in  a serious  way,  and  not  to  take  an 
occasional  “ chalky  ” picture  by  way  of  pastime.  The 
pages  are  of  large  size,  to  accommodate  specimen  illustra- 
tions, and  the  literary  contents  are  limited,  but  practical 
and  to  the  point.  The  author  tells  how  many  more  flash- 
lamps  are  necessary  as  the  size  of  the  apartment,  hall,  or 
theatre  increases ; how  and  where  to  place  the  lamps ; howto 
give  a large  number  of  flashes  simultaneously,  and  other 
miscellaneous  information,  the  result  of  practical  experi- 
ence, for  Mr.  Slingsby  has  given  special  attention  to  this 
class  of  work.  Much  better  pictorial  and  artistic  results 
can  be  obtained  by  flash-light  photography  than  occa- 
sional dabblers  therein  are  prone  to  suspect.  We  con- 
sider Mr.  Slingsby’s  book  to  be  of  practical  value  to  pro- 
fessional and  other  photographers  of  the  present  time, 
and  that  it  is  the  forerunner  of  a class  of  such  works 
likely  to  appear  when  the  system  of  flash-light  photo- 
graphy is  more  elaborated. 

On  page  15,  Mr.  Slingsby  quotes  from  the  Photo- 
graphic News  of  January  24th  last  a formula  for 
making  an  explosive  flash-light  powder,  containing  per- 
chlorate and  chlorate  of  potash,  which  Professor  Max 
Muller,  of  Weimar — as  our  German  correspondent  stated  — 
“asserts”  not  to  be  so  dangerous  as  a mixture  containing 
no  perchlorate.  However  this  may  be,  we  think  the 
mixture  to  appear  so  dangerous  upon  theoretical  grounds 
that,  like  all  others  containing  chlorate  of  potash,  the 
ingredients  should  be  powdered  separately,  should  not 


be  kept  mixed  in  bulk,  but  that  only  enough  should  be 
mixed  at  a time,  with  the  feather  end  of  a quill  pen,  to 
give  the  desired  flash  when  exploded,  otherwise  deadly 
results  may  follow. 


Photographischer  Zeitvertreib.  By  Hermann  Schnauss. 

( Ed.  Liesegang,  Diisseldorf,  1890.) 

The  matter  of  this  work  is  much  more  interesting  and 
instructive  than  its  title — “ Photographic  Pastime  ” — might 
lead  one  to  suppose.  It  is  a description  of  such  of  the  less 
practised  photographic  methods,  including  some  that  might 
be  called  “ dodges,”  as  are  within  the  reach  of  an  amateur, 
or  of  the  professional  photographer  who  likes  to  do  some- 
thing out  of  the  regular  groove  of  photographic  business, 
without  the  necessity  for  any  special  costly  apparatus — 
anything,  in  fact,  that  cannot  be  easily  improvised  with  a 
little  application  and  goodwill. 

The  first  part  of  the  work  relates  to  the  best  means  to 
adopt  in  photographing  flowers,  paintings,  animals,  snow 
scenes,  and  moving  water.  Then  follows  the  photographing 
of  electrical  discharges,  both  natural  and  as  produced  by 
dynamic  and  other  artificial  sources.  A very  curious  illus- 
tration is  that  of  a seal  photographed  by  its  electrical  con- 
dition, and  not  by  any  illumination  thrown  upon  it. 

We  next  come  to  a description  of  the  means  to  be 
adopted  for  taking  photographs — portraits  particularly — 
by  night.  Here,  in  addition  to  a description  of  mag- 
nesium lamps,  is  a diagram  showing  the  positions  of  the 
sitter,  camera,  light,  and  shield  to  protect  the  lens  from 
rays  proceeding  directly  from  the  flash. 

In  the  next  chapter,  on  photographic  curiosities,  we  find 
doubles,  spirit  photographs,  and  caricatures  dealt  with  and 
explained.  A more  serious  question  is  then  taken  up, 
that  of  combined  portraiture  as  introduced  by  Galton,  the 
necessary  simple  appliances  for  which  are  fully  illustrated. 
Following  this  chapter  is  one  on  photographing  by  means  of 
what  is  called  a pin-hole  camera.  Details  of  the  method 
are  given,  but  the  illustration  of  a pin-hole  photograph 
accompanying  it  has  doubtless  suffered  in  the  process  of 
conversion  into  a surface  block  necessary  for  use  with  the 
letter  press,  as  it  is  not  nearly  such  a perfect  result  as 
some  that  we  have  seen  produced  in  this  manner. 

The  tables  given  of  time  of  exposure  for  different  sizes 
of  pinhole,  and  what  stands  for  length  of  focus,  should 
be  found  useful  to  any  who  may  think  of  trying  this 
method  of  producing  photographs.  Photographing  by 
the  aid  of  a telescope  is  a chapter  which  may  be  turned 
to  practical  account.  Without  going  into  astronomical 
photography,  it  not  unfrequently  happens  that  it  is 
desired  to  obtain  a larger  image  of  some  distant  object 
than  can  be  got  with  the  lenses  at  hand. 

The  stroboscope,  which  is  next  described,  requires 
more  elaborate  apparatus  for  the  production  of  the  neces- 
sary photographic  negatives,  but  the  same  cannot  be  said 
of  the  photo -kaleidoscope  pictures  that  follow  in  the  work. 

We  have  not  exhausted  the  contents  of  the  book,  which 
includes  printing  with  floral  borders,  printing  direct  from 
natural  objects  without  the  intervention  of  the  camera, 
and  other  matters  calculated  to  interest  those  readers 
who  are  not  satisfied  with  merely  treading  the  most  beaten 
roads,  but  find  pleasure  in  exploring  the  bye-paths 
which  lead  to  results  of  a more  unaccustomed  character. 
The  work  is  plentifully  illustrated,  and  in  such  a way  as 
to  materially  facilitate  a ready  grasping  of  the  methods 
described. 


482 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  20,  1890. 


CONVERSAZIONE  OF  TIIE  ROYAL  SOCIETY. 

Breath  Figures,  and  their  Relation  to  Photography — 
Reversal  of  the  Image  in  Breath  Figures — The 
Rising  Sun  and  Egyptian  Temples — Sun  Gods — 
Photographs  of  Wild  Beasts  — Photography  and 
Forestry— Astronomical  Photography — More  Photo- 
graphs of  the  Eggs  of  the  Great  Auk — Platinotype 
Portraits— Tornado  Photographs. 

Last  Wednesday  night  the  annual  ladies’  conversazione  of 
the  Royal  Society  was  held  at  Burlington  House.  The 
president,  Sir  George  Stokes,  and  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Humphrey,  received  the  guests.  Among  those  present 
were : — 

Dr.  John  Evans  (treasurer),  Professor  Michael  Foster  and  Lord 
Rayleigh  (secretaries),  Dr.  Archibald  Geikie  (foreign  secretary), 
the  Lord  Chancellor,  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  Earl 
and  Countess  of  Rosse,  Earl  Compton,  Lord  Bratnwell,  Lord 
Thurlow,  Lord  Sackville  Cecil,  Lord  Arthur  ltussell,  Lord 
Basing,  Lord  Coleridge,  Mr.  A.  J.  Balfour,  Lord  Justice  Fry, 
Bishop  of  Limerick,  Admiral  Sir  John  Hay,  Admiral  Sir  George 
Richards,  General  Sir  Peter  Lumsden,  General  Sir  Lewis  Pelly, 
Sir  James  Caird,  Sir  Lyon  Playfair,  Mr.  Justice  Stirling,  Sir 
William  Thomson,  Sir  Heury  Barkly,  Sir  James  Paget,  Sir 
George  Paget,  Sir  Henry  Roscoe,  Sir  James  Douglass,  General 
Sir  Beauchamp  Walker,  Sir  John  Lubbock,  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson, 
Sir  William  Bowman,  Sir  F.  Burton,  Sir  Frederick  Abel, 
Archdeacon  Farrar,  Mr.  Calderon,  R.A.,  Professor  Storey- 
Maskelyne,  M.P.,  Professor  Norman  Lockyer,  Sir  George 
Baden- Powell,  Mr.  W.  H.  Preece,  Sir  R.  E.  Wei  by,  Sir  Benjamin 
Baker,  Mr.  G.  A.  Spottiswoode,  Sir  William  Savory,  Sir 
Frederick  Bratmvell,  Mr.  Moulton,  Q.C.,  Dr.  J.  H.  Gladstone, 
Sir  Charles  Wilson,  Mr.  H.  H.  Johnston,  Sir  Frederick  Pollock, 
Professor  and  Mrs.  Sidgwick,  Dr.  Quain,  Rev.  J.  R.  Diggle, 
Dr.  Ogle,  Mrs.  W.  K.  Clifford,  Miss  M.  Shaw-Lefevre,  Miss 
Kensington,  Miss  Clough,  Miss  Sellars,  and  Lady  Ashburton. 

Mr.  W.  B.  Croft,  M.A.,  exhibited  some  breath  figures, 
showing  that  polished  surfaces  placed  near  to  bodies  in 
low  relief  often  take  an  impression  of  the  detail,  which  is 
made  visible  by  breathing  upon  the  surface.  The  period 
of  exposure  varies  in  different  circumstances. 

Mr.  Croft  says: — “ 1.  A coin  is  lightly  pressed  on  a 
freshly  split  surface  of  mica  for  thirty  seconds  ; the  mica 
takes  a breath  figure  of  the  detail  of  the  coin.  2.  Paper 
printed  upon  one  side  has  lain  for  ten  hours  between  two 
plates  of  glass  ; the  print  appears  in  white  letters  on 
both.  Part  of  this  phenomenon,  although  not  with 
print,  was  noticed  by  Moser  in  1840.  8.  Sometimes 

the  print  appears  in  black  letters  ; the  same  impression 
may  change  from  white  to  black.  4.  Coins  are  put  on 
the  two  sides  of  a piece  of  glass  and  electrified  for  two 
minutes ; each  side  has  a perfect  impression  of  that  side  of 
the  coin  which  faced  it.  An  electrotype  plate  may  be 
reproduced  iu  a similar  way.  These  effects  were  partly 
indicated  by  Karsten  in  1840.  5.  An  electric  spark  is 

sent  across  glass.  Five  superposed  bands  appear,  black 
and  white,  of  decreasing  breadths,  as  well  as  three  per- 
manent scars.  Riess,  1840.  6.  The  microscope  shows 

water  particles  over  the  whole  surface,  larger  or  smaller 
as  the  effect  is  black  or  white.” 

A strong  point  of  interest  in  these  breath  figures,  from 
a photographic  point  of  view,  is  that  they  arc  liable  to 
something  resembling  “over-exposure”  when  the  electrical 
action  is  continued  too  long,  for  then  the  image  is  entirely 
or  nearly  obliterated.  Upon  suitably  rubbing  the  plates, 
however,  the  image  comes  out,  .as  if  the  rubbing  had 
removed  some  film  ; in  this  latter  respect  there  is  as  yet 
no  parallel  in  photography,  so  far  as  we  know,  although, 
when  church  windows  are  “ overdone  ” and  rich  iu  fog  i 


and  halation,  rubbing  down  the  surface  of  the  negative 
with  turpentine  will  usually  bring  pictorial  details  into 
view.  A still  stronger  point  of  interest  about  the  breath 
figures  is,  that  sometimes  reversed  images  are  obtained  ; 
sometimes  the  image  will  come  out  as  a positive,  some- 
times as  a negative,  and  Mr.  Croft  tells  us  that  he  does  not 
know  the  conditions  governing  the  reversal.  These 
phenomena  too  much  resemble  some  of  those  familiar  in 
photography  not  to  make  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
they  bear  some  relation  to  each  other.  From  a theoretical 
point  of  view,  they  are  of  interest ; in  the  case  of  breath 
figures,  at  all  events,  the  image  is  not  reversed  by  liberated 
bromine. 

The  breath  images  are  sometimes  full  of  exquisitely 
sharp  detail,  and  they  are  somewhat  stable,  for  Mr.  Croft 
keeps  them  stored  in  plate  boxes,  like  those  for  negatives, 
and  they  do  not  seem  to  fade.  Dipping  the  plates  in 
water  and  wiping  them  with  a cloth  smudges  the  images, 
but  does  not  remove  them.  They  can,  however,  be 
removed  by  rubbing  the  plate  hard  with  damp  leather. 

To  get  a breath  image  of  a coin,  the  following  method  is 
adopted : — A piece  of  patent  plate  glass  is  taken  and 
washed,  and  wiped  clean ; such  perfect  cleaning  as  usual 
in  photography  is  not  necessary.  Another  sheet  of  glass 
is  taken  and  laid  upon  the  table ; a slip  of  tinfoil  is  then 
laid  on  the  sheet,  then  comes  the  piece  of  clean  glass, 
and  the  coin  on  the  top  of  all.  One  conductor  of  a 
Wimshurst  electrical  machine  is  connected  with  the  coin, 
and  the  other  conductor  with  the  strip  of  tinfoil  between 
the  glasses  ; the  machine  is  then  turned  for  two  minutes. 
The  glass  discs  of  the  machine  arc  fifteen  inches  in  dia- 
meter, and  are  turned  at  the  rate  of  about  one  revolution 
per  second.  The  poles  of  the  machine  are  arranged  at  the 
sparking-distance  of  about  half  an  inch,  as  a safe-guard 
against  the  electrification  of  the  coin  being  overdone. 

Breath  images  are  sometimes  obtained  simply  by  taking 
a piece  of  paper  printed  on  one  side,  and  leaving  it  for 
some  hours  between  two  sheets  of  patent  plate  glass. 

Moser,  Hunt,  and  others  made  many  experiments  on 
this  subject  in  the  days  of  old,  and  Karsten  found  that, 
on  suitably  electrifying  a coin  on  the  top  of  a pile  of 
plates  of  glass,  he  could  get  an  image  of  the  coin  on 
every  plate,  and  always  on  its  upper  surface. 

Professor  J.  Norman  Lockyer,  F.  R.S.,  exhibited,  by 
means  of  the  lantern,  photographs  of  a number  of  Grecian, 
Egyptian,  and  other  temples,  including  some  of  those  of 
Thebes,  taken  by  Captain  Abney.  Mr.  Lockyer  pointed 
out  to  the  assembled  company  that  many  of  these  temples 
pointed  east  and  west,  and  were  open  at  the  ends,  so  that 
the  rising  or  the  setting  sun  could  stream  through  each 
temple,  and  illuminate  the  sanctum  sanctorum  at  the  other 
end  ; the  temples,  therefore,  are  like  horizontal  telescopic 
tubes,  with  a collimating  axis.  To  show  that  this  idea  is 
worth  considering,  he  pointed  out  how  a king’s  palace  and 
a second  structure  near  a temple  both  had  openings 
which  would  permit  the  passage  of  the  rays  of  the  sun 
through  the  two  buildings,  and  then  through  the  great 
temple  of  the  sun  god,  Ra,  “The  Lord  of  the  Two 
Horizons,”  a title  which  has  more  meaning  to  the  astronomer 
than  to  the  archamlogist.  This  idea  of  Air.  Lockyer's  we 
therefore  think  to  have  more  to  support  it  than  some  of 
the  numerous  speculations  about  sun  gods.  A pamphlet 
has  been  issued,  purporting  to  be  written  a thousand  years 
hence,  satisfactorily  proving  to  our  descendants  that  the 
present  Professor  -Max  Muller  of  Oxford  has  no  existence, 
but  is  a sun  god,  a solar  myth.  Professor  Lockyer  is  a 


June  20,  1890.1 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


483 


kind  of  sun  god  in  his  way,  for  lias  not  a celebrated  ballad 
described  him  as  the  “ owner  of  all  the  corona  ? ” 

Dr.  II.  P.  Bowditch  exhibited  some  specimens  of 
American  composite  photography. 

Mr.  Gambier  Bolton  exhibited  some  lantern  pictures  of 
animal  and  bird  studies  photographed  from  life.  These 
studies  were  the  result  of  eighteen  years’  photography  at 
home  and  abroad,  and  they  include  slides  of  the  newly 
discovered  zebra  (equits  grevyi,  stuffed),  and  Mr.  Yorke’s 
photograph  of  the  quagga,  from  life.  Mr.  Bolton 
told  the  assembled  listeners  that  he  believed  the 
latter  to  be  the  only  photograph  of  the  quagga  in  exist- 
ence ; it  was  taken  but  a few  months  before  the  death 
of  the  animal.  The  peculiarity  of  Mr.  Bolton’s  photo- 
graphs was  that  they  were  taken  by  long  exposures — that 
is  to  say,  exposures  of  one  or  two  seconds’  duration — in 
order  to  avoid  the  harsh  shadows  incidental  to  instan- 
taneous photographs  taken  in  direct  sunlight.  Among 
the  photographs  was  one  of  the  green  monkey,  as  well  as 
of  several  other  rare  beasts.  From  its  restlessness,  he 
found  the  leopard  the  most  troublesome  animal  to  photo- 
graph, and  nervous  dogs  with  long,  flapping  ears  caused 
difficulty. 

Some  admirable  platinotype  photographs  by  Mrs.  F.  W.  1 1. 
Myers  were  on  view ; they  displayed  refined  artistic 
taste,  and  good  technical  skill.  Several  of  them  were 
portraits  of  public  celebrities,  including  Bret  Harte  ; the 
others  were  chiefty  character  portraits.  One  of  the  best 
of  them  represented  two  cherubs. 

The  Royal  Meteorological  Society  exhibited  some 
tornado  photographs.  Among  others,  there  were  fourteen 
photographs  showing  the  devastation  caused  by  the  tor- 
nado at  Rochester,  Minnesota,  U.S.,  on  August  21st, 
1883.  The  great  force  of  the  wind  in  the  tornado  was 
illustrated  in  a very  striking  manner  by  two  of  the  photo- 
graphs, as  one  shows  a horse  impaled  by  a large  branch  of 
a tree,  and  another  shows  pieces  of  straw  driven  end-on 
into  the  bark  of  trees.  There  were  two  photographs  of  a 
tornado  cloud  taken  at  Jamestown,  Dakota,  U.S.,  June  6th, 
1887.  The  cloud  funnel  was  twelve  miles  to  the  north. 
The  Society  also  exhibited  a photograph  of  a tornado  cloud 
taken  in  the  storm  on  June  22nd,  1888,  showing  the  spiral  - 
shaped  funnel  trailing  at  a considerable  altitude  in  the  air 
at  the  other  side  of  a lake,  New  Hampshire,  U.S. 

Professor  II.  Marshall  Ward,  M.A.,  F.R.S.,  exhibited  a 
selection  of  transparent  photographs,  showing  (1)  various 
trees  and  plants  from  different  parts  of  the  world,  including 
European  oak,  beech,  spruce,  the  Indian  banyan,  palm 
and  bamboos  from  Ceylon,  and  Californian  pine ; 
(2)  illustrating  the  microscopic  characters  of  some  impor- 
tant timbers,  such  as  are  employed  for  determining  their 
nature ; also  various  details  in  the  anatomy  of  healthy 
wood  generally  ; (3)  a selection  of  photographs  of  diseased 
oak  and  spruce,  showing  how  different  are  the  symptoms 
exhibited  by  the  same  timber  when  attacked  by  different 
fungi.  Illustrations  of  several  destructive  fungi  were  on 
view,  and  some  details  of  their  action  given.  As  an 
example  of  the  uses  to  which  photography  may  be  utilised 
in  forestry,  we  append  a list  of  those  transparencies  exhi- 
bited by  Mr.  Ward  which  relate  to  the  diseases  of  timber 
and  plants  caused  by  fungi  : — 

A block  of  the  wood  of  oak  destroyed  by  Thelcpliora  Pcrdix. 
A similar  block  of  oak  destroyed  in  a very  different  way  by  Poly- 
porus  dryadcus.  A similar  block,  also  oak,  showing  the  again 
different  mode  of  destruction  due  to  Polyporus  sulpkureus. 
"transverse  section  of  a branch  of  oak  destroyed  by  Polyporus 


sulpkureus  ; the  light  parts  are  filled  with  mycelium.  Longi- 
tudinal section  of  wood  of  oak  destroyed  by  Telcphora  Pcrdix. 
The  cavities  of  vessels,  &c.,  are  filled  with  fungus  hyphsc, 
which  pierce  the  walls  and  dissolve  them  by  means  of  soluble 
ferments  (enzymes),  reducing  the  structure  to  a friable  or 
rotting  mass.  Very  highly  magnified.  A block  of  spruce 
destroyed  by  Polyporus  mollis.  A similar  block,  also  spruce, 
showing  the  very  characteristic  and  different  mode  of  destruc- 
tion due  to  Trametcs  rndicipcrda.  Stump  of  a young  tree 
attacked  by  Agaricus  melleus,  a destructive  parasite.  Portion 
of  bark  of  a tree  bearing  fructifications  of  Polyporus  sulpkureus, 
a destructive  parasite.  Portion  of  branch  of  beech  attacked 
by  Nectria  ditissima,  one  of  the  fungi  which  causes  “canker.” 
Specimens  of  wood  suffering  from  “dry-rot,”  due  to  the 
ravages  of  Merulius  lacrymans.  A withered  leaf  covered  with 
“ mould,”  one  of  which  ( Botrytis ) is  capable  of  parasitic  exist- 
ence on  living  plants  of  various  kinds. 

Mr.  Isaac  Roberts,  F.R.S.,  exhibited  sixteen  original 
photographs  of  stars,  nebuhe,  and  clusters,  including  five 
photographs  of  the  Great  Nebula  in  Orion,  namely : — 
1.  A negative  with  five  consecutive  exposures,  each  of 
5 seconds,  30  seconds,  1 minute,  3 minutes,  and  6 minutes 
respectively,  showing  the  stars  in  the  trapezium,  and  the 
progressive  photographic  development  of  the  nebulosity 
around  them.  2.  A negative  showing  the  appearance  of 
the  nebula,  with  an  exposure  of  15  minutes.  3.  A nega- 
tive showing  the  nebula,  with  an  exposure  of  81  minutes. 
The  third  nebula  (y  1,180)  is  also  shown  on  this  plate. 
4.  A negative  with  an  exposure  of  205  minutes,  showing 
great  extensions  of  the  nebulosity,  and  that  the  nebula 
(1*1  1,180)  is  connected  with  the  Great  Nebula.  5.  A 
negative  with  dual  exposures,  and  an  interval  of  five  days 
between  them,  illustrating  a method  for  detecting  variable 
stars  of  short  period.  The  suspected  variables  were  indicated 
by  circles  drawn  around  them.  He  also  exhibited : — 
6.  A negative  of  stars  in  the  constellation  Cygnus,  showing 
more  than  16,000  stars  on  four  square  degrees  of  the  sky, 
with  an  exposure  of  1 hour.  7.  A negative  of  the  nebula; 
(81  and  82  Messier),  and  a nebulous  star  in  Ursa  Major. 

8.  The  Spiral  Nebula  (51  Messier)  in  Canes  Venatici. 

9.  The  Dumb-bell  Nebula  (27  Messier)  in  Vulpecula. 

10.  The  Ring  Nebula  (57  Messier)  in  Lyra.  11.  The 
Globular  cluster  (13  Messier)  in  Hercules.  12.  The 
Great  Nebula  in  Andromeder.  13.  Nebulae  in  the 
Pleiades.  14.  The  double  cluster  in  the  sword  handle 
of  Perseus.  Remarkable  groupings  amongst  the  stars  are 
also  shown.  15.  The  minor  planet  Sappho  on  the  30th 
December,  1886.  The  trail  of  the  planet  during  60 
minutes  was  shown  within  the  circle  drawn  around  it. 
16.  The  minor  planet  Sappho  on  the  7th  January,  1887. 
The  trail  is  within  the  circle,  .and,  by  comparing  its 
positions  on  the  two  photographs,  the  distance  it  has 
moved  during  seven  days  can  be  measured. 

Air.  Edward  Bidwell  again  exhibited  some  photographs 
and  models  of  the  eggs  of  the  great  auk,  but  in  somewhat 
larger  number  than  at  the  last  conversazione  of  the  Royal 
Society,  as  published  in  these  pages  at  the  time.  The 
prints  measured  6 by  4 inches,  and  were  upon  bromide 
paper ; they  were  executed  by  Mr.  Kidd,  who  had  been 
engaged  to  travel  with  Air.  Bidwell  over  a large  part  of 
Europe  for  the  purpose. 

The  great  auk,  or  garefowl,  formerly  existed  in  large 
numbers  on  the  coast  of  Newfoundland,  from  which 
country,  and  from  the  rocky  islets  off  Iceland,  most  of  the 
birds  and  eggs  now  in  collections  were  obtained.  In  con- 
sequence of  the  quantities  killed  for  food  by  the  English 
and  French  fishermen,  the  bird  was  exterminated  in  its 
American  home  early  in  this  century,  but  it  survived  in 


484 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jcnk  20,  1890. 


Europe  until  1844.  There  are  77  recorded  specimens  of 
the  grea  auk,  14  skeletons  (fairly  perfect),  and  67  eggs. 
The  collection  of  photographs  exhibited  consisted  of  two 
views  each  of  55  of  the  eggs,  photographed  to  scale.  The 
models  were  cast  in  moulds  taken  direct  from  the  eggs. 


THE  COSTUME  ALBUM. 

That  the  ablest  and  best  of  human  endeavours  are  too 
often  misunderstood  and  maligned  is  a truth  so  trite  and 
obvious  as  to  require  little  illustration.  Whether  it  be 
from  envy,  which,  like  a shadow,  pursues  merit  and  proves 
it  substantial ; or  from  ignorance,  which  is  unable  to  com- 
prehend desert ; or  from  indifference  or  laziness,  which 
is  too  idle  to  look  for  it,  some  of  the  greatest  benefac- 
tors of  humanity  have  been  suffered  to  languish  in 
obscurity,  or  have  met  that  which  is  worse,  the  exasperating 
destiny  of  ridicule  and  reproach. 

These  reflections  are  likely  to  be  aroused  in  the 
deliberative  mind  by  the  Costume  Album,  which  has 
been  laughed  at  by  the  superficial  as  the  “latest  of 
American  notions,”  and  nothing  more.  It  has  been 
regarded  simply  as  a pretty  picture  book,  instead  of 
a collection  of  moral  memoranda,  as  it  really  is,  and  its 
author,  no  doubt,  intended  it  to  be,  and  its  untoward 
fate  in  this  respect  recalls  in  a remarkable  manner  that 
of  a great  work  with  a somewhat  similar  ethical  purpose, 
an  abortive  birth  of  some  fifty  years  ago. 

That  “virtue  should  supersede  crime  and  establish 
peace  and  harmony  on  earth  ” is,  it  will  be  generally 
allowed,  something  devoutly  to  be  wished.  How  this 
desire  may  be  accomplished  was  discovered  by  an  author 
of  the  name  of  Thomas  Wirgman,  who  published  in 
1837  a book  entitled  “The  Grammar  of  the  Five  Senses,” 
which  he  regarded  as  a first  step  in  infant  education.  This 
infant  education  was  also  to  be  an  universal  education,  and 
“ established,” in  the  author’s  words,  “for  ever.”  It  was 
presented  by  him  to  the  Bishop  of  London  in  the  hope 
that  the  Bishop  might  cordially  enter  into  its  ideas,  and 
suggest  it  as  a text-book  throughout  the  whole  world. 
Moreover,  severe  scrutiny  was  invited  for  the  detection  of 
one  single  untenable  proposition,  for  which  a reward  of 
ten  pounds — who  was  to  be  the  judge  in  the  matter  is 
not  stated — was  offered  by  the  author. 

This  book,  beginning  with  the  five  senses,  illustrated 
by  the  simple  notions  of  an  umbrella,  a tree,  a drum, 
an  apple,  and  a rose,  proceeded  incontinently  in  its 
second  chapter  to  the  metaphysical  considerations 
of  space  and  time.  The  volume  was  adapted  to  the 
childish  intelligence  by  the  aid  of  colours,  in  small 
parallelograms  of  about  14  by  4 inch.  Eternity  appeared 
a pale  arrangement  in  orange  ; Time  was  distinguished 
by  a heavenly  blue  ; pink  dignified  Conception  and 
Understanding.  The  error  of  the  great  Aristotle  was 
thus  demonstrated  to  the  infant,  “for  in  his  catalogue 
of  ten  notions  he  has  introduced  quando  and  ubi, 
thus  converting  the  only  two  mental  recipients  into  mental 
activities,  viciating  (sic)  the  whole  science  at  its  com- 
mencement, and  frustrating  his  own  laudable  design.”  But, 
notwithstanding  its  condemnation  of  the  Stagyrite,  its 
attractive  colours,  and  its  author’s  estimate  of  its  cor- 
rectness, the  Bishop  of  London  seems  to  have  treated  it  with 
disregard,  and  the  Queen — to  whom  a special  presentation 
copy  was  submitted — acquainted  Mr.  Thomas  Wirgman 
that  she  could  not  entertain  applications  for  its  use  to 
‘ ‘ really  improve  the  state  of  education  for  the  infant 


population,”  and  coldly  referred  him  to  her  confidential 
advisers  for  the  future. 

The  American  mind  which  conceived  and  brought 
forth  the  pregnant  idea  of  a Costume  Album  has  been 
as  much  misunderstood  as  the  unlucky  author  of  the 
“Grammar  of  the  Five  Senses.”  Already,  indeed,  has 
the  shaft  of  ridicule  been  aimed  at  this  elegant  concep- 
tion, and  many  imperfectly  acquainted  with  its  object 
have  spoken  of  it  with  disparagement  or  vilification. 
It  lias  been  supposed  to  be  merely  a Magasin  de  Modes,  a 
common  fashion  book,  with  this  sole  difference,  that  the 
person  draped  exists  not  in  imagination  but  in  reality. 
Were  it  nothing  but  this,  it  might,  perhaps,  deserve  the 
obloquy  with  which  it  has  been  assailed,  but  its  inventor 
beyond  doubt  aimed  at  something  higher,  intended  some 
noble  moral  end  far  other  than  a mere  idle  gratification 
of  the  eye.  We  may  conceive  him  to  be  a second  Adam 
Smith,  dealing  with  the  influence  of  custom,  and  fashion, 
and  association  upon  the  moral  sentiments. 

In  this  way  of  thought  a Costume  Album  may  be 
regarded  as  a continual  monitor,  or  a vade  mecum  of  good 
advice.  As,  when  a new  fashion  of  dress  comes  in,  the 
folly  of  the  outgoing  fashion  is  commonly  perceived 
and  insisted  on,  so  many  actions  which  the  principle  of 
association  lias  connected  with  that  dress  are  afterwards 
seen  face  to  face  in  their  naked  deformity.  The  senti- 
ments of  conduct  are,  perhaps,  as  much  influenced  by 
fashion  as  the  sentiments  of  beauty.  As  the  dress  of  one 
time  seems  at  another  absurd,  so  also  does  the  be- 
haviour. What  is  to-day  supposed  to  be  elegant  is  pro- 
nounced hideous  to-morrow ; what  is  to-day  regarded  as 
good  and  worthy  of  approbation  is  denounced  to-morrow 
as  bad  and  morally  indecent.  Suppose,  if  an  illustration 
be  required,  that  a lady  possesses  in  her  Costume  Album 
a photograph  of  an  apparel  which  she  had  made  or  ‘ ‘ con- 
fectioned ” for  the  express  purpose  of  beholding  a bull 
fight  at  Seville,  or  of  assisting  at  a pigeon  shooting 
match  at  Ilurlingham.  The  very  next  photograph  in  her 
collection  represents  her  in  the  modest  attire  suitable 
for  attendance  at  her  own  parish  church,  in  which  attire 
she  prays  devoutly  to  be  delivered  from  the  pomp  and 
vanity  of  this  wicked  world.  Surely  a moral  lesson  will 
be  conveyed  to  the  most  heedless  and  inattentive  mind 
by  such  a pictorial  juxtaposition.  Surely  the  most  bird- 
witted — without  any  reference  to  the  pigeons  at  Ilur- 
lingham — woman  will  be  thereby  mentally  benefitted. 

Thus,  the  Costume  Album  will  become  a valuable  diary 
of  life’s  experiences,  teaching  her  what  to  seek  after  and 
what  to  avoid.  If  we  suppose  the  prices  of  her  varied 
raiments  to  be  .added  to  them,  after  the  fashion  of  a linen- 
draper’s  ticket,  though  the  appearance  of  the  photograph 
will  be  in  no  way  bettered,  yet  what  a valuable  lesson  in 
economy  will  hereby  be  gained  ! 

The  pigeon  shooting  attire,  besides  presenting  a 
record  of  time  used,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  for  no 
profitable  or  praiseworthy  purpose,  will,  with  its 
adventitious  ornaments  and  wholly  unnecessary  elabora- 
tion, remind  her  who  once  wore  it  how  great  an  expense 
was  then  thereby  incurred ; the  parish  church  apparel, 
showing  no  immoderate  outlay,  and  “quoted,”  to 
borrow  a mercantile  flower  of  expression,  “at  a 
modest  figure,”  while  it  affects  her  with  no  pang  of  by- 
gone extravagance,  will,  at  the  same  time,  cheer  her  heart 
and  strengthen  her  future  endeavour  with  a sense  of  an 
accomplished  duty  likely  to  bring  about  a temporal  and 
eternal  advantage.  Again,  the  many  changes  of  her 


June  20,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


485 


costume  in  a short  season  will  remind  her  of  the  muta- 
bility of  life,  of  the  uncertainty  of  happiness,  and  of  the 
nature  of  the  only  true  good,  unchanging,  and  eternal. 

Here  is  a dress  which  she  wore  at  that  dinner  party  of 
A’s,  where  a hired  man,  an  alien  to  the  profession  of  a 
footman,  spilt  a plate  full  of  soup  down  her  back.  Then 
she  thought  she  should  have  died  with  vexation  and 
chagrin  ; now  she  wonders  how  such  an  accident  could 
have  affected  her  equanimity.  Here  is  a ball  dress  with 
an  infinitesimal  irregularity  of  fit;  she  remembers  what 
words  she  used  to  her  dressmaker  in  regard  to  it  with 
remorse  and  shame.  Here,  again,  is  the  dress  in  which 
she  showed  that  mean  jealousy  of  her  husband  at  that 
picnic  at  X’s.  How  often  has  she  since  confessed  to  her- 
self, while  looking  upon  its  representation  in  her  Costume 
Album,  that  her  anger  was  wholly  idle,  and  misplaced,  and 
foolish,  inasmuch  as  it  was  within  an  ace  of  wrecking  all 
her  happiness  in  the  future.  And  so  against  all  the  other 
evil  passions  of  the  mind — those  harpies  which  prey  upon 
the  human  heart — the  Costume  Album  may  actas  a memorial 
and  as  a warning. 

Not  a dress  in  that  book  is  without  its  own  little  history 
of  good  or  evil,  known  probably  to  herself  alone.  So  she 
may  repair  to  this  excellent  volume,  as  to  another  “ Pilgrim’s 
Progress,”  in  any  spare  moment  of  serious  meditation,  and 
see  herself,  as  it  were,  in  a looking-glass.  Nor  is  the 
advantage  to  her  alone.  Finding  the  folly  of  envy,  malice, 
hatred,  and  all  uncharitableness  so  clearly  recalled  to  her 
by  her  Costume  Album,  she  will  have  the  chance — and 
probably  use  it — of  improving  her  own  character,  and 
thereby  adding  to  the  happiness  of  those  around  her.  Nor 
is  this  even  all.  After  she  herself  has  passed  away,  her 
children  may  in  their  turn  learn  a lesson  from  her  old 
Costume  Album.  Turning  over  its  pages,  from  the  gay 
sprightliness  and  vivacity  of  the  dress  of  their  mother's 
youth,  to  the  grave  and  sedate  sobriety  of  her  apparel  in 
old  age,  they  will  receive  such  moral  instruction  and 
benefit  as  could  hardly  be  produced  in  them  by  any  alien 
record,  and  their  earliest  thoughts  of  the  vanity  of  the 
world,  their  first  earnest  conviction  of  the  frail  estate  of 
human  things,  may  be  born  in  them  by  the  inspection  of 
this  “latest  of  American  photographic  notions.” 

May  the  book  long  flourish  which  is  fraught  with  such 
wholesome  counsel,  and  meet  not  the  unhappy  fate  of  the 
book  of  Thomas  Wirgman.  It  is  truly  sad  to  read  the 
concluding  words  of  his  preface.  “ Should  the  reverse  of 
this  pleasing  dream  take  place,”  says  the  author  of  the 
“Grammar  of  theFive  Senses” — anticipating  the  possibility 
of  its  ill  success — “should  its  writer  still  meet  with  the 
same  apathy  and  indifference  which  have  signalized  the 
last  forty  years  of  his  existence,  his  theory,  together  with 
his  dialogues,  must  for  ever  die  ; unless,  indeed,  like  the 
Pythagorean  theory  of  the  celestial  bodies,  after  a lapse  of 
many  thousand  years  it  should  find  another  Copernicus  to 
bring  it  into  play.”  Absit  omen! 


The  Photographic  Convention. — Since  our  last  issue,  and 
up  to  the  time  of  going  to  press,  we  have  not  received  from 
the  Photographic  Convention  a cop}’  of  the  official  programme, 
or  any  additional  details  as  to  the  Chester  meeting.  From 
another  source  information  comes  that  Mr.  Friese  Greene  will 
exhibit  one  or  more  of  the  new  cameras  for  taking  a consider- 
able number  of  photographs  of  moving  objects  per  second,  as 
well  as  one  or  two  other  interesting  pieces  of  mechanism.  The 
lantern  machines  for  projecting  the  said  photographs  on  a 
screen  are  at  present  defective,  but  are  likely  to  be  all  right  in 
a few  weeks'  time. 


MR.  TOOLE  AMONG  PHOTOGRAPHERS. 

A subscriber  has  sent  us  a copy  of  the  Melbourne  Argus 
containing  the  following  narrative.  Says  Mr.  Toole : — 

“ I have  to  sit  again  for  my  photograph,  and  you  may  as 
well  come  along  with  me.  Having  my  photograph  taken 
always  reminds  me  of  one  occasion  when  I was  taking  a stroll 
on  Hampstead  Heath  with  Beerbohm  Tree.  We  met  a little 
travelling  photographer,  who  wanted  us  to  have  our  piotures 
taken  for  sixpence  each,  frame  included. 

“ ‘ But  I’ve  never  had  my  picture  taken  before,’  I said, 

‘ Does  it  hurt  much  ? ’ ‘ Why,  Lor’  bless  you  ! no,’  he  says, 

‘ it’s  as  easy  as  any  think.  Just  you  stand  steady,  and  I’ll  take 
yer  in  two  minits.  ’ 

“ ‘But  I’m  so  nervous — you  must  let  me  hold  my  friend’s 
hand,  and  you  must  take  us  together.  What  do  you  put  that 
black  cloth  over  your  head  for  ? Have  you  hurt  yourself  ? ’ 

“This  necessitated  his  leaving  off  to  explain  to  us  the  use 
of  the  black  cloth,  and  by  that  time  we  told  him  we  had 
become  so  nervous  that  he  must  promise  not  to  look  at  us  while 
we  were  being  taken.  The  moment  he  turned  his  face  and 
began  counting,  Tree  and  I made  the  most  frightful  grimaces 
imaginable  at  the  camera.  The  man  took  out  the  negative, 
scrutinised  it  with  a puzzled  expression,  and  said,  * I can’t 
make  it  out.  Somethin’s  gone  wrong — yer  faces  have  come  out 
like  puddens,  they’re  all  over  the  shop.  ’Ave  another  try,  gents.’ 
We  had  another  ‘ try,’  repeating  our  protests  of  nervousness, 
and  inducing  him  to  turn  his  head  away.  We  contorted  our 
faces  worse  than  before,  and  you  never  saw  such  extraordinary 
productions  in  your  life  as  those  photographs.  The  man  was 
very  crestfallen,  and  we  told  him  we  did  not  think  much  of  liis 
machine,  paid  our  money,  and  strolled  on.  Presently  we  were 
accosted  by  another  photographer,  who  invited  us  to  have  our 
portraits  taken. 

“‘How  much?’  we  asked  him,  and  when  he  quoted  the 
same  price  as  the  first  man,  we  said,  ‘ Why,  we  have  just  had 
them  taken  by  a fellow  over  there,  and  he  only  charged  us 
twopence  each,  but  we  were  not  very  well  pleased  with  them, 
and  have  a mind  to  try  you.’ 

“ He  looked  furiously  in  the  direction  of  the  other  man,  and 
his  temper  did  not  improve  when  he  came  to  examine  the 
negative,  because  we  went  through  exactly  the  same  fooling  as 
before.  We  paid,  and  left  him  with  the  very  evident  inten- 
tion stamped  on  his  countenance  of  going  over  to  ‘ have  it 
out’  with  his  rival  for  underselling  him,  and  thus  ruining 
trade. 

“Of  course,  we  subsequently  bestowed  life  annuities  on 
both  of  these  men. 

We  had  now  arrived  at  the  photographer’s,  and  followed 
Toole  into  the  little  office,  the  walls  of  which,  as  is  usual  with 
such  places,  were  hung  with  every  imaginable  specimen  of  work 
done  on  the  premises.  Consequently,  we  were  not  prepared 
to  see  Toole  lean  over  the  counter  and  ask  the  young  woman 
attendant  if  she  could  recommend  him  to  any  place  in  Mel- 
bourne where  he  could  have  his  photograph  taken.  The  girl 
stared  at  him,  but  there  was  such  a look  of  humble  and 
inquiring  gravity  in  his  face  that  she  only  smiled,  and  said  he 
could  have  his  likeness  taken  there. 

“ Yes,”  said  Toole,  in  a deprecatingly  considerate  tone  of 
voice,  “but  I shouldn’t  like  to  put  you  out,  you  know.  Now, 
if  you  could  tell  me  of  some  place  where  they  make  a business 
of  it,  I should  be  so  much  obliged.” 

The  girl,  repressing  a tendency  to  laugh,  for  his  manner 
was  full  of  a pleading  earnestness,  assured  him  that  they  made 
a business  of  nothing  else,  and  asked  what  style  he  would 
like  to  be  taken  in. 

“Well,”  he  answered  thoughtfully,  “I  don’t  quite  know, 
for  I was  never  taken  before,  and  I don’t  know  which  style  hurts 
the  most.  I believe  a group  is  the  least  painful  form,  so  I 
think  the  three  of  us  would  like  to  be  taken  in  a group.” 

“ Well,  now,  here  is  a group.  Would  you  like  to  be  taken 
in  this  style  ? ” and  she  handed  him  one  of  those  remarkable 
pictures  in  which  two  young  men  stood  bolt  upright  in  the 
background,  while  three  others  were  disposed  at  their  feet  in 
what  are  called  picturesque  attitudes,  the  whole  five  looking  as 


486 


[Jcne  20,  1890. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


stiff  and  uncomfortable  as  disconcerted  pickpockets.  Toole 
gazed  at  this  sadly  for  a few  minutes,  and  plaintively  remarked, 
“ Oh,  I see,  it  takes  five  to  make  a group  ; just  you  wait  here 
a moment  while  I run  down  stairs  and  get  a couple  of  men 
out  of  the  street  to  make  up  the  number,  so  we  can  be  taken 
in  a group,”  and  he  turned  to  go. 

“No,  no,”  said  the  girl,  “there  are  five  here;  I havn’t  a 
group  of  three  to  show  you,  but  three  can  be  taken  just  as 
well  as  five.” 

“ But  wouldn’t  it  be  more  painful  with  only  three  ? ” Toole 
asked  innocently,  but  got  no  answer,  for  the  girl  dived  behind 
a little  screen,  from  which  she  presently  emerged  with  a 
heightened  colour,  and  said  if  we  would  please  to  step  upstairs 
to  the  next  floor  but  one,  she  would  arrange  everything  through 
the  speaking  tube.  Now,  it  is  a bad  thing  to  commence 
laughing  when  you  are  not  quite  certain  of  your  power  to  stop, 
and  I am  sorry  to  say  one  of  Mr.  Toole’s  companions  was  in 
this  case  by  the  time  we  reached  the  first  landing.  This  was 
occupied  by  a merchant’s  office,  full  of  packing  cases  and 
samples,  in  which  two  or  three  clerks  were  working,  while  the 
man  of  business  was  seated  at  a little  desk  all  by  himself. 
With  a hurried  injunction  of  “ Don’t  laugh,”  Toole  preceded 
us  straight  into  the  room,  and,  addressing  the  man  at  the 
desk  with  a smile  of  cheerful  serenity,  said,  “ We  have 
spoken  to  the  young  lady  downstairs,  and  she  arranged  us 
through  the  speaking  tube.  We  want  a group  of  three,  please, 
as  I understand  it  doesn’t  hurt  more  than  five,  and  I hope 
you  wont’t  keep  us  long,  as  I have  an  appointment.” 

I thought  the  man  of  business  would  have  fallen  backwards 
out  of  his  chair,  but  he  recovered  himself,  and  said,  with  a 
smile,  “I  think,  sir,  you  are  mistaken.” 

“Yes,  we  want  to  be  taken,”  said  Toole,  pretending  to  be 
deaf.  “Any  style  you  think  best,  you  know.  I should  like 
to  arrange  my  hair  first.” 

“ I said,  sir,  I think  you  have  made  a mistake.  If  you 
want  the  photographer  he  is  on  the  next  flat.” 

“As  flat  as  you  like,”  Toole  answered.  “I’ve  seen  some 
of  ’em  raised,  but  I don’t  think  it  any  improvement.  You 
won’t  keep  us  more  than  ten  minutes,  will  you  ? ” 

“You  have  come  to  the  wrong  office,  sir,”  said  the 
merchant,  raising  his  voice.  “What  name  did  you  want?” 
“Oh,  yes,  we’ll  have  a frame,  if  it’s  all  the  same  price — 
not  that  I am  particular  to  a shilling  or  two.  Perhaps  you 
can  show  us  some  specimens  ? ” Toole’s  countenance  was 
smiling  amiability  itself. 

I felt  my  lips  beginning  to  quiver  when  the  merchant  rose 
solemnly  from  his  chair,  leant  on  his  knuckles  across  the 
desk,  and  proceeded  to  bawl  directions  how  to  find  the  studio 
upstairs  to  Toole,  who  listened  intently  with  his  glass  in  his 
eye  and  his  hand  to  his  ear.  But  I missed  the  termination 
of  the  scene,  for  our  other  friend  was  suddenly  seized  with 
a violet  fit  of  something  between  a cough  and  a sneeze,  which 
sounded  so  suspiciously  like  an  uncontrollable  outburst  of 
laughter  smothered  in  a handkerchief,  that  I was  obliged  to  lead 
him  out  and  thump  him  on  the  back.  We  heard  the  directions 
being  shouted  out — half  the  city  might  have  heard  them  for 
that  matter — and  presently  Toole  joined  us  not  a bit  flustered, 
and  quietly  remarking  that  it  appeared  we  had  made  a mis- 
take, for  the  studio  was  on  the  floor  above.  As  Mr.  Toole’s 
man  had  actually  been  there  in  the  morning,  and  made  an 
appointment  for  him  with  the  photographer,  no  further  pranks 
could  be  played  there,  and  the  sitting  only  occupying  a few 
minutes,  we  again  descended  to  the  street. 

The  Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  discussion  on 
Wednesday,  July  2nd,  will  be  “ Matt  Surface  Printing.”  July 
9th,  lteportof  Delegates  to  the  Photographic  Convention.  Satur- 
day, June  28th,  outing  at  Pinner  ; tea  at  Queen’s  Head  at  6.30. 

The  British  Association. — This  year  the  British  Associa- 
tion meeting  will  be  held  at  Leeds,  and  will  begin  on  Wednes- 
day,  September  3rd,  under  the  presidency  of  Sir  Frederick 
Abel,  C.B.  The  president  of  section  A (Mathematical  and 
Physical  Science)  will  be  Mr.  J.  W.  L.  Glaisher,  F.R.S.,  who 
long  since  has  achieved  eminence  as  a mathematician,  and  is 
the  son  of  Mr.  James  Glaisher,  the  president  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Society. 


NEW  SALTS  EXHIBITING  OPTICAL  PHENOMENA. 
Among  the  most  extraordinary  and  beautiful  optical  pheno- 
mena presented  by  organic  compounds,  it  would  be  difficult,  or 
perhaps  impossible,  to  find  any  rival  in  this  respect  to  two 
new  products  lately  obtained  in  the  laboratory  of  a Viennese 
chemist,  Dr.  Edmund  Morvan.  Nothing  similar  has  been  seen 
hitherto,  and  it  is  expected  that  the  careful  study  of  the  physi- 
cal properties  presented  by  these  compounds  may  ultimately 
bring  out  new  ideas  with  respect  to  our  theories  of  light  and 
colour. 

The  first  of  these  is  an  organic  compound  of  oxide  of  zirco- 
nium, and  is  named  by  its  discoverer  zircon-ethyl-methyl- 
phthalein.  The  other  belongs  also  to  the  aromatic  series,  and 
is  called  monococyl-metadihydroxyl-benzol. 

These  compounds  exhibit  hitherto  unknown  properties  of 
refraction  and  fluorescence.  The  former  appears  yellow  by 
transmitted  light,  and  green  by  reflected  light — that  is,  it 
looks  like  a brilliant  yellow  liquid  with  a bright  green  fluores- 
cence.* The  latter  appears  violet  and  green  under  the  same 
conditions. 

The  first-named  compound  shows  a remote  resemblance  to 
the  substance  known  for  some  time  past  as  fluoresein,  but  is 
distinguished  from  it  by  its  ready  solubility  in  water,  and  also 
by  the  fact  that  when  treated  with  nitrate  of  silver  it  yields 
a bright  red  precipitate  of  nitrate  of  zirconethyl.  Under  the 
influence  of  the  electric  current  it  presents  most  interesting 
features.  In  a very  weak  solution,  in  a small  glass  tube  her- 
metically sealed  and  submitted  to  an  electric  current,  it  changes 
its  colour  to  blood-red,  and  shows  a light  blue  fluorescence  ; 
the  latter,  says  Dr.  Morvan,  is  due  to  zirconium.  On  after- 
wards breaking  the  tube  and  neutralising  with  a minute  quantity 
of  ammonia,  the  substance  resumes  its  original  aspect  and  fluor- 
escence. 

A weak  solution  of  the  monococyl-metadiliydroxy-benzol, 
placed  in  a hollow  prism,  refracts  light  strongly  ; on  its  spectrum 
being  thrown  upon  a screen,  both  colours  of  the  fluorescence 
disappear.  The  zircon  compound  behaves  in  a similar 
manner.  Removing  the  white  screen  and  collecting  the 
coloured  rays  by  means  of  a lens — the  rays  thus  collected  now 
forming  a simple  ray — the  latter,  on  being  conveyed  through  a 
common  prism,  is  spread  out  again  into  a spectrum,  in  which 
not  only  the  fluorescent  colours  are  wanting,  but  also  their 
complementary  tints.  These  are  certainly  most  interesting 
properties,  such  as  have  never  before  been  noted  in  any  sub- 
stance. But  there  are  many  other  wonderful  properties  to  which 
we  have  no  space  to  allude  here. — Burgoyne’s  Monthly 
Magazine. 


patent  EntcUtgcnrc. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

8,928.  F.  W.  Branson,  2,  East  Parade,  Leeds,  “Cameras.” — 
June  10th. 

8,956.  W.  J.  Radford,  17,  Brunswick  Street,  Liverpool, 
“ Improvements  in  Light  Baskets  for  Carrying  Light 
Articles.” — June  lltli. 

9,058.  J.  C.  Shenstone,  70,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Lamps 
for  Photographic  Enlargements.” — June  11th. 

9,118.  II.  H.  Lake,  45,  Southampton  Buildings,  London, 
“ Photographic  Apparatus.”  (Rudolf  Krugener,  Germany.) 
— June  12  th. 

9,158.  C.  H.  Gale,  38,  Scarsdale  Villas,  Kensington,  London, 
“ Adjustable  Tripod.” — June  13th. 

9,208.  G.  T.  Teasdai.e  Buckbll,  “ Printing  in  Colours." — 
June  14  th. 

9,218.  F.  \Y.  Hayward,  23,  Upper  King  Street,  Norwich, 
“Colouring  and  Softening  Photographs  on  Paper.” — June 
14  th. 

9,231.  W.  Milner,  11,  Yerbury  Road,  Holloway,  London, 
“ Photographic  Shutters.” — June  14th. 

* Fluoresein,  which  also  exhibits  these  optical  phenomena,  is  ubur.4- 

antly  soluble  in  a weak  solution  of  ammonia. — Ed  of  P.  N. 


Jone  20,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


487 


@orregpon&cnrc. 


FLANGE  SCREWS  OF  PHOTOGRAPHIC  LENSES. 

Sir, — At  some  meetings  of  a sub-committee  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Convention,  certain  sizes  were  suggested  as  standards 
for  the  flange  screws  of  photographic  lenses. 

We,  the  undersigned,  who  were  present  at  the  meeting, 
with  every  desire  to  assist  in  the  settlement  of  this  important 
question,  were  convinced  that  the  sizes  arranged  would  not  be 
universally  adopted  by  the  leading  manufacturers.  We  felt, 
however,  quite  confident  that  it  would  be  possible  to  arrange  a 
series  of  flanges  which  could  be  adopted  by  ourselves,  to  which 
we  could  arrange  to  make  all  our  lenses  in  the  future,  and 
which  should  also  be  of  such  a character  that  the  majority  of 
lenses  now  in  the  market  should  screw  into  them. 

We  are  making  careful  investigation  into  the  matter,  and  we 
have  gone  quite  far  enough  to  see  that  we  shall  be  able  to  adopt 
such  a series  of  sizes.  Several  important  considerations  are 
beiug  carefully  considered,  amongst  which  may  be  mentioned 
the  absolute  necessity  of  arranging  a series  of  diameters  which 
are  in  suitable  ratio  to  the  dimensions  to  which  the  lenses 
themselves  must  be  made.  In  order,  therefore,  to  obtain 
standards  that  will  be  in  future  adopted  by  the  leading  makers, 
we  are  carefully  arranging  a series  of  sizes  to  which  we  shall 
work  in  future,  and  which  we  shall  submit  for  the  careful 
consideration  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain, 
and  the  Photographic  Convention. 

Ross  & Co., 

J.  H.  Dallmeyer, 

R.  & J.  Beck, 

W.  Wray, 

Henry  Crouch, 

James  Swift  & Son. 


THE  CONVENTION  VISIT  TO  OLD  MORETON  HALL. 

Sir, — Many  of  your  readers  who  propose  visiting  Old 
Moreton  Hall  during  the  Convention  week  will  be  greatly 
disappointed  to  find  it  undergoing  a course  of  whitewash  and 
tar.  The  creamy  old  plaster  and  woodwork  are  being  daubed 
all  over  with  glaring  whitewash,  and  where  the  timbers  and 
carvings  come  it  is  receiving  a coat  of  tar  on  the  top  of  that. 
I don’t  know  if  this  piece  of  vandalism  will  be  finished,  and 
the  scaffolding  removed,  in  time  for  the  Convention  visits, 
but  I thought  it  best  to  make  known  what  is  being  done  and 
what  to  expect.  If  the  council  can  suggest  some  other  of  the 
fine  old  mansions  with  which  the  country  abounds  as  an  alter- 
native, it  would  be  well.  Richard  Keene, 

Dolby  Cottage,  Western  Bank,  Derby,  June  14. 

PASSING  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PLATES  THROUGH  FOREIGN 
CUSTOM  HOUSES. 

Sir, — About  passing  plates  safely  through  foreign  custom 
houses  as  well  as  our  own.  I have  soaked  off  some  safeguards 
from  an  old  box.  The  plates  should  be  in  grooved  wood 
boxes,  with  small  squares  of  orange  or  ruby  glass  in  the 
cover  and  bottom  through  which  the  officers  can  see  that  the 
boxes  cannot  contain  cigars.  I never  had  one  opened. 

Plaques  photograpliiques.  Si  la  boite  est  ouverte  les  plaques  seront 
compb’tement  perdues.  Messieurs  les  officiers  de  la  Douanc  sont  pries 
d’avoir  la  bont<5  de.regarder  dans  l'interieur  au  travers  des  verres  dc  couleur. 

Vetri  preparati  per  la  fotografia.  8j  la  casetta  viene  aperta  i vetri  sono 
intieramente  rovinati.  Si  prega  l’officiatc  della  Dogana  ad  avere  la  bonta 
di  osservare  a tra verso  dei  vetri  color.it' . 

Photographic  plates.  If  the  box  be  opened  the  plates  will  be  utterly 
ruined.  The  officers  of  the  Custom  House  are  begged  to  i xamine  the  inside 
through  the  coloured  glass. 

Those  who  take  glass  or  films  in  ordinary  card  boxes  must 
take  also  the  consequences. 

When  will  the  dealers  have  the  good  sense  to  supply  orange 
or  red  paper  made  adhesive  for  the  repair  of  damage  to  boxes, 
camera-bellows,  or  tents,  or  for  making  a temporary  changing 
place  behind  a farm  window  ? 

k When  will  they  have  the  sense  to  make  grooving  fit  for 


modern  sheet  glass,  with  thin  partitions,  instead  of  going  on  for 
generations  making  grooves  to  take  wet  plates  and  plate  glass  ? 

For  use  abroad  the  boxes  might  be  made  much  less  in  thick- 
ness to  take  each  dozen.  Now,  four  grooves  go  to  an  inch  and 
an  eighth.  There  ought  to  be  six  in  that  spacing.  Compact- 
ness is  tried  for  by  grooves  for  ten  plates  each,  back  to  back,  a 
woeful  business. 

I have  beautiful  boxes  made  by  Mr.  Meagher  for  me  to  take 
abroad,  with  the  partitions  of  vulcanite,  I believe.  But  finer 
grooving  might  and  ought  to  be  made  than  the  dealers  give  us 
still,  and  we  put  up  with.  J.  J.  Cole. 

Mayland,  Sutton,  June  19</(,  1890. 


A PHOTOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY  IN  CAMBERWELL. 

Sir, — It  has  been  suggested  that  a Photographic  Society 
should  be  formed  in  Camberwell,  and  in  furtherance  of  this 
a few  amateurs  residing  in  the  neighbourhood  have  arranged 
to  meet  at  the  Stirling  Castle  Hotel,  Church  Street,  on 
Wednesday,  the  25th  inst.,  to  consider  the  matter. 

With  your  usual  courtesy,  perhaps  you  will  be  able  to  find 
room  in  your  valuable  journal  for  the  insertion  of  this  letter, 
as  no  doubt  some  of  your  readers,  amateur  or  professional, 
interested  in  the  subject  may  be  glad  to  know  of  the  for- 
mation of  such  a society,  and  willing  to  promote  it  by  attend- 
ing the  meeting.  George  C.  Pike, 

South  Rood,  Camberwell,  June  17 th,  1890. 


laroccetfmgs  of  £oriettes. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  12th  inst,  Mr.  H.  M.  Hastings  occu- 
pied the  chair. 

Mr.  S.  G.  B.  Wollaston  spoke  about  a method  of  develop- 
ment, using  first  eikonogen  to  get  detail,  and  then  following  it 
with  hydrokinone  to  obtain  great  density. 

The  Chairman  exhibited  some  platinotype  prints,  and  also 
some  prints  on  Pizzighelli  paper ; the  latter  he  considered 
to  be  better  prints  than  he  usually  was  able  to  get  on  this 
paper. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Teai’E  showed  prints  from  the  same  negative  by 
four  processes.  Aristotype,  cold  bath  platinotype,  Pizzighelli, 
and  albumenised  papers  were  used.  Aristotype  was  slow  in 
printing,  but  for  detail  and  gradation  of  tone  he  preferred  it 
to  either  of  the  other  processes  he  had  used. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  said  that,  having  regard  to  the  question 
under  discussion — the  printing  process  that  best  registered  the 
gradation  of  a negative — he  was  in  favour  of  a glazed  surface 
paper,  such  as  albumenised  or  aristotype  paper.  The  majority 
of  the  members  present  were  of  the  same  opinion. 

A point  was  raised  whether  the  printing  process  that  best 
rendered  the  gradation  of  a negative  gave  the  most  artistic 
effect.  This  led  to  some  discussion,  in  the  course  of  which 
various  views  were  expressed  on  the  subject,  but  no  definite 
decision  resulted. 

Hackney  Photographic  Society. 

Mr.  A.  R.  Dresser  read  a paper  on  “Hand-Cameras”  on 
Thursday  last,  the  President  in  the  chair.  There  was  a good 
show  of  hand-cameras. 

Mr.  Dresser,  who  has  taken  over  fifty  prizes,  brought  a number 
of  enlargements,  and  considerable  time  was  spent  in  examining 
them.  In  addition  to  the  cameras,  the  lecturer  showed 
one  of  his  own  construction  fitted  with  a Voigtlander  wide- 
angle  lens,  which  he  preferred  almost  to  any  other  ; it 
gave  sharp  pictures.  He  used  a shutter  with  which  he 

could  get  any  exposure  up  to  3 of  a second,  and  could,  more- 
over, use  either  roll-holder  or  plates  at  will  without  any  extra 
trouble.  He  had  taken  a jumping  dog  with  it,  and  other 
things  equally  fast,  without  the  least  sign  of  motion  on  the 
part  of  the  subject.  For  plates  he  had  used  Paget’s  and  Fry’s, 
but  preferred  the  new  films  of  Eastman’s,  which  he  found 
faster  than  any  other  for  negatives. 


488 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  20,  1890. 


Dr.  Gerard  Smith,  the  president,  spoke  of  lightning  marks 
in  the  latter,  but  was  assured  by  the  representative  present 
that  this  had  now  been  overcome,  and  was  a thing  of  the 
past. 

A number  of  lantern  slides  was  put  through  the  lantern, 
illustrative  of  Mr.  Dresser’s  work. 

Mr.  Abraham  showed  his  newly  perfected  hand-camera,  fitted 
with  a Taylor  lens  and  focussing  arrangement. 


The  Sheffield  Photographic  Society. 

The  annual  excursion  took  place  on  the  11th  inst.  to  Bolton 
Abbey  and  Woods.  By  invitation  a goodly  number  of  members 
of  the  Rotherham  Photographic  Society  joined  the  train  at 
Masbro’,  leaving  Sheffield  Midland  Station  in  suitable  weather 
for  the  taking  of  pictures.  On  comparing  notes,  it  was  found 
there  were  altogether  fifteen  cameras  which  had  been  used,  and 
about  one  hundred  and  forty-five  plates  exposed,  and  ten 
Eastman’s  films.  After  tea,  several  plates  were  exposed  on  the 
members  and  friends. 


The  North  Middlesex  Photographic  Club. 

June  9th. — Mr.  Walker  in  the  chair. 

Mr.  G.  J.  Clarke  delivered  a lecture  on  “ Photographic 
Optics,”  first  speaking  of  the  action  of  light  when  entering  or 
leaving  one  medium  of  different  density  to  the  other,  so  as  to 
make  quite  plain  the  reason  of  the  action  of  lenses,  and  after- 
wards speaking  of  the  defect  incidental  to  different  lenses,  and 
the  means  by  which  they  were  overcome  ; he  illustrated  his 
remarks  by  means  of  well-drawn  diagrams. 

Mr.  McIntosh  wished  to  know  if  a stop  placed  behind  as 
well  as  before  a single  combination  lens  would  prevent  distortion 
of  marginal  lines,  and  whether  it  would  introduce  other  and 
more  objectionable  disadvantages. 

The  Secretary  : Such  an  arrangement  would  prevent  such  dis- 
tortion, but  would  cut  off  more  than  half  the  light,  even  with 
the  largest  stop,  and  with  smaller  ones  the  proportion  would 
be  much  greater,  besides  which  it  would  practically  form  a 
tube  of  the  diameter  of  such  stops,  and  of  the  length  which 
separated  them,  thus  allowing  only  a very  small  portion  of  the 
plate  to  be  illuminated.  As  this  would  reduce  the  angle  to 
a very  small  one,  any  picture  taken  with  an  ordinary  landscape 
lens  of  the  same  angle  would  not  show  any  distortion,  and 
be  free  from  the  inconvenience. 

Mr.  Goodhew  : Would  not  sandwiching  the  new  Jena  glass, 
which  is  affected  by  the  atmosphere,  between  two  plates  of 
other  glass  affect  the  optical  properties  ? 

Mr.  Clarke  explained  that  allowances  were  made  for  such 
alteration. 

On  Monday,  June  23rd,  Mr.  W.  T.  Goodhew  will  open  a 
discussion  on  “Development.” 


Lenses. — A Correspondent  of  The  Beacon  (Chicago)  says  : — 
“ My  first  portraits,  and  fairly  good  ones,  too  —I  myself  being 
the  judge — were  madewith  a lens  ground  from  the  bottom  of  a 
tumbler,  and  I have  had  landscapes  in  at  least  one  exhibition 
taken  with  a 10-inch  focus  spectacle  ‘eye,’  but,  for  all  that,  I 
generally  carry  a Gundlach  and  a Ross  whenever  I go  out,  and 
mean  to  add  a Bausch  and  Lomb-Clark  as  soon  as  I can  afford 
it.” 

Brotherly  Love. — The  Newcastle  (England)  Photographic 
Association  sets  a good  example  to  societies  generally  in  realis- 
ing the  beauty  of  the  lines  : 

“ Behold  h 'W  good  a thing  it  is, 

And  how  becoming  well, 

Together  i-uch  as  brethren  are 
In  unity  lo  dwell.” 

Instead  of  the  silly  jealousy  that  too  often  obtains  between 
the  professional  and  the  amateur,  the  members,  mostly  pro- 
fessionals, under  the  impression  that  the  amateur  was  less  able 
to  pay  his  dues,  resolved  to  reduce  them  by  one-half  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  amateurs  in  in  larger  numbers.  Is  it  any 
wonder,  after  this,  that  the  Newcastle  men  are  at  the  very  top 
of  the  tree  ? — The  Beacon , 


Ungfoerg  to  (ftormpontfents* 

All  Communications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Photographic  News,  3,  Fumival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

AH  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spilter,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

All  Advertisements  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London. 

J.  E.  D.  (Huddersfield). — Mode  of  Publication.  You  might 
send  prints  to  Messrs.  Marion  and  Co.,  Messrs.  W.  and  D. 
Downey,  or  to  Messrs.  Waterlow  and  Sons,  asking  their  terms 
for  publication.  If  neither  of  these  firms  will  undertake  it, 
you  could  get  them  reproduced  in  collotype  or  Woodbury- 
type,  and  make  your  own  arrangements  for  sale.  Prompt 
action  is  desirable. 

A.  W. — Maignen's  Softening  Water  Process.  We  find  two 
patents  credited  to  P.  A.  Maignen,  of  London  ; the  first 
is  for  “Improvements  in  Filters,”  dated  December  14th, 
1887,  No.  17,220;  the  second  is  for  “An  Improved 
Automatic  Separator,”  dated  March  28th,  1888,  No.  4,760. 
Neither  of  these  makes  reference  to  a process  of  softening, 
but  solely  to  methods  of  filtration  through  asbestos  cloth 
and  a series  of  conical  perforated  vessels.  It  is,  however, 
likely  that  the  employment  of  lime  could  lie  conjoined  with 
the  filtration  system,  and  so  a general  purification  result. 

C.  E.  E. — Ferro- Prussiate  Paper.  The  address  of  a maker 
has  been  sent  to  you  by  post. 

Sensitised  Paper. — Since  writing  to  you  last  week  all  the  rest 
of  the  paper  has  been  printed,  toned,  and  fixed  without  any 
other  result  than  that  already  reported.  Three  more  prints 
received. 

H.  S.  (Antwerp). — Pinhole  Photography.  The  most  recent 
formula  is  that  of  Lord  Rayleigh,  who  read  a paper  on  the 
subject  at  the  Newcastle  meeting  of  the  British  Association. 
(See  report  in  the  News  of  September  20th  last,  page  611.) 
The  apertures  worked  were  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  for 
9-feet  focus,  and  it  was  stated  that  with  a focal  length  of 
66  feet  the  hole  might  lie  as  large  as  the  pupil  of  the  eye. 
You  might  also  refer  to  “La  Photographic  sans  Objectif,” 
by  Captain  R.  Colson  (Paris:  Gauthier- Yillars,  1887), 
which  has  fora  frontispiece  a view  of  the  Domedes  Invalides, 
taken  at  a distance  of  100  metres  on  a gelatino-bromide 
plate  in  twenty  seconds,  with  an  aperture  of  0-3  millimetre, 
and  focal  length  of  camera  0 -1 3 metre.  Mr.  George  Davi- 
son’s pinhole  photographs,  shown  at  the  last  year’s  Photo- 
graphic Exhibition  in  Pall  Mall,  were  eminently  satisfactory. 
S.  W. — Tower  of  London  Inscriptions.  Mr.  Wm.  Brooks  has 
himself  answered  your  point  in  his  letter  to  the  News, 
page  466.  At  the  Crystal  Palace  Exhibition  last  year  a 
very  complete  series  of  the  Tower  of  London,  including 
many  of  the  wall  inscriptions,  was  shown  upon  the  screen 
during  several  evenings,  and  excited  a good  deal  of  interest. 
Although  Mr.  Brooks  tells  us  that  his  pictures  are  not  yet 
published,  it  is  well  to  know  where  they  could  be  procured 
in  the  event  of  a demand  arising. 

P.  M. — Photography  in  Colours.  This  question  has  been 
pretty  well  threshed  out  of  late,  and  the  conclusion  seems 
to  l>e  that  a very  protracted  exposure  is  required,  without 
the  possibility  as  yet  of  transferring  the  results  to  paper. 
Nor  have  we  conclusive  evidence  that  the  coloured  impres- 
sions are  permanent,  or  bear  free  exposure  to  light. 
Edgbaston. — Acid  Toning  and  Fixing  Bath.  When  alum 
and  hypo  are  mixed  together  in  solution  there  is  a slow 
decomposition,  resulting  in  the  separation  of  free  sulphur,  to 
which  the  toning  is  chiefly  due. 

H.  H.  B. — Aristotype  Paper.  It  is  advisable  to  separate  the 
toning  and  fixing  processes.  For  toniug,  use  the  chloride  of 
gold  with  excess  of  chloride  of  potassium  and  neutralised 
with  chalk.  Fix  afterwards  with  hypo  or  sulphocyanide. 
See  pages  196,  288,  and  368  of  present  volume. 

A.  M.  M. — Your  letter  received.  It  requires  consideration, 
and  we  will  write  to  you  in  the  course  of  a few  days. 

J.  G.  M.  and  others  received. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 

A VA 

Vol.  XXXIY.  No.  1660.— June  27,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PAOK 

The  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester 489 

Percentage  of  Failures 490 

Photographic  Convention  of  the  United  Kingdom.  Presidential 

Address  by  C.  H.  Bothamley 491 

Paintings  at  the  Goupil  Gallery.  New  Bond  Street.  By  Rev. 

F.  0.  Lambert,  M.A 495 

Imagining  and  Imaging.  By  Philip  H.  Newman 495 

Correspondence 49G 

Photography  in  Germany.  By  Hermann  E.  Gunther.  497 

Notes 498 


PAQ1 


New  Photographic  Objectives.  By  Dr.  Ernest  Abbe  and  Dr. 

Paul  Rudolph 500 

Notes  on  the  Report  of  the  Lens  Standard  Committee.  By  A. 

Haddon 501 

Photographic  Exhibitions.  By  George  Davison 508 

Depth  of  Focus  and  Diffusion  of  Focus.  By  W.  K.  Burton  ...  504 

Animal  Photography  : Its  Difficulties,  Uses,  and  Abuses.  By 

Gambier  Bolton 505 

Proceedings  of  Societies 507 

Answersto  Correspondents  508 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CONVENTION  AT 
CHESTER. 

Last  Monday  evening  the  Photographic  Convention 
began  its  1890  meeting  in  the  ancient  city  of  Chester, 
and  was  warmly  welcomed  there  by  the  Mayor,  Mr.  J. 
Salmon,  and  the  Mayoress,  who  gave  the  visitors  a 
reception  in  the  Town  Hall,  and  at  the  same  time 
invited  three  or  four  hundred  private  guests  to  meet 
them.  Floral  decorations  were  profuse  ; the  hospitality 
was  upon  no  limited  scale,  and  an  official  welcome  was 
given  by  the  Mayor  in  the  assembly  room  in  the  build- 
ing. Symptoms  of  pomp  and  state  were  visible,  in  the 
form  of  two  doorkeepers,  one  bearing  a sword  given  to 
the  Corporation  of  Chester  by  Henry  VII.,  and  the  other 
supporting  a mace,  or  the  mace  supporting  him.  At 
the  official  welcome  the  Mayor  said  that  it  was  his 
wish  and  intention  to  make  an  impression  upon  his 
Conventionalist  visitors  at  that,  their  first  visit  to 
Chester,  in  order  that  they  might  have  an  opportunity 
of  receiving  them  again.  Mr.  Andrew  Pringle,  the 
late  President  of  the  Convention,  then  resigned  his 
office  to  Mr.  C.  H.  Bothamley,  and  at  the  same  time 
stated  to  the  listeners  that  from  his  acquaintance,  short 
as  it  had  been,  with  the  Mayor,  and  from  what  he  had 
seen  of  his  ability,  business  capacity,  and  hospitality, 
he  was  convinced  that  the  inhabitants  of  Chester  had 
acted  most  wisely  in  the  election  of  the  present  chief 
magistrate  of  their  city.  The  new  President  of  the 
Convention  then  delivered  his  opening  address,  after 
which  came  a musical  entertainment,  in  which  Miss 
Annie  Griffith,  Miss  Macdonald,  Mr.  AYebster  Williams, 
Mr.  T.  Muir,  and  others  took  part. 

A display  of  photographs  and  photographic  instru- 
ments was  laid  out  in  the  Council  Chamber,  in  which 
the  chief  feature  of  novelty  was  a costly  and  elaborate 
piece  of  photo-micrographic  apparatus  made  by  Mr. 
Swift  by  order  of  the  Privy  Council,  and  designed  by 
Mr.  Andrew  Pringle  ; it  was  specially  planned  to  secure 
freedom  from  vibration,  and  to  give  abundant  means  for 
adjustment.  Of  this  instrument  and  some  of  the  other 
apparatus  we  shall  have  more  to  say  hereafter. 


The  visitors  were  highly  pleased  with  their  reception, 
and  with  the  numerous  photographic  attractions  of 
Chester.  AVe  asked  the  city  surveyor  how  he  managed 
to  keep  the  mouldy  old  buildings  from  falling  on  the 
dwellers  therein,  and  burying  the  latter  in  the  ruins. 
He  replied  that  he  often  had  to  condemn  new  houses, 
but  not  old  ones,  for  jerry  builders  were  unknown  in 
early  times ; thus  was  this  apparent  marvel  explained. 
He  also  informed  us  that  some  people  in  Chester  had 
long  had  the  idea  which  we  mooted  last  week,  that  it 
would  be  well  if  there  were  a wide,  clear  space  all 
round  outside  the  old  city  walls,  and  that  the  houses  of 
the  new  suburbs  should  not  be  built  close  up  thereto ; 
he  added  that  one  citizen  was  doing  what  he  could,  at 
his  own  expense,  to  improve  the  present  state  of  things 
in  the  respect  stated. 

Last  Tuesday  morning  there  were  excursions  to 
Llangollen  and  to  Moreton  Old  Hall ; the  latter  was 
found  to  be  under  repair,  and  somewhat  in  the  state 
described  in  a letter  last  week  in  these  columns.  The 
weather  was  fine,  and  the  Llangollen  party  enjoyed  their 
excursion  over  the  hills  exceedingly.  In  the  evening 
the  report  of  the  Lens  Standard  Committee  was  read. 
Messrs.  Dallmeyer  and  Beck  gave  data  suggestive  of  an 
alternative  or  modified  scheme,  and  the  whole  matter 
was  referred  back  to  the  committee.  There  is  a hope, 
and  a somewhat  prevalent  opinion,  that  the  opticians 
may  come  to  some  amicable  and  unanimous  conclusion 
as  the  result  of  coming  conferences. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  also,  Mr.  A.  Haddon  read  a 
paper  on  “ Lens  Standards,”  and  Air.  Gambier  Bolton 
one  upon  “ Animal  Photography,”  in  the  course  of 
which  he  projected  upon  the  screen  those  pictures  of 
wild  beasts  of  which  mention  was  made  in  these  pages 
last  week,  in  our  description  of  the  conversazione  of  the 
Royal  Society.  Among  the  photographs  was  one  of 
the  quagga,  an  animal  now  supposed  to  be  extinct. 
Mr.  Yorke  took  the  negative  long  ago,  and  now  will 
not  part  -with  it  for  love  or  money.  Additional  parti- 
culars will  be  found  in  the  paper  of  Mr.  Gambier  Bolton, 
who  is  the  delegate  of  the  Camera  Club  to  the  Cop 


490 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  27,  1890. 


vention.  Steps  ought  be  taken  to  obtain  a few  of  the 
the  most  indestructible  and  permanent  positives  possible 
from  Hr.  Yorke’s  negative.  The  quagga  is  an  animal 
somewhat  of  the  zebra  type,  but  being  heavier  than 
the  zebra,  has  been  killed  off  first,  as  the  area  in  which 
it  lived  with  the  lion  and  other  carnivorous  beasts 
became  more  limited  by  the  extension  of  the  boundaries 
of  civilisation.  The  unfortunate  zebra  will  follow  the 
quagga. 

On  Wednesday  afternoon  there  was  an  excursion  by 
steamboat  up  the  river  Dee  to  Eaton  Hall,  the  seat  of 
the  Duke  of  Westminster,  at  which  place  some  group 
photographs  were  taken.  It  rained  throughout  the 
whole  trip ; some  of  the  excursionists  were  out  iu  the 
rain  in  the  stem  of  the  little  boat  during  the  whole 
excursion,  there  and  back ; others  were  packed  like 
sardines  in  the  little  cabin,  in  which  also  from  fifteen 
to  seventeen  excursionists  were  obliged  to  stand  up  the 
whole  time.  A few  tarpaulins,  so  disposed  as  to  pro- 
tect parts  of  the  boat  from  rain,  would  have  been  a 
thoughtful  precaution,  if  no  better  means  were 
available. 

On  Wednesday  morning  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Convention  was  held  in  the  City  Hall,  and  a regulation 
was  made  to  increase  the  number  of  provincial  members 
on  the  council.  It  was  also  settled  that  the  next  meet- 
ing of  the  Convention  should  be  held  in  Path,  that  is  to 
say,  the  1891  meeting.  On  Wednesday  evening  Hr. 
Andrew  Pringle  read  a paper  by  Hr.  P.  H.  Newman  on 
“ Imagining  and  Imaging;  ” this  was  followed  by  one 
by  Hr.  C.  H.  Bothamley  on  “ Orth  'chromatic  Photo- 
graphy with  Rhodamine,”  and  with  another  by  Hr. 
Paul  Lange  on  “Photography  in  Norway.” 

Yesterday,  Thursday,  the  chief  excursion  was  to 
Conway,  under  the  guidance  of  the  President  of  the 
Convention.  Views  of  the  exterior  of  Conway  Castle 
were  taken,  and  then  of  the  inside,  after  which  the 
whole  party,  including  Hr.  Pringle,  the  ex-president, 
and  Hr.  Ting  Fan  Chang,  secretary  to  the  Chinese 
Embassy,  lunched  at  the  Castle  Hotel,  a well-known 
home  of  art,  belonging  to  Hiss  Dutton,  and  containing 
antique  furniture  which  once  belonged  to  Louis 
Phillippe ; also  paintings  by  some  of  the  best  artists  of 
modern  times,  and  some  rare  specimens  of  Venetian 
glass.  Hr.  Briginshaw  photographed  the  whole  party 
at  the  luncheon  table.  Plas  Hawr,  an  old  mansion  in 
Conway,  built  in  the  days  of  Edward  I.,  was  next 
visited,  and  photographs  taken  therein  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth’s room  by  Hr.  Briginshaw  and  Hr.  Watkins;  the 
latter  made  use  of  his  new  exposure  meter  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  annual  exhibition  of  the  Royal  Cambrian 
Academy  of  Arts  \vas  going  on  in  the  building,  and 
included  paintings  by  Sir  Frederick  Leighton  and 
others.  Some  of  the  grand  old  chimney  pieces  of  Plas 
Hawr  were  draped  for  the  purposes  of  the  exhibition, 
so  could  not  be  photographed.  The  members  of  this 
excursion  party  returned  by  separate  trains,  as  some 
would  not  leave  at  the  appointed  time  to  listen  to  the 
reading  of  papers  at  Chester  in  the  evening. 


PERCENTAGE  OF  FAILURES. 

Ik  all  photographers  were  as  careful  to  call  attention 
to  their  spoilt  plates  as  they  are  to  their  successes, 
we  should  be  better  able  to  appraise  their  capabilities 
than  we  are  at  present.  We  speak  more  particularly 
of  outdoor  work — for  in  a properly  conducted  studio, 
where  the  operator  is  able  to  guage  his  exposures  to  a 
nicety,  and  where  a developer  of  definite  and  unvarying 
composition  may  be  reasonably  expected  to  bring  about 
a certain  result,  spoilt  plates  are  few  and  far  between, 
although  there  must  always  be  a percentage  of  failures — 
to  please  patrons  and  from  other  causes  which  are 
not  altogether  under  the  control  of  the  worker. 

With  out-door  work  it  is  different.  Iu  one  respect 
the  worker  of  bygone  days,  with  his  cumbrous  impedi- 
menta and  his  wet  plates,  was  better  off  than  his 
successor  of  to-day.  It  was  incumbent  upon  him  to 
develop  his  plate  immediately  after  exposure,  and 
although  this  entailed  the  use  of  a dark-room  or  tent, 
and  a druggist’s  shop  full  of  chemicals,  yet  the  trouble 
involved  had  the  compensating  advantage  of  informing 
him  at  once  of  his  success  or  failure.  If  the 
former,  he  departed  on  his  way  rejoicing,  and  if  the 
latter,  another  plate  was  collodioniscd  there  and  then, 
and  the  exposure  was  repeated.  There  was  also  some 
satisfaction  in  the  thought  that  he  knew  the  history  of 
his  plate,  for  he  had  cleaned  the  glass,  had  possibly 
prepared  his  own  collodion,  and  knew  that  the  bath 
which  he  had  so  carefully  compounded  would  not  play 
him  false.  He  knew,  too,  that  a trifling  error  of  expo- 
sure one  way  or  the  other  could  be  readily  corrected 
during  development  snd  intensification. 

The  modern  dry-pl.ue  worker,  on  the  other  hand, 
has  many  pitfalls  into  which  he  is  apt  to  fall  unless  he 
is  constantly  on  the  alert.  He  does  not  make  his  own 
plates — except  in  rare  instances — but  he  knows  that  he 
can  rely  upon  well-known  brands  for  uniform 
excellence.  In  the  early  days  of  the  gelatine  process 
complaints  of  plates  which  frilled  and  displayed  other 
disagreeable  defects  were  rife,  but  these  faults  have 
almost  entirely  disappeared,  and  it  is  quite  an  excep- 
tional thing  to  meet  with  a plate  which  does  not  give 
fair  results.  The  only  danger  to  which  the  purchaser 
is  liable  is  that  of  meeting  with  a box  of  stale  plates. 
This  has  once  or  twice  occurred  to  us  when  we  have 
purchased  in  country  districts,  where  there  is  not  as 
yet  a large  demand  for  such  goods,  but  never  when  we 
have  been  able  to  obtain  the  plates  direct  from  a London 
warehouse.  Such  plates  tell  their  own  tale  by  general 
insensitiveness,  by  mottling,  and  still  more  conclusively 
by  the  metallic  stain  which  forms  a border  round  their 
edges,  and  which  is  plainly  seen  after  development  by 
reflected  light.  It  is  true  that  the  stain  will  give  w’ay 
to  alcoholic  treatment,  or  to  a weak  solution  of  the 
ferrideyanide  reducer,  but  its  presence  is  as  the  wrinkle 
of  old  age,  which  brings  other  troubles  iu  its  wake. 

The  pitfalls  to  which  we  have  referred  have  not, 
however,  to  do  with  faulty  plates,  but  are  brought 
about  generally  by  the  carelessness  or  ignorance  of  the 
worker  himself,  and  it  is  according  to  his  success  iu 


June  27,  1890.] 


TIIE  PIIOTOG RAl’IIIC  NEWS. 


491 


steering  clear  of  them  that  his  capacity  may  be  guaged. 
If  it  ever  fell  to  our  lot  to  choose  a good  worker  from 
a number  of  applicants,  we  should  not  dream  of  sub- 
mitting them  to  the  ordinary  ordeal  of  a competitive 
examination  by  means  of  written  questions  and  answers. 
In  spite  of  the  universality  of  this  custom,  we  are 
certain  that  it  does  not  bring  the  best,men  to  the  front. 
Those  with  the  best  capacity  for  cramming,  and  who 
have  the  most  retentive  memories,  are  those  who  win, 
while  the  man  with  the  creative  brain,  and  who  has 
power  at  his  finger  ends  instead  of  book  knowledge,  is 
left  far  behind.  Our  plan  would  be  to  give  each  man 
a packet  of,  say,  four  dozen  plates  of  a recognised  brand, 
and  to  turn  him  loose  with  his  camera  in  a certain 
district  or  county.  He  who  produced  from  those  plates 
the  largest  percentage  of  good  negatives  would  be  the 
man  for  us,  supposing  that  in  other  respects  he  was 
not  objectionable. 

But  what  percentage  of  failures  by  the  ordinary 
worker  may  be  considered  allowable,  and  to  what  causes 
are  those  failures  mainly  attributable  ? Host  of  our 
readers  know  by  experience  what  it  is  to  start  on  a 
photographic  trip  with  several  dozens  of  dry  plates, 
with  anticipations  respecting  those  articles  which  are 
seldom  realised.  We  pass  by  the  common  losses  caused 
by  injudicious  exposure,  for  these  faults  are  generally 
attributable  to  want  of  experience,  and  the  remedy  is 
obvious.  Now  imd  then  an  old  hand  is  caught  napping, 
and  over-exposes  a plate,  not  by  error  of  judgment, 
but  because  he  forgets  to  insert  in  the  lens  the  p ir- 
ticular  diaphragm  which  he  had  intended  to  use.  He 
will  not  fall  into  this  error  if  he  is  careful  to  let  the 
various  operations  of  focussing,  exposing,  &c.,  follow 
in  regular  order,  and  more  especially  if  he  makes  it  a 
rule  to  examine  the  picture  on  the  ground  glass  while 
the  lens  is  provided  with  the  same  stop  that  is  to  be 
used  for  exposure.  The  experienced  man  will  always 
do  this,  for  he  knows  that  he  can  judge  of  the  exposure 
necessary  far  more  accurately  by  examining  the  picture 
in  this  way,  and  noting  the  amount  of  illumination 
which  it  has,  than  he  can  by  the  best  tables  which 
were  ever  conceived  or  constructed. 

Another  accident  by  which  a negative  is  often  ren- 
dered useless  occurs  when  it  is  necessary,  in  consequence 
of  the  position  of  the  sun,  to  shade  the  lens.  We  are 
in  favour  of  using  a properly  constructed  shade  for  the 
lens  under  all  circumstances,  but  usually  the  hat  does 
duty  for  want  of  something  better;  and  too  often  its 
rim  will  cause  an  unlooked-for  eclipse  of  the  upper 
part  of  the  picture.  The  negative  from  which  the 
greatest  results  were  anticipated  is  generally  the  one 
which  exhibits  some  vexatious  freak  of  this  kind,  and 
the  uninteresting  one,  which  might  be  spared,  remains 
perfect  in  every  respect.  Other  accidents  are  in  many 
cases  due  to  the  over-elaboration  of  construction  which 
distinguishes  modern  cameras.  Working  with  one  of 
these  instruments  lately  which  was  provided  with 
every  conceivable  movement,  we  noticed  that  one  or 
two  of  our  pictures  were  quite  out  of  focus,  although 
wo  had  taken  every  precaution  to  see  that  the  image 
wa3  sharply  defined  on  the  ground-glass  previous  to 


exposure.  We  traced  the  fault  to  the  loosening  of 
certain  screws  which  control  the  to-and-fro  movement 
of  the  back  of  the  camera — a movement,  by  the  way, 
which  is  never  required  except  in  the  case  of  a lens  of 
abnormally  short  focus.  The  mere  act  of  drawing  the 
shutter  of  the  dark  slide  was  sufficient  to  disturb  the 
position  of  the  camera-back,  with  the  result  described. 
A certain  proportion  of  negatives  are  commonly  lost 
by  the  superposition  of  one  image  on  the  top  of 
another,  by  access  of  light  during  changing,  and  by 
entry  of  light  through  faulty  cameras  and  dark  slides. 
A small  number  are  also  lost  by  beginners  who  often 
forget  to  draw  their  shutters,  and  the  plate  remains 
unexposed.  All  these  pitfalls  assail  the  photographic 
worker,  and  he  must  be  looked  upon  as  uncommonly 
successful  if  his  failures  amount  to  as  little  as  ten  per 
cent.  We  know  that  there  are  numbers  who  will  tell 
us  that  they  never  go  wrong,  and  that  if  they  take  out 
with  them  fifty  plates,  they  will  bring  back  fifty  faultless 
negatives.  We  have  found  that  such  boastful  beings 
produce  negatives  which  are  faultless  only  in  the  eyes 
of  their  parent. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  CONVENTION  OF  THE  UNITED 
KINGDOM.* 

PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS  BY  C.  H.  BOTHAMLEY,  F.I.C.,  F.C.S. 

At  our  meeting  last  year  we  were  celebrating  the  jubilee  of 
the  photographic  negative,  and  my  predecessor  in  this  chair 
very  fitly  devoted  the  greater  part  of  his  address  to  a sum- 
mary of  the  history  of  photography  during  the  past  fifty 
years.  Although,  as  you  will  remember,  that  address  had  a 
somniferous  effect  on  the  delegate  from  the  Leather  Bellows 
Club,  the  rest  of  us  listened  with  much  interest  to  the  admir- 
able account  of  the  rise  and  development  of  photography 
which  was  laid  before  us.  The  events  of  a year  usually 
require  much  briefer  treatment  than  the  events  of  half  a 
century,  and  a review  of  the  progress  of  the  past  twelve  months 
is  unfortunately  made  easier  by  the  fact  that  little,  if  any- 
thing, of  first-rate  importance  has  been  done.  No  discoveries 
or  inventions  of  far-reaching  influence  have  startled  the  photo- 
graphic world. 

Much  interest  has  been  excited  by  the  announcement  that 
an  Austrian,  Herr  Verescz,  had  made  a decided  step  towards 
the  solution  of  the  problem  of  producing  photographs  in 
natural  colours.  It  is  understood  that  the  method  is  based 
on  Carey  Lea’s  researches  on  the  photo-compounds  of  silver, 
and  that  it  differs  from  earlier  methods  in  that  the  sensitive 
material  is  used  in  the  form  of  an  emulsion.  How  far  the 
results  are  in  advance  of  those  obtained  by  previous  experi- 
menters is  a point  on  which  there  are  differences  of  opinion. 
It  seems  practically  certain  that,  at  any  rate,  some  improve- 
ment has  been  made  in  the  permanence  of  the  images,  and 
we  shall  look  forward  with  much  interest  to  the  results  of 
further  experiments  by  the  same  worker. 

This  problem  of  photographing  objects  in  their  natural 
colours  is  of  very  great  interest.  It  seems  to  be  the  one  thing 
on  which  the  non-photographic  public  has  set  its  heart  ; nor 
are  photographers  lacking  in  enthusiasm.  How  far  these 
desires  are  likely  to  be  realised  we  cannot  tell.  More  or  less 
imperfect  photographs  in  colours  have  often  been  obtained,  but 
they  are  not  capable  of  multiplication  in  the  way  in  which  we 
make  hundreds  of  prints  from  one  and  the  same  negative. 
Whether  we  shall  ever  obtain  a chromatic  negative  process  is 
at  present  merely  a matter  of  conjecture  ; we  can  only  say 
that  the  direction  in  which  the  solution  of  the  problem  is  to 
be  looked  for  is  not  yet  apparent. 

In  dealing  with  another  difficulty — the  proper  monochro- 

» Read  at  the  Photographic  Convention  at  < hester. 


492 


[June  27,  1890. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 

< . 


matic  rendering  of  coloured  objects — we  have  made  much 
greater  progress.  No  marked  advance,  however,  has  been 
made  since  last  year,  and  the  general  adoption  of  ortliochro- 
matic  methods  is  impeded  by  the  facts  that  their  successful 
employment,  especially  for  outdoor  work,  necessitates  certain 
modifications  in  well-established  methods  of  working  ; that  the 
preparation  of  the  plates  involves  some  manipulative  skill  and 
acquaintance  with  the  selective  sensitisers  to  be  used  ; that  it 
is  not  at  all  improbable  that  a sensitiser  with  a similar  name, 
but  of  greatly  inferior  power,  will  be  used  unless  great  care  is 
taken  in  purchasing  the  materials  ; that  the  commercial  pro- 
ducts upon  which  many  have  to  depend  do  not  at  present 
represent  the  maximum  possibilities  of  the  methods.  Nor  is 
this  true  only  of  this  country.  Examination  of  many  repro- 
ductions of  pictures  shows  that  some  Continental  workers 
have  not  obtained  complete  mastery  over  the  capabilities  of 
the  processes,  even  for  the  particular  class  of  work  in  which 
their  advantages  were  most  quickly  recognised.  The  whole 
question  of  colour,  physical  and  physiological,  scientific  and 
artistic,  is  very  complex  and  difficult.  Accurate  knowledge 
and  conceptions  are  comparatively  recent  acquisitions,  and  it 
is  therefore  not  surprising  that  in  the  practical  treatment  of 
its  various  problems  progress  is  somewhat  slow. 

Development  and  developers  have,  as  usual,  attracted  much 
attention.  Eikonogen  has  gradually  obtained  a firm  hold  as  a 
useful  addition  to  our  developing  reagents,  its  special  value 
lying  in  the  fact  that  it  enables  us  to  obtain  well  gradated 
negatives  wlieie  other  developers  would  be  very  liable  to  give 
excessively  strong  contrasts.  It  follows  that  in  dealing  with 
very  short  exposures  eikonogen  is  of  the  greatest  service.  In 
portraiture  also  it  gives  very  fine  results. 

Catechol  or  pyrocatechin  has  not  been  fully  investigated, 
partly  on  account  of  its  high  price.  Quite  recently,  however, 
Dr.  W.  H.  Perkin,  jun. , has  described  a ready  method  of  pre- 
paring it  from  guaiacol,  an  allied  substance  much  lower  in  price. 
In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  Colonel 
Waterhouse  has  recently  shown  that  guaiacol  itself  is  a deve- 
loper, though  it  does  not  possess  any  exceptional  powers. 

One  very  important  fact  in  connection  with  the  principles  of 
development  has  been  established  by  Mr.  Lyouel  Clarke  in  the 
course  of  his  elaborate  experiments  on  different  develops rs,  and 
has  been  confirmed  by  later  experiments  of  my  own  made  for 
quite  another  purpose.  It  is,  that  the  maximum  sensitiveness 
that  a plate  will  show — in  other  words,  the  maximum  detail 
obtainable  for  a given  exposure — is  the  same  for  all  developers, 
and  for  all  variations  in  the  composition  of  one  and  the  same 
developer.  Different  developers  differ,  however,  very  con- 
siderably in  the  time  required  to  make  the  maximum  detail 
visible,  and  it  follows,  of  course,  that  the  gradations  of  the 
resulting  negatives  are  very  different.  That,  in  a word,  is  the 
nature  of  the  difference  between  developers — a difference  in 
gradation,  and  not  in  the  maximum  detail  obtainable,  provided 
that  the  action  of  the  developer  is  continued  for  a sufficient 
length  of  time.  Recent  papers  contributed  to  the  Photographic 
Society  by  Abney,  and  to  the  Society  of  Chemical  Industry  by 
Hurter  and  Driffield,  are  worthy  of  careful  study  in  connection 
with  the  question  of  development. 

Photo- mechanical  printing  processes  have  made  no  remark- 
ably new  departure,  but  their  applications  continue  to  increase. 
Cheap  illustrated  papers,  and  a great  increase  in  the  number 
of  the  illustrations  in  magazines  of  all  kinds,  constitute  unmis- 
takeable  evidence  of  the  usefulness  of  these  processes.  Without 
photo-mechanical  printing,  a paper  like  the  Daily  Graphic 
would  be  impracticable. 

Chromo-typogravure,  which  produces  the  fine  results  seen  in 
Fiijaro  Illustri,  and  chromo-collotype,  which  as  yet  is  not  often 
seen  in  this  country,  produce  results  in  many  respects  superior 
to  those  of  ordinary  chromo-lithography.  They  are  at  present 
our  furthest  advance  in  the  photographic  production  of  coloured 
pictures.  Colour  printing  with  photogravure,  I may  perhaps 
remind  you,  will  reproduce  water-colour  drawings  with  a fidelity 
so  great  that  it  may  deceive  even  the  artist  of  the  original 
drawing. 

The  applications  of  photography  to  scientific  purposes  become 
every  day  more  uun.erous  and  varied,  and  I do  not  hesitate  to 


say  that  it  is  in  this  direction  that  photography  has  won,  and 
probably  will  win,  its  greatest  triumphs.  Here  it  is  without 
a rival  or  competitor,  and  does  services  which  nothing  else  is 
capable  of  doing.  As  a method  of  fine  art  it  occupies,  and 
probably  will  always  occupy,  a subordinate  position. 

In  no  branch  of  science  have  the  photographic  results  been 
of  greater  importance  than  in  astronomy.  Mr.  Ainslie  Common, 
encouraged  by  his  great  successes  with  his  big  three-foot 
reflector,  has  constructed  and  set  up  in  his  observatory  at 
Ealing  a magnificent  five-foot  reflector,  in  almost  every  respect 
the  most  powerful  and  most  perfect  telescope  that  has  ever 
been  made.  It  was  designed  and  erected  especially  for  photo- 
graphic work,  and  its  jierformances  will  be  watched  with  great 
interest.  You  will,  I am  sure,  share  my  pleasure  in  knowing 
that  Mr.  Common  has  very  kindly  promised  to  give  us,  at  our 
meeting  next  year,  an  account  of  the  later  developments  and 
results  of  astronomical  photography.  Mr.  Isaac  Roberts,  with 
a much  smaller  reflector  (twenty  inches)  at  his  private  observa- 
tory at  Maghull,  near  Liverpool,  has  produced  some  of  the 
most  remarkable  photographs  that  have  yet  been  done.  Some 
of  these  I am  fortunate  enough  to  be  able  to  show  you,  and  I 
would  especially  call  your  attention  to  the  wonderful  photograph 
of  the  great  nebula  in  the  constellation  Andromeda,  which 
shows  that  in  this  nebula  we  have  a new  Saturn  in  the  actual 
process  of  formation.  The  condensed  central  mass,  and  the 
system  of  long  oval  rings  surrounding  it,  can  be  very  clearly 
seen.  Of  the  important  bearing  of  this  result  on  the  nebular 
hypothesis  I cannot  here  speak.  It  must  be  a source  of  great 
satisfaction  to  all  photographers  to  know  that  Mr.  Roberts’s 
splendid  work,  like  that  of  Mr.  Common  before  him,  has  this 
month  lieen  awarded  the  blue  ribbon  of  science — the  Fellowship 
of  the  Royal  Society. 

A very  remarkable  recent  result  is  Professor  Pickering’s 
discovery  that  a certain  star  is  really  a double  star  with  its 
components  too  close  together  to  be  resolved  by  telescopes. 
The  discovery  was  the  result  of  observations  on  the  variation 
in  the  definition  of  photographs  of  the  spectrum  of  the  star. 

Mr.  Andrew  Pringle  will  tell  us  that  photography  has  its 
triumphs  in  dealing  with  the  minute  as  well  as  with  the 
immense,  and  some  of  those  triumphs  he  will  bring  before  us 
during  this  meeting. 

Amongst  other  things,  photography  has  been  largely  and 
systematically  applied  to  the  study  of  lightning,  ami  by  Lieu- 
tenant R.  Abercromby  to  the  study  of  clouds  and  meteorology  ; 
by  Lord  Rayleigh  to  the  study  of  the  effects  of  electrification 
on  jets  of  liquid  ; and  by  Mr.  C.  V.  Roys  to  .the  investigation 
of  falling  drops  of  water.  Mr.  Friese  Greene  will  describe  to 
us  a new  form  of  magazine  camera  which  he  has  invented,  and 
which  is  especially  suitable  for  investigations  of  the  kind  to 
which  I have  just  referred.  An  account  of  Mr.  Muybridge’s 
work  we  heard  from  his  own  lips  last  year,  and  this  year  Mr. 
Gambier  Bolton  is  to  tell  us  of  the  results  which  he  lias  ob- 
tained in  applying  photography  to  the  study  of  animals  from  a 
different  point  of  view.  There  is,  in  fact,  no  branch  of  natural 
science  in  which  photography  is  not  rapidly  becoming  indis- 
pensable. 

If  the  applications  of  photography  to  science  have  been 
numerous  and  successful,  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  the  appli- 
cations of  science  to  photography.  Most  of  the  problems 
awaiting  solution  at  our  last  meeting  still  remain  unsolved. 
The  careful  experiments  of  Mr.  Chapman  Jones  have  given  us 
accurate  knowledge  of  some  aspects  of  mercurial  intensification, 
but  of  the  real  nature  of  the  latent  photographic  image,  of  the 
change  which  silver  compounds  undergo  when  exposed  to  light, 
and  of  many  other  reactions  which  underlie  some  of  our  most 
important  processes,  we  are  still  almost  entirely  ignorant.  The 
reasons  are  not  very  far  to  seek.  The  investigators  in  these 
subjects  throughout  the  whole  world  at  the  present  time  may 
almost  be  counted  on  the  fingers.  I say  investigator*  design- 
edly ; of  experimenters  of  a certain  kind  we  have  enough  and 
to  spare,  but  of  competent  investigators  there  are  very  few 
indeed.  The  fundamental  problems  to  which  I have  referred 
are  very  complex  and  difficult,  and  their  investigation  requires 
a knowledge  of  chemistry  and  physics  much  greater  than  is 
usually  possessed  by  photographers,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  a 


June  27,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


493 


better  practical  acquaintance  with  photography  than  competent 
chemists  and  physicists  usually  have.  Further,  they  involve 
many  micro-chemical  and  electro-chemical  changes  with  which 
we  are  at  present  imperfectly  acquainted.  In  the  less  difficult 
questions  of  technique  and  processes,  the  relative  merits  of 
different  modes  of  treatment  and  the  like,  we  might  have  ex- 
pected to  find  more  satisfactory  progress  ; but  here  also  we  have 
made  no  great  advances.  From  time  to  time,  it  is  true,  papers 
appear  in  the  journals  recording  so-called  experimental  inves- 
tigations of  the  action  of  various  developers,  relative  sensitive- 
ness of  different  plates,  and  similar  matters.  In  not  a few 

instances  they  leave  us  just  where  we  were.  So  far  as  the 
advancement  of  photography  is  concerned,  they  represent 
merely  so  much  wasted  time  and  wasted  material — -wasted  be- 
cause, for  want  of  attention  to  some  indispensable  conditions, 
neglect  to  eliminate  important  sources  of  error,  want  of  dis- 
tinction between  several  possible  causes,  and  the  like,  no  defin- 
ite conclusions  can  be  drawn  from  the  evidence  offered.  The 
euthusiasm  of  the  experimenters  is  undoubted,  and  if  a thirst 
for  notoriety  is  not  always  invisiole,  we  may  take  it  that  a 
desire  to  advance  photography  is  their  chief  incentive.  Why, 
then,  do  their  efforts  so  often  lead  to  nothing?  Chiefly  from  a 
want  of  training  in  the  art  of  experiment  ; from  want  of 
acquaintance  with  the  scientific  method.  A really  good  ex- 
perimenter is  a rarity  ; an  accurate  observer  must  be  both  born 
and  made,  and  is  a still  less  common  species.  With  very  rare 
exceptions  indeed,  the  scientific  method,  which  includes  not 
only  the  arts  of  experiment  and  observation,  but  also  the  power 
of  properly  co  ordiuating  the  facts,  and  of  making  accurate 
deductions  from  them,  is  only  to  be  acquired  by  careful  and 
long  training.  Such  training,  it  is  a mere  truism  to  say,  very 
few  photographers  have  had,  but  to  it  we  must  undoubtedly 
look  for  our  future  progress. 

I do  not,  of  course,  mean  that  good  work  cannot  be  done  in 
photography  unless  a man  has  a profound  acquaintance  with 
chemistry  and  physics.  I sec  before  me  a sufficient  number  of 
living  examples  to  at  once  disprove  any  such  assertion.  The 
scientific  method  lies  not  in  the  matter,  but  in  the  manner. 
It  would  be  out  of  place  here  to  attempt  any  definitions  or 
illustrations  of  what  the  scientific  method  really  is.  We  might 
define  it  negatively  as  that  which  is  usually  absent  in  photo- 
graphic experiments,  but  that  would  not  take  us  much  further. 
One  of  the  most  important  characteristics  of  the  scientific 
method  is  great  reserve  and  caution  in  making  deductions  ; 
one  of  the  chief  characteristics  of  not  a few  so-called  photo- 
graphic experimenters  is  a fatal  facility  for  making  hasty  and 
incorrect  deductions  from  imperfect  data.  No  stronger  proof 
can  be  found  of  the  fact  that  photography  is  comparatively  in 
its  infancy,  that  its  fundamental  principles  are  not  generally 
understood,  than  the  rubbish  which  is  sometimes  brought 
before  photographic  societies  in  the  form  of  papers — papers 
which  even  now  and  again  escape  the  waste-paper  baskets  of  the 
photographic  journals.  This  latter  catastrophe,  of  course, 
only  happens  when  the  editor  is  away  on  a holiday.  Similar 
productions  are  characteristic  of  all  crafts  or  arts  which  are 
still  carried  on  largely  by  rule-of-thumb  ; they  would  not  be 
tolerated  in  societies  of  a truly  scientific  character,  or  in  an 
art  which  was  really  carried  out  on  scientific  principles. 

Photography  has  an  artistic  as  well  as  a scientific  and  tech- 
nical side,  and  if  I have  not  unnaturally  dealt  with  the  scien- 
tific questions  first,  I do  not  forget  that  the  majority  of  photo- 
graphers regard  the  artistic  aspects  as  the  more  important. 
In  the  artistic  development  we  may,  I venture  to  think,  con- 
gratulate ourselves  upon  steady  and  well-founded  progress. 
Argument  as  to  whether  photography  is  or  is  not  a method  of 
fine  art  is  no  longer  necessary.  Its  place  has  been  taken  by 
discussions,  often  of  an  animated  kind,  between  the  different 
schools  of  photographic  artists — uaturalistics,  naturalists, 
realists,  and  the  like.  Very  few  who  are  competent  to  deal 
with  the  matter  now  refuse  to  admit  that,  in  the  hands  of  a 
man  of  artistic  temperament  and  training,  photography  may 
be  a method  of  pictorial  fine  art  just  as  much  as  much  as 
mezzotint  or  sepia.  We  shall  all  admit  that  the  possession 
of  a camera  and  lens  will  not  make  a man  an  artist ; neither 
''ill  the  possession  of  a palette  and  a box  of  paints.  It  is  also 


true  that  a very  large  majority  of  the  photographs  which  we  see 
are  far  from  having  any  claim  to  be  regarded  as  works  of  art,  but 
is  that  not  also  true  of  the  bulk  of  the  paintings  which  are  pro- 
duced ! Fine  art,  I take  it,  lies  not  in  the  method,  but  in  the 
use  of  it  ; in  all  cases  it  is  the  man,  not  his  medium  of  expres- 
sion, that  determines  the  result. 

In  1873  Mr.  P.  G.  Hammerton,  the  well-known  art  critic 
and  editor  of  the  Portfolio,  very  clearly  and  tersely  summed 
up  the  case  against  the  claims  of  photography  to  rank  as  a 
method  of  fine  art.  “(1)  It  is  false  in  local  colour,  putting 
all  the  lights  and  darks  of  natural  colouring  out  of  tune. 

(2)  It  is  false  in  light,  not  being  able  to  make  those  sub- 
divisions in  the  scale  which  are  necessary  to  attain  relative  truth. 

(3)  It  is  false  in  perspective,  and  consequently  in  proportions 
and  forms.  (4)  Its  literalness  and  incapacity  for  selection  and 
emphasis  are  antagonistic  to  the  artistic  spirit.” 

Most  of  this  was  true  enough  seventeen  years  ago,  but  we 
have  advanced  a little  in  our  knowledge  of  science  and  art 
since  then.  Falsity  in  local  colour  has  almost  disappeared 
before  the  development  of  orthochromatic  methods,  the  prin- 
ciple of  which  was  discovered  in  the  very  year  in  which  Mr. 
Hammerton  wrote.  Falsity  of  light  arises  mainly  from  the  use 
of  plates  of  unsuitable  quality,  and  from  imperfect  knowledge 
of  exposure  and  development  on  the  part  of  the  operator. 
Falsity  in  perspective  and  the  proportion  of  forms  is  entirely  a 
question  of  the  proper  or  improper  use  of  lenses,  and  need  not 
exist  at  all.  Literalness  and  incapacity  for  selection  and 
emphasis  are  defects  in  the  photographer  more  than  in  photo- 
graphy. How  far  we  have  advanced  in  this  direction  I will 
bring  to  witness,  if  not  Mr.  Hammerton  himself,  at  any  rate 
Mr.  Hammerton’s  paper.  In  the  January  number  of  tl*s  year, 
speaking  of  the  photographs  which  illustrate  Miss  Agnes 
Giberne’s  book,  “The  Ocean  of  Air,”  the  Portfolio  says,  “But 
what  it  concerns  us  to  observe  is,  that  though  they  are  merely 
literal  transcripts  from  nature,  and  no  other  artistic  faculty 
than  that  of  selection  has  been  exercised  in  their  production, 
this  faculty  alone  has  sufficed  in  several  instances  to  produce 
genuine  works  of  art.  If  an  artist  were  to  take,  for  instance, 
the  “ Trees  in  a Mist,”  photographed  by  Mr.  Sutcliffe,  of 
Whitby,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  lie  would  find  it  difficult 
to  improve  the  composition,  or  to  alter  a single  line  for  the 
better.” 

In  their  assault  on  the  fortress  of  art,  photographers  have 
already  carried  the  barbican,  and  many  may  be  found  in  the 
outer  ward.  A few  have  even  forced  their  way  into  the  inner 
court,  but  the  keep  remains  in  the  hands  of  the  painters  and 
sculptors,  and  in  their  hands,  I doubt  not,  it  always  will  re- 
main. Every  method  of  fine  art  has  its  limitations,  and  in  the 
case  of  photography  these  limitations  are,  in  many  respects, 
more  severe  than  in  any  other  method.  I,  for  one,  accept  Mr. 
Ruskin’s  dictum  that  every  true  work  of  art  shows  distinctly 
the  method  by  which  it  has  been  produced,  and  that  its  character 
and  possibilities  are  largely  determined  by  the  method.  I have 
little  sympathy  with  those  whose  chief  anxiety  seems  to  be  to 
make  their  photographs  look  like  something  else.  I believe  that 
if  photography  is  to  maintain  the  position  it  has  already  won, 
and  is  to  make  further  advances  as  a method  of  fine  art,  we 
must  not  only  be  fully  acquainted  with  and  make  the  most  of 
its  capabilities,  but  we  must  also  quite  clearly  recognize  its 
limitations.  We  must  be  content  to  admit  that  there  are  cer- 
tain classes  of  subjects  which  come  rightly  within  the  scope  of 
the  painter,  but  are  unfit  for  treatment  by  photography.  In 
our  appreciation  of  a picture  we  cannot  forget  the  method  by 
which  it  has  been  produced  ; and  when, 'for  example,  you  see 
a photograph  professedly  of  an  incident  which  took  place  before 
photography  was  invented,  the  unreality  and  want  of  truth  is 
too  prominent.  You  are  unable  to  rid  your  mind  of  the  idea 
that,  after  all,  it  is  only  a literal  representation  of  a group  of 
models.  When,  too,  we  see  photographs  which  profess  to  re- 
present those  human  emotions  which  we  commonly  hold  sacred 
from  intrusion,  a sense  of  unfitness  more  than  counterbalances 
any  pleasure  arising  out  of  mere  technical  artistic  skill.  All 
this  has  been  pointed  out  before,  more  appropriately  and  with 
much  greater  force,  by  the  doyen  of  photographic  artists,  Mr. 
H.  P.  Robinson.  Latterly  in  America  they  have  very  largely 


191 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  27,  1890. 


developed  the  practice  of  photographic  competitions,  prizes 
being  given  for  the  best  set  of  photographs  illustrating  some 
poem  or  part  of  a poem  or  story  ; and  to  some  extent  the  prac- 
tice has,  unfortunately,  like  the  potato  beetle,  spread  to  this 
countr}'.  If  the  subjects  are  properly  chosen,  with  due  regard 
to  time  and  place,  such  competitions  may  not  do  any  harm, 
though  it  is  contrary  to  experience  to  expect  that  any  real  fine 
art  will  be  developed  in  such  a manner  ; but  when  the  outcome 
is  photographs  of  such  scenes  as  a girl  in  agony  by  the  deathbed 
of  her  father,  done,  of  course,  with  the  help  of  models — -to  take 
only  one  example  out  of  those  which  you  may  see  in  the  Ameri- 
can magazines — it  is  an  outrage  upon  one’s  sense  of  the  artistic 
fitness  of  things. 

Even  where  groups  of  figure  studies  of  the  class  to  which  I 
am  referring  are  successful,  the  result  is  often  due  to  the 
models  quite  as  much  as  to  the  photographer.  He  has  to  be 
content  with  the  best  he  can  make  of  them  ; he  cannot  with 
his  camera  alter  lines  and  expressions  as  a painter  can  with  his 
brush.  In  the  hands  of  a few  masters,  pictures  of  this  kind 
are  undoubtedly  often  successful  ; but  in  the  greater  number 
of  instances  they  are  not  at  all  pleasiug  to  anyone  but  the 
photographer  and  the  models,  and  sometimes  not  even  to  the 
models.  I hold  that  in  the  interests  of  photography  as  a 
method  of  fine  art,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  photographers  do 
not  chiefly  confine  themselves  to  the  classes  and  subjects  that 
photography'  can  deal  with  excellently',  instead  of  striving  after 
effects  and  results  which,  from  the  essential  limitations  of  the 
method,  are  a severe  strain  on  its  capabilities.  What  class  of 
subjects,  you  may  ask,  do  I regard  as  proper  to  photography 
from  the  artistic  point  of  view  ? I would  reply,  portraiture 
pure  and  simple,  with  studies  of  figures  in  costume,  and  groups, 
if  you  like,  provided  that  they  are  put  forward  as  such  ; landscape 
and  seascape,  in  which  figures  are  either  subordinate  or  absent 
altogether.  At  the  risk  of  making  invidious  distinctions,  I 
would  cite  Wellington’s  “ Eventide,”  Mayland’s  “ There  is 
Sorrow  on  the  Sea,”  Gale’s  “ Sleepy  Hollow,”  many  of  the 
studies  of  Sutcliffe,  and  many  of  the  landscapes  of  Green,  as 
examples  of  the  class  of  work  which  seem  to  me  to  show  photo- 
graphy at  its  best.  Someone  may  raise  the  old  objection  that 
in  dealing  with  pure  landscape  and  seascape  you  have  not 
sufficient  human  interest ; you  can  only7  represent  the  literal 
beauty  of  your  subject,  and  have  no  opportunity  for  the 
idealisation  which  some  hold,  though  others  do  not,  to  be 
essential  to  all  fine  art.  I decline  to  accept  the  dogma  ; but, 
even  if  it  were  true,  I would  reply7  in  the  words  of  Fra  Filippo 
Lippi  : — 

“ If  you  get  simple  beauty,  and  nought  else, 

You  get  about  the  best  thing  Qod  invents : 

That’s  somewhat;  and  you’ll  find  the  soul  you  have  missed 
Within  yourself  when  you  return  him  thanks.” 

What  can  be  done  to  promote  the  advance  of  photography, 
scientific  and  artistic  ? The  development  of  a desire  for  better 
training,  and  the  provision  of  means  to  satisfy  the  desire.  Here, 
as  in  many  educational  matters,  we  are  behind  our  Continental 
competitors.  Germany  has  long  had  an  efficient  school  at 
Berlin,  under  Professor  H.  W.  Vogel,  and  there  is  a well- 
known  school  of  a more  technical  character  at  Scliloss 
Gronenbach,  under  the  direction  of  Herr  W.  Cronenberg. 
Zurich  has  a new  photographic  laboratory  full  to  overflowing. 
Austria  has  its  new  and  splendid  Photographic  Institute,  with 
abundant  accommodation,  and  a large  staff  of  teachers  under 
the  direction  of  Professor  Eder,  and  they  attract  students  not 
only  from  all  parts  of  the  Continent,  but  also  from  England 
and  America.  Here  in  this  country  we  have  the  schools  at 
the  Polytechnic  and  the  Birkbeck  Institute,  and  in  various 
science  and  University  Colleges  up  and  down  the  country 
instruction  is  given  in  the  principles  and  practice  of  photo- 
graphy, but  all  of  them  together  are  scarcely  equal  to  the 
Institute  at  Vienna,  and  they  confine  their  attention  almost 
exclusively  to  teaching,  doing  but  little  in  the  way  of  research. 
In  America  they  are  not  even  so  well  off  as  we  are.  So  far  as 
I can  learn,  there  is  only  one  school  of  any  importance,  that  at 
Chatauqua,  and  I am  informed  on  very  good  authority,  that 
very  little  desire  is  shown  to  take  advantage  of  the  instruction 
offered,  and  that  the  school  is  only  kept  alive  by  the  energy 
and  self-denial  of  its  teachers. 


It  has  been  proposed  to  found  a Photographic  Institute  in 
this  country,  and  we  shall  all  be  agreed  that,  founded  on  a 
right  basis  and  conducted  on  right  lines,  it  might  be  of  incal- 
culable benefit  to  photography.  Founded  on  a right  basis  and 
conducted  on  right  lines — that  is  the  essence  of  the  whole 
matter,  so  far  as  possible  success  is  concerned.  An  Institute 
of  Photography,  I take  it,  should  teach,  and  examine,  and  con- 
duct original  research.  It  might  possibly  also  act  as  a court 
of  arbitration  in  disputes  involving  technical  matters,  but  the 
advancement  of  photography7  in  all  its  branches  and  aspects, 
by  teaching  and  research,  should  be  its  chief  business.  It  should 
be  thoroughly,  though  not  ambitiously7,  equipped  ; it  must  be 
free  from  connection  with  commercial  interests  of  any  kind  ; 
above  all,  it  must  be  free  from  the  immaturism  which  so  often 
clings  round  present-day  amateurism. 

Whether,  when  all  these  conditions  were  fulfilled,  it  would 
attract  a satisfactory  number  of  students,  is  a matter  of  con- 
jecture. We  English  are  slow  to  avail  ourselves  of  our  advant- 
ages in  matters  educational,  even  where  the  knowledge  to  be 
acquired  has  a direct  monetary7  value.  The  experience  of  exist- 
ing schools  is  not  altogether  encouraging,  but  the  prestige  which 
would  attach  from  the  beginning  to  a properly  equipped  insti- 
tution especially  devoted  to  photography  would  probably  do 
much.  The  standard  of  every-day  requirements  in  photography 
is  gradually  being  raised,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  better 
instruction  will  be  necessary7  to  produce  and  maintain  the 
higher  degree  of  skill  demanded.  One  thing  is  certain,  that 
when  the  establishment  of  such  an  institution  comes  within 
the  sphere  of  practical  politics,  the  members  of  the  Photo- 
graphic Convention  will  not  be  backward  in  their  support  of  it. 

After  all,  the  real  progress  of  photography  depends  no  more 
on  institutes  than  the  progress  of  civilisation  and  human 
knowledge  depends  on  Acts  of  Parliament.  The  welfare  of  a 
community  depends  on  the  conduct  and  character  of  the 
individuals  composing  it  ; and  the  progress  of  an  art  or  craft 
depends  on  the  skill,  the  thoroughness,  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  individuals  who  practise  it.  We,  as  a Convention,  are 
banded  together  to  advance  the  interests  of  photography,  and 
all  that  appertains  thereto.  As  a Convention,  we  arc 
endeavouring  to  justify  our  existence,  and  in  some  measure,  at 
least,  we  are  succeeding  ; but  whatever  we  may  do  as  a body, 
we  have  each  an  individual  responsibility,  an  individual  duty, 
towards  the  art  which  we  practise — to  see  to  it  that  our  own 
work,  be  it  much  or  be  it  little,  is  honest  and  thorough,  the 
best  that  it  is  in  us  to  do.  Am  I not  right  in  holding  that 
the  spirit  which  should  animate  every  follower  of  the  photo- 
graphic art  is  the  spirit  which  inspired  the  poet  when  he 
wrote — 

“ In  after  days,  when  grasses  high 
O’er- top  the  stone  where  I shall  lie, 

Though  ill  or  well  the  world  adjust 
My  slender  claim  to  honoured  dust, 

I shall  not  question  or  reply. 

“ I shall  not  see  the  morning  sky; 

I shall  not  hear  the  night  wind  sigh ; 

I shall  be  mute,  as  all  men  must, 

In  after  days  I 

“ But  yet,  now  living,  fain  were  I 
That  some  one  then  should  testify, 

Saying — ‘ He  held  his  pen  in  trust 
To  Art,  not  serving  shame  or  lust  ’ 

Will  none  !— Then  let  my  memory  die 
In  after  days!” 


Messrs.  Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  Trubner,  & Co.,  have  pub- 
lished “ Practical  Notes  on  the  Preparation  of  Drawings  for 
Photographic  Reproduction,  with  a Sketch  of  the  Principal 
Photo-Mechanical  Printing  Processes,”  by  Colonel  J.  Water- 
house,  B.S.C.,  Assistant  Surveyor-General,  India.  This  work 
was  originally  published,  it  is  said,  in  1887  as  a series  of  papers 
in  the  Indian  Engineer , with  the  object  of  bringing  together  the 
results  of  long  experience  in  preparing  maps  and  plans  for 
reproduction  by7  photo-zincography ; but  the  scope  of  the 
volume,  which  is  divided  into  eight  chapters,  with  an  addendum, 
has  been  extended  to  include  drawings  of  all  kinds,  supple- 
mented by7  information  gleaned  from  the  few  authors  who  have 
written  on  the  subject. 


June  27,  1890.] 


495 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


PAINTINGS  AT  THE  GOUPIL  GAlXERY,  NEW 
BOND  STREET. 

BY  REV  F.  C.  LAMBERT,  M.A. 

Messrs.  Boussod,  Valadon,  and  Co.  have  uow  on  view 
two  series  of  paintings,  both  of  which  are  of  some  peculiar 
interest  to  those  concerning  themselves  with  current  art. 
The  first  is  a set  of  water-colour  drawings  by  Madeleine 
Lemaire,  illustrating  “Flirt,”  the  latest  novel  by  Paul 
Ilervieu.  The  series  comprises  some  thirty-six  small 
pictures,  separately  framed,  the  chief  feature  being  the 
semi-decorative  floral  border,  which  strongly  reminds  one 
of  a certain  style  of  photo-album.  While  admitting  that 
the  artist  has  executed  these  floral  edgings  in  many  cases 
with  conspicuous  skill,  yet  it  is  a question  of  some 
importance  for  artists  of  all  sorts — including  photographers 
—as  to  whether  any  such  decorative  work  is,  or  is  not,  out 
of  place  around  figure  studies.  Three  larger  pictures  are 
free  from  this  question.  One  of  these  three  (No.  39, 
“ Melancolic  ”)  and  one  of  the  smaller  ones  (No.  11 , “ l’oste 
Rcstaute  ”)  show  how  the  artist  can  manage  the  play  of 
light  in  and  out  the  folds  of  crimson  plush.  As  this  is  a 
material  which  presents  some  difficulties  to  the  ordinary 
photographer,  he  would  do  well  to  study  these  two,  and 
also  look  at  many  of  the  others,  as  they  contain  for  him 
numerous  hints  as  to  the  arrangement  and  pose  of  people 
in  modern  costume.* 

The  second  scries  comprises  thirty-one  “ oils  by  the 
veteran  Russiau  artist,  Ivan  A'ivasovsky.  It  is  interesting 
to  know  at  the  outset  that  all  this  series  have  been  painted 
after  the  fifty-second  anniversary  of  the  artistic  career  of 
this  artist  celebrated  at  St.  l’etersburgh  in  1887.  Space 
does  not  permit  much  detailed  criticism  of  the  various 
paintings.  The  general  impression  conveyed  by  them  is 
that  they  most  probably  represent  climatic  conditions 
which  are  exceptional,  .and  outside  the  usual  experience 
of  English  eyes.  In  several  instances  they  remind  one 
very  strongly  of  some  of  the  Norwegian  and  Swedish 
painters.  Every  one  visiting  this  room  will  be  struck 
with  the  large  size  of  No.  10  (“  The  Supreme  Moment  ”), 
a shipwreck  scene  in  mid-ocean,  with  waves  rolling  moun- 
tains high,”  depicted  on  a canvas  of  Dore-esque  propor- 
tions. It  has  some  fine  colour  passages ; some  of  the 
water  looks  very  wet,  cold,  and  transparent,  but  without 
saying  such  mountain  billows  do  not  exist  in  extreme 
cases,  it  may  be  questioned  whether  those  who  ever  have 
been  in  such  peril  as  herein  shown,  would  be  sufficiently 
reliable  evidence  for  the  construction  of  such  proportions 
as  are  admittedly  of  extremely  rare  occurrence. 

In  Nos.  11  (“  Bather  ”)  and  17  (“  Dead  Calm  ”)  clouds 
are  shown  which,  in  this  country,  do  not  usually  take 
that  shape  so  near  the  horizon. 

Nos.  19  (“  Sea-Piece  ”)  and  21  (“  Night  Effect”)  gave 
an  impression  of  a want  of  some  stronger  skylight  with 
such  vivid  reflections. 

The  two  skylights  in  No.  18  are  rather  puzzling. 

Nos.  14  (“  Argonauts  ”)  and  16  carry  us  into  the  region 
of  speculation.  In  No.  14  the  chief  feature  of  interest 
is  cut  into  by  the  frame.  In  No.  16  (“Destruction  of 
Pompeii  ”)  the  spotty  lights  in  foreground  and  streaks  in 
sky  are  painful  reminders  of  defective  emulsion.  In 
No.  26  the  sun,  or  full  moon,  whichever  it  may  be,  seems 
of  an  unusual  shape. 

One  may  often  see  the  sun's  disc  when  low  down  and 
near  the  horizon,  apparently  compressed  vertically  into  a 

* For  an  article  on  this  artist,  consult  Art  and  Letters,  December,  188S. 


shape  somewhat  elliptical,  but  the  sun  in  No.  26  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  affected  quite  in  this  way. 

All  the  pictures  are,  undoubtedly,  well  worth  careful 
inspection,  even  if  only  to  teach  us  English  folk  that  our 
way  of  seeing  and  doing  is  not  the  only  way — not  even 
necessarily  the  best  way. 


IMAGINING  AND  IMAGING* 

BY  PHILIP  H.  NEWMAN. 

I suppose  it  is  pretty  generally  admitted  now  that  photography, 
within  certain  well-defined  limits,  is  a legitimate  means  of 
artistic  expression,  and  in  spite  of  mutterings  and  echoes  heard 
from  time  to  time  to  the  contrary,  statements  that  the  various 
scientific  processes  by  which  light  becomes  an  image  maker, 
“only  serve  to  degrade  nature,”  are  not  seriously  maintained 
in  the  face  of  demonstrations  that  such  results,  when  they 
occur,  are  due  to  the  want  of  ability  on  the  part  of  the  photo- 
grapher, shown  in  the  selection  of  his  subject  or  the  choice  of 
his  implements.  A further  proof  of  the  alliance  between  fine 
art  and  photography  is  the  increasing  desire  of  photographic 
societies  and  conventions  to  leaven  the  purely  scientific  with 
the  purely  artistic,  the  materialism  of  lenses  and  chemicals 
with  the  emotional  and  the  aesthetic.  And  here  I may  be  per- 
mitted, perhaps,  to  acknowledge  the  great  compliment  that 
has  been  paid  me  in  being  asked  to  address  you  on  these  latter 
subjects.  I am  the  more  stimulated  to  do  so,  however,  from 
feeliugs  of  gratitude  as  an  artist  for  the  benefits  and  assistance 
photography  has  conferred  upon  me.  It  has  been  argued  that 
scientific  studies  and  the  exercise  of  optical  and  mechanical 
processes  are  not  expected  to  be  found  side  by  side  with  that 
divine  afflatus  which  should  pervade  the  artistic  nature — in  a 
word,  that  photographers  have  no  imagination.  I can  only 
conceive  of  this  as  a jest,  and  must  treat  it  as  such. 

It  is  true,  personally,  I can  only  allude  to  my  photographic 
capacity  as  of  the  humblest,  although  I have  succeeded  in 
imaging  uow  and  then  all  I have  focussed,  yet  I am  entitled  to 
bear  witness  to  a phenomenon  of  the  dark  room,  which 
makes  it  at  once  a great  school  of  imagination.  I know  of  no 
exercise  of  imagination  my  mind  has  undergone  equal  to  that 
experienced  when  developing  a plate,  as  to  how  the  latent 
image  would  turn  out ; and  I will  even  confess,  although  I 
never  thought  to  do  so  even  to  my  bosom  friend,  in  the  dark 
room,  that  my  imagination  has  begun  to  develop  the  image 
when  no  chemical  formula  would  do  it.  I need  not  tell  you, 
who  have  doubtless  in  your  time  undergone  this  hallucination, 
that  no  hypo  would  ever  fix  the  picture.  But  to  be  serious, 
we  have  all  of  us  imagination,  and  it  will  grow  and  bear  good 
fruit  if  w’e  will  allow  it,  enriching  the  gardens  of  our  minds, 
and  making  pleasant  avenues  for  art  to  linger  in.  Our  great 
danger  is,  undoubtedly,  that  science  and  dry  fact  will  tend  to 
dwarf  and  kill  our  imagination,  especially  if,  moreover,  we 
encourage  that  pernicious  vice  of  looking  at  everything  only 
through  the  camera. 

Photography  has  been  working  amongst  us,  as  Mr.  P.  H. 
Emerson  says,  “ for  fifty  years  for  better  or  for  worse,”  and  I 
am  afraid,  if  I believed  in  everything  or  much  which  he  has 
written,  I should  have  to  admit  “ for  worse.”  I should  have 
to  say  to  you  to-day,  gentlemen,  when  Daguerre  addressed  that 
meeting  of  the  French  Academy  on  the  19tli  of  August,  1839, 
and  showed  it  the  hitherto  fugitive  image  fixed  in  a picture  of 
silver,  he  sounded  the  death  knell  of  fine  art  ; but  I do  not 
believe  in  all  Mr.  Emerson  has  written,  and  fine  art  is  re- 
prieved. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  drag  you  page  by  page  in  a review 
of  the  book  I allude  to — “ Naturalistic  Photography  ” — or  that 
portion  of  it  which  relates  directly  to  fine  art,  most  of  which 
you  have,  doubtless,  read  ; I shall  only  have  occasion  to  touch 
upon  it  here  and  there.  My  only  reason  for  mentioning  it  at 
all  is,  that  enthusiasm  for  one  branch  should  be  without  pre- 
judice to  the  whole  tree.  One  aspect  of  fine  art  does  not 
necessarily  cover  the  entire  field,  though  the  solemn  and 
authoritative  dicta  of  this  book  would  imply  that  it  did.  No- 

* Read  at  the  Fbotographic  Convention  at  Chester. 


496 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  27,  1890. 


thing  that  comes  within  Mr.  Emerson’s  purview  that  is  not 
naturalistic  in  art  is  to  be  tolerated,  and  unless  you  focus  the 
subject,  so  to  speak,  with  his  lens  you  must  be  wrong.  As 
tastes  for  ever  vary  without  being  necessarily  bad,  this  con- 
tention is  surely  inartistic  and  illiberal. 

In  a chapter  devoted  to  “Naturalism  in  Pictorial  and  Glyptic 
Art,”  Mr.  Emerson  careers  through  the  schools,  from  Pharaoh 
in  Egypt  to  Reynolds  in  Leicester  Square,  from  China  to 
Bouverie  Street,  from  Japan  to  the  Royal  Academy  ; with  the 
touch  of  a magician’s  wand,  with  the  stroke  of  a pen,  with  a 
few  dozen  pages  acutely  sensitised  to  the  true  impressions  of 
art  at  all  periods,  this  book  disposes  of  the  w hole  question. 
The  cognoscenti  and  the  savants,  the  art  critics  of  ancient  and 
modern  times,  have  indeed  lived  in  vain  ; their  writings,  with 
little  exception,  can  be  shown  by  the  fierce  light  of  naturalism 
to  be  so  much  waste  paper,  that  ought,  of  course,  at  the 
earliest  opportunity,  and  in  the  eternal  fitness  of  things,  to 
crumble  into  dust— that  dust  which  lias  been  cast  into  the 
eyes  of  an  hitherto  misguided  world.  Mr.  Emerson  falls  into 
ecstacies,  however,  over  Egyptian  lions,  and  discriminately 
tolerates  some  Assyrian  ditto.  Touching  Greek  art  with  a 
light  hand,  he  points  out  with  satisfaction  that  Appelles’ 
greatness  was  due  to  his  imitation  of  nature,  and  that  pre- 
viously Apollodorus  was  the  first  true  painter,  but  “ that  the 
innovations  made  by  him  in  the  relation  of  foreground  and 
background  cannot  be  compared  to  the  improvements  effected 
by  the  Brothers  Van  Eyck  in  modern  times.”  This  is  a far 
cry,  and  I dare  say  the  Brothers  Van  Eyck  and  Appollodorus 
would  .,be  as  astonished  as  we  are  at  the  comparison.  Mr. 
Emerson  recommends  the  friese  of  the  Parthenon  to  our  notice, 
and  lingers  awhile  among  the  Rornaus,  admiring  particularly 
the  heads  of  Nero  of  Commodus  in  the  British  Museum. 
Riding  his  hobby  of  naturalism  at  a canter  through  Pagan 
times,  he  pulls  up  with  the  horse  of  Selene,  bowing  his  com- 
pliments to  the  Greeks  for  the  height  of  their  horizon,  and 
whom,  it  is  refreshing  to  find,  he  considers  “very  advanced.” 

We  then  find  ourselves  with  Mr.  Emerson  loftily  surveying 
early  Christian  art  in  a tolerant  spirit ; but  he  is  very  in- 
tolerant when  art  was  tied  and  fettered  by  priestly  domination 
in  mediaeval  times,  and  he  shall  not  be  blamed,  excepting  that 
he  does  not  dwell  sufficiently  on  the  protection  the  Church 
afforded  art,  and  the  loving  naivty  with  which  it  was  inspired. 
We  will  not  follow  him  across  China  and  the  East,  but  watch 
him  running  amok  against  everything  and  everybody  in  the 
Renaissance  who  does  not  fulfil  his  standard  of  naturalism. 
Such  men  as  Diirer  get  off  by  the  skin  of  their  teeth,  and  the 
only  artists  standing  out  as  worthy  of  the  greatest  commenda- 
tion are  the  Van  Eycks  and  Holbein.  Something,  however, 
has  to  be  said  for  Andrea  del  Sarto,  but  Michael  Angelo, 
Raphael,  and  Corregio  are  swept  away  like  chaff  before  the 
wind.  Benvenuto  Cellini,  the  author  of  the  Perseus,  is  not 
recognised  as  a sculptor,  but  as  a goldsmith,  and  as  to  Rubens 
and  Vandyck,  &c. , the  less  said  the  better.  Hogarth  stands  out 
among  the  English  school  of  painters  with  Crome  and  Gains- 
borough, and  perhaps  Constable  as  an  associate  ; but  Reynolds, 
Turner,  Nasmyth,  Stanfield,  Linnell,  and  Maclise  go  by  the 
board.  I will  not  weary  you  further,  or  twice  kill  the  killed  ; 
it  has  been  reserved  for  Mr.  Emerson  to  convert  the  Temple 
of  Fame  into  a slaughter-house,  and  I would  rather  he  held 
the  entire  monopoly  ; but,  as  his  book  speaks  so  authoritatively 
on  a subject  with  which  you  desire  I shall  have  something  to 
say,  it  is  necessary  for  me  to  do  something  towards  clearing 
the  ground,  and  it  shall  be  my  task  to  show  you  where  1 con- 
sider are  obvious  mistakes. 

Mr.  Emerson’s  battle  cry,  or  rather,  his  killing  cry,  is  Nature  ! 
nature  ! nature  ! go  to  nature  ! Well,  I am  with  him  : we  are 
all  with  him,  being  sane  men  ; but  what  nature  ? He  says  the 
Greeks  went  to  nature  ; many  sculptors  have  told  him  so. 
Truly  it  needed  not  that ; he  might  have  evolved  that  from  his 
inner  consciousness,  if  he  could  not  see  it.  How,  then,  what 
nature  did  they  go  to  ? Was  it  the  nature  of  a labour-stunted 
physique,  a brain-killed  body,  a factory-degenerated  virility  ? 
Did  they  study  arms  from  a sewing-machine  girl,  legs  from  a 
ballet  dancer  or  a cyclist  ? Where  would  Mr.  Emerson  image 
his  legs  from  to-day,  even  with  the  help  of  all  the  rectilinear 


lenses  he  possesses  ? Of  course,  I mean  that  the  legs  should  be 
artistic  legs,  such  as  a Greek  would  have  modelled.  I think 
we  should  find  Mr.  Emerson  rather  at  his  wits’  end  if  he  had  to 
draw-  such  legs,  unless  he  is  well  grounded  in  anatomy,  or  hap- 
pened, by  a fluke,  to  be  visited  by  an  exceptional  model  whom 
lie  could  photograph.  The  general  type  of  images  of  legs  he 
could  get  would  not  come  up  to  the  standard  of  what  Mr. 
Emerson’s  imagination  would  dictate,  and  I should  not  be  sur- 
prised if,  after  all,  we  did  not  find  him,  having  put  the  camera 
on  one  side,  assisting  his  imagination  by  taking  a look  at  that 
Elgin  friese  we  all  so  much  admire  ; not  to  copy,  oh,  no!  but 
just  to  see  how  the  old  fellows  did  it.  Then,  if  he  had  to  get 
a whole  body,  say  a Venus  d<  Milo,  without  a trace  of  stays, 
how  then  ? 

But  I forgot  Mr.  Emerson  cares  for  none  of  these  things, 
but  would  rather  have  a peasant  woman  from  nature  than  a 
Venus,  Virgin,  or  Saint  from  imagination  and  cultured  ideal. 
Well,  there  is  no  accounting  for  taste  ; but  it  is  hard  he  will 
not  permit  the  freedom  in  others  he  takes  himself.  There  are 
still  those  equally  earnest  men  in  art  who  prefer  the  Saint, 
the  Virgin,  the  Venus  of  ideal  and  refined  culture  to  the 
peasant  woman.  By  the  way,  I should  like  to  know 
how  Mr.  Emerson  is  affected  in  relation  to  this  subject 
by  that  exquisite  remark  of  Balzac’s. — “ L'une  dcs 
gloires  <lc  la  socictd  c'est  d’avoir  cree  la  femme,  Ul 

oil  la  nature  d fait  une  fcmelle.”  Freely  translated  : 
“ One  of  the  glories  of  society  is,  that  it  has  created  woman, 
where  nature  has  only  made  a female.”  Surely,  Mr.  Emerson, 
the  ideal  is  not  so  hopeless  after  all,  and  it  is  just  possible 
that  a great  intellectual  effort  to  attain  an  ideal  on  a reason- 
able substratum  of  nature  might  be  partially  successful,  and 
not  altogether  Utopian  ; at  least,  even  if  for  argument’s  sake 
wre  demolished  the  old  masters  to  a man.  Mr.  Emerson  should 
surely  know  it  is  no  reproach  to  photography  that  though  the 
camera  can  do  much,  it  cannot  do  impossibilities  ; the  intellec- 
tual effort  in  its  use  must,  to  a great  extent,  be  subject  to  the 
model  it  focusses.  You  cannot  make  a silk  purse  out  of  a sow’s 
ear  in  photography,  much  as  you  may  do  in  that  way  in  paint- 
ing ; but,  on  the  other  hand,  are  you  always  sure  of  making 
the  best  of  the  sow’s  ear  as  such  ? Not  at  all,  unless  you  bring 
considerable  artistic  ability  to  bear  upon  the  treatment 
of  your  subject  ; and  when,  instead  of  the  sow’s  ear,  you 
have,  say,  a very  beautiful  woman  to  photograph,  the  difficulty 
and  the  intellectual  effort  becomes  iufinitely  greater,  and  you 
will  be  glad  of  some  hints  from  Sir  Joshua,  to  say  nothing  of 
Raphael  and  Rubens,  bsides  Holbein,  Titian,  Gainsborough,  and 
the  favoured  few  Mr.  Emerson  tolerates. 

(To  be  continued.) 

(tfovrcgpontJcnce. 

CENSURES  ON  PHOTOGRAPHIC  DEALERS. 

Sir, — Noticing  several  letters  which  have  appeared  in  the 
pages  of  some  of  your  contemporaries,  conveying  sweeping 
censures  on  photographic  dealers,  I deem  it  only  just  to  state 
that,  during  a professional  experience  extending  over  thirty- 
seven  years,  save  in  one  instance  I have  never  met  aught  but 
the  fairest  treatment  ; and  in  this  solitary  exception  the 
offender  could  scarcely  be  regarded  as  a dealer. 

Mr.  Otto  Scholzig,  whom  I particularise,  because  he  has  been 
so  distinctly  mentioned,  has  satisfactorily  supplied  me  with 
paper  for  several  years,  during  which  period  I have  but  once 
liad  occasion  to  call  attention  to  a faulty  parcel,  damaged  per- 
haps through  some  lack  of  care  in  packing  ; it  was  at  once 
replaced  without  a question — a practice  I have  invariably  found 
to  hold  good  with  all  other  houses  with  whom  I have  had  busi- 
ness transactions. 

It  affords  me  much  pleasure  to  offer  this  unsolicited  testi- 
mony to  the  fair  and  straightforward  dealing  of  this  large  sec- 
tion of  the  photographic  community,  who  are,  in  too  many 
instances,  blamed  on  very  inadequate  grounds. 

Win  wood,  Tunbridge  Wells,  June '^th.  Wm.  Ma.YLA.ND. 


June  2 7,  1890.] 


tHE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


497 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  GERMANY. 

BY  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

Stripping  the  Film  of  the  Gelatine  Negative — 

Unfavourable  Opinions  of  the  Akisto  Paper — Toning 

Silver  Bromide  Transparencies  on  Opal  Glass. 

Stripping  the  Film  of  Gelatine  Negatives. — There  are 
several  good  methods  of  stripping  the  film  of  gelatine 
negatives,  which  may  be  used  to  produce  reversed  negatives 
for  photo  mechanical  purposes,  though  I have  always 
found  that  the  process  is  of  absolute  certainty  only  in 
the  case  of  the  specially  prepared  gelatine  plates  of  the 
trade.  A method,  however,  with  which  I have  repeatedly 
succeeded  is  the  following,  worked  out  by  M.  Charles 
Petit,  professor  of  the  renowned  photographic  reproduc- 
tion establishment  of  Paris,  and  recommended  of  late 
by  a well-known  French  amateur  photographer,  in  the 
Archiv.  The  finished  negative,  after  thorough  washing 
and  drying,  is  placed  for  ten  minutes  in  a bath  of  100  c.c. 
of  water,  5 grammes  of  potassium  or  ammonium  bichro- 
mate, and  a few  cubic  centimetres  of  alcohol,  allowed  to 
drain,  and  dried  in  the  dark.  It  is  then  exposed,  at  first 
from  the  glass  side,  for  ten  minutes  in  the  sun,  or  forty- 
five  minutes  in  diffused  light,  the  gelatine  film  being 
covered  during  this  operation  by  a black  paper.  Then 
the  film  side  is  exposed  for  a little  shorter  time.  The 
plate  is  then  washed  in  several  changes  of  water  until 
the  latter  remains  clear,  and  dried.  It  is,  however, 
necessary,  in  order  to  ensure  success,  that  the  gelatine 
film  retain  a certain  degree  of  moisture,  such  as  it 
would  have  acquired  if  it  had  been  dried  for  twenty- 
four  hours  in  a cellar.  In  order  to  strip  the  film,  an 
incision  is  made  in  it  by  means  of  a sharp  pen-knife 
about  one-eighth  of  an  inch  distant  all  around  the  edges 
of  the  plate,  then  one  corner  is  lifted,  and  the  film  care- 
fully stripped.  After  stripping,  the  film  is  placed  rever- 
sedly  upon  another  glass  plate  of  a little  larger  size  than 
the  film,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  operation  ; an  expan- 
sion of  the  exposed  bichromated  gelatine  film  does  not 
occur.  This  transferring  process  is  done  best  by  placing 
the  glass  plate  on  the  bottom  of  a dish  filled  with  clean 
water,  and  the  reversed  film  upon  the  plate.  The  whole 
is  then  lifted  and  allowed  to  drain  for  a moment  ; to 
obtain  perfect  contact  between  film  and  glass,  a piece  of 
letter  paper  is  placed  on  the  glass,  and  the  excessive 
water  pressed  out  by  means  of  the  ball  of  the  hand  or  of 
a squeegee.  It  is  then  put  away  for  drying.  The 
stripped  film  can,  of  course,  also  be  used  as  negative 
film,  and  in  this  case,  after  the  drying  which  follows  the 
washing  out  the  bichromate,  a coating  of  plain  collodion 
can  be  imparted  to  the  gelatine  surface,  then  a five  per 
cent,  gelatine  solution  to  which  some  glycerine  has  been 
added.  By  this  coating  the  bichromated  gelatine  film 
below,  which  is  very  fragile,  is  made  more  resistant.  The 
stripping  of  the  film  is  then  done  in  the  same  way  as 
described  above. 

Unfavourable  Opinions  of  the  Aristotype  Paper. — It  is  a 
fact  very  often  to  be  met  with  in  daily  life  that  the  better 
a thing  and  the  more  successful  it  is.  the  greater  is  the 
number  of  the  envious,  who  try  to  oppose  it  by  .all 
means.  This  is  the  case  now  with  the  aristotype  paper, 
which,  by  all  who  have  printed  witli  it  and  judge  it  dis- 
interestedly, is  designed  unanimously  as  the  paper  par 
excellence  for  amateurs.  On  the  many  advantages  and 
merits  of  this  paper  has  been  written  so  much,  that  it 
would  be  needless  to  repeat  it ; be  it  sufficient  to  state  that 


the  number  of  its  admirers  and  adherents  grows  from 
day  to  day.  This,  however,  is  by  no  means  to  the  liking 
of  some  persons,  who  disregard  all  that  they  have  not 
invented  themselves,  and  who  therefore  search  for 
defects  and  disadvantages  of  the  material — in  most  cases, 
however,  vainly.  So  to  the  aristotype  paper  the  objection 
was  made  from  the  very  beginning  of  its  existence  that 
the  high  gloss  of  the  surface  of  the  finished  prints  was 
inartistic  and  even  offensive,  and  a German  contemporary 
quite  recently  contained  the  following  criticism : “ The 
aristotype  paper,  with  its  uncertain  tones,  with  its  vulgar 
high  gloss,  and  the  faded  details,  is  very  seldom  suited 
for  artistic  effects.”  If  the  writer  of  this  judgment  had 
ever  seen  the  splendid  and  most  artistic  views  of  moun- 
tains printed  on  aristo  paper  by  M.  Vittorio  Sella,  of 
Biella,  or  the  beautiful  landscapes  of  Mr.  Cronenberg, 
he  would,  perhaps,  have  altered  his  opinion.  With  regard 
to  the  glossy  surface  of  the  aristo  prints,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  remember  that  they  can  be  produced  as  easily 
with  a matt  surface,  by  squeezing  them  on  a ground  glass 
plate  instead  of  a plate  glass  or  ferrotype  plate.  They 
are  then  very  much  like  platinotype  prints  as  regards  the 
tone  and  the  surface,  with  the  difference,  however,  that 
their  sharpness  is  much  greater  than  that  of  platinotypes. 
Genre  pictures  and  portraits  are  specially  suitable  for  this 
treatment.  Mr.  Alfred  Stieglitz,  one  of  our  most  eminent 
amateurs,  who  had  sent  to  the  last  Jubilee  Exhibition  at 
Berlin  a large  number  of  genre  pictures  printed  on 
aristo  paper  and  toned  with  the  platinum  toning  bath, 
writes  in  Professor  Eder’s  “ Year-Book “ A celebrated 
professor,  one  of  the  most  bitter  enemies  of  the  aristo 
paper,  asked  me  whether  my  pictures  were  printed  on 
platinotype  paper  ? And  he  was  highly  surprised  when  I 
answered,  ‘ They  are  aristo  prints,  toned  with  platinum.’ 
This  example  shows  the  small  importance  of  such 
judgments,  and  for  what  reason  they  are  published. 

Toning  Silver  Bromide  Transparencies  on  Opal  Glass. — • 
This  procesg  is,  in  general,  not  quite  simple,  because  a 
sensitive  silver  bromide  emulsion,  after  the  reduction, 
cannot  be  toned  directly.  The  ordinary  gold  baths  are 
useless,  since  the  reduced  silver  is  too  coarsely  grained.  It 
is,  therefore,  necessary  to  transform  the  picture  at  first 
into  a silver  chloride  print.  I)r.  Miethe  recommends  for 
this  purpose  the  following  solution  : — 


Water...  ... 
Alum... 

Potassium  bichromate 
Hydrochloric  acid 


...  1000  c.c. 

...  20  grammes 


After  a few  minutes  the  print  is  well  washed,  exposed  for 
about  two  minutes,  and  developed  with  the  citrate  deve- 
loper. According  to  the  time  of  exposure,  the  tone  varies 
from  red,  through  brown,  to  black. 


A Fine  Arts  Exhibition  is  to  be  held  at  Poona  in  September 
next,  when  a money  prize  and  two  silver  medals  are  to  be 
offered  for  photography.  Two  out  of  the  three  judges  for 
this  section  of  the  exhibition  will  be  photographers. 

The  Bureau  Scandinave,  Brussels,  has  organised  a photo* 
graphic  excursion  to  the  west  of  Norway,  to  leave  Rotterdam 
on  Thursday,  the  14th  August.  Arrangements  have  been  made 
for  the  use  of  a dark  room  in  each  hotel  at  which  the  excur- 
sionists may  stay. 

Birmingham  Photographic  Society. — The  first  half-day 
excursion  of  the  season  to  Coventry  took  place  on  Saturday 
last.  Mr.  F.  W.  Hard}',  of  the  Coventry  Society,  accompanied 
the  members  to  the  principal  architectural  buildings  of  the 
city.  The  next  excursion  is  fixed  for  July  12th. 


498 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


j3otcs. 


Usually  the  judging  of  competing  photographs  and 
the  awarding  of  prizes  in  connection  with  an  exhibi- 
tion are  looked  upon  as  thankless  and  almost  disagree- 
able operations.  . Where  the  task  is  performed  by  ladies 
the  reverse  seems  to  be  the  case ; at  least,  so  we  learn 
from  our  lively  contemporary,  Woman,  which  states 
that  “Mrs.  Eveleen  Myers  (sister  of  Miss  Dorothy 
Tennant).  Miss  Edith  Scannell,  and  Miss  Ida  Vernon 
have  just  concluded  the  pleasant  task  of  adjudicating 
on  some  300  photographs  by  ‘ ladies  only.’  ” If  these 
ladies  found  their  duty  a “pleasant”  one,  and  if  the 
lady  competitors  are  also  satisfied  with  their  verdict, 
we  would  suggest  that  Mrs.  Myers,  Miss  Scannell,  and 
Miss  Vernon  be  invited  to  assist  the  judges  of  the 
next  exhibition  in  Pall  Mall.  Up  to  the  present  no 
exhibition  year  has  passed  over  without  some  little  heart- 
burning on  the  part  of  someone.  Perhaps  the  intro- 
duction of  ladies  might  do  away  with  all  asperity. 
We  ought  not  to  forget,  in  connection  with  this  subject, 
to  mention  that  the  300  photographs  alluded  to  formed 
the  first  Amateur  Ladies’  Photographic  Competition, 
and  that  the  first  prize  of  a gold  medal  was  awarded 
to  Miss  E.  Dora  Anderson. 


One  of  the  periodicals  of  the  “Bit”  class  offers  a 
prize  for  the  best  answer  to  the  following  question  : 
“ What  are  the  best  uses  to  which  photography  can  be 
put  ?”  There  cannot  be  the  slightest  objection  to  the 
discussion  of  such  an  interesting  question,  but  it  must 
be  confessed  that  the  reason  given  for  the  wording  of 
the  question  is  puzzling.  It  is,  so  we  read,  put  in  the 
above  form  so  that  those  who  know  nothing  of  photo- 
graphy may  have  an  equal  chance  with  those  who  are 
familiar  with  the  art.  One  would  have  thought  that 
in  such  a competition  the  latter  would  be  first  and  the 
former  nowhere ; but  perhaps  the  editor  of  the  paper 
in  question  has  some  convincing  proof  of  the  con- 
trary up  his  sleeve.  If  so,  every  photographer  would 
much  like  to  hear  what  it  is. 


Mr.  P.  O’Brien,  M.P.,  is  apparently  quite  convinced 
of  the  value  of  photography  as  a political  argument. 
First,  he  secures  with  his  own  hand  some  photographs 
of  the  peculiar  process  known  as  “ shadowing.”  Next 
he  has  copies  of  the  pictures  handed  about  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  Lastly,  he  has  an  optical  lantern 
apparatus  placed  on  a barge,  which  is  anchored  off  the 
Houses  of  Parliament,  and  throws  images  of  the  said 
photographs  on  a screen  for  the  delectation  or  otherwise 
of  the  members.  The  question  is,  what  will  be  the 
next  stage?  Hitherto,  the  most  singular  discrepancies 
have  been  evident  between  the  accounts  given  by  Irish 
members  who  have  been  eye-witnesses  of  certain  scenes, 
and  the  official  versions  furnished  by  the  police.  Will 
it  come  about  in  future,  when  Mr.  Balfour  traverses 
a statement,  that  he  will  be  silenced  by  the  triumphant 
production  of  a photograph  of  the  scene  in  question  ? 
If  so,  and  if  the  evidence  of  photography  is  valuable, 


[June  27,  1890. 

then  the  Irish  police  will  have  to  be  furnished  with 
instantaneous  cameras,  so  that  Mr.  Balfour  may  be  able 
to  give  an  adequate  rejoinder  to  the  photographs  of 
his  opponents  by  producing  the  police  picture.  This 
kind  of  thing  would,  at  all  events,  open  up  very 
interesting  discussions,  and  give  an  opportunity  for 
speaking  to  the  photographic  members  of  the  House. 
Indeed,  the  freemasonry  of  photography,  and  the 
friendly  feeling  it  fosters,  might  positively  be  beneficial, 
and  considerably  soften  the  acrimony  of  the  debates  on 
Irish  questions. 

Thotography  and  the  photographer  have  always  been 
an  irresistible  source  of  fun  to  Mr.  Toole.  His  inter- 
view with  the  Australian  photographer,  related  last 
week  in  these  pages,  shows  that  he  has  not  yet  exhausted 
his  joking  propensities  in  this  direction.  Mr.  Toole’s 
recently  published  “Reminiscences”  abound  in 
allusions  to  his  photographic  experiences.  Some  of 
his  pranks  in  the  studio  must  have  been  extremely 
funny.  He  tells  how,  when  he,  Phelps,  and  Charles 
Mathews  were  playing  “John  Bull”  at  the  Gaiety, 
they  were  photographed  together  for  the  Illustrated 
London  News.  The  photographer  was  very  much 
impressed  with  his  work,  and  very  anxious  ; and  just 
as  he  had  posed  the  group  to  his  entire  satisfaction, 
Phelps  gave  one  of  his  little  nervous  coughs.  Mathews 
remarked,  “ It’s  no  good  trying  to  get  your  tragedy 
cough  into  the  picture,  Phelps ; it  can’t  be  done.” 
They  were  photographed  in  character;  Phelps  had  on 
one  of  his  heavy  tragic  wigs,  and  Mathews  one  of  his 
tall  comedy  hats.  Just  before  the  last  pose  the  photo- 
grapher suggested  that  Mr.  Mathews  should  take  off 
his  hat.  “ It  will  make  your  face  lighter,”  said  he. 
Mathews,  in  his  quick,  merry  way,  taking  off  his  hat, 
Said,  “ Don’t  you  think  if  Mr.  Phelps  took  off  his 
tragedy  wig  it  would  make  his  face  lighter  ? ” 


At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Royal  Astronomical 
Society  Mr.  Knobel  gave  an  interesting  account  of  a 
visit  he  had  paid  to  Dr.  Yogel’s  observatory  at 
Potsdam.  Referring  to  Dr.  Yogel’s  new  photographic 
telescope,  just  finished,  Mr.  Knobel  said  that,  with 
the  exception  of  the  French  telescope,  this  was, 
he  believed,  the  first  introduced  for  the  photographic 
survey  of  the  heavens  which  had  been  entirely  com- 
pleted. Mr.  Ivnobcl  was  also  privileged  to  examine 
some  photographs  taken  with  this  telescope,  with  one 
hour’s  exposure,  of  the  Nebula  of  Orion.  Incidentally, 
Mr.  Knobel  said  that  Dr.  Schriener,  who  has  been 
devoting  much  attention  to  the  photographic  magnitudes 
of  stars,  informed  him  of  the  conclusion  at  which  he 
has  arrived,  that  white  stars  require  only  one-tenth 
of  the  exposure  of  red  stars  to  give  the  same  photo- 
graphic magnitude ; it  is,  therefore,  difficult  to  deter- 
mine the  magnitude  of  stars  when  they  differ  mate- 
rially in  colour. 

The  experiment  tried  by  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  of 
asking  the  frank  opinion  of  the  various  artists  whose 
pictures  are  reproduced  in  its  publication,  “ Pictures  of 


June  27,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


499 


1890”  was  a hazardous  one,  hut  on  the  whole  it  has 
come  out  of  it  fairly  well.  At  the  same  time,  it  must 
be  confessed  that  the  remarks  which  find  fault  are  more 
interesting  to  read  than  those  which  express  satisfac- 
tion. We  gather,  for  instance,  that  Mr.  John  Brett, 
A. R.  A.,  knows  something  of  photography,  for  he  writes  : 
“If  you  turn  to  page  37  I feel  sure  you  will  agree 
with  me  that  the  print  is  extremely  weak.  Not 
having  seen  the  negative,  I cannot  with  certainty 
indicate  where  the  fault  lies,  but  my  opinion  is  that 
the  negative  was  thin.  . . . The  printer  has  printed  it 
with  the  utmost  care,  but  a thin  negative  is  past  pray- 
ing for.”  Mr.  Colin  Hunter  is  also  dissatisfied.  He 
is  “ sorry  to  say  that  my  picture  seems  to  have  suffered 
more  than  usual  in  transferring  it  into  black  and 
white.”  Mr.  C.  N.  Kennedy  thinks  his  pictures  are 
good  “ considering  the  badness  of  the  photograph,”  but 
Mr.  Yecnd  King,  who  sent  a “ particularly  good  ” 
photograph,  finds  that  his  work  has  suffered  through 
being  over-reduced.  Sir  J.  E.  Millais  misses  his  moon, 
which  “up”  in  the  painting  has  “gone  behind  a 
cloud”  in  the  reproduction.  Mr.  W.  B.  Richmond  is 
exceedingly  candid  when  he  says,  “ I should  not  be 
just  to  myself  nor  to  you  if  I expressed  a favourable 
opinion — I think  they  are  very  bad  indeed.”  Mr.  G. 
A.  Storey  observes  that,  “ Considering  that  I sent  you 
a very  brown  photo,  I think  my  picture  comes  out 
very  well,”  which  is  consolatory,  though  we  should 
like  to  know  what  Mr.  Storey  means  by  a “brown 
photo.”  Mr.  Walter  Winch  also  lays  blame  on  the 
unfortunate  photographer,  as  “ the  reproduction  is  as 
good  as  it  could  be,  considering  the  quality  of  the  photo- 
graph.” 


Mr.  E.  J.  Poynter  unconsciously  points  out  the  cause, 
probably,  of  most  of  the  dissatisfaction  when  he  says, 
“ I consider  that  the  reproduction  of  the  water-colour 
of  the  ‘Queen  of  Sheba ’is  good,  considering  the  difficulty 
which  the  colouring  of  the  work  presents  to  the  photo- 
grapher.” Exactly  ! The  colouring  of  many  artists’ 
work,  notably  that  of  Mr.  John  Brett,  whose  pictures 
have  in  them  all  the  colours  of  the  rainbow  illuminated 
by  the  limelight,  does  present  difficulties.  To  make  a 
good  copy  of  a painting  requires  special  knowledge  and 
special  skill.  Artists  possibly  do  not  recognise  this, 
but  think  that  anybody  who  has  a camera  can  photo- 
graph a painting.  If  they  want  good  printing  repro- 
ductions, let  them  get  the  best  photographs  obtainable. 


Manufacturers  in  all  trades  know  that  to  be  success- 
ful in  business  they  must  see  that  economy  is 
practised  in  all  departments,  and  many  men  owe  their 
financial  success  to  their  care  that  nothing  shall  be  used 
wastefully.  But  there  is  a limit  to  economy,  as  in  all 
things,  and  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  avoid  the  tempta- 
tion of  overstepping  the  line.  In  the  manufacture  of 
dry  plates  this  temptation  takes  the  form  of  making  a 
given  quantity  of  gelatine  emulsion  spread  itself  over  a 
larger  surface  of  glass  than  is  desirable,  or  of  reducing 
the  proportion  of  silver  in  the  emulsion  to  the  smallest 
possible  quantity.  The  practice  of  this  kind  of  economy 


is  a suicidal  policy,  for  although  a certain  number  of 
amateur  workers  may  be  attracted  at  first  by  cheapness 
of  production,  they  will  soon  learn  that  it  is  better  to 
pay  more  for  a better  article.  The  difference  of  the 
results  obtainable  with  a plate  which  is  liberally  coated, 
and  that  which  is  poor  in  emulsion,  is  enormous,  and 
careful  workers  are  not  slow  to  find  it  out. 


It  is  said  that  a Paris  photographer  claims  that  cellu- 
loid as  applied  to  photographic  films  is  a French  inven- 
tion, on  the  ground  that  in  the  spring  of  1882  he 
showed  some  of  theso  pellicles  at  a meeting  of  the 
Photographic  Society  of  France.  We  have  often  heard 
that  Frenchmen  have  claimed  Waterloo  as  one  of  their 
victories,  and  their  claim  to  celluloid  is  about  as  well 
founded.  Celluloid  was  discovered  by  Parkes  in  this 
country  more  than  forty  years  ago,  and  it  was  at  once 
proposed  to  use  it  as  a support  for  the  photographic 
negative  image  ; and  it  would  have  been  so  used  had  it 
not  been  for  the  circumstance  that  the  solvents  used  in 
collodion  acted  upon  it.  An  aqueous  solution  of  gela- 
tine has  no  such  effect  upon  it,  and,  therefore,  the  idea 
has  again  been  revived,  and  has  at  last  taken  practical 
shape. 

Photography  is  very  often  allied  with  other  occupa- 
tions, and  does  good  service  in  adding  to  the  income  of 
a man  whose  ordinary  work  is  of  a far  different  kind. 
This  is  commonly  to  be  observed  in  out-of-the-way 
country  towns  where  the  population  is  not  sufficient  to 
support  a photographer  who  depends  entirely  upon 
picture  making  for-  his  living.  An  instauce  of  this 
mixture  of  occupations  we  lighted  upon  the  other  day 
in  an  old-fashioned  town  in  the  heart  of  Sussex,  where 
the  only  photographer  in  the  place  seemed  to  be  a kind 
of  Jack  of  all  trades.  First,  he  was  a disciple  of  St. 
Crispin,  and  his  work-bench  was  covered  with  old 
boots  and  shoes  in  various  stages  of  completion.  Next 
he  was  a taxidermist — and  he  told  us  that  amateur 
naturalists  for  miles  round  sent  him  birds  and  beasts  to 
be  stuffed.  Specimens  of  his  skill  in  this  way  were 
hung  upon  all  the  walls  of  hie  shop.  Then  he  was  a 
beemaster,  and  he  showed  us  two  hives  with  their  glass 
superstructures  crammed  with  honey-comb.  He  also 
dealt  in  rabbits  and  other  wild  beasts,  but  his  heart 
was  evidently  in  his  photography. 

This  humble  worker  had  constructed  his  own  studio, 
and  all  his  own  apparatus  except  his  French  half-plate 
portrait  lens.  One  of  the  glasses  of  this  lens  he  used 
for  landscape  purposes,  and  very  good  pictures  he 
turned  out  with  it  of  noted  places  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. For  these  he  found  a ready  sale,  and  the  printing 
and  toning  of  them  give  him  continual  occupation  in 
the  summer  months.  As  we  parted  with  him,  we 
could  not  help  thinking  of  the  number  of  woikers  we 
have  known  who,  possessing  a battery  of  lenses  and 
expensive  apparatus  of  every  kind,  cannot  produce 
pictures  of  equal  merit  to  those  which  were  lying  amid 
the  chips  of  leather  and  the  stuffed  birds  in  this  worthy 
man’s  shop. 


500 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  27,  1890. 


NEW  PHOTOGRAPHIC  OBJECTIVES.* 

BY  Dli.  EKNEST  ABBE  AND  DR.  PAUL  RUDOLPH. 

No.  II. 

In  the  annexed  drawing,  an  objective  carried  out  accord- 
ing to  our  invention  is  shown  partly  in  outside  view  and 
partly  in  section.  L,  and  L5  are  the  two  collecting -lenses, 
made  in  this  case  of  concavo-convex  form.  The  correcting - 


system  consists  in  the  biconvex  lens  L3,  and  the  concavo- 
convex  dispersing-lenses  L2  Lt,  the  two  latter  being  com- 
posed of  glass  having  such  power  of  chromatic  dispersion 
as  is  necessary  to  compensate  the  chromatic  aberration  of 
the  lenses  L„  L3,  and  Ls. 

According  to  the  kinds  of  glass  used  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  described  objectives,  and  according  to  the 
special  conditions  to  be  realized  by  the  total  result  obtain- 
able from  the  system,  a perfectly  symmetrical  arrange- 
ment of  the  lenses,  such  as  is  shown  by  the  figure,  may, 
in  certain  cases,  suffice  ; in  others,  where  a wider  range  of 
means  for  corrections  or  for  removing  objectionable 
reflections  is  desired,  a dissymmetrical  arrangement  may 
be  preferable. 

In  the  following  tables  we  append  three  numerical 
exemplifications  of  the  manner  in  which  lenses  of  given 
kinds  of  glass  have  to  be  ground  for  carrying  our 
invention  into  operation.  In  these  tables  the 

letters  n r*  r 3 r*  )*.*,  r6  r7  r8  denote  the  radii  of 
curvature  of  the  lens-surfaces  marked  by  the  said 
letters  in  the  figure.  </,  d«  d3  <lt  d-a  are  the  cen- 
tral thicknesses  of  the  lenses,  and  5,  bs  the  respec- 
tive air-distances  between  the  lenses  Li  L2,  and  L4  Ls. 
All  dimensions  are  expressed  as  fractions  or  multiples  of 
the  focal  length  of  the  entire  system  token  as  unity.  To 
obtain  the  dimensions  of  any  particular  objective,  all  that 
is  necessary  is  to  multiply  the  numerals  given  in  the 
tables  by  the  focal  length  required.  The  kinds  of  glass 
to  which  the  tobies  refer  are  determined  in  the  first 
example  by  the  refractive  indices  nD,  nF,  and  nGli  corres- 
ponding to  Fraunhofer’s  spectral  lines  I)  and  F,  and  the  line 
FLy  of  the  spectrum  of  hydrogen  respectively,  whereas  in 
the  second  and  third  examples  the  indices  nn  and  tip 
only  are  employed. 

1. 


Radii  : 

r,  = — t*8  = + 0*2574 
7*2  = — ?'7  = -f-  0*3847 
»*3  = — 7'6  = + 2-3040 
7*4  = — 7*5  = + 0*1374 
Glasses  employed : 

nT 


Thicknesses  of  glass  and  air-distances : 


(/1  — db 
(%2  ~~  ^4 

6,  = J2 


0*034 
0*011 
0*056 
0 042 


n.. 


"F 

1*52457 

1*58745 


1*52956 

1*59388 


D 

L,  L3  L5  : 1*51840 

L„  and  L4 : 1*57950 

Position  of  diaphragm  close  behind  lens  L,. 
largest  effective  aperture  : 0*16. 

Angle  of  field  : about  90°. 

II. 

Unsymmetrical  arrangement.  Achromatic  correction. 

Thicknesses  of  glass  and  air-distanccs : 
d,  = 0 033 
d,  = 0*010 


d3  = 0*062 
di  = 0 Oil 
db  = 0*036 
5,  = 0*041 
b2  = 0*044 


Radii : 

7*1  = -p  0*2473 
7*2  = -p  0*3707 

7*3  = -p  2*2000 

7*4  = -P  0*1324 
r5  = — 0*1452 
7*6  = — 2*4350 
7*7  = — 0*4272 
t*8  = — 0*2798 
Glasses  employed : 

"d  ”g, 

L,  L3  L3  : 1*50932  1*52037 

L2  and  L4:  1*56808  1*58231 

Position  of  diaphragm  close  behind  lens  L4. 

Largest  effective  aperture : 0*16. 

Angle  of  field : about  90°. 

III. 

Symmetrical  arrangement.  Achromatic  correction. 

Thicknesses  of  glass  and  air-distances . 
d,  = d5  = 0*050 
d2  — — 0*020 


Radii : 

r,  = — r8  = 0*4401 
7*2  = — 7*7  = 1*3503 

»*3  = — n = CO 

r4  = — >*5  = 0*2001 
Glasses  employed : 


= 0130 
b~  = 62  = 0*100 


L,  L3  Ls 


% 

1*51780 

1*56745 


L2  and  L4 : 

Position  of  diaphragm  close  behind  lens  L4. 
Largest  effective  aperture : 0*30. 

Angle  of  field:  about  50.°* 


”<h 

1*52901 

1*58233 


Photooravinq  on  Sensitive  Paper. — Mons.  D.  Stravoe  Zellis, 
of  Alexandria,  indicates  a process  which  he  has  always  found  to 
succeed  perfectly.  Taking  a sheet  of  thin  white  paper,  he 
traces  on  it  the  title  he  wishes  to  photograve  at  the  bottom  of 
his  negative,  and  oils  it  on  both  sides  ; having  taken  away  the 
excess  of  oil  by  pressing  it  between  two  sheets  of  blotting- 
paper,  he  varnishes  it  again  on  both  sides  and  leaves  it  to  dry. 
He  then  cuts  away  at  the  foot  of  his  negative  a piece  of  gelatine 
equal  in  size  to  the  prepared  paper,  and  replaces  it  with  this, 
sticking  it  on  by  means  of  a solution  of  gum-arabic  and  water. 
He  then  presses  away  the  little  bubbles  of  air  which  prevent 
its  i>erfect  adherence,  and,  this  done,  waits  until  his  work  dries. 
If,  when  taking  a proof,  it  is  seen  that  the  written  letters  do 
not  give  a very  white  impression  on  the  sensitive  paper,  it  will 
be  necessarv  to  retouch  the  characters  which  come  out  badly 
on  the  reverse  of  the  oiled  paper.  To  write  the  titles,  Mons. 
D.  Stravos  Zellis  uses  a mixture  of  gum-arabic,  lamp  black, 
and  water.  The  process  is  simple,  costs  little,  and  gives 
excellent  results. — A nnales  Photograph  iques. 


Symmetrical  arrangement.  Apochromatic  correction 
(the  secondary  spectrum  removed). 


* Continued  from  page  475. 


• in  the  patent  the  inventors  claim-*1  In  a photographic  objective,  the 
combination  of  two  single  collecting-lenses,  and  a compound  corrccting- 
system  composed  of  single  lenses  cemented  together,  the  said  correcting- 
system  having  a large  focal  length,  and  being  placed  between  the  collect- 
ing-lenses,  substantially  as  described.” -El). 


June  27,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


501 


NOTES  ON  THE  REPORT  OF  THE  LENS  STANDARD 
COMMITTEE.* 

BY  A.  HADDON. 

Before  submitting  the  report  drawn  up  by  the  Lens  Standard 
Committee,  I propose  to  state  the  history  of  this  Committee, 
and  the  reasons  for  the  recommendations  at  which  it  has 

arrived. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Convention  held  in  Birmingham, 
1888,  a committee  of  five  members  was  appointed,  at  the 
suggestion  of  Mr.  \V.  Taylor  (Leicester),  “ to  consider  the 
adoption  of  the  standard  lens  fittings  recommended  by  the 
Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain,  or  to  suggest  alterations 
of  that  system,  and  to  take  or  indicate  such  steps  as  may  be 
considered  necessary  for  its  effective  establishment.”  The 
Committee  thus  appointed  consisted  of  Messrs.  A.  Cowan,  A. 
Gifford,  A.  Haddou,  J.  H.  Pickard,  and  S.  G.  B.  Wollaston. 

That  Committee  met  twice  during  the  time  which  elapsed 
between  the  Birmingham  and  London  meetings,  and  the  Chair- 
man (Mr.  Wollaston)  drew  up  a report,  which  was  submitted  to 
the  Council,  and  it  was  decided  that  the  same  should  be  read 
at  one  of  the  evening  meetings.  After  the  reading  of  the 
report,  Mr.  W.  Taylor  proposed  that  the  report  be  not  adopted, 
but  be  referred  back  to  the  Committee  for  further  consideration. 
Mr.  Conrad  Beck  seconded  the  motion,  which  was  carried. 

At  a meeting  of  the  Council  held  in  London  on  February  :11st, 
1890,  the  Committee  was  reappointed,  consisting  of  Messrs.  A. 
Cowan  and  A.  Haddon  (Mr.  Wollaston  having  previously 
tendered  his  resignation  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee),  with 
power  to  add  to  their  number.  It  was  thought  advisable  to 
increase  the  number  by  adding  to  the  list  the  names  of  three 
gentlemen  well  known  to  you— viz.,  Mr.  W.  Bedford,  Dr.  J. 
Edmunds,  and  Mr.  H.  M.  Hastings,  F.C.S. 

We  discussed  the  pros  and  cons  of  different  methods,  so  as 
to  formulate  a system  of  standards  which  should  be  practical 
and  popular,  and  as  we  had  only  the  report  of  the  Photographic 
Society  of  Great  Britain  to  guide  us,  we  thought  it  best  to 
consult  those  gentlemen  who  are  daily  engaged  in  the  super- 
intendence of  this  kind  of  work.  In  addition  to  this,  so  as  to 
ensure  a meeting,  a few  of  the  leading  opticians  were  called  on 
personally,  and  their  promise  to  attend  obtained. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Committee  made  a few  remarks  on  the 
subject  in  hand,  and  then  called  for  any  suggestions  that 
anyone  present  might  wish  to  make. 

Mr.  W.  Taylor  (Leicester)  opened  the  discussion,  and,  among 
other  things,  referred  at  some  length  to  standard  gauges  to  be 
used  in  connection  with  the  screwing  of  lens  mounts,  and 
pointed  out  that,  whatever  system  was  finally  adopted,  it  was 
necessary  to  seriously  consider  gauges,  as,  unless  these  were 
absolutely  true  and  of  the  same  size,  to  the  ten-thousandth 
part  of  an  inch,  or  even  less,  the  resulting  work  could  not  be 
interchangeable.  Mr.  Taylor  did  not  mean,  as  some  seemed 
to  have  inferred,  that  the  lens  mounts  themselves  should  all 
gauge  to  anything  like  the  one  ten-thousandth  of  an  inch. 
It  would  be  impracticable  as  a manufacturing  operation  to 
screw  thousands  of  lens  mounts  to  this  degree  of  accuracy. 
Mr.  Taylor  than  showed  two  sets  of  steel  gauges,  such  as  he 
had  devised  for  his  own  factory,  in  order  to  ensure  as  near 
constancy  as  possible  in  the  diameter  of  the  screwed  portions 
of  mounts  and  flanges.  He  also  mentioned  that  steel  gauges 
for  the  smaller  sizes  of  lenses  did  not  last  more  than  one  year, 
in  consequence  of  the  slow  but  constant  wear  they  underwent 
during  their  use.  It  was  impossible  to  harden  them,  as  during 
this  operation  they  generally  warped  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
become  valueless.  He  had,  however,  partly  overcome  this 
difficulty  by  hardening  certain  removable  pieces  which  could, 
after  the  operation,  be  replaced  in  exactly  the  same  positions. 

In  connection  with  the  standard  unit  for  diaphragms,  Mr. 
Dallmeyer  suggested/-  -/10,  and  mentioned  that  at  the  recent 
Photographic  Conference  held  in  Paris //10  had  been  adopted, 
so  as  to  introduce  the  decimal  system  in  connection  with  dia- 
phragms. He  considered  his  own  suggestion  better,  as  in  order 
to  obtain  the  intensity  value  of  the  stops  it  is  necessary  to  square 
the  denominator,  and  in  his  case  it  would  only  be  necessary  to 

* Bead  at  -Re  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester. 


strike  off  one  nought,  whilst  if  the  French  system  were  adopted 
two  noughts  would  have  to  be  struck  off  in  order  to  obtain  the 
unit  area.  Your  Committee  agree  with  Mr.  Dallmeyer  that  the 
method  he  has  suggested  is  extremely  clear  and  thoroughly 
scientific,  although  there  is  much  to  be  said  for  the  powers  of 
2.  If  they  were  starting  a system  anew,  they  might  well  re- 
commend Mr.  Dallmeyer’s  suggestion  for  general  adoption. 
But,  as  against  this,  they  have  to  take  into  account  the  num- 
ber of  diaphragms  that  have  been  marked  on  the  /-  4 system, 
as  recommended  by  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain, 
and,  therefore,  think  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  make  an 
alteration  now,  more  especially  as  the//4  system  is  at  present 
getting  to  be  well  understood  and  widely  used. 

Messrs.  Debenham  and  Beck  also  spoke  on  this  subject,  and 
finally,  when  the  question  was  put  to  the  vote  as  to  which  of 
the  three  systems  should  be  recommended  for  adoption,  // 4 as 
the  standard  unit  was  carried  by  a large  majority. 

The  next  point  for  discussion  which  was  raised  resulted  in  a 
proposition  from  Mr.  Dallmeyer,  seconded  by  Mr.  Beck,  that  a 
special  meeting  of  opticians  be  called  in  order  to  settle  the 
sizes  of  the  screwed  portions  of  lens-mounts  and  flanges. 

The  last  subject  that  was  brought  before  the  meeting  and 
voted  upon  on  this  occasion  was  screws  for  attaching  cameras 
to  tripods  and  for  fixing  rising  fronts,  &c.  As  nothing  better 
was  suggested  than  appears  in  the  report  of  the  Photographic 
Society  of  Great  Britain,  this  was  put  to  the  vote  and  carried 
unanimously. 

The  meeting  was  then  adjourned  till  the  9 th  of  May. 

Prior  to  the  meeting  of  May  the  9th,  a circular  was  drawn 
up,  and  about  two  hundred  copies  posted  to  the  different 
opticians  whose  names  appear  in  the  London  Postal  Directory. 
This  circular  embodied  the  different  suggestions  that  had  been 
made,  and  contained  a copy  of  the  resolution  proposed  by  Mr. 
Dallmeyer  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Beck.  The  response  to  this 
appeal  for  data  was  very  meagre. 

As  the  meeting  of  the  9th  of  May  consisted  almost  ex- 
clusively of  opticians,  and  was  more  or  less  of  a private  nature, 
we  need  not  enter  into  details,  but  will  only  give  the  results 
arrived  at. 

On  this  occasion  between  ten  and  twelve  opticians  were 
present.  Some  data  as  regards  diameters  of  the  screwed 
portions  of  the  mounts  of  lenses  and  numbers  of  threads  to  the 
inch  were  handed  in  for  tabulation  ; but  these  data  proved  to 
be  only  approximate,  no  attempt  having  been  made  in  any  case 
to  measure  accurately  the  diameters,  and  the  necessity  for 
accurate  guaging  having  been  apparently  not  realised. 

On  discussing  these  results,  it  was  found  that  the  diameter 
of  the  smallest  lens  mount,  where  screwed  to  receive  the  flange, 
had  been  derived  from  an  old  guage  prepared  by  Andrew  Ross. 
This  thread  has  been  copied  by  several  younger  makers,  and  it 
is  believed  that  some  100  to  120,000  lenses  of  this  particular 
size  have  been  manufactured  and  are  now  in  use.  Upon  con- 
sidering this  state  of  things  it  was  proposed  that  this  size  should 
be  adopted  in  the  future.  This  was  carried  unanimously. 
Mr.  Dallmeyer  thereupon  very  kindly  offered  to  supply  specifi- 
cations as  regards  exact  diameter,  thread  form,  and  thread  rate 
for  this  screw,  which  was  understood  to  be  1 -5  inch  in  diameter. 

The  next  larger  size,  2 inches  about,  was  then  discussed,  and 
for  the  same  reasons  as  given  above  with  regard  to  size  No.  1, 
this  was  put  to  the  vote,  and  carried  by  a majority  (6  for,  2 
against).  Thereupon  Mr.  Dallmeyer  promised  to  supply  data 
for  this  screw  also. 

It  was  then  proposed  that  the  standards  of  the  Photographic 
Society  of  Great  Britain,  with  the  above  modifications,  be 
accepted  ; this  was  lost  by  3 voting  for,  5 against  the  pro- 
position. 

The  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain  had  kindly  lent 
their  standard  gauges  to  one  of  the  gentlemen  present,  and  the 
gauges  were  upon  the  table  for  examination. 

With  regard  to  the  form  of  screw  to  be  adopted  in  connec- 
tion with  lens-mounts,  it  was  proposed  and  carried  that  the 
thread  form  known  as  Whitworth  should  be  adopted. 

It  was  then  proposed,  seconded,  and  carried,  that  as  the 
present  was  not  a sufficiently  large  representative  meeting, 
another  meeting  be  called,  and  that  all  opticians  be  invited  to 


502 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  27,  1890. 


send  in  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Committee  exact  measurements 
of  lens  mounts  and  flanges,  with  their  thread  rates  for  all  the 
classes  of  lenses  which  they  manufacture. 

The  meeting  was  then  adjourned  till  the  21st  of  May. 

As  soon  as  possible  a second  circular  was  sent  out  to  all  opti- 
cians, as  on  the  previous  occasion,  and  as  a result  eight  state- 
ments were  received,  and  these  were  tabulated. 

From  the  data  thus  tabulated,  it  appears  that  Messrs.  Newton 
and  Co.,  Reynolds  and  Co.,  Suter,  Taylor,  Taylor  and  Hobson, 
and  the  Stereoscopic  Company,  have  been  for  some  time  past 
manufacturing  lenses  in  accordance  with  the  specifications  of 
the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 

The  tabulated  results  also  showed  that  what  had  been  sup- 
posed by  Mr.  Dallmeyer  to  be  1 ’5 -inch  guage,  and  which  had 
been  adopted  as  one  of  the  standards  by  the  previous  meeting, 
was  in  reality  1'513-inch.  The  screw  which  had  been  supposed 
to  be  a 2-inch  also  turned  out  to  be  1 '98-inch.  It  also  appeared 
that  there  was  some  considerable  divergence  between  these 
mou  its  and  those  issued  by  the  younger  houses,  who  had  copied 
the  Andrew  Ross  mount  without  access  to  the  Andrew  Ross 
gauge,  and  now  manufactured  these  screws  of  such  various 
dimensions  that  there  was  no  certainty  of  interchangeability  of 
these  so-called  1'5  and  2-incli  mounts,  among  some  half  dozen 
makers,  who  all  considered  they  were  making  the  same  screws. 
Upon  these  facts  becoming  clear,  the  whole  subject  of  the 
resolution  which  had  been  adopted  at  the  last  meeting  had  to 
be  reopened. 

In  the  discussion  which  followed,  Dr.  Edmunds  was  the  first 
to  speak — this  being  the  third  meeting- -and  he  told  those 
present  that  in  considering  standard  screws  they  had  three 
things  to  bear  in  mind  : 1st,  the  diameter  of  the  screw,  and 
that  in  all  cases  this  should  be  measured  on  the  outside  of  the 
male  screw,  full  diameter  ; 2nd,  the  form  of  the  thread  ; and 
3rd,  the  screw  rate  or  pitch — i.e.,  the  number  of  threads  to 
the  inch  ; and  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  keep  each 
one  of  these  points  separate  and  distinct.  As  regards  the 
diameters  of  the  screws,  he  would  advise  the  English  inch  as 
the  standard,  as  anyone  who  wishes  to  make  standard  gauges 
can  easily  turn  up  a ling  or  plug  gauge,  and  then  compare  it 
with  the  standards  kept  by  the  Board  of  Trade  for  this  purpose, 
and  in  that  way  ensure  uniformity  of  manufacture  and  complete 
interchangeability.  He  would  therefore  most  strongly  advise  any 
odd  fractions  of  an  inch  that  might  occur  in  any  of  the  sizes  as 
at  present  manufactured  to  be  abandoned,  and  the  inch  and 
simple  submultiples,  as  lj,  1??,  1|,  2,  &c.,  to  be  taken  in 
their  stead.  In  olden  times,  before  the  screw-cutting  lathe  was 
invented,  Mr.  Holtzapffel  originated  certain  forms  of  threads, 
and,  though  these  at  the  time  were  as  perfect  as  could  be 
expected  under  the  circumstances,  yet  now  that  we  have  a more 
scientific  method  for  originating  screws,  we  should  use  it  and 
put  aside  theseold  forms.  For  brass  work,  where  the  maximum 
of  strength  is  required,  he  had  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  an 
angle  of  60p  was  preferable  to  any  other,  and  that  the  top  of 
the  thread  should  be  flat.  The  work  could  be  turned  down  to 
the  exact  diameter,  and  then  screwed  up  ; if  the  original 
surface  between  the  threads  was  left  so  as  to  form  the  flat  when 
finished,  the  screw  would  be  of  the  required  diameter.  The 
form  of  thread  recommended  by  the  late  Sir  Joseph  Whitworth 
was  an  angle  of  55°,  rounded  at  the  top  and  bottom.  This 
form  of  thread  could  not  be  surpassed  for  cast  iron,  but  was 
not  the  best  for  other  metals  where  the  greatest  strength  was 
required.  The  number  of  threads  was  not  so  important  so 
that  it  was  uniform. 

In  answer  to  these  remarks  of  Dr.  Edmunds,  it  was  pointed 
out  that  a flat  top  thread,  in  the  case  of  photographic  lenses, 
would  be  more  likely  to  bind  if  it  were  bruised,  and  therefore 
the  rounded  Whitworth  angular  form  of  thread  would  be 
preferable  on  this  account.  Shot  chasers  of  the  Whitworth 
form  can  be  obtained  all  over  the  world  from  any  respectable 
tool  maker,  whilst  if  an  angle  of  60 1 were  adopted  the  chasers 
would  have  to  be  specially  made,  which  would  considerably 
increase  the  cost.  Dr.  Edmunds  agreed  that  these  were  very 
good  reasons  why  the  Whitworth  thread  form  should  be 
adopted,  especially  as  the  maximum  strength  in  the  case  of 
photographic  lens  mounts  was  not  required. 


It  was  then  proposed  and  seconded  that  since,  from  the 
statements  supplied,  the  diameters  of  the  lens  adopted  at  the 
last  meeting  were  not  exactly  1 '5  and  2 inches  respectively, 
but  a small  fraction  larger  in  the  one  case  and  smaller  in  the 
other,  those  resolutions  be  rescinded  in  order  to  clear  the  way 
for  further  discussion  and  suggestions.  This  was  put  to  the 
vote  and  carried. 

It  was  then  proposed  that  in  all  cases  the  English  inch  be 
taken  as  the  unit  of  measurement.  Carried  unanimously. 

It  was  then  agreed  that,  in  consequence  of  the  difficulty  of 
measuring  internal  diameters  of  flanges,  &c.,  all  terms  of 
measurement  be  regarded  as  made  upon  the  outside  diameter  of 
the  male  screw  thread. 

The  next  point  discussed  was  whether  the  present  smallest 
size  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain  standards, 
viz.,  1*5  inch,  was  not  too  large  for  the  mounting  of  lenses  for 
hand-cameras.  The  majority  were  of  opinion  that  it  was,  and 
that  a smaller  size  was  necessary,  and  finally  it  was  agreed  to 
start  with  the  smallest  diameter  1-inch,  and  the  next  1'25 
inch. 

It  was  next  proposed,  seconded,  and  carried  (by  nine  for, 
and  five  against)  that  1 '5,  1 '75,  and  two  inches  be  the  next 
sizes,  and  that  the  others  rise  by  half  an  inch  up  to  four  inches, 
and  then  by  one  inch,  as  prescribed  by  the  Photographic  Society 
of  Great  Britain. 

It  was  then  stated  by  some  that  certain  lenses  look  over- 
mounted with  amount  of  two  inches  in  diameter,  and,  in  addi- 
tion, it  would  enable  those  opticians  who  have  up  to  the  pre- 
sent issued  lenses  a little  over  1 '5-inch  to  make  adapters  which 
could  fit  1'75  inch  without  increasing  to  any  serious  extent 
the  weight  or  bulk  of  the  lens  mount,  and  this  new  inter- 
mediate size  would  be  very  useful  for  the  double  purpose. 

It  was  then  unanimously  agreed  that  the  form  of  thread 
should  be  that  known  as  the  Whitworth  angular  thread. 

The  last  matter  to  be  settled  was  the  rate  or  pitch,  and  it 
was  agreed  that  for  the  smallest  sizes  up  to  3 inches  inclusive, 
the  number  of  threads  to  the  inch  should  be  24,  and  for  the 
3|  and  upwards,  12  to  the  inch,  these  being  the  two  thread 
rates  recommended  by  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great 
Britain. 

Mr.  W.  Taylor  (Leicester)  then  proposed  a series  of  standard 
adapters  to  carry  any  lens  one  size  larger,  and  that  these  should 
be  numbered  ; also  that  lenses,  adapters,  and  flanges  should  be 
so  adjusted  that  when  the  mount  is  screwed  home  in  its  flange, 
with  or  without  adapter,  the  diaphragm,  index,  or  other  fitting 
shall  always  stand  in  the  same  convenient  position. 


Report  of  llie  Committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  W.  Bedford, 
A.  Cowan,  Dr.  James  Edmunds,  Mr.  H.  M.  Hastings, 

and  Mr.  A.  Haddon  (Secretary),  appointed  to  consider 

Lens  Standards. 

The  committee  appointed  “To  consider  the  adoption  of  the 
standard  lens  fittings  recommended  by  the  Photographic 
Society  of  Great  Britain,  or  to  suggest  alterations  of  that 
system,  and  to  take  or  indicate  such  steps  as  may  be  con- 
sidered necessary  for  its  effective  establishment,”  now  submit 
their  report  as  follows  : — 

We  have  carefully,  with  the  aid  of  the  leading  opticians, 
considered  the  subject  remitted  to  us,  and  we  hope  that  our 
recommendations  will  not  only  receive  the  sanction  and  supi»ort 
of  this  meeting,  but  be  universally  adopted  by  all  who  desire 
the  improvement  and  fuller  utilisation  of  photographic 
apparatus. 

1.  We  have  not  seen  any  reason  to  depart  from  the  existing 
“ Photographic  Society  Standards,”  which,  as  far  as  they  go, 
we  adopt.  The  modifications  hereinafter  suggested  are  either 
in  the  nature  of  explanat  ion  or  amplification  of  those  standards. 

2.  We  recommend  that  the  English  inch  be  taken  as  the 
standard  unit  of  length  with  regard  to  all  measurements  in 
connection  with  lenses,  flanges,  adapters,  and  camera  screws. 

3.  That  the  form  of  thread  for  lens-mounts,  flanges, 
adapters,  and  screws,  be  that  known  as  the  Whitworth 
angular  thread,  and  in  order  that  there  may  be  no  misuuder- 


June  27,  1890.J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


503 


standing  with  regird  to  this,  we  append  the  specifications,  so 
that  any  one,  wherever  situated,  can  originate  this  thread- 
form  for  himself. 

4.  That  all  measurements  where  screws  are  concerned  he 
made  on  the  outside  of  the  thread  of  the  male  or  plug  screw 
when  finished. 

As  to  Lf.ns  Diaphragms. 

AA’e  recommend  : — 

5.  That  the  aperture  of  the  standard  unit  diaphragm  have  a 
diameter  equal  to  one-fourth  the  equivalent  focus  of  the  lens, 
and  Ire  marked  “1,”  the  approximate  focal  length  of  the  lens 
or  combination  being  engraved  on  the  mount. 

6.  That  diaphragms  with  smaller  openings  should  have 
apertures  diminishing  in  area  to  the  extent  of  one-half  the 
preceding  one,  so  that  the  second  diaphragm  should  be  marked 
“ 2,”  indicating  that  twice  the  exposure  is  required  when  this 
stop  is  used  compared  with  what  would  have  been  necessary 
had  diaphragm  “ 1 ” been  used  under  exactly  similar  circum- 
stances. The  diaphragms  should  therefore  be  marked  : — 


/ 

' f 

f 

/ 

/ 

f 

/ 

/ 

/ 

4 

5 u 

s 

11 -3 

10 

22  6 

32 

45'2 

61 

1 

2 

4 

8 

16 

32 

61 

128 

256 

7.  Should  a lens  not  admit  of  a diaphragm  with  an  aper- 
ture as  large  in  diameter  as//4,  nor  exactly  any  one  of  the 
above-mentioned  sizes,  we  still  recommend  that  the  largest  dia- 
phragm should  be  marked  with  a number  in  accordance  with 
its  area  with  reference  to  this  unit,  and  that  all  diaphragms 
of  smaller  area  be  marked  in  conformity  with  the  above  series. 

8.  In  the  case  of  lenses  having  working  apertures  larger  in 
diameter  than/,  4,  the  diaphragm  with  largest  aperture  should 
be  marked  in  accordance  with  its  value,  and  the  next  '25  or  • 5 , 
if  either  of  these  be  admissible,  and  then  according  to  the  scries 
given  above. 

As  to  Screws  for  Attaching  Lenses  to  Flanges  and 
Adapters. 

9.  AYe  recommend  the  following  to  be  the  external  diameters 
of  the  screwed  portions  of  the  lens-mounts  for  the  attachment 
of  the  same  to  the  flanges  : — 


Diameter  of  Screw 
in  Inches. 

No.  of  Threads 
per  Inch. 

Diameter  of  Screw 
in  Inches. 

No.  of  Threads 
per  Inch. 

1 

24 

*3-5 

12 

1-25 

24 

*4 

12 

*1-5 

24 

*5 

12 

175 

24 

And  upwards, 

24 

advancing  by 

*2-5 

24 

iuches. 

12 

*3 

24 

* Screws  Ihus  marked  arc  a'ready  the  established  standards  ol  tin-  Photo- 
graphic Society  of  Great  Britain. 


As  to  Flanges  and  Adapters. 

10.  AA’e  recommend,  in  order  to  provide  that  all  leuses  fitting 
the  same  flange  shall  stand  with  their  diaphragm,  indices,  or 
other  fittings  in  the  same  convenient  working  position,  that 
every  ring  or  muff  screw  gauge  shall  bear  a zero  mark  upon  its 
face,  and  that  such  part  of  the  lens-mount  as  is  desired  upper- 
most be  set  to  coincide  with  the  zero  when  the  lens  is  screwed 
home  In  the  gauge. 

11.  For  convenience  and  uniformity  the  zero  should  be 
placed  where  the  thread  becomes  complete,  i.e.,  where  the  point 
of  ? tool  cutting  such  screw-gauge  would  lie  in  the  plane  of  the 
ring  face. 

1 2.  AA  e recommend  that  standard  adapters  to  carry  any 
lens  in  a flange  one  size  larger  than  its  own  be  numbered  as 
follows  : — 


Number  1 2 3 4 5 C 7 8 9 10  &c’ 

Inside  Screw  ...1  1.25  15  1*75  2 2 5 3 3‘5  4 6 &c. 

Outside  Screw. ..1-25  1-5  175  2 2 5 3 3 5 4 5 G &c. 

13.  1 lie  standard  adapters  to  be  adjusted  in  the  same  manner 


as  the  flanges  with  regard  to  same  convenient  working  position 
of  diaphragm  indices  or  other  fittings  of  lens  mount. 

As  to  Camera  Screws. 

14.  In  the  case  of  metal  screws  used  for  attachment  of 
camera  to  tripod,  fixing  rising  front,  or  any  other  movable 
parts  of  the  camera,  we  recommend  that  these  should  be  of 
the  form  known  as  the  AA’hitworth  angular  thread,  and  of  the 
following  diameters  and  pitch  : — 


Diameter  ... 

■itf-inch 

j-iueh 

,'Vioch 

A-inch 

No.  of  threads  per 

inch 

24 

20 

18 

1G 

As  to  Lens-Hoods. 


15.  AA  ith  a view  to  convenience  and  to  the  interchangeability 
of  lens-caps,  time-shutters,  &c.,  we  recommend  that  the  outside 
measurements  of  lens-hoods  be  finished  off  to  one  or  other  of 
the  sizes  given  in  paragraph  9,  and  that  for  each  sized  camera 
all  the  lens-hoods  be,  as  far  as  practicable,  finished  off  to  the 
same  external  dimentions. 

Appendix. 

The  AA’hitworth  thread  is  constructed  as  follows  : — Two  parallel 
lines  are  drawn,  separated  by  a distance  equal  to  0’96  of  the 
pitch  (distance  between  two  threads)  ; these  are  intersected 
by  two  sets  of  parallel  lines  inclined  to  each  other  at  an  angle 
of  55°,  and  meeting  top  and  bottom,  one-sixth  of  the  total 
depth  of  the  angular  thread  thus  formed  being  cut  off  at  top 
and  bottom  and  rounded  down. 

The  altitude  of  the  resulting  thread  is  0-64  of  the  pitch. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITIONS. 

BY  GEORGE  DAVISON. 

IV.  —Classification. 

In  the  last  article  of  this  series  it  was  argued  that  com- 
petition is  incompatible  with  the  best  interests  of  photo- 
graphic art,  and  that,  instead  of  awards,  a system  of  rigid 
rejection  of  inferior  exhibits  would  not  only  ensure  keen 
interest  in  exhibitions,  but  would  also  make  for  the  higher 
credit  of  photography.  It  may  also  be  remarked  that, 
with  the  sweeping  away  of  awards,  there  go  by  the  board 
most  of  the  difficulties  and  evils  which  follow  in  the  train 
of  the  competitive  system.  Amongst  the  worst  of  these 
are  those  which  are  introduced  by  the  practice  of  classify- 
ing  photographs  which  purport  to  be  artistic  productions. 
Even  under  a prize  system  the  balance  of  reasonableness 
is  strongly  in  favour  of  doing  away  with  classification  in 
the  art  section  of  an  exhibition.  Classification  leads 
inevitably  to  difficulties,  'whether  with  competent  or  in- 
competent judges.  The  absence  of  classification,  if  the 
jury  be  qualified,  can  be  met  with  no  such  objections. 
The  case  is  somewhat  different  with  scientific  exhibits, 
where  the  divisions  are  sharp,  and  special  experts  are 
required. 

It  is  argued  that  a certain  amount  of  classification  is 
essential  to  make  judging  possible  or  easy,  that  it  en- 
courages the  prosecution  of  special  branches  of  work,  and 
finally,  that  the  very  general  adoption  of  classification 
proves  a need  in  that  direction.  Only  the  second  of  these 
contentions  has  any  force,  and  in  that  experience  has 
taught  that  classification  does  not  stimulate  special  appli- 
cations. 

To  begin  with,  how  much  classification  is  to  be 
observed '!  AVhere  shall  the  line  be  drawn?  If,  on  the 
ground  of  fairness  to  exhibitors,  and  to  make  the  work  easy 
for  the  jury,  divisions  arc  commenced,  there  is  no  rational 
limit  to  the  process.  The  principle  being  allowed,  every 
one  has  a right  to  be  classed  separately  for  some  difference 
in  his  subject  or  process,  and  the  same  argument  which  is 


501 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  27,  1890. 


advanced  in  favour  of  separation  would  require  separate 
judges  practised  in  the  respective  branches  or  divisions. 
This  is  an  absurdity  at  the  outset.  If  music  be  taken  for 
analogy,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  abstract  beauty 
of  the  music  is  independent  of  the  instrument  by  which 
it  happens  to  be  produced.  There  is  nothing  analogous 
in  saying  that  it  is  easier  to  judge  musicians  classified  into 
trombonists,  pianists,  and  the  like,  than  if  taken  together  in 
competition.  This  idea  carried  out  in  photographic 
competitions  would  require  subdivisions  into  wet-collodion 
work,  photographs  taken  with  doublets,  photographs 
taken  with  triplets,  hand- camera  prints,  and  soon,  distinc- 
tions which  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  artistic  merit  of 
the  work.  It  may  possibly  stimulate  the  trade  of  making 
bassoons,  and  the  practice  of  playing  that  instrument,  if 
it  be  known  that  large  prizes  are  specially  offered  for 
proficiency  in  performing  thereon,  but  I am  of  opinion 
that  such  artificial  stimulus  has  generally  proved  a failure. 
The  rather  general  adoption  of  classification  in  no  way 
proves  its  advisability,  but  merely  shows  that  the  atten- 
tion of  photographers  is  too  exclusively  turned  to  the 
mere  practical  and  mechanical  means  employed,  and  that 
those  responsible  for  exhibitions  have  acquired  the  idea 
that  manifold  subdivisions  conduce  to  attract  a large  body 
of  exhibitors. 

The  whole  of  the  arguments  that  I have  objected  to  are 
based  upon  a misapprehension.  The  question  as  to 
whether  a certain  landscape  is  better  than  a certain  por- 
trait never  arises,  nor  should  it  be  the  function  of  the  judges 
to  arrive  at  a conclusion  which  is  to  be  placed  first,  which 
second,  third,  fourth,  and  so  on.  No  one  is  qualified  to 
make  such  distinctions.  Each  judge  would,  if  working 
independently,  have  a different  view  of  the  order  to  be 
observed.  The  proper  object  of  the  judges  is  to  place  the 
stamp  of  their  approval  upon  those  photographs  in  which 
artistic  merit  is  found,  and  in  this  a fair  general  agreement 
ought  not  to  be  a difficulty.  There  is  no  limit  placed 
upon  the  awards.  They  may  be  few  or  many.  The 
awards  are  equal.  One  would  imagine,  from  the  cry  for 
all  this  classification  for  purposes  of  comparison,  that  pic- 
tures great  enough  to  be  worthy  of  distinction  by  artists 
were  freely  scattered  about  in  photographic  exhibitions, 
whereas  the  fact  stands  that  in  the  best  of  our  exhibitions 
there  are  never  more  than  six  or  eight  pictures  of  any 
completeness.  The  method  of  “ no  classification  ” works 
admirably  at  the  Exhibition  of  the  Photographic  Society 
of  Great  Britain.  The  difficulty  in  that,  the  best  of  all  our 
exhibitions,  is  to  find  eight  or  ten  pictures  really  worthy 
as  works  of  art.  Generally  speaking,  only  three  or  four 
awards  seem  to  be  given  on  these  grounds— an  equal 
number,  perhaps,  being  overlooked — whilst  the  remainder 
go  for  some  excellence  or  interest  as  novelties  or 
eccentricities. 

The  invariable  effect  of  classification,  both  with  qualified 
and  with  incompetent  judges,  is  to  multiply  prizes.  Rigid 
classification  in  some  degree  coerces  a judge  into 
yielding  here  and  there  in  deference  to  what  appears  to 
be  the  wish  of  the  promoters.  A great  point  is  justly 
made  of  leaving  everything  to  a good  jury,  and,  in  this 
view,  classification  is  but  a farce,  and  a device  for 
inveigling  photographers  to  send  exhibits. 

For  those  who  must  have  classes,  there  are  one  or  two 
suggestions  worthy  of  consideration.  There  should  be  no 
divisions  according  to  size  ; it  is  a slur  upon  the  judges, 
and  is  only  part  of  an  ignorant  and  catch-penny  system. 
There  should  be  no  distinction  of  amateur  aud  professional ; 


it  is  either  a pandering  to  bad  performers,  or  an  excuse 
for  multiplying  awards.  There  should  be  no  hand- 
camera  class  or  enlargement  class  in  the  art  section. 
Instantaneity  and  amplification  find  a place  in  the  scientific 
section,  but  as  pictures,  all  these  should  rely  simply  on 
their  artistic  qualities.  There  are  endless  anomalies  and 
absurdities  introduced  by  classifications  to  which  it  is 
needless  to  refer.  My  experience  would  lead  me  to  con- 
demn the  whole  system.  If  it  is  best  that  awards  shall  be 
freely  bestowed  upon  every  decent  workman,  those  who 
clamour  for  classification  are  right.  If  it  is  desired  to 
establish  higher  claims  for  photography  than  are  generally 
admitted,  then  let  the  same  tests  be  applied  as  are  brought 
to  bear  in  painting  and  in  sculpture. 

DEPTH  OF  FOCUS  AND  DIFFUSION  OF  FOCUS.* 

BY  W.  K.  BUIiTON. 

The  principle  from  which  we  may  deduce  rules  that  will 
tell  us  what  diameter  of  stop  to  use  to  get  lack  of  defini- 
tion proportionate  to  the  focal  length  of  the  lens  used,  is  as 
follows : — 

With  a comparatively  near  object  focussed  for,  the  disc 
of  confusion,  representing  a point  of  a distant  object,  will 
be  proportionate  to  the  focal  lengths  of  different  lenses, 
when  the  actual  diameter  of  the  stops  is  the  same  for  all 
the  lenses.  In  other  words,  to  get  a falling  off  of  defini- 
tion in  the  distance,  proportionate  to  the  focal  lengths  of 
the  lenses  (and  therefore  approximately  proportionate  to 
the  size  of  the  picture,  if  wide-angle  lenses  be  avoided), 
the  stop  must  be  of  the  same  diameter,  whatever  the  focal 
length  of  the  lens. 

From  this  principle  the  following  simple  rules  may  be 
deduced : — 

If  it  be  wished  that  “ the  distance  ” appear  quite  sharp 
when  the  picture  is  viewed  from  a distance  equal  to  the 
focal  length  of  the  lens — that  is  to  say,  from  the  distance, 
about,  that  any  intelligent  person  would  select  for  looking 
at  it  from — the  diameter  of  the  stop  must  not  be  larger 
than  ..TiTTo  of  the  distance  of  the  object  focussed  for. 

If  the  stop  be  as  large  as  , Aro  the  distance  of  the 
object  photographed  for,  “the  distance'"  will  be  perceptibly 
out  of  focus. 

If  the  stop  be  as  large  as  ji„  the  distance  of  the  object 
focussed  for, “the  distance”  will  be  markedly  out  of  focus. 

It  will  be  understood  that,  when  “ the  distance  ” is  men- 
tioned above,  what  is  meant  is  any  object  at  such  a distance 
that  it  sends  practically  parallel  rays  of  light  from  a point 
to  the  whole  of  the  aperture  area  of  the  lens.  This,  for 
all  ordinary  photographic  lenses,  is  a few  hundred  times 
the  focal  length  of  the  lens,  or  anything  more. 

From  the  above  rules  adopted  in  practice,  I have  deduced 
one  or  two  rough  approximations  as  to  the  maximum  dia- 
meters of  aperture  that  are  admissible  in  practice.  Thus,  I 
find  that,  no  matter  how  long  or  how  short  the  focal  length 
of  a lens  used  for  landscape  work,  it  is  seldom  that  an 
aperture  of  more  than  about  two  inches  is  permissible,  on 
account  of  the  falling  off  due  to  lack  of  depth  of  focus, 
whilst  in  the  majority  of  cases  it  is  not  easy  to  use  an 
aperture  of  over  1 £ inches.  Again,  in  portraiture  I find 
that,  whatever  the  focal  length  of  the  lens,  or  the  size  of 
the  picture,  it  is  difficult  to  use  an  aperture  much  over 
3 inches  in  diameter,  aud  this  on  account  of  the  want  of 
depth  due  to  size  of  aperture  only. 

* Continued  from  page  f'f. 


Jdnf.  27,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


505 


One  small  point  in  connection  with  depth  of  focus  is 
worth  mentioning  before  1 go  on  to  another  subject.  If 
we  focus  for  a comparatively  near  object,  and  use  such  a 
stop  as  to  bring  about  a certain  approach  to  sharpness  in 
“the  distance,”  we  will  have  the  same  amount  of  sharpness 
(or  of  want  of  sharpness)  at  a distance  from  the  camera 
of  just  about  one  half  the  distance  of  the  object  focussed 
for.  If,  for  example,  we  focus  for  an  object  at  the  dis- 
tance of  200  feet  from  the  camera,  whatever  stop  is  used, 
there  will  be  the  same  amount  of  sharpness  in  “the  dis- 
tance” and  in  an  object  at  100  feet  from  the  camera.  If, 
therefore,  we  wish  to  divide  the  focus,  or,  rather,  the  lack 
of  focus,  equally  between  the  foreground  and  the  distance, 
we  should  focus  for  some  point  twice  as  far  from  the 
camera  as  the  nearest  bit  of  foreground. 

These  latter  statements  hold  true  only  when  leaving  out 
of  consideration  roundness  of  field  and  the  use  of  the 
swing  back. 

Dijf'usion  of  Focus. — This  is  a subject  that  lias  always 
been  of  much  interest  to  photographers,  but  that  has  had 
its  interest  revived  lately  on  account  of  the  views  put 
forward  by  a set  of  photographers  who  call  themselves 
“Naturalists.”  These  photographers — amongst  whom  are 
numbered  several  of  those  who  undoubtedly  excel  in  the 
production  of  photographs  that  are  really  pictures,  and 
who  must,  therefore,  if  possible,  be  listened  to  with 
respect — contend  that  it  is  not  advisable  to  have  any  part 
of  a photograph  as  sharp  as  a good  photographic  lens  will 
make  it.  It  has  been  contended  that  the  sharpness  given 
by  a photographic  lens  of  good  quality  is  greater  than 
ought  to  be  permitted  in  a photograph,  simply  consider- 
ing the  matter  from  an  optical  point  of  view.  This  is  a 
thing  that  1 cannot  admit  at  all,  and  I think  I have  satis- 
factorily proved,  in  a paper  read  before  the  Camera  Club; 
that  the  contention  will  not  stand  the  test  of  a thorough 
examination.  On  the  other  hand,  as  a mere  matter  of 
artistic  taste,  of  “ feeling,”  or  of  whatever  we  may  be 
pleased  to  call  it,  it  has  been  stated  by  several  of  the  most 
artistic  workers  of  the  present  time  in  photography  that 
no  part  of  a photograph  should  be  as  sharp  as  it  could  be 
made  by  the  use  of  modern  photographic  lenses.  Coming 
in  this  form,  the  opinion  is  one  that  should  demand  respect, 
even  from  those  who  do  not  agree  with  it. 

But  besides  this  there  is  another  reason  why,  in  certain 
cases  at  least,  it  seems  advisable  to  sacrifice  the  keenest 
definition  that  it  is  possible  to  get.  I refer  now  to  those 
cases  in  which,  on  account  of  the  comparatively  large 
apertures  that  must  be  used  to  bring  the  exposures  within 
reasonable  limits,  a part  of  the  subject  must  be  markedly 
out  of  focus.  We  have  such  cases  in  portraiture,  especially 
in  the  case  of  large  sizes,  and  when  we  have  such  cases, 
the  fact  that  one  part  of  the  subject  is  in  “ wirey  ” defini- 
tion, makes  the  parts  that  are  out  of  focus  only  to  a 
moderate  extent  appear  offensively  “fuzzy”  by  contrast. 
To  prevent  this  contrast,  the  extreme  definition  is  sacrificed 
by  introducing  what  is  generally  called  a “diffusion  of  focus” 
arrangement.  Such  an  arrangement  prevents  extremely 
sharp  definition,  even  in  the  part  of  the  image  that  isactually 
focussed  for,  whilst  it  does  not  at  all,  or  does  only  slightly, 
increase  the  lack  of  definition  in  other  parts  of  the  subject, 
and,  in  any  case,  reduces  greatly  the  contrast  of  parts  in 
the  sharpest  focus  and  in  less  sharp  focus. 

(To  be  continued.) 

Mu.  Thomas  Brown  Jordan,  whose  death  is  announced, 
was  the  inventor,  in  1838,  of  an  instrument  for  photographically 
recording  the  variations  of  the  barometric  column. 


ANIMAL  PHOTOGRAPHY  : ITS  DIFFICULTIES,  USES, 
AND  ABUSES.* 

BY  GAMBIER  BOLTON,  KZ.8. 

The  animal  and  bird  studies  from  life  which  I shall  show  you 
to-night  are  generally  admitted  to  be  the  results  of  one  of  the  first 
serious  attempts  yet  made  to  combine,  in  however  small  a 
degree,  scientific  and  artistic  qualities  in  animal  photography. 

Commencing  in  1872  with  a three-guinea  set  from  our  old 
friend  Fallowfield,  of  Lambeth,  in  the  days  of  wet  collodion 
plates  and  cumbersome  apparatus,  I have,  off  and  on,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  continued  my  work  amongst  birds  and 
animals  ever  since,  labouring  under  many  difficulties  of  which  the 
portrait,  landscape,  and  hand-camera  photographer  knows 
nothing— a puff  of  wind  moving  the  mane,  tail,  or  feathers:  the 
slight  sound  causing  the  twitching  of  an  ear,  the  quick  action 
of  the  eye  and  nostrils,  or  even  the  movement  necessary  in 
breathing,  spoiling  hundreds  of  otherwise  perfect  plates,  many 
of  them  only  taken  after  hours,  and,  in  some  cases,  even  days  of 
watching  ; and,  as  I shall  presently  show  you,  it  is  quite  a 
common  occurrence  to  use  thirty  to  fifty  plates  on  a single 
animal  or  bird,  and  in  some  instances  nearly  one  hundred  half- 
plates have  beeu  exposed  and  developed  before  the  one  pe  rfect 
negative  has  been  obtained. 

From  this  you  will  see  that  a good  deal  of  patience  is  required 
— some  would  call  it  obstinacy  ; anyhow,  a determination  not 
to  be  beaten,  but  to  return  to  the  task  day  after  day  until  the 
result  satisfies  you  ; a natural  taste  for,  and  some  idea  of, 
zoology,  and  a certain  amount  cf  artistic  training  is  also  neces- 
sary before  the  proper  positions  for  the  various  subjects  can  be 
selected — positions  that  will  please  and  satisfy  naturalists, 
artists,  and  the  general  public  (three  rather  hard  task-masters)  ; 
whilst  to  take  up  this  work  wich  the  idea  of  producing  only  the 
best  possible  results,  throwing  aside  all  others,  must  mean  such  a 
heavy  outlay  and  expense  a3  to  prevent  it  from  ever  being 
made  to  answer  from  a financial  point  of  view,  at  least  in  our 
day. 

With  so  many  publican!  private  zrological  collections  around 
us,  there  is  little  or  no  demand  at  present  for  animal  photographs, 
except  amongst  the  learned  societies  and  artists  ; but  we  must 
remember  that  animals  and  birds  that  are  useless  to  man  have 
had  their  day,  have  already  reached  and  passed  their  zenith,  and 
the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  photographs  of  many  of  these 
will  be  sought  after,  and,  like  a really  good  large  photograph  of 
the  quagga  or  dodo  to-day,  would  be  almost  priceless.  For 
following  these  we  have  many,  such  as  the  bison,  aurochs,  zebra, 
giraffe,  and  hippopotamus  fast  disappearing  before  the  march  of 
civilisation,  and  it  can  only  now  be  a question  of  a comparatively 
few  years  before  they,  too,  become  extinct,  and  we  shall  be  com- 
pelled to  turn  to  paintings  and,  above  all,  photographs  to  show 
our  descendants  what  they  were  like. 

This,  then,  I consider  the  first  and  greatest  use  of  animal 
photography,  and  I am  glad  to  say  that  it  is  being  recognised  as 
such  at  last ; for,  as  some  of  you  know,  the  British  Museum 
authorities  have  lately  ordered  a set  of  these  studies  to  be  framed 
and  hung  in  the  Geological  Section  at  South  Kensington  ; and 
if,  as  I feel  sure  there  are  many  here  who,  naturally  fond  of 
zoology,  have  taken  up  photography  as  an  amusement,  I would 
urge  them,  especially  if  they  travel,  to  lose  no  opportunity  of 
getting  good  negatives  of  the  more  scarce  variety  of  animals  and 
birds,  as  they  will  be  invaluable  for  future  reference.  Do  not 
waste  your  plates  on  such  childish,  easy  subjects  as  swans,  deer  , 
cattle,  and  sheep ; our  exhibitions  have  swarmed  with  them 
from  time  immemorial.  They  have  been  taken  in  every  con- 
ceivable position  years  ago  in  the  old  days  of  wet  collodion  and 
long  exposures,  when  there  was  some  difficulty  attached  to  the 
work.  But  I urge  you  to  aim  somewhat  higher.  Read  up  the 
habits  and  peculiarities  of  the  animal  or  bird  you  propose  taking, 
and  endeavour  to  show  them  plainly  in  your  finished  print,  and 
you  will  not  only  be  giving  yourself  real  pleasure,  but  also 
benefiting  the  generations  to  come. 

* Bead  at  the  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jcne  27,  1890. 


506 


Let  me  here  pause  for  a moment  to  answer  a question  that  I 
am  continually  beiDg  asked,  “ What  is  a perfect  animal  photo- 
graph ? ” First  and  foremost,  it  should  have  had  sufficient 
exposure  to  bring  out  all  possible  detail  in  the  hair  or  feathers 
and  in  the  shadows,  detail  being  necessary  in  this  branch  of 
photography  almost  more  than  in  any  other.  It  follows  from 
this  that  the  perfect  photograph,  though  taken  in  sunlight 
(which  should  be  avoided  if  possible),  should  not  be  an  instan- 
taneous one,  but  should  have  had  a fair  exposure.  I know  that 
this  means  hours  of  watching  and  waiting,  when  a snap-shot 
might  be  obtained  in  a few  moments,  but  the  resulting  negative 
is  very  different ; one  is  of  little  or  no  use  to  anybody,  the  other 
may  be  of  use  to  naturalists  and  artists  for  all  time.  The 
perfect  animal  photograph,  then,  should  be  free  from  heavy 
shadows,  full  of  life,  yet  unrestrained  and  natural  in  position 
and  expression;  all  four  legs  and  the  tail  should  show  distinctly, 
and  the  mane  (if  any),  nostrils,  ears,  and  eyes,  and  hairs  round 

them,  should  be  microscopically  sharp. 

I would  urge  these  things  particularly  upon  those  who  are 
called  upon  to  judge  animal  studies,  as  this  is  the  real  test  of 
the  perfect  one  ; and  may  I also  add  a word  of  warning  ? Take 
care  that  the  photograph  was  not  from  a stuffed  subject,  as  taxi- 
dermy has  been  brought  to  such  a pitch  of  perfection  (especially 
abroad)  that  unless  a very  careful  examination  is  made,  in  many 
cases  one  may  be  taken  in. 

Animal  photography  is  not  only  useful  to  the  scientist,  as  I 
have  endeavoured  to  show,  but  also  to  the  artist.  There  are 
still  some,  I am  sorry  to  say,  who  deny  that  they  ever  use  them, 
and,  as  the  dealers  tell  me,  slip  in  and  out  of  their  shops  looking 
as  though  they  had  committed  an  unpardonable  sin  ; but,  from 
what  I have  seen  and  heard,  I am  convinced  that  all  use  them, 
and  many  openly  admit  their  indebtedness  to  photography, 
whilst  not  a few  possess  cameras  of  their  own,  and  may  be  seen 
usiog  them  constantly.  It  was  the  need  of  an  artist  in  the 
country  requiring  a special  position  of  a tiger  to  sketch  from 
that  first  induced  me  to  publish  my  series  ; as  going  the  round 
of  the  London  dealers,  I found  t hat,  though  one  or  two  had 
made  an  attempt  to  bring  out  some  large-sized  photographs  of 
animals,  they  were  taken  so  small  originally  as  to  be  woolly  and 
flat,  and  of  no  use  whatever  to  the  artist ; and  I was  convinced 

then,  as  I am  now,  that  no  one  can  hope  to  succeed  in  this  by 
occasionally  working  with  a hand-camera,  but  he  must  use  a large 
camera,  and  devote  his  whole  time — in  fact,  his  life — to  the  work. 

I have  touched  on  some  of  the  difficulties  and  use3  of  animal 
photography  ; let  me  now  speak  briefly  of  its  abuses. 

I am  sorry  to  say  that  the  professional  photographer  has  a 
good  deal  of  blame  to  bear,  for  he  is,  I fear,  hopeless  in  this 
respect.  Take  a walk  round  any  city  and  look  in  at  their  win- 
dows, and  you  see  rows  of  dogs’  heads,  lacking  expression  as 
much  as  they  do  bodies,  dogs,  and  cats  lying  down  in  sleepy 
positions,  or  sitting  up  looking  like  wooden  dummies,  horses  and 
cows  with  three  legs  and  a smudge  representing  the  tail  or  ears, 
all  with  the  scared  look  that  tells  of  the  assistant  not  far  off 
waving  a handerchief  or  clapping  his  hands,  or  taken  at  such  an 
angle  that  the  heads  are  large  enough  for  elephauts,  whilst  the 
bodies  fade  away  into  the  distance,  “ fine  by  degrees,  and  beauti- 
fully less.”  It  is  amusing  to  enter  with  a dog  and  say  in  a quiet 
way  that  you  wish  him  taken  standing,  and  above  all,  with  his 
tail  up.  The  innumerable  excuses  that  will  be  invented,  the 
old,  old  story  that  heads  are  so  much  more  fashionable  and 
artistic,  that  they  look  so  natural  when  lying  down  or  sitting  up, 
anything  but  standing,  and  above  all,  without  that  exasperating 
caudal  appendage  raised. 

I have  heard  photographers  liment  the  waste  of  time  and 
plates  used  over  a child’s  portrait,  but  when  they  have  heard  of 
the  hours  of  watching  and  hundreds  of  plates  thrown  into  the 
waste  box  before  good  negatives  of  the  dogs  standing  and  with 
their  tails  up  can  be  obtained,  they  have  thauked  their  stars 
that  their  lines  have  fallen  in  more  pleasant  places. 

Of  course  there  are  very  rare  instances  where  it  is  right  to 
take  only  a head  ; for  instance,  when  the  body  is  badly  shaped, 
deformed,  or  injured  ; but  these  are  very  exceptional  circum- 


stances, and  I would,  therefore,  urge  the  professional  photo- 
grapher the  wide  world  over  to  look  to  this  matter  at  ones,  and 
try  to  introduce  a little  more  life  and  expression  into  his  animal 
photographs,  particularly  into  those  of  the  horse  and  dog. 

But  professional  photographers  are  not  the  only  ones  to  abuse 
this  branch  of  our  art-science.  There  are  amateurs,  I regret  to 
say,  men  high  up,  in  fact,  at  the  very  top  of  the  tree,  whose 
pictures  (for  they  are  nothing  else  when  the  animal  portion  is 
left  out)  have  won  and  are  still  winning  medals  at  every  exhibi- 
tion, and  whose  work  is  pointed  out  to  the  rising  generation  as 
a model  for  them  to  aim  up  to.  Tney  rightly  introduce  animals 
into  their  work,  but,  using  a wide-angle  lens,  get  such  hideous 
distortion  as  to  become  perfectly  painful  to  those  who  have  to 
sit  and  gaze  upon  these  “ nightmares”  day  after  day,  as  many  of 
us  are  often  compelled  to  do  during  a club  or  “ one  man  ” 
exhibition. 

Others,  too  (and  here  many  of  our  very  oldest  workers  are  the 
chief  offenders^,  rather  than  lose  some  picturesque  group,  will 
take  a negative  with  a horse,  cow,  or  donkey’s  tail  or  ears 
blurred  from  movement,  thinking,  probably,  that  the  charm  and 
beauty  of  the  whole  composition  will  draw  off  the  attention  from 
such  a trivial  fault.  But  surely  even  our  friends  the  (photo- 
graphic) naturalists  would  not  strain  their  theory  so  far  as  this, 
and  endeavour  to  make  the  blurred  ear  or  tail  the  starting  point 
for  the  out-of- focus  portion  of  their  picture. 

But  there  are,  I regret  to  say,  far  worse  offenders  than  either 
of  these.  Amongst  the  changes  which  I have  seen  during  my 
photographic  life  is  that  of  a school  of  men  which  has  sprung  up 
during  the  last  three  or  four  seasons,  calling  themselves 
detective -camera  animal  photographers.  Now  there  is  no  harm 
in  using  a hand-camera  occasionally  for  animal  photography 
especially  if  it  is  made  to  focus  and  show  exactly  what  is  being 
taken  at  the  moment  of  exposure,  on  the  twin-lens  principle,  for 
by  this  means  many  very  valuable  negatives  can  be  obtained 
with  a slowed- down  shutter,  and  by  working  on  cloudy  days  ; 
but  the  school  of  which  I am  now  speaking  will  have  none  of 
this.  With  box  cameras  and  a rough  scale  for  focussing  by,  they 
rush  about  in  blazing  sunlight  taking  snap-shots  at  every  con- 
ceivable living  thing  that  comes  within  their  reach,  and  in 
every  possible  position  ; in  fact,  as  we  have  seen  with  regret  at 
several  exhibitions  lately,  they  simply  prostitute  this  branch  of 
scientific  photography  by  showing  us  hideous  caricatures  of 
some  of  God’s  noblest  works — animals  taken  at  such  an  angle  as 
to  be  all  head  or  hind-quarters,  minus  one  or  two  legs,  an  ear, 
or  a tail ; lions  yawning  and  scratching  themselves,  dogs  climb- 
ing up  trees,  giraffes  all  body  and  no  head — things  done  for  the 
sole  purpose,  as  they  often  admit,  of  raising  a laugh  at  the 
unhappy  animal’s  expense.  How,  I venture  to  ask,  would  one 
of  these  so-called  artists  of  the  funny  school  like  to  see  them- 
selves, on  show  in  a shop  window,  taken  wh<»n  suffering  from 
influenza,  a bad  toothache,  or  when  they  have  just  trod  or  sat 
down  upon  the  business  end  of  a tin  tack  ? Surely  our  aim  should 
be  a higher  one  than  this,  and  if  we  are  going  to  devote  our 
time  to  zoological  photography,  let  us  at  least  try  to  show  our 
subjects  in  the  most  artistic  and  natural  positions. 

Forgive  me  if  I have  spoken  too  strongly  on  this  subject,  but 
when  we  see  signs  all  around  us  of  animals  fast  dyiug  out,  and 
being  rapidly  exterminated  as  civilisation  advances,  it  is  surely 
time  for  someone  to  make  a stand,  and,  in  endeavouriug  to  point 
out  the  use3  of  animal  photography,  not  to  pass  by  in  silence  its 
glaring  and  manifold  abuses,  which  not  only  scientists  and  artists 
have  condemned,  but  which  the  good  taste  and  better  education 
of  the  rising  generation  has  taught  them  are  abuses  ; and  I trust 
sincerely  that  those  who  have  perpetrated  them  will  leave  this 
branch  of  photography  alone  for  the  future,  and  turn  their 
attention  and  talents  to  something  a little  less  ambitious  than 
the  endeavour  to  win  for  themselves  the  proud  title  of  the  Land- 
seers of  photography  ; for  this  cannot  be  laid  claim  to  by  any 
precocious  aspirant  after  a few  months  of  practice  at  animal 
photography,  bnt  can  only  be  hoped  for  after  years  of  hard  work  of 
head  and  hand  ; and  besides  such  a title  as  this,  all  those  vapoury 
names  of  kings  and  princes  of  hand-camera  work  which  they 


June  27,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


507 


have  arrogated  to  themselves  must  fade  into  iusignificaDce,  for 
there  may  be  many  kings  and  princes,  but  we  have  at  present 
no  Landseer. 

I propose  showing  you,  first,  two  slides  as  an  instance  of  how 
not  to  do  it.  The  first  is  that  of  a lion  (?)  standing  behind  the 
bars  of  his  cage.  This  slide,  I am  told  by  the  maker,  has  been 
sold  by  thousands,  and  is  used  all  over  the  civilised  world  with 
lectures  as  an  example  of  what  the  king  of  beasts  looks  like. 
Beyond  a nose  and  a few  hairs  there  is  absolutely  nothing  but  a 
very  fine  study  of  iron  bars.  The  hand-camera  school  are  par- 
ticularly fond  of  these  negatives,  one  of  them  observing  last 
year  that  he  thought  the  bars  gave  a greater  idea  of  the  animal’s 
ferocity  and  strength  ; he  forgot  to  add  that  he  could  not  possibly 
photograph  them  without  the  bars,  as  he  was  not  permitted  to 
get  inside  the  outer  enclosures  at  the  Zoological  Gardens. 

The  second  slide  that  I propose  showing  you  is  that  of  a bull- 
dog, bought  from  a shop  window  in  London  last  week.  This  is 
rather  a good  specimen  of  its  kind,  but  he  is  strapped  down  iu 
the  long  grass  apparently  to  a rock,  and,  as  a study  of  a collar, 
strap,  grass,  and  stone,  is  good,  but  there  is  very  little  bull-dog  ; 
and  how  anyone  could  ever  be  tempted  to  waste  a plate  on 
such  a really  good  subject  in  such  a hideous  position  as  this 
is  one  of  those  things  that  will  probably  never  be  revealed  till 
later  on. 

I shall  next  try  to  show  you  what  I hope  you  will  'agree  in 
saying  is  the  way  to  do  it.  Commencing  with  the  Carnivora 
(taken  standing,  in  dull  light,  and  without  the  bars),  we  will 
pass  on  through  the  Unyulata,  leaving  the  birds  and  dogs  till 
the  end. 

I would  mention  that  all  these  studies  were  taken  with  an 
ordinary  whole-plate  camera  and  Itoss  lens,  rarely  instantaneous, 
but  most  on  dull  days,  the  majority  having  had  exposures  of 
from  one  to  two  seconds. 

Mr.  Gambier  Bolton  then  exhibited  about  fifty  slides,  which, 
he  mentiohed,  had  this  season  been  exhibited  at  the  Royal 
Society,  Burlington  House;  Royal  Institution  (twice),  and 
before  the  Zoological  Society,  London ; and  had  been  awarded 
medals  at  the  Crystal  Palace  two  consecutivo  years. 


liJroreetftncjS  of  ^oritttes. 


Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 

The  technical  meeting  of  this  Society  was  held  on  the  24th  iust., 
Mr.  Leon  Warnerke  in  the  chair. 

Mr.  H.  Chapman  Jones  brought  forward  a double  dark  slide 
that  he  had  produced  at  the  meeting  held  in  Januaiy  last.  He 
had  then  also  exhibited  two  plates  that  had  been  kept  in  this 
slide,  and  that  showed  with  under-exposure  patches  of  increased 
development  opposite  to  where  the  hinges  had  been.  These 
hinges  had  originally  been  of  leather,  but  this  material  had  been 
removed,  as  it  had  been  found  to  cause  fogging  at  the  part  of  the 
plate  opposite  to  it,  and  a woven  material  had  been  substituted 
for  the  leather.  On  the  plates  shown  in  January,  which  had 
been  placed  in  the  slide  immediately  after  the  new  material  had 
replaced  the  leather,  he  had  attributed  the  markings  to  increase 
of  sensitiveness,  which,  he  thought,  was  caused  by  the  same 
substance  in  the  leather  which  had  at  first  caused  fogging, 
having  penetrated  the  woodwork  and  being  given  off  afterwards 
in  such  small  quantity  as  to  be  insufficient  to  fog,  but  enough  to 
exalt  the  sensitiveness.  Some  members  had  then  suggested  that 
there  was  not  an  increase  of  sensitiveness  in  that  part  of  the 
plate  opposite  to  the  hinges,  but  a decrease  in  the  rest  of  the 
plate,  due  to  the  wood  or  varnish  U3ed.  He  thought  that  he 
could  now  show  that  this  theory  was  not  the  correct  one,  as  he 
had  since  kept  plates  in  the  slide  for  some  months,  plates  cut 
out  of  larger  ones  of  which  he  had  kept  the  remaining  pieces, 
and  on  developing  he  cauld  not  find  the  slightest  difference  in 
sensitiveness,  or  any  mark  opposite  the  hinge.  The  absence  of 
the  marking  now  he  considered  to  be  due  to  the  emanation 
originally  belmging  to  the  leather  and  left  iu  the  wood  having 
exhausted  itself  in  the  first  week  or  two. 


The  Chairman  mentioned  that  he  had  had  a slide  which 
caused  fogging,  not  due  to  leather,  for  there  was  no  hinge  to  it, 
as  it  was  one  of  those  where  the  shutter  was  made  to  draw  out 
entirely.  The  inside  of  this  shutter  was  varnished,  and  there 
was  a projection  in  the  cut-off  which  scraped  away  the  varnish 
in  two  lines.  Plates  placed  in  this  slide  showed  clear  spaces 
opposite  to  these  lines,  whilst  the  rest  was  fogged.  Further  to 
test  it,  he  had  scraped  an  image  on  the  shutter,  and  found  that 
a plate,  after  keeping  in  the  slide  for  some  time,  reproduced  the 
image  in  the  same  way  that  the  lines  had  been  reproduced.  He 
could  not  say  what  was  the  composition  of  the  varnish  that  gave 
off  such  a deleterious  action. 

Mr.  Atkinson  remarked  that  he  had  found  great  difficulty  in 
keeping  flexible  celluloid  films  flat  in  the  press  whilst  printing. 
He  also  noticed  that  they  were  not  flat  in  the  camera  when 
there  was  any  tension  on  the  rollers  of  the  dark  slide. 

The  Chairman  said  that  to  get  the  celluloid  to  lie  flat  whilst 
printing,  a press  must  be  used  with  many  screws  at  the  back. 
He  had  one  of  twelve  by  ten  size,  the  baik  of  which  had  been 
sawn  nearly  through  in  lines  making  twelve  squares,  on  each 
of  which  a screw  was  brought  down.  He  thus  secured  good 
contact. 

Mr.  Atkinson  remarked  that  it  was  a complaint  that  there 
was  no  good  way  of  varnishing  celluloid.  He  had  found 
Mawson’s  varnish,  supplied  expressly  for  celluloid,  to  answer 
exceedingly  well. 

A Member  referred  to  the  use  of  gold  size  thinned  with  benzole 
or  turpentine  ; but 

The  Chairman  stated  that  gold  size  darkened  so  much  in  time 
that  its  use  was  a serious  disadvantage.  A solution  of  amber 
in  chloroform  made  a varnish  that  answered  very  well.  Some 
linseed  oil  darkened  very  much,  whilst  other  samples  did  not  do 
so.  Linseed  oil  was  boiled  sometimes  with  lead,  and  sometimes 
with  manganese.  In  the  former  case  darkening  must  be 
expected.  There  was  a work  of  Spon’s  giving  several  details  on 
the  subject. 

Mr.  Scamell  said  that  there  was  also  one  of  Weale’s  series,  by 
Field,  in  which  various  formula)  would  be  found  relating  to 
varnishes  and  drying  oils. 

Mr.  Atkinson  asked  whether  celluloid  films  were  liable  to 
decay. 

The  Chairman  had  some  now  that  he  had  had  for  fifteen 
years,  and  could  find  no  change  in  them. 

Mr.  W.  England  considered  that  they  were  as  durable  as 

glass.  

The  Liverpool  Amateur  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  in  the  Club  Rooms,  3,  Lord  Street,  on  June 
19th,  Mr.  Paul  Lange  presided,  and  the  following  were  elected 
members  of  the  Association  : Messrs.  Albert  Proctor,  Alexander 
Cannon,  Win.  T.  Philip,  J.  N.  Stolterfoht,  and  James  D. 
Paterson. 

The  President  reported  on  the  excursion,  to  Rossett  and 
Gresford  on  the  7th  inst.,  when  about  thirty  members  and  six 
ladies  were  present,  and  200  pictures  were  secured.  He  men- 
tioned that  the  next  excursion  would  take  place  on 
July  19th  (whole day),  to  Bolton  Abbey.  He  also  entered  into 
a detailed  explanation  of  the  Chester  Convention,  and  recom- 
mended the  use  of  Mawson’s  backed  plates  for  taking  the  interior 
of  Eaton  Hall. 

On  the  31st  July  Mr.  J.  W.  Wade,  vice-president  of  the 
Manchester  Amateur  Photographic  Society,  will  give  a paper 
on  “ Landscape  Photography,”  with  illustrations  in  charcoal, 
and  he  will  also  introduce  a chapter  on  architectural  photo- 
graphy. Later  on,  iu  August  or  September,  the  Britannia  Com- 
pany is  to  give  a demonstration  with  their  alpha  paper. 

A fine  mounted  print  was  presented  to  the  Society  by  Mr. 
Friese  Greene  of  the  Convention  members  group  of  1889,  taken 
on  24  by  20  glass  plate  slightly  cut  down. 

The  late  Mr.  J.  W.  Robinson,  junr.,  a young  member  of  the 
Society  who  died  last  month,  has  bequeathed  his  camera  and 
outfit  to  the  Association  for  the  use  of  the  members  of  the 
Society. 


508 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[June  27,  1890. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  19th  inst.  Mr.  J.  J.  Briginshaw  occu- 
pied the  chair. 

The  next  meeting  being  the  annual  meeting,  officers  for 
the  ensuing  year  were  nominated  in  accordance  with  the 
rules. 

Mr.  J.  P.  Everitt  showed  prints  in  platinotype  of  nega- 
tives taken  at  the  outing  at  Hale  End  the  previous  Saturday. 
He  also  passed  round  silver  prints  from  the  same  negatives  for 
comparison,  arising  out  of  the  discussion  of  the  previous 
week. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  was  in  favour  of  the  albumenised 
prints  as  showing  more  oorial  perspective  and  gradation,  an 
opinion  that  was  shared  by  many  other  members  present. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater  also  showed  some  prints  taken  at  the 
same  outing  ; these  were  on  Pizziglielli  paper.  Replying  to  a 
question,  Mr.  Freshwater  said  these  had  taken  two  and  a half 
hours  to  print. 

A question  from  the  box  was  read  : “ Is  there  any  advant- 
age in  printing  through  green  glass  on  to  silver  paper  ?” 

Mr.  Pask  said  at  the  Photographic  Exhibition  recently  held 
in  the  City,  some  silver  prints  were  exhibited  which  were  stated 
to  have  been  printed  under  green  glass. 

The  Hon.  Sec.  said  that  he  had  used  with  advantage  a 
sheet  of  green  gelatine  in  printing  from  collodion  negatives 
when  they  were  of  a slatey  tint. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Freshwater  exhibited  some  prints  from  negatives 
taken  during  his  holidays  last  summer  ; these,  in  several  cases, 
showed  a dark  broad  band  down  the  centre,  which  he  attributed 
to  unequal  coating  of  the  plates. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  said  a piece  of  loose  string  hanging 
down  behind  the  lens  would  produce  a similar  effect.  Various 
theories  were  put  forward  to  account  for  the  markings  ; it  was, 
however,  generally  agreed  that  they  were  caused  by  some 
defect  of  the  camera. 

Mr.  Freshwater  said  he  would  bring  his  camera  down  to 
the  next  meeting  ; he  believed  it  to  be  quite  perfect. 

A question  from  the  box  was  read  : “ Can  anyone  tell  what 
is  ‘ bone  dryness  ? ’ ” 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  said  he  should  consider  an  article  to 
be  in  this  condition  when  no  moisture  was  perceptible  to  the 
senses. 

Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  discussion  on  July 
2nd  will  be  the  “ Report  of  the  Convention  Delegates  ” ; July 
9th,  “ Photographing  Theatrical  Scenery.” 

Received. — From  Messrs.  Piper  and  Carter,  “ A Casket  of 
Photographic  Gems  ” : A Collection  of  500  Dodges,  Receipts, 
Entertaining  Experiments,  &c.,  in  connection  with  the  Art  of 
Photography  and  its  Branches,  collected,  classified,  and  ar- 
ranged for  ready  reference,  by  Ingles  Rogers.”  The  compiler 
explains  that  the  favourable  reception  of  the  pamphlet  entitled 
“ One  Hundred  Photographic  Dodges  ” induced  him  to  produce 
a work  of  a similar  nature  on  a larger  scale,  culled  from  the 
photographic  literature  of  the  past  half-dozen  years.  Like  the 
former  work,  the  present  one  is  intended  “as  a ready  reference 
book  for  the  1 old  hand,’  as  well  as  a means  of  instruction  for 
the  beginner,  and  to  form  a handy  pocket  companion  for  both.” 
The  book  consists  of  142  pages,  and  contains  as  frontispiece  a 
specimen  of  Messrs.  Waterlow  and  Son’s  collotype  work,  repre- 
senting Cookharn  Lock,  with  a party  of  pleasure  seekers  return- 
ing from  Henley  Regatta. The  same  publishers  submit  a 

copy  of  the  “ Evolution  of  Photograph}’,”  by  John  Werge.  It 
comprises  a chronological  record  of  discoveries  and  inventions, 
contributions  to  photographic  literature,  and  personal  reminis- 
cences extending  over  forty  years,  and  is  illustrated  by  plates 
giving  portraits  of  those  whose  names  are  identified  as  leaders 
in  the  advancement  of  the  photographic  art.  'We  will  say  no 
more  of  this  book  at  present  than  that  it  is  divided  into  four 
periods  : the  first  deals  with  such  facts  as  bear  on  the  discoveries, 
early  researches,  and  ultimate  success  of  the  pioneers  of  photo- 
graphy ; the  second  embraces  a fuller  description  of  their 
successes  and  results  ; the  third  is  devoted  to  a consideration 
of  patents  and  impediments  ; and  the  fourth  to  the  rise  and 
development  of  photographic  literature  and  art. 


to  ©ornspontientsi. 

All  Communications,  excopt  advertisements,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Photographic  News,  5,  Furnival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

All  quest’ons  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  aldressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.8.,  2.  St.  Mary’s  Hoad,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

All  Advertisements  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London. 

Teionbrtdge. — Our  Holmescope  came  from  Messrs.  H.  T. 
Anthony  and  Co. , of  New  York,  but  we  believe  they  are 
procurable  from  the  Eastman  Photographic  Company,  115, 
Oxford  Street,  W. 

L.  E.  M. — Printing  Hard  Negatives.  Improved  results  can 
sometimes  be  obtained  by  sunning  the  paper  prints  from  the 
back.  Another  method  is  to  screen  off  the  under-exposed 
masses  of  shadow  by  one  or  two  folds  of  tissue  paper,  or 
use  a thin  transparency  as  a mask  to  be  supei  posed  whilst 
printing.  Perhaps  the  best  method  is  to  coat  the  finished 
hard  negative  with  collodion  emulsion,  give  a brief  exposure 
to  light  through  the  back,  develop,  and  work  with  this  com- 
pound negative.  Or,  lastly,  reproduce  the  negative  with 
full  exposures  at  both  stages  of  this  operation. 

F.  M.  S. — The  Solar  Eclipse.  You  seem  to  have  been  more 
fortunate  than  observers  in  London  or  the  metropolitan 
district,  where,  owing  to  the  clouds  and  rain,  the  eclipse  was 
scarcely  visible. 

J.  S.  R.  (Brighton). — Yellow  Stains  on  Albumenised  Prints. 
Failing  to  discover  the  cause  of  the  yellowish  colouration, 
unless  it  be  hypo,  it  is  at  least  satisfactory  to  find  that  the 
prints  may  be  so  easily  cleared  by  immersion  in  dilute  hydro- 
chloric acid  ; but  you  must  remember  that  if  working  with 
rose-tinted  paper  the  acid  will  dissolve  out  the  whole  of  the 
rosaniline,  and  necessarily  alter  the  tone  of  the  print. 

Viator. — Smokeless  Powder.  We  have  seen  the  photographs 
to  which  you  refer,  but  the  military  considerations  involved 
scarcely  come  within  the  province  of  discussion  in  these 
columns. 

A.  W. — Maigncn's  Softening  Process.  Further  enquiry  has 
elicited  the  fact  that  the  inventor  proposes  to  boil  jiowdered 
charcoal  with  lime  water,  and  then  use  this  preparation  for 
softening  water  by  stirring  in  a small  quantity,  and  afterwards 
filtering  through  his  asbestos  cloth. 

L.  P.  (Norwich). — Aluminium  Lens  Mountings.  Not  an  alloy 
of  aluminium,  but  the  pure  metal  itself  is  now  employed  by 
several  leading  opticians  in  the  mounting  of  their  lenses,  for 
the  sake  of  diminishing  their  weight.  With  care  they  ought 
to  prove  incorrodible,  but  we  cannot  answer  for  sea-spray 
not  affecting  the  metal. 

M.  T. — Hypo  Eliminator.  Hydrogen  peroxide  has  already 
been  proposed,  but  is  not  easy  to  procure,  and  it  may 
possibly  act  upon  the  albumen  coating,  if  not  upon  the 
finely  reduced  metal  constituting  the  image.  It  is  far  pre- 
ferable to  depend  upon  a thorough  washing,  or  even  upon 
treatment  with  a weak  acid,  to  destroy  any  remaining  trace 
of  hypo. 

J.  G.  M.  (Scarboro’) — Printing  out  Emulsion.  This  may  lie 
the  ordinary  collodio-chloride,  such  as  described  at  page  203 
of  the  Year-Book,  or  Captain  Abney’s  gelatino-citro- 
chloride  ; see  his  “ Instructions  in  Photography,”  pages 
288  and  289.  If  neither  of  these  will  answer  your  pur- 
pose, apply  to  Mr.  Friese  Greene  for  a suitable  preparation, 
or  to  Messrs.  George  Houghton  and  Sons,  High  Holborn, 
W.C. 

Intaglio. — Electro  Carbon  Reliefs.  These  were  executed  as 
far  back  as  I860  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Swan,  specimens  being 
shown  in  the  historical  collection  at  the  International  In- 
ventions Exhibition.  Seven  years  later,  Mr.  Woodbury  pro- 
duced some  plaster  casts  from  his  gelatine  reliefs,  and 
showed  them  at  the  Dundee  meeting  of  the  British  Asso- 
ciation, stating  that  these  could  be  copied  by  the  electro- 
type process  if  desired.  Many  later  experimentalists  have 
worked  at  the  same  subject,  some  of  them  taking  casts  in 
Spence’s  metal. 


NEWS 


os?  & 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1661. — July  4,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PAO* 

Novelties  at  the  Photographic  Convention  509 

The  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester 510 

Photographing  Flowers  511 

A New  Photometer.  By  F.  H.  Varley,  M.I.E  E.(  F.R.A.S.  ...  512 
Depth  of  Focus  and  Diffusion  of  Focus.  By  Prof.  W.  K.  Burton  514 

Imagining  and  Imaging.  By  Philip  II.  Newman 515 

Notes.  By  Colonel  J.  Waterhouse,  B.8.C 517 

Notes 518 


PAO  K 


Photographic  Exhibitions.  By  George  Davison 520 

The  Record  of  Photo-Micrography.  By  Andrew  Pringle 521 

Weights,  Measures,  and  Formulae  Used  in  Photography 52S 

New  Photographic  Lenses.  By  Dr.  Paul  Rudolph  524 

Patent  Intelligence  52G 

Correspondence 526 

Proceedings  of  Societies 527 

Answers  to  Correspondents  528 


NOVELTIES  AT  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC 
CONVENTION. 

Three  instruments  of  special  novelty  were  exhibited 
at  the  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester ; one  of 
them  was  a new  photometer,  another  a photo-micro- 
graphic camera  of  new  design,  and  the  third  a new 
magazine  camera. 

The  photometer  was  the  invention  of  Mr.  Frederick 
H.  Varley,  and  his  article  describing  it  will  be  found 
in  another  column.  Mr.  Friese  Greeno  exhibited  the 
instrument  to  the  Convention.  It  consists  of  a rotating 
disc  with  two  variable  apertures,  which  can  be  opened 
or  closed  during  rotation  by  the  ingenious  mechanical 
contrivance  known  as  the  Furgusson  paradox.  The 
light  from  the  one  source  passses  through  one  of  the 
apertures,  and  the  light  from  the  other  source  through 
the  second  aperture.  A comparison  is  made  by  means 
of  two  shadows,  the  relative  depth  of  which  is  regu- 
lated by  the  size  of  the  apertures.  When  the  shadows 
are  balanced,  the  angular  aperture  of  the  two  orifices 
is  read  off.  The  advantage  of  this  instrument  is,  that 
both  the  electric  light  and  the  standard  flame  are 
measured  when  they  are  at  the  same  distance  from  the 
screen ; consequently  the  two  shadows  are  of  equal 
size,  so  the  density  of  the  shadows  for  equal  areas  is 
the  same  when  balanced.  This  feat,  we  believe,  has 
not  previously  been  achieved  in  photometry,  except  in 
the  wedge  photometer  of  Dr.  Wollaston,  which,  how- 
ever, is  of  too  limited  a range  to  be  suitable  for  most 
practical  purposes.  Mr.  Varley  and  Mr.  Friese  Greene 
are  arranging  some  experiments  for  determining  by 
means  of  this  photometer  the  value  of  direct  sunlight 
in  candle  power ; also  the  value  of  reflected  light 
from  the  clouds,  blue  sky,  foliage,  and  other  objects. 
Scientific  data  of  this  kind  will  be  of  interest  to 
photographers. 

Another  remarkable  piece  of  apparatus  exhibited  at 
the  Convention  was  a photo-micrographic  instrument  de- 
signed by  Mr.  Andrew  Pringle,  and  constructed  by  order 
of  the  Privy  Council  by  Messrs.  James  Ssvift  and  Son. 
In  high  photo-micrography  absolute  steadiness  of  the 


apparatus  is  as  necessary  as  it  is  in  large  astronomical 
telescopes,  or  in  the  galvanometers  used  in  working 
the  Atlantic  cables ; therefore  the  chief  feature  of 
Mr.  Pringle’s  instrument  is  its  great  steadiness  and 
solidity.  Its  principle  may  be  explained  by  the  aid  of 
the  accompanying  diagram,  in  which  AB  is  the  base- 


board of  mahogany,  measuring  6 feet  8 inches  by 
20  inches,  and  CD  is  one  of  two  pieces  of  heavy  solid 
mahogany  forming  a tramway  on  which  the  camera 
slides  in  brass  guides,  and  to  which  it  can  be  firmly 
clamped  by  screws.  The  camera  takes  half-plates,  and 
has  an  extension  of  from  eleven  inches  to  four  and  a-half 
feet.  A special  feature  of  this  invention  is  the  brass 
cradle,  W F,  which  is  so  formed  as  to  hold  both  ends 
of  the  microscope  tube  when  high  powers  are  used; 
thus  all  vibration  of  the  tube  at  the  eye-piece  end  is 
prevented.  H is  an  adjustable  stage,  with  a sub-stage 
condenser ; K is  an  achromatic  condensing  lens,  and 
N the  lime  cylinder  for  the  oxyhydrogen  light.  The 
cradle  is  steadily  mounted  at  one  end  upon  a brass 
trestle,  two  legs  of  which  are  shown  at  E ; at  the 
other  end  it  is  supported  below  F.  The  lime  light 
part  of  the  apparatus  is  mounted  upon  a platform,  so 
that  it  can  be  made  to  approach  to  or  recede  from  the 
microscope,  and  to  give  a divergent  or  parallel  beam 
of  light  at  the  will  of  the  operator.  The  whole  of  this 
end  of  the  instrument  turns  round  upon  a base-board 
to  permit  the  adjustment  of  the  object.  The  ultimate 
destination  of  this  apparatus  is  the  Royal  Veterinary 
College,  Camden  Town,  London,  where  a room  in  the 
basement  has  been  specially  arranged  for  its  reception, 
and  where  it  will  be  fixed  on  a support  of  heavy 
masonry,  resting  upon  a foundation  of  solid  concrete. 

The  third  novelty  of  mark  exhibited  at  the  Conven- 


510 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  4,  1890. 


tion  was  a new  camera,  a great  improvement  upon  the 
one  described  a few  months  ago  in  these  pages,  for 
taking  negatives  upon  an  endless  film  at  the  rate  of 
from  five  to  ten  or  more  per  second.  The  original 
camera,  invented  by  Mr.  Friese  Greene  and  Mr. 
Mortimer  Evans,  paid  out  a certain  length  of  film  for 
each  picture,  and  this  slack  length  was  suddenly 
drawn  into  position  for  the  exposure.  The  later 
camera,  first  publicly  exhibited  at  the  Chester 
Convention  by  Mr.  Friese  Greene,  was  the  inven- 
tion of  Mr.  Frederick  Yarley,  and  in  it  the  film 
is  never  allowed  to  slacken,  but  is  kept  taut  by  means 
of  springs  acting  differentially  inside  the  paying-out 
roller  and  the  receiving-roller,  so  that  the  two  rollers 
have  always  a balanced  spring-pull  in  opposite  direc- 
tions. When  a length  of  film  is  required  for  exposure 
a disturbing  element  comes  into  play  in  the  shape  of  a 
horizontal  roller,  which  rises  and  draws  off  exactly  the 
length  of  film  required  for  the  next  picture.  By  this 
instrument  the  film  is  paid  out  with  great  steadiness 
and  regularity,  and  none  of  the  film  is  wasted,  for 
each  negative  is  separated  by  but  a narrow  line  from 
its  successor.  Application  has  been  made  for  a patent 
for  this  camera,  which  is  likely  to  be  useful  for  mili- 
tary and  other  purposes,  in  addition  to  those  purposes 
which  Mr.  Friese  Greene  had  in  view  when  he  started 
the  idea  of  cameras  of  this  class.  With  the  optical 
means  at  present  in  use  in  such  of  these  cameras  as 
have  been  constructed,  he  says  that  he  finds  exposures 
at  the  rate  of  about  five  per  second  to  be  the  best 
speed  for  obtaining  good  negatives  sufficiently  near 
each  other  in  time  to  convey  the  idea  of  life  and  motion 
when  successive  positives  from  them  are  projected  at 
the  same  speed  upon  a screen  by  means  of  a suitable 
lantern. 

A s to  this  matter  of  speed,  Mr.  Greene  said  to  the 
Convention  : “ The  familiar  experiment  of  the  com- 
plete ring  of  light  seen  upon  whirling  a burning  stick 
in  a dark  room,  shows  that  the  sensation  of  sight  lasts 
for  a short  period  after  the  mechanical  action  which 
produced  it  has  ceased.  This  period  is  probably 
different  for  different  eyes,  and  for  different  amounts 
of  excitation  even  in  the  same  eyes  ; I hope  to  prove, 
at  some  future  date,  by  the  pictures  taken  with  the 
machine  camera,  that  some  people  see  them  perfectly 
on  the  screen  when  they  are  produced  at  the  rate  of 
three  a second,  that  others  see  them  perfectly  at  four, 
five,  and  six  a second.  Of  course,  the  size  of  the 
picture  upon  the  screen,  and  the  amount  of  light  which 
the  lantern  can  give,  have  something  to  do  with  it  too. 
If  the  light  be  very  intense  the  effects  last  much 
longer,  so  that  you  can  run  them  through  slowly. 
For  the  present  purpose  it  may  be  assumed  that  a speed 
of  from  three  to  seven  per  second  will  be  enough  to 
show  life-like  effects  to  any  audience,  or  to  represent 
nature  in  motion  as  we  see  it.  The  duration  of 
visionary  impression  varies  with  the  powers  or  struc- 
ture of  the  eye  in  different  individuals,  just  as  the  time 
necessary  for  the  ^recovery  of  the  tone  of  the  retina 
varies  in  passing  from  brightness  to  darkness.” 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CONVENTION  AT 
CHESTER. 

List  week  we  published  particulars  about  the  Photo- 
graphic Convention  at  Chester,  until  the  time  of  going 
to  press,  when  the  members  of  the  Convention  were 
leaving  Conway.  The  Castle  Hotel,  at  Conway, 
where  lunch  was  taken  by  the  excursionists,  and  at 
which  Mr.  Bothamley,  the  President  of  the  Conven- 
tion, is  well-known,  is  a centre  for  artists,  and  much 
visited  by  Americans  in  the  summer  months  when 
en  route  from  Holyhead  to  London,  because  Miss 
Dutton,  its  proprietor,  has  a large  collection  of  works 
of  art  of  various  kinds. 

Here  we  found  original  works  by  Cipriani  (the  founder,  with 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  of  our  Royal  Academy),  Romney,  Sir 
Thomas  Lawrence,  David  Cox,  Frederick  Tayler(the  late  Presi- 
dent of  the  Royal  Water  Colour  Society),  J.  W.  Whittaker  and 
J.  D.  Watson,  both  distinguished  members  of  the  same  Society, 
Joseph  Knight,  who  is  one  of  our  best  English  etchers,  Daw- 
son Watson,  Buckley  Ousey,  Edwin  Ellis,  R.  Somerset,  Dan. 
Fisher,  R.  Gallon  (the  President  of  the  Crichton  Art  Club), 
Peter  Ghent,  W.  L.  Banks,  W.  B.  Turner,  J.  C.  Salomon, 
Charles  Potter,  and  others.  There  is  also  a handsome  speci- 
men of  the  Old  English  Water  Colour  School  of  the  middle  of 
last  century,  by  Smith  of  Chichester.  Its  purity  of  colour  is 
in  marked  contrast  with  the  water  colours  of  modern  days,  in 
which  body  colour  is  so  freely  used.  There  is  a half-length 
life-sized  original  portrait  of  Dame  Penderil,  of  Boscobel, 
notorious  for  her  loyalty  and  fidelity  to  the  gay  and  popular 
though  ungrateful  monarch,  Charles  II. 

The  Conway  and  Bettws-y-Coed  parties  returned  by 
various  trains  to  Chester  in  the  evening.  The  majority 
returned  by  the  earliest  train  to  be  present  at  the 
reading  of  papers,  and  in  this  train  was  Mr.  Ephraim 
Wood,  the  chief  superintendent  of  the  Chester  and 
Holyhead  line,  who  was  fully  alive  to  the  business 
advantages  of  a number  of  professional  and  other  photo- 
graphers being  at  work  in  his  district,  and  afterwards 
scattering  pictures  thereof  broadcast  all  over  the  country. 
He  personally  superintended  the  excursion  arrange- 
ments. 

On  Thursday  evening,  Mr.  Andrew  Pringle  read  a 
paper  entitled  “The  Record  of  Photo-Micrography,” 
and  the  report  of  the  committee  on  “ Weights  and 
Measures”  was  read.  Mr.  Friese  Greene  also  read  a 
paper,  entitled  “ Suggestions,”  from  which  we  give 
to-day  a quotation  in  our  leading  article,  and  more 
extended  descriptions  of  the  instruments  he  described 
than  he  had  time  to  put  before  the  meeting. 

On  Friday  last  views  were  taken  by  the  excursionists 
at  Hawardcu  Castle,  and  in  the  evening  there  was  a 
dinner  of  the  Convention  at  the  Grosvenor  Hotel, 
Chester,  which  great  hotel  is  under  the  genial  manage- 
ment of  the  experienced  Mr.  Foster.  Mr.  Bothamley 
presided,  various  after-dinner  speeches  were  made,  and 
a number  of  recitations  and  songs  contributed  by  the 
members.  The  hard-working  honorary  secretary,  Mr. 
Briginshaw,  was  “toasted,”  and  was  styled  “The 
Father  of  the  Convention.” 

On  Saturday  morning  last  there  was  a meeting 
of  the  General  Committee,  at  which  Mr.  William 
Bedford  was  appointed  President  of  the  Convention 
for  the  Bath  meeting  next  year.  In  the  middle  of  the 
day  most  of  the  members  left  Chester. 


Jolt  4,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


511 


PHOTOGRAPHING  FLOWERS. 

It  is  a remarkable  circumstance  in  these  days  of 
universal  photography,  and  when  some  kind  oE  photo- 
graphic apparatus  can  be  found  in  more  than  one  house 
in  every  street,  that  flowers,  the  most  beautiful  gifts 
of  inanimate  nature,  should  be  almost  entirely  neglected 
by  the  camera  bearer.  They  are  within  the  reach  of 
nearly  all,  for  although  some  of  us  are  destined  to  spend 
the  best  part  of  our  lives  amid  bricks  and  mortar,  and 
in  houses  whose  back  gardens  take  the  form  of  “ leads,” 
still  we  have  friends  who,  better  off  than  ourselves, 
are  provided  with  greenhouses  ; or,  by  the  expenditure 
of  a very  modest  sum  at  the  nearest  florist’s,  we  can 
provide  ourselves  with  a bouquet  of  beauty.  Artists 
who  devote  their  first  attempts  to  still  life  eagerly  take 
up  flower  and  fruit  painting,  attracted,  of  course,  by  the 
wonderful  and  unending  contrasts  of  form  and  colour 
which  these  models  afford.  Perhaps  it  is  mainly 
because  photographers  are  excluded  from  the  chromatic 
world  that  they  have  not  paid  more  attention  to  this 
branch  of  work.  Whatever  be  the  reason,  flowers 
are  neglected  by  photographers.  In  our  photographic 
exhibitions  we  seldom  see  pictures  of  flowers,  and,  as 
far  as  we  can  remember,  only  one  worker,  whose  beautiful 
orchids  won  prizes  at  all  the  exhibitions  half-a-dozen 
years  back,  has  seriously  devoted  his  energies  to 
portraying  Flora. 

There  are  certainly  difficulties  to  be  met  with  in 
photographing  flowers  which  do  not  often  assail  those 
who  are  engaged  in  the  more  ordinary  paths  of  work. 
One  of  the  chief  of  these  is  the  necessary  nearness  of 
the  objects  to  the  camera — a difficulty  which  will  be 
at  once  appreciated  by  anyone  who  endeavours  to  focus 
upon  his  ground-glass  screen  the  image  of  a flower- 
spangled  hedgerow.  It  is  at  once  seen  that,  owing  to 
the  various  planes  of  the  different  petals,  only  a few 
can  be  brought  to  a sharp  focus  at  one  time.  It  is  of 
course  the  same  if  we  attempt  to  photograph  a single 
flower  or  a mass  of  flowers  in  a greenhouse,  but  here 
we  are  relieved  of  one  great  difficulty  in  having  a 
perfectly  still  atmosphere  to  work  in.  But,  whereas 
in  the  open  air  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  reduce  the 
growth  to  one  plane,  unless,  indeed,  we  clip  away  half 
its  beauty  with  a pair  of  shears,  in  the  greenhouse  we 
are  able  to  mitigate  the  evils  to  a very  great  extent  by 
adopting  certain  precautions.  The  flowers,  being  in 
pots,  can  be  moved  about  and  grouped  as  we  may  think 
best,  and  any  petal  bearing  stems  which  are  obtrusively 
prominent — and  therefore  out  of  focus — can  be  held 
back  by  the  temporary  expedient  of  attaching  to  them 
grey  lines  of  the  thinnest  binding  wire.  We  have 
tried  this  plan  many  times  with  great  success,  but  care 
must  be  taken  in  adopting  this  method  of  pulling  the 
stems  out  of  their  natural  position  that  they  are  not 
so  awkwardly  placed  that  the  dodge  is  likely  to  be 
detected.  Care  must  also  be  taken  that  the  wires  used 
are  properly  concealed. 

In  photographing  flowers  in  a greenhouse  it  will 
generally  be  necessary  to  provide  some  kind  of  back- 
ground. The  entire  beauty  of  the  picture  will  be 


sacrificed  if  the  straight  lines  of  the  beading  between 
the  glass  panes  come  into  view,  and  more  especially  if 
the  bright  sky  is  seen  through  them.  A square  yard 
of  some  good  tinted  material — such  as  is  used  for 
ordinary  studio  backgrounds — will  answer  the  purpose 
better  than  anything  else,  but  it  should,  if  possible, 
be  stretched  on  a frame,  so  as  to  present  one  even, 
unwrinkled  surface.  In  the  absence  of  a green- 
house, and  when  we  wish  to  photograph  flowers  in 
the  form  of  a bouquet,  we  shall  do  well  to  conduct 
operations  in  the  studio  or  in  an  ordinary  room.  In 
the  first  case  no  difficulty  should  present  itself  with 
regard  to  lighting,  for  curtains,  screens,  and  blinds  are 
under  ready  control,  but  in  an  ordinary  room,  as  in  the 
case  of  portraiture,  special  arrangements  have  to  be 
made. 

The  flowers  must  first  of  all  be  grouped  as  artisti- 
cally as  possible,  and  may  by  preference  be  held  in 
some  kind  of  ornamental  vase.  This  should  be  of 
glass  or  of  some  light  coloured  material — such  as 
alabaster — in  order  that  there  may  be  contrast  between 
it  and  the  flowers  which  it  holds.  This  vase  should  be 
placed  near  a window  where  there  is  a good  diffused 
light — not  actual  sunlight — with  a looking  glass  or 
white  screen  at  the  other  side,  so  as  to  reflect  light  on 
its  shady  parts.  The  background  should  not  be  too 
dark,  nor  should  it  be  of  a pronounced  pattern  of  any 
kind.  All  must  be  as  light  and  airy  in  design  as 
possible.  The  flowers  themselves  must  not  be  matted 
together,  and  it  will  be  found  that  a few — say  some 
choice  roses  or  lilies  relieved  by  sprigs  of  maidenhair 
or  feathery  grasses — will  be  far  more  effective  than  a 
great  number. 

We  have  occasionally  seen  flower  photographs — 
generally  roughly  coloured — exposed  for  sale  in  somo 
of  the  shops,  and  they  are  useful  as  a guide  to  show 
what  to  avoid.  These  flowers  appear  to  have  been 
grouped  and  supported  on  a sheet  of  white  cardboard, 
with  the  result  that  a heavy  black  shadow — a kind  of 
mourning  band — borders  them  on  all  sides,  for  the 
light  in  which  they  have  been  photographed  appears  to 
have  come  from  the  front,  that  is,  behind  the  camera. 
Strong  contrasts  are  most  easy  to  obtain  in  photo- 
graphing flowers,  and  they  should  be  carefully  avoided, 
firstly,  by  suitably  lighting  the  object  and  providing  a 
proper  background,  and  secondly,  by  giving  a pro- 
longed exposure  with  a small  stop,  so  that  develop- 
ment may  proceed  without  the  least  forcing  and 
blocking  up  of  the  high  lights. 

The  lens  which  is  kept  to  use  for  flower  work  is  one 
of  the  rectilinear  type.  Almost  any  lens  except  a 
portrait  lens  will  do  for  photographing  flowers,  pro- 
vided it  can  be  well  stopped  down.  To  get  the  best 
results  it  is  as  well  to  use  isochromatic  plates,  and 
many  published  pictures  have  shown  us  all  what  good 
service  such  colour  sensitive  plates  will  do  in  this 
particular  field  of  work.  But  ordinary  plates,  if  used 
with  a yellow  screen  behind  the  lens,  and  with  the 
protracted  exposure  which  that  course  entails,  will  give 
results  which  are  difficult  if  not  impossible  to  distinguish 
from  those  obtained  by  the  use  of  isochromatic  plates. 


512 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jci.r  4,  1890. 


A short  time  ago  we  selected  a number  of  yellow,  red, 
and  blue  flowers,  and  photographed  them  with  ordinary 
plates  under  the  conditions  just  described,  and  also  with 
colour  sensitive  plates,  and  we  could  hardly  distinguish 
any  differences  between  the  two  sets  of  negatives  when 
afterwards  compared. 

Now  that  spring  has  “ unlocked  the  flowers  to  paint 
the  laughing  soil,”  photographers  have  an  opportunity 
of  taking  their  portraits,  which  should  not  be  missed. 
If  the  pictures  appear  to  have  no  particular  value,  the 
operation  of  taking  them  will  at  least  bring  a return  to 
the  worker  to  showing  him  the  effects  of  various 
colours  on  the  sensitive  surface  of  his  plates,  and  teach- 
ing him  how  those  effects  can  be  modified  by  means  at 
his  disposal. 


A NEW  PHOTOMETER. 

BY  F.  H.  VABLEY,  M.I.E.E.,  F.R.A.S. 

In  writing  upon  photometry,  it  is  as  well  to  pass  in  review 
the  various  appliances  that  have  been  devised  for  obtaining 
a measurement  of  the  comparative  intensities  of  different 
sources  of  light.  This  at  once  brings  us  to  an  adopted 
standard  of  light,  unfortunately  as  purely  arbitrary  as  the 
foot  rule  is  for  a standard  of  length.  This  standard  is 
termed  the  candle  power,  and  is  the  amount  of  light  pro- 
duced from  a sperm  candle  burning  132  grains  (or  8-553 
grammes)  of  spermaceti  per  hour,  the  pressure  of  the 
barometer  being  760  millimetres,  and  this  standard  is 
the  adopted  one  employed  by  all  the  gas  companies  for 
measuring  the  c.p.  (candle  power)  of  their  gas. 

The  celebrated  Dr.  Wollaston,  the  discoverer  of  palla- 
dium and  inventor  of  the  goniometer,  employed  for  his 
researches  a wedge-shaped  trough,  with  glass  sides,  fdled 
with  an  inky  fluid.  Both  the  standard  light  and  the  one 
to  be  compared  had  to  pass  through  this  intercepting 
medium  ; thus,  the  gas-flame  passed  through  the  thicker 
end  of  the  wedge,  and  the  standard  through  the  thinner, 
and  the  lights  were  moved  nearer  or  farther  apart  until  the 
shadows  cast  by  both  were  equal;  the  intensity  of 
the  light  being  determined  by  the  mean  section  of 
each  portion  of  the  wedge  through  which  the  res- 
pective lights  passed.  In  his  astronomical  researches 
he  used  wedges  made  of  neutral  tint  glasses,  and 
with  these  he  determined  the  value  of  light  coining  to  us 
from  the  stars.  The  value  of  Sirius  he  gives  as  being  that 
of  aooVoir  millionth  part  of  that  produced  from  the  sun  ; 
the  sun,  according  to  the  same  authority,  being  equal  to 
the  light  produced  by  5,563  wax  candles  burning  at  one 
foot  distance  from  the  screen. 

Professor  Wheatstone  employed  a vibrating  bead  of 
silvered  glass,  and  the  two  lights  to  be  compared  appear, 
by  reflection,  as  two  parallel  luminous  lines.  By  em- 
ploying the  law  that  “ the  intensity  of  the  illumination 
of  any  body  in  the  presence  of  a source  of  light  will  depend 
upon  its  distance  from  that  source  and  secondly,  that 
light  decreases  as  the  square  of  the  distance  of  the 
luminous  body  ; a distance  is  found  when  the  luminous 
parallel  lines  are  equally  bright — that  is  to  say,  that  by 
altering  the  relative  distances  of  the  two  lights  until  the 
luminous  lines  appear  to  be  of  equal  intensity,  and  squar- 
ing these  distances  from  the  vibrating  bead,  the  different 
illuminating  power  of  the  two  sources  of  light  is  readily 
measured. 


In  place  of  the  vibrating  bead  of  Wheatstone’s, 
the  Bunsen  screen  is  generally  adopted,  a long  scale  hav- 
ing at  one  end  a standard  candle,  and  the  light  to  be 
measured  at  the  other,  is  provided  with  a tram  line,  upon 
which  runs  a carriage  carrying  the  Bunsen  screen.  By 
moving  this  screen  between  the  two  lights  until  a position 
is  found  where  both  surfaces  are  equally  illuminated,  and 
measuring  its  relative  distance  from  the  two  lights,  and 
squaring  their  distances  as  before  mentioned,  their 
measurement  is  obtained.  These  photometers  are  fitted 
up  in  a room  painted  a dead  black  in  every  part,  so  that 
no  false  light  by  reflection  shall  interfere  with  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  readings.  With  such  an  apparatus  a light  up 
to  400  candle  power  can  be  measured  ; but  when  an  electric 
arc  light  has  to  be  determined,  the  photometer  room  would 
have  to  be  from  50  feet  to  100  feet  in  length  to  obtain 
the  balanced  illumination  of  the  Bunsen  screen.  If  we 
are  measuring  a 10,000  candle-power  arc  light,  the  distance 
would  be  as  follows  : — Standard  candle  from  screen  one 
foot,  electric  light  from  screen  100  feet,  that  taken  as  the 
value  of  the  square  of  the  distance — namely,  lOObv  100  = 
10,000  candle  power  at  one  foot. 

Professors  Ayrton  and  Perry  have  devised  a photo- 
meter by  which  the  distance  of  the  electric  light  from  the 
screen  may  be  very  considerably  reduced.  The  light  falls 
upon  a given  area — say  a circular  inch — and  passes  through 
a concave  lens  which  diffuses  the  light,  and  causes  it  to 
spread  out,  the  area  of  the  diffused  circle  depending  upon 
the  distance  of  the  screen  from  the  concave  lens. 
Assuming  that  it  be  made  to  cover  a plane  exactly  ten 
inches  in  diameter,  the  decrease  of  illumination  will  be 
proportional  to  the  square  of  the  diameter,  or  a one- 
hundredth  part  as  bright.  By  this  device  the  distance  of 
the  electric  light  4rom  the  concave  lens  can  be  reduced  to 
ten  feet,  when  it  would  balance  the  standard  light  at  one 
foot  from  the  screen,  or,  in  other  words,  102  X 102  = 
10,000,  the  amount  of  light  produced  from  the  electric  arc. 

Captain  W.  de  W.  Abney  has  obtained  the  reduction  of 
the  brighter  light  by  employing  rotating  sectors  which 
allow  only  a given  quantity  of  light  to  pass,  which  he  can 
vary  at  will  by  opening  and  closing  the  sectors  whilst  they 
are  being  rotated,  and  he  determines  the  value  of  the  light 
by  calculating  the  areas  of  the  wedge-shape  openings. 
Figs.  1,  2,  and  3 illustrate  this. 


Fif.  1.  Fig.  2.  Fig.  3. 

Fig.  1 shows  the  sectors  open  to  full  extent,  viz.,  'JO0,  when  50  per  cent, 
of  the  light  will  be  intercepted,  and  50  per  cent,  pass  through. 

Fig.  2 shows  the  sectors  open  45°,  when  75  per  cent,  of  the  light  is 
stopped,  and  25  per  cent,  passes  through. 

Fig.  3 shows  the  sectors  opeu  18°,  when  90  per  cent,  of  the  light  is 
stopped,  and  10  per  cent,  only  passes. 

The  photometer  I am  now  about  to  describe  differs 
from  all  these  in  being  a direct  reading  instrument,  in 
which  the  standard  and  the  light  required  to  be  deter- 
mined are  both  placed  at  the  same  distance  from  the  screen 
shown  by  fig.  8. 

Two  discs,  perforated  by  semi-ring-shaped  openings, 
the  breadth  of  which  are  equal,  as  shown  in  fig.  5,  are 


July  4,  1890.1 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


513 


mounted  ou  an  axis  with  their  openings  reversed,  so  that 
when  the  outer  half -ring  is  fully  open  (extending  to  180°) 
the  inner  ring  is  entirely  closed ; or  if  the  outer  half- 
ring is  open  to  90°,  then  the  iuuer  ring  will  be  opened  to 


Fig.  5.  Fig.  6.  Fig.  7. 

the  same  extent,  as  shown  in  fig.  6.  In  that  case,  when 
the  discs  are  rotated,  two  complete  circles  are  formed, 
through  which  an  equal  amount  of  light  will  pass.  Again, 
as  in  fig.  7,  the  outer  ring  is  nearly  opeu,  and  the  inner 


Fig.  4. 


one  only  partially  so.  As  before,  two  rings  are  formed 
upon  rotation,  but  the  amount  of  light  which  passes 
through  will  be  unequal,  being,  in  fact,  directly  propor- 
tionate as  the  extent  of  the  degrees  of  arc  of  the  open- 
ings are  to  one  another.  If,  say,  the  outer  ring  is  opened 
1G0°,  and  the  inner  20°,  in  order  that  the  more  intense 
light  passing  through  the  inner  circle  shall  balance  the 
standard  light  passing  through  the  outer,  all  that  has  to 
be  done  is  to  read  off  the  respective  degrees  and  write 
them  down  in  the  form  of  fractions — that  is,  -,Vi  = i ; 
from  this  we  ascertain  that  the  light  is  eight  times  more 
intense  than  the  standard.  Instead  of  the  conventional 
division  of  the  circle,  we  divide  the  half-circle  into  2,000 
parts,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a finer  or  more  extended 
range  of  reading  up  to  1,999  times. ; these  divisions,  by 
means  of  a vernier,  can  be  further  subdivided  ten  times, 
and  read  up  to  20,000  candles  in  round  numbers. 

The  breadth  of  the  semi -ring- shaped  windows  in  this 
instrument  is  one  inch,  and  in  front  of  the  discs  are  two 
equal  collimators,  one  of  which  projects  a disc  with  a 
black  centre,  and  the  other  a corresponding  luminous 
spot.  They  are  regulated  so  that  when  the  light  falling 
upon  the  screen  from  both  sources  is  equal,  a uniform 
disc  is  obtained  ; but  if  one  or  the  other  preponderates,  a 
disc  with  a grey  spot,  or  a grey  marginal  ring  with  a 


bright  spot,  indicates  which  of  the  two  sources  of  light 
reaching  the  screen  predominates. 

In  order  to  regulate  this,  it  is  necessary  to  open  one 
of  the  windows  and  close  the  other  until  a balance  is 
obtained.  This  is  effected  by  bringing  into  play  a modi- 
fication of  the  well-known  Furgusson  paradox  : the  rear 
disc  is  carried  by  the  central  axis,  and  the  front  disc  by 
a long  sleeve  fitting  over  it ; both  the  central  axis  and  the 
sleeve  are  provided  with  tooth  wheels.  Above  these  is 
an  axis  which  carries  two  wheels,  one  with  a hundred  teeth, 
and  the  other  with  ninety-nine  teeth,  which  are  readily 
placed  in  or  out  of  gear  bya  jointed  lever;  when  in  gear 
they  cause  the  two  discs  to  shift  or  turn  upon  each  other, 
and  so  open  or  close  the  windows.  It  is  convenient  in 
some  cases  to  dispense  with  the  collimators,  and  deter- 
mine the  values  of  the  light  by  comparison  shadows,  in 
which  case  a "|” -shaped  screen  is  employed  pierced  with 


Fig.  8. 


two  holes  each  a circular  inch  in  diameter,  the  centres 
of  which  are  of  a distance  apart  which  corresponds  with 
the  mean  diameter  of  the  circular  window's  through  which 
the  light  passes  on  to  the  screen.  The  middle  partition 
forming  the  "]”  prevents  one  light  from  interfering  with 
the  other.  The  apparatus  is  set  in  rotation  by  turning  a 
band  wheel,  and  the  windows  adjusted  until  the  two 
shadows  balance.  The  values  are  read  off  from  the 
divided  scale  of  2,000  parts,  which  is  numbered  from  left 
to  right,  and  right  to  left,  giving  at  once  the  fraction  values 
of  the  ratios  of  one  aperture  to  the  other. 

Photographic  Society  of  Upsala.  — Mr.  N.  C.  Duner 
writes  that  the  number  of  the  members  of  this  society  now 
reaches  fifty,  and  that  it  has  been  resolved  to  hold  an  exhibi- 
bition  of  members’  work  in  the  autumn. 

Photo-Micrographs  of  Diatoms. — MM.  A.  Traun  and  Witt, 
in  their  work  on  the  fossil  diatoms  of  Hayti,  describe  their 
peculiar  method  of  photographing  these  objects.  They  first 
photograph  the  diatoms  with  a magnification  of  not  more 
than  100  diameters,  and  afterwards  enlarge  the  negatives,  so 
as  to  obtain  a photograph  magnified  500  diameters,  proper  for 
photo-printing.  Fine  details  are  said  to  be  brought  out,  which 
are  invisible  to  the  naked  eye  in  the  smaller  photograph. — . 
The  Microscope. 


514 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jolt  4,  1890. 


DEPTH  OF  FOCUS  AXI)  DIFFUSION  OF  FOCUS.* 

BY  PROFESSOR  W.  K.  BURTON’,  C.E. 

The  introduction  of  “diffusion  of  focus”  was  first  sug- 
gested by  Mr.  J.  Traill  Taylor,  and  first  put  into  practical 
shape  by  the  elder  Dalhneyer.  Practically,  “ diffusion  of 
focus  ” is  brought  about  by  allowing  a certain  amount  of 
positive  spherical  aberration  to  go  uncorrected,  and,  in  the 
case  of  the  “diffusion  of  focus”  lenses  introduced  by  Dall- 
meyer,  the  spherical  aberration  is  introducible  at  will  by  the 
unscrewing  of  the  back  lens  of  the  posterior  element  of  a 
lens  that  has  already  been  illustrated  in  the  course  of  these 
communications. 

There  has  been  a great  deal  of  discussion  as  to  whether 
the  introduction  of  spherical  aberration  can  actually 
improve  the  definition  in  any  planes  or  not,  and  I do  not 
propose  to  enter  into  this  much-vexed  question  here.  It 
does  certainly,  I am  convinced,  in  many  cases  result  in  a 
practically  more  harmonious  picture  than  results  from  a 
perfectly  corrected  lens,  and  all  that  I propose  to  do  here 
is  to  try  to  explain  the  result  of  working  with  a lens  not 
Completely  corrected  for  spherical  aberration,  and  to 
touch  on  one  point  in  connection  with  this  that  has,  I 
think,  so  far  been  overlooked. 

I use  for  the  illustration  of  this  matter  a couple  of  cuts 


taken  from  the  Photographic  News  of  April  6th,  1888,  in 
illustration  of  a paper  that  was  read  by  Mr.  T.  It.  Dall- 
meyer  before  the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain, 
on  “So-called  Depth  of  Focus  and  Diffusion  of  Focus.” 

Figure  1 is  intended  to  represent  the  rays  of  light  pass- 
ing from  a point  O through  a lens  that  is  without  any 
spherical  aberration,  and  that  come  to  a focus  at  I.  A 
point  at  O is  thus  represented  by  a point  at  I.  Points  at 
o , and  o2  will,  on  the  other  hand,  be  represented  by  spots 
of  light  of  the  diameter  of  the  cones  of  light  at  i2  and  ix. 
Now,  as  the  diameter  of  a point  is  zero,  the  spots  of  light 
representing  points  nearer  to  and  farther  from  the  plane 
focussed  for  are,  in  this  case,  indefinitely  larger  than  the 
point  representing  a point  in  the  plane  focussed  for,  and 
the  contrast  is,  therefore,  indefinitely  great. 

Figure  2 represents  the  same  state  of  affairs  as  figure  1, 
but  that  there  is,  in  the  latter  case,  a certain  amount  of 
spherical  aberration  introduced.  It  will  be  seen  that,  in 
this  case,  a point  at  0 is  not  represented  by  a point  at  I, 
but  by  a spot  of  a quite  appreciable  diameter ; whilst,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  spot  shown  at  i2  is  no  larger  than  where 
there  is  no  spherical  aberration;  that  at  i2  is  not  much 
larger.  The  contrast  is  thus  very  much  less. 

A point  that  may  not  be  of  much  practical  importance, 
but  that  has,  I think,  been  overlooked  in  all  the  discussion 


that  there  has  been  on  this  question  of  “ diffusion  of  focus,” 
is  this.  It  has,  so  far  as  I know,  always  been  assumed 
that,  in  using  a diffusion  of  focus  lens,  supposing  a point 
to  be  focussed,  the  ground-glass  will  be  so  adjusted  as 
that  it  will  cut  the  cone  of  light  where  the  diameter  is  the 
smallest — that  is,  at  I on  the  cuts  that  are  given  above.  I 
believe,  however,  that  in  practice  this  is  not  so,  but  that 
focussing  is  done  more  nearly  for  that  part  of  the  cone 
where  the  light  from  the  edges  of  the  lens  comes  to  a focus, 
and  that  for  the  reason  that  a certain  increase  of  diameter 
means  a much  greater  increase  of  area  towards  the  edge  of 
the  lens  than  near  the  middle,  so  that  the  brightness  of  the 
cone  at  that  part  where  the  rays  from  the  edge  of  the  lens 
meet  will  be  far  greater  than  at  any  other  part,  and  focussing 
will  be  done  for  that  part ; where  a point  in  the  image 
will  be  represented  by  a very  small  bright  spot  with  a 
halo  round  it,  points  both  nearer  and  farther  off  being 
represented  by  bright  rings  filled  with  a dimmer  light. 
Focussing  will,  I consider,  be  done  not  for  the  plane  I, 
but  somewhat  more  nearly  for  that  of  i2 . I have  tried — 
not  very  successfully,  I fear— to  show  what  I mean  in 


figure  3.  I have  re-drawn  the  last  figure,  but  showing 
the  lines  that  are  supposed  to  represent  light,  thick  in 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  light  that  passes  through 


the  ring  that  is  immediately  enclosed  by  each  pair  of  lines. 
This  light,  beginning  from  the  centre,  varies  with  equal 
increments  of  diameter,  in  the  ratio  of  the  numbers  1,3,  5, 
7,  &c.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  greatest  concentration  of 
light  is  between  I and  i2.  It  is  already  recognised  as 
advisable  that,  in  the  case  of  a lens  with  adjustable  diffusion 
of  focus,  the  focussing  should  be  done  after  the  adjustment 
is  made.  I think  what  I have  just  explained  is  in  great 
part  the  reason  of  the  advisability. 

Diffusion  of  Focus  in  Landscape  Lenses. — The  lens  above 
mentioned  as  the  invention  of  Dallmeyer,  which  allows  of 
introducing  diffusion  of  focus  at  will,  is  an  expensiv  e form 


■ Continued  from  page  475. 


JcLY  4,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


515 


of  portrait  lens.  It  is  quite  possible,  however,  with  the 
cheapest  form  of  lens — namely,  the  single  landscape  lens — 
to  produce  all  the  effects  of  diffusion  of  focus  simply  by 
increasing  the  opening  to  a certain  extent.  Thus,  a 
single  lens  with  the  opening  increased  to  anything  between 
about  fj  16  and  f/S,  according  to  the  form  and  the  kind 
of  glass  used,  will  give  a very  soft  image,  and  the  apertures 
mentioned  are  such  as  are  quite  sufficient  for  portraiture 
with  modern  dry  plates.  In  fact,  for  very  large  work, 
there  are  reasons  for  preferring  the  single  lens,  with 
aperture  opened  as  described,  to  any  other  form  of 
lens. 

The  only  objection  to  the  single  lens  used  as  described 
is  that,  if  we  wish  diffusion,  we  are  practically  confined  to 
the  use  of  a fixed  aperture,  for  an  aperture  only  a little 
greater  than  that  which  will  give  a pleasantly  soft  image  will 
give  one  that  is  intolerably  fuzzy,  whilst  one  only  a very 
little  less  will  give  an  image  quite  sharp  in  one  plane. 
Another  objection  is  that  in  many  cases,  especially  if  the 
lenses  be  of  second-rate  quality,  the  opening  of  the  aper- 
ture gives  rise,  not  only  to  a certain  amount  of  spherical 
aberration — which  is  wanted — but  to  chromatic  aberration 
also,  which  is  very  troublesome. 

All  this  refers  to  the  use  of  landscape  lenses,  but  for 
portraiture  only.  Until  lately  it  was  considered  that  dif- 
fusion of  focus  was  of  use  only  in  the  case  of  portrait 
work.  I have,  however,  stated  that  recently  some  photo- 
graphers, whose  opinion  must  be  respected  on  account  of 
the  work  that  they  have  done,  have  stated  that  they  think 
that  no  part  even  of  a landscape  should  be  quite  sharp. 
Far  the  best  way  in  which  to  avoid  this  sharpness,  if  it  is 
to  be  avoided,  would  be  to  use  a suitable  diffusion  of  focus 
lens.  Unfortunately,  no  lens  with  diffusion  of  focus 
arrangement  suitable  to  landscape  work  has,  at  the  time 
of  writing,  been  specially  designed.  The  “ portrait  ” or 
“portrait  and  group ’’lens  of  Dallmeycr  is  not  suitable 
except  for  small  sizes,  because,  if  used  nearly  full  aperture, 
some  parts  of  a landscape  are  liable  to  be  put  wildly  out  of 
focus ; if  even  a moderately  small  stop  is  used  the  spherical 
aberration  intentionally  introduced  by  the  diffusion  of 
focus  arrangement  is  corrected,  and  some  plane  of  the 
subject  is  represented  quite  sharply.  Even  the  single 
lens,  if  the  aperture  be  opened  till  there  is  perceptible  dif- 
fusion, will,  in  most  subjects,  except  in  the  case  of  small 
sizes,  give  some  parts  of  the  image  far  too  much  out  of 
focus.  There  is,  at  the  present  time,  some  demand  for  a 
landscape  lens  that  will  allow  of  the  introduction  of  quite 
perceptible  diffusion  at  will,  with  apertures  at  least  down 
to  about  fj 20.  It  should  not  be  a difficult  problem  for 

opticians  to  design  such  a lens,  and  doubtless  we  shall 
have  one  before  very  long. 

[The  table  of  figures  in  Professor  W.  K.  Burton’s  article  on 
the  diffusion  of  focus,  published  in  these  pages  on  June  *20th 
last,  was  calculated  and  compiled  by  Sir  David  Salomons — a 
circumstance  omitted  to  be  stated  at  the  time  because  of  a 
printer’s  error.] 

♦ 

Royal  Institution’. — The  general  monthly  meeting  will  be 
held  on  Monday,  July  7 th,  at  5 p.m. 

Obituary. — The  Rev.  F.  W.  Hardwioh  died  a few  days  ago, 
and  his  departure  is  a great  loss  to  photography.  For  a long 
course  of  years  his  “ Text-Book  on  Photographic  Chemistry” 
was  the  chief  one  connected  with  the  subject,  and  to  this  day  it 
holds  that  position  in  relation  to  the  collodion  process.  We 
also  regret  to  have  to  announce  the  death,  last  Sunday,  of 
Mr.  C.  G.  Collins,  the  camera  maker,  who  was  well-known  and 
respected  by  the  older  photographers  as  well  as  by  those  of  the 
dry-plate  period. 


IMAGINING  AND  IMAGING.* 

BY  PHILIP  H.  NEWMAN. 

That  is  an  ingenious  idea  of  Mr.  Emerson’s  where  he  com- 
pares art  with  the  barometer,  rising  towards  naturalism  and 
falling  to  the  abyss  of  conventionality  ; and  he  tells  us  that  if 
we  map  it  out  we  shall  find  on  the  apices  of  the  ascending 
curves  the  masters  of  sculpture  of  the  Egyptian  and  Assyrian 
Lions,  Phidias,  Van  Eyck  (a  long  jump  that)  Diirer,  Holbein, 
Da  Vinci,  Titian,  Velasquez,  Donatello,  Rembrandt,  De  Hooghe, 
Corot,  Millet,  Gainsborough.  Now  I don’t  suppose  he  will  in 
the  least  mind  which  of  these  we  examine,  so  let  us  take  Van 
Eyck,  and  see  what  the  celebrated  “ Arnolfini  and  his  Wife  ” 
(Mr.  Emerson’s  favourite  picture)  will  prove  for  him.  Now', 
please  believe  me,  I should  be  unworthy  the  title  of  an  artist 
if  I did  not  admire  this  painting  intensely,  and  it  may  be 
granted  at  once  that  you  need  not  be  an  artist  at  all  to  ad- 
mire it,  or  to  realise  its  extraordinary  merits  ; they  are  patent 
at  a cursory  inspection  ; also  that  it  was  unquestionably  painted 
from  nature,  but  with  Mr.  Emerson  we  will  look  deeper.  I 
had  a tolerable  recollection  of  the  picture — as  who  has  not — but 
I have  been  to  the  National  Gallery  on  purpose  to  study  it 
since  reading  Mr.  Emerson’s  book,  and  what  did  I find  ? As 
he  says,  “It  is  wonderful  in  technical  perfection,  in  senti- 
ment, in  truthfulness  of  impression.  Note  the  reflection  of 
the  orange  in  the  mirror,  with  what  skill  it  is  painted  ; it 
fact,  the  whole  is  full  of  life  and  beauty,  the  beauty  of 
naturalism.  It  is  a masterpiece  good  for  all  time,  and  yet  it 
is  but  the  portraits  of  a merchant  and  his  wife.  No  religious 
subject  here  inspired  John  Van  Eyck,  but  a merchant  family, 
yet  in  many  w'ays  the  picture  remains  and  will  remain  unsur- 
passed.” Quite  so.  But  there  is  something  more,  something 
that  is  as  apparent  to  the  student  as  its  naturalism,  or  any  of 
the  qualities  we  have  enumerated,  something  that  needs  no 
searching  analysis,  something  anyone  may  see,  something  John 
Van  Eyck  would  have  been  the  first  to  admit,  but  which  Mr. 
Emerson  has  not  referred  to. 

This  something,  what  is  it  ? It  is  conventionality,  style, 
and  without  which  this  picture  w'ould  not,  in  an  artist’s  opinion, 
be  the  magnificent  work  of  art  it  is.  The  folds  of  the 
drapery  in  the  wife’s  robes  denote  careful  arrangement  and 
conventional  treatment  and  drawing,  indicative  of  the  style 
of  the  period  ; that  due  ordination  and  sub-ordination  of 
parts  of  magisterial  line  and  breadth  of  effect  discoverable  in 
this  school,  and  manifest  in  this  and  other  important  works 
of  the  accomplished  master.  Undoubtedly  this,  as  in  many 
w’orks  of  the  period  in  the  Low  Countries,  is  wonderful  to  have 
been  done  without  the  aid  of  photography,  and  it  would  well 
serve  Mr.  Emerson,  or  anyone  else,  as  a text  to  enlarge  upon, 
as  to  how  photography  can  be  made  useful  to  painters  ; but 
he  has  only  chosen  to  use  this  illustration  to  show  how  Van 
Eyck  went  direct  to  nature  for  his  models  ; but  this  needs  no 
insistance.  Raphael,  and  many  other  painters  whom  Mr. 
Emerson  abuses,  did  precisely  the  same  thing,  and  conventional- 
ised no  more  than  Van  Eyck  has  done  (for  pace  Mr.  Emerson) 
I must  maintain  the  picture  is  brimming  with  conventionality 
and  style,  a style  that  was  carried  on  among  the  Flemings  to 
Holbein's  time,  and  is  conspicuous  happily  in  his  best  work. 
But  why  does  this  painting  at  the  end  of  the  middle  age 
period  attract  our  author’s  notice  so  much?  Is  it  because  he 
thinks  that  it  at  all  shows  what  might  be  obtained  if  photo- 
graphy could  ever  be  done  in  colouis  ? If  such  is  his  idea,  let 
me  tell  him  at  once  that  he  would  be  dreadfully  disappointed, 
for  he  would  miss  that  added  charm  of  individuality,  without 
which  no  w’ork,  pictorial  or  glyptic,  appeals  to  us  or  retains 
our  sympathy  ; that  charm  that  comes  of  art  w'hicli  is  based 
on  a study  of  nature,  but  which  is  a totally  different  charm  to 
that  of  nature,  excepting  now  and  again  in  her  rarest  moods, 
or  where  man  has  meddled  with  but  not  marred  her. 

But  if  a man  photographs  a field  or  sea,  and  paints  up  to 
his  transferred  outline  from  colour  memoranda,  and  many 
studies,  and  never  so  well,  Mr.  Emerson  is  horrified  at  what 
he  calls  a counterfeit,  howbeit  landscape  and  see  painting 
based  upon  such  counterfeiting  has  reached  a higher  standard  of 

' Continued  from  page  4 ltd. 


516 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  4,  1890. 


excellence — as  mere  painting — than  at  any  time  in  the  world’s 
history. 

Then  what  about  imagining  and  imaging  ? Where  may  the  two 
combine,  and  where,  from  the  camera  point  of  view,  must  they 
be  friends  apart  ? Mr.  Emerson  has  cut  the  Gordian  knot,  but 
he  has  not  solved  the  difficulty  ; he  ridicules  an  ideal,  except- 
ing what  may  come  of  itself  out  of  nature,  so  the  art  of  diffi- 
culty, as  far  as  he  is  concerned,  remains  precisely  where  it  was. 
The  fact  is,  each  of  us  must  solve  the  difficulty  for  himself, 
and  in  his  own  way.  If  he  be  a genius  he  will  have  little 
trouble  ; if  he  is  not,  he  will  save  himself  many  plates,  much 
chemicals,  and  more  disappointment  if  he  looks  up  some  of 
the  authorities  our  author  affects  to  despise  ; and  whether  the 
photographer  be  a genius  or  not,  it  will  be  just  as  well  for  him 
to  see  where  others  have  succeeded  and  where  failed.  Amongst 
these  he  will,  of  course,  come  across  Rejlander,  and  will  see 
that  he  kept  imaging  and  imagining  together  to  a very  wonder- 
ful extent  indeed,  and  he  only  failed  because  of  his  models.  If 
he  could  have  obtained  some  of  the  models  Phidias  and  Apelles 
could  get,  the  history  of  photography  would  have  been  as  great 
in  aesthetics  as  it  is  in  science.  Photography  is  not  to  blame 
for  this  ; she  must  be  content  with  the  models  she  can  get,  and 
do  the  best  she  can  with  them  ; and  very  much  she  can  do,  if 
the  artistic  faculty  is  cultivated  (if  not  native)  by  a searching 
study  of  the  old  masters  of  form,  sentiment,  and  composition, 
and  especially  if  the  photographers  will  abstain  from  short- 
focus  lenses,  and  can  be  persuaded  to  burn  all  their  small  stops. 
Bad  photography  has  a great  deal  to  answer  for  in  the  multi- 
plication of  copies  of  inferior  work,  leading  our  attention  to 
detail  rather  than  to  breadth  and  simplicity,  which  should  be 
the  characteristic  of  all  art,  pictorial  or  glyptic.  False  notions 
of  taste  must,  of  necessity,  be  encouraged  by  such  multiplica- 
tion, especially  in  those  less  cultivated  minds  which  look  upon 
every  photograph  as  a picture.  This  alone  should  stimulate 
every  photographer  to  strive  for  the  best  from  an  art  point  of 
view. 

The  matter  of  detail  has  affected  the  arts  of  design  and 
picture  painting  alike,  and  very  importantly  ; its  influence  is 
discernible  in  every  exhibition,  and  is  distinctly  a bad  one  in 
the  true  interests  of  art.  I am  glad  to  think  that  my  views 
coincide  with  Mr.  Emerson’s  on  detail  in  art  work,  and  agree 
with  him  as  to  its  limitations  to  that  which  is  fundamentally 
necessary.  I have  alluded  to  this  question  of  detail  in  another 
lecture,*  but  I feel  its  import  so  greatly  as  to  dwell  upon  it 
with  renewed  emphasis  here. 

The  tendency'  of  artists  to  paint  bits,  and  amateurs  to 
purchase  them,  was  never  so  great  as  in  the  present  day. 
Nothing  could  be  said  against  it  were  these  bits  looked  upon 
— as  they'  should  be — as  merely'  a means  to  some  great  and 
legitimate  artistic  end  ; but  when  one  is  deafened  by  the 
parrot  cry  of  “Nature,  nature,  nature!”  one  is  apt  to  lose 
patience  and  ask,  Why'  is  this  aimless  sort  of  thing  going  on — 
this  painting  of  elaborate  passages  in  nature,  with  subtle 
reflections  and  interminable  detail  that  tell  us  nothing  but 
that  in  competition  with  the  camera  man’s  eye  and  brain  are 
inferior  instruments,  if  the  product  is  to  be  looked  at  as  the 
true  end  of  fine  art  ? Well,  I do  not  believe  it  is,  or  ever 
will  be.  We  are  passing  through  phases  of  change  ; if  the 
camera  has  stimulated  some  of  our  younger  painters  to  study 
nature  lovingly  and  searchingly,  they'  must  look  upon  it  as  a 
means  to  an  end  ; and  while  they  may  be  congratulated  on 
escaping  the  far  more  dangerous  Charybdis  of  a tricky  im- 
pressionism— as  demoralising  as  it  is  false — they  must  avoid  the 
Scylla  of  sacrificing  breadth  to  detail.  The  image  should  on 
no  account  content  them  unless  it  bodies  forth  their  highest 
thoughts  and  aspirations  and  most  poetical  ideas. 

People  talk  of  realism  and  idealism,  impressionism  and 
naturalism,  fashionable  verbiage  that  only  conjures  up  the 
ghosts  of  things  in  art  ; they  seem  quite  to  forget,  or  to  ignore, 
that  these  isms  are  but  the  robes  of  art,  the  fanciful  draperies 
with  which  the  goddess  coquettes  with  all  but  her  true 
votaries,  or  illusory  fires  with  which,  like  a will-o’-the-wisp,  she 
leads  a purblind  and  bungling  dilettanteisv i into  the  hoglaiul 
of  cant  and  empty  phrases.  No  ! art  is  not  got  on  easy  terms  ; 

* See  Photographic  News,  March  7th,  1890. 


she  is  ever  a coy  goddess  ; but  when  you  can  unveil  her  of 
these  isms,  and  you  are  really  face  to  face,  you  will  find  her 
the  same  to-day  as  she  was  far  back  across  the  dim  centuries 
to  your  predecessors — fair,  modest,  truthful,  with  wide,  honest 
eyes,  searching  the  hearts  of  man,  sounding  the  intellectual 
depths  of  struggling  human  nature,  telling  truths  calmly, 
piously,  earnestly,  affording  her  true  worshippers  most  gracious 
and  pleasant  consolation,  and  ennobling  them  for  ever.  I warn 
you  that  art  that  does  not  do  all  this  is  not  true  art, 
but  one  of  those  weird  lights  that  will  drown  your  soul  in  a 
quagmire. 

Mr.  Emerson  is  exceedingly  bitter  on  the  religious  side  of 

art.  We,  of  course,  must  all  regret  as  much  as  he  that  priest- 
craft at  many  periods  did  put  it  in  fetters,  but,  without  being 
fanatical,  it  is  possible  and  just  to  be  grateful  to  the  religions 
of  the  world — heathen  or  Christian — for  creating  and  preserving 
to  us  the  monuments  that  exist.  It  may  be  weakness,  but  I 
am  none  the  less  proud  of  it,  that  when  I stand  before  the 
cathedrals  of  this  country,  or  northern  France,  I am  thankful 
to  be  alive  to  see  them,  and  to  know  that  the  bishop  builders 
have  formulated  for  me  a prayer  in  stone.  Am  I,  are  you,  to 
put  these  things  by  as  toys  of  a puerile  age,  and  say,  “ All  senti- 
ment, my  dear  sir  ? Art  teaches  us  better  now  ; the  bishop 
builders  were  all  very  well  in  their  way,  but  the  French  Revo- 
lution, plus  the  Zolaciples,  gives  us  a truer  gospel,  don’t  cher 
know  ; you’ll  see  it  through  the  camera  if  you’ll  only  stick  to 
nature.”  I often  wonder  if  men  who  practically  say  or  think 
this  sort  of  thing  know  anything  about  art  at  all ; they 
certainly  don’t  expect  art  to  say  anything  to  them  or  teach 
them  anything.  One  says  to  you,  “ I don’t  want  the  story  at 
second-hand  ; I know  the  page  of  I.empriere  the  artist  got  it 
from  ; ” and  so,  forsooth,  because  he  has  not  invented  a legend 
he  fs  not  to  paint  it.  Because  he  has  never  seen  a hero  he  is 
not  to  imagine  one,  and  give  pleasure  and  instruction  to  a less 
imaginative  brother  by  a picture  for  fear  the  brother  should 

ask,  “ Are  you  sure  it  all  happened  just  so?”  or  say,  “Of 
course  you  photographed  the  hero,  dear  boy'.” 

Fancy  a painter  being  commissioned  for  a picture  or  fresco 
of  Prudence  for  the  adornment  of  a town  hall  or  law  courts, 
and  being  prohibited  from  using  the  admirable  and  instructive 
subject  of  I lyssesand  the  Syrens  because  the  painter — let  him 
be  able  to  paint  evei  so  poetically — did  not  invent  the  story, 
and  could  not  get  a photograph  of  the  syrens.  Again,  and  for 
similar  reasons,  I am  not  to  buy'  a Perseus  and  Andromeda  to 
hang  upon  my  walls,  do  I want  a lesson  in  chivalry  never  so 
much.  Some  of  the  rising  painters  have  laid  these  teachings 
somewhat  to  heart,  and  to  their  cost,  for,  instead  of  boldly 
taxing  their  imagination,  they  have  tried  to  make  a compromise 
between  nature  and  art.  A most  ludicrous  instance  of  this  is 
present  to  my  mind,  where  the  subject  painted  was  this  very 
Perseus  and  Andromeda  naturalistically  treated  ; the  figures 
were  fairly  painted,  as  paintings,  and  undoubtedly  extremely 
like  the  models,  but  these,  of  course,  were  of  such  a poor  and 
unheroic  type  as  to  suggest  that  they  had  by  some  means  been 
deserted  by  their  bathing  machines.  The  monster  was  too 
flabby  to  describe.  Another  Andromeda  occurs  to  me;  here 
the  painter  had  exercised  all  the  imagination  he  was  capable  of, 
and  had  used  his  model  so  judiciously  as  to  obtain  a fine  figure  ; 
yet  his  mistake  was  as  grave  as  in  the  former  case.  This 
Andromeda  seemed,  excepting  for  her  silver  handcuffs  and 
chain,  to  be  sunning  herself  after  the  bath,  while  the  emerald 
waves  and  purple  islets  suggested  a strand  where  monsters 
never  came  and  chivalry  was  scarcely  needed.  The  poetical 
insight  wanting  in  these  instances  might  serve  to  support  Mr. 
Emerson’s  argument  against  painting  such  subjects,  did  we  not 
know  that  it  has  been  painted  worthily  more  than  once  in  our 
own  time  ; and,  above  all,  remember  that  while  painters  are 
many',  artists  are,  and  ever  will  be,  few. 

(To  be  continued.) 

The  Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  discussion  on 
July  9th  will  be  “Photographing  Theatrical  Scenes  Report 
of  the  Convention  Delegates.  July  16th — “Iron  Printing 
Processes.”  Saturday,  July  12th — Outing  at  Iiickmansworth  ; 
train  from  Baker  Street  at  2.16. 


July  4,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


517 


NOTES.* 

1SY  COLONEL  J.  WATERHOUSE,  II.  S.  C.,  ASSISTANT  SURVEYOR- 
GENERAL  Ot'  INDIA. 

Eikonogen  Developer. — Some  eikonogen,  lately  received 
from  Europe,  was  on  arrival  in  crystals  of  a pale  yellow 
colour,  quite  free  from  brownness  ; but,  in  the  course  of 
a few  days,  it  gradually  turned  of  a deep  brown  purple 
colour,  though  kept  unopened.  This  coloured  coating 
dissolves  easily,  forming  a solution  of  a strong  brown- 
madder  colour,  leaving  the  clear  crystals,  which  are  not  so 
soluble. 

For  developing,  the  solution  recommended  by  the  maker 
in  the  printed  instructions  given  with  the  eikonogen  was 
not  found  to  answer.  A better  developer  is  that  given  by 
Dr.  J.  Nicol  in  the  American  Annual  and  Photographic  Times 
Almanac  as  below.  It  works  well  with  Wratten’s  plates 
and  with  Eastman  andother  films.  The  formula  is — 

A.  — Eikonogen  ...  ...  5 grammes  or  ounces 

Sodium  sulphite  ...  10  ,,  ,, 

Water  ...  ...  100  cub.  cents,  or  fl.  oz. 

B.  — Sodium  corbonate  ...  7 ‘5  grammes  or  ounces 

Water  ...  ...  100  cub.  cents,  or  11.  oz. 

For  ordinary  use,  to  one  part  of  .1  aud  one  part  of  D add 
two  parts  of  water ; but  the  proportions  may  be  varied, 
density  and  contrast  being  increased  by  adding  more  of 
.1  or  less  of  B,  or  vice  versa.  Bromide  is  not  necessary, 
but  in  hot  weather  a little  would  probably  be  an  improve- 
ment. 

When  solution  A is  made  with  the  fresh  yellow  crystals, 
it  has  only  a pale  yellow  or  greenish  colour ; but  if  the 
crystals  have  become  brown,  the  solution  is  a dark  green, 
becoming  gradually  darker  by  keeping,  especially  by 
access  of  air.  It  should,  therefore,  be  kept  in  well  closed 
bottles  filled  up.  The  mixed  developer  has  a yellowish 
colour,  and  does  not  become  very  dark  by  use.  Several 
plates  can  be  developed  in  the  same  solution,  a little  fresh 
being  added  if  necessary,  or  the  plate  may  be  transferred 
to  a fresh  bath  to  bring  out  detail  in  deep  shadows.  In 
some  cases  a better  method  will  be  that  described  by  Mr. 
B.  J.  Edwards  in  this  year’s  Year-Book  oe  Photography, 
of  first  developing  with  a normal  developer  to  bring  out 
detail,  and  then  finishing  off  and  gaining  intensity  by  a 
similar  developer  with  a full  dose  of  the  developing  agent 
restrained  by  bromide,  because  the  eikonogen  seems  to 
have  a tendency  to  give  a thin  image  full  of  detail,  and 
special  treatment  may  be  required  to  give  force  and 
brilliancy. 

The  above  developer  works  very  cleanly,  and  is  quite 
free  from  any  tendency  to  stain  either  plates  or  fingers. 
With  it,  as  with  other  developers,  the  character  of  the 
result  seems  to  depend  on  the  idiosyncrasy  of  the  par- 
ticular make  of  plate  used,  though  this  does  not  appear 
to  be  so  much  the  case  as  with  hydroquinone.  On  the 
whole,  eikonogen  seems  likely  to  be  a valuable  addition  to 
our  resources,  especially  for  instantaneous  work,  and 
probably  for  developing  paper  prints. 

Eastmans  New  Films. — The  new  transparent  film  for 
use  in  roller  slides,  brought  out  by  Messrs.  Eastman  and 
Co.,  has  many  good  qualities,  but  several  improvements 
must  be  made  in  its  manufacture  before  it  can  be  con- 
sidered perfect. 

It  appears  to  be  made  from  a solution  of  pyroxy- 
i'lorn  the  Journal  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  India. 


line  in  acetate  of  amyl,  with  the  addition  of  a large  pro- 
portion of  camphor.  As  was  pointed  out  by  the  writer  in 
the  Photographic  News  in  March  last  year,  collodion 
prepared  with  acetate  of  amyl  gives  a very  structureless, 
tough  film,  and  it  was  suggested  that  such  a film  would 
be  very  suitable  as  a support  for  gelatine  emulsion,  as  the 
new  Eastman  films  show  it  to  be.  These  films  are  beauti- 
fully clear  and  colourless,  showing  only  a very  slight 
colour  on  white  paper,  but  unfortunately  they  are  full  of 
small  specks  of  dust  or  undissolved  material,  which  cause 
lumps  on  one  side  of  the  film  and  corresponding  hollows 
on  the  other.  The  slight  want  of  contact  may  not  be  of 
much  consequence  in  printing,  but  for  all  enlarging  pur- 
poses these  spots  greatly  diminish  the  value  of  the  films, 
and  would  ruin  the  appearance  of  the  prints  from  them. 
At  present  the  writer  has  only  used  the  films  in  the 
ordinary  Eastman  carriers,  cutting  off  pieces  of  film  from 
the  roll  as  required ; but  it  is  difficult  to  get  them  to  lie 
flat  in  the  carrier  frames,  and  the  thicker  celluloid  films 
are  much  better  in  this  respect.  The  films  arc  very  sensi- 
tive, and  work  clearly  and  well  with  the  eikonogen  de- 
veloper ; they  stand  a high  temperature  fairly  well  without 
ice  or  the  alum  bath,  and  give  very  perfect  sharpness  of 
detail,  more  so  than  the  matt-surfaced  celluloid  films. 
Some  of  the  writer’s  negatives  show  another  very  peculiar 
defect,  a kind  of  branch-like  markings  all  over  the  image, 
but  specially  noticeable  in  parts  of  an  even  medium 
density,  such  as  sheets  of  water,  and  they  may  most  easily 
be  seen  crossing  the  blank  margins,  where  the  film  has 
been  protected  from  the  light  by  the  carrier  frames.  This 
defect  has,  the  writer  believes,  been  noticed  in  some  of 
the  journals,  and  attributed  to  electrical  action,  an 
assumption  which  is  well  warranted  hy  their  appearance  ; 
but  how  the  markings  are  produced,  whether  by  tension 
or  strains  caused  in  rolling  the  .films  on  the  spools,  or 
in  stripping  them  from  their  original  supports  in  a very 
dry  atmosphere,  there  is  nothing  to  show.  If  a piece  of 
film  be  cut  off  the  roll  and  developed  without  being  exposed 
to  light,  the  marks  may  be  seen  very  clearly  in  branched 
and  single  lines  running  in  the  direction  of  the  length  of  the 
films.  They  have  the  appearance  of  being  produced  by 
faint  sparks.  A piece  of  the  film  crumpled  up  strongly 
in  the  hand,  then  opened  out  and  developed,  showed  no 
such  marks  due  to  the  crumpling,  nor  did  pulling  out  the 
film  strongly  in  jerks  show  any ; though  in  the  present 
very  damp  state  of  the  air  here  it  would  be  difficult  to 
excite  electrical  action.  The  marks  seem  to  occur  only 
in  patches  on  the  films.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  their 
cause  will  be  discovered  and  removed. 

Notwithstanding  these  defects,  which  seem  likely  to  be 
easily  remediable,  the  new  films  promise  to  be  an  enormous 
improvement  over  paper  films  in  the  roller  slide,  for  which 
they  are  specially  adapted.  The  writer  has  found  that 
paper  films  fail  entirely  in  cases  when  they  have  to  be 
kept  a long  time  between  exposure  and  development,  and 
are  practically  useless  for  travellers  and  explorers  unless 
they  are  developed  immediately  or  within  a month  or  two 
of  exposure.  The  writer  has  not  had  a good  opportunity 
of  testing  the  keeping  qualities  of  exposed  celluloid  films  ; 
but  he  has  found  that  the  films  themselves  lose  much  of 
their  original  sensitiveness  by  keeping  even  a few  months. 
Some  very  sensitive  American  films  which  were  received 
here  in  August  last  are  now  only  of  an  ordinary  sensitive- 
ness, but  otherwise  good.  No  particular  precautions 
have,  however,  been  taken  in  keeping  them,  and  they  have 
been  taken  to  Europe  and  back  in  the  time. 


518 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  4,  1890. 


Advei-tising  detective  agencies  move  with  the  times. 
One  advertises  in  this  fashion:  “ Instantaneous  photo- 
graphy for  secretly  securing  photographs  of  persons 
when  together  or  separately,  for  identification  and 
corroboration.”  We  are  rather  inclined  to  think 
the  advertiser,  like  the  lady  in  the  play,  protests  too 
much.  “ Instantaneous  photography  for  secretly 
securing  photographs  of  persons  when  together  or 
separately,”  is  all  very  well  in  theory,  but  difficult 
to  reduce  to  practice.  Still,  we  do  not  doubt  the 
possibility  in  a good  light.  It  would  be  instruc- 
tive to  have  the  experiences  of  the  operators  in  the 
employ  of  the  detective  agency  ; at  the  same  time,  it  is 
quite  possible  (if  a story  coming  from  Paris  be  true) 
to  turn  photography  in  such  cases  as  are  hinted  at 
in  the  advertisement  to  a questionable  use.  The 
Parisian  story  is,  that  an  Austrian  gentleman,  after 
dining  at  his  hotel,  went  out  to  enjoy  a walk  in  the 
Bois,  and,  suddenly  remembering  an  appointment  he 
had  made,  summoned  a cab  to  take  him  in  the  direction 
lie  had  to  go.  He  had  not  been  in  the  cab  many 
minutes  before  it  stopped,  and  a man  entered  it  quickly, 
and  closed  the  door  behind  him.  Before  the  Austrian 
had  time  to  cry  out,  a handkerchief  saturated  with 
chloroform  was  held  to  his  face,  and  ho  became  partially 
unconscious  ; the  next  thing  he  knew  was  that  he  was 
in  a room,  and  was  being  photographed  by  the  electric 
light.  The  explanation  of  this  mysterious  business  is 
that  the  gentleman’s  wife  was  anxious  to  obtain  a 
divorce  from  him,  and  to  bring  about  the  object  she 
took  steps  to  obtain  a photograph  of  her  husband.  All, 
then,  that  was  necessary  for  the  fabrication  of  an 
accusing  picture  was  to  procure  a photograph  of  a 
notorious  lady,  and  to  combine  the  two  pictures, 
“ which,”  says  the  paper  relating  this  veracious  story, 
“ could  be  easily  done  by  an  ordinary  photographer.” 
Wo  should  say  that  there  was  about  as  much  truth 
in  this  story  as  there  is  in  the  efficacy  of  the  photo- 
graphic appliance  advertised  by  the  detective  agency. 

It  is  impossible  to  commend  the  use  to  which  an 
American  firm  of  publishers  has  applied  the  art  of 
photography.  They  photographed  the  pages  of  the 
“Encyclopaedia  Britannica,”  and  from  the  photo- 
graphic plates  printed  and  sold  a spurious  edition. 
Fortunately,  some  of  the  articles  were  written  by 
Americans  and  copyrighted  in  America,  and  thus 
Messrs.  A.  and  C.  Black,  the  owners,  were  able  to 
proceed  against  the  infringers  of  their  rights.  It  is 
curious  to  note  that  the  point  upon  which  the  English 
firm  Avas  able  to  obtain  judgment  was  also  made  use 
of  as  a defence,  the  defendants  contending  that  these 
articles  by  American  writers  were  nothing  less  than  a 
trap  laid  for  the  American  public  and  American  pub- 
lishers. If  this  be  so,  all  that  an  impartial  person  can 
say  is,  so  much  the  better. 

Lenses  whose  behaviour  is  eccentric  are  not  unfami- 
liar to  photographers.  A lens  which  has  hitherto 


borne  an  irreproachable  character  has  been  known  to 
refuse  to  come  to  a sharp  focus,  and  to  otherwise  annoy 
its  owner.  Indeed,  one  well-known  photographer  in 
such  a case  has  been  heard  to  express  an  opinion 
gravely  that  the  lens  was  drunk.  However  this  may 
be,  a microscopical  objective  seems  recently  to  have 
behaved  in  a most  extraordinary  manner,  as  the  pro- 
ceedings at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Royal  Microscopical 
Society  will  show.  It  appears  that  a committee,  con- 
sisting of  Mr.  Mayall,  Dr.  Dallinger,  and  Mr.  E.  M. 
Nelson,  had  been  appointed  to  examine  a new  objective 
in  which  great  interest  was  manifested,  and  a report 
was  to  have  been  submitted  to  the  members  at  the  last 
meeting.  The  committee,  however,  failed  to  bring  up 
the  report,  and  for  a full  and  sufficient  reason. 

Mr.  Mayall  explained  that  when  the  committee  pro- 
ceeded to  test  the  objective  by  photographing  an 
object,  they  fouad,  to  their  disappointment,  that  the 
visual  and  actinic  foci  were  not  coincident.  However, 
by  guessing  what  focal  allowance  to  make,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  out  of  the  out-of- visual-focus  a very 
nearly  sharp  photograph.  But  as  this  want  of  coin- 
cidence would  have  made  the  lens  very  inconvenient 
to  use,  they  returned  it  to  Jena  for  alteration.  After 
a lapse  of  several  weeks  Dr.  Czapski,  of  Jena,  replied 
that  he  had  not  found  any  trace  of  a “ chemical  ” focus 
non-coincident  with  the  visual  focus,  and  the  objective 
was  again  forwarded  to  London.  Again  the  committee 
went  to  work,  and  this  time  the  visual  focus  agreed 
with  the  focus  in  the  photograph.  In  fact,  as  Mr. 
Mayall  remarked,  the  transit  of  the  objective  from 
London  to  Jena  had  somehow  got  rid  of  the  “ chemical  ” 
focus.  This,  to  say  the  least,  is  unsatisfactory,  and  we 
would  have  wished  that  some  other  explanation  had 
been  given.  The  Microscopical  Society  evidently  were 
not  equal  to  the  task  of  solving  the  mystery,  and 
unless  the  theory  of  the  photographer  mentioned  above 
be  accepted,  it  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  abnormal 
condition  of  the  lens  in  question. 

A curious  experiment  in  what  may  be  called  stereo- 
scopic science  has  been  made  by  Dr.  Schobben,  a 
member  of  the  Antwerp  section  of  the  Belgian  Photo- 
graphic Association.  Recently  he  exhibited  before 
the  section  a series  of  stereoscopic  views  shown  by  two 
lanterns  placed  side  by  side.  Each  lantern  contained 
half  a stereoscopic  view,  and  a coloured  glass  was 
placed  in  front  of  the  lens,  red  for  the  view  on  the 
right-hand  side,  and  green  for  that  on  the  left.  The 
views  were  then  thrown  on  the  screen,  and  the  spectator 
looked  at  them  through  a pair  of  spectacles  with  red 
and  green  glasses  (red  for  the  right  eye,  and  green  for 
the  left).  The  result  was,  it  is  alleged,  that  the 
spectator  saw  a non-coloured  image  with  as  much  relief 
as  in  the  stereoscope. 

Here  are  a few  foreign  items  which  may  not  be  with- 
out interest.  A new  photographic  society  lias  been 
started  in  Amsterdam.  Photographs  are  admissible  at 
the  forthcoming  exhibition  of  architecture  in  Italy. 


July  4,  1890.J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


519 


This,  by  the  way,  is  the  first  of  the  kind  ever  held  in 
that  country.  The  photographic  exhibition  which  has 
been  in  course  of  organization  at  Grenoble  was  opened 
on  Tuesday,  and  will  close  on  the  30th  of  August.  A 
very  admirable  specimen  of  photo-collography  by 
M.  Balagny  is  presented  with  the  June  number  of  the 
Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Francaise  de  Photographie.  The 
subject  is  a view  of  the  interior  of  the  Paris  Exhibition. 


A smart  piece  of  work  was  done  by  a newspaper 
agency  over  the  appointment  of  Sir  Edward  Bradford, 
the  new  Commissioner  of  Police.  The  secret  as  to  the 
successor  of  Mr.  Monro  had  been  well  kept,  and  until 
the  announcement  was  actually  made  in  the  House  of 
Commons  on  Friday  night  no  one  knew  anything  of  the 
matter.  Yet  the  early  editions  of  the  evening  papers 
of  the  next  day  contained  a very  fairly-executed  portrait 
from  a photograph.  Possibly  Sir  Edward  knew  what 
was  in  store  for  him  when  the  appointment  was  made 
known,  and  had  his  photograph  in  readiness  for  the 
journalistic  artist. 


A Boston  blacksmith  has  made  a discovery  that  may 
revolutionise  the  arts  of  photo-engraving,  electrotyping, 
and  even  type-setting.  He  has  found  that  pen-and- 
ink  sketches  on  common  writing  paper  can  be  trans- 
ferred to  iron  as  distinctly  as  if  the  mould  was  of 
greater  size.  Two  plates,  one  3£  by  5 inches,  and  the 
other  5 by  6 inches,  are  shown  by  him  as  a proof  of 
his  ingenuity.  Upon  the  smallest  one  is  written  the 
Lord’s  Prayer,  the  letters  being  quite  distinct.  The 
others  contain  outline  drawings.  He  explains  his  work 
in  this  way  : “ What  you  see  on  them  is  done  with  a 
common  steel  pen  on  a piece  of  thin  paper.  The  paper, 
when  prepared,  is  pinned  into  a sand  mould,  iron  is 
poured  into  the  mould,  and  the  writing  is  transferred 
to  the  casting.”  The  explanation  is  not  quite  so  satis- 
factory as  one  could  wish.  As  the  white  rabbit  said  in 
“ Alice  in  Wonderland,”  “there  is  a good  deal  to  be 
done  first.”  What  does  the  inventor  mean  when  he  says, 
“the  paper,  when  prepared  ?”  How  prepared?  He 
seems  to  have  missed  what,  probably,  is  the  most  im- 
portant part  of  the  process. 


We  were  told  lately  by  a well-known  manufacturer 
of  photographic  apparatus  that  there  is  an  extra- 
ordinary demand  for  detective  cameras  this  season,  and 
that  although  he  had  a large  staff  of  men  at  work  on 
these  articles  alone,  he  could  not  keep  pace  with  the 
demand.  It  seems  incredible  to  those  who  are  not 
experts  that  this  instrument  should  have  become  so 
popular,  and  yet  that  it  should  not  fulfil  its  destiny 
and  justify  its  name  by  being  used  by  our  police  force 
for  the  detection  of  wrong-doers.  At  one  time  there 
were  hopes  raised  that  by  its  deterrent  aid  crime  would 
become  almost  extinct.  But  all  good  photographers 
know  well  that  this  blissful  state  of  things  will  never 
come  to  pass  through  the  aid  of  secret  camera  work, 
unless,  indeed,  the  criminal  classes  will  consent  to  pose 
themselves  on  sunny  days  in  front  of  the  instrument. 


Our  weather  is  too  precarious,  our  streets  are  too  dark, 
and  our  quarry  is  too  sharp  to  enable  us  to  execute  any 
such  work  in  a haphazard  kind  of  way. 

Gelatine  plates  are  usually  of  such  excellent  quality 
that  few  failures  can  reasonably  be  ascribed  to  them. 
A case  was,  however,  brought  before  our  notice  the 
other  day  where  a raw  amateur  had  complained  to  the 
maker  of  one  of  the  best  brands  of  plates  in  his  market, 
that  several  of  his  pictures  had  been  spoilt  by  pinholes 
in  the  film,  and  he  sent  one  of  his  negatives,  with 
his  letter  of  complaint,  as  a guarantee  of  good  faith. 
The  maker  was  able  to  prove,  by  raising  a portion  of 
the  film  from  the  glass,  that  it  contained  no  holes,  and 
that  the  clear  spots  on  the  surface  were  due  to  careless 
development.  Many  workers  are  apt  to  forget  that 
certain  samples  of  gelatine  are  at  first  most  repellent 
of  water,  and  that  it  is  a wise  jprecaution  with  all 
plates  to  use  a soft  camel-hair  brush,  in  order  to 
establish  contact  between  film  and  liquid. 


The  “Obernetter”  adds  yet  another  film  to  the 
many  which  are  now  on  the  market,  and  it  appears  to 
be  a preparation  of  gelatine  rendered  insoluble,  and  to 
resemble  celluloid  in  all  its  good  qualities.  We  trust 
that  it  will  be  found  possible  to  sell  it  at  a price  which 
will  approximate  to  the  price  of  ordinary  dry  plates, 
for  the  great  difference  in  cost  between  celluloid  and 
the  plates  which  it  aims  at  superseding  is  the  chief 
stumbling  block  to  its  use.  Another  consideration 
which  at  present  bars  these  films  is  the  difficulty  of 
adapting  them  to  apparatus  which  has  been  made  to 
accommodate  glass  plates  without  a considerable  amount 
of  trouble  and  inconvenience.  Modern  workers  lack 
the  patience  of  their  forefathers,  and  will  not  be 
troubled  with  difficulties  if  they  can  possibly  help  it, 
but  still  the  £ s.  d.  matter  is  the  one  which  they 
consider  most. 


Photographers  who  have  had  leisure  on  their  hands, 
and  who  have  not  been  obliged  to  consider  too  much 
the  bread  and  butter  side  of  their  work,  have  often 
produced  amusing  puzzle  photographs.  These  have 
generally  consisted  of  such  subjects  as  a man  playing 
chess  with  himself,  or  a person  holding  his  own  head 
in  a dish,  and  so  on.  Most  photographers  know  how 
such  things  can  be  done,  but  few  would  imagine  that 
the  pictures  were  possessed  of  any  marketable  value. 
A certain  transatlantic  worker  thinks  differently, 
and  he  advertises  that  he  will  show  all  his  hanky- 
panky  tricks — which  he  calls  “ freak  photography  ” — 
for  a compensatory  number  of  dollars.  This  is  quite 
excusable  in  an  American,  for  it  is  well  known  that  he 
can  see  money  in  a thing  where  a Britisher  would  dis- 
cern no  glitter  of  hope.  It  was  only  the  other  day 
that  a report  reached  America  that  Sarah  Bernhardt 
might  possibly  have  to  lose  a leg  by  amputation.  An 
American  speculator  immediately  wired  that  he  would 
— if  the  event  came  off — give  a long  price  for  the 
limb  and  the  sole  right  to  exhibit  it.  We  slow 
Britishers  would  never  have  thought  of  such  a thing. 


520 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITIONS. 

BY  GEORGE  DAVISON. 

No.  V.  —Hanging  Committees  and  “ Amateur  and 
Professional.” 

It  is  a necessary  consequence  of  any  system  from  which 
picture  classification  and  prizes  are  banished  that  there 
should  be  a strict  and  competent  hanging  committee, 
which  should  reject  all  inferior  exhibits  without  fear  or 
favour.  The  best  committee  would  consist  of  those  held 
to  be  qualified  judges,  provided  that  some  or  all  of  them 
possessed  practical  experience  in  arranging  and  hanging 
pictures.  As  compared  with  the  task  of  selecting  those 
pictures  which  possess  artistic  qualities,  it  may  seem  com- 
paratively easy  to  weed  out  what  is  distinctly  inferior,  and 
a board  consisting  of  ordinary  practical  photographers 
might,  perhaps,  do  this  with  fair  accuracy.  At  the  same  time, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  functions  of  a hanging  com- 
mittee are  by  no  means  limited  to  rejection  of  the  worst 
entries.  They  also  include  distinguishing  in  a broad  way  the 
degrees  of  merit,  to  ensure  that  a picture  of  the  highest  qual- 
ity shall  not  be  placed  in  an  inferior  position.  The  best 
exhibition  would  undoubtedly  be  one  iu  which  only  such 
work  is  accepted  as  would  be  worthy  of  a place  on  or  next 
the  line.  Pictures  which  are  held  to  be  fairly  treated  by 
“skying”  or  “flooring”  ought  not  to  be  accepted  at  all. 
It  is  a common  thing  to  hear  even  the  exhibitors  them- 
selves say  that  they  would  rather  not  have  their  pictures 
hung  at  all  than  have  them  put  out  of  reach  of  inspection. 

It  is  essential,  then,  that  there  should  be  amongst  the 
members  of  a hanging  committee  those  who  are  free  from 
what  may  be  called  photographic  prejudices;  that  is,  those 
who,  with  or  without  a knowledge  of  photography,  would 
judge  of  the  entries  purely  as  pictures  (as  a poet  might 
judge  of  poems)  without  consideration  of  the  mechanism 
employed,  and  exactly  as  they  would  judge  of  a series  of 
exhibits  iu  any  other  black  and  white  process  better 
recognized  iu  art.  A photographer  is  by  no  means 
unlikely  to  pass  by  a work  with  the  highest  artistic 
qualities  as  even  unworthy  of  a place  in  the  exhibition,  if 
it  happen  not  to  be  marked  by  any  sensational  effect,  or 
by  what  is  peculiarly  known  amongst  us  as  “technical 
qualities.”  There  will,  no  doubt,  be  very  few  pictures 
having  the  highest  qualities  for  the  hanging  committee  to 
be  troubled  about,  but  they  ought  to  be  competent  to 
deal  with  those  that  do  appear,  and  it  is  in  the  hope  and 
expectation  of  seeing  more  such  perfect  pictures  by  photo- 
graphy in  the  future  that  such  lines  as  these  are  penned. 

Where  space  in  an  exhibition  is  practically  unlimited 
there  is  much  scope  for  pleasing  arrangement.  One 
thing,  however,  must  be  kept  prominently  in  mind,  that 
it  is  the  pictures  that  have  to  be  seen,  and  not  the  acces- 
sories or  the  scheme  for  displaying  the  exhibits.  Art  in 
displaying  exhibits  must  be  concealed. 

Where  the  frames  abut  one  upon  another  throughout 
an  exhibition  an  unobtrusive  arrangement  may  be  made 
which  approximately  gives  the  effect  of  panels.  To 
hang  such  an  exhibition  sucessfully  means  that  the 
director  should  first  of  all  know  well,  and  partly  divide 
out,  all  the  pictures  he  has  to  deal  with.  The  work  is 
best  done  where  the  whole  of  the  exhibits  in  a section  are 
arranged  by  one  individual,  and  not  piecemeal  by  several. 
The  after  labour  and  difficulties  are  reduced  two-thirds 
if  the  whole  of  the  pictures  can  be  mapped  out  upon  the 
floor  before  any  one  portion  is  actually  fixed  up.  The 
prior  selection  of  those  which  are  to  occupy  the  principal 


[July  4,  1890. 

central  positions,  and  along  the  best  line  of  sight,  is  at 
least  essential.  A large  treatment  is  called  for,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  throughout  the  operations  close  considera- 
tion has  to  be  given  to  points  of  detail  in  regard  to 
harmony  and  symmetry  and  quality  of  work.  Hanging 
committee  duties  arc  probably  sometimes  taken  up  lightly 
without  any  conception  of  the  responsibilies  or  of  the 
powers  called  for  in  such  a function.  There  are  very  few 
men  who  are  absolutely  deficient  iu  taste,  but  in  some 
cases  pictures  have  gained  attention  and  superiority  of 
position  from  such  “hangmen”  purely  from  their  size 
and  wealth  of  gilt  moulding,  or  from  good  selling  charac- 
teristics, and  this  without  any  consciousness  of  error. 

In  the  work  of  placing  pictures,  constant  vigilance  and 
energy  are  needed,  and,  for  the  effective  and  satisfactory 
hanging  of  a large  room  or  gallery,  the  “artist-hanger” 
must  have  all  the  exhibits  iu  his  mind’s  eye,  and  must  not 
object  to  physical  effort  and  frequent  experiment.  In 
regard  to  some  few  details  it  may  be  observed  that  the 
general  practice  affects  large  pictures  in  two  ways.  If 
they  arc  held  to  be  good,  they  are  selected  as  centres ; if 
bad,  they  are  skied.  On  either  hand  of  the  centres  some 
approximation  to  symmetry  by  arranging  pairs,  or  similar 
blocks  of  frames,  is  arrived  at.  It  has  become  the  cus- 
tom for  exhibitors  to  desire  to  have  their  pictures,  particu- 
larly if  small,  hung  together ; but  it  cannot  be  of  any 
importance  to  a collection  of  pictures  that  they  should  be 
all  together,  although  it  is  advisable  for  a technical  series. 
A picture  should  be  in  a frame  by  itself.  In  the  scientific 
section,  which  a hanging  committee  does  well  to  keep 
entirely  distinct,  or  in  a portion  of  the  gallery  by  itself, 
the  difficulties  arc  not,  perhaps,  so  great.  The  exhibitor 
decides  by  his  entry  form  whether  lie  wishes  to  enter  his 
exhibit  as  of  scientific  interest  or  as  a picture,  or  if  lie 
does  not  do  so  the  committee  can  easily  do  it  for  him. 
When  exhibition  authorities  are  alive  to  the  proper  method 
of  workinga  high-class  scientific  exhibition,  specialists  might 
have  to  be  called  in,  but  at  present  the  purely  scientific 
applications  of  photography  are  very  little  illustrated  in  our 
exhibitions. 

Another  regulation  which,  at  the  outset,  I proposed  as 
a plank  in  a good  programme  for  an  exhibition  of  art 
photography  was  in  regard  to  the  peculiar  division  sought 
to  be  set  up  between  amateur  and  professional.  My 
proposal  was,  “ That  all  distinction  of  amateur  and  pro- 
fessional be  entirely  suppressed  in  such  an  exhibition,  all 
pictures  being  for  sale  unless  specially  exempted.” 

If  it  were  possible  that  there  could  be  a class  of  wealthy 
workers  fully  devoted  to  photography  and  to  developing 
its  highest  possibilities  other  than  as  an  avowed  profession, 
nothing  could  be  better ; but  this,  as  in  other  arts,  we 
know  to  be  an  impossibility.  A class  to  do  the  highest 
good  must  be  professional.  Dilettantism  never  yet 

helped  on  any  cause  very  far.  I Susy  men  who  take  up 
photography  merely  as  a pastime  cannot  pretend  to  show 
what  can  be  done  by  its  means.  Neither,  of  course,  can 
those  who  work  at  photography  in  the  ordinary  studio  and 
topographical  grooves.  Art  knows  no  “ .amateur  and  pro- 
fessional,” save  to  express  by  it  badness  and  goodness. 
The  absurd  restriction  involved  in  the  distinction 
between  amateur  and  professional  prevents  photographs 
being  sold  at  exhibitions.  If  the  photographs  were  good 
pictures,  they  would  be  demanded  and  sold. 

Those  of  us  who  pride  ourselves  on  being  amateurs 
seem  to  be  claiming  credit  for  the  hopeless  mediocrity  and 
the  worthlessness  of  our  photographs.  This  system  tends 


Jolt  4,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


521 


to  keep  photography  low  iu  general  estimation.  People 
ask  with  unblushing  readiness  for  the  gift  of  a photograph. 
Like  most  things  cheap,  they  are  also  considered  nasty. 
Much  of  the  value  of  a work  is  given  by  that  which  the 
producer  puts  upon  it  himself.  Everyone  interested  in 
photography  must  hope  to  see  more  and  more  photo- 
graphers whose  work  is  worthy  of  it  publish  their  pictures 
in  some  form  creditable  to  the  art.  Only  let  them  take 
competent  opinion  before  doing  so.  The  rubbish  that  is 
sometimes  sold  in  exhibitions  and  published  in  our  journals 
— particularly,  I fear  I must  say,  in  those  of  our  American 
friends — cannot  fail  to  do  great  harm  by  exciting  ridicule 
at  the  expense  of  photography. 

In  regard  to  regulations  for  photographic  exhibitions, 
the  removal  of  classification  would,  of  course,  sweep  away 
the  absurd  division  of  amateurs  and  professionals.  If 
competition  is  unfair  (which  it  is  not ) between  those  with 
studios  and  those  without,  so  much  the  worse  for  com- 
petition. Let  it  be  done  away  with.  The  artist  wishes  to 
see  the  best ; the  interests  of  photography  call  for 
the  best.  There  can  be  no  defence  for  giving  awards 
to  a class  because  the  work  of  those  composing  it  is  not  so 
good  as  that  of  another  class. 

THE  RECORD  OF  PHOTO-MICROGRAPHY.* 

BY  ANDREW  PRINGLE. 

It  may,  perchance,  be  matter  of  wonder  as  well  as  of  interest  to 
some  of  you  that  the  history  of  general  photography  has  been,  to 
a great  extent,  bound  up  with  the  history  and  record  of  photo- 
micrography ; not  that  the  special  application  of  photography 
to  microscopy  has  in  any  direct  way  influenced  general  photo- 
graphy, but  rather  because  the  men  trained  by  education,  and 
perhaps  fitted  by  nature,  for  microscopic  study,  which  is 
equivalent  to  saying  minute  and  accurate  observation  have 
found  photographic  technique  useful,  and  have  turned  their 
observant  minds  to  photographic  wants. 

And,  moreover,  images  projected  by  a microscope  are  so 
evidently  convenient  for  the  study  of  any  method  of  graphic 
representation — the  enlarged  image  can  so  readily  be  kept 
steadily  fixed  on  one  plane,  the  optical  qualities  of  the  pro- 
jected image  can  be  so  readily  examined,  the  worker  is  so 
wholly  independent  of  weather — that  there  is  not  much  cause 
for  wonder  in  our  finding  some  of  the  earliest  experimentalists 
in  photography  using  the  projected  microscopic  image  as  the 
subject  for  their  photographic  researches.  Last  year  I had  the 
honour  to  review  before  you  the  progress  of  photography  dur- 
ing fifty  years,  but  this  year  I take  you  back,  if  you  will  be 
pleased  to  accompany  me,  to  a period  more  remote  than  fifty 
years  ago.  Let  us  turn  to  the  year  1802,  and  we  shall  find — 
probably  in  the  journal  of  the  Royal  Institution — records  of 
the  experiments  of  Wedgwood  and  the  observations  of  Humphry 
Davy  on  “Leaves  and  Wings  of  Insects  taken  by  Solar  Light 
on  Prepared  Leather.”  This  surely  is  early  enough  in  the 
history  of  photography.  It  is  well  known  that  both  Fox 
Talbot  and  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Reade  used  the  solar  microscope,  and 
many  other  names  famous  in  the  records  of  photograph y are 
also  found  in  the  early  annals  of  photo-micrography.  Mr. 
Reade  is  known  to  have  produced  photo-micrographs  in  1887, 
insects  being  his  chief  subjects,  but  in  1839  he  produced 
results  greatly  superior  to  his  efforts  of  1837.  About  1838 
the  prototype  of  our  triple  achromatic  condenser  was  brought 
forward  by  Dujardin,  and  in  ’39  or  '40  Dancer  used  the  gas 
microscope  and  photographed  therewith  on  silvered  plates. 
Donne?  and  Foucault,  iu  Paris,  presented  engravings  from 
photo-micrographic  Daguerreotype  plates  in  what  Moitessier 
called  a “ magnificent  atlas."  The  first  instance  known  to  me 
of  the  use  of  polarised  light  for  photography  was  in  1857, 
when  M.  Bertsch  exhibited  in  Paris  crystals  of  salicine  photo- 
graphed by  polarised  light.  About  the  “ fifties  ” a great  many 
* Read  at  the  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester. 


names  are  found,  many  of  them  well  known  to  us,  as  Shad- 
bolt,  Diamond,  Maddox,  Wenham,  Viles,  besides  many  savants 
of  other  countries.  Dr.  Maddox  showed  at  the  Royal  Society, 
in  1867,  photo-micrographs  illustrating  a paper  he  then  read. 

Enormous  strides  were  made  in  our  science  Dy  Dr.  Wood- 
ward, an  army  surgeon  of  the  United  States  ; in  fact,  his 
work  may  be  said  not  only  to  mark,  but  to  constitute,  an  era 
in  photo-micrography.  His  work  first  claimed  notice  about 
1864,  and  consisted  not  only  of  medical  subjects,  but  of 
diatoms  taken  at  very  high  magnifications. 

I am  not  aware  of  the  exact  date  when  Dr.  R.  L.  Maddox 
first  produced  a photo-micrograph,  nor  can  he  fix  the  date  him- 
self, but  I have  here  a photograph  of  P.  Angulatum  X 3,000 
diameters  of  superlative  excellence  produced  by  my  friend 
in  1838  or  1839.  This  was  by  no  means  his  first  attempt,  as 
is  easily  seen  from  the  high  quality  of  the  negative  now  in  my 
possession.  It  is  not  within  my  subject  to  describe  even  briefly 
the  apparatus  used  by  these  early  workers,  but  I may  say  that 
the  illumination  used  by  them  was  either  the  gas  microscope 
or  sunlight,  and  many  ingenious  forms  of  heliostat  were  used. 
Dr.  Woodward’s  heliostat  was  specially  admirable,  and  Dr. 
Maddox  designed  one  of  high  quality  and  moderate  price. 
Still,  iu  this  country  at  least,  direct  sunlight  can  never  be 
depended  upon,  and  in  the  days  of  wet  collodion  the  photo- 
micrographer  must  have  had  frequently  to  lie  idle.  In  the 
present  day,  with  the  much  more  sensitive  plates  at  our  com- 
mand, we  can  utilise  as  radiants  not  only  the  electric  arc,  but 
electric  incandescent  lamps,  such,  for  example,  as  Dr.  Van 
Heurck  uses  with  such  success  ; limelight,  such  as  I use  myself  ; 
and  even  the  light  of  ordinary  paraffin  lamps. 

Perhaps  I may  be  excused  if  I dwell  with  a certain  fondness 
on  the  photography  of  bacteria.  I believe  that  Dr.  Robert 
Koch,  the  eminent  bacteriologist  of  Berlin,  was  the  first  to 
publish  photographs  of  bacteria;  this  was  in  1877.  In  his 
paper  “On  the  Investigation  of  Pathogenic  Organisms,”  trans- 
lated by  Mr.  Victor  Horsley  for  the  New  Sydenham  Society, 
Koch  speaks  very  strongly  in  favour  of  photo- micrography, 
and  even  says  he  would  prefer  a bad  photograph  to  a drawing, 
however  good  ; but  it  seems  that  at  a later  period  he  found 
certain  difficulties  of  colour  to  be  almost  or  quite  insuperable, 
and  he  was  then  inclined  to  make  less  of  photo -micrography 
than  he  had  previously  done.  Dr.  E.  Klein,  F.R.S.,  was  also 
inclined  to  condemn  our  science  for  his  purpose,  for  in 
“ Micro-Organisms  and  Disease,”  third  edition,  1886,  I find 
these  words : — “Micro-photography,  by  which  microscopic 
specimens  of  bacteria  are  photographed,  has  hitherto  yielded 
results  so  unsatisfactory  that  even  Koch,  who  first  introduced 
it,  has  abandoned  it  in  lieu  of  accurate  drawings  made  in  the 
usual  manner.”  Possibly,  when  Dr.  Klein  wrote  this  his  words 
were  true,  but  certainly  he  has  changed  his  opinion  now,  as  I 
have  v ery  good  reason  to  know. 

I could  name  a considerable  number  of  books  and  a very 
great  number  of  papers  which  are  illustrated  by  photography. 
George  M.  Sternberg  not  only  illustrated  a book  of  his  own  on 
bacteria  by  photo-micrographic  prints,  (second  edition,  1883), 
but  has  written  a book  of  careful  and  detailed  instructions  for 
the  practice  of  the  science.  Dr.  E.  M.  Crookshank  is  in  the 
same  position  ; he  has  published  a book  largely  illustrated  by 
photographs  of  bacteria,  and  he  is  also  the  author  of  “Photo- 
graphy of  Bacteria.”  A paper  read  by  Dr.  Crookshank  to 
the  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain,  and  illustrated  by 
his  negatives,  first  directed  my  attention  to  bacteriological 
photography.  In  1885  both  Hauser  and  Van  Ermengen 
published  photographs  of  bacteria,  and  after  the  works  of 
these  men  the  secience  may  be  said  to  have  gained  a sure 
footing  ; the  chief  obstacle  to  success,  the  stumbling  block 
of  all  these  earlier  workers,  was  the  difficulty  of  colour  render- 
ing, unless  the  preparations  were  suitably  or  deliberately 
stained  for  photography.  Colour-correct  photography,  then, 
forms  one  of  the  foundation  stones  of  the  edifice  of  photo- 
micrography so  rapidly  rising  among  us. 

My  remarks  up  to  this  point  have  been  purposely  made 
to  lead  up  to  certain  stages  in  the  records  of  photo-micro- 
graphy, and  we  have  reached  the  stage  of  colour-correct 
rendering  of  stained  objects.  There  is  another  photographic 


522 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jcly  4,  1890. 


matter  which  has  been  alluded  to  in  passing,  but  must  now  be 
more  particularly  treated.  I have  referred  to  increased  sensi- 
tiveness of  our  plates.  Just  as  Wedgwood,  Davy,  Reade,  and 
Talbot  used  photography  for  microscopic  work,  and  in  practising 
the  one  elaborated  the  other,  so  Dr.  Maddox,  in  the  search 
after  certain  photo-micrographic  effects,  fell  upon  gelatine 
emulsion  photography.  I need  not  tell  you  how  Bennett 

revolutionised  photography,  but  I must  point  out  the  effect 
his  discovery  had  on  photo-micrography.  We  are  no  longer 
dependent  on  sunlight  ; we  can  work  with  the  very  highest 
powers  without  undue  length  of  exposure  ; the  developed  image 
is  quite  fine  enough  for  any  purpose ; and  nearly  all  the 
difficulties  and  inconveniences  of  wet  collodion  and  silver  bath 
are  removed  from  our  path.  The  advantage  in  reduced 
exposure  is  not  by  any  means  a matter  of  time  only,  for,  during 
prolonged  exposure,  there  is  imminent  danger  of  movement 
either  from  tremor  or  from  alterations  of  temperature,  both  of 
which  are  fatal  to  success,  but  most  difficult  to  avoid.  We 
have,  then,  at  the  present  day,  advantages  purely  photographic 
which  were  not  within  reach  of  the  masters  of  photo-micro- 
graphy of  past  years  ; we  have  plates  much  more  sensitive, 
and  so  we  get  results  much  more  rapidly,  much  more  certainly, 
and  with  much  less  expense  ; but  in  a large  class  of  cases  we 
get  results  much  better — somedmes,  in  fact,  we  get  results 
which,  without  orthochromatic  photography,  we  could  not 
obtain  at  all.  The  indefatigable  Koch  was  stopped  by  colour 
difficulties,  as  already  stated  ; but  it  is  interesting  to  know  that, 
so  far  as  I have  seen,  the  very  best  photographs  of  bacteria 
published  up  to  the  present  time  are  by  Drs.  Fraenckel  and 
Pfeiffer,  colleagues  or  assistants  of  Koch.  These  bacteriological 
photographs  are  so  fine  that  I have  brought  a few  of  them  for 
your  inspection.  They  are  all,  or  nearly  all,  produced  by 
orthochromatic  methods,  and  while  I cannot  quite  agree  with 
all  the  directions  given  in  the  text  of  No.  1,  still,  there  can 
be  but  one  opinion  as  to  the  results  these  gentlemen  have 
achieved. 

I would  point  out  that  some  of  the  methods  of  staining  most 
followed  by  bacteriologists  and  microscopic  technologists  in 
general  would  afford  excellent  examples  of  subjects  difficult  to 
photograph  on  ordinary  plates.  Tubercle  bacilli  are  usually 
stained  either  red  on  a blue  ground,  or  blue  on  a yellow-brown 
ground.  Violet  coloured  bacilli  anthracis  are  very  frequently 
found  in  preparations  counter-stained  with  Bismarck  brown  or 
vesuvin.  The  fungus  of  actinomycosis  shows  best  stained  blue, 
red,  and  yellow,  and  I shall  presently  show  you  the  ortho- 
chromatic results  from  such  a staining.  A much  valued 
multiple  stain — my  own  favourite  stain  for  ordinary  pathologi- 
cal and  physiological  tissues — consists  of  bright  blue  for  nuclear, 
bright  red  for  connective,  and  orange  more  or  less  bright  for 
proto  plasmic  tissues.  I venture  to  assert  that  no  ordinary 
plate  will  properly  render  a section  well  stained  by  this  method, 
yet  with  yellow-sensitive  plates,  and  the  use  of  screens  chosen 
for  each  occasion,  I am  in  the  frequent  habit  of  photographing 
such  subjects,  and  I generally  end  by  getting  good  results. 

I could  show  you  bacteria  sections  photographed  repeatedly  on 
ordinary  plates,  and  with  the  greatest  skill  and  care  I could 
bring  to  bear,  where  there  is  not  a trace  of  a microbe  ; whereas 
with  a colour-corrected  plate  the  organisms  stand  out  clear  and 
unmistakeable.  My  paper  is  not  intended  to  be  a course  of 
instruction  in  photo-micrography,  but  is  rather  an  attempt  to 
point  out  by  how  much  and  by  what  means  our  science  has 
advanced,  is  advancing,  and  will  doubtless  continue  to  advance. 

The  advances  made  since  the  infancy  of  our  science  have 
been  simply  astounding.  Conceive  the  time  and  conceive  the 
labour  when  the  principle  of  “ correcting  lenses  for  photo- 
graphy ” was  undiscovered.  Petzval,  about  fifty  years  ago, 
showed  the  way  to  this  correction  in  photographic  lenses,  but 
not  till  long  after  that  did  photo-micrography  become  so  im- 
portant in  public  estimation  that  opticians  were  forced  to 
consider  the  correction  for  microscopic  objectives.  Some  opti- 
cians do  not  seem  to  have  grasped  the  subject  even  yet,  but 
there  are  others  who  have  done  so  most  successfully. 

And  again,  resolution  and  definition,  which,  though  perhaps 
technically  distinct,  are  nevertheless  bound  together,  depend 
on  angular,  or  rather,  numerical  aperture.  The.  earlier  opti- 


cians might  get  their  objectives  with  visual  and  chemical  foci 
coincident,  they  certainly  did  attain  to  very  flat  field  images  ; 
but  they  were  incompetent,  and,  indeed,  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  desirous  to  get  large  aperture  with  other  qualities  good. 
Resolution,  or  separation  of  line  from  line,  depends  on  fixed 
laws  relating  to  numerical  aperture.  A lens  having  a numeri- 
cal aperture  of  0 '30  will,  in  the  most  actinic  part  of  the  spec- 
trum, resolve  38,000  lines  to  an  inch  ; N.A.  l'OO  (the  highest 
air  angle)  gives  the  power  of  resolving  127,000  to  the  inch, 
while  N.A.  1 '4  is  capable  of  resolving  nearly  180,000  per  inch, 
Now  many  of  us  possess  objectives  having  apertures  nearly 
approaching  to  N.A.  1*4,  while  lately  Zeiss  produced  a glass 
having  a numerical  aperture  of  1 '63.  I shall  show  you  some 
work  done  with  this  glass  by  Dr.  Van  Heurck,  of  Antwerp. 

When  the  system  of  immersion  was  introduced  an  enormous 
stride  was  made,  and  an  enormous  additional  power  gained.  If 
we  have  a dry  lens  our  numerical  aperture  is  evidently  limited  to 
the  extent  of  the  air  angle — 1 80°,  or  n.a.  1 ; but  when  water  im- 
mersion wasintroduced,  and  still  more  when  homogeneous  immer- 
sion, the  numerical  aperture  was  at  once  increased  to  a very  large 
extent.  It  may  seem  a paradox  that  we  can  get  a glass  to 
embrace  a larger  angle  than  180°  ; at  first  glance  this  seems  to 
bespeak  looking  round  a corner,  but  the  explanation  is  simple 
enough.  We  do  not  look  round  a corner,  but  in  our  angular 
aperture  of  ISO*1  we  include  more  pencils  of  light.  If,  for 
example,  with  a dry  lens  we  can  include  1,000  pencils,  we 
can  with  water  immersion  (by  virtue  of  the  higher  refraction 
index  of  that  liquid)  include  1,300  pencils,  and  with  suitable 
oils  1,500  ; while,  if  we  use  not  only  suitable  oil,  but  suit- 
able glass  for  our  condensing  arrangements,  we  can,  as  already 
stated,  reach  to  1,600.  But,  beyond  this  gain,  immersion 
greatly  improves  the  qualities  of  our  objectives ; it  increases 
working  distance,  improves  illumination,  and  mitigates  the 
tendency  to  diffraction  images. 

Herein,  then,  lies  one  of  the  great  advances  made  in  our 
optical  appliances.  We  vastly  improved  the  performance  and 
increased  the  range  of  our  objectives  by  the  immersion  system. 
Amici  seems  first  to  have  noted  the  beneficial  effect  of  water 
immersion,  but  the  system,  I believe,  was  first  carried  into 
practical  effect  by  Nacliet  or  Hartuack.  Mr.  Wenham  seems 
to  have  suggested,  but  not  used  the  homogeneous  immersion 
system,  and  the  great  optician  Abbe,  of  Jena,  worked  out  the 
matter,  and  brought  Wenhatn’s  idea  to  full  fruition.  Oil  of 
cedar,  in  virture  of  its  refractive  index  and  its  dispersion 
coinciding  nearly  with  those  of  crown  glass,  is  the  oil  generally 
used  for  homogeneous  immersion.  But  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that,  in  order  to  get  the  full  effect  of  this  system,  the 
objects  themselves  must  be  mounted  in  a medium  of  high 
refraction  index,  and  this  process  is  very  apt  to  lead  to  error 
in  observation.  Mr.  Nelson  rarely  photographs  diatoms  at 
any  angle  beyond  the  air  angle,  in  order,  as  I undertand,  to 
avoid  these  errors  of  interpretation  due  to  mounting  objects 
in  these  media  of  high  refraction  indices.  Unstained  physiolo- 
gical tissues  are  often  destroyed  for  observation  by  being  placed 
in  glycerine,  and  a piece  of  glass  placed  in  a bottle  of  water  is 
not  in  advantageous  circumstances  for  examination. 

I have  now  to  touch  on  the  latest,  and  one  of  the  great 
advances  made,  and  this  one  affects  in  a very  special  manner 
our  science  of  photo-micrography.  On  account  of  the  nature 
of  the  glass  used  previously  to  but  a few  years  ago,  opticians 
found  it  impossible  to  correct  objectives  for  more  than  two 
regions  of  the  spectrum  ; lenses  were  corrected  for  the  blue 
and  yellow  regions,  or  perhaps  more  commonly  for  the  green 
and  red,  and  when  using  such  lenses  under  conditions  at  all 
trying  we  find  fringes  of  colouring  bordering  our  objects  ; in 
other  words,  we  have  a marked  uncorrected  residual  spectrum. 
But  Abbe  and  the  firm  of  Schott,  working  together,  at  last 
succeeded  in  making  glass  with  different  refracting  and  different 
dispersing  powers  from  the  powers  of  glass  previously  made, 
and  as  a result  Abbe  has  formulated  and  Zeiss  has  made  objec- 
tives far  superior  in  correction  to  any  we  have  ever  had  before. 
The  photographic  results  are  distinctly  superior  to  those  obtain- 
able by  use  of  more  ancient  objectives,  and  there  is,  moreover, 
a marked  improvement  in  the  images  even  for  visual  observation. 
Three  spectrum  regions  at  least  are  made  practically  coincident 


Jolt  4,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


523 


in  foci,  and  the  colour  fringes  are,  if  not  wholly  eliminated,  at 
least  greatly  reduced.  Some  English  opticians  have  produced 
with  the  new  glass — which,  as  has  lately  transpired,  contains 
fluorspar — very  good  “ apochromatic  ” glasses,  apochromatic 
being  the  term  used  to  describe  this  new  phase  of  optical 
achievement.  It  is  claimed  that  by  use  of  this  new  glass  greater 
numerical  aperture  can  be  obtained  in  conjunction  with  equally 
good  or  better  general  qualities,  such  as  flatness  of  field, 
illumination,  &c. 

So  far,  I have  mentioned  special  advances  that  have  been 
made  ; I may  now  say  broadly  that  the  optical  improvements 
consist  of  the  attainment  of  larger  angle  without  loss  of 
general  quality.  I think  I may  say  that  the  history  of  micro- 
scopic optics  has  been  the  history  of  numerical  aperture. 
There  always  was,  and  there  ever  will  be,  a limit  to  the  aper- 
ture possible  with  a given  focal  length,  but  now  more  than 
ever  we  are  getting  long  focal  length  and  large  aperture  con- 
jointly. In  microscopic  optics  the  word  penetration  must  creep 
in  sooner  or  later.  Penetration  or  “depth  of  focus”  is  the 
suppositious  power  of  focussing  on  two  planes  at  right  angles 
to  the  optic  ax:s  simultaneously,  sufficiently  accurately  to 
prevent  visible  blur.  It  is  manifestly  impossible  to  focus  on 
two  such  planes  equally  sharply,  and  the  question  is  simply, 
“ How  much  blur  is  permissible  ? ” In  artistic  photographs 
it  is  a matter  of  taste  ; in  scientific  micrography  it  is  a 
matter  of  mathematics.  Penetration  decreases  directly  as 
aperture  increases,  but  decreases  as  the  square  of  magnifica- 
tion. It  is,  therefore,  beyond  argument  that  the  more  the 
aperture — and,  consequently,  the  more  the  resolution— we  can 
get  with  the  least  magnification,  the  greater  will  be  the  pene- 
tration we  shall  obtain  ; and,  therefore,  what  we  have  to  search 
for  is  an  objective  of  low  pow'er,  with  as  wide  a working 
aperture  as  can  be  achieved  without  damage  to  the  corrections 
and  general  qualities  of  the  objective.  With  a given  focal 
length  opticians  reach  a point  of  aperture  beyond  which  they 
cannot  go  without  injury  to  the  quality  of  the  objective.  That  is 
where  we  shall  always  stand  ; but  our  standpoint  will  from 
year  to  year  be  pushed  onward,  and  our  optical  appliances 
will  from  year  to  year  improve. 

Speaking  for  myself,  I am  well  satisfied  with  the  optical  con- 
trivances we  have  to-day,  but  I look  with  eagerness  for  some 
advance  in  photographic  power  ; particularly  I long  for 
greater  power  to  cope  with  certain  colour  effects  and  colour 
combinations  frequently  met  in  my  experience.  I have  no 
spark  of  doubt  that  in  the  process  of  time  every  candid 
investigator  of  microscopic  objects  who  wishes  a graphic  repre- 
sentation of  his  objects  of  study  will  employ  photography  as 
his  delineator  ; and  I maintain  that  the  scientific  iuvestigator 
of  scientific  facts  is  bound  to  use  for  delineation  the  only 
scientific  method  of  delineation — photographic. 

Appendix  (Objects  shown  in  Illustration). 

(1.)  Books.  — “Bacteria,”  by  O.  M.  Sternberg,  second 
edition,  1885  ; “Photography  of  Bacteria,”  by  E.  M.  Crook- 
shank,  1887  ; “ Mikro-photographischer  Atlas  der  Bacterien 
Kunde,”  by  Fraenckel  and  Pfeiffer,  Nos.  1 and  2,  1889  ; “ La 
Chambre  Noire  et  Le  Microscope,”  by  Jules  Girard,  1869. 

Prints,  Ac.— Collection  by  Dr.  R.  L.  Maddox  from  1868  and 
onward — diatoms,  insects,  silica  films,  &c.  ; Diatoms  by 
Thomas  Comber  ; Diatoms,  &e.,  by  Dr.  Clifford  Mercer,  Syra- 
cuse, U.S.A.  ; various  objects  by  Mr.  Rafter,  U.S.A.  ; Scrap- 
book of  Bacteria,  by  A.  Pringle,  1878  and  onward. 


Lantern  Slides. 

Probiscis  of  blow-fly  (lowest  power  to  n.a.  0-90),  four  slides. 
P.  Angulatum  'j 

n (X3000)  . Maddox,  1868  or  69. 

Silica  film  I 

Navicula  aspera  ( X 1 000) 

P.  Angulatum  (X1000) 

Cymbella  (X1000)  ^-Comber. 

Isthmia  nervosa  (X1000) 

Coscinodiscus  osseus  (X1000) 

Trieeratium  (X  80),  (X  375),  and  (X  750)  A.  Pringle. 


P.  Angulatum  (X670)  n.a.  0*7  0-9' 

, , ( X 1200)  n.a.  0 *5  ,,  ,, 

„ ( X 630)  n.a.  0-65  i"  „ 

„ ( X 1080)  n.a.  l-0  f " „ 

N.  Lyra  (X230)  black  ground  1"  ,, 

C.  Asteromphaieus  ( X 2000)  n.a. 


M.  Nelson. 


A.  Lindheimerii 
P.  Angulatum  (X600) 
A.  Pellucida 
P.  Angulatum 

S.  Gemma 
A.  Lindheimerii 
A.  Pellucida 


n.a.  1*38 
n.a.  1*4 
n.a.  1 ‘6 
n.a.  l-6 
n.a.  1 -6 
n.a.  1*6 
n.a.  1‘6 
n.a.  1'6 


A Spencer  ' 

A Apo 

-Van  Heurck. 


; 


A.  Pellucida  (X750)  n.a.  1-4  |Apo  , 

P.  Angulatum  (X  2000)  n.a.  1*  A >>  / ° 


Collection  of  bacteria,  including  actinomyces,  cholera,  typhoid, 
anthrax,  &c. 

Apparatus. 

(1.)  Designed  for  the  Royal  Veterinary  College.  Made  by 
Swift. 

(2.)  Baker’s  apparatus. 


WEIGHTS,  MEASURES,  AND  FORMULA'  USED 
IN  PHOTOGRAPHY.* 

Report  of  a Committee  consisting  of  W.  Bedford,  C.  H. 
Bothamley  (Secretary),  A.  Cowan,  A.  Hadron,  A. 
Levy,  A.  Pringle,  and  G.  Watmough  Webster, 

appointed  to  consider  the  Weights,  Measures,  and  Formula i 

used  in  Photography.  Draivn  up  by  C.  II.  BOTHAMLEY. 

General  Considerations. 

The  question  of  Weights,  Measures,  and  Formula)  divides 
itself  into  two  parts  —the  system  of  weights  and  measures  to 
be  used,  and  the  method  of  using  them. 

A.  Weights  and  Measures. — Choice  lies  between  the  Eng- 
lish system,  or  a modification  thereof,  and  the  metric  or  French 
system. 

The  metric  system  is  now  almost  exclusively  used  for  scien- 
tific purposes.  Its  advantages  lie  not  so  much  in  the  magni- 
tudes of  the  units,  but  in  the  facts  that  there  is  a simple 
definite  relation  between  the  measures  of  weight  and  the 
measures  of  capacity,  and  that  it  is  a decimal  system,  the  mul- 
tiples and  submultiples  being  powers  of  ten. 

It  is  necessary  to  point  out,  however,  that  the  relation 
between  measure  and  weight  is  only  theoretically  exact  at 
4°  C.  (39‘2°  Fahr.),  at  which  point  the  unit  of  weight,  the 
gramme,  is  the  weight  of  one  cubic  centimetre  of  pure  water 
weighed  in  the  latitude  of  Paris.  At  the  ordinary  tempera- 
ture of  15®  C.,  however,  the  deviation  resulting  from  the 
expansion  of  the  water  amounts  to  only  8 in  10,000,  and  is 
negligable  for  all  practical  purposes.  Only  in  investigations  of 
a very  refined  character  need  the  divergence  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration. 

With  respect  to  the  English  system  it  is  necessary,  in  the 
first  place,  to  point  out  that  the  old  “Apothecaries’  Weight,” 
with  its  ounce  of  480  grains,  and  its  submultiples,  the  drachm 
and  the  scruple,  is  no  longer  legal  in  the  buying  and  selling 
of  chemicals,  and  it  has  not  been  included  in  the  “ British 
Pharmacopoeia”  since  1864. 

The  legal  units  of  weight  in  which  dealings  in  chemicals, 
and  all  materials  except  gems  and  precious  metals,  are  transacted, 
are  the  pound  avoiidupois,  the  ounce  avoirdupois,  and  the  grain. 
The  pound  contains  16  ounces,  or  7,000  grains,  and  the  ounce 
contains  437 -5  grains.  The  relation  between  the  grain  and  the 
ounce  is  inconvenient. 

The  English  units  can  be  used,  and  are  frequently  used  deci- 
mally. Quantities  are  expressed  in  grains  and  decimal  parts  of 
a grain,  and  there  is  no  greater  difficulty  in  writing  205 ‘0  grains 
than  in  writing  12-96  grammes.  Grain  weights  from  10,000 
grains  to  0-01  grain  can  easily  be  purchased. 

• Read  at  the  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester. 


524 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jolt  4,  1890. 


The  relation  between  weight  and  fluid  measure  is  of  pre- 
cisely the  same  kind  as  in  the  metric  system.  The  gallon  is 
the  bulk  of  ten  pounds  of  water  at  62Q  Falir.  ; a fluid  ounce 
is  the  bulk  of  an  ounce  of  water  at  62'!  Fahr.  ; 16  fluid 
ounces,  or  7,000  fluid  grains,  is  the  bulk  of  16  ounces,  or  7,000 
fluid  grains,  or  one  pound  of  water  at  62'  Fahr.  Since  the 
relation  is  quite  exact  at  62°  Fahr.,  it  is  more  exact  at  the 
ordinary  temperature  than  in  the  case  of  the  metric  system. 

Below  the  ounce,  however,  such  a relation  does  not  exist. 
The  submultiple,  the  minim,  has  no  simple  relation  to  the 
grain,  and  this  arises  from  the  fact  that  when  the  fluid  ounce 
was  changed  from  the  bulk  of  the  troy  ounce,  oi  480  grains, 
to  the  bulk  of  the  avoirdupoise  ounce,  or437‘5  grains,  the  old 
mode  of  subdivision  was  retained,  and  we  now  have  the  fluid 
ounce  of  437'5  grains  divided  into  480  equal  parts  or  minims. 
A minim  is  therefore  the  bulk  of  only  0-911  grain  of  water, 
and  to  take  the  minim  and  the  grain  as  equivalent  intro- 
duces an  error  of  about  10  per  cent. 

Fluid  grains  are,  however,  in  use  for  chemical  purposes,  and 
the  relation  between  the  grain  and  the  fluid  grain  at  62°  Fahr. 
is  precisely  the  same  as  that  between  the  gramme  and  the 
cubic  centimetre  at  4e  C.  Measures  graduated  in  fluid  grains 
can  be  obtained  without  difficulty,  and  have  been  used  by  many 
photographers  for  a considerable  time. 

Whilst  fully  recognising  the  advantages  of  the  metric  system, 
we  are  also  bound  to  recognise  the  facts  that  the  English  system 
is  much  more  familiar,  that  the  weights  and  measures  of  this 
system  are  possessed  and  used  by  almost  all  photographers,  and 
that  a knowledge  of  decimals  sufficient  to  enable  a decimal 
system  to  be  used  easily  and  accurately  is  by  no  means  so 
widely  diffused  as  is  desirable.  It  follows  that  the  general 
adoption  of  the  metric  system  will  at  any  rate  require  a con- 
siderable time,  and  in  dealing  with  formula;  we  recommend  a 
method  which  is  independent  of  the  system  of  weights  and 
measures  used,  provided  always  that  the  relation  of  the  unit 
of  weight  to  the  unit  of  measure  is  the  same  as  that-  existing 
between  the  gramme  and  the  cubic  centimetre,  or  the  ounce 
and  the  fluid  ounce. 

Recommendations. 

A.  Weights  and  Measures. — 1.  If  the  metric  system  be  used, 
weights  will  naturally  be  expressed  in  grammes  and  measures  in 
cubic  centimetres. 

2.  If  the  English  units  be  used,  the  minim  and  the  drachm 
should  not  be  employed  at  all.  All  weights  should  be  expressed 
either  in  grains  or  decimal  parts  of  a grain,  or  in  ounces  and 
fractions  of  an  ounce  ; all  measures  in  fluid  grains,  or  in  fluid 
ounces  and  fractions  of  a fluid  ounce. 

B.  Formula’. — 3.  Formula;  should  give  the  number  of  parts 
of  the  constituents,  by  weight  or  measure,  to  be  contained 
in  some  definite  number  of  parts,  by  measure,  of  the  solution. 
The  mixture  can  then  be  made  up  with  (a)  grammes  and  cubic 
centimetres,  or  (6)  grains  and  fluid  grains,  or  (c)  ounces  and 
fluid  ounces,  according  to  the  unit  selected. 

4.  The  standard  temperature  for  making  up  solutions  should 
be  15s  C.  or  62°  Fahr.  No  appreciable  error  will  be  intro- 
duced by  the  fact  that  these  two  temperatures  are  not  quite 
identical. 

5.  Formula;  should  give  the  quantities  of  the  constituents 
to  be  contained  in  x parts  of  the  finished  solution,  and  not  the 
quantities  to  be  dissolved  in  x parts  of  the  solvents.  When  a 
solid  dissolves  in  a liquid,  or  when  two  liquids  are  mixed,  the 
volume  of  the  solution  or  mixture  is,  as  a rule,  not  equal  to  the 
sum  of  the  volumes  of  its  constituents.  The  expansion  or 
contraction  varies  with  the  nature  of  the  solids  and  liquids,  and 
the  proportions  in  which  they  are  brought  together.  In  making 
up  a solution,  therefore,  the  constituents  should  first  be  dis- 
solved in  a quantity  of  the  solvent  smaller  than  the  required 
volume  of  the  finished  mixture,  and  after  solution  is  complete, 
the  liquid,  cooled  if  necessary  to  the  ordinary  temperature,  is 
made  up  to  the  specified  volume  by  addition  of  a further 
quantity  oi  the  solvent. 

6.  It  is  very  important  to  specify  in  the  case  of  liquids 
whether  parts  by  weight  or  parts  by  measure  are  intended. 
The  equivalence  between  weight  and  measure  only  holds  good 
ill  the  case  of  water  and  liquids  oi  the  same  specific  gravity — 


a fluid  ounce  of  ammonia  solution  or  of  ether  weighs  less  than 
an  ounce  ; a fluid  ounce  of  strong  sulphuric  acid  weighs  nearly 
two  ounces. 

7.  Whenever  possible,  formulr*  should  give  the  quantities  of 
the  constituents  required  to  make  up  10,  100,  or  1,000  parts  of 
the  solution. 

8.  When  a mixture  (e.g.,  a developer)  is  to  be  prepared  just 
before  use  from  two  or  more  separate  solutions,  it  is  desirable 
that  the  proportions  in  which  the  separate  solutions  have  to  be 
mixed  should  be  as  simple  as  possible,  e.g.,  1 to  1,  1 to  2,  1 to 
3,  1 to  10. 

9.  When  metric  units  are  employed  the  original  French 
spelling,  “gramme,”  should  be  used  in  preference  to  the  con- 
tracted spelling,  “gram,”  in  order  to  avoid  misreading  and 
misprinting  as  “grain.” 

Appendix. 

Weighing  and  Measuring. 

A brief  description  of  the  correct  methods  of  weighing  and 
measuring  may  be  of  service  to  photographers  who  have  had  no 
laboratory  training. 

Measuring. — The  correct  reading  is  the  horizontal  tangent  to 
the  meniscus  ; that  is,  the  horizontal  line  which  touches  the 
lowest  point  of  the  curved  surface  of  the  liquid  in  the  case  of 
water  and  all  liquids  which  wet  glass,  or  the  highest  point  of 
the  curved  surface  in  the  case  of  mercury  and  similar  liquids. 
When  the  liquid  is  so  opaque  that  the  meniscus  cannot  be  seen, 
the  reading  must  be  taken  at  the  apparent  horizontal  surface 
of  the  liquid.  The  measuring  vessel  should  be  exactly  vertical, 
and  the  eye  of  the  observer  should  be  exactly  on  a level  with 
the  surface  of  the  liquid. 

Weighing. — To  assume  that  the  weights  in  the  two  pans  are 
equal  when  there  is  a distinct  deflection  of  the  index  of  the 
balance  towards  one  side  is  obviously  incorrect.  To  take  the 
weights  as  equal  when  the  beam  is  at  rest,  and  there  is  no 
deflection  at  all,  also  gives  untrustworthy  results.  The 
balance  should  be  made  to  vibrate,  and  the  weights  in  the 
two  pans  are  equal  when  the  index  makes  equal  excursions  on 
either  side  of  the  position  of  rest,  which  is  usually  the  centre. 


NEW  PHOTOGRAPHIC  LENSES* 

BY  DR.  PAUL  RUDOLPH. 

No.  II. 

In  an  objective  consisting  of  two  distinct  systems, 
the  contrarious  elements  required  for  compensation 
of  astigmatic  deviations  are  obtained  without  pre- 
judice to  full  liberty  as  regards  achromatisation  of  each 
single  system,  by  compounding  one  of  the  systems — 
presuming  both  to  be  positive  systems — of  a normal,  the 
other  of  an  abnormal  pair  of  glasses  (the  terms  “ normal” 
and  “ abnormal  ” being  taken  in  the  sense  of  the  definition 
as  given  above). 

The  elements  of  actual  construction  of  objectives,  as 
specified  in  Tables  I,  II,  and  III,  furnish  examples  for  the 
practical  application  of  this  invention  under  varying  con- 
ditions. 

The  opposite  character  of  the  pairs  of  glasses  in  the 
two  separate  members  of  a doublet  are,  however,  condi- 
tional to  the  desired  effect  only  in  case  both  these  mem- 
bers are  required  to  be  positive  (collecting)  systems,  and 
if  both  are  also  required  to  assist  in  a notable  degree  in 
the  concentration  of  the  rays  of  light,  or,  in  other  words, 
in  the  diminution  of  the  focal  length  of  the  objective. 
For  many  purposes  it  may,  however,  be  sufficient  or  even 
advantageous  to  assign  the  function  of  the  concentration 
of  the  rays  of  light  wholly  or  principally  to  one  system 
(principal  system),  viz.,  in  such  a manner  that  the  other 
need  not  produce  any  notable  refractory  effects  in  the 
sense  of  a diminution  of  the  focal  distance,  it  having  simply 

■ Continued  from  page  478. 


July  4,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


525 


and  essentially  to  act  as  a correcting  system,  which  admits 
of  a relatively  large  positive  or  even  negative  focal  length. 
According,  us  in  this  particular  case,  the  principal  system 
consists  of  a normal  or  of  an  abnormal  pair  of  glasses,  the 
positive  or  the  negative  element  of  the  correcting  system 
must  be  made  to  have  the  higher  refractive  index ; the 
nature  of  the  pair  of  glasses  of  which  the  correcting 
system  is  composed — i.e. , whether  it  is  of  a normal  or  of 
an  abnormal  character — is,  however,  non-essential,  pro- 
vided its  focal  lengths  be  taken  very  great.  If,  however, 
a negative  focal  length  which  is  not  very  great  as  com- 
pared with  the  focal  length  of  the  principal  system  be 
given  to  the  correction  system,  the  latter,  in  order  to 
insure  the  conditions  of  achromatisation,  must  be  com- 
posed of  a pair  of  glasses  of  the  same  character  as  the 
principal  system  ; i.e.,  either  both  of  pairs  of  glasses  of  the 
normal,  or  both  of  pairsof  glasses  of  the  abnormal  character. 

The  elements  of  construction,  as  specified  under  IV, 
serve  to  illustrate  an  anastigmatic  combination  of  lenses 
of  this  last  kind,  in  which  one  of  its  members  constitutes 
such  a correcting  system  of  a negative  focal  length,  both 
members  consisting  of  normal  pairs  of  glasses. 

The  new  type  of  photographic  doubt  lets  thus  set  forth 
admits,  as  is  shown  by  the  preceding  explanations  and  the 
examples  appended  to  this  specification,  of  many  modifi- 
cations of  detail,  which  modifications  do  not,  however, 
introduce  any  novel  features.  The  focal  lengths  of  both 
parts  of  the  double  objective  may  have  any  ratio  what- 
ever ; the  system  consisting  of  an  abnormal  pair  of  glasses 
and  likewise  the  correcting  system — assuming  this  latter 
case  to  enter  into  consideration — may  constitute  either 
the  anterior  or  posterior  member  of  the  combination ; 
finally,  a great  variety  of  glasses  may  be  employed  for 
carrying  out  the  cons'ructive  principles  as  stated  above, 
provided  they  leave  sufficient  scope  for  the  selection  of 
such  pairs  as  are  prescribed  in  each  particular  case  by  the 
foregoing  directions. 

All  these  special  alternatives  of  practical  construction 
are  intrinsically  dependent  upon  the  particular  purpose 
which  such  an  objective  has  to  serve,  and  the  correspond- 
ing conditions  regarding  the  aperture,  the  size  of  the  field, 
and  the  degree  of  perfection  required  with  respect  to 
correction.  Whenever  these  particular  conditions  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  optical  constants  (refractive  index 
and  dispersive  power)  of  the  available  kinds  of  glasses,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  given  numerically,  any  optician  versed 
in  the  treatment  of  problems  of  this  kind  is  enabled, 
guided  by  the  preceding  remarks  and  the  examples 
appended  at  the  end  of  this  specification,  to  numerically 
determine,  according  to  known  methods,  those  elements 
of  construction  (radii,  thicknesses  of  lensts,  air  distances) 
which  will  sufficiently  compensate  astigmatic  deviation, 
beside  furnishing  ali  the  other  usual  corrections.  In  par- 
ticular, no  novel  constructive  feature  is  introduced  by 
making  one  (vide  Table  III)  or  both  of  the  cemented 
systems  of  the  doublet  to  consist  of  three  instead  of  two 
lenses,  which  may  be  particularly  advantageous  in  such 
cases  where  the  objective  is  to  have  a large  aperture. 
For  inasmuch  as  the  use  of  three  single  lenses  has  no 
other  aim  in  view  but  to  distribute  the  effect  otherwise 
attained  by  a single  lens,  over  two,  made  of  the  same  or 
similar  kinds  of  glass,  the  substitution  of  a triple  for  a 
double  lens  belongs  to  those  expedients  which  are  ordi- 
narily made  use  of  by  practical  and  theoretical  opticians 
in  order  to  attain  au  increased  number  of  elements  afford- 
ing means  for  optical  correction. 


In  the  annexed  drawings,  three  different  arrangements 
of  objectives,  carried  out  according  to  my  invention,  are 
shown  in  full  size,  partly  in  elevation  and  partly  in  section. 
According  to  fig.  1 the  anterior  system  of  lenses  is  com- 


I 

Fig.  1. 

posed  of  the  dispersing  lens  L,  and  the  collecting  lensT. , 
while  the  posterior  system  consists  in  the  collecting  lens 
L,  and  the  dispersing  lens  ht,  all  these  lenses  being  con- 
cavo-convex. B is  the  diaphragm.  In  the  objective 
represented  by  fig.  2,  the  'anterior  system  L,  L...  is  com- 


posed alike  to  the  preceding  one,  whereas  the  posterior 
system  consists  in  the  biconcave  dispersing  lens  Ls  and 
the  biconvex  collecting  lens  Li.  Fig.  3 again  shows  a 


i 


Fig.  3. 

like  system  L,  L>,  while  the  posterior  system  comprises 
two  concavo-convex  dispersing  lenses,  L3  and  Li,  and  the 
concavo-convex  collecting  lens  L<.  The  letters  r,  r3  r3  rt 
)-i  rB  ?-7,  to  be  referred  to  hereafter,  denote  the  radii  of 
curvature  of  the  lens  surfaces  to  which  they  are  appliedj 
di  d»  d3  di  di  the  central  thicknesses  of  the  lenses,  and  l\  bt 
the  distances  between  the  diaphragm  B and  the  lenses. 


52G 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


(July  4,  1890. 


patent  Intelligence* 

Specifications  Published. 

11,994.  July  29th,  1889. — “Polishing  Engraved  Glass  or 

Plate  or  Sheet  Glass.”  Jabez  Facer,  Glass  Etcher,  Collis 

Street,  Dennis  Park,  Stourbridge. 

The  invention  relates  to  cut  and  engraved  flint  and  coloured 
glass  or  sheet  or  plate  glass,  and  has  for  its  chief  object  the 
polishing  of  glass  without  the  use  of  pumice  or  rotten  stone 
and  putty  powder.  For  this  purpose  I provide  a bath  com- 
posed of  hydrofluoric  acid  and  sulphuric  acid  in  equal  propor- 
tions, with  a sufficient  quantity  of  water  added  to  reduce  it  to 
a convenient  strength  for  working  purposes.  In  cases  where 
metallic  or  other  ingredients  are  introduced  into  the  glass  for 
colouring  purposes,  the  addition  of  a small  quantity  of  nitric 
acid  or  muriatic  acid  is  beneficial. 

The  mode  of  operation  is,  then,  to  wash  the  glass  with  the 
acid  until  the  desired  brilliancy  is  attained. 

I make  no  claim  to  the  ordinary  use  of  hydrofluoric  or  other 
acids  for  any  of  the  branches  of  decorative  etching  as  at  pre- 
sent practised. 

What  I claim  is  : — 

The  use  of  the  above-mentioned  acid  bath  for  the  purpose 
of  polishing  cut  and  engraved  flint  and  coloured  glass  or  plate 
or  sheet  glass,  and  thus  accomplishing  by  a chemical  process 
what  has  been  hitherto  performed  by  mechanical  appliances 
combined  with  the  use  of  most  injurious  powders  and  manual 
labour. 

12,648.  August  10th,  1889.  “Obtaining Alloys  of  Aluminium." 

John  Clark,  80,  Great  Brook  Street,  Birmingham,  Metal- 
lurgist. 

The  object  of  the  invention  is  to  operate  upon  any  silicate  of 
alumina  with  certain  reagents  in  such  a manner  that  when  the 
said  prepared  silicate  of  alumina  is  mixed  with  the  metal  or 
metals  intended  to  be  alloyed  with  aluminium,  and  is  melted 
therewith,  the  intended  alloy  of  aluminium  with  such  metal  or 
metals  is  produced  ; or,  if  the  prepared  silicate  of  alumina  is 
brought  into  contact  in  any  convenient  manner  with  such 
metal  or  metals  while  in  a melted  or  plastic  condition,  the 
intended  alloy  with  aluminium  is  thereby  produced  in  a 
similar  manner. 


<£omgpon&ence. 


PERSPECTIVE  IN  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

Sin, — May  I take  the  liberty  of  expressing  a fear  lest  a pas- 
sage in  the  presidential  address,  which  we  have  all  heard  or 
read  with  such  interest,  may  be  so  misunderstood  as  to  dis- 
courage a study  of  much  importance,  namely,  that  of  the  rela- 
tions between  visual  and  photographic  perspective.  Comment- 
ing on  Mr.  Hamerton’s  case  against  photography  in  his  well- 
known  essay,  that  “It  is  false  in  perspective,  and  consequently 
in  proportions  and  forms,”  the  President  said  that  “ falsity  of 
perspective  and  the  proportion  of  forms  is  entirely  a question 
of  the  proper  or  improper  use  of  lenses,  and  need  not  exist 
at  all.” 

I venture  to  submit  that  though  this  reply  appears  prac- 
tically complete  as  regards  the  apparent  distortion  of  portraits 
taken  too  close  to  the  sitter — which  Mr  Hammerton  had 
instanced  as  a special  fault  inherent  to  photography — yet,  as  a 
general  statement,  it  is  incorrect,  and,  I fear,  misleading.  For 
the  real  difficulty  of  the  question,  “ how  it  is  we  can  look  on  a 
friend’s  face  or  figure  without  feeling  the  distortion  which  would 
be  unpleasautly  obvious  in  a photograph  taken  from  a jwsition 
equally  close,”  is  not  touched  at  all,  but  remains  a problem 
which  should  be  solved  with  scientific  completeness,  and  not 
merely  salved  with  a remedy,  practically  efficient,  perhaps, 
in  many  cases,  but  yet  applied  empirically,  and  not  indeed 
always  applicable. 

We  cannot  help  recognising  that  some  differences  must 
really  exist  ; for  our  graphic  delineation  is  on  a plane  surface, 
corresponding  neither  to  nature  itself,  nor  to  our  vision  of  it. 
But  still  more  important  is  it  to  recognise  that  such  a sense  of 


perspective  as  belongs  to  even  the  most  cultivated  visual  per- 
ception— or,  to  the  painting  which  may  embody  that  percep- 
tion— will  never  exactly  correspond  to  the  strict  geometrical 
perspective  of  a good  lens,  however  well  selected  and  placed. 
For  what  we  see  in  nature  Is  affected  to  us  by  subjective  modi- 
fications not  similarly  present  when  we  look  on  its  pictorial 
representation  — photographed  or  painted — and  photography 
cannot  depict  what  is  only  subjectively  present.  In  viewing 
natural  scenes,  we  naturally  apprehend  actual  rather  than 
apparent  magnitudes  and  forms  ; our  perceptions  being  domi- 
nated by  past  experience  and  acquired  knowledge.  For  as 
these  strictly  apparent  proportions  and  forms  change  from 
moment  to  moment  as  we  move,  they  are  gone  before  we  have 
fairly  laid  hold  of  them.  And  in  the  mass  of  such  changing 
and  varying  perceptions,  which  we  suppose  to  constitute  the 
image  of  nature  as  we  survey  it,  the  constancy  of  our  memory 
or  conception  of  actual  forms  and  magnitudes,  which  are 
always  the  same,  preponderate  to  a greater  or  less  extent, 
according  to  our  cultivation,  and  according  to  the  familiarity 
or  strangeness  of  our  surroundings.  It  is  thus  that  a just 
sense  of  perspective  is  a comparatively  late  product  of  observa- 
tion and  mental  development,  and  that  different  parts  are 
apprehended  in  differing  proportions  — often  contrasting 
strongly  with  the  utter  rigidity  and  geometric  accuracy  of 
the  apparent  image  formed  by  a lens.  It  is  thus,  too,  that 
“falsity  of  perspective”  means  one  thing  to  artistic  feeling, 
and  another  to  geometrical  accuracy.  We  cannot  have  a real 
science  of  photographic  perspective  unless  we  fully  recognise 
all  the  facts — psychical  as  well  as  physical — and  such  a 
science  is  greatly  needed,  rightly  to  direct  our  efforts. 

I am  persuaded,  from  other  passages  in  the  presidential 
address,  and  from  what  Mr.  Hamerton  has  written  in  other 
essays,  that  these  remarks  are  not  really  discordant  with  the 
views  of  either  authority  ; and  with  such  a feeling  I have 
ventured  to  write  this  letter.  W.  H.  Wheeler. 


HACKNEY  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY. 

Sir, — Below  is  our  programme  for  July  and  August,  1890  : — 
July  10th — Demonstration,  “ Exposure  and  Development," 
Mr.  Birt  Acres  ; July  19th — Excurson  to  St.  Albans  (trains 
leave  King’s  Cross,  G.N.R.,  2.40  ; July  24th — Discussion  on 
excursion  work  ; August  14th — Demonstration,  “Intensifying, 
Reduction,  and  Varnishing,”  Mr.  R.  Beckett ; August  16th — 
Excursion  to  Carshalton  (train  from  London  Bridge  at  2. 18)  ; 
August  28th — “ Portraiture  and  Retouching,”  Mr.  J.  Hubert. 

Prizes  will  be  given  for  the  two  best  photographs  taken  on 
Society  excursions.  Other  prizes  for  work  done  during  the 
present  year  will  be  given,  of  which  due  notice  will  be  sent 
to  each  member.  In  each  case  an  entrance  fee  of  Is.  will  be 
charged.  Members  not  having  paid  their  subscription  for 
present  year  are  requested  to  send  on  at  once  to  the  treasurer. 

W.  Fenton  Jones,  Hon,  Sec. 

12,  King  Edward  Road,  Hackney,  N.E. 


THE  LATE  MR.  BAYNHAM  JONES. 

Sir, — I regret  to  say  that  the  oldest  photographer  in  this 
country  died  on  the  19  th  ult.  at  Cheltenham. 

The  late  Mr.  Baynham  Jones  was  known  to  me  for  many 
years,  and  the  last  time  1 saw  him  was  in  Loudon  last  year  at 
the  Jubilee  Convention.  A lawyer  by  profession,  he  was  from 
first  to  last  a most  enthusiastic  amateur  photographer  ; but  to 
convey  to  the  minds  of  yourself  and  readers  what  kind  of  man 
the  late  Mr.  B.  Jones  was,  I think  I cannot  do  better  than 
make  an  extract  from  the  “Evolution  of  Photography”: — 
“ Looking  round  the  hall  on  the  opening  night,  and  scanning 
the  features  of  those  present,  I was  coming  to  the  conclusion 
that  I was  the  oldest  photographer  there,  when  I espied  Mr. 
Baynham  Jones,  a man  of  eighty-three  winters,  and  certainly 
the  oldest  amateur  photographer  living  ; so  I willingly  ceded 
the  honour  of  seniority  to  him,  and,  as  soon  as  he  espied 
me,  he  clambered  over  the  rails  to  come  and  sit  at  my 
side  and  talk  over  the  past — and  quite  unknown  to 
many  present — aspects  and  difficulties  of  photography. 
Mr.  Baynham  Jones  was  an  enthusiastic  photographer  from  the 
first,  for  in  1839,  as  soon  as  Daguerre’s  process  was  published, 


July  4,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


527 


he  made  himself  a camera  out  of  a cigar  box  and  the  lens  of  his 
opera  glass,  and  being  unable  to  obtain  a Daguerreotype  plate 
in  the  country,  he  cut  up  a silver  salver,  and  worked  away  on 
a solid  silver  plate  until  he  succeeded  in  making  a Daguerreo- 
type  picture.  Mr.  Baynham  Jones  was  not  the  first  photo- 
grapher in  this  country,  for  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Reade  preceded  him 
by  about  two  years ; but  I have  not  the  slightest  doubt  of  his 
being  the  first  Daguerreotypist  in  England,  and  in  that 
jubilee  year  of  1889  he  was  working-  with  gelatine  plates  and 
films,  and  enthusiastic  enough  to  come  all  the  way  from 
Cheltenham  to  London  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  Jubilee 
Convention  of  photography.” 

He  was  a genial  and  kindly  old  man,  and  one  of  the  old 
school  which  is  rapidly  becoming  extinct. 

11a,  Berners  Street,  July  1st,  1890.  John  Weroe. 


13roccetftng;S  of  Societies;. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  26th  inst.  Mr.  J.  T.  Atkins  occupied 
the  chair. 

The  Chairman  drew  attention  to  a new  French  developer, 
“La  Daguerrienne.”  Several  plates  could  be  developed  in 
the  same  solution,  and  the  results  were  stated  to  be  very 
good. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Teape  hail  recently  experienced  cases  of  frilling 
when  plates  were  put  in  the  alum  bath,  which,  however,  dis- 
appeared when  the  plates  were  fixed. 

Mr.  Pask  asked  whether  perchloric  acid,  added  to  the  silver 
solution,  10  drops  to  the  ounce,  w'ould  preserve  sensitised 
albumenised  paper. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Derenham  said  perchloric  acid  was  a preservative 
in  itself,  but  it  would  not  protect  the  paper  from  the  effects  of  j 
a bad  atmosphere. 

Mr.  Teape  asked  if  any  members  had  seen  phosphorescence  in  j 
the  dark  room  on  a plate  insufficiently  washed  when  placed  in 
the  alum  bath. 

Several  members  had  noticed  this,  but  no  one  could  give 
any  explanation  as  to  the  cause. 


Hackney  Photographic  Society. 


At  the  meeting  held  on  Thursday  last,  Mr.  W.  L.  Barker 
presided. 


Mr.  Dean  showed  a negative  having  traces  of  fog  very 
apparent,  but  explained  that  he  poured  a solution  of  caustic  over 
it  in  developer. 

The  Secretary  said  that  that  would  explain  the  fogginess. 

Mr.  Grant  showed  some  prints  taken  from  negatives  by  a 
guinea  hand-camera  of  Griffith’s,  but  had  found  the  dark  slides, 
in  two  cases  out  of  three,  had  let  in  the  light. 

A fine  platinotype  print  by  Mr.  Wesson  was  shown. 

The  Secretary  handed  round  some  Wormald’s  masks. . 

From  the  question-box  : “ How  can  staining  by  hydroquiuone 
developer  on  bromide  paper  be  avoided  ? ” Several  members 
had  complained  of  this. 

The  Secretary  said  that  he  had  found  by  using  a few  drops  of 
ten  per  cent,  solution  of  brom.  potassium  he  overcame  it. 

Mr.  A.  Barker  had  seen  cyanide  of  potassium  recommended. 

Mr.  Crooch  then  gave  his  paper  on  “Lenses.”  He  described 
the  various  forms  now  in  use,  and  spoke  very  favourably  of 
single  lenses,  which  many  people  objected  to  on  account  of 
distortion.  He,  however,  had  not  found  so  much  lately  as  used  to 
lie  the  case.  The  lecturer  said  lenses  were  made  too  rapid, 
and  that//ll  was  rapid  enough  for  anything.  He  advocated 
use  of  lenses  as  follows : — For  quarter-plate,  3,  6,  or  8,  and 
a 9-inch  focus  ; half-plate,  4,  8,  and  12  ; 7|  by  5 and  whole- 
plate,  5 or  6,  12  and  a 15,  or  18  inch.  He  objected  to  portrait 
lenses. 


Mr.  W.  L.  Barker  wanted  to  know  why  the  ler.s  tube  of  a 
wide  angle  was  so  narrow. 

Mr.  Crouch  said  that  it  made  it  more  portable. 


In  answer  to  the  Secretary,  Mr.  Crouch  said  that  the  iris 
diaphragm  gave  no  extra  protection  from  flare  spot.  He  liked 
diaphragms  in  this  form,  as  there  was  no  danger  of  losing  them, 
and  you  could  the  more  easily  use  them.  Rust  on  glass  was 
caused  by  an  oxide  formed  on  the  surface,  and  was  due  to  the 
presence  of  lead.  It  should  be  polished  out. 

The  Chairman  then  called  on  Mr.  J.  0.  Grant  for  his  paper 
on  “ Selection  of  Apparatus.” 

Mr.  Grant  advised  the  beginner  to  get  a half-plate  camera 
to  start  with,  as  amateurs  always  got  dissatisfied  with  a quarter- 
plate,  on  account  of  its  being  too  small.  He,  however,  recom- 
mended a cyclist  to  get  a hand-camera  such  as  Shew’s.  He 
disliked  the  idea  of  rushing  off  and  buying  a second-hand 
camera,  as  many  were  not  quite  safe  to  use,  not  being  light- 
tight. He  preferred  the  back  to  rack  out  instead  of  the  front, 
as  there  was  no  danger  then  of  cutting  off. 

In  answer  to  various  questions,  Mr.  Grant  said  that  with 
Kinnear  bellows  the  folds  must  sometimes  be  gathered  up  so 
as  not  to  cut  off  the  view.  He  thought  that  between  the  lenses 
was  the  best  place  for  the  shutter. 

The  Secretary  asked  what  was  the  advantage  of  having 
both  a swing  front  as  well  as  swing  back  ? 

Mr.  Crouch  pointed  out  that  in  using  wide  angle  lenses  it 
was  often  really  necessary,  through  there  not  being  room  to 
use  the  back  alone. 

Mr.  Capell  was  troubled  with  jarring  with  his  Newman 
shutter. 

Mr.  Crouch  said  that  Dr.  Roland  Smith  avoided  this  by 
leaving  his  band  of  shutter  loose. 


The  Bath  Photographic  Society. 

On  Saturday,  June  28th,  the  members  visited  Lacock  Abbey. 
The  party,  numbering  seventeen,  was  conveyed  by  brake  v id 
Box  and  Corsham.  The  drive  of  thirteen  miles  is  very  pictur- 
esque, but  the  incessant  fall  of  rain  prevented  work  en  route. 
Upon  arrival  at  the  Abbey,  Mr.  C.  H.  Talbot  conducted  the 
party  over  his  premises,  describing  minutely  the  structural 
changes  effected  by  himself  and  ancestors,  as  well  as  pointing 
out  that  which  through  many  generations  had  remained  intact. 
The  Abbey,  we  gleaned,  was  purchased  from  Henry  VIII.  by 
Sir  William  Sherrington,  who  converted  it  into  a Manor  House. 
The  work  of  change  was  further  carried  out  by  Mr.  Jno.  Ivory 
Talbot  and  Mr.  Wm.  Henry  Fox  Talbot.  Although  Mr.  Talbot 
says  the  style  of  architecture  has  not  been  so  well  preserved  as 
it  might  have  been,  the  place  abounds  in  treasures  in  art,  science, 
and  literature.  Excellent  paintings  by  known  artists,  many  of 
remote  date,  remarkable  specimens  of  antique,  and  numberless 
objects  of  scientific  interest  are  there  ; but  what  was  of  especial 
interest  to  photographers  are  those  unique  and  early  specimens 
of  the  photographic  art  which  made  the  name  of  Fox  Talbot 
so  famous.  These  date  from  1834  onwards.  Fox  Talbot  was 
known  to  his  friends  as  a very  rapid  experimenter,  able  to  follow 
an  idea  and  results  in  quick  succession  over  a wide  field  of  re- 
search ; hence  so  much  ground  covered.  Mr.  Talbot  showed 
the  company  several  albums  of  photographs  produced  by  his 
father  by  means  which  he  discovered  anterior  to  his  publica- 
tion of  the  Photogenic  and  Calotype  processes  in  1839  and  1841 
respectively.  The  etched  copper  plates  prepared  for  Fox 
Talbot’s  photoglyptics  and  a number  of  specimens  of  the 
process  were  shown.  Notwithstanding  the  incessant  rain, 
cameras  were  fixed  and  several  views  of  the  buildings  taken. 
Upon  leaving,  the  members  were  cordially  invited  by  Mr. 
Talbot  to  return  on  a more  photographically  favourable  day  next 
season,  which  they  promised  to  do.  Tea  was  served  at  the  Red 
Lion,  at  which  votes  of  thanks  were  passed  to  Mr.  Talbot,  and 
to  Mr.  Austin  J.  King  for  his  generous  present  to  the  Society, 
namely,  provisioning  the  brake  en  route.  An  invitation  to  visit 
Prior  Park  from  Canon  Williams  was  read  by  the  secretary, 
and  unanimously  accepted  for  July  26th.  Swift’s  new  hand- 
camera,  “ The  Memorandum,”  Powell’s  developoids,  and  other 
novelties  were  drawm  attention  to  on  the  road.  It  was  also 
decided  to  discontinue  the  indoor  meetings  at  the  Institution 
until  next  September,  but  regular  outings  will  be  supple- 
mented. 


528 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


InTOk 


Newcastle-on-Tynr  and  Northern  Counties  Photographic 
Association. 


[July  4,  1890. 


Unstoers  to  ©omgpontrcnts. 


June  17 th. — Mr.  H.  G.  Ridgway  in  the  chair. 

The  Hon.  Secretaries  reported  upon  the  recent  exhibition, 
which  has  resulted  in  a small  balance  on  the  right  side  of  the 
ledger. 

New  members,  to  the  number  of  twenty-two,  were  then 
elected,  and  arrangements  as  to  outdoor  meetings  concluded. 

The  subject  for  the  evening  was  an  exhibition  of  and  dis- 
cussion upon  “ Hand-Cameras,”  examples  of  which  were  sub- 
mitted by  the  local  dealers  and  by  various  members. 

Mr.  J.  Hedley  Robinson,  in  opening  the  discussion,  exhi- 
bited an  ingeniously  simple  and  compact  instrument,  con- 
structed by  himself,  which  was  small  enough  to  be  carried  in 
the  pocket,  but  at  the  same  time  a business-like  little  affair, 
taking  lantern-size  plates.  Slides  were  exhibited  by  Mr. 
Robinson,  which  amply  showed  its  capacity  in  his  hands.  Com- 
menting upon  the  cameras  on  view,  he  was  inclined  to  fear 
that,  unless  very  carefully  manipulated,  there  was  danger  of 
shaking  the  camera  when  releasing  the  shutter  ; and  he  advo- 
cated the  principle  of  holding  the  camera  firmly  in  both  hands, 
taking  a sight  along  the  top  at  the  subject,  and  firing  the  shutter 
off  by  squeezing  the  bulb  in  the  mouth,  which,  if  not  elegant, 
is  at  least  practical.  The  subject  of  lenses  next  came  under 
consideration,  and  he  spoke  highly  of  the  single  form,  conclu- 
ding with  a sensible  piece  of  advice — not  to  use  stale  plates  for 
work  of  this  kind. 

Other  members  then  commented  upon  the  cameras  of  their 
choice,  and  the  meeting  broke  up. 


Birmingham  Photographic  Society. 

A meeting  was  held  at  St.  Edmund’s  College,  June  16th,  Mr. 
B.  Karleese  in  the  chair. 

Mr.  G.  A.  Thomason  gave  an  epitome  of  the  excursion  to 
Coventry,  and  gave  notice  of  the  whole  day’s  excursion  to  Wilm- 
cote  and  Stretford  on  July  19  th. 

Seven  new  members  were  elected. 

Mr.  W.  J.  Harrison,  F.G.  S. , then  gave  his  paper  on 
“ Orthochromatic  Photography,”  which  was  illustrated  with  a 
large  number  of  negatives  and  prints  and  lantern  slides  taken 
by  the  lecturer,  showing  the  advantages  of  orthochromatic 
plates  over  the  ordinary ; also  prints  of  negatives  taken 
from  oil  paintings  with  screens  of  different  intensity.  He  said 
that  ordinary  plates  could  be  made  to  give  the  proper 
gradation  of  shade  by  soaking  them  for  two  minutes  in 
Erythrosine  ...  ...  ...  ...  1 part 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  7,000  parts 

and  then  drying  in  dark  room,  and  that  although  great  strides 
had  lately  been  made  in  orthochromatic  photography,  yet  no 
satisfactory  way  had  been  found  for  photographing  reds.  In 
the  developing  room  it  is  as  well  to  cover  the  red  glass  with 
brown  tissue  paper. 

The  Chairman  said  that  he  found  exquisite  detail  in  the 
shallows  of  negatives  taken  on  orthochromatic  plates. 

Mr.  Middleton  said  that  Dr.  E.  Albert  develops  in  a 
blue  light ; but  his  process  of  preparing  the  plates  is  a secret, 
and  he  uses  no  screen.  Father  Perry  used  the  same  in  his 
astronomical  studies. 

Mr.  Tucker  had  photographed  the  spectrum  of  steel  at  a 
white  heat,  by  placing  it  between  two  carbons  connected  with 
the  dynamo,  with  great  success.  The  plates  were  first  soaked 
in  eosine. 

Mr.  Harrison  exhibited  a number  of  prints  and  negatives, 
showing  good  work,  on  the  Vogel -Obernetter  orthochromatic 
plates  ; these  were  the  work  of  Mr.  Gotz,  the  English  agent 
for  these  plates.  Also  some  capital  landscapes  and  flower 
subjects,  lent  by  Mr.  B.  J.  Edwards,  and  taken  on  his  iso- 
chromatic  plates. 


Received. — From  Messrs  lliffe  and  Son,  “ The  International 
Annual  of  Anthony’s  Photographic  Bulletin,”  1890-91.  It 
is  full  of  information,  contributed  by  authors  of  acknowledged 
ability,  and  the  illustrations,  which  are  examples  of  the  applica- 
tion of  photography  to  illustrative  purposes,  are  numerous. 
The  price  of  this  midsummer  annual  is  two  shillings. 


All  Cjininuaicitioas,  except  »4vertUem:nts,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Elitor  of  the  Photographic  News,  5,  Furnival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

All  quest  o ns  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2.  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

All  Alvertisemints  ail  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  Nkws,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London. 

S.  B.  (Aldershot). — Finely  Ground  Glass.  For  the  final  grind- 
ing of  glass  intended  for  focussing  screens,  use  the  quality 
known  as  flour  emery,  moistened  with  water,  and  rubbed 
between  two  glass  surfaces  with  slight  circular  motion.  This 
will  furnish  two  screens  at  one  operation.  Another  plan  is 
to  grind  the  glasses  singly  upon  a zinc  plate  with  flour  emery 
and  water.  Mr.  F.  H.  Varley’s  instructive  chapters  were 
those  of  recent  date,  to  which  you  doubtless  refer. 

P.  L. — Changing  Plates.  By  consulting  their  convenience  as 
to  time,  many  local  photographers  will  give  you  facilities  by 
loan  of  dark  room  for  a few  minutes  ; and  a list  of  hotels 
providing  this  accommodation  is  given  in  the  “ Cyclists’ 
Manual  and  Road  Book.”  Several  amateurs  manage  to  do 
it  in  absolute  darkness  by  the  touch,  but  this  requires  some 
practice  and  forethought.  The  simplest  lamp  is  a three-fold 
framework  of  stiff  cardboard  filled  in  with  cherry  or  ruby 
fabric,  with  a triangular  flanged  plate  of  iron  to  drop  over 
the  top,  and  a night  light,  or  cup  of  hard  paraffin  with  a 
wick,  placed  within. 

J.  B.  (Maldon). — Liesegang’s  New  Fixing  Agent.  Vie  have 
not  yet  tried  it,  but  chloride  of  magnesium  solution  is  stated 
to  have  great  power  of  dissolving  the  haloid  salts  of  silver, 
so  much  so  that  with  two  baths  applied  successively  the  whole 
of  the  unaltered  silver  may  be  removed.  We  know  that  Fox 
Talbot  originally  employed  a strong  brine  of  common  salt  for 
this  purpose.  An  experiment  well  worth  trial  might  be  the 
attempt  to  use  a concentrated  sea-water  for  fixing,  w'hich 
would  contain  both  these  salts  in  solution.  Be  sure  and  use 
enough  liquor  to  accomplish  the  desired  end. 

M.  E.  T. — Cleaning  the  Margins  of  Mounted  Photographs. 
Whether  framed  or  kept  in  portfolios,  the  broad  mounts  are 
sure  to  become  dingy  in  course  of  time  ; the  best  mode  of 
cleaning  the  card  is  to  rub  it  with  bread-crumb,  and  not 
india-rubber.  Especially  avoid  the  use  of  the  white  vulcan- 
ised rubber,  now  commonly  employed  as  a pencil  eraser,  for 
the  fine  particles  contain  so  much  sulphur,  and  are  certain 
to  cause  fading  of  the  photograph. 

A Member. — The  Parent  Society's  Exhibition  will  be  held  once 
more  in  Pall  Mall.  Three  months’  notice  is  surely  time  enough 
to  get  ready,  and  your  works  will  be  judged  by  a high-art 
jury  of  pre-eminent  qualification. 

L.  ? A.  I). — Friese  Greene's  Opal  Cards.  The  specification  has 
been  published  ; No.  7,747,  dated  May  9th,  1889.  The 
cards  are  coated  with  a mixture  of  zinc  white,  turpentine, 
and  pale  gold  size,  either  with  or  without  a preliminary 
treatment  with  sulphuric  acid  of  specified  strength  to  parch- 
mentise  the  paper. 

S.  N. — Old  Earthenware  Dishes.  Those  which  have  been  used 
long  enough  to  develop  cracks  extending  only  through  the 
glaze  may  be  cured  by  warming  cautiously  in  a slightly 
heated  oven,  and  rubbing  in  melted  paraffin.  Actual  frac- 
tures are  more  difficult  of  treatment,  shellac  cement  or  marine 
glue  being  the  best  ingredients  for  trial. 

Tyro. — Col.  Waterhouse’s  New  Developer.  It  is  scarcely 
correct  to  describe  it  as  a preparation  of  gum  guaiacum, 
although  derived  from  it  by  destructive  distillation. 
Guaiacol  is  an  oily  body  of  strongly  aromatic  odour,  soluble 
in  alcohol  and  alkalies.  Being  liquid  the  required  dose  is 
measured  off,  shaken  up  with  the  prescribed  quantity  of 
alkaline  carbonate,  and  used  immediately  as  a developer. 

It.  M. — Photographers'  Benevolent  Association.  Subscriptions 
for  the  current  year  are  now  overdue,  and  should  be  paid  to 
Mr.  H.  J.  Beasley,  66,  Chancery  Lane,  W.C. 

E.  C.,  A.  G.  K.,  and  Castile  answered  by  post. 

Other  Correspondents  in  our  next. 


Example  from  " Remarkable  Bindings  in  the  British  Museum."  By  kind  permission  of  the  Publishers , Sampson  Low , 

Marston , Searle  A Rivington. 


— 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1662. — July  11,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PAO* 


Chromo-Collographic  Printing 529 

Photography  by  Telegraph 530 

The  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester  531 

The  Photographic  Convention  at  Bath  531 

Photographic  Exhibitions.  By  George  Davison 532 

A Neglected  Dry  Plate  Process.  By  William  Lang,  Jun 533 

New  Photographic  Lenses.  By  Dr.  Paul  Rudolph  635 

Notes 536 


FAOI 

Photography  in  France.  By  Leon  Vidal 538 

Imagining  and  Imaging.  By  Philip  H.  Newman 538 

Developers  Used  by  German  Professional  Photographers.  By 

Julius  F.  Sachse  540 

Patent  Intelligence  541 

Correspondence 543 

Proceedings  of  Societies 54* 

Answers  to  Correspondents  544 


CHROM 0 -COLLOGR  APHIC  PRINTING. 

Illustrated  by  a Pictorial  Supplement. 

To-day  we  present  our  readers  with  a supplement  in 
colours,  executed  entirely  by  photographic  means  by 
Messrs.  Waterlow  and  Sons,  who  have  furnished  the 
following  informatior  as  to  its  method  of  production. 
It  is  one  of  a series  of  coloured  photographs  of  remark- 
able bindings  of  old  books  among  those  in  the  British 
Museum. 

The  process  is  simplicity  itself,  and  being  so  simple 
and  effective,  it  is  somewhat  surprising  that  it  has  not 
been  generally  introduced  before.  Similar  results  have 
been  published  before,  but  we  believe  only  by  means 
of  chromo-lithography  in  combination  with  collotype 
printing ; the  present  supplement  has  been  produced 
by  improvements  upon  that  method  devised  by  Mr.  J. 
D.  Geddes. 

Perhaps  the  process  may  be  most  easily  explained 
by  beginning  with  the  production  of  the  red  portion  of 
the  print.  The  book  is  laid  horizontally  on  a table, 
and  illuminated  by  diffused  light.  A reversing 
mirror  is  employed,  and  a very  long  exposure  given 
with  an  orthochromatic  plate,  because,  the  reds  not 
being  pure,  but  containing  a proportion  of  yellow,  it 
is  usually  found  that  more  detail  is  obtained  than  by 
the  use  of  ordinary  plates.  With  the  long  exposure, 
the  other  more  actinic  parts  of  the  design  are  to  a 
great  extent  obliterated,  so  that  the  plate  requires 
little  or  no  blocking  out  to  make  it  ready  for  printing. 

Upon  another  negative  plate  the  blue  portion  of  the 
design  is  obtained  by  an  exceptionally  short  exposure 
and  normal  development.  All  the  rest  of  this  plate 
but  that  representing  the  blue  image  is  then  quickly 
blocked  out,  because  skilled  work  is  not  necessary  ; it 
can  be  done  in  ten  minutes  by  an  inexperienced  person 
of  average  intelligence. 

The  two  extremes,  red  and  blue,  having  been  ob- 
tained in  this  way,  representations  of  portions  of  the 
design  in  other  colours  are  obtained  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple by  modifying  the  exposures  and  the  development 


and  blocking  out  the  parts  of  the  negative  not  required. 
Four  colours,  of  course,  require  four  plates. 

When  a portion  of  the  cover  of  the  book  is  gilt, 
that  part  of  the  design  is  printed  from  the  collotype 
plate  upon  paper  in  gold-size  varnish,  which  is  after- 
wards gilt  in  the  usual  way. 

In  the  supplement  are  four  printings,  three  in  colours 
and  one  in  gold.  In  the  matter  of  gradations  of  tone, 
the  results  are  as  good  as  with  many  more  printings  in 
chromo-lithography,  and  more  true  to  the  original. 
To  get  the  exact  colours  an  artist  had  to  be  sent  to  the 
British  Museum  with  a palette,  where  he  matched  on 
paper  the  tones  presented  by  the  cover  of  the  book. 
This  process  represents,  in  a remarkable  way,  worn  or 
torn  portions  of  the  cover  ; the  collotype  plate  seems  to 
lend  itself  to  the  pictorial  reproduction  of  such  details. 
The  possible  applications  of  the  process  to  colour  illus- 
tration are  barely  indicated  by  the  supplement,  and 
experimental  research  is  now  being  made  in  the 
endeavour  to  apply  the  method  to  a variety  of  sub- 
jects, including  negatives  from  nature  and  the  repro- 
duction of  paintings. 

The  printings  from  the  collotype  plates  are  per- 
formed in  the  ordinary  way,  only  special  care  is  taken 
in  the  seK>tion  of  the  pigments  which,  in  combination, 
will  match  exactly  the  colours  of  the  original.  Messrs. 
Waterlow  & Sons  have  now  no  less  than  eight  German 
and  French  steam  collotype  machines  at  work,  and  as 
they  occasionally  get  orders  from  the  Continent,  it  is 
interesting  to  know  that  at  last  a stand  is  being  made 
against  foreign  competition,  which  has  so  long  held 
sway  in  this  particular  brauch  of  industry.  We  have 
inspected  several  well-known  collotype  printing  estab- 
lishments on  the  Continent  not  nearly  so  well  equipped 
as  the  works  in  Finsbury,  in  which  the  present  supple- 
ment was  produced.  The  fact  is,  that  the  prices  for 
ordinary  collotype  print'ng  are  so  low  that  without  a 
good  supply  of  steam  machinery,  adequate  division  of 
labour,  careful  attention  to  details,  and  skilled  workmen 
at  every  point,  it  is  a class  of  work  likely  to  bring  in 
little  remuneration. 


530 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jui.y  11.  1890. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  BY  TELEGRAPH. 

Jn  this  age  of  hurry  every  man  of  business  is  enabled, 
by  modern  appliances,  to  do  in  a few  hours  the  work 
which  our  forefathers  would  have  considered  more  than 
sufficient  to  occupy  them  for  a week.  The  introduction 
of  railways  would  seem  to  have  inculcated  the  notion 
that  everything  must  move  at  railroad  speed,  and  it  is 
impossible  to  foresee  where  this  desire  for  rapid  move- 
ment will  stop.  The  first  step  towards  quick  com- 
munication was  the  semaphore  system.  This  was 
replaced  by  the  telegraph,  and  the  telegraph  in  its 
turn  has  been  largely  supplanted  by  the  telephone. 
Every  city  and  town  in  the  world  is  now  covered  by  a 
complicated  cobweb  of  wires,  all  converging  to  one 
central  point,  where  the  exchange  is  situated,  an 
arrangement  which  permits  anyone  to  communicate 
with  any  other  member  of  the  association.  Within 
a short  time,  we  are  promised  that  the  phonograph 
will  be  so  perfected  that  it  will  record  any  sounds 
submitted  to  it,  and,  like  an  obedient  clerk  with  a 
memory  that  never  forgets,  will  at  any  time  repeat 
the  matter  that  has  been  consigned  to  its  keeping. 

Our  telegraphic  system  has  always  been  pointed  to 
as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  triumphs  of  science, 
and  one  which  has  proved  how  reality  will  occasionally 
outstrip  romance,  and  the  improvements  in  telegraphic 
instruments  which  have  been  introduced  within  the 
past  few  years  would  have  surprised  even  those  who 
prophesied  so  much  with  regard  to  what  develop- 
ments might  be  brought  about.  News  from  every 
part  of  the  habitable  globe  is  constantly  pouring  in 
upon  us,  and  by  means  of  a wonderfully  perfect 
organisation,  and  by  the  help  of  the  press,  we  receive 
this  news  almost  as  soon  as  the  events  which  it  deals 
with  have  taken  place. 

A vague  notion  of  how  this  is  all  brought  about 
is  all  of  which  the  general  public  can  boast.  They 
know  that  the  payment  of  sixpence  will  entitle  them 
to  hold  telegraphic  converse  of  a limited  nature  with 
anybody  in  Great  Britain  who  is  within  touch  of  a 
post-office,  and  this  knowledge  leads  them  to  believe 
readily  in  any  report  which  tells  of  coming  and 
greater  wonders. 

A report  of  this  kind  has  been  raised  from  time  to 
time  by  means  of  those  paragraphs  which  occasionally 
appear  in  our  newspapers,  the  origin  of  which  it 
is  difficult  to  discover.  It  has  been  the  fashion  for 
some  time  to  link  Mr.  Edison’s  name  with  anything 
startling  of  an  electrical  nature.  This  is  not  surprising, 
for  Mr.  Edison  has  already  accomplished  such  wonder- 
ful things  that  there  is  some  excuse  for  regarding  him 
as  a magician.  It  does  not,  therefore,  excite  any  great 
feeling  of  surprise  when  it  is  stated  that  he  is  engage  d 
upon  a scheme  for  telegraphing  a picture  of  an  event 
taking  place  at  a distant  point.  The  report  is  probably 
false,  but  it  may  be  true,  and  so  it  is  as  well  that  we 
should  consider  how  far  such  a rumour  may  be  w ithin 
the  bounds  of  possibility. 

There  is  more  thai  one  contrivance  by  j which  the 
actual  h in  l writing  of  a person  in  iy  be  conveyed  from 


one  place  to  another  by  means  of  the  electric  current. 
The  most  noteworthy,  perhaps,  of  these  is  Cowper’s 
writing  telegraph,  which  a few  years  ago  was  at  work 
for  some  time  experimentally  between  Woking  and 
Waterloo  Stations  on  the  South  Western  Railway.  In 
this  system  the  pen  at  the  transmitting  station  was  in 
contact  with  certain  apparatus  which  varied  the  resist- 
ance of  the  current  as  the  pen  was  moved  over  a slip 
of  paper  which  travelled  by  clockwork.  These  varia- 
tions affected  a similar  pen  charged  with  ink  at  the 
receiving  station,  and  the  handwriting — somewhat 
cramped,  it  is  true,  by  the  necessities  of  the  case — was 
reproduced.  Now  it  is  obvious  that  if  handwriting  can 
be  transmitted  in  this  way,  the  transmission  of  a drawing 
executed  in  simple  lines — that  is  to  say,  what  is 
popularly  known  as  a pen  and  ink  sketch — cannot  be 
impossible.  And  as  a matter  of  fact  drawings,  of  a 
kind,  executed  at  a distant  point  were  reproduced 
by  telegraph  many  years  before  Mr.  Cowper’s  writing 
telegraph  was  ever  conceived. 

In  the  year  1850  Bakewell,  taking  advantage  of  the 
observation  made  long  before  his  time  that  the  electric 
current  would  decompose  certain  salts,  and  so  produce 
a coloured  stain  upon  paper  impregnated  with  those 
salts,  perfected  his  telegraphic  system.  It  was  cum- 
brous in  design  and  somewhat  slow  in  action,  but  it 
was  capable  of  reproducing  a picture  under  certain  con- 
ditions, the  chief  among  them  being  that  the  design 
must  be  executed  in  resinous  ink  on  tinfoil.  It  will  be 
seen  at  once  that  such  a necessity  at  once  relegated 
the  instrument,  ingenious  as  it  was,  to  the  domain 
of  experimental  things,  and  the  contrivance  is  now 
forgotten  except  by  those  who  take  an  interest  in 
looking  up  old  text-books  of  electricity.  Not  many 
years  ago  the  idea  was  revived  and  very  much  im- 


telegraph.  Home  results  achieved  by  this  instrument 
we  saw  at  the  time  of  its  invention,  and  we  may 
broadly  say  that  the  reproduction  had  the  same  relation 
to  the  original  that  a Meisenbach  block  has  to  the  photo- 
graph to  which  it  owes  its  origin  — in  that  it  was 
expressed  in  lines.  This  line  reproduction  was,  indeed, 
a necessary  outcome  of  following  out  Bakewell’s 
method,  which  may  be  briefly  described  as  follows. 
The  drawing  in  resinous  ink  on  tinfoil  was  placed  on  a 
revolving  cylinder.  A metallic  point  was  caused  to 
touch  this  cylinder,  and  to  traverse  every  part  of  it  as 
it  revolved,  so  that  if  this  point  had  been  a cutting 
tool  it  would  have  cut  a screw  thread  from  end  to  end 
of  the  cylinder ; but  its  object  was  merely  to  bring 
about  electrical  contact,  and  so  complete  a battery  cir- 
cuit. But  whenever  the  point  went  over  a resinous 
line  the  current  was  for  a moment  interrupted,  to  be 
reinstated  once  more  when  the  tinfoil  was  touched. 

These  interruptions  were  recorded  at  the  receiving 
end  of  the  wire,  where  another  cylinder  revolved 
covered  by  chemically  prepared  paper,  and  traversed 
by  a similar  pointer.  So  long  as  pointer  No.  1 touched 
the  tinfoil,  pointer  No.  2 decomposed  the  salts  in  the 
prepared  paper,  and  left  a coloured  line ; but  directly 
I pointer  No.  1 went  over  the  non-conducting  resinous 


July  11.  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


line,  the  electricity  was  cut  off,  and  pointer  No.  2 left 
no  trace.  The  result  was  what  we  should  call  a 
negative — a picture  composed  of  white  lines  on  a dark 
background.  It  is  possible  that  by  some  means  photo- 
graphy could  be  made  to  simplify  the  arrangement,  and 
it  would  certainly  not  be  difficult  to  obtain  a picture 
on  tin-foil  by  its  aid  ; but  the  game  would  be  hardly 
worth  the  candle. 

If  it  be  true  that  Mr.  Edison  is  experimenting  in 
this  direction,  and  has  any  dream  of  causing  photo- 
graphic action  to  take  place  through  the  medium  of 
an  electric  current,  he  would  probably  turn  his 
attention  to  selenium  as  the  most  promising  agent  for 
his  purpose,  for  we  know  that  this  curious  substance 
possesses  the  remarkable  property  of  varying  its 
resistance  with  the  amount  of  light  which  is  shed 
upon  it.  Professor  Graham  Bell  has  obtained  some 
startling  results  from  it  in  his  photophone  experiments, 
and  it  may  possibly  lead  the  way  to  the  reproduction 
of  a picture  at  a point  distant  from  its  place  of  origin. 
A dream  of  such  possibilities  has  occurred  to  many, 
but  that  dream  has  not  yet  taken  substantial  shape. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CONVENTION  AT 
CHESTER. 

At  the  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester  the  follow- 
ing officers  and  members  of  Council  were  appointed  for 
the  coming  year,  and  for  the  management  of  the  Bath 
meeting  in  1891  : — 

President — William  Bedford,  lion.  Secretary  ami  Treasurer — 
.T.  J.  Briginshaw,  128,  Southwark  Street,  London.  Auditors — 

E.  Clifton  and  T.  Charteris  White.  Council — London  mem- 
bers : A.  Cowan,  H.  M.  Hastings,  A.  Haddon,  A.  Pringle, 
Friese  Greene;  J.  Traill  Taylor,  F.  P.  Cembrano,  F.  A.  Bridge, 
G.  Davison,  C.  Phipps  Lucas,  C.  H.  Benham,  W.  H.  Walker, 
A.  Levy,  A.  Mackie,  J.  B.  B.  Wellington,  R.  P.  Drage. 
Provincial  members : O.  Berry,  Wrexham  ; A.  A.  Carnell, 
Plymouth  ; J.  Martin  Harding,  Shrewsbury  ; W.  J.  Harrison, 
Birmingham ; R.  Keene,  Derby ; W.  Lang,  jun.,  Glasgow  ; 
Paul  Lange,  Liverpool  ; Major  J.  Lysaght,  Cork  ; E.  Marlow, 
Birmingham  ; George  Mason,  Glasgow  ; T.  S.  Mayne,  Liver- 
pool ; W.  W.  Naunton,  Shrewsbury  ; J.  B.  Payne,  Newcastle- 
on-Tyne  ; J.  Porritt,  Leicester  ; B.  J.  Sayce,  Liverpool  ; 
A.  Seaman,  Chesterfield  ; J.  M.  B.  Smith,  York  ; John  Stuart, 
Glasgow ; H.  Sturmey,  Coventry. ; A.  Tate,  Belfast  ; W. 
Taylor,  Leicester  ; J.  M.  Turnbull,  Edinburgh  ; G.  Watmough 
Webster,  Chester  ; and  A.  Werner,  Dublin. 

During  the  excursion  to  Hawarden  Castle,  on  the 
day  before  the  Convention  left  Chester,  the  weather 
was  splendid  for  photography ; massive  cumulus 
clouds  were  floating  about,  and  every  now  and  then 
bursts  of  sunshine  came  down  between  the  clouds.  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  fortunately  absent  during  the  Convention 
visit;  we  say  “fortunately,”  because  a statesman  has 
as  much  right  to  a term  of  private  life  as  anyone  else, 
and  the  Photographic  Convention  cannot  be  numbered 
among  those  bad-mannered  intruders  who  almost  force 
themselves  upon  his  privacy. 

During  the  Convention  visit,  a terrible  tragedy  took 
plac  in  front  of  the  City  Hall  at  Chester.  A father 
murdered  his  only  son  with  a bludgeon,  then  raised  the 
body  on  the  end  of  the  weapon,  and  tossed  it  high  in 
the  air.  The  childless  mother  next  appeared  upon  the 


581 

scene,  and  he  gave  her  a blow  behind  the  head,  the 
sound  of  which  could  be  heard  all  over  the  square  ; she 
likewise  sank  at  his  feet  a corpse.  Officials  of  the 
Eastman  Company,  as  well  as  some  other  photographers, 
were  looking  on,  but,  from  excitement  or  other  cause, 
forgot  to  use  their  kodaks.  The  murderer’s  coun- 
tenance betrayed  no  symptoms  of  regret ; on  the 
contrary,  he  smiled  unceasingly,  and  rubbed  his  back 
up  and  down  against  a post,  uttering  unhallowed 
squeaks  of  triumph.  Eor  a moment  only  did  he  show 
signs  of  contrition,  by  bending  over  his  wife’s  body, 
and  squealing,  “0  Judy,  dear  Judy ! ” The  sym- 
pathies of  the  observers  were  evidently  on  the  side  of 
the  culprit.  How  is  it  that  Punch  always  has  as  much 
mob  sympathy  on  his  side  as  does  the  villainous  old 
wife-murderer,  Henry  VIII.  ? Punch  and  Judy  shows 
are  but  survivals  of  Italian  puppet  miracle  plays,  and, 
in  his  native  clime,  Punch  originally  was  Pontius 
Pilate. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CONVENTION  AT  BATH. 
About  midsummer  next  year  the  Photographic  Con- 
vention will  meet  in  Bath,  and  with  the  experience 
of  the  past  the  managers  will  be  better  able  to  deal 
with  the  difficulties  of  the  future.  Unless  the  excursion 
for  any  particular  day  is  but  to  a moderate  distance, 
or  to  a place  of  but  average  attractiveness,  it  is  evidently 
a mistake  to  draw  the  members  back  while  several 
hours  of  daylight  remain,  in  order  that  they  may  be 
present  at  the  reading  of  papers  in  the  evening. 
Presumably  the  chief  excursion  from  Bath  will  be  to 
Chepstow  Castle  and  the  banks  of  the  Wye  as  far  as 
Tintern  Abbey,  which  includes,  perhaps,  more  beautiful 
scenery  than  is  to  be  found  anywhere  else  within  simi- 
larly easy  distance  of  London.  Unfortunately,  between 
Chepstow  Castle  and  the  Wyndcliff  a private  park 
includes  the  western  bank  of  the  Wye,  and  those  who 
go  to  Tintern  by  road  have  to  pass  over  two  or  three 
miles  of  ground  away  from  the  river,  and  totally  desti- 
tute of  pictorial  interest.  The  lower  reaches  of  the 
Wye  have  the  highest  tides  of  any  river  in  England, 
and  when  the  tide  is  low,  ugly  mud-banks  rise  at  each 
side  of  the  river,  nearly  as  steep  as  the  roof  of  a house. 
Near  the  railway  station  at  Chepstow  is  a picturesque 
cutting  by  the  river  and  through  the  rocks ; the 
heights  are  thickly  wooded.  Chepstow  is  reached  via 
the  Severn  Tunnel,  or  if  a steamboat  be  engaged,  it 
could  go  down  the  Avon,  under  Clifton  Suspension  Bridge, 
then  cross  the  Severn  and  proceed  up  the  Wye  to 
Chepstow.  Once  this  was  the  regular  means  of  com- 
munication between  Chepstow  and  Bristol,  but  whether 
the  opening  of  the  tunnel  has  affected  the  old  steam- 
boat service  we  do  not  know.  Evidently  an  excursion 
of  this  kind  should  occupy  the  whole  day,  and  not 
be  cut  short,  as  was  the  case  at  Couway,  because 
papers  have  to  be  read  in  tbe  evening.  Another 
excursion — this  one  close  to  Bath — will,  no  doubt, 
be  along  the  valley  from  Bathampton  to  Bradford- 
on-Avon,  which  is  picturesque  the  whole  way,  and 
includes  subjects  of  historical  interest.  The  ballast 


532 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jui.y  11.  1890. 


used  in  the  construction  of  the  railway  between 
Bradford  and  Trowbridge  is  rich  in  fossils,  and  in  a 
bed  of  blue  clay  in  a railway  cutting  this  side  of 
Trowbridge  are  numerous  crystals  of  selenite,  a fact 
which  may  interest  those  who  are  in  the  habit  of 
experimenting  with  polarised  light.  A third  excur- 
sion will  probably  be  to  Clifton  Downs  and  Bristol. 
Bath  itself,  with  its  abbey,  its  architectural  antiquities, 
and  its  picturesque  surroundings,  offers  plenty  of  sub- 
jects for  the  camera.  Here  Beckford,  the  author  of 
Vathek,  lived,  and  the  tower  built  by  this  remarkable 
man  of  fantastic  imagination  awaits  the  arrival  of  the 
Convention  to  be  photographed. 

The  Photographic  Convention  may  now  be  said  to 
be  upon  a fairly  permanent  basis  ; it  meets  a want  of 
the  photographic  fraternity  in  providing  a summer 
outing,  at  which,  also,  many  meet  who  otherwise  would 
not  make  the  personal  acquaintance  of  each  other. 
The  Convention,  practically  speaking,  was  founded  by 
Mr.  J.  Traill  Taylor  and  Mr.  J.  J.  Briginshaw.  The 
former  gave  it  its  somewhat  American  title,  and  the 
latter  told  the  listeners  at  the  Convention  dinner  in 
the  Grosvenor  Hotel,  Chester,  that  the  organisation  has 
now  reached  a stage  at  which  “ it  can  no  longer  be 
damned  with  faint  praise.”  Mr.  A.  Pringle  has  done 
much  in  the  nursing  of  the  infant  Convention,  and  the 
Mayor  of  Chester  has  given  a good  life  to  the  Associa- 
tion, which  is  likely  to  grow  into  something  large  in 
the  future. 

A marked  feature  of  the  meeting  of  the  Photographic 
Convention  at  Chester  was  the  absence  of  the  general 
public  at  the  meetings  at  which  papers  on  photography 
were  read,  although  some  of  the  less  technical  utter- 
ances at  such  meetings  were  of  general  interest ; Mr. 
Gambier  Bolton’s  paper  and  lantern  illustrations,  for 
instance,  were  of  a popular  character.  The  question 
whether  residents  in  the  particular  locality  in  which 
the  Convention  meets  should  be  allowed  to  become 
associates  for  the  week  on  payment  of  the  nominal  fee 
of  a shilling  towards  the  funds  of  the  Convention,  may 
be  worth  consideration.  Such  associates  might  join  the 
excursions  on  the  same  terms  as  ordinary  members. 


The  Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  discussion  on 
July  16th  will  be  “Iron  Printing  Processes;”  July  23rd, 
“ Ceramic  Photography.” 

Suggestions  of  Sitters. — A firm  of  photographers  engaged 
in  the  production  of  a group  which,  they  say,  is  considered 
successful,  send  the  following  suggestions  sent  to  them  by 

individual  members  of  the  group  : — “ Mrs. ’s  eyes  might 

look  larger,  and  her  mouth  have  a bit  taken  off  the  corner. 
The  body  of  her  dress  has  very  ugly  creases.  Please  have 

them  taken  out  altogether.”  “Mrs. ’s  eyes  might  be 

improved  and  the  eyebrow  put  straight  ; the  strong  shade  near 
nose  much  softened  ; the  corner  of  sleeve  taken  out  altogether.” 
“ Mrs.  . Lines  on  the  face  still  more  softened,  particu- 

larly between  the  eyebrows  ; the  outline  of  cheek  near  the 
little  girl  could  be  improved.”  “The  little  girl’s  eyes  look 
too  small  (particularly  one  of  them).”  “ The  little  boy’s  ears 
are,  by  nature,  too  large.  Can  you  please  make  them  a proper 
size  by  shading  part  of  them  out  altogether  against  that  back- 
ground ; I should  think  it  would  be  easy.”  Our  correspondent 
may  well  wonder  what  next  professional  photographers  will  be 
called  upon  to  do. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHIBITIONS. 

BY  GEORGE  DAVISON. 

No.  VI. — Judges. 

In  the  higher  form  of  exhibition,  for  which  I have  indi- 
cated a few  necessary  regulations,  a jury  in  the  ordinary 
sense  would  not  be  required.  The  hanging  committee 
practically  takes  some  of  its  functions ; indeed,  the  quali- 
fications of  a competent  hanging  committee  are,  to  a great 
extent,  those  required  for  a board  of  judges,  although  the 
functions  of  the  hanging  committee  are  much  broader. 
Taking  the  system  of  competition  as  we  find  it,  however, 
the  question  of  the  jury  becomes  the  most  important  to  be 
dealt  with.  If  prizes  are  given  at  all,  they  should  at  least  be 
given  only  for  such  pictures  as  are  truly  deserving  of  some 
recognition,  and  in  the  art  section  should  be  given  only  to 
such  as  possess  artistic  qualities.  It  is  safe  to  say  that,  under 
the  present  development  of  the  classification  and  competi- 
tion system,  in  five  out  of  six  cases  the  successful  photo- 
graphs are  in  no  way  qualified  for  the  distinction  they 
receive.  This  arises  partly  from  the  system  itself,  but  chiefly 
from  the  characteristics  of  photographic  judges.  Faults 
from  partiality,  faults  from  vindictiveness,  must  be  common 
to  any  system,  but  defects  from  ignorance  ought  to  be 
avoidable.  In  many  classes  in  which  adjudication  is  made, 
the  award  has  been  given  for  no  other  reason  than  that  the 
exhibit  shows  what  has  been  held  to  be  correct  exposure, 
the  result  agreeing  with  a certain  convention  or  standard  of 
brightness  and  sharpness  set  up  by  a purely  scientific  con- 
sideration of  photography.  Mrs.  Cameron,  in  writing  of 
an  early  exhibition  in  Scotland,  where  she  had  shown 
some  of  her  remarkable  portraits,  complained  that  the  test 
of  the  judges  was  as  to  which  photograph  showed  most 
the  detail  and  pattern  of  table  cloth,  &c.,  and  such  has 
been  the  attitude  of  most  photographers  acting  in  the 
capacity  of  jurors. 

In  the  May  30th  issue  of  the  rHOTOGRAi'iuc  News, 
there  appeared  an  article  contending  that  painters  were 
not  suitable  or  qualified  judges  of  photographs  because,  it 
was  averred, — 1st.  The  means  used  by  them  were  different. 
2nd.  They  would  give  awards  for  what  most  resembled 
paintings.  3rd.  They  did  not  know'  the  difficulties  of 
photography.  Now  this  contention  simply  means  that 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  good  art  in  photography,  and  that 
it  is  purely  a matter  of  scientific  motions.  The  writer 
speaks  of  roughness  as  charming  in  a painting,  but  as  not 
even  tolerable  in  a photograph,  and  he  conducts  his 
argument  generally  as  though  smoothness  and  sharpness 
w'ere  the  essential  characteristics  of  photography. 
Treatment  in  focussing  is  to  him  no  power  in  the  hands 
of  the  artist,  and  he  holds  the  photographer’s  technique 
cannot  be  made  obedient  to  the  eye  and  will.  It  is 
impossible  in  the  limits  of  these  articles  to  discuss  fully 
a comparison  of  the  photographer’s  and  the  painter’s 
technique,  but  the  question  of  qualifications  for  adjudi- 
cating between  photographic  pictures  does  not  depend 
chiefly  upon  whether  the  means  employed  by  the  judge 
and  the  competitor  be  exactly  the  same,  but  upon  whether 
the  judge  has  been  trained  to  understand  what  con- 
stitutes artistic  qualities.  The  aim  of  the  painter  or 
etcher  or  engraver  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  of  the 
photographer.  If  the  photographer  had  been  through 
the  same  art  training  as  the  painter,  then  he  would  be 
the  best  judge  possible  ; but  it  must  be  remembered  it  is 
no  question  of  deciding  w’hether  a plate  is  fogged  or  under- 
exposed or  done  with  a pinhole,  and  so  forth,  but  whether 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


533 


July  11,  1890.] 

a picture  is  a spirited,  complete  representation  of  a 
natural  scene  and  subject.  A long  cultivation  upon  the 
top  of  natural  aptitude  is  needed  to  decide  what  is  true 
in  a pictorial  representation.  It  is  in  subtle  rendering  of 
passages,  simple  or  complex,  in  nature  that  much  of  the 
enjoyment  of  the  true  connoisseur  consists.  Com- 
position, which  the  jury  has  to  understand  and  appreciate, 
is  not  merely  a detail  of  arrangement.  In  good  composition 
is  comprised  the  selection  of  what  will  most  completely 
express  a certain  subject,  and  give  the  salient  features  under 
the  most  characteristic  conditions,  and  the  whole  has  to  be 
translated  in  a way  that  shows  knowledge  of  what  consti- 
tutes truthful  relations.  It  is  because  photographers  have 
not  had  the  needed  training  that  they  are  not  qualified  to 
judge  of  pictures  with  the  highest  qualities.  They  decide 
merely  from  a few  photographic  conventionalities  more  or 
less  guided  by  a taste  which  would  certainly  be  altered  by 
the  study  required  for  the  production  of  pictures.  All  we 
can  boast  of  in  photography  are  two  or  three  who  are  partly 
trained,  but  who  have  been  compulsorily  led  away  by 
business  considerations  to  which  they  have  had  to  give  their 
chiefest  attention  ; two  or  three  whose  hearts  are  entirely 
in  their  practice,  but  who  have  had  no  preparation,  or  have 
greater  zeal  than  knowledge  ; and  perhaps  not  more  than 
one  to  whom  it  was  possible  to  plan  out  life  with  photo- 
graphy and  art  as  chief  devotion,  and  to  study  it  as 
rationally  required.  All  this  may  at  some  future  time  be 
altered,  but  at  present  there  is  nothing  left  but  to  give  the 
influence  in  our  competitions  to  the  right  artists,  and 
with  a free  hand.  "We  do  not  want  awards  given  for 
smoothness  and  sharpness  any  more  than  for  roughness 
and  blurriness,  nor  in  an  art  exhibition  for  the  overcoming 
of  what  are  considered  difficulties  of  exposure  and  the 
like.  What  is  required  is  the  distinguishing  of  the  photo- 
graphs that  have  some  high  artistic  qualities,  and  only 
those  who  have  learnt  to  know  by  practice  can  authorita- 
tively do  this.  Artists  have  not  been  given  a free  hand. 
They  have  been  subjected  to  petty  interferences,  so  that 
it  is  no  wonder  that  it  is  difficult  to  secure  any  further 
assistance  from  them.  It  has  been  thought  necessary  to 
associate  one  or  more  photographers  with  them,  and  the 
artists  have  frequently  deferred  to  these  technical  assessors, 
or  have  been  entirely  influenced  by  the  ready  photographic 
opinion  confidently  expressed,  but  their  reliance  on  these 
photographic  colleagues  is  but  a proof  that  they  are  unable 
to  find  anything  amongst  the  exhibits  which  comes  into 
the  category  of  good  art  to  which  they  can  assign  the 
medals.  They  then  presume  that  it  is  for  some  other 
qualities  that  the  distinctions  must  be  given. 

Captain  Abney  has  recently  suggested  that  every 
visitor  to  an  exhibition  should  be  a judge,  and  that  in  that 
way  agreement  with  the  public  sentiment  would  most 
closely  be  attained.  But  it  is  hardly  public  sentiment 
that  might  satisfy  the  exhibitors.  The  public  are  apt  to 
go  chiefly  from  hearsay  and  for  a name.  In  a matter  of 
art  a cultivated  electorate  is  essential,  and  only  those  who 
know  ought  to  be  on  a board  of  judges. 

In  conclusion,  I am  of  opinion  that  the  time  has  come 
when,  if  exhibitions  are  desirable  at  all,  they  should  be 
made  somewhat  of  the  kind  I have  outlined  and  argued 
for.  My  contention  in  favour  of  exhibitions  without 
awards,  and  if  with  awards  without  classification  in  the 
art  section,  has  been  to  urge  that  such  is  a more  dignified 
and  rational  system,  rather  than  that  it  is  essentially  differ- 
ent in  kind  from  those  in  vogue.  If  open  exhibitions  are 
to  be  held  at  all,  the  element  of  competition  must  more  or 


less  enter,  but  the  less  prominent  it  is  the  better.  I do 
not  say  that  a system  in  which  acceptation  is  the  award  is 
perfect,  but  it  is  competition  only  in  the  broadest  and 
most  manageable  form,  and  it  passes  by  most  of  the  de- 
fects of  classified  competition.  Competition  may  tend  to 
the  multiplication  of  third-rate  execution,  but  it  is  of  no 
service  in  stimulating  to  good  art ; it  stifles  originality  and 
encourages  imitation.  Something  may  be  found  to  be 
said  in  favour  of  classified  competition,  but  the  arguments 
adduced  are  not  based  upon  a consideration  of  the  bear- 
ing of  the  best  art-cultivation  upon  the  question. 

The  exhibition  required,  then,  is  one  in  which  in  the  art 
section  the  best,  and  only  the  best,  shall  appear,  both  from 
at  home  and  abroad ; where  these  best  are  fairly  and 
judiciously  displayed  by  a competent  hanging  committee  ; 
where  there  shall  be  no  classifying,  every  distinction  of 
amateur  and  professional  being  ignored ; where  the  pictures 
shall  be  more  uniformly  framed ; where  the  scientific 
department  shall  be  kept  distinct  and  be  properly  worked 
up,  exhibits  from  meteorologists,  from  astronomers,  nncro- 
scopists  and  their  societies,  from  photo-mechanical  printing 
process  workers,  and  from  those  interested  in  industrial 
applications  of  photography  being  effectively  sought  and 
secured.  There  have  been  generous  offers  of  assistance 
in  this  direction,  and  some  rumours  of  such  an  exhibition 
being  accomplished,  but  our  hopes  still  await  realisation. 


A NEGLECTED  DRY  PLATE  PROCESS. 

BY  WILLIAM  LANG,  JUN.,  F.C.S. 

A fkiend  of  mine  who  dabbles  in  photo-micrography  con- 
sulted me  recently  as  to  whether  he  could  obtain  a collodion 
plate  in  the  dry  state,  which  he  could  use  from  time  to 
time  as  the  occasion  presented  itself.  For  some  of  his 
more  highly  magnified  specimens,  the  gelatine  film  he 
found  to  be  not  altogether  suitable  ; he  wanted  to  have 
all  the  benefits  of  the  collodion  support,  bnt  he  also 
desired  to  have  a plate  that  would  entail  no  abnormal 
length  of  exposui’e.  The  process  which  I recommended 
to  my  friend  was  one  which,  so  far  as  I have  been  able  to 
ascertain,  has  found  almost  no  exponents,  and,  as  it  has 
met  the  l-equirements  of  the  particular  case  I have  referred 
to,  it  may  be  of  sufficient  interest  to  the  readers  of  the 
Photoguaphic  News  to  have  their  attention  called  to  it. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1861,  the  South  London 
Photographic  Society — a society  no  longer  in  existence, 
but  which  in  its  day  did  some  good  work — organised  a 
committee  to  report  on  some  dry  plate  processes  then 
before  the  photographic  world.  The  processes  at  that 
time  known  as  “ dry  ” were  those  where  collodion  had  a 
preservative  applied,  and  the  preservatives  recommended 
were  simply  legion.  Dr.  Russell's  tannin  process  had 
been  but  recently  given  out ; and  the  process  which 
interests  us  in  the  present  communication  was  likewise  a 
recent  contribution.  Hence,  the  finding  of  the  committee 
on  the  two  processes  in  question  was  as  follows: — “The 
tanuiu  process  and  Dr.  Hanuaford’s  modification  they 
consider  pi-oinising,  but  would  at  present  more  particularly 
call  the  attention  of  the  experimental  members  of  the 
Society  to  them.”  The  processes  actually  reported  on  by 
the  committee  were  the  following : The  Taupenot  (or 
original  collodio-albumen  process),  the  F othergill,  Petschler 
and  Mann’s,  Mr.  Davis’s  collodio-albumen,  and  the  gela- 
tine ; the  latter,  as  then  understood,  having  nothing  in 
common  with  what  we  now  designate  as  the  gelatine,  for, 
the  gelatine  being  poured  ou  the  collodion  plate,  played 


534 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


[July  11,  1890. 


only  the  part  of  a simple  preservative.  Briefly  considered, 
the  two  principal  processes  here  referred  to  consisted  in 
having,  in  the  first  instance,  the  collodion  plate  duly 
sensitised,  and  afterwards  thoroughly  washed.  The 
Taupenot  plate  was  prepared  by  pouring  iodised  albumen 
over  the  washed  plate,  draining  it,  and  drying  rapidly 
before  a bright  fire  ; at  this  stage  the  plates  were  insensi- 
tive, but  the  necessary  quality  of  sensitiveness  was  given 
to  the  plate  by  an  immersion  in  a bath  of  aceto-nitrate  of 
silver.  The  F othergill  process  consisted  in  having  albu- 
men poured  over  the  plate,  the  albumen  having  had  a 
certain  amount  of  ammonia  added  to  it. 

In  order  to  avoid  stains,  which  often  made  their  appear- 
ance, an  immersion  in  a weak  bath  5 grains  nitrate  of  silver 
to  1 ounce  water  was  finally  adopted.  The  modifica- 
tion which  Hannaford  introduced  was  pouring  over  the 
washed  plate  a solution  of  albuminate  of  silver  in  ammonia. 
The  plate,  after  this  application,  was  thoroughly  washed 
before  being  set  aside  to  dry.  The  preparation  of  the 
preservative  is  a simple  affair ; the  white  from  a fresh 
egg  is  taken  and  thinned  with  an  ounce  or  two  of  water, 
well  mixed,  and  to  the  dilute  albumen  1 drachm  of  a (i0 
gram  solution  nitrate  of  silver  is  added ; this  causes  a 
flocculent  precipitate  of  albuminate  of  silver,  which  is  dis- 
solved by  means  of  ammonia  added  drop  by  drop  and  well 
stirred.  It  is  desirable  to  .add  no  more  ammonia  than 
actually  required,  and  the  resulting  solution  should  be 
opalescent  rather  than  clear.  The  solution  will  keep  for 
some  little  time,  and  should  be  put  away  in  a non-actinic 
light.  The  development  of  plates  thus  prepared  is  con- 
ducted as  follows:  First  of  all,  should  the  plate  not  have 
received  a substratum,  it  will  be  necessary  to  go  over  the 
edges  either  with  a varnish  or  a solution  of  india-rubber  in 
benzole ; without  this  the  tender  film  of  collodion  would 
not  bear  the  strain  of  the  subsequent  operations.  Say  that 
the  exposure  has  been  made — and  it  may  be  as  rapid  as  if 
we  were  employing  the  ordinary  gelatine  plate  —the  first 
thing  to  be  done  after  removal  from  the  dark  slide  is  to 
pour  some  alcohol  over  the  collodion  surface,  letting  it 
remain  on  for  some  little  time,  and,  before  applying  thedeve- 
loper,  it  is  necessary  to  wash  the  plate,  very  gently  of 
course,  for  we  are  dealing  with  a very  different  material 
from  that  now  so  generally  employed  in  photography. 
Development  is  now  proceeded  with,  and,  until  the 
advent  of  eikonogen,  it  had  been  my  habit  to  use  a formula 
similar  to  Beachey’s — that  is,  pyro  with  excess  of  sulphite. 
Latterly  I have  had  recourse  to  the  one-solution  formula 
issued  by  Marion's  people  in  connection  with  eikonogen. 
The  plate  is  generally  immersed  in  a tray  containing  the 
developer,  aud  the  appearance  of  image  closely  watched. 
The  moment  it  appears  the  plate  is  withdrawn  and  washed. 
A prolonged  immersion  will  tend  to  veil  the  clear  portions. 
It  remains  to  be  here  stated  that  the  picture  at  this  stage 
looks  unpromising,  the  image  being  little  more  than  a 
ghost.  To  bring  out  detail,  recourse  is  now  to  be  had  to 
the  silver  intensification  method,  as  in  the  “ old  days  ” of 
acid  pyro  development.  For  the  benefit  of  those  whose 
acquaintance  with  photography  is  only  limited  to  the  gela- 
tine period,  I may  state  that  the  intensifying  solutions,  as 
they  were  called,  were  made  up  as  follows : — 


No.  1. — Pyro 

Citric  acid  ... 
Water 

No.  2. — Silver  nitrate 
Water  ... 


10  grains 
25  „ 

2 ounces 
10  grains 
1 ounce 


Immediately  before  using,  a few  drops  of  No.  2 are  added 


to  No.  1,  and  the  solution  poured  on  and  off  the  picture, 
when  it  immediately  begins  to  gain  strength.  The  inten- 
sifying solution,  when  it  begins  to  discolour,  or,  rather, 
when  it  begins  to  show  a deposit,  should  be  at  once  dis- 
carded and  fresh  solution  applied.  In  a short  time 
the  proper  density  will  be  arrived  at,  when,  after  washing, 
the  image  may  be  fixed  either  in  the  ordinary  hypo  or  a 
bath  of  potassium  cyanide.  In  practice  it  is  necessary 
to  be  careful  that  the  light  employed  be  thoroughly 
safe.  Being  a collodion  process,  one  is  apt  to  think  that 
the  same  care  in  this  direction  is  not  necessary,  but  I 
know  that  some  failures  by  a friend  who  experimented 
with  the  process,  and  who  was  inclined  to  throw  it  up  as 
worthless,  were  shown  clearly  to  have  resulted  from  this 
cause.  The  addition  of  some  acetic  acid  to  the  intensifier 
above  given  was  found  to  be  beneficial.  The  process  is 
thoroughly  well  adapted  for  making  lantern  transparencies, 
either  by  contact  or  by  reduction  in  the  camera.  The 
tone  given  by  the  intensifying  method  is  by  no  means  a 
displeasing  one  for  lantern  work,  but  it  can  be  still  further 
improved  by  toning  with  a weak  solution  of  palladium 
chloride.  If  all  the  operations  be  carried  out  as  des- 
cribed in  the  foregoing,  it  is  possible  to  produce  trans- 
parencies that  have  all  the  appearance  of  having  been  made 
by  the  ordinary  wet  plate  method.  The  rapidity  of  the 
plate  is  great ; I have  produced  transparencies  from  a 
negative  of  ordinary  density  by  simply  passing  the  same, 
having  the  prepared  plate  behind  it  in  a printing  frame,  in 
front  of  an  ordinary  batswing  burner. 

At  the  Birmingham  Convention,  I)r.  llill  Norris 
announced  that  he  had  produced  a dry  collodion  plate 
equal  in  sensitiveness  to  a gelatine  plate.  I rather  think 
subsequent  investigations  did  not  bear  this  out,  but  here 
has  been  a collodion  process  lying  more  or  less  dormant 
all  these  years — since  1861 — giving  as  great  sensitiveness 
as  it  is  possible  to  desire.  It  will  naturally  be  asked,  if 
that  be  so,  how  does  it  happen  that  it  has  not  come  to  the 
front?  Perhaps  it  may  be  accounted  for  in  two  ways, 
llannaford's  method  may  have  been  overlooked  from  the 
fact  that  collodion  emulsions  came  shortly  afterwards  to 
engage  universal  attention,  io  be  followed  by  the  all- 
absorbing  gelatine  emulsion,  or  perhaps  no  one  had  thought 
of  applying  the  alkaline  method  of  development  to  be 
followed  afterwards  by  silver  intensification.  llannaford’s 
method  of  development  was  the  acid  pyro,  and  with  this 
the  plate  appears  to  possess  no  great  rapidity.  It  would 
be  interesting  if  some  of  the  readers  of  the  Photo- 
graphic News  would  hike  up  the  process  for  themselves, 
and  give  the  results  of  their  experiences.  I think  enough 
has  been  written  to  enable  anyone  having  the  knowledge 
necessary  to  produce  a wet  collodion  plate  ready  for 
exposure  in  the  camera,  to  prepare  a dry  collodion  plate 
by  llannaford’s  neglected  method. 

The  project  initiated  long  since  by  Captain  Abney,  of 
scientifically  testing  the  optical  qualities  of  any  photographic 
lens  sent  to  lvew  Observatory,  may  possibly  be  carried  into 
practical  effect  before  long.  A small  fee  will  be  charged  to  the 
sender  for  the  testing. 

Enfield  Camera  Club. — A society  has  been  formed  called 
the  Enfield  Camera  Club.  Its  objects  are  to  popularise  the 
art  of  photography,  and  afford  mutual  help  in  photographic 
pursuits  by  the  interchange  of  prints  and  lantern  slides  ; 
field  days,  meetings,  and  discussions  ; and  giving  advice  and 
assistance  to  beginners.  Meetings  arc  held  on  the  first  and 
third  Wednesdays  in  each  month,  at  the  Lancaster  Coffee 
Tavern,  Enfield,  and  the  lion,  secretary  (pro  tcm.)  is  Mr, 
James  Dudiu,  Roseueath,  Chase  Green  Avenue,  Enfield, 


July  11,  1890.  | 


AS^Joj. 

THE  PHOT 


IC  NEWS. 


535 


(Thu  objective  of  this  combination,  represented  in  full 


NEW  PHOTOGRAPHIC  LENSES.* 

BY  DR.  PAUL  RUDOLPH.  by  fig.  2,  has  a focal  length  of  35  c.m.) 

In  conclusion,  I append  to  this  specification  of  myiCv  ^ able  III. 

invention  four  examples,  which  serve  to  illustrate  the  { Objective,  such  as  shown  by  fig.  3,  con 
manner  in  which  the  principles  set  forth  in  the  preceding  Positive  systems,  with  nearly  equal  focal  lengths, 
pages  may  be  applied  to  the  construction  of  different 
types  adapted  to  various  purposes.  All  dimensions  (radii, 
thicknesses  of  lenses,  and  air-distances)  are  expressed  by 
proportional  numbers,  the  focal  length  of  the  whole 
objective  being  taken  as  unity.  A simple  multiplication 
of  these  numbers,  with  the  focal  length  actually  required, 
will  suffice  for  obtaining  the  dimensions  of  any  objective 
wanted. 

The  letters  of  the  following  tables  correspond  to  the  letters 
marked  on  the  drawings  (see  p.  525).  The  different  kinds 
of  glasses  are  determined  by  the  indices  «D  and  wG1  relating 
respectively  to  the  D line  of  the  spectrum  and  to  the  117- 
line  of  the  spectrum  of  hydrogen.  In  order  to  render 
obvious  the  character  of  the  pairs  of  glasses  used  in  each 
system,  I have  appended  to  each  kind  of  glass  the  value  of 


Effective  aperture  : 0*180. 
Radii : 

= + 03408 
r*  = + 0-1217 
r,  = + 0"6815 
r4  = — 0-3894 
r-o  = — 0-8763 
r,  = — 01947 


Angle  of  field  about  70°. 

Thicknesses  of  glass : 
dt  = 0015 
d,  = 0 044 
d3  = 0015 
rf4  = 0 044 
d.  = 0019 


= — 03213 


the  relative  dispersive  power  where  a n has  been 

calculated  for  the  interval  from  the  D to  the  Ily-line  of 
the  spectrum,  while  the  value  of  nD  is  taken  for  n. 
Examples. 

Table  I. 

Objective  of  the  kind  shown  by  fig.  1,  consisting  of  two 
positive  systems  having  greatly  differing  focal  lengths. 
Effective  aperture  : 0-050.  Angle  of  field  about  110°. 

Thicknesses  of  Glass: 


L,: 


L3  and  Lj : 
L4: 


"D 

1-55540 
1 51310 
1-53984 
1-57360 


1-57036 

1-52461 

1-55463 

1-58642 


normal  pair  of  glasses  ; 
focal  length  = 1*741. 
abnormal  pair  of  glasses; 
focal  length  = 1*809. 

3, 


Radii : 

r,  = + 0-2041 
r,  = + 00962 
j-j  = + 0-3329 
r4  = — 0*1589 
r3  — — 0 0962 
r6  = —01798 

Kinds  of  glass  employed 
»n  n. 


<7,  = 0013 
d2  = 0 025 
d,  = 0067 
<74  = 0013 

Distances  of  diaphragm  B 
J,  = 0013 


L, 

l4 


1*55540 

1*51900 

1-57360 

1*54763 


'*01 

1*57036 

1*53047 

1*58642 

1-56316 


d; 

b2  = 0-057 

»D 

«G, 

A n 

L,: 

1-51282 

1*52421 

n — 1 

1*57973 

1*59357 

0-0269  ] 

normal  pair  of  glasses  ; 

1-51680 

1-52755 

0-0221  J 

focal  length  = + 1"1275. 

L, 

: 1-56490 

1-58215 

0-0224 

00284 


Distances  of  diaphragm  B 

5,  = 0*122 
bt  - 0-024 

Kinds  of  glass  employed  : 

A M 

n — 1 
00269  j 
0 0224) 

0-0274 } 

0-0224) 

(The  objective  of  this  combination,  shown  by  fig 
has  a focal  length  of  20  cm.) 

Table  IV. 

Objective  consisting  of  a positive  principal  system  and 
a corrective  system  having  a negative  focal  length. 

Effective  aperture : 0*056.  Angle  of  field  about  100°. 
The  letters  correspond  to  those  marked  in  fig.  1. 

Thicknesses  of  glass : 

d,  = 0012 
dj  — 0’056 
d3  = 0034 
d4  = 0010 

Distances  of  diaphragm  B [ 

6,  = 0084 
6,  = 0*034 


>• 


Radii : 

, = + 0 1928 


= + 0-0938 
r,  = 4-  0*1251 
rt  = — 0*3127 
r6  = - 0-0834 
r6  = — 01511 

Glasses  employed : 


) abnormal  pair  of  glasses  ; 


A n 

n — 1 

0 0222)  normal  pair  of  glasses  ; 
0 0239)  focal  length  = — 1596S. 
0 0208)  normal  pair  of  glasses ; 
0 0305)  focal  length  = + 0 5956. 
Having  now  particularly  described  and  ascertained  the 


) focal  length  = + 3 3785.  nature  of  this  invention,  and  in  what  manner  the  same  is 


(The  objective  of  this  combination,  represented  in  full 
size  by  fig.  1,  has  a focal  length  of  24  cm.) 

Table  II. 

Objectives  of  the  kind  shown  by  fig.  2,  consisting  of 


two  positive  systems  haring 
lengths. 

Effective  aperture : 0166. 
Radii : 

r , = + 0-2559 
r,  = + 01029 
r3  = + 0-4122 
n = — 0-2058 
r5  = + 0-4122 
r6  = — 01897 

Kinds  of  glass  employed 

nD  ”0, 

L,  : 1*57973  1*59357 

Lj*.  1*50546  1*51610 

L3 : 1-53789  1*55250 

L4:  1*57360  1-58642 


but  slightly  differing  focal 
Augle  of  field  about  75°. 

Thicknesses  of  Glass  : 

d,  = 0012 

dj  = 0 062 

d3  = 0 012 
dx  = 0 029 

Distances  of  diaphragm  B : 

6,  = 0 0656 
b,  = 0 0656 

A tl 
n — l 

>•02391  normal  pair  of  glasses; 
>•0210)  focal  length  = + 2-325. 
1-0272  ) abnormal  pair  of  glasses  ; 
10224  j focal  length  = 1'426. 


to  be  performed,  I declare  that  what  I claim  is : — 

In  a photographic  objective,  the  combination  of  two 
distinct  systems  of  lenses,  each  composed  of  single  lenses 
cemented  together,  the  positive  element  of  one  system 
haring  a higher,  the  positive  element  of  the  other  system  a 
lower  refractive  index  than  the  respective  negative  ele- 
ments cemented  thereto,  and  each  system  being  in  itself 
approximately  achromatic,  substantially  as  described. 
♦ 

International  Bibliographical  Conference. — An  Inter- 
national Conference  is  to  be  held  this  summer  in  Antwerp,  of 
publishers,  printers,  and  others  connected  with  or  interested  in 
books.  Simultaneously,  the  Society  of  Industry,  Art,  and 
Commerce  will  organise  in  its  rooms  an  exhibition  which  will 
include  photographic  presses  and  specimens  of  processes  for  the 
photographic  illustrations  of  books. 

British  Photographic  Union. — The  organising  council  of 
the  above  proposed  union  meets  at  the  Polytechnic  School  of  Pho- 
tography on  Wednesday  evening,  July  16th,  at  eight  o’clock. 
Any  workman  who  can  get  three  or  four  of  his  fellow  workmen 
to  delegate  him  may  attend.  The  subjects  to  be  discussed  are 
the  form,  rules,  and  methods  of  the  union  ; the  appointment 
of  acting  officers  for  London  ; the  form  of  appeal  for  funds ; 
arrangements  for  the  institution  of  the  examining  body, 


* Continued  from  page  525. 


536 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  11,  1890. 


iiotcis. 

Mr.  Andrew  Tuer  writes  pleasantly  in  the  English 
Illustrated  Magazine  on  “ The  Art  of  Silhouetting.” 
One  of  the  first  and  best  silhouettists  who  prac- 
tised in  this  country  was  Augustin  Araant  Con- 
stance Fidele  Edouart,  who  wa3  born  at  Dunkerque  in 
1788,  and  found  his  way  to  London  as  a refugee  in 
1815.  It  was  in  1825  that  Edouart  took  to  silhouette 
cutting  as  a profession.  Spending  an  evening  with 
some  friends,  he  was  shown  profile  likenesses  of  some 
of  the  family  taken  with  a machine.  These  Edouart 
condemned,  but  the  daughters  pronounced  them  per- 
fect. Challenged  to  do  something  better,  Edouart 
seized  upon  a pair  of  scissors  and  the  cover  of  a letter, 
and,  putting  the  father  in  position,  “ in  an  instant  I 
produced  a likeness.”  The  paper  being  white,  the 
snuffers  were  resorted  to  for  blacking  it  over.  Natural 
skill  triumphed  over  inexperience  and  difficulty. 

The  most  interesting  portion1  of  the  volume  is  that 
which  foreshadows  the  experience  of  the  photographer. 
When  Edouart  first  began  cutting  out  paper  likenesses 
it  was  on  the  understanding  that  if  they  were  not 
approved  others  would  be  taken.  Some  of  his  clients 
returned  in  a day  or  two  saying  they  were  dissatisfied 
with  the  old  one,  and  they  would  destroy  it  at  home. 
When  Edouart  afterwards  insisted  upon  these  old  like- 
nesses being  returned  and  destroyed  before  a new  one 
was  began,  complaints  decreased.  A young  sitter 
highly  approved  his  likeness,  but  on  a friend  point- 
ing out  that  he  would  look  better  in  a dress  coat — he 
was  taken  in  a frock — another  was  somewhat  rudely 
demanded.  This  was  refused,  and  the  sitter  ultimately 
refused  to  pay  for  the  first  and  only  likeness ; so 
Edouart  in  revenge  cut  the  body  of  the  silhouette  from 
the  waist  downwards  into  a screw,  made  an  alteration 
in  the  top  of  the  hat,  and  wrote  underneath,  “ Patent 
screw  for  five  shillings.”  In  this  altered  condition 
the  silhouette  was  exhibited  in  Edouart’s  window, 
where  it  was  recognised  by  amused  friends,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  satisfactory  terms  were  made  with  the 
artist.  How  few  photographers  are  there  who  have 
not  had  an  experience  of  a “ screw  ” of  this  nature  ! 
By  the  way,  to  have  rendered  Mr.  Tuer’s  article  com- 
plete, some  mention  should  have  been  made  of  Mr. 
Francis  Galton’s  photographic  silhouettes,  which  he 
secures  by  placing  the  sitter  in  a long  passage,  at  the 
end  of  which  is  an  illuminated  screen.  The  camera  is, 
of  course,  stationed  at  the  other  end. 

In  the  interesting  book  just  published  entitled  “ My 
Mistress,  the  Empress  Eugenie,”  the  authoress,  Madame 
Carette,  imparts  a hint  which  the  much  photographed 
ladies  of  to-day  might  utilize  with  advantage.  She 
gives  an  amusing  account  of  one  of  the  court  ladies, 
the  Countess  de  Wagner,  who  had  considerably  passed 
beyond  the  charms  of  her  youth  and  even  middle  age, 
but  who  still  fancied  herself  young.  As  a matter  of 
fact,  she  was,  although  over  seventy,  exceedingly  well- 
preservtd.  The  Empress  often  went  into  raptures  over 


her  unfailing  youth,  and  this  pleased  her  greatly. 
One  day,  she  brought  her  portrait  to  the  Tuilleries,  in 
which  she  appeared  to  be  scarcely  thirty  years  old,  but 
it  did  really  resemble  her,  and  the  Empress  could  not 
conceal  her  astonishment  at  its  artistic  flattery.  “ I 
wished  to  leave  my  friends  a pleasing  souvenir,”  said 
the  Countess,  “ and  I therefore  instructed  the  photo- 
grapher as  to  what  he  was  to  put  in  and  what  omit,  and 
I think  have  succeeded  in  getting  a pretty  portrait.” 


This  seems  to  us  an  admirable  idea.  Ladies  who 
wish  to  please  themselves  should  not  fail  to  take 
advantage  of  the  retoucher’s  art,  and  give  their  own 
instructions.  There  is  only  one  doubt  which  crosses 
our  minds.  The  Countess  de  Wagner’s  portrait,  it  is 
said,  resembled  her.  Now  we  are  inclined  to  think 
that  the  photographer,  in  spite  of  the  lady’s  instructions, 
used  his  own  discretion  ; but  no  doubt  the  Countess 
imagined  that  her  directions  had  been  faithfully  carried 
out.  The  moral  of  this  is,  that  the  diplomatic  photo- 
grapher should  listen  to  all  the  instructions  of  his  fair 
sitter,  but  exercise  his  own  judgment.  They  will  not 
quarrel  with  him  if  he  makes  them  look  younger,  and 
yet  preserves  some  sort  of  likeness. 


In  the  same  interesting  volume  appears  a reference 
to  a certain  photograph  which  played  a mysterious  and 
unexpected  part  in  regard  to  the  surrender  of  Metz. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  when  the  Empress  and  the 
Prince  Imperial  fled  to  England,  a M.  Regnier  visited 
them  at  Hastings.  At  his  earnest  request,  M.  Filon, 
the  Prince  Imperial’s  tutor,  gave  him  a photograph 
signed  by  the  Prince  Imperial;  and  this  little  circum- 
stance expanded  to  unexpected  magnitude.  M. 
Regnier  presented  this  photograph  to  Marshal  Bazaine 
at  Metz,  as  a pledge  of  the  powers  with  which  he  was 
charged  to  negotiate  with  him,  though  what  these 
negotiations  were  was  not  known.  The  whole  of 
this  transaction  has  remained  in  obscurity,  and  it  was 
only  later,  when  events  unravelled  themselves,  that 
the  treachery  of  M.  Regnier  in  presenting  the  photo- 
graph signed  by  the  Prince  Imperial  was  understood. 


It  would  be  a salutary  caution  to  peopl  who  fill  up 
cheques  carelessly,  if  the  photograph  published  in  the 
Banker's  Magazine  of  this  month  were  reproduced  and 
copies  hung  in  every  banking  establishment.  There  is 
one  numeral  which  is  extremely  useful  to  the  dishonest 
person.  All  he  has  to  do  when  he  comes  across  a 
cheque  made  out  for  £8  is  to  add  the  letter  “ y ” to 
the  word  “eight,”  and  an  “0”  to  the  figure,  and, 
■with  two  strokes,  he  thus  converts  £8  into  £80.  This 
seems  to  have  been  the  case  with  a cheque  presented 
to  the  Birkbeck  Bank.  The  original  cheque  was 
drawn  for  £8  5s.,  but  when  presented  it  appeared  as 
£80  5s.  The  bank  paid  the  money,  and  the  drawer 
sued  them  for  the  amount  over-paid.  A photograph 
of  the  cheque  is  given,  as  we  have  already  noted,  in 
the  Banker's  Magazine,  and  proves  conclusively  that 
the  cashier  was  not  in  fault,  as  there  is  no  indication 
that  the  additions  were  made  by  a swindler. 


July  11,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


537 


It  is  taking  the  French  papers  a long  time  to 
discover  that  the  Americans  intend  to  do  honour  to  the 
memory  of  Daguerre  by  raising  a monument  to  him. 
Now  that  the  discovery  has  been  made,  one  of  the 
lively  Parisian  journals  suggests  that  at  the  foot  of  the 
monument  should  be  placed  a penny  automatic  likeness 
taker.  As  this  is  the  lowest  form  of  photography  with 
which  the  world  is  yet  acquainted,  it  is  not  quite 
certain  whether  the  paper  in  question  approves  of  the 
idea  of  a monument.  Since  it  speaks  elsewhere  of 
Daguerre  as  one  of  the  discoverers  of  photography,  per- 
haps it  wishes  the  names  of  Niepce,  Davy,  Wedgwood, 
Talbot,  and  even  Scheele,  to  be  included.  If  so,  the 
argument  is  not  without  justification. 

A Parisian  paper  gravely  states  that  the  automatic 
portrait-taking  machine  was  anticipated  by  an  enter- 
prising jeweller  who,  on  the  first  of  April  last,  intro- 
duced his  invention  to  the  public.  The  apparatus  is 
in  the  form  of  a clock  which  automatically  marks  the 
day,  month,  and  year.  On  the  side  is  an  invitation  to 
“ Drop  five  centimes  in  the  slot  and  see  your  likeness.” 
When  you  have  dropped  your  centimes  in  the  slot  as 
directed,  an  inscription,  reading  “ Here  it  is,”  appears. 
At  the  same  instant  up  bobs  a donkey’s  head  with 
large  outstretched  ears — your  likeness ! It  is  a new 
form  of  an  old  pleasantry,  and  if  the  apparatus  does 
not  take  a photographic  portrait,  it  certainly  takes  the 
public  taste. 

The  Chemical  News  draws  attention  to  a question 
which  always  troubles  judges  and  juries,  namely,  the 
discrepancy  which  is  invariably  seen  when  scientific 
witnesses  give  their  evidence.  Our  contemporary 
rightly  points  out  that  the  disagreeable  spectacle  of  men 
of  equal  scientific  reputation  disagreeing  or  appearing 
to  disagree  over  some  vital  point,  and  the  cross- 
examination  of  the  scientific  witness  by  a counsel  who 
is  totally  ignorant  of  the  subject  under  consideration, 
and  who  has  been  hastily  and  imperfectly  coached, 
do  damage,  not  only  to  the  reputation  of  the  witness, 
but  bring  science  itself  into  contempt.  This  kind  of 
thing  has  always  been  witnessed  when  any  action 
turning  upon  a question  of  photographic  chemistry 
comes  before  the  law  courts.  The  remedy  proposed  is 
that  a scientific  witness  should  make  a written  state- 
ment, but  should  positively  decline  to  step  into  a 
witness  box.  We  do  not  know  whether  this  is  a good 
way  out  of  the  difficulty,  and  judging  by  the  light  of 
recent  photographic  actions  at  law,  probably  the  best 
plan  would  be  for  each  scientific  witness  on  either  side 
to  give  his  evidence,  and  let  it  be  adj  udicated  upon  by 
a scientific  arbitrator.  The  scientific  points  settled, 
the  legal  questions  involved  would  then  be  an  easy 
matter  to  decide  by  the  usual  tribunal. 

Photographers  are,  perhaps,  as  much  interested  in 
the  state  of  the  weather  as  any  other  class  of  the 
community,  for  it  is  certain  that  their  incomes  must 
fluctuate  with  its  condition.  No  one  cares  to  be 
photographed  except  when  arrayed  in  the  chief  glories 


of  her  wardrobe,  and  such  gorgeous  vestments 
are  not  for  rainy  days.  This  midsummer  will  long  be 
remembered  for  wetness,  and  the  general  stagnation 
of  photographic  work  which  it  has  brought  about ; for 
it  is  not  only  the  photographer  who  suffers — the  damp 
percolates  through  and  affects  every  trade  connected 
with  the  art.  A wet  fortnight  at  the  end  of  June 
means  that  millions  of  plates  are  unexposed  that  ought 
to  have  been  exposed,  and  that  thousands  of  reams  of 
paper  which  ought  to  have  borne  pictures  remain  blank. 
So  the  wet  weather  affects  all,  from  the  photographic 
monarchs  of  West  End  studios,  to  the  poor  fellow  who 
holds  himself  in  readiness  to  take  your  portrait  on  the 
sands  for  sixpence. 


Writers  who  try  to  be  comic  have  often  tiied  to 
make  fuu  of  the  circumstance  that  when  two  strangers 
meet,  their  conversation  invariably  opens  with  a remark 
about  the  weather.  But  in  this  country,  at  least,  when 
the  weather  is  so  erratic  in  its  behaviour  that  one 
knows  not  whether  the  morrow  will  bring  forth 
scorching  heat  or  icy  cold,  it  is  only  natural  that  men 
should  have  the  matter  uppermost  in  their  minds. 
The  thing  to  wonder  at  is,  that  with  so  many  millions 
of  persons  making  remarks  and  observations  of  this 
kind  every  day  of  their  lives,  no  one  yet  has  proved 
himself  to  be  a reliable  weather  prophet. 

The  number  of  persons  armed  with  cameras  one  meets 
in  the  course  of  a day’s  outing  is  marvellous.  It 
does  not  seem  to  matter  in  what  direction  you  go,  the 
ubiquitous  photographer  is  bound  to  turn  up.  Of 
course  there  are  favoured  spots.  For  instance,  up  the 
rivercameras  “ comenotin singlespies,  butin  battalions.” 
The  question  naturally  suggests  itself,  if  anglers  are 
allowed  special  privileges  in  the  way  of  reduced  fares, 
why  should  not  amateur  photographers  ? This  is  a 
matter  which  has  been  mooted  at  several  photographic 
societies,  and,  for  aught  we  know,  the  railway  com- 
panies may  have  been  approached  on  the  subject;  but 
certain  it  is  that  up  to  the  present  the  photographer 
has  to  pay  full  fare.  Probably  he  always  will ; 
for  the  argument  may  be  that  photographers  are 
becoming  so  numerous  that  a reduction  of  fare  to  them 
would  mean  a reduction  generally. 

Let  us  hope  that  those  photographers  who  are  for- 
tunate enough  to  get  away  to  the  sea  this  year  may 
have  a break  in  the  clouds  to  look  forward  to,  and  that 
many  seascapes,  and  glimpses  of  life  on  the  shore,  may 
compensate  them  for  the  wet  season  which  they  are 
now  experiencing.  Should  any  of  them  roam  with 
their  cameras  in  that  part  of  our  coast  which  borders 
“ The  Downs,”  they  should  take  with  them  a book 
which  has  recently  been  published,  “ Memorials  of 
the  Goodwin  Sands,”  by  Gattie.  This  gives  a full 
account  not  only  of  the  treacherous  sands,  but  of  the 
coast  near  which  they  lie,  and  it  is  very  pleasant  read- 
ing. It  always  gives  a zest  to  photographic  touring 
when  the  worker  knows  something  about  the  district 
in  which  his  pictures  are  taken. 


538 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  ll,  1890. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  FRANCE. 

BY  LEON  VIDAL. 

Collographic  Process  by  M.  Balagny — Coloured 

Screens  for  Orthochromatic  Work — The  “ Cristallos” 
Developer— Flexible  Negative  Films. 

Collographic  Process  ly  M.  Balagny. — The  fullest  details 
of  the  divers  phases  of  this  process,  which,  as  is  known, 
is  based  upon  the  use  of  a pellicular  printing  surface,  have 
been  furnished  by  the  author  at  a special  conference.  It 
is,  in  short,  a sort  of  photo-lithographic  process  analogous 
to  the  Raymond  autocopyist  process,  but  with  this  differ- 
ence, that  the  gelatinised  paper  which,  in  the  autocopyist 
process,  forms  the  printing  plate,  is  covered  with  gelatine 
free  from  any  other  substance.  In  Balagny’s  pellicle  the 
support  is  coated  with  gelatino-bromide  of  silver.  Accord- 
ing to  our  confrere,  this  substance,  which,  with  regard  to 
gelatine,  is  inert,  has  the  effect  of  increasing  the  sensitive- 
ness to  the  light  of  the  film  when  bichromated.  In  our 
view  this  is  a statement  which  remains  to  be  proved,  but 
what  is  true — a fact  which  has  been  already  recognised  by 
other  experimentalists,  notably  by  llusnik  and  Woodbury 
— is,  that  the  presence  of  a pulverulent  body  plays  the 
part  of  causing  reticulation.  We  may,  in  this  case,  after 
insolation  and  rapid  washing,  take  printsin  fatty  ink,  whilst 
in  the  ordinary  collographic  process  it  is  indispensable  to 
dry  the  film  in  order  to  produce  reticulation,  after  which 
it  is  moistened  and  impressions  are  taken  from  it.  In 
support  of  his  interesting  explanation,  M.  Balagny  offered 
to  the  Society,  as  illustrations  for  its  Bulletin,  1,500  prints 
representing  the  installation  of  Class  XII.  at  the  Exposition 
Universelle. 

Coloured  Screens  for  Orthochromatic  Work. — M.  Stebbing, 
following  the  indications  given  by  M.  Vidal,  has  prepared 
some  pellicular  coloured  screens  for  orthochromatic  photo- 
graphy, and  presented  specimens  of  them.  These  screens 
are  formed  of  discs  of  suitably  coloured  gelatine  im- 
prisoned between  two  coatings  of  normal  collodion. 
There  are  four  degrees  of  colouration.  No.  4,  which  is 
the  maximum,  requires  an  exposure  of  from  six  to  twelve 
times  the  normal  duration — that  is  to  say,  of  an  ortho- 
chromatic plate  employed  without  a screen.  No.  1 is 
coloured  to  one-fourth  that  extent,  and  requires  a corres- 
pondingly shorter  exposure — that  is,  of  from  one  and 
a-half  to  three  times  the  normal  exposure.  These  screens 
are  very  well  prepared,  and  will  render  great  service, 
seeing  that  they  may  be  used  in  the  place  of  the  diaphragm, 
and  inserted  in  a double  diaphragm  made  of  black  paper. 
The  interposition  of  an  orange  yellow  film  should  not 
alter  the  focal  point. 

The  “ Cristallos ” Developer.  — This  developer,  presented  in 
the  names  of  Messrs.  Jeannin  and  Jumeau,  is  one  of 
great  energy.  It  appears  to  be  a mixture  of  hydroquinone 
and  potash.  According  to  M.  Audry,  who  has  tried  it, 
it  acts  violently,  and  fogs  the  shadows.  lie  finds  it  very 
energetic,  but  insufficiently  restrained.  It  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  it  has  to  be  diluted  with  four  times  its  volume 
of  water. 

Negatives  on  Flexible  Films. — M.  Morizet  presented  300 
negatives  taken  by  him  in  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt  on 
flexible  films.  These  negatives  are  very  complete. 
Lantern  slide  reductions  were  projected  on  the  screen, 
and  I noticed  particularly  views  of  a square  in  Cairo, 
the  rapids  of  the  Nile,  and  the  Place  de  Lougsor. 

The  meeting  was  not  large,  a fact  accounted  for 
by  the  departure  of  many  to  the  country  and  the  seaside. 


IMAGINING  AND  IMAGING.* 

BV  PHILIP  H.  NEWMAN. 

There  never  was  so  much  good  painting  as  there  is  now  ; the 
present  Royal  Academy  Exhibition  is  full  of  most  admirable 
work  ; the  technique  gets  higher  and  higher  annually.  But 
now  go  and  ask  the  general  public  what  they  think  of  this 
Exhibition;  the  answer  is,  “ The  dullest  we  remember.”  The 
general  public  are  not  artists,  but,  as  usual,  they  are  very  keen 
critics,  and  can  generally  tell  when  they  see  a good  thing  with- 
out the  inspiration  even  of  a newspaper.  I walked  through 
the  rooms  of  the  Academy  the  other  day  with  a highly  cul- 
tured girl — no  painter,  but  knowing  our  National  Gallery  and 
some  of  the  galleries  of  Europe,  who  could  trace  the  influence 
of  Veronese  and  Rubens  in  Makart,  and  Velasquez  in  Munc- 
kaksy,  and  could  tell  a Fortuny  as  well  as  she  could  tell  a line 
of  Shakespeare,  or  a bar  of  Beethoven. 

“ Well,  my  dear,  how  do  you  like  the  Exhibition '!” 

“ Not  at  all  ; there  is  only  one  picture  I would  buy  ; I should 
like  that.” 

It  was  a single  figure,  full  of  repose,  and  worthy  of  Greek 
art  ; the  nature  in  it,  like  that  art,  had  filtered  through  the 
passion  of  the  painter.  Here,  at  least,  there  was  imagining  as 
well  as  imaging. 

Mr.  Emerson  has  written  other  books  besides  the  one  I have 
been  talking  about,  and  published  many  photographs  from 
original  negatives.  It  would  not  be  fair  to  him,  having  said  so 
much,  if  we  did  not  say  something  about  these,  and  it  is  only 
fair  to  see  how  his  wholesale  repudiation  of  book-teaching  in 
art,  and  his  leaning  entirely  on  nature,  has  helped  him.  In 
one  of  the  books  devoted  to  the  Norfolk  Broads,  Mr.  T.  F. 
Goodall  is  a collaborator,  and  writes,  in  an  article  on  landscape  : 
“The  roughest  sketch,  in  which  the  ground  and  the  objects 
against  the  sky  are  painted  in  a mass  in  right  relation  to  it, 
is  really  more  finished  than  the  most  laboured  work  wherein 
the  essential  truth  is  wanting.”  This  may  be  granted  at  once, 
but  then  one  looks  to  see  it  illustrated  by  the  accompanying 
photographs.  Unhappily  for  Mr.  Emerson  and  Mr.  Goodall, 
photography  seldom  gives  objects  against  the  sky  in  right  rela- 
tion to  it ; certainly,  samples  are  sadly  wanting  in  the  book  in 
question.  This  may  be  the  fault  of  the  copy,  or  processes  of 
printing  may  have  improved  since.  Let  us  pass  on  to  another 
book,  and  look  into  the  “ Idylls  of  the  Norfolk  Broads  ” ; 
plate  6,  “Bathers.”  Here  we  have  no  question  of 
printing,  but  of  simple  composition.  The  lacks  of  two 
bathers  rise  out  of  the  water  side  by  side,  one  a little 
in  advance  of  the  other,  however  ; the  nearer  one  spreads  his 
arms  a little  to  lead  up  the  angle  of  the  bank  and  take  away 
from  the  verticalness  of  the  arrangement,  the  other  bather 
keeps  his  arms  down,  one  being  partially  hidden  by  his  body. 
Now,  all  .artists  will  admit  that  the  human  back  is  a beautiful 
object,  delightful  to  draw  and  model,  in  its  leading  lines  and 
subtle  undulations,  and  Mr.  Emerson  missed  a great  oppor- 
tunity here  of  showing  himself  both  a photographer  and  an 
artist  ; anything  more  commonplace  and  less  idyllic  than  the 
arrangement  of  these  two  backs  it  is  difficult  to  conceive.  I 
refrain  from  making  fun  ; any  one  may  do  that  where  they 
cannot  make  sense  ; but  one  leaves  the  picture  with  a sort  of 
suspicion  that  Mr.  Emerson  is  making  fun  of  us.  We  should 
like  to  ask  him  if  the  idyllism  of  the  picture  is  supposed 
to  lie  in  the  backs,  or  in  the  background.  I can- 
not determine  ; neither  smudginess  nor  backs  like 
these  are  idyllic  to  me.  Plate  9,  in  the  same  collec- 
tion, represents  something  going  on  with  a hay  waggon, 
which  at  first  sight  seems  to  be  part  of  a tree  ; on  the  right- 
hand  side  of  the  picture  a mau  is  leading  the  horse  towards  us, 
and  this  emphasises  the  right  angle  made  by  the  side  of  the 
waggon,  and  the  ground  cut  clean  against  the  sky  ; a little 
bunchy  tree  is  near  the  horse  and  towards  the  horizon,  while 
another  man  is  near  another  small  tree  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  picture,  and  serves  only  to  enforce  the  emphasis 
of  the  right  angle  already  mentioned.  I can  only  sup- 
pose that  this  arrangement  is  done  in  wilful  defiance  of  any 
rules  of  composition  whatever,  and  pass  on  to  “ Pictures, 

* Continued  from  page  516. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


539 


July  11,  1890.] 


iu  Field  and  Fen.”  “Ah!”  you  say,  “how  charming 
Mr.  Emerson  can  be  when  he  chooses.”  This  “spring 
idyll,”  for  instance,  a girl  peeling  potatoes  ; note  the  turn 
of  the  girl’s  head  in  relation  to  the  line  of  the  shoulder,  and 
its  continuity  iu  the  branch  of  the  tree  ; the  very  pail  is 
ordered  in  its  arrangement  with  the  rest  of  the  picture.  But 
is  this  accident  or  design  ? It  would  be  pleasant  to  give 
Mr.  Emerson  credit  for  this  and  several  other  pictures — 
“Ploughing”  and  the  “ Stickle-back  Catcher”  are  excellent. 
But  what  are  we  to  say  when  we  find  them  in  company  with 
such  wooden  compositions  as  the  “ Dame’s  School  ” (which 
might  have  been  so  easily  corrected,  by  the  way),  the  atrocious 
"Winter’s  Morning”  (look  at  the  vaunted  values  here),  and 
the  hideous  “Going  to  Market”?  Well,  there  is  nothing  to 
be  said  but  that  if  art  is  to  be  got  by  simply  going  to  nature, 
Mr.  Emerson  does  not  show  us  enough  of  the  way — at  least, 
in  the  works  I have  referred  to.  Is  there  no  sunshine  ever  in 
the  fen  country,  that  most  of  these  photographs  have  such 
leaden  skies  ? Or  does  our  author  belong  to  a school  that 
enunciates  the  dogma  that  sunshine  is  unpaintable  and  brilliancy 
vulgar  ? If  so,  Fortuny,  and  some  of  the  works  of  some  of  the 
greatest  living  painters,  might  teach  him  better.  This  last 
book  I mention,  “ Pictures  in  Field  and  Fen,”  is  prefaced,  so 
to  speak,  with  these  lines  from  Browning  : — 

“ So  British  public,  who  may  like  me  yet 
(Marry  and  Amen),  learn  one  lesson  hence 
Of  many  which  whatever  lives  should  teach : 

This  lesson,  that  our  human  speech  is  naught, 

Our  human  testimony  false,  our  fame 
And  human  estimation  words  and  wind. 

Why  take  the  artistic  way  to  prove  so  much  ? 

Because  it  is  the  glory  and  the  good  of  art, 

That  art  remains  the  one  way  possible 
Of  speaking  truths,  to  mouths  like  mine  at  least.” 

A more  unfitting  quotation  to  head  such  a book  as  this  was 
never  seen,  save  that  it  is  capable  of  a double  application,  rich 
in  its  condemnation  of  the  author.  If  Mr.  Emerson  has  as 
much  revei  euce  for  art  as  he  pretends  to  for  nature,  we  had 
been  spared  many  of  these  so-called  pictures,  because  many  of 
them  were  not  worth  the  taking.  Many  he  would  have  re- 
arranged, and  could  have  done  so  quite  easily.  One  slight 
reference  to  the  “ Soldiers  Bathing  in  the  Arno  ” might  have 
corrected  those  woeful  backs  ; and  many  of  the  landscapists  he 
has  slighted  would  have  saved  him  from  the  stumbles  he  has 
had  elsewhere.  I trust,  for  the  sake  of  photographers,  that 
his  advice  on  technical  matters  is  more  reliable  than  his  artistic 
guidance.  As  to  his  hints  on  art,  I cordially  agree  with  the 
man  who  called  them  “ Tupperisms.”  His  pictures,  at  least  as 
printed  in  his  folios,  do  not  bear  out  his  standard  of  excellence 
or  teaching.  Let  us  dismiss  this  disciple  of  nature  as  quickly 
now  as  he  has  affected  to  dismiss  time-honoured  names  in  art, 
and  let  him  know  and  bear  in  mind  that  while  in  characterising 
a learned  reverend,  if  oft  enthusiastic  criticism,  as  “splendidly 
false,”  his  own  has  too  often  the  latter  quality,  but  never  the 
former.  I unhesitatingly  say  that  he  has  written  on  art  with- 
out adequate  knowledge  and  reflection,  as  he  has  frequently 
imaged  nature  without  refined  taste  or  imagination. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  lately  on  the  subject  of 
beauty  ; it  may  be  difficult  to  exactly  define  it,  or  how  much 
uf  it  is  necessary  in  the  constitution  of  a work  of  art.  It  is  too 
wide  a question  to  more  than  mention  now.  It  may  be  worth 
saying,  however,  that  beau  ty  lies  more  in  order  and  consistency 
than  is  often  allowed,  and  works  that  do  not  possess  these 
qualifications  proportionately  fail  to  charm  us.  Beauty, 
moreover,  is  an  individual  perception,  more  or  less,  but  it  is 
distinctly  capable  of  wider  appreciation,  the  more  apparent  is 
the  consistency  and  order  I allude  to.  Thus,  in  a picture  or 
photograph  of  a group  of  figures  there  must  be  a principal 
figure  or  a principal  group,  and  it  is  essential  for  our  satisfac- 
tion that  that  principal  figure  should  be  principal  in  every 
respect — force  of  light  and  shade,  mass,  &c.  If  there  is  a story 
to  l>e  told,  it  gains  immensely  in  directness  by  such  means. 
These  things  are  exceedingly  difficult  to  talk  about,  but  beauty 
in  composition  is  so  dependent  upon  them  that  they  must  not 
be  passed  over.  I am  the  more  sensible  of  this  because  of 
some  recent  terrible  examples  of  photography  that  have  come 


before  me,  where  there  were  several  women  in  white  aprons  ; 
and  some  that  were  smaller  in  size  and  more  in  the  back- 
ground were  as  white  as  that  which  should  have  been 
principal.  Perhaps  I am  rather  urgent  on  this  point  of 
ordination  and  subordination.  I fail,  however,  to  see  good 
composition  without  it ; it  is  my  ism  or  idiosyncrasy.  One 
artist  of  our  own  time  is  accused  of  this  shortcoming,  and  one 
is  accused  of  that.  One  artist  of  the  greatest  poetical  insight 
and  refinement,  a very  Achilles  equally  in  his  retirement  as 
when  he  is  moved  to  put  out  his  strength,  is  accused  of  soft, 
waxy  texture.  The  public  and  the  critics  seem  quite  oblivious 
of  the  fact  that  his  aim  is  not  to  imitate  nature  in  his  textures 
so  much  as  to  move  us  with  his  design.  It  would  be  heart- 
breaking to  think  of  the  future  of  art  in  this  country  were  it 
not  that  one  knows  the  tide  of  fadisms  is  at  its  flood,  and  while 
it  rushes  on,  the  poet  painters  who  see  art,  and  beauty, 
and  consistency,  are  as  firm  as  the  rocks  they  rest  upon,  until 
the  tide  has  turned,  and  when  their  voices  will  again  be  listened 
to.  The  young  men  who  have  any  real  art  feeling  in  them 
will  have  made  their  studies  from  nature,  and  will  have  been 
as  dissatisfied  with  them  as  were  their  great  predecessors 
with  theirs.  It  may  be  that  the  foundations  laid  will  be  the 
more  solid  from  the  long  continuance  of  the  realistic  and 
naturalistic  craze,  so  good  coming  out  of  evil ; for  certainty 
of  draughtsmanship  and  knowledge  of  light  and  colour  will 
be  at  the  facile  command  of  those  who,  ceasing  to  make  un- 
satisfactory images,  will  develop  their  imagination  and  give 
us  works  of  art.  We  will  at  least  hope  so. 

But  you  ask,  What  has  all  this  to  do  with  the  Photographic 
Convention  of  Great  Britain  ? Much,  everything,  because  it  is 
to  you  that  art  looks  in  the  present  day  to  be  in  the  van  of 
this  desirable  movement  ; to  you  who,  having  many  sins  of 
omission  and  commission  to  answer  for  in  the  past,  whereby 
you  have  in  a great  measure  been  responsible  for  this  unstudied 
naturalism  which  is  sapping  the  foundation  of  the  finest  taste  ; 
you,  by  your  multiplying  processes  and  waistcoat-pocket 
cameras,  who  have  been  tempted  to  photograph  everything 
you  have  seen — good,  bad,  and  indifferent.  I am  speaking 
plainly  but  generally  (of  course,  there  are  grand  exceptions). 
It  is  to  you  I say — artists,  photographers,  and  photographic 
artists — in  the  cause  of  art  1 appeal  ; you  have  a great  future 
before  you  if  you  will  only  exercise  a dignified  reserve  that  a 
dignified  profession  demands,  and  never  photograph  anything, 
under  any  circumstances,  that  shall  not,  when  it  is  printed,  be 
a joy  because  of  its  beauty. 

I am  certain  that  in  the  present  all  who  have  the  real 
interests  of  art  in  England  at  heart  will  uphold  me  iu  this 
appeal,  as  I am  equally  persuaded  that  Rejlander  and  the 
greatest  names  in  the  past,  and  those  who  are  yet  in  the 
future,  will  approve  of  your  doing  your  utmost  with  these  high 
aims  in  view.  Pray  believe  me,  I am  not  ignoring  much, 
very  much,  good  work  that  has  been  done,  and  I know  is  being 
done.  I should  like  to  mention  names,  but  must  not  do  so 
for  fear  of  invidious  comparison.  If  I have  been  unjust  in 
anything  I have  said,  it  has  not  been  with  intention,  and  I 
beg  forgivenesss.  The  book  I have  so  often  alluded  to  was 
put  into  my  hands  for  the  first  time  just  as  I was  asked  to 
write  this  paper,  that  I might  have  some  knowledge  of  some 
of  the  things  that  had  been  said  on  the  art  side  of  photo- 
graphy. I was  amazed  when  I had  read  the  book 
at  its  audacity,  and  more  amazed  when  I heard  that  its 
teachings  were  gaining  ground.  I was  told  that  photographers, 
however,  would  be  glad  to  be  spoken  to  on  the  art  question, 
notwithstanding.  I have  spoken  to  the  best  of  my  power 
and  belief.  If  I have  spoken  loudly,  I may  be  pardoned 
for  art’s  sake  at  finding  its  temple  shattered  and  its  gods 
dispersed,  that  Mr.  Whistler  or  Mr.  Anybody  else  should 
occupy  the  site.  Not  a word  against  Mr.  Whistler,  who  has 
shown  himself  often  and  often  a great  artist.  All  I contend 
for  is,  that  “ naturalism  ” is  not  the  only  nor  the  highest 
art  in  the  land.  Let  us,  indeed,  be  termed  Philistines  and 
rejoice  in  the  honour  thereby  conferred  on  us  ; the  rather 
keeping  to  our  own  gods  than  falling  down  and  worshipping 
stocks,  and  stones,  and  nature  unanimated  by  the  divine 
gift  the  soul  of  man  has  the  privilege  of  conjuring  up  and 


540 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  11,  1890. 


investing  it  with.  I would  rather  go  back  a hundred  years 
and  more  ; I say  it  seriously.  It  would  be  better  for  art, 
better,  far  better  for  us  all,  to  go  back  to  the  sickly  senti- 
mentality and  bathos  of  the  last  century,  that  culminated  in  the 
lachrymatory  effusion  of  uncle  Toby’s  recording  angel,  or, 
more  practically,  to  the  primary  artistic  pi  inciples  of  our  great 
grandmothers’  samplers,  than  reach  the  logical  bourn  of 
naturalism  where  imagination  dies  in  imaging,  and  over  whose 
portals  might  well  be  written,  “ Abandon  hope  all  ye  who 
enter  here.” 


DEVELOPERS  USED  BY  GERMAN  PROFESSIONAL 
PHOTOGRAPHERS* 

BY  JULIUS  F.  SACHSE. 

Anselm  Schmitz,  Ivbnigl.  Hof.  Photograph,  Kolu. — 
Developer — The  sulpho-pyrogallol-developer.  Advantages 
—The  developer  furnishes  brilliant  negatives  of  superior 
detail.  Composition — (A)  Water,  64  ; sulphite  of  soda, 
16;  citric  acid,  1;  pyrogallol,  1.  (B)  Water,  64;  sul- 

phite of  soda,  8 ; carbonate  of  soda,  32.  Developer — 
Equal  parts  A aud  B,  diluted  with  20  parts  water. 
Equal  results  have  been  attained  with  other  formula  ; the 
advantages  which  I claim  are  not  the  result  of  this  formula 
in  particular,  but  of  pyrogallol  in  general.  I have  tested 
all  other  developers  as  they  appeared,  among  others  the 
much  vaunted  eikonogen,  but  soon  came  to  the  conviction 
that  pyro  is  far  superior.  For  short  and  instantaneous 
exposures,  eikonogen  in  its  various  combinations  has  been 
persistently  praised,  as  it  was  claimed  that  greater  results 
and  detail  were  to  be  obtained  with  the  new  agent  than 
any  other.  I have,  however,  obtained  results  far  greater 
with  pyrogallol.  Accelerator — None. 

A.  Stock,  Hof  Photograph,  Gubeu.  — Developer — Pyro- 
gallol. Advantages — Very  rapid  development,  complete 
in  three  minutes  ; at  the  same  time,  vigorous  results.  In 
a few  minutes  every  grade  of  strength  can  be  attained. 
Composition —(A)  Pyrogallol,  15  g.  ; sulphite  of  soda, 
80  g. ; water,  500  g.  (B)  Pure  soda,  100  g.  ; water, 
1,000  g.  For  use,  equal  parts  A and  B,  diluted  with 
one-third  water  with  several  drops  of  bromide.  For 
under-exposed  plates,  use  with  bromide  or  water. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  responses  given  that  one-half  of 
the  whole  number  still  adhere  to  the  favourite  German 
stand-by — ferrous  oxalate — their  main  reasons  given 
being  the  simplicity,  uniformity  of  action,  cheapness, 
cleanliness,  and  freedom  from  fog.  Seven  of  the  whole 
number  have  become  converts  to  the  new  candidate  for 
photographic  favour — viz.,  eikonogen — on  account  of  the 
quicker  action,  allowing  of  shorter  exposure,  together 
with  finer  grain  and  detail ; the  factor  of  price  is  also  an 
item  in  its  favour. 

Three  are  equally  enthusiastic  in  their  praise  of  pyro, 
which  we  in  this  country  can  agree  to.  One  is  a convert 
to  hydrochinone,  while  another  promulgates  the  question- 
able formula  of  mixing  hydrochinone  and  eikonogen.  It 
will  be  noticed  that  ten  photographers  only  approve  of  an 
occasional  preliminary  bath  (accelerator). 

The  attention  of  both  professionals  and  amateurs  is 
called  to  the  fact  that  the  foregoing  all  relate  to  the 
department  of  studio  portraiture  only. 

C.  Baumann,  Hofphotograph,  Dortmund. — Developer 
— Eikonogen.  Advantages — Cleanliness  aud  clearness  of 
plates,  wealth  of  fine  tones,  combined  with  strong  high- 
lights, when  extra  rapid  plates  are  used.  Composition — 
The  usual  formula : (A)  Sulphite  of  soda,  200  g.  ; water, 
' Continued  from  p.  456. 


3 litres ; eikonogen  (dissolved  warm),  50  g.  (B)  Cryst. 
soda,  150  g.  ; water,  1 litre.  For  use,  3 parts  A,  1 part 
B.  In  the  fixing  bath  no  sulphite  of  soda  is  used,  as  it  is 
superfluous,  and  in  my  experience  the  plates  are  destroyed 
by  leaving  them  in  a bath  of  that  kind  any  length  of  time. 
Accelerator — None. 

J.  H.  Braschoss,  Coin. — Developer  — Eikonogen. 
Advantages — Saving  thereby  half  of  the  exposure.  Solu- 
tion can  be  used  repeatedly,  is  lower  in  price  than  all 
others,  and  is  absolutely  non-poisonous.  Composition — 
(1)  Eikonogen,  50  g. ; sulphite  of  soda,  200  g. ; water, 
3,000  g.  (2)  Soda,  300  g. ; water,  2,000  g.  Accelerator 
— None. 

Julius  Dorstling,  Hofphotogr.,  Eisenberg  i.  A. — Deve- 
loper— Until  within  three  months  ferrous-oxalate,  since 
then,  with  preference,  eikonogen.  Advantages — Shorter 
exposures,  detail  in  shadows  and  high-lights,  and  trans- 
parency at  the  same  time.  Strong  negatives,  therefore 
more  rapid  printers  ; greater  permanency.  Composition 
— Dissolve  200  g.  of  sulphite  of  soda  in  24  litre  of  rain- 
water, then  rub  up  50  g.  of  eikonogen  in  a mortar,  and 
pour  into  an  earthen  pot  in  which  there  is  half  a litre  of 
hot  water.  After  both  are  dissolved,  pour  the  hot  solu- 
tion into  the  2£  litres  of  soda ; then  shake  up  well. 
No.  2 — Dissolve  150  g.  of  soda  cryst.  in  one  litre  of 
water.  Three  parts  No.  1,  one  part  No.  2.  Accelerator 
— None. 

Otto  Faltz,  in  Eberswalde. — Developer — Eikonogen. 
Advantages — Quick  and  active  action.  The  picture 
develops  brilliant  and  complete  detail  in  the  deepest  shadows. 
The  developer  can  be  used  repeatedly.  Composition — 

Water,  600  g.  ; sulphite  of  soda,  100  g. ; potash,  C.P., 
40  g.  ; eikonogen,  20  g.  Dissolve  and  boil  in  a Florence 
flask  : use  when  cold.  Accelerator — None. 

W.  Gilles,  Unna. — Developer — Eikonogen,  since  six 
months  ago,  with  good  results.  Advantages — Detail  in 
the  shadows ; much  quicker  printing  negatives  than 
oxalate  ; shorter  exposure  ; shading  of  certain  portions  of 
the  negative  in  printing  lessened.  Composition — (1)  Dis- 
tilled water,  1,500  g. ; sulphite  of  soda,  100  g.  ; eikonogen, 
25  g.  (2)  Distilled  water,  1,000  g.  ; ordinary  soda,  150g. 
For  use,  three  parts  No.  1,  one  part  No.  2.  Both  solutions 
keep  ; No.  1,  made  in  December,  was  without  change  in 
February.  Accelerator — None. 

F.  Ilundt,  sue.  to  Hiilswidt-Miiuster  i.  W. — Developer 
— Eikonogen.  Advantages — The  enormous  reducing 

po  wer  of  the  agent,  with  a finer  silver  grain  than,  in  our 
experience,  is  attainable  with  any  other  developer.  We 
use  extra  rapid  plates  exclusively,  which,  with  pyro  and 
oxalate,  give  a very  coarse  grain.  With  eikonogen,  how- 
ever, the  grain  is  so  fine  as  not  to  be  perceptible.  Shorter 
exposures  than  with  any  other  developer;  cleanliness. 
Composition — (1)  Sulphite  of  soda,  200;  water,  3,000; 
eikonogen,  50.  (2)  Carbonate  of  soda,  150  ; water,  1,000. 

For  use,  three  parts  1 and  one  part  2,  bromide  1-2  drop 
1 : 10.  When  the  high  lights  stand  out  strong,  pour  off 
the  developer  and  finish  with  fresh  (without  bromide). 
In  this  manner  we  obtain  exceedingly  brilliant,  harmonious 
negatives.  Accelerator — None. 

{To  be  continued .) 


Royal  Institution  of  Great  Britain. — At  the  general 
monthly  meeting  on  Monday,  July  7th,  Messrs.  Thomas 
Townsend  Buuknill,  Q.C.,  Edward  A.  Harvey,  Malcolm  Morris, 
F.R.C.S.,  and  William  Thomas  Rabbits,  F.  L.S.,  were  elected 
members  of  the  Royal  Institution. 


Jcr.Y  11,  1890.1 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


541 


patent  EntdUgcnce. 

Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

9,413.  J.  B.  Brooks,  115,  Great  Charles  Street,  Birmingham, 
“Developing  Baths.” — June  18th. 

9,474.  J.  S.  Foley  and  L.  C.  H.  Mensing,  166,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  “ Appliances  for  Exposing  Transparent  Photograph 
after  Receipt  of  Coin.” — June  18th, 

9.497.  F.  A.  Walton,  12,  Cherry  Street,  Birmingham, 
“Photographic  Picture  Stands.” — June  19th. 

9.498.  H.  Wilkinson,  Massey  Park,  Liscard,  Cheshire,  “Com- 
bined Tray  and  Cover  for  Photographic  Plates.” — June 
19  th. 

9,507.  J.  B.  Brooks,  115,  Great  Charles  Street,  Birmingham, 
“Photographic  Printing  Frames.” — June  19th. 

9,511.  J.  Parkinson,  S.  Fawcett,  and  C.  F.  Parkinson,  South 
Regent  Street,  Lancaster,  “ Photographic  Shutters.” — 
June  19th. 

9,538.  W.  Rebikow,  47,  Lincoln’s  Inn  Fields,  London,  “ Manu- 
facture of  Emulsions  and  other  Materials  Sensitive  to  Light.” 
— June  19  th. 

9,542.  L.  Koch,  6,  Bream’s  Buildings,  London,  “ Photographic 
Apparatus.” — June  19th. 

9,549.  H.  Ransom,  4,  South  Street,  Finsbury,  London, 
“Shutter.” — June  19th. 

9,593.  C.  B.  Skinner,  38,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Cameras.” 
— .June  20th. 

9,715.  A.  J.  Boult,  323,  High  Holborn,  London,  “ Cameras.” 
(H.  Thumber,  Germany.) — June  23rd. 

9,818.  W.  F.  Greene,  321,  High  Holborn,  London,  “Cameras.” 
— June  24th. 

9,868.  W.  H.  Pexton,  77,  Chancery  Lane,  London,  “Magic 
Lantern  Slides.” — June  25tli. 

9,893.  J.  W.  Swan  and  J.  Leslie,  Lauriston,  Bromley,  Kent, 
“Transparent  Flexible  Photographic  Films.”— June  26th. 
9,898.  R.  Eager,  57,  Bath  Street,  St.  Heliers,  Jersey, 
“ Doubling  Shutter  for  the  Production  of  two  Positions  on 
one  Plate  of  any  Size  with  Fixed  Lens.” — June  26tli. 

9,934.  W.  Stocks,  6,  Bream’s  Buildings,  London,  “ Lamps  for 
Optical  Lanterns.” — June  26th. 

9,981.  G.  W.  Shatter,  35,  Southampton  Buildings,  London, 
“ Changing  Boxes  and  Slides.” — June  27th. 

10,012.  G.  J.  Sershali,,  373,  Lodge  Road,  Birmingham, 
“ Vignetting  Media.” — June  28th. 

10,145.  M.  Guttenbero,  8,  Quality  Court,  London,  “Mirror 
Photo-Enlargement  Process.” — July  1st. 

10,165.  G.  E.  Alder,  98,  North  End,  Croydon,  “Automatic 
Production  of  Photographs.” — July  1st. 

10,442.  W.  Palmer,  47,  Lincoln’s  Inn  Fields,  London, 
“Cameras.” — July  5th. 

Specifications  Published. 

11,555.  July  19 th,  1889. — “Coating  Photographic  Plates.” 
John  Henry  Smith,  Ph.D.,  Photographic  Chemist,  9,  Merkur 
Strasse  Hottingen,  Zurich,  Switzerland. 

My  invention  for  improvements  in  apparatus  for  coating 
photographic  dry  plates  and  other  plane  surfaces  with  an 
emulsion  or  viscous  liquid,  has  for  its  objects  to  deliver  the 
liquid  at  a uniform  rate,  to  vary  the  rate  of  delivery  of  the 
liquid  according  to  the  size  of  the  surface  to  be  coated  or  to 
the  desired  thickness  of  the  coat,  to  distribute  the  liquid  in  a 
regular  stream  of  the  width  of  the  surface  to  lie  coated,  to 
construct  the  surface  down  which  the  liquid  flows  on  to  the 
surface  to  be  coated,  so  that  it  readily  adjusts  itself  to  the 
different  thicknesses  of  the  articles  whose  surfaces  are  to  be 
coated,  and  to  provide  means  for  traversing  the  surfaces  to 
be  coated  at  a regular  speed  and  in  a horizontal  plane  past 
the  coating  apparatus  until  the  liquid  has  set,  and  for  cooling 
the  plates  in  order  to  set  the  coating  liquid. 

The  liquid  is  delivered  at  a regular  rate  from  a holder  placed 
at  a suitable  height  above  an  overflow  trough  by  means  of  one 
or  more  bent  tubes  or  syphons  into  the  trough.  The  delivery 
orifices  of  the  tubes  are  arranged  in  a horizontal  plane  imme- 
diately above  the  trough.  The  holder  is  made  broad  and 
shallow,  and  is  raised  to  such  a height  that  the  differences  in 
the  level  of  the  liquid  in  the  holder  do  not  materially  affect 


the  pressure,  and  consequently  the  regularity  of  the  flow. 
Where  greater  accuracy  is  desired  these  differences  in  level  are 
compensated  for  by  making  the  delivery  tubes  partially  or 
wholly  of  india-rubber,  and  altering  the  height  of  the  holder  ; 
or  preferably  by  employing  a closed  bottle  provided  with  a 
delivery  or  syphon  tube,  and  an  air  tube  extending  into  the 
bottle  to  near  its  bottom,  so  that  the  liquid  is  deliverd  under 
a constant  head  equal  to  the  vertical  distance  between  the  lower 
end  of  the  air  tube  and  the  exit  orifice  of  the  delivery  tube. 

The  rate  of  delivery  of  the  liquid  is  varied  by  means  of  a 
graduated  tap  in  each  of  the  delivery  tubes,  or  by  altering  the 
height  of  the  holder  in  relation  to  the  exit  orifices  of  the 
delivery  tubes,  or  by  adjusting  the  air  tube  of  the  closed 
bottle,  or  by  a combination  of  these  methods,  or  the  ends  of 
the  delivery  tubes  are  drawn  out,  and  the  quantity  of  liquid 
which  each  nozzle  delivers  per  unit  of  time  when  the  holder  is 
fixed  at  the  height  indicated  is  marked  upon  a fixed  vertical 
scale  at  convenient  distances  apart.  The  holder  is  raised  and 
lowered  by  means  of  a rack  and  pinion,  or  other  equivalent 
mechanical  arrangement,  and  its  height  regulated  according  to 
the  desired  delivery  of  the  liquid.  The  flow  of  liquid  is 
stopped  by  means  of  a tap  or  clip  applied  to  the  delivery  tube 
or  tubes. 

The  delivery  trough,  by  means  of  which  the  liquid  is  delivered 
in  a uniform  stream  of  the  width  of  the  surface  to  be  coated, 
is  provided  with  an  overflow  lip,  ami  is  divided  by  a partition 
extending  nearly  to  the  bottom  into  two  divisions.  The  liquid 
flows  from  the  holder  into  one  division,  and  underneath  the 
partition  into  the  other  or  second  division,  where  it  assumes 
a perfectly  level  surface.  The  liquid  is  painted  by  means  of  a 
small  brush  over  that  portion  of  the  lip  which  is  immediately 
above  the  plate  to  be  coated,  and  overflows  only  over  that 
painted  portion,  and  falls  upon  the  plate  in  a uniform  stream. 
The  form  of  the  trough  can  of  course  be  varied,  but  in  order 
to  obtain  a uniform  distribution  of  liquid,  the  lip  over  and 
down  which  it  flows  must  be  formed  of  surfaces  including 
obtuse  angles  only.  Where  the  liguid  overflows  over  a hori- 
zontal surface  instead  of  over  an  edge  a better  overflow  is 
obtained,  and  this  form  possesses  the  additional  advantage 
that  the  trough  can  be  very  accurately  adjusted  and  levelled. 
The  partition  of  the  overflow  trough  ruus  in  grooves,  and  can 
be  removed  in  order  to  clean  the  trough.  The  trough  is  fixed 
to  the  coating  table  and  levelled  by  means  of  screw’s. 

In  order  to  adjust  the  surface  down  which  the  liquid  flows 
to  the  different  thicknesses  of  the  articles  whose  surfaces  are 
to  be  coated,  the  liquid  is  arranged  to  flow  over  a curved 
movable  piece  hinged  to  the  trough  at  some  distance  back  in 
the  direction  in  which  the  surfaces  move.  The  curved  piece 
may  rest  directly  upon  the  surfaces,  or  be  separated  therefrom 
by  short  wires,  and  is  of  any  suitable  shape  containing  only 
obtuse  angles.  It  is  so  constructed  that  in  its  vertical  motion 
it  remains  in  easy  contact  with  the  front  edge  of  the  trough 
throughout  its  w’hole  length,  and  is  bent  or  curved  backwards 
at  the  bottom.  Its  back  portion  is  only  slightly  inclined  to 
the  horizontal  in  order  that  when  a thicker  plate  succeeds  a 
thinner  one,  the  upward  motion  of  the  piece  is  very  slow. 
Where  large  plates  have  to  be  coated  it  is  with  advantage  made 
jointed  at  one  or  more  points. 

The  surfaces  to  be  coated  are  traversed  past  the  coating 
apparatus,  and  the  liquid  afterward  set  by  supporting  them  in 
a long  trough  upon  drums  or  rollers  floating  on  wrater  or  other 
liquid  in  the  trough,  and  free  to  rise,  and  fall,  and  to  rotate, 
but  all  motion  in  the  direction  of  traverse  of  the  plates  is 
prevented.  The  drums  or  rollers  are  covered  with  cloth  or 
felt  to  absorb  the  cold  liquid  in  the  trough,  and  apply  it  to  the 
backs  of  the  articles  whose  surfaces  are  being  coated  ; or  the 
articles  may  lie  upon  a traversing  and  stretched  endless  band, 
the  underneath  portion  of  which  is  either  immersed  in  the 
cold  liquid,  or  passes  underneath  the  trough  containing  the 
liquid  ; and  the  upper  portion  of  w'hich  is  supported  at  a con- 
stant level,  and  kept  constantly  wet  by  means  of  the  rotating 
drums  or  rollers  already  referred  to.  It  will  be  evident  that 
this  arrangement  will  serve  the  double  purpose  of  a levelling 
table  and  a cooling  apparatus. 

The  inventor  makes  five  claims. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


r.  42 


7,747.  May  9th,  1889. — “Rendering  Cardboard  Impervious 

to  the  Action  of  Photographic  Chemicals.”  William  Friese 

Greene,  Photographer,  of  92,  Piccadilly,  London. 

This  invention  relates  to  a new  or  improved  process  and 
means  for  rendering  cardboard  and  the  like  innocuous  as  regards 
any  action  on,  and  suitable  as  a basis  to  or  upon  which  any 
suitable  sensitising  medium  with  which  it  may  be  desired  to 
coat  the  same  may  be  directly  applied,  and  innocuous  as  regards 
any  action  on  and  impervious  to  the  action  of  photographic 
developing  chemicals  or  solutions,  and  suitable  for  photographic 
purposes,  as  hereinafter  referred  to. 

The  special  object  of  the  invention  is  so  to  prepare  ordinary 
commercial  cards,  such  as  those  whereon  photographic  prints  as 
ordinarily  produced  on  sensitised  paper  are  at  present  mounted, 
as  to  enable  the  same  to  be  sensitised  with  mediums  suitable 
for  the  production  of  permanent  photographic  prints  of  the 
highest  excellence  and  artistic  value,  so  as  to  enable  such  prints 
to  be  produced  directly  on  such  cards,  so  as  to  avoid  the  tedious 
process  of  mounting  and  the  subsequent  process  of  rolling  the 
prints,  whereby  the  cost,  time,  and  labour  required  for  the 
production  of  such  prints  will  be  materially  lessened. 

Cardboard,  and  such  cards  and  the  like  as  ordinarily  manu- 
factured and  without  suitable  preparation,  such  as  that  contem- 
plated by  the  present  improvements,  is  or  are  not  suitable  for 
the  reception  of  such  sensitising  mediums,  or  for  the  produc- 
tion directly  thereon  of  such  prints,  on  account  of  the  absorb- 
ency thereof,  and  of  the  chemicals  or  ingredients  used  in  the 
manufacture  thereof  and  contained  therein,  and  of  the  liability 
of  such  chemicals  to  effect  a deleterious  action  on  such  mediums 
if  applied  thereto  directly,  and  on  developing  solutions  and  on 
prints  if  obtained  thereon  directly,  causing  such  mediums  to  be- 
come unreliable  and  such  prints  to  become  discoloured  and  to  fade 
and  to  be  quickly  destroyed  so  far  as  the  artistic  merit  or  value 
thereof  is  concerned. 

To  avoid  all  such  disadvantages,  and  to  obtain  the  aforesaid 
object  and  the  important  advantages  attendant  thereon,  I cause, 
in  accordance  with  the  present  improvements,  the  cards  or  the 
like  to  be  subjected  to  a process  or  treatment  which  will  be 
effective  in  rendering  the  same  innocuous  as  regards  any  action 
on,  and  suitable  as  a basis  to  or  upon  which  any  suitable  sensi- 
tising medium  with  which  it  may  be  desired  to  coat  the  same 
may  be  directly  applied,  and  innocuous  as  regards  any  action  on 
and  impervious  to  the  action  of  photographic  developing  solu- 
tions, so  as  to  render  the  same  suitable  for  the  printing  directly 
thereon  of  any  desired  photographic  representation,  either  by 
exposure  under  any  suitable  negative  to  daylight,  or  artificial 
light,  or  in  the  camera  or  otherwise,  in  any  ordinary  manner  of 
obtaining  photographic  prints  or  representations. 

I attain  such  objects  firstly,  by  destroying  all  organic  matter 
at  the  surface  of  the  card  which  would  be  deleterious  to  sensi- 
tising mediums  or  to  developing  solutions,  and,  as  it  were, 
parchmentising  the  surface  of  the  card,  and  rendering  it  speci- 
ally suitable  for  the  subsequent  operation  hereinafter  described, 
and  this  is  effected  by  dipping  the  card  into  or  otherwise  sub- 
jecting it  to  the  action  of  a mixture  of  about  two  measures  of 
strong  sulphuric  acid  and  about  one  measure  of  water,  sub- 
jecting it  to  such  treatment  for  a time  dependent  upon  the 
quality  of  the  card,  after  which  I thoroughly  wash  the  card  to 
free  it  from  all  acid,  and  dry  it. 

I then  render  the  card  or  the  like  impervious  to  the  action 
of  developing  solutions  and  otherwise  suitable  as  aforesaid  for 
photographic  purposes,  by  brushing  or  otherwise  coating  the 
card  by  hand  or  by  suitable  mechanical  means  once  or  more 
times,  according  to  the  relative  fineness  of  the  texture  of  the 
surface  of  the  card,  and  according  as  to  whether  a dull,  or 
matt,  or  a glossy  surface  is  required,  with  a mixture  prepared 
by  gradually  pouring  about  three  parts  by  weight  of  spirits  of 
turpentine  into  about  one  part  by  weight  of  zinc  oxide,  stirring 
the  mixture  the  whole  while,  and  by  gradually  adding  to  such 
mixture  about  one  part  by  weight  of  pale  gold  size,  continuing 
the  stirring  all  the  while,  and  for  a sufficient  time  subsequently 
to  ensure  homogenity  in  the  product. 

All  such  operations  should  be  conducted  in  perfectly  clean 
containers,  preferably  formed  of  glass,  and  with  glass  stirring 
rods,  and  they  may  be  conducted  at  ordinary  atmospheric 
temperatures. 


[Jil.Y  11,  1890. 

After  being  thus  coated  the  card  is  dried,  and  will  be  suit- 
able as  aforesaid  as  a basis  to  or  upon  which  any  suitable 
sensitising  medium  may  be  applied  directly,  and  it  will  keep 
suitable  for  such  use  so  long  as  it  is  kept  free  from  the  access 
of  dust  and  under  appropriate  conditions,  and  after  being  sensi- 
tised it  should  also  be  kept  until  required  for  use  under  usual 
appropriate  conditions  ; and  may  then  be  used  and  treated  as  if 
it  were  ordinary  sensitised  paper,  but  will  possess  the  advant- 
age of  dispensing  with  the  operations  of  mounting  and  roll- 
ing and  of  consequently  effecting  a material  saving  in  the 
cost,  time,  and  labour  involved  in  the  production  of  the  required 
prints. 

If  the  cardboard  or  the  like  is  of  a sufficiently  good  quality 
as  to  be  innocuous  as  regards  any  action  on  sensitising  mediums 
or  developing  solutions,  then  the  aforesaid  preliminary  opera- 
tion may  be  dispensed  with,  it  then  only  being  necessary  to 
render  the  same  impervious  to  the  action  of  the  developing 
chemicals  and  solutions  as  set  forth. 

If  any  particular  colour  of  card  be  required,  there  may  be 
added  to  the  zinc  oxide,  before  the  admixture  therewith  of  the 
spirits  of  turpentine,  any  suitable  colouring  matter  innocuous 
as  regards  any  action  on  sensitising  mediums  or  developing  solu- 
tions. 

The  inventor  makes  ten  claims. 

10,930.  July  6th,  1889. — “Photographic  Objectives.”  Dr. 

Rudolph  Kruoener,  Bockenheim,  Germany. 

The  objectives  heretofore  used  in  photography  consist  almost 
exclusively  of  two  halves  or  parts,  each  of  these  halves  or 
parts  being  made  of  two  lenses  (crown  glass  and  flint  glass) 
which  are  cemented  together. 

The  progress  made  in  the  science  of  photography  during  the 
last  few  years  has  considerably  increased  the  requirements 
with  regard  to  optical  apparatus,  whilst  by  the  momentous 
undertaking  of  the  Glastechnische  Laboratorium  at  Jena,  the 
calculator  or  the  designer  of  optical  apparatus  has  had  placed  at 
his  disposal  kinds  of  glass  enabling  conditions  to  be  fulfilled 
which  were  formerly  altogether  unknowm. 

In  photographic  objectives  the  aforesaid  conditions  bear 
more  especially  upon  the  evenness  and  lightness  in  focal 
depth  of  the  picture  on  the  plate,  as  regards  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  spherical  surfaces. 

The  present  invention  is  the  result  of  a research  which  has 
been  carried  out  with  much  labour  spent  in  calculations,  and  in 
which  many  modifications  have  been  taken  into  consideration. 

In  this  research  it  has  been  found  that  the  circumstances 
are  most  favourable  if  the  front  part  or  system  is  made  of  a single 
flint-glass  lens  of  positive  focal  length,  whilst  the  rear  part  of 
system,  which  may  be  composed  in  any  desired  manner,  annuls 
the  faults  caused  by  the  flint  lens  in  front,  and,  together 
with  the  former  part  or  system  produces  a picture  which 
is  planatically  and  chromatically  correct. 

As  an  example  may  serve  an  aplanatic  device  in  which 
the  rear  part  or  system  consists  of  a negative  flint  glass 
lens  cemented  to  a positive  crown  glass  lens. 

The  constants  of  the  same  for  the  following  kinds  of  glass 
are  : — 

n D = 1 -506  crown. 

n 1)  = 1 '583  flint. 

R 1.  43*25  + | front  lens,  flint  glass. 

R 2.  78*69  — J central  thickness,  6*19  millimetres. 
Longest  distauce  between  the  front  lens  and  rear  lens  = 8*26. 

R 3.  76  ’89  4 rear  lens,  flint  glass. 

R 4.  22*56  | central  thickness,  1 '34  millimetres. 

R 5.  22 -56  + ) crown. 

R 6.  50*74  + ) central  thickness,  19*38. 

n designating  the  index  of  refraction  of  the  glass. 

I)  the  spectroscopic  line. 

R R,  &c.,  the  several  radii  of  the  lenses. 

The  system  has  a free  opening  of  33  millimetres,  and  a 
focal  length  of  about  200  millimetres. 

In  the  present  case  ■+■  signifies  convex  and  — concave. 

The  herein  described  improvements  in  photographic  double 
objectives  in  which  use  is  made  of  a simple  flint-glass  lens  of 
positive  focal  length,  for  the  purpose  of  concentrating  in  the 
plate  picture  a larger  quantity  of  light  with  a considerable 
focal  depth. 


July  11,  1890.]  £'  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


< « • \ i \r  ■* 

©omgpontienrc. 

SPHERICAL  ABERRATION  AND  FOCUSSING. 

Sir, — Your  correspondent,  Professor  W.  K.  Burton,  has 
fallen  into  an  error  in  describing  the  position  of  best  visual 
definition  when  positive  spherical  aberration  is  produced  in 
a lens.  I have  before  now  pointed  out  that  the  position  of 
best  definition  is  not  that  of  the  least  circle  of  aberration,  but 
beyond  it,  and  not  nearer  to  the  lens,  as  stated  by  Professor 
Burton.  Referring  to  fig.  2,  reproduced  in  your  last  issue,  the 
best  definition  will  lie  beyond  and  not  between  I and  i2. 

The  image-forming  rays  are  those  near  the  axis,  and  are 
clustered  very  nearly  in  one  point  for  an  aperture  up  to  // 15  in 
ordinary  landscape  lenses  ; beyond  this  aperture  the  rays,  as 
they  approach  the  edge  of  a non-aplanatic  lens  or  system, 
become  rapidly  refracted  towards  the  lens  without  concentra- 
tion on  the  axis,  and  introduce  round  the  more  or  less  definite 
image  the  “halo”  referred  to.  The  greater  the  amount  of 
spherical  aberration  in  a lens,  the  greater  is  the  measurement  of 
the  locus  of  partial  definition  ; and  if  the  locus  of  longitudinal 
aberration  is  much  or  little,  common  sense  alone  must  show 
that  that  partial  definition  is  a fact  within  the  limits  of  that 
locus,  and  settle  the  “ much- vexed  question.” 

In  ordinary  landscape  lenses  it  is  not  necessary  to  readjust 
the  focus  if  the  aperture  be  opened  tip  and  spherical  aberration 
introduced  ; but  in  the  portrait  lens,  by  removing  the  flint 
element  in  the  back  combination  slightly  from  the  converging 
crown,  the  focus  alters,  and  therefore  it  is  necessary  in  this 
case  to  readjust  the  focus.  Thomas  R.  Dai.lmeyer. 

25,  Newman  Street,  IF.,  8th  July,  1890. 


WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES  AT  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC 
CONVENTION. 

Sir, — The  last  issue  of  your  valuable  paper  was  anxiously 
looked  for  in  order  to  read  the  news  from  Chester,  knowing 
that  among  other  important  questions  submitted  to  the 
Convention,  was  the  report  of  a Committee  on  Weights, 
Measures,  and  Formula1. 

The  able  Secretary  of  the  Committee,  with  his  usual  lucidity, 
described  in  the  preamble  the  superiority  and  convenience  of 
the  metric  system,  and  to  increase  its  value  by  strong  contrast, 
explained  also  the  negative  beauty  of  the  English  system. 
From  this  portion  of  the  report  we  learn  (what  was  not 
generally  known),  that  the  apothecaries’  ounce  of  480  grains, 
after  all,  is  not  legal,  and  that  the  legal  one  of  437 -5  grains  is 
divided  into  480  parts,  which  greatly  increases  the  already 
inextricable  chaos. 

Arrived  at  this  point  of  the  report  we  exclaimed,  “Bravo 
Convention  ! that  is  a good  blow  at  that  horrible  system  ! ” 
But  alas  ! our  joy  was  of  short  duration.  The  commission, 
according  to  the  report,  after  informing  us  that  “ the  metric 
system  is  exclusively  used  for  scientific  purpose,”  declares  that 
photographers  are  not  intelligent  enough  to  understand  it  ; 
they  require  long  education  before  they  will  be  able  to  use  it. 

Throwing  this  gratuitous  insult  at  the  heads  of  thousands 
who,  with  good  reason,  consider  themselves  fully  competent  to 
use  the  methods  of  their  brothers  occupied  with  other  branches 
of  science,  the  commission  then  commits  an  error  in  proposing 
a modification  of  the  condemned  system — and  what  a modifica- 
tion ! 

Till  now  we  had  to  deal  with  a bad  system,  but  with  one 
only.  The  Convention  imposes  on  us  two — the  metric 
and  a modified  one — in  which  ounces  and  grains  differ  from 
the  old  ones  (they  are  divided  into  decimal  parts),  forgetting 
that  “photographers  do  not  possess  the  knowledge  of  decimals 
sufficient  to  enable  a decimal  system  to  be  used  easily  and 
accurately.” 

Scarcely  twelve  months  have  elapsed  since  the  Photographic 
Club  passed  a resolution  that  the  metric  system,  pure  and 
simple,  should  be  adopted  by  photographers.  The  communi- 
cation sent  to  other  societies  inviting  them  to  co-operate  in 
view  of  the  general  introduction  of  the  system  was  sympathetic- 
ally received. 

Why  llut  obstruction  in  the  path  of  the  useful  progress 


of  our  art  by  introducing  another  bad  system,  and  thereby 
increasing  the  chaos  ? No  doubt  we  have  arrived  at  the  con- 
clusion that  the  existing  system  of  weights  and  measures 
is  so  bad  that  we  cannot  use  it  any  longer.  It  is  also 
known  that  the  metric  system  is  good,  is  already  intro- 
duced all  over  the  world,  and  even  adopted  by  scientists  in  this 
country.  Let  us  adopt  it  too.  By  doing  this  we  shall  secure 
uniformity  in  our  expressions  and  simplicity  in  our  calcula- 
tions. Let  us  protest  against  the  insinuation  that  we  are  too 
ignorant  to  understand  decimals,  and  less  intelligent  than  the 
mass  of  the  population  of  Germany,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Balkan  Peninsula,  and  other  countries  of  the  world,  who, 
two  months  after  the  introduction  of  the  metric  system,  be- 
came thoroughly  conversant  with  it.  L.  WaRNERKE. 

Silvcrhowe,  Champion  Hill,  London,  S.E. 


NEW  GELATINE  FILMS. 

Sir, — In  your  article  on  the  “ New  Gelatine  Films”  you 
speak  of  “ Oberuetter’s  Films.”  This  is,  so  far,  correct,  as 
the  films  are  coated  with  the  well-kuown  Obernetter  emulsion. 
The  support,  however — that  is,  the  films  proper — are  entirely 
the  make  of  Otto  Perutz,  of  Munich,  who  also  does  the  coat- 
ing both  of  plates  and  films  with  the  said  emulsion. 

J.  R.  Gotz. 

19,  Buelinyharn  Street,  Strand,  London,  July  9th,  1890. 

^rocec&mgs  of  jJorictteg. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Masons’  Hall  Tavern,  Thursday, 
July  3rd,  Mr  G.  W.  Atkins  in  the  chair.  The  chairman  called 
upon  the  lion.  sec.  to  present  the  annual  report,  which  ran 
as  follows  : — 

“ In  presenting  the  eighth  annual  report,  your  committee  is 
pleased  to  be  able  to  congratulate  the  members  on  the  work 
done  by  the  Association  during  the  past  year.  The  general 
meetings  have  been  fairly  well  attended,  and  the  discussions 
have  been  interesting  and  well  supported.  In  accordance  with 
a suggestion  made  in  the  last  report,  your  committee  recom- 
mended the  giving  of  lecturettes  and  demonstrations  monthly. 
These  have  been  very  successtul,  and  the  best  thanks  of  the 
committee  and  members  are  due  to  those  gentlemen  who  have 
given  them.  Among  the  most  interesting  subjects  introduced 
on  these  special  evenings  should  be  mentioned  : — “ Glass  Blow- 
ing as  Used  in  our  Chemical  and  Physical  Laboratories,”  A. 
Haddon  ; “The  Action  of  Ferricyanide  of  Potassium  on 
Developed  Plates,”  P.  Everett  ; “ Selecting  Focal  Distance  with 
Detective  Cameras,”  W.  E.  Debenham  ; “ Etching  on  Glass,” 
A.  Haddon  ; and  “ The  Ethics  of  Photography  and  Photo- 
graphers,” J.  Traill  Taylor.”  The  lantern  meetings  have  been 
well  supported,  and  the  competitions  in  connection  with  slide 
making,  silver  and  platinum  printing  and  developing  have 
been  productive  of  much  pleasure  and  beneficial  discussion. 
Monthly  out-door  meetings  have  been  again  recently  intro- 
duced, and  bid  fair  to  be  very  popular  with  those  members 
who  have  Saturday  afternoons  at  liberty.  There  have  been  a 
few  resignations  from  various  causes,  and  your  committee 
regrets  to  have  to  record  the  death  of  Mr.  J.  T.  Collins,  who 
had  been  a member  since  1884,  and  was  for  some  time  a mem- 
ber of  the  committee.  In  thanking  all  those  who  have  in  any 
way  helped  the  success  of  the  meetings  of  the  Association 
during  the  past  year,  your  committee  would  specially  urge  the 
desirability  of  increasing  the  number  of  members.  The 
amount  of  subscription  is  very  small  (only  5s.  per  annum), 
and  it  is  only  by  keeping  up  the  number  of  members  that  the 
Association  can  be  made  to  pay  expenses.  Finally,  the  financial 
condition  of  the  Association  (as  will  be  seen  on  presentation  of 
the  balance  sheet)  is  thoroughly  satisfactory.  All  accounts 
and  liabilities  have  been  paid,  and  there  is  a balance  in  hand.” 

The  balance  sheet  was  then  re.d,  and,  with  the  report, 
adopted. 

The  election  of  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  was  then  pro- 
ceeded with.  The  result  of  the  ballot  was  as  follows  : — 

Trustees — Messrs.  J.  Traill  Taylor  and  Mr.  J.  B.  B.  Wei- 


544 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [Jci.y  11,  1890. 


lington  ; Curator  —Mr.  A.  Haddon  ; Committer — Messrs.  H.  D. 
Atkinson,  F.  A.  Bridge,  J.  J.  Briginshaw  ; F.  P.  Cembrano, 
E.  Clifton,  W.  E.  Debenham,  T.  E.  Freshwater,  F.  S.  Pask  ; 
Hon.  Sec.  arid  Treasurer — Mr.  R.  P.  I)rage. 

Mr.  P.  Everett  proposed,  “ That  a special  vote  of  thanks 
be  given  to  the  retiring  hon.  sec.  and  treasurer,  Mr.  F.  A. 
Bridge,  for  the  efficient  way  in  which  he  had  carried  out  his 
duties.”  This  was  seconded  by  Mr.  A.  Cowan,  and  carried  by 
acclamation. 

Mr.  F.  A.  Bridge  briefly  responded,  thanking  the  members 
for  their  good  feeling,  and  regretted  that  the  limited  time  at 
his  disposal  had  necessitated  his  resigning  the  secretaryship. 

A vote  of  thanks  to  the  other  officers  was  proposed  by  Mr. 
W.  H.  Harrison,  seconded  by  Mr.  A.  Cowan,  and  carried 
unanimously.  Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  responded. 

The  Saturday  outing  was  fixed  for  Wanstead  Park,  July  12th. 
Trains  from  Liverpool  Street  to  Ilford  at  2'17. 


Sheffield  Photographic  Society. 

A SPECIAL  meeting  was  held  at  the  Masonic  Hall  on  the 
evening  of  July  8 th,  Mr.  B.  J.  Taylor  in  the  chair,  when  Mr. 
Smith,  the  representative  of  the  Eastman  Company,  gave  a 
lecture  and  demonstration  on  their  latest  Kodak  hand-camera, 
and  their  new  films,  after  which  he  developed  some  film  nega- 
tives exposed  during  the  day  at  Chesterfield,  which  all  came  out 
splendidly. 

The  Secretary  announced  an  invitation  from  the  Rotherham 
Society  to  join  their  excursion  to  Haddon  Hall  on  the  17th  inst. 


Amateur  Photooraphic  Association. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  council  of  this  society  was  held  on 
Wednesday,  July  2nd,  at  58,  Pall  Mall,  the  Right  Hon.  the 
Lord  De  Ros  in  the  chair.  H.  R.  H.  the  Duke  of  Cambridge 
was  elected  a vice-president,  and  Mr  A.  Newton  Melhuish  was, 
on  the  proposition  of  Mr.  Glaisher,  appointed  assistant-secretary. 

Mr.  Arthur  James  Melhuish,  the  hon.  secretary,  then 
laid  before  the  council  the  pictures  for  the  current  year,  which 
had  been  arranged  and  classified  by  Mr.  Glaisher.  After  a 
careful  examination,  they  were  pronounced  by  the  council  to  be 
far  in  advance  of  any  previously  received.  They  were  arranged 
in  four  classes.  The  first  class  comprised  128  pictures.  The 
following  prizes  were  awarded  : — To  R.  0.  Milne,  the  first 
prize,  a large  silver  goblet  ; to  F.  S.  Schwabe,  a silver  goblet  ; 
to  W.  Vanner,  an  oil  painting  in  frame  by  McEvoy  ; to  R. 
Murray,  a handsome  portrait  album  with  silver  plate  ; a hand- 
some portrait  album  to  F.  Griffith,  W.  S.  Hobson,  and  F. 
Wrigley  ; to  the  Vicomte  de  Condeica,  a large  silver  medal  ; 
to  Dr.  Drew,  W.  Gaddum,  Miss  J.  Wilson,  Miss  Mahon,  J.  C. 
Cohen,  Rev.  G.  J.  Perraiu,  F.  G.  Smart,  General  Kaye,  and 
K.  Leveuthorpe,  a medal  each  ; to  H.  O.  Hutchinson,  a 
picture  in  frame  ; to  M.  De  Deehy,  a portrait  album. 

A vote  of  thanks  was  given  to  Mr.  Glaisher  for  the  time  and 
attention  he  had  bestowed  on  the  arrangement  and  classifica- 
tion of  the  pictures. 


The  Sheffield  Photographic  Society. 

The  usual  monthly  meeting  was  held  at  the  Masonic  Hall  on 
Tuesday  evening,  July  1st,  Mr.  B.  J.  Taylor  in  the  chair. 

After  the  routine  business  of  the  meeting,  prints  were  shown 
by  the  president,  secretary,  and  Mr.  Crowder  of  views  taken 
at  the  recent  excursion  to  Bolton  Abbey. 

Mr.  E.  Beck  then  read  a humorous  paper  on  “ Bolton,” 
written  by  one  of  the  members. 

It  was  arranged  that  the  Society  should  purchase  three 
American  stereoscopes  for  use  at  the  meetings,  as  many  of  the 
members  now  take  stereoscopic  views  ; and  arrangements 
were  made  for  a half-day  excursion  to  Ashopton  and  Derwent 
Hall  on  July  19  th. 


The  Holborn  Camera  Club. 

1 he  usual  weekly  meeting  was  held  at  the  headquarters  of  the 
Club,  100,  High  Holborn,  on  J uly  4th,  when  a lecture 
on  “Developers  and  Development”  was  delivered  by  Mr.  A. 
Jones,  and  a discussion  followed,  which  was  joined  in  by  Messrs. 
Smith,  Bayston,  and  Dear. 


Hnstocrs  to  (tforresponticnts. 

Alt  CjmmunUntioas,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Photooraphic  News,  5,  Furnival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

All  quest  ons  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  a Idressod  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.3.,  2,  9t.  Miry’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

All  Advertisemonts  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photooriphic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  J,  Furnival  Street,  London. 
W.  H.  M.  (Stoke-on-Trent.) — Photo- Etching  Process.  The 
bitumen  process  is  more  easily  worked  on  zinc  plates  than 
upon  copper,  and  the  etching  with  ferric  chloride  solution 
does  not  then  present  so  much  difficulty,  half-tones  being 
more  readily  obtained. 

Castile. — Astronomical  Photography.  Eclipse  phenomena, 

spots  on  the  sun,  the  phases  of  the  moon,  the  occultation 
of  planets  with  their  satellites,  may  be  enumerated  as  some 
of  the  more  important  applications  of  photography.  To 
these  may  be  added  the  splendid  results  of  Mr.  Isaac 
Roberts  in  mapping  the  starry  heavens,  and  representation  of 
the  nebuhe.  Colour  photography  seems  as  far  off  as  ever, 
but  even  if  realised,  it  remains  to  be  seen  how  this  will  help 
the  main  problems  of  astronomical  science. 

W.  M.  (Mainz). — Received,  and  answered  by  post. 

E.  G.  S. — Selection  of  Lenses.  The  rapid  leetiliuear  ought 
to  do  most  of  your  work.  Try  the  front  lens  of  your  por- 
trait combination,  reversed  and  suitably  stopped  down,  be- 
fore procuring  another  landscape  lens. 

In  Trouble. — Ancient  Lights.  Vou  are  not  the  only  sufferer. 
This  is  often  a very  serious  question  for  the  professional 
photographer,  and  you  should  at  once  cousult  your  solicitor. 
If  we  rightly  understand  you,  there  was  a chimney  stack 
before,  but  it  has  recently  been  raised  in  height,  so  as  to 
obscure  much  of  your  available  light.  Did  you  make  a 
representation  whilst  the  work  was  in  progress  ? 

J.  P. — Wooden  Washing  Trays.  Lance  wood,  sycamore,  and 
alder  are  said  to  be  very  close-grained  woods,  but  this  quality 
is  not  all-important  provided  they  be  well  coated  with 
shellac  varnish,  or  basted  with  melted  paraffin.  For  the 
glass  bottom,  mixed  red  and  white  lead  makes  a better  joint 
than  ordinary  glaziers’  putty. 

B.  J.  L. — Actinometer.  We  have  referred  to  the  patent  of 
a year  ago,  but  fail  to  see  any  element  of  novelty.  It  is 
based  on  the  assumption  that  ordinary  silver  sensitised 
papers  are  always  of  uniform  rapidity,  which  is  questionable. 
Veiled. — Ferrous  Oxalate  Development.  The  whitish  deposit 
you  complain  of  may  be  only  a thin  layer  of  oxalate  of  lime, 
in  which  case  a short  immersion  in  very  dilute  hydrochloric 
acid  ought  to  remove  it. 

S.  W. — Perished  Rubber.  We  are  not  aware  of  any  use  to 
which  you  can  put  it.  The  best  plan  would  lie  to  offer  it 
cheap  to  some  india-rubber  manufacturer. 

F.  I.  C. — Weights  and  Measures.  The  case  is  well  put  in  the 
Convention  Report  (see  page  523  of  last  week).  The  nine 
recommendations  ought  to  meet  with  universal  acceptance, 
and  it  is  immaterial  whether  French  or  English  measures  be 
adopted,  so  long  as  the  decimal  system  is  adhered  to. 

M.  G.  (Preston). — Sulphate  of  Silver.  Your  proposal  to  add 
free  sulphuric  acid  to  the  silver  sensitising  bath  is  open  to 
the  objection  that  the  comparatively  insoluble  sulphate  of 
silver  would  be  formed,  and  this  is  not  affected  by  light. 
The  employment  of  citric  or  acetic  acid  would  certainly  lie 
preferable. 

N.  Read. — Isochromatic  Patents,  Jr.  The  specifications  are 
numbered  a.I).  1883,  No.  101  ; a.D.  1886,  Nos.  7,963  and 
15,532.  Rhodamine  is  procurable  at  the  Atlas  Dye  Works, 
Hackney  Wick,  N.E.  Its  use  is  not  covered  by  patent. 

J.  W.  (Leeds). — Wishes  to  know  the  formula  for  developing 
Seed  plates  (American).  Can  am-  of  our  correspondents 
oblige  us  with  the  information  ? 

J.  A.  C. — Sensitomctcr.  Mr.  A.  Watkins  has  recently 

described  a new  exposure  meter  depending  upon  the  use  of 
a bromide  paper  sensitised  with  nitrite  of  soda.  This  was 
shown  at  the  Hereford  Society,  and  likewise  at  the  meeting 
of  the  Camera  Club  on  May  22nd  last. 


Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  1663. — July  18,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


not 

The  Metric  System  in  Photography  645 

About  Weather  Forecasts  54G 

Ready-Sensitised  Paperworks 547 

The  Progress  of  the  Photo-Mechanical  Printing  Processes.  By 

Hermann  £.  Gunther 548 

Expression.  By  J.  Mew  549 

Developers  Used  by  German  Professional  Photographers.  By 

Julius  F.  Sachse  551 

Home  Portraiture.  By  H.  H.  Supplec 553 

Illustrating  Poems  by  Photography.  By  Catharine  Weed 
Barnes 556 


FAOI 


Notes .*4 

The  Photographic  Image.  By  Prof.  Raphael  Meldola,  F.R.8., 


The  Photographic  Convention  at  Chester  559 

The  Exhibition  of  the  Photographic  Society  560 

Uniformity  in  Dens  Mounts 561 

Photographic  Establishments  662 

A Supplement  to  the  “ Photographic  News  ” 562 

Correspondence 502 

Proceedings  of  Societies 563 

Answers  to  Correspondents  564 


THE  METRIC  SYSTEM  IN  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

While  two  such  champions  as  Mr.  Warnerke  and  Mr. 
Bothamley  are  in  tournament  in  our  correspondence 
columns  about  the  introduction  of  the  metric  system  of 
weights  and  measures  among  English  photographers, 
far  be  it  from  us  to  interfere  while  the  case  is  sub 
judice  before  the  court  of  public  opinion ; but  some  use 
may  be  served  by  introducing  a new  element  into  the 
case  which  may  tend  to  accentuate  or  to  calm  the 
strife.  Washington  Irving5  told  a story,  setting  forth 
how,  in  an  early  American  hall  of  legislation,  a hole 
was  found  in  the  wall  of  the  Parliament  House, 
admitting  the  winds  of  heaven,  and  making  certain  law- 
givers more  stiff-necked  than  they  were  before.  Week 
after  week  was  passed  in  discussing  the  question  to 
what  department  of  the  executive  staff  of  the  govern- 
ment fell  the  lot  of  repairing  the  hole  in  the  wall, 
until  one  fine  morning  a member,  out  of  his  private 
purse,  gave  a bricklayer  a dollar  or  other  sum  to  block 
up  the  hole,  and  when  the  members  assembled  the 
following  evening  to  resume  the  heated  debate  the 
bone  of  contention  was  found  to  have  disappeared. 

By  analagous  line  of  action,  we  venture  to  offer  a 
possible  practical  explanation  of  a chief  reason  why 
British  photographers  have  been  slow  to  adopt  the 
metric  system,  namely,  that  being  convinced  by  the 
utterances  of  the  Convention  and  of  other  photographic 
bodies  that  they  ought  to  take  the  system  up,  they 
found  in  looking  through  most  photographic  dealers’ 
catalogues,  that  the  said  weights  and  measures  were 
not  on  sale  by  the  firms  from  which  they  ordered  their 
ordinary  photographic  goods,  except,  perhaps,  in  the 
instance  of  a small  minority  ; moreover,  upon  calling  upon 
the  said  dealers,  it  may  have  been  found  that  they  had 
no  more  of  such  weights  and  measures  in  their  stocks 
than  they  had  in  their  catalogues.  The  idea,  in  short, 
is,  that  the  unfamiliar  weights  and  measures  are  less 
readily  obtainable  than  might  be  the  case,  and  that 
many  photographers  do  not  take  the  trouble  to  get 
them  from  special  sources.  This  simple  explanation 


may  reveal  what  has  more  to  do  with  the  matter  than 
the  alleged  influences  mentioned  in  the  Convention 
report ; if  so,  dealers  have  much  influence  in  the  matter. 

All  over  France,  the  metric  weights,  from  a gramme 
upwards,  to  such  a height  as  photographers  are  likely 
to  require  when  making  up  small  quantities  of  de- 
veloper, are  sold  for  ordinary  trade  purposes,  sticking 
something  like  cribbage  pegs  into  a little  bit  of  wood, 
and  are  easier  to  handle  than  the  flat,  small  weights  in 
ordinary  use  here. 

The  metric  system,  which  has  spread  all  over  civi- 
lized Europe,  and  into  the  scientific  section  of  English 
society,  had  its  origin  in  the  French  Revolution,  which 
the  recent  Exhibition  in  Paris  was  established  to  cele- 
brate. The  ambitious  French  philosophers  then  dis- 
carded arbitrary  standards,  and  on  first  principles  laid 
down  standards  for  the  whole  world,  taking  a portion 
of  the  meridian  of  the  earth  as  their  unit  of  measure- 
ment. The  ten-millionth  part  of  a quarter  of  the 
earth’s  meridian  is  the  unit  from  which  all  the  other 
measurements  are  made,  and  this  unit  is  called  a 
metre ; it  is  39  371  inches,  or  a little  more  than 
our  yard ; one-hundredth  of  the  metre  is  a centi- 
metre. A cubic  centimetre  of  distilled  water  at 
its  maximum  density — 39  o°  F. — is  the  unit  of 
weights,  and  called  a gramme.  This  gramme  in 
English  weight  is  about  15£  grains,  and  it  is  just  as  easy 
to  mix  a developer  by  so  many  grammes  of  each  ingre- 
dient as  it  is  to  mix  a developer  by  so  many  scruples  of 
each  ingredient — an  intellectual  feat  which,  in  our 
humble  opinion,  the  English  photographer  is  capable 
of  achieving,  especially  when  aided  by  weights  which 
he  can  handle  more  readily  than  those  which  he 
had  previously  used. 

Yesterday  afternoon,  after  the  preceding  lines  were 
written,  we  opportunely  received  a new  catalogue  from 
“ The  Blackfriars  Photographic  and  Sensitising  Co.” 
in  which  are  quoted  “ Decimal  weights  for  photo- 
graphic use,  as  proposed  by  the  various  societies,”  but 
in  the  index  we  can  find  nothing  about  measuring- glasses 
on  the  same  system . 


546 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  18,  1890. 


ABOUT  WEATHER  FORECASTS. 

The  state  of  the  weather  is  of  so  much  importance  to 
those  who  depend  upon  light  as  the  first  necessary  for 
their  daily  work,  that  the  question  whether  or  not 
our  Meteorological  Office  is  able  to  give  us  reliable 
advice  as  to  what  the  morrow  may  bring  forth  in  the 
way  of  sunshine  or  rain  is  to  them  a very  serious  one. 
For  some  years  past  weather  forecasts  have  formed  a 
notable  feature  of  our  daily  newspapers,  and  in  the  Times 
and  some  of  the  other  papers  we  have  placed  before 
us,  in  addition  to  the  forecasts,  a small  map  or  chart 
of  the  British  Islands  and  the  countries  contiguous 
thereto,  marked  with  certain  curved  dotted  lines,  with 
arrows  pointing  in  different  directions,  and  with  other 
hieroglyphics  to  which  certain  meanings  are  attached. 
The  curved  lines  are  “isobars,”  or  lines  of  equal 
barometrical  pressure,  and  the  figure  at  the  termina- 
tion of  each  gives  its  value.  The  arrows  show  the 
direction  of  the  wind  in  the  particular  locality  where 
they  fly,  and  the  number  of  barbs  upon  the  messenger 
denotes  the  strength  of  the  breeze.  In  addition  to  this 
information  we  are  also  given  the  temperature  at 
various  stations  all  over  the  area  covered  by  the  chart, 
and  a knowledge  of  the  state  of  the  sea,  that  is, 
whether  it  be  rough,  smooth,  or  in  a state  of  calm. 
It  is  from  a study  of  this  chart,  coupled  with  a know- 
ledge of  the  actual  state  of  the  weather  at  various 
stations  on  a given  day,  that  the  Meteorological  Office 
is  enabled  to  indicate  the  kind  of  weather  which  may  be 
reasonably  looked  for  during  the  next  twenty-four 
hours. 

The  isobars  of  the  chart  represent  the  most  impor- 
tant feature  of  it  so  far  as  weather  forecasting  is  con- 
cerned, for  all  such  predictions  are  founded  upon 
barometrical  readings.  This  will  at  first  seem  difficult 
to  believe,  for  we  have  all  had  experience  of  house- 
hold barometers,  and  know  full  well  that  often  when 
it  points  to  “ set  fair,”  the  weather  outside  is  rainy, 
and  vice  versa.  Hope  never  yet  told  such  flattering 
tales  as  these  barometers  do  with  regard  to  fair  weather 
when  all  is  foul.  But  we  must  not  be  too  hasty  in 
blaming  a valuable  instrument,  when  we  should  rather 
blame  the  maker  for  attaching  to  it  words  which  are 
altogether  useless  and  misleading.  In  one  sense  the 
barometer  may  be  said  to  have  come  before  its  time, 
for  its  value  could  never  be  fully  appreciated  before  it 
was  possible,  as  it  is  now,  to  compare  its  readings  at  a 
given  moment  over  a large  area.  This  is  done  daily 
by  means  of  the  electric  telegraph,  and  on  the 
faith  of  the  messages  so  received  by  the  Meteorological 
Office,  the  charts  and  forecasts  are  prepared. 

In  order  to  give  a general  outline  of  the  manner  in 
which  this  is  accomplished,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
point  out  that  the  curved  lines,  or  isobars,  represent 
parts  of  two  great  barometrical  systems,  and  that  one 
is  known  as  a “ cyclone,”  and  the  other  as  an  “ anti- 
cyclone.” The  first  may  be  regarded  as  indicative  of 
bad  weather,  for  it  is  usually  accompanied  by  rain  or 
snow,  according  to  season,  and  by  leaden  skies  and 
gusty  wind.  Its  centre  is  marked  by  an  area  of  low 


pressure,  and  the  rotatory  movement  of  the  winds 
round  about  it  are  in  a direction  contrary  to  the  hands 
of  a watch.  The  anti-cyclone  is  the  reverse  of  all 
these  things.  Light  breezes  circulate  round  a high 
pressure  centre,  and  we  have  those  bright,  balmy  days 
so  valued  by  good  people  in  general,  and  photographers 
in  particular.  It  is  the  relation  which  exists  between 
these  two  systems,  which  travel  slowly  or  quickly  over 
the  face  of  our  part  of  the  globe,  which  enables  the 
weather  forecasts  to  be  tabulated.  It  is  true  that  they 
are  very  often  wrong,  but  experience  shows  that,  in 
the  aggregate,  they  are  correct  to  the  extent  of  about 
66  per  cent. ; or,  to  put  it  in  other  words,  two  fore- 
casts out  of  three  are  borne  out  by  the  weather  which 
afterwards  comes  to  us.  There  are  many  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  making  reliable  forecasts,  and  the  chief  one 
is  due  to  our  insular  position.  Most  of  the  cyclones 
which  bring  us  such  bad  weather  travel  across  our 
country  from  west  to  east,  and  therefore  find  their 
origin  in  the  Atlantic  ocean.  IIow  they  are  formed  no 
one  can  say ; all  we  know  is  that  they  are  due,  like  all 
other  atmospheric  phenomena,  to  solar  radiation.  If 
it  were  possible  to  dot  signal  stations  at  distances  of  a 
few  hundred  miles  all  over  the  great  western  ocean, 
and  to  place  them  all  in  electrical  communication  with 
London,  the  forecasts  would  become  far  more  reliable 
than  they  are  now,  and  the  idea  of  establishing  at 
least  one  such  station  in  mid-ocean  has  more  than  once 
been  ventilated.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  such 
an  enterprise  may,  however,  be  looked  upon  as  in- 
superable. 

Some  months  ago  a correspondent  of  the  Times  wrote 
a very  amusing  letter  to  that  journal  on  the  subject 
before  us,  and  while  he  admitted  that  the  “clerk  of 
the  weather” — i.e.,  the  Meteorological  Office — was 
correct  in  his  forecastings  to  the  extent  which  we  have 
already  stated,  he  more  than  hinted  that  it  was  all 
guess  work,  and  that  the  money  which  it  cost  could  be 
moic  profitably  applied.  He  based  his  strictures  on 
certain  experiments  which  he  had  made,  which  were 
certainly  ingenious,  but  hardly  scientific.  In  the  first 
case  he  pasted  each  published  forecast  for  one  summer 
month  on  a separate  piece  of  card,  placed  them  all  in  a 
bag,  shook  them  up,  and  on  each  day  of  the  following 
month  he  took  out  a card  and  compared  it  with  the 
state  of  the  weather  which  prevailed  at  the  time.  He 
says  that,  so  far  as  results  went,  it  was  a neck  and  neck 
race  with  the  clerk  of  the  weather,  but  the  latter  won 
by  a short  length.  By  which  he  meant  that  by  this 
“lucky  bag”  system  his  forecasts  were  correct  in 
almost  as  many  instances  as  those  published  by 
authority.  In  another  case  he  tried  the  system  of 
forecasting  for  the  morrow  by  adopting  the  weather 
record  for  the  previous  day  at  sunset,  and  this  plan  he 
also  found  to  be  moderately  correct.  Upon  these  data 
he  founds  his  belief  that  the  present  system  of  weather 
prediction  is  as  amusing  as  a game  of  pitch  and  toss  by 
reason  of  its  uncertainty. 

"We  do  not  agree  with  this  writer.  The  o.Tk._1 
observations  are  taken  with  great  care,  and  are  founded 
upon  a scientific  basis,  and  although  it  is  common  for 


July  18,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


547 


some  persons  to  laugh  at  anything  which  they  cannot 
readily  understand,  particularly  if  its  imperfections  are 
manifest,  the  thoughtful  will  feel  glad  that  some  steps 
have  been  taken  towards  the  solution  of  a very  difficult 
problem.  Because  the  predictions  are  wrong  once  out 
of  three,  it  does  not  follow  that  they  always  will  be  so. 
A child  crawls  with  difficulty  before  it  can  walk  up- 
right, yet  no  one  is  so  foolish  as  to  scold  it  for 
incapacity. 

READY-SENSITISED  PAPER  WORKS. 

A New  Hygrometeu. 

Mr.  Otto  Scholzig  having  kindly  sent  us  an  invitation 
to  inspect  his  works  at  Stockwell  Green,  Condon,  now 
established  six  years,  and  wherein  he  prepares  ready- 
sensitised  papers  for  the  market,  the  following  par- 
ticulars may  be  of  interest.  There  are  four  sensitising 
rooms  on  the  premises,  eack  containing  thirteen  large 
baths,  on  which  girls  float  the  sheets  ; each  sheet, 
when  taken  off  its  bath,  is  put  between  blotting-papers, 
or  rather  blotting-boards — for  they  are  exceedingly 
thick — then  “mangled”  through  the  wall  into  the 
adjoining  drying  room  ; the  object  of  the  rolling  is  to 
remove  all  superfluous  liquid.  The  blotters  are  used 
over  and  over  again,  to  the  extent  of  thirty  or  forty 
times ; they  are  then  burnt,  and  the  ashes  containing 
the  waste  silver  are  saved  for  reduction.  There  is  a 
reducing  furnace  on  the  premises,  and  the  silver  thus 
recovered  is  sold  to  refiners,  as  it  is  not  remunerative  to 
make  one’s  own  nitrate  salt  of  that  metal.  The  metal 
thus  obtained  is,  on  an  average,  17£  dwts.  per  ounce 
purer  than  standard  silver,  or  but  J dwt.  per  ounce  less 
than  pure  silver.  The  crucibles  are  of  such  capacity 
as  to  produce  a lump  of  about  16  lbs.  weight  of  metal. 
Mr.  Scholzig  says  that  he  cannot  account  for  it,  but  it 
is  a fact  that  the  chloride  of  sodium  forming  most  of 
the  soluble  residue  in  the  reducing  pots  is  better  than 
ordinary  table  salt  for  precipitating  the  silver  from  old 
baths ; it  throws  the  chloride  down  more  quickly,  and 
leaves  the  liquid  in  brighter  condition. 

The  drying  room  is  at  a relative  humidity  of  less  than 
55  per  cent.,  and  this  is  regulated  by  varying  the 
temperature  and  ventilation  of  the  room.  Girls  hang 
the  sheets  over  wooden  rods  to  dry  ; after  the  drying 
each  sheet  is  brushed  with  a pad  of  green  baize  to 
remove  any  fluff,  and  the  sheets  are  afterwards  packed 
ready  for  sale. 

As  Mr.  Scholzig  naturally  will  not  furnish  the  for- 
mula of  the  sensitising  solution  he  employs,  we  turn 
to  the  next  leading  feature  in  the  works  of  interest  to 
the  public,  namely,  a new  hygrometer. 

An  important  point  in  drying  ready-sensitised  paper 
is  that  it  shall  not  be  dried  too  much,  which  would 
give  it  a horny  character ; hence  the  warm  drying 
room  has  to  be  kept  at  a particular  degree  of 
humidity.  This  end  is  attained  by  means  of  a new 
hygrometer  invented  by  Dr.  C.  Koppe,  made  by 
Usteri-Reinacher,  of  Zurich,  and  in  use  by  order  of 
the  Government  at  certain  Swiss  meteorological  ob- 
servatories. Mr.  Scholzig  prefers  it  to  the  wet  and 


dry  bulb  instrument,  for  it  indicates  exactly  what 
percentage  of  aqueous  vapour  is  present  in  the  air. 
In  ceramic  photography  by  the  dusting  process,  a 
good  hygrometer  is  useful  for  the  obtaining  of  uni- 
form results,  and  the  instrument  is  of  value  in  other 
departments  of  photography,  so  a description  of  the 
new  one  may  be  of  interest.  It  consists  of  a frame 
to  which  one  end  of  a human  hair,  carefully  freed 
from  grease,  is  fixed ; the  other  end  of  the  hair  is 
wound  round  one  groove  of  a pulley  wheel  with  two 
grooves.  Round  the  second  groove  a filament  of  silk 
is  wound  in  a reverse  direction  to  that  of  the  hair, 
and  at  the  lower  end  of  the  hanging  silk  filament 
a little  weight  is  attached,  so  that  the  hair  is  kept 
constantly  under  tension.  An  index  needle  attached 
to  the  wheel  in  front  of  a scale  of  90°,  divided  into 
100  parts,  shows  the  amount  of  any  elongation  or 
contraction  of  the  hair.  When  the  hair  grows  drier 
the  needle  turns  to  the  left,  and  when  the  hair 
grows  more  damp  the  needle  turns  to  the  right. 
When  the  surrounding  air  is  completely  saturated  with 
water  the  needle  points  to  100  on  the  scale. 

To  use  the  instrument,  a little  sliding  frame  covered 
with  muslin  is  soaked  in  water,  then  put  in  position  at 
the  rear  of  the  little  case,  the  front  of  which  is  then 
closed  by  a sheet  of  glass.  In  a short  time  the  air  in 
the  case  becomes  saturated  with  water,  and  the  needle 
travels  nearly  to  100  ; then  by  turning  a key  it  is 
regulated  by  being  brought  exactly  to  100.  The  instru- 
ment should  be  tapped  a little  every  now  and  then 
when  regulating  it,  in  order  to  overcome  any  inertia. 


A metal  back  behind  the  muslin  frame  prevents  the 
escape  of  moisture.  When  the  air  in  the  case  is 
saturated  with  water,  the  metal  back,  the  muslin,  and 
the  glass  are  removed ; the  hair  then  begins  to  dry  so 
far  as  the  air  in  the  room  will  permit  it  to  do  so  ; the 
index  needle  turns  as  the  hair  grows  drier,  and  when 
the  needle  comes  to  rest  it  indicates  the  relative 
humidity  of  the  apartment  or  locality  in  which  the 
hygrometer  is  placed. 

If  drops  of  water  have  formed  at  the  bottom  of  the 
hygrometer,  they  should  be  wiped  off  before  taking 
the  reading.  In  order  that  the  hair  may  sustain  no 
damage  when  subjected  to  transport,  its  tension  is  taken 


548 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  18,  1890. 


off,  the  needle  is  guided  to  the  left  extremity  of  the 
frame,  and  there  fixed  by  means  of  a little  hook. 
The  small  weight  is  then  pushed  under  a spring  which 
holds  it  tight  against  the  middle  of  the  frame. 

By  the  aid  of  the  diagram,  fig.  2,  it  is  easy  to  aseer- 


Fig.  2. 

tain  without  calculation  the  absolute  humidity  and 
the  condensing  point  of  the  aqueous  vapour,  by  obser- 
ving at  the  same  time  the  temperature  of  the  air.  For 
instance : — 


Indication  of  the  hygrometer  ...  ...  65  per  cent. 

Thermometer 10°  Cent. 


The  observer  then  follows  the  horizontal  line  upon 
the  diagram  till  he  reaches  the  point  where  the  two  lines 
65  and  10  cross  each  other,  and  finds  at  the  left  side 
six  grammes  marked ; this  means  that  a cubic  metre 
of  the  air  under  observation  contains  six  grammes 
of  vapour  of  water.  Upon  following  the  same  line 
to  the  right,  the  condensing  point  3°  is  found  ; that  is 
to  say,  the  air  may  be  cooled  from  10°  to  3°,  or  seven 
degrees,  before  the  moisture  in  it  begins  to  condense. 
For  example : — 


Hygrometer  indication 
Thermo  meter 
Absolute  humidity  ... 
Condensing  point 


...  65  per  cent. 

...  25°  Centigrade 
...  15-3  grammes 
...  18q  Centigrade 


Whilst  in  the  first  case  the  air  only  contained  six 
grammes  of  vapour  with  relatively  equal  humidity,  in 
the  second  case  this  quantity  of  vapour  of  water  in- 
creased to  fifteen  grammes,  because  the  temperature 
was  higher.  The  higher  the  temperature  of  the  air, 
the  greater  is  its  power  of  absorbing  vapour  of  water. 


An  Australian  photographer  has  recently  made  up  an  album 
containing  700  portraits  of  the  pioneer  colonists  of  Victoria, 
reproduced  from  original  photographs  or  paintings  by  photo- 
mechanical means. 

Photographic  Terminology  in  America. — A new  science 
brings  with  it  new  words,  and  if  one  language  is  too  weak  to 
supply  them  they  must  be  taken  from  another  language. 
Photographers  who  use  a preliminary  bath  before  developing  a 
plate  are  adopting  the  word  “ Vorbad,”  from  the  German 
“vor,”  meaning  “before,”  and  “bad,”  meaning  “bath.” 
The  photographic  journals  were  all  prompt  in  accepting 
the  word,  never  for  a moment  considering  that  a 
noun  like  “ prelavation,”  a Latin  derivative,  would  answer 
just  as  well  or  better.  The  word  which  we  suggest 

means  a preliminary  bath,  being  derived  from  the  Latin  prcela 
rare,  to  wash  or  bathe  beforehand,  or  rather  from  pr<e,  before- 
hand, and  lavatio,  a bath  or  washing.  — Photographic  Globe. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  PHOTO-MECHANICAL 
PRINTING  PROCESSES. 

BV  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

No.  III. 

After  the  asphalt  powder  has  been  gathered  on  the  white 
paper,  it  is  moistened,  and,  on  a glass  plate,  rubbed  down 
finely  by  the  aid  of  a rubber,  which  manipulation  is 
repeated  several  times,  the  powder  being  dried  each  time. 

The  finely-powdered  asphalt  is  now  placed  in  the 
dusting-box,  which  may  be  made  either  revolving  on  an 
axis,  or  stationary,  and  provided  with  a blast  arrangement, 
but  which,  at  all  events,  should  have  a sufficiently  powerful 
moving  force,  so  that  the  particles  of  the  dust  are  thrown 
up  to  the  cover  of  the  box.  R.  Maschek  uses  a box 
about  seven  feet  high  and  three  and  a-half  feet  wide, 
which,  as  he  asserts,  suffices  for  the  coarse  powder  as  well 
as  for  the  fine  one,  for  the  reason  that  by  the  time  which 
lapses  between  the  whirling  up  of  the  dust  and  the  intro- 
duction of  the  plate  into  the  box,  the  size  of  the  falling 
asphalt  particles  may  be  ascertained.  Strips  of  sheet 
rubber  should  be  nailed  round  the  inside  of  the  door  of  the 
box,  so  that  it  will  shut  up  nearly  hermetically. 

After  the  asphalt  has  been  placed  in  the  box,  the  door 
is  closed  tightly,  and  the  powder  shaken  up  violently. 
After  a lapse  of  a minute  or  two,  if  it  be  supposed  that 
those  asphalt  particles  are  falling  which  are  intended  to 
be  used  in  order  to  produce  the  required  degree  of 
granulation,  the  door  is  opened,  and  the  previously 
thoroughly  cleaned  plate  is  placed  therein,  poised  on  the 
points  of  a few  double-pointed  nails  driven  into  the  base 
of  the  bex,  all  being  equal  in  height.  The  plate  remains 
in  the  box  until,  if  removed  and  held  obliquely  against 
the  light,  it  shows  a velvet-like  appearance.  In  looking 
at  it,  only  a shade,  but  better  still,  no  plain  copper  at  all, 
should  be  observed.  Until  this  state  is  attained,  about 
five  to  seven  minutes  will  be  required.  The  longer  the 
plate  remains  in  the  box,  the  greater  will  be  the  quantity 
of  powder  deposited,  and  the  finer  will  be  the  resulting 
granulation.  The  plate  should  be  removed  very  carefully 
from  the  box  to  prevent  any  dislocation  of  the  particles. 

To  melt  the  dusted-on  asphalt  powder,  the  plate  is  held 
with  the  reverse  side  in  contact  with  the  flame  of  a spirit 
lamp  until  the  brown  velvet-like  tint  of  the  asphalt  has 
changed  to  a beautiful  bluish-violet  tone.  It  is  then  laid 
aside  to  cool  down,  and  then  placed  for  about  one  minute 
in  a bath  of  vinegar,  common  salt,  and  water,  until  it  be- 
comes copper-coloured.  After  the  plate  has  been  rinsed 
in  this  batli  it  is  ready  for  receiving  the  negative  pigment 
impression,  which  can  at  once  be  squeezed  on  and  deve- 
loped with  warm  water  in  the  ordinary  way.  As  I have 
mentioned  in  the  previous  chapter,  the  etching  of  the 
copper  plate  is  done  witli  solutions  of  chloride  of  iron  of 
different  concentration.  Previously,  however,  the  edges 
and  the  reverse  side  of  the  plate  must  be  coated  with 
asphalt  varnish,  to  prevent  their  being  attacked  by  the 
etching  solution. 

The  four  dishes  containing  the  solutions  of  different 
consistencies  are  now  placed  in  a row,  and  at  last  a fifth 
one  is  added  containing  clear  water.  Dish  No.  1 contains 
the  strongest ; dish  No.  4 the  weakest  solution.  Not  too 
large  a quantity  of  the  etching  fluid  should  be  poured  into 
the  dishes,  so  that  the  picture  is  still  distinctly  visible 
through  the  solution.  A plate-lifter  is  necessary  to 
manipulate  the  copper  plate  easily  in  the  solutions  without 
handling  it  with  the  fingers.  Kiewning  uses  a curved 


July  18,  1890.| 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NfcWS. 


549 


rack  of  copper  wire,  which  is  also  coated  with  asphalt 
varnish  to  render  it  indifferent  to  the  etching  fluid,  and 
which  is  provided  with  two  handles.  Maschek  recom- 
mends an  arrangement  consisting  of  six  single  bars,  which 
can  be  screwed  separately  on  either  side  of  the  plate.  At 
the  upper  end  of  each  bar  there  is  a perforated  tail,  through 
which  tie-rods  can  be  passed  and  fixed  by  screws.  This 
arrangement  has  the  advantage  that,  in  the  case  of  large 
plates,  these  can  be  transferred  from  one  bath  into 
another  one  by  two  persons  at  the  same  time. 

In  the  first  etching  bath  the  parts  of  the  plate  are 
attacked  which  are  covered  with  the  weakest  film  of  gela- 
tine, representing  the  deepest  shadows ; the  second  and 
third  bath  successively  produce  the  gradations  of  the 
tones,  while  the  fourth  bath  etches  the  light  tones.  The 
plate  is  then  transferred  to  the  water  bath,  and  it  is  im- 
portant that  this  be  done  at  the  very  moment  it  is  observed 
that  the  solution  begins  to  attack  the  high  lights.  If  this 
moment  be  allowed  to  pass,  the  parts  of  the  plate  which 
should  be  represented  by  plain  copper,  and  which  in  print- 
ing should  be  entirely  free  from  colour,  will  be  slightly 
etched,  consequently  will  retain  the  colour  in  the  printing 
press.  It  is  well  to  transfer  a small  quantity  of  the  etching 
fluid  from  the  fourth  solution  into  the  water  bath  together 
with  the  plate,  so  that  a very  dilute  chloride  of  iron  solu- 
tion is  produced,  which  completes  the  etching  process. 

When  thoroughly  washed  the  plate  is  taken  out  of  the 
water  bath  ; the  gelatine  is  removed  by  means  of  a piece  of 
soft  linen,  and  the  asphalt  dust  by  aid  of  benzole.  Also 
the  cuprous  chloride  which  has  been  formed  during  the 
etching  process  must  be  removed  from  the  plate,  and  this 
is  done  by  means  of  a mixture  of  spirit  and  ammonia  to 
which  some  finely  powdered  chalk  has  been  added. 

Printing  plates  obtained  by  the  above  process  will 
generally  require  retouching,  though  it  should  be  applied 
only  to  a slight  degree.  It  is  achieved  similarly  to  mezzo- 
tint engraving,  the  high  lights  being  put  in  with  a bur- 
nisher, and  the  shadows,  if  not  deep  enough,  or  if  the 
grain  has  disappeared  through  the  prolonged  action  of  the 
etching  fluid,  are  passed  over  with  a “roulette,”  in  order 
to  give  a bite  for  the  printing  colour. 

If  a large  nutnber  of  prints  is  to  be  taken  from  an  etched 
copper  plate,  it  is  necessary  to  steel  it  previously.  This 
is  done  by  attaching  it  to  the  negative  pole  of  an  iron 
bath,  and  providing  it,  by  the  .action  of  the  galvanic 
current,  with  a fine  coating  of  iron,  which  protects  the 
plate  against  wear  and  tear.  After  the  plate  has  been 
taken  out  of  the  galvanic  bath,  it  is  quickly  washed 
with  water,  then  with  a solution  of  soda,  when  it  is  care- 
fully wiped  by  means  of  a linen  cloth,  and  rubbed  in 
with  some  oil  to  prevent  oxidation. 


The  Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. — Monthly 
technical  meeting  Tuesday,  July  22nd,  at  5a,  Pall  Mall  East, 
at  8 p.m. 

Conjugal  Likeness. — It  is  a theory  like  another  that  by 
moral  pressure  you  can  change  the  shape  of  your  nose  ; and  a 
Genevese  society  (photographic)  has  succeeded  in  showing  that 
the  pressure  aforesaid  need  be  neither  conscious  nor  direct.  It 
has  secured  the  likenesses  of  eight-and-seventy  couples  old  in 
matrimony  ; has  contrasted  the  same  with  the  likenesses  of 
eight-and-seventy  pairs  of  brothers  and  sisters  ; and  has  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  resemblance  induced  by  the  habit 
of  association  is  stronger  than  the  resemblance  which  is  an 
effect  of  consanguinity.  It  is  a pleasant  result,  aud  the  develop- 
ments of  which  it  would  seem  to  be  susceptible  are  pleasant  in 
likewise, — The  Scots  Observer, 


EXPRESSION. 

BY  J.  MEW. 

It  has  been  said  that  to  write  in  defence  of  the  claims  of 
photography  to  be  an  art,  is  to  admit  it  not  to  be  an  art. 
If  this  position  were  true,  many  writers  are  ill-sped,  for 
it  is  difficult  to  meet  with  a single  volume  of  any  book 
dealing  with  photography  without  finding  several  pages 
written,  well  or  ill,  with  the  avowed  intention  of  affirming 
and  supporting  this  exact  position.  But  it  does  not  seem 
to  be  true  that  to  defend  the  claims  of  photography  to  be 
an  art  is  to  to  prove  that  it  is  not  one.  Could  it,  for 
example,  be  said  truly  that  to  defend  the  claims  of  the 
heliocentric  system  of  our  little  world  to  correctness,  is  to 
detnonstrate  them  to  be  incorrect  ? or  that  to  maintain  the 
sacred  truths  of  our  holy  religion  is  to  declare  them  to  be 
false?  Such  a notion  would,  indeed,  sadly  distort  and 
pervert  the  views  hitherto  held  by  the  vulgar  of  such  men  as 
Paleyand  Butler,  who  have  ever  been  regarded  by  the  public 
at  large  as  amongst  the  most  doughty  defenders  of  Christian- 
ity. These  ecclesiastical  champions,  these  Amadises  of 
orthodoxy,  would,  by  a parity  of  reasoning  to  that  adduced 
to  show  photography  to  be  not  an  art,  be  changed  into 
fellow-labourers  with  Tom  Paine  and  Denis  Diderot,  with 
Ingersoll  and  Voltaire. 

Because  the  claim  of  photography  to  be  an  art  has  been 
disputed,  does  it  follow  that  it  must,  of  necessity,  be 
disallowed?  It  is  said  that  painting  is  an  art  because 
it  has  never  laid  claim  to  be  one.  But  in  the  kind  of 
painting  known  as  pre-Raphaelite,  which  is,  perhaps 
the  nearest  approach  to  photography,  there  seems  to  be 
about  as  much  reason  to  question  the  existence  of  art  as 
in  the  ordinary  photograph.  The  painter  may  place  his 
art  in  the  region  of  imagination,  a region  to  which  the 
photographer  has,  as  a photographer,  but  a straight  aud 
narrow  path  of  access.  The  broad  and  wide  field  of  truth 
in  which  the  latter  chiefly  labours  admits,  on  the  contrary, 
somewhat  unwillingly  any  approach  to  art  or  artifice. 
But  painter  and  photographer  may  both  be  artists  in  the 
matter  of  expression. 

From  the  first  meaning  of  expression— squeezing  out 
by  pressure,  as,  for  instance,  the  juice  of  a fruit — are 
derived  the  other  two  meanings,  one  of  the  utterance  by 
the  tongue,  or  the  representation  by  words  of  mental 
emotion  ; the  other,  of  the  change  which  takes  place  in  the 
face  under  the  influence  of  feeling.  The  term  expression 
has  been  also  analogically  applied  to  the  grouping  of 
figures  and  the  character  of  a landscape,  but  with  these 
the  present  article  has  nothing  to  do. 

Expression,  as  used  in  the  present  paper,  regards  only 
the  specific  conformation  of  the  human  features.  To  take 
a homely  and  well-worn  instance  of  photographic  expres- 
sion, it  is  only  necessary  to  open  an  old  photograph  album. 
There  confronting  you,  in  the  great  majority  of  pictures, 
is  the  semblance  of  weary  resignation  and  enforced  repose 
commonly  attributed  to  the  use  of  that  modern  instrument 
of  torture  called  the  head-rest.  This  sad  expression 
seems  to  be  squeezed  out  of  the  head  as  the  juice  out  of  an 
orange,  but  it  is  not  nearly  so  nice.  It  is  the  outcome  of 
an  agony,  a mental  and  capital  distress  perhaps  too  great 
for  words.  It  is  not  iuto  this  expression  that  art  enters. 
Nor  does  it  enter  into  what  is  known  as  physiognomy. 
Expression  and  physiognomy  are,  moreover,  distinct ; the 
latter  is  permanent,  the  former  transient.  Expression 
varies  in  the  same  person  according  to  circumstances  in 
different  times.  Physiognomy  in  the  same  person  is  always 


550 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  18,  1890. 


the  same.  They  probably  are,  in  their  origin,  identical, 
expressing  the  physiological  relations  between  the  hidden 
movements  of  the  brain  and  the  many  manifestations  of 
the  muscles  of  the  face  ; but  in  physiognomy  this  relation 
is  frozen  and  stereotyped,  while  it  is  momentary  and  fugi- 
tive in  expression.  Perhaps  the  nearest  approach  to  art 
in  photography  is  the  transference  to  the  paper  of  such  of 
the  fleeting  expressions  as  are  most  characteristic  of  the 
person  whose  portrait  is  to  be  taken.  It  is  not  infre- 
quently the  case — a case  partaking  of  the  nature  of  a 
riddle — that  in  a picture  otherwise  good,  well  worked,  and 
exact  in  most  technical  particulars,  a something  is,  by  the 
spectator,  discovered  to  be  absent  which  may  be  found  in 
another  portrait  upon  which  not  nearly  so  much  labour 
has  been  expended — a portrait,  too,  which  is  decidedly 
inferior  in  general  accuracy  and  scientific  detail. 

The  key  to  this  riddle  consists  in  the  fact  that,  in  the 
latter  picture,  the  operator  has  managed  to  seize  a charac- 
teristic exp"ession  which,  in  the  former,  has  been  absent 
or  unnoticed.  It  is  this  peculiar  expression  which  really 
constitutes  the  likeness ; it  is  the  representation  of  truth ; 
it  does  not  depend  on  the  camera,  like  the  annihilation  of 
freckles,  or  on  position,  like  the  shortening  of  a nose  ; it 
requires  little  aid  from  the  retoucher,  and  it  can  scarcely 
be  comprised  in  the  vast  catalogue  of  “dodges.”  The 
photographic  portrait,  possessing  this  beauty  of  truth,  is  a 
joy  for  ever. 

Some  famous  painter — perhaps  Stodhart — said  that  there 
was  nothing  so  difficult  as  to  paint  people  doing  nothing. 
By  this  sentence  he  did  not  perhaps  mean  to  imply  that 
those  who  sit  for  their  portraits  should  be  employed  in 
some  manual  exercise,  but  rather  that  their  faces  should 
not  be  idle.  In  other  words,  he  found  it  not  easy  to 
obtain  a good  portrait  without  expression.  If  the  ladies 
who  come  to  our  photographers  expended  less  artistic  pains 
on  their  furbelows,  and  allowed  nature  more  room  in  their 
faces,  disappointments  and  heart-rendings  in  the  matter 
of  their  portraits  would  be  less  frequently  the  result. 
It  is,  however,  perhaps  as  idle  to  hope  for  the 
extinction  of  what  has  been  not  inaptly  designated 
the  mongrel  smile  as  of  the  many  coloured  clothing. 
The  smile  will  probably  always  be  with  us,  unless,  indeed, 
it  be  banished  by  the  application  of  the  head-rest,  when 
it  commonly  leaves  in  its  place  something  worse,  that 
expression  of  resigned  agony  mentioned  above,  and  com- 
monly known  as  the  “ photographic  look  ; ” and  for  the 
many  coloured  clothing,  the  prolonged  discussion  about 
the  power  of  photography  to  represent  colour  interests  not 
the  majority  of  ladies  in  the  least,  and  that  majority  would 
probably  say  that  if  the  camera  could  not  reproduce  colour, 
why — it  ought  to. 

Let  nature  work  unrepressed,  uncribbed,  uncabiued, 
unconfined.  Get  rid  of  the  “smile,”  the  “look,”  and 
their  many  unnatural  congeners.  Seize  upon  the  expres- 
sion which  gives  the  hall-mark  of  individuality,  and  you 
gain  that  which  is  of  more  importance  than  much  sharp- 
ness of  finish,  or  softness  of  lighting,  or  dexterity  of  mani- 
pulation, or  beauty  of  pose,  the  supreme  photographic 
excellence,  which  gives  the  operator  the  title  of  artist,  the 
virtue  of  expression,  without  which  all  the  other  technical 
virtues  are  as  sounding  brass  and  a tinkling  cymbal. 

The  mouth  is  probably  the  most  expressive  of  all  the 
features.  It  is  well-known  that  much  of  the  expression 
which  is  attributed  to  the  eyes  is  really  due  to  this  organ 
only.  For  sad  eyes,  for  instance,  we  should  read  sad 
mouth.  It  is  a fatal  mistake  for  au  artist  in  photography 


to  attempt  to  control  this  feature.  It  is,  we 
repeat,  the  chief  scat  of  expression,  which,  again,  is  the 
index  of  the  soul.  Suppose  a sitter  comes  to  be  photo- 
graphed, to  take  an  extreme  case,  with  his  mouth  open  ; 
not,  by  any  means,  merely  with  parted  lips,  but  a man  of 
whom  an  open  mouth  is  the  normal  facial  condition  ; the 
photographer  by  telling  him  to  shut  it,  will  lose  his  likeness. 
His  resultant  picture  may  be  more  decent,  but  it  will  be 
nothing  worth  as  a presentment  of  the  original.  Nor  are  the 
muscles  of  the  eyebrow  less  worthy  of  attention  than  those 
of  the  lips.  Four  distinct  muscles,  as  readers  of  anatomy 
are  well  aware,  govern  the  motions  of  the  brow.  The 
varied  expressions  of  sadness,  surprise,  fear,  admiration, 
disdain,  and  other  emotions  produced  by  these,  have  been 
ably  treated  of  by  Duchenne  in  his  “Mecanisme  de  la 
Fhysionomie  Ilumaine,”  a kind  of  electro-physiologic 
analysis  of  the  expression  of  the  passions,  illustrated 
with  numerous  photographs  of  interest,  if  not  of  profit,  to 
every  photographer. . 

Duchenne  studied  photography  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
executing  these  pictures  himself.  “ Photography,  which,” 
he  says,  “faithful  as  a mirror,  will  allow  the  reader  to 
assist  at  my  experiments,  and  to  form  a judgment  of  their 
value.”  The  photographs  are  none  of  them  retouched. 
Some  taken  in  full  sunlight  recall  the  manner  of  Ribera ; 
others,  of  the  darker  passions,  such  as  fear  and  hatred, 
remind  the  spectator  of  the  chiaroscuros  of  Rembrandt. 
The  whole  volume  impresses  upon  the  student  the  power 
of  the  subject  of  our  article,  so  that  we  may,  with  a well- 
known  artist  in  his  profession,  apply  to  expression  and 
individuality  what  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  said 
of  understanding  and  wisdom.  Individuality  is  the  princi- 
pal thing ; therefore  get  individuality,  and  with  all  thy 
getting,  get  Expression. 


Aluminium. — There  is  no  other  metal  on  the  earth  so  widely 
scattered  and  occurring  in  such  abundance  as  aluminium,  yet 
it  is  never  found  metallic,  says  an  American  contemporary. 
But  the  combinations  of  aluminium  with  oxygen,  the  alkalies, 
fluorine,  silicon  and  the  acids,  are  30  numerous,  and  occur 
so  abundantly,  as  not  only  to  form  mountain  masses,  but  to  be 
also  the  bases  of  soils  and  clays.  Especially  numerous  are  the 
combinations  with  silicon  and  the  other  bases,  which,  in  the 
form  of  felspar  and  mica  mixed  with  quartz,  form  granite. 
These  combinations,  by  the  influence  of  the  atmosphere,  air, 
and  water,  are  decomposed  ; the  alkali  is  replaced  or  carried 
away,  and  the  residues  form  clays,  the  clays  form  soils,  and 
thus  the  surface  of  the  earth  becomes  porous  to  water  and 
fruitful.  It  is  a curious  fact  that  aluminium  has  never  been 
found  in  animals  or  plants,  which  would  seem  to  show  that 
it  is  not  necessary  to  their  growth,  and  jierhaps  l>e  injurious. 
Most  of  the  aluminium  compounds  appear  dull  and  disagreeable, 
such  as  felspar,  mica,  pigments,  gneiss,  porphyry,  and  trachyte  ; 
yet  there  are  others  possessing  extraordinary  lustre,  and  so 
beautiful  as  to  be  classed  as  precious  stones.  Among  these  arc 
the  ruby,  sapphire,  garnet,  turquoise,  and  topaz.  One  would 
suppose  that  since  aluminium  occurs  in  such  abundance  over 
the  whole  earth  that  we  literally  tread  it  under  foot,  it  would 
be  extracted  and  applied  to  numberless  uses,  being  made  as 
abundant  and  useful  as  iron.  But  such  is  not  the  case. 
Beauxitc  and  cryolite  are  the  minerals  most  used  for  producing 
aluminium,  and  their  preference  lies  mainly  in  their  purity. 
Native  alums  generally  contain  iron,  which  must  be  removed 
by  expensive  processes.  Beauxite  comes  from  Austria  and 
France,  and  has  only'  been  found  in  this  country’  in  Floy'd 
county,  Georgia.  Cryolite  comes  from  Greenland.  It  has 
been  found  in  Colorado  in  very  small  quantity.  Native  sulphate 
of  aluminia  has  been  found  on  the  Gila  river,  Socorro  county, 
N.M. — Invention. 


July  18,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


551 


DEVELOPERS  USED  BY  GERMAN  PROFESSIONAL 
PHOTOGRAPHERS.* 


BY  JULIUS  F.  SACHSE. 


Theodore  Schafgans,  junr.,  Bonn. — Developer — Until  a 
few  months  ago,  oxalate  ; now  I have  adopted  cikonogen, 
and  use  it  exclusively.  Advantages — With  eikonogen  the 
film  remains  wonderfully  clean  and  clear,  the  plate  shows 
greater  plastique,  and  beautiful  high  lights.  With  the 
dexterous  use  of  old  developer  over-exposed  plates  may 
be  brought  to  the  proper  density,  and  per  contra,  greatly 
under-exposed  plates  may  be  saved  by  use  of  the  strong 
developer.  Composition  — With  normal  and  properly 
exposed  plates  I use  the  developer  exactly  according  to 
the  formulae  of  Dr.  Krugener.  With  doubtful  exposures 
I commence  with  old  developer,  and,  according  to  circum- 
stances, finish  with  fresh  developer.  The  development 
must  only  be  done  by  a weak  red  light,  or  the  plates  are 
apt  to  fog  and  the  fine  lights  disappear.  I have  also  found 
that  the  two  solutions  must  be  kept  separate  until  just 
before  use  ; also  that  if  two  solutions  are  mixed  in  large 
quantities,  the  developer  loses  its  power  after  two  days. 
Accelerators — My  experiments  prove  that  they  do  not 
hasten  development. 

E.  Lassen,  Ratzeburg.  — Developer  — Eikonogen. 
Advantages — Since  six  months  ago  l have  worked  with 
eikonogen,  and  am  well  satisfied.  We  obtain  brilliant 
negatives,  high  lights,  middle  tones,  and  clearness  of 
shadows,  with  rich  detail.  Time  of  exposure  is  shortened 
one-third  in  relation  to  oxalate,  and  it  is  cheaper.  Com- 
position— (A)  Distilled  water,  boiled,  600  g.  ; sulphite  of 
soda,  100  g. ; potash,  40  g.  ; eikonogen,  20  g.  AVhen  the 
water  boils,  dissolve  first  sulphite,  then  potash,  and  lastly 
eikonogen.  Accelerator — None. 

C.  Westendarp,  Coin. — Developer — Eikonogen.  Ad- 
vantages— Surety,  simplicity,  cheapness.  Composition — 

I  use  the  formula  of  the  manufacturer.  When  developing, 
however,  I take  half  old  developer;  the  plates  remain 
clearer,  and  any  desired  grade  of  strength  can  be  obtained 
thereby.  Accelerator— None. 

Wm.  Bergmann,  Moers.— Developer—  Ferrous  oxalate. 
Advantages — Surety,  simplicity,  cheapness.  Composition 
— (A)  Iron,  1 : 3.  (B)  Oxalate  potash,  1 : 3.  One  part 

A,  three  parts  B.  Accelerator — With  extremely  short 
exposures,  hyposulphite  of  soda  1 : 2,000. 

Aug.  Classens,  Aachen.  Developer — Oxalate.  Advan- 
tages— The  constancy.  Composition — In  summer,  1:5; 

exposure  1 : 14  seconds.  Winter,  1:5;  exposure  2 : 3 
seconds.  Accelerator — With  drop  shutter  exposures  of 
£ to  ^ seconds,  a few  drops  of  dilute  hypo  in  developer. 

F.  Courte,  Puttlingen.  — Developer  — Iron  oxalate. 
Advantages — Simplicity  and  constant  properties  of  deve- 
lopment. Adaptable  to  all  kinds  of  exposure.  Cheapness. 
Composition — Saturated  solution  of  oxalate  of  potash. 
(A)  Iron,  30  g.  ; water,  100  c.cm.  A few  drops  of  2 per 
cent,  solution  of  tartaric  acid.  (B)  Old  developer  with  a 
few  drops  of  above  tartaric  acid  solution  added.  For  use 
in  normal  exposures : Iron  (A),  1 part ; old  developer  (B), 

1 part ; saturated  solution  of  oxalate,  2 parts.  F or  over- 
exposed plates:  Iron  (A),  1 part;  old  developer  (B), 

2 parts.  For  very  short  exposures:  Iron,  1 part; 

oxalate,  3 parts.  Accelerator — None. 

Job.  Freund,  Schliichtrou.  — Developer — Oxalate  of 
potash  and  iron.  Advantages — Simple  manipulation  and 
sure  results.  Composition  — (A)  Oxalate  of  potash, 


30  parts;  distilled  water,  100  parts.  (B)  Iron  vitriol, 

30  parts ; distilled  water,  90  parts.  Just  before  use  : 

3  parts  A and  1 part  B,  with  a few  drops  of  bromide  of 
potassium,  1 : 10.  Accelerator — None. 

II.  Ilaberiandt,  Berlin. — Developer— After  all  deve- 
lopers have  been  tried,  I have  left  all,  even  eikonogen, 
and  return  to  the  iron  developer.  Advantages — Iron  acts 
quicker  than  eikonogen.  I would  prefer  pyro  on  account 
of  its  finer  detail  if  I only  had  portrait  plates  to  develop  ; 
further,  iron  and  pyro — unless  through  carelessness — never 
fog,  while  eikonogen  easily  does.  This,  however,  may  be 
the  fault  of  the  unequal  quality  of  even  the  best  sulphite. 
Composition — (1)  Oxalate  of  potash,  300 ; water,  1,000. 
(2)  Iron,  300 ; water,  1,000.  One  part  iron  to  three 
parts  oxalate.  I make  both  solutions  with  hot  water,  and 
filter.  In  No.  2, 1 pour  two  drops  concentrated  sulphuric 
acid  to  every  100  g.  of  hot  water,  then  dissolve  the  iron, 
and  filter.  Accelerator — One  part  hypo  to  8,000  to 

10,000  parts  of  water,  only  with  drop-shutter  exposures. 

Louis  Hermestroff,  Metz. — Developer — Iron  oxalate. 
Composition — Potash,  1 to  3£  ; iron,  1 to  3.  Three  parts 
of  potash  and  one  part  of  iron,  both  dissolved  in  hot 
water.  Accelerator — With  drop-shutter  exposures,  hypo 
1 : 1,000. 

J.  F.  Klinger,  Braunau  ob.  Oesterreich. — Developer — 
Iron  oxalate.  Advantages — The  always  even  results  with 
Monckhoven  dry  plates,  with  fine  modulation,  close  grain, 
and  high-lights.  Composition  — (A)  Neutral  oxalate  of 
potash,  300  g.  ; distilled  water,  1,000  g.  (B)  Iron  vitriol, 
300  g.  ; distilled  water,  1,000  g.  Three  to  four  drops  of 
sulphuric  acid.  For  use,  4 parts  potash,  1 part  iron. 
Reduction  if  necessary.  Hypo,  200  g. ; water,  1,000  g.  ; 
red  pruss.,  1-5.  Accelerator — Children  with  advantage  : 
Water,  3,000  g.  ; hypo,  1 g. ; citric  acid,  3 g. 

A.  zur  Muhlen,  Magdeburg.  — Developer — Oxalate. 
Advantages — With  accelerator,  soft  and  clear  shadows. 
Composition — Oxalate  1-4,  iron  1-3.  For  use,  1 part 
iron,  3 parts  oxalate.  Accelerator — Hypo. 

Alfred  Person,  Lahr. — Developer — Oxalate.  Advan- 

tages— Clear  plates.  Grey  colour  and  rapid  printers. 
Composition — (1)  Oxalate,  300  g.  ; water,  1,000  g.  (2) 
Iron,  100  g.  ; water,  3,000  g.  For  use,  1 three  parts,  2 
one  part.  Consider  the  developer  the  best.  Have 
developed  shortest  drop-shutter  exposures  with  success. 
Accelerator — None. 

Prof.  C.  C.  Schirm,  Berlin.  — Developer  — Ferrous 
oxalate,  with  accelerator  (250  water,  1 part  hypo),  and  an 
addition  of  weak  solution  of  hypo  and  bromide  to  deve- 
loper. Advantages — Evenness  in  appearance  of  lights 
and  shadows,  and  the  correct  relation  to  each  other, 
gradation  and  beauty  in  detail.  Composition — (A)  Oxalate 
of  potash,  1 ; water,  3.  (B)  Iron  vitriol,  1 ; water,  4. 

One  part  of  B to  three  parts  of  A with  the  addition  of  one 
drop  of  solution.  Hypo,  0'5 ; bromide,  3 g.  ; water, 
100  g.  to  every  10  c.cm.  of  developer.  Also  two-thirds 
of  old  developer  to  one-third  fresh.  Accelerator — One 
of  hypo  to  2,500  of  water. 

L.  Schmidt,  Frieberg. — Developer  — Iron  oxalate. 
Advantages — Works  not  too  slow,  gives  clear  shadows 
with  all  detail  and  high-lights,  when  suitable  dry  plates 
are  used.  Composition — (A)  Oxalate  of  potash,  neutral, 
300  g.  ; distilled  water,  1,000  g.  (B)  Sulph.  iron,  100  g. ; 
distilled  water,  300  g.  Sulph.  acid,  c.p.,  two  to  three 
drops  immediately  before  use,  three  parts  of  A to  one  of 
B,  with  under-exposed  plates,  to  every  100  g.  of  developer 
one  or  two  drops  of  hypo  1 : 100.  Over-exposure,  I 


Continued  lrom  p.  M0. 


552 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  18,  1890. 


regulate  the  development  with  the  addition  of  bromide 
1 : 10,  drop  by  drop.  Accelerator — None.  [Note. — 

Have  tried  eikonogen  in  various  ways,  but  prefer  iron 
oxalate  to  all  others.  I,  however,  think  the  time  will 
come  before  long  when,  with  different  combinations,  the 
eikonogen  developer  will  be  deemed  the  best.] 

L.  Stuting,  Hofphotograph,  Barmen. — Developer  — 
Oxalate  of  potash  with  iron.  Advantages — I have  found 
that  it  works  clearer  and  stronger  than  all  others.  Com- 
position— Saturated  solutions  of  oxalate  and  iron,  3 parts 
of  ammonia  to  1 part  of  iron.  Accelerator — With  drop- 
shutter  and  interiors  1 part  of  hypo,  2,000  of  water,  to 
which  add  a few  drops  of  10  per  cent,  bichloride  of 
mercury. 

George  Muller,  Eltville. — Developer — During  the  last 
six  months  a prepared  hydrochinone  developer,  which  has 
kept  well  and  remains  clear.  I use  it  fresh  for  instantan- 
eous, and  old  for  time  exposures.  Advantages — Softness 
combined  with  fine  lights,  and  especially  fine  detail  in  the 
shadows — good  colour  of  the  negatives.  Composition — 

(A)  Water,  400  g. ; sulphite  of  soda,  45  g.  (B)  Water, 
450  g. ; soda,  45  g.  ; potash,  45  g.  ; sulphite  of  soda,  45  g. 
For  a plate  13  by  18  cm.  take  A,  40  ; B,  5 ; 10  drops  of 
bromide.  After  these  are  in  the  developing  glass,  add 
just  before  use  a small  thimble-full  of  dry  pyro.  Accelera- 
tor— None. 

Hubert  Koch,  lvevelaer. — Developer — Pyrogallic  acid. 
Advantages — It  gives  strong  negatives  with  soft  modula- 
tion, develops  strongly  and  quickly.  Negatives  are  easy 
printers  on  account  of  the  bluish  colour  of  the  plates; 
extreme  cleanliness.  Excellent  results  can  be  obtained. 
Composition — (X)  Water,  500  g.  ; sulphite  soda,  100  g. ; 
10  drops  sulphuric  acid.  (B)  Soda,  50  g. ; Water,  500  g. 
Before  use — 4 parts  water,  3 parts  A to  3 parts  B.  (Note 
— pyro  not  given.)  Sulphite  of  soda  added  to  fixing 
bath.  Accelerator — None. 

These  replies  will  suffice  to  show  the  general  trend  of 
the  German  portrait  artists.  We  find  that  the  publishers 
of  the  Photograph isli ch es  Archiv  sent  out  a total  of  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  queries  throughout  Germauy  and 
Austria-Hungary.  Eighty  replies  were  received,  forty- 
eight  of  which  have  been  reproduced  in  these  columns  for 
the  benefit  of  our  readers,  both  professional  and  amateur. 
From  the  great  stretch  of  territory  covered  by  these 
responses,  they  may  be  accepted  as  fair  representatives  of 
the  whole  body  of  photographers  who  are  scattered 
throughout  the  Fatherland.  The  result  arrived  at  shows 
that  ferrous  oxalate  is  still  the  most  generally  used  agent 
in  the  development — more  than  one-half  (44-80ths)  still 
adhere  to  the  old  stand-by;  twenty-five  per  cent.  (20-80ths) 
have  become  converts  to  the  latest  candidate  for  photo- 
graphic favour,  viz.,  eikonogen.  Next  comes  hydro- 
chinon  or  fifteen  per  cent.  (12-80th),  and  finally  pyro 
(8-80th),  or  10  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  of  replies 
received. 

In  analyzing  the  total  replies,  we  find  that  in  the  advan- 
tages claimed  for  the  ferrous  oxalate,  seventeen  claim 
simplicity  and  surety,  nine  claim  equality  of  work,  nine 
claim  capabilites  of  modulation,  seven  claim  clearness  of 
negatives,  seven  claim  rapidity  of  development,  seven 
claim  cheapness  of  price,  three  claim  cleanliness,  two 
claim  greater  latitude  of  exposure,  two  claim  value  of 
copying  properties. 

Of  those  in  favour  of  eikonogen,  thirteen  claim  that 
the  new  developer  is  superior  to  all  others  in  producing 
soft  and  clear,  yet  at  the  same  time  strong  negatives,  ten 


claim  that  the  time  of  exposure  is  much  shortened,  eight 
claim  greater  detail  in  the  shadows,  seven  claim  rapidity 
of  work,  seven  claim  brilliant  middle  tones  and  high  lights, 
four  claim  advantages  of  repeated  use,  two  claim  negatives 
that  are  easy  printers  and  cleanliness  in  development. 

Ilydrochinon : five  claim  keeping  qualities  of  developer, 
three  claim  soft  and  strong  negatives,  and  convenient  for 
application,  three  claim  surety  of  work,  two  claim  flue 
modulations. 

Pyrogallic  acid : four  claim  superior  brilliancy  and 
detail  in  negative,  with  good  colour  for  printing  ; further, 
great  latitude  of  exposure,  that  it  keeps  well  in  separate 
solutions,  and  acts  quickly.  The  developer,  however, 
requires  great  cleanliness  in  all  manipulations. 

As  to  the  accelerator,  it  is  apparent  that  with  the  use  of 
eikonogen  and  pyro  it  is  unnecessary,  with  hydrochinon 
only  occasionally,  while  with  ferrous  oxalate  it  is  requisite 
in  half  the  normal  cases,  while  it  is  always  required  with 
drop  shutter  exposures  or  in  cloudy  weather  ; the  usual 
formula  is  hypo  in  a very  dilute  solution  1 to  1,000  to 
10,000,  and  occasionally  with  the  addition  of  a few  drops 
of  solution  bichloride  mercury. 

The  editor  of  the  Archiv  closes  the  subject  with  the 
statement  that  although  the  returns  make  no  pretension  to 
completeness,  he  is  yet  convinced  that  the  imparted 
information  from  practical  experience  will  prove  of  great 
service  to  the  craft  in  general,  giving  many  valuable  hints 
and  points  to  the  professional  as  well  as  the  intelligent 
amateur. 


A Misconception, — Clara:  “Well,  Aunt,  have  your  photo- 
graphs come  from  Mr.  Snappeschotte’s  ?”  Miss  Maydeval 
(angrily):  “Yes,  and  they  went  back,  too,  with  a note 
expressing  my  opinion  of  his  impudence.”  Clara  : “ Gracious  ! 
What  was  it?”  MissM.  : “Why,  on  the  back  of  every  picture 
were  these  words  : * The  original  of  this  is  carefully  preserved.’  " 
— Pittsburg  Bulletin. 

Messrs.  Eglington  and  Co.  announce  that  the  August 
number  of  Men  and  Women  of  the  Day  will  contain  three 
panel  photographs  (10  by  7|  inches)  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stanley  (Mbs 
Dorothy  Tennant),  and  Lieut.  Stairs,  together  with  authentic 
biographies.  The  publishers  state  that  the  photographs  have 
been  specially  taken  for  this  publication,  which  is  a national 
photo-biographic  journal,  and  that  the  portrait  of  Mrs.  Stanley 
is  one  of  the  few  authorised  photographs  published. 

An  International  Exhibition. — An  Exhibition,  promoted  by 
the  Edinburgh  Photographic  Society,  is  to  be  held  in  the 
Galleries  of  the  Royal  Scottish  Academy,  Edinburgh,  November, 
1890,  to  January,  1891.  The  object  of  the  Exhibition  is 
stated  to  be  to  direct  attention  to  the  development  in  recent 
years  of  photography,  and  to  stimulate  further  advances  by 
encouraging  artistic  skill  and  invention.  In  addition  to  the 
ordinary  character  of  photographic  exhibits,  it  is  intended  to 
illustrate  historically  and  technically  the  processes  connected 
with  the  art  in  their  various  stages,  and  the  council  will  regard 
it  as  a special  favour  if  those  having  unique  specimens,  espe- 
cially of  the  earlier  processes  and  apparatus,  will  kindly  lend 
them  for  exhibition.  Resides  the  above-mentioned  exhibits, 
the  council  have  thought  it  desirable  to  embrace  in  their 
operations  a scheme  of  lectures,  in  which  the  different  pro- 
cesses in  connection  with  photography  will  be  practically 
explained  and  illustrated.  These  lectures  will  lie  given  by 
speakers  thoroughly  qualified  in  the  treatment  of  their  sub- 
jects, and  it  is  contemplated  to  have  one  in  each  week  during 
the  continuance  of  the  Exhibition.  A series  of  awards  will  be 
granted,  and  the  council  will  appoint,  to  act  as  judges,  five 
qualified  persons,  whose  names  will  be  announced  at  an 
early  date.  A gold  medal  ami  silver  and  bronze  medals  will  be 
awarded  for  pictures  according  to  merit.  The  secretary  is  Mr. 
Thomas  Barclay,  180,  Dalkeith  Road,  Edinburgh, 


July  18,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


HOME  PORTRAITURE. 


BY  H.  H.  SUPPLEE. 

It  seems  to  be  generally  admitted  that  the  amateur  begins 
by  undertaking  the  most  difficult  branches  of  work  first, 
and  after  meeting  with  divers  discouragements,  either 
abandons  the  whole  affair  or  else  gradually  discovers  the 
error  of  his  ways  and  gets  hold  of  the  right  end  and  moves 
on  to  success  and  satisfaction.  The  beginner’s  idea  of  a 
photograph  is  a picture  of  somebody,  aud  of  a camera  as 
an  apparatus  for  taking  people’s  pictures  with,  and  in 
many  cases  that  is  all  he  wants  it  for ; and  when  lie  is 
carefully  advised  to  start  with  slow  plates,  aud  essay  only 
well-lighted  views,  he  naturally  resents  such  ill-timed 
suggestions,  and  generally  goes  home  immediately  and 
proceeds  to  “take  the  baby.’’ 

This  proceeding,  however,  is  rarely  a success,  and 
usually  it  is  only  after  many  tribulations  that  really  satis- 
factory home  portraits  are  produced  ; but  there  really 
seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  some  of  the  trials  and 
failures  might  not  be  avoided,  or  why  one  may  not  profit 
by  the  hard-bought  experience  of  others  in  this  most 
desirable  and  pleasant  branch  of  amateur  work. 

To  make  fairly  good  portrait  work,  however,  requires 
suitable  tools ; but  these  need  not  necessarily  be  the  most 
expensive.  The  lens  should  be  of  fairly  long  focus — about 

twelve  inches — and  the  rapid  rectilinear  type  will  generally 
be  found  most  available.  If  the  cost  of  this  be  found  too 
high,  good  work  may  be  done  with  a single  achromatic 
landscape  lens  of  about  fifteen  inches  focal  length,  in 
which  the  fixed  stop  has  been  reamed  out  to  a size  of  not 
less  than  one  inch  to  one  and  a-quarter  inches.  This 
enlargement  of  aperture  will  of  course  materially  reduce 
the  marginal  definition  of  the  field ; but  when  that  is 
wanted  smaller  diaphragms  may  be  inserted,  and  for  por- 
traits, where  only  the  very  ceutro  of  the  field  is  to  be 
employed,  the  increased  opening  will  give  the  desired 
speed,  while  with  this  length  of  focus  and  limited  field  the 
spherical  distortion  is  so  small  that  it  may  be  neglected. 
For  portraits  great  depth  of  focus  is  not  needed,  and. 
indeed,  in  many  cases  is  undesirable,  and  if  good  definition 
is  obtained  upon  the  features,  so  that  the  true  expression 
is  secured,  the  sharpness  may  well  be  permitted  to  diminish 
for  the  remainder.  Of  course  the  possession  of  a fine 
portrait  combination  is  much  to  be  desired,  and  where  the 
expense  of  this  is  prohibitory  the  intermediate  types,  such 
as  the  Steinheil  anti-planet  or  the  new  Voigtlander  eury- 
scope,  are  nearly  as  good. 

As  far  as  the  camera  goes,  anything  which  is  steady  and 
light-tight  will  auswcr,  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  spend 
money  in  that  direction.  For  cabinet  portraits,  5 by  7 
holders  are  about  right,  giving  a moderate  margin  for 
centreing  aud  trimming. 

The  amateur  is  generally  limited  in  his  supply  of  screen.- 
and  backgrounds,  but  sometimes  the  extemporised  affairs 
are  more  pleasing  than  the  orthodox  professional  pilasters, 
balustrades,  or  gates,  and  if  care  and  taste  are  displayed 
in  handling  the  subject,  the  less  conspicuous  the  background 
the  more  satisfactory  the  result  is  likely  to  be. 

A framework  somewhat  resembling  a large  clothes- 
horse  can  readily  and  cheaply  be  made  at  a neighbouring 
carpenter’s  shop,  and  should  be  about  eight  feet  high  by 
ten  feet  wide,  aud,  for  convenience  of  storage,  it  may  be 
pinned  together  so  as  to  be  readily  knocked  down,  and 
stood  away  when  not  in  use.  Upon  this  frame  various 
things  may  be  draped,  aud  often  very  effective  results 


o')  3 


obtained.  There  should  be  one  curtain  of  grey  flannel, 
giving,  when  photographed,  a neutral  tint  just  right  for 
vignetting,  and  soft  enough  to  hang  in  easy  folds  without 
looking  harsh  or  stiff.  This  may  be  hung  from  the  top  by 
hooks  and  rings,  or  may  be  smoothly  drawn  when  the 
picture  is  to  be  vignetted  and  the  folds  are  not  desired. 
Many  styles  of  shawls  produce  effective  backgrounds, 
especially  when  far  enough  back  from  the  sitter  to  be  some- 
what out  of  focus;  while,  in  most  cases,  the  easy  chair 
which  does  duty  for  a posing  chair  is  less  obtrusive  and 
more  effective  if  entirely  concealed  under  drapery  whoso 
apparently  careless  folds  are  not  altogether  accidental. 

When  the  floor  at  the  feet  of  the  sitter  is  to  appear  in 
the  photograph,  it  should  be  kept  subordinate  to  the 
other  details,  and  a brilliant  carpet  pattern  is  best  covered 
by  some  quieter  rug  or  mat.  Skin  robes  or  mats  are  often 
quietly  effective,  and  seem  to  hold  the  light  they  receive 
in  a way  which  has  shown  itself  serviceable. 

The  great  point,  however,  in  amateur  portraiture  is  the 
illumination.  The  absence  of  a skylight,  and  the  difficul- 
ties in  the  way  of  controlling  the  light  which  is  to  be  had 
— these  are  the  common  causes  of  the  defects  to  be  seen 
in  most  home  portraits.  A room  should  be  chosen  with 
as  high  a ceiling  as  possible,  and  with  a projecting  bay 
window  whose  openings  extend  as  high  as  can  be  secured. 
If  there  are  other  windows,  let  them  be  closed,  so  that  the 
light  shall  come  approximately  from  one  direction.  Never 
mind  the  exposure ; west  or  south  will  do,  if  only  the 
quantity  and  direction  of  the  light  can  be  controlled. 

Place  the  camera  close  to  the  middle  window,  leaving 
only  room  enough  to  get  behind  it,  and  close  the  lower 
shutters  behind  the  camera,  leaving  the  upper  ones  above 
it  partly  open  to  secure  a slight  front  illumination.  1 rpon 
one  side  the  shutters  of  the  bay  window  should  be  opened 
entirely,  so  that  the  most  brilliant  light  falls  upon  the 
sitter  from  that  direction,  and  then  by  regulating  the 
amount  of  opening  upon  the  other  side  the  shadows  may 
be  softened  to  any  desired  extent.  At  first  the  effect 
should  be  examined  upon  the  focussing  screen  of  the 
camera,  which  should  be  of  the  finest  ground  glass  obtain- 
able. Use  the  full  opening  of  the  lens,  and  focus  upon 
the  eyes  of  the  model,  and  the  definition  of  the  rest  will 
take  care  of  itself.  A microscopic  sharpness,  by  which 
every  thread  in  the  garment  may  be  counted,  is  readily 
obtained  by  using  a smaller  aperture  ; but  such  precision 
is  not  wanted. 

Never  mind  about  head-rests  or  their  substitutes,  but 
try  to  place  the  sitter  in  such  an  easy  and  comfortable 
position  that  such  supports  will  not  be  needed.  Avoid 
straight  lines  in  the  composition,  and  if  the  lens  is  of  suffi- 
cient focal  length  there  need  be  no  fear  of  undue  distor- 
tion of  points  nearest  the  camera.  Standing  just  behind 
the  camera,  direct  your  sitter  to  glance  in  the  direction 
which,  in  your  judgment,  gives  the  best  effect,  and  then 
selecting  some  object  upon  which  the  eyes  may  rest,  the 
exposure  may  be  made.  With  rapid  plates,  such  as  Seed 
26,  or  Cramer  85-40,  two  or  three  seconds  with  bright 
daylight  will  be  sufficient,  using  an  aperture  of  F8  ; but 
the  beginner  must  expect  to  waste  a few  plates  in  gauging 
the  light  of  his  extemporised  gallery.  After  having 
arranged  the  details  of  this  part  of  the  work,  however,  the 
amateur  will  soon  find  the  photographic  side  of  the  work 
a matter  of  routine,  and  be  able  to  devote  his  thought  and 
attention  to  the  higher  and  more  artistic  matters  of  posing, 
draping,  and  composition,  in  which,  if  he  will,  he  may  find 
a source  of  endless  delight. — .Inter.  Journ.  of  Photography. 


554 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jdly  18,  1890. 


i^otcs. 

Mr.  J.  R.  Gotz  has  sent  us  some  half-plate  specimens 


of  flexible  films  of  gelatine  rendered  insoluble  and 
coated  with  the  Obernetter  emulsion.  They  are 
thinner  and  more  flexible  than  those  of  celluloid,  but 
in  the  developing  solutions  absorb  water  and  increase 
considerably  in  thickness,  acquiring  at  the  same  time  a 
leathery,  slippery  feel,  and  increasing  much  in  weight. 
They  are  not  so  “horny”  when  handled  as  celluloid 
films.  Despite  their  thickness,  we  found  no  difficulty 
in  using  them  in  an  ordinary  dark  slide,  simply  by 
placing  them  therein  with  a piece  of  black  cardboard 
behind.  They  are  coated  with  the  Obernetter  emulsion, 
and  the  latter  works  well.  The  negatives  require 
aluming.  Full  instructions  for  use  accompany  each 
packet. 


The  statue  to  Daguerre  about  to  be  erected  in  front 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institute  at  Washington  is  nearly 
completed  in  the  artist’s  studio,  and  will  be  erected  on 
the  12th  August  next.  The  bronze  portion  is  sixteen 
feet  high,  and  upon  the  granite  beneath  is  the  following 
inscription  : — “ To  commemorate  the  first  half-century 
in  photography,  1839-1889.  Photography,  the  electric 
telegraph,  and  the  steam  engine,  are  the  three  great 
discoveries  of  the  age.  No  five  centuries  in  human 
progress  can  show  such  strides  as  these.  Erected  by 
The  Photographers’  Association  of  America.  August, 
1890.”  All  photographers  must  be  pleased  at  the 
erection  of  this  monument,  and  the  only  criticism  we 
have  to  make  is,  that  it  would  have  been  well  if,  before 
selecting  the  subject,  its  promoters  had  instituted  some 
real,  sound,  historical  research  as  to  the  rival  merits  of 
Niepce  de  Chalons  and  Daguerre.  The  general  ten- 
dency of  comparatively  recent  research  has  been  to 
show  that  (he  merits  of  Nicephore  Niepce  exceed  those 
of  Daguerre  in  relation  to  the  founding  of  photography. 
A chief  point  in  Daguerre’s  favour  is  the  discovery  of 
mercurial  development.  A school  of  historical  criticism 
in  photography  is  desirable  at  the  present  time,  for  the 
few  who  consult  original  documents  are  aware  how 
numerous  are  the  historical  errors  which  rapidly 
become  popular,  and  which  can  afterwards  be  eradi- 
cated from  the  public  mind  only  with  difficulty. 


There  is  little  of  a photographic  nature  at  the  French 
Exhibition  in  London.  Messrs.  Haret  Freres,  of  Paris, 
have  erected  an  oak  stand  for  exhibiting  a considerable 
number  of  large  photographs  in  wooden  frames,  which 
frames  are  hinged  to  a central  pillar.  The  principle 
is  not  new,  but  the  design  is  of  interest,  because  it 
is  the  one  selected  by  the  authorities  of  the  Musee 
du  Louvre  as  the  best  brought  before  them  for  dis- 
playing large  pictures  in  a limited  amount  of  space. 
The  pictures  in  the  frames  consist  of  some  subjects  in 
the  national  art  galleries  of  Europe,  photographed  by 
Braun  and  Co.,  of  Dornach.  Messrs.  A.  C.  Yasscur  and 
Co.,  of  Paris,  exhibit  a considerable  number  of 


French  photo- mechanical  prints,  some  of  them  in 
colours.  Mr.  Reitlinger,  a Hungarian,  with  a 
manufactory  in  France,  exhibits  some  artistic 
frames  of  white  metal,  to  hold  photographs ; and  Mr. 
Rosenmann  some  remarkable  metallic  pens  for  writing, 
sketching,  or  other  purposes,  the  nibs  of  which  can  be 
bent  in  any  direction  without  breaking,  and  the  pen 
then  restored  to  its  original  form.  Among  the  amuse- 
ments at  the  Exhibition,  the  driving  of  the  lions  is  a 
great  attraction;  a “Japanese”  conjuring  entertain- 
ment is  of  an  elegant  and  refined  character,  and  a 
burlesque  of  Robinson  Crusoe  contains  poetry  of  the 
following  type  : — 

Crusoe  : — “ Friday  ! There’s  cannibals  on  this  isle  ; 

They’ve  just  put  a black  man  on  to  bile.” 

In  the  grounds  is  a cosmorama,  containing  photographs 
of  scenes  in  France. 


The  English  amateur  photographers  who  make  a 
speciality  of  instantaneous  work  missed  a chance  on 
Sunday  morning,  when  the  Sans  Peur  Bird  Society,  of 
Brussels,  contested  its  annual  race  from  London.  The 
members  of  the  Sans  Peur  Society  arc  pigeon -fanciers, 
and  on  this  occasion  an  enormous  number  of  birds 
were  liberated  from  the  Thames  Embankment  adjoin- 
ing Millbank  Prison.  When  a similar  contest  took 
place  in  Paris,  a few  months  ago,  the  President  of  the 
French  Photographic  Society  invited  amateur  photo- 
graphers to  attend,  as  this  monster  flight  of  pigeons 
offered  a good  opportunity  of  showing  of  what  instan- 
taneous photography  was  capable.  The  English  socie- 
ties apparently  are  not  alive  to  this,  for,  so  far  as  we 
know,  no  representative  was  present  on  the  occasion 
mentioned  above. 


The  ingenious  photographer  who  keeps  a sharp  eye 
upon  the  “hatched,  matched,  and  dispatched”  column 
of  the  Times  has  been  distanced  by  a still  more  in- 
genious rival.  The  method  of  the  first-named  is  to 
photograph  every  morning  the  column  in  question, 
divided  into  three  sections,  and  send  a copy  to  the  per- 
sons concerned,  with  the  request  for  sixpence  for  his 
trouble.  The  new  man  haunts  cemeteries,  and  with 
his  camera  photographs  all  the  new  grave-stones  that 
are  erected.  Then,  having  obtained  the  address  of  the 
relatives  of  the  deceased  person,  he  posts  a copy  of 
the  photograph  with  the  intimation  that  he  is  willing 
to  supply  “a  dozen  souvenirs  of  the  departed  kfor 
os.  6d.”  The  number  of  orders  the  photographer 
receives  is  stated  to  be  surprising. 


Of  a kindred  nature  is  the  crematory  urn  just  patented 
in  America.  This  is  an  arrangement  by  which 
the  ashes  of  the  defunct  person  arc  always  on  view. 
The  bowl  is  made  of  the  finest  crystal  glass,  mounted 
in  elaborately  decorated  silver.  A crest  surmounts  the 
urn,  which  shows,  in  addition,  masonic  emblems  and 
two  shields  for  inscription.  Above  all  is  a space  for  a 
photograph,  which,  of  course,  gives  a very  realistic 


July  18,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


555 


touch  to  the  whole  affair.  Despite  its  completeness, 
we  doubt  whether  this  transparent  urn  will  be  agree- 
able to  English  taste. 

It  is  sad  to  read  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Payne,  head- 
master of  Harrington  School,  near  Preston.  He  was 
an  enthusiastic  amateur  photographer,  and  was  spend- 
ing his  holidays  at  Ingleton,  and  in  endeavouring  to 
get  a good  photograph  of  a rustic  bridge,  he  fell  from 
a considerable  height  to  the  rocks  below  and  was 
killed  on  the  spot.  We  are  inclined  to  think  that 
amateurs  frequently  incur  a risk  of  accidents  in 
similar  fashion.  They  allow  their  enthusiasm  to  run 
away  with  them  for  the  moment,  and  in  their  anxiety 
to  get  some  view  they  fancy,  are  perfectly  heedless  of 
danger.  In  some  respects  the  amateur  photographer, 
especially  if  he  be  a beginner,  is  like  the  youthful 
angler,  who  is  apt  to  think  that  the  more  inaccessible 
the  spot,  the  more  likelihood  of  sport,  and  he  strains 
every  nerve  to  get  to  some  particular  point  which 
older  men  with  cooler  heads  would  have  the  philosophy 
to  leave  alone. 


Mr.  Samuel  Plimsoll  is  quite  alive  to  the  advan- 
tages of  photography.  In  the  most  recent  of  his 
pamphlets,  which  have  done  so  much  to  raise  the 
condition  of  the  sailor,  he  deals  with  the  question  of 
cattle  ships,  and  what  may  be  rightly  termed  their 
“horrors.’’  It  would  be  out  of  place  to  enter  into 
any  discussion  of  the  revelations  which  Mr.  Plimsoll 
details  so  graphically;  all  we  need  draw  attention  to 
is,  the  assistance  which  he  has  derived  from  photo- 
graphy. Dealing  with  the  meat  supply  question,  as 
regards  London,  he  gives  the  consumer  a mass  of 
valuable  information,  by  means  of  reproductions  from 
photographs,  of  all  the  market  operations  of  Smith- 
held,  and  one  can  only  regret  that  he  overlooked 
photographing  what  would  convey  most  important 
hints  to  materfamilias  when  she  buys  the  Sunday 
joint.  He  gives  representations  of  the  hind  quarters 
of  cattle  dressed  in  the  American  and  English  fashion, 
and  these  are  all  very  well  as  far  as  they  go,  but, 
unfortunately,  they  are  drawn,  and  not  photographed. 
This  seems  an  unaccountable  omission,  as  photographs 
could  have  been  easily  obtained,  and  would  have 
shown  the  difference  between  the  two  in  a forcible 
manner. 


Still,  we  are  grateful  to  Mr.  Plimsoll  for  what  he  has 
done,  and  especially  in  regard  to  the  photographic 
operations  carried  on  in  America,  in  regard  to  the 
cattle  ships.  He  says  that,  in  the  outset  of  the  inves- 
tigations, he  sought  the  aid  of  his  brother  in  New 
York,  aud  requested  him  to  employ  a photographer  iu 
that  city  to  obtain  photographs  of  vessels  loading  and 
loaded  with  live  cattle.  This  was  done  by  a professional 
photographer,  Mr.  Barrett,  an  amateur  assisting  him. 
The  photographs,  reproductions  of  which  are  given  in 
the  volume,  are  twelve  in  number,  and  depict  most 
graphically  the  conditions  under  which  the  sailors  have 
to  work.  It  seems  that  the  decks  are  formed  simply 


by  the  roofs  of  the  cattle-sheds,  are  full  of  openings, 
and  have  not  the  least  vestige  of  a bulwark.  As  for 
the  way  in  which  the  cattle  are  stowed,  the  less  said 
about  it  the  better.  It  is  significant  that,  in  some 
cases,  permission  to  photograph  was  refused,  aud  it  is 
clear  that  the  people  concerned  had  a wholesome 
dread  of  the  evidence  of  photography. 

A new  use  has  been  found  for  our  old  friend  pyro 
by  Dr.  Gautrelet,  of  Vichy,  who  lays  claim  to  the 
discovery  that  it  renders  tobacco  harmless  to  mouth, 
heart,  and  nerves,  without  in  any  way  spoiling  the 
soothing  effect  or  the  aroma  of  the  seductive  weed. 
The  proper  way  to  bring  about  this  desirable  result  is 
to  plug  the  pipe  or  cigar  holder  with  a pledget  of 
cotton  wool  which  has  been  soaked  in  a ten  per  cent, 
solution  of  the  pyrogallol,  so  that  the  smoke  drawn 
through  this  filter  may  be  robbed  of  its  bad  qualities, 
and  the  noxious  weed  may  be  noxious  no  longer. 
With  this  precaution  the  tongue  will  not  fur,  the  head 
will  not  ache,  and  everyone  will  be  able  to  smoke  with 
impunity.  We  are  not  quite  sure,  but  we  fancy  that 
if  every  smoker  were  to  take  the  trouble  to  insert  in 
his  pipe  a wisp  of  cotton  wool  as  a bed  for  the  tobacco 
to  rest  upon,  all  the  evils  with  which  the  weed  is 
credited  would  be  obviated  without  any  aid  from 
pyrogallol.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  latter, 
from  its  poisonous  nature,  might  possibly  prove  to  be 
more  dangerous  than  the  nicotine. 

Hand  camera  work  must  have  been,  during  these 
last  two  months  of  cloudy  skies  and  general  darkness, 
quite  at  a standstill,  and  the  detective  agency  whose 
novel  advertisement  we  quoted  a fortnight  ago  must 
have  found  their  efforts  to  secure  compromising  pictures 
severely  handicapped.  Even  in  the  best  of  weather 
such  pictures  will  present  great  difficulties.  Let  us,  for 
instance,  take  the  case  of  some  unfortunate  couple  whose 
portraits  a paid  spy  armed  with  a camera  is  anxious  to 
secure.  The  picture  must  be  taken  in  sunlight,  with 
the  faces  of  the  victims  turned  towards  the  instru- 
ment, so  that  there  may  be  no  doubt  as  to  identity, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  operator  must  be  careful  that 
he  himself  is  not  detected.  With  all  these  things 
opposing  him,  the  chances  are  ten  thousand  to  one 
against  success,  aud  glad  we  are  that  this  is  the  case. 

The  actual  difficulties  of  instantaneous  portraiture 
with  hand-cameras  may  be  guaged  from  the  circum- 
stance that  such  portraits  of  well-known  public  cha- 
racters are  never  seen.  If  they  were  easy  to  procure 
the  market  would  teem  with  them,  for  they  would 
find  a ready  sale.  The  only  case  of  the  kind  of  which 
we  arc  cognisant  is  an  extremely  unflattering  portrait 
of  her  Majesty  the  Queen  smiling  in  her  carriage. 
This  was  exhibited  in  the  shop  windows  about  a year 
ago.  Her  Majesty’s  countenance  is  so  well  known  to 
everyone  that  the  picture  can  be  recognised,  but  if 
it  had  represented  any  one  of  less  note  it  would 
have  been  almost  useless ; at  any  rate,  as  a means  of 
identification. 


556 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jci.y  18,  1890. 


ILLUSTRATING  POEMS  BY  PHOTOGRAPHY* 

BY  CATHARINE  WEED  BARNES. 

As  the  Venus  of  Milo  stood  before  her  sculptor-creator 
saying  to  his  inner  consciousness.  “ You  have  made  me 
visible  to  men,  but  among  them,  as  on  Olympus,  none 
shall  question  my  sovereignty”;  so  poetry  says  to  her 
various  adorers,  “ No  one  shall  be  able  to  say  he  has 
sounded  the  depth  of  my  soul.”  One  approaches  nearest 
her  inmost  shrine  in  closely  following  nature,  and  it  is 
the  part  of  true  wisdom  to  study  her  under  all  the  ever- 
changing  conditions  of  life  with  a reverend  worship  which 
will  richly  reward  every  faithful  worshipper.  Not  to  those 
who  deny  her  power,  or  to  those  who  try  to  force  them- 
selves into  her  most  sacred  penetralia,  are  its  mysteries 
discovered,  but  to  those  who  in  spirit  and  in  truth  wait 
before  its  altar.  Painters  and  sculptors  have  sought 
through  all  ages  to  reveal  poetry  by  means  of  form  and 
colour  with  all  the  varying  expression  of  her  changeful 
features,  but  there  is  no  reason,  it  seems  to  me,  why, 
among  those  who  seek  to  translate  into  visible  shape  her 
spiritual  beauty,  only  those  should  be  numbered  to  whom 
heretofore  the  world  has  given  the  name  of  “artist.” 
Why  should  the  fact  of  using  brush  or  pencil  presuppose 
in  its  user  the  possession  of  artistic  power  or  appreciation? 
The  world  does  move,  and  people  are  beginning  to  under- 
stand that  alter  all  it  matters  little  what  tools  are  used  if 
into  the  finished  work  is  breathed  the  breath  of  artistic 
life.  Our  friend  Dr.  Emerson  seems  to  think  that  by  the 
blending  of  art  and  science  in  photography  each  is  thereby 
weakened,  that  each  should  keep  to  its  own  sphere.  Is  it 
not  possible  to  study  science  in  this  connection  as  one 
does  the  steps  in  dancing,  very  important  to  follow  closely 
at  first,  but  gradually  becoming  a second  nature,  so  that 
one,  so  to  speak,  forgets  the  letter  in  the  spirit? 

Let  your  work  be  so  much  a part  of  you  that  while  not 
conscious  of  moving  according  to  fixed  rules,  you  arc  never- 
theless largely  guided  by  them. 

Travellers  abroad  cau  purchase  the  poems  of  Scott, 
Burns,  or  others,  illustrated  by  photographs  of  scenery 
and  buildings,  but  few  and  far  between  are  the  photo- 
graphic illustrations  designed  to  specially  bring  out  the 
spirit  of  the  poem  as  the  painter  or  etcher  designs  his 
special  work.  The  photographer  must,  of  course,  labour 
within  limits,  but  I believe  they  are  more  flexible  than 
generally  supposed.  While  it  is  not  always  possible  to 
make  one’s  model  fit  the  picture,  it  is  possible  to  make  the 
picture  fit  the  model.  In  other  words,  I believe  that, 
after  careful  choice  of  lines  to  be  illustrated,  the  intended 
picture  should  be  evolved  from  one's  brain  by  thinking  of 
it,  brooding  over  it,  dreaming  of  it,  until  all  is  ready  for 
the  realisation.  Take  plenty  of  time  to  absorb  into  your 
very  soul  the  thoughts  of  the  poem  before  you.  Then 
carefully  decide  on  the  accessories,  and,  if  practicable, 
discard  those  which  are  readily  recognised  as  being  in 
ordinary  studio  use.  Have  real  curtains,  chairs  of  wood 
or  brass,  or  other  material  not  made  to  simulate  something 
else.  I make  an  exception  in  favour  of  using  artificial 
flowers  and  vines,  but  sparingly.  If  the  operator  is  not 
a carpenter,  one  can  be  found  to  construct  temporary 
doors  and  windows.  They  are  better  than  the  painted 
article,  and  papier-mache  is  so  glaringly  a false  deceiver. 
If  the  deception  could  be  well  done  it  would  be  allowable, 
but  the  average  rocks,  walls,  trees,  &c.,  are  only  too 
visibly  unrealities.  These  things  need  not  be  necessarily 


expensive  if  the  camerist  is  possessed  of  dramatic  taste 
and  is  something  of  a mechanic.  The  professional  is 
usually  assisted  during  an  exposure  by  some  one  to  focus 
while  he  is  posing,  and  has  everything  ready  for  the  work, 
while  the  amateur  portraitist  has  to  be  almost  omnipresent, 
so  that  he  works  under  much  greater  difficulties  than  his 
professional  brother,  and  if  he  did  not  really  deserve  the 
name  “amateur,"  never  would  have  courage  and  patience 
to  continue,  but  the  camera  fever  when  it  reaches  a certain 
stage  is  incurable. 

It  should  be  the  exception  when  pictures  of  out-door 
scenes  are  taken  by  indoor  light,  even  the  light  of  the 
studio.  It  conveys  a wrong  impression  to  the  uneducated 
eye,  and,  in  the  branch  of  photography  under  considera- 
tion, does  more  harm  than  good.  There  is  no  need  either 
of  .all  the  pictures  being  made  in  the  studio.  But  where 
interiors,  fancy  figures,  or  portraits  are  needed,  the  studio 
is  the  place  wherein  to  make  them.  No  hard  or  fast  rule 
can  be  laid  down  on  the  mode  of  studying  out  or  realising 
illustrations.  To  a great  extent  the  artistic  operator  must 
be  a law  unto  himself  or  herself,  but,  while  working  in 
limits,  I believe  in  stretching  them  as  far  as  possible  and 
taking  advantage  of  everything  within  them.  If  the  model, 
when  found,  does  not  entirely  suit  the  character  desired, 
it  is  often  well  to  slightly  vary  one’s  conception  of  it  and 
gain  thereby,  it  may  be,  a finer  effect  than  the  one  intended. 
There  should  be,  and  I say  it  from  experience,  a magnetic 
relation  between  sitter  and  operator,  their  minds  should 
work  together,  and  the  words  to  be  wrought  out  in  the 
picture  should  occupy  their  thoughts  to  the  exclusion,  for 
the  time  being,  of  all  else.  As  the  actor  or  opera  singer 
best  realises  a character  by  utter  forgetfulness  of  self,  so 
ought  the  ideal  sitter  to  think  so  fully  of  the  part  to  be 
represented  that  the  idea  never  occurs  to  him  or  her  that 
it  is  a “portrait”  which  is  being  taken.  “ You  are  only 
a part  of  a whole,”  I say  in  such  cases,  “ it  is  not  you  any 
more  than  the  chair  you  sit  upon  that  is  being  photo- 
graphed. ” 

It  requires  a certain  amount  of  histrionic  ability  to  sit 
for  an  ordinary  portrait,  but  infinitely  more  for  an  ideal 
subject.  This  is  not  common,  but  where  it  exists  the 
camera  can  be  sure  of  extra  credit  which  should  be  shared 
with  the  sitter.  The  various  difficulties  incident  to  taking 
small  heads  and  figures  greatly  increase  when  it  comes  to 
taking  large  ones,  and  justly  the  camerist  who  takes  good 
ones  is  proud  of  them.  Do  not  try  to  get  a likeness  of  your 
model.  The  point  is  to  have  the  picture  tell  a story ; 
make  it  do  that  at  any  cost,  and  it  matters  nothing  at  all  if 
the  face  is  not  shown  or  is  utterly  unrecognisable.  Let 
imagination  dominate  your  thoughts,  and  your  work  will 
have  originality,  character,  not  be  like  that  of  any  one  else. 
This  means,  however,  putting  enough  labour  and  thought 
on  one  picture  to  take  a dozen  ordinary  portraits.  The 
artistic  camerist  should  also  bear  in  mind  by  what  process 
his  work  will  be  reproduced,  and  keep  that  thought  ever 
before  him  from  the  instant  of  exposure  until  the  negative 
is  developed.  Training  in  some  branch  of  art  is  capital 
preparation  for  illustrating,  and  every  picture  designed  is 
an  education  for  the  next  one.  The  eye  becomes  more 
and  more  accustomed  to  realising  in  a picture  certain  stanzas 
or  lines,  and  new  ones  will  be  constantly  suggested. 

There  is  one  point  more  that  I never  have  heard  men- 
tioned. In  taking  an  interior  for  illustration,  if  done  in 
the  studio,  it  is  possible  to  arrange  a ceiling  over  the  sitter 
so  that  the  effect  of  a room  can  be  better  preserved,  and 
the  light  come,  as  it  naturally  would  do,  from  the  side. 


* Rea  l before  the  Society  _of  Amateur  Photographers  of  New  York. 


July  18,  1890.1 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


557 


It  is  a good  plan,  also,  where  an  out-door  seene  is  desired, 
to  arrange  either  by  means  of  a mirror,  or  water  in  a tank, 
to  simulate  a stream  or  lake,  and  prevent  reflections  from 
the  roof  by  stretching  painted  canvas  over  it. 

This  subject  of  illustrating  poems  is  destined  to  bring 
about  some  striking  changes  in  the  world  of  art,  and 
“ weary,  stale,  flat,  and  unprofitable  ” will  gradually  seem 
to  the  ambitious  amateur  all  other  branches  of  camera 
work.  It  is  inconceivably  fascinating,  and  one’s  brain 
becomes  bewildered  at  what  seems  to  be  its  destiny.  The 
various  new  and  beautiful  reproducing  processes  constantly 
claiming  attention  seem  created  for  this  very  purpose. 
The  camera  has  a wonderful  future  before  it,  and  you  will 
need  all  the  inspiration  you  can  possibly  gain  in  entering 
a field  of  work  filled  with  so  mauy  opportunities,  but  which 
others  claimed  to  have  owned  long  before  you.  Remem- 
ber first,  last,  and  all  the  time,  these  words  from  Long- 
fellow’s “ Kavauagh”  : — “ We  judge  ourselves  by  what  we 
feel  capable  of  doing,  while  others  judge  us  by  what  we 
have  already  doue.” 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  IMAGE.* 

BY  PROFESSOR  RAPHAEL  MELDOLA,  F.R.S.,  M.R.I. 

The  history  of  a discovery  which  has  been  developed  to 
such  a remarkable  degree  of  perfection  as  photography  has 
naturally  been  a fruitful  source  of  discussion  among  those 
who  interest  themselves  in  tracing  the  progress  of  science. 
It  is  only  my  presence  in  this  lecture  theatre,  in  which  the 
first  public  discourse  on  photography  was  given  by  Thomas 
Wedgwood  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  that  justifies 
my  treading  once  again  a path  which  has  already  been  so 
thoroughly  well  beaten.  If  any  further  justification  for 
trespassing  upon  the  ground  of  the  historian  is  needed,  it 
will  be  found  in  the  circumstance  that  in  the  autumn  of 
last  year  there  was  held  a celebration  of  what  was 
generally  regarded  as  the  jubilee  of  the  discovery.  This 
celebration  was  considered  by  many  to  have  reference  to 
the  public  disclosure  of  the  Daguerreotype  process, 
made  through  the  mouth  of  Arago  to  the  French  Academy 
of  Sciences  on  August  10th,  1839.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  introduction  of  this  process  marked  a distinct 
epoch  in  the  history  of  the  art,  and  gave  a great  impetus 
to  its  subsequent  development.  But,  while  giving  full 
recognition  to  the  value  of  the  discovery  of  Daguerre,  we 
must  not  allow  the  work  of  his  predecessors  and  con- 
temporaries in  the  same  field  to  sink  into  oblivion.  After 
the  lapse  of  half  a century  we  are  in  a better  position  to 
consider  fairly  the  influence  of  the  work  of  different 
investigators  upon  modern  photographic  processes. 

I have  not  the  least  desire  on  the  present  occasion  to 
raise  the  ghosts  of  dead  controversies.  In  fact,  the 
history  of  the  discovery  of  photography  is  one  of  those 
subjects  which  can  be  dealt  with  in  various  ways,  accord- 
ing to  the  meaning  assigned  to  the  term.  There  is  ample 
scope  for  the  display  of  what  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer  calls 
the  “bias  of  patriotism.”  If  the  word  “photography” 
be  interpreted  literally  as  writing  or  inscribing  by  light, 
without  any  reference  to  the  subsequent  permanence  of 
the  inscription,  then  the  person  who  first  intentionally 
caused  a design  to  be  imprinted  by  light  upon  a photo- 
sensitive compound  must  be  regarded  as  the  first  photo- 
grapher. According  to  Dr.  Eder,  of  Vienna,  we  must 
place  this  experiment  to  the  credit  of  Johann  Heinrich 

* This  is  the  full  text  of  Professor  Meldola’s  recent  lecture  at  the  Royal 
Institution,  of  which  we  gave  a brief  report. 


Schulze,  the  son  of  a German  tailor,  who  was  born  in  the 
Duchy  of  Madgeburg,  in  Prussia,  in  1687,  and  who  died  in 
1744,  after  a life  of  extraordinary  activity  as  a linguist, 
theologian,  physician,  and  philosopher.  In  the  year  1727, 
when  experimenting  on  the  subject  of  phosphorescence, 
Schulze  observed  that  by  pouring  nitric  acid,  in  which 
some  silver  had  previously  been  dissolved,  on  to  chalk,  the 
undissolved  earthy  residue  had  acquired  the  property  of 
darkening  on  exposure  to  light.  This  effect  was  shown  to 
be  due  to  light,  and  not  to  heat.  By  pasting  words  cut 
out  in  paper  on  the  side  of  the  bottle  containing  his  pre- 
cipitate, Schulze  obtained  copies  of  the  letters  on  the 
silvered  chalk.  The  German  philosopher  certainly  pro- 
duced what  might  be  called  a temporary  photogram. 
Whatever  value  is  attached  to  this  observation  in  the  deve- 
lopment of  modern  photography,  it  must  be  conceded  that 
a considerable  advance  was  made  by  spreading  the  sensi- 
tive compound  over  a surface  instead  of  using  it  in  mass. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  you  here  that  such  an 
advance  was  made  by  Wedgwood  and  Davy  in  1802.* 
The  impressions  produced  by  these  last  experimenters 
were,  unfortunately,  of  no  more  permanence  than  those 
obtained  by  Schulze  three-quarters  of  a century  before 
them. 

It  will,  perhaps,  be  safer  for  the  historian  of  this  art  to 
restrict  the  term  photograph  to  such  impressions  as  are 
possessed  of  permanence.  I do  not,  of  course,  mean 
absolute  permanence,  but  ordinary  durability  in  the 
common-sense  acceptation  of  the  term.  From  this  point 
of  view  the  first  real  photographs,  i.e.,  permanent  im- 
pressions of  the  camera  picture,  were  obtained  on  bitumen 
films  by  Joseph  Nicephore  Niepce,  of  Chalons-sur-Sabne, 
who,  after  about  twenty  years’  work  at  the  subject,  had 
perfected  his  discovery  by  1826.  Then  came  the  days  of 
silver  salts  again,  when  Daguerre,  who  commenced  work 
in  1824,  entered  into  a partnership  with  Niepce  in  1829, 
which  was  brought  to  a termination  by  the  death  of  the 
latter  in  1833.  The  partnership  was  renewed  between 
Daguerre  and  Niepce  de  St.  Victor,  nephew  of  the  elder 
Niepce.  The  method  of  fixing  the  camera  picture  on  a 
film  of  silver  iodide  on  a silvered  copper  plate — the  pro- 
cess justly  associated  with  the  name  of  Daguerre — was  ripe 
for  disclosure  by  1838,  and  was  actually  made  known  in 
1839. 

The  impartial  historian  of  photography  who  examines 
critically  into  the  evidence  will  find  that,  quite  inde- 
pendently of  the  French  pioneers,  experiments  on  the  use 
of  silver  salts  had  been  going  on  ill  this  country,  and  photo- 
graphs, in  the  true  sense,  had  been  produced  almost  simul- 
taneously with  the  announcement  of  the  Daguerreotype 
process,  by  two  Englishmen  whose  names  are  as  house- 
hold words  in  the  ranks  of  science  — I refer  to  William 
Henry  Fox  Talbot  and  Sir  John  Ilerschel.  Fox  Talbot 
commenced  experimenting  with  silver  salts  on  paper  in 
1834,  and  the  following  year  he  succeeded  in  imprinting 
the  camera  picture  on  paper  coated  with  the  chloride. 
In  January,  1839,  some  of  his  “photogenic  draw- 
ings”— the  first  “silver  prints  ever  obtained — were 
exhibited  in  this  Institution  by  Michael  Faraday. 
In  the  same  mouth  he  communicated  his  first  paper 
on  a photographic  process  to  the  Royal  Society,  and 
iu  the  following  month  he  read  a second  paper  before  the 


* “An  Account  of  a Method  of  Copying  Painting  upon  Glass,  and  of 
making  Profiles  by  the  Agency  of  Light  upon  Nitrate  of  Silver.  Invented 
by  T.  Wedgwood,  Esq.  With  Observations  by  II.  Davy.”  Journ.  R.I., 
1802,  p.  170. 


558 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  18,  1890. 


same  society,  giving  the  method  of  preparing  the  sensitive 
paper  and  of  fixing  the  prints.  The  outcome  of  this  work 
was  the  “ Calotype  ” or  Talbotype  process,  which  was 
sufficiently  perfected  for  portraiture  by  1840,  and  which 
was  fully  described  in  a paper  communicated  to  the  Royal 
Society  in  1841.  The  following  year  Fox  Talbot  received 
the  Rumford  Medal  for  his  “ discoveries  and  improvements 
in  photography.  ”* 

Herschel's  process  consisted  in  coating  a glass  plate  with 
silver  chloride  by  subsidence.  The  details  of  the  method, 
from  Herschel’s  own  notes,  have  been  published  by  his 
son,  Prof.  Alexander  Ilerschel.f  By  this  means  the  old 
40-foot  telescope  at  Slough  was  photographed  in  1839. 
By  the  kindness  of  Prof.  Herschel,  and  with  the  sanction 
of  the  Science  aud  Art  Department,  Herschel’s  original 
photographs  have  been  sent  here  for  your  inspection. 
The  process  of  coating  a plate  by  allowing  a precipitate  to 
settle  on  it  in  a uniform  film  is,  however,  impracticable, 
and  was  not  further  developed  by  its  illustrious  discoverer. 
We  must  credit  him,  however,  as  being  the  first  to  use 
glass  as  a substratum.  Herschel  further  discovered  the 
important  fact  that  while  the  chloride  was  very  insensitive 
alone,  its  sensitiveness  was  greatly  increased  by  washing 
it  with  a solution  of  silver  nitrate.  It  is  to  Herschel,  also, 
that  we  are  indebted  for  the  use  of  sodium  thiosulphate  as 
a fixing  agent,  as  well  as  for  many  other  discoveries  in 
connection  with  photography,  which  are  common  matters 
of  history. 

Admitting  the  impracticability  of  the  method  of  sub- 
sidence for  producing  a sensitive  film,  it  is  interesting  to 
trace  the  subsequent  development  of  the  processes  in- 
augurated about  the  year  1839.  The  first  of  photo- 
graphic methods — the  bitumen  process  of  Niepce — sur- 
vives at  the  present  time,  and  is  the  basis  of  some  of  the 
most  important  of  modern  photo-mechanical  printing 
processes.  [Specimens  illustrating  photo-etching  from 
Messrs.  Waterlow  and  Sons  exhibited.]  The  Daguerreo- 
type process  is  now  obsolete.  As  it  left  the  hands  of  its 
inventor  it  was  unsuited  for  portraiture,  on  account  of  the 
long  exposure  required.  It  is  evident,  moreover,  that  a 
picture  on  an  opaque  metallic  plate  is  incapable  of  repro- 
duction by  printing  through,  so  that  in  this  respect  the 
Talbotype  possessed  distinct  advantages.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  important  points  in  Fox  Talbot’s  contributions  to 
photography.  He  was  the  first  to  produce  a transparent 
paper  negative  from  which  any  number  of  positives  could 
be  obtained  by  printing  through.  The  silver  print  of 
modern  times  is  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  Talbotype 
print.  After  forty  year's  use  of  glass  as  a substratum, 
we  arc  going  back  to  Fox  Talbot’s  plan,  and  using  thin, 
flexible  films — not  exactly  of  paper,  but  of  an  allied  sub- 
stance, celluloid.  [Specimens  of  Talbotypes,  lent  by  Mr. 
Crookes,  exhibited,  with  celluloid  negatives  by  the  East- 
man Company.] 

If  I interpret  this  fragment  of  history  correctly,  the 
founders  of  modern  photography  are  the  three  men  whose 
labours  have  been  briefly  sketched.  The  jubilee  of  last 
autumn  marked  a culminating  point  in  the  work  of  Niepce 
and  Daguerre,  and  of  Fox  Talbot,  The  names  of  these 
three  pioneers  must  go  down  to  posterity  as  co-equal  in 
the  annals  of  scientific  discovery.  [Portraits  by  Mr.  II. 
M.  Elder  shown.]  The  lecture  theatre  of  the  Royal 

* For  these  and  other  details  relating  to  Fox  Talbot’s  work,  necessarily 
excluded  for  want  of  time,  I am  indebted  to  his  son,  Mr.  C.  II.  Talbot,  ol 
Lacock  Abbey. 

iThotog.  Jour  n,  uni  Trans.  Photog.  Hoc.,  June  15th,  1872. 


Institution  offers  such  tempting  opportunities  to  the 
chronicler  of  the  history  of  this  wonderful  art,  that  I must 
close  this  treatment  of  the  subject  by  reminding  myself 
that  in  selecting  the  present  topic  I had  in  view  a state- 
ment of  the  case  of  modern  photography  from  its  scientific 
side  only.  There  is  hardly  any  invention  associated  with 
the  present  century  which  lias  rendered  more  splendid 
services  in  every  department  of  science.  The  physicist 
and  chemist,  the  astronomer  and  geographer,  the  physiolo- 
gist, pathologist,  and  anthropologist  will  all  bear  witness 
to  the  value  of  photography.  The  very  first  scientific 
application  of  Wedgwood's  process  was  made  here  by  the 
illustrious  Thomas  Young,  when  he  impressed  Newton’s 
rings  on  paper  moistened  with  silver  nitrate,  as  described 
in  his  Bakerian  lecture  to  the  Royal  Society  on  November 
24th,  1803.  Prof.  Dewar  has  just  placed  in  my  hands  the 
identical  slide,  with  the  Newton  rings  still  visible,  which 
he  believes  Young  to  have  used  in  this  classic  experiment. 

Our  modern  photographic  processes  depend  upon 
chemical  changes  wrought  by  light  on  films  of  certain 
sensitive  compounds.  Bitumen,  under  this  influence, 
becomes  insoluble  in  hydrocarbon  oils,  as  in  the  helio- 
graphic process  of  the  elder  Niepce.  Gelatine  mixed 
with  potassium  dichromate  becomes  insoluble  in  water  on 
exposure  to  light,  a property  utilised  in  the  photo-etching 
process  introduced  in  1852  by  Fox  Talbot,  some  of  whose 
original  etchings  have  been  placed  at  my  disposal  by  Mr. 
Crookes.  [Shown.]  Chromatised  gelatine  now  plays  a 
most  important  part  in  the  autotype  aud  many  photo- 
mechanical processes.  The  salts  of  iron  in  the  ferric 
condition  undergo  reduction  to  the  ferrous  state  under 
the  influence  of  light  in  contact  with  oxidisable  organic 
compounds.  The  use  of  these  iron  salts  is  another  of  Sir 
John  Herschel’s  contributions  to  photography  (1842),  the 
modern  “ blue  print  ” and  the  beautiful  platiuotype  being 
dependent  on  the  photo-rcducibility  of  these  compounds. 
[Cyanotype  print  developed  with  ferricyanide.] 

Of  all  the  substances  known  to  chemistry  at  the  pre- 
sent time,  the  salts  of  silver  arc  by  far  the  most  impor- 
tant in  photography,  on  account  of  the  extraordinary 
degree  of  sensitiveness  to  which  they  can  be  raised.  The 
photographic  image,  with  which  it  is  my  privilege  to  deal 
on  this  occasion,  is  that  invisible  impression  produced  by 
the  action  of  light  on  a film  of  a silver  haloid.  Many 
methods  of  producing  such  films  have  been  in  practical 
use  since  the  foundation  of  the  art  in  1839.  All  these 
depend  on  the  double  decomposition  between  a soluble 
chloride,  bromide,  or  iodide,  and  silver  nitrate,  resulting 
in  the  formation  of  the  silver  haloid  in  a vehicle  of  some 
kind,  such  as  albumen  (Niepce  do  St.  Victor,  1848),  or 
collodion  on  glass,  as  made  practicable  by  Scott  Archer  in 
1851.  For  twenty  years  this  collodion  process  was  in 
universal  use  ; its  history  and  details  of  manipulation,  its 
development  into  a dry  plate  process  by  Colonel  Russell 
in  1861,  and  into  an  emulsion  process  by  Bolton  andSayce 
in  1864,  are  facts  familiar  to  every  one. 

(To  be  continued.) 

Thk  Photographic  Club. — The  subject  for  discussion  on 
Wednesday,  July  23rd,  will  be  “Ceramic  Photography”; 
July  30th,  “ Printing  with  the  Salts  of  Chromium.”  Hank 
Holiday  outing  to  Guildford. 

Mr.  K.  Harris,  of  Sydney,  writes  that,  wishing  for  a pinhole 
camera,  he  extemporised  one  rapidly  simply  by  pressing  a 
piece  of  black  wax  into  the  smallest  stop  which  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  using  with  his  ordinary  lens,  and  then  making  a small 
hole  in  the  centre  of  the  wax  with  a pin. 


July  18,  1890.”) 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


559 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CONVENTION  AT  CHESTER. 

The  Report  ok  the  Photographic  Club  Delegates.* 

The  fifth  annual  Photographic  Convention  of  the  United 
Kingdom  was  opened  at  the  Town  Hall,  Chester,  on  June 
23rd  with  a conversazione  given  by  the  Mayor  of  Chester. 
Certainly  the  reception  was  a most  cordial  and  hospitable  one, 
and  it  is  flattering  to  note  that,  in  the  opinion  of  a local 
newspaper,  well  capable  of  forming  an  estimate,  “ never  before 
had  so  much  artistic  skill  been  employed  in  the  decoration  of 
the  main  corridor  of  the  building  as  was  brought  to  bear  on 
the  present  occasion.”  After  the  formal  reception  by  the 
Mayor  of  the  members  of  the  Convention,  the  retiring  presi- 
dent, Mr.  Andrew  Pringle,  in  the  presence  of  the  members 
and  guests,  introduced  his  successor,  Mr.  C.  H.  Bothamley,who, 
in  the  course  of  his  most  eloquent  presidential  address,  while 
admitting  that  no  discoveries  or  inventions  of  far-reaching 
importance  had  startled  the  photographic  world,  pointed  out 
what  minor  advances  have  been  made.  With  regard  to  photo- 
graphy in  natural  colours,  there  are  differences  of  opinion  as  to 
whether  the  results  of  Herr  Vereses,  of  Vienna,  which,  it  is 
understood,  are  founded  ou  the  experiments  of  Carey  Lea,  are 
in  advance  of  those  of  previous  experimenters  ; at  any  rate,  so 
far  we  can  only  say,  that  the  direction  in  which  the  solution  of 
the  problem  is  to  be  looked  for  is  not  yet  apparent.  No 
marked  advance  had  been  made  in  orthochromatic  photography, 
and  the  general  adoption  of  such  methods  is  impeded  by, 
among  other  causes,  the  fact  that  the  commercial  products 
upon  which  ma'ny  have  to  depend  do  not  at  present  represent 
the  maximum  possibilities  of  the  methods.  The  appreciation 
of  eikonogen  and  the  introduction  of  guaiacol  as  developers 
were  alluded  to.  The  application  of  photography  to  science, 
the  president  did  not  hesitate  to  say,  is  the  direction  in  which 
photography  has  won,  and  probably  will  win,  its  greatest 
triumphs,  and  he  instanced  the  remarkable  astronomical  pho- 
tographs of  Mr.  Ainslie  Common,  F.R.S.,  aud  Mr.  Isaac 
Roberts,  F.R.S.  On  the  other  hand,  he  deplored  the  fact  that 
the  number  of  competent  investigators,  apart  from  experi- 
menters, was  very  few  indeed,  and  strongly  advocated  the  cul- 
tivation of  scientific  method,  which  could  only  be  inculcated  by 
long  and  careful  training.  Turning  to  the  art  aspect  of  photo- 
graphy, he  pointed  out  how  we  have  advanced  in  our  know- 
ledge of  science  aud  art  since  Mr.  P.  G.  Hamerton’s  well-known 
criticism  of  the  claims  of  photography  to  rank  as  a fine  art 
appeared  in  1873  in  the  Portfolio,  and  he  agreed  with  those 
who  would  fix  a limit  to  subjects  which  may  be  considered  to 
come  within  the  legitimate  scope  of  photographic  treatment. 
Lastly,  after  alluding  to  the  efficient  school  of  photography  at 
Berlin  under  Dr.  Vogel,  and  the  splendid  institute  at  Vienna 
under  Dr.  Eder,  he  advocated  the  development  of  a desire  for 
better  training,  and  the  provision  of  means  to  satisfy  the  desire. 
Whether  this  could  be  brought  about  by  founding  a photo- 
graphic institute  would  depend  on  whether  it  is  founded  ou  a 
right  basis  and  conducted  on  right  lines  ; but,  after  all,  the 
future  of  photography  would  depend  ou  the  work  of  indi- 
viduals, and  every  one  must  see  to  it  that  his  own  work  is 
honest  and  thorough,  and  the  best  that  he  can  do. 

Our  minds  having  been  thus  strengthened,  the  remainder  of 
the  evening  was,  with  a clear  conscience,  devoted  to  indulgence 
in  the  Mayor’s  hospitality,  the  admiration  of  lantern  pictures 
illustrating  former  conventions,  and  to  general  sociability.  The 
apparatus  was  scanned  with  attention,  especially  the  splendid 
photo-micrographic  instrument  constructed  for  the  Royal 
Veterinary  College  by  Messrs.  Swift. 

Tuesday — a glorious  photographic  day — was  well  spent  in 
excursions  (1)  to  Little  Moreton  Hall,  unfortunately  in  process 
of  necessary  repair,  but  one  of  the  finest  examples  of  half- 
timbered,  moated  mansions  in  the  country  ; (2)  to  Llangollen, 
aud  by  the  valley  of  the  Dee  to  Berwyn  and  Valley  Crucis 
Abbey.  The  Photographic  Club  was  well  represented  at  both 
places,  and  you  will  no  doubt  see  them  fully  illustrated.  The 
first  business  of  the  evening  was  the  presentation  of  the  report 
of  the  Committee  on  Lens  Standards,  which  was  prefaced  by  a 
lucid  explanation  by  Mr.  Haddon  of  the  means  taken  to  arrive 

Read  before  the  members  of  the  Photographic  Club,  June  9th,  1890. 


at  a decision.  The  report  recommends  the  adoption  of  the 
Photographic  Society’s  Standards,  with  some  few  additions  in 
the  nature  of  amplification  and  explanation.  It  is  satisfactory 
to  note  that  there  was  no  opposition  expressed  to  the  standard 
diaphragms,  which,  since  they  werefirst  recommended,  have  been 
very  extensively  adopted,  and  now  seem  to  be  well  established  ; 
but  with  regard  to  the  flanges,  it  was  evident  that  that  portion 
of  the  report  did  not  commend  itself  to  those  opticians  who 
have  been  manufacturing  lenses  with  mounts  screwed  to  a diffe- 
rent gauge,  and  who  naturally  consider  the  matter  in  the  inte- 
rest of  those  who  use  such  lenses,  and  of  which  many  thou- 
sands are  stated  to  have  been  issued.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
the  decision  of  these  opticians  to  abide  by  their  own  gauges 
had  not  been  brought  before  nor  considered  by  the  committee, 
it  was  proposed  and  carried  that  the  report  be  once  more 
referred  back  to  the  committee,  in  order  that  they  may  confer 
on  this  point  with  the  opticians  and  with  the  Photographic 
Society  of  Great  Britain  committee.  The  only  point  now  in 
dispute  is  whether  the  standard  flanges  should  be  1 inch, 
1-5  inch,  1-25  inch,  1‘75  inch,  2 inch,  2-25  inch,  &e.,  with 
24  threads  to  the  inch,  as  recommended  by  the  committee,  or 
whether  the  1 '5  inch  and  the  2 inch  should  be  superseded  by 
the  1-52  inch  with  32  threads,  and  the  2 inch  with  30  threads 
at  present  in  use.  But  whatever  the  final  result  may  be,  the 
Convention  may  fairly  be  congratulated  on  having  aroused  the 
opticians  to  a sense  of  the  importance  of  coming  to  some 
agreement  ou  this  question,  which  is  one  that  more  or  less 
affects  all  users  of  lenses. 

Mr.  Gambier  Bolton,  in  his  paper,  “Animal  Photography: 
Its  Difficulties,  Uses,  and  Abuses,”  told  us  of  the  trials  he 
encountered  in  securing  scientific  aud  artistic  qualities  in  zoo- 
photography ; how  he  succeeded  in  giving,  with  the  expenditure 
of  from  thirty  to  fifty  plates,  the  exposure  of  two  seconds, 
which  was  necessary  to  show  the  object  in  all  its  detail,  on  an 
animal  which  w'as  never  still  for  an  instant.  He  considered 
that  instantaneous  exposures  were  of  little  or  no  use,  and  was 
severe  on  detective  camera  animal  photographers,  though  he 
would  admit  the  occasional  use  of  a hand-camera  with  twin 
lenses.  The  perfect  animal  photograph  should  have  had  suffi- 
cient exposure  to  bring  out  all  possible  detail  in  the  hair  or 
feathers,  and  in  the  shadow’s  ; should  be  full  of  life,  yet  un- 
restrained ; natural  in  position  and  expression  (not  as  a man 
would  look  who  had  just  sat  down  on  the  business  end  of  a 
tin  tack)  ; all  four  legs  and  the  tail  should  show  distinctly, 
and  the  mane,  if  any  ; nostrils,  ears,  eyes,  and  the  hairs  round 
them  should  be  microscopically  sharp.  He  urged  on  photo- 
graphers, especially  those  who  travel,  the  importance  of  secur- 
ing faithful,  scientific,  and  artistic  representations  of  birds  or 
animals  which  are  either  rare  or  fast  becoming  extinct,  aud 
implored  them  not  to  w-aste  plates  on  such  childishly  easy  sub- 
jects as  swans,  deer,  cattle,  and  sheep.  Mr.  Bolton  then 
illustrated  his  paper  by  lantern  pictures,  first  show’ing  the  kind 
of  representation  to  be  avoided  if  results  of  any  permanent 
value  were  aspired  to,  and  then  his  own  pictures  showing  the 
way  to  do  it.  These  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  audience 
that  the  immense  patience  and  perseverance  he  had  exercised 
had  not  been  in  vain,  and  went  far  to  justify  his  own  estimate 
of  their  importance  and  scientific  value. 

The  next  paper  was  an  important  essay  by  Mr.  Philip  H. 
Newman,  entitled  “Imagining  and  Imaging,”  which  proved  to 
be  an  attack  by  an  experienced  art  critic  from  the  conventional 
standpoint  on  the  doctrine  and  dogmas  of  Mr.  P.  H.  Emerson, 
contained  in  his  “ Naturalistic  Photography.”  It  is  comforting 
to  find  at  the  outset  the  rival  combatants  agree  in  paying  tri- 
bute to  photography  as  an  art,  and  in  admitting  its  claims  to 
be  a legitimate  means  of  artistic  expression.  The  combat 
seems  mainly  to  resolve  itself  into  one  of  mere  words.  Each 
sees  individuality  in  Van  Eyck’s  “ Jean  and  Jeanne  Amolfiui,” 
though  the  one  calls  it  conventionalism,  while  with  the  other  it 
is  the  absence  of  that  quality.  Perhaps  Mr.  New  man’s  strongest 
point  is  where  he  charges  Mr.  Emerson  with  not  permitting 
the  freedom  to  others  he  takes  himself,  especially  when  he  is 
taken  at  his  word  and  his  principles  judged  by  his  own  works, 
though  it  must  be  observed  that  they  can  shake  hands  when 
treating  of  the  expression  of  detail  by  photography,  aud  pre- 


560 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  18,  1890. 


sumably  also  on  the  question  of  composite  photographs,  nothing 
being  said  on  this  latter  subject.  As  these  two  last  are  the 
points  which  have  most  agitated  photographers,  and  as  the 
treatment  of  historical  and  mythological  subjects  is  by  common 
consent  determined  to  be  beyond  the  range  of  legitimate  pho- 
tography, we,  as  spectators,  cannot  but  feel  that  Mr.  Emerson’s 
positiou  is,  on  the  whole,  not  materially  weakened  by  this  clever 
onslaught. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  members  was  held  on  Wednes- 
day morning,  when  it  was  resolved  that  the  next  Convention 
(1891)  be  held  at  Bath.  It  having  been  generally  felt  that 
provincial  members  should,  in  the  interests  of  the  Convention, 
be  more  largely  represented  on  the  council,  an  alteration  of 
rules  was  made  to  the  effect  that  the  council  shall  consist  of 
forty  members,  of  whom  not  more  than  twenty  shall  be 
London  members,  and  five  members  from  the  locality  where 
the  Convention  shall  be  held  in  the  following  year.  Power 
was  also  given  to  alter  or  amend  the  rules  at  any  special 
general  meeting  called  for  the  purpose.  In  spite  of  the  rain, 
most  of  the  members  proceeded  by  steamboats  up  the  river 
Dee  to  Eaton  Hall,  where  they  assembled  on  the  terrace  and 
were  successfully  photographed,  in  the  face  of  the  adverse 
conditions  which  still  prevailed,  by  Mr.  Watmough  Webster. 
In  the  evening  the  President  (Mr.  Bothamley)  explained  that 
the  detailed  results  of  his  recent  experiments  with  rhodamin 
would  be  deferred  until  they  are  more  complete  than  he  has 
at  present  had  time  to  make  them.  Mr.  Paul  Lange  then 
gave  an  interesting  account  of  a recent  visit  to  Norway,  in- 
terspersing it  with  valuable  hints  to  intending  visitors,  and 
illustrating  it  by  a number  of  fine  lantern  pictures  taken  with 
a hand-camera. 

On  Thursday  the  excursions  were  to  Conway  and  up  the 
valley  of  the  Conway  River  as  far  as  Llanrwst  and  Trefriw. 
The  weather  during  the  day  was  all  that  could  be  wished,  and 
your  delegates  determined  to  join  the  Trefriw  party.  Each 
started  with  the  impression  that  the  other  had  found  salvation 
through  Mr.  Gambier  Bolton,  F.Z.S.  Imagine,  therefore,  their 
mutual  surprise  when,  casting  away  their  crowns,  they  found 
themselves  childishly  hurrying  after  a trivial  group  of  cattle, 
which  they  suddenly  resolved  to  image.  This  trip  into  North 
Wales  involved  the  loss  of  the  evening’s  papers,  the  first  being 
the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Weights  and  Measures  drawn 
up  by  the  president.  The  feature  of  the  report  is  that  it 
recommends,  in  dealing  with  formuhe,  “a  method  which  is 
independent  of  the  system  of  weights  and  measures  used,  pro- 
vided that  the  relation  of  the  unit  of  weight  to  the  unit  of 
measure  is  the  same  as  that  which  exists  between  the  gramme 
and  the  cubic  centimetre,  or  the  ounce  and  the  fluid  ounce.” 
It  is  recommended  that  formula!  should  give  the  number  of 
parts  of  the  constituents  by  weight  or  measure,  to  be  contained 
in  some  definite  number  of  parts  by  measure  of  the  solution. 
The  mixture  can  then  be  made  up  according  to  the  unit 
selected,  either  in  (1)  grammes  and  cubic  centimetres,  or  (2) 
grains  and  fluid  grains,  or  (3)  ounces  and  fluid  ounces.  The 
report,  we  understand,  was  well  received,  and,  without  dissent, 
adopted. 

Mr.  Andrew  Pringle’s  “ Record  of  Photo-micography  ” 
pointed  out  the  difficulties  that  had  been  encountered  in  ren- 
dering bacteria  on  account  of  their  colour.  This  difficulty  had 
led  more  than  one  eminent  bacteriologist  to  abandon  the  use  of 
photography  for  the  purpose  ; colour-correct  photography,  how- 
ever, is  now  removing  this  stumbling  block  of  the  earlier 
workers.  Reviewing  the  optics  of  the  subject,  he  pointed  out 
the  advantages  derived  from  the  immersion  system,  and  from 
the  later  Zeiss  objectives,  and  looked  for  the  time  when  every 
candid  investigator  would  employ  photography,  the  only  scien- 
tific method  of  delineation. 

Mr.  Eriese  Greene’s  paper,  “Suggestions,”  was,  at  his  desire, 
taken  as  read.  He  exhibited  his  magazine  camera  ; but,  owing 
to  some  hitch  in  the  optical  arrangement,  he  was  unable  to 
show  the  results  on  the  screen  to  his  satisfaction. 

On  Friday  many  of  the  members  might  have  been  seen 
with  their  cameras  busily  securing  reminiscences  of  Chester 
architecture,  ancient  and  modern,  the  projected  excursion  to 
Liverpool  being  evidently  considered  less  attractive.  Later  in 
the  day  Ha  warden  Castle  was  the  object  of  attraction. 


The  annual  dinner  at  the  Grosvenor  Hotel,  at  which  about 
sixty  members  were  present,  happily  completed  the  programme. 

The  Chester  Convention  of  1890  was  thus  practically 
brought  to  an  end,  and  although,  perhaps,  the  number  of  mem- 
bers from  the  Chester  district  was  not  so  large  as  might  have 
been  desired,  there  was  no  question  as  to  the  success  of  the 
meeting.  All  who  did  attend,  we  cannot  but  feel  are  consider- 
able gaiuers  both  mentally  and  physically.  It  is  one  thing  to 
attend  such  a meeting  and  have  the  events  indelibly  impressed 
on  the  memory;  it  is  quite  another  thing  to  read  or,  perchance, 
merely  skim  the  papers  as  they  appear  in  the  journals,  or  to 
listen  to  such  an  imperfect  report  as  can  be  brought  before  you 
on  an  occasion  like  the  present.  It  is  good  to  be  in  a position 
to  exercise  our  own  individual  judgment  on  the  interesting 
matter  put  forward  for  consideration,  and  thus  to  bring  our 
influence  to  bear  to  direct  the  future  course  of  the  development 
of  what,  at  present,  are  little  more  than  the  germs  of  photo- 
graphic knowledge.  In  photography  less,  perhaps,  than  in 
most  other  pursuits,  can  any  one  afford  to  take  up  an  entirely 
independent  position.  Each  must  recognise  the  principle  of 
inter-dependence,  and  it  is  for  these  reasons  that  we  would 
urge  you  to  support  the  Convention,  seeing  that  it  has  no  other 
aim  or  claim  to  encouragement  than  in  so  far  as  it  tends  to 
advance  the  interests  of  our  chosen  occupation. 

William  Bedford)  ,,  , 

R.  P.  Drage 


THE  EXHIBITION  OF  THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC 
SOCIETY. 

The  hon.  sec.  to  the  Photographic  Society,  Captain 
A.  M.  Mantell,  R.E.,  announces  that  the  next  Exhi- 
bition of  the  Society  will  be  inaugurated  by  a con- 
versazione, open  to  members  and  their  friends,  at  8 p.in., 
on  Saturday  evening,  the  27th  of  September,  and  that 
the  Exhibition  will  remain  open  daily  (Sundays  excepted) 
from  Monday,  the  29th  September,  until  Wednesday,  the 
12th  of  November;  admission  (from  10  a.m.  till  5 p.m.) 
one  shilling.  It  will  also  be  open  every  Monday,  Wed- 
nesday, and  Saturday  evening ; admission  (from  7 to 
10  p.m.)  sixpence.  Members  have  free  admission  at  any 
time,  and  will  be  supplied  with  tickets  to  admit  their 
friends. 

Medals  will  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  judges  for 
artistic,  scientific,  and  technical  excellence  of  photo- 
graphs, and  for  lantern  transparencies  and  apparatus,  and 
the  following  are  the  judges:  Capt.  Abney,  R.E.,  C.B., 
D.C.L.,  F.R.S.,  Valentine  Blanchard,  W.  England,  J. 
Gale,  Henry  Moore,  A.R.A.,  II.  P.  Robinson. 

A copy  of  the  regulations  may  be  obtained  on  appli- 
cation to  the  assistant-secretary. 

Foreign  exhibitors  are  specially  invited  to  contribute. 
The  Society  will  pay  the  carriage  of  photographs  one  way, 
and  provide  frames  during  the  exhibition  for  photographs 
approved  by  the  judges.  There  will  be  no  charge  for  wall 
space.  Exhibits  sent  in  packing  cases  (carriage  paid) 
must  be  addressed  to  the  “ Photographic  Society  of  Great 
Britain,”  care  of  Mr.  James  Bourlet,  17,  Nassau  Street, 
Middlesex  Hospital,  London.  Packing-cases  must 
arrive  not  later  than  Monday,  September  15th  ; they  will 
be  too  late  if  received  after  that  date.  No  packing-cases 
can  be  received  at  the  Gallery.  Exhibits  (including 
pictures,  negatives,  transparencies,  lantern  slides,  appa 
ratus  and  appliances)  sent  by  hand  will  be  received  at 
the  Gallery,  5a,  Pall  Mall  East,  on  Monday  only, 
September  15th,  until  9 p.m.  Delay  will  prevent  exhibits 
coming  under  the  inspection  of  the  judges. 

Lantern  transparencies  sent  in  competition  for  a medal, 
not  less  than  six,  should  be  fitted  (removable)  in  a frame 


Jolt  18,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


561 


to  stand  upon  the  table,  and  it  is  desirable  that  duplicates 
be  sent  for  exhibition  in  the  optical  lantern.  They  will 
only  be  eligible  for  award  when  both  the  negatives  and 
slides  are  the  work  of  the  exhibitor.  Photographic  lan- 
tern slides  will  be  shown  with  the  Society's  optical  lantern 
during  the  Exhibition.  The  loan  of  slides  for  this  pur- 
pose is  invited  ; they  must  not  exceed  :5 { inches  in  height, 
and,  to  enable  the  committee  to  select  and  arrange  them, 
must  be  delivered  at  the  Gallery  not  less  than  one  week 
before  the  evening  of  their  being  shown  in  the  lantern. 

It  is  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  the  sending  of 
exhibits  signifies  acceptance  by  the  exhibitor  of  the  de- 
cision of  the  council  upon  all  matters  connected  with  the 
Exhibition  as  absolute  and  final.  The  council  do  not 
hold  themselves  responsible  for  any  damage  that  may 
happen  to  the  pictures  or  other  exhibits  whilst  in  their 
custody,  but  they  will  take  every  precaution  to  insure 
their  safety  and  prompt  return  to  the  owners  at  the  close 
of  the  Exhibition.  To  avoid  damage  to  frames,  exhibitors 
are  requested  to  have  sunk  backboards  to  their  frames, 
with  the  fastening  nails  not  projecting,  and  the  whole 
covered  with  thick  brown  paper.  The  regulations  as  to 
the  removal  of  exhibits  can  be  had  on  application  to  the 
assistant-secretary,  Mr.  Edwin  Cocking,  5a,  Pall  Mall 
East,  London,  S.W. 


UNIFORMITY  IN  LENS  MOUNTS. 
CoNSiDKitABi.K  interest  is  now  being  manifested  in  England 
in  regard  to  an  uniform  system  of  mounting  lenses,  to  be 
adopted  by  the  different  lens  makers.  For  many  years 
the  microscopists  have  had  the  comfort  and  great  advan- 
tage of  the  so-called  society  screw  for  their  objectives. 
This  society  screw  has  a thread  which  is  of  such  a 
character  that  an  objective  bought  of  any  maker  will 
always  fit  upon  the  tube  of  a microscope  already  fitted 
with  objectives  made  with  this  screw.  As  a consequence, 
no  extra  fittings  or  adapters  are  necessary,  and  every 
microscopist  can  use  a lens  of  any  other  maker  than  the 
one  he  already  possesses,  without  having  to  make  special 
changes  for  the  purpose. 

This  same  idea  is  now  being  discussed  in  regard  to 
photographic  lenses.  It  is  argued  that  all  photographic 
objectives  of  the  same  lens  diameter,  or  even  slightly 
smaller,  could  be  fitted  in  mounts  having  screw-threads 
working  into  the  same  flanges  for  all  makers.  At  the 
present  time  even  lenses  of  the  same  diameter  will  not  fit 
into  the  flange  if  they  are  made  by  different  opticians. 
What  a comfort  and  convenience  it  would  be  if  all  lenses, 
say  from  61  by  8i  down,  had  screws  that  fitted  into  one 
flange,  and  that  every  make  of  lens  of  these  sizes,  Gj-  by 
8£,  5 by  8,  5 by  7,  4{  by  61,  and  4 by  5.  could  all  be  used 
with  one  flange.  At  the  present  time,  if  one  wishes  to 
use  a different  size  of  lens  within  the  above  limits,  there 
are  only  two  clumsy  and  troublesome  methods  available. 
First,  to  have  as  many  separate  front  boards  fitted  to  your 
camera  as  there  are  lenses  you  wish  to  use  with  it  ; or 
second,  to  use  a series  of  brass  adapters,  one  for  each  lens 
available  for  the  camera.  The  first  method  is  clumsy  in 
the  extreme,  the  extra  front  boards  always  being  in  the 
way  when  packing  the  lenses  for  transportation  or  storing 
them  for  safe  keeping.  The  second  method,  while  less 
objectionable  than  the  first,  is  very  expensive  and  trouble- 
some after  the  adapters  have  been  made.  What  is  wanted 
is  a series  of  screw-threads  of  such  a standard  character 


that  every  lens  maker  can  use  them,  and  with  one  screw 
for  a series  of  lenses.  Of  course  it  would  be  out  of  the 
question  to  have  one  mount  for  all  lenses.  But  two  or  three 
lenses,  that  differ  only  slightly  in  diameter,  could  be  fitted 
with  threads  that  all  screw  into  the  same  flange.  F or 
example,  lenses  covering  11  by  14, 10  by  12,  and  8 by  10 
plates  could  all  be  made  to  fit  into  a flange  that  carries  an 
11  by  14  lens  tube  ; and  lenses  that  are  smaller  than  6| 
by  8£  could  all  be  fitted  with  threads  to  fit  into  a 
6 j by  8£  flange.  Perhaps  these  might  be  divided  differ- 
ently, and  the  8 by  10  and  lower  sizes  could  be  separated 
into  two  groups ; but  this  is  a matter  of  detail  for  the 
opticians.  What  we  need  is  a series  of  screw  threads  and 
flanges  so  arranged  that  several  lenses  of  nearly  the  same 
size  will  fit  one  flange,  and  every  lens  of  the  same  size 
made  by  different  opticians  will  fit  the  same  flange. 

Yet  another  source  of  annoyance,  especially  to  the 
travelling  photographer,  is  the  tripod  screw.  Up  to  the 
present  time  there  seems  to  be  no  easy  method  of 
securing  the  camera  upon  the  tripod  except  the  screw, 
and  every  camera  manufacturer  seems  to  take  a special 
delight  in  making  every  new  camera  box  with  a new 
plate  having  a thread  that  is  different  from  every  other 
tripod  screw  ever  before  made,  and  especially  different 
from  that  of  any  other  maker.  There  are  no  other  manu- 
facturers using  screws  that  have  such  an  apparently 
unnecessary  diversity  of  those  exceedingly  useful  means 
of  securing  parts  of  apparatus  together.  And  the  time 
has  come  when  those  who  will  pay  attention  to  these 
matters  and  the  wants  and  needs  of  those  that  use  their 
wares,  will  succeed  and  prosper,  while  those  who  do  not 
will  most  certainly  be  ignored. 

What  we  need  is  uniformity  in  the  mechanical  parts  of 
photographic  apparatus,  uniform  and  simple  lens  mounts, 
uniform  and  correct  diaphragms,  and  uniform  tripod 
screws.  And  we  are  very  glad  to  note  that  such  men  as 
Dallmcyer,  Boss,  Beck,  and  others  are  trying  to  come  to 
some  agreement  in  the  matter  as  far  as  lenses  are  con- 
cerned. We  also  hope  that  American  opticians  will  see 
that  it  is  to  their  interest  also  to  take  the  same  action  and 
let  us  have  an  international  system. — Anthony's  Photo- 
graphic Bulletin. 


Non-actinic  White  Light. — I)r.  E.  Liesegang  says,  in  the 
Photo  Arehiv,  as  translated  for  Wilson’s  Magazine,  “ The  expedi- 
ent of  covering  a irindow  with  a fluorescent  solution  of  quinine 
sulphate  has  not  proved  sufficient  to  keep  out  all  actinic  rays. 
This  is  better  accomplished  thus  : — It  is  known  that  an  aqueous 
solution  of  three  parts  green  chloride  of  nickel,  and  one  part 
red  chloride  of  cobalt,  is  colourless  by  transmitted  light,  and 
quite  clear  when  dilute.  The  two  colours  are  complementary, 
and  completely  neutralize  each  other.  Hence  the  light  passing 
through  the  mixed  solution  has  no  effect  on  the  salts  of  silver. 
Although  it  is  quite  white  it  is  perfectly  non-actinic,  and  does 
not  any  longer  affect  the  sensitive  film.  To  completely  neutralize 
any  possible  rays  in  the  ultra-violet,  another  glass  is  coated  with 
a solution  of  quinine  sulphate  in  collodion  somewhat  acidified 
with  sulphuric  acid.  The  quinine  cannot  be  used  in  the  same 
solution  because  it  is  precipitated  by  the  cobalt  salt.  As  the 
cobalt  chloride,  red  when  containing  water,  becomes  blue  when 
free  from  it,  the  mixture  must  not  be  allowed  to  dry.  It 
may  be  made  with  gelatine  and  glycerine,  but  even  a high 
temperature  around  the  window  may  dry  it.  Silver  paper 
which  was  left  exposed  for  a week  behind  a thin  layer  of  the 
cobalt-nickel  solution  thus  prepared,  did  not  show  the  slightest 
alteration.  I have  not  as  yet  experimented  with  plates,  but 
with  sufficiently  concentrated  solution  these  also  should  not 
suffer  change.  ” 


562 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  18,  1890. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  ESTABLISHMENTS. 


The  London  Stereoscopic  Co.  invited  newspaper  repre- 
tatives  and  others  to  visit  their  new  premises  at  106, 
Regent  Street,  London,  last  Monday.  At  the  top  of  the 
premises  they  have  a special  studio  for  those  who  will 
give  any  amount  of  time  for  the  obtaining  a likeness  with 
the  best  possible  results.  It  has  none  of  the  artificial 
furniture  sometimes  used  in  studios,  and  is  intended  for 
those  who  will  give  the  photographer  a fair  opportunity  of 
doing  the  highest  work,  without  taking  turn  in  a hurried 
manner  with  a waiting  crowd  of  sitters,  and  who  will  re- 
munerate him  accordingly. 

In  the  developing  rooms  they  have  the  electric  light 
with  glow  lamps,  and  two-way  switches  for  obtaining 
light  from  the  lanterns  or  for  illuminating  the  room  at  will. 

Iu  one  of  the  dark  rooms  is  a little  piece  of  apparatus 
by  Mr.  Fletcher,  for  obtaining  nearly  boiling  water  in 
five  minutes,  or  less  warm  water  in  a shorter  time.  The 
chief  merits  of  it  are,  that  it  is  of  small  compass,  and  all 
the  parts  are  under  the  observation  and  within  the  reach  of 
the  possessor,  so  that  if  any  parts  get  out  of  order  they 
are  not  boxed  up  so  as  not  to  be  available  for  immediate 


repair. 

With  one  of  the  cameras  on  the  premises  the  operators 
cau  take  portraits  measuring  30  inches  by  24  inches 
direct. 

A novelty,  just  introduced  by  the  Company,  is  a 
quarter-plate  “artists’  camera,”  measuring  exteriorly 
6 inches  by  5 inches  by  44  inches,  strongly  made,  so  that 
it  looks  as  if  it  might  stand  a kick  anywhere  without 
damage.  The  lens  works  at//5£;  it  has  a large  finder, 
and  a shutter  to  give  various  speeds  at  will.  They  have 

also  a new  camera  with  twin 
lenses  for  stereoscopic  work, 
and  photographs  taken  with  it 
were  exhibited  at  the  Photo- 
graphic Convention  at  Chester 
by  Mr.  Gambier  Bolton. 

Mr.  Edgar  Clifton  has  charge 
of  the  amateur-teaching  branch 
of  the  business,  and  we  hope 
that  he  will  write  a book  about  his  experiences.  Mr. 
Humphreys  is  in  charge  of  the  business  section  of  the 
amateur  department.  The  Company  has  been  awarded  a 
certificate  of  merit  by  Ally  Sloper. 

Mr.  Friese  Greene  has  just  opened  new  studios  at  162, 
Sloane  Street,  London,  and  a day  or  two  ago  invited  the 
press  and  others  to  inspect  them.  Afternoon  tea  was 
served  and  carried  round  among  the  guests  by  two  waiters 
dressed  as  English  gentlemen  of  the  Garrick  period,  with 
powdered  hair  and  everything  complete.  The  various 
storeys  of  the  building  are  fitted  up  in  artistic  style,  and 
Mr.  Greene  advertises  that  they  are  “ open  as  an  exhibi- 
tion and  a lounge  between  the  hours  of  three  and  five.” 

He  has  a good  artist  in  oils  constantly  engaged  upon 
the  premises — Miss  Kate  Pragnell,  who  is  well  known  in 
Bath  and  the  West  of  England,  who  recently  illustrated 
the  catalogue  of  paintings  in  the  great  private  collection 
of  Sir  Greville  Smith,  of  Ashton  Court,  Clifton.  Her 
photographic  colouring  is  executed  in  subdued  colours, 
and  with  artistic  skill.  She  says  that  she  finds  that 
celluloid  will  not  bear  loading  with  oil  colours,  also  that 
Mr.  Greene’s  opal  cards  will  bear  such  treatment ; this 
results  in  the  exhibition  of  two  classes  of  coloured 
photographs. 


A SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE  “ PHOTOGRAPHIC 
NEWS.” 

On  the  sixteenth  of  August  we  shall  issue  as  a supplement 
a highly  artistic  photo-etching  of  the  house  of  the  late 
Charles  Kingsley,  at  Eversley,  photographed  from  a paint- 
ing. As  this  journal  is  usually  kept  by  its  subscribers 
for  binding,  we  recommend  them  not  to  part  with  their 
copies  until  they  are  sure  that  they  can  get  others. 


©omspon&cnrc. 


WEIGHTS,  MEASURES,  AND  FORMULAE. 

Sir, — In  your  issue  of  the  11th  inst.  Mr.  Warnerke  inveighs 
against  the  report  of  the  Convention  committee  on  weights, 
measures,  and  formula;,  and  since  his  letter  is  a most  extra- 
ordinary, though  doubtless  unintentional,  misrepresentation  of 
the  report,  I will  ask  you  to  allow  me  to  reply. 

Mr.  Warnerke  says:  “We  learn  (what  was  not  generally 
known)  that  the  apothecaries'  ounce  of  480  grains,  after  all,  is 
not  legal,  and  that  the  legal  one  of  43 7 "5  grains  is  divided  into 
480  parts,  which  greatly  increases  the  already  inextricable 
chaos.”  Why  “after  all”?  The  avoirdupois  ounce  of  437*5 
grains  has  been  the  only  legal  ounce  for  ordinary  buying  and 
selling  in  this  country  for  many  years  ; no  special  apothecaries’ 
ounce  has  been  included  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  at  any 
rate  since  1864,  and  if  these  facts  were  not  generally  known  to 
photographers,  they  were,  of  course,  well  known  to  everyone 
really  acquainted  with  the  English  systems  of  weights  and 
measures.  How  can  a state  of  things  which  has  existed  for 
more  than  a quarter  of  a century  fairly  be  said  to  “greatly 
increase  ” anything  at  this  time  of  day,  and  is  it  not 
desirable  that,  in  discussing  a scientific  question,  we  should 
avoid  applying  such  extravagant  terms  as  “ inextricable  chaos” 
to  the  comparatively  simple  problem  of  distinguishing  between 
an  avoirdupois  ounce  and  a troy  ounce,  a grain  and  a minim  ? 
Mr.  Warnerke  obviously  does  not  fully  recognise  the  difference 
between  the  mode  of  division  of  the  ounce  and  that  of  the 
fluid  ounce. 

We  never  said  that  the  metric  system  was  exclusively  used 
for  scientific  purposes,  because  that  would  not  be  true.  In 
certain  branches  of  applied  science  the  English  units  are 
constantly  used. 

We  are  charged  with  throwing  a gratuitous  insult  at  the 
heads  of  thousands  by  stating  that  photographers  are  not 
intelligent  enough  to  understand  the  metric  system  ! We 
never  said  anything  of  the  kind.  We  did  state  that  “ a 
knowledge  of  decimals  sufficient  to  enable  a decimal  system  to 
be  used  easily  and  accurately  is  by  no  means  so  widely 
diffused  as  is  desirable,”  but  that  is  a very  different  thing 
from  what  we  are  asserted  to  have  said.  The  statement  is 
unfortunately  quite  true  ; we  did  not  make  it  without  first 
being  sure  that  it  was  iu  accordance  with  the  facts  ; and  wo 
did  not  limit  it  to  photographers,  because  it  applies  to  all  sorts 
and  conditions  of  men. 

We  are  also  charged  with  trying  to  impose  on  photographers 
two  systems  of  weights  and  measures,  “ the  metric,  and  a 
modified  one,  iu  which  ounces  and  grains  differ  from  the  old 
ones  (they  are  divided  into  decimal  parts)  forgetting  that 
‘ photographers  do  not  possess  the  knowledge  of  decimals 
sufficient  to  enable  a decimal  system  to  be  used  easily  and 
accurately.’  ” In  the  first  place,  Mr.  Warnerke  puts  between 
inverted  commas,  and  passes  off  as  a sentence  from  our  report, 
a statement  which  does  not  occur  in  it  at  all.  In  the  second 
place,  the  ounces  and  grains  which  we  speak  of  are  not  new  ; 
they  are  the  same  ounces  and  grains  that  we  have  been  using 
for  years  and  years.  Neither  is  the  use  of  decimal  parts  of 
grains  aud  ounces  in  any  way  a novelty  ; it  has  been  the 
practice  in  many  chemical  laboratories,  and  with  some  photo- 
graphers for  a long  time.  Surely  Mr.  Warnerke  does  not 
share  the  common  misbelief  that  a decimal  system  is  in- 
separable from  the  metric  system,  aud  that  metric  units  are 
the  only  units  which  can  be  or  are  used  decimally  ? Finally,  in 


July  18,  1890.J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


5C3 


this  connection,  we  make  no  attempt  to  impose  any  units  on 
anybody  ; we  recommend  no  new  units.  We  do  recommend 
that  certain  sub-units  in  fluid  measure  should  not  be  employed  ; 
and  we  endeavour  to  show  how  well  established  and  familiar 
units  can  be  used  in  the  simplest  and  most  intelligible  manner. 

Mr.  Warnerke’s  grievance  against  us,  obviously,  is  that  we 
did  not  insist  on  the  adoption  of  the  metric  system  pure  and 
simple.  Several  of  us,  like  many  other  scientific  men,  whilst  fully 
recognising  the  advantages  of  a decimal  system,  are  by  no 
means  so  enamoured  of  the  metric  units  as  Mr.  Warnerke 
seems  to  be.  The  committee  endeavoured  to  recommend  a 
scheme  which  should,  in  the  first  place,  be  practicable,  and  in 
the  second,  likely  to  secure  general  adoption. 

We  regard  our  recommendations  relating  to  formula;  as  the 
most  important  part  of  our  report.  It  seemed  to  us  to  be 
undesirable  to  insist  upon  the  adoption  of  auy  particular  units, 
and  it  is  quite  of  secondary  importance  whether  any  individual 
chooses  to  use  in  his  own  practice  ounces,  or  grains,  or 
grammes,  so  long  as  his  units  satisfy  the  condition  of  relation 
between  weight  and  measure  which  we  specify,  and  provided 
always  that  he  expresses  his  quantities  or  formula;  in  “ parts” 
when  he  wishes  to  communicate  them  to  others.  The  fact 
that  our  recommendations  as  to  formula;  are  quite  independent 
of  the  particular  units  employed  seemed  to  us  to  be  one  of 
their  strongest  claims  to  general  favour  and  acceptance. 

The  whole  of  the  concluding  and  longest  paragraph  of 
Mr.  Warnerke's  letter  has  very  little  bearing  on  the  question 
under  discussion  ; it  certainly  has  no  foundation  on  anything 
contained  in  the  report  of  the  Convention  committee. 

C.  H.  Bothamley. 


AX  KLECTROSCOPIC  MIRROR. 

Sir, — An  experimenter  has  seen  occasion  to  arrive  at  the 
conclusion  that,  under  certain  attainable  conditions,  and  by  the 
employment  of  a conducting  wire  of  a selected  metal — the 
same  to  be  flattened  out  at  each  end  into  a highly-polished 
mirror-surface — it  becomes  possible  to  transmit  to  a distant 
station  the  perfect  image  of  any  face,  picture,  or  document 
thrown,  under  a proper  arrangement  of  light,  upon  the  trans- 
mitter. This  may,  possibly,  be  true  ; but  it  remains  to  be 
demonstrated.  . 

Clifton. 

[Because  of  a pen  'il  n >Ie  oi  the  original,  wc  are  not  sure  whe- 
ther the  writer  intenled  this  to  be  published  with  his  name 
attached,  s;  omit  his  na  ne.— Ed.] 


EALIXG  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY. 

Sir, — A meeting  of  the  above  Society  will  be  held  at 
the  Victoria  Hall,  Ealing,  on  Thursday,  the  24th  inst.,  at 
8 p.m.,  to  appro\e  the  rules,  enrol  members,  and  elect  officers 
for  the  year.  I am  instructed  by  the  provisional  committee 
to  invite  the  attentance  on  that  occasion  of  all  those  who  are 
interested  in  the  subject.  H.  W.  Peal. 

2,  Craven  Terrace,  Ealing,  IF.,  July  loth. 


lavoccctitnsja:  of  Soricttts. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  weekly  meeting  on  the  10th  inst.  Mr.  T.  E.  Fresh- 
water occupied  the  chair. 

Details  of  a lantern  slide  competition  to  be  held  during  the 
lantern  season  were  discussed.  It  was  decided  that  the  con- 
ditions of  the  competition  should  be  similar  to  those  of  the  last 
one  held,  three  negatives  to  be  selected,  each  competitor  to  have 
them  in  turn.  The  slides  may  be  made  by  any  process,  one 
set  of  slides  from  each  competitor  to  be  an  exact  reproduc- 
tion of  the  negative,  without  dodging,  or  masking,  or  addition 
of  skies. 

At  the  request  of  the  members,  Mr.  A.  Cowan  promised  to 
bring  some  quarter-plate  negatives  to  the  next  meeting  for 
selection. 

A member  said  that  after  toning,  fixing,  and  washing  prints  on 
gelatine  paper,  in  some  instances  the  surface  of  the  prints  be- 
came very  tacky,  and  if  touched  a part  of  the  image  would 
adhere  to  the  fingers.  Could  any  member  state  the  cause  of 
this  ? 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  suggested  as  a remedy  putting  the  prints  in 
an  alum  bath  for  a short  time. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Hastings  showed  two  prints  on  Hardcastle’s 
platinum  paper  printed  out. 

Replying  to  a query  whether  drying  negatives  with  alcohol 
increased  their  density,  Mr.  J.  J.  Briginshaw  said  that  some 
time  ago  Mr.  A.  L.  Henderson  showed  some  results  of  experi- 
ments he  had  made,  which  proved  the  affirmative. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  said  drying  negatives  quickly  with 
heat  would  have  a tendency  to  increase  their  density. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Harrison  described  a simple  photo-mechanical 
process  for  printing  coloured  designs.  Orthocliromatic  plates 
are  used,  and  an  exposure  made  to  suit  each  colour  ; the 
remainder  of  the  design  on  each  i>late  is  then  blocked  out  and 
the  negative  printed  on  a collotype  plate.  A separate  plate  is 
used  for  each  colour  in  the  design. 

The  subject  for  discussion  on  the  24th  will  be  “ Printing 
through  Coloured  Media.” 


Photographers’  Benevolent  Association. 

A committee  meeting  was  held  at  4,  Great  James’  Street,  Bed- 
ford Row,  on  the  11th  inst.,  Mr.  \V.  Bedford  chairman.  Messrs. 
R.  P.  Drage,  G.  C.  Audsley,  and  P.  J.  W.  Wapp  were  elected 
members.  Votes  of  thanks  were  passed  to  the  Mayor  of 
Chester  for  allowing  the  boxes  to  be  placed  in  the  Town  Hall, 
also  to  Mr.  Briginshaw  for  his  kind  help.  A vote  of  condolence 
to  Mrs.  T.  J.  Collins  was  passed  on  the  death  of  her  husband, 
who  had  always  been  to  the  fore  in  helping  the  Association,  of 
which  he  was  the  deputy-chairman.  The  money  collected  at 
the  convention  was  £2  Is.  7|d.  The  committee  trust  that 
employers  requiring  assistants  will  write  to  the  hon.  sec.,  as 
there  are  numerous  persons  on  the  books  requiring  situations. 


German  Amateurs. — A German  amateur  states  that  he  has 
made  excellent  portrait  photographs  in  his  garden,  even  in 
high  winds  and  on  rainy  days,  by  using  a large  white  umbrella, 
such  as  is  used  in  out-door  sketching,  to  control  the  light  and 
act  as  a curtain.  He  also  uses  a reflecting-screen  made  of 
light  muslin,  stretched  upon  a rigid  wooden  frame.  One  of 
the  worst  stories  yet  of  the  budding  amateur  is  told  by  a 
German  journal.  The  youth  in  question  wanted  some  9 by  12 
cm.  plates.  The  dealer  to  whom  lie  went,  having  none  in  stock, 
gave  him  a package  of  the  next  larger  size,  telling  him  he 
could  cut  them  down  to  suit — this,  by  the  way,  is  also  some- 
what characteristic.  The  amateur  forthwith  went  off  to  a 
neighbouring  glazier’s  shop,  unwrapped  his  plates,  and  had 
them  cut  down  to  the  proper  dimensions  in  the  ordinary  day- 
light of  the  shop.  He  then  repacked  them,  took  them  home, 
and  filled  his  plate-holders  in  his  dark  room.  Strange  to  say, 
those  plates  turned  out  almost  the  worst  cases  of  fog  he  had 
ever  seen. — Wdson's  Photographic  Magazine. 


Croydon  Camera  Club. 

On  Thursday,  July  10th,  a meeting  was  held  at  the  Public 
Hall,  Mr.  G.  R.  White  in  the  chair.  A vote  of  thanks  was 
accorded  to  Mr.  A.  H.  Smee  for  allowing  the  members  to  have 
an  excursion  to  his  estate  at  Wallington. 

The  Secretary  read  a financial  statement  showing  that  the 
affairs  of  this  young  Club  are  in  a highly  satisfactory  condition. 

Mr.  I)e  Clf.rcq  notified  the  council’s  views  and  decision  in 
reference  to  acquiring  a permanent  home  for  the  C.  C.  C. 
From  his  statement  it  appeared  that  the  council  had  in  con- 
templation the  acquisition  of  premises  situated  at  56,  George 
Street,  Croydon,  as  being  in  every  way  suitable  for  the  pur- 
pose. 

The  Secretary  proposed  and  Mr.  Cheshire  seconded  a 
resolution  approving  the  decision  of  the  council.  After  a few 
remarks  in  favour  of  the  scheme  by  Mr.  Alfred  Underhill, 
the  assistant  secretary,  the  resolution  was  carried  unanimously, 
and  the  Secretary  was  authorised  to  call  a special  general 
meeting  on  July  16th  to  take  possession  of  the  rooms. 

The  premises  consist  of  one  large  room  which  will  be  used 


564 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  18,  1890. 


as  a club  room  for  meetings,  demonstrations,  and  lantern 
exhibitions  ; there  are  two  smaller  rooms,  one  of  which  will 
be  used  as  a store  room,  and  the  other  as  a dark  room  fitted  with 
every  convenience  and  appliance.  The  council  will  allow  the 
club  to  be  used  by  tourists,  cyclists,  and  others. 

The  assistant  secretary  (Mr.  A.  Underhill,  23a,  Clarendon 
Road,  Croydon)  will  be  glad  to  receive  the  names  of  candi- 
dates who  intend  joining,  or  to  give  any  required  information. 


Hackney  Photographic  Society. 

The  ordinary  meeting  was  held  on  Thursday,  July  10th,  at 
Morley  Hall ; the  chair  was  occupied  by  Mr.  C.  F.  Hodges. 

The  Secretary  reminded  members  that  the  monthly  outing 
would  be  on  the  19th,  that  a competition  would  be  held 
in  November,  and  that  Messrs.  H.  P.  Robinson  and  J.  Traill 
Taylor  had  consented  to  act  as  judges. 

Mr.  Carpenter  handed  round  some  negatives  which  had 
holes  in  the  films. 

Mr.  Acres  said  that  they  were  air-bells,  arising  in  development. 

Mr.  Hodges  said  he  had  found  that  with  rapid  exposures  he 
was  troubled  with  them. 

Mr.  Acres  said  that  it  was  through  the  developer  being  too 
strong. 

Mr.  Birt  Acres  then  read  a paper  on  “ Exposure  and 
Development.”  He  said  that  he  did  not  altogether  agree  with 
exposure  tables,  and  explained  that  exposures  varied,  and  gave 
as  an  example  the  angle  of  45°,  when  the  exposure  would  be 
increased  one  half,  and  if  at  right  angles  it  would  be  trebled. 
The  lecturer  advocated  the  backing  of  plates  with  either  burnt 
sienna  or  Bates’  black.  He  preferred  dull  weather  when  pho- 
tographing on  glass.  Some  people  complained  of  not  being  able 
to  develop  isochromatic  plates  through  their  foggging  by  red 
light.  Mr.  Acres  said  the  fogging  was  generally  caused  when 
the  plate  was  held  up  to  the  light.  He  made  two  very  inte- 
resting experiments,  one  of  which  was  as  follows  : Taking  an 
isochromatic  plate,  he  made  a positive  by  exposing  the  negative 
for  thirty  seconds  to  the  ruby  light  of  the  screened  candle  ; the 
result  was  an  exposure.  The  other  experiment  was  that  the 
development  was  carried  on  by  white  light,  the  only  change 
being  that  he  held  the  developing  dish  above  the  light.  There 
was  no  fogging  with  either  of  these  plates. 

Various  questions  were  asked  by  Messrs.  Hodges,  Hensler, 
Capel,  Poulson,  and  the  Secretary,  to  which  Mr.  Acres  said 
that  some  makers  would  back  their  plates  if  a sufficient  number 
were  ordered,  that  plites  ranged  generally  from  16  to  25  on 
the  sensitometer,  and  that  he  preferred  as  large  a stop  as 
compatible  with  good  definition. 

Dr.  Lif.segang,  in  Photo.  Archiv,  states  that  he  has  utilised 
the  known  fact  that  the  sensitiveness  of  silver  salts  is  affected 
by  pressure  in  making  prints.  Any  relief,  such  as  a Woodbury- 
type  on  glass,  is  pressed  upon  the  paper  under  a sheet  of  glass. 
Naturally  the  highest  parts  of  the  relief  make  the  strongest 
impression,  the  paper  under  them  becomes  less  sensitive,  and 
on  exposure  to  light  a negative  of  the  subject  is  obtained. 

Flash-Powder. — We  learn  from  our  exchanges  that  a new 
flash-powder  has  been  worked  out  by  Dr.  James  Taylor,  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  which  is  obtained 
from  the  down  of  the  milk  weed  converted  into  charcoal,  and 
which  is  said  to  be  almost  entirely  free  from  ash,  and  to  burn 
with  a remarkable  freedom  and  rapidity,  and  it  is  expected 
that  this  new  substance  may  largely  supersede  many  of  the 
dangerous  flash  compounds  now  in  use. — Anthony’s  Bulletin. 

Received. — The  first  number  of  “The  Gentlewoman,”  an 
illustrated  journal.  Under  the  heading  “ Art  and  Artists,” 
is  chronicled  what  is  called  “ another  artistic  advance  in  photo- 
graphy,” and  the  following  are  the  terms  in  which  it  is  spoken 
of: — “Mr.  Vanderweyde  is  now  producing  what  he  terms 
‘Diaphanous  Effects’  in  his  new  daylight  studio,  which  apart- 
ment is  built  on  entirely  new  principles  as  an  addition  to  his 
famous  electric  light  studios  in  Regent  Street.  Mr.  Vander- 
weyde secures,  under  the  most  novel  conditions  of  lighting  by 
means  of  patented  appliances,  a subtle  atmospheric  and  truly 
diaphanous  effect  never  before  attained.  The  results  are 
extremely  beautiful  and  artistic,  and  this  new  invention  lends 
tself  most  delightfully  to  portraits  of  ladies  and  children.” 


. k/v  •'  vuyg. » 

to  ©omtfponBentg. 

All  Communications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Photographic  News,  5,  Furnival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Ur.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

All  Advertisements  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London. 


W.  D.  B.  — Preparation  of  the  Nitrate  from  Old  Silver.  There 
are  two  methods  of  working  : either  to  evaporate  the  mixed 
nitrates  to  dryness,  and  heat  to  incipient  fusion,  whereby 
the  copper  salt  becomes  decomposed,  and  converted  into  the 
insoluble  black  oxide  ; or  throw  down  the  silver  as  chloride, 
wash  until  free  from  copper,  and  reduce  to  pure  metal  by 
fusing  the  dried  chloride  with  three  times  its  weight  of  dry 
carbonate  of  soda.  If  you  intend  to  use  the  nitrate  of  silver 
only  for  printing,  the  first  plan  will  be  found  to  answer  ; 
but,  for  the  better  purposes,  it  is  always  safer  to  go  the 
length  of  purifying  the  silver  in  the  way  mentioned,  and 
then  dissolve  this  again  in  pure  nitric  acid. 

E.  0.  C.  (Boston,  U.S.A.). — The  Photogravure  Process.  Dr. 
Gunther,  in  his  letter  of  the  20th  of  June,  was  merely 
quoting  from  the  two  German  periodicals,  Deutsche  Photo- 
graphen  Zeitung  (Berlin),  and  Photographische  Correspondent 
(Vienna),  the  first  containing  a practical  article  by  E.  Kiewning, 
and  the  latter  one  by  Rudolf  Maschek.  Both  of  these 
separate  numbers  can  be  obtained  by  applying  to  their 
respective  publishers.  Mr.  W.  T.  Wilkinson’s  manual  is 
out  of  print  just  now  ; enquire  of  Messrs.  England  Brothers, 
Charles  Street.  Notting  Hill,  London,  W.,  for  a new  edition 
is  said  to  be  in  the  press  ; but  a brief  report  of  Mr.  Wilkin- 
son’s mode  of  working  the  photogravure  process  was  published 
in  the  News  of  March  28th  last,  page  237. 

G.  F.  W.  (Erith). — Alpha  Paper  Developer.  Without  ex- 
perimental trial  it  is  difficult  to  give  an  eikonogen  equivalent 
for  the  ferrous  oxalate  developer  you  now  use.  You  speak 
of  the  “complication”  of  formula;  in  cubic  centimetres  and 
grammes,  but  nothing  can  be  simpler,  remembering  that  one 
c.c.  of  water  weighs  a gramme.  Take  them  as  parts  or 
units  by  weight  and  measure,  and  then  all  will  go  right, 
whether  the  English  or  Continental  system  be  adopted. 

J.  W.  (Leeds). — Seed’s  Developer  for  Dry  Plates.  This  was 
given  in  the  News  of  March  15th,  1889,  top  of  page  170, 
as  follows  : — 

No.  1. — Sulphite  of  soda 
Water 

No.  2. — Carbonate  of  soda  ... 

Water 

Normal  developer,  No.  1,  If  ounce  ; No.  2, 
dry,  4 grains. 

H.  H.  B. — (Reading). — Toning  of  Aristotype  Paper.  Your 
difficulties  are  increased  by  the  unscientific  practice  of 
toning  and  fixing  in  the  same  bath.  Why  not  separate  these 
processes,  using  a borax  or  sulpho-cyanide  toning  bath,  and 
fixing  with  hypo  as  usual  ? We  have  heard  several  com- 
plaints of  late  about  the  muddy  tones  given  by  some  samples 
of  this  paper,  but  treated  as  proposed  the  defects  may  lie 
to  a considerable  extent  obviated.  See  Mr.  H.  0.  Hughes’s 
article  in  the  Year-Book,  page  111. 

L.  N. — Fixing  Prints  with  Chloride  of  Magnesium.  The 
strength  of  solution  does  not  appear  to  be  a matter  of  very 
great  consequence,  provided  that  enough  is  employed  to 
dissolve  out  all  the  chloride  of  silver.  We  have  searched  the 
journals  for  several  months  without  finding  any  specific 
formula  for  a fixing  bath  made  with  this  new  agent. 
Probably  two  baths  in  succession  would  be  best. 

M.  P.  S. — Judges  at  the  Forthcoming  Exhibition.  From  the 
list  of  persons  nominated,  we  were  led  to  infer  that  the  Royal 
Academicians  would  be  in  the  majoiity  ; but  with  Mr.  Henry 
Moore  in  association  with  six  of  the  most  talented  art- 
photographers  of  the  day,  we  may  still  say  that  it  would  be 
impossible  to  empanel  a better  jury, 


1 ounce 
8 ounces 
1 ounce 
8 ounces 
ounce  ; pyro, 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


jJ  v<  \ U 
1 

\ *2  V • 

vO’i-'T  * / 

CONTENTS. 


PAOK 

Permanent  Historical  Photographs 565 

Photographic  Orumblers 566 

Indian  Notes.  By  Col.  J.  Waterhouse,  B.8.C 567 

Flexible  Supports  for  Photographic  Films.  By  J.  S.  Fairfax  569 

Notices  of  Books  570 

The  “ Crotonwanze  ” Once  More  571 

Photography  in  Criminal  Jurisprudence.  By  Julius  F.  Sachse  572 

The  American  Photographic  Convention 573 

Notes 574 


TkOi 


The  Glow  of  Phosphorus.  By  Professor  T.  E.  Thorpe,  F.R.8.  576 

Stops  or  Diaphragms.  By  Ellerslie  Wallace  577 

Photography  in  Germany.  By  Hermann  E.  Gunther 578 

The  Photographic  Image.  By  Professor  Raphael  Meldola, 

F.R.8.,  M.R.1 680 

Patent  Intelligence  581 

Correspondence 583 

Proceedings  of  Societies 583 

Answers  to  Correspondents  584 


PERMANENT  HISTORICAL  THOTOGRAPHS. 
The  production  of  small  photographs  for  historical 
purposes  in  such  a manner  that  they  are  likely  to  resist 
the  attacks  of  deteriorating  influences  for  centuries,  is 
a problem  which  well  deserves  the  attention  of  the 
photographic  world.  Many  years  ago  we  gave  a con- 
siderable amount  of  attention  to  the  problem,  and 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  one  good  method  was  to 
cement  with  heat  a collodion  transparency  between 
two  plates  of  glass,  by  means  of  a resinous  substance 
not  likely  to  crack  or  otherwise  deteriorate  with  lapse 
of  time.  In  short,  the  id  ■ i was  to  preserve  the 
photographic  film  like  a fly  in  amber,  and  between  two 
sheets  of  glass.  The  insects  found  in  amber  lived  ages 
ago,  and  most  of  them  belong  to  now  extinct  species. 
In  those  early  times  many  an  unfortunate  insect, 
while  crawling  upon  a hot  day  beneath  the  shade  of 
certain  pine  trees,  particularly  the  pinites  mccinifer, 
found  itself  entombed  for  ever  in  a mass  of  resin 
which  had  fallen  from  above  as  an  exudation  from  the 
tree.  The  essential  oil  in  the  resin  slowly  evaporated  in 
course  of  time,  the  resin  itself  hardened  correspond- 
ingly, and  the  body  of  the  insect  became  so  protected 
from  the  ravages  of  time  as  to  be  preserved  through 
geological  periods. 

On  this  principle  we  once  set  to  work  to  make  a kind 
of  artificial  amber  so  far  as  properties  were  concerned, 
that  is  to  say,  a transparent,  resinous  cement,  free  from 
volatile  oil.  A sample  of  pure  and  old  Canada  balsam 
was  taken,  and  placed  for  several  days  in  an  oven  with 
the  door  open,  to  slowly  drive  off  the  essential  oil 
without  the  application  of  much  heat ; it  was  stirred 
occasionally  during  the  operation.  Afterwards  a few 
drops  of  castor  oil  were  added  to  the  melted  balsam, 
and  well  stirred  in  ; care  was  taken  not  to  add  too 
much  castor  oil,  otherwise  the  mixture  would  not  have 
become  sufficiently  hard  when  cold.  When  the  pro- 
portions— which  must  be  discovered  by  the  system  of 
trial  and  error — are  nicely  adjusted,  the  mixture  when 
cold  is  somewhat  tough,  and  not  so  brittle  as  amber. 


Castor  oil  is  not  a volatile  oil,  and  may  almost  be 
classed  with  the  drying  oils,  for  after  the  lapse  of  great 
length  of  time  a thin  layer  of  it  will  dry  into  a film. 
The  mixture  just  described  is  virtually  a tough  resin, 
practically  free  from  volatile  matter. 

A plate  of  iron,  with  short,  firm  legs  and  some  minute 
gas  jets  a little  below  it,  was  then  taken,  and  some 
sheets  of  smooth  blotting-paper  laid  thereon,  so  that 
the  transparency  should  not  come  into  direct  contact 
with  the  hot  iron.  The  heat  was  regulated  by  means 
of  small  taps  governing  the  gas  flames ; too  much  heat 
discoloured  the  resinous  mixture,  and  gave  the  trans- 
parencies a yellow  tinge.  The  transparency  was  laid 
face  upwards  on  the  blotting-paper,  and  when  it  became 
sufficiently  hot  some  of  the  melted  prepared  balsam 
was  dropped  upon  it;  the  warmed  covering  glass  was 
theD  laid  upon  the  balsam,  and  the  excess  of  the  latter 
worked  out  at  the  edges  of  the  two  plates  by  means  of 
thickly  gloved  fingers.  Air  bubbles  were  troublesome, 
but  with  patience  could  be  worked  out ; this  was  all 
the  more  practicable  because  plates  larger  than  the 
lantern  slide  size  were  not  employed.  Uneven  glass 
was  troublesome  and  sometimes  useless  for  the  purpose ; 
patent  plate,  or  other  glass  with  a truly  plane  surface, 
should  alone  be  used. 

The  hot  iron  arrangement  was  not  a good  one  for 
working  always  at  uniform  temperature,  or  for  yielding 
a steady  heat.  A better  plan  would  be  to  use  a brazed 
rectangular  vessel  of  copper,  filled  with  olive  oil  and 
with  gas  jets  beneath  ; a thermometer  with  its  stem 
projecting  from  the  oil  bath  would  serve  as  a guide  to 
the  temperature,  and  the  manipulations  should  be  per- 
formed on  the  upper  copper  surface  of  the  bath. 

The  operations  already  described  were  performed  by 
us  about  a quarter  of  a century  ago,  in  the  old  col- 
lodion days,  and  the  various  portraits — heads  and  busts 
only — thus  preserved  were  altogether  unchanged,  so 
far  as  memory  could  be  trusted,  when  wc  saw  them 
last,  upon  turning  out  the  contents  of  an  old  box  a 
year  or  two  back.  One  of  the  portraits  thus  preserved 
was  that  of  Faraday,  and  it  is  probably  the  most  life- 


566 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  25,  1890. 


like  and  interesting  one  of  him  at  present  in  existence  ; 
another  was  a likeness — and  not  a flattering  one — of 
Professor  Tyndall.  The  two  collodion  transparencies 
were  originally  obtained  from  two  professional  photo- 
graphers, who  furnished  them  to  us  at  the  request  of 
Professor  Tyndall. 

When  Mr.  York  photographed  the  last  of  the 
quaggas,  little  did  he  think  that  he  was  earning 
immortality  for  his  name,  and  causing  it  to  be  em- 
blazoned for  ever  in  the  annals  of  zoological  science, 
just  as  would  have  been  the  case  with  another  man 
had  that  other  person  been  the  only  one  to  photograph 
the  last  living  dodo.  Mr.  York  has  five  negatives  of 
the  quagga,  and  it  is  desirable  that  positives  from 
them  should  be  made  as  soon  and  as  perfectly  as  pos- 
sible by  the  most  permanent  process  available,  and  one 
yielding  abundance  of  delicate  detail.  On  considering 
these  points,  it  will  be  seen  that  much  is  to  be  said  in 
favour  of  the  method  just  described,  and  that  it  is  one 
which  deserves  the  attention  of  the  historian  and  the 
antiquarian. 

Some  microscopic  slides  cemented  with  Canada  bal- 
sam are  found  to  lose  their  covering  glasses  by  the 
balsam  hardening  and  allowing  the  glasses  to  chip  off. 
The  process  of  cementing  lenses,  photographs,  and  so 
on  by  means  of  Canada  balsam  and  castor  oil  is  as  old 
as  the  hills,  and  we  are  told  that  the  ready-prepared 
transparent  cement  can  be  had  in  the  market.  For 
historical  purposes,  however,  it  is  essential  that  the 
photographer  shall  conscientiously  make  the  cement 
himself  at  the  lowest  suitable  temperature  from  the 
best  materials,  and  shall  take  care  that  all  the  volatile 
oil  has  been  driven  off ; ho  must  also  take  care  that 
enough  castor  oil  is  employed  to  guard  against  an 
adverse  amount  of  brittleness.  The  arborescent  mark- 
ings which  sometimes  appear  between  cemented  lenses 
are  due  to  a residuum  of  volatile  oil  in  the  cement 
used,  which  oil  evaporates  in  course  of  time  after  the 
cementing. 

The  Convention  at  Washington. — The  Photographers’ 
Association  of  America  will  hold  its  annual  convention  at  the 
Smithsonian  Institute,  Washington,  August  12th  to  15th  in- 
clusive. The  grand  prize  is  offered  for  the  best  print  from  a 
negative  suggested  by  Tennyson’s  “Enoch  Arden.”  During 
the  convention  week  the  memorial  to  Daguerre  will  be  unveiled. 

Matting  Lantern  Slides. — A trustworthy  universal  form 
for  cutting  out  openings  of  various  sizes  and  shapes  in  slide 
mats  is  still  a desideratum,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  there 
are  one  or  two  mat-trimmers  in  the  market.  Without  wishing 
to  reflect  upon  their  usefulness,  we  may  express  the  wish  that 
some  ingenious  amateur  would  give  us  some  better  way.  A 
fairly  satisfactory  method  is  to  keep  a stock  of  strips  of  thin 
black  paper  of  various  widths,  and  to  gum  these  to  the  face  of 
the  slide  as  the  subject  may  require,  care  being  taken  to  make 
perfectly  square  corners.  Another  method,  which  does  away 
with  the  square  corners,  objectionable  to  many,  is  to  cut  a 
piece  of  thin,  hard  card- board  to  the  size  and  shape  of  the 
opening,  and  bend  it  over  squarely  across  the  middle.  The 
mat  paper  is  cut  to  size,  folded  across  the  middle,  and  placed 
between  the  two  halves  of  the  doubled  card-board,  which  acts 
as  a clamp.  The  opening  is  easily  cut  out  with  a pair  of  sharp 
scissors.  Cards  of  various  sizes  aud  shapes  are  easily  made,  or 
thiu  sheet  brass  may  be  used. — American  Amateur  Photo- 
grapher, 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  GRUMBLERS. 

Tiiehe  arc  some  men  who  are  never  content  with  their 
surroundings,  and  seem  to  have  a notion  that  their 
fellow- creatures,  and  the  universe  generally,  are  in 
conspiracy  against  them,  in  order  to  render  all  their 
schemes  abortive.  It  is,  of  course,  natural  that  photo- 
graphy should  have  among  its  votaries  a few  men  of 
this  kind,  although  it  is  a misfortune  to  them  that 
they  ever  undertook  the  business  or  pastime  of  picture- 
making with  a camera ; for  this  art  of  ours  is  full  of 
pitfalls  and  quicksands  of  trouble  and  disappointment, 
and  unless  the  worker  be  of  easy  temperament  he  will 
most  surely  quarrel  with  it,  and  attribute  his  want  of 
success  to  everything  but  the  true  cause. 

It  so  happened  that  a few  weeks  ago  we  had  the 
opportunity  of  spending  some  time  in  the  company  of 
one  of  these  grumblers,  and  we  were  certainly  amused 
at  the  way  in  which  he  met  every  little  trivial 
occurrence  as  if  it  were  a foregone  conclusion,  and 
one  which  had  been  especially  prepared  for  his  discom- 
fiture. We  reminded  him  of  the  well-known  lines  : — 

“The  best  laid  scheme  o’  mice  and  men 
Gang  aft  a-gley,” 

and  told  him  that  it  was  silly  to  make  so  much  of  trivial 
misfortunes;  but  he  replied  in  a despondent  tone,  and 
although  he  did  not  actually  say  that 

“ From  childhood’s  hour 
I’ve  seen  my  fondest  hopes  decay,” 

he  looked  it,  and  evidently  meant  it.  As  there  may  be 
others  among  our  photographic  friends  who  occasionally 
allow  despondent  thoughts  (and  their  livers)  to  get  the 
better  of  them,  we  have  thought  it  worth  while  to  dot 
down  some  of  the  complaints  of  our  dyspeptic  friend, 
in  order  that  they  may  see  how  ridiculous  such  com- 
plaints appear  to  be  when  “ made  a note  of.” 

The  weather  naturally  furnishes  the  greatest  amount 
of  matter  for  grumbling  about,  and  if  our  friend  had 
confined  his  vituperations  to  this  terrible  month  of 
July,  we  could  not  but  sympathise  with  him.  But  he 
has  quarrelled  with  the  weather  ever  since  he  began 
to  photograph  ; indeed,  some  of  his  acquaintances  go 
so  far  as  to  say  that  he  took  up  the  art  in  order  to 
enlarge  his  opportunities  for  grumbling  at  the  elements. 
If  the  sun  shines  brilliantly  and  it  is  seasonably  hot, 
he  will  tell  you  that  he  had  set  apart  this  very  day  for 
sensitising  carbon  tissue,  or  for  making  gelatine  emul- 
sion, or  for  doing  something  else  where  cooluess  was 
required.  Or  he  will  tell  you  endless  stories  of  how 
he  went  to  a particular  place  to  take  a certain  photo- 
graph with  an  ash  tree  or  a birch  tree  in  the  foreground, 
aud  how  that  particular  tree  could  only  be  taken  in 
the  absence  of  wind  ; how  he  had  chosen  a muggy, 
sultry  day  for  his  work,  and  how  a gale  sprang  up 
directly  he  put  up  his  tripod  on  the  spot.  “Just  like  my 
luck,”  he  always  says  at  the  end  of  one  of  these 
painful  narratives.  “ If  I were  a farmer,”  he  told  us, 
“ and  my  crops  needed  rain,  I shouldn’t  worry  myself 
at  all.  I should  arrange  to  print  a few  photographs, 
for  I am  certain  that  directly  I got  out  my  frames, 


July  25,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


567 


and  prepared  for  a good  day’s  work,  the  rain  would 
come  down  in  torrents ; it  always  does  whenever  I want 
to  print.”  He  also  tells  a remarkable  story  of  returning 
home  from  a morning’s  work  in  the  open  country,  and 
coming  upon  a wonderful  group  of  cattle  standing 
knee  deep  in  a river,  and  forming  a most  perfect  picture. 
The  animals  were  motionless,  and  he  had  everything  in 
his  favour  for  taking  a fine  picture.  He  had  only  one 
plate  left  unexposcd,  and  that  he  was  to  use  for  this 
splendid  work  of  art.  Gold  and  silver  medals  already 
dangled  in  imagination  before  his  eyes,  and  this  picture 
he  was  determined  should  be  the  picture  of  the  season. 
He  focussed  with  extra  care,  and  made  his  exposure, 
but  only  just  in  time,  for  the  cattle  presently  moved 
out  of  the  water.  Packing  up  his  camera,  he  made 
the  disgusting  discovery  that  he  had  never  drawn  the 
shutter  of  the  dark  slide.  He,  of  course,  does  not 
attribute  this  accident  to  any  fault  of  his  own,  but  to 
some  persistent  fiies  which  would  swarm  round  his 
head  while  he  was  focussing  the  picture.  He  is  not  a 
very  pleasant  companion  to  go  out  photographing  with, 
because  if  you  make  a remark,  or  sneeze,  or  cough,  and 
he  happens  at  the  moment  to  expose  a plate  a second 
time,  he  blames  you  as  much  for  the  loss  of  his  two 
pictures  as  if  you  had  caused  him  to  sacrifice  as  many 
bank  notes. 

But  it  is  in  the  dim  obscurity  of  his  dark  room  that 
this  grumbling  friend  of  ours  is  seen,  or  rather  heard,  at 
his  best.  If  a picture  is  over  or  under-exposed,  or  if 
no  developer  or  combination  of  developers  will  bring 
out  any  trace  of  an  image — and  this  is  often  the  case 
with  our  friend — there  is  heard  through  the  door  sounds 
of  quarrelling,  which  gener.I'  v finish  up  with  a smash- 
ing of  crockery.  It  is  only  our  friend  grumbling  at 
his  results,  and  smashing  his  plates  by  way  of 
emphasizing  his  disgust.  The  storm  for  the  moment 
appears  to  have  past,  but  presently  you  will  see  our  friend 
emerge  from  his  dark-room  with  a frowning  expression 
of  determination  upon  his  face.  He  makes  for  the 
nearest  table,  sits  down,  and  writes  a letter  to  the 
unfortunate  plate-makers  of  such  a character  that  they 
would  be  fully  justified  in  bringing  an  action  against 
him  for  slander,  if  they  cared  to  do  so.  On  one 
occasion  this  dyspeptic  individual  bought,  on  the 
recommendation  of  a friend,  a new  changing-box,  aud 
on  the  first  occasion  of  using  it  returned  without  it. 
Upon  asking  what  had  become  of  it,  he  acknowledged 
that  one  of  the  plates  having  stuck  in  it,  he  had  been 
so  exasperated  that  he  threw  the  box  down  in  the  road 
and  jumped  upon  it.  The  jumping  he  owned  had  not 
cured  the  evil — but  had  smashed  the  apparatus  to 
splinters.  Our  friend’s  experiences  of  toning  silver 
prints  are  too  sad  for  description,  neither  will  we 
harrow  the  feelings  of  our  readers  by  telling  them 
more  of  the  many  difficulties  which  beset  him.  We 
endeavoured  lately  to  point  out  delicately  to  him  that 
some  at  least  of  these  evils  are  of  his  own  creation,  and 
may  possibly  be  traced  to  an  abnormal  condition  of  his  [ 
digestive  organs.  He  differed  with  us,  and  we  have 
not  been  on  speaking  terms  since. 


INDIAN  NOTES. 

BV  COLONEL  J.  WATERHOUSE,  B.S.C.,  ASSISTANT-SURVEYOR- 
GENERAL  OF  INDIA. 

Eikonogen  Developer  for  Bromide  Prints  and  Enlargements. 
— The  following  developer,  given  in  Eder’s  last  Jahrbuch 
by  Dr.  Just,  as  Dr.  Krugener’s,  has  been  found  to  answer 
well  for  bromide  paper  enlargements.  In  20  ounces  (or 
600  c.c.)  of  distilled  water,  320  grains  (or  20  grammes) 
sodic  sulphite,  240  grains  (or  15  grammes)  sodic  car- 
bonate, crystals  are  dissolved ; and  then  80  grains  (or  5 
grammes)  of  eikonogen  added  with  potassic  bromide,  as  re- 
quired, up  to  10  drops  (1  : 50)  per  1,000  c.c.  of  developer. 
Very  short  exposures  are  required  with  this  developer,  and 
if  the  exposure  be  correct,  the  image  is  well  detailed,  and  of 
a good  colour.  It  is  said  that  old  eikonogen  developers 
work  better  for  bromide  prints  than  fresh  ones ; but  with 
old  developers  there  seems  to  be  a tendency  for  the  paper 
to  stain  round  the  edges,  especially  if  it  also  is  old,  and 
therefore  it  may  sometimes  be  better  to  use  freshly-made 
developer  in  small  quantities  for  each  print,  with  a little 
once  used  added,  in  preference  to  developing  a batch  of 
prints  one  after  the  other  in  the  same  solution.  It  may 
be  noted  that  developer  that  has  been  repeatedly  used 
becomes  strongly  fluorescent  or  dichroic,  appearing  a 
bright  dark  green  by  reflected  light,  and  a dark  olive 
yellow  by  transmitted  light,  very  much  like  petroleum 
oil. 

Preserving  Eikonogen. — Eikonogen  seems  to  be  very 
readily  decomposed  by  air  and  moisture,  more  so  than 
pyrogallol  or  quinol,  and  it  would  be  a great  thing  if  some 
means  could  be  found  for  keeping  the  crystals  free  from 
discolouration.  They  seem  to  be  quite  insoluble  in 
alcohol,  and  it  might  answer  to  fill  up  the  bottles  contain- 
ing them  with  tYs  fluid,  or  some  not  too  volatile  hydro- 
carbon from  which  they  could  easily  be  freed  by  evapora- 
tion when  required.  The  brown  colouring  matter,  which 
results  from  the  oxidation,  has  a certain  staining  action  on 
the  gelatine  film,  and  in  preparing  solutions  it  is  well  to 
wash  the  crystals  once  or  twice  with  a very  little  water  to 
remove  the  colour,  and  then  to  dissolve  the  clean  remainder 
in  the  proper  quantity  of  distilled  water.  This,  however, 
involves  a certain  loss  of  material,  which  is  better  avoided 
if  possible.  The  solution  with  sodic  sulphite  gradually 
darkens  if  exposed  to  air,  and  therefore  the  stock  solu- 
tions should  be  kept  in  bottles  well  filled  up  and  closed. 
In  a recent  number  of  the  Journal  des  Societes  Photo - 
graphiques  a very  ingenious  method  of  keeping  a bottle 
filled  up  is  reported  as  brought  before  the  Versailles 
Photographic  Society  by  Monsieur  Fourtier.  It  would 
seem  that  a hydroquinone  developer  is  sold  ready  pre- 
pared, accompanied  by  a box  of  glass  beads,  which  are  to 
be  put  into  the  bottle  to  replace  the  fluid  taken  from  it 
from  time  to  time,  and  thus  keep  it  filled  up.  The  plan 
will  be  useful  for  all  stock  developers,  and  if  glass  beads 
are  not  available,  clean  glass  (old  plates)  broken  into 
small  pieces,  pounded  quartz,  or  small  pebbles,  would 
answer  equally  well.  The  dodge  is  by  no  means  new,  but 
I do  not  recollect  seeing  it  used  in  this  connection  before, 
and  it  is  certainly  worth  noting. 

Eikonogen  for  Instantaneous  Work. — Further  experience 
with  eikonogen  seems  to  show,  as  already  recognised  in 
Europe  and  America,  that  it  is  likely  to  be  particularly 
valuable  for  instantaneous  work,  and  that  not  so  much 
from  the  mere  shortening  of  exposure,  as  for  the 
power  it  gives  of  using  a very  much  smaller  stop  in  the 


568 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[Jnr.Y  25,  1890. 


lens.  Hitherto,  when  working  with  the  ordinary  pyro 
developer,  I have  generally  found  it  necessary  to  use 
nearly  the  full  aperture  of  a 71-inch  focus  rapid  symme- 
trical lens  to  cover  a 5 by  4 plate  fairly  to  margin.  With 
this  aperture,  and  using  extra  rapid  plates,  not  drop 
shutter,  over-exposure  Avas  rare,  and  the  plates  more 
inclined  to  be  under-exposed  than  otherwise.  With  the 
eikonogen  developer  recommended  by  Dr.  J.  Nicol,  in 
the  last  Photographic  Times  Almanac,  and  working  in  the 
same  Avay,  I found  that  my  plates  Avere  considerably  over- 
exposed, and  further  trials  have  shown  that  the  Avorking 
aperture  may  be  A’ery  considerably  reduced,  the  smallest 
stop  being  sufficient  for  open,  bright  subjects  with  sky  and 
Avater,  and  the  medium  for  close  Avork  Avith  foliage;  there 
is  the  further  advantage  that,  if  desirable,  a shorter  focus 
lens  (6-incli)  can  be  used  to  coArer  the  same  sized  plate. 
It  seems  probable  that  before  long  all  out-door  Avork  in 
fine  Aveather  Avill  be  done  instantaneously,  and  this  new 
developing  agent  Avill  undoubtedly  be  a very  great  aid 
in  this  direction.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  the  same 
tendency  to  excessive  density  and  hardness  as  Avith 
hydroquinone  or  pyro  in  cases  of  under-exposure,  and 
there  is  a greater  tendency  to  weakness  and  Avant  of 
density  by  over-exposure,  or  by  too  quick  development. 
The  image  should  come  up  slowly,  gathering  density  as  it 
goes  on,  and  plates  may  be  given  a prolonged  develop- 
ment Avithout  shoAving  the  fatal  mottling  Avhicli  is  observ- 
able with  hydroquinone.  For  studio  work  and  interiors 
Avhere  it  is  possible  to  effect  a substantial  reduction  of 
exposure,  eikonogen  Avill  also  be  found  useful.  For 
vigour  and  delicacy  of  gradation  it  seems  at  present 
inferior  to  pyro,  but  with  it,  as  with  other  developers,  the 
result  depends  very  much  on  the  strength  of  the  solutions, 
and  the  relative  proportions  of  eikonogen  and  alkali,  as 
Avell  as  on  the  lighting  and  exposure  given. 

Eikonogen  Developer  without  Sulphite. — In  nearly  all  the 
published  formula1  the  addition  of  sodic  sulphite  in  vary- 
ing proportions,  usually  from  twice  to  four  times  the 
eikonogen,  is  recommended,  and  no  doubt  it  is  Araluable 
for  preserving  the  solution  in  good  order.  Unfortunately, 
like  many  sulphur  compounds,  sodic  sulphite  readily 
decomposes,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  partially 
decomposed  or  impure  sulphite  in  the  developer  is  a fertile 
source  of  surface  stains  and  discolouration,  especially  if 
the  sensitive  gelatine  silver  coating  of  dry  plates,  films,  or 
paper  has  itself  become  decomposed  by  keeping,  as  those 
sent  out  to  this  country  often  are  found  to  be  on  arrival. 
In  Europe  there  need  be  no  great  difficulty  about  obtain- 
ing supplies  of  fresh  sulphite  as  required,  but  in  this  and 
other  distant  lands  dependent  upon  Europe  or  America  for 
chemicals  and  other  products  of  civilisation,  there  can  be 
no  certainty  as  to  this  material  being  fresh  and  pure, 
though  its  purity  as  regards  freedom  from  sulphate  may 
easily  be  tested  with  a little  baric  chloride  or  nitrate. 
Even  if  fresh  and  good  Avhen  received,  it  soon  spoils 
by  keeping  in  the  corked  bottles  it  is  usually  put  up 
in,  and  should  be  kept  in  Avell-stoppered  bottles. 
It  seems,  therefore,  desirable,  if  possible,  to  dispense 
Avith  the  sulphite,  at  any  rate  for  home  Avork,  and  use 
freshly  made-up  solutions  of  eikonogen,  addiug  the 
requisite  quantity  of  alkali,  Avith  a little  restraining 
bromide  to  give  density  if  necessary.  Some  experiments 
have  been  made  with  this  object,  but  the  weather  is  un- 
favourable at  present,  and  I have  not  yet  ascertained  the 
best  proportions  for  general  use.  A solution  containing 
1 to  1^  parts  of  eikonogen  and  1 to  2 parts  of  sodic  car- 


bonate crystals  to  100  parts  of  Avater,  seems  likely  to  Avork 
well , the  relative  proportions  of  eikonogen  and  alkali  being 
modified  to  suit  the  exposure  and  type  of  plate  used. 
Potassic  carbonate  has  also  given  good  results,  but  further 
trials  are  necessary.  I hope  to  have  more  to  say  on  this 
subject  at  a future  time,  as  Avell  as  upon  other  preserva- 
tives than  sulphite  for  the  eikonogen  solution. 

Keeping  of  Erythrosin-Silver  Plates. — Some  SAvan’s  plates 
which  had  been  prepared  by  Mallmann  and  Scolik’s 
erythrosin-sih’er  bath  process  for  orthochromatic  Avork, 
on  the  19th  of  October,  1888,  or  about  twenty  months 
ago,  and  had  since  been  kept  in  a cardboard  box  in  alight 
temporary  dark-room,  made  of  Willesden  paper,  out  in  a 
verandah,  Avere  lately  exposed.  Though  they  had  some- 
what lost  sensitiveness,  they  developed  quite  clear  and  free 
from  any  fogging  round  the  edges,  and  Avere  only  slightly 
marked  by  finger  spots.  This  Avould  seem  to  show  that 
the  erythrosin-silver  compound  acts  beneficially  in  pre- 
serving orthochromatic  plates  in  this  climate.  The  English 
orthochromatic  plates,  though  working  admirably  Avhen 
fresh,  soon  deteriorate  under  similar  circumstances.  The 
erythrosin-silver  plates  referred  to  have  been  kept  Avrapped 
up  in  pairs,  face  to  face,  and  it  has  been  found  that  plates 
kept  in  grooved  boxes,  tin,  wood,  or  card,  very  soon 
become  decomposed  round  the  edges.  Some  other  plates 
(Wratten's  and  Ilford’s)  prepared  with  nesculin  and 
ammonia,  with  salicin  and  ammonia,  and  Avith  a certain 
resinous  chlorophyll  solution,  upwards  of  a year  ago, 
backed  in  the  same  Avay,  and  also  left  through  the  monsoon 
in  the  little  paper  dark-room,  seem  none  the  Avorse.  They 
developed  quite  clearly  Avith  eikonogen,  and  barely  show 
a speck  of  fungus. 

Acid  Fixing  Bath. — Several  Continental  Avriters  have 
lately  recommended  an  acid  fixing  bath  as  being  more 
permanent,  and  tending  to  clear  plates  from  stains,  as  well 
as  hardening  the  film.  In  Eder’s  Jahrbuch  for  1890,  Herr 
Lainer  has  recommended  the  following:  — 


A.  — Hyposulphite  of  soda 

Dissolved  in  water  to 

B.  — Sulphite  of  soda 

Water 

Hydrochloric  acid  . . . 


1(30  grammes 
800  c.c. 

20  grammes 
80  c.c. 

10  „ 


Mix  A and  B ; the  result  is  a clear  solution,  Avith  a very 
strong  smell  of  sulphurous  acid,  which  soon  goes  off. 
This  solution  has  been  used  with  the  eikonogen  deve- 
loper for  plates  and  celluloid  films.  It  kept  clear  at 
first,  but  after  a Aveek  or  so  a copious  black  precipitate 
was  formed,  and  the  sides  of  the  bottle  were  thickly  coated, 
just  as  with  the  ordinary  fixing  bath.  The  solution  has, 
however,  only  a very  slightly  sulphurous  smell,  the  smell 
of  camphor  from  the  films  predominating,  and  it  is  quite 
free  from  colour.  The  hardening  effect  claimed  for  the 
bath  has  not  been  very  noticeable.  Trials  have  also  been 
made  with  another  similar  bath  containing  chrome  alum, 
recommended  by  Cramer  for  use  with  the  American 
plates  made  by  him.  The  formula,  as  given  in  Anthony's 
Bulletin,  is — 

Sodium  sulphite  crystals... 

Water  ...  ... 

After  being  dissolved,  add — 

Sulphuric  acid  ... 

Chrome  alum  powder 
Dissolve,  and  pour  into  a solution  of — 

Hyposulphite  of  soda  ...  2 pounds  (1  kilo) 

Water  ...  ...  ...  3 quarts  (3  litres) 

The  bath,  Avhen  first  made  up,  was  clear,  but  soon  became 


4 ounces  (120  grammes) 
1 quart  (1  litre) 

I ounce  (15  c.c.) 

3 ounces  (90  grammes) 


July  25,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS, 


509 


turbid,  and  deposited  a yellowish-white  precipitate.  It  is 
claimed  for  this,  also,  that  it  remains  clear  after  frequent 
use,  does  not  discolour  the  negatives,  and  forms  no  pre- 
cipitate upon  them.  It  also  hardens  the  gelatine  to  such 
a degree  that  the  negatives  can  be  washed  in  warm  water, 
provided  they  have  been  left  in  the  bath  a suliicient  time. 
It  is  recommended  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  remain 
in  the  bath  from  five  to  ten  minutes  after  the  bromide 
appears  to  have  been  dissolved,  in  order  to  secure  the  per- 
manency of  the  negative  and  its  freedom  from  stain,  as 
well  as  the  hardening  of  the  film.  This  bath  has  a strong 
green  colour,  and  the  negatives  fixed  in  it  all  show  a 
greenish  tint  when  laid  upon  paper,  though  it  is  not  per- 
ceptible by  transmitted  light.  It  has  also  precipitated, 
but  not  so  much  as  the  other  bath.  It  certainly  does 
harden  the  gelatine  film  very  strongly,  but  if  the  film  is 
hopelessly  soft  to  begin  with  it  will  not  save  it ; the  outside 
skin  gets  tanned,  and  is  liable  to  separate  from  the  lower 
one,  or  it  becomes  wrinkled  all  over.  A solution  weaker 
in  chrome  alum  would  probably  be  better  for  such  films. 
After  about  ten  days'  moderate  use  it  has  only  a very 
slightly  sulphuretted  smell,  not  nearly  so  strong  as  the 
ordinary  bath  would  have.  It  has  been  used  almost 
exclusively  with  the  eikonogen  developer.  So  far,  the 
advantages  to  be  gained  by  these  acid  fixing  baths  are  not 
quite  apparent,  but  further  use,  in  comparison  with  the 
ordinary  bath,  may  bring  them  out.  In  this  country,  a 
fixing  batli  which  would  remove  stain,  and  effectively 
harden  soft  films  w’thout  reticulating  them,  would  be  very 
valuable. 


FLEXIBLE  SUPPORTS  FOR  PHOTOGRAPHIC 
FILMS.* 

BY  J.  S.  FAIRFAX. 

Heretofore  it  has  been  customary  to  form  the  sensitised 
gelatine  film  used  in  the  production  of  photographic 
negatives,  commonly  known  as  “ dry  plates,”  upon  trans- 
parent glass.  The  increasing  use  of  the  dry  plate  process 
for  out-of-door  photography  has  added  to  the  demand 
for  a light  plate,  which  will  reduce  to  a minimum  the 
weight  to  be  transported. 

Paper  has  been  used  as  a temporary  support ; the 
sensitised  film  being  laid  upon  it  in  long  strips,  and 
apparatus  provided  by  which  rolls  of  this  film  can  be 
placed  in  the  camera,  unrolled  without  opening  the  camera, 
and  successive  plates  exposed.  This  improvement  has 
lessened  weight,  but  on  account  of  the  want  of  transpar- 
ency in  the  paper,  it  has  been  found  necessary",  after 
exposure  and  development,  to  separate  the  film  from  the 
paper,  and  coat  the  film  with  collodion.  The  pyroxy- 
line  support,  thus  provided,  requires  skill  to  apply,  and 
an  accident  may  destroy  the  picture  on  the  negative ; 
while  it  has  been  found  impracticable  to  thus  secure 
anything  but  a very  light  and  unsubstantial  support. 

Attempts  to  substitute  pyroxyline  for  paper  in  the  first 
instance  have  not  proved  successful,  the  strips  of  cellu- 
loid or  plastic  compounds  of  pyroxyline  (either  rolled  or 
split  thin)  having  insufficient  flexibility  for  use  on  rolls. 
It  has  also  been  found  impracticable  to  form  these  pyroxy- 
line supports  by  means  of  ordinary  collodion,  the  film 
which  could  be  formed  from  a single  application  (unless 
the  liquid  when  applied  was  too  thick  to  flow)  being  too 

* This  is  the  substance  of  a patent  of  general  interest  to  photographers, 
issued  last  Wednesday.  The  invention  is  that  of  Mr.  Freierick  Crane,  of 
New  Jeisey. 


unsubstantial,  while  subsequent  applications  injuriously 
acted  upon  or  dissolved  the  previously  formed  film.  More- 

over, the  great  contraction  of  collodion  in  drying  was 
objectionable,  as  it  caused  the  film  to  buckle. 

The  improved  film  or  support  may  be  made  from  a thin 
solution  of  pyroxyline  flowed  upon  a smooth  surface, 
called  a “ carrier,”  and  the  thickness  regulated  by  the 
number  of  coats,  when,  by  using  a nearly  saturated  solu- 
tion, I am  enabled  to  apply  successive  coats  of  this  pure 
pyroxyline  compound,  which,  heretofore,  has  not  been 
done.  It  may  be  made  also  from  a very  heavy  solution  of 
pyroxyline,  and  spread  upon  the  carrier,  the  thickness 
being  regulated  by  the  spreader.  In  practice  I prefer  to 
use  the  heavy  solution  and  spread  it,  as  it  is  more  quickly 
done,  and  cheaper  than  by  flowing.  In  making  these 
solutions,  I use  as  a solvent  any  liquid  or  solvent  which 
will  thoroughly  dissolve  the  pyroxyline,  and  will  not  give 
the  film  a greasy  surface — to  which  the  gelatine  emulsion 
will  not  adhere — nor  injuriously  affect  the  gelatine  emulsion 
when  applied.  In  the  heavy  solution  it  is  preferred  to 
use  gum  camphor  as  one  of  the  solvents,  and  I mix  with 
the  solution  any  of  the  miscible  non-solvents,  such  as  amyl 
alcohol,  butyl  alcohol,  and  petroleum  naphtha,  which,  while 
having  little  or  no  solvent  power  in  themselves,  are  often 
desirable  ingredients  in  these  solutions  from  their  water 
repellant  qualities  and  cheapness. 

Having  thus  outlined  the  invention,  I will  proceed, 
more  particularly  by  way  of  illustration,  to  describe  some 
methods  of  applying  it.  I do  not,  however,  wish  to  be 
understood  as  confining  myself  to  the  particular  methods 
of  application  mentioned,  as  there  are  various  other  ways 
which  involve  merely  such  modifications  of  the  solution 
as  will  be  readily  suggested  to  those  skilled  in  the  art. 

For  a thin  solution  to  be  flowed  upon  glass,  or  other 
polished  carrier,  the  following  is  found  to  be  a good 
formula : — 


Methyl  (or  wood)  alcohol  ...  ...  40  gallons 

Amyl,  propyl,  or  butyl  acetate,  or  mixtures 

thereof...  ...  ...  ...  ...  "20  ,, 

Amyl  alcohol  ...  ...  ...  ...  40  ,, 

Soluble  pyroxyline  ...  ...  ...  50  pounds 

The  solution  is  so  nearly  saturated  that  the  second 
application  thereof  (which  is  frequently  necessary  to 
secure  a sufficiently  thick  and  substantial  support)  will 
not  destroy  nor  injure  the  previously  formed  film.  The 
solution  is  allowed  to  How  upon  glass  (preferably  first 
coated  with  a thiu  solution  of  iudia-rubber  in  benzine,  or 
other  suitable  coating,  to  preveut  adhesion),  and  when 
dry  it  is  stripped  from  the  glass  or  other  carrier  and  cut 
to  desired  sizes,  or  into  long  strips  to  be  used  from  rolls, 
for  which  the  invention  is  especially  well  adapted. 

For  a heavy  solution,  to  be  spread  upon  the  carrier  by 
a spreading  knife  or  straight  edge,  the  following  formula 
is  a good  example  : — 


Methyl  (or  wood)  alcohol 
Amyl  alcohol  or  fusel  oil 
Amyl  acetate 
Gum  camphor 

Soluble  ( photographic)  pyroxyline 


55  gallons 
20  „ 

25  „ 

50  pounds 
100  „ 


For  amyl  alcohol  in  the  foregoing  formulas,  butyl 
alcohol  or  its  isomer  may  be  substituted,  and  for  the  amyl 
acetate,  the  acetate  of  butyl  or  other  ethers  of  butyl 
alcohol  and  amyl  alcohol  which  are  known  solvents  of 
pyroxyline  may  be  substituted.  Also,  the  proportions  in 
which  the  liquids  are  mixed  will  somewhat  depend  upon 
the  amount  of  dampness  in  which  they  are  to  be  worked, 


570 


. v \ i 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS.  [July  25,  1890 

r — jf  > 


the  degree  of  solvency  of  the  pyroxyhne  employed,  the 
consistency  of  the  solution  desired,  and  the  amount  of 
susceptibility  to  water  required  in  the  film. 

The  solution  given  in  the  last  example  is  too  heavy  to 
flow,  but  it  is  distributed  upon  the  glass  or  other  polished 
carrier  (prepared  as  before  mentioned)  by  means  of  a 
knife  or  other  equivalent  device,  as  is  well  understood, 
and  when  the  film  has  set  or  hardened,  I strip  it  from  the 
carrier  and  cut  it  into  plates  or  long  strips  to  be  used  from 
rolls. 

After  taking  the  pyroxyliue  film  from  the  glass  or  other 
carrier,  I distribute  upon  it  the  sensitised  gelatine  emulsion 
from  cylinders  revolving  in  a trough  containing  the 
emulsion,  or  in  .any  of  the  well-known  ways  of  distributing 
the  emulsion  upon  its  support.  Or  I may  distribute  the 
sensitised  gelatine  emulsion  by  spreading  it  upon  the 
pyroxyline  film  before  its  removal  from  the  glass  or  other 
carrier.  After  being  coated  with  the  gelatine  emulsion, 
the  strips  of  coated  films  are  placed  in  holders,  or  rolled 
upon  rollers,  and  are  then  ready  for  use  in  the  camera. 

If,  for  any  reason,  it  is  found  desirable  to  use  less 
pyroxyline,  or  to  use  stronger  or  more  energetic  solvents 
in  any  of  the  solutions  named,  the  surplus  or  too  active 
solvent  power  may  be  reduced  by  the  substitution  of 
miscible  non-solvents  in  sufficient  quantity  to  neutralize 
the  excess  of  solvent,  the  amount  of  these  non-solvents  to 
be  used  in  any  case  depending  entirely  upon  the  amount 
of  unemployed  solvent  power  which  is  desirable  to  reduce. 

It  is  to  be  understood  that  I do  not  confine  myself  to 
the  particular  solvents  named  which  are  enumerated  as 
examples.  For  instance,  in  place  of,  or  in  conjunction 
with,  amyl  alcohol,  or  fusel  oil,  or  butyl  alcohol,  or  their 
isomers,  I sometimes  use  benzoline  or  petroleum  naphtha 
or  benzoline. 

It  is  necessary,  however,  to  use  about  the  proportions 
named  of  nou-hygroscopic  menstrua  to  prevent  clouding 
the  resultant  film  ; but  in  general,  any  of  the  well-known 
solvents  and  well-known  non-solvents  may  be  employed, 
provided  they  are  not  of  such  a greasy  nature  as  to  pre- 
vent the  adherence  of  the  sensitised  emulsion  to  the 
finished  film  ; and  the  choice  of  these  depends  upon  the 
time  required  for  the  film  to  set  or  dry. 

This  invention  may  also  be  used  as  a support  for  photo- 
graphic prints,  especially  in  the  production  of  trans- 
parencies. 


Magnesium  Lamp. — Mr.  K.  Robert  is  placing  on  the  market 
a small  apparatus  which  has  been  patented  in  France  as  “ Le 
Tison  Eclair,”  to  be  known  here  as  “The  Lightning  Fusee.” 
The  advantages  claimed  are  its  portability,  its  safety,  the  bril- 
liancy of  its  light  (serving  to  illuminate  objects  within  a radius 
of  ten  yards),  and  the  ability  to  use  it  in  the  open  air  in  any 
weather.  The  magnesium  powder,  of  which  the  little  appa- 
ratus carries  twelve  charges,  is  driven  by  pneumatic  pressure 
through  the  flame  of  a fusee-vesta  placed  in  a holder  in  front 
of  the  instrument. 

A Camera-Stand  Adjunct. — Messrs.  Watson  and  Sons  have 
just  introduced  a device  for  rendering  a tripod  stand  more 
stable  on  slippery  surfaces,  such  as  polished  wood  or  stone,  or 
the  deck  of  a ship.  It  consists  of  three  little  brass  thumb- 
screws for  affixing  at  any  desired  level  to  the  three  legs  of  the 
stand.  From  each  thumb-screw  proceeds  a cord  to  a light, 
peculiarly-shaped  piece  of  brass  which  the  three  cords  hold  in 
suspension  horizontally  beneath  the  centre  of  stand-head,  and 
to  which  piece  of  brass  the  cords  hold  on  firmly  by  friction. 
The  legs  are  thus  “ tied,”  so  to  speak,  at  any  desired  angle  to 
each  other,  and  when  accidentally  kicked  underneath  are  not 
likely  to  fall  or  to  allow  the  camera  to  be  upset. 


Nottrcg  of  auoofcg. 

Die  OuTHOSKiAfiRATHfsCHF.  Photographie.  Bemerkung- 

iiber  Misserfolge  und  deren  Abhilfe,  und  Sammlung 

von  liecepten.  Ludwig  David  and  Charles  Scolik. 

Halle:  W.  Knapp. 

This  work,  forming  the  second  volume  of  David  and 
Scolik's  Manual  of  Photography  with  bromide  of  silver 
gelatine,  is  itself  divided  into  three  parts.  The  first  part 
treats  upon  orthocliromatic  photography,  and  will  be  found 
to  possess  great  interest  to  those  who  either  propose  to  pre- 
pare plates  giving  what  is  known  as  orthochromatic  effect, 
or  to  use  such  plates  prepared  commercially,  with  an 
understanding  of  the  amount  of  effect  that  they  should 
expect,  and  of  the  extent  to  which  that  effect  may  be 
modified  and  controlled  by  the  use  of  coloured  screens  or 
other  artifices. 

On  the  vexed  question  of  the  ultimate  reason  why  the 
addition  of  certain  dyes  to  an  emulsion  should  render  it 
sensitive  to  certain  rays,  we  do  not  find  a great  deal 
written.  Doubtless  the  authors  reasoned  that  it  would  be 
a mistake  to  devote  much  space  in  a work  intended  princi- 
pally for  the  use  of  the  practical  photographer,  to  the 
consideration  of  the  polemics  of  the  question,  respecting 
which  such  wide  differences  of  opinion  prevail  amongst 
those  who  are  entitled  to  be  considered  authorities  on  the 
subject.  Concerning  a practical  method  of  ascertaining 
the  effect  of  particular  sensitisers,  and  reasoning  there- 
from with  regard  to  their  use  with  the  sensitive  silver 
salts,  we  find  the  following  summarised  remarks. 

In  order  to  discover  a suitable  dye  stuff  for  sensitising 
the  photographic  film  for  rays  of  any  particular  colour,  an 
image  of  the  solar  spectrum  is  projected  by  means  of  a 
prism,  and  a vessel  containing  a solution  of  the  substance 
to  be  examined  is  placed  in  the  path  of  the  rays  between 
the  slit  and  the  prism.  It  is  then  found  that  certain  rays 
disappear,  and  their  place  in  the  spectrum  is  occupied  by 
dark  lines  (absorption  lines).  It  is  noted  what  are  the 
lines  thus  absorbed  and  extinguished.  If,  for  instance, 
the  interposed  vessel  contain  aniline  red  or  napthalin  red, 
as  those  dyes  absorb  the  yellowish-green  rays,  we  find  in 
the  spectrum  band  a dark  strip  between  the  solar  lines 
D and  E.  We  can  then  form  a judgment,  from  the  influ- 
ence which  a dye  stuff  has  upon  the  visible  spectrum,  of 
the  effect  which  it  may  be  expected  to  produce  in  sensi- 
tising for  colour  the  photographic  salts. 

There  are  two  coloured  plates  in  the  work,  one  of  which 
shows  the  spectrum,  both  continuous  and  solar,  accom- 
panied by  photographs  of  the  spectrum  taken,  with  the 
silver  salt  affected  by  various  of  the  recognised  colour- 
sensitisers.  Here  may  be  noted  the  effect  of  cyanin  and 
of  a mixture  of  cyanin  and  chiuoliue  red  in  carrying  the 
photographic  action  considerably  beyond  that  effected  by 
eosin  or  erythrosin,  the  image  in  the  latter  case  stopping 
short  at  the  yellow  line  D,  whilst  with  cyanin  the  action  is 
carried  well  into  the  yellow  orange,  a colour  which,  from 
its  luminosity,  absolutely  requires  to  be  rendered  if  the 
plate  is  to  approximate  to  a real  orthochromatic  effect. 

The  other  coloured  plate  is  one  which  will  be  appreci- 
ated, especially  by  those  practical  workers  who  do  not 
care  to  go  into  the  question  of  spectrum  photography,  but 
like  to  see  the  direct  effect  of  sensitising  for  such  colours  as 
they  meet  with  in  nature  and  on  the  palette  of  the  painter. 
Here  we  find  squares  covered  respectively  with  two  shades 
of  red,  orange,  yellow,  two  greens,  one  yellowish,  and  th  e 


July  25,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


571 


other  inclined  to  blue  ; two  blues,  and  purple.  The  colours 
appear  to  be  well  and  fairly  chosen  ; the  blues,  for  instance, 
though  different,  are  both  bright,  and  do  not  partake  of 
that  dark,  heavy  character  which  we  have  sometimes  seen 
in  such  examples,  when  the  difficulty  of  making  blue  come 
out  dark  in  the  resulting  orthochromatic  photographs 
appears  to  be  met  half-way  by  special  manipulation  of  the 
colour  selected.  On  the  next  page  are  three  photographs 
of  this  sheet  of  colours — one  taken  on  an  ordinary  plate, 
one  on  a colour-sensitised  plate  without,  and  one  with,  the 
addition  of  a yellow  screen.  This  set  shows  the  advantage 
to  be  derived  from  each  of  these  aids.  A pair  of  photo- 
graphs of  a landscape  subject,  taken  one  under  ordinary, 
aud  the  other  under  orthochromatic  conditions,  strikes  us 
as  being  the  least  satisfactory  portion  of  the  work.  It  is 
not  that  the  difference  is  not  manifest,  for  it  is  so  in  a 
very  marked  degree  ; but — a fault  that  we  have  before 
observed  in  similar  productions — the  best  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  done  with  the  ordinary  plate.  Buildings 
and  other  objects  in  the  foreground  which  are  almost 
lost  in  general  blackness  might,  we  are  convinced,  have 
been  brought  out  much  better  with  a somewhat  longer 
exposure.  It  is  no  doubt  possible  that  in  that  case  the 
distant  mountains  would  have  suffered  from  over-expo- 
sure, but  we  think  it  would  be  better  to  show  the 
best  that  could  be  done  on  an  ordinary  plate  with  the 
subject  as  a whole,  leaving  the  orthochromatic  to  beat  it, 
perhaps,  at  both  ends  of  the  scale  of  light  gradation,  rather 
than  to  present  for  comparison  a picture  which  strikes 
the  observer  as  deficient  in  point  of  exposure. 

To  the  illustrations  and  descriptions  of  the  effect  of 
various  orthochromatising  additions  is  added  what  will 
doubtless  be  the  most  useful  aud  interesting  part  of  the 
work  to  the  practical  photographer,  formula;  and  methods 
of  using  shown  by  experience  to  yield  the  most  satisfactory 
results.  Although  few  photographers  now  make  their  own 
emulsion  aud  coat  their  own  plates,  there  is  an  increasing 
number  of  those  who  like  to  orthochromatise  plates  them- 
selvesbythe  simple  bath  process,  requiring  no  special  instal- 
lation beyond  a dark  cupboard,  who  will  appreciate  a work 
like  the  present,  in  which  not  only  are  the  various  methods 
and  formula;  stated  and  explained,  but  the  reason  is  given 
for  the  selection  of  one  or  other  sensitising  agent,  according 
to  the  effect  desired  in  the  plate. 

The  second  part  of  the  work  is  devoted  to  an  explana- 
tion of  the  various  causes  of  failure  likely  to  be  met  with 
in  working  the  gelatine  process.  Here  not  only  are 
failures  described,  but  cuts  are  given  illustrating  most  of 
the  spots  aud  markings  to  be  met  with  in  gelatine  plates. 
A glance  at  these  wood-cuts  brings  an  unpleasant 
reminder  of  the  failures  that  most  have  experienced  in 
the  early  days  of  gelatine  photography. 

The  third  and  concluding  part  of  the  volume  contains 
a valuable  collection  of  formula;  for  use  throughout  the 
practise  of  photography  with  gelatino-bromide  of  silver. 
In  addition  to  these  is  a short  description  of  the  effectsand 
characteristics  of  most  if  not  all  of  the  various  recipes. 
There  is,  moreover,  a special  chapter  furnished  with 
several  illustrative  wood-cuts  of  the  various  manipulations 
connected  with  printing  by  the  enlarging  lantern  upon 
gelatino-bromide  of  silver  paper. 

New  Holidays  in  Essex,  by  Percy  Bindley.  ( London : 

125,  Fleet  Street,  1890.) 

This  is  another  of  the  cheap  little  guide-books  by  Mr. 
Percy  Bindley  about  districts  connected  with  the  Great 


Eastern  Railway  system,  and  is  likely  to  be  useful  to 
photographers,  so  many  of  the  short  excursions  of  Eondon 
photographic  societies  being  to  places  in  the  Eastern 
counties.  Essex  may  not  be  so  rich  in  picturesque  scenes 
as  some  other  counties  near  Eondon  ; nevertheless,  it  has 
its  beautiful  forest,  and  abounding  objects  of  interest,  as 
set  forth  in  guide-books,  and  in  the  records  of  the  Essex 
Field  Club.  Mr.  Eindley's  book  is  well  illustrated,  and 
will  give  its  possessor,  when  he  is  travelling  in  Essex,  an 
amount  of  information  which  will  add  considerably  to  his 
interest  in  the  the  places  which  he  visits.  The  book 
contains  a map  of  the  county. 


THE  “ CROTONWANZE  ” ONCE  MORE. 

When  we  sounded  our  note  of  warning  in  the  January 
Journal  respecting  a fresh  danger  that  threatened  the 
American  dry  plate  industry,  we  had  but  little  idea  that 
the  matter  would  become  one  of  international  importance ; 
therefore  it  is  with  pleasure  that  we  inform  our  readers  on 
both  sides  of  the  ocean  that  the  incipient  danger  has 
passed,  the  dark  clouds  have  been  dispelled,  and  once 
more  the  photographic  horizon  is  clear  and  bright  without 
the  least  sign  of  fog.  In  reply  to  our  query  in  the  March 
Journal,  Dr.  A.  Miethe,  of  Berlin,  the  well-known  editor 
of  the  Photographisches  Wochenblatt,  in  No.  17  of  present 
volume,  answers : — 

‘ ‘ Our  friends  in  America  have  shown  much  pleasure 
that  we  so  well  understood  their  Cimex  joke,  as  set  forth 
in  our  Eetterbox  notice — as  our  readers  will  no  doubt 
recall  the  fact,  that  at  the  time  we  referred  in  our 
‘ Ilepertorium  ’ to  an  article  from  an  American  news- 
paper, in  which  mention  was  made  of  a mythical  insect 
which  had  developed  an  especial  appetite  for  the  American 
dry  plate.  Under  these  circumstances  we  could  not 
refrain  from  warning  our  readers  against  the  use  or 
purchase  of  any  American  dry  plates,  so  as  to  prevent  the 
introduction  of  this  dreadful  insect,  which  threatened  to 
prove  more  destructive  than  the  Colorado  potato  beetle, 
and,  if  possible,  to  obviate  this  great  danger.  Immediately 
afterwards  there  appeared  in  an  American  magazine0  a 
well-meant  sally  against  German  thoroughness  and 
credulity. 

‘ ‘ In  reply,  we  mentioned  seriously  as  the  occasion 
offered,  that  an  organism  outside  of  the  Crotonwanze  did 
exist — a fungus,  which  formed  on  damp  gelatine  dry  plates, 
and  that  in  the  process  of  formation,  growth,  or  existence, 
so  changed  or  affected  the  photographic  properties  of  the 
affected  plate  that,  after  exposure  and  development,  such 
plates  showed  numberless  transparent  spots,  and,  conse- 
quently, were  rendered  useless.  We  suffered  heavily 
during  the  past  summer  by  the  appearance  of  these 
organisms,”  writes  Dr.  Miethe,  “and  only  overcame  the 
difficulty  by  a thorough  disinfection  of  our  dark  chest  with 
carbolic  acid  and  fumes  of  bi-chloride  of  mercury.  The 
plates  which  had  been  thus  affected,  as  a matter  of  course 
were  lost  or  spoiled,  and  herein  the  friendly  editor  of  the 
American  Journal  of  Photography  has  misunderstood  us 
(vide  American  Journal  of  Photography,  March,  1890,  p.  89). 

“We  hope,”  continues  the  Wochenblatt,  “that  the  little 
bug  which  threatened  to  assume  the  proportions  of  an 
immense  sea-serpent  has  been  scotched  or  decapitated,  a 
‘ prozedur  ’ that  we  are  glad  to  have  aided  in  accomplish- 
ing.” We  of  the  American  Journal  of  Photography  also 

* American  Journal  of  Pho  ograpliy,  January,  1890. 


572 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  25,  1890. 


claim  a share  of  the  glory  in  bringing  about  this  end,  and 
thank  Dr.  Miethe  for  his  courtesy  and  information,  and 
close  with  the  good  old  motto,  “ All's  well  that  etalx  well." — 
J.  F.  S.,  in  The  American  Journal  of  Photography. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  CRIMINAL  JURISPRUDENCE. 

BY  JULIUS  ¥.  SACHSU. 

No  sooner  was  photography  discovered  than  it  was  recog- 
nised as  one  of  the  greatest  aids  to  the  police  authorities, 
and  became  a medium  for  the  detection  of  criminals  and 
evil  doers,  and  the  consequent  prevention  of  crime.  To 
obtain  an  exact  likeness  and  the  duplication  of  prints  or 
pictures,  which  could  be  sent  out  broadcast  over  the 
country  at  a comparatively  small  cost,  thus  familiarising 
the  various  local  police  authorities  with  their  lineaments, 
was  a menace  to  the  criminal  classes  greater  than  any- 
thing which  had  so  far  been  discovered  for  their  suppres- 
sion. 

The  criminal  classes  were  not  slow  to  recognise  this 
fact,  and  took  every  means  to  circumvent  a successful 
portrait  being  taken  of  themselves,  while  the  great  aim  of 
the  authorities  was  to  obtain  a serviceable  portrait  by 
which  the  subject  might  be  identified  at  sight  beyond  a 
doubt.  That  this  proved  a difficult  matter  will  be 
apparent  to  any  one  who  visits  a “ Rogue’s  Gallery,”  as 
the  collection  of  criminal  portraits  is  called  in  police 
parlance,  and  which  may  be  seen  in  all  large  cities  and 
towns.  It  will  be  seen  at  a glance  that,  as  portraits,  these 
pictures  are  not  a success,  almost  all  of  them  having  been 
unwilling  sitters  who  distorted  their  features,  and,  as  a 
result,  the  photographs  are  almost  valueless  for  the  purposes 
for  which  they  are  intended. 

With  the  advent  of  the  dry  plate,  instantaneous,  and 
Blitz  photography  of  the  present  day  a new  era  opened, 
of  which  the  various  police  bureaus  were  not  slow  to 
avail  themselves,  where  formerly  in  “wet  plate  days” 
the  criminal  was  taken  to  the  “skylight”  of  the  photo- 
grapher who  had  the  contract  with  the  department,  and 
which  was  often  squares  away  from  headquarters,  and  the 
attempt  at  portraiture  would  end  in  failure,  even  after  a 
physical  struggle  with  his  guardians. 

The  writer  recollects  one  instance  in  which  it  took 
four  stalwart  officers  to  hold  a prisoner  while  the  “ artist  ” 
got  his  picture.  The  “ cabinet”  not  only  showed  the  face 
horribly  distorted,  with  eyes  shut  and  tongue  out,  but 
also  the  hands  of  one  officer  holding  his  ears,  the  second 
officer  holding  him  by  the  hair,  while  the  hands  of  the 
third  showed  as  if  he  was  choking  the  prisoner.  Under 
the  new  regime  all  such  scenes  fall  away  ; the  subject  is 
now  taken  instantaneously  when  he  least  expects  it,  a per- 
fect front  and  profile  being  obtained  at  the  same  instant, 
showing  not  alone  the  features  at  rest,  but  also  the  sub- 
ject's natural  position. 

This  applies  especially  to  the  capitals  of  Germany  and 
France,  while  the  old  system  is  still  more  or  less  in  vogue 
in  this  country  and  England.  In  the  latter  country 
much  dissatisfaction,  photographically  speaking,  has  lately 
cropped  out  with  the  Scotland  Yard  authorities  for  their 
adherence  to  the  old  methods,  and  on  more  than  one 
occasion  the  question  was  brought  up  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  so  far,  however,  without  bringing  any  response 
from  the  Home  Secretary. 

In  France,  the  photographic  methods,  which  are  extra- 
ordinarily accurate,  are  supplemented  with  a series  of 
measurements  known  as  “Systeme  Authropometrique.  ” 


The  photographic  department  of  police  headquarters  in 
Paris  now  consists  of  a series  of  rooms,  one  for  making 
the  exposure,  into  which  opens  a waiting-room,  and 
seveial  dark  rooms.  The  main  room  is  so  arranged  with 
mirrors  that  face  and  side  views  are  taken  at  the  same 
time  on  the  same  plate.  In  connection  with  this  depart- 
ment are  facilities  for  making  silver  or  bromide  prints 
and  mounting  ; all  work  and  detail  are  done  within  the 
department  without  any  aid  or  knowledge  of  outside 
parties. 

It  is,  however,  in  Berlin  where  the  highest  develop- 
ment of  police  photography  has  been  reached.  Formerly 
the  work  was  done  by  the  well-known  firm  of  Zielsdorf 
and  Adler.  Now  it  is  done  by  employees  of  the  depart- 
ment in  the  new  Priisidial  building  erected  in  the 
Alexanderplatz,  where  a series  of  rooms  connected  with 
the  criminal  department  has  been  set  aside  for  photo- 
graphic purposes,  and  so  constructed  that  portraits  can 
be  taken  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night,  the  illumiuaut 
being  Blitz  pulver,  and  it  is  done  so  quickly  that  the 
accused  introduced  into  the  chamber  or  passage-way  on 
his  way  to  a hearing  is  actually  photographed  before 
he  even  has  a presentiment  of  what  has  taken  place. 
This  is  accomplished  as  follows:  When  the  subject 
comes  to  within  two  or  two  and  a half  metres  of  the 
concealed  cameras,  a gum  bulb  is  pressed  by  the  opera- 
tor, who  is  also  concealed.  This  mere  pressure  not  only 
opens  the  shutter,  but  simultaneously  ignites  two  Blitz 
flash  lamps,  which  are  placed  at  right  angles  in  front, 
about  six  feet  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  subject.  A 
simple  pressure  of  the  pneumatic  tube,  a flash,  and 
before  the  subject  can  get  over  his  surprise  he  is 
led  out  of  the  room,  while  the  plate  is  developed  and 
fixed  in  the  adjacent  dark  room.  It  is  said  that  the 
exposures  obtained  by  this  process  have  been  almost 
always  successful. — American  Journal  of  Photography. 

Photographic  Ci.ub. — Subject  for  discussion  Wednesday, 
July  30th,  “ Printing  with  the  Salts  of  Chromium;’  August 
6th,  “New  Hand -Cameras.”  Saturday  outing,  July  26th, 
St.  Albans.  Train  from  St.  Paucras,  2.37. 

London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. — The 
subject  for  consideration  on  Thursday,  July  31st,  will  be 
“ Home  Portraiture  the  question  to  be  opened  by  Mr.  W.  E. 
Debenham.  Visitors  invited. 

Photography  was  represented  in  the  theatre  of  the 
Liverpool  Polytechnic  Exhibition  on  Thursday  last.  Mr.  Henry 
E.  Burn  delivered  a lecture  on  the  progress  and  promise  of  the 
art  science,  which  was  followed  by  a lantern  exhibition  of  the 
work  of  the  Walton  Photographic  Society,  of  which  he  is  the 
president.  Mr.  W.  Tyerman  was  the  lanternist,  and  the  chair 
was  filled  by  Mr.  F.  Murphy,  an  amateur  photographer. 

Peculiarities  ok  Eikonogen. — The  members  of  the  Pro- 
vidence Camera  Club  have  had  a singular  ex[>erience  with 
eikonogen.  Stock  solutions  stored  in  glass-stoppered  bottles 
in  the  lockers  of  the  dark  room  deteriorate  badly  within 
twenty-four  hours,  while  the  same  solutions  retain  their  good 
qualities  for  weeks  in  the  private  dark  rooms  of  the  members. 
This  opens  up  an  interesting  question,  and  one  that  we  would 
like  to  have  satisfactorily  answered.  It  may  be  that  the 
large  number  of  different  chemicals  kept  in  the  club  lockers 
may  be  responsible  for  the  trouble,  or  there  may  be  some 
peculiar  atmospheric  conditions  present,  or,  as  Mr.  Davison 
suggests,  the  trouble  may  be  caused  by  the  fact  that  the 
dissolving  key  of  the  stereopticon  is  kept  in  the  lockers.  Any 
one  who  has  had  any  exj>erieuce  with  dissolving  keys  knows 
that  there  always  hangs  about  them  a strong  odour  of  gas,  the 
presence  of  which  may  have  caused  the  mischief.  Eikonogen 
has  as  many  moods  as  the  fair  sex  is  credited  with,  only  in  the 
case  of  eikonogen  they  are  not  always  charming. — American 
Amateur  Photographer. 


July  25,  1890. J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


573 


TIIE  AMERICAN  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CONVENTION. 
Before  the  appearance  of  another  issue  of  The  Beacon  the 
seven  thousand, more  or  less,  photographers  of  this  country 
will,  like  the  ten  virgins,  be  divided  into  the  wise  and  the 
foolish  ; but,  we  very  much  fear,  unlike  their  prototypes,  not 
in  anything  like  equal  numbers.  We  need  hardly  say  that 
the  wise  are  those  who  will  by  that  time  have  resolved  to 
be  present  at  the  Washington  Convention  and  the  unveil- 
ing of  the  Daguerre  Memorial : and  the  foolish  those  who 
have  decided  to  remain  at  home. 

We  believe  that  on  a careful  consideration  of  the  pros 
and  cons  connected  with  such  a visit  the  againsts  will  be 
few  and  the  fors  many. 

It  is  true  that  the  affairs  of  the  Association  have  not 
always,  or  even  often,  been  conducted  in  such  a way  as  to 
meet  our  approval,  and  that  the  actual,  as  compared  with 
the  possible,  benefits  have  not  infrequently  been  as  Fal- 
staff's  bread  to  his  sack ; but  that  is  more  the  fault  of 
those  who  stayed  away  than  of  those  who  were  present. 
They,  or  most  of  them,  did  the  best  they  could,  according 
to  their  light,  and  while  that  best  was  not  always,  accord- 
ing to  our  idea,  in  the  right  direction,  we  have  always 
been  willing  to  give  them  all  due  credit  for  good  inten- 
tions. If  but  one-half  of  those  for  whom  photography 
makes  the  pot  boil  could  see  attendance  at  the  Conven- 
tion to  be,  as  it  is,  both  a duty  and  a pleasure,  the  three 
thousand  five  hundred  would  be  a noble  gathering,  and 
one  from  whose  ranks  enough  good  men  and  true  could 
be  found  to  give  the  Conventions  a character  that  they 
have  never  had,  and  do  more  to  raise  the  status  of  photo- 
graphy than  any  scheme  hitherto  devised. 

We  know  that  there  are  hundreds,  perhaps  thousands, 
throughout  the  country,  especially  amongst  those  who 
work  almost  single  handed,  who  think  they  cannot  leave 
the  seat  of  custom,  without,  in  some  degree  at  least, 
losing  their  trade  ; but  this  is  a sad  mistake.  Trade,  or 
even  the  apj>earance  of  trade,  attracts  trade,  and  the  same 
is  true  also  of  the  professions.  Ministers,  doctors,  and 
lawyers  know  and  take  advantage  of  this  fact.  The 
hard  worked  or  working  clergyman,  who  leaves  his  pas- 
toral for  ten  days  to  attend  the  general  assembly  of  his 
church  in  some  of  the  larger  cities,  is  not  only  not  blamed, 
but  thought  more  highly  of,  therefore,  by  his  parishioners ; 
the  young  doctor,  laying  the  foundation  of  a profitable  prac- 
tice, knows  that  there  is  uo  more  sure  or  rapid  means  of 
doing  so  than  byseemiug  to  have  his  time  so  fully  occupied  as 
to  make  it  somewhat  difficult  to  find  him ; and  the  lawyer 
and  dentist  who  have  been  students  of  human  nature  as 
well  as  of  dentistry  and  law,  keep  would-be  patients  and 
clients  kicking  their  heels  in  their  waiting  rooms,  as  the 
surest  way  of  conveying  an  idea  of  their  importance. 

The  practice  of  photography  is  amenable  to  the  same 
influence.  The  time  has  not  yet  come  when  the  studio 
from  which  the  best  pictures  issue  is  the  most  crowded, 
but  rather  that  in  which  the  largest  quantity  of  work  is 
turned  out,  aud  the  dear,  easily  led,  and  often  misled 
public  are  often  more  ready  to  patronise  the  gallery  where 
engagements  can  oidy  be  made  several  days  in  advance 
than  the  one  in  which  they  can  only  make  sure  of  being 
taken  at  any  time.  Then,  as  it  is  with  the  parishioners  of  a 
clergyman,  so  it  is  with  the  clientele  of  a photographer. 
They  may  not  yet  be  willing  to  pay  for  his  advanced  cul- 
ture and  artistic  training,  but  they  take  a pride  in,  and 
boast  of  the  fact  that  their  photographer  keeps  abreast  of 
the  times,  aud  annually  goes  to  attend  the  great  Conven- 


tion, where  he  can  learn  how  to  practice  all  the  latest 
improvements  and  newest  processes.  All  this,  and  more, 
is  true,  aud  our  hesitating  readers  may  rest  assured  that 
even  from  a pecuniary  point  of  view,  attendance  at  the 
Convention  pays. 

But  there  are  other  and  not  less  important  points  from 
which  the  question,  to  go,  or  not  to  go?  should  be  looked 
at.  “ All  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a dull  boy,”  and 
the  dullness  is  contagious,  and  influences  all  around  him. 
But  an  objectless  holiday  is  not  the  true  remedy.  lie 
must  have  something  to  take  his  mind  from  the  ordinary 
routine  of  every-day  life,  and  nothing  is  so  likely  to 
attain  the  end  desired  than  attendance  at  the  annual  Con- 
vention. “ As  iron  sharpeneth  iron,  so  does  the 
countenance  of  a man  that  of  his  friend,”  and  in  like 
manner,  the  social  intercourse  with  one’s  fellow  labourers 
in  the  photographic  art  obtainable  at  such  meetings,  and 
the  being  brought  into  friendly  relation  with  many  of 
those  whose  names  are  as  household  words,  cannot  fail  to 
exercise  an  influence  for  good. 


Over  and  above  all  this  is  the  actual  practical  benefit 
derived  from  a study  of  the  exhibition  of  photographs, 
which  ought  to  and  generally  does  include  the  embodied 
j ideas  of  the  best  men  in  the  profession  on  both  sides  of  the 
I Atlantic  as  to  what  ought  to  be  the  aim  and  object  of  the 
photographer.  That  this  embodiment  has  hitherto  run 
| too  much  to  the  technical,  to  the  detriment  of  the  truly 
| artistic,  is  the  result  of  accidental  circumstances  more  than 
the  fault  of  conventions  as  such,  and  as  the  best  men 
gradually  become,  as  they  are  becoming,  more  of  the 
artist  and  less  of  the  mere  photographer,  the  educating 
1 influence  of  those  exhibitions  will  acquire  a higher  and 
{ higher  degree  of  value. 

In  conclusion,  we  may  say  that  we  do  not  think  our 
expectation  of  seeing  at  the  Convention  an  attendance  of 
between  three  and  four  thousand — half  the  photographers 
of  the  country — at  all  too  high.  The  Washington  will 
not  in  all  probability  reach  anything  like  that  number, 
nor  may  any  of  those  of  the  next  few  years,  but  we  be- 
lieve that  photographers  are  gradually  learning  that  the 
true  way  to  raise  their  status  and  secure  the  respect  they 
are  fully  entitled  to,  is  to  respect  themselves,  apd  to  be- 
come worthy  of  respect  by  taking  advantage  of  every 
opportunity  for  self-improvement,  the  diffusion  of  the 
entente  conliale  between  the  members  of  the  profession 
generally,  and  carefully  studying  the  highest  possibilities 
of  the  art  as  they  are  exhibited,  and  straining  every 
nerve  to  equal,  if  not  surpass  them.  These  are  the 
desiderata  that  conventions  are  intended  to  bring  about, 
and  the  object  will  be  attained  just  in  proportion  as  the 
attendence  at  the  conventions  increase. — The  Beacon. 


Miss  Catherine  Weed  Barnes,  the  writer  of  the  article 
‘ Illustrating  Poems  by  Photography,”  quoted  in  our  last 
issue,  is  preparing  to  euter  the  competition  for  the  illus- 
tration of  the  poem  “ Enoch  Arden,”  to  be  exhibited  at 
the  Photographic  Convention  at  Washington  on  the  12th  of 
August. 

Aluminium. — M.  Miuet  has  placed  before  the  French  Academy 
of  Sciences  a process  of  extraction  of  aluminium  by  the  elec- 
1 trolysis  of  a fluoride  of  this  metal  in  a molten  state  ; he 
employs  an  electrolytic  bath  composed  of  chloride  of  sodium 
60  grammes,  double  fluoride  of  aluminium  and  sodium  40 
grammes.  He  gives  various  details  of  the  method  of  proce- 
dure. He  produces  by  this  method  21  *5  grammes  of 
aluminium  for  an  expenditure  of  1 -horse  power  per  hour,  and 
| 30  grammes  might  be  attained  in  actual  practice. — Invention. 


574 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  25,  1890. 


jjiotcs. 


Sometimes  complaints  are  sent  to  us  about  photo- 
graphers who  detain  the  specimens  they  have  demanded 
from  assistants  out  of  a situation,  such  detention  being 
often  a grievous  injury  to  the  member  of  the  fraternity 
in  adverse  circumstances.  The  informants  give  us  the 
names  and  addresses  of  the  photographers  who  are 
alleged  to  have  done  such  a shady  trick,  in  order  that 
we  may  publish  the  same,  and  thus  take  the  moral  and 
legal  responsibility  of  bringing  a public  charge  against 
a man’s  character,  based  on  alleged  facts  outside  our 
personal  knowledge,  unless  by  means  of  previous 
investigation  which  could  rarely  be  given.  A better 
remedy  which  has  been  suggested  is,  that  the  assistant 
should  write  the  particulars  to  the  superintendent  of 
police  in  the  town  in  which  the  photographer  resides. 
We  have  another  suggestion  to  make,  and  that  is  that 
the  Photographers’  Benevolent  Association  should  in- 
vestigate and  deal  with  such  cases.  It  would  increase 
its  popularity  immensely,  and  it  seems  to  be  within  its 
province  to  take  action  of  this  kind,  to  prevent  the  said 
assistants  from  being  obliged  later  on  to  make  a heavier 
and  more  prolonged  demand  upon  its  funds  and  atten- 
tion. 


The  advice  given  by  an  American  journal  to  a photo- 
graphic amateur  who  asked  the  best  method  of  re- 
ducing a photograph,  and  received  for  reply,  “ Grind  it 
down  on  the  step  of  the  back  door,”  has  been  partially 
paralleled  in  sober  earnest  in  Prance.  The  last  number  of 
the  Bulletin  of  the  Photographic  Society  of  the  North  of 
France  sets  forth  how  M.  Poly  gave  a demonstration  before 
the  Society  of  his  method  of  obtaining  a matt  surface 
on  Obernetter  paper  proofs.  The  finished  prints  were 
rubbed  with  fine  pumice  powder,  and  the  results,  says 
the  report  of  the  Society,  were  “ very  artistic.” 

The  same  journal  contains  an  interesting  collotype 
illustration  by  Messrs.  Berthand,  Brothers,  from  a 
negative  by  M.  J.  Cornetet,  representing  the  theatre 
of  Augustus,  at  Arles ; also  other  Roman  ruins  in  its 
proximity.  The  action  of  time  and  weather,  the 
depredations  of  man,  and  occasional  tremblings  of  the 
earth,  have  done  much  to  destroy  this  building  since  it 
was  repaired  by  Constantine ; the  ruins  are  neverthe- 
less remarkable  and  of  great  exteut,  and  they  are  now 
carefully  preserved.  The  women  of  sunny  Arles,  in 
the  South  of  France,  are  said  to  be  the  most  beautiful 
in  Europe,  and  the  Editing  Committee  of  the  North  of 
France  Society  says  that  this  reputation  may  be  in 
part  due  to  their  graceful  costume,  which  changes  not 
with  the  fashions  of  the  day,  but  is  of  high  antiquity, 
and  preserved  unchanged  to  this  day. 

Now  that  the  tourist  season  is  approaching,  it  may 
not  be  inappropriate  to  draw  attention  to  a difference 
in  his  favour  which  the  landscape  photographer  will 
find  when  working  in  some  parts  of  SAvitzerland  and 
other  portions  of  central  Europe  far  from  the  Atlantic, 


namely,  the  small  average  amount  of  wind  to  disturb 
the  foliage.  About  the  Lucerne  district,  for  instance, 
it  is  common  for  three  or  four  days  in  succession  to 
pass  away  without  sufficient  wind  to  disturb  the  deli- 
cate leaves  of  the  silver  birch.  When  a Swiss  from 
this  district  first  visits  England,  for  the  first  week  or 
two,  until  the  impression  wears  off,  he  wonders  what 
is  the  matter  with  the  weather,  for  the  wind  seems  to 
him  to  be  eternally  blowing  with  a persistence  outside 
his  previous  experience. 

Potassic  chlorate  has  been  responsible  for  not  a few 
deaths  from  its  accidental  ignition  or  explosion. 
These  have  mostly  occurred  with  oxygen  gas  making 
for  the  limelight,  and,  happily,  the  number  of  such 
accidents  will  be  reduced  to  a minimum  now  that  the 
ready-made  gas  has  become  such  a common  article  of 
commerce.  A few  fearful  accidents  have,  too,  over- 
taken boys  with  chemical  proclivities  who,  in  their 
experimental  zeal,  have  endeavoured  to  make  “ bangs  ” 
by  the  attrition  or  percussion  of  chlorate  with  some 
sulphur  compound  ; but  the  most  curious  accident  with 
this  explosive  agent  which  has  yet  been  recorded  took 
place  recently  at  some  chemical  works  at  Flint,  where 
a workman,  striking  a match  upon  his  trousers,  after 
the  manner  of  workmen,  found  himself  enveloped  in 
fire,  which  burned  the  poor  fellow  so  shockingly  that 
no  hopes  are  entertained  of  his  recovery.  It  seems  that 
his  clothing  had  become  so  impregnated  with  the 
chlorate  that  it  resembled  a mass  of  touch-paper,  only 
waiting  for  the  initial  spark  to  set  it  aflame.  That 
spark  the  match  supplied. 


It  is  easy  enough  to  be  wise  after  the  event,  and  to 
point  out  how  the  terrible  fatality  might  have  been 
obviated  by  taking  precautions  against  the  dust  accu- 
mulating, or  by  preventing  the  use  of  matches  in  the 
building.  But  the  right  course  to  follow  would  be  to 
give  to  every  workman  who  has  to  deal  with  dangerous 
agents  a knowledge  of  their  properties  and  general 
behaviour  under  different  conditions.  Many  months 
have  not  elapsed  since,  at  a quarry,  some  men  were  killed 
while  thawing  dynamite  over  an  open  fire  in  a sauce- 
pan. The  inquest  revealed  the  startling  fact  that, 
although  proper  vessels  are  constructed  for  this  work, 
no  one  in  the  place  knew  anything  about  them.  The 
saucepan  had  always  been  used  by  the  men,  and  fami- 
liarity had  bred  a contempt  for  danger  which  they 
dearly  paid  for. 

The  Standard  of  Monday  last,  referring  to  the  iden- 
tification of  the  body  of  the  burglar  who,  a few  days 
previously,  shot  himself  to  avoid  capture,  states  that 
“ It  is  a curious  fact  that  the  police  have  in  their 
possession  sheets  of  photographs  of  discharged  pri- 
soners, including  one  which  was  believed  to  be  the 
deceased,  described  as  Richard  Batten,  who  was  sen- 
tenced at  the  Central  Criminal  Court  in  1877  to  seven 
years’  penal  servitude.”  We  do  not  quite  see  why  this 
fact  should  have  anything  phenomenal  about  it,  con- 
sidering that  for  many  years  it  has  been  the  custom  to 


July  25,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


575 


photograph  all  prisoners  ; but  it  is  certainly  curious 
that  the  police  failed  to  identify  the  body  by  the  pic- 
ture which  they  possessed,  and  that  it  was  left  for  his 
widow  to  do  so  by  the  clothing  upon  the  body. 

“ A prominent  photographer,”  who  has  been  recently 
interviewed  by  a reporter  of  the  New  York  Sun,  has 
had  a good  deal  to  say  against  people  who  come  to  be 
photographed  accompanied  by  interfering  relatives  who 
know — or  think  that  they  know — much  more  about 
posing  and  lighting  than  does  the  artist  himself.  He 
quotes  one  case  in  which  a lady  in  bridal  attire  came 
to  his  studio  : “ She  walked  up  to  the  chair,  and  as 
she  turned  to  face  me  the  silk  train  and  thin  veil  fell 
in  wonderful  folds  of  graceful  outline.  1 told  her  not 
to  stir,  but  while  I stepped  back  to  get  the  effect,  her 
friend  darted  out  and  straightened  the  whole  thing  out 
like  a flag  in  a head  wind.”  Many  of  our  readers  have 
good  reason,  we  feel  sure,  for  sympathising  with  this 
complainant.  It  is,  however,  uifficult  to  suggest  a 
remedy  which  would  not  be  likely  to  cause  offence. 
A little  tact  mingled  with  courtesy  will,  as  a rule,  be 
the  best  mixture  to  apply. 


Pyrogallol  is  so  little  used  in  medicine  that  it  has 
no  place  in  the  British  Pharmacopana.  Its  principal 
employment — beyond  its  well-known  use  in  photo- 
graphy— is  for  hair  dyeing,  when  it  is  also  used  in 
conjunction  with  silver  nitrate.  It  has  also  been 
recommended  as  the  principal  constituent  of  a salve  for 
certain  cases  of  skin  disease,  but  so  far  as  we  know 
hits  never  been  used  in  any  shape  or  form  for  internal 
administration.  It  is  known  to  be  extremely  poisonous, 
but  how  many  grains  may  represent  a fatal  dose  has 
not,  happily,  as  yet  been  determined. 

The  decision  given  in  the  celebrated  copyright 
photographic  case,  in  which  the  Stereoscopic  Company 
were  the  plaintiffs,  received  endorsement  iu  a judgment 
delivered  by  Mr.  Justice  Wills  the  other  day.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  in  the  photographic  case  it  was 
laid  down  that  the  operator  who  took  the  photograph, 
and  not  the  proprietor  of  the  business,  was  the  author 
for  purposes  of  registration.  The  case  decided  the 
other  day  turned  upon  the  question  of  copyright  in  a 
drawing.  The  originator  of  the  idea  had  the  drawing 
made  by  an  artist,  and  this  drawing  was  afterwards 
pirated  by  the  defendants,  although  the  reproduction 
was  not  an  exact  copy.  The  judge  held  that  the  action 
for  infringement  of  copyright  could  not  be  maintained, 
one  of  his  reasons  being  that  the  plaintiff,  though  the 
originator  of  the  idea,  was  not  the  author  of  the  draw- 
ing. It  is  well  that  photographers  should  bear  the 
law  in  mind,  as  they  may  lose  their  rights  in  a valuable 
photograph  from  ignorance  of  legal  technicalities. 

This  decision  in  the  case  of  photography  involves 
a certain  amount  of  absurdity,  because  it  is  clear 
that  one  man  may  pose  the  sitter,  and  make  all  the 
arrangements,  and  be  responsible  for  the  art  qualities 
of  the  picture,  while  the  other  man  does  no  more  than 


take  off  the  cap  and  develop  the  plate.  Yet  the 
mechanical  operator  is  deemed  the  author ! This  is 
only  one  of  the  anomalies  of  the  Copyright  Act,  which, 
according  to  a well-known  barrister,  is  full  of  blunders. 
It  is  said  that  the  clauses  are  so  exclusive  of  this  and 
that  right,  that  now,  unless  a special  agreement  is 
drawn  up  and  signed  “ before  purchase,”  the  copyright 
is  lost  to  both  purchaser  and  painter.  Even  if  the  pur- 
chaser gave  the  painter  the  copyright,  after  purchase 
‘‘the  gift  fails  for  want  of  consideration,”  and  the 
same  if  the  gift  is  from  the  painter  to  his  patron.  In 
certain  cases,  the  value  of  the  copyright  becomes  so 
enormous  that  it  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  the 
parties  interpret  the  Act.  Take  Mr.  W.  E.  Lockhart’s 
much  talked-of  jubilee  picture,  for  instance.  In  the 
first  place,  the  painter’s  commission  was  £1,000,  and 
when  it  came  to  the  disposal  of  copyright,  the  best  offer 
obtained  was  one  of  £200  from  a leading  firm  of  dealers 
for  the  right  to  reproduce  the  picture,  and  absolute 
control  over  it  for  one  year.  Mr.  Lockhart  thought  the 
copyright  was  worth  more,  and  he  organised  a syndicate 
to  exhibit  the  picture,  with  the  result  that  the  painter 
received  £2,000  for  the  copyright  and  use  of  it  for 
exhibition  during  twelve  months.  It  is  said  that  the 
sale  of  photogravures  will  probably  produce  between 
two  and  three  thousand  pounds  more.  This  transaction 
ou  the  face  of  it  appears  to  be  a little  involved,  and 
one  would  like  to  know  how  the  more  involved  condi- 
tions of  the  Copyright  Act  have  been  complied  with. 

M.  lieutlinger,  the  well-known  photographer  of 
Paris,  is  the  photographer  par  excellence  of  cats.  A 
delightful  photograph  of  a kitten  in  a large  glass 
funnel  stuck  in  a bottle,  is  reproduced  in  a recent  issue 
of  La  Nature,  and  its  charming  unconsciousness  and 
grace  are  commented  upon  in  terms  of  well  deserved 
praise  byr  the  editor,  M.  Tissandier.  M.  Tissandier 
strongly  advises  amateurs  to  practise  taking  the  photo 
graphs  of  animals,  and  quotes  approvingly  M.  Legouve’s 
witty  description  of  the  average  portraits  of  the  human 
being,  as  seen  in  the  album,  to  show  the  superiority  of 
animals  as  sitters  from  an  ai’tistic  point  of  view. 
M.  Legouve,  looking  through  an  album  one  day,  said : 
“These  people  are  much  more  like  their  portraits  thau 
they  think  for,  for  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  they  have 
worked  in  themselves  their  own  likeness,  and  have  thus 
been  at  once  models  and  painters.  More  than  one,  I 
am  sure,  when  sitting  down  on  the  photographic  chair, 
has  taken  his  favourite  pose,  and  has  arranged  his 
features  according  to  his  own  predilection,  expressing 
not  what  he  is,  but  what  he  believes  himself  to  be. 
For  instance,  here  is  one  who  is  slily  smiling ; evi- 
dently, he  imagines  himself  to  be  witty.  This,  with 
the  eyes  uplifted  to  Heaven  and  his  wild  hair,  belongs 
to  the  class  of  inspired  poets  1 I should  be  surprised 
if  this  person,  who  looks  you  in  the  face  with  such 
keen  eyes  as  though  he  would  pierce  you  through  and 
through,  is  not  saying  to  himself  : ‘ What  an  eagle 
eye  I have,  nothing  escapes  me  ! ’ “ There  is  nothing 

like  this  in  the  photographs  of  animals,”  observes 
M.  Tissandier,  and  everyone  will  agree  with  him. 


576 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  25,  1890. 


THE  GLOW  OF  PHOSPHORUS.* 

BY  l'ROFESSOR  T.  E.  THORPE,  F.R.S. 

Tiif.  earlier  volumes  of  the  “ Philosophical  Transactions  ” 
contain  several  papers  on  the  luminosity  of  phosphorus, 
and  one  by  Dr.  Frederick  Slare  is  noteworthy  as  giving 
one  of  the  earliest,  if  not  actually  the  earliest,  account  of 
what  is  one  of  the  most  paradoxical  phenomena  connected 
with  the  luminosity  of  phosphorus,  namely,  its  increase 
on  rarefying  the  air.  “ It  being  now  generally  agreed 
that  the  fire  and  flame  (of  phosphorus)  have  their  pabulum 
out  of  the  air,  T was  willing  to  try  this  matter  in  vacuo. 
To  effect  this,  I placed  a considerable  lump  of  this  matter 
(phosphorus)  under  a glass,  which  1 fixed  to  an  engine  for 
exhausting  the  air ; then  presently  working  the  engine,  I 
found  it  grow  lighter  (is.,  more  luminous),  though  a char- 
coal that  was  well  kindled  would  be  quite  extinguished 
at  the  first  exhaustion ; and  upon  the  third  or  fourth 
draught,  which  very  well  exhausted  the  glass,  it  much 
increased  its  light,  and  continued  so  to  shine  with  its 
increased  light  for  a long  time  ; on  re-admitting  the  air, 
it  returns  again  to  its  former  dulness.”  This  observation 
was  repeated,  and  its  result  confirmed  by  llawksbee  in 
this  country,  and  by  Iloinberg  in  France,  and  seems  sub- 
sequently to  have  led  Berzelius  and  after  him  Marchand, 
to  the  conclusion  thatt  he  luminosity  of  phosphorus  was 
altogether  independent  of  the  air  (is.,  the  oxygen),  but 
was  solely  due  to  the  volatility  of  the  body.  Many  facts, 
however,  combine  to  show  that  the  air  (oxygen)  is  neces- 
sary to  the  phenomenon.  Lampadius  found  that  phos- 
phorus would  not  glow  in  the  Torricellian  vacuum,  and 
Lavoisier,  in  1777,  showed  that  it  would  not  inflame  under 
the  same  conditions ; and  the  subsequent  experiments  of 
Schrbtter,  Meissner,  and  Midler  are  decisive  on  the  point 
that  the  glow  is  the  concomitant  of  a chemical  pro- 
cess dependent  upon  the  presence  of  oxygen.  It  is, 
however,  remarkable  that  phosjihorus  will  not  glow 
in  oxygen  at  the  ordinary  atmospheric  pressure  and 
temperature,  but  that  if  the  oxygen  be  rarefied  the 
glow  at  once  begins,  but  ceases  again  the  moment  the 
oxygen  is  compressed.  Indeed,  phosphorus  will  not  glow 
in  compressed  air,  and  the  flame  of  feebly-burning  phos- 
phorus may  be  extinguished  by  suddenly  increasing  the 
pressure  of  the  gas.  Phosphorus,  however,  can  be  made  to 
glow  in  oxygen  at  the  ordinary  pressure,  or  in  compressed 
air.  if  the  gases  are  gently  warmed.  In  the  case  of  oxygen 
the  glow  begins  at  25°,  and  becomes  very  bright  at  36°. 
Iu  compressed  air  the  temperature  at  which  the  glow  is 
initiated  depends  upon  the  tension.  If  the  oxygen  is 
absolutely  deprived  of  moisture,  the  phosphorus  refuses 
to  glow  under  any  conditions.  This  fact,  strange  as 
it  may  seem,  is  not  without  analogy;  the  presence  of 
traces  of  moisture  appears  to  be  necessary  for  the  initia- 
tion or  continuance  of  chemical  combination  in  a number 
of  instauces. 

It  was  observed  by  Boyle  that  a minute  quantity  of  the 
vapour  of  a number  of  essential  oils  extinguished  the 
glow  of  phosphorus.  The  late  Professor  Graham  con- 
firmed and  extended  these  observations  ; he  showed  that 
relatively  small  quantities  of  olefiant  gas,  and  of  the  vapours 
of  ether,  naphtha,  and  oil  of  turpentine  entirely  prevented 
the  glow,  and  subsequent  observers  have  found  that  many 
essential  oils,  such  as  those  of  peppermint  and  lemon, 
and  the  vapours  of  camphor  and  asafeetida,  even  when 
present  in  very  small  quantity,  stop  the  absorption  of 
oxygen  and  the  slow  combustion  of  phosphorus  in  air. 

* A portion  of  a lecture  delivered  at  the  Royal  Institution. 


It  has  been  established  that  whenever  phosphorus  glows 
in  air,  or  in  rarefied  oxygen,  ozone  and  hydrogen  peroxide 
are  formed,  but  it  is  not  definitely  known  whether  the 
formation  of  these  substances  is  the  cause  or  the  effect  of 
the  chemical  process  of  which  the  glow  is  the  visible  sign. 
That  there  is  some  intimate  connection  between  the  lumi- 
nosity of  the  phosphorus  and  the  production  of  these 
bodies  is  highly  probable.  Schbnbein,  as  far  back  as  1848, 
sought  to  demonstrate  that  the  glow  depends  on  the 
presence  of  ozone.  It  is  certainly  true  that  many  of  the 
substances — such  as  the  essential  oils— which  prevent  the 
glow  of  phosphorus  also  destroy  ozone.  At  a low  tem- 
perature phosphorus  produces  no  ozone  in  contact  with 
air,  neither  does  it  glow.  It  has  been  found,  in  fact,  that 
with  air  ozone  is  produced  in  largest  quantity  at  25°,  at 
which  temperature  phosphorus  glows  brightly.  On  the 
assumption  that  the  oxidation  of  the  phosphorus  consists 
in  the  immediate  formation  of  the  highest  oxide,  the  pro- 
duction of  the  ozone  and  the  hydrogen  peroxide  has  been 
represented  by  the  following  equations : — 

P.  + 0,  = Pj05  + 0 

0 + 0„  = Oj 

O + BA)  = H.O,- 

Both  these  reactions  may,  of  course,  go  on  simulta- 
neously, as  ozone  and  hydrogen  peroxide  are  not  mutually 
incompatible ; the  synthesis  of  hydrogen  peroxide  by  the 
direct  oxidation  of  water  seems  to  occur  in  a number  of 
processes.  But  such  symbolic  expressions  can  at  most  be 
oidy  very  partial  representations  of  what  actually  occurs. 
It  is  highly  probable  that  the  combination  which  give  rise 
to  the  glow  only  occurs  between  the  vapour  of  phosphorus 
and  the  oxygen.  Phosphorus  is  sensibly  volatile  at 
ordinary  temperatures,  and  by  rarefying  the  atmosphere 
in  which  it  is  placed  its  volatilisation  is  increased,  which 
serves  to  account  for  the  increased  glow  when  the  pressure 
of  the  gas  is  diminished.  When  phosphorus  is  placed  in 
an  atmosphere  of  hydrogen,  nitrogen,  or  carbonic  acid, 
these  gases,  when  brought  into  contact  with  oxygen,  become 
luminous  from  the  oxidation  of  the  vapour  of  phosphorus 
diffused  through  them.  The  rapidity  of  volatilisation 
varies  with  the  particular  gas ; it  is  greatest  in  the 
case  of  hydrogen,  and  least  in  that  of  carbonic  acid. 
Indeed,  a stream  of  hydrogen  gas  at  ordinary  temperatures 
carries  away  comparatively  large  quantities  of  phosphorus, 
which  may  be  collected  by  appropriate  solvents.  No 
ozone  and  no  glow  are  produced  in  oxygen  gas  at  ordinary 
temperatures  and  pressures,  but  on  warming  the  oxygen 
both  the  ozone  and  the  glow  are  formed.  On  passing 
ozone  into  oxygen  at  temperatures  at  which  phosphorus 
refuses  to  glow,  the  phosphorus  at  once  becomes  lumi- 
nous, oxygen  is  absorbed,  and  the  characteristic  cloud  of 
oxide  is  produced,  and  the  effect  continues  so  long  as  the 
supply  of  ozone  is  maintained.  A drop  of  ether  at  once 
extinguishes  the  glow. 

The  ether  is  in  all  probability  converted  into  vinyl 
alcohol  with  simultaneous  formation  of  hydrogen  per- 
oxide by  the  reaction  indicated  by  Poleck  and  Thiimmel 


CU.CH,\n  , n _ CH..CHOII  OH 
CHjCIJg  / u + •'  “ CHX’HOH  + OH 


OH  | 


Formic,  acetic,  and  oxalic  acids  are  also  formed  by  the 
action  of  ozonised  oxygen  on  ether. 

Phosphorus  combines  with  oxygen  in  several  propor- 
tions, and  the  study  of  the  mode  of  formation  and 
properties  of  these  oxides  is  calculated  to  throw  light 
upon  the  nature  of  the  chemical  process  which  attends 
the  glow  of  phosphorus.  Certain  of  these  oxides  have 


July  25,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


'fsiRS, 


577 


— 


STOPS  OR  DIAPHRAGMS. 

BY  ELLERSLIE  WALLACE. 


recently  been  the  subject  of  study  in  the  chemical  labor- 
atories of  the  Normal  School  of  Science.  When  phos- 
phorus is  slowly  burned  in  air,  there  is  produced  a 
considerable  quantity  of  a volatile  substance,  having  a 
characteristic  garlic-like  smell  which  solidifies,  when  cooled, 
in  beautiful  arborescent  masses  of  white  crystals.  It  melts 
at  about  23°,  and  boils  at  173°.  In  a sealed  tube  kept  in 
the  dark  it  may  be  preserved  unchanged,  but  on  exposure 
to  light,  and  especially  to  bright  sunshine,  it  rapidly 
becomes  deep  red.*  It  slowly  absorbs  oxygen  at  the 
ordinary  temperature  and  pressure,  but  from  the  mode  in 
which  the  solid  product  of  the  reaction  (P205)  is  deposited, 
it  is  evident  that  the  union  only  takes  place  between  the 
vapour  of  the  oxide  and  the  oxygen  gas.  Under  diminished 
pressure  the  act  of  combination  is  attended  witli  a glow 
which  increases  in  brilliancy  if  ozone  be  present.  On 
compressing  the  oxygen  the  glow  ceases.  No  ozone  is 
formed  during  the  act  of  oxidation.  The  degree  of  rare- 
faction needed  to  initiate  the  glow  depends  upon  the 
temperature  of  the  oxide ; the  warmer  the  oxide  the  less 
is  the  diminution  of  pressure  required.  By  gradually 
warming  the  oxide  the  luminosity  steadily  increases  both 
in  area  and  intensity,  until  at  a certain  temperature  the 
mass  ignites.  The  change  from  glow  to  actual  flame  is 
perfectly  regular  and  gradual,  and  is  unattended  with  any 
sudden  increase  in  brilliancy.  In  this  respect  the  process 
of  oxidation  is  analogous  to  the  slow  and  barely  visible 
burning  of  fire-damp  which  is  sometimes  seen  to  occur 
in  the  Davy  lamp,  or  to  the  slow  combustion  of  ether 
and  other  vapours,  which  has  been  specially  studied  by 
Dr.  Perkin.  Other  instances  of  what  may  be  called 
degraded  combustion  are  known  to  chemists.  Thrown  into 
warm  oxygen  the  substance  bursts  into  flame  at  once,  and 
burns  brilliantly ; and  it  also  takes  fire  in  contact  with 
chlorine.  Alcohol  also  ignites  it,  and  when  it  is  warmed 
with  water  or  a solution  of  potash  it  evolves  spontaneously 
inflammable  phosphoretted  hydrogen.  In  contact  with 
cold  water  it  suffers  only  a very  gradual  change,  and  many 
days  may  elapse  before  even  a comparatively  small  quantity 
is  dissolved.  This  substance  has  long  been  known ; it 
was  discovered,  in  fact,  by  the  French  chemist,  Sage,  but 
its  true  nature  has  only  now  been  determined ; its 
chemical  formula  is  found  P4Og;  hence  its  composition 
is  similar  to  that  of  its  chemical  analogue,  arsenious 
oxide. 

The  study  of  the  properties  of  this  remarkable  sub- 
stance enables  us  to  gain  a clearer  insight  into  the  nature 
of  the  chemical  change  attending  the  glow  of  phosphorus. 
When  phosphorus  is  placed  in  oxygen,  or  in  an  atmos- 
phere containing  oxygen,  under  such  conditions  that  it 
volatilises,  the  phosphorus  oxidises,  partly  into  phosphoric 
oxide,  and  partly  into  phosphorus  oxide  ; ozone  is  formed, 
possibly  in  the  mode  already  indicated,  and  this  reacts 
upon  the  residual  phosphorus  vapour  and  the  phosphorus 
oxide,  with  the  production  of  the  luminous  effect  to  which 
the  element  owes  its  name.  The  glow  itself  is  nothing 
but  a slowly  burning  flame  having  an  extremely  low  tem- 
perature, caused  by  the  chemical  union  of  oxygen  with 
the  vapours  of  phosphorus  and  phosphorus  oxide.  By 
suitable  means  this  glow  can  be  gradually  augmented, 
until  it  passes  by  regular  gradation  into  the  active  vigour- 
ous  combustion  which  we  ordinarily  associate  with  flame. 
Many  substances,  in  fact,  may  be  used  to  phosphoresce  in 
a similar  way. 

This  is  the  substance  spoken  of  by  Captain  Abney  in  his  recent  lecture 
at  the  Royal  Institution.— En. 


It  is  not  quite  easy  to  determine  why  the  short  and  con- 
venient word  “ stop  ” has  been  universally  accepted  by 
the  photographic  world  as  a substitute  for  the  longer  one 
of  “ diaphragm,”  unless  we  remember  that  photographers, 
as  a rule,  are  very  practical  folk,  and  like  things  called  by 
plain  and  short  names. 

It  may  be  that  the  term  “ stop  ” was  adopted  from  the 
fact  of  the  light  being  really  stopped  out  by  the  diaphragm  ; 
and  as  the  Germans  call  it  “blende,”  which  means  a 
blind  or  screen,  there  seems  to  be  some  probability  that 
this  is  true. 

Lenses  sent  out  by  manufacturers  of  reputation  always 
have  the  stops  supplied,  and  the  position  they  occupy  is 
generally  fixed.  This  is  true  for  such  lenses  as  are  not 
intended  to  be  taken  apart  and  their  parts  used  alone ; 
when  this  is  the  case  the  position  of  the  stop  must  be 
changed. 

Now,  in  spite  of  all  this,  it  will  be  found  well  worth 
while  to  be  familiar  with  a few  general  facts  about  the 
diaphragm  or  stop.  First  of  all,  we  may  say  that  stops 
are  used  to  improve  the  defining  powers  of  the  lens,  parti- 
cularly on  the  margins  and  corners  of  the  picture.  This 
is  accomplished  by  stopping  out  such  rays  of  light  as  would 
come  to  a focus  too  near  the  lens,  and  by  allowing  only 
such  oblique  pencils  of  rays  to  pass  as  come  to  their  focus 
on  the  plane  of  the  ground  glass.  The  pencils  forming 
the  more  central  portions  of  the  picture  pass  through  the 
opening  in  the  stop,  and  come  to  their  proper  focus  in 
very  much  the  same  manner  as  they  would  if  there  were 
no  stop  at  all  in  the  lens. 

It  is  fair  to  say  that  the  type  or  representative  lens  of 
the  present  day  is  the  symmetrical  doublet ; or,  in  other 
words,  a lens  consisting  of  a front  and  a back  combina- 
tion which  are  nearly  or  quite  twins  in  every  respect.  A 
more  exact  term  in  optical  parlance  would  be  to  speak  of 
the  lens  as  what  it  really  is,  namely,  a system  of  lenses. 

Now,  it  is  a matter  of  common  observation  that  the 
position  of  the  diaphragm  or  stoji  in  these  doublet  lenses 
is  always  in  the  middle  of  the  tube,  at  equal  distances  from 
the  front  and  the  back  combinations.  If  one  of  the  com- 
binations be  unscrewed  and  removed  from  its  position, 
the  other  one  can  still  be  used  for  photographic  exposures. 
The  focal  length  of  either  combination,  when  thus  used 
simply,  is  about  twice  that  of  the  original  lens  or  “ sys- 
tem,” and  the  field  covered  by  the  single  combination  will 
be  proportionately  increased  in  size.  But  if  the  diaphragm 
or  stop  be  left  in  its  original  position,  the  work  accom- 
plished will  not  be  nearly  so  good  as  it  would  be  if  the 
stop  were  moved  to  a new  point  to  suit  the  new  condition 
of  affairs.  Each  of  the  combinations  of  the  lens  being  of 
the  meniscus  form,  the  old  rule  should  be  here  observed 
of  turning  the  concave  surface  of  the  lens  toward  the 
subject,  and  of  removing  the  stop  to  a distance  of  about 
one-fifth  of  the  focal  length  in  front  of  the  said  surface. 

To  take  a familiar  example  : suppose  an  eleven-inch 
rapid  rectilinear  combination  with  the  stop  in  the  middle 
of  the  tube  in  the  usual  position,  which  is  about  an  inch 
from  either  combination.  Now,  if  it  were  desired  to 
obtain  the  best  results  with  either  of  the  combinations 
alone,  and  thus  to  utilise  the  increased  focal  length  of 
twenty-two  inches,  the  proper  plan  would  be  to  remove 
the  front  combination,  leaving  the  back  one  in  situ,  and  set 
the  stop  forward  four  inches  from  its  anterior  surface. 


578 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  25,  1890. 


In  practice  this  is  seldom  possible  to  do,  unless  a short 
extra  tube  be  so  adapted  to  the  screw-thread  in  the  front 
of  the  ‘ ‘ system  ” that  the  desired  increase  of  distance  can 
be  obtained.  But  we  are  sure  that  this  hint  will  prove 
very  serviceable  to  those  who  have  failed  in  producing 
satisfactory  results  with  either  combination  of  a “ system.” 

An  attempt  to  use  the  front  lens  of  a system  alone, 
with  the  stop  left  in  its  original  position,  thus  bringing  it 
in  the  rear,  would  be  in  every  respect  unsatisfactory. 

A great  deal  of  mechanical  ingenuity  has  been  expended 
upon  the  different  forms  of  stops  or  diaphragms.  The 
simplest  and  least  expensive  of  them  is  the  c ommon  flat, 
oblong  piece  of  metal  with  the  aperture  in  its  centre. 
The  sets  of  six  of  these  which  are  usually  furnished  with 
the  better  classes  of  lenses  should  always  have  these 
openings  quite  concentric  with  each  other.  This  can  be 
verified  at  a glance  by  laying  the  stops  together  so  that 
their  sides  correspond,  when  any  want  of  exactitude  in 
the  openings  will  be  seen  at  once. 

All  things  considered,  we  should  prefer  this  model  of 
the  stop  or  diaphragm  to  any  other.  The  only  objection 
to  it  is  the  danger  of  the  loss  of  one  or  more  of  the  set. 
In  indoor  work  this  risk  will  not  make  itself  felt  to  the 
same  degree  as  in  landscape  photography,  where  the  loss 
of  the  stops  would  be  a very  serious  matter  indeed.  A 
partial  safeguard  will  be  to  rivet  all  the  six  together  at  the 
top,  so  that  any  one  of  the  set  may  be  inserted  into  the 
lens,  leaving  the  others  outside.  Of  course  it  may  be 
objected  that  the  loss  of  one  will  thus  entail  the  loss  of 
the  whole  ; so  it  is,  indeed,  but  we  can  safely  say,  after 
many  years  of  work  out  of  doors  with  this  arrangement, 
that  a very  small  amount  of  care  will  keep  matters  right. 

The  new  Iris  diaphragms  supplied  with  some  of  the 
superior  makes  of  lenses  are  new  chiefly  in  the  fact  of 
an  index  and  pointer  being  supplied,  so  that  a desired  size 
of  opening  can  be  promptly  secured  at  will.  The  prin- 
ciple of  the  Iris  diaphragm  itself  is  by  no  means  new. 
The  fact  of  there  being  no  loose  pieces  to  get  lost  is  the 
strong  recommendation  of  this  form  of  stop  ; and  when 
we  have  said  this,  we  have  pretty  fairly  summed  up  its 
merits.  Supposing  that  the  operator  desired  to  make  a 
change  in  the  stop  opening  to  one  of  another  size,  and 
that  he  also  desired  to  effect  the  change  without  removing 
the  focussing  cloth  from  over  his  head  and  blinding  his 
eyes  with  the  strong  light,  the  ordinary  central  stop 
would  be  preferable  to  the  Iris.  The  change  from  one 
stop  to  another  is  easily  done  by  feeling,  while  with  the 
Iris  model  it  is  necessary  to  see  just  what  is  being  done. 

The  “rotating  diaphragms,”  as  they  are  called,  are  also 
very  convenient ; more  so,  we  think,  than  the  expensive 
Iris  ; but  their  use  is  limited  to  the  slower  working  lenses, 
which  are  never  used  with  very  large  or  full  openings. 

We  may  here  take  occasion  to  remark  that  practical 
photographing  rarely,  if  ever,  demands  as  many  as  six 
different  stop-apertures.  Taking  landscape  photography, 
for  instance,  we  may  safe  say  that  three  sizes  of  stops 
would  be  all-sufficient.  One  small  enough  to  give  good 
definition  over  the  entire  plate,  and  require  a rather  long 
exposure ; a large  one,  nearly  the  full  opening  of  the  lens, 
for  instantaneous  effects;  and  one  of  medium  size  for 
subjects  of  odd  character,  would  be  enough  for  practical 
purposes,  and  directly  conduce  to  good  and  uniform 
results  in  timing. 

Nothing  has  ever  been  gained  by  altering  the  stop 
opening  from  a circle  to  a square,  oblong,  triangular,  or 
other  form.  A circular  hole,  neatly  countersunk  in  the 


metal,  so  that  a mere  edge  is  presented  to  the  rays  of 
light  as  they  enter,  is  all  that  is  necessary.  Stops  stand- 
ing at  an  angle,  and  “ sky-scrapers,”  as  they  used  to  be 
called,  have  had  their  day,  and  are  now  forgotten. — 
American  Journal  of  Photography. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  GERMANY. 


BY  HERMANN  E.  GUNTHER. 

New  Intensifying  Method — Combined  IIydroquinone  and 
Eikonogen  Developer — Collodion  Dry  Plates  of 
High  Sensitiveness — Table  of  Comparative  Inten- 
sities of  Various  Illuminants. 


A Neic  Intensifying  Method. — A method  of  intensifying 
a weak  negative  by  which  the  actual  silver  image  is  not 
the  least  altered  is  described  by  Mr.  K.  E.  Liesegang  as 
follows : The  varnished  negative  is  coated  with  collo- 
dion or  varnish  in  which  a red  or  green  aniline  colour 
has  been  dissolved.  Aniline  colours,  as  it  is  known,  are 
most  sensitive  to  the  action  of  light.  After  coating,  the 
negative  is  exposed  lor  some  time  to  sunlight  so  that  it 
acts  through  the  glass  plate,  and  through  the  negative 
film  on  the  colour  coating.  At  the  parts  where  the  latter 
has  been  exposed  it  bleaches,  while  it  remains  unaltered 
at  the  parts  which  have  been  less  or  not  at  all  exposed, 
rendering  the  dark  parts  of  the  negative  denser  in  exact 
relation.  As,  however,  aniline  colours  cannot  after- 
wards be  made  insensitive  to  light,  the  effect  will  dis- 
appear .after  the  negative  has  been  used  for  some  time  ; 
but  it  is  then  only  necessary  to  repeat  the  process  of 
varnishing  and  exposing.  Certain  iron  salts  with  develop- 
ment, as  they  are  used  in  cyanotype,  may  be  substituted 
for  the  aniline  colours,  and  then  the  intensification  will  be 
permanent. 

Combined  IIydroquinone  and  Eikonogen  Developer. — It 
has  been  found  that  in  mixing  the  hydroquinone  with  the 
eikonogen  developer  a combination  is  produced  which  is 
superior  to  the  single  developers ; it  acts  as  powerfully  as 
eikonogen  without  fogging  the  shadows,  and  yields  the 
characteristic  intensity  of  hydroquinone.  I have  found 
this  experience  confirmed  in  my  own  practice.  The 
combined  developer  I use  is  the  following  : — 


100  grammes 
15 


1000  c.c. 

50  grammes 
stoppered  bottles  the 
It  may  be  mentioned 


Sodium  sulphite 
Eikonogen  ... 

Hydroquinone  ... 
are  dissolved  hot  in 

Water  ...  ... 

After  cooling  down, 

Carbonate  of  potassium 
are  added  to  the  solution.  In  well 
developer  keeps  well  for  mouths, 
here  that  Mr.  Eugeu  Himly  has  of  late  made  experiments 
with  glycerine  added  to  the  eikonogen  developer,  and 
that  he  has  found  confirmation  of  the  fact  which  was  first 
pointed  out  in  this  journal  by  Mr.  F.  Goldby,  that  the 
keeping  qualities  of  the  concentrated  eikonogen  developer 
are  much  improved  by  the  addition  of  glycerine.  Capt. 
Himly  recommends  the  following  composition  : — 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  1000  c.c. 

Glycerine  ...  ...  ...  ...  100  ,, 

Potassium  metabisulphite  ...  ...  2 grammes 

Sodium  bisulphite  ...  ...  ...  75  ,, 

Eikonogen  ...  ...  ...  ...  12  ,, 

Carbonate  of  potassium  ...  ...  60  ,, 

I have  tried  to  complete  this  by  the  addition  of  — 
Hydroquinone  ...  ...  ...  4 grammes 


The  photographic  news. 


579 


July  25,  1890.] 


which  gives  au  excellent  combined  developer,  of  the 
keeping  qualities  of  which  I can  only  say  that  a solution 
prepared  six  weeks  ago  is  still  entirely  unaltered.  The 
addition  of  yellow  prussiate  of  potash  to  the  above  con- 
centrated developer  gives  good  results,  according  to  the 
statement  of  Capt.  Himly.  It  acts  not  only  as  a preser- 
vative, but  it  is  said  to  give  also  more  contrast  in  the  high 
lights,  and  clearer  shadows,  and  also  to  prevent  fog.  The 
formula  remains  the  same  as  above,  with  the  addition  of 
Yellow  prussiate  of  potash  ...  40  grammes 

The  developing  solution  may  be  used  either  concentrated, 
or  diluted  with  one  to  two  of  its  volume  of  water.  For 
travelling  purposes  the  bulk  of  the  stock  solution  may  be 
diminished  by  taking  the  quantity  of  the  water  as  given  in 
the  above  formula,  and  doubling  the  quantities  of  all  the 
other  components.  The  development  may  be  accelerated 
by  the  addition  of  a few  drops  of  caustic  potash  or  caustic 
soda  solution  (1:10).  Finally,  a very  good  developer  may 
be  given  here  which  was  recommended  at  the  last  meeting 
of  the  Photographic  Society  of  Frankfort-on-Maine,  by 
its  chairman,  Mr.  T.  H.  Voigt : — 


No.  1. 

Water 

Sodium  sulphite 
Hydroquinone 
Potassium  carbonate 


— Slock  Solution. 


800  c.c. 

160  grammes 
20 
230 


No. 


2. 


In  a dropping  tube  are  poured — 

Alcohol  ...  ...  ...  ...  60  c.c. 

Glycerine  ...  ...  ...  ...  10  ,, 

Pyro  (dry) 10  grammes 

For  use,  50  c.c.  of  water,  10  c.c.  of  solution  No.  1,  and 
5 to  10  drops  of  solution  No.  2 are  mixed.  The  stock 
solution  keeps  well. 

Collodion  Dry  Plates  of  High  Sensitiveness. — After  seven 
years’  work  and  several  thousands  of  experiments,  Mr. 
Gaedicke  has  at  last  succeeded  in  preparing  permanent 
and  highly  sensitive  collodion  dry  plates,  which  combine 
with  the  sensitiveness  and  the  keeping  qualities  of  a gela- 
tine dry  plate  all  the  well-known  advantages  of  a wet  col- 
lodion plate.  Mr.  J.  Gaedicke  is  an  investigator  of  high 
reputation,  and  we  are  indebted  to  him  for  many  a use- 
ful improvement  and  invention,  so  that  we  may  have  full 
confidence  in  his  new  successful  work,  which  he  announced 
at  the  last  meeting  of  the  German  Society  of  Amateur 
Photographers  of  Berlin.  The  following  are  some  of  the 
qualities  which  the  inventor  claims  for  his  collodion  dry 
plates  : As  to  the  permanence,  his  experience  extends  to 
six  months,  during  which  period  the  plates  have  kept  un- 
altered, and  in  his  opinion  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  a 
further  permanency.  The  plates  may  be  developed  six 
weeks  (and  probably  even  a much  longer  time)  after  they 
have  been  exposed.  The  sensitiveness  of  these  plates  is 
that  of  a gelatine  plate  of  average  sensitiveness.  They 
are  prepared  exclusively  colour-sensitive.  The  film  is  very 
thin,  and  rich  in  silver,  and  in  the  dry  state  it  is  very 
easily  injured,  so  that  it  requires  careful  manipulation. 
After  fixing,  however,  in  the  wet  state  it  is  so  tough  that 
it  can  be  safely  rubbed  over  with  the  finger.  The  treat- 
ment of  the  plates  is  the  following  : After  exposure,  the 
plate  is  placed  in  a dish  containing  clean  water,  and  the 
film  is  allowed  to  soak  for  a minute.  Then  the  water 
is  poured  away  and  the  developer  poured  on  the 
plate.  An  old,  repeatedly  used  hydroquinone  developer, 
to  which  about  one-tenth  of  its  volume  of  freshly  pre- 
pared hydroquinone  developer  has  been  added,  serves  well. 


The  image  appears  within  six  to  twenty  seconds,  according 
to  the  exposure,  and  after  one  to  two  minutes  the  develop- 
ment will  be  completed.  The  plate  is  now  thoroughly 
rinsed,  and  placed  in  an  ordinary  hypo  solution  for  one- 
half  to  one  minute.  It  is  then  rinsed  again,  washed 
for  about  five  minutes  in  several  changes  of  water,  and 
can  then  be  dried  and  varnished.  The  following  are  the 
advantages  which  the  inventor  claims  for  his  plates  in 
comparison  to  gelatine  plates : In  consequence  of  the 
thin  film  the  image  is  sharper ; the  deposit  is  of  a finer 
grain  ; the  time  of  exposure  offers  a greater  latitude,  so 
thatitisdifficult  to  over-expose  ; the  processes  of  develop- 
ment, fixing,  washing,  anddrying  are  much  shortened;  the 
time  required  for  printing  is  only  about  one-half;  the 
negatives  keep  better ; the  preparation  and  the  develop- 
ment arc  independent  of  the  season  and  of  the  climatej 
since  the  film  is  insoluble  in  water.  Air.  Gaedicke  pro- 
mised to  give  further  particulars,  and  he  said  that  he 
would  prefer  to  have  the  plates  prepared  abroad,  since  in 
his  experience  inventions  of  this  kind  are  more 
acknowledged  abroad  than  in  Germany. 

Table  of  Comparative  Intensities  of  Various  IUuminants.  — 
Mr.  Alexander  Lainer  publishes  in  the  Correspondenz  an 
interesting  and  important  treatise  on  tables  of  comparative 
exposures,  in  which  he  compares  the  tables  of  artificial 
illuminants  contained  in  the  book,  “ Le  Temps  de  Pose,” 
by  M.  de  la  Baume  Pluvinel,  with  that  published  by 
Prof.  Eder  in  his  Year-Book.  For  this  purpose  he  con- 
verted the  latter  into  comparative  exposures,  taking  the 
sunlight  with  60,000  candles  as  unit. 


Table  of  Comparative  Exposures  of  Various  Illuminants. 


Sunlight 

'i  Arc  light 

Electrical  light  ^Ordinary  arc  light  ... 
of  a dynamo  j Incandescent  light  (Edison  or 

J Swan)  

Light  of  40  Grove  cells 

,,  48  Bunsen  ,,  ...  ... 

Limelight  (oxygen  and  house  gas,  ordinary 
pressure) 

Limelight  under  3i  atmosph.  pressure 
Magnesium  wire,  0-3  mm. 

„ ,,  stronger  

Oil  lamp 

Gas  lamp  (fish-tail  burner)  ... 

,,  (Argand  burner)  ... 

Petroleum  lamp  (flat  burner) 

,,  ,,  (round  burner,  15  mm.  diam.) 

>>  >>  ( >>  >>  25  ,,  ,,  ) 

Siemens’  regenerative  round  burner 
Standard  wax  candle,  or  paraffin  candle 
Tallow  candle... 


1 

10—46 

150—300 

3000—6000 

166 

158 

666—2608 

75-1 

811 

300—600 

5454—6000 

6000—10-000 

3530—3750 

1200 

9231 

4286 

600—666 
60-000 
66  666— 85"714 


Mr.  Lainer  thinks  that  this  table  agrees  much  more  with 
the  actual  circumstances  than  that  compiled  by  M. 
Pluvinel. 


A movement  is  on  foot,  originating  at  a meeting  of  the 
Meteorological  Society  of  Berlin,  to  take  simultaneous  photo- 
graphs of  flashes  of  lightning  from  widely  different  points  of 
view,  during  this  summer,  with  a view  to  obtaining  a more 
accurate  knowledge  than  now  exists  as  to  the  length  and  direc- 
tion of  each  flash. 

A new  and  rather  surprising  use,  says  Anthony’s  Bulletin, 
has  been  discovered  and  patented  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Ivoyl,  of  Euston, 
Pa.,  for  celluloid.  By  silvering  the  back  of  a sheet  of  this 
material,  Mr.  Koyl  has  succeeded  in  producing  a looking-glass 
which  is  not  only  of  excellent  quality,  but  is  much  less  des- 
tructible, and  has  also  the  advantage  of  being  bent  or  formed 
into  almost  any  shape. 


580 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  23,  1890. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  IMAGE.* 

BY  PROFESSOR  RAPHAEL  MELDOLA,  F.R.S.,  M.R.I. 

The  photographic  film  of  the  present  time  is  a gelatino- 
haloid  (generally  bromide)  emulsion.  If  a solution  of 
silver  nitrate  is  added  to  a solution  of  potassium  bromide 
and  the  mixture  well  shaken,  the  silver  bromide  coagu- 
lates, and  rapidly  subsides  to  the  bottom  of  the  liquid  as 
a dense,  curdy  precipitate.  [Shown.]  If  instead  of  water 
we  use  a viscid  medium,  such  as  gelatine  solution,  the 
bromide  does  not  settle  down,  but  forms  an  emulsion, 
which  becomes  quite  homogeneous  on  agitation.  [Shown.] 
This  operation,  omitting  all  details  of  ripening,  washing, 
&c.,  as  well  known  to  practical  photographers,  is  the 
basis  of  all  the  recent  photographic  methods  of  obtaining 
negatives  iu  the  camera.  The  use  of  this  invaluable  vehicle, 
gelatine,  was  practically  introduced  by  R.  L.  Maddox  in 
1871,  previous  experiments  in  the  same  direction  having 
been  made  by  Gaudiu  (1858-61).  Such  a gelatino-bro- 
mide  emulsion  can  be  spread  uniformly  over  any  sub- 
stratum— glass,  paper,  gelatine,  or  celluloid — and  when 
dry  gives  a highly  sensitive  film. 

The  fundamental  problem  which  fifty  years’  experience 
with  silver  haloid  films  has  left  in  the  hands  of  chemists  is 
that  of  the  nature  of  the  chemical  change  which  occurs 
when  a ray  of  light  falls  on  such  a silver  salt.  Long  be- 
fore the  days  of  photography — far  back  iu  the  sixteenth 
century — Fabricius,  the  alchemist,  noticed  that  native 
horn  silver  became  coloured  when  brought  from  the  mine 
and  exposed.  The  fact  presented  itself  to  Robert  Boyle 
iu  the  seventeenth  century,  and  to  Beccarius,  of  Turin,  in 
the  eighteenth  century.  The  change  of  colour  under- 
gone by  the  chloride  was  first  shown  to  be  associated  with 
chemical  decomposition  in  1777,  by  Scheele,  who  proved 
that  chlorine  was  given  off  when  this  salt  darkened  under 
water.  I can  show  you  this  in  a form  which  admits  of  its 
being  seen  by  all.  [Potassium  iodide  and  starch  paper 
were  placed  in  a glass  cell  with  silver  chloride,  and  the 
arrangement  exposed  to  the  electric  light  till  the  paper  had 
become  blue.]  The  gas  which  is  given  off  under  these 
circumstances  is  either  the  free  halogen,  or  an  oxide  or 
acid  of  the  halogen,  according  to  the  quantity  of  moisture 
present  and  the  intensity  of  the  light.  I have  found  that 
the  bromide  affects  the  iodide  and  starch  paper  in  the 
same  way,  but  silver  iodide  does  not  give  off  any  gas  which 
colours  the  test  paper.  All  the  silver  haloids  become 
coloured  on  exposure  to  light,  the  change  being  most  marked 
in  the  chloride,  less  in  the  bromide,  and  least  of  all  in  the 
iodide.  The  latter  must  be  associated  with  some  halogen 
absorbent  to  render  the  change  visible.  [Strips  of  paper 
coated  with  the  pure  haloids,  the  lower  halves  brushed 
over  with  silver  nitrate  solution,  were  exposed.]  The 
different  degrees  of  colouration  iu  the  three  cases  must 
not  be  considered  as  a measure  of  the  relative  sensitive- 
ness; it  simply  means  that  the  products  of  photo-chemi- 
cal change  in  the  three  haloids  are  inherently  possessed 
of  different  depths  of  colour. 

From  the  fact  that  halogen  in  some  form  is  given  off,  it 
follows  that  we  are  concerned  with  photo-chemical  de- 
composition, and  not  with  a physical  change  only.  All 
the  evidence  is  in  favour  of  this  view.  Halogen  absorb- 
ents, such  as  silver  nitrate  on  the  lower  halves  of  the 
papers  in  the  last  experiment,  organic  matter,  such  as  the 
gelatine  in  an  emulsion,  and  reducing  agents  generally, 
all  accelerate  the  change  of  colour.  Oxidising  and  halo- 
* Continued  from  page  i58. 


geuisiug  agents,  such  as  mercuric  chloride,  potassium 
dichromate,  &c. , all  retard  the  colour  change.  [Silver 
chloride  paper,  painted  with  stripes  of  solutions  of  sodium 
sulphite,  mercuric  chloride,  and  potassium  dichromate, 
was  exposed.]  It  is  impossible  to  account  for  the  action 
of  these  chemical  agents  except  on  the  view  of  chemical 
decomposition.  The  ray  of  light  falling  upon  a silver 
haloid  must  be  regarded  as  doing  chemical  work ; the 
vibratory  energy  is  partly  spent  in  doing  the  work  of 
chemical  separation,  and  the  light  passes  through  a film  of 
such  haloid  partly  robbed  of  its  power  of  doing  similar 
work  upon  a second  film.  It  is  difficult  to  demonstrate 
this  satisfactorily  iu  the  lecture-room,  on  account  of 
the  opacity  of  the  silver  haloids,  but  the  work  of  Sir 
John  Herschel,  J.  W.  Draper,  and  others,  has  put  it 
beyond  doubt  that  there  is  a relationship  of  this  kind 
bet  ween  absorption  and  decomposition.  It  is  well  known, 

also,  that  the  more  refrangible  rays  are  the  most  active 
iu  promoting  the  decomposition  iu  the  case  of  the  silver 
haloids.  This  was  first  proved  for  the  chloride  by  Scheele, 
and  is  now  known  to  be  true  for  the  other  haloids.  It 
would  be  presumption  on  my  part,  in  the  presence  of 
Captain  Abney,  to  enlarge  upon  the  effects  of  the  different 
spectral  colours  on  these  haloids,  as  this  is  a subject  upon 
which  he  can  speak  with  the  authority  of  an  investigator. 
It  only  remains  to  add  that  the  old  idea  of  a special 
“ actinic  ” force  at  the  more  refrangible  end  of  the  spec- 
trum has  long  been  abandoned.  It  is  only  because  the 
silver  haloids  absorb  these  particular  rays  that  the  blue 
end  of  the  spectrum  is  most  active  in  promoting  their 
decomposition.  Many  other  instances  of  photo-chemical 
decomposition  are  known  in  which  the  less  refrangible 
rays  are  the  most  active,  and  it  is  possible  to  modify  the 
silver  haloids  themselves  so  as  to  make  them  sensitive  for 
the  red  end  of  the  spectrum. 

The  chemical  nature  of  the  coloured  products  of  photo- 
chemical decomposition  is  still  enshrouded  in  mystery. 
Beyond  the  fact  that  they  contain  less  halogen  than  the 
normal  salt,  we  are  not  much  in  .advance  of  the 
knowledge  bequeathed  to  us  by  Scheele  in  the  last 
century.  The  problem  has  been  attacked  by  chemists 
again  and  again,  but  its  solution  presents  extraordinary 
difficulties.  These  products  are  never  formed — even  under 
the  most  favourable  conditions  of  division,  and  with  pro- 
longed periods  of  exposure — in  quantities  beyond  what  the 
chemists  would  call  “ a mere  trace.”  Their  existence 
appears  to  be  determined  by  the  great  excess  of  unaltered 
haloid  with  which  they  are  combined.  Were  I to  give 
free  rein  to  the  imagination,  I might  set  up  the  hypothesis 
that  the  element  silver  is  really  a compound  body  invari- 
ably containing  a minute  percentage  of  some  other  element, 
which  resembles  the  compound  which  we  now  call  silver 
in  all  its  chemical  reactions,  but  alone  is  sensitive  to  light. 
I offer  this  suggestion  for  the  consideration  of  the  specu- 
lative chemist.*  For  the  coloured  product  as  a whole, 
i.e. , the  product  of  photo-decomposition  with  its  combined 
unchanged  haloid,  Carey  Lea  has  proposed  the  convenient 
term  “ photo-salt.”  It  will  avoid  circumlocution  if  we 


* I have  gone  so  far  as  to  test  this  idea  experimentally  in  a preliminary 
way,  the  result  being,  as  might  have  been  anticipated,  negative.  Silver 
chloride,  well  darkened  by  long  exposure,  was  extracted  with  a hot 
saturated  solution  of  potassium  chloride,  and  the  dissolved  portion,  after 
precipitation  by  water,  compared  with  the  ordinary  chloride  by  exposure 
to  light.  Not  the  slightest  difference  was  observable  either  in  the  rate  of 
colouration  or  in  tin  colours  of  the  products.  Perhaps  it  may  be  thought 
worthwhile  to  repeat  the  experiment,  using  a method  analogous  to  the 
“method  of  fractionation  ” of  Crookes. 


Jci.r  25,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


581 


adopt  this  name.  The  photo-salts  have  been  thought,  at 
various  times,  to  contain  metallic  silver,  allotropic  silver, 
a sub-haloid,  such  as  argentous  chloride,  &c.,  or  an  oxy- 
haloid.  The  free  metal  theory  is  disposed  of  by  the  fact 
that  silver  chloride  darkens  under  nitric  acid  of  sufficient 
strength  to  dissolve  the  metal  freely.  The  acid  certainly 
retards  the  formation  of  the  photo-salt,  but  does  not  pre- 
vent it  altogether.  When  once  formed,  the  photo-chloride 
is  but  slowly  attacked  by  boiling  dilute  nitric  acid,  and 
from  the  dry  photo-salt  mercury  extracts  no  silver.  The 
assumption  of  the  existence  of  an  allotropic  form  of  silver 
insoluble  in  nitric  acid  cannot  be  seriously  maintained. 
The  sub-haloid  theory  of  the  product  may  be  true,  but  it 
has  not  yet  been  established  with  that  precision  which  the 
chemist  has  a right  to  demand.  We  must  have  analyses 
giving  not  only  the  percentage  of  halogen,  but  also  the 
percentage  of  silver,  in  order  that  it  may  be  ascertained 
whether  the  photo-salt  contains  anything  besides  metal  and 
halogen.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  oxyhaloid  theory ; 
it  may  be  true,  but  it  has  not  been  demonstrated. 

The  oxyhaloid  theory  was  first  suggested  by  Robert 
Hunt*  for  the  chloride  : it  was  taken  up  by  Sahler,  and 
has  recently  been  revived  by  Dr.  W.  R.  Ilodgkinson.  It 
has  been  thought  that  this  theory  is  disposed  of  by  the 
fact  that  the  chloride  darkens  under  liquids,  such  as  hydro- 
carbons, which  are  free  from  oxygen.  I have  been  repeat- 
ing some  of  these  experiments  with  various  liquids,  using 
every  possible  precaution  to  exclude  oxygen  and  moisture  ; 
dry  silver  chloride  heated  to  incipient  fusion  has  been 
sealed  up  in  tubes  in  dry  benzene,  petroleum,  and  carbon 
tetrachloride,  and  exposed  since  March.  [Tubes  shown.] 
In  all  cases  the  chloride  has  darkened.  The  salt  darkens, 
moreover,  in  a Crookesian  vacuum. t By  these  experi- 
ments the  oxychloride  theory  may  be  scotched,  but  it  is 
not  yet  killed ; the  question  now  presents  itself,  whether 
the  composition  of  the  photo-salt  may  not  vary  according 
to  the  medium  in  which  it  is  generated.  Analogy  sanctions 
the  supposition  that  when  the  haloid  darkens  under  water 
or  other  oxygen-containing  liquid,  or  even  in  contact  with 
moist  or  dry  air,  that  an  oxychloride  may  be  formed,  and 
enter  into  the  composition  of  the  photo-salt.  The  analogy 
is  supplied  by  the  concsponding  salt  of  copper,  viz., 
cuprous  chloride,  which  darkens  rapidly  on  exposure. 
[Design  printed  on  flat  cell  filled  with  cuprous  chloride  by 
exposure  to  electric  light.]  Wohler  conjectured  that  the 
darkened  product  was  an  oxychloride,  and  this  view  re- 
ceives a certain  amount  of  indirect  support  from  these 
tubes  [shown],  in  which  dry  cuprous  chloride  has  been 
sealed  up  in  benzene  and  carbon  tetrachloride  since  March  ; 
and  although  exposed  in  a southern  window  during  the 
whole  of  that  time,  the  salt  is  as  white  as  when  first  pre- 
pared. Some  cuprous  chloride  sealed  up  in  water,  and 
exposed  for  the  same  time,  is  now  almost  black.  [Shown.] 
When  silver  is  precipitated  by  reduction  in  a finely 
divided  state  in  the  presence  of  the  haloid,  and  the  product 
treated  with  acids,  the  excess  of  silver  is  removed  and 
coloured  products  are  left  which  are  somewhat  analogous 
to  the  photo-salts  proper.  These  coloured  haloids  are  also 
termed  by  Carey  Lea  photo-salts,  because  they  present 

* “ Researcher  on  Light,”  2nd  el.  1854,  p.  80. 

t Some  dry  silver  chloride  which  Mr.  Crookes  has  been  good  enouvh  to 
seal  up  for  me  in  a high  vacuum,  darkens  on  exposure  quite  as  rapidly  as 
the  dry  salt  in  air.  It  fom  regains  its  original  crlour  when  kept  in  the 
dark.  It  behaves,  in  fact,  just  as  the  chlorrd;  is  known  to  behave  when 
sealed  up  in  chlorine,  although  its  colour  is,  of  course,  much  more  intense 
after  exposure  than  is  the  case  with  the  chloride  in  chlorine.  The  tube  in 
which  the  chloride  had  bee  r sealed  up  iu  benzene,  gave  off  a considerable 
quantity  of  hydrogen  chloride  on  breaking  the  point  in  June, 


many  analogies  with  the  coloured  products  of  photo- 
chemical change.  Whether  they  are  identical  in  composi- 
tion it  is  not  yet  possible  to  decide,  as  we  have  no  complete 
analyses.  The  first  observations  in  this  direction  were 
published  more  than  thirty  years  ago  in  a report  by  a 
British  Association  Committee*,  in  which  the  red  and 
chocolate  coloured  chlorides  are  distinctly  described. 
Carey  Lea  has  since  contributed  largely  to  our  knowledge 
of  these  coloured  haloids,  and  has  at  least  made  it  appear 
highly  probable  that  they  are  related  to  the  products 
formed  by  the  action  of  light.  [Red  photo-chloride  and 
purple  photo-bromide  and  iodide  shown.] 

(To  be  continued.) 


patent  XnttlUgencc. 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

10,480.  J.  Nock,  15,  Regent  Street,  Barnsley,  “Optical 
Illusions.” — July  7th. 

10,506.  C.  J.  Tozer,  54,  Fleet  Street,  London,  “ Device  for 
Displaying  Photographs  on  Gravestones  or  ^ aults.  — July 
7 th. 

10,545.  H.  P.  Tattersall,  11,  Exchange  Street,  Blackburn, 
“Self-capping  Shutter.” — July  8th. 

10,635.  J.  W.  Smith,  46,  Lincolns  Inn  Fields,  London, 
“Photographic  Shutters.” — July  9th. 

10,719.  F.  R.  Gibbon,  36,  Deronda  Road,  Herne  Hill,  London, 
“ Changing  Box  ami  Slide.” — July  10th. 

10,835.  J.  P.  Bayly,  18,  Fulham  Place,  London,  (Charles 
Bishop,  U.S.)  “Displaying Stereoscopic  Views.” — July  12th. 

10,871.  A.  Touffrevii.t.e,  323,  High  Holborn,  London, 
“ Automatic  Photographic  Machines.” — July  12th. 

10,933.  D.  Webb,  70,  Market  Street,  Manchester,  “ Coloured 
Dioptric  and  other  Lenses.” — July  14th. 

10,955.  W.  F.  Ki.ein,  54,  Fleet  Street,  London,  “ Lenses.” — 
July  14  th. 

11,004.  R.  Timperley,  Central  Chambers,  Halifax,  “Auto- 
matically Exhibiting  Photographs.” — July  15th. 

11,071.  A.  Watt,  89,  Hartington  Road,  Liverpool,  “Appa- 
ratus for  Developing  without  a Dark  Room.” — July  16th. 

11,093.  H.  L.  Sworder,  27,  Southampton  Buildings,  London, 
“ Holder  to  Facilitate  Plate  Washing.” — July  16th. 

11,104.  E.  Edwards,  35,  Southampton  Buildings,  London 
(Oswald  Moh,  Germany),  “Preparing  Photographic  Plates 
of  Mica.” — July  16th. 

11,125.  G.  Wishart,  Bushy  Hill,  Cambuslang,  “Folding  Tri- 
pod Stands.” — July  17  th. 

11,250.  W.  H.  Keep  and  W.  McEntee,  20,  High  Holborn, 
London,  “Removing  Prepared  Lithographic  or  Zincographic 
Surfaces.” — July  18  th. 

11,287.  C.  Judson,  11,  Southampton  Buildings,  London, 
“ Toy  for  Producing  Optical  Effects.” — July  19tli. 

11,293.  J.  E.  Thornton,  3,  New  Lome  Street,  Manchester, 
“Cameras.” — July  19th 


* These  results  were  arrived  at  in  three  ways.  In  one  case  hydrogen 
was  passed  thr  >ugh  silver  citra-e  suspended  in  hot  water,  and  the  product 
extractel  with  citric  acid.  •*  The  result  of  treating  the  residue  with  chlor- 
hydric  acid,  and  then  dis-olving  the  silver  by  dilute  r.itiic  acid,  was  a rose- 
tiot-d  chlorile  of  silver.”  In  another  experiment  the  dry  citrate  was 
heated  in  a stream  of  hydrogen  at  212°  F..  and  the  product,  which  was 
partly  soluble  in  water,  gave  a brown  residue,  which  furnished  ‘‘a  very 
pale  red  body  on  being  transformed  by  chlorhydric  and  nitric  acids.”  In 
another  experiment  silver  arsenite  was  formed,  this  being  treated  with 
caustic  sod  I,  and  the  black  precipitate  then  treated  successfully  with  chlor- 
hyd  ic  and  nitric  acids : ‘ • Silver  is  di;  solved,  and  there  is  left  a substance 
[of]  a rich  chocolate  or  maroon,  Ac.”  This,  on  analysis,  was  found 
to  contain  24  per  cent,  of  chlorine,  the  norm  cl  chh  ride  requiring24'74,  and 
the  sub-chlori  le  14  08  per  cent.  The  committee  which  conducted  these 
experiments  consisted  ot  Messrs.  Maskelyne,  lladow,  Ilardwich,  and 
Llewelyn,  B.A.  Rep.  1859,  p.  103. 


582 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  25,  1890. 


Specifications  Published. 

12,309.  August  2 tut,  1889. — “ Treatment  of  Paper  or  other 
Fabrics  to  Render  them  suitable  for  Photographic  Purposes.” 
James  Williams,  Willesden  Paper  Works,  Willesden  Junction, 
Middlesex,  Chemist. 

Paper  is  at  the  present  time  treated  by  dipping  in  an 
ammoniacal  solution  of  oxide  of  copper  (cuprammonium  hydro- 
oxide) in  the  manufacture  of  the  well-known  Willesden  water- 
proof paper.  Such  paper  has,  however,  comparatively  rough 
surfaces  unless  glazed  with  roller  pressure. 

Paper  and  textile  fabrics  have  also  been  glazed  by  applying  a 
coating  of  cellulose  dissolved  in  cuprammonium  hydro-oxide, 
but,  owing  to  the  manner  in  which  this  was  done,  the  resulting 
surface  was  not  suitable  for  photographic  purposes. 

I have  discovered  that  instead  of  dissolving  cellulose  in 
cuprammonium,  it  is  essential  to  success  to  first  prepare  a 
bath  of  strong  cuprammonium  hydro-oxide  solution,  which 
must  be  of  the  utmost  possible  purity,  and  I find  it  convenient 
to  use  from  1*5  to  2\5  per  cent,  by  weight  of  metallic  copper, 
according  to  the  degree  of  brilliancy  required.  Upon  this 
bath  I float  the  surface  of  the  paper  or  other  fabric  to  be 
treated,  taking  care  that  only  one  side  comes  in  contait  with 
the  solution,  by  which  means  I convert  the  surface  of  the 
paper  or  other  fabric  into  a structureless  film  of  cellulose,  such 
film  at  this  stage  existing  in  combination  with  the  oxide  of 
copper,  ammonia,  and  water  employed.  I then  conduct  the 
sheet  of  paper  or  other  fabric,  with  as  little  exposure  as  pos- 
sible to  the  air  consistent  with  the  setting  of  the  film,  to  one 
or  more  hot  i oilers,  taking  care  to  lead  it  over  the  first,  so 
that  the  untouched  surface  is  in  contact  with  it,  by  which 
means  I expel  the  ammonia  and  water  from  the  deposited 
film. 

The  material  thus  treated  has  a green  tint,  due  to  the 
copper  hydrate  contained  in  the  deposited  film.  In  order  to 
remove  this  and  render  it  suitable  for  photographic  purposes, 

I pass  it  through  consecutive  baths  of  weak  acid,  such  as  sul- 
phuric acid,  which  dissolves  out  the  copper  without  affecting 
the  glazed  surface.  I then  wash  and  dry  the  paper  or  other 
fabric. 

By  this  invention  a permanent  glaze,  capable  of  withstanding 
the  action  of  water,  steam,  weak  acids,  alkalies,  and  ordinary 
solvents,  and  with  a surface  closely  resembling  the  albumenised 
paper  used  in  photography,  is  obtained. 

In  place  of  cuprammonium  liydro-oxide,  other  suitable  sol- 
vents may  be  used. 

What  I claim  is  : — 

1.  The  process  of  forming  a practically  pure,  structureless 

film  of  cellulose  upon  the  surface  of  paper  or  other  fabric, 
by  exposing  it  to  the  action  of  a solvent,  and  then  removing 
or  neutralising  such  solvent.  < 

2.  The  processs  of  forming  a practically  pure,  structureless  1 
film  of  cellulose  upon  paper  or  other  fabric,  by  floating  the 
paper  or  other  fabric  upon  the  surface  of  a solvent,  and  then 
extracting  or  neutralising  such  solvent. 

3.  The  process  of  forming  a practically  pure,  structureless 
film  of  cellulose  upon  the  surface  of  paper  or  other  fabric,  by 
exposing  it  to  the  action  of  cuprammonium  hydro-oxide,  and 
afterwards  to  acid. 

4.  The  process  of  forming  a practically  pure,  structureless 
film  of  cellulose  upon  the  surface  of  paper  or  other  fabric, 
by  floating  the  paper  or  other  fabric  upon  the  surface  of 
cuprammonium  liydro-oxide,  and  afterwards  exposing  it  to  the 
action  of  acid. 

5.  The  treatment  of  paper  or  other  fabrics  to  render  them 
suitable  for  photographic  purposes. 

14,508.  Sept.  14<A,  1889. — “Applying  Luminous  Prepara- 
tion to  Paper.”  James  Albert  Causton,  of  the  firm  of 
Sir  Joseph  Causton  and  Sons,  9,  Eastcheap,  London, 
Printer,  and  James  Challis,  of  9,  Eastcheap,  London,  Com- 
mercial Traveller. 

Our  improved  process  consists  in  printing  any  design  or  pat- 
tern in  an  adhesive  composition,  such  as  gold  size  or  mucilage, 
upon  paper  or  other  substance  from  type,  blocks,  or  litho-  i 
graphic  stones  by  an  ordinary  printing  press  or  otherwise  ; and,  i 


while  the  design  is  still  wet  or  tacky,  dusting  or  flocking  upon 
it  a layer  of  the  chemical  compound  known  as  luminous 
powder,  which  has  the  property  of  absorbing  rays  of  light  and 
afterwards  emitting  them  in  the  dark ; being  the  acting 
ingredient  in  the  well-known  luminous  paint,  and  composed  of 
sulphur  and  lime. 

To  obtain  a greater  body  of  the  luminous  powder,  we  some- 
times mix  a portion  of  it  with  the  mucilage  used  in  printing 
the  design,  and  afterwards  dust  on  the  powder.  The  non- 
luminous  portions  of  the  design  are  printed  in  the  usual 
manner. 

We  are  aware  that  luminous  designs  have  been  produced  by 
painting,  and  also  by  washing  or  coating  the  entire  surface 
with  luminous  paint,  and  stopping  out  the  required  non-lumi- 
nous  portion  by  printing  or  otherwise.  These  methods,  how- 
ever, involve  a very  large  consumption  of  the  luminous  com- 
pound, while  the  effect  obtained  both  on  the  luminous  and  the 
stopped-out  portions  is  extremely  coarse  ; whereas,  by  our 
improved  process,  we  can  produce  designs  of  very  great  delicacy 
and  beauty  with  the  least  possible  expenditure  of  material. 

18,139.  November  13th,  1889. — “Apparatus  for  Facilitat- 
ing the  Microscopical  Examination  of  Photographs.”  Henry 

Duncan,  16,  Tokenhouse  Yard,  London,  Stockbroker. 

My  invention  relates  to  apparatus  for  facilitating  the  micro- 
scopical examination  of  photographic  pictures,  maps,  and 
documents,  and  other  small  or  microscopic  objects. 

My  said  invention  is  chiefly  designed  to  afford  the  means 
whereby  photographic  miniatures  of  maps  or  the  like,  which, 
while  occupying  a comparatively  small  space,  correspond  to  a 
very  large  area,  can  be  easily  examined. 

My  said  invention  is  particularly  serviceable  to  bicyclists 
and  tourists,  and  for  military  and  other  purposes  where  ordi- 
nary maps  would  be  objectionable  by  reason  of  their  bulk,  or 
by  reason  of  the  difficulty  of  using  them,  particularly  in 
stormy  or  wet  weather. 

An  important  feature  of  my  said  invention  is  the  provision 
of  suitable  means  whereby  the  microscope  may  be  readily 
adjusted  relatively  to  the  map  or  other  object,  so  that  any 
desired  section  of  the  said  map  or  other  object  can  be  brought 
into  the  field  of  the  said  microscope.  By  this  means,  with  a 
comparatively  small  lens,  it  is  possible  to  examine  objects  which, 
as  a whole,  occupy  an  area  very  much  larger  than  the  field  of 
such  lens.  For  example,  any  desired  part  of  a small  scale  map 
showing  an  area  of,  say,  three  or  four  hundred  square  miles  may 
be  examined  by  adjusting  the  microscope  as  required. 

In  making  a portable  apparatus  according  to  my  said  inven- 
tion, I arrange  the  lens  or  lenses  in  a suitable  tube  or  holder 
capable  of  sliding  in  a disc  or  other  piece  fitted  to  rotate  in  or 
upon  the  frame  of  the  map,  picture,  or  the  like  ; or  I provide 
other  suitable  means  for  adjusting  the  lens  or  lenses  in  any 
direction  relatively  to  the  said  map,  picture,  or  the  like  for  the 
purpose  above  specified. 

The  tube  carrying  the  lens  or  lenses  is  sometimes  arranged  to 
slide  into  and  out  of  the  main  portion  of  the  apparatus. 

The  map  or  the  like  is  preferably  photographed  on  a greatly 
reduced  scale  on  a disc  of  glass  which  will  fit  into  a suitable 
case  or  holder  provided  with  a removable  cover,  and  is  pro- 
tected with  another  disc  of  glass  secured  to  the  first  disc  in 
any  convenient  manner.  I sometimes  so  construct  these  discs 
as  to  prevent  rotation  of  the  same  in  their  case  or  holder  ; for 
example,  I form  notches  in  them  to  engage  with  a stud  or  pro- 
jection in  the  holder.  I can,  if  desired,  provide  the  apparatus 
with  any  desired  number  of  interchangeable  maps,  pictures,  or 
the  like  mounted  in  this  manner. 

A stud  or  projection  is  sometimes  provided  on  the  said  frame 
to  facilitate  the  use  of  the  apparatus  by  indicating  which  is  the 
top  or  north  of  the  map.  This  stud  or  projection,  moreover, 
engages  with  a notch  in  the  cover  of  the  holder  for  the  map  or 
the  like,  and  prevents  rotation  of  the  said  cover  relatively  to 
the  said  holder. 

In  some  cases  I make  the  map  or  other  object  adjustable 
while  keeping  the  lens  fixed,  so  that  different  parts  of  the  said 
map  or  the  like  can  be  brought  into  the  field  of  the  said  lens, 
or  both  the  lens  and  the  object  may  be  made  adjustable 
relatively  to  each  other. 


Jolt  25,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


583 


6,093.  April  22nd,  1890. — “ A Photographic  Camera.”  John 
Merritt,  842,  President  Street,  and  William  Edward 
Spencer,  293,  Dekalb  Avenue,  Brooklyn,  State  of  New 
Vork,  Physicians. 

This  patent  is  inexplicable  without  the  aid  of  mechanical 
drawings,  and  has  fifteen  claims. 

(ftomgpontienrc. 


EXPOSURE  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

Sir, — In  your  report  of  the  last  meeting  of  the  Hackney 
Photographic  Society  your  printer  has  substituted  “on  glass” 
for  “in  glens;”  the  sentence  should  read  “Preferred  dull 
weather  when  photographing  in  glens.” 

As  some  little  misunderstanding  might  arise  about  the 
development  of  an  isochromatic  plate  by  candle-light,  permit 
me  to  point  out  that  I used  the  developing  dish  designed  by 
myself,  which  has  a transparent  ruby  glass  bottom,  with  a well 
at  one  end  to  hold  developer  when  the  dish  is  held  upright. 
By  this  means  it  is  unnecessary  to  remove  the  plate  from  the 
developing  dish  to  examine  it  for  density,  or  to  pour  off  the 
developer.  This  prevents  bubbles  in  the  developer  and  staining 
of  fingers,  as  it  is  not  necessary  to  touch  the  plate  at  all  until 
development  is  complete  and  the  solutions  washed  off.  The 
ruby  glass  bottom  prevents  the  light  from  reaching  the  back  of 
plate  when  examining  for  density,  my  experience  proving  that 
plates  are  mostly  fogged  in  this  way.  As  to  the  glass  side  of 
the  film  it  remains  sensitive,  whereas  the  surface  of  film  is 
partly  protected  by  the  developer  and  the  reduced  image. 

Birt  Acres. 


BRIXTON  AND  CLAl'HAM  CAMERA  CLUB. 

Sir, — Can  you  spare  a corner  in  this  week's  issue  to  announce 
that  in  future  we  meet  at  Gresham  Hall,  Gresham  Road, 
Brixton,  S.W.,  opening  there  on  Thursday,  31st  inst.,  and 
that  we  shall  be  glad  to  see  any  photographers  residing  in  the 
neighbourhood  on  that  occasion,  or  at  any  of  our  meetings  ? 
Thanking  you  in  anticipation,  F.  W.  Levett,  Hon.  Sec. 

126,  Lowden  Hoad,  Herne  Hill,  S.E.,  21  st  July. 

laroccctftngs  of  £oricttes. 


Photographic  Society  of  Great  Britain. 

The  monthly  technical  meeting  of  this  Society  was  held  on 
July  22,  Mr.  T.  Sebastian  Davis  in  the  Chair. 

A set  of  photographs  from  paintings  of  eminent  masters 
amongst  musical  composers  was  received  from  an  establishment 
at  Munich. 

An  illustration  of  photographic  enterprise  was  narrated  by 
Mr.  L.  Warnerke.  A photographer  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  was 
in  the  habit  of  posting  himself  at  a stopping  place  of  the 
Yentnor  coach,  and  photographing  the  vehicle  and  passengers 
at  about  eleven  o’clock  in  the  morning,  and  by  five  in  the 
afternoon,  on  the  return  journey,  the  passengers  were  met 
with  a supply  of  mounted  prints  made  from  the  negative  taken 
only  a few  hours  earlier. 

An  enquiry  being  made  as  to  the  character  of  Watkins’ 
exposure  meter,  Mr.  Chapman  Jones  said  that  a description  of 
it  would  be  found  in  the  Journal  of  Chemical  Industry. 

The  Chairman  asked  what  would  be  considered  a fair  time 
to  expect  commercial  sensitised  paper  to  keep  in  good  condition  ? 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debeniiam  said  that  there  were  two  causes  which 
operated  to  spoil  sensitised  paper.  One  cause  was  the  influence 
of  an  impure  atmosphere,  such  as  that  of  large  cities.  It  must 
not  be  expected  that  silver  paper  could  be  prepared  to  resist 
this  influence.  The  other  cause  was  the  inherent  constitution 
of  the  sensitised  paper  itself.  It  was  this  that  the  manu- 
facturer could  influence.  Paper  must  therefore  be  judged  by 
its  ability  to  keep  in  good  condition  if  well  preserved  from  the 
atmosphere.  There  were  also  two  kinds  of  deterioration, 
discolouration,  and  a change  which  prevented  the  paper  from 


taking  a rich  and  satisfactory  tone.  He  had  noticed  that  with 
paper  kept  loose  this  change  had  come  on  before  there  was 
any  serious  discolouration. 

Mr.  Chapman  Jones  had  found  paper  keep  better,  as  far  as 
freedom  from  discolouration  is  concerned  when  loose  in  a box 
than  when  rolled  up. 

Mr.  Warnerke  had  some  sensitised  paper  which  was  more 
than  two  years  old.  It  had  been  kept  wrapped  in  tinfoil,  and 
was  as  good  as  at  first,  with  the  exception  of  the  outside  sheet, 
which  was  spoiled. 

Mr.  A.  Cowan  had  found  paper  keep  perfectly  good  when 
placed  between  folds  of  blotting-paper  that  had  been  prepared 
with  a solution  of  common  washing  soda  and  dried. 

Mr.  Warnerke  had  used  in  this  way  paper  treated  with 
potassium  nitrite. 

Mr.  J.  It.  Gotz  considered  that  the  influence  of  impure 
atmosphere  was  very  strong  in  spoiling  sensitised  paper.  He 
had  known  paper  to  keep  perfectly  good  for  two  years  at  a 
country  place  in  Shropshire,  whilst  in  Sheffield  as  many  months 
sufficed  to  spoil  it. 

The  Chairman  said  that  it  would  be  an  advantage  if 
albumenisers  would  prepare  paper  in  other  and  larger  sizes 
than  the  one  now  exclusively  adopted.  There  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  getting  the  paper  from  the  mills. 

Mr.  Gotz  then  exhibited  McKellan’s  new  magazine  hand- 
camera,  and  showed  its  working,  which  appeared  to  be  simple 
and  satisfactory. 

London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  1 7 th  inst.  Mr.  F.  A.  Bridge  occupied 
the  chair. 

Mr.  S.  T.  Chang  was  elected  a member. 

Mr.  J.  R.  Gotz  exhibited  some  half-plate  negatives  taken  on 
Obernetter  films  ; the  substratum  of  these  films  is  hardened 
gelatine.  Mr.  Gotz  said  the  treatment  of  these  films  was 
similar  to  others.  After  washing,  they  were  transferred  to  a 
bath  containing  a little  spirits  of  wine  and  about  7 per  cent,  of 
glycerine,  in  which  they  were  allowed  to  remain  about  half  an 
hour,  and  then  dried  between  sheets  of  blotting-paper.  He 
also  passed  round  some  prints  on  Obernetter  paper  with  a matt 
su  rface.  . 

Mr.  A.  Haddon  said  that  at  a former  meeting  Mr.  Hastings 
had  shown  some  prints  on  Reynolds’  iridium  paper.  He  had 
subjected  a piece  of  this  paper  to  various  tests,  but  was  unable 
to  trace  any  iridium. 

The  report  of  the  delegates  appointed  by  the  Association  to 
attend  the  Convention  at  Chester  was  given  by  Mr.  A.  Haddon, 

The  subject  for  discussion  on  the  31st  inst.  will  be  “Out- 
door Portraiture.” 


Newcastle-on-Tyne  and  Northern  Counties  Photographic 
Association. 

July  15 th.  — Mr  James  Brown  in  the  chair.  About  forty 
members  were  present. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Smith,  of  the  Eastman  Company,  attended  to 
exhibit  and  explain  the  kodak  and  new  Tollable  transparent 
film.  In  introducing  his  subject,  Mr.  Smith  said  he  would 
naturally  be  expected  to  refer  to  the  attacks  which  had  been 
made  upon  the  kodak,  and,  in  fact,  he  was  there  partly  for 
that  very  purpose.  He  emphatically  protested  against  anony- 
mous and  erroneous  statements  which  had  appeared  in  one  of 
the  photographic  papers,  and  he  especially  invited  the  writer 
who  signed  himself  “ Newcastle  ” to  come  forward,  if  present, 
and  argue  the  matter  out ; an  invitation  which,  however,  was  not 
responded  to.  It  was  the  intention  of  the  Company,  when- 
ever the  identity  of  a correspondent  could  be  established,  to 
go  boldly  to  him  and  afford  every  facility  for  the  settlement 
of  disputed  points.  Had  any  of  these  anonymous  gentlemen 
given  the  most  cursory  examination  to  the  kodak,  they  would 
have  found  that  the  lens  is  not  a single  non-achromatic  ; and 
as  to  price,  that  was  entirely  a matter  between  buyer  and 
seller.  He  wished  to  state,  in  as  public  a manner  as  possible, 
that  in  the  No.  1 kodak  the  lens  was  not  a single  but  a peri- 
scopic — a doublet  lens.  It  was  not  achromatised,  but  was 


584 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[July  25,  1890. 


placed  so  as  to  work  at  its  chemical  focus,  and  he  could  appeal 
to  results  to  show  its  quality.  With  the  sole  exception  of  the 
No.  1,  all  the  other  forms  of  kodak  sent  out  by  his  Company 
were  fitted  with  rapid  rectilinear  lenses  made  by  one  of  the 
principal  firms  of  lens  makers  in  America,  and  they  would 
bear  comparison  with  any  in  the  market.  The  focus  of  the 
quarter-plate  was  five  and  a quarter  inches,  and  the  5x4 
six  and  a half  inches,  and  all  were  capable  of  adjustment  to 
various  distances.  Results  of  exposures  taken  in  the  kodak 
during  the  Convention  were  passed  round,  some  hand  expo- 
sures and  others  with  a tripod,  as  well  as  enlargements  from 
the  same  negatives.  It  was  intended  to  demonstrate  the 
development  of  the  films,  but  time  did  not  admit. 

After  remarks  from  Messrs.  Dunn,  Park,  Pike,  Hemy,  the 
Chairman,  and  others,  a vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to  Mr. 
Smith  for  his  address. 


Bristol  and  West  of  England  Amateur  Photographic 
Association. 

The  excursion  on  the  18th  to  Tintern  was  attended  by  a few 
members,  including  Mr.  E.  Brightman.  The  weather  was  fine, 
and  some  good  work  was  done. 

On  the  Saturday  following  (the  21  iust.)  a large  number  of 
members  went  for  a day’s  photography  and  pleasure  to 
Keynsham  and  Saltford,  in  response  to  the  invitation  of  the 
president,  Mr.  H.  A.  H.  Daniel.  The  party  left  the  train  at 
Keynsham,  where  they  visited  the  interesting  Parish  Church, 
and  were  thence  driven  by  Mr.  Daniel  to  Keynsham  Manor 
House,  where  they  were  hospitably  regaled  before  proceeding 
farther.  Return  was  made  to  Keynsham  Manor  in  the  late 
afternoon.  Mr.  Boyden  took  an  excellent  group  before  the 
party  dispersed. 

Raglan  was  settled  on  for  the  July  excursion,  which  was 
arranged  to  take  place  on  Saturday,  the  26th,  the  journey 
being  made  on  the  previous  evening. 

A resolution  of  regret  was  passed  by  the  members  pre- 
sent at  the  announcement  of  the  death,  after  a rather  sudden 
illness,  of  Mr.  E.  S.  Walsh,  a member  of  the  Society. 

A Carbon  Process. — Mr.  O.  Volkner  publishes  the  follow- 
ing dust  carbon  printing  process,  which  appears  to  be  easy  to 
carry  out,  requires  no  reversed  negatives,  and  yields  per- 
manent prints.  We  also  think  it  can  be  used  in  making  photo- 
typic  printing  blocks.  Make  a solution  of  gelatine  in  water(l : 60) 
and  draw  sheets  of  good  strong  paper  through  it,  and  hang 
it  up  to  dry.  Wet  it  again  and  squeeze  it  down  on  a 
piece  of  glass.  Now  brush  over  it  a solution  of  ten  parts  gela- 
tine, ten  parts  gum  arabic,  twenty  parts  white  sugar,  eighty 
parts  distilled  water.  While  still  quite  moist,  put  it  in  a dust- 
ing box  (such  as  used  for  photogravure)  which  contains  a mix- 
ture of  100  parts  to  white  dry  sugar  and  five  parts  of  French 
lampblack.  After  a lapse  of  eight  to  ten  minutes  with- 
draw it,  and  you  will  find  it  covered  with  innumerable 
particles  of  dust.  Paper  thus  prepared  will  keep,  and 

has  to  be  sensitised  in  a bath  of  fifty  parts  bichro- 
mate of  potassium,  fifty  parts  bichromate  of  ammonia, 
six  thousand  parts  water  and  aqua  ammonia,  until  it 
assumes  a light  yellow  colour,  and  at  last,  to  avoid  the  too 
quick  dissolution  of  the  gum  arabic,  immerse  in  twenty  parts 
chromic  acid  in  1,500  alcohol.  Print  by  Vogel’s  photo- 
meter 16°  to  18®.  To  develop,  use  warm  water  first,  and 
afterwards  cold,  leaving  the  print  for  several  hours  in  water, 
to  which  may  be  added  a little  aqua  ammonia,  in  case  the 
printing  was  carried  too  far.  The  prints  show  a singular  and 
very  pleasing  grain,  and  need  no  transferring. — Dr.  Eder's 
Jahrbuch. 

Received. — The  catalogue  of  Mr.  R.  Abraham,  whose 
business  will  in  future  be  carried  on  under  the  name  of  Adams 
and  Co.  This  catalogue  begins  with  thirty-six  pages  of  good 
literary  matter  on  practical  photographic  subjects  by  Mr. 

Andrew  Pringle  and  other  good  wi  iters. We  have  also 

received  with  thanks  and  suspended  in  the  office,  as  requested, 
our  coloured  book-cover  supplement,  recently  issued,  neatly 
framed  by  Mr.  W.  F.  Slater,  of  Southampton  Street,  Camber- 
well, as  a specimen  of  his  skill  in  the  framing  of  photographs. 


Hnstuers  to  ©orrtgpontientsi. 

All  Communications,  except  advertisements,  intended  for  publication, 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Photographic  News,  5,  Furnival 
Street,  London,  E.C. 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  be  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Koad,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

All  Advertisements  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 
to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  the 
Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter, 5,  Furnival  Street,  London. 

Col.  Waterhouse. — ( ruaiacol  Developer,  dec.  We  thank  you 
for  the  letter  dated  24th  ult.,  and  for  the  promise  of  fur- 
ther particulars,  also  for  the  memorandum  sent.  The  change 
which  you  describe  is  not  confined  to  India,  but  occurs  in 
more  temperate  climates,  and  sometimes  even  in  England. 

H.  S. — Card  Mounts.  Two  cabinets  received  showing  defects, 
the  cause  of  which  cannot  be  ascertained  by  mere  inspec- 
tion. We  will  look  further  into  the  matter  and  report  to 
you  later  on. 

Focus. — Right  of  Reproduction.  Amongst  amateurs  who  are 
friends,  it  is  not  likely  that  there  can  be  any  objection  to 
the  proposed  course,  which  is  intended  as  a personal  com- 
pliment ; but  as  a measure  of  courtesy  you  ought  to 
apprise  your  absent  colleague  of  the  step  you  are  taking, 
even  though  he,  being  at  the  antipodes,  may  not  get  to 
hear  of  it  until  after  your  copies  are  distributed.  All 
depends  upon  the  character  of  the  individual,  and  the  degree 
of  intimacy  subsisting  between  you.  We  have  done  so 
under  similar  circumstances  without  giving  offence. 

I).  M. — Eikonogen  Development ; German  Formula.  The  use 
of  eikonogen  introduces  no  new  practice  as  regards  the 
method  of  fixing  the  plates  developed  therewith.  Bromide 
is  supposed  to  have  an  influence  by  virtue  of  its  exerting  a 
slight  solvent  action  upon  the  haloid  salts  of  silver  con- 
tained in  the  sensitive  film  ; the  same  claim  is  made  on  be- 
half of  the  trace  of  hypo  sometimes  employed  as  an  accele- 
rator. 

E.  O.  C.  (Boston). — Photo-Mechanical  Processes.  Inlast  week’s 
News  you  will  have  seen  further  references  to  Kiewning’s 
and  to  Maschek’s  processes. 

Inquirer. — Hygrometers.  The  instrument  figured  and  des- 
cribed at  page  547  may  not  be  altogether  novel,  but  is  pro- 
bably much  more  delicate  than  the  cat-gut  hygrometer  in 
frequent  use.  The  wet  and  dry  bulb  thermometers  may  be 
depended  upon  to  give  correct  indications  ; these  are  worked 
with  Mr.  Olaisher’s  tables. 

L.  P.  (Yarmouth). — Ferrous  Oxalate.  Your  letter  is  answered 
by  reference  to  the  concluding  summary,  which  has  now 
been  published.  See  bottom  of  page  552. 

Tyro. — Brown  Spots  in  Silver  Prints.  The  circular  marks 
appear  to  be  due  to  bubbles  formed  whilst  the  prints  are  in 
the  fixing  bath.  The  cure  should  be  occasional  lifting  and 
more  agitation  in  the  hypo,  with  greater  care  in  removing 
the  excess  of  silver  by  preliminary  washing. 

S.  D. — Cockled  Ebonite  Shutter.  Try  the  effect  of  tying  up 
the  slide  between  two  ziuc  plates,  immerse  in  boiling  water, 
and  allow  gradually  to  cool.  It  ought  then  to  be  perma- 
nently flattened. 

J.  M.  S. — Weather  Forecasts.  From  long  observation  and 
comparisons  we  should  be  inclined  to  put  the  “successes  ” 
rather  lower  than  two  out  of  three,  and  several  of  the  later 
prophecies  have  been  exceedingly  unfortunate.  Photographers 
are  quite  as  much  interested  as  the  farmers  in  getting  true 
indications,  but  we  must  wait  for  the  progress  of  science, 
and  hope  for  better  results.  America  is  fortunate  in  having 
a great  continent  and  wide  ocean  to  help  their  meteorological 
forecasts,  which  are  nearly  always  right  ; whilst  our  insular 
position  precludes  the  attainment  of  this  degree  of  certainty, 
and  with  us,  so  far,  they  are  about  as  often  wrong  as  right. 
W.  C.  N. — “ London  Purple."  We  have  never  known  Magenta 
residues  to  be  called  by  this  name,  but  from  them  may  lie 
prepared  Ruby  Powder,  which,  in  some  respects,  answers  to 
your  description. 

Received. — Photargus,  B.  B.  and  Co.,  and  E.B, 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 

pjP 

\ P1  1 ■■  r — 

Vol.  XXXIV.  No.  16$k—  August  1,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PAO* 

The  Weights  and  Measures  Used  by  Photographers  in  America  585 

Dark  Room  Comforts  586 

Steeling  Photogravure  Plates  587 

Limitations  in  the  Treatment  of  Subjects  by  Focus.  By  W. 

K.  Burton  587 

PAO« 

Literary  Notice 597 

Photo-Chemical  Investigations.  By  Ferdinand  Ilurter,  Ph.D., 

and  V.  C.  Driffield 598 

The  Photographic  Image.  By  Professor  Raphael  Meldola, 
F.R.S.,  M.R.1 699 

The  Recent  City  Photographic  Exhibition  590 

Photography  in  France.  By  Leon  Vidal 590 

Photography  in  Copenhagen 592 

Photo-Engraving  as  a Business  600 

Military  Photography 600 

Photographing  Upon  Wood  601 

Printing  Operations.  By  Ellerslie  Wallace.... 593 

The  Studio  in  Summer-Time.  By  John  A.  Tennant  596 

Treating  Flexible  Plates.  By  M.  Balagny 597 

Patent  Intelligence  602 

Correspondence 608 

Proceedings  of  Societies 603 

Answers  to  Correspondents  604 

THE  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES  USED  BY 
PHOTOGRAPHERS  IN  AMERICA. 

As  it  seems  probable  that  the  system  of  weights  and 
measures  used  by  British  photographers  will  soon  he 
the  same  as  those  employed  in  the  rest  of  civilised 
Europe,  it  remains  to  be  considered  whether  a variation 
from  the  general  uniformity  will  be  found  in  the  United 
States  of  America.  In  relation  to  the  weights  and 
measures  of  the  United  States,  Professor  T.  C.  Menden- 
hall, the  superintendent  of  the  United  States  Coast  and 
Geodetic  Survey,  recently  delivered  a long  address  to 
the  Pharmacopoeial  Convention  held  at  Washington ; 
that  address  contained  a mass  of  useful  information 
on  the  subject  now  under  notice. 

Professor  Mendenhall  set  forth  that  in  the  United 
States  the  old  English  system  of  weights  and  measures, 
resting  upon  no  scientific  basis,  is  in  general  use,  and 
that,  whilst  within  the  last  fifty  years  the  English  had 
somewhat  improved  their  ancient  system,  the  example 
had  not  been  followed  in  his  country.  He  said  that 
the  United  States  was  one  of  the  first  nations  to  receive 
copies  of  the  metre.  During  the  French  Revolution, 
the  Committee  on  Safety,  of  which  Robespierre  was 
chairman,  transmitted  to  the  United  States  a copper 
metre  and  a copper  kilogramme  by  order  of  the  Com- 
mittee, and  this  metre  and  kilogramme  were  placed  in 
the  national  archives.  In  the  archives  of  the  United 
States  Coast  Survey  Office  is  what  is  known  as  the 
Committee  metre— an  iron  bar  of  great  historic  interest, 
as  only  three  or  four  are  now  in  existence.  This  is 
one  of  the  fifteen  iron  bars  which  were  prepared  from 
a study  of  the  metre,  and  was  obtained  very  long  ago. 
Professor  Mendenhall  added  that  in  1868  a law  was 
passed  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  legalising  the 
use  of  the  metric  system  in  that  country,  and  establish- 
ing certain  approximate  relations  between  the  metric 
and  the  customary  systems.  He  said  that  he  wanted  to 
emphasise  one  fact  which  is  not  generally  recognised  in 
relation  to  this  subject,  and  that  is,  that  to-day  the 
metre  and  the  kilogramme  are  the  only  units  that  have 
been  established  by  Congress  for  the  whole  country. 


In  the  course  of  his  address,  he  also  set  forth  that  in 
1869  the  French  Government  invited  other  governments 
to  send  delegates  to  Paris  in  order  to  attend  the 
International  Bureau  of  Weights  and  Measures,  that 
they  might  agree  on  the  construction  of  a new  inter- 
national metre.  The  old  metre  of  the  archives  was 
still  preserved,  but  it  no  longer  possessed  the  great 
authority  it  formerly  had,  since  its  form  was  not 
recognised  as  coming  up  to  the  modern  ideas  of 
metrology.  The  French  Government,  therefore,  con- 
cluded that  it  was  time  to  construct  a new  metre 
which  should  be  first  in  authority  the  world  over. 

The  United  States  sent  delegates,  and  in  1875  the 
International  Bureau  of  Weights  and  Measures  was 
organised  by  an  International  Convention.  It  was 
held  in  France;  about  twenty-five  nations  were  repre- 
sented, and  the  result  of  that  was  the  introduction 
of  a new  prototype  standard.  Copies  of  this  proto- 
type standard  were  subsequently  distributed  to  all  the 
nations  of  the  world  who  had  participated  in  the  Con- 
vention, and  two  of  these  copies  went  to  the  United 
States,  two  metres  and  two  kilogrammes.  One  of  these 
metres  and  one  of  these  kilogrammes  were  carried  over 
from  Paris  by  Mr.  Graham,  of  the  Geodetic  Survey, 
and  were  deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  Bureau  of 
Weights  and  Measures.  They  bore  the  seal  of  the  United 
States  Minister  at  Paris,  and  of  Prof.  Davidson  and  Dr. 
Gould.  On  the  2nd  day  of  January,  1890,  these  standards 
were  taken  to  the  Executive  Mansion,  to  the  Cabinet  room, 
and  were  opened.  The  seals  were  broken  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  witnessed  by  the  Secretary 
of  State  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  also  by 
twenty  or  thirty  distinguished  scientific  men.  Models 
were  constructed  of  these  standards,  and  Professor 
Mendenhall  exhibited  one  of  them  to  the  Convention, 
made  of  90  per  cent,  platinum  and  10  per  cent,  iridium, 
coated  with  aluminium.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a bar, 
but  it  has  a peculiar  cross  section  of  the  form  of  the 
letter  H,  so  that  any  stress  that  the  bar  may  receive 
will  be  compensated  for ; a short  distance  from  each 
end  are  fine  lines,  and  they  represent  the  length  of  the 


586 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[August  1,  1890. 


metre.  He  also  exhibited  a model  of  the  standard 
kilogramme  composed  of  the  same  platinum-iridium 
alloy. 

From  this  it  seems  that  great  attention  is  being  paid 
just  now  in  the  United  States  to  the  metric  system, 
and  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  matter  is  likely  to  be 
considered  without  delay  by  photographers  there,  who 
are  already  displaying  much  interest  in  the  steps 
recently  taken  in  England  in  relation  to  the  standard- 
ising of  the  mounts  of  lenses. 


DARK  ROOM  COMFORTS. 

It  is  a common  belief  that  any  place  will  do  for  a 
dark  room  for  photographic  purposes,  and  many  men 
are  content — sometimes,  unfortunately,  by  compulsion — 
to  utilize  a cupboard  under  the  stairs,  or  some  other 
corner  of  the  household  where,  to  use  a common  but 
expressive  term,  “ there  is  not  room  to  swing  a cat,” 
for  the  purposes  of  development.  We  never  yet  met 
with  a photographer  who  possessed  any  intense  desire 
“to  swing  a cat,”  but  all  of  us  are  desirous  of  suffi- 
cient room  in  our  workshops  to  swing  our  own  arms 
without  the  danger  of  smashing  bottles  or  dishes  in 
the  process.  The  “ cupboard  ” form  of  dark  room  is 
bad  for  other  reasons,  the  chief  being  the  want  of 
ventilation,  so  that  half-an-hour’s  work  therein  causes 
a feeling  of  exhaustion  which  is  not  always  traced  to 
the  real  cause.  One  pair  of  lungs  soon  vitiates  the 
available  oxygen  in  a small  room,  and  if  the  process  is 
helped  by  a lamp,  which  consumes  a great  deal  more, 
the  place  soon  becomes  likened  to  the  black  hole  of 
Calcutta. 

We  lately  saw  at  the  house  of  an  ardent  amateur 
photographer  a very  ingenious  method  by  which  his 
bath-room  was  transformed  in  two  minutes  into  an 
effective  dark  room . The  idea  seemed  to  us  to  be  so 
original  in  conception  that  we  made  a note  of  the 
arrangements,  by  leave  of  the  owner,  for  the  benefit  of 
others.  The  bath  was  of  the  usual  household  type,  with 
cold  water  laid  on  by  an  ordinary  tap,  and  was  placed 
immediately  under  a window  through  which  the  after- 
noon sun  poured  liberally  into  the  room.  The  window 
had  a vallance  above  it,  and  curtains  on  either  side,  and 
without  close  examination  did  not  reveal  any  other 
fittings  ; but  this  window  was  really  far  more  worthy 
of  patenting  than  many  photographic  contrivances 
which  are  daily  brought  under  our  notice. 

In  the  first  place,  it  was  fitted  with  a blind  made  of 
ruby  medium,  which  was  fastened  to  a roller  like  any 
other  window  blind.  When  pulled  down  the  light  in 
the  room  instantly  changed  to  crimson,  but  there  were, 
of  course,  gaps  on  each  side  through  which  treacherous, 
undiluted  daylight  still  streamed  in  sufficient  quantities 
to  affect  the  least  sensitive  of  photographic  compounds. 
No  light  came  in  from  beneath  the  blind,  for  it  was 
made  of  such  a length  that  its  lower  edge  and  lath 
came  over  the  window  ledge,  and  could  be  fastened 
there  by  a button  in  the  wall. 

Rut  fixed  to  the  outer  edges  of  the  window  frame  on 
each  side,  and  hidden  until  required  by  the  curtains, 


were  two  wings  of  black  material  (silesia)  each  about 
ten  inches  broad.  These  flaps  were  pulled  over 
the  edges  of  the  blind,  and  two  or  three  elastic  tapes 
fastened  to  the  edge  of  one  of  them  found  resting  places 
on  corresponding  buttons  sewn  on  the  edge  of  the  other 
one.  In  this  way  the  window  was  quite  obscured, 
while  plenty  of  red  light  came  into  the  room  from 
the  broad  band  of  ruby  medium  that  was  left 
exposed  right  down  its  centre.  With  this  clever 
makeshift  the  bath-room  was  changed  into  a red  room 
with  case,  and  plates  could  be  developed  in  comfort 
upon  a wooden  grid  that  was  temporarily  laid  across 
under  the  tap.  It  is  true  that  the  interior  of  the  bath 
bore  traces  of  experiments  with  various  developers,  and 
the  paint  gave  evidence  of  chemical  discolouration,  but 
this  we  should  not  have  remarked  had  it  not  been  pointed 
out  to  us  by  the  fair  lady  of  the  house. 

Where  a bath  room  can  be  adapted  in  this  way  one 
great  desideratum  gained  is  a plentiful  supply  of  water. 
The  importance  of  this  is  not  always  recognised  by 
photographers,  and  thereby  many  a good  negative  has 
been  sacrificed.  A properly  fitted  dark  room  should 
not  only  have  a copious  supply  of  this  “staff”  of 
modern  photography — it  was  not  of  so  much  conse- 
quence in  the  days  of  collodion — but  it  should  also  have 
a large  sized  sink  in  which  plates  may  be  left  with  the 
water  running  upon  them  after  the  alum  bath,  as  a 
final  precaution  against  the  enemy  hypo. 

The  right  choice  of  a dark  room  lamp  is  another 
matter  upon  which  comfort  much  depends.  When 
electricity  is  “ laid  on”  to  our  houses  that  difficulty 
will  be  solved,  for  there  is  nothing  better  than  a glow- 
lamp  in  a red  lantern,  or — as  they  will  doubtless  be  sup- 
plied for  photographic  uses — with  ruby  glass  bulbs  of 
their  own.  In  the  meantime  gas  is,  without  doubt, 
the  best  thing  to  use  where  it  is  available.  The  lantern 
box  in  which  it  is  contained  should  be  largo,  and  may 
conveniently  be  fitted  with  panes  of  different  material, 
according  to  the  work  in  hand.  Rut  perhaps  the  chief 
recommendation  of  gas  is  that  it  can  readily  be  turned 
up  or  down,  according  to  the  amount  of  light  which  it 
is  deemed  safe  to  use  with  different  varieties  of 
plates. 

There  are  many  other  points  which  greatly  add  to 
dark  room  comfort,  too  many,  indeed,  to  discuss  in 
detail,  but  one  or  two  which  are  commonly  neglected 
may  be  mentioned.  Every  bottle  should  be  legibly 
labelled,  and  in  the  case  of  compounds,  such  as  de- 
velopers, the  actual  formula  should  be  written  at  length 
on  the  label.  The  ability  to  fill  a bottle  afresh,  with- 
out the  necessity  of  hunting  through  eevcral  Year- 
Rooks  to  find  the  original  formula,  is  a comfort 
indeed.  A bottle  of  water,  acidulated  with  hydrochloric 
acid,  and  a sponge,  should  be  kept  close  to  the  sink 
in  order  to  wash  out  dishes  and  measures  after  use ; 
and  we  may  mention  in  passing  that  the  same  sponge 
passed  over  a sheet  of  glass,  followed  by  a good  rinse 
under  the  tap,  will  give  a chemically  clean  surface 
more  quickly,  perhaps,  than  any  other  agent.  These 
are  little  things,  but  attention  to  such  details  leads  to 
big  things. 


August  1,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


587 


STEELING  PHOTOGRAVURE  PLATES. 

In  an  illustrated  pamphlet  on  “ Photogravure,”  by  W.  T. 
Wilkinson,  issued  this  week  by  iliffe  and  Son,  will  be 
found  thirty-two  pages  of  reading  matter,  giving  photo- 
graphers information  how  to  etch  their  own  photogravure 
plates,  and  to  print  off  impressions  therefrom.  The 
artistic  effects  producible  by  photogravure  are  now  fully 
recognised,  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  this  process  may 
play  an  important  part  in  the  professional  photography  of 
the  future. 

The  pamphlet  is  clearly  written,  and  likely  to  be  useful. 
In  it  Mr.  Wilkinson  gives  the  following  instructions  for 
the  steeling  of  the  etched  plates  when  large  numbers  of 
prints  are  required  therefrom: — 

“When  the  plate  has  been  proved,  the  next  operation 
will  be  to  steel-face  it,  for  which  purpose  it  is  thoroughly 
cleaned  with  whiting  moistened  with  turpentine  and 
naphtha,  polishing  with  a soft  cloth  ; a small  portion  of 
the  plate  behind  is  scraped  clean,  and  a piece  of  copper 
wire  soldered  to  it.  The  steeling  solution  is  placed  in  a 
wooden  cell,  the  positive  and  negative  poles  from  the 
battery  (Leclanche)  ending  in  copper  rods  the  whole 
length  of  the  cell.  The  solution  is  composed  of — 

Warm  water  ...  ...  ...  ...  20  ounces 

Ammonium  chloride  ...  ...  ...  3 ,, 

Sulphate  of  iron  and  ammonia  ...  ...  4 ,, 

When  dissolved,  filter,  and  let  it  stand  in  the  cell  twenty- 
four  hours  before  use.  When  required  for  use,  the  copper- 
plate is  hung  upon  the  rod  connecting  with  the  negative  pole 
of  battery,  the  positive  pole  being  occupied  by  the  anode 
(a  plate  of  pure  steel),  which  must  be  the  same  size  or 
larger  than  the  copper-plate.  The  two  plates  being  in 
position,  the  current  is  turned  on  by  pushing  in  the  rod 
of  battery,  and  in  from  three  to  five  minutes  the  opera- 
tion is  complete,  the  copper-plate  being  covered  by  a very 
thin  film  of  steel.  The  plate,  when  steel-faced,  is 
thoroughly  washed  and  dried,  and  then  cleaned  with 
whiting  and  turps  and  naphtha,  the  copper  wire  behind 
carefully  unsoldered,  and  the  back  scraped  flat.  If  the 
battery  is  not  to  be  used  again  for  some  time  the  anode 
should  be  removed  and  wiped  dry,  the  cell  being  carefully 
covered  up.” 


A SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE  “ PHOTOGRAPHIC 
NEWS.” 

We  desire  to  remind  the  readers  of  this  Journal  that  on 
Friday,  August  15th,  a fine  photo-etching,  representing 
the  house  at  Eversley  of  the  late  Charles  Kingsley,  will  be 
issued  as  a Supplement  to  the  Photographic  News. 


Clearing  Collodion.  — Collodion,  which  is  often  slow  in 
settling  and  clearing  after  preparation,  may,  according  to  the 
Photo.  Archil •,  be  entirely  cleared  by  shaking  it  up  with  clear 
quartz  sand.  This  carries  the  flocks  and  impurities  to  the 
bottom  with  it,  and  leaves  the  liquid  above  entirely  clear. 

Toning  Gelatino-Chloride  Paper. — The  simplest  toning 
bath  for  gelatino-cldoride  paper  we  have  seen  is  that  proposed 
by  W.  K.  Burton,  of  Tokio,  Japan  ; it  is  as  follows  : — 

Hyposulphite  of  soda  3 ounces 

Distilled  water  ...  ...  ...  ...  20  ,, 

Chloride  of  gold 6 grains 

with  the  addition  of  three  grains  of  nitrate  of  lead  to  preserve 
the  whites.  The  above  bath  tones  slowly,  and  does  not  give 
the  richness  produced  by  the  sulpho-cyanide  of  ammonia 
formula,  but  will  recommend  itself  to  many  on  account  of  its 
simplicity. — Wilson’s  Photographic  Magazine, 


LIMITATIONS  IN  THE  TREATMENT  OF  SUB- 
JECTS  BY  FOCUS* 

BY  W.  K.  BURTON. 

It  must  be  some  year  or  two  now  since  I wrote  to  your 
columns,  pointing  out  what  I considered  to  be  a fallacy  in 
a statement  made  by  Mr.  T.  II.  Dallmeyer  in  connection 
with  the  effect  of  reflection  from  the  surfaces  of  lenses. 
Mr.  Dallmeyer,  at  that  time,  replied  to  my  communication 
that  he  intended  to  go  into  the  matter  thoroughly  by  the 
aid  of  drawings,  and  I have  been  ever  since  eagerly  look- 
ing out  for  any  farther  word  from  him  on  the  subject.  I 
see  an  announcement  in  a photographic  periodical  that  has 
just  reached  me  that  he  is,  at  last,  going  to  take  the 
matter  up.  I therefore  do  not  enter  into  this  question  at 
present  farther  than  to  say  that  if  he,  Mr.  Dallmeyer,  has 
not  gone  into  the  matter  before  he  has  seen  this,  he  may 
hereby  know  that  there  is  at  least  one  person  anxiously 
waiting  to  hear  of  his  results. 

I now  come  to  say  a word  or  two  in  reply  to  some 
remarks  made  by  Mr.  Dallmeyer  in  his  recent  paper  read 
before  the  Camera  Club  Conference,  entitled  “ Limitations 
in  the  Treatment  of  Subjects  by  Focus,”  in  which  he 
criticises  some  sayings  of  mine. 

I cannot  help  thinking  that  Mr.  Dallmeyer  either  will- 
fully misrepresents  me,  or  has  not  understood  the  paper 
of  mine  that  he  refers  to,  “ On  One  or  Two  Tenets  of 
the  Naturalists,”  and,  as  I cannot  believe  the  former,  I 
must  believe  the  latter  assumption,  and  assume  that  my 
paper  was  not  clear.  I therefore  make  a little  farther 
explanation. 

In  the  paper  of  mine  referred  to  I stated  that  I believed 
the  common  statement,  that  the  eye  defines  less  per- 
fectly than  a good  lens,  to  be  a mistake.  I should  certainly 
have  added  that  this  is  as  far  as  refers  to  axial  definition 
only.  My  authority  is  Lord  Rayleigh  who,  unless  I 
remember  very  imperfectly,  some  years  ago  demonstrated 
that  the  normal  human  eye  gives  central  definition  in  one 
plane  as  good  as  any  lens  is  physically  capable  of  giving, 
but  I have,  unfortunately,  not  the  means  by  me  here  to 
quote  chapter  and  verse. 

Mr.  Dallmeyer  contradicts  my  statement,  and  gives 
Helmholz  as  his  authority  ; but  he  persistently  ignores  the 
whole  point  of  my  argument,  to  wit,  that  granted  that  the 
eye  gives  ever  so  much  worse  definition  than  a lens,  there 
still  should  be  in  the  image  given  by  a photographic  lens, 
so  far  as  any  scientific  reasoning  goes,  one  plane  rendered 
as  sharp  as  the  lens  is  capable  of  rendering  it ; because, 
whatever  falling  off  of  definition  due  to  imperfection  in 
the  eye  there  may  be  in  looking  at  an  object,  there  will  be 
exactly  the  same  falling  off  in  looking  at  an  image  of  the 
object  made  with  a lens  that  gives  absolute  sharpness  in  one 
plane. 

But  I am  repeating  what  I have  already  said  several 
times,  and  doubtless  weary  your  readers.  If  Mr.  Dall- 
meyer really  wishes  to  know  what  my  views  on  the  subject 
really  are — and  they  are  very  different  from  his  representa- 
tion of  them  at  the  Camera  Club  Conference — I refer  him 
to  page  55  of  the  Year-Book  for  1890,  as  1 think  that  I 
there  succeeded  in  expressing  myself  more  clearly  than  I 
did  in  the  paper  I wrote  for  the  Camera  Club. 

I now  come  to  what  is  the  real  reason  for  my  writing  at 
the  present  time.  It  is  a question  in  relation  to  diffusion 
of  focus. 

• Tfce  full  title  of  this  article,  as  sent  to  us  by  Mr.  Burton,  is  “ Djll- 
meyer  on  Limitations  in  the  Treatment  of  Subjects  by  Focus,  and  on  one 
or  two  other  Subjects.” — Ed. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[AuGrsT  1,  1890. 


588 


I consider  a double  apology  due  for  touching  on  this 
subject  again,  one  to  your  readers  for  once  more  bringing 
up  a matter  that  has,  as  most  will,  I fear,  consider,  been 
discussed  ad  museum  already,  and  another  to  Mr.  Dall- 
meyer  for  venturing  to  differ  from  so  great  an  authority  as 
himself  on  a purely  optical  subject.  It  is  with  the  utmost 
diffidence  that  I do  so  because,  for  one  thing,  optics  are  a 
very  slippery  subject,  and  one  is  liable  to  stumble,  even 
after  all  care  ; for  another,  I must  confess  that  I some- 
times have  difficulty  in  quite  following  Mr.  Dallmeyer’s 
meaning.  This  I have  not  the  smallest  doubt  is  my  own 
fault ; but  if  I have  misunderstood  Mr.  Dallmeyer  in  the 
particular  point  that  I am  now  taking  up,  I am  sure  that  I 
will  be  held  excused,  for  I think  there  must  be  many 
others  who  have  misunderstood  him  as  well  as  me. 

To  come  to  the  point,  Mr.  Dallmeyer  has  several  times 
stated  that,  in  the  case  of  a lens  with  diffusion  of  focus 
introduced  in  the  form  of  positive  spherical  aberration,  the 


effect,  if  a middle  distance  object  is  focussed,  is  that  the 
falling  off  of  definition,  although  greater  for  a near  object 
than  in  the  case  of  a thoroughly  corrected  lens,  is  less  for 
the  distance,  and  that,  the  important  object  being  to  reduce 
the  contrast  between  the  definition  of  the  object  focussed 
for  and  the  distance,  diffusion  of  focus  is  a useful 
thing. 

Now  I state  that  the  facts  are  the  direct  opposite  of  this. 
Positive  spherical  aberration  favours  the  nearer  objects  at 
the  expense  of  the  distance.  I think  that  I can  prove  this, 
and  that,  consequently,  all  Mr.  Pallmeyer's  .arguments  in 
a recent  controversy  with  Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham,  and  also 
those  at  the  recent  Camera  Club  Conference,  fall  to  the 
ground. 

I must  ask  for  leave  to  have  reproduced  an  illustration 
that  has  done  service  many  times,  namely,  that  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Grubb,  used  by  him  in  combating  the  claims  of 
the  late  Mr.  Dallmeyer  in  the  matter  of  diffusion  of  focus. 


I would  ask  a close  inspection  of  this  cut.  The  upper 
diagram  represents  the  condensation  of  the  rays  of  light 
from  a point  after  passing  through  a lens  without  spherical 
aberration ; the  lower,  the  condensation  of  similar  rays  after 
passing  through  a lens  having  diffusion  in  the  form  of 
positive  spherical  aberration. 

In  the  former  case  the  rays  come  to  a focus  at  a point ; 
in  the  latter  case  they  do  not,  but  come  to  a series  of  foci 
at  different  distances  from  the  lens,  forming,  however,  a 
“quasi-focus,”  which  is  generally  assumed  to  be  at  that 
distance  from  the  lens  where  the  bundle  of  rays  is  of  the 
smallest  diameter. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  in  the  case  of  the  upper  diagram, 
the  diameters  of  the  cones  of  light,  or  “ bundles  of  rays,” 
are  given  at  equal  distances  in  front  of  and  behind  the 


point  of  focus,  the  diameters  being  equal,  and,  in  each 
case,  190  units. 

In  the  case  of  the  other  diagram,  where  there  is 
diffusion  represented,  the  diameters  are  again  given  at 
equal  distances  behind  and  in  front  of  the  quasi-focus, 
and  that  at  that  same  distance  as  in  the  case  of  the  lens 
without  spherical  aberration.  In  this  case  it  wilt  be 
found  that  the  bundles  of  rays  are  not  of  equal  diameter, 
but  that,  whereas  that  farther  from  the  lens  is  represented 
by  280,  which  is  much  more  than  190,  the  other  is  repre- 
sented by  174,  which  is  somewhat  less  than  190,  so  that 
in  this  case  there  is  a positive  gain  in  the  size  of  the  circle 
of  confusion  representing  a point. 

So  far  the  argument  is  sound,  but  after  this  it  seems  to 
me  that  it  woefully  ceases  to  be  so.  Mr.  Dallmeyer  goes 


August  1,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


589 


on  to  speak  of  the  bundle  of  rays  nearer  the  lens  than  the 
quasi-focus  as  representing  planes  “ beyond  the  point 
focussed  upon.”  He  refers  to  this  several  times,  about 
the  most  distinct  statement  appearing  iu  a letter  to  the 
Photographic  News  of  April  27th,  1888.  I quote  from 
the  letter: — “My  claims  for  the  advantages  on  the  side  of 
the  lens  iu  question  cannot  fairly  be  refuted  by  Mr. 
Debenham  or  any  other  photographer ; and  they  are 
founded  on  the  ground  that  it  is  chiefly  and  almost 
entirely  the  better  definition  of  planes  beyond  the  point 
focussed  upon  that  we  are  aiming  at,  neglecting  as  far  as 
possible  the  question  of  foreground,  where  the  disadvan- 
tageous conditions  would  appear.” 

Mr.  Dallmeyer  assumes  that  the  bundle  of  rays  nearer 
the  lens  than  the  plane  of  focus  represents  the  distance, 
those  farther  from  the  plane  of  focus  the  foreground. 
Now  the  exact  reverse  is  the  truth.  If  a middle  distance 
object  be  focussed  for,  the  distance  is  represented  by  a 
part  of  the  bundle  of  rays  farther  from  the  lens  than  the 
point  or  points  where  they  crossed ; an  object  iu  the 


foreground  is  represented  by  a portion  of  the  bundle 
nearer  than  the  point  or  points  where  they  would  cross, 
were  they  to  pass  through  the  plate  or  focussing 
glass. 

It  is  true  that,  in  focussing,  we  move  the  lens  nearer  to 
the  ground  glass  for  a distant  than  for  a near  object, 
but  this  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  position  at  which  the 
bundles  of  rays  are  cut  by  the  plane  of  the  ground  glass 
when  this  is  not  in  a fixed  position.  I think  this  will  be 
made  clear  by  a diagram  that  I have  made. 

In  this  sketch  A B is  intended  to  represent  the  plane 
of  the  focussing  glass.  C is  supposed  to  be  the  point 
focussed  for,  and  the  light,  represented  by  two  thick  lines,  is 
shown  as  meeting  at  a point  in  the  plane  of  the  ground 
glass. 

The  thin,  full  lines  (parallel  till  they  reach  the  lens)  are 
supposed  to  represent  light  from  a distant  object.  It 
will  be  seen  that  the  light  rays  cross  nearer  the  lens  than 
the  plane  of  the  ground  glass,  namely,  at  D.  The  dotted 
lines  are  supposed  to  represent  light  from  a foreground 


object  at  E.  It  will  be  seen  that  they  cross  farther  from 
the  lens  than  the  ground  glass,  namely,  at  F.  I have  not 
attempted  to  show  actual  spherical  aberration  in  this 
illustration,  as  the  result  would  be  too  confusing,  but  a 
moment's  reference  to  the  diagram  of  Grubb  given 
above  along  with  my  own  will  show  that  were  there 
spherical  aberration,  the  distant  point  would  be  repre- 
sented by  a much  larger  disc  of  confusiou  than  the  fore- 
ground point. 

I think  it  will  be  conceded  that  the  whole  of  the 
recent  ingenious  demonstration  given  by  Mr.  Dallmeyer 
at  the  Camera  Club  goes  to  show  that  the  result  of  intro- 
ducing diffusion  in  the  form  of  positive  spherical  aberration 
is  to  improve  the  definition  of  the  foreground  a very  little 
at  the  cost  of  the  distance,  which  is  thereby  thrown  into 
much  worse  definition  than  with  a completely  corrected 
lens.  This  may  be  partly  compensated  for  in  practice  by 
the  fact  that  we  do  not  focus  when  there  is  positive 
spherical  aberration  for  that  part  of  the  bundle  of  rays  that 
is  of  least  diameter,  but  for  a plane  somewhat  nearer  the 
lens  than  this,  as  I have  already  described  in  the  Photo- 
graphic News. 

After  all  this,  I do  not  by  any  means  wish  to  argue  that 
diffusion  of  focus  is  of  no  use.  I have,  on  the  contrary, 
always  held  that  it  is  of  great  practical  use,  but  only  in 
reducing  the  contrast  of  definition.  If  Mr.  Dallmeyer 
had  confined  himself  to  claiming  this  he  would  have  been 
on  safe  ground,  but  he  has  tried  to  prove  too  much. 
Another  thing  in  this.  Although  the  effect  of  positive 
spherical  aberration  certainly  is  to  improve  the  definition 
of  the  foreground  at  the  cost  of  the  distance.  I notice, 
in  examining  the  illustration  that  accompanies  Mr.  Dall- 
meyer’s  paper  read  before  the  Camera  Club,  that  there 
is  no  appreciable  difference  between  the  two  until  much 
more  spherical  aberration  is  introduced  than  would  be 
tolerated  in  practice. 

Farther  than  this,  I do  not  at  all  know  that  I agree  with 
the  dictum  of  Mr.  Dallmeyer  iu  which  he  lays  it  down  that 


it  is  always  most  desirable  to  reduce  the  amount  of  lack  of 
definition  of  the  distance  without  reference  to  the  fore- 
ground. I think  there  are  many  cases  in  which  the  exact 
reverse  is  the  case. 


A Cuuious  Legal  Case. — The  Supreme  Court  at  St.  Paul, 
Minnesota,  handed  down  a decision  on  July  1st.,  in  the  case  of 
Ida  Moore,  of  Minneapolis,  against  Photographer  Rugg.  Rugg 
sold  a copy  of  Mrs.  Moore’s  picture,  which  was  put  on  exhibi- 
tion in  improper  places,  much  to  the  discredit  of  the  lady,  and 
she  brought  suit  for  damages.  The  Supreme  Court  holds  that 
it  is  a case  in  which  there  is  ground  for  the  recovery  of  damages  ; 
that  the  photographer  has  no  right  to  dispose  of  pictures  which 
are  the  sole  property  of  the  sitter.  The  decision  is  an  impor- 
tant one.  Similar  cases  have  arisen  once  or  twice  previously  in 
other  parts  of  the  country. — American  Journal  of  Photography. 

Toning  Bath  for  Gblatino-Chlouidb  Paper. — Herr  Steig- 
litz  recommends  the  following  toning  bath  for  this  paper  : — 
Chloride  of  gold  ...  ...  ...  0 '25  gramme 

Nitrate  of  uranium  ...  ...  ...  0'25  ,, 

Bicarbonate  of  soda  .. . ...  ...  5 • grammes 

Distilled  water  ...  ...  ...  300  c.c. 

This  bath  should  be  used  immediately,  as  it  does  not,  keep. 
The  prints  should  be  printed  deeply,  and  washed  at  least  iu  six 
changes  of  water  before  priuting.  Fix  with  : — 

Hyposulphite  of  soda  ...  ...  ...  1 part 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  5 parts 

Ammonia...  ...  ...  ...  ...  afewdrops 

The  prints  are  toned  in  a few  minutes. 

To  obtain  a reversed  negative,  Mr.  Kronenberg  makes  use 
of  the  Eastman  negative  transfer  paper.  He  places  in  the 
frame  a perfectly  clean  plate,  having  the  thickness  of  one  milli- 
metre ; he  applies  the  negative  paper,  then  a second  plate,  so 
as  to  obtain  perfect  planitude.  After  exposure  and  develop- 
ment, the  paper  is  placed  for  two  minutes  in  a bath  of  500  cubic 
centimetres  of  distilled  water  and  one  cubic  centimetre  of  acetic 
acid,  then  in  the  hyposulphite  ; wash  for  ten  minutes,  then 
transfer  the  print  to  a glass  plate  coated  with  gum-arabic  dis- 
solved iu  benzine.  To  obtain  adherence  use  the  squeegee,  then 
; place  the  whole  iu  tepid  water,  and  at  the  end  of  three  minutes 
remove  the  paper.  If  necessary  strengthen  in  the  ordinary 
manner. — Deutsche  Photographcn  Zcitung. 


590 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[August  1,  1890. 


THE  RECENT  CITY  PHOTOGRAPHIC  EXHI- 
BITION. 

The  following  is  the  report  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  Photographic  Section  of  the  London 
Chamber  of  Commerce  in  relation  to  the  recent  Photo- 
graphic Exhibition  at  the  Drapers’  Hall,  London. 

The  executive  committee  appointed  by  the  Section  to 
organise  the  Exhibition  promptly  commenced  its  duties 
by  issuing  a circular  to  the  trade,  and,  efficiently  assisted 
by  the  secretary  of  the  Chamber,  carried  it  through  with 
a fair  measure  of  success  in  the  manner  you  have  wit- 
nessed. 

There  were  seventy  exhibitors,  eleven  hailing  from  the 
provinces,  and  fifty-nine  representing  the  metropolis.  A 
large  and  interesting  display  of  apparatus  was  made,  and 
a representative  collection  of  photographs  and  processes 
of  printing  gathered  together  at  Drapers’  Hall,  every 
available  foot  of  space  in  the  noble  suite  of  rooms  lent  to 
us  being  occupied.  The  soiree  was  numerously  and  influ- 
entially attended,  and  in  its  arrangements  a success.  The 
visitors  to  the  Exhibition  were  mostly  city  men  and  their 
friends,  the  numbers  averaging  about  1,200  a day  for  the 
ten  days  it  was  open.  Many  of  the  visitors  took  quite  a 
practical  interest  in  the  apparatus,  and  showed  a lively 
appreciation  of  the  photographs  displayed.  Some  amount 
of  business  issued  directly  from  the  Exhibition  your 
committee  knows,  and,  considered  commercially,  one  may 
safely  say  that  the  trades  represented  enjoyed  a peculiarly 
efficacious  advertisement  at  a moderate  cost. 

The  statement  of  receipts  and  expenditure  now  sub- 
mitted bears  witness  to  a small  balance  in  hand.  The  trea- 
surer of  your  committee  availed  himself  of  the  conveni- 
ence of  passing  receipts  and  expenses  direct  through  the 
Chamber,  which  received  £340  6s.  6d.,  and  paid  away 
£332  18s.  7d.,  handing  to  him  a balance  of  £7  7s.  lid. 
This  balance  became  increased  to  £8  8s.  5d.,  from  which 
£5  16s.  Od.  was  refunded  to  exhibitors  who  had  paid  for 
more  space  than  the  committee  were  able  to  allot, 
leaving  a nett  surplus  of  £2  12s.  5d.,  the  disposal 
of  which  you  will  determine.  Of  the  total  receipts,  the 
sum  of  £18  17s.  6d.  was  contributed  by  the  Chamber, 
which  levied  a small  tax  on  its  members  outside  the  Photo- 
graphic Section  in  the  shape  of  a charge  on  tickets  for 
the  soiree.  On  the  whole  conduct  of  the  Exhibition  your 
committee  has  had  the  benefit  of  the  knowledge,  experi- 
ence, and  influence  of  the  Chamber. 

(Signed)  W.  S.  Bird,  Chairman  Executive  Com. 

Thos.  P.  Watson, 

Frank  Bishop. 


Yellow  Stains. — Every  photographer  is,  no  doubt,  to  his 
own  sorrow,  familiar  with  a yellow  stain  in  the  negative,  caused 
by  taking  the  plate  from  the  fixing  bath  before  it  is  thoroughly 
fixed.  Mr.  Belitski,  the  well-known  photo-chemist,  made  some 
experiments  recently  to  remove  this  stain,  and  succeeded  very 
well.  A slight  stain  can  often  be  removed  by  placing  the 
negative  in  the  following  solution  : 50  parts  alum,  1,000  parts 
water,  10  parts  bichromate  of  potassium,  20  parts  muriatic 
acid.  After  several  minutes  the  negative  turns  yellow  all 
through.  It  is  washed  now  very  thoroughly,  exposed  to  sun- 
light for  several  minutes,  and  developed  or  blackened  with  the 
ordinary  iron  developer.  When  the  stain  is  very  intense  this 
remedy  will  not  prove  to  be  of  any  avail,  and  only  by  leaving  it 
for  twenty-four  hours  in  the  Lainer  acid  fixing  bath  (so  often 
described  in  all  journals  recently)  he  succeeded  in  removing 
the  stain,  and  saviug  valuable  negatives. — Deutsche  Photo- 
graphen  Zcitung. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  FRANCE. 

BY  LEON  VIDAL. 

Photographic  Nomenclature — Neglect  of  the  Tomb  and 
Work  of  Daguerre  at  Cormeil-en-Parisis — New 
Property  of  Gelatine — Acetate  of  Amyl  Lamp — 
Sensito-Colorimetry  for  Ortiiociiromatic  Photo- 
graphy— Lantern  Slides  Projected  in  Stereoscopic 
Relief— Lantern  Carrier  by  M.  Donnadieu — Free- 
dom of  Photography  in  the  Streets  of  Paris — 
Literature. 

Photographic  Nomenclature. — In  connection  with  the 
presentation  of  the  latest  work  of  the  French  Photographic 
Society,  regrets  have  been  expressed  that  the  terms  adopted 
by  the  International  Congress  of  1889  have  not  been 
employed.  We  look  upon  these  regrets  as  premature. 
The  work  of  the  Paris  Congress  is  destined  to  be  revised 
by  another  Congress,  which  will  take  place  probably  in 
Brussels  in  1891.  It  is  very  probable  that  many  of  the 
decisions  of  the  preparatory  Congress  of  Paris  will  be 
reversed,  and  it  is  desirable  to  await  a fuller  authorisation 
before  hastening  to  adopt  expressions  on  which  a better 
understanding  may  be  arrived  at.  For  our  own  part,  we 
opposed  in  the  Congress  the  use  of  the  expression 
phototype  as  the  designation  of  the  photographic  negative, 
and  we  hope  that  the  necessity  for  the  employment  of 
another  word  will  be  recognised,  since  the  word  phototypie 
has  to  serve  as  designating  the  application  of  photography 
to  typography.  The  Congress  of  Paris,  although  held 
during  the  Universal  Exhibition,  did  not  include  such  a 
number  of  adherents  that  its  work  can  be  considered  as 
definitive ; therefore  why  should  it  be  desired  at  once 
to  impose  the  putting  in  practice  of  solutions  essentially 
provisional  ? 

Neglect  of  the  Tomb  and  Work  of  Daguerre. — In  spite  of 
the  glory  which  is  attached  to  the  name  of  Daguerre,  his 
tomb  at  Cormeil-en-Parisis  appears  to  be  absolutely 
neglected.  The  cure  of  this  commune  has  informed  the 
Photographic  .Society  of  the  fact.  He  adds  that  the  paint- 
ing executed  by  Daguerre  in  the  choir  of  the  churcli 
requires  considerable  restoration.  The  cost  of  both 
reparations  would  amount  to  between  three  thousand  and 
four  thousand  francs.  It  would  seem  not  to  require  a 
great  effort  for  the  Society  and  other  photographic  groups 
to  cause  these  restorations  to  be  promptly  undertaken. 
It  is  a duty  that  should  be  attended  to  at  once,  and  eve 
hope  that  the  cure  of  Cormeil  will  not  in  vain  have 
addressed  himself  to  our  photographic  association,  which 
is  rich,  and  equal  of  itself  to  the  accomplishment  of  this 
task. 

New  Property  of  Gelatine. — Messsrs.  Louis  and  Auguste 
Lumiere,  of  Lyons,  announce  the  property  of  chloride  of 
barium  of  dissolving  gelatine.  Mr.  Bardy  says  in  this  con- 
nection that  chlorides  of  magnesium  and  of  zinc  possess 
the  same  property. 

Acetate  of  Amyl  Lamp. — General  Sebcrt  has  presented 
an  acetate  of  .amyl  lamp  made  according  to  the  specifica- 
tions laid  down  by  the  Congress.  A screen  carrier  has 
been  added  in  such  manner  as  to  cut  the  flame  at  the 
desired  height.  The  model  is  very  well  made,  but  the 
price  would  be  too  high  for  it  to  come  into  practical  use. 
Instruments  of  this  character  cannot  be  in  the  hands  of 
every  one,  unless  the  cost  is  such  as  to  render  them  acces- 
sible to  all.  Until  that  time  a simple  candle  has  much 
greater  chance  of  being  generally  adopted  than  lamps, 
however  perfect,  the  cost  of  which  is  from  fifty  to  sixty 


August  1,  1890.  | 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


591 


francs.  Apparatus  of  other  kinds,  still  based  upon  the 
decisions  of  the  Congress,  are  in  course  of  construction. 
We  see  no  objection  to  this.  It  will  permit  that  they 
may  be  put  to  the  test  of  trial  before  the  meeting  of  the 
new  Congress,  in  which  there  may  be  questions  of  intro- 
ducing improvements  if  certain  defects  are  recognised. 
Only  it  is  well  to  look  upon  all  this  for  the  present  as  pro- 
visional, since  it  may  be  reversed  at  the  Brussels  Congress. 

Sensito-Colorimetry  for  Orthocliromatic  Photography. — Mr. 
Stebbing  desired  us  to  confide  to  him  the  execution  of 
the  sensito-colorimeter  which  we  presented  at  a preceding 
meeting  of  the  Society.  He  has  copied  the  model  and 
presented  several  examples  of  it.  Itconsists,  as  is  known, 
of  a polychromatic  screen  bearing  the  principal  colours 
of  the  spectrum.  These  colours  are  deep  and  light  blue, 
deep  and  light  green,  deep  and  light  yellow,  and  finally, 
deep  and  light  red.  Behind  the  transverse  bauds  formed 
by  the  colours,  there  are  four  bands  cutting  across 
them  formed  of  yellow  screens  of  different  depths  suit- 
able for  orthocliromatic  photography.  The  instrument 
permits  us  to  ascertain  the  behaviour  of  orthocliromatic 
plates  to  rays  of  various  colours,  with  the  aid  of  yellow 
screens  of  various  degrees  of  intensity,  as  well  as  without  the 


SENSITOCOLORIMETRE 
LEON  VIDAL- 


COULEURS 

EC  R A N S 

SANS 

tCRAN 

N°  4- 

N°  3 

N“  2 

N°  1 1 

Blcufonce 

RJ 

B 

o 

l— 

B, 

B 

Bleu  clair 

b 

4 

t> 

3 

}) 

2 

T) 

1 

T 

Vert  fonce 

V, 

V2 

vt 

V 

Vert  clair 

V4 

V3 

v> 

V 

Jaune  fonce 

■h 

J2 

J, 

J 

Jaune  clair 

K. 

^ 2 

j, 

J 

Rouije  fonce 

R4 

RS 

R. 

R, 

R 

Rou^e  clair 

r4 

P3 

L 

r3 

r 

addition  of  such  screens.  The  accompanying  diagram  will 
explain  the  arrangement  better  than  any  description.  The 
indications  Bt  hl  signify  deep  blue  with  the  yellow  screen 
No.  1,  and  light  blue  with  the  same  screen.  In  the  same 
way,  /.’3  and  r,  signify  deep  red  with  screen  No.  3,  and 
light  red  also  with  the  No.  3 screen.  The  letters  B,  V, 
&c.,  without  uumbers  represent  deep  blue,  deep  green, 
&c.,  without  a yellow  screen,  and  so  on.  We  believe 
that  this  method  of  uniform  control  will  allow  comparable 
observations  on  orthocliromatic  sensitiveness  to  be  made 
by  all. 

Lantern  Slides  Projected  with  Stereoscopic  Relief. — M.  Mol- 
teni  held  a meeting  showing  the  application  of  a method 
ol  obtaining  stereoscopic  relief  in  pictures  projected  by 


the  lantern.  Two  lanterns  are  placed  side  by  side,  fur- 
nished the  one  with  a red  and  the  other  with  a green 
glass  (complementary  colours).  On  the  screen  there  are 
thus  found  two  images,  one  red  and  one  green,  and  they 
are  superposed  as  exactly  as  possible.  The  spectators  are 
also  supplied  with  eye-glasses,  the  glass  for  one  eye  being 
red,  and  for  the  other  green.  The  image  seen  on  the 
screen  is  monochromatised,  and  the  relief  is  very  appa- 
rent if  the  superposition  is  exact.  The  experiment  was 
truly  of  great  interest. 

Lantern  Carrier. — M.  Donnadieu,  Professor  of  the 
Faculty  of  Science  at  Lyons,  has  designed  a new  lantern 
carrier,  of  which  the  following  is  a description,  for  the 
purpose  of  overcoming  the  difficulties  that  occur  in 
centreing  and  properly  placing  an  image  on  the  screen  when 
one  has  to  work  iu  a dim  light. 

The  front  portion  of  the  plate  carrier  is  made  of  a piece  of 
wood  with  an  aperture  of  eight  centimetres  square,  bordered 
by  a double  rebate,  the  inner  one  chamfered,  so  as  not  to  throw 
any  shade  upon  the  opening  itself.  It  is  closed  by  a shutter 
turning  on  pivots  or  hinges  worked  at  will  by  a button. 
Behind  the  wood  which  forms  the  bottom  of  the  carrier  is 
placed  a strong  glass.  The  frame  is  pierced  on  each  of  its  four- 
sides  by  a slit,  in  which  is  a sliding  piece  in  the  form  of  a T-  A 
pinchiug-screw  placed  above  each  slide  fixes  it  in  any  required 
position,  and  the  slide,  being  narrower  than  the  slit,  may  be 
placed  obliquely,  and,  being  scarcely  a millimetre  thick,  does  not 
project  beyond  the  thickness  of  any  plate  that  may  be  used.  In 
the  frame  is  fitted  a movable  guide,  which  is  cut  out  in  the 
centre  to  receive  the  plate.  This  opening  must,  therefore,  be 
of  the  size  of  the  plate,  or  may  take  carriers  themselves  fitting 
the  plate.  A spring  pressure  board  with  opening,  covered  on 
the  side  next  the  negative  with  cloth,  serves  to  keep  the  plate 
flat  against  the  stout  glass  of  the  carrier.  A ground  glass, 
marked  with  perpendicular  and  diagonal  lines,  is  placed  in 
one  of  the  rebates.  The  negative  is  then  adjusted  in  a full 
light  to  the  desired  position  against  the  lines,  and  the  ground 
glass  being  removed,  the  carrier  may  be  taken  into  the  dark 
room  and  placed  in  the  lantern  by  feeling  only. 

Photography  in  the  Streets  of  Paris. — We  are  now  at 
liberty  to  photograph  in  the  streets  of  Paris  without  any 
preliminary  authorisation  from  the  Prefecture  of  Police. 
At  the  present  time  photography  expands  more  and  more 
every  day.  The  measure  which  has  just  been  taken  was 
an  inevitable  one,  and  it  is  well  that  the  Prefecture  has  at 
last  yielded  to  the  many  representations  that  have  been 
addressed  to  it  on  this  subject  by  the  general  syndicate  of 
photography. 

Photographic  Literature. — M.  Mathet,  chemist,  has  just 
published  a work  on  photographic  chemistry,  which  is  at 
the  same  time  a sort  of  general  treatise  on  photography. 
The  new  work  by  Col.  Waterhouse,  on  the  photographic 
reproduction  of  designs,  entitled  “ Practical  Notes  on  the 
Preparation  of  Drawings  for  Photographic  Reproduction,” 
is  of  very  important  character.  It  is  a classic  for  schools 
of  design  and  photography.  We  cannot  too  highly 
recommend  it  to  the  reader. 

♦ 

Coating  Celluloid  Films. — A point  of  interest  to  users  of 
celluloid  films  is  brought  to  light  in  one  of  our  exchanges,  to  the 
effect  that  the  various  makers  of  these  films  coat  the  celluloid 
on  different  sides,  some  makers  preferring  the  matt  surface  as 
a support  for  the  sensitive  emulsion,  and  others  coating  on  the 
polished  side.  Of  course  it  behoves  the  user  to  familiarise 
himself  with  the  method  followed  in  the  films  he  uses,  as 
otherwise  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  to  place  it  iu  the  holder 
“ wrong  side  out,”  which  would  be  most  unfortunate,  though 
from  just  such  a blunder  as  this  our  exchange  procured  some 
negatives  through  the  films  which  had  the  quality  of  being 
unusually  free  from  halation. — Anthony's  Bulletin. 


592 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[August  1,  1890. 


PHOTOGRAPHY  IN  COPENHAGEN. 

Two  numbers  have  reached  us,  by  the  courtesy  of  the 
editor,  of  the  Beretninger  fra  Dansk  Fotografsk  Forening, 
or  news  from  the  Danish  Photographic  Association,  a 
journal  which  is  published  by  the  Association,  and  is  now 
in  its  twelfth  year  of  existence. 

The  number  for  April  contains  among  its  leading 
articles  a notice  of  the  transactions  of  the  Association  at 
a meeting  held  on  the  31st  March,  contributed  by  the 
able  editor,  J.  Petersen;  also  an  article  by  Immanuel 
Mohr  on  albumen  paper  and  its  sensitising,  and  an  article 
on  a festival  held  on  the  10th  and  11th  of  April  by  the 
Association  in  aid  of  its  photographic  work. 

The  number  for  May  contains  a notice  of  a meeting  on 
the  28th  April,  at  which  the  President  gave  as  the 
subject  for  discussion  “ What  is  the  reason  some  pictures 
become  yellow  with  age,  and  others  do  not?”  The  speaker 
advised  the  members  to  collect  old  pictures  which  might 
bear  upon  the  subject  of  the  question.  It  would,  he  said, 
be  interesting  to  form  a small  exhibition  of  such  pictures 
on  albumen  paper,  salted  paper,  and  so  forth. 

The  Vice-President  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  cause 
of  this  yellowing  lay  chiefly  in  the  paper  employed ; the 
older  papers  were  better,  he  opined,  than  those  at  present 
used. 

Hr.  Hartmann,  in  some  observations  about  the  darken- 
ing of  white  colours  used  in  retouching,  said  that  it  was 
advisable  to  be  careful  to  use  good  opaque  colours,  which 
were  not  liable  to  change.  Hr.  Cand.  Pharm.  Schleisner 
thereupon  said  that  a good  test  for  the  stability  of  the 
white  colour  was  to  pour  upon  it  a few  drops  of  sulphide 
of  ammonium  ; if  the  colour  under  this  experiment  did 
not  change  to  black,  it  would  well  resist  the  influence  of 
the  atmosphere.  “ Permanent  ” white  was  permanent, 
but  not  so  good  for  covering.  Lead  colours  were  good 
for  covering,  but  not  permanent. 

The  President  then  proposed  a summer  meeting,  and 
Hr.  P.  Fristup,  speaking  for  himself  and  Hr.  Schon, 
said  they  would  be  glad  to  do  all  that  lay  in  their  power, 
but  advised  a preliminary  meeting  at  the  earliest  oppor- 
tunity in  some  spot  where  there  was  a garden  in  which 
one  might  promenade,  and  also  a bowling  green,  with 
other  forms  of  amusement.  The  larger  summer  meeting 
might,  he  thought,  be  best  arranged  in  such  a minor 
assembly.  The  Vice-President  promised  that  the  propo- 
sition should  be  laid  before  the  general  committee. 

The  next  article  in  the  May  number  by  L.  Belitski  is 
concerned  with  an  exact  comparison  of  different  photo- 
graphic objectives.  Immanuel  Mohr  continues  his  article 
on  albumen  paper  and  its  sensitising.  An  interesting 
treatise  on  carbon  printing  is  contributed  by  O.  Volkmer, 
vice-director  of  the  royal  press. 

Under  the  head  of  literature  is  announced  the  appear- 
ance of  a hand-book  of  photography,  with  numerous  illus- 
trations, edited  by  Albin  Roosval.  This  work  was  com- 
menced by  the  late  lamented  Swede,  Adolf  Dahlstrdm, 
and  is  continued  by  the  editor  of  the  Swedish  Photographic 
Journal.  One  great  feature  in  this  work  is  that  only  so 
much  of  the  technique  of  the  photographic  art  is 
communicated  as  is  necessary  for  the  practical  artist, 
and  it  avoids  long,  scientific  explanations.  The  book 
might,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Beretninger , take  a leading 
place  among  its  congeners  in  Scandinavia.  Though 
written  in  Swedish,  no  Norseman  or  Dane  would 
experience  much  difficulty  in  its  perusal.  What  little 


difficulty  there  may  be  could  be  easily  helped  by  the 
addition  at  the  end  of  a small  Swedish,  Danish,  and 
Norwegian  glossary,  including  such  Swedish  words  as 
might  seem  stumbling-blocks  to  readers  from  Norway  or 
Denmark.  The  cost  of  such  an  addition  would  be  trifling, 
and  the  value  of  the  work  thereby  greatly  increased. 

The  number  concludes  with  a notice  of  the  death  of 
Hr.  E.  Rye,  who  died  on  the  15th  April,  in  his  seventieth 
year.  He  was  one  of  the  veterans  of  the  photographic 
profession.  Like  many  others  of  the  pioneers  of  the 
photographic  art  in  Denmark,  Hr.  Rye  lived  a very  busy 
life.  When  quite  a boy  he  began  his  career  as  assistant 
to  an  apothecary,  but  very  soon  left  that  occupation, 
which  suited  him  not  a jot.  After  being  a tutor  for  a 
few  years  he  took  to  the  wine  business,  and  later  on 
bought  a hotel  in  Grenaa ; but  the  business  of  playing  the 
host  at  Grenaa  was  not  of  the  kind  to  satisfy  this  energetic 
young  mau. 

At  that  time  photography  was  a newly-discovered  art 
in  Denmark.  Rye  saw,  with  the  eye  of  the  prophet,  the 
great  future  in  store  for  it,  and,  thinking  that  his  pharma- 
ceutical experience  and  knowledge  might  serve  him  in 
good  stead,  sold  his  hotel,  and  devoted  himself  to  photo- 
graphy. His  prentice  hand  was  tried  in  Aachen,  in  the 
establishment  of  the  well-known  Wothly.  Upon  his 
return  home,  he  busied  himself  for  a whole  winter  with 
photographing  the  most  noteworthy  objects  in  Thorvald- 
sen’s Museum,  and  gave  instruction  at  odd  intervals  in 
the  art  of  photographing  on  glass.  Then  he  thought  of 
building  himself  a studio,  but  met  with  obstacles  set  in  his 
way  by  the  fire  brigade,  and,  since  he  feared  there  were 
then  already  too  many  photographers  in  Copenhagen,  he 
gave  up  his  idea,  and  travelled  to  Finland.  After  a year’s 
furlough,  he  returned  home  and  set  up  a studio  in  Vegle, 
and  then  another  in  Aarhus,  and  lastly,  took  Petersen’s 
studio  in  Odense.  Together  with  Schroder  he  practised 
phototypy.  An  attempt  to  make  this  new  invention  a 
success  in  America  met  with  very  poor  encouragement. 

After  other  devices  equally  vain  to  make  his  fortune  in 
the  far  west,  Rye  at  last  determined,  in  1872,  to  settle  in 
Copenhagen.  And  now,  indeed,  it  seemed  as  if  fortune 
was  disposed  to  favour  him.  His  studio  in  Ostergade 
became  very  soon  a celebrated  resort,  and  for  some  years 
everything  went  very  well.  Then,  in  the  height  of  his 
prosperity,  came  sickness,  at  first  like  a little  cloud  no 
bigger  than  a man's  hand,  but  afterwards  by  degrees  ex- 
tending over  him  more  and  more,  till  at  last  he  fell  into  the 
state  of  a confirmed  invalid,  and  his  business  into  conse- 
quent decay.  Broken  in  body  and  in  heart,  he  left  his 
studio,  left  his  photographic  labours,  left,  finally,  his  life. 
His  earnings,  for  some  reason  or  other,  were  not  sufficient 
to  ensure  him  comfort  in  his  old  age. 

He  was  a member  of  the  Danish  Photographic  Associa- 
tion, and  for  several  years  one  of  the  most  assiduous  and 
constant  attendants  at  its  meetings.  “ It  was  only  when 
sickness  marked  him  for  her  own,”  says  the  Beretninger, 
“that  we  missed  him  from  our  midst.”  The  Association 
sent  a wreath  to  be  laid  upon  his  coffin,  and  many 
members  mourning  followed  him  to  his  grave. 

The  Newcastle-on-Tyne  Photographic  Association. — Mr. 
E.  G.  Lee,  honorary  secretary  to  this  Association,  writes  that 
it  has  arranged  the  following  outdoor  meetings  : — Thursday, 
14th  August,  “ Gilsland  and  Naworth.”  Leader — M.  Auty, 
Front  Street,  Tynemouth.  Thursday,  18th  September, 
(district  not  yet  fixed).  Leader — J.  P.  Gibson,  Fore  Street, 
Hexham. 


August  1,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


593 


PRINTING  OPERATIONS. 

BY  ELLF.RSLIE  WALLACE. 

The  drying  of  a photographic  print  after  the  final  wash- 
ings have  been  completed  is  a simple  enough  matter, 
yet  it  is  possible  for  the  most  exasperating  failures  to 
occur  at  this  stage  of  the  process ; the  disappointment 
experienced  being  all  the  more  keen  because  the  work  is, 
in  a certain  sense,  finished. 

Those  unacquainted  with  photographic  neatness  might 
easily  imagine  that  all  that  was  necessary  was  to  take  the 
print  out  of  the  water,  and  lay  it  aside  in  any  convenient 
place  to  dry.  They  would  soon  find  out,  however,  that 
if  the  substance  with  which  the  wet  print  came  into  con- 
tact were  capable  of  communicating  any  impurity,  the 
print  would  be  sure  to  show  it  in  the  form  of  stains.  For 
instance,  suppose  that  the  prints  were  hung  over  wooden 
poles,  or  laid  on  wooden  shelves,  while  still  wet,  there 
would  hardly  be  a possibility  of  escape  from  stains.  This 
would  be  true  in  the  case  cither  of  silver  prints  of  any 
kind,  bromides,  or  blue  prints. 

Silver  prints  on  plain  paper  and  blue  prints  are  more 
manageable  in  drying  than  the  other  forms,  which  are  made 
on  papers  prepared  with  a contractile  substance  like  gela- 
tine or  albumen.  Supposing  that  the  wooden  poles  or 
shelves  before  spoken  of  were  covered  with  clean  white 
linen  or  blotting  paper,  all  those  forms  of  prints  having  a 
plain  surface  might  safely  be  dried  there,  but  an  albumen 
paper  print  would  not  do  so  well.  If  laid  out  flat  on  the 
shelf  it  would  contract  unequally,  and  be  so  crinkled  and 
shrunken  that  there  would  be  serious  difficulty  in  trim- 
ming. Drying  over  the  pole  would  be  preferable,  but  the 
albumenised  surface  would  be  put  on  the  stretch  unequally, 
so  that  in  the  case  of  a highly  glazed  surface  there  would 
be  fissures  and  cracks  very  detrimental  to  the  finished 
result. 

The  best  method  of  drying  prints  of  all  descriptions, 
and  a very  convenient  and  inexpensive  one  also,  is  the 
following:  Provide  a number  of  spring  clothes-pins,  a 
few  yards  of  ordinary  brass  wire,  and  a couple  of  good- 
sized  screw-eyes.  Having  selected  a suitable  place  in  the 
work-room  where  the  prints  will  not  be  disturbed,  screw 
in  one  of  the  screw-eyes  to  the  wood  of  the  window  or 
door  jamb  at  the  height  of  the  shoulder  ; pass  one  end  of 
the  brass  wire  into  the  eye  and  secure  it,  then  string  the 
clothes-pins  on  to  the  wire,  and  secure  its  other  end  by 
means  of  the  other  screw-eye  at  a convenient  point  across 
the  room.  Having  brought  the  prints  from  the  washing 
tank  in  an  ordinary  deep  pan,  select  those  of  similar  sizes, 
bring  them  together  neatly,  back  to  back,  while  in  the 
water,  then  take  them  out  and  suspend  the  pair  from  one 
or  more  of  the  clothes-pins,  according  to  the  size  of  the 
prints.  If  they  are  very  large,  it  may  require  three  of 
the  clothes-pins  to  fully  support  them,  and  avoid  risk  of 
the  wet  mass  tearing  by  its  own  weight ; while  on  the 
other  hand,  small  sizes,  such  as  5 by  4 inches,  may  be  held 
by  a single  pin.  When  the  paper  is  very  glossy,  and  the 
weather  dry,  the  larger  sizes  may  require  to  be  pinched 
together  at  the  bottom  corners  by  an  additional  couple  of 
clothes-pins,  which  will  prevent  the  prints  from  separating 
until  thoroughly  dry. 

Prints  dried  in  the  maimer  described  will  be  quite  flat, 
and  free  from  stains  of  any  kind.  We  need  hardly  add 
that  the  clothes-pins  should  be  new  and  clean,  and  kept 
for  this  purpose  only.  If  the  prints  arc  hung  up  to  dry 
in  the  evening,  they  will  be  ready  for  trimming  in  the 


morning,  when  the  end  of  the  wire  may  be  released,  and 
the  whole  turned  aside  out  of  the  way  until  the  next 
occasion  for  use.  If  the  wash-water  is  muddy,  as  is  often 
the  case,  the  deep  pan  in  which  the  prints  are  transferred 
to  the  drying  room  may  be  filled  with  clean  filtered  water, 
so  that  the  collected  mud  in  the  paper  may  be  soaked  out 
before  drying. 

The  warm  weather  we  are  now  passing  through  reminds 
us  of  a few  matters  which  have  greatly  eased  our  own 
labours  in  the  printing  room,  and,  simple  as  they  are,  we 
will  mention  them. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  there  is  trouble  in  securing 
pure  whites  in  prints  on  albumen  paper,  an  universal 
yellow  stain  covering  everything.  The  best  remedy  for 
this  is  the  use  of  alum  in  the  printing  bath,  as  originally 
suggested  by  the  late  Mr.  Anthony,  of  New  York.  Care 
also  must  be  taken  that  the  paper  is  quite  dry  before  being 
f umed.  Operators  are  too  apt  to  forget  that,  as  the  thermo- 
meter rises,  so  does  the  amount  of  watery  vapour  in  the 
air  increase,  and  that  sheets  of  paper  will  often  dry  more 
quickly  on  a bright  day  in  winter  than  on  many  hot  days 
in  summer.  The  way  the  paper  feels  to  the  hand  is  the 
best  guide,  and  some  little  attention  is  required  to  be  able 
to  tell  accurately. 

The  question  whether  the  strength  of  the  silver  bath 
should  be  reduced  or  not  during  warm  weather  is  open  to 
some  discussion.  If  the  paper  be  of  first-class  quality, 
and  the  bath  contain  alum,  as  before  alluded  to,  it  would 
be  possible  to  continue  making  good  prints  having  pure 
whites  with  the  bath  at  full  strength,  by  which  we  mean 
fifty  to  seventy  grains  to  the  ounce.  There  is  no  question 
of  the  fact  that  the  sensitiveness  of  the  prepared  paper 
increases  when  floated  on  a strong  bath,  and  that  the  com- 
pound which  is  then  formed  between  the  albumen  and 
the  silver  is  more  prone  to  decomposition.  It  will 
occasionally  happen,  if  the  prints  come  out  yellow, 
metallic-looking,  and  covered  with  minute  black  specks, 
that  weakening  the  silver  bath  down  to  the  strength  of 
forty-five  or  even  forty  grains  will  cure  the  trouble.  A 
strength  of  forty  grains,  however,  we  should  consider  a 
low  one,  and  only  to  be  resorted  to  for  unusually  hot 
weather  or  for  particular  kinds  of  paper,  such  as  very  thin 
and  delicate  Rives. 

The  paper  should  not  be  left  in  the  fuming-box  for  too 
long  a time  in  hot  weather.  If  things  are  properly 
arranged  for  the  purpose,  ten  to  twelve  minutes  ought  to 
suflice  for  thorough  fuming.  It  is  important,  of  course, 
that  good  strong  ammonia  be  employed,  and  care  should 
be  taken  that  the  glass  stopper  be  well  secured  in  the 
bottle.  In  a hot  printing  room  the  stoppers  of  ammonia 
bottles  are  frequently  blown  out  by  the  vapour  and  fall  on 
the  floor,  leaving  the  contents  of  the  bottle  to  lose 
strength  rapidly. — American  Journal  of  Photography. 

It  is  hardly  to  l>e  wondered  at  that  Japan  seems  destined  to 
take  such  a prominent  place  in  photography,  when  we  think 
that  she  has  always  worshipped  the  Sun-Goddess,  and  that  its 
representative,  the  burnished  mirror  of  bronze,  is  still  such  an 
important  household  article,  and  plays  such  a prominent  part 
as  it  does  in  the  social  economy  of  the  country. 

The  Late  Paris  Exhibition. — The  New  York  Lithographic 
A rt  Journal  says  that  the  engraving  of  the  diploma  for  those 
who  were  awarded  prizes  at  the  last  year’s  Paris  Exhibition  is 
now  finished,  and  has  by  this  time  gone  to  press.  Before  the 
diploma  will  be  issued  at  least  four  months  more  will  have 
elapsed,  and  whoever  gets  it  then  may  obtain  the  silver  or  gold 
medal  awarded  him — by  ordering  somebody  to  make  it  for 
him. 


594 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[August  1,  1890. 


&OtC0. 

Hr.  Adams  lias  exhibited  to  us  his  “ Ideal  ” detective 
camera,  which  has  exteriorly  no  projecting  parts,  and 
measures  8j  X 4 J X 8 inches.  It  is  fitted  with  a 
Newman’s  shutter  of  modified  form,  and  Newman’s 
pneumatic  shutter  has,  by  the  test  of  general  experi- 
ence, proved  to  be  a good  one  for  the  regulation  of  the 
duration  of  short  exposures  amounting  to  but  small 
fractions  of  a second.  The  shutter  works  in  the 
diaphragm  slot,  and  requires  no  setting ; there  is  also 
an  arrangement  for  what  are  called  “ time  ” exposures. 
The  plates  are  packed  in  sheaths,  and  each  plate,  after 
exposure,  is  drawn  downwards  by  means  of  a clutch 
governed  by  a rod  which  is  handled  from  outside  the 
box  ; springs  then  push  the  next  plate  in  the  batch 
into  position  for  exposure,  and  so  on  in  succession. 


Last  week  we  drew  attention  to  the  advantage  to 
the  tourist  photographer  of  the  relatively  small  amount 
of  wind  in  some  parts  of  Switzerland,  but  now  wish  to 
speak  of  various  meteorological  phenomena  which  do 
not  promote  photographic  work.  Among  the  Swiss 
mountains  there  are  such  things  as  wind  ava- 
lanches; in  a mild  form  they  amount  but  to  strong 
gusts,  which  come  upon  the  wayfarer  at  unexpected 
moments,  when  at  a little  distance  all  is  calm.  These 
sudden  “windfalls”  are  frequent  and  dangerous  enough 
to  have  stopped  the  use  of  small  sailing  boats  on  some 
of  the  Swiss  lakes  ; in  the  past  such  boats  have  some- 
times been  upset  by  the  unexpected  squalls,  and  lives 
have  been  lost.  On  rare  occasions  wind  avalanches 
have  been  directly  dangerous  to  pedestrians.  In  the 
Alpine  Journal  of  June,  1864,  is  a paper  by  Hr.  Gosset, 
describing  a fatal  accident  on  the  Haut-de-Cry  in 
February  of  that  year,  to  which  paper  Hr.  F.  M. 
Hillard,  of  Haidstone,  draws  attention  in  last  week’s 
Nature.  A body  of  air  rendered  colder  and  heavier 
than  the  surrounding  air  by  the  snow  and  ice,  suddenly 
descended  upon  a mountaineering  party  of  six,  with 
disastrous  results.  Hr.  Gosset  says : — 

“ Bennen  advanced  ; he  had  made  but  a few  steps  when  we 
heard  a deep,  cutting  sound.  The  snow-field  split  in  two 
about  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet  above  us.  The  cleft  was  at  first 
quite  narrow — not  more  than  an  inch  broad.  An  awful 
silence  ensued  ....  broken  by  Bennen’s  voice  : ‘ Wir  sind 
alle  verloren.’  . . . They  were  his  last  words.  I drove  my 
alpenstock  into  the  snow,  and  brought  the  weight  of  my  body 
to  bear  on  it.  . . . I turned  my  head  to  see  whether  Bennen 
had  done  the  same  thing.  To  my  astonishment,  I saw  him 
turn  round,  face  the  valley,  and  stretch  out  both  arms.  The 
ground  on  which  we  stood  began  to  move  slowly,  and  I 
felt  the  utter  uselessness  of  any  alpenstock.  I soon  sank 
up  to  my  shoulders,  and  began  descending  backwards. 

. . . . The  speed  of  the  avalanche  increased  rapidly, 

and  before  long  I was  covered  up  with  snow.  I was  suffocating 
when  I suddenly  came  to  the  surface  again.  I was  on  a wave  of 
the  avalanche,  and  saw  it  before  me  as  I was  carried  down.  . . . 
The  head  alone  was  preceded  by  a thick  cloud  of  snow-dust ; 
the  rest  of  the  avalanche  was  clear.  Around  me  I heard  the 
horrid  hissing  of  the  snow,  and  far  before  me  the  thundering 

of  the  foremost  part  of  the  avalanche At  last  I 

noticed  that  1 was  moving  slower  ; then  I saw  the  pieces  of 
snow  in  front  of  me  stop  at  some  yards’  distance  ; then  the  snow 
straight  before  me  stopped.  , , , . I felt  that  I also  had 


stopped,  ....  but  the  snow  behind  me  was  still  in  motion  ; 
its  pressure  on  my  body  was  so  strong  that  I thought  1 should 

be  crushed  to  death The  avalanche  may  have  taken  a 

minute  to  descend  ; I can  give  no  correct  estimation  on  this 
point.” 

On  one  occasion,  from  the  side  of  a valley  we  were 
photographing  the  distant  range  of  the  St.  Gothardand 
intervening  scenery,  upon  a hot,  sunshiny  day  when 
there  was  no  trace  of  wind  except  upon  the  hill-side  a 
few  hundred  yards  in  advance  of  the  camera ; a narrow 
band  of  wind  was  there  pouring  down,  keeping  the 
trees  in  its  path  in  incessant  motion,  while  all  elsewhere 
was  still.  Upon  walking  up  to  the  spot  to  discover  the 
cause  of  the  commotion,  a small  ravine  in  the  side  of 
the  main  valley  was  found,  down  which  air  was  pouring 
which  had  been  cooled  and  rendered  heavier  than  the 
surrounding  air  in  the  shade  of  great  pine  forests 
which  crowned  the  heights ; the  cooled  air  was  being 
drained  off  by  a natural  channel. 

Photographic  meteorological  records,  on  the  samo 
system  as  at  Kew,  are  made  at  Hong  Kong  in  the 
Observatory  there  belonging  to  the  British  Government. 
The  instruments  at  Hong  Kong — properly  called 
“ Heung  Keung” — to  which  meterological  record- 
ing apparatus  is  attached  are  the  barograph  and 
thermograph  ; there  is  no  magnetograph  on  the  pre- 
mises. Bromide  paper  is  used,  as  at  home,  but  there 
is  more  difficulty  in  keeping  it  in  the  hot  climate ; some 
samples  after  a time  get  spotty.  The  Observatory  was 
opened  for  work  January  1st,  1884,  at  which  time  the 
waxed  paper  process  was  used,  and  this  was  superseded 
by  bromide  paper  four  or  five  years  ago.  The  difficul- 
ties iu  working  the  old  waxed  paper  process  at  Hong 
Kong  were  much  greater  than  in  working  it  at  Kew  ; 
some  kind  of  chemical  change  seemed  to  take  place 
while  the  paper  was  on  the  cylinder,  owing,  probably,  to 
the  great  heat.  It  developed  irregularly,  and  seemed 
to  lose  sensitiveness  in  a manner  it  would  not  have  done 
in  colder  regions.  In  Hong  Kong  there  are  about 
twenty  photographers,  and  nearly  all  of  them  are 
Chinese.  The  chief  professional  photographer  in 
Hong  Kong,  or  the  one  who  is  generally  recognised  as 
such  by  the  public,  is  A Fong.  The  great  bulk  of  the 
population  of  China  objects  to  photographic  portraiture ; 
an  average  Chinaman  thiuks  that  a photograph  “takes 
away  a portion  of  the  soul  of  the  sitter.”  In  and  about 
the  treaty  ports  open  to  western  barbarians,  however,  this 
superstition  of  the  native  population  is  breaking  down. 

We  have  lately  received  a letter  from  a photographic 
friend  at  Durban,  Natal,  who  went  out  there  about 
twelve  months  ago  to  try  his  fortune.  He  is  just 
about  to  commence  a photographic  tour  up  country,  and 
he  says  that  “although  the  scenery  is  beautiful,  there 
are  few  bits  that  make  good  pictures.”  This  is  possibly 
because  of  its  vastness,  and  represents  a source  of  dis- 
appointment to  many  a tourist  who  has  taken  a camera 
to  other  lands — to  Norway,  for  instance.  He  further 
tells  us  that  the  country  is  in  “ an  awfully  depressed 
state,  so  if  you  know  of  anyone  coming  here,  tell  him 


August  1,  1890.1 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


not  to  do  so.”  We  print  this  warning,  as  it  represents 
a little  piece  of  disinterested  advice  which  may  prove 
useful. 

When  Solomon  wrote  that  “ there  is  nothing  new 
under  the  sun,”  he,  of  course,  had  no  thought  of  photo- 
graphic apparatus  in  his  mind,  because,  as  the  old  song 
has  it,  “it  was  not  then  invented  ; ” but  for  all  that 
the  oft-quoted  line  is  peculiarly  applicable  to  so- 
called  photographic  novelties.  The  latest  detective 
camera,  for  instance,  takes  the  form  of  an  opera  glass, 
and  the  idea  has  been  patented.  But  such  a camera 
was  constructed  and  shown  to  us  ten  years  ago,  and  we 
have  in  our  possession  several  photographs  taken  with 
it.  We  have  often  wondered  why  the  notion  was  not 
revived,  for  it  is  certainly  a good  one. 

We  all  know  that,  as  a general  rule,  the  simplest 
method  of  achieving  a certain  result  is  the  best.  One 
of  the  American  humorists  puts  the  matter  in  a quaint 
way  by  describing  a prisoner  confined  in  a dungeon 
who  in  vain  tries  to  break  the  bars  of  his  window,  and 
to  remove  the  stones  from  the  walls,  until  a happy 
thought  struck  him ; “ he  opened  the  door  and  walked 
out.”  Some  such  simplification  has  become  desirable 
in  chemical  nomenclature,  and  the  man  who  will 
suggest  a way  of  “opening  the  door”  to  such  a con- 
summation will  deserve  the  thanks  of  his  fellows— and, 
we  may  say,  especially  fellows  of  the  Chemical  Society. 
Turning  over  the  pages  of  the  last  “proceedings”  of 
that  highly  useful  body  of  workers,  we  come  upon 
several  terms  which  may  be  highly  descriptive,  but  are 
certainly  jaw-breaking.  We  will  only  quote  one,  and 
here  it  is : oximidolactone  of  xylylphenylacetoxime- 
orthocarboxylic  acid.  We  hasten  to  offer  a prize  to 
the  first  among  our  readers  who  will  go  to  the  nearest 
chemist’s  and  ask  for  a pennor’th  of  it. 

But  seriously,  cannot  something  be  done  in  the 
direction  indicated  ? Chemistry  has  always  prided 
itself  on  the  fact  that  its  symbols  convey  in  a simple 
manner  a definite  meaning,  and  not  only  give  the  com- 
position of  a substance,  but  the  proportions  in  which 
its  constituents  are  present.  In  this  way  it  is  far 
ahead  of  its  sister  science,  botany,  where  the  names  of 
Smith,  Brown,  & Co. — that  well-known  quartette — are 
dragged  in  with  other  common  surnames  and  turned 
into  ridiculous  Latin.  The  problem  is  a hard  one,  but 
it  ought  to  be  more  easy  of  solution  than  some  of  the 
nuts  chemists  have  had  to  crack. 


Why  does  not  the  Government  have  the  Hessian  fly 
— when  it  is  caught — photographed  ? A Government 
paper  has  been  issued,  in  which  illustrations  of  the 
usual  character  are  given  ; but  we  are  afraid  that,  to 
the  average  bucolic  mind,  these  illustrations  will  not 
convey  a vivid  idea  of  the  pest.  A photograph 
slightly  enlarged,  on  the  other  hand,  would  not  only 
picture  the  insect  in  a recognisable  form,  but  would 
bring  home  the  truth,  that  there  is  such  a thing  as  the 
Hessian  fly ; because,  if  it  did  not  exist,  how  could  it 
be  photographed  ? 


595 

The  late  Sir  Richard  Wallace  has  to  be  included 
amongst  those  strong-minded,  not  to  say  eccentric, 
persons  who  object  to  sitting  for  their  photographs,  and 
it  is  said  that  it  is  doubtful  if  a photograph  of  this 
well-known  patron  of  art  is  in  existence.  We  are 
afraid  that  the  old  days  of  photography  have  much  to 
answer  for.  The  length  of  the  sittings  frightened  a 
great  number  of  people,  and  led  to  the  stereotyped 
remark,  “ I always  come  out  badly  in  a photograph.” 
This  kind  of  thing  has,  of  course,  long  passed  away, 
but  the  dislike,  or  prejudice,  or  whatever  the  feeling 
may  be  called,  still  remains  among  sitters  who  were 
photographed  thirty  years  or  so  ago. 

We  do  not  know  whether  it  is  a practice  of  photo- 
graphers who  are  fortunate  enough  to  number  among 
their  clientele  a goodly  proportion  of  celebrities,  to  keep 
an  album  in  which  their  sitters  can  record  their  senti- 
ments, but  it  would  not  be  a bad  idea.  We  believe 
that  during  Emerson’s  last  visit  to  England  he  sat  to 
Elliott  and  Fry,  and  wrote  this  in  their  album  : — 

“ The  man  who  lias  a thousand  friends 
Has  not  a friend  to  spare, 

But  he  who  has  one  enemy 
Will  meet  him  everywhere.” 

A photographic  outfit  is  an  indispensable  adj  unct  to 
the  “ caravan  ” method  of  taking  a holiday.  One  of 
these  holiday  homes  upon  wheels  has  lately  been 
described  by  a society  journal.  Among  other  informa- 
tion, we  are  told  of  a photographic  apparatus  and  a 
small  photographic  dark  room.  What  we  want  to  know 
now  to  make  the  picture  complete  is  a little  history  of 
caravan  photographic  experience.  To  the  ordinary 
villager  a caravan  is  a caravan,  and  the  difference 
between  the  peripatetic  “ likeness  taker  ” and  the 
aristocratic  amateur  photographer  is  not  apparent. 
Hence  very  odd  episodes  must  inevitably  happen,  and 
anyone  who  goes  in  for  photography  on  wheels  should 
have  some  curious  stories  to  tell.  We  are  inclined  to 
exclaim  with  Sir  Toby  Belch,  “Why  arc  these  things 
hid?” 

It  is  rather  rash  to  depend  upon  what  is  called  a 
post  mortem  photograph  as  evidence  of  identity.  A 
curious  incident  has  just  been  reported.  Some  six 
months  ago  a man  was  fouud  dead  in  bed  in  a common 
lodging  house  in  Southwark.  The  body  was  photo- 
graphed by  the  police,  and  buried  as  unidentified. 
About  a month  ago,  a woman  whose  husband  had 
been  missing  for  twelve  months  was  shown  the 
photograph  at  Scotland  Yard,  and  at  once  identified 
it  as  being  the  portrait  of  her  husband,  who  was 
insured  for  £17.  She  forthwith  made  an  affidavit, 
obtained  the  money,  put  on  widow’s  weeds,  and 
mourned  her  husband  as  dead.  About  a fortnight 
since  she  was  startled  by  her  husband— who  had  been 
to  America — reappearing,  and  it  is  only  fair  to  the 
widow  to  say  that  she  at  once  recognised  him,  and 
received  him  in  the  most  affectionate  manner.  The 
most  disagreeable  part  of  the  business  will  probably 
be  the  returning  of  the  £17. 


596 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[August  1,  1890. 


THE  STUDIO  IN  SUMMER-TIME. 

BY  JOHN  A.  TENNANT. 

Now  that  the  summer  days  are  fairly  upon  us,  a few 
remarks  upon  the  studio  in  summer-time  may  not  be  out 
of  place. 

It  is  a great  mistake  to  think,  as  many  country  photo- 
graphers do,  that  the  best  way  of  obviating  the  difficulties 
supposed  to  be  connected  with  studio  work  in  summer,  is 
to  flee  the  glass-house  and  erect  a temporary  canvas 
arrangement  in  which  to  do  what  operating  is  required 
during  the  hot  season. 

The  photographer  should  realize  that  in  his  skylight, 
and  in  his  experience  of  the  facilities  of  lighting  which 
it  offers,  lies  his  chief  strength  as  a picture  maker.  Fur- 
thermore, his  past  experience  will  show  him  that  portraits 
taken  in  the  open  seldom  or  never  equal  those  manipu- 
lated under  the  skylight. 

Nor  is  there  any  real  need  to  desert  the  carefully 
planned  studio,  for  there  are  many  simple  contrivances 
by  which  it  may  be  kept  cool  and  attractive  for  summer 
patrons.  The  plan  recently  suggested  in  this  magazine, 
of  arranging  a supply  of  water  along  the  ridge  of  the  glass 
roof  by  means  of  a perforated  pipe  through  which  the 
water  could  flow  in  a thin  stream  over  the  whole  surface 
of  the  roof,  is  admirable,  and  will  commend  itself  wherever 
practicable.  Another  plan  is  to  erect  a perpendicular 
screen  above  the  roof  so  as  to  shield  the  glass  area  from 
the  direct  rays  of  the  sun,  by  which  coolness  may  be 
secured  in  some  measure.  A simple  arrangement  of 
hinged  ventilating  traps  along  the  top  of  the  walls,  so 
placed  as  to  secure  a current  of  cold  air  along  under  the 
roof,  would  also  be  of  great  service ; besides  which  the 
side-lights  should  be  fitted  in  grooves,  and  be  made  to 
slide  back,  and  so  throw  the  whole  side  of  the  studio  open 
if  required.  Much,  too,  depends  upon  the  interior  fur- 
nishing of  a studio  as  to  whether  it  appear  hot  or  cool. 
In  the  first  place,  all  heavy  curtains,  mats  or  rugs,  sur- 
plus backgrounds,  heavily  upholstered  furniture,  dirty 
screens,  and  accumulations  of  apparatus  should  be 
cleared  out,  and  clean,  light-coloured  curtains  and  screens, 
rush  or  rattan  chairs,  with  straw  matting,  take  their  place. 
As  little  apparatus  as  possible  should  be  allowed  to  stand 
about  in  the  studio  during  summer.  The  bellows  of  the 
camera  should  also  be  dusted  and  oiled — somehow  this 
item  never  seems  to  have  any  attention ; in  all  the  studios 
I have  known  the  camera  bellows  was  a perfect  dust  trap, 
save  on  new  instruments.  Then  there  should  be  plenty 
of  big-leaved  plants,  such  as  ferns  and  palms,  and  these 
should  have  plenty  of  water  and  attention.  Well  looked 
after,  a nice  collection  of  such  plants  always  makes  a 
studio  cool  and  inviting.  The  change  of  furnishing,  if 
carried  out  as  suggested,  will  give  a new  character  to  your 
photography,  and  make  your  specimen  cases  perfectly 
irresistible  to  would-be  patrons,  and  is  sure  to  bring  more 
business. 

Just  as  the  studio  requires  different  treatment  at  the 
varying  seasons,  so  also  with  the  other  rooms.  The 
reception  room,  with  the  aid  of  a few  new  pictures,  and  a 
light  tapestry  rug,  with  tasteful  draperies  (all  of  which 
may  be  obtained  at  a trifling  cost)  at  the  windows,  may 
be  made  quite  a pretty  apartment.  A point  that  should 
not  be  neglected  is  the  providing  of  good,  fresh  literature 
for  the  amusement  and  recreation  of  your  clients  whilst 
waiting  or  resting. 

The  dark  room  also  calls  for  special  attention  at  this 


time  of  the  year.  Care  should  first  of  all  be  taken  to  test 
the  non-actinic  medium  used  to  guard  the  room  from 
white  light.  Often  this  medium  becomes  so  much  bleached 
as  to  be  unsafe  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  intended. 
The  shelves  should  be  cleared  of  all  unused  bottles,  empty 
plate  boxes,  paper  wrappings,  remains  of  winter  experi- 
ments, and  relics  of  dearly  bought  but  worthless  processes, 
old  baths,  and  all  other  unnecessary  rubbish  or  dust  accumu- 
lators. The  floor  and  shelves  should  never  be  dusted  with 
a brush  or  dry  cloth,  but  a damp  cloth  should  be  used  to 
prevent  any  dust  arising  to  work  mischief  in  future  hours. 

The  water-sink — generally  a most  convenient  receptacle 
for  spoilt  plates  and  wrapping-paper — should  now  be 
frequently  cleansed  to  avoid  bad  smells,  and  all  the  un- 
mentionable rubbish  under  the  sink  should  be  cleaned 
right  out.  A continuous  supply  of  water  running  over  the 
sink,  although  forbidden  by  waterworks  companies,  is  a 
certain  cure  for  evil-doers,  and  has  a wonderful  cooling 
influence  during  spells  of  hot  weather.  The  hypo  fixing 
bath  smells  stale  sooner  now  than  in  winter,  and  needs 
frequent  renewal.  It  is  a good  rule  in  summer  to  mix 
only  sufficient  developer  to  last  one  day,  and  to  keep  it, 
when  mixed,  bottled  and  immersed  in  tins  of  water  changed 
often.  Another  point  is  that  the  developer  may  be  con- 
siderably weaker  in  summer  than  in  winter  with  advantage. 
By  using  slower  plates,  and  developing  with  weaker  solu- 
sions  than  ordinarily  used,  softer  and  more  detailed 
negatives  of  light-coloured  stuffs  may  be  obtained  than 
otherwise.  This  point  will  be  sufficient  to  help  many  to 
attain  greater  success  in  photographing  ladies  or  children 
clad  in  light-coloured  or  white  dresses. 

The  work-rooms  and  printing-room  should  be  carefully 
overhauled  before  the  hot,  dusty  days  come.  Such  rooms, 
and  the  printing-room  in  particular,  require  a thorough 
cleansing  to  keep  them  sweet  and  in  good  condition. 
The  suggestions  here  given,  with  others,  which  different 
circumstances  will  make  evident  to  the  thinking  photo- 
grapher, will  go  a long  way  to  make  the  gallery  in  summer- 
time  far  from  the  stuffy,  uncomfortable  hole  it  generally 
is  in  small  country  towns. — Wilson's  Photographic  Magazine. 

A Remedy  fob  Green  Fog. — Soak  in  a solution  of  bichro- 
mate of  potash,  and  afterwards  wash  thoroughly  in  water. — 
Wilson’s  Photographic  Magazine, 

The  peculiar  branch  of  photography  which  consists  of  tak- 
ing a series  of  instantaneous  photographs  of  objects  in  motion, 
as  developed  by  Anschutz,  Muybridge,  and  others,  and  described 
in  this  magazine  at  various  times,  has  received  from  the  French 
the  name  of  chrono- photography. — Wilson’s  Photographic 
Magazine. 

Lantern  Slides. — M.  Lirondelle,  of  the  Photographic  Society 
of  the  North  of  France,  gives  the  following  process  for  making 
on  gelatino-bromide  plates  positives  for  the  lantern  : A contact 
exposure  is  made  ; the  light  used  is  from  a piece  of  ribbon  of 
magnesium  3 centimetres  in  length  by  2 millimetres  in 
width  (l£  inch  by  j1.,  of  an  inch),  and  the  pressure-frame  is 
placed  40  centimetres  (16  inches)  from  the  luminous  focus. 
To  develop,  plunge  in  a bath  formed  of  two-t  birds  of  neutral 
oxalate  of  potash  at  30  per  cent-.,  and  one-third  of  bromide  of 
potassium  at  12  percent.  At  the  end  of  a few  moments  pour, 
drop  by  drop,  whilst  agitating  the  bath,  a very  small  quantity 
of  a solution  of  proto-sulphate  of  iron,  and  wait  a few  minutes 
for  the  coming  of  the  image.  Use  no  more  of  this  last  solution 
unless  the  image  is  too  slow  in  making  its  appearance,  and 
allow  the  development  to  go  on.  If  the  image  is  too  weak, 
increase  the  quantity  of  iron,  but  only  at  the  end,  and  when 
it  is  found  to  be  indispensable  in  obtaining  the  desired  intensity. 
Fix,  and  afterwards  wash.  By  this  process  the  positives  are 
clear  and  remarkably  brilliant. — L’ Amateur  Photography 


August  1,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


597 


TREATING  FLEXIBLE  PLATES. 

BY  M.  BALAGNY. 

We  have  ascertained  that  the  use  of  alum  after  develop- 
ment produced  on  flexible  plates  an  effect  that  rendered 
manipulation  difficult.  It  was  necessary  to  first  learn  if 
it  was  the  support  or  the  gelatine  film  that  caused  cockling. 
For  this  purpose  we  made  several  negatives,  and  we 
detached  the  gelatine  film  from  its  support.  The  support 
remained  absolutely  flat,  consequently  it  was  the  gelatine 
that  caused  the  cockling.  But  we  also  discovered  that 
this  effect  is  produced  more  strongly  when  the  gelatine 
film  has  been  alumed  before  or  after  fixing.  We  have, 
therefore,  done  away  with  the  use  of  alum.  AVe  have 
also  done  away  with  alcohol  in  the  glycerine  bath,  which 
produces  the  same  effect  as  alum,  and  which  may  sometimes, 
also,  shorten  the  length  of  our  negative.  AVe  want  our 
flexible  plate  to  be  able,  more  than  any  other  preparation, 
to  give  scientific  results.  For  this  it  is  necessary  that  the 
gelatine  film  should  be  rendered  absolutely  inextendible 
in  the  fullest  acceptation  of  the  word.  To  do  this  we 
have  entirely  mollified  the  mode  of  drying.  This  is  our 
present  mode  of  operating : The  negative,  after  develop- 
ing, is  washed  and  fixed.  If  we  have  reason  to  fear  the 
yellow  colouration,  pass  in  citric  acid  at  two  per  cent, 
before  fixing,  which  is  done  in  a solution  of  hyposulphite 
of  twenty  per  cent.  After  fixing,  wash  well  the  flexible 
plates,  and  plunge  them  in  a bath  composed  of  : — 

AVater  1 litre 

Glycerine 30  to  40  c.c. 

Leave  the  plates  in  this  bath  two  hours,  or  all  night  if 
not  hurried  in  the  printing.  It  is  absolutely  necessary 
that  each  negative  should  absorb  a small  quantity  of 
glycerine,  an  operation  that  has  for  its  object  to  give  it 
more  flexibility.  It  is  well  to  change  the  place  of  the 
negatives  in  the  dish  of  glycerinated  water,  especially  if 
many  had  been  placed  together  in  this  dish.  This  being 
done,  varnish — a very  easy  operation— with  lac  varnish  and 
water.  This  varnish,  called  hydrophite,  is  now  found 
almost  everywhere.  It  is  poured  over  the  flexible  plates 
whilst  they  are  still  wet.  The  plate  is  taken  from  the 
glycerinated  water  and  placed  on  a glass  plate  rather 
larger,  so  that  the  lower  right-hand  corner  of  the  flexible 
plate  exactly  coincides  with  the  lower  right-hand  corner 
of  the  other  plate  ; the  gelatine  film  should  be  on  top,  of 
course.  Make  the  same  disposition  of  a second,  then  of  a 
third  negative,  and  allow  them  to  drain  for  about  five 
minutes  against  the  wall . Afterwards  take  the  first  and 
float  on  the  surface  a coat  of  varnish.  AVith  a badger 
blender,  or  with  the  finger,  direct  the  liquid  so  that  it 
covers  the  whole  of  the  negative,  and  pour  off  the  excess 
of  varnish  into  a glass.  Give  at  once  a second  coating  of 
varnish,  which  has  been  placed  ready  for  use  on  another 
glass,  and  pour  off  the  excess  into  the  first  glass  in  order 
to  prevent  air-bubbles.  Now  drain.  Each  negative 
should  be  varnished  in  this  manner.  After  a drainage  of 
five  minutes,  raise  each  plate  from  the  glass  on  which  it  is 
found,  place  it  flat  with  the  film  on  top  on  a sheet  of 
bibulous  paper.  All  the  negatives  are  thus  placed  side  by 
side,  and  allowed  to  dry  on  a table.  Once  dry,  the 
negatives  are  absolutely  plaue,  and  show  no  tendency  to 
cockle.  Moreover,  they  have  undergone  neither  exten- 
sion ndr  shrinking  ; their  dimensions  are  exactly  similar  to 
that  of  the  flexible  plates  before  being  placed  in  the  frame. 
It  is  possible  to  do  away  with  varnishing,  but  we  recom- 
mend it  very  strongly.  In  this  case  it  is  well  to  sponge 


the  coating  on  coming  from  the  bath,  so  that  no  trace  of 
glycerine  remains  on  the  surface  of  the  negative,  as  the 
glycerine  might,  later,  at  the  time  of  printing  on  albu- 
menised  paper,  give  rise  to  spots.  But  in  sponging  with 
a fine  sponge  steeped  in  pure  water,  and  then  pressed 
between  the  fingers  to  free  it  from  all  excess  of  water, 
spotting  is  no  longer  to  be  feared. — Moniteur. 


lUterarg  Notice. 


Lecons  Elementaikes  de  Ciiimie  Photograph iqi'E,  by 

L.  Mathet.  (Societe  Generate  <V Editions,  Paris,  1890.) 
This  is  a new  dictionary  of  photographic  chemistry,  a 
volume  of  726  pages,  containing  information  on  the  sub- 
ject down  to  the  latest  date.  Its  author,  M.  Mathet,  is  a 
cheniiste pharmacien  de  premiere  classe.  In  dealing  in  the  book 
with  chemical  substances,  he  states  what  qualities  they  pos- 
sess likely  to  be  of  use  in  photography,  and  the  theoretical 
reasons  why  they  should  be  so  employed.  He  also  tells 
how  to  manufacture  the  said  substances  when  the  method 
of  manufacture  is  of  a simple  nature,  likely  to  be  within 
the  means  and  grasp  of  the  photographer.  lie  also  tells 
how  to  detect  impurities  in  purchased  photographic  chem- 
icals. 

In  the  course  of  an  article  on  toning  with  the  salts  of 
platinum,  he  says  that  the  chloroplatinite  of  platinum  may 
be  purchased  ready-made,  or  the  common  tetrachloride  of 
platinum  of  commerce  maybe  approximately  reduced,  and 
used  for  the  same  purpose,  by  boiling  it  with  a weak  solution 
of  tartrate  of  soda,  containing  one  gramme  of  the  latter 
salt  to  every  four  grammes  of  tetrachloride  of  platinum. 
The  weak  solution  has  to  be  boiled  until  its  yellow  colour 
changes  to  dull  grey;  its  volume  is  then  made  up  to  one 
litre  with  distilled  water,  and  is  acidified  by  means  of  five 
grammes — which  seems  a great  deal — of  pure  sulphuric 
acid.  Vegetable  acids  will  not  preserve  the  toning  bath 
long,  especially  when  it  is  exposed  to  light. 

The  experience  of  M.  Mathet  with  eikonogen  is  : — 

1.  The  time  of  development  is  notably  shortened — we 
presume  in  comparison  with  that  of  ferrous-oxalate,  the 
favourite  developer  on  the  Continent.  Even  when  the 
exposure  has  been  very  short  the  image  comes  out  well. 

2.  The  bath  does  not,  relatively  speaking,  discolour 
much  by  exposure  to  the  air,  and  there  is  no  fear  of  its 
staining  the  gelatine  ; the  image  keeps  clear  and  without 
fog ; the  developer  does  not  stain  the  fingers  of  the 
operator. 

3.  The  colour  of  the  reduced  silver,  not  being  modified 
by  accidental  staining  of  the  gelatine,  such  as  that  given 
by  pyrogallol,  has  a blackish  blue  tone  which  favours 
rapidity  in  printing ; the  colour  of  the  image  approaches 
that  given  by  ferrous-oxalate. 

4.  Several  plates  can  be  developed  successively  in 
the  same  bath  without  any  appreciable  difference  in 
appearance. 

The  author  then  devotes  a few  pages  to  the  subject  of 
getting  density  with  eikonogen. 

Altogether,  the  work  is  a useful  book  of  reference  for 
the  photographer. 


The  London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 
— The  subject  for  August  7th  will  be  “ Home  Portraiture  ; ” 
the  discussion  thereupon  will  be  opened  by  Mr.  \Y.  E.  Deben- 
liarn.  Bank  Holiday  outing,  St.  Albans  ; train  10.24  a. in, 
from  Moorgate  Street.  A’isitors  invited. 


598 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[August  1,  1890. 


PIIOTO-C 1 1 EMI  CAL  INVESTIGATIONS  .* 

BY  FERDINAND  MUSTER,  PH.D.,  AND  V.  C.  DRIFFIELD. 

I.— What  is  a Perfect  Negative? — Density,  Opacity, 
Transparency. 

The  production  of  a perfect  picture  by  means  of  photo- 
graphy is  an  art ; the  production  of  a technically  perfect 
negative  is  a science. 

A perfect  negative  demands,  in  the  first  place,  a perfect 
plate,  and  as  the  manufacture  of  dry  sensitive  plates  is  a 
large  and  rapidly  groAving  chemical  industry,  we  need 
offer  no  apology  for  bringing  this  subject  before  this 
Society. 

Our  researches,  Avhich  have  covered  a period  of  over 
ten  years,  were  made  with  a view  to  rendering  the  produc- 
tion of  perfect  negatives  as  far  as  possible  a matter  of 
certainty. 

What  is  a perfect  negative  ? A negative  is  theoretically 
perfect  Avhen  the  amount  of  light  transmitted  through  its 
various  gradations  is  in  inverse  ratio  to  that  which  the 
corresponding  parts  of  the  original  subject  sent  out. 

The  negative  is  mathematically  the  true  inverse  of  the 
original  when  the  opacities  of  its  graduations  are  propor- 
tional to  the  light  reflected  by  those  parts  of  the  original 
which  they  represent. 

Before  Ave  can  clearly  understand  this  definition,  it  Avill 
be  necessary  to  state  shortly  the  laws  of  absorption  of 
light  by  opaque  black  substances,  and  to  define  clearly 
the  meaning  we  attach  to  the  terms  opacity,  transparency, 
and  density  of  a negative.  It  is  the  more  necessary  to  do 
this,  as  the  whole  of  our  investigations  depend  upon  these 
laws. 

For  substances  Avhich  do  not  reflect  much  light,  such  as 
black  opaque  bodies,  or  transparent  coloured  bodies,  the 
relation  between  the  light  absorbed  and  the  quantity  of 
the  substance  present  is  very  simple.  If  between  the  eye 
and  a source  of  light  we  place  a thin  layer  of  dilute  Indian 
ink,  that  layer  absorbs  light,  and  thereby  reduces  the 
intensity  of  the  light  transmitted.  Assume  that  such  a 
layer  absorbs  one-half  of  the  light,  then  one-half  of  the 
light  will  be  transmitted.  Whatever  may  be  the  intensity 
of  the  original  light,  the  intensity  after  passing  this  layer 
of  iuk  will  be  one-half  of  what  it  was.  The  interposition 
of  two  such  layers  will  reduce  the  light  to  one-fourth 
the  original  intensity ; three  such  layers  will  reduce  it  to 
one-eighth,  and  so  on,  each  layer  reducing  the  intensity 
to  one-half  of  Avhat  it  receives. 

Had  the  first  layer  allowed  one-third  of  the  light  to  pass 
through,  then  two  such  layers  Avould  reduce  the  intensity  to 
one-ninth,  three  layers  to  one-twentyseventh,  &c.  In 
general,  any  number  of  layers  would  reduce  the  intensity  of 
the  light  to  a fraction  which  is  equal  to  the  fraction  the  first 
layer  allows  to  pass,  but  raised  to  a power  the  index  of  which 
is  the  number  of  layers  employed.  If  n equal  layers  were 
employed,  and  the  first  one  reduced  the  intensity  of  the 

t 

light  to  a fraction  m , the  n layers  would  reduce  it  to 


If,  instead  of  using  so  many  successive  layers,  the  first 
layer  were  made  to  contain  as  much  Indian  ink  as  the  n 
successive  layers  contain  altogether,  we  should  find  that 
the  one  layer  now  reduces  the  intensity  of  light  by  exactly 
the  same  amount  as  the  n layers  did.  The  reduction  of 

* This  piper  is  quoted  by  permission  from  the  Journal  of  the  Society  of 
Chemical  Industry  The  full  title  of  it,  as  given  by  the  authors,  is  “ Photo- 
Chemical  Investigations,  and  a New  Method  of  Determination  of  the  Sensi- 
tiveness of  Photographic  Plates.”— Ed. 


the  intensity  is,  of  course,  due  to  the  black  particles,  and 
depends  simply  upon  the  number  of  them  which  are 
interposed  per  unit  of  area.  We  can  thus  replace  the 
number  of  layers  by  the  number  of  particles,  and  the 
law  takes  this  form : The  intensity  Tx  of  light,  after  pass- 
ing A molecules  of  a substance,  is  a fraction  of  the  original 
intensity  T,  such  that — 

Tx  / l_  \ A. 

T \ C ) 

For  purely  mathemathical  reasons  the  fraction  i is 
usually  expressed  as  a negative  poAver  of  the  base  of  the 
hyperbolic  logarithms  E,  say  — = E , and  we  can  write  — 

V 

T —k\. 

— = E 
T 

Avhere  k is  called  the  coefficient  of  absorption.  This  form 

T 

of  the  laAV  avc  shall  frequently  use  again.  The  fraction 

represents  and  measures  the  transparency  of  the  substance. 

T I'A 

The  inverse  of  that  fraction,  or  - — E , measures  the 

I X 

opacity  of  the  substance.  It  indicates  Avhat  intensity  of 
light  must  fall  on  one  side  of  the  substance  in  order  that 
unit  intensity  may  be  transmitted. 

In  our  investigations  avc  use  the  letter  T to  denote 
transparency,  and  O to  denote  opacity,  and  the  tAvo 
symbols  arc  related  thus : — 0 X T = 1. 

We  must  further  define  what  avc  mean  by  density  as 
distinct  from  opacity.  By  density  avc  mean  the  number 
of  particles  of  a substance  spread  over  unit  area,  multi- 
plied by  the  coeflicient  of  absorption  ; k\  is  what  we  term 
density,  and  mark  by  the  letter  1). 

For  our  purposes,  i.e.,  in  its  application  to  negatives,  the 
density  is  directly  proportional  to  the  amount  of  silver 
deposited  per  unit  area,  and  may  be  used  as  a measure  of 
that  amount. 

The  relations  betAveen  the  three  terms,  transparency, 
opacity,  and  density,  are  the  folloAving : — 

— D 

T = E 

0 = E- 

D = log,;  0 = — logt  T. 

The  density  is  the  logarithm  of  the  opacity,  or  the 
negative  logarithm  of  the  transparency. 

These  relations  hold  good  for  some  substances  Avith 
regard  to  ordinary  white  fight,  for  others  only  Avith  regard 
to  monochromatic  fight,  and  for  others  they  do  not  hold 
good  at  all.  We  have  satisfied  ourselves  that  they  do 
hold  good  for  the  silver  deposited  as  a black  substance  in 
negatives  as  long  as  the  silver  does  not  assume  a metallic 
lustre,  and  reflects  but  a very  small  amount  of  light. 

By  means  of  these  definitions  avc  are  uoav  in  a position 
to  trace  the  connection  between  the  densities  of  a theoreti- 
cally perfect  negative  and  the  fight  intensities  which  pro- 
duced them. 

Since  the  density  is  the  logarithm  of  the  opacity,  and 
since,  in  a theoretically  perfect  negative,  the  opacities  are 
directly  proportional  to  the  intensities  of  the  fight  which 
produced  them,  it  follows  that  each  density  must  be  pro- 
portional to  the  logarithm  of  the  fight  intensity  which 
produced  it.  (More  correctly,  the  density  is  a linear 
function  of  the  logarithm  of  the  intensity  of  fight  and  time 
of  exposure.) 

The  result  is  this:  In  a theoretically  perfect  negative, 

the  amounts  of  sil\rer  deposited  in  the  various  parts  are 
proportional  to  the  logarithms  of  the  intensities  of  fight 
proceeding  from  the  corresponding  parts  of  the  object. 


August  1,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS 


599 


The  question  arises,  can  such  a negative  be  produced  in 
practice  ? 

In  order  to  answer  this  question,  we  had  first  to  find  a 
simple  method  of  measuring  the  density  of  the  silver 
deposited  in  negatives.  We  have  then  to  study  the  in- 
fluence of  the  developers  upon  the  density  of  the  deposits, 
and  we  were  then  in  a position  to  investigate  the  action  of 
the  light  itself. 

(To  be  continued.) 

THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  IMAGE* 

BY  PROFESSOR  RAPHAEL  MELDOLA,  F.R.S.,  M.R.I. 

The  photographic  image  is  impressed  on  a modern  film 
in  an  inappreciable  fraction  of  a second,  whereas  the 
photo-salt  requires  an  appreciable  time  for  its  produc- 
tion. The  image  is  invisible  simply  because  of  the 
extremely  minute  quantity  of  haloid  decomposed.  In 
the  present  state  of  knowledge  it  cannot  be  asserted  that 
the  material  composing  this  image  is  identical  in  composi- 
tion with  the  photo-salt,  for  we  kuow  the  composition  of 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  But  they  are  analogous  in 
so  far  as  they  are  both  the  result  of  photo-chemical  de- 
composition, and  there  is  great  probability  that  they  are 
closely  related,  if  not  identical,  chemically,  it  may  turn 
out  that  there  are  various  kinds  of  invisible  images, 
according  to  the  vehicle  or  halogen  absorbent — in  other 
words,  according  to  the  sensitiser  with  which  the  silver 
haloid  is  associated.  The  invisible  image  is  revealed  by 
the  action  of  the  developer,  into  the  function  of  which  1 
do  not  propose  to  enter.  It  will  suffice  to  say  that  the 
final  result  of  the  developing  solution  is  to  magnify  the 
deposit  of  photo-salt  by  accumulating  metallic  silver 
thereon  by  accretion  or  reduction.  Owing  to  the  circum- 
stance that  the  image  is  impressed  with  such  remarkable 
rapidity,  and  that  it  is  invisible  when  formed,  it  has  been 
maintained,  and  is  still  held  by  many,  that  the  first  action 
of  light  on  the  film  is  molecular  or  physical,  and  not 
chemical.  The  arguments  in  favour  of  the  chemical  theory 
appear  to  me  to  be  tolerably  conclusive,  and  I will  venture 
to  submit  a few  of  them. 

The  action  of  reagents  upon  the  photographic  film  is 
quite  similar  to  the  action  of  the  same  reagents  upon  the 
silver  haloids  when  exposed  to  the  point  of  visible  coloura- 
tion. Reducing  agents  and  halogen  absorbents  increase 
the  sensitiveness  of  the  film;  oxidising  and  halogenising 
agents  destroy  its  sensitiveness.  It  is  difficult  to  sec,  on 
the  physical  theory,  why  it  should  not  be  possible  to  impress 
an  image  on  a film,  say,  of  pure  silver  bromide,  as  readily 
as  on  a film  of  the  same  haloid  embedded  in  gelatine. 
Everyone  knows  that  this  cannot  be  done.  I have  myself 
been  surprised  at  the  extreme  insensitiveness  of  films  of 
pure  bromide  prepared  by  exposing  films  of  silver 
deposited  on  glass  to  the  action  of  bromine  vapour.  ( Jn 
the  chemical  theory  we  know  that  gelatine  is  a splendid 
sensitiser — i.e.,  bromine  absorbent.  There  is  another 
proof  which  has  been  in  our  hands  for  nearly  thirty  years, 
but  I do  not  think  it  has  been  viewed  in  this  light  before. 
It  has  been  shown  by  Carey  Lea,  Eder,  and  especially 
by  Abney — who  has  investigated  the  matter  most 
thoroughly — that  a shearing  stress  applied  mechanically  to 
a sensitive  film  leaves  an  impression  which  can  be  de- 
veloped in  just  the  same  way  as  though  it  had  been  pro- 
duced by  the  action  of  light.  [Pressure  marks  on  East- 
man bromide  paper  developed  by  ferrous-oxalate.]  Now 

* Concluded  from  page  581. 


that  result  cannot  be  produced  on  a surface  of  the  pure 
haloid ; some  halogen  absorbent,  such  as  gelatine,  must 
be  associated  with  the  haloid.  We  are  concerned  here 
with  a chemical  change  of  that  class  so  ably  investigated 
by  Professor  Spring,  of  Liege,  who  has  shown  that  by 
mere  mechanical  pressure  it  is  possible  to  bring  about 
chemical  reaction  between  mixtures  of  finely  divided 
solids.*  Then,  again,  mild  reducing  agents,  too  feeble  to 
reduce  the  silver  haloids  directly  to  the  metallic  state, 
such  as  alkaline  hypophospliites,  glucose  or  lactose,  and 
alkali,  &c.,  form  invisible  images  which  can  be  developed 
in  precisely  the  same  way  as  the  photographic  image.  All 
this  looks  like  chemical  change,  and  not  physical  modifi- 
cation pure  and  simple. 

I have  in  this  discourse  stoically  resisted  the  tempting 
opportunities  for  pictorial  display  which  the  subject 
affords.  My  aim  has  been  to  summarise  the  position  in 
which  we  find  ourselves  with  respect  to  the  invisible  image 
after  fifty  years’  practice  of  the  art.  This  image  is,  I 
venture  to  think,  the  property  of  the  chemist,  and  by  him 
must  the  scientific  foundation  of  photography  be  laid. 
We  may  not  be  able  to  give  the  formula  of  the  photo- 
salt, but  if  the  solution  of  the  problem  has  hitherto 
eluded  our  grasp  it  is  because  of  the  intrinsic  diffi- 
culties of  the  investigation.  The  photographic  image 
brings  us  face  to  face,  not  with  an  ordinary,  but 
with  an  extraordinary  class  of  chemical  changes  due 
entirely  to  the  peculiar  character  of  the  silver  salts.  The 
material  composing  the  image  is  not  of  that  definite 
nature  with  which  modern  chemical  methods  are  in  the 
habit  of  dealing.  The  stability  of  the  photo-salt  is  deter- 
mined by  some  kind  of  combination  between  the  sub- 
haloid or  oxyhaloid,  or  whatever  it  may  be,  and  the  excess 
of  unaltered  haloid  which  enters  into  its  composition. 
The  formation  of  the  coloured  product  presents  certain 
analogies  with  the  formation  of  a saturated  solution  ; the 
product  of  photo-chemical  decomposition  is  formed 
under  the  influence  of  light  up  to  a certain  percentage  of 
the  whole  photo-salt,  beyond  which  it  cannot  be  increased 
— in  other  words,  the  silver  haloid  is  saturated  by  a very 
minute  percentage  of  its  own  product  of  photo-decom- 
position. The  photo-salt  belongs  to  a domain  of  chemistry 
— a no-man’s  land — peopled  by  so-called  “ molecular  com- 
pounds,” into  which  the  pure  chemist  ventures  but 
timidly.  But  these  compounds  are  more  and  more 
urging  their  claims  for  consideration,  and  sooner  or 
later  they  will  have  to  be  reckoned  with,  even  if 
they  lack  that  definiteness  which  the  modern  chemist 
regards  as  the  essential  criterion  of  chemical  individu- 
ality. The  investigation  may  lead  to  the  recognition  of 
a new  order  of  chemical  attraction,  or  of  the  old  chemical 
attraction  in  a different  degree.  The  chemist  who  dis- 
courses here  upon  this  subject  at  the  end  of  the  half- 
century  of  photography  into  which  we  have  now  entered, 
will  no  doubt  know  more  about  this  aspect  of  chemical 
affinity ; and  if  I may  invoke  the  spirit  of  prophecy  in 
concluding,  I should  say  that  a study  of  the  photographic 
film  with  its  invisible  image  wdl  have  contributed  materi- 
ally to  its  advancement. 

The  American  Journal  of  Photography  is  published  by  Messrs, 
McCollin  and  Co.,  1030,  Aroh  Street,  Philadelphia. 

* The  connectioa  between  the  two  phenomena  was  suggested  during  a 
course  of  lec'ures  delivered  by  me  two  years  ago  (“Chemistry  of  Photo- 
graphy,” p.  191).  I have  since  learnt  that  the  same  conclusion  had  been 
arrived  at  independently  by  Mr.  0.  II.  Bothamiey,  of  the  Yorkshire  Col- 
lege, Leeds. 


600 


the  photographic  news. 


[August  1,  1890. 


PHOTO-ENGRAVING  AS  A BUSINESS. 

During  the  past  two  or  three  years  we  have  repeatedly 
drawn  the  attention  of  progressive  photographers  to  the 
lucrative  openings  constantly  recurring  in  the  evolution  of 
photo-engraving  as  an  illustrative  art.  The  ever-increasing 
demand  for  men  skilled  in  this  and  photo-mechanical 
processes,  together  with  the  engaging  prospects  this 
youngest  of  professions  holds  out  as  inducements  to  its 
followers,  have  led  us  to  embody  here  a few  ideas  which 
may  help  some  who  are  looking  for  a better  condition  of 
things  than  photography  in  the  studio  affords. 

Photo-engraving  is  a process  by  means  of  which  a draw- 
ing in  line  or  half-tone,  a photograph,  a water-colour  or 
oil  painting,  or  anything  depicted  by  lines,  colours,  or  tones, 
may  be  reproduced  upon  a zinc,  copper,  or  steel  base,  and 
printed  from  the  printer’s  press  together  with  descriptive 
matter.  The  same  end  has,  for  many  years,  been  accom- 
plished, in  some  slight  measure,  by  wood-blocks,  upon 
which  the  design  to  be  printed  was  cut  by  hand.  This 
latter  proceeding,  however,  had  numerous  disadvantages, 
amongst  which  we  might  mention  that  the  success  of  the 
resulting  picture  depended  wholly  upon  the  fidelity  of  the 
work  of  the  wood-cutter ; also  that  the  process  was  tedious 
and  slow,  requiring  considerable  skill  on  the  part  of  the 
workman ; consequently,  the  work  was  costly ; and, 
beyond  all  this,  there  remained  the  fact  that  to  obtain  true 
likenesses  of  people,  places,  or  things  was  generally  im- 
possible, because  of  the  facilities  offered  in  the  wood- 
block to  produce  idealised  representations  of  the  objects 
depicted.  Photo-engraving  obviates  all  these  difficulties, 
reproducing,  as  it  does,  with  the  actual  fidelity  of  a photo- 
graph every  detail  of  light  and  shade  pictured  in  the 
original ; and  doing  this,  furthermore,  within  an  incredibly 
short  time. 

Small  wonder,  then,  can  we  express  when  we  hear  that 
this  latest  phase  of  reproductive  art  is  driving  all  before  it. 
We  do  not,  however,  believe  that  the  spread  of  photo- 
engraving will  result  in  the  extinction  of  the  branches  of 
wood-cutting,  steel-engraving,  and  the  like.  No ! These 
have  their  own  place,  and  mil  hold  it,  but  without  doubt 
photo-engraving  is  the  reproductive  art  of  the  future,  and,  on 
that  score,  demands  the  earnest  attention  of  all  interested 
in  photography,  which  is  the  fruitful  source  of  this  and  all 
similar  processes  by  which  half-tone  reproductions  are 
obtained. 

Now  to  the  point.  There  are  many  photographers 
throughout  our  country  who  learnt  the  art  in  “wet-plate 
days,”  and  who  have  never  succeeded  in  the  methods  of 
dry-plate  photography  now  in  vogue.  To  such  as  these 
— and  they  are  many — photo-engraving  offers  even  greater 
inducements  than  to  the  modern  dry-plate  worker. 
Without  a practical  knowledge  of  the  collodion  process  it 
is  useless  to  try  to  accomplish  anything  in  photo-engraving, 
but  with  this  knowledge  the  workman  is  already  half-way 
to  the  goal. 

Some  little  time  ago  we  called  attention  to  an  advertise- 
ment in  a contemporary  offering  §50  per  week  to  a skilled 
photo-engraver,  and,  so  far  as  we  know,  that  offer  still 
holds  good. 

Anyway,  it  is  absolutely  certain  that  a man  “ worth  his 
salt”  iu  photo-engraving  can  obtain  a salary  all  the  way 
from  825  to  850  per  week,  whilst  girls  are  employed  in 
the  lighter  departments  of  the  work  at  salaries  ranging 
from  S9  to  S20  per  week.  AVhat  we  particularly  desire 
our  interested  readers  to  note  is  that,  whilst  photo-engrav- 


ing as  a comparatively  new  line  of  business  is  open  to 
“live  ” workers  from  all  allied  trades,  it  is  peculiarly  open 
to  photographers  acquainted  with  the  collodion  processes 
of  wet-plate  days.  The  work  is  lighter  and  pleasanter 
than  the  general  run  of  gallery  work ; the  demand  for  good 
workmen  is,  and  for  some  years  will  be,  a steadily  increasing 
one  ; the  remuneration  is  greater  than  photography  can 
offer  under  similar  conditions  to  similar  workmen,  and 
the  prospects  of  advancement  are  much  more  promising. 
In  a conversation  with  Mr.  M.  Wolfe,  of  Dayton,  Ohio, 
who  produces  the  most  perfect  screen  plates  for  photo- 
engraving purposes  we  have  yet  seen,  he  told  us  that  if  he 
had  twelve  competent  men  skilled  in  this  class  of  work 
he  could  put  them  into  good  positions  right  away. — 
Wilson's  Photographic  Magazine. 


MILITARY  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

Captain  Crimes,  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  has  written  a 
series  of  articles  on  the  above  subject,  which  were  pub- 
fished  in  the  Broad  Arrow.  Iu  the  last  of  the  series  he 
gives  a description  of  his  photographic  outfit  He  says:  — 
“The  one  object  I have  kept  in  view  all  through  has 
been  to  simplify  the  art  as  much  as  possible,  and  to  make 
each  photographic  section  complete  in  itself,  and  able  to 
take,  develop,  and  print  a picture  without  any  outside  help, 
in  the  shortest  time  possible.  Having  this  end  in  view, 
my  equipment  supplies,  in  the  first  place,  two  fight 
knapsacks,  to  be  carried  in  a reconnaissance  by  two 
mounted  officers  or  men.  One  contains  a very  fight 
fold-up  camera,  capable  of  taking  pictures  10  iu.  by  12  in., 
round  which  is  wrapped  the  focussing  cloth.  It  has  not 
appeared  to  me  desirable  to  place  before  a general  a 
view  of  a country  smaller  than  this.  The  extra  weight 
would  be  more  than  compensated  by  the  comprehensive 
picture  obtained ; moreover,  in  a small  plate,  I take  it, 
distance  would  not  be  fairly  and  distinctly  portrayed. 
The  other  knapsack  carries  three  dark  slides,  very  fight 
but  strong,  each  containing  two  plates.  This  knapsack 
also  contains  the  lens,  instantaneous  shutter,  &c.  Both 
knapsacks  are  made  to  fit  close  to  the  back,  and,  in 
addition  to  the  straps  passing  over  the  shoulders,  are 
secured  to  the  sword-belt,  thus  preventing  any  injurious 
motion  when  riding.  By  the  simple  act  of  unbuckling  one 
strap,  each  can  be  at  once  uusluug  ready  to  be  unpacked. 
The  tripod,  which  is  made  as  light  as  can  be  consistently  with 
strength  and  stability,  is  carried  folded  up  in  a packet 
attached  to  the  saddle,  and  fixes  immediately  on  to  the 
camera.  We  next  proceed  to  the  all-important  subject  of 
“ developing  ” in  the  field.  For  this  purpose  I use  a tent  com- 
posed of  a large,  folding,  umbrella-shaped  top,  made  of  a 
material  which  admitsadeep  ruby  light.  When  this  is  opened 
and  fixed  in  the  ground  it  stands  just  clear  of  a tall  man's 
head.  Over  it  is  dropped  a sort  of  sack,  open  at  bottom 
ends,  the  top  end  being  much  smaller  than  the  bottom  end, 
and  callable  of  being  drawn  together  by  means  of  two 
cords.  This  sack  is  lightproof  and  waterproof.  The 
lower  end  is  held  down  by  means  of  a fight  iron  hoop  or 
ring,  which  also  folds  up  to  facilitate  packing.  The 
hoop  is  attached  to  the  bottom  of  the  sack  in  such  a way 
that  a bonier  of  the  material  extends  beyond  it,  and  rests 
upon  the  ground.  This,  in  the  ordinary  way,  is  sufficient 
to  keep  out  light,  but  should  any  find  its  way  in,  a few 
handfuls  of  earth  or  stoues  heaped  up  round  the  border 
will  effectually  keep  it  out.  The  stick  of  the  umbrella  is 
a hollow  bamboo,  open  at  the  top.  It  is  pierced  with 


August  1,  1890.J 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


601 


holes  to  about  half  its  length ; this  ventilates  the  tent. 
A cap  placed  over  the  top  of  the  stick  excludes  light, 
but  not  air.  We  now  have  a complete  tent  in  which  a man 

can  move  about  freely,  and  use  his  hands  without  con- 
straint, and,  above  all,  he  is  not  half  stifled,  as  one  gene- 
rally is  in  the  usual  run  of  developing  tents.  It  can  be 
taken  down  at  a moment’s  notice,  and  packed  in  a very 
small  compass,  the  whole  being  exceedingly  light  and  com- 
pact. A few  stays  may  be  necessary  in  windy  weather  to 
keep  it  steady.  The  person  about  to  develop  a plate  slings 
over  his  shoulders,  knapsack  fashion,  a small  metal  tank, 
containing  sufficient  water  to  wash  several  plates ; attached 
to  it  is  a gutta-percha  tube  and  tap.  Round  the  waist  is 
buckled  a broad  leather  belt,  in  which  are  fixed  bottles 
containing  the  developing  solutions,  &c.  A light,  fold-up 
trough,  with  a gutta-percha  drain-pipe,  carried  outside  the 
tent,  and  two  light  shelves,  hook  on  to  the  stick  of  the 
umbrella.  All  that  now  has  to  be  done  is  to  lift  up  the 
walls  of  the  tent,  step  inside,  and  develop  and  print  the 
picture,  which,  by  using  bromide  paper  (undoubtedly  the 
process  for  military  use),  would  take  something  like  a 
quarter  of  an  hour ; the  printing,  of  course,  to  be  done 
from  the  wet  plate.  I may  mention  that  I use  scarcely 
any  glass  beyond  the  plates  (which  I believe  in)  ; those 
articles  which  are  made  of  glass  are  protected  to  prevent 
breakage.  I believe  myself  that  the  whole  of  the  articles 
now  made  of  glass  can  ba  manufactured  from  a preparation 
of  celluloid,  which  is  strong,  light,  and  durable.  1 hope 
shortly  to  have  a comple  te  set  of  bottles  and  measures 
made  of  celluloid.” 

Ox  Saturday  last  Mr.  Charles  Knight,  photographer,  of 
Newport,  Isle  of  Wight,  had  the  honour,  he  says,  of  photo- 
graphing H.K.H.  the  Duke  of  Connaught  in  Rifle  Brigade 
uniform.  The  I’rince  is  honorary  colonel  of  the  battallion. 

The  FuL'.iUR  Universal  Lame. -—The  Fulgur  lamp  consists 
essentially  of  a coal  oil  lamp  whose  reservoir  contains  a porous 
substance  absorbing  about  two  hundred  centimetres  of  petro 
leum  ; it  is  furnished  with  a chimney  of  white  glass,  serving 
for  ordinary  lighting,  enlargements,  and  magnesium  flash-light, 
and  with  a chimney  of  red  glass  for  lighting  the  dark  room. 
The  petroleum  reservoir  has  over  it  a smaller  reservoir  contain- 
ing magnesium  in  powder.  By  means  of  a faucet  a small  quan- 
tity of  the  powder  is  made  to  fall  in  a tube  entering  the  flame, 
through  which  it  is  projected  by  means  of  a rubber  bulb  ; the 
small  quantity  of  magnesium  smoke  is  entirely  condensed  on 
thr  chimney.  The  price  of  the  lamp  is  20  marks. — Deutsche 
Photographen  Zeitung. 

Phosphorescence  Produced  bv  Ozone.  — Herr  Ernst 
Fahrig  says  in  The  Chemical  News  : — “ I was  in  a dark  room, 
and  having  in  my  hand  a sealed  bottle  about  three-quarters 
full  of  a preparation  of  ozone  (in  this  instance  a solution  of 
ozone  in  water  containing  a small  peicentage  of  other  sub- 
stances, which  I ha\'e  found  in  the  course  of  my  experience  are 
necessary  to  retain  the  ozone  in  solution),  I,  with  no  particular 
purpose  in  view,  gave  the  bottle  a vigorous  shaking  up  ; in- 
stantly I saw  a soft,  phosphorescent  glow  of  light  floating  above 
the  surface  of  the  liquid  and  permeating  the  space  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  bottle.  Its  appearance  was  only  momentary  ; but 
on  shaking  the  liquid  up  again  immediately  afterwards  it  was 
observed  again,  but  in  much  diminished  intensity.  Further 
repetition  failed  to  produce  any  results,  but  after  an  interval 
of  ten  days  the  liquid  had  apparently  regenerated  its  power, 
and  the  same  effects  could  be  observed,  though  weaker. 

I observed  the  phenomenon  in  another  way,  and  obtained  some 
especially  remarkable  results,  by  pouring  a small  quantity  of  an 
ozone  solution  into  a glass  beaker  containing  ordinary  water. 
At  first  the  cone-like  projection  of  the  solution  where  it  falls 
into  the  water  becomes  luminous,  and  then  the  light  suffuses 
the  whole  mass  as  the  liquids  become  thoroughly  mingled,  and 
finally  disappears.” 


PHOTOGRAPHING  UPON  WOOD. 

The  Magazinist,  The  Century,  Harper's,  and  other  popular 
monthlies  use  “process”  engravings  more  and  more. 
Photography  on  wood  is  their  mainstay,  and  has  abnost 
superseded  the  draughtsman  on  wood.  A sketch,  say,  a 
dozen  times  as  large  as  the  proposed  engraving  is  made, 
reduced  by  photography,  and  then  put  upon  the  wood. 

Photographing  on  wood  by  the  wet-plate  process  is 
done  thus : A slight  modification  of  the  collodion  transfer 
will  no  doubt  meet  all  requirements.  First  make  a 
reversed  collodion  transparency  in  the  camera  from  the 
negative.  A tough  and  horny  collodion  should  be  used. 
Develop  with — 

Pyrogallic  acid  ...  ...  ...  ...  100  grains 

Citric  acid  ...  ...  ...  ...  60  ,, 

Acetic  acid  ...  ...  ...  ...  2 ounces 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  20  ,, 

and  fix  in  hyposulphite  of  soda.  Coat  the  wood  with  the 
following  hot  solution  of  gelatine  : — 

Gelatine  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  4 ounces 

Water  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  1 pint 

Dissolve  the  gelatine  by  placing  in  a vessel  of  warm  water, 
and  then  add  4 grains  of  chrome  alum  and  mix  thoroughly. 
The  wood,  having  been  coated,  is  allowed  to  dry.  The 
gelatine  surface  is  then  moistened  with  water  for  ten  or 
fifteen  minutes,  and  the  transparency,  still  wet  from  the 
washing  water,  is  laid  down  upon  it  and  pressed  lightly 
in  contact,  and  allowed  to  dry  under  slight  pressure. 
When  dry,  the  collodion  readily  leave. s the  glass,  and 
remains  in  contact  with  the  block. 

Here  are  some  further  points : The  plate  is  cleaned  as 
usual,  and  dusted  with  powdered  talc  and  polished  off  ; it 
is  then  coated  with  positive  collodion,  sensitised  and 
exposed  as  usual,  fixed  with  cyanide  of  potassium,  and 
placed  in  a dish  of  warm  water.  In  the  meantime,  have 
your  block  blackened  by  rubbing  drop  black  on  it,  or 
ordinary  blacking,  and  coat  and  drain  well  with  a solution 
of  the  commonest  glue  you  can  get,  1 ounce  to  12  ounces 
of  hot  water ; the  common  glues  are  the  best,  for  they 
take  a much  longer  time  to  set  than  better  ones,  and  so 
you  can  get  a much  thinner  coat  with  draining.  Place 
your  block  in  a vessel  of  water,  having  it  immersed  about 
three  inches,  then  bring  your  photo  from  the  dish,  place 
it  over  the  block  and  under  the  water.  You  will  find  by 
touching  the  edges  of  the  film  it  will  readily  leave  the 
glass ; you  can  then  turn  it  about  any  way  under  the 
water,  and  when  in  position  raise  your  block  gently  out  of 
the  water,  bringing  the  film  with  it ; if  it  is  puckered  at 
all,  it  is  owing  to  raising  too  roughly,  and  must  be  placed 
in  the  water  again.  If  satisfactory,  place  at  an  angle  to 
drain,  and  dry  in  warm,  airy  place.  The  whole  operation, 
from  focussing  to  getting  the  block  ready  for  drying,  will 
not  take  a practised  hand  more  than  twenty  minutes.  The 
common  glue  will  not  block  the  tool  at  all  if  you  drain 
the  block  well,  and  when  cut  all  can  be  removed  imme- 
diately with  a sponge  and  warm  water.  I may  add  that 
a very  good  Avay  to  black  the  block  is  to  hold  it  over  a 
petroleum  lamp  with  its  chimney  removed.  The  glue- 
water  Avill  not  come  off  it  if  applied  in  the  same  manner  as 
applying  varnish  to  a negative,  and  under  no  circum- 
stances be  induced  to  use  a black  varnish,  for  it  is  next  to 
impossible  to  do  a good  job,  for  the  graver  slips  as  if  it 
were  cutting  on  glass.  — Wilson  s Photographic  Magazine. 

At  the  Photographic  Club  the  following  subjects  will  be 
considered  : — Wednesday,  August  6th,  “ New  Hand- Cameras  ” j 
August  13th,  “On  Extemporising  Apparatus,” 


602 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[August  1,  1890. 


patent  KntclltgcftK* 


Applications  for  Letters  Patent. 

11,420.  John  Lewis,  99,  Gladstone  Road,  Birmingham, 
“Improvements  in  Photographic  Printing  Paper.” — July 
22nd. 

11,431.  H.  Simpson,  26,  Castle  Street,  Liverpool,  “Photo- 
graphic Apparatus.” — July  22nd. 

11,476.  G.  Mattioli,  45,  Southampton  Buildings,  London, 
“ Photographic  Apparatus.”-— July  22nd. 

11,478.  J.  R.  Gotz,  433,  Strand,  London,  “Photographic 
Film  Holders.” — July  22nd. 

Specifications  Published. 

14,220.  September  9th,  1889.  — “ Photographic  Focussing 
Magnifiers.”  Frank  Bishop,  of  the  firm  of  Marion  and  Co., 
22  and  23,  Soho  Square,  London,  W.,  Dealers  in  Photo- 
graphic Materials. 

This  invention,  which  has  already  been  described  in  these 
pages,  has  for  its  object  to  provide  a means  whereby  a focus- 
sing magnifier,  sometimes  used  in  focussing  a picture  in  the 
photographic  camera,  may  be  temporarily  fixed  against  the 
focussing  screen  in  position  for  viewing  the  image,  so  that  the 
hand  of  the  operator,  instead  of  being  occupied  in  holding  the 
magnifier,  is  at  liberty  to  make  the  necessary  adjustments  of 
the  camera. 

The  invention  consists  in  the  combination  with  the  focussing 
magnifier  of  a suction  device  in  the  form  of  an  india-rubber 
cupped  disc  which,  when  pressed  flat  against  the  focussing 
screen,  remains  adherent  thereto  by  atmospheric  pressure,  in 
the  manner  of  a sucker,  with  sufficient  tenacity  to  support  the 
focussing  glass  in  position  against  the  screen,  and  permit  of  its 
being  shifted  about  thereon. 

14,270.  September  lOf/i,  1889. — “ Photographic  Shutter.” 
Henri  Tuunbekrv,  Manufacturer  of  Photographic  Shutters, 
22,  Rue  de  Bretagne,  Paris. 

This  invention  has  for  its  object  to  provide  a new  form  of 
shutter  for  photographic  cameras. 

This  shutter  may  be  employed  at  will  for  effecting  instan- 
taneous exposure,  or  exposures  of  which  the  duration  may  be 
regulated  as  desired.  It  is  actuated  by  a compressed  air 
piston,  through  an  india-rubber  tube  terminating  in  a pear  or 
ball  as  usual. 

The  piston  alternately  moves  two  slides,  which  constitute 
the  shutter  apparatus  properly  so  called,  from  top  to  bottom, 
and  which,  in  sliding  vertically  one  in  front  of  the  other, 
alternately  open  and  close  the  objective  opening  of  the 
apparatus.  The  two  slides  are  respectively  actuated  one  by 
the  other,  each  of  them  being  provided  on  its  side  with  a rack, 
the  teeth  of  each  of  which  engage  at  the  same  time  with  a 
pinion  common  to  both,  and  which  turns  freely  on  its  axis 
under  the  impulse  given  by  either  one  of  the  said  slides  when 
itself  actuated  by  the  piston. 

It  will  be  understood  that  no  matter  which  of  the  said 
slides  is  caused  to  move  upwards  by  the  piston,  its  movement 
in  that  direction,  at  the  same  time,  through  the  action  of  the 
common  pinion,  imparts  the  opposite  movement — that  is  to 
say,  the  downward  movement — to  the  other  slide.  They 
therefore  slide  one  over  the  other,  and  thus  in  succession  pro- 
duce the  opening  and  closing  of  the  objective  opening.  The 
alternate  action  of  the  piston  upon  the  two  slides  is  regulated 
by  two  springs  in  the  form  of  elongated  arcs,  which  alter- 
nately force  the  said  piston  under  each  of  the  slides.  These 
two  slides,  in  descending  and  rising,  themselves  counteract  the 
said  springs,  and  render  them  free  in  succession. 

The  above  description  applies  to  what  is  called  instantaneous 
exposure. 

For  exposures  of  varying  duration  the  travel  of  the  slides  is 
controlled  to  a given  extent.  Such  limitation  is  effected  by 
means  of  a bolt  which  arrests  the  upward  movement  of  one  of 
them,  and  through  it  the  downward  movement  of  the  other 
slide,  the  action  of  the  one  being  governed  by  the  other,  as 
above  described.  This  bolt  is  actuated  in  a horizontal  direction 


by  a pin  cut  off  slantingly,  and  which  enters  vertically  a 
transverse  slot  formed  in  the  said  bolt,  and  which  is  also  made 
slanting.  An  opposing  spring  placed  in  the  bottom  of  the 
socket  or  box  in  which  the  bolt  is  confined  pushes  it  automa- 
tically each  time  the  pin  in  rising  renders  it  free.  This  pin, 
and  the  slot  which  it  enters  in  the  bolt,  are  correspondingly 
inclined,  as  above  stated,  and  slide  one  over  the  other  with  a 
gentle  friction.  It  will  be  understood  by  this  that,  when  the 
finger  of  the  operator  presses  on  the  said  pin,  the  latter 
pushes  the  bolt  which  limits  the  travel  of  the  two  slides  to 
the  bottom  of  its  socket,  and  at  same  time  compressess  the 
opposing  spring.  When,  on  the  contrary,  the  finger  is  with- 
drawn, the  opposing  spring,  by  expanding,  then  forces  the  bolt 
in  the  direction  of  the  slides,  and  causes  the  pin  to  it- 
self rise  to  its  position  of  rest.  In  the  latter  position  the 
shutter  is  adapted  for  what  is  known  as  varying  exposure,  the 
duration  being,  as  it  is  easy  to  understand,  regulated  by  the 
operator  by  means  of  the  pin  already  described. 

Besides  what  has  been  above  described,  a special  arrangement 
enables  the  diameter  of  the  objective  opening  to  be  reduced, 
with  the  object  of  enabling  the  shutter  to  l>e  readily  adapted 
to  different  sized  apparatus. 

This  arrangement  consists  of  a ring  which  is  not  entirely 
closed,  and  which  forms  the  orifice  itself,  or  the  inner  edge 
of  the  opening  in  the  shutter,  and  which  may  1*  diminished 
or  increased  alternately  under  the  pressure  of  two  cylinders, 
screwed  one  over  the  other,  and  between  which  it  is  imprisoned. 
To  produce  the  effect  indicated,  the  said  ring  is  broken  at  a 
point  in  its  circuit,  and  its  extremities  are  made  so  that  when 
being  decreased  they  slide  one  into  the  other.  Further,  the 
body  of  the  said  ring  is  triangular  in  cross  section,  the  apex 
thereof  being  the  external  edge,  while  the  base  is,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  internal  edge  of  such  ring.  It  will,  therefore,  be 
seen  that  the  two  cylinders,  by  screwing  one  on  to  the  other, 
lessen  the  space  left  between  them,  and  within  which  the  ring 
for  regulating  the  opening  is  enclosed,  and  consequently  pro- 
gressively press  the  said  ring,  and  drive  it  towards  its  centre, 
thus  producing  its  contraction  and  diminution. 

The  reverse  effect  will,  on  the  contrary,  be  produced  by 
unscrewing  the  two  cylinders. 


We  have  reason  to  believe  that  one  of  the  aluminium  alloys 
will  come  largely  into  use  in  the  photographic  apparatus  of 
the  future. 

A Celluloid  Varnish. — It  is  not  generally  known  that  the 
best  varnish  for  celluloid  films  of  all  kinds  is  a plain,  spirituous 
celluloid  solution.  This  is  made  of  old  celluloid  film  negatives 
from  which  the  gelatine  coating  has  been  removed.  The  cellu- 
loid is  cut  into  small  trimmings  and  dissolved  in  common 
alcohol.  This  varnish  is  applied  to  the  film  in  a cold  state, 
and  dried  slowly  without  the  application  of  heat.  It  flows 
smoothly  and  sets  evenly,  if  made  of  the  proper  consistence. 
It  has  a greater  degree  of  toughness  than  any  resinous  varnish, 
and  has  the  additional  advantage  of  being  entirely  devoid  of 
“tackiness.” — Wilson’s  Photographic  Magazine. 

Lkttekinu  Prints. — M.  Stravos  Zellis,  of  Alexandria,  recom- 
mends the  following  process  for  marking  or  lettering  on  the 
sensitised  paper  such  names  as  we  wish  to  give  the  prints. 
He  takes  a piece  of  thin  white  paper,  and  traces  upon  it  the 
words  which  he  wishes  to  have  at  the  bottom  of  his  negative, 
and  oils  it  on  both  sides.  Having  removed  the  excess  of  oil 
by  rubbing  it  between  two  sheets  of  bibulous  paper,  he  coats 
it  with  varnish  on  both  sides,  and  allows  it  to  dry.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  removes  from  the  bottom  of  the  negative  a 
portion  of  the  gelatine  equal  to  the  size  of  the  paper,  and 
substitutes  for  it  the  paper,  which  he  sticks  by  means  of  a 
solution  of  gum  arabic  and  water.  He  removes  then  the 
air-bubbles,  which  would  prevent  complete  adherence,  and, 
this  being  done,  waits  for  his  work  to  dry.  If,  when  printing 
on  the  sensitised  paper,  it  is  found  that  the  letters  do  not 
show  very  white,  the  defective  portions  should  be  retouched 
on  the  back  of  the  oiled  paper.  To  write  his  name,  M.  Zellis 
makes  use  of  a mixture  of  gum  arabic,  lampblack,  and  water. 
This  process  is  simple,  cheap,  and  gives  excellent  results. — 
A n nals  Photographiquc. 


Acoust  1,  1890.] 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


fi03 


(^ormfpon&enct. 


COPYRIGHT  LAW. 

Sin, — In  your  “ Notes  ” of  last  week,  on  page  575,  you  say  : 
“ This  decision  in  the  case  of  photography  involves  a certain 
amount  of  absurdity,  because  it  is  clear  that  one  man  may  pose 
the  sitter,  and  make  all  the  arrangements,  and  be  responsible 
for  the  art  qualities  of  the  picture  ; while  the  other  man  does 
no  more  than  take  off  the  cap  and  develop  the  plate.  Yet  the 
mechanical  operator  is  deemed  the  author  !”  The  decision  you 
refer  to  is,  I understand,  that  of  Mr.  Justice  Wills  in  Kenrick 
v.  Lawrence.  If  that  is  so,  it  seems  to  me  that  your  note  is 
somewhat  misleading,  as  this  case  only  decides  that  where  one 
person  directs  another  to  make  a drawing  of  a given  subject,  it 
is  not  the  person  by  whose  direction  the  drawing  is  made  who 
is  the  author  within  the  meaning  of  the  Copyright  Act.  The 
judge  did  not  decide  who  was  the  author,  as  it  was  unnecessary 
for  him  to  do  so,  but  at  the  end  of  his  judgment  he  suggests 
that  possibly  they  may  both  be  joint  authors. 

The  decision  in  this  case  is  substantially  the  sameas  that  in  the 
other  one  to  which  you  refer,  namely,  Nottage  v.  Jackson.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  in  that  case  the  plain  tiffs  directed  one 
of  their  assistants  to  go  to  the  Oval  and  photograph  the  Austra- 
lian cricketers  in  a group,  and  it  was  decided  that  the  plaintiffs 
were  not  the  authors  of  the  photograph. 

Who  is  the  author  of  a photograph  is  a question  of  consider- 
able difficulty,  unless  the  whole  of  the  work  has  been  done  by 
one  person  ; but  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  in  giving  judgment  in 
the  latter  case,  said,  “The  nearest  I can  come  to  is  that  it 
is  the  person  who  effect ively  is,  as  near  as  he  can  be,  the 
cause  of  the  picture  which  is  produced,  that  is,  the  person 
who  has  superintended  the  arrangement,  who  has  actually 
formed  the  picture  by  putting  the  people  into  position,  and 
arranging  the  place  in  which  the  people  are  to  be — the  man  who 
is  the  effective  cause  of  that.  Although  he  may  only  have 
done  it  by  standing  in  the  room  and  giving  orders  about  it, 
still  it  is  his  mind  and  art,  as  far  as  anybody’s  mind  and  art  are 
concerned,  which  is  the  effective  cause  of  the  picture,  such  as 
it  is,  when  it  is  produced.” 

Hence,  it  seems  that  if  one  person  poses  and  arranges  the 
sitter,  and  another  merely  takes  off  thecapand  develops  the  plate, 
then  it  is  the  former,  and  not  the  mechanical  operator,  who  is 
the  author  of  the  photograph.  In  many  cases,  however,  in 
which  more  than  one  person  has  been  engaged  in  the  taking  of 
a photograph,  it  would  probably  be  better  to  register  them  all 
as  joint  authors.  C.  Fleetwood  Piutchakd. 

3,  Paper  Buildings,  Temple,  E.C.,  July  29 th,  1890. 


AMATEUR  PHOTOGRAPHERS  IN  BOURNEMOUTH. 

Sib, — At  this  time  of  the  year  you  have,  doubtless,  mauy 
inquiries  from  amateur  photographers  as  to  facilities  in  this 
town  for  changing  and  developing  plates,  Ac.  I shall  be  glad 
if  you  will  kindly  refer  such  correspondents  to  me. 

Stbwart  Hardwick. 

21,  Commercial  lload,  Bournemouth,  July  24 th,  1890. 

Grey  Bromide  Prints. — To  give  a grey  tone  to  prints  on 
bromide  paper,  the  Photo.  Mitthcilungen  quotes  M.  Senier  as 
recommending  the  alteration  of  the  bromide  to  chloride  by  the 
use  of  a solution  of  chlorine  (chlorine  water),  followed  by  re- 
development with  oxalate  or  pyro,  with  the  addition  of  con- 
siderable bromide.  A red  tone  will  be  given  by  the  addition  of 
4 parts  of  potassium  bromide  to  100  parts  of  the  developer. 

Photographic  Periodicals. — The  leaves  of  Vallombrosa  and 
the  multitudinous  waves  of  the  sea  are  simply  not  in  it  for 
numerousness  with  the  new  photographic  periodicals  which  are 
sprouting  hopeless  around  us.  The  latest  edition — up  to  date 
of  writing — which  we  have  to  welcome  to  the  galaxy  is  the 
Photograph  isclien  Neuheiten,  which  appeared  abouc  the  1st  of 
February  in  Berlin.  It  is  under  the  protection  of  the  house 
of  Rom&in  Talbot,  aud  the  editorship  of  Mr.  Robert  Talbot. 
It  will  appear  monthly  in  French,  English,  aud  German  edi- 
tions.— Wilson’s  Photographic.  Magazine. 


^roccctfings  of  iporictits. 


London  and  Provincial  Photographic  Association. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  24th  iust.  Mr.  H.  M.  Smith  occupied 
the  chair.  The  subject  for  the  evening’s  discussion  was  “ Printing 
through  Coloured  Media.” 

The  Hon.  Secretary  exhibited  two  slips  of  silver  albu- 
menised  paper  that  had  been  sent  to  him  by  Mr.  Otto  Schcilzig, 
showing  the  comparative  actinic  values  of  different  coloured 
glasses.  Different  sections  of  the  strips  of  paper  had  been 
exposed  for  a given  time  under  dark  yellow',  ruby,  blue,  dark 
green,  single  green,  and  orange  coloured  pieces  of  glass.  One 
strip  of  paper  was  left  untoned  for  comparison  of  the  colour  of 
the  deposits. 

Mr  F.  A.  Bridge  read  an  extract  from  an  article  he  had 
written  in  the  Photographic  News  Year-Book  of  1873, 
advocating  the  use  of  a thin  sheet  of  green  or  pale  red 
gelatine  in  printing  from  a thin  negative,  thereby  getting  a 
better  result. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Debenham  said  that  it  had  been  asserted  that  with 
a certain  class  of  negative  a better  and  brighter  effect  was 
obtained  by  slow  printing  on  a weak  light  than  by  exposure 
to  a strong  light  ; this  he  denied.  He  showed  four  prints  on 
as  many  sections  of  a sheet  of  silver  albumenised  paper,  all . 
made  from  the  same  negative,  using  different  coloured  pieces 
of  glass,  and  exposing  from  ten  minutes  to  twenty  hours  in  a 
weak  light.  No  difference  was  noticeable  in  either  of  the  prints 
except  the  exposure  made  under  a piece  of  brownish  orange 
glass.  This  Mr.  Debenham  accounted  for  by  stating  that 
the  difference  probably  arose  from  the  organic  compound  of 
silver  being  insensitive  to  orange  light. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Freshw'ater  showed  some  bromide  prints  deve- 
loped with  eikonogen  of  the  last  outing  of  the  members  at 
Wanstead  Park. 

Mr.  F.  A.  Bridge  showed  an  enlargement  from  a quarter- 
plate  negative  taken  at  Chester  of  some  interesting  carvings  on 
one  of  the  old  houses. 

The  Chairman,  as  one  of  the  delegates  appointed  to  repre- 
sent the  Association  at  the  Chester  Convention,  gave  his  report 
about  the  same. 

The  Bank  Holiday  outing  on  Monday  next  was  arranged  to 
take  place  at  St.  Albans. 


Birmingham  Photographic  Society. 

At  the  ordinary  meeting  of  the  above  Society  on  July  24th, 
held  at  St.  Edmund's  College,  Mr.  W.  Griffiths  gave  a very 
interesting  paper  on  “Stereoscopic  Photography.”  The  lec- 
turer described  the  different  apparatus  required  and  mode  of 
working,  and  illustrated  his  remarks  with  a number  of  beautiful 
stereoscopic  slides  on  paper  and  glass. 

Mri  W.  J.  Harrison,  F.G.S.,  who  was  in  the  chair,  compli- 
mented Mr.  Griffiths  on  his  instructive  paper,  and  said  he  was 
sorry  a larger  number  of  members  had  not  availed  themselves 
of  the  pleasure  of  hearing  the  paper. 

Messrs.  Karleese,  Middleton,  Taylor,  and  others  took  part  in 
the  discussion  which  follow'ed. 

The  result  of  the  first  photographic  competition  tov.'ards  the 
Warwickshire  Photographic  Survey  was  announced.  A gold 
medal  was  offered  by  Mr.  S.  G.  Mason,  a silver  medal  by  the 
Society,  and  a bronze  medal  by  Mr.  A.  Constantine  for  six 
photographs  taken  in  Warwickshire  at  places  accessible  to  the 
general  public  ; to  be  taken  between  March  1st  and  June  30th. 
Three  to  be  open  landscapes,  part  of  each  to  be  a river  or 
stream,  and  three  to  be  of  a rustic  cottage  or  cottages  ; the 
six  prints  to  be  exhibited  on  one  mount.  The  awards  were 
offered  for  excellence  of  the  group  of  photographs,  artistically 
and  technically  ; the  negatives  of  the  prize  photographs  to  be 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Photographic  Survey  of  Warwick- 
shire Committee.  The  photographs  were  sent  to  Mr.  George 
Bankart,  President  of  the  Leicester  Society,  to  judge,  who 
awarded  the  prizes  as  follows  : — Gold  medal — Benjamin  Kar- 
leese, “ Light  and  Truth  Silver  medal — Arthur  J.  Leeson, 
“ Cannon  Bronze  medal — W.  Jerome  Harrison,  “ Avon.” 


fi04 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[ArorsT  1,  1890. 


On  Saturday  last  a good  number  of  members  and  friends 
took  part  in  the  monthly  half-day  excursion,  Warwick  being 
the  rendezvous  for  the  afternoon.  A pleasant  afternoon 
was  spent  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  George  A.  Thomason, 
when  over  100  plates  were  exposed. 


The  Bath  Photographic  Society. 

On  Saturday,  the  26th  inst.,  the  Society  met  at  Prior  Park,  by 
invitation  of  the  Rev.  Canon  Williams,  the  principal  of  the 
College.  The  grounds  are  some  200  acres  in  extent,  and 
present  many  picturesque  subjects  for  the  camera.  Promin- 
ent among  them  stand  three  handsome  piles  of  buildings,  with 
the  mansion  in  central  position,  150  feet  wide,  with  a 
Corinthian  portico  of  six  columns,  and  the  two  wings  used  as 
colleges,  and  dedicated  respectively  to  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul. 
A church  has  also  recently  been  added  for  the  convenience  of 
worshippers  in  the  district.  The  interior  is  richly  ornamented 
with  carving  in  alabaster-  imported  from  Rome.  It  is  lofty  and 
well  lit,  a large  and  valuable  Vandyke  of  Jesus  being  easily 
photographed  along  with  the  interior  ; when  quite  finished 
the  floor  will  be  of  white  marble  throughout.  There  is  also  a 
private  chapel,  or  chapel  royal,  in  the  mansion,  said  to  have 
been  intended  for  the  use  of  George  III  ; it  is  unique.  These 
buildings  take  the  form  of  a crescent,  are  situated  on  aslope  400 
* feet  above  the  Avon,  and  are  generally  considered  to  command 
a landscape  full  of  Italian  beauty.  Far  away  down  the  slope  so 
richly  fringed  with  woods,  and  spanning  the  expansive  fishponds, 
stands  the  Palladium  Bridge,  well  known  to  visitors. 

At  five  p.m.  the  party  assembled  under  the  portico  of  the 
mansion,  where  the  Canon  welcomed  his  fellow  members  to 
tea  ; Mr.  and  Mrs.  Austin  J.  King  and  Miss  King  assisted  in 
dispensing  hospitality  to  the  guests.  After  tea  more  photo- 
graphs were  taken,  and  the  swimming  bath,  priory,  and  other 
points  of  interest  visited.  The  sky  being  cloudy,  with 
occasional  showers,  the  light  was  too  weak  for  many  subjects, 
but  some  good  and  picturesque  photographs  were  nevertheless 
obtained. 


THR  DAGUERRE  MEMORIAL. 

The  committees  which  have  been  appointed  by  the  Photo- 
graphic Association  of  America,  with  and  by  Chairman 
McMichael,  of  the  general  committee,  are  as  follows  : — 

The  General  Committee. — H.  McMichael,  G.  M.  Carlisle, 
O.  P.  Scott,  J.  M.  Appleton,  G.  H.  Hastings. 

The  Washington  Committee. — E.  J.  Pullman,  Thomas  W. 
Smillie,  Hon.  A.  A.  Adee,  A.  Dickinson  Jewett,  Dr.  Griffiths, 
U.S.N. 

The  Chicago  Committee. — Gay  ton  A.  Douglass,  Richard 
Sweet,  Thomas  Pattison,  O.  P.  Scott,  Dr.  John  Nicol. 

The  St.  Louis  Committee. — G.  Cramer,  M.  A.  Seed,  J.  C. 
Somerville,  H.  A.  Hyatt,  F.  W.  Guerin,  W.  H.  H.  Clark. 

The  Philadelphia  Committee. — W.  J.  Ent rekin,  W.  P. 
Buchanan,  John  G.  Hood,  Edmund  Stirling,  J.  Carbutt, 
J.  Bartlett. 

The  Boston  Committee. — George  H.  Hastings,  W.  H.  Roby, 
T.  H.  Blair,  Wilfred  A.  French,  C.  A.  Chandler. 

Tne  New  York  Committee. — J.  Wells  Champney,  H.  Little- 
john, Edward  L.  Wilson,  Ph.D.,  Dr.  Arthur  H.  Elliot,  W.  I. 
Lincoln  Adams. 

Each  of  these  committees  holds  a book  of  certificates  for 
subscribers  to  the  fund,  and  is  authorized  to  give  receipts. 

Bichromate  of  Soda  in  Photography. — J.  Husnik  recom- 
mends the  employment  of  the  bichromate  of  soda  in  place  of 
the  bichromate  of  potash  in  all  the  processes  where  a salt  of 
chromium  is  used,  such  as  zincography  and  photo-lithography. 
Not  only,  he  says,  does  the  soda  salt  contain  more  chromium 
in  a given  weight,  and  is  more  than  a third  cheaper  ; but  it 
also  has  the  advantage  of  being  far  more  soluble  in  water  than 
the  other,  thus  has  not  its  tendency  to  crystallize  out  when 
dextrine  or  gelatine  is  added  to  the  solution.  He  states  that 
he  has  used  it  with  entire  success  in  all  his  processes  for  some 
time  past. 


Ensfocrs  to  ©omspon&cntg* 

All  questions  requiring  a reply  in  this  column  should  bo  addressed  to 

Mr-  John  Spiller,  F.C.S.,  2,  St.  Mary’s  Road,  Canonbury,  London,  N. 

All  Advertisements  and  communications  relating  to  money  matters,  and 

to  the  sale  of  the  paper,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers  of  tha 

Photographic  News,  Messrs.  Piper  & Carter,  5,  Furnival  Street,  London. 

H.  S. — Cabinet  Vignettes  Shoiuing  Brush  Marks.  Since  com- 
municating with  you  last  week  we  have  taken  occasion  to  test 
the  cards  upon  which  the  photographs  are  mounted.  We  can 
find  nothing  in  them  to  account  for  such  defects,  for  the 
boards  are  absolutely  free  from  bleaching  chlorides,  sulphites 
or  hyposulphites,  and  the  edges  are  finished  with  pure  gold. 
It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  the  mountant  was  at  fault. 

Photargus. — Lead  Pipes  for  Bain  Water  Supply.  Although 
it  may  happen  that  rain  water  acts  slightly  upon  pure  lead, 
the  quantity  of  metal  dissolved  is  so  excessively  minute  that 
it  is  impossible  to  believe  that  such  traces  could  exert  any 
appreciable  effect  in  photographic  operations.  Tin  piping  is 
absolutely  safe,  or  even  the  alloy  of  lead  and  tin  known  as 
“ composition  pipe,”  but  you  must  attach  them  to  a slate 
cistern  or  water  butt,  for  if  put  in  contact  with  a lead-lined 
reservoir  there  is  always  increased  danger  of  metallic  corro- 
sion, as  the  consequence  of  galvanic  action  being  set  up 
between  dissimilar  metals. 

E.  O.  C.  (Boston  Photogravure  Company,  Mass.) — In  a letter 
dated  July  15th,  our  correspondent  makes  an  excellent  sug- 
gestion for  overcoming  irregularities  in  the  development  of 
celluloid  films,  by  cementing  them  down  with  Canada  balsam 
upon  a plate  of  glass  before  proceeding  to  apply  the  chemi- 
cals. He  thinks  this  idea  may  be  worthy  the  attention  of 
Colonel  Waterhouse,  who  found  difficulties  in  making  enlarge- 
ments from  celluloid  films  in  consequence  of  the  varying 
thickness  and  opacity  of  the  material  he  employed.  The  further 
details  promised  by  our  correspondent  will  be  very  accept- 
able ; meanwhile  we  thank  him  for  this  letter  already  to 
hand. 

J.  M.  B. — Spots  of  Reversed  Action.  Your  communication  is 
extremely  interesting  and  important ; we  have  never  seen 
the  effect  produced  in  this  way  before,  although  the  end 
windows  of  churches  and  other  interiors  very  frequently 
show  halation  and  reversal. 

Perished. — Bed  Rubber  Bulbs  and  Tubing.  The  pneumatic 
apparatus  attached  to  instantaneous  shutters  very  often 
gets  rigid  and  rotten,  and  has  to  lie  replaced.  A short 
immersion  in  warm  water  helps  to  make  it  serviceable  for  a 
time,  but  the  change  is  due  to  oxidation  of  the  caoutchouc, 
and  is  inevitable. 

L.  T. — Licsegang's  Fixing  Bath.  The  precipitate  which  you 
noticed  may  have  resulted  from  the  action  of  the  alkali  in  the 
gold  toning  bath  upon  the  magnesium  salt,  in  throwing 
down  the  carbonate  or  hydrate  of  magnesia.  Be  careful 
to  wash  the  toned  prints  well  before  immersion  in  the  fixing 
liquor. 

M.  E. — Pyro  and  Ammonia  Developer.  This  is  very  apt  to 
stain  the  film  whenever  the  development  is  prolonged  ; try 
the  substitution  of  carbonate  of  soda  for  the  ammonia  in  the 
proportion  of  about  one  to  five  of  soda. 

R.  S.  (Ipswich). — Measure  Pip>ettes.  Provide  a series  of 
1,  2,  5,  and  10  c.c.  pipettes  ; above  this  measure  the 
graduated  cylinders  are  better,  say  50,  100,  and  500  c.c. 
These,  with  a set  of  gramme  weights,  should  meet  all  your 
requirements,  or  you  might  add  to  them  a litre  flask. 

J.  P. — Storage  of  Bain  Water.  There  is  nothing  better  than 
a well-cleansed  petroleum  cask  or  rum  puncheon  ; and  if 
you  can,  by  being  always  on  the  spot,  allow  the  first  wash- 
ings from  the  roof  to  run  to  waste,  and  then  collect  only  the 
pure  rain  water,  you  will  be  spared  much  trouble  in  filtering  ; 
but  smuts  so  readily  accumulate  in  towns  that  it  will  nearly 
always  be  necessary  to  filter  the  rain  water  before  use. 

W.  T. — Reducing  Silver-Chloride.  Putina  few  slips  of  zinc, 
and  allow  to  remain  for  some  days  ; then  withdraw  the  excess 
of  zinc,  wash  well  by  decantation,  and  lastly  on  a filter. 
Finally,  melt  the  reduced  silver  in  a Cornish  crucible  with  a 
little  dry  carbonate  of  sod^  and  borax  as  flux. 


<jAYS. 


THE 


TIK 


PAOI 


Photographic  Tourists  and  the  Channel  Passages 605 

Literary  Notices  606 

The  Photographic  Annuals  607 

The  Progress  of  the  Photo-Mechanical  Printing  Processes.  By 

Hermann  E.  Gunther  608 

Photography  in  Florence  609 

The  Recent  City  Photographic  Exhibition  609 

Group  Drawbacks.  By  Moses  Back  610 

Photography  in  Germany.  By  Dr.  H.  W.  Vogel 610 

Truth  in  Photography.  By  H.  Colebrookc 612 

The  Metric  System  in  Photography.  By  W.  It.  Seaman,  M.D.  613 
Notes 614 


PAOX 

Washing  Prints 616 

Enamelling.  By  F.  Tarniquet 616 

The  New  Premises  of  the  Camera  Club.  By  E.  Ferrero 617 

Photography  in  Natural  Colours.  By  J.  Gaedicke  618 

How  to  Make  a Group.  By  Charles  P.  Marshall 619 

Aluminium  in  the  Construction  of  Photographic  Apparatus. 

By  Ernest  Seyd 620 

The  British  Association  at  Leeds 621 

Patent  Intelligence  621 

Correspondence 623 

Proceedings  of  Societies 623 

Answers  to  Correspondents  624 


TOURIST  PHOTOGRAPHERS  AND  THE 
CHANNEL  PASSAGES. 

Photographic  periodical  literature  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic  teems  with  items  showing  that  the  hot  weather 
and  the  “dead”  season  are  now  upon  us,  and  that 
those  camera  bearers  who  can  do  so  are  fleeing  to  the 
seaside  or  to  the  mountains.  Within  the  last  four 
or  five  years,  as  proved  by  the  official  returns, 
the  passenger  traffic  between  England  and  the 
Continent  has  been  increasing  by  leaps  and  bounds,  so 
altogether  this  seems  an  opportune  moment  to  deal 
with  the  subject  of  the  more  frequented  Channel  pas- 
sages, their  boats,  harbours,  and  subjects  worth  photo- 
graphing from  the  deck  of  the  ship. 

The  first  question  which  troubles  the  tourist  more 
than  he  cares  to  own,  is  whether  he  will  suffer  the 
horrors  of  sea-sickness  on  his  comiug  journey.  Some 
misconception  is  prevalent  about  liability  to  sea-sick- 
ness; most  persons  think  that  they  will  suffer  less 
from  it  by  taking  the  short  passage  between  Dover 
and  Calais,  or  Folkestone  and  Boulogne,  instead  of  a 
longer  route.  The  short  passages  have  shallow  harbours, 
especially  on  the  French  side,  hence  their  passenger  boats 
are  all  small,  and  draw  little  water,  so  that  in  the  short 
“ chopping  ” seas  which  are  common  enough  in  the 
narrowest  part  of  the  Channel,  passengers  are  sometimes 
well  tossed  about,  and  made  seasick  upon  breezy  sun- 
shiny days,  when  the  same  journey  would  have  been 
altogether  pleasant  had  they  been  upon  a deep-sea 
boat.  In  a short  passage  of  about  seventy  minutes 
the  trouble  is  soon  over,  but  passengers  often  have  to 
leave  the  ship  when  they  can  scarcely  walk,  and  if 
they  say  tha;  they  will  remain  on  board  for  a short 
time,  may  be  told  that  they  cannot,  as  the  boat  will 
soon  move  away  from  the  quay.  A method  of  cheat- 
ing the  sea  of  its  prey,  sometimes  adopted  by  those 
who  have  plenty  of  leisure,  especially  ladies,  is  to 
stay  a day  or  two,  if  necessary,  at  the  port  of  embarka- 
tion until  the  sea  is  smooth,  and  then  slip  across. 

Beginning  with  the  Dover- Ostend  route,  the  boats 
are  rather  small,  for  the  reason  already  stated,  and  the 


actual  passage  occupies  in  fine  weather  a little  over 
three  hours.  The  boats  carry  the  mails,  and  are  the 
property  of  the  Belgian  Government;  they  were  built 
in  Belgium,  and  engined  by  the  Cockerill  Co.  ; the 
engines  are  of  first  class  workmanship,  and  of  great 
power  as  compared  with  the  size  of  the  boat,  conse- 
quently the  speed  of  the  latter  is  high.  J ohn  Cockerill, 
an  Englishman,  founded  the  great  Belgian  iron  works 
in  the  past  generation  at  Seraing,  near  Liege, 
but  for  a long  time  past  they  have  been  the 
property  of  a Belgian  Company.  On  those  days 
when  the  sea  is  smooth,  the  restaurant  department  of 
the  Ostend  boat  is  much  patronised ; cooking  goes  on 
on  board,  and  the  charges  fixed  by  the  Belgian  autho- 
rities and  displayed  for  the  benefit  of  the  passengers 
are  particularly  moderate.  The  stewards  are  all  in  the 
employment  of  an  hotel  keeper  at  Ostend,  who  con- 
tracts for  the  vending  of  refreshments  on  the  boats ; 
hence  it  is  no  use  consulting  these  officials  in  the 
expectation  of  getting  disinterested  information  about 
Ostend  hotels.  At  the  present  time  Ostend  is  full  of 
Germans,  and  all  the  hotels  are,  practically  speaking, 
full.  This  is  due  partly  to  the  circumstance  of  the 
German  Emperor  having  visited  the  town  a few  days 
ago,  and  partly  to  the  fact  that  there  is  an  excellent 
railway  service  between  Ostend  and  Cologne,  which 
draws  off  from  the  Rhine  districts  and  places  eastwards 
thereof,  those  who  seek  rest  and  relaxation  at  the  sea 
side.  At  Ostend  there  is  little  worth  photographing 
from  the  deck  of  the  boat ; tall  and  roomy  houses,  with 
a sandy  beach  in  front,  represent  Ostend  as  seen  from 
the  sea ; the  country  around  is  absolutely  flat.  On 
the  Dover  side,  the  return  boat  approaches  the 
Admiralty  Pier  in  such  a direction  that  admirable 
views  can  be  taken  in  suitable  weather  of  Dover  Castle 
and  the  cliffs  whereon  it  stands,  with  sea  and  boats  in 
the  foreground.  A lens  of  moderately  long  focus  is 
necessary.  The  Ostend  boat  reduces  its  speed  when 
so  close  to  its  destination,  and  this  is  in  favour  of  the 
photographer,  who,  at  the  same  time,  sees  Dover  Castle 
before  him  from  perhaps  the  most  picturesque  point  of 


GOG 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS. 


[August  8,  1890. 


view.  In  fine  weather  this  route  across  the  Channel 
is  exceedingly  pleasant ; in  bad  weather  it  is  doubtless 
the  reverse,  what  with  the  three  hours’  passage  and 
the  size  of  the  boats. 

Turn  we  now  to  the  Harwich-Antwerp  line  to  the 
Continent,  which  has  the  advantage  of  deep  water 
harbours  on  both  sides  of  the  Channel ; consequently 
deep  sea  boats  are  put  on  the  service.  Sleeping  bunks 
and  cabins  are  provided  for  the  passengers  ; the  cabins 
are  illuminated  by  the  electric  light,  and  have  “goose- 
neck ” ventilators  to  keep  the  air  pure.  In  times  past 
this  route  was  not  spoken  of  in  London  with  over-much 
respect ; but  of  late  years  much  money  and  care  have 
been  expended  to  make  the  service  one  of  the  best,  and 
it  is  drawing  a large  share  of  the  Channel  passage 
traffic.  The  boats  leave  Parkeston  Quay  a little  before 
ten  o’clock  at  night,  and  reach  Antwerp  between  eight 
and  ten  next  morning  ; the  direction  of  the  tide  in  the 
Scheldt  influences  the  time  of  arrival.  Passengers  liable 
to  sea-sickness  have  (1)  the  advantage  of  being  on 
board  a large  sea-going  ship,  which  does  not  toss  about 
like  a walnut  shell ; (2)  the  advantage  of  not  being 
exposed  to  the  full  force  of  the  Atlantic  in  bad  weather, 
being  sheltered  therefrom  by  the  mainland  of  England  ; 
(3)  the  advantage,  if  sick  at  all,  of  being  in  a comfort- 
able bed ; (4)  the  advantage  of  ending  the  voyage  with 
several  hours’  smooth  steaming  up  the  River  Scheldt, 
giving  abundance  of  time  for  recoveiy  from  sea-sick- 
ness before  landing. 

The  steamers  on  this  route  are  all  twin-screw  boats, 
and  the  largest  of  them  is  the  Colchester.  Twin-screw 
boats  will  rotate  upon  their  vertical  axis  when  the 
screws  are  moved  in  opposite  directions,  so  the  ship 
can  turn  in  small  space  in  a river.  The  breaking  of 
the  screw  shaft  is  one  of  the  most  serious  accidents 
which  can  befall  a steamer  at  sea ; but,  with  a twin- 
screw  ship,  if  one  shaft  be  broken,  the  boat  can  go 
ahead  by  means  of  the  other  shaft  and  the  other  screw. 

Great  speed  is  obtainable  with  twin-screw  ships; 
indeed,  our  first  experience  with  one  was  at  the  trial 
trip,  off  the  measured  mile,  of  a twin-screw  vessel  built 
to  carry  four  guns,  and  scandalously  rumoured  to  have 
been  constructed  to  run  the  Ameiican  blockade. 
She  was,  however,  never  used  for  that  purpose, 
but  was  bought  by  the  Brazilian  Government 
to  chase  river  pirates,  because  of  her  speed  and 
power  of  turning  in  narrow  places.  The  small  Margate 
passenger  steamers  go  at  a good  speed,  yet  the  twin- 
screw  boat  rap